Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Don't Give Me Diamonds ❯ Chapter 31

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 103: Give me Righteousness

In a fateful encounter in the past, Delia met Naberrie for the first time while at a restaurant with her father. Davin Ketchum, who was at the time the newly appointed police superintendent for Kanto, was acting as the police chief for the Viridian station until the force's understaffing problem was resolved. That problem had come as a result of the authorities being finally cleaned of corruption to start anew after Team Rocket took out the gangs associated with them. There was an unspoken agreement of mutual indifference and ignorant pretense between Team Rocket and the police, which would only grow with the coming years, more so as one generation ended and new younger officers took over on a clean slate, knowing little of the expanding control of Team rocket until it was too late.

For what was it worth doing anything when inaction seemed to be the only safe path? That was a way of thinking that was not shared by the superintendent, which led to a conflict with Naberrie. Davin was being held at a secret room in the restaurant by armed guards so that he may not interfere with Delia and Naberrie's conversation at a table on the roof. The Viridian mayor, Rune Antilles, then at the beginning of his political career, was downstairs with his young son, Kenobi.

Naberrie observed Delia sitting across the table from her and began her tale. "Years ago, the Coruscant clan ruled the underworld in equal terms with their rivals, the Roketto. My father was the head of Coruscant, being the oldest son. However, his power hungry younger sister was determined to come out on top. By a series of events that I cannot begin to imagine, she ended up married to the head of the Roketto. Peculiarly, the Roketto leader passed away when their first born was still a toddler. Some say she had him killed after she had seduced him to obtain his power. Far from having any intentions of uniting the Coruscant with the Roketto, the widow who let go of her name to simply be known as Madame, the new leader of the Roketto, waged a war which Coruscant lost and established her firm rule. Years passed and her son left determined to build his gang on his own. From there on out, you know the story well."

Realization hit Delia like a Golem. "Your father and Giovanni's mother are siblings!" She began to worry, but tried not to show it.

Before Delia could inquire about Naberrie's intention, theorizing that revenge was part of her agenda, Naberrie interrupted with, "were." Seeing Delia's puzzlement she elaborated, "my father and Giovanni's mother were siblings, since he is no longer among the living."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Delia's voice was sincere, her mask falling off to reveal compassion. She inevitably wondered if the death of Naberrie's father could have been a direct consequence of Madame's actions. "Even if it was because of what Madame did, you shouldn't blame Giovanni for it. He has no control over his mother's actions, they don't even get along. Besides, this happened a long time ago, right? Giovanni was still a child, as were we."

"I do not blame Madame for the fate of my father; his own stupidity led him to his downfall," Naberrie ascertained with a hint of anger in her eyes and a predatory curve upon her lips. "His talents as a leader were null, yet he was given the right of the firstborn. He exhausted our resources to the point where the once proud Coruscant family was indebted to many of the smaller gangs of Kanto. He had nothing left so I put him out of his misery."

Delia gasped at the revelation, "you... your own father!"

"This world is not for one as innocent as you, Delia." Naberrie looked almost mocking. "I honestly don't understand what Giovanni is thinking, but it is obvious he's not with you for your heritage. Even if your father is the police superintendent, that is something that only became true recently and I agree with my aunt's policy to not negotiate with the police. To do so would be to give them the advantage as they play both sides of the law, while we are perpetually in the side that stands against it."

Naberrie continued her explanation and criticism, ignoring Delia's look of utter shock. She could tell that the other woman's indignation was not due to being casted as a bad choice for Giovanni, but more so because of the surprise of what happened in the mafia all for the sake of power. "When those small gangs were wiped out by Team Rocket, the Coruscant, which had been reduced to virtually nothing by the time I became the new boss, was finally free. However, there was nothing more to do than to break even and thus the clan was in essence disbanded. At some point before that, I had met and married Rune, a cargo merchant commanding a modest market share well behind its competitors, especially the titan of cargo transport, Calrissian Cargo. After becoming free of my clan and its debts, I decided to start anew. Even if Madame was brilliant in the past, she too has fallen from power. It seems the commanding power right now is Giovanni, thus I will offer my alliance to him, I already have through city hall."

"You want to be Giovanni's ally?" To say Delia had doubts about Naberrie's sincerity was an understatement. "If that is true, then why are you doing this? Why did you cause such a commotion at the restaurant, people were watching and you should know that's not good for Giovanni."

"You didn't notice and neither did he," Naberrie leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes in indifferent superiority. Being raised as a lady of the mafia, albeit her family was already spiraling down when she was born, the way she carried herself was similar to Madame. However, Madame seemed to be one step ahead of everything and everyone, irradiating power without trying, in an atmosphere that was both calmer and deadlier than Naberrie's. "Davin Ketchum is being used. He is not the real police superintendent, he's bait. After Team Rocket took out most of the gangs, the police obtained a one in a lifetime opportunity to finish the clean up. They did not waste that chance and put a plan into action. Unfortunately, I do not know the specifics, but I can assure you that your father is being used. The police is trying to take out Giovanni now, before he firmly establishes his rule. This is a plan that doesn't include the whole or even the majority of the force, but an elite group of officers and government officials acting along side an unknown third party. Team Rocket is just starting to expand, most of the police and government gave up the war after loosing the battle, but there are those who are willing to risk it all."

Delia remained silent for a long moment until she swallowed air and pushed her voice to function. "I will have to confirm if what you say is true."

"Naturally," Naberrie expected the doubts. "You will also come to understand that my actions here tonight have spared you a lot of trouble. Your father will be released, minus his weapon, which my men will keep as a souvenir, though I'm sure he'll receive a replacement at the police station. However, a stop must be put to tonight's plot. You will not meet Davin again until you have confirmed my warning; I will personally escort you to the Viridian Gym."

"I want to see my father," Delia protested. "How do I know you won't hurt him?"

"You will find out later when there is no news of the supposed superintendent being killed," Naberrie offered. "He will most likely try to contact you, but you must not speak to him. He knows about Giovanni and when he finds out you're with him, he'll try to get information from you to separate you from him and arrest him. If that happens, he'll be playing right into the trap of the real superintendent. You will find, as will Giovanni, upon further investigation, that my intentions are sincere and that I was of vital help tonight," Naberrie emphasized.

From there on the following events proceeded as per Naberrie's orders. Davin was released into the forest minus his police gun and left there. Delia was taken to the Viridian Gym in front of which she exited the mayor's limousine with its other passengers, Naberrie, Rune and Kenobi, remaining unseen.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the mayor's limousine dropped her off at the Viridian Gym, Delia had too very important things to do. One was to ensure the safety of her father and the other was to tell Giovanni about what happened, so that he may take the proper contingency measures if Naberrie's warning turned out to be true and perhaps more so if she turned out to be lying. Team Rocket was only just beginning to truly establish its rule despite its fast growth in the economy and number of members. Its descent into a darker path was only looming in the approaching future yet to come and the feeling of being a righteous, albeit illegal, vigilante was still in Delia's heart. No matter what, Kanto needed Team Rocket, she and Giovanni would not let it fall apart.

With such thoughts in mind, Delia hurried upstairs to the gym's living area. She opened the door to her and Giovanni's room surprised that for once, Giovanni had no extra work to keep him up late. Instead he was sleeping peacefully with his young Meowth curled up by his side. "Wake up, Giovanni!" Delia turned on the overhead lights disturbing her lover's slumber. "This is urgent!"

In a split second, Giovanni was fully awake and out of bed, while the Meowth was still in the process of stretching and yawning, with no idea what was making his mother fuss so much. "What happened?" Giovanni urged Delia to reveal.

