Don't Give Me Diamonds

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 095: Give me Tranquility

At the Viridian Forest, the Green Gallade, a cargo train belonging to Antilles Oceanus, had stopped. There was a dangerous hostage situation on top of it, with number ten threatening an unconscious Delia. Giovanni and Ash had just arrived on Flygon and Charizard. Jessie, James, Misty and Pixel, who had been riding on the train, were there as well as Comet, who had followed number ten. The train was surrounded by Rocket agents and pokemon, but number ten didn't seem to care.

Giovanni received an urgent message on his cell phone from Luke, 'Dude, Giovanni, Binks like kept saying he like had to like help, you know?' Even in cases of emergency, Luke's speech and writing remained the same, he was so used to it, he simply couldn't communicate in any other way. 'He like says we have to like make ten like go to sleep again, man!' Not focusing on the possibility of Luke being on his way with Binks, instead Giovanni thought of the other piece of information. Noticing the commotion, the bug pokemon of the forest under the command of Queen had surrounded the train as well. The loyal Beedrill flew near Giovanni awaiting his orders.

As Ash watched the scene before him, his mother being held hostage by that unknown, yet familiar looking man, he could almost see something else in his mind. He didn't go find his father; instead he desperately searched for his mother, even if he somehow knew it would be easier to call for help in the search. He had doubts, he didn't know how to face his father, he didn't know if he could trust him. Then by chance he saw the kidnapper with Delia and chased them on Charizard. The timing was different, they were outside of the forest, it had taken him longer to find them. The train was moving away from Viridian City at full speed. Ash's plans to meet Giovanni had been different, the Rocket leader was not there and neither was Comet. The timing and location of several people had varied by seconds, causing an indirect chain reaction like a scene from an alternate timeline that was overwritten.

Ash approached the kidnapper hastily because of how much he wanted to save his mother. Then something in the creature snapped. He threw the unconscious Delia in front of the train and the collision killed her. The mutant then relentlessly attacked Ash and his Charizard. Ash was horrified as he tried to get by the creature and to his mother. The train had stopped, but her body was several feet away, thrown far by the impact. She was dead, killed by an enemy of Team Rocket, killed by a train of Team Rocket's allies, killed by a creature that he knew than and there wasn't human. She died because of Team Rocket. Then as if that pain wasn't already too much to bear, Charizard was gravely injured trying to protect him.

Ash snapped awake and tried to hold on more solidly to the present, to reality. He didn't know where that vision came from. He didn't understand the anger, frustration, pain and distrust that he could sense within himself for a moment, before it all faded into nothingness. He did trust his father to sincerely wish to save his mother, to truly care about her. Was that vision what would have been if he had not gained that trust? Had that mysterious Persian truly changed history? It was as if that vision of the horrors that could have been was something he saw due to his special aura, even if it was something that never happened as far as the current history went.

A soft breeze was felt, but unlike a natural one which came from a set direction, that soft current of wind seemed to circle around in the air. Ash noticed that they were being surrounded by sleep powder. The powder was all around, rather than directed only at him, so number ten didn't realize right away he was being attacked. His pursuers kept the same distance so he didn't react soon enough and began to give into sleep.

"The air currents of the forest..." Ash softly whispered, he was fascinated by the fact that he was surrounded by sleep powder, but at the same time it remained far enough from him to not affect him. The soft air currents around them were enough to create a sort of protective bubble of gentle wind, shielding the Rockets from the sleep powder. "I didn't even know this was possible." Then a thought occurred to Ash, of course the forest would be heavily guarded with well trained pokemon, it was like a shield protecting Viridian City, where the gym was, the gym that truly belonged to Team Rocket.

"I'll keep him distracted, sneak up on him," Giovanni's voice was barely audible and he kept his eyes on Delia. He gave Queen, the Beedrill leading the pokemon army, some more quiet instructions.

Ash jumped off the train, seeing that the bubble of air remained around him. He noticed a younger Beedrill following him; it was Prince, Queen's son. He walked around the train to the front as the mutant fell to his knees and began to lose his grip on Delia. Ash took back his mother and jumped backwards off the train to the ground below.

Ash heard the mutant growl, but he was already too tired and fell asleep, almost slipping off the front of the train. "Delia," to Ash's surprise, Giovanni, who had been on the other side of the wagon not long ago, had already joined him in front of the train.

"It's Zoroark!" Jessie called out suddenly, directing everyone's attention to the approaching pokemon. The Rockets were quick to surround her.

"Wait!" Ash insisted loudly, "don't try to catch her, let her come over here."

Giovanni observed the Zoroark with puzzlement, "that pokemon comes and goes in the fall almost every year. She's very hard to catch and has managed to escape every time."

Ash left the unconscious Delia with Giovanni and approached the Zoroark, who was now only a few feet away from them. "There's something different about you. You're definitely not like other pokemon." It wasn't simply the unusual violet coloring of her mane, where normally Zoroark would have red. It was something about her energy; it was different, similar to the energy of a human. The Zoroark looked towards Delia and continued approaching. "I think she wants to help," Ash walked with her back to Delia and Giovanni.

"What could a pokemon do? We need to get her to a doctor," Giovanni was confused by the pokemon's behavior, but he wasn't about to entrust Delia's health to her.

"It's okay," Ash insisted. "We should let her try, I can't really explain it, but there's something very special about this Zoroark."

Giovanni looked at the pokemon again; she did indeed seem to have a distinctly familiar presence. It wasn't simply because she had escaped from him before, this was something else entirely, something that had been all but forgotten, "alright."

The Zoroark placed her right paw on Delia's forehead and emitted a soft glow that surrounded her. Delia's breathing turned deeper and more even, as if she was sleeping rather than knocked out. The Zoroark stepped back, indicating that she was done.

"Delia?"

"Mom?"

Delia slowly opened her eyes to find that she was safe with Ash and Giovanni. She blinked away the remaining sleep and fully woke up. "Ash, Giovanni, what happened? I remember being taken from Pallet Town and through the forest, then I hit my head, but it doesn't hurt anymore."

"You're okay!" Ash cheered, "dad and I came to get you and Zoroark healed you," he smiled, truly relieved that his mother was alright. "Team Rocket captured the kidnapper, it's okay now."

