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 Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:03 am
With some fluttering and scrambling of little feet Sky managed to maneuver himself to KO's shoulder. "Star."
"It was Tethys.." He muttered, "Some nonsense about not being reliant on one pokemon." He frowned, "Whatever you're thinking, don't. It wasn't an act of generosity."
Sky nipped at a wisp of KO's hair caught in the wind.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:12 am
KO might have said something in reply, but his attention was soon demanded by the small bird that was now eating his hair! "Hey, watch it, that's not a snack!" He almost moved to swat the thing off before it took a large chunk, or crapped down his back or something, but luckily before he did so he remembered that he was a really long way up and wanted to keep hanging onto Star more than he wanted to bat away the bird.
This was not turning out to be a very fun day so far, or rather it had been fun while he'd been in his car but as soon as he'd stepped out it had taken a nosedive. A nosedive. Don't think about nosedives.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:29 am
Star rolled his eyes. "He does that. He seems especially fond of red hair." He smirked back at KO. "Lucky you."
As Tethys once told him, the bird can sense smug. Star's smarmy grin seemed to distract Sky from his nibbling. "..star." With a look of determination, the little Starly fluttered back to his master's head to take a beakful of Star's red hair spike.
"Ah! Stoppit!!" Wincing, Star fumbled for Sky's ball as the little bird fought to remove one of his most distinct features. By the time he'd managed to recall Sky his hair was a mess. He grit his teeth and attempted to fix it. Despite their height and speed, he didn't seem to have any problem freeing his hands and just holding Scream with his legs.
He was sure he'd been feeling good about himself and boasting about something earlier, but now he couldn't quite remember it. "We should be there shortly." He muttered, sounding moody again.
Indeed the pair was now soaring over the desert. The rolling sand below was soft and featureless, making it harder to tell how high they were.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:33 am
He was not happy about the whole hands free flying Star was doing, but at least the bird was gone. On the ground he would have laughed at Star's attempts to fix his hair but - as he couldn't forget no matter how he tried - they were most definitely not on the ground.
"Good!" he replied to Star's statement, sounding maybe a little more relieved than he would have liked. "Can't wait to see my new home," he added, hoping (but not expecting) to sound a little more casual. How far down was all the sand anyway? Too far, that was as much as he needed to know; specifics would probably just make it worse.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:40 am
It wasn't long before the looming structure of Team Rocket HQ appeared in the distance. Scream came up on it quickly, circled the building once for no apparent reason other than dramatic effect, and swooped toward the ground. He deposited KO's suitcase in the sand a moment before landing.
Having since fixed his hair, Star seemed to have recovered some of his smugness because he turned a smirk back on the other man. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:49 am
That tower was big. Really big. As they whipped around it hundreds of windows glimmered in the evening light, and KO wondered exactly how many people lived within those walls. However many there were, every one of them was more important than he was. That would change. He wasn't deluded enough to think he was just going to be handed a position of command for being pretty - unlike some people - but he did not intend to remain on the very bottom of the heap for long.
As they touched down KO slid from the bird's back and staggered away a few paces, his body flooding with sudden relief and exhaustion. His arms and legs were stiff from hanging on so tightly and being locked in one position, but at least the chill wind had kept him from sweating much.
Letting out a long slow breath KO produced a comb and a compact mirror from one of the front pockets of his satchel and started to fix his hair, glancing around himself as he did so. "Well, it's not going to be winning any architectural awards but I suppose it's... functional looking," he commented to Star, smooth confident tones returning as his heart rate slowed and he restored his appearance.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:06 pm
Star followed KO's eyes to the large building and shrugged. "I won't disagree.. it isn't much to look at." He was used to an airship, after all.
As he slid off Scream the front doors swung open and a couple of Rockets appeared.
"Is this him?"
Star nodded, glancing at KO. "For better or worse."
The Rockets approached, looking important and official. "Stand still. We need to scan you for any tracking equipment..." One of the Rockets proceeded to wave a wand over KO. "You'll need to submit your personal belongings for inspection. They'll be returned to you."
"..they're paranoid here." Star commented. "I hope you didn't have any nice guns in there you're fond of."
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:19 pm
KO grinned over at Star and raised his hands palms open in a gesture of casual surrender as the pair approached. "For better," he said with a hint of purr, "definitely for better." Then to the rocket who'd addressed him he said; "There's a revolver in the suitcase; it is pretty, but I'm not about to fight over it. As for the metal rod in my satchel... word of warning if you're going to snatch it from me: don't touch the top, the controls are fiddly if you don't know them and that thing will give you a kick strong enough to drop you. You can thank Star over there for that little beauty." Star would brag about it anyway, so he might as well get in first and earn himself points with the man, for what chump change said points were worth these days.
"I would like the rod back," he went on, "once I've earned enough trust, of course. Other than that the only dangerous things you'll find are the vials of green liquid in the black box inside the suitcase." He could have added something about his fashion sense being sharp enough to give a nasty cut, but his common sense was telling him it might not be bright to be too smart too soon.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:29 pm
Star recalled Scream and looked generally distracted until he heard KO mention the metal rod. The ex-Galactic had mentioned keeping some of his tech earlier but he hadn't really taken him seriously. Blinking, he looked back at the other man, eyebrows creeping upward. ".....you still have the prod?" He'd forgotten his smugness for a moment in favor of surprise.
The Rockets continued to scan KO and look important.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:36 pm
"Of course!" KO replied as if it was obvious. "Where would I find a gem like that again? It's served me very well over the years, hardly a scratch on it and I haven't exactly been keeping it in a display case. Only thing that's needed replacing are the grips... you really did make some very good weapons, Star. Still do, I expect?" Star was arrogant, and just loved to be told he was amazing; more probably worthless points for him! In any case it was a very good weapon and had saved his skin on many occasions.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:48 pm
Star tried to remember the last time he'd seen someone other than himself use his tech. It'd been so long.
KO's excessive words of kindness were reflected in the lanky man by a sudden shift in posture. He looked about four inches taller than his actual height. He replaced the look of blatant shock with a confidant grin, "Well, I hope you didn't expect anything less. I'm not producing weapons at this very moment but as you've said it's only a matter of time. Give it a week, maybe two.. this place will be flooded with my creations."
One of the Rockets rolled his eyes while the other finished his scan, "He's clean."
They gathered up KO's two bags, "You can get a uniform and room assignment inside. These'll be delivered to your room once they're cleared." And with that the pair turned to head back indoors.
Star hadn't stopped talking. "I have rolls of groundbreaking designs just waiting to be manufactured. If you think that thing is impressive you'll be stunned by what's to come."
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:56 pm
He was almost adorable when he went off on happy self-aggrandizing rants like that. KO grinned and started to saunter inside. "I look forward to seeing them then Star," he said with a glance over his shoulder at the tall man who seemed even taller than usual, "though I'm sure none of it will come into my lowly hands for a good while maybe I can help you with the testing if they'll let me, and if it suits you of course." Somehow he didn't think he was going to get far before the sound of hurrying feet came behind him; seemed like it had been a long time since Twinkle had got to make speeches to a non-contemptuous audience.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 1:10 pm
Beaming, Star followed, head held high, looking both elated and important. KO would clearly be subjected to his rambling for a while. As he'd guessed, it'd been a very long time since anyone'd pretended to be so interested in what Star had to say.
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