"A lot, my father may be in danger, no, he is in danger!" Delia exclaimed, her voice sinking into panic. "First of all I need to locate him and make sure he's safe, can you have agents help search the city? I don't think they could have gone far yet. We need to investigate who the police superintendent is, the real one I mean. Naberrie needs to be investigated and even Rune, to be safe." The mayor didn't look like he would hurt a Caterpie, but Delia didn't want to take any chances.

"Delia, slow down, where are you going with all of this?" Giovanni was confused and did not like what little he could theorize about from the information he managed to grasp out of Delia's rushed statement.

"The agents, the search, now!" Delia insisted adamantly, unable to focus on anything else until she knew actions were being taken about her father's safety. "His name is Davin Ketchum, graying brown hair, about five inches taller than me and... The only pictures I have of him are old and in a box of random things I left at Professor Oak's laboratory back when I left for my Cerulean City internship." She suddenly regretted procrastinating to go pick it up, as the box in question was usually forgotten seconds after being remembered when it came to mind.

"It's okay, that's enough, he'll be found and brought here," Giovanni offered, trying to calm Delia.

"No, don't," Delia exclaimed, "If he's fine just let him be. Have him call me, I'll tell him I'm alright and that's it. Don't interfere. We still don't know if the police is really using him, or Naberrie, or both."

"Right, we'll do that," Giovanni delegated orders to his top agents through his cell phone. "The search has started, they'll keep us informed," Giovanni pressed a button on his cell phone, ending the communication. "Now from the beginning, what's happening with the police?" He inquired, adding with a grumble, "I knew this would be trouble," while at the same time being silently thankful that Delia at least made it back unharmed.

Delia began her explanation as fast and clearly as she could. "I was at a restaurant with my father when-"

The name of Naberrie, which Delia had mentioned, tugged at Giovanni's memory until he realized why it sounded familiar. He suddenly interrupted Delia by asking, "Naberrie Coruscant?"

"Yes, your cousin," Delia confirmed.

Giovanni's face was immediately invaded by distrust. He didn't know Naberrie well, other than the fact that she was his cousin. He had seen her maybe twice in his life and had not spoken to her on either occasion. He could come up with a number of reasons why she would want to stand against him, but certainly didn't expect her to actually take action, now of all times, let alone to involve Delia. "What did she do?"

"That's just it, I don't know for sure," the hopeful side of Delia wished with all her might that Naberrie kept her word about her father being safe. That would place the police as their main enemy if she truly wanted to be their ally, but that could be dealt with later.

Delia's explanation was interrupted again, this time by the ringing of Giovanni's cell phone, piercing the urgency in the atmosphere to fill it with a few eternal seconds of excruciating uncertainty waiting for the news that could be a relief or a catastrophe. "Did you find him?" Giovanni spoke into the device.

Accentuating his reply with a yawn, followed by a grunt, Proton answered, "yeah, I found him, he was pretty close by. The stubborn old man had a few nasty things to say about me the second he saw me, but we have him under control."

"Good, put him on," Giovanni passed the cell phone to Delia.

She took it with shaking hands and almost desperately called, "dad, are you alright?"

"As alright as a prisoner of the mafia can be, or worse yet, the father of a prisoner of the mafia. Delia, what in the world is this about?" Davin's out of breath outrage was heard over the cell phone.

"You're not a prisoner and neither am I, but you might be being used by the police," Delia revealed with a tired breath. "Listen, just go back home and act natural. The police needs you so they won't hurt you, the less you know, the safer you'll be. I'll be watching over you, so don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of this and get you out. For now, just go home and pretend this call never happened, don't worry about me. I'm safe and I'll keep you safe, please, just do what I say, I'll see you as soon as I can."

Davin was horrified that his daughter, sounded very much like she was well connected with the mafia. There was no doubt in his mind that it was indeed Delia's voice so similar to her mother's, speaking words he would never have guessed she would speak. At least she was safe, if the term safe was used loosely. Davin didn't know what was going on, but he knew he had to comply, if not for his well being, for hers. "I'll do what you say, please, stay safe, Delia."

After reassuring her father some more, Delia ended the conversation and Davin was released. She gave the cell phone back to Giovanni just in time for him to hear Proton's complaints. "For crying out loud, Giovanni! I get woken up in the middle of the night, on the one night I actually decide to stay at base and get some much needed sleep. Then I'm sent on a wild Farfetch'd hunt for some old man through the forest and when I do find him, you don't even keep him around. What in the world is going on?"

"That's what I would like to know," came Giovanni's voice, followed by the tone that indicated the communication had been disconnected.

Once again left in silence, Delia took a deep breath and tried to fully explain what she knew. "While at the restaurant with my father, mayor Antilles approached to say hello. I didn't know what was going on, but his wife, Naberrie," Delia observed Giovanni's expression turn to angry surprise upon realizing that Rune being married to Naberrie was a fact that had remained hidden from him. Ending her pause, Delia continued, "she took us to the roof and she had armed guards. They took my father away and she told me many things. She said that dad's recent promotion to police superintendent was false and the real superintendent along with a small group of officers and government officials were using him allied with an unknown third party. They want to take out Team Rocket and Naberrie interrupted their plot to gain information through my father, who seems to know nothing of this, by interfering tonight. She said she wanted to be your ally and that this was the proof of it. I don't know if she's telling the truth, but I think both possibilities need to be investigated."

"I don't trust her," Giovanni stated strongly. "I don't trust Rune either." A man such as Rune Antilles, so carefree, distracted and easy to manipulate had to be someone else's puppet. Giovanni just discovered that he was not the one controlling Rune after all; someone else had set things up to make it look that way. "We're going to need more information; Team Rocket will be at full alert. I'm especially curious about that third party you mentioned. We can investigate the police and Naberrie, but unless we know who our third enemy is, finding more information will be difficult."

xoxox xox xoxox

For the next few days a detailed investigation was conducted by Team Rocket. In the mean time, at a loss for what to do and fearing for his daughter's safety, Davin was determined to conduct an investigation of his own. He did not report the happenings of the restaurant to the police. The group of officers and government officials who set him up were aware of what had happened, up until the time when Naberrie interfered and took them out of range of their spies. However, since Davin didn't bring it up, neither did the higher ups, so as to not let him know he was being closely watched, assuming he was unaware of it.

As for the conversation between Naberrie and Delia, that remained a mystery to the police, but they had guesses as to what could have gone on. That made them especially careful around Davin, doubting how much he knew and how far he would go. With the worry in the back of his mind that the police was using him, Davin decided that he had a good enough excuse to justify his silence in the worries about his daughter's safety. He would, as Delia instructed, proceed as if her call never occurred. He did not need to act his desperation, as it felt quite real when he headed to Pallet Town to speak to Professor Oak, wondering how much he knew about Delia's current life. He felt reproachful towards the man to whom he had entrusted his daughter. Simultaneously, he also felt that he had no right to blame Samuel, since raising and guiding Delia was his duty as a father and not the duty of his friend.

The morning was gloomy with gray clouds covering the sky when Davin arrived at the Oak laboratory. Light rain fell barely noticeable every now and then, threatening to bring forth a strong downpour which had thus far not come. Parking his car in front of the brick fence of the property, Davin exited the vehicle and noted that the gates leading to the stairs in front of the main building were parted; Samuel probably forgot to close them the night before. He made his way up the stairs with a rushed yet uncertain pace, stopping mid way as the front door coincidentally opened.

Samuel Oak bent over to pick up the newspaper that was at the foot of his door. As he straightened, he saw the man standing mid way up his stairs and recognized him almost instantly, "Davin!" His first reaction was the happiness anyone would feel laying eyes upon an old friend that one has not seen in a long time. It mixed with the excitement of an upcoming pleasant conversation and finally sank into a well hidden worry. Delia's path in life was something that Samuel had accepted, but Davin may not. The professor wondered how much Davin knew, though he theorized that not much. He guessed that the man was there to visit his daughter at long last, assuming she was still his student.