"You both came to save me together?" Delia couldn't help it but to smile at the thought, her previous worries disappearing for that moment, "thank you." It wasn't just for being rescued, but for Ash and Giovanni to have been able to work together.

It seemed that things were calming down after all, so Misty finally looked at her cell phone that had been insistently vibrating in her pocket the whole time. The call originated from the Cerulean gym. "Hi, I was just on my way back home, but I might take a bit longer."

"Don't come," Violet's worried voice insisted, "all the pokemon at the gym are like sick. The symptoms came slowly and we didn't like fully notice what was going on until now. They're all sick, it's just like in Lavender, Saffron and Vermilion, Fuchsia too, Cerulean is becoming like that."

"Then the epidemic reached that far?" Everyone had been hoping for a cure, some going as far as saying that it was the same epidemic from years ago with some minor changes and that a new version of the same antidote might work. However, the research had thus far proven fruitless. The moment of relief was cut short for Misty by the terrible news.

To make matters worse, number ten suddenly snapped awake, growling loudly. After experiencing being awake for much longer than ever before in his existence, he didn't want to give into unconsciousness again. His angry growls caught everyone's attention as the Rocket agents that were taking him prisoner were harshly thrown several feet away. "Don't let him escape!" Giovanni ordered.

The Rockets that had gathered released their pokemon in a bright display of power. Several different elements crashed against the rampaging mutant, fire, electricity, poison, water, ice, beams of light and darkness. Yet nothing stopped him as he struggled against the elements, breaking free of the nets that were shot at him from bazookas. In the middle of the chaos, number ten spotted his genetic twin. No longer afraid, the mutant ran towards Comet filled with hatred and jealousy. Comet didn't try to step out of the creature's path, instead ready to put up a fight, however, Zoroark jumped in front of him.

Number ten paused and stared at the mysterious pokemon at the same time that Luke and Binks arrived. "Don't be so hasty, Comet," Binks advised, "a human cannot fight a monster alone, being human is both our greatest strength and our greatest weakness."

Luke observed the mutant, he immediately saw the resemblance between him and Comet, "is it like really like our choice..." to say who is human and who is not? He didn't finish his question.

Among the attacks, the chaos, the confusion and the tension, Zoroark stepped forward and in a fast, nearly imperceptible movement, she snatched the mutant by the throat, squeezing him tightly. Seeing their target immobilized, the Rocket pokemon got ready to launch what they hoped was the final attack combining their power. "Wait," They paused upon their leader's voice, "capture number ten, but don't hit Zoroark." He voiced what Delia, Ash and several others would have spoken in seconds had he not given the order first.

Casting one last glance in Binks' direction, Zoroark disappeared; she vanished into thin air, teleporting the mutant away with her. No one was expecting her to do that. The chaos seemed to be over for the time being, but it left behind a feeling of approaching danger and confusing helplessness.

xoxox xox xoxox

For the next few days, nothing was known of the whereabouts of number ten and Zoroark. Binks insisted that Zoroark was the key to ending the new epidemic that affected pokemon. "First you said the cure was with Aayla and now this?" Giovanni clearly had no more patience left for Binks as the group headed away from the train and back to the Viridian Headquarters after their encounter with number ten.

"Zoroark is Aayla," Delia finally stated after a long silence with more certainty than she herself thought possible. "When she healed me I could feel it, she's the same person." Her memories went back to an old program she watched years ago late into the night when she couldn't sleep. Ash had just left in his journey and she had not yet met Mimey. It was a rerun of an old unsolved mysteries show.

That particular episode spoke of a strange creature that resembled both a human and a pokemon, being spotted in several locations at different times. First it was Cinnabar Island, then the area near Fuchsia City. At later dates other locations were mentioned, but the so called evidence was extremely blurry at best. Only the enthusiasts that were obsessed with proving the existence of the mythological part human and part pokemon creatures known as gijinka paid serious attention to such findings. It made Delia wonder if the rumored gijinka was Aayla during the time when she was undergoing her transformation.

Needless to say, Ash and Misty, who had returned to the Viridian gym with Giovanni and Delia, understood little about what was going on, though Ash remembered his mother mentioning Aayla in her stories of the past. Little was explained other than the possibility of Aayla being Zoroark. It was incredible, but with all the unbelievable things that Ash and Misty had seen in their journey, they took the prospect with an open mind. Jessie and James were given some additional instructions to stay alert and sent on their way back to Saffron City for the time being.

Ash and Misty remained in the above ground guest area of the Viridian Gym, while below ground the scientists ran around trying to figure out how to more efficiently fight the illness. Their studies and research had been going on for quite some time, but had so far yielded no definite results. Giovanni was informed about the capture of number three, which remained a secret from most others except Delia and a select few Rocket agents, including Comet and Pixel. Though the doctors in service of Team Rocket tried to keep him alive for research, number three's body had already aged too much, too fast, and could never recover. With his passing, another dark secret of Team Rocket died.

xoxox xox xoxox

The overall atmosphere settled into routine uncertainty, yet there was a certain frightening calm to it. The world seemed to be quiet, but not a peaceful quiet, it was more so similar to the silence of death. It was not the relief of a solution, but the tranquility of resignation. The feeling was not shared by everyone, certainly not by Ash. On a quiet fall afternoon, as the change in seasons began to truly be felt, Ash sat on the edge of the bed in a guest room at the Viridian gym, watching Misty sleep. She had not gone back to Cerulean City, as it was her sisters' and Brock's insistence. She wanted to go and help take care of the pokemon, but dared not risk infecting those that had a chance of escaping from the illness in her current team.

With Givan and Dia gone, so was their influence, thus the cure that could spread much like a virus, was no longer there. As for Aayla's version of the cure, though more powerful, it didn't spread by itself in its current state. Furthermore, Aayla could not muster the energy to call upon her healing powers more than a few times every day. Wherever she may be, as her whereabouts were still unknown, there currently wasn't a lot she could do.

