route_1065 | When your welcome committee is a mutant alien vampire.

Entry tags:

gorthan | disney's pkna

When your welcome committee is a mutant alien vampire.

Who: Gorthan (

tickleironysjudgment)
Where: The Team Rocket labs in Goldenrod City.
When: After the Rocket mission is over. Also, in the morning.
Summary: Gorthan meets the newcomer to the science division.
Rating: PG-13 just because Gorthan's mun is a prude.
Log:

During the recent mission, Gorthan had been looking forward to meeting the man who unexpectedly entered the science division in the middle of the turmoil. From the battle against Suicune, Gorthan had brought home a souvenir in the form of a noticeable limp; and a few other injuries that his clothes concealed. Even so, upon his return to Goldenrod, he had not remained inactive.

He was unfamiliar with Agnus' schedule (was he a morning person? Gorthan definitely was), but he had wanted to prepare a small surprise for him. Just to make him feel welcome and let him understand that sometimes Gorthan acted assertively, as if he felt vested with an authority that he did not actually possess within the Team (in that sense, he recognized, he was a bit like Cobra Commander), but at the end of the day? He was nicer than most on this Team.

Granted, Gorthan had experiments to work on; but a certain sense of guilt, combined with the lack of sleep caused by it, was not allowing him to concentrate on those today. And so it was that he borrowed a few items from the kitchen and an old gas burner to prepare two small rice bowls for each of them, complete with bamboo placemats and wooden chopsticks that Gorthan bought on his visit to Ecruteak. The ensemble now rested on a desk that Gorthan had freed; and with a chair on either side of it, it looked just like a table.

A large, old, yellowing copy of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy flanked Gorthan's placemat. As he waited for Agnus, Gorthan's large fingers brushed the hard cover for a moment, and, in a long, frustrated sigh, his thoughts flowed out of his mouth in the form of a quote from the book.

"O thou, that to this dolorous hostelry comest... Look how thou enterest, and in whom thou trustest; Let not the portal's amplitude deceive thee."

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'With proper modifications the poisonous exhaust produced could be distilled and used for chemical warfare applications. It is possible such could have been done by Rocket Labs previous to my hypothesis, examine this and decide further use of study.'

The sound of a pen flying across paper echoed the approaching steps that fell upon the halls of Goldenrod City's Rocket HQ. Agnus, in his full uniform and a lab coat he had...borrowed from one of the laundry rooms made his way toward the office of his newest and thus-far most intriguing acquaintance. Gorthan, the yet-faceless individual he had sought out over the communication network linking Team Rocket agents. An audible flourish of his pen finished one line of notes and observations only to shuffle through to the next as hastily as it had left them. He was an interesting sight to be sure as he walked, slouched over the clipboard yet entirely able to navigate without any apparent visual stimuli to guide him, down the path he had used a map of the building to calculate.

'...Once a sample has been procured of both the Rocket gas and poison-type exhausts, proceed to analyze samples to find most potent before augmentation. Attempt to find deadliest available product, then dilute until most debilitating onward down to most effective for widest range of purposes.'

He paused after another flourish to examine his surroundings, then proceeded again toward the office that Gorthan had specified. By his guess the time they had arranged to meet was approximately close. Punctuality was, if nothing else, an important virtue when meeting a future colleague and fellow of his field. Agnus stopped outside of the office number he had been told to seek out and reached out to knock a gloved hand against the door a few times before he spoke.

"Gorthan?" He asked, then immediately went back to his clipboard as he awaited the reply to make sure he was no earlier nor later than he wished to be.

"It's open. Come in." Gorthan's voice was slow and deep, but there was polite kindness in it.

The door was open, indeed; past it, Gorthan stood beside the table he had set for them, his bad leg not bothering him too much at that early time of day. In spite of the injuries, he was still a sight hard to miss. Broad shoulders, tan skin, sparse long blond dreadlocks spilling onto his white labcoat, blue eyes encircled by black eyelids, and circular markings on his forehead.

His hand was still resting on the large book when he welcomed the other scientist with a smile and a small gesture of his hand, presenting him an open palm facing up.

"Welcome, Agnus."

Almost by reflex Agnus' hand flew up to his monocle and very slightly adjusted it as he glanced over Gorthan's features. It was somewhat unusual matching the voice to a face and Agnus had to remind himself to push aside all preconceptions or judgments in this new world. Nothing he knew likely held true in all cases any longer, much the same for people in this organization. He was starting from the ground up in nearly every way possible.

