[FIN] I know you're not Faleen.

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie checked his phone once, twice, a third time, and then sighed softly. "What am I doing?" He murmured to himself as he ran his free hand through his hair.

It hadn't been particularly hard to find Faleen...actually, it was almost scarily easy, but gathering the courage to actually go and confront her had taken him an embarrassingly long time. He had briefly entertained the idea of bringing Izaya along with him before promptly tossing that idea right into the metaphorical trash. Faleen had tried to attack the trainee the last time they met and honestly...what he was about to do should be kept under wraps. Not that he didn't think that Izaya could keep a secret but more that he was constantly under surveillance and again, this was something that he wanted to keep secret for the time being.

He checked his phone again. She should be arriving soon.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Here I though Team Rocket was being oddly complacent" A voice from behind Zacharie broke the silence of the man's waiting, a pare of hands crossed before her chest, and a wide cheeky grin would be there to meet Zacharie.

Oh another one was seeking her out, how much fun was this~ She hadn't seen a Rocket member since her last encounter with Izaya. It was good that they seemed to be taking her threats seriously, but at the same time she was kind of enjoying the little rush that the awkward encounters usually gave.
And who was it this time?
"Zacharie! Someone I even know! Timid, polite and smart. Terrible with machine's though... oh oh so terrible."
Faleen shook her head.
"Weren't hoping on sneaking up on me were you?"

It was hard to tell what his intentions were, but she found it a bit coincidental that Zacharie would be here, had she not been alerted of a possible threatening presence earlier, then she probably wouldn't even noticed him at all.

The women that stood before Zacharie tilted her completely shaved head, her coat laying just above her hips, the odd metallic glint to the fabric as she shifted her weight from one hip to the other.
"Team Rocket still remembers by warning right?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

"You have a lot of leverage." Zacharie said, shoulders tensing as he turned to look at the source of the voice. "It'd be stupid of them to try something." He looked over the older woman, relieved to see that the Agent seemed to be in good condition.

...Well...aside from the shaved head.

The purple-haired boy stood from the bench so he could face the woman completely, pale gaze sharp as they roamed over the familiar features but the unfamiliar expression. "It'd be in their best interests to remember your threats, but if they had forgotten I doubt that you'd be living quite as comfortably as you are right now." He had no doubts that Team Rocket wouldn't take a League invasion lying down, there would be push back, people would get hurt, people would die. "That's has nothing to do with why I'm here though." He crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking the others stance unconsciously. "I'm here to ascertain for myself that Faleen is alright," The corners of his mouth pulled down into a soft, sad frown. "and bring her back, if I can."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"BOY DO I!" Faleen let out a couple of obnoxious laughs, leaning back slightly with her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm happy to see that Team Rockets still hasn't gotten too bold and tried to test my threat yet~ I'm sure in the end no one would walk out of the fallout from that interference very 'comfortably'" a snarky chuckle joined an equally mischievous grin.

"But then why are you really here Zacharie?" Faleen inquired, tilting her head and watching the boy as he answered her question.
"Hmmmm... So you're taking the same stance as Orihara then are you?" The women unfolded her arms, placing them on her hips and rocking her head from side to side. "Well to your question if I'm alright~" She held her arms out and turned in a circle "Fit as a Fiddle! Wouldn't you say, but you are SO sweet to ask? And as for bringing 'her' back. Sorry kiddo~ going back is nooooot and option, I'm 100% - 1000% defecting. Truer facts have never been truer."  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie felt the knot in his stomach tighten at the not so subtle reminder that a lot of people could get hurt if this situation continued as it was. "You certainly would be needlessly putting a lot of people in harms way." He conceded, a little bitterly despite his best effort to remain calm. "Not that you would really care about that at the moment." The Agent heaved a soft sigh before beginning to pace in front of the bench. "You see, I've been looking into the events leading up to Faleen's departure and while I'm no detective I have come up with a few theories." He paused, looked at Faleen once more and nodded. "I am glad to see that you're doing well though. I was worried when I learned that you had taken a substantial blow to the head, but that leads me to my first conclusion. The injury to your head has caused you to form a multiple personality disorder which could be short-term but further testing would need to be done to ascertain." The purple-haired male ran a hand through his hair. "My second most prominent theory is incredibly far-fetched but somehow the Rotom from the bio-engineering department is involved." He leveled the other with a serious look. "Regardless as to what happened I do not believe that it is Faleen that is in control of her body so I will say again that I am here to bring Faleen back if at all possible."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Oh hey, hey, hey now, that's a bit harsh don't ya think? I mean, if I really didn't care then I would have just given all the information away to any one of Rocket's enemies for protection, But as you can see~ I didn't do that did I? If it helps you get a little color back in your cheeks, just think of this as an insurance policy, you leave me alone, I... pretty much leave you alone." clicking her tongue, she winked at the younger Rocket.