Ash gently brushed a strand of red hair away from Misty's face, softly tracing the line of moisture left by her unconscious worried tears. Regardless of how much power and influence Team Rocket had, what good was it if they couldn't save the pokemon? Plus there was still so much he didn't understand. There were so many missing pieces of the puzzle that he realized he couldn't yet begin to reach a conclusion about what the final picture would be like. He looked at Pikachu and nodded, prompting the yellow pokemon to jump on his shoulders as he left the room. Misty's sleep had been quite uneasy and she was overdue for that afternoon nap. It was her choice not to speak of the situation in Cerulean City to anyone except Ash. She thought it would only bring worries that could not be solved. Everyone already knew how bad the situation was, pointing out that her family was so directly involved in it would only make things worse and summon stress that would not help the situation.

Ash made his way around the upper floor of the gym, hearing his mother's voice down the hall. She held a little black cell phone with a red R as she spoke. "Please try your best there. The communication channels have been set so you can share results with the personnel over here. Let's hope a cure is discovered soon." She must be talking to Professor Oak or Gary, Ash concluded.

Binks, that thin scientist from Team Rocket had gone to Pallet Town. The minds of Samuel and Gary Oak were added to the research team. Though they would not work side by side with the Rocket scientists aside from Binks, the laboratories would be in constant communication sharing results. It was done in hopes that the comparison of two separate and diverse investigations would reveal something that either one alone could not.

After ending her call, Delia noticed Ash standing quietly in the hallway with a somewhat lost expression. "Ash? Are you okay?" She knew he wasn't, no one was feeling okay, but she needed to know how he was handling everything. She thought he would be resting with Misty for a while longer.

"As okay as I could be," Ash honestly replied, "Misty fell asleep, she's exhausted. I've been hearing rumors and news about this now and then for a while," he was referring to the new epidemic. "We never really talked about it much, there was a lot going on and it was such a sad topic. Not talking about it doesn't make it go away. It's ironic when we think that bad things only happen to other people. They could be good people and it could be very sad, but it's different when it hits so close to home, when it happens to someone dear."

"Ash..." Delia hugged her son with one arm, holding her baby Swablu in the other. "Never lose hope, that's been life's biggest lesson to me. Never ever lose hope no matter how bad things may look."

Ash leaned into his mother and allowed her to console him like when he was a small child. She gently caressed his wild dark hair. "It's hard to wait. If I could do something I could at least be kept busy with trying. It's strange, everything is so quiet, but it's not calm, it's..." it's dead, "it's as if everyone is losing hope, I won't..."

"That's right, we need to stay strong," Delia encouraged. She read something in her son's eyes, a mix of curiosity and uncertainty. "Were you looking for your father?"

Ash nodded, "things have gotten so busy that we haven't had the chance to talk more than a little. I understand and I'm glad Team Rocket is doing something about this. I just wish I could help the situation too."

As Delia and Ash were talking, Giovanni appeared at the end of the hallway, heading towards his gym office on the other side. Delia, who was facing in his direction, saw him first. With a few seconds of eye contact she seemed to convey a message that a thousand words could not. "We will all do anything we can," her words were left ambiguous, yet carried a lot of meaning that left room for thought. That was what not losing hope was about, to do all that one could. "It's Swablu's snack time now," with those words, Delia excused herself, giving the father and son time to talk. "Do you want to come too, Pikachu?"

"Pika," the loyal electric companion nudged Ash, who petted his soft yellow fur. He then jumped on Delia's shoulder and left with her and Swablu.

As if following a silent agreement, Ash and Giovanni walked to the office and sat down on the couch. It was the same place where Delia had sat when she returned after so many years. She had given him pieces of a confession and left Giovanni to come up with all sorts of wild theories. Though that time wasn't too long ago in comparison to the distant past of their youth before Ash's birth, those years from long ago somehow felt closer than the time of confusion that happened more recently. He had began to trust Delia again at some point, just like before, or perhaps he gave into the knowledge that deep down he might have never been able to truly forget her. They were together again, but like many times before, new challenges stood in front of them.

There was also the uncertainty and curiosity of Ash. The young man shifted in his seat and observed the office, taking in every tiny detail of it, as if he were trying to memorize it. Giovanni suddenly got up, which made Ash's eyes go from exploring the office, to focus on his father. "Are you busy?"

Giovanni was reminded about how Delia asked him if he was busy. Even if she had things to say, even if she wanted to spend time with him, she would still often first ask if he was busy. "I'm always busy, but you can say what's on your mind." He opened up a tall drawer that looked as if it could contain an assortment of folders. In truth, papers had become rare over the years as technology grew and Giovanni's business ventures became further digitalized. The Viridian gym leader took a red item out of the otherwise empty drawer. The item was not immediately noticed by Ash, the only other current occupant of the office.

Ash considered his words. He knew he wanted to speak to his father, but had so many questions that his thoughts jumbled up into a mess that couldn't be translated into words. He stared at the floor in intense concentration. His train of thought came to a full stop when something was placed upon his head. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Giovanni take a seat on the couch next to him again. Ash almost reluctantly reached for the item on his head and brought it into his view. He smiled at the familiar old red material with white in the front and the old Pokemon League symbol, which had been since upgraded over the years. He found the will to smile sincerely once more and saw immeasurable hope in that small detail, "thank you."

Giovanni couldn't help it but to find a certain fondness in the scene. "You really are a lot like Delia; the smallest things seem to cause such a big change."

"You kept my hat safe for me; you took care of something that was important for me even if I know you don't really like it all that much. I'm happy because that means you thought of me," Ash returned the precious hat to his head. He was feeling comfortable, as if it had an almost magical effect over him. He leaned back on the couch and let out a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "I just remembered, I haven't thanked you for the car yet, it's really cool. The design is different from other cars I've seen. It's almost like it could be a secret spy's car in a movie."

"Almost," Giovanni agreed, "but your mother would disapprove of I had left the missiles in it, so I had those removed. The mechanism is still there, just without the ammo."

Ash paused, examining Giovanni's expression. The young man blinked twice before his surprised uncertainty turned to knowing amusement. "Can we load it up with fireworks?"

"That's an option," Giovanni agreed, though he knew there were other more important things that Ash wanted to talk about. He seemed to be enjoying the small talk, but that would only cause him to be distracted and not say what he truly meant to say. Ash would leave it for later like Delia or just bottle it up like him. "What was it that you wanted to tell me before?"

