Chapter 5: The First Mission
A week had passed, and Marie had been assigned her first mission as a member of Team Rocket. She and Margo were being sent to the Unova Region with several other agents to help establish a new Team Rocket base. The carrier plane that was taking Marie and the other to Unova had been flying for over six hours. During the whole trip many of the other Team Rocket members aboard were talking amongst themselves about Marie, mainly about her young age and the oddness of her mask. Marie cared very little about what they thought though. She didn’t join Team Rocket to make friends, even though she had found something of a friend in Margo.
“So… I guess I should call you Noir now?” Margo asked Marie.
“If you like.” Marie replied simply.
“Well, it is a little more interesting than Jane Doe.” Margo admitted.
At this point a man wearing a Team Rocket uniform similar to Stone’s entered from the cockpit. He was a slender man with short red hair and green eyes. Marie and Margo knew this man as the commander of the mission.
“Okay you grunts, listen up!” the commander called. “In five minutes we will be setting down in Unova near the location of the new base. In case some of you were asleep during the briefing, the location we’ll be using is an old abandoned mining town at the foot of a mountain. So they’ll already be structures that can be easily converted to a base. Once we land, half of you will patrol the area while the rest of you will help set up the equipment. You’ll be assigned your team when you get off the plane. That is all.”
A few minutes later the plane landed and the agents had all disembarked. Marie and Margo had been assigned to one of the teams that were to patrol the surrounding area. The team that the girls had decided to split up, and as Marie and Margo headed to the foot of the mountain a creature jumped out at them from behind a bush. It was a short somewhat humanoid creature that looked like it was wearing a black helmet that was red on top and had a curved blade sticking out on the forehead. Its torso was dark-grey, and had two bladed discs sticking out the front that gave the impression of ribs. Its arms and legs looked as if they were covered in red armor, and silver blades instead of hands.
“That’s a Pawniard, isn’t it?” Margo asked. Marie responded merely by sending out Houndoom to face the creature.
“Ember attack!” Marie commanded as Pawniard lunged at Houndoom.
Houndoom fired off a barrage of fiery sparks from its mouth, which hit Pawniard in the right leg and knocked it out of the air. Marie took the opportunity and threw out a Pokeball. Pawniard was sucked in, and the ball only jiggled a few times before making the noise that signaled that the capture was complete.
“Pretty slick Jane, I mean Noir.” Margo commented. “That’s what, four Pokemon you have now?”
“…Yes… four.” Marie lied, as Margo did not know about Darkrai.
“Hey, why don’t we split up?” Margo suggested. “We can get done with the search a lot faster that way.”
“I don’t know, our team has spread out so much already.” Marie pointed out. “We should stick together in case we run into trouble.”
“What, from more Pawniard?” Margo laughed. “You should relax Noir, this mission is a piece of cake. Look, we’ll meet in front of that cave up ahead in about an hour, okay?”
“…Fine.” Marie reluctantly agreed.
“Great! See you in an hour then.” Margo said before quickly walking off.
* * *
Half an hour had passed since Marie and Margo had split up. Marie had since completed her part of the search and decided to relax inside the cave where she had agreed to meet back up with Margo. The cave was an old mining shaft that had been unused for years, and it reminded Marie of the cave under her cell at Scorch Gate where she met Darkrai.
“This seems like as good a place as any to rest.” Marie said to herself. “And while I’m at it I should get to know my new friend.”
With that, Marie sent out Pawniard. The little armored Pokemon looked at Marie somewhat warily.
“It’s okay little guy, I won’t hurt you.” Marie said with a reassuring smile. “I’m sorry I was so rough with you before. Why don’t we start over, okay?”
After a moment of hesitation, Pawniard approached Marie. Suddenly the two of them heard a growling noise down the tunnel. Marie and Pawniard tensed up, readying themselves for what was coming. What finally emerged from the darkness was a blue lizard-like creature that was about the size of a dog. It had black fur covering its neck and most of its head, leaving only its snout exposed.
“A Deino!” Marie observed. “Get ready Pawniard, I think it wants to fight.”
Pawniard extended the blades on the ends of its arms and took a fighting stance. Suddenly Deino’s body began to glow with a blue light, and suddenly it took off like a rocket at Pawniard. The little dragon missed Pawniard entirely though and collided into the tunnel wall behind Marie. Both Marie and Pawniard turned around to see that Deino had gotten its head stuck in the wall. Pawniard sweat dropped at the sight.
“Oh, the poor thing.” Marie said in a worried tone. “Maybe this will help though.”
Marie threw out a Pokeball, which hit Deino and sucked it in and at the same time got it unstuck from the wall. The ball jiggled only three times before making the sound that signaled a completed capture. Marie then walked over, picked up the ball, and sent Deino out.
“You okay?” Marie asked the little dragon. Deino shook its head a few times before turning towards Marie. “You should be more careful. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get you out of that wall.”
