It Can't Get Any Worse, Right?
Giovanni cowardly waited behind Wicke’s desk as he watched her and Colress storm out the room together. Although, he would never admit that he was hiding of course. Big Boss Giovanni would NEVER hide during a time like this! (Well, except for when Ghetsis went on a rampage when Archie pulled a prank and hid his robes… the grunts had to spend hours cleaning up THAT mess.)
Still! The last thing he wanted was to be inbetween Maxie and Archie during one of their arguments. He had to intervene more times than he could count on his fingers in the past, especially before Team Rainbow Rocket’s disbandment.
The former boss then shuddered upon hearing another crash and the maniacal laughing of Ghetsis. Lord Arceus did it give him the creeps. The man was absolutely out of it, there’s just no way he’s gonna change his ways with this program!
He’’s probably only in this for the free booze… Giovanni realized. That or Colress…
He broke out of his train of thought and bolted up from behind the desk as soon as he had noticed Wicke walk back in. Her voluminous hair was now half sticking up and half laying flat on top her head, stray hairs covered her eyes and blocked her vision as she tried her best to sweep them away. She sighed as she took off her lop-sided glasses and wiped them on her mud-caked pink sweater.
“Archie and Maxie both thought I was the other one and dumped dirt and water on me.” She flat-out explained, already sensing that Giovanni was going to ask her what exactly happened out there.
“Good Mew I-where’s Colress?” Giovanni asked, wondering aloud why he didn’t return with Wicke.
“He’s out trying to calm down Ghetsis,” Wicke explained. “He seems to be the only person here who can pacify that man.” She sighed and rolled down her sleeves. “Guzma is taking care of Archie and Maxie now.” she informed him. “It’s safe for you to leave and return to your room until next meeting.”
Giovanni swiveled his head towards her and cried out in disbelief. “I’m not going to leave you looking like that! Here, let me get you some new clothes or something-“
Wicke smiled and looked off to the side. “Thank you Giovanni, but it’s no big deal! Trust me, I’ve dealt with worse while working with wild Pokémon.”
However, Giovanni wouldn’t budge. “I can’t leave anybody, especially a woman like yourself, in a condition like this!”
Oh, Archie and Maxie were gonna pay for this. Wicke was the first person here to show him some compassion and this was how she was treated? Giovanni reached into his suit pocket and was about to wipe off her face with his handkerchief until she spoke up.
“They’ve both already apologized. You should’ve seen poor Archie’s face when he realized it was me! He looked like he was about to cry! And poor Maxie! His face went as red as his coat and he couldn’t even get his apologies out without stammering!” She recollected to the former boss, chuckling a bit as the memory flashed in her mind. “Trust me Giovanni, I’ll be alright! Go back to your room before they try to start something again!” She smirked.
Giovanni sighed in defeat and began to walk away before stopping right in front of the doorway. “Miss Wicke! Before I go,” Giovanni turned around and gripped the frame, his face softening as he looked at her. “Thank you. I… I never got to talk to anybody about my life like that… It felt good to get it out there.”
Wicke’s smile glowed back to him. “Anytime Giovanni. I’m proud of your progress today. I’ll hopefully see you tomorrow!”
Giovanni gave her one last glance as they both waved their goodbyes. He stepped away from her room and down the hall, hoping to get to his room without running into the former Team Magma and Aqua leaders.
As he walked down the halls, he passed by the designated dining area, sneaking a quick glance to see if anyone was in there before dropping in for a quick snack he can take back to his room.
The familiar pair of bright orange and blue spiked heads were sitting on the bar stools next to each other, Cyrus turned to the side while Lysandre’s back was turned to the former mob boss.
Well of course the both of them are here when I needed something! Giovanni thought miserably to himself. Although… this is better than running into Ghetsis…
The sudden talking brought Giovanni out of his thoughts. It was a mere mutter, but still! Now was a chance to see how Cyrus and Lysandre talked to each other without the presence of others!
Giovanni craned his neck into the doorway, peeking into the room with squinted eyes as he watched them silently.
Cyrus sat to the left of the much larger man, his knobby knees were brought up to his chest as he nibbled away at a small granola bar. His eyes were locked onto Lysandre as he listened to him talk.
Giovanni couldn’t tell exactly what the former Team Flare boss was saying, but would occasionally see his long arms being gestured as he spoke. He could even spot, what he thought was, a small galette in his hand.
