#toxicins

The Griswolds - Down and Out

I could never wear your crownI feel that I would only let you downPlease, I pray, you get betterBut there's no hope in my mind

To Skippy, Petrel had been the father figure he'd never had, since the incident in his childhood that had ripped him and his father apart irreparably. Alone on the streets, the purple-haired man had taken him under his wing, and Skippy had spent his adolescence clad in the black garb and hat of the Team Rocket Grunts, slowly making his way up the ranks of the newly reformed organisation.

But he'd always been inadequate among his peers; a gray area amidst the concrete black and white ethos of Team Rocket. Despite all this, Petrel had still cared for him; still strived to teach him that the ways of Team Rocket were the one rock he should hold on to throughout his life. And each time he had preached such ideals, something in Skippy had gnawed away at him, and he left his office each time feeling no better than before.

I could only watch you drownThe fevers were enough to bring you downI pretend you got betterJust for some peace of mind

And now Petrel lay on his sickbed, gazing up at Skippy with as much affection in his eyes as the hardened criminal could muster, one hand clasped in his cold grip. Skippy was still unable to process the events of the past few minutes. Out of all the Rocket Grunts, he was possibly the least deeply-rooted in the work of the team, and yet he was being named Petrel's temporary successor, to carry out his work as Team Rocket Executive as long as he was incapacitated.

Down and outI hit the poisonI'm not proud aboutSome of my choices now

"I'm sorry." The words come out of his mouth slowly at first, but then in a rush. "I'm not the man for this job. I never was. Thank you, Petrel, but... I'm sorry I can't be who you want me to be. I was never cut out for it at all."