Deino responded with a sort of happy sounding barking noise. Suddenly Marie heard what sounded like Margo’s voice down one of the tunnels. She called back Deino and Pawniard and headed towards the sound. Within moments she could hear what Margo was saying, and could also hear a male voice that seemed to be talking to Margo. A dim light was flickering down the tunnel, and soon Marie had reached the end and could see what was going on.
Margo seemed to be talking to a man with brown hair and blue eye, wearing what looked to be grey armor with a white tunic. On the front of the tunic was a shield-like symbol that was black one side, white on the other, and had a blue letter P.
“So you’re certain they don’t suspect a thing?” the armored man asked.
“Trust me Archer, as far as they’re concerned I’m just a rookie grunt.” Margo assured him. “They have no clue I’m a spy.”
“Well I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” The armored man known as Archer replied. “It’s not like one would expect a band of thieves to do detailed background checks one their recruits. You’ve done a good job so far. Lord N and Sage Ghetsis will be pleased. Now what can you tell me about their headquarters?”
“What’s going on?” Marie interrupted as she stepped out from where she was hiding.
“Oh damn!” Margo exclaimed. “You weren’t supposed to find out about this Noir.”
“Who is this girl?” Archer demanded.
“She’s that kid I told you about.” Margo answered.
“Margo, who is this person?” Marie asked.
“Well, I guess the Skitty’s out of the bag.” Margo sighed. “Look Noir, I wasn’t totally honest about my past. Though you’ve never told me your real name, so I think that makes us even. Anyway, I was telling you the truth when I said I grew up in an orphanage and wound up on the streets. What I didn’t tell you was that a few months after I ran away I joined Team Plasma.”
“Team Plasma?” Marie repeated.
“In a way we’re an organization similar to yours.” Archer explained. “But our ideals are far nobler. Unlike Team Rocket, we seek to free Pokemon from the oppression of the human race.”
“I did mention to you that I saw a lot of Pokemon who were mistreated by their trainers.” Margo continued. “Seeing that made me realize the truth about the relationship between humans and Pokemon. And the truth is that the two can’t live together. People will always abuse Pokemon and take advantage of their power. Team Plasma plans to change all that one day by separating them for good!”
“I see…” Marie responded. “But Margo, not all humans abuse their Pokemon. Some humans and Pokemon have formed incredible friendships. I should know because I have such a friendship with my Pokemon.”
“Oh that’s rich.” Margo scoffed. “I’ve seen the way you pushed your Pokemon during our training as members of Team Rocket. You really expect me to believe they’re your good buddies?”
“You’re wrong, I’ve pushed them no harder than I’ve pushed myself.” Marie retorted. “And each one of my Pokemon has been willing to do everything they could to help me, two of them especially. Those two Pokemon were there for me when I was abandoned by my family and a person who I really cared about. They helped me to survive a living hell, and unless you experience that hell you can never understand my bond with them.”
“Enough of this!” Archer cut in. “This girl knows too much Margo. We have to dispose of her, or else our whole operation will be compromised.”
“I guess you’re right.” Margo sighed. “Nothing personal Noir, but I can’t let Team Rocket find out who I really am. It really was nice knowing you kid.”
Before Margo or Archer could make a move, Darkrai suddenly emerged from its Pokeball. The two Team Plasma members were greatly startled by the Legendary Pokemon’s appearance.
“What the?” Archer said with a frightened expression. “Why didn’t you tell me she had a Darkrai?”
“I-I didn’t know.” Margo said as the color drained from her face.
Darkrai raised its arms in the air, and between its hands formed a large ball of black energy. Darkrai threw the ball, which suddenly split in two and hit Margo and Archer. Margo and Archer fell to the ground. Marie saw that the two had fallen into a deep sleeps, but their movements seemed to indicate that they were both having a nightmare.
“Hot… so hot!” Margo called out in her sleep. “Wait… I didn’t… I didn’t do anything…”
Margo then convulsed as if she was being shocked by something. It soon occurred to Marie that Margo’s nightmare seemed familiar.
“Is she dreaming about being at Scorch Gate?” Marie asked Darkrai. Darkrai gave Marie a silent nod, and after a moment Marie burst into laughter. “Oh this is great! This is the perfect way for people to see the hell I’ve gone though…. And it’s the perfect way to get back at Lisa and Andre for what they did to me.”
* * *
With the exposure of Margo as a spy for Team Plasma, the mission to establish a Team Rocket base in Unova had been put on hold. A few days later Marie was taken back to Team Rocket HQ in Celedon and was asked to appear before Giovanni. Marie was a bit apprehensive as she walked into Giovanni’s office that day, as she did not know why Giovanni wanted to see her.
“Ah, right on time Noir Mask.” Giovanni said to Marie as she entered. “Please have a seat.”