Giovanni inched just a little bit closer as Lysandre turned to Cyrus, still not noticing the mob boss in the doorway. He smiled at Cyrus and offered him a piece of the galette he was currently snacking on.
Cyrus only shook his head at the offer, muttering what Giovanni thought was a “No thank you.”
Lysandre gave him one last offer before shrugging and finishing off the galette himself. Giovanni watched as he resumed his talking, Cyrus still nibbling on the granola bar and listening intently to whatever the Kalosian man was saying.
Giovanni leaned forward slightly, straining as he tried to listen to whatever was being said. He had to know what they talked about goddammit!
Just as he caught a murmur of the words “-this place is…” the worst happened.
He fell.
Ok, it wasn’t necessarily a fall per se. It was more of a loss of balance, which caused him to stumble into the dining area, and then cause the two friends to turn and gawk at him. His face turned a deep red as he felt the embarrassment rise up in him.
Way to look like a clumsy stalker….
“Ah, it seems we have a visitor.” Lysandre purred, bringing his hand up to his chin as he stared down at the Kanto native.
“Uh-hello…” Giovanni started as he quickly composed and steadied himself, nervously fixing his suit jacket.
Cyrus gave him a glance and a simple wave as he went back to pecking at his snack.
Giovanni felt his heart start to beat with the same velocity as a wild Spoink bouncing up and down. He waved at him! He politely gave a wave back and made his way to the bar stool next to Cyrus, making sure he looked confident this time. He sighed as he sat down, trying to find a conversation piece to make this less awkward. Clearing his throat, he spoke.
“Did you both hear what happened with Archie and Maxie just now? Those two I swear… one day they will be the death of me.”
Lysandre gave a small chuckle and shook his head. “Ugh yes, right in the middle of a session as well…”
Giovanni cocked his head slightly to the side. Now he wanted to know more about this session… “Oh? How was your session? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
Lysandre checked his nails and sighed. “Well, it WAS with Guzma for a small while… until THAT catastrophe happened back there. It wasn’t very in depth or anything like that. I doubt he even has the brain capacity for that. Hah! He just asked me and petit Cyrus about our lives… what our childhood was like, what made us choose this life… things like that. Nothing very note worthy, but first sessions are like that I suppose.”
“You and Cyrus had the same session together? With Guzma of all people?” Now this was interesting…
“Yes.” Cyrus’s small, monotonous voice piped up. “I am not exactly sure why we were put together either, but as Lysandre was saying. It was not going very far until Archie and Maxie decided to do their scheme and interrupted Guzma during his bathroom break. This place is very disorganized…”
“I’d have to agree with Cyrus on that one,” Lysandre said, bouncing off with what Cyrus had just stated. “I understand that they are doing their best… but come on now! How do they expect this to work when you have people having to stop every few minutes and pry two imbeciles apart from each other because they’re fighting over what? Land and water? Oh Xerneus it’s exaspérante! And don’t even get me started on this decor.”
Giovanni snickered a bit at Lysandre’s complaints. At least he wasn’t the only one who felt that this plan was going slightly nowhere. He knew that Lysandre was only doing this for Professor Sycamore back in Kalos… but what was Cyrus still doing here? Did he want to change?
A cool voice floated through the air. “How was your session Giovanni?”
Ahh… that question felt like a kiss on the cheek to him.
Giovanni looked over to the man beside him and smiled as he spoke. “It went a lot better than I expected it to be, that’s for sure. I had to talk to Miss Wicke. I don’t believe you two have met her yet, but I think you guys will like her.”
“What is she like?” Cyrus questioned, still gripping his barely half-eaten granola bar.
“I hope she’s the one person here who has at least some sense.” The redhead chimed in. “Is she sophisticated any? Don’t get me wrong, Guzma was actually very polite to us, but I honestly couldn’t understand what he was saying half the time! Do you have any idea what a “big oof” is? It was so awkward when neither of us knew what he was talking about.” He asked, his voice slightly faltering when repeating the slang back to his former boss.
Giovanni grinned some more and continued his praise of Wicke. “She’s quite nice actually. Very good at what she does. I haven’t felt that comfortable talking to someone about my life like that in a long time. She was very comforting in a sense. I was definitely surprised with how well it went. And to answer your question Lysandre, no I don’t know what a “big oof” is, sadly.”
Cyrus looked up at the mention of Wicke being comforting, but didn’t say anything.