"A lot, but at the same time no specific thing," Ash confessed. "I guess I just want to know more. I got to know you as the gym leader first, then as the secret leader of Team Rocket. Both are only a portion of who you are and there's a lot more I still don't know; I can sense it. I feel it, a strong ambition it's something..." Ash paused, looking into his father's eyes wondering if he should go on. Giovanni nodded, prompting him to continue, "it's something mom told me to watch out for. I don't know why I didn't sense it before. Maybe I focused so much on the part of you that you were showing, the part I wanted to see more of, that I missed all your other aspects. Or maybe... maybe it all depends on which part is directed to whom."

To be Continued

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 096: Give me Affection

Ash and Giovanni were alone in his gym office. It was a strange sensation unlike anything Giovanni had ever felt before. Delia had her ways to make him talk, an inexplicable charm that made it difficult to keep secrets, as if he longed to feel her understanding without realizing it. Her gaze was soft, almost hypnotizing, delicately tugging at his defenses until the doors opened with the most gentle push. Ash's eyes seemed to carry a certain fire in them that spoke of a curiosity much more impatient than Delia's. It was an intensity, hidden beyond a curtain of caring understanding, that could knock the door down like a thousand hyper beams. Delia asked to look into his soul and somehow always managed to be granted passage. Ash seemed to possess the key to look into anyone's soul without having to ask. "What are you doing?" He couldn't look away from his son's eyes.

"I wanted to see," Ash replied in a whisper. "Sorry if I'm being a little invasive, I just wanted to see it, the color of your soul. It's not really a color in the usual sense; it's a feeling, a sensation. It's hard to explain. It's a mix of many aspects, many different characteristics and sides. I know that you won't give up on accomplishing your goals by any means. I also know that not everything is black and white; I think I understand like mom does. One similarity can be stronger than ten differences at times and different paths may overlap just enough. Does that sound strange?"

"Not at all," Giovanni admitted, "I just didn't expect you to say something so... deep. Some time ago I researched many legends looking for rare pokemon and new power. That led to certain discoveries, though they didn't all really take off. I remember a legend about the Aura Guardians. I never really looked too deeply into that one; it seemed to be more myth than reality. Just now I remembered that, I'm not sure why."

"That's what it is, but I never really formally trained so I don't consider myself to be an expert," Ash revealed. "Sometimes when I focus and let my energy flow, I can sense things, see beyond what I normally see. There are times when it helps me understand and times when I end up with more things to be confused over, feelings and thoughts that might not immediately match the given situation, words and actions. Later, it slowly falls into place and it's easier to understand. They say every person is a whole world, I think this might be what they mean."

xoxox xox xoxox

Giovanni's Persian had been returned to his trainer after the symptoms of the mysterious illness disappeared. The humans were unaware that it was Aayla who had healed him. Instead of sitting next to the gym leader as he usually did, he had taken a walk through the underground Viridian Rocket base to satisfy his curiosity. He peeked into the infirmary, where three Rockets were entertained by their conversation as well as doing various things simultaneously, such as playing handheld video games and looking up celebrity gossip online.

A female Pikachu with a blue bow on her left ear, approached Persian at the door. 'Are you looking for someone?' She asked curiously while holding a bowl of chocolate ice-cream with marshmallows on one paw and a spoon on the other.

'Of course not. why would I be looking for anyone among you servant pokemon?' Persian huffed; he didn't understand his own curiosity to know if the odd Meowth who had helped him was alright. She simply disappeared. As for the female Persian he saw for a split second, she was too far away to be recognizable, moving too quickly and disappearing among the vegetation. He had no idea who she could have been and was beginning to think she was only a dream. It had been quite an exhausting day, which fueled the idea of the mysterious female Persian being only a figment of his imagination and nothing more.

Peachy pouted, 'we're not servants! If you're mean I'm electrocuting you!'

Persian threw his head back in superior indifference, 'you wouldn't dare.' No sooner had those words, spoken in pokemon language, left Persian's mouth; a blast of electricity collided with him at point blank. The heat from the electricity quickly melted the ice-cream. A portion of melted chocolate ice-cream flew from the bowl propelled by the aftershock and landed on the classy pokemon's face. 'You!' He hissed.

Peachy hissed right back, "chu!"

By then the humans were well aware of the happenings and Pixel tried to interfere. "Peachy, you shouldn't pick a fight with the boss' pokemon; you'll get me into trouble." The blue haired girl picked up her pokemon and held her away from the Rocket boss' spoiled pokemon. "Come sit over here and finish your ice-cream, it's already melted, unless you don't want it..."

As Peachy was placed on a chair, she held the lime green bowl protectively. "Pi!" There was no way she would turn down delicious food. She resumed her meal, shoveling away the melted chocolate ice-cream and static-filled marshmallows. Ironically, though she ate quickly, she was somehow perfectly neat and not a single drop of melted brown landed on her pristine yellow glossy fur.

Persian remained dissatisfied with the disrespect and approached Peachy looking for revenge. "A word of advice," Comet warned, "don't make Peachy mad. She's all sweet, cuddly and friendly, but if you get in her bad side, she's deadly."

Persian bared his claws and hissed at Comet. 'This is none of your business!'

"Don't go showing me your claws mister, or I might have to pay you back for last time," Comet petted the top of Persian's head, messing up his fur just to bother him.

"Last time?" Laiki curiously and nosily asked. "What do you mean last time and why haven't I heard about this?"

Comet stepped out of the way of Persian's lazy slash, with which the classy pokemon wasn't even trying to hit him. "It was years ago," the young man pushed his hair back, running his fingers through it in search of something, "right there." Barely perceptible under his red hair there was a cut-like scar that anyone would have trouble seeing unless they knew exactly where to look for it. "It's one of life's earliest lessons, one of the first few things I vividly remember. I was still small back then, dad went to Giovanni's office to discuss something," probably about keeping him out of the lab and raising him as a son, rather then an experiment. "I didn't really understand what they were talking about. Either way, my attention was on Persian, then a Meowth. He was the first pokemon I ever saw as far as I remember. I pulled on his tail and he scratched me."

"Picking a fight with the boss' pokemon, you were such a little trouble maker." Laiki laughed as she kneeled down to clean Persian's face. "There, there, your majesty, all clean."