“Thank you sir.” Marie said somewhat nervously as she sat down in the chair that was before Giovanni’s desk.
“It seems I’ve underestimated your talents.” Giovanni began. “Not only did you find and capture a spy, but you’ve also given us an insight into Team Plasma. That was above and beyond the call of duty.”
“Thank you very much sir.” Marie said modestly.
“Which is why I’ve decided to promote you to a special position.” Giovanni continued. “Starting now you are an elite agent of Team Rocket who answers directly to me. And one of your chief duties will be to investigate any members of the organization whose activities are out of the ordinary.”
“Does that mean I’ll be working alone sir?” Marie asked.
“I assume that won’t be a problem for you.” Giovanni answered.
“Not at all sir.” Marie said as a genuine smile came to her face.
“Excellent.” Giovanni said as he pushed a file folder over to Marie. “Here is your first assignment. You may deal with it in whatever way you see fit. Contact me when you’re done.”
Marie opened the file folder and looked at the contents. Her eyes widened in surprise beneath her mask when she saw the name of the person she was to investigate.
“You don’t have a problem investigating this person, do you?” Giovanni asked.
“Not at all sir.” Marie replied with a grin. “In fact this will be a real pleasure.”
* * *
Later that night, Stone waited in an alley out behind the Celadon City Game Corner holding a large black briefcase in his right hand. Stone looked nervously at his watch, the person he was supposed to meet was running late. At last a man with short black hair and a mustache wearing a grey suit and red tie stepped out of the shadows. In his hand the man carried a black briefcase identical to Stone’s.
“You’re late.” Stone said with a hint of irritation in his voice.
“Sorry, got held up at the slots.” The suited man told him. “Do you have the stuff?”
“You have my money?” Stone asked. The suited man held out the briefcase and opened it, revealing that it contained several stacks of cash.
“I’ve shown you mine, now you show me yours.” The suited man requested with a smirk.
“Twenty rare Pokemon, poached by Team Rocket.” Stone said as he held out the case and opened it up to show that it was filled with Pokeballs.
“These will sell real well.” The suited man said as he and Stone exchanged cases. “Say, mind if I ask you why you’re doing this? You know, stealing rare Pokemon out from under Team Rocket’s nose and selling them to the highest bidder.”
“I’ve worked my ass off for Team Rocket for fifteen years hoping for the sweet life.” Stone admitted. “Instead they have me babysitting a bunch of brats day in and day out. And the pay I get for that job is a joke! The way I see it, this is the only way for me to make it big.”
“How interesting.” The suited man remarked. “I’m sure Giovanni will be very interested to hear about this.”
Before Stone could react there was a flash of purple light, and standing in front of him in the suited man’s place was Marie. Her uniform was different from before. In addition to her black Team Rocket shirt she had on a short white skirt with a red stripe near the bottom. She also wore knee-high white boots, each with a red stripe near the top, and white gloves that each had a red stripe near the end. Marie also had on a white cape that covered her left arm and went down as far as her skirt. A red feather was also sticking out the right side of Marie’s cap.
“What the… pipsqueak?” a shocked Stone exclaimed.
“Ah, ah, it’s Noir Mask, remember?” Marie said as she waved a finger in the air.
“How did you do all that?” Stone demanded. In answer to his question, Zoroark stepped out from the shadows with a grin on its face. “Oh I get it now, you were using Zoroark’s Illusion ability.”
“Right you are.” Marie confirmed. “Oh by the way, that money you took was also an illusion.”
Stone looked at the briefcase that the disguised Marie had handed to him. Instead of black, the case was brown and worn out. Stone opened it up and saw that the case was filled with dead leaves.
“What the hell you trying to pull?” Stone angrily demanded as he threw the case at Marie. Zoroark jumped in front of Marie and slashed the case apart with its claws.
“I’d be careful if I were you.” Marie warned. “My darling Zoroark is very protective of me. He was very rough with that man you were going to sell those Pokemon to when he threatened me. He’s fine though, just knocked out.”
“You still haven’t answered my question!” Stone shouted.
“Giovanni promoted me.” Marie answered bluntly. “My job is now to investigate Team Rocket members who’re behaving… inappropriately, let’s say.”
“So you’re investigating me.” Stone realized.
“You didn’t really think you could sneak those rare Pokemon out from under the organization, did you?” Marie replied.
“And I thought I was being careful.” Stone chuckled darkly. “You must be getting a real kick out of this after the hell I put you through.”
“Oh that wasn’t hell.” Marie said with a sinister grin. “Trust me, I lived in hell for two years and your training didn’t even come close. Perhaps you should experience it for yourself.”
With that, Marie sent out Darkrai. The color from Stone’s face began to drain as the Legendary Pokemon loomed towards him.
“Experience my hell.” Marie said to Stone. “Darkrai, attack with Dark Void!”