“Oh that’s a sweet relief!” Lysandre exclaimed. “That gives me some hope about the next session, whenever that is. Now I’m actually looking forward to talking to her, she sounds sophisticated. I like that. Hah!” He let out a guffaw. “Imagine that, I’m actually looking forward to something that isn’t the party.”
“I am actually slightly looking forward to talking to her as well. Hearing that makes me dread tomorrow less.”
Giovanni was quite surprised at the smaller man’s reaction. He was that nervous about this place?
“Well… I’m glad I was able to ease you two for a bit. I guess I’ll have to ask someone around here what that “oof” thing is later on today-“
Their banter was shortly cut off as an exhausted Colress slowly stumbled into the room, his glasses lopsided on his face and his gaudy hairstyle in slight disarray. He sighed heavily as he gripped his clipboard and huffed out a very tired sounding: “Meeting in the meeting room, guys. ASAP.”
As he blundered down the hall into the meeting area, the trio looked at each other in confusion. What the hell happened with Ghetsis? They quickly made their way down there, hurrying to sit in the closest three chairs next to each other they could find.
This had better be good.
The three of them sat, with Cyrus in the middle of the two, and watched in pity as Colress seemed on the verge of a breakdown. His gloved hands running through his hair while a now cleaned up Wicke was trying her best to comfort him.
Giovanni tried giving Wicke a small wave, but to no avail. She was too busy trying to console the scientist, her voice in a hushed tone as she talked with him.
Giovanni gave up on his effort and observed the skinny man sitting beside the duo across from them. Faba sat near Colress, his hands crossed together and a worried expression sitting on his face. His eyes kept darting back and forth to the taller man, his brows furrowing together. The former Rainbow Rocket leader could tell that Faba wanted to help console Colress in some way, though he didn’t seem sure of what exactly to do. Seeing Colress in this state obviously affected the lanky man, you had to be blind to not see it.
Come on now… Giovanni pleaded, rooting for him in his thoughts. We can all TELL that you want to say something to him! Just give him some encouragement or a pat on the back or something!
Giovanni took his gaze off of the visibly upset Faba and looked around to find Archie and Maxie now sitting together.
Didn’t they just get in a fight? Why in the hell are they still sitting next to each other? It was baffling. Archie was still snickering as he whispered something into the redhead’s ear, causing Maxie to blush and playfully punch the darker man in the arm. (To no reaction of course.)
Giovanni couldn’t be more confused in his life. Their relationship was just like a Girafarig’s two heads. One minute they’re at each other’s throats over some silly argument and the next they’re giggling and whispering to each other like school children. He put his hands to his temples, this was just all too much to process. He was already stressed enough for Arceus’s sake!
Guzma walked in the room soon after, holding onto a Hot Pocket and loudly chewing on a recently taken bite. He plopped down on the chair next to Archie and continued his feast as he waited for Colress to begin the meeting and speak for him.
A light tap on the shoulder snapped Giovanni out of his observations, whirling his head towards his left and smiling at seeing a familiar face.
“Is the woman with Colress the Miss Wicke you were talking about, Giovanni?” Cyrus inquired, his voice in a hushed tone.
“That’s her,” Giovanni replied, tone matching Cyrus’s. “Maybe you could try to talk to her a bit after this meeting is over.” He continued.
Cyrus whipped around the other way and gave another slight tap to Lysandre’s arm. Giovanni painfully watched as Lysandre gently bent down as Cyrus whispered in his ear that the woman in the pink was Miss Wicke. He wondered what it felt like to have Cyrus be so close to him.
Good Arceus Giovanni, don’t be thinking about things like that right now! There’s a man on the verge of a breakdown right next to you for Mew’s sake!
The former mob boss was quickly thrown out of his own thoughts once again as the most hated man in the world walked in.
Acting as if nothing had even happened like 30 minutes ago, Ghetsis strode in, head held high in pride. A smirk was plastered onto his face as he decided to sit right next to his self proclaimed “best friend.”
GodDAMMIT.
Giovanni could already feel his teeth beginning to grind together in irritation. Just the sight of this man’s face alone was enough to make him want to rip his own hair out.
Giovanni harshly whispered to the green-haired man beside him, curiosity of what happened earlier taking over him and making him forget his hatred for the man. “What the fuck was THAT about back there? You almost gave Colress a goddamn breakdown you prick!”
