Pokémon Academy: Ch 1b: Recruits [IC]

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Everything happened fast. Waaaayyy fast. He remembered finding a jewelry box somewhere, having Pixel slap a bitch Houndoom with her tail, escaping the mad manor with his two bunkmates, then suddenly the police were up front and they couldn't even put up a fight. When they were thrown into separate jail cells, Zeke was still in shock over the events, trying to process what happened. And now he was coming to terms that what he was doing was a serious, heinous thing to do. Like. His parents probably wouldn't be proud. Neither would his little sister.

Well, crap.

Just when he was pondering these thoughts, three policemen dragged him out of his cell-- he barely put up a fight, already struggling with himself inside.

So at first when the mister guy questioned him, he didn't answer, and nothing sank in till he mentioned being charged with grand theft of some sort. That was when he jolted up. "Huh, what? ... Wait, sorry, what am I here for? Is this a hearing?" Zeke looked lost, his head going this way and that. It was only now that he realized that he was inside a questioning cell, like the ones he'd seen on TV.

[Sutoratosu]

"No, son," Galen said, "I will repeat myself: You are facing a minimum of 30 years in a federal prison for the felony charge of Grand Theft in the 1st degree; All the other perpetrators who have been interrogated tonight have pointed to you as the head of this little robbery. This is not a hearing, boy, It's a police interrogation room." he stopped leaning on the table, looking Ezekiel right in the eyes from where he stood. "Look kid, How old are you? 16, 17 maybe at the most? I honestly don't think it's possible for a kid that young to have orchestrated this, but all the suspect accounts, along with the evidence we've gathered from the mansion, points to it." He paused again, deciding to let the kid absorb that explanation before going on to say "There's a very good chance that you're going away for a long time for what happened tonight."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Well, crap, indeed.

In this light he had no defense, since everyone had pointed to him a being the mastermind... wait, what? "What, they really think that I led the charge? Nobody told 'em to follow, heck I'm sure I didn't. That therefore nullifies me being their leader-- if anything, I led myself into the carnage." He wasn't about to let slip that he led Brian and Lia into the mansion along with him... but then again, this guy probably already knew. "Although... No, I admit to leading two-- only two others you've probably already interrogated... so at the very least give them some leeway, I'll take most of the blame. As for going away..." Zeke looked away, as though the stern police officer's gaze was as bad as meeting his parents' disappointed... hell, maybe even heartbroken looks. Somewhere he was sure that even Pixel thought him to be rotten, now. He knew how gentle and nice she was-- she wasn't wired to commit atrocities.

"Do what you want with me. I don't deny the charge, and I know what I did and I accept it; it's not like trying to bail and going back home would do any good, anyway. Just don't tell my parents or my little sister. Tell them I disappeared or something like that," he said, evidently trying to fight back the watering in his eyes.

[Sutoratosu]

"Look, boy," Galen sighed, "You're only a kid... jail isn't where someone as young as you belongs. You should be going to school, looking for a part time job, socializing with your friends, scouting out colleges... not rotting behind bars, having to submit to the whims of some guy called 'Big Ronny' or something like that every night." He pulled up a chair beside Zeke, sitting perpendicular to him at the table, leaning forward and turning his head to the side to look him in the eyes. "But the courts aren't going to be so forgiving given the magnitude of the crime you were just involved in. They'll consider you an adult based on the severity of the actions you took part in; there won't be any mercy like in a juvenile circuit case. Leader or not, you're still gong to get a long sentence in the slammer."

He pulled back in his seat, sitting up straight and removing his Aviators, revealing a pair of ice cold blue eyes that seemed to confirm everything he was saying. There was no mercy there, and if Zeke was smart, he'd realize that the man wasn't bluffing about there not being any mercy in the Adult court either. What he said next however contradicted the harsh polar cold of his irises color. "But you don't have to go on trial as an adult. You don't have to go on trial at all if you do something... You said not to tell your parents or your little sister, right? I'm guessing that you have parents who you don't despise with every once of your being then, who you actually care what they think of you. I spent a few years as a Juvenile Correctional Officer, and let me tell you, it was only every once in a blue moon when I came across a child who had gotten in trouble with the law and had ever said 'Don't tell my Parents'. Obviously they must care about you alot if their opinion of your character is a thing that worries you; if they treated you poorly, why would you care then?" He leaned back forward again, still maintaining eye contact with the teen, it was obvious he was not finished in the least bit.