Persian huffed in indignation as a response. He glanced around the infirmary deciding that he would ignore the humans and the Pikachu. She was having the audacity to ignore him after all, as if drinking a bowl of melted ice-cream was so much more interesting than him. There was a Charmeleon in the room too, though he remained sound asleep with a pair of headphones upon his head, playing music and blocking out all other noises. Peeking out of a more spacious section of the infirmary, there was a Gyarados, he was awake, but didn't seem to be in the mood to do much else than lie there until something that caught his interest occurred.

A young Absol, still basically a baby, was playing with a yellow tennis ball, batting it away with his paw against the wall. The ball bounced off the white surface towards the small Absol, who sent it flying against the wall again. There was also a Scyther, a young adult like the other pokemon present. Prism was also there, but she was in Pixel's computer where she liked to spend most of her time, thus out of sight. "Are you looking for Purry?" Rykros boldly asked.

Persian didn't reply, instead giving him a look of confusion and annoyance upon the insistence that he might be looking for someone. He was indeed looking for her, but he wasn't about to admit it. Besides, if he had ever heard the name, he had not thought of it as important enough to remember, if he even knew it in the first place.

Rykros elaborated, assuming Persian didn't know who he was talking about. "A fiery Meowth that looks like someone no one would want to mess with, with a charm as sharp as a scythe."

The description fit perfectly and Persian knew right away who the Scyther was talking about. "Are you having an affair with her or something?" Chan, Laiki's nosy Hitmonchan piped in.

Persian gave Chan a death glare and retaliated, half tackling and half pushing the Hitmonchan away. Chan hastily went into a defensive stance, thus minimizing the impact as much as possible, though it was still enough to make him stumble backwards. 'I was just curious if she was dead or alive that's all. That Meowth has nothing to do with me,' Persian hissed.

"I knew they wouldn't resolve things peacefully," Laiki pouted, distressed at the prospect of the pokemon making and mess which she would be stuck cleaning up.

Peachy finished savoring her snack and jumped into action. Before she could initiate a battle royal, Shenron, the Gyarados, voiced a peculiar revelation. 'The Meowth you speak of is no more. She is fated never to return.'

The news made an expression of shock suddenly cloud Persian's face. He involuntarily stepped back, sadness barely visible in his eyes. 'I see...'

Realizing that her opponent no longer possessed the will to fight, Peachy paused and observed the situation. She didn't understand why the thought of evolution was so shocking to Persian. What Shenron had spoken was completely true, Purry the Meowth was no more, she was indeed fated to never return. Though strange things sometimes happened regarding evolution, it was extremely unlikely for a pokemon who had already evolved to go back to the way it was before.

'I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity, that's all,' Persian voiced with a hint of something unknown bothering him in the back of his mind. So the scruffy servant pokemon lay down her life fighting off a fierce creature for his sake. It shouldn't matter to him, it was her duty and she should have been honored to bravely fulfill it. Then why was he so bothered by it? He was not one to express gratitude except to his human parents, but never to anyone else. He shouldn't need to tell her he appreciated what she had done because a servant pokemon required no appreciation. 'There is no reason for me to be here,' Persian finally stated and without further ado, he dashed away from the infirmary.

"I wish I could understand pokemon language," Laiki sighed. "I feel as if I just witnessed an intense soap opera style dramatic scene, but I have no idea what the characters were saying. It's like watching a crucial episode of your favorite series in a foreign language you don't understand. You know there's something big happening right in front of your eyes, but you don't know what it is. It's so taunting it's frustrating!"

xoxox xox xoxox

After leaving the infirmary, Persian made his way to one of the rooms at Viridian, where Delia was sharing some snacks with Pikachu and Swablu. He hopped on the couch next to her and had to do nothing more to get her attention before receiving a welcomed scratch behind the ears and pleasant soft strokes on his head and back. "Aw, have a snack honey; maybe it'll make you feel better."

Persian slightly lifted his head and took the gourmet pokemon cookie his mother was offering him. He wasn't sure why she was assuming that he wasn't feeling well. Glad that the small Swablu going off to play with Pikachu made room on Delia's lap, he rested there being petted and cuddled.

"What is it that hurts you, sweetie?" Delia gently whispered soothingly. "Are you worried about your pokemon brothers and sisters?" The term of siblings was used in a metaphorical sense to refer to pokemon in general. "Don't worry, Team Rocket is working really hard to solve the problems and make everyone all better. I'm sure things will work out." Delia petted her pokemon son some more, trying to decipher what was on his mind. "It's something else that's bothering you, isn't it? Are you suffering from a broken heart?"

Persian snorted at the possibility. A broken heart over such an unworthy creature that should produce no reaction from him with the exception of disgust? No, never, absolutely not!

"You're as proud as your father," Delia couldn't help it but to laugh. She gently cupped his face in her hands, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "Tell mommy what's wrong. Are you missing someone?"

Persian shook his head, hoping that his mother would get the message and stop asking. He also noticed that Pikachu and Swablu had ceased their playing and were staring at him. It all infuriated Persian and he glared at the other pokemon, warning them with his eyes not to further annoy him.

"If you don't want to talk about it, maybe making a wish will help, hope can be quite powerful," Delia advised. "A small quiet prayer can go a long way. Never give up and the right actions will be revealed, then you'll know what to do."

Nothing was making sense to Persian lately and he had enough of it. He didn't understand the assumptions of the Rocket agents and their pokemon. He especially didn't understand what his mother was getting at. He jumped off her lap and left the room.

xoxox xox xoxox

Persian made his way to a small interior garden below the gym. It wasn't too large as such decorative places were bigger and more abundant at the mansion. It was only a small place to take a breather in a calming scenery. Persian walked to the small pond in the center of the garden. The water was crystalline, its blue bottom making it look as if it reflected the sky. The ceiling was painted in the colors of the day's sky with a few fluffy white clouds on the light blue. The walls were surrounded by bushes that reached to the ceiling with roses wrapping around its branches. Daisies were scattered on the soft grass that had been planted on the ground resting on the floor.

Persian looked at his reflection in the pond and felt as if he was being watched. It gave him a sense of deja vu, but he disregarded it as his imagination. That fiery Meowth, Purry, was gone, killed by that monster that was drawn to her because he had to run off and take a walk. He felt completely silly about it, absolutely ridiculous, but he decided to follow his mother's advice anyway. Ignoring the feeling of a familiar presence that had to be imaginary, if not the wondering spirit of a fallen pokemon, he took a deep breath and looked around. When he was certain that he was alone, he spoke a small prayer as a means to help himself relax and let go of a past event he shouldn't have glanced back at in the first place.