"Samuel, I need to speak to you," Davin finished going up the stairs adding, "inside," with a serious tone. It was as if he debated if he should apologize to Samuel for making him carry the duty of raising someone else's child or to punch him for allowing Delia to take the path Davin himself should have been there to protect her from. Overall the benefit of the doubt won over and Davin restrained himself from any sort of physical or verbal outburst.

Seeing the seriousness in the other man's face, Samuel stepped aside to allow him passage inside his residence. He closed the door, locking it behind them and tossed the all but forgotten newspaper on the living room coffee table. Both men sat down on the couch, which was as hard as an Onix, though neither seemed to care about the discomfort, their minds too filled with more imperative thoughts. "This is about Delia, isn't it?" Samuel guessed, coming up with a theory different from his thoughts of a mere few seconds ago. Davin knew something and if he didn't know, he must suspect. Never had Samuel seen such a mixed look on Davin's face, he was serious, worried, unsure, afraid, regretful, disappointed, angry and... reproachful?

"Yes," Davin confirmed and not wanting to dance around the subject he revealed. "I know she's in trouble with the mafia," because any kind of involvement with them was trouble by his definition. "I don't know in how much trouble she is, enlighten me." Davin's voice came out as a sharp order that Samuel knew he couldn't refuse.

Shifting uncomfortably, Samuel tried to voice some difficult revelations. "Delia is..." the pokemon Professor paused and looked at his friend in the eyes. "I'm not going to run away from this discussion, but I think you should talk to Delia first. After you've spoken to her, you can come to me and we'll talk."

"I already talked to her. She said the police was using me, she said she would keep an eye on me. She sounded as if she was really with them, with the mafia. I knew it was odd to promote me at my age, when the murmurs I've heard from the office are that they thought it was about time for me to retire," Davin realized he should have been suspicious before. "It was too good to be true to think that after all those corrupt officers were taken out of the force they suddenly decided to appreciate my experience. It turns out I was apparently part of the clean up. Delia doesn't want me to go looking for her and I'm worried something might happen to her if I do. Samuel, you know something and I need to know exactly what it is, I have the right!" Davin exploded, his voice louder and more enraged than Samuel had ever heard it.

Samuel stared at Davin in shock for a moment. "I am not well informed in such internal affairs," he admitted. "If Delia wants you to lay low and watch your back with the police, it's best to listen to her." He let out a stressful breath, "I apologize if I've inevitably broken your trust, believe me when I say that I care for Delia as if she were my own daughter. It all began with her internship at the Cerulean City Pokemon Center. She was missing for a while and when I saw her again she was... she was the same as ever, except she had a boyfriend. He's the head of Team Rocket, the Viridian Gym leader, Giovanni."

"He'll pay for this!" Davin exclaimed in absolute fury. "Taking away my little girl and getting her involved in all this trouble!" He stood up and paced, as if he wanted to run back to his car and rush to Viridian City to strangle Giovanni.

"Davin, please calm down!" Samuel stood to block the doorway. "It's not great, but it's not terrible." That was before Delia showed up back at Pallet Town pregnant and heartbroken; it was before Samuel felt true anger towards Giovanni. "It might actually be more good than bad in a certain light. I think they truly care about each other and it was Team Rocket that ended the epidemic, everyone owes them for that. I suppose you could think of them as vigilantes in a way."

"Nonsense!" Davin shouted, "listen to yourself, this is the mafia we're talking about, the mafia!"

The outburst was interrupted by a somewhat odd sounding feminine voice just outside the front door, "open the door this instant, this is the police!"

The two men froze for what felt like an eternity, until finally Samuel reacted, "just act natural," a million excuses ran through his mind, though he doubted any smart officer would believe him if he said he and Davin were only rehearsing a play and their argument was not real. None the less, he knew they would gain nothing by hiding inside the house, thus he opened the door.

There stood officer Jenny in her usual police uniform, miniskirt included, "Davin Ketchum, Samuel Oak, you are both hereby under arrest!"

"You can't!" Davin protested, too stressed and worried to form any real excuse.

"Officer, please, let's talk, I'm sure there's been a misunderstanding!" Samuel pleaded.

"I'd like to hear what you have to say," Jenny agreed, stepping forward, which caused the two men to step out of the way to let her in. The officer then closed the door and locked it. "What's your excuse?" Samuel and Davin remained silent, trying to calculate their words carefully until their visitor grew impatient and scolded them in a voice that was not female. "You were so loud the entire town could probably hear you. What would you have done if the real Jenny came to arrest you? It's my job to keep an eye on you, so don't make it more difficult than it is." He then removed his wig to reveal purple hair. "My name is Petrel, one of the elite agents of Team Rocket, I'm here for your protection."

Samuel and Davin wore matching shocked expressions. Davin fell into a sitting position on the rock hard couch and held his head in agony. His daughter was not only hanging out with the mafia, but with cross-dressing weirdos too.

xoxox xox xoxox

Diamond 104: Give me Security

At the Viridian City gym, Rune arrived most unexpectedly around mid day. He was unaware that Naberrie and Giovanni were related and only knew of her intentions of becoming his ally. The detail of them being cousins didn't truly matter to either, though if Rune knew, he would surely have something to comment about it, as he often had something to comment on everything. The topic of conversation that day was lunch, the business lunch that Giovanni had apparently arranged to have with Rune with the purpose of discussing various things related to the city and their duties as mayor and gym leader respectively. In truth, Giovanni had not arranged that lunch meeting, but he did receive a call from Naberrie asking for an update and to let him know that Rune was on his way.

By then Team Rocket had noticed that Davin was indeed being watched and sent Petrel to investigate. His mission was also to make sure nothing happened to Delia's father which could cause trouble for her, in turn for Giovanni and thus for Team Rocket. As for Naberrie sending the clueless Rune over to the Viridian Gym, it was Naberrie's way to provide some insurance of her intentions, though Giovanni had a feeling that if it came to that, she would be willing to do little for the sake of her husband's release.

The situation slowly became clearer and it looked like Naberrie's intentions for the time being were true. Yet Giovanni still didn't trust her. Even if her wish was to be his ally, her plans later down the road could be something very different, something traitorous. For the time being at least, while exercising caution, her influence could be allowed to serve as a benefit to Team Rocket. Following Giovanni's strategy, which would expose Naberrie's personnel albeit she did not protest in their name, through threats and bribery, the real police superintendent was discovered and a general assessment of his plans were made.

In truth the elite little group of officers and government officials were only opportunists that were trying to appear as heroes. Their plans were not all that complex, use Davin as a spy through Delia, then seek to discover a weakness in Team Rocket to take advantage of. If worse came to worse, come up with some accusations for Delia and use her to negotiate in a way that would hopefully lead to Giovanni's arrest, despite any use he might make of technicalities and contacts. Of course, Giovanni would not let it get to that.

There was also that third party to think about. The impression Giovanni got from the investigation was that they were in charge and the officers and government agents were only along for the ride in search of easy fame, recognition and rewards. By spying on the communications of the police and government, clues were found as to the identity of that third party.

"It's almost certain that the third party involved is Silph," Archer informed on a gloomy afternoon with gray clouds and so little light that one would think it was evening. The atmosphere seemed fitting to Delia's mood as she listened. "Either way, this strategy of theirs is weak. I think Silph Co. may be using the police and government agents involved to cover their true plans, which probably include playing heroes."