"You have it better than most Juvenile age offenders then," he continued. "You have a family that actually gives a damn about you and what you do. And yet here you are, going out and probably worrying them to no end, just so that you can act out or something?" He shook his head in vast disapproval, the disappointment ebbing off of him was so real the air was palpable with it. "Listen to me, Boy, You have two paths available here. and two paths only. The way your going, your life isn't going to be a good one at all. You know how hard it is for a convicted felon to get a job after release in this region? you're more likely to end up homeless... and then resort to crime again and initiate a brutal cycle. So here's path A: you do nothing to stop this path your walking. Since you already admitted to a part in the home invasion and robbery, I'll arrest you and turn you over to Federal Custody to await trail date. Now, here's path B: You co-operate with me, tell me what's really going on here. You all had to be sent by someone, there were far too many of you there for it to have been just your average classic heist planned among close associates." he stopped talking for a minute, pulling out Zeke's capsules from his back pocket and placing them on the table...along with his RoG member card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRERZyvvhwY

"These were the items on your person when we arrested you," Galen continued. "Both these capsules have RoG trackers embedded in the clips... and the card speaks for itself, kid. We know your a member of Rise of Greadia without the very least of a shadow of a doubt." He stood up from the table, walking back around to the opposite end from the kid and leaning down again, still looking at him. He didn't have any fear of the boy trying to release his partners... he'd made sure to disable the Triggers earlier. "Here's my proposition, take it or leave it, son," he continued, putting his Aviators back on. "You and me can sit here for the rest of the night and you can tell me everything you know about RoG, who the leaders are, how the training is conducted, who recruited you, everything you know. And Do not even think of lying to me; My Partner, Gardevoir, is watching from the other side of this here 1way mirror, and she'll be able to catch all your personal tell signs in your speech and body language." he reached up and pulled out an audio recorder from his pocket, placing it on the table. "So what is it gonna be kid? you co-operate and provide us with what you know about RoG, and we can get prosecutors to drop all charges against you. You're parents and sister will never have to know about what you did tonight."

"And before you answer with your choice," his Zoroark spoke up from the far wall,the expression on it's assumed male face hard as stone. "Think about all this; Is running with terrorist really worth the next 30 years of your life? you'd be near fifty or so by the time you were even eligible for parole."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

There was a silver lining there, then. He could walk free, without any charge. Back home to his family. Back to Sootopolis.

To a boring life. A safe, boring life. Maybe he had more excitement than he could handle. But... That'd mean he'd have to leave behind Brian and Lia. He had to admit, in some way, they were probably his first actual friends (cause the other kids at school were jackasses, mostly, and liked to try picking on him or his sister.). It might've been just him, but even though he found out that those two were more experienced in criminal activity, he felt a sort of kinship with them.

That, and normally he would've jumped on any chance to freedom. But somewhere inside, he knew very well that he'd remember that at some point in his life, he ran away from home, not knowing he would be a criminal. It'd be him and his conscience alone. He could walk a free young man, yes, but he was a horrible liar, and his parents would find out sooner or later-- either from some little Pidgey or he would crack from playing innocent. Court or no court, his mind would probably kill him before some bastard named Big Ronny would.

"Sorry, Officer. Even if I told you what I know, I barely have info about the RoG-- heck, I just joined a couple weeks ago. You guys probably know even more than I do; I'm just a kid who wanted to go on adventure and snuck onto an RoG ferry." Looking at the Pokeball that contained his partners, he continued, doing his best to not choke on his words, "I'll crack having to hide things from my parents while I'm with them. They might be worried now, but if I come home one day and they find out, they'll just kick me right out. Even if they wouldn't know, I could never look at them straight in the eye. Especially not my little sister." Evidently he either didn't care or couldn't imagine being put into jail. "Not after this. I just... can't go home anymore."

[Sutoratosu]

"Fine then," Galen said simply upon hearing the teen's refusal. "You don't have to go home, you're almost a legal adult, afterall. You could go and find a job somewhere. find a nice girl, or boy, if that's your fancy, to get to know. or get an advanced education and start a career... it really doesn't matter kid, just so long as it's legal and it's something to make more of yourself than the criminal that you technically are now, and are going to be even more of in the future. It doesn't even matter if you don't have alot of information about RoG, your the low, low man on the totem, I get that. Just go through what happened to you during the time you spent in their ranks, and I can get the Prosecutor to come around to dropping the charges." he sat down in the chair behind him, tired of standing during all of this talking.

