My Name is Marcus: Dark Times

II. Weston

"Welcome everyone, welcome! Please, have a seat."

Marcus was never a fan of the politics that came along with having to work with Macro Cosmos. The drole and often drawn-out speeches regarding the financial statistical analyses of an anticipated quarterly performance for the Pokemon League division, for instance, was not exactly something that garnered the interest of the fifteen year-old champion. If it didn't require him to have a Pokemon battle with someone or something, then he often paid no regard to it. Between this and his distaste for talking with people he didn't really know, he would often do everything in his power to avoid meetings such as these.

Today was a different matter entirely. To his manager Avery's surprise, Marcus had specifically requested that this meeting not begin without his attendance. Corporate politics or not, this was a battle that Marcus had to fight. So he laid his disdain for flashy board-meetings aside, put on his favorite suit, and made sure to arrive on time with Avery by his side. Marcus was never a fan of the politics of Macro Cosmos, but he had a sinking feeling that he'd hate just about everything that would be said by anyone and everyone today.

The meeting was held in a conference room on the 49th floor of the Macro Cosmos Pokemon League Division's central office building located in downtown Wyndon. The stark-white walls of the room were thick, designed with the intent of blocking out as much of the office noise from beyond the room as possible while maintaining discretion among those within. A long dark-wood conference table reflected the pale fluorescent lights above as it sat in the center of the room atop a floor of hard black carpet, surrounded by a number of white conference chairs. Mounted into the wall left of the table was a large TV monitor used for projecting visual presentations. The wall beyond the table was a thick glass window, offering the light of the outside world and an admittedly spectacular view of the city below.

Today, the conference table was surrounded by Macro Cosmos and Pokemon League executives, and sitting among them was a 15 year-old boy next to his manager, a handsome man in a sleek black suit, with pale skin, grey eyes, black hair - short on the sides and long on the top - and a short black moustache-beard combo. Though the two seemed and felt out of place as they sat next to one another, it mattered not to either one - Marcus was there to state his case, and Avery was there to back him up as best as he could.

The man beginning the presentation was Aster, the new Chairman of the Pokemon League and CEO of Macro Cosmos. Very little was known about him, as he had only stepped into the position recently due to the activity of former-Chairman Rose. Marcus struggled to find even a single thing that he liked about the executive as he stood in front of him in his flashy white-suit, his quintessentially feathered-executive hairstyle, his stupid widow's peak, his 5 o'clock shadow, and the wry smile plastered across his tanning-booth tan face. This was Marcus's first time seeing the man in-person, and he already hated everything about him.

"Get rid of that look", Avery ordered Marcus in a subtle voice.

Marcus continued to fix his gaze upon Aster with an expression of intense distaste. "I can't help it if I look like I don't like the guy, I don't", he replied in a subtle whisper. "It's all a part of my campaign to be a champion that's more honest with himself."

"That wasn't a suggestion", Avery rebuffed with a sharpness hidden in his subtle tone. "Look around you; these people are cold, calculating, and cruel. Don't let their smiles fool you", he continued among the quiet and casual chatter of the executives around them, "they'll take any, and I do mean any, opportunity or excuse they can to turn to the person next to them and eat them alive just to get further ahead." Avery shifted his gaze to the CEO. "Arceus forbid, if Aster were to catch you looking at him like that, he'd show no restraint in calling you out in front of everyone here just to make a spectacle out of you and your people skills, or lack-thereof."