"Then all we have to do is stop them," Giovanni concluded. The meeting, which consisted of Giovanni, Delia, Archer, Ariana and Proton, then took a more defined direction in relation to the plans to stop Silph Co.

xoxox xox xoxox

That evening, Giovanni and Delia had an argument about her going to the Silph Co. building in Saffron City with a few other Rockets. "This is my father we're talking about; I want to personally make sure that any actions that could be taken against him are stopped." It was the dilemma of the vigilantes and the reason why they so often chose to keep their identities a secret, so that those linked to them would not have to suffer for their actions.

"That's exactly what they want, to catch you in the middle of an illegal act and take you away. Even if we have our reasons to do this, even if it is to defend Team Rocket, we're still trespassing by breaking into Silph Co. with this investigation. Besides, even if it turns out that the leader of this whole conspiracy is staying at the building as our sources indicate, who's to say our discovery of his plans will be enough to put a stop to them? We don't know what will have to be done once we're there, as things stand now we'll decide when the time comes and I don't want you in the middle of that uncertainty. Then there's also Naberrie, what if she's planning something?" Giovanni tried to reason with Delia to make her stay back at the Viridian base, but she wouldn't have it.

"Giovanni," she looked into his eyes with determination and reassurance. "We've been in more dangerous situations before and have come out on top. What we're doing is illegal, but it's done for the right reasons. We're the protectors of Kanto and we can't let anyone stop us from accomplishing our duties to the world."

If that could be translated to taking over the world, then it was indeed their duty from Giovanni's perspective. He realized that he was not going to win this argument. Though usually flexible and understanding, when Delia set her mind on something, there was simply no stopping her. "If you insist on going to Silph Co., then I will go too."

xoxox xox xoxox

The gloomy weather that dominated Kanto that day with gray skies and light rain, had taken a turn for the worse in the shape of an all out downpour in Saffron City that night. Delia and Giovanni were there to infiltrate the Silph Co. building with a small elite team consisting of Proton, Luke, Ben and themselves.

Archer, Ariana, Aayla, Leah and a few others would be secretly keeping an eye on Naberrie's movements as well as entertaining Rune, who wisely decided not to listen to his curiosity and suspicions, instead playing along as he was told. Petrel was still in Pallet Town, at the Oak laboratory where Davin was instructed to stay. Thankfully, he was no longer in disguise and instead wore his customized version of the Team Rocket uniform, with shiny golden details to accentuate the black fabric.

Binks was immersed in his scientific research. The New Island facilities were not yet built and he instead was beginning to work with Ackbar Inc. It was Delia who convinced Giovanni to do business with Bane Ackbar, subsequent to hearing of his son's delicate health condition. After humoring Delia's compassion, Giovanni saw that the deal was indeed a good opportunity and a long term secret business relation began between Ackbar Inc. and Team Rocket. While the future was full of possibilities, it still needed to be protected and ensured.

"This is like, not like cool, you know?" Luke whispered in the darkness of the night. He was cold and wet, as was almost everyone else, as they stood in the darkness outside of the Silph Co. building.

"No, it's freezing; this is a fine night you picked to sneak around, Giovanni." Proton was hard at work picking the back door's lock with only his black hat to protect him from the rain. Big umbrellas didn't exactly scream sneaky.

Delia was the only one with enough sense to bring a raincoat. It had been difficult to find a black one, but when she did, she purchased it immediately, earning an amused chuckle from Giovanni, who was sure she would never need it. She proved that it was best to be prepared when she dug it out of the closet and took it along for the mission.

Ben finished cutting some wires from a previously sealed box on the wall and joined the group as the back door was opened, leading into a small storage room. Their footsteps were accentuated with dripping sounds and the 'splash, squish' sound of their boots. "I can almost hear Petrel saying I told you so," Ben quietly voiced.

"Okay, so maybe buying discount boots wasn't such a good idea. Things were just getting started, the newbies needed uniforms and I had more important investments to make. It was before the budget was adjusted with the antidote revenues." Giovanni removed his boots, as did everyone else to prevent being noisy. The floor was very cold beneath their bare feet. "Remind me to put Petrel in charge of buying the uniforms from now on, he's picky, but maybe that's not so bad after all."

"I should tell him about the ninja gear shop where I bought this rain coat." Delia removed it to reveal her dry and cozy Team Rocket uniform which was not freezing cold with rain water nor sticking to her skin uncomfortably as everyone else's clothes were.

"Requesting permission to strip, sir." Proton did a mock salute and began to pull his shirt over his head, only to have Giovanni stop him.

"We're Team Rocket; we need to wear our uniforms with our symbol," the leader argued. "Besides, no one will take you seriously if you go around in your underwear." Pouting, Proton left his clothes on.

Remembering a past event, Ben commented, "I seriously thought Aayla was going to cough out a lung that time." He had removed the covers over some wires on the wall and proceeded to cut several of them. Studying the stolen blueprints of the structure of Silph Co.'s building was of great benefit.

"What happened?" Delia curiously and quietly inquired. "Was Proton running around the hideout drunk in his underwear?"

"Once, I did that only once," Proton grumbled, remembering vaguely how he tried to flirt with Leah and got slapped for it. She was petite, but she could be strong when she tried, his face hurt for hours.

"Nah, I was like going out to like surf in a storm, you know? I like talked Giovanni and Ben into like coming with me, you know?" Luke explained, with a fond smile as if the entire ordeal had been amusing to him. "The beach was like closed and like off limits, you know? But the waves were like totally awesome, man! Dudette, I like knew I like had to try them, you know? Then the police like totally like ruined our fun, you know? They like chased us out and were like trying to arrest us, you know? We were all like in swimming shorts and like didn't have time to like grab the bag with our clothes when we like ran away, you know? It was like hilarious, dudette."

"The police confiscated the bag with the clothes and we ended up running all the way back to the hideout in shorts, in the middle of a storm," Giovanni glared at Luke upon remembering the event. "I promised myself never to let Luke convince me to go to the beach in a storm ever again no matter how many 'dude, you're like our like awesome like fearless leader, you know?' speeches he gave me."

"Dude, you like never like got around to like try the stormy waves, man!" Luke complained, "you would like totally like know that they're like totally worth the risk if you did, you know? At least we like saved my surf board, you know?"

"Yeah, Luke wouldn't leave his surf board behind and we ended up using it to shield ourselves from the rain," Ben added as he made a pause in his wire work, then started to plug in a small device. "If anything we looked more ridiculous. We had to return on foot because we had taken a bus and later they cancelled the busses because of the storm."

"It was like our only choice, because the chocolate bar was like not feeling like well, you know?" Luke recalled. "The poor car like died like tragically like a week later, you know?"

"I think it might be better to stay indoors during a storm," Delia giggled at the imaginary image of three young men in beach shorts, running to shelter while carrying a surf board, all three trying to use it to protect themselves from the harsh weather.

"I ordered Aayla to clean the entire hideout for laughing at us, but I always suspected she made Binks do it for her," Giovanni mused. "Remind me to send her on some annoying mission some time."

"I'm glad I stayed at the hideout that time," Proton voiced, "even if Archer, Petrel and I lost miserably playing strip poker with Ariana. All three of us ganged up against her and ended up losing anyway. Either she's incredibly lucky, or far better than us at cheating."

"That's karma," Delia stated with an amused grin. It was nice being with her fellow vigilantes, she once again felt invincible. The atmosphere was emphasized by the fact that they all wore masks to hide their identities. Far from thinking that they looked like burglars, Delia was certain that they looked like a band of noble super heroes.

"Is everyone ready?" Ben asked. "When I cause the main power to short circuit, we'll only have a few minutes to get to the stairs before the auxiliary power comes on. Then a few more minutes before the main power resets." The young man with light brown hair and hazel eyes tapped the small device attached to the fuse box on the wall.

