A dancing circus

A few moments of silence passed as everyone peered at Rex with differing emotions. The league wished he would agree, Giovanni obviously knew he wouldn't, and Gaia had nothing to say. The marketing team were simply spectators in all of this.

But out of the blue, Rex smiled slightly and raised his index finger.

"I sadly cannot sign such a contract…" he paused.

But everyone thought he was done, so the league group began to frown again. This youth was beginning to push their buttons. Just before Rodriguez was about to rage again, Penelope held his arm and pointed with her chin toward Rex.

The former looked over again and saw that the kid had more to say.

"But I am willing to let you look at the blueprint just this once. You can have about 10 minutes to check and look at everything. Once you are satisfied, we can continue the deal from there. How does that sound?" Rex asked calmly.

"PFFFT!" Giovanni spat out the mouthful of tea at his words, Gaia looked over suddenly, if surprise could be shown on the robot's face, it would have certainly shown it.

But this common trait was shared by everyone in the room. The league team were the only ones who not only recovered the quickest but also began to secretly cheer in their hearts at the naïve thoughts of the kid. He truly was, just a boy, still wet behind the ears.

"DEAL!" Rodriguez said quickly. Giovanni grimaced instantly; he was about to pull Rex aside just then to avoid them agreeing. But there was nothing they could do now. He sighed slightly but still pulled Rex aside nonetheless.

His actions certainly attracted the attention of the table which further convinced them. They began to smile as they looked at each other.

The two men left the room for a brief moment before returning soon after. Rex now sported a slightly pale face as he avoided the gazes of the league group. Now everyone was convinced that he had realised the mistake that he made.

Soon, Gaia came back with a blueprint that encompassed everything from the finest touch to the intricate minute details that made up the actual tech. it was dozens of pages long. Rex sat there silently with his head slightly down and began to drink his tea.

'He really has made a mistake this time' Giovanni thought to himself. This was a massive blunder. Maybe he got too arrogant and thought he could do whatever he wanted. All of their hard work had now gone down the toilet because of him.

Everyone else now understood the situation. But the league group didn't care about anything and meticulously flipped through every page. What was odd was that they positioned it a certain way. They had cameras in their breast pocket that recorded everything for safety reasons. But it now came in handy.

That was what Giovanni wanted to warn Rex about, but he didn't get the chance to do so before the deal was struck.

(Did you get everything?) Penelope texted someone different this time.

Soon a message came back with the 'ok' emoji and a devil grinning emoji. She finally relaxed and gazed back at the boy who was opposite her with a trace of pity.

That's right, boy, he had lost the right to be called a man when he made such a rookie mistake. Naturally, that was taking his age into consideration as well. He was simply too green. He alarmed her at the beginning, but it seemed to be a false alarm.

Rex massaged his temples before raising his head again. He had regained some composure.

"Now that you have had a look, how about we talk terms. 40% to you, 60% to us. I understand that I may have made a mistake, but we have just registered for the intellectual property of the technology. Meaning, copyright laws are in effect." He said, his face regaining some colour.

The league team though was much calmer and looked very relaxed.

"How about we do this, 10% to us, 90% to you, but after 5 years, we can begin to make it ourselves. You will naturally get a share as the original creator, about a 15% commission fee of the total sales for the next ten years following the expiration of the contract. We can also guarantee your use of our best transportation routes, the waving of tax and a blind eye to all of your activities. How does that sound?" Rodriguez said slowly and calmly.

Rex seemed to look pressed and turned towards his colleagues. Giovanni seemed unwilling, it made no sense, they could just say no, the extra percentage was not worth it if they would end up giving their monopoly away after 5 short years.

Not to mention, they had all the cards, as long as they had the trademark rights, they could keep their position. Even if they had the blueprint, he didn't believe that Gaia and Rex couldn't come up with a better version that trumped the league. They were the creators of the tech after all. The advantage was there.

They could even push for better benefits without giving anything away. He was absolutely against these terms. But suddenly, a vibration was felt in his pocket causing him to take his phone out. This caught the attention of the league team and they slightly stiffened. Was something going to happen?

When Giovanni read the message, he sighed slightly, clearly appearing unwilling, but had no choice after reading the message he received.

"Gaia can you bring us the contract according to what has just been discussed. I think this is a good deal." Rex said slowly as if he was very content with it. instantly, whatever apprehension the league team had about Giovanni's actions immediately vanished with the kids' words.

They really found it hard not to jump out of their seats from joy, he could have asked for more favourable positions, they really had no way to go around the copyright law legally. The only way to was to make it better in secret until it was different enough to call it its own product. And for the time being, sell the ones they built according to the blueprint on the black market.

They finally realised why Giovanni's expression was unwilling, it was because he seemed to be the only one understanding the overall situation and their respective position. What advantages they had and what their weaknesses were.