'Rest in peace, Purry.' That alone didn't quite satisfy him, thus he continued, 'you weren't so bad, for a servant pokemon I mean. It's too bad that you died, since you were dutiful and all. You probably already got some real prayers from your friends, you know, some that actually regret your passing, not that it's any of my business and... why am I even talking to myself?' Even if he said that, he felt as if he was being heard, as if Purry's uneasy spirit was being appeased. 'Anyway, if it were my choice, I would have decided that the creature didn't kill you, but I guess it's not my choice,' he frowned at having so little control over the situation. Reality hit him like a Golem falling on his head. He couldn't have anything he wanted because there were things that no one could change. The realization was both enraging and frightening.

Persian lay down and closed his eyes. He felt movement somewhere in the room, but assumed it was the artificial breeze running through it, if not his recently overactive imagination. He remembered the unknown female Persian he saw before. Whoever she was, she was very fast. A cold chill went down his spine as he considered the possibility that the mysterious Persian was the evolved ghost of the fallen Meowth, not a ghost type pokemon, but an actual wandering spirit. Had she returned to haunt him for his ingratitude and perhaps indirect cause of her death? Yet she didn't feel like a vengeful spirit, more like a protective presence.

'Purry? Are you here?' He felt especially ridiculous, but was compelled to continue voicing his thoughts. 'If you are, you can rest now, your spirit doesn't need to wander around aimlessly any more. As a ghost there's not much else that you can do now except rest in peace.'

Unable to resist any longer, Purry remained hidden as she spoke, 'I'm not a ghost, I've evolved.'

Persian bolted to his feet, his head turning in every direction it could. 'You're alive? Those pokemon said that you...' he paused and thought about the Gyarados' words. He said that the Meowth was gone, but he didn't use the word dead. He must have been referring to evolution all along while being ambiguous, perhaps purposely confusing to summon his guilt. Persian huffed in frustrated anger, wasn't anyone going to respect him anymore? 'Stop following me!' He growled, 'why are you hiding anyway? Evolution or not, you can't be worse than before!'

There was a long silence until Purry sorrowfully declared, 'I am worse than before, a hideous freak with a face that would give you nightmares. Evolution has been my worse curse.'

'I see...' Persian felt an immeasurable relief in the fact that she was alive, though she was obviously miserable. 'Well you're probably already used to being hideous so that's not so bad.' A pebble flew from the bushes in Persian's direction, though he dodged it. 'What was that about?' He hissed, even the one who he thought would be unconditionally, perhaps stupidly, loyal to his authority had suddenly decided to be disrespectful.

'A warning,' Purry hissed from her hiding place in the bushes. 'I've already given up on you so don't make me mad.'

'What is it with everyone being so disrespectful today?' Persian exclaimed in frustration. 'Even if they know who I am, they don't understand.'

'You're just being a spoiled brat,' Purry argued.

'You're being infuriating,' Persian hissed in return. 'I know you're there.' He looked right at the spot where Purry was hidden, 'I know where you are and I know you can see me. Stop being ridiculous and come out, whatever it is you look like, it can't be any worse than before. It just bothers me to feel like I'm talking with a wall, even if you seem to have enough stubbornness to have the understanding of one. Look, I'll even close my eyes and you can go away and leave me alone.'

'I was here first,' Purry hissed, menacingly coming out of the bushes like a wild untamable pokemon stalking her pray. 'If you want to be alone then you leave.'

Persian's eyes were already closed as he had offered and he didn't see the fury that stood before him. 'My father owns this place, you can't tell me to leave!' He hissed in accumulated anger. 'You should just continue your duties as normal. If you insist on guarding me like a knight to a prince, then so be it, but quit spying on me, it's creepy! If you're really that much more hideous maybe the humans can fix you a bit, I can't have unworthy guards. Not that I need guards and I certainly don't want your presence. In fact, as soon as there's an opportunity I'll be the one to battle. I wasn't feeling well, but I'll show you how powerful I am, you'll be impressed! Not that I care if you're impressed or not.'

When Persian opened his eyes to glare defiantly he was shocked. He had mentally prepared for the hideous sight that Purry claimed she had become, worse than before. Instead he found a female Persian with perfect glossy fur that had grown back in full and a fit elegant body worthy of the most high ranked pokemon shows. When the impression faded to give way to reality, he was angered. The ruby on his head was at the center of the conversation of many humans. Its purity, quality and size made him the subject of admiration. After seeing her broken charm he would think her gem would be chipped and cracked. Instead the evolved Purry had a horn of the purest ruby coming from her forehead. It was perfectly polished, both beautiful and deadly.

'Stop staring,' ashamed, she tried to cover up the shiny red horn to no avail.

'You!' Persian hissed. 'How dare you have a gem like that, no one has a gem of that size! The humans, they admire it greatly. If father sees this... No, he would never care for another pokemon as much as me, I'll still be his favorite, I am his son after all.'

Purry blinked at the growling and grumbling that Persian was making about her gem. She tilted her head curiously to the side. She was technically a freak to be scorned by other Persian, Meowth and pokemon in general, save for those who were open minded enough not to judge by appearances. However, this particular Persian was very different. His standards had transcended those of pokemon and were based on what pleased humans. Her appearance was not something that threatened a human's sense of authority questioning their right as master as the ability of speech would be perceived. Despite her condition being a deformity of nature, it was something that humans would be fascinated by, cataloging it as beautiful.

'Are you... could you actually be...' Purry couldn't believe what she was about to ask, 'are you jealous?'

'Don't be ridiculous!' Persian hissed immediately. He didn't want to leave room for doubt in his reply, though the envy was all over his expression. 'Humans will still admire me more because I'm... I'm...' Stronger? Faster? More refined? The last one for sure, at least. 'Because of my father, so there!' He finished.

'Speaking of your father, maybe I should go and report to the boss.' With those words, Purry dashed out of the small garden room.