Her amusement only great when he stated that he had a couple of theories, and settled into silence, clearly paying close attention to what he wanted to say next. Her eyebrows arched the longer he talked, and a wider smile grew over her face.
"Those are some pretty interesting theories, sounds about right for a thinker like you... So this Rotom who may be involved, how do you think it might be?. And its not even a possibility I just got tired of being in Rocket? maybe?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie just continued to stare at the other with a seriously unimpressed look. "My well being could be compromised by the whim of someone not entirely in their right mind so you'll have to excuse my skepticism." He said flatly, his arms crossing firmly over his chest once more. "I'd like to believe in your bargain since you're claiming to be someone that I consider a friend but due to your extreme change in character...I'll have to remain skeptical until I have more information." He tsked right back at the older woman. "Your sudden decision to defect does not seem like a plausible possibility because from what I know of Faleen she's a good person." He paused, huffed a soft laugh. "Well, as good of a person as one can be as a member of Team Rocket. She loves her work and has done so much..." He trailed off slowly, clearly upset but he pressed onward. "I won't pretend to know what was going on in her head but I won't believe such a shoddy impersonation." He said firmly.

"As for the Rotom I'm not 100% certain of its involvement but it does seem incredibly suspicious that it went missing during the explosion and then Faleen began to act out of character. Others have put forth the idea of something possessing her...there's absolutely no evidence to support such an occurrence but the Rotom was being experimented on so it seems foolish to completely rule out the possibility." He started pacing again, trying to get his thoughts in order. "A more believable theory is that the Rotom is blackmailing her in some way..."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Faleen wrinkled her nose for a moment a cheeky grin flashed at Zacharie "Ohh you, of course you're excused."
The serious ones were the most interesting, the more playful she got the more annoyed it seemed to make them, It was fun in a way, it felt like she was holding some kind of new power over them, despite the... very real power she actually held over them.

Both her eyelids arched, as the boy continued on his thought process, she managed to keep her comments to herself, instead seeming intrigued and wrapped in what he had to say.

It was when he finished she perked her head back a little, lifting her fingers to the bottom of her chin. "Huh!" her fingers tapped at her chin "Interesting theory, but what I think is more interesting, is that the idea that during the experiments on that poor innocent Pokemon, I realized..." she leaned forward "That maybe Team Rocket are just a bunch of jerks, and maybe I'm tired of it."
She tilted her head staring at Zacharie. "You seem to be pretty darn concerned over someone like me who would hurt innocent people, and pokemon. Don't you have a thought for the people Team Rocket's hurt in its own advances?" A pause followed but Faleen just gestured to Zacharie "But really, I want to hear your input on that. and if I was working with the Rotom, would it be that wrong of me?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

"See, that's another thing that you've gotten wrong." The Agent pointed out with a small, smug smile. "'Poor, innocent pokemon'? Faleen was more concerned about how pokemon could be of use to herself and Team Rocket. I find it very, very unlikely that one interaction with a random Rotom changed her mind when she's been training her own pokemon, pokemon that she has connections with, with that philosophy in mind. So try again." It was quite obvious that he came prepared to poke holes in whatever the other had to say.

"The world is full of people and organizations that will step over others to reach a goal, I will help whoever I can regardless of their choices. My personal morals aside," He rolled his eyes, clearly tired of his morals being dragged into conversation. "let's say that I do believe that Faleen did suddenly have a change of heart and felt horrible about the things that she's done and the pain that she's caused innocent people. If she really cared to take down Team Rocket, help the Rotom escape the facilities, or whatever, why hasn't she actually done something to help?" He asked in return. "She could secure her own safety from a distance and release the information to the KSO but instead you are playing around. I'm not buying your schtick so try again."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Oh you are sassy" Faleen blinked at him "I have got to admit I don't think I really knew this side of you."
Mild mannered, polite kid who was an amazing scientist, pretty nerdy, kept his nose down, but dang. She guess she had never really seen him when he was in this bad of a mood.