The inquiry brought everyone back to the present; they were ready to continue with their mission after having occupied themselves in talking quietly and squeezing the water out of their uniforms. Everyone nodded in agreement and voiced their eagerness to continue with the infiltration mission.

Ben released his Magnemite from its pokeball, "alright Magnemite, give it a charge." The device attached to the fuse box directed the electricity from Magnemite to certain key points that would cause the main power to shut down interpreting a short circuit that was not truly there. Quickly recalling the pokemon back into his pokeball, Ben joined the others in a race through dark corridors.

Giovanni had a flashlight and led the way to the stairs. The auxiliary power went on with a few faint lights, but the security cameras wouldn't reboot for a few more seconds when the auxiliary power adjusted in full. They hurried into the shaft containing the emergency stairs and closed the door behind them. The auxiliary power came on completely and bright light once again illuminated the corridors and stairs. Light had been seen from the building almost twenty four hours a day, even when the employees were supposed to have long since finished their shift. Most people assumed there were employees staying late to work on special projects or that Silph Co. had added another shift. They were all perfectly logical explanations, but most likely just a cover up.

No longer in need of the flashlight, Giovanni, Delia, Luke, Proton and Ben headed up to the eleventh floor where they theorized the Silph Co. president could still be. During the past days' investigations he seldom left the building and often stayed over night. "You know the plan," Giovanni faced the door leading out of the stairs and to the hallway of the eleventh floor. "Delia, Luke and I will go ahead; Proton and Ben will stay here and provide backup if needed and assistance in our escape if it comes to that." He checked the radios that the two smaller teams would carry. "Maintain radio silence unless there's an emergency."

Everyone accented their readiness and the next part of the mission was put into action. Luke released his Seadra from her pokeball and held her as they prepared to run to their final destination of the mission. "Just like I like told you, dudette, smoke screen, you know? Like nice and thick, but like not too long lasting, you know?" The door to the hallway was opened simultaneously with Seadra's attack and the three agents assigned to that part of the mission ran through the smoke. The other two remained behind as backup. They would be ready to create a distraction if it was needed.

The main power was reset and the failure was attributed to a need for maintenance and possible damage to the outside cables because of the bad weather. The assumption was proven false when one of the monitors in the security camera room was obscured by a black fog. The guards were unsure if it was a malfunction or not, but decided not to take any chances. Either way it was too late, Giovanni, Delia and Luke were already at the president's office by the time he got a call from security telling him about what they had seen in the monitor and asking if he was alright. Seeing the three threatening figures trapping him in his office, it was obvious for the president what he was expected to say. "I'm fine, nothing is wrong, what you saw must have been a malfunction."

"The hallway is clear," one of the guards' voice replied. By the time he arrived at the scene, the smoke screen had already dissipated.

"The faulty camera is working now too," the guard stationed at the monitor room added via their internal communications system.

"Continue at your normal posts," president Silph instructed, not taking his eyes off the three intruders. After the voice-only communication ended he stated, "I know why you're here. It's for the masterball isn't it? Well you're out of luck because the masterball is nothing but a failed prototype." For confidentiality reasons the eleventh floor was devoid of cameras, the president had always thought that having them in the halls was enough.

"What is a failure is your act," Giovanni made a mental note of that masterball just in case he might need to investigate it later. For the time being, he had something else to focus on. "I want the whole truth. I know you're working with the police and government against Team Rocket."

"I see..." the president let out a breath and leaned back on his chair. He kept his hands motionless on top of the desk where they were easily visible, so as to not provoke any violence from the masked Team Rocket invaders. Barefoot and dripping wet as they were, though at least one was dry, they all still managed to look quite threatening. "The government as well as the police have given up. Due to the discovery of the antidote and the benefits in both health, economy and other areas that it brought, the government seems to be aiming for a peaceful coexistence with Team Rocket. Perhaps they even see it as positive economical stimulation. The police was corrupted and those that were left after the clean-up seemed pleased to start anew. Despite some of them, many of them, knowing about Team Rocket, they seem all too willing to forget. They want to let this go as an act by a band of vigilantes and look at it in a positive light. If this goes on, in la few years Team Rocket's leader will be officially forgotten, his criminal record conveniently misplaced along with several others. From then on, it would be a new start."

"You seem to understand," Delia spoke for the first time since their arrival at the office. "Then why are you doing this? Everyone else is okay with Team Rocket, why do you stand against us?"

"Because too much power leads to corruption," President Silph replied in a tired voice that made him sound even older than his gray hair made him look. "I fear for the future, if a being is given power, if an organization is made different, then they will become corrupted. It's all the same principle, such power, such abilities; humans can create wonderful and terrible things that must not be left to run rampant. I'm afraid there's been a miscalculation, my allies from the government and police seemed to have slipped up and attracted unwanted attention. They were rash in wishing for glory, in wanting to take the gym leader's place as a hero. Does it matter? The way things are going, he is destined to be forgotten as a hero to become a secret villain until the day his true plans are revealed."

"Enough!" Delia's exclamation startled president Silph into silence. "Don't speak as if you knew him, you don't know anything!" She felt as if Giovanni was being terribly insulted by the accusations. "You understand that your plans will fail, don't you? Then you should stop this."

"It's already out of my hands," president Silph admitted. "The others are too rash, as I said. I was supposed to lead them, but they don't listen to me. In the end, my plan failed before it began because I was not wise in choosing my allies. I admit defeat." The president's eyes were downcast in fear and disappointment.

"I hope you like don't like really think we'll like fall for that, you know?" It was a good thing that Mr. Silph and Luke had never met before, otherwise mask or not, he would be easily identifiable by his speech alone. It was one of the internal jokes of Team Rocket that Luke would never be allowed to write a secret threat or ransom note because he wrote as he spoke.

xoxox xox xoxox

That night, the Silph president played his cards carefully in hopes of being given another chance to prepare. Yet the hasty actions of the real police superintendent did indeed throw all their chances of success out the window when Naberrie discovered them while fishing for blackmail and similar useful information. Silph Co. was allowed and even encouraged to continue the development of the masterball. The project was monitored by Team Rocket, which led to a confrontation upon its later completion several years after that night, when Silph Co. refused to turn over the finished product to Team Rocket.

The president's office was searched and several things, mostly confidential data, were confiscated. Among the data that was taken, there was the core coding for Porygon, which came as no surprise given that this was Silph Co. They were developing a device called an Upgrade, which would cause the human created pokemon, Porygon, to evolve into Porygon2. The development was also continued with Team Rocket overseeing the process. Ben had always liked tinkering with machines, but despite having a talent with electronics, circuitry was more so his field and not so much software. As he watched over the development of the Upgrade he realized he needed help from experts in the field, which led to the creation of a technological department in Team Rocket and the addition of software experts and hackers to the members.

Overall, the Silph Co. operation was a success. The president was secretly detained for several hours until the Rockets left the building. Their exit was rushed, yet it was not due to anything troublesome happening at Silph Co., but rather something that occurred at the Saffron City police station where the real superintendent was having a secret meeting with some police officers and government agents. Wishing to obtain a position of power in Team Rocket, Naberrie set out to solve the problem by removing its roots, the superintendent, the police officers and the government agents involved in the conspiracy against Team Rocket. The actions she took to make Giovanni believe she was his ally would inevitably lead to a confrontation.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at the Viridian City gym, "this is Leah, reporting," Leah's soft voice was transmitted to Ariana's cell phone as she made her scheduled call. She had snuck away for a moment while Rune admired the gym's arena, going on and on about what pokemon was the proudest in the forest. She had been playing tour guide and public relations agent for him for quite some time and was bored with the task, but made no complaints.