But he was being suppressed by the narrow-mindedness of this kid. Clearly he was blinded by the immense fortune dangling right before his eyes, hook line and sinker. They didn't complain about it, all the better for them. As for why that Gaia person said nothing with their intelligence, they couldn't know, there must be something going on between them, maybe they weren't as close, so the former didn't really care.

they weren't worried about any tricks since they would be able to react before signing the contract, so they would remain alert until it was signed.

Soon the contract came back and both parties signed after a very careful read. Everyone on the league's side had wide smiles the moment the pen left the page. They no longer pretended to be calm. The only one who was calm was Penelope. She even felt that something wasn't quite right. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Now that everything has been settled I bid you a good day. I hope to have more dealings with the league in the future." Rex said with an amiable smile.

The league team was surprised before bursting into sonorous laughter. They all shook his outstretched hand one after another.

"Of course-of course, many more, many more." They said trying to hide the mocking look in their eyes. they all exited after shaking hands. The blonde woman soon came forward as the last person, she shook his hand yet the moment she stared into his eyes, she instantly felt like she had been sent to a vast and infinite ocean.

An unfathomable feeling dawned on her body.

Rex leaned in slightly and whispered, "cheers."

His words snapped her out of it, and when she looked at the person in front of her, the same innocent look appeared on his face. As if nothing was wrong. His words and behaviour contrasted so much it puzzled her as she left with brisk steps.

The marketing team had nothing to do here anymore and left soon after. There was only Rex, Giovanni and Gaia in the room. nobody said a word.

Rex made his way to the window to gaze down at the team of league officials exiting the building with a calm expression, deep and unreadable.

The league team looked up and waved before surrounding the convoy of black cars parked outside.

***

On the ground, the league officials were unrestrained with their provocative words toward Rex.

"HAHA! The kid is an idiot, we scored big lads! Drinks on me tonight." Rodriguez said joyfully.

"I agree, how did this person even get some much money, must be some family inheritance, the kid is a pig pretending to be a tiger." Another said.

"He is an orphan from Kalos, he doesn't have a family nor is he rich before he showed up in Kanto." Penelope said suddenly as she walked out of the building. Instantly the joyful atmosphere cooled, this was their boss after all.

Rodriguez stopped laughing and soon became confused.

"If it's not inherited then where…"

"I have no idea. No matter how hard we search nothing comes up. Must be that Gaia person's doing. They're unfathomable. Anyway, let's not dally and get back to HQ. those nerds in the science district will surely salivate when they get their hands on this knowledge." She said coldly.

But as she was speaking, a man soon rushed from one of the trucks to the side. He had an iPad with him and a panicked look on his face as he ran over.

BOSS! BOSS! Massive problem! Big- bad- no- how-"

He stammered as he tried to catch his breath.

Penelope frowned as the feeling that something was wrong surfaced once again. A bad feeling was sinking in.

"What is it?" she asked with a heavy frown.

"We- we seem to have lost the recordings." He said with a panicked expression.

Instantly the happy faces of everyone present froze like they had been hit by an ice beam. They even began to shiver slightly from fright.

Rodriguez went pale as all the blood drained from his face and his knees became shaky.

"Tha-That cannot be! You confirmed it inside. YOU MUST HAVE MADE A MISTAKE!" He bellowed, his shivering getting worse at the consequences the words he said would bring.

"I would never make a mistake. Inside, once the recording was sent, I immediately sent it to an encrypted server. The best and safest one. I saved a copy and reviewed it to make sure everything was there, and it was. but just a moment ago it was all deleted. I even checked the server, and I only caught a glimpse before it too was deleted. Nothing's left." The tech guy said.

Everyone's jaws dropped. They could no longer remain calm and began to freak out slightly.

The only seemingly calm one was Penelope. She slowly looked back up at the 15th floor where 3 silhouettes were standing. She immediately recognised them, in the middle Rex stood, one hand in his pocket and the other with a glass of champagne, which he lifted as soon as she looked at him. His face was expressionless, like a still lake without a single ripple in it.

But his words suddenly echoed in her mind and like a thunderbolt from the clear blue sky she understood.

A sense of helplessness drowned her body, she felt heavy and stiff. They had been dancing in the palm of his hands this whole time, like a dancing circus. She returned to the feeling of unfathomableness, and without her realising it, she seemed to be standing on the massive outstretched hand of Rex, a black sky and his sinister grin gazing down at her like a god.

"Cheers," she mumbled in a daze as she stared up at the man.

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AN: What did you think? liked it? I hope you did. Next up is Mewtwo and then the league back to back. so it's a straight line to the finish. Get the hype train ready, the league is going to be a blast. I will try my absolute best to make it as entertaining as possible. Leave a comment, a power stone of possible and have a wonderful day!