The Agent crossed her arms, tapping a finger on the metal bands of her forearms attached to her coat.
"Alright then, lets try something different. Do you think that there are consequences to actions? And if so, what would you say if this was simply a consequence to the deeds Team Rocket, and the Agent Faleen had taken."

The woman started to pace slowly, moving around Zacharie as she considered his words and pulled together what she wanted to say next.
"With that in mind, on a more broad terms, I want to ask you a couple more questions, since I'm sure you have some idea of what you wanted to do when you found me. Lets say... That I'm Faleen, and I have defected, for whatever reason you can think of, and I'm acting against Team Rocket. What would you do? FOLLOW UP!" She thrust a finger into the air "Lets again say, That again; I'm Faleen, but I am not acting according to Faleen's will." She stopped and turned to face him, putting her hands on her hips "What exactly would you do?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

Despite himself, Zacharie smiled. "I can be, if the need arises." He shrugged, watching the other carefully as she paced. The Agent listened attentively, mulling over what the older woman had to say carefully. "Well of course; every cause has an effect whether it be good, bad, or neutral. It would make sense that this is just a consequence for Team Rocket's actions, the organization hurts people, there will be people that want to stop them." He agreed easily.

What wasn't easy were the questions that followed.

"If Faleen really has defected..." His eyebrows furrowed and his shoulders tensed in uncertainty. He hadn't taken too much time to think about it...he didn't want to think about it. Faleen was his friend, he didn't want to have to do anything that would hurt her. "I...I would do what I had to to protect my family." He said slowly, his fingers digging into his arms. "I think she would understand." The purple-haired boy murmured, his gaze dropping to the ground. "And if she's not able to act of her own will I'm willing to help her regain it." He lifted his gaze once more to fix the other with a steady stare. "All of my knowledge in the matter is at her disposal if it means that I can help bring Faleen back safely."  

[Blood_Goddess]

It wasn't an unexpected answer, but the struggle before his answer wasn't missed by her either. From the beginning she didn't really know what to expect from Team Rocket on an individual level, How the people that she worked with and the people that she considered allies would respond to her traitorous actions. Team Rocket as an organization was easier... but people like Orihara and Zacharie, This is where she was left blind.
She wasn't too concerned though, she had her insurance that assure her safety.

"That's pretty touching you know, not joke too, I'm touched." Faleen smiled. "What if getting me back means going against Team Rocket? Not saying either way if it would or not... but just how badly do you want me back?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie warily eyed the older woman before nodding slightly, acknowledging the sentiment but not foolish enough to start feeling hopeful. "...My statement still stands." He said softly, turning his gaze to their surroundings. "Faleen is part of my family," He twisted his fingers into the fabric of his shirt anxiously. "If I can I want to help her...but if that means giving away information or putting others in danger then I...I can't do that." The purple-haired Agent seemed to curl in on himself.

Why did it have to turn out this way? He wanted to offer anything but he couldn't; he just couldn't put the others in danger like that.
No matter how badly he wanted to bring Faleen back.

"So if there's something that I can do...this...this doesn't have to involve Team Rocket."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Faleen lingered in the silence that followed Zacharie's statement, a contemplative expression on her face before something seemed to trigger a thought and her eyebrows arched.
"... Okay, you want to help... I'll tell you what. I need you to do something for me, one thing. If you manage to get it done, I'll tell you the truth, the whole truth, and I may even let you help me." Faleen winked "Sound like something you might be interested in?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

"It does sound like something I would be interested in." He nodded in agreement as just a little bit of tension bled from his posture. "So I would like to hear what you have to say...I'll make my decision on whether or not it is something that I can do afterwards." Zacharie turned his head so he could look at the other, his own eyebrows raised to mimic the others expression.That was reasonable. He couldn't just agree to do something when he didn't even know what it was.