"How are things with the mayor?" Ariana inquired. While Leah and Rune were at the Viridian Gym, Ariana, Archer and Aayla were stationed at Saffron City with a few Rocket agents, watching over Naberrie's actions. She had returned to her home city after leaving her husband in Team Rocket's custody, while her young son presumably remained at their Viridian residence under the protection of several bodyguards. Given the fact that Silph Co. was located in Saffron City, Naberrie's movement was seen as suspicious.

"Everything is fine, there is nothing to report," Leah informed. "From what I can perceive, the mayor is a carefree person who sincerely wishes to improve Viridian City. He also seems to be eager to follow instructions. I believe it would be beneficial for Giovanni to guide him." It was a nicer way to say that Rune would make a good pawn.

"That's good news, I can't say the same about the puppet master over here," Ariana referred to Naberrie, who had clearly been controlling Rune. "She hasn't made a move yet, but we'll keep watching her. Let us know if you find out anything."

"Understood," Leah's reply was as sweet and quiet as usual, "I wish you luck." After the call had ended, Leah returned to stand beside the rambling mayor.

"Wouldn't you agree?" Rune finished his cheerful speech and looked at Leah for approval.

Realizing that he was so absorbed in his speech that he didn't even notice she had slipped away, Leah nodded. Her reaction caused Rune's smile to grow and he continued rambling something about forest pride.

xoxox xox xoxox

At Saffron City, Ariana finished her conversation with Leah and turned to look at her beloved Archer, who sat at the driver's seat of their tinted window black car. The car was parked in a shaded spot away from the street lights in front of Naberrie's residence. Archer glanced at Ariana, both bored from sitting there waiting for something to happen. Their faces became closer until their lips met, then Aayla spoke from the back seat, "I feel like a third wheel!"

The sudden statement in its tone and timing, cause Ariana to laugh unexpectedly and accidentally bite Archer's lower lip. He made a sound of protest as she had bitten him rather hard and he felt a cut starting to bleed. "Sorry about that," Ariana apologized with a wink and turned in the passenger seat to look at Aayla. "Are you wishing you had dragged Binks along so that we could make this a double date?"

"There's nothing going on with me and the stickfigure geek," Aayla defended, "he only wishes." It was something she often took advantage of, making him do her chores in the past, before they had rookies to take care of cleaning up the base and so on.

"They're on the move," Archer announced, interrupting the conversation between the two women before Ariana could further tease Aayla about her supposedly nonexistent relationship with Binks. Two cars left the long driveway of Naberrie's luxurious Saffron City home and judging by the shadows inside them, both were full with as many passengers as they could carry, though they were at the moment unidentifiable. Ordering a few Rocket agents in the premises to stay behind and guard the house, Archer drove off silently into the darkness, in secret pursuit of the cars that went out of Naberrie's property.

xoxox xox xoxox

Diamond 105: Give me Vigor

Two cars stopped near the Saffron City police station in the middle of the night. The downpour had finally relented and only a few barely noticeable raindrops fell from the sky, easily ignored. Eight shadowy figures exited the cars and surrounded the structure, with intentions of breaking in. A third car stopped a little further away from the station and three people got out from it. Archer, Ariana and Aayla stopped a few feet away, hidden behind a near by billboard on the side of the road near the station. It was advertising some pokemon vitamins that supposedly served as preventive methods to complement the effects of the recently discovered antidote to the epidemic; if it was true or not, was questionable, but they were at least not harmful.

"It looks like she hasn't seen us yet, or pretended not to," Archer quietly stated, observing as the eight people managed to make their way inside the police station.

"If we go in too soon, she might change her plans and betray the other side to keep up her image with us," Ariana pointed out. "We won't expose her true colors like that."

"Then we'll wait and catch her in the act," Aayla had the expression of a wild Luxray waiting to pounce. Thus the three Rockets waited for a few more minutes, until the sound of a gunshot pierced the quiet stillness of the air.

With alarmed expressions, the three hurried towards the station to see what was going on. They stayed low and close to the walls as they made their way in. Naberrie was there along with seven other armed people. They noticed the arrival of someone new when the previously illuminated interior of the police station was shrouded in darkness due to Aayla's Haunter using night shade. "Don't stop Haunter, keep them all lost in the darkness."

A few stray shots were fired and some of Naberrie's men fell. The gunshots kept being exchanged by a few police officers and some of Naberrie's guards, while several government officials cowered in fear, seeking shelter behind the desks and holding on to them for dear life, lost in the frightening illusion of the night shade. Screams of agony were heard as the injured clung to life by a thread.

With goggles that allowed him to see past the foggy black mist and beyond the illusions, Archer made his way to the one leading the troublesome operation, Naberrie. "Don't try to do anything else that's troublesome," he commanded as he led her away.

"Team Rocket," Naberrie concluded, she had caught small glimpses of some suspicious movement near her house and was expecting someone from Team Rocket to show up sooner or later. "I'm ending this, it's better for you this way."

"This action was not authorized by the boss." Archer took away Naberrie's gun, which she surprisingly relinquished without protest.

"Stop shooting!" Ariana commanded as she sent out her Vileplume and ordered her to use, "sleep powder," as soon as Archer was close enough to the door so he would not get caught in it. The three Rockets along with Naberrie prepared to retreat and let the sleep powder do its job. After the danger of being caught by a bullet passed, they would take prisoners and sort things out. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. With the last of his strength, the real superintendent, a man in his late forties with a stern face, black eyes and thick dark gray hair, shot one last bullet, which caught Naberrie.

In a swift motion, her blue eyes full of fury, Naberrie snatched away the gun Archer had confiscated from her and returned fire. She couldn't see clearly where she was shooting though the night shade had begun to disperse and the sleep powder wasn't as thick. With a few shots in fast succession, she killed her target and a few others before collapsing.

xoxox xox xoxox

Only a few of Naberrie's men and several government agents survived that night's massacre. Most of those involved with the government believed that the killings were an act of Team Rocket and backed off from that point on. With the conspiracy against Team Rocket stopped before it could truly begin, the police headed to a new era where Team Rocket's secrets were forgotten in favor of a peaceful coexistence. The death of the real superintendent caused Davin, who had been acting as the public superintendent, to take his place and gain the position of police superintendent for real.

However, that night was not without serious consequences and the casualties of the police, government and Naberrie's personnel were not the only ones. Albeit Naberrie was quickly given first aid and taken to the Saffron City Hospital, where fueled by fear the doctors surrounded her immediately, she did not make it past that night. Giovanni's team was informed about the occurrences and they swiftly finished up their business at the Silph Co. building and headed to the hospital.

The atmosphere in the hospital was extremely tense with the presence of Team Rocket, but no one dared to ask them to leave. The staff hoped that after the unwelcomed invaders received the medical services they requested they would just go away without harming anyone. Naberrie's confession as heard by Archer, Ariana and Aayla as she ignored the doctor's instructions not to speak, was, "I did plan to betray him, I only wanted to earn his trust then take it all away." She gasped in pain, feeling her life slipping away from her. "I was too rash, too eager to force my cousin to trust me. Now that I must pay the ultimate price I have but one wish. Kenobi, please don't hurt Kenobi." Those were her final words.

From that point on things did calm down and life continued. Rune and Kenobi were devastated by the loss of Naberrie and blamed the police and government for her demise. Rune vowed to help Giovanni in any way, for he believed the gym leader had the power to take over the world, thus avenging Naberrie in a way, it was a power that Rune knew he did not possess. Troublesome as he could be at times with his overly eager attitude and loose tongue, Giovanni continued to work with Rune for many years, until eventually it was Kenobi's turn to take his father's place as the new and more competent Viridian City mayor.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the whole ordeal at Saffron City had ended, Davin received an official and secret communication asking him to continue his duties as the police superintendent as he saw fit and stating the government and police's intention to not provoke the mafia. Still at Pallet Town, Davin debated if he should head back to Viridian City or maybe to the main Kanto police department at Celadon City.