Persian's eyes went wide and a million thoughts passed through his mind in the split second before he hurried after her.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ash and Giovanni were still at the gym office, talking about various things. Ash wanted to get more of Giovanni's point of view in regards to how he met Delia and their story of earlier years. "So you were planning to propose but had to delay it because of the volcano being attacked. Then when mom sunk the S.S. Lapras you didn't want to wait anymore?"

"It was bad timing and I was interrupted by an explosion," Giovanni admitted, remembering that he never got an answer. He thought he saw Delia wearing the ring he had no doubts she would still keep. He wasn't sure, since she was holding her baby Swablu, so it was hard to see her hands beyond her cloud-like wings. "Even so..." Giovanni was surprised at himself about how easily he would admit to such things. "There was something special about how she went out of her way to sink a ship for me. She was trying to stop a confrontation that I would have won anyway, but still." Perhaps all those years without Delia really did make him see her in a new light when she finally returned. With that light, the world itself might change, maybe only a little, but just enough. "She's always found a way to be helpful, even if we were having a disagreement."

"I know what you mean," Ash agreed. "I was too excited to notice back then, but looking back on it, I think mom was really worried about me going on a journey. I should have noticed how uneasy she was the day before I left when I was all caught up on looking forward to it. She still saw me off with a smile."

The father and son moment was interrupted by a female Persian with a horn shaped ruby bursting into the office, followed by a familiar male Persian. The two pokemon ran around leaving chaos in their path until Giovanni managed to grab them both by the fur on their backs and drag them to a corner like misbehaving pets. He let them go as they seemed to have gotten the message from his stern look that no more chaotic running around his office would be permitted. He examined the ruby horn the unknown female had, petting her soft fur.

"That's so cool!" Ash joined the examination, curiously looking at the new Persian. "Is she yours too?"

"She is now," Giovanni decided, which caused Persian to protest in worry. "Stop making such a fuss, I already told you, your girlfriend can come live with us."

Persian's jaw dropped, 'my what?!'

Purry blushed scarlet, but she still had the energy to try to get some payback. 'I had already given up on you before... Not interested...' She proudly walked away. She was indeed still very interested, but she made a perfect impersonation of Persian's usual proud and indifferent expression.

Used to being admired, Persian felt indignation at this display of indifference from one's whose loyalty he would never admit he was glad to think of as permanent. He watched in shock as she threw her head back in disregard, much like he often did, and dashed out of the office. 'Wait a minute! You're supposed to admire me without question, come back here!' He dashed after her in a strange turn of events in which the chaser somehow became the chased.

Comet and Pixel, followed by a nosy Laiki, appeared at the office door from which the two Persian departed. "Did Purry cause any trouble?" Comet inquired, wondering what annoyance she might have caused the boss with the possibility of getting him, or Pixel, or both, into trouble for allowing her to run wild.

"So she was yours, she's a little wild, but nothing too bad," Giovanni didn't feel like making a fuss about it, given that his own Persian was misbehaving just as much.

"They're in love," Ash declared as if he had made the wisest of discoveries, though one with no research or base other than a random hasty guess.

To be Continued

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 097: Give me Warmth

Following the lively scene at the Viridian gym's office concerning Purry and Persian, it was decided that Purry would live with Giovanni and his pokemon. The Rocket boss had taken an interest in the female Persian with a most peculiarly large gem. If his own precious Persian took an interest in her, as it was his assumption that had happened, he would not be opposed to the idea. Even if her origin was not of professional breeding, she had become a rare pokemon and that fact could not be denied. Giovanni remembered having seen some theories of ancient Persian with horns; it was a guess of the scientific community at best. Like humans, pokemon not only evolved in the spontaneous sense, but also slowly with time.

Comet and Pixel would still be able to see Purry, since she would be where Giovanni was. Besides, when she felt like running off to visit, they were sure there was no one in the world that could stop her free spirit, not even Team Rocket and its leader. For the rare pokemon, the Rocket agents were rewarded with many prizes which included a payment bonus and several useful items. Some of those items were technical machines, rare candy and even a dubious disk, which Pixel used to evolve Prism, her Porygon2, into PorygonZ.

Just as Comet and Pixel were done with their business and Laiki with her eavesdropping, Jessie and James arrived to report in. "We're back!" Jessie chirped with a cheer that stood out far beyond even her best of moods in the past. In her arms she held a small Eevee, tiny enough to be a newborn. Meteor, Comet's baby Absol, jumped from Comet to Jessie's shoulder to have a better look at the other young pokemon that he had decided would be his new friend and playmate. "Aw, Eevee made a friend!" Jessie chirped in pure bliss.

Giovanni had not requested that Jessie and James should report in when they arrived at Viridian. He merely approved, at Delia's insistence, of their provisional transfer to work at the Viridian Rocket Headquarters in light of the temporary closing of their daycare center at Saffron City. The close was done in hopes of staying as far as possible from the epidemic until an effective cure was put into action. The event brought terrible sorrow to Jessie, who cried like a baby seriously frightening James, as she was usually very strong. However, upon their approach to the gym office, she was inexplicably seized by joyous bliss, probably remembering some moment in the past when they were reporting something or other to the boss and enjoying the sense of nostalgia that came with the random memory. All in all, James was terrified to think of how much worse Jessie's random mood swings would get as her condition progressed.

"Is that Flareon and Growlie's baby?" Filled with his usual curiosity, Ash approached the little Eevee, petting him gently.

While all of that was taking place right at the door to Giovanni's office, Delia arrived with Persian and Purry. Her baby Swablu was perched on her shoulder while she walked slightly bent over, keeping a hand on each Persian's shoulder, as if to guide them. Following her were Pikachu and Peachy, who had tackled Pikachu in a bone crushing hug the second she saw him. Pikachu wasn't sure if he should be happy to be greeted with such affection or worried that he might not survive Peachy's reciprocated feelings.

Delia stood straight, remaining between the two Persian. "Honestly, I don't know if these two were passionately making out or trying to kill each other. Either way, they'll make a mess if left alone." After the revelation escaped her lips, Delia became absorbed in an instant conversation with Jessie and James about the baby Eevee, who gained another new friend in Swablu. No one seemed to be paying attention to the protests, arguments and embarrassed excuses from the two Persian.