Still, he offered Gorthan what passed for a pleasant smile in return.

"A pleasure to finally meet you in person," He spoke with a thoughtful tone. For a few moments he was almost uncertain what to do about the hand, he couldn't honestly tell if it was being offered for a handshake or...well, he wasn't sure what it was being offered for otherwise with it being palm-up.

With a quick motion the male put his pen into the breast pocket of his coat. Agnus held out his own hand and took Gorthan's to give him a quick, firm shake and split the difference between doubt and uncertainty with resolution. A quick glance around the room noted not only the table, but...two bowls of rice set out upon it, two place mats, and two sets of chopsticks. Agnus quirked an eyebrow in interest and...confusion?

"You prepared rice. For both of us? Your hospitality is rather surprising, I'm not quite sure what to say. None-the-less, thank you."

Gorthan was quick to note the pen and clipboard that the other carried. This was Agnus, all right.

While Gorthan's hand wasn't being offered for a handshake, the Branch Chief was pleasantly surprised that it happened. Even after it was over, his gaze lingered on their respective hands, contemplating the contact that they had just shared. Handshakes were rather uncommon on Evron, but a practice which he had often employed with his assistants.

"The pleasure is all mine, Agnus. And yes, rice. It makes for a light, energetic breakfast. Did you get enough sleep?"

Since his transformation into a human and after trying out a variety of terrestrial foods, Gorthan had become an avid consumer of rice, finding the simple, yet nutritious food very suited to his needs.

He motioned for his guest to sit down across from where the book lay.

"A very practical choice. Fortuna City was a coastal town with a very lively port, our meals were rather Mediterranean by nature."

Agnus spoke off-handedly as he gave the male a polite nod and took to the seat he had been offered. When presented with the issue of chopsticks, however, he tilted his head a bit in thought and considered how exactly he was to use them. For lack of certainty he merely sat and awaited the other to begin that he could attempt to learn from seeing.

"I suppose. Returning to a human form has put me in a rather curious spot, I require more sleep than I had been used to. After the transformation I required very little sleep in comparison..."

Agnus quickly realized he was well on the way to rambling off at a very simple question. The male stopped himself then and offered a simple gesture of his hand to wave the rant off.

"You were on the front lines of the operation, correct? My involvement was fairly-well uneventful, but it is my assumption that you may well have more need of adequate rest than I."

Agnus glanced over to the book for a few moments while he spoke, his eyes narrowing slightly in an attempt to read the text and coordinate it in his mind from the upside-down view he had. It took him only a few seconds to recognize a few of the lines, his expression turning almost immediately to surprise and amusement.

"The Inferno? Canto...five, I believe? You recall our conversation, then."

The hitch in Gorthan's step is evident even as he does something as simple as taking his seat across the table. He even let out a soft cry of pain as he sat down. Even though he wouldn't comment on it, indeed, he needed rest. But he figured he would work anyway, guilt keeping him awake until he cried himself asleep and waking him up with horrid nightmares (one of the drawbacks of being an earthling) several hours before dawn. But there is no sign of that on him, clean and well dressed as he is, except for the dark rings under his eyes, which can be argued to form part of his standard appearance anyway.

"So... if one sits on the divide between human and demon, they need less sleep? How interesting."

Noticing Agnus' hesitation to pick up the chopsticks, he did the honors himself. His movements were slow, and he didn't use them in a particularly fancy or elaborate way, so learning would be easy.

"Canto Five. The Circle of the Lustful. The final home to several great personages of history, like Cleopatra and the mighty Achilles. All damned by love..."

There's a pause in which Gorthan puts down his chopsticks and closes his eyes for a long moment. It's impossible to tell whether his eyelids are naturally black, or if it's just makeup he has on. He speaks again when he finally opens them.

"This love that may be the answer to our questions... Perhaps such a thing can reside in demons as well, don't you think?"

His lips relaxed into a small smile. He enjoyed being the Hamlet of the situation, a herald of doubt.

"I find it irritating more than interesting, it quickly cuts into time better spent on research and observations."

Agnus quietly huffed as he watched Gorthan use the chopsticks he had laid out for them. With several long moments dedicated specifically to observing placement, technique, and pacing of every detail Agnus held his tongue while Gorthan spoke and waited only until he paused to make his own attempt. Clumsy at first, the obvious sign that he had no experience using the devices before, but intuitive enough that he didn't fail entirely.