"You need a vacation." When Davin looked up from his pitiful position sitting on Samuel's Onix-hard couch holding his head in stress, he saw the image of himself staring back at him.

That strange young man, Petrel, never ceased to amaze him or creep him out. "Don't you dare impersonate me!" During his stay at the Oak Laboratory under Petrel's surveillance, Davin had to endure watching him impersonate several people including Samuel and even Delia. Needless to say, he was furious about the latter.

At that point in time Delia arrived at the Oak Laboratory in the company of Leah, while Giovanni, Archer and several others busied themselves at headquarters with damage control and making sure the police and government kept their offer of a peaceful coexistence. "Hide, I'll get the door," leaving no room for argument, Petrel pushed Davin away towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Samuel was having a battle with a malfunctioning coffee maker. With all the stress in the air, he really needed his caffeine. As for Davin, he was an avid coffee drinker and had been swiftly consuming cup after cup ever since his arrival. Samuel thought it was difficult to deal with a coffee high Davin, but he knew from experience that his caffeine withdrawals were worse, so he didn't deny him the warm drinks.

Still in his disguise, Petrel opened the door to find Delia. "I was so worried about you, come in, come in." Once Delia and Leah were inside, Petrel, still disguised as Davin, locked the door and exclaimed in agony, "why must you be involved with those terrible people?" Then he hugged his supposed daughter protectively.

"It's okay, everything will be fine now," Delia paused as she realized that something was off and snatched away Petrel's wig. "Petrel, that's not funny!"

"Aw, I almost had you!" Petrel pouted. "What gave it away?"

"The scent of coffee or rather, the lack of it, dad always smells like coffee," Delia revealed. "He's okay, isn't he?"

Before Petrel could reply, Davin peeked out from the kitchen and saw Delia. He hurried to her, "Delia, do you know what kind of call I received. They think I'm with them, with the mafia! I get the impression that they want me to be a sort of mediator between the police and the mafia. You need to get out of this, get to safety!"

"Dad, it's okay!" Delia raised her voice to be heard over Davin's panic and tried to comfort him as best she could. "Petrel, it's actually a good thing you're dressed like that. Report back to base so that you can get the update on the recent happenings, Leah and I will stay here."

"Wait," Davin protested, "you actually want him to take my place?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You're stressed; you can't handle this right now. You need a vacation; it's for your own good," Delia tried to convince him.

"I told you so," Petrel commented in reference to Davin needing a vacation, then left to return to Viridian City.

"Things are delicate right now so it's best if you allow Petrel to handle the situation in your place until everything has calmed down. Don't worry, it will all work out," Delia insisted, trying to keep her voice from becoming unsteady.

Observing his daughter's face, Davin frowned, with Samuel mimicking the worried expression while looking at Delia, now standing beside her father. "You've been crying," Davin's fury began to rise again, "that man, that terrible man from the mafia made you cry!"

"No, that's not it!" Delia shot back, angered that Giovanni was falsely accused. "Someone was hurt and I felt sad for her. I didn't know her well, I couldn't even honestly call her my friend, but I was sad for her, for her husband and for their son. Giovanni consoled me, he would never hurt me, he always protects me. Please understand, I love him and he loves me, nothing can change that."

Both Samuel and Davin could relate to Delia's words. Both men had been married at a point in time and both had lost their loves to death. "Love is precious; it is something to be cherished for all the days that one is given," Samuel voiced; he had already accepted Delia's choice.

"There's no changing your mind, is there?" Davin realized. "I don't approve of this and I probably never will, yet I have no choice but to accept it. Just please, be safe, don't take unnecessary risks. Try to remember your values, don't cause uncalled for pain and don't allow it to be caused to you."

Delia smiled to reassure the two men who were both in a way fathers to her. "Everything will be alright. We will make sure it is."

Petrel took Davin's place for some time as the police superintendent, following Giovanni's instructions to guide Kanto to an era of relative peace, in which Team Rocket could grow without interference. After he returned to work, Davin soon grew tired of it and retired off to a quiet life in which he carried his regrets alongside his inaction. Surprisingly it was the Jenny of Viridian City who took his place as the new police superintendent. She had understood that the time wasn't right to try to fight and that perhaps forgetting past struggles and starting anew was the best course of action for both sides after all. For the time being there would be peace, the choices of the future would belong only to those of the future.

xoxox xox xoxox

Those events that took place many years ago were seemingly unrelated to the current mysteries of the present day, but they did indeed have a secret connection. It was a thin thread barely visible, but it was there. In the present day, Aayla's interference with the fate of the modified Luke clone known as number ten, led Giovanni, Ash and Comet to travel to a mysterious world were souls waited to be reborn for as long as their journey in the world of the living was unfinished and their final destination unclear. It was Giovanni's second trip there, which unlocked the previously sealed memories of his first visit. Along with those memories being unleashed, the seal that Mewtwo had placed upon Giovanni's memories of him started to significantly weaken.

After researching past data and discussing the situation with the Rocket executives, Giovanni found that the past was full of contradictions, specifically the time in which the Mewtwo project was supposedly declared a failure. With a nagging feeling of having forgotten something important, Giovanni set out to explore the ruins of New Island in hopes of solving the unknown mystery of what truly happened at the end of the Mewtwo experiments. Unknown to Giovanni, Ash not only knew what happened during the battle to recapture Mewtwo, but had also recovered his memories of the first time he met the clone pokemon at New Island.

After discovering some files containing images of Ash and other trainers that had journeyed to New Island by Mewtwo's invitation in the past, it became obvious that Ash had a vital piece of information concerning Mewtwo. With Giovanni's memories becoming clearer, Mewtwo would not be held in mystery anymore. Unexpectedly, the computer equipment where the files recovered from the New Island ruins were being viewed short circuited. While Giovanni focused on Mewtwo, the incident attributed to an unknown hacker and the possible consequences it hinted of, was left in the hands of the executives, Archer, Ariana, Proton and Petrel. At the same time, Aayla seemed to know more than she was telling and Binks' health, albeit improved, still showed signs of fragility.

Amidst the commotion, Ash received communication from Gary, urging him to go to Pallet Town. It was clear that Gary knew something about Team Rocket and wanted to clarify his information with Ash, no longer able to ignore what was in front of him. Hoping that Gary could wait in silence for a little longer, Ash made a deal with Giovanni. They would battle and the outcome of their battle would decide if Ash revealed the truth about Mewtwo or not. While Delia watched from the window of Giovanni's mansion near Victory Road, Ash and Giovanni ventured into the wilderness behind it for a suitable space to battle.

Standing apart the approximate distance of an average pokemon battle arena, Ash and Giovanni faced each other. The looks in their eyes seemed to say it all, as they spoke no more words before the battle began. Glalie and Golem each materialized from the red beams of their respective pokeballs in front of their trainers. Ever the trickster, Glalie considered freezing Ash with his ice beam, but stopped when he saw the look in his trainer's eyes. That serious look was something Glalie had never seen in his trainer before, even when an important battle was approaching. "Be careful Glalie, this won't be easy, ice beam!"

As the opening move went into effect, Giovanni reacted with a counter attack and ordered Golem to use "double edge!" The rock pokemon barreled forward hastily, with beams of ice narrowly missing him until he was reached by the cold attack. Several of the stone shapes that enclosed Golem's body were covered in ice as if the pokemon was encased in glass. The attack slowed Golem, but didn't stop him from approaching Glalie.

Glalie floated backwards in an attempt to dodge the rampaging Golem, quickly heeding Ash's command of "ice fang!" Aiming for the Golem's exposed limbs, Glalie bit into the rock pokemon's arm as hard as he could.