The chitchat that had invaded the entrance to the gym office didn't seem to be going away any time in the immediate future. As soon as it looked like it would quiet down as all the immediate curiosities were answered, Laiki, who wanted to know much more than was her business, would come up with something to ask, fueling the chain reaction of one question or comment that led to another. The scene continued in such a way until Delia noticed that Giovanni was looking less than patient and before he told everyone to shut up and get lost, she led them away in a much more gentle manner.

In the end, Ash himself didn't think too much, or maybe even take notice of how he had ran off with Jessie, James, Comet, Pixel, Laiki and the pokemon, with a carefree, "thanks for returning my hat, see you later, dad."

Giovanni barely took notice of it himself, letting it go as something that should have been natural, but would not seem so if the entirety of the situation was taken into consideration. He had a long day and the headache he had been fighting, which he somehow seemed to defeat during his strangely calming conversation with Ash, returned full force when the multitude of voices gathered in front of his office. Overall, the most inviting thing to do at the moment was to follow the suggestion in Delia's eyes and take a small break.

xoxox xox xoxox

After having left Giovanni and Delia alone, the rest of the group headed off to find some safe but comfortable space for the pokemon to play in. It was not too difficult given the size of the base, thus the group occupied an empty battle arena that was not scheduled to be used by anyone in the next few hours. It was there that James pointed out how casual Ash had become with Giovanni. The fact that he acted so naturally around uniformed Rocket agents as well his and Misty's acceptance of Jessie and James' return to Team Rocket, hinted that they knew more than Jessie and James guessed.

Ash nodded in admittance, glancing at the baby pokemon whom Meowth was currently keeping an eye on. Then he looked back at Jessie and James and dropped the bomb of a revelation on them. "The truth is that Giovanni isn't my stepfather because he's dating mom, he's my real dad."

Two jaws dropped and two sets of eyes went wide. "Are you saying you have the blood of the Roketto running through your veins?" James grabbed Ash by his shirt, face inches away from his.

"Um... yeah..." Ash tried to back away to recover his personal space after James invaded it in his outburst. Before Ash could move, James moved first, falling backwards, fainting from the shock, an action which was copied by Meowth who had overheard. He had been trying to steal pokemon from a twerp that was not a twerp, but a prince in a sense. "Is he going to be okay?" Ash asked.

Jessie nodded without doubts, she was currently in a carefree mood. "He'll be fine, don't worry. Now it all makes sense. No wonder we couldn't steal your Pikachu, you're not just a twerp, you're a royal twerp!" Jessie giggled, which made Ash think that his question should have been about if she was okay. Yet as long as her fearsome enraged side didn't show up, it could be said that all was well.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ash returned to the gym's guest room above ground to check on Misty after leaving his pokemon and his mother's Swablu to play. Upon entering the guest room, Ash found that Misty was awake. The bathroom door was open with the sound of the sink's running water as Misty finished waking herself up by washing her face. She dried her face with a soft towel and smiled upon seeing Ash's approaching reflection in the bathroom mirror, though some worries still remained in the back of her mind. "After a nap, I'm ready to continue hoping." Misty set aside the towel, returning Ash's loving embrace.

"That's good, because we can't lose hope, no matter what." Feeling optimistic with the return of his hat and more so with the conversation accompanying the event, Ash kissed his fiance as if the action would magically make everything right in the world.

After their lips parted, Misty voiced the observation that she had noticed right away after Ash came into view. "You got your hat back."

Hearing the fortunate event being further recognized, Ash grinned, "yeah, dad had it in his office all along." It was than that he noticed that he seemed to have switched from a somewhat uncomfortable 'father' to a more carefree 'dad'. "We have our differences and there are things we would strongly disagree on," Ash didn't have to say what he was talking about, as Misty knew right away. "We can still get along, even with that. We can figure out a way to be tolerant, I think, to respect each other's paths..." He would not trick himself into thinking it would be easy, but both he and his mother were certainly willing to try. He knew his father would try too if they were patient.

"I'm really glad that's working out," Misty's face conveyed her sincere emotions.

"Jessie and James are here," Ash announced, "Pikachu and the pokemon are with them, Comet, Pixel and Laiki. We're taking a break from everything and letting the pokemon play. It should help us relax, let's go with them. Since you already know so much, I'm sure it won't be a problem if you come downstairs." Ash was not aware of how deep the basements were yet. He knew about the existence of secret basements, albeit his guess of their size would still fall short and he had not yet tested the limits of his access card. Delia's access card had been upgraded on several occasions since her unofficial return to Team Rocket.

"I'm going back to Cerulean City," Misty's voice was once again filled with sadness as she confessed her determination. "Daisy and Lando are back, they're there too and so is Brock. I need to go help, but I can't take my healthy pokemon with me and risk them catching the virus. I'll leave them here with you. I won't come back until this is over. Until then, I need to stand by their side, my sisters and the pokemon at the Cerulean gym need me the most right now. I know my other pokemon are in good hands with you."

Ash didn't want Misty to leave, though he understood her need to go. "I want to go too, I want to help."

"I know you understand that you can't go," Misty finished for him. "You need to stay and protect the pokemon that are here, keep them safe from the risk of the virus. We'll both work together and things will turn out alright in the end." Even if she seemed to be in the verge of tears, Misty made herself smile.

"Yes, everything will be okay," Ash spoke those words to reassure Misty and himself. "I understand," it was obvious he still didn't like it, but he knew it had to be this way. "I'll take care of your pokemon here. Go and help the pokemon at the gym. I'm sure I'll be able to call you with good news soon."

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Delia and Giovanni were up on the roof of the Viridian gym. The abundant trees around the city, made it seem later into the day than it actually was, blocking the sunlight. Just like in the past, Delia seemed to be a reassuring light in the middle of uncertainty. "You're wearing the ring," Giovanni observed.

"Yes," Delia glanced at her left hand where the platinum diamond ring sat proudly on her ring finger. She fingered the underside of the band with her thumb. "I just felt like wearing it." Her eyes met his in the tranquility of the roof, where the busy atmosphere of the secret basements couldn't reach them.

"Does that mean that you're finally going to give me an answer?" As it happened in that moment long ago, when he first gave Delia that ring, Giovanni forgot about the timing and voiced his thoughts, temporarily pushing aside all other happenings for that instant.

Delia smiled, her lips parted to give way to words, with endless hope and love reflected in her eyes. Then a shape akin to a missile flew