"I cannot doubt the possibility when I have observed evidence to suggest it. In literature, and in my...observations of Nero."

It was taking him a bit of effort to remove himself from the stutter he so frequently fell into. A combination of temperament, nerves, and a mind moving much faster than his mouth so often made what he meant to say fall on his lips in a clamor where eloquence and poise should be.

"However, that narrows the divider. The border between demon and human becomes ever more a matter of physiological proportion. What is the essence of humanity? What would make a devil say with grave seriousness that humans are superior?"

Gorthan nodded his encouragement to Agnus. Using chopsticks and speaking more slowly... neither was too hard, was it?

"I hope you will pardon my curiosity. Can Nero be said to be like yourself, in a way? Also half-demon, half-human, except, unlike in your case, slowly transitioning from demon to human?"

The question was asked in an oddly intense tone, as if the answer was somehow very important to Gorthan.

"As for your question, I had hoped I would receive the answer from you." Gorthan may be human right now, but he isn't supposed to be. He'll tell Agnus, eventually. Maybe today, depending on how this conversation goes. "I suppose we will have to find the answer together, then. How are you enjoying your time here so far?"

As Agnus ate he gave some thought to the questions Gorthan was posing him. An all too familiar irritation rose up in him and seethed through his veins as he considered the young male, and he realized that he was likely about to trip across the stutter again when he spoke. While he so often attempted to pay it no obvious mind it rather did bother him when he began to do it.

"Without an adequate study of his physiology all I can hazard is c-c-conjecture," he began with a faintly annoyed expression that belied his feelings on the matter entirely. "I would surmise that the d-d-d-d-d-d-...differences between us are not so large as I would like to think."

He paused again and set his chopsticks down for the moment. Agnus folded his hands together and rested his chin upon them, the image of a deep contemplation.

"It is possible, I was not aware of his demonic nature until I m-m-met and subsequently b-b-b-battled him. I was rather shocked, understandably, as I had considered him merely a human until that p-p-point."

He was quick to exit the topic and speak on the other question once he finished that very brief explanation, only too glad for the chance.

"It is somewhat...irritating to be back at the bottom of the ladder, as it were. However, this promises to be a m-most interesting experience and I cannot complain for the opportunity."

Gorthan noted the sudden change in Agnus' mood, and how it came with that distinctive stutter. Truly, this earthling, too, was a fascinating individual.

He tips his head to the side slightly. "There is no need to act quite this excitedly, Agnus. Take your time with your words. Words are valuable, deadly weapons. So. You believed Nero to be exclusively human until you confronted him? How interesting... Does it mean that such a thing as demonic nature can be kept hidden?"

An amused, yet pleasant smile was Gorthan's reply to Agnus' comment about his place in the hierarchy. "There are worse situations. Some people never even knew what the bottom of the ladder was like." Like, say, Evronians born in the Upper Science Caste. "At least, you once experienced that, I presume."

"The issue with Nero is that his demonic nature is only expressed in the appearance of his right arm. It is not unlike a gauntlet with a strange, rust-coloured look as though two large bands have been woven together."

Agnus took his time at first, letting the words come after a moment to clear his mind of the irritation. This was discussion over research and study, it required a level of calm and professionalism. Now was not the time to let himself get worked up overmuch.

"His fist is such that the fingers are a very light blue, but overall it can be hidden quite easily with a long sleeved coat and a pair of gloves."

He added the last bit and took a few more moments to contemplate the subject further. He had to admit, it was a good question. Demons, quite like pokemon, came in any shape and form imaginable. Some could assume different shapes, but many were quite obvious.

"Not by all," He began, and a smirk slowly creeped over his lips as he continued.

"The spirit I have seen may be a devil, and the devil hath power
T' assume a pleasing shape."

He drew up his right hand and held his palm out in a gesture of example.

"This is but one kind of devil, you see. A few many drops amidst the oceans. Most devils are of only one form, and that form is more often than not monstrous and terrifying."

Gorthan surprised even himself, by approaching the Nero subject in oddly practical manner. "Hm. That is very useful information, but I doubt that Nero's right arm has stayed as you described upon his arrival here. It is a matter worth investigating, nonetheless. I wonder if we have files regarding him. Have you checked our archives yet?"