Golem growled in pain, unable to dodge the attack on time due to being slowed down by the chunks of ice that uncomfortably clung to his stone body. The solution to his predicament came in his trainer's next order, "earthquake!"

With Glalie still attached to his right arm, Golem focused to make the ground shake. Since Glalie was floating, the attack wouldn't hit him directly, but the shaking transmitted through Golem was enough to accomplish the move's purpose of making Glalie's ice fang lose its grip on Golem's arm.

From the mansion's window, Delia felt the earthquake, though the seismic proof structure remained solid and undamaged. As the terrain shifted, a few trees became inclined to the sides and some smaller ones fell. This allowed a slightly clearer view of the battle, albeit Delia's sight was still considerably obstructed by the vegetation. Most of all, it showed how intense the fight was right from the start.

The battle continued with a rapid succession of attacks, "use rock slide!" As soon as Golem was free from Glalie's ice fang, the pokemon was given new instructions, which would make use of the terrain to his advantage. The ground became filled with uneven creases as the land responded to the pokemon's power.

"Glalie, use blizzard, make it as strong as you can!" Ash tried to stop Golem from using the land in his attacks by covering it in snow and ice.

The move caused Giovanni to shift his strategy lightly and continue with "rock climb!" Chasing Glalie towards the rockier area at the edge of the cluster of trees, Golem once again went on the offensive. He had used a lot of energy, giving each attack everything he had and taking some damage along the way, but refused to give up, throwing frozen stones and trying to get Glalie down for a direct hit.

Seeing his pokemon in peril, Ash countered by calling for another attack and trying to encourage Glalie. "Don't give up Glalie, freeze Golem with hail!" A multitude of ice pebbles collided with Golem causing visible pain and discomfort. Golem was additionally having trouble moving on the ice field that had invaded their battle arena. However, the massive amount of energy Glalie put into freezing the land took its toll as the pokemon began to loose altitude while continuously using hail. At last Glalie's energy reached its limit as Golem slammed into him taking the opportunity to knock him out. Ash recalled the ice pokemon back into his pokeball, "it's okay Glalie, you fought well." Golem was very strong, but Ash had a good idea about what pokemon to send out against him. More focused on the battle, Ash was no longer as silent as in the beginning, albeit he was still on edge. "Serperior, I choose you!" The long and elegant grass pokemon emerged from the red beam of her pokeball with a proud look on her face.

Seeing that the ice on the ground was impairing Golem's movement, Giovanni tried to break it apart before it could be used against him. "Another earthquake, Golem!"

The state in which the terrain was left in from the previous battle gave Ash an idea, which he quickly put into play. "Serperior, get away from Golem and use solar beam!" It sounded as if Ash was guiding his pokemon to keep herself as safe as possible from the damage of the opposing attack, though in truth the defense's purpose was more so to improve offense. As Serperior charged her solar beam, her eyes met Ash's and with a discreet glance down, she understood and released her solar beam low close to the ground in the path of several chunks of ice left over from the previous round.

Realizing what was happening, Giovanni tried to warn his pokemon, "Golem, get out of the way!" Yet it was too late. Serperior's solar beam melted the ice creating a miniature river that driven by the aftershock of the rapid melting, collided with Golem in an odd water gun simulation.

Golem growled in pain at the unexpected blast of water and before he could recover, Ash chose the move that would end the round, "grass knot!" Acting swiftly, Serperior trapped Golem in a sort of grassy net, which caused him to trip and flail helplessly taking heavy damage.

Sure of her victory, Serperior grinned proudly, while Golem was left unconscious. Giovanni recalled Golem into his pokeball, but did not look surprised or angry. It was more as if he expected the battle to be close and knew that sooner or later Ash would catch up. Eyeing the proud Serperior, Giovanni provided her with a challenging opponent, "Machamp, fight with all your strength!" The fighting pokemon flexed his large muscles eager to battle. By then the left over ice from Glalie had melted into the disturbed terrain. "Giga impact!"

As Machamp went on the attack, Ash was quick to counter with, "leaf storm!" Serperior let out a massive tempest of leaves that swirled around her opponent, creating abundant cuts as they went and slowing his approach. Though Machamp continued forward despite the attack, his own attack had little effect after losing momentum. Taking the opportunity, Ash tried to finish the round, "energy ball!"

Urging his pokemon to act quickly, Giovanni countered the move, "focus blast, don't stop!" Machamp let out a rapid succession of blasts, the first colliding with Serperior's energy ball, causing an explosion that damaged both pokemon. The spheres of energy kept being exchanged between the two pokemon until they closed the distance between each other and the attacks resulted impractical.

"Use grass knot again!" Seeing the close proximity that Machamp had to Serperior, Ash hoped that the previous strategy would once again prove fruitful.

However, Machamp was too strong to be contained, which allowed Giovanni to take advantage of the situation, "finish her with cross chop!"

The repeated harsh hits collided with Serperior with such a speed and force that she could not dodge or block them. As a result, the impacts rendered her unable to battle. "Serperior!" Beaten, the grass pokemon twitched a little, but was ultimately not capable of getting into a battle stance before her head fell as she lost her grip on reality and fainted. "Good job Serperior, come rest." After recalling Serperior into her pokeball, Ash looked at Machamp and thought of a suitable opponent for him. It was a pokemon that had been training for a long time, though not always with Ash. When he did return to Ash, they found a connection again and were able to train together once more with matching unbreakable spirits. "Primeape, I choose you!"

Machamp was injured from the previous round, but could still battle and was quick to follow Giovanni's order, "another cross chop!" Before Ash could even issue the first command for Primeape, the rowdy pokemon used thrash, something that he often did when he was excited for a fight. The two colliding attacks resulted in damage to both fighting pokemon, who stumbled backwards from the force of the impact.

Seeing the determination in Primeape, Ash called forth a move that would push both pokemon to show their true power and skill in fighting. Surprisingly, his voice rang out at the same time as Giovanni's in a simultaneous decision to determine the battle with "close combat!"

While Primeape and Machamp exchanged blows in a massive display of strength, the two opposing trainers looked beyond the pair of fighters at each other. Perhaps it was their coincidental commands that made them react in such a way, unconsciously looking for similarities one in the other. Both had racing thoughts and for a moment there was nothing in the world but each other and that determined look into each other's eyes that spoke of an unbreakable thirst for victory, yet also something more, to comprehend the other.

Once again focused on the fight, they watched as the close combat continued with punches and kicks. Though Machamp had four arms, Primeape didn't let that fact bother him and exchanged blows on equal ground with Machamp, making good use of angles, momentum and speed to make up for having only a pair of arms to work with. The cuts left behind by Serperior had not sealed and they could not, given the solid hits Primeape was landing. With a final colossal kick Primeape knocked out his opponent, sending the heavily muscled pokemon to crash into a tree. With the ground weakened from the previous attacks, the tree's roots were loose, causing it to fall with the force of Machamp's impact.

As the tree fell, Delia caught a better look at the battle from the mansion's window. She saw as a red beam consumed Machamp as he was returned to his pokeball, while Primeape stood triumphant. The battle was very close so far, Ash and Giovanni were both on their third pokemon and it looked like it would be an all out six on six fight. At that point in time, it could go either way.

To be Continued

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon. When Naberrie mentions Rune being a merchant, she is referring to him managing a small business that transported cargo, which later evolved into Antilles Oceanus. The mention of Calrissian Cargo still being ahead in the market refers to this flashback taking place between the first and second portion of the main flashback, since Calrissian Cargo met its end after the S.S. Lapras incident. This story is based mostly on the anime, albeit creative license is used in some parts. I also included a few references to the mangas, novels and games, such as Silph Co. and the masterball.