"I'm gonna be honest, kid," he continued. "I used to be a lot like you, once upon a time. Leaving my family behind, acting out, getting into the wrong crowds and hanging with the wrong people. and you know what? I got in trouble, too. I was once in the same position you are right now; sitting across an Interrogation table from an Officer. and it was a serious crime too, I served as the unknowing look out while my supposed 'buddies', whom I thought I could trust so much, knocked off a convenience store and ended up crippling the clerk. I was an accessory to the crime kid, whether I knew it or not at the time it happened. But you know what happened? that officer sitting across from me... she gave me mercy instead of just booking me and sending me off to wait trial and sentencing... My 'buddies' all ditched me at the scene the moment the sirens stared coming down the road, and I was left standing there, going 'What the fuck is going on?'. I made a bad choice, and it got me into that situation. I had no one else to blame but myself, not my psuedo friends, I should've known to not hang around with them in the first place. But that officer...that one officer didn't think that my one mistake should cost me the rest of my life; the clerk was hurt bad, real bad, let me tell ya... poor man never walked again... but that Officer did one thing to me as I sat where you sit right now. She gave me an offer; Cooperate and she'd make it so that I could get a chance to learn from my mistake and turn my life around. She gave me a second chance, boy... I was too stupid to give myself one back before it all hapened, when I could do it without having to go through being arrested... but she gave me another shot. And if wasn't for that Lady Officer, I wouldn't be sitting here across from you today, trying to talk you out of what you're thinking. I'd either be in jail, or dead in the gutter." He leaned forward on the table again, once more taking off his Aviators and making direct Eye contact with Zeke. The cold, intense color of his eyes was a bit unsettling..maybe even intimidating to a degree.

"And now I'm paying the deed forward, son," he finally said, getting to his point. "I got a second chance despite my mistakes, and now I'm trying to give you the same thing. Just because you went and fucked up once doesn't mean you should be totally damned for it. It's honestly not my concern whether or not you choose to see you folks, what is my major concern is that I prevent a kid who just got a bit lost along the path of life from getting sent to prison for the rest of it. I'm going to ask you one last time, boy... Are you going to cooperate with me tonight? IT doesn't matter how much or how little information on RoG you have, just so long as your willing to share it and you share all of it. You do that, and I can promise you that you'll get another shot at life, because as the situation currently stands, yours is virtually over. So what's it going to be kid? You're up a rough stream without a paddel... are you going to be smart and accept the one I'm trying to give you?"

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

So basically the officer just wanted him to sell out RoG, in exchange for his freedom. For once Zeke frowned like something was strange. "I... You guys interviewed other guys from RoG, right? Surely they would've wanted out." From what he'd observed from the others, they weren't worthy of trust, not one bit. You could leave a toothbrush in a room and they'd still take it. Or poison it. If they could. But that was the gist. "Surely they would've sold you the information... and I'm sure they knew more than I did." When the officer mentioned his "pseudo friends" and their little heist, Brian and Lia again came to mind, again. But the last mission had proved to him all the more that they were different. Perhaps, since they'd become roommates, in a way, they looked out after another... sometimes one of them stole his stuff only to give it back with a warning, until he figured out a way to keep his stuff secure. In fact he even learned a few tricks or two from them.

Those two were part of RoG. Ezekiel had no idea if the officer knew about those two having been led by him into the mansion, or about their past. If he walked free, he would be leaving them behind in a way-- to the mercy of the law, or of the heinous roughnecked bastards.

"Sorry sir... But I definitely can't tell you anything. I chose to stay with this ship even when I found out what it was, and I'll sink with it." And, going to school would've been boring, he thought to himself jokingly, though on the outside his face was set and serious.

[Sutoratosu]

"Alright then..." he said, placing his aviators back on. "But it's a damn shame, Ezekiel, that is your name, right? at least that's what your friends Brian and Lia told me when they accepted the exact same deal I just offered you. It's not so much the information itself, it's being able to corroborate and validify everyone's story so that we can paint an accurate picture... But alright, fine... I mean, your buddies had the good sense to cooperate with me, and so did some of the others I interrogated tonight. they'll be walking out of this situation as free young men and women... from what they told me earlier, you'd be willing to accept the deal too and help us out." He pushed himself up from the table, standing.

"But I guess they were wrong about you kid," he continued. "If you love crime so much that you're willing to throw away everything, then... I've done all I can to help you then. I've tried to pay forward the deed that was given to me; no skin off my back, my debt to Police Sergeant Virginia Greensworth has already been paid over time and time again." He walked over to the heavy door, opening it before glancing back at the kid. "Just remember..." he said. "Don't blame anyone but yourself for whatever happens to you in the future. I gave you a way out. My partner here, Sergeant Wakefield, gave you a way out. But you refused what we were trying to do to help you turn things around." With that he walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him in what seemed like frustration at having failed to turn the teen's life for the better.

"Alright boy..." Sergeant Wakefeild (The Zoroark) said. "You've had your shot. Your friends chose freedom over crime, and they'll be sad to hear you didn't do the same... and I'll be sure to tell them as soon as I can that their buddy is going away for a long time." he walked over to where the boy sat, taking a pair of handcuffs from his belt.

"Rise and put your hands behind your back, facing away from me and towards the wall. You're under arrest."

[Chim]

((Snap))

While Ezekiel was being interrogated his two companions, who left the cell before him, were being grilled as well. Lia was brought into a similar room as Zeke. There was only a one way mirror, two uncomfortable wooden chairs and a steel table. Her hands were still cuffed and two officers were standing guard in front of the door. They made her wait on purpose, confident that she would talk if they waited long enough.

Brian on the other hand left his interrogation room. His hands were cuffed and an officer led him to another corridor filled with smaller cells. Every RoG member already questioned were divided into different cells. Brian was pushed into a cell with two others and thought back at what he had just done. He didn’t sell out RoG completely, but wasn’t planning to go to jail either. He thought he found the perfect scape goat by pinning everything on one person.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"Wait. WHAT?! They did WHAT?" cried Zeke, as though suddenly snapping from his dreary, resigned trance. He was awake now... or at least, more awake, his blue eyes large in astonishment. No way. No freakin' way. And how could he have been so stupid? Even if they were going to jail together, there was probably a marginally tiny chance that they'd even see each other in prison. But why only tell him now that they did, if he (the Police Officer) knew all along? What the hell was this? Wait. He swung his wrist. He facepalmed, only realizing now that he wasn't cuffed. Zeke bolted up. "Where are they?" Before he was going to comply, he wanted to see them both, just to see if this Officer wasn't kidding or bluffing.

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Aurelia remained silent for some time and she sat, her arms bent at the elbows with her hands up in front of her face as she studied the cuffs on her wrists, testing them and playing around with them. She wasn't trying to break out of them (because she knew that she wouldn't get anywhere with the two guards in the room and being unarmed without her pokemon) but she needed something to focus her attention so she wouldn't snap. If she were to put all her thoughts into what had just happened, the botched break in and the fact that it was highly likely she was going to prison for some time, she'd probably break down and start crying.

Her life was pretty good recently. She had found a purpose in life, a goal- bring back the old form of government and a way to clean out the rot of this world. Something good to do rather than wandering the streets for her entire life and eventually have her actions catch up to her. She had also made some friends in a place where she never anticipated finding any, Zeke and Brian, probably the two people she befriended that actually knew her. Was that all gone now? Where was she going to go next? What was going to happen to her friends? Is that just it? Is she going to rot away in a cell for the remainder of her life? Die without even a mark on this world, die knowing that her entire life was meaningless?

Lia let her arms swing down and smack against the steel table before her, making a louder noise than she anticipated, but she didn't care- the pain that went up her arm as the cuffs dug into them was enough to refocus her. Her eyes hardened and her face all together tensed slightly before relaxing.

"You know," she said, speaking up in a icy tone. Lia looked over to the two officers in the room and looked up to the one sided window, to the people she assumed were watching her. "This is an interrogation room for a reason, could you get on with this? If you were going to have me sit and wait you could have let me do so in the jail cell."

Edited October 31, 2014 by Snap Crackle Pop

[Sutoratosu]

"Hmph," Wakefeild scoffed at the boy's request. "Oh, what, so now you want to listen to reason and co-operate, kid? What, are you gonna spill everything if we just let your friends in here to talk some damn sense into you?" he paused for a moment, his shades hiding his eyes, his face still maintaining it's stone cold expression.

"Fine," he finally said. "Maybe they really can get you to listen to reason..." he reached up to his chest and pressed the receiver button on the small Walkie Talkie unit there, speaking into for a few moments in a low voice that was completely inaudible to Zeke.

On the other side of the 1 way glass...

"What?" Galen asked into the walkies Talkie on the table before him, pressing down the receiving button. "He wants to see them?" He thought about it for a moment as his Zoroark came over the link again, confirming.

"Alright. Do it."

"What?" Wakefeild asked.

"Do it," Galen repeated, emphasizing the words this time. "If he wants to see them so badly, then give the cadet what he wants. You got a look at them during the arrest, didn't you?"

"Yes, but... nothing more than a passing glance."

"You say that as if only having gotten a glance has ever been an actual obstacle for you."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, then "Fine. But I'll have to make the illusion out there where you are. This close, and he'll definitely notice something if I try to create them in here."

"Ok," Galen said, nodding. "Will you need a physical basis?"

Again silence. then "Preferably, yes. Encase he gets a bit feely and wants to try reaching out and touching one of them... it would be a bit of a lie breaker if his hand just passed right through."

"Hold on then..." Galen reached down to his belt and sent out his other 2 party members, his ace, Electivire, along with the Crobat he'd also gotten during his days as a Rocket. "You two," he said, pointing at them both. "Go in there, do as Zoroark says, and try to act somewhat like people. Understood?"

His Electivire simply made a silent, electric hum, it's way of saying 'yes'. Meanwhile, his crobat had a somewhat confused look on it's face.

"Just follow Electivire's lead if you don't know what I'm talking about" he said simply, radioing back in to his partner in crime. "I've got your two bases ready, but you're gonna have to handle the actual talking for them, because neither one of them is capable of english."

"Shouldn't be too much of an Issue... send them in now, I've set up the Illusion to take hold on them when they enter the door."

Galen looked up at his Ace again. "Open the door and walk in, it's show time..."

Inside the Interrogation chamber...

The door opened after Sergeant Wakefeild got off his Walkie Talkie. In walked Lia and Brian, the two of them both looking right at Zeke. "They told us you weren't cooperating..." The illusion of Lia created by Wakefield and drapped over Galen's Electivire said, it's voice perfectly matching the young woman's... Galen's Zoroark had also heard snippets of the two's vocals during the arrest. "Don't be stupid, Zeke, it's over, we all got caught... They have decades long sentences waiting for anyone who doesn't want to start talking. Just take the offer already."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

While the Sergeant talked on his walkie talkie, Zeke decided to talk to his Pokemon through their Pokeballs. He crouched down, the Pokeballs at eye-level. "Hey, guys. Don't you worry. I'll ask 'em to let you both free if they toss me in... so... You can both find new homes. Maybe if you two can hitch a ride on a ship like I did, you could get back to Sootopolis," he said, wistfully for the last part. There was no way he knew what Pixel and Ignition were doing or trying to say in their Pokeballs, and there was no way they could come out since the triggers had apparently been disabled-- but Zeke didn't know that. "Just stay in there, you two. I've already been a pain enough to these officers."

Brian and Lia entered-- it was unmistakably them, all right. "H-Hey... You know that personally I'm not a stickler for a bunch of criminals..." he said, sounding almost defeated. "But I know I joined for a reason. I could've left immediately, couldn't I? And I'm sure you would've, too. The thing is, we stuck around for a reason." He turned to look at Brian for support. "C'mon, man. Even you said that RoG was your biggest shot yet. Don't tell me you--" his gaze swung from Lia to Brian, Brian to Lia-- "you guys forgot your convictions? And so now, you'll just abandon ship?"

[Chim]

Snap

The man behind the glass grinned. This was the first step; calling out the interrogators to get a reaction from them. It was a lot easier answering questions than not knowing what was going on. The next step would either she started talking a lot and said everything or she would become more and more aggressive. This method, influenced by stress and nerves, was by far his favorite. He would see how this would play out a little longer before sending someone in.

[Sutoratosu]

"You're right," Brian Scoffed. "I did say that this gig would be my biggest shot... but that was before someone fucked up tonight and the cops got wind of the operation and arrested us all. Do I have to mention the fact that we all were threatened with Felony Charges if we didn't agree to cooperate?" he moved a little closer to Zeke, standing shoulder to shoulder with him and whispering hoarsely.

"Look, I know what I said back then, but right now my options are be loyal to RoG, who already fucked up big time from what I can see tonight, and go to jail for the next 30 years of my life, or cooperate and get off scott free so that I can try again some other way for my big shot. You know how hard it is in prison? Yeah, there's a legitimate reason why they always say 'Just don't get caught.' Now seriously, stop being a damn idiot and take the deal so that the three of us can all just walk out of here, man. They weren't lying when they gave the deal to me and Lia over there. You see either of us in cuffs right now?"