Ah, Hamlet... if Gorthan had been in a better mood, he'd probably have hugged Agnus by now. As much as, inside his heart - which he still very much had -, he resented working for Team Rocket, he had to admit that the scientific division was very much teeming with fine intellectuals, the likes of which he had always dreamed of conversing with, back when he lived on a planet where no one could understand him.

"I see. What was your form, then? And what are some others you have seen?"

He kept eating with slow, measured gestures, only picking up a few grains of rice at a time. He clearly was in no rush to start working today.

"...There is a work, perhaps you've heard of it Gorthan. The Ars Goetia. A compendium of demons written by demonologists based upon the writings of King Solomon."

Agnus went back to his rice and began to eat slowly, pointedly breaking off from his dining to elaborate before returning to consider his next words.

"I would very well say I greatly resembled Beelzebub. The Lord of Flies, as it were. A great insect, like a locust. Well, perhaps more Pazuzu in that way."

After a few more bites he attempted to contemplate the matter of his reverse transformation and its effects on Dante and Nero. It was quite interesting to consider them as stuck in the opposite end of his fate.

"I have not yet examined the archives. I would very much be interested if they do exist... Perhaps even a pokemon species exists with similar characteristics."

Gorthan lifts his nearly hairless eyebrows and even stopped eating, as he listened intently. "A grimoire. How interesting... Was your appearance one that you had planned, based on your research of that work, or did it surprise even you, when it happened?"

After his question, he resumed eating, now oddly pensive. "I think I want your Dante and Nero on the Team. If you are unable to recruit them yourself, entrust someone else with the job, perhaps. In any case, I feel that an attempt should be made. Based on your accounts of them, they would be valuable additions."

"G-Gorthan," Agnus bristled immediately at the very thought of them both. Every fiber of his being went rigid with a strange mix of shock and rage. For a few moments it honestly took him everything he had in his power to force himself to be still and focus. Agnus paused and took a few breaths.

"I...They are of a most stubborn, foolish nature. They cling desperately to some idea of justice and goodness. I have no doubt that to even mention the name of this organization would be to jeopardize its safety and security!"

At this point, Agnus had stood up and was gesturing pointedly toward the door with rage. Certainly his tone was not violent or insulting toward Gorthan, with whom he was genuinely trying to remain as civil with as possible, but it showed his anger without any question or doubt.

With his hands flat against the table Agnus forced himself to breathe and be calm again. It took a few minutes to push back the fury, indignation, and sheer hate he felt for them both; but he managed to regain his composure. Once done, he held up a hand to beg pardon and allow himself to continue.

"They are knights, Gorthan. Followers of their own creed to seek out what they perceive to be injustice and strike it swiftly and with impunity... For them to learn of this organization and its aims would be disastrous. I beg you, take my word on this matter and hold it true."

Gorthan watched Agnus' reaction with absolute and almost childish fascination. Evronian instinct, still present in him after all, made him perform a quick calculation in the back of his mind, whose result was about three weeks. That's how long he would have enough food for, if he were still in an Evronian body and turned Agnus into a full CoolFlame, with a shot at the height of the liver to maximize the absorption of rage.

"Hm. So they are... heroes?" he inquired. "Individuals who do not know fear?"

As his hand sought to lay on Agnus' arm in the attempt to reassure him, Gorthan smirked, rather unpleasantly. "As one of my mutants once put it... it's something that can always be remedied."

His smirk fading to be replaced by a relaxed and grave countenance, Gorthan breathed deeply, hoping that Agnus would follow suit. "Team Rocket is already spreading terror and chaos across Johto and Kanto. Perhaps we do not need to seek those two at all. They will come to us on their own, when the time is right."

"I sincerely hope that, should they come to us alone, I will be ready to exact a very clear vengeance upon them both."

Gorthan huffed the words out irritably and went on to finish the last of his rice in quick, but still polite bites so they could continue forward onto other subjects.

"If you don't mind, Gorthan. I would enjoy a change to a more palatable subject. I have prepared an overview of my previous work with the Order, if you would care to have me explain."

Agnus motioned to his clipboard and the sizable stack of papers underneath the one he had been writing on. Upon that stack lay overviews of all his creations, the methodology of summoning and entrapping demonic souls, and verbatim memorandum of his research files. He compiled a dossier, nothing less than the sum of his magna opera, to present the other and show his credentials as a researcher.

It was essential that he make a good impression, after all.

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When your welcome committee is a mutant alien vampire.

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