Ghetsis’s smirk persisted. “I don’t believe that it is any of your business, Mr. Giovanni. And don’t act like you even care about what happens to Colress. He’s half the reason why you’re even stuck here you know.”
Giovanni grinded his teeth even harder upon hearing the former Team Plasma leader’s response.
“I swear to Arecus Ghetsis, if YOU’RE the reason why I’m not going to be able to get tipsy this weekend you’re dead. I will split your nuts from your head to the back of your ass, you hear?”
“Ohh I’m quaking in my Seel-skin boots!” Ghetsis mocked, completely unaffected by Giovanni’s threat. “You’re going to have to say more than some silly mob insult to scare me you know.” His smirk never faltering as he continued. “I wouldn’t mess with someone like me, best friend~ I have connections.”
“LIKE I DON’T?” Giovanni scream-whispered. “I’m a fucking mob boss for crying out loud! Mess with a man like me and you’ll be in a world of-“
“Um… Hello everyone…” A nervous voice called out from the front of the room, interrupting the two older men’s heatful spat with each other. All heads turned to look at the source of the voice up front.
Standing there was Wicke, hands clasped together in front of her as she spoke. “I’m sorry that Mr. Colress can not initiate this meeting today. He’s going to be taking a little break for a bit, so I’m going to try and “fill his role” if you’d like to call it that.” She smiled warmly at the men sitting around her and gasped at the sudden realization she just had.
“Oh! I do apologize! I haven’t introduced myself to many of you here! I’m Miss Wicke of Aether Paradise. I’ll be here to help guide you all into striving to be your best selves and to redeem yourselves to the face of the public!” She smiled again as she looked around, hoping that everyone was listening.
Giovanni scowled as he saw Ghetsis mouth a quiet “Boo!” In the corner of his eye. If Wicke weren’t here right now, his elbow would be in between the overgrown Christmas tree’s ribs. If he aimed just right, he might even be able to bruise one.
“Now, I understand that many of you here are very… stressed out and anxious over the current state of things… and this stress can cause you to act out in ways that you normally wouldn’t do under normal circumstances. However, this isn’t a normal circumstance for you all is it?”
The crowd of villains all looked abashedly towards the side once Wicke’s words were realized.
“I know how hard this is for all of you, it’s hard for me too. Trying to find what works best for all of you, how to calm you down, how to change the radical beliefs you all have… It’s tough, but it’s a job that I’m set on. This is new and different to all of us, so things aren’t going to be as “polished” as you’d expect them to be. I want this to be a positive experience for everyone involved. Associating things like this with positive connections helps make progress! Ah… I’m sure you all are not interested in that sort of thing, I’m going off on a tangent!” She nervously swiped at the purple bangs in the front of her face as she paused to think.
“That’s why I’m still in favor of us all having a party this weekend, to celebrate how far you’ve all come! I understand it’s only the first day and all, but it’s a huge step for you all to actually participate in this program. I’m very proud of you guys.” Her smile could warm up and melt even the coldest of hearts, even Giovanni couldn’t help but smile at it. Although, he was sure that almost everyone else was only smiling back because the party was still on.
“I apologize for how crude and rushed this speech may seem… I didn’t have much of a time to prepare it,” she giggled, pushing her glasses up. “That’s all I really have to say on the matter, just remember that we’re all trying really hard to help you guys the best we can. Even if today didn’t go as planned, you all still showed up and tried! I think that’s what matters most.” She smiled again and straightened her sweater. “Again, I’m sorry if it seems clunky, I’m not used to this.” She looked around and sighed. “Well… I guess you all can go to your rooms now. There won’t be anymore sessions tonight, seeing how we need to do some slight improvements. I trust that you all will behave, correct?”
The group all nodded simultaneously, Wicke’s speech echoing in their minds.
She smiled once more and continued. “Good! I’m putting my trust in you tonight. If anyone needs me, I’ll be with Colress.” She leaned slightly forward and cupped her hand around her mouth, even though it didn’t help her whisper. “Please be easy on Mr. Colress everybody, he’s very stressed right now and I think he deserves a long rest.” She motioned behind her, pointing towards a sleepy Colress who was barely awake in the baby chair behind them all.
She leaned back and finished. “That’s it for today, you’re all dismissed!”
Giovanni watched as the team all rose up from their chairs, stretching and chatting a bit before most of them started going their separate ways.
At least the party was still on? It couldn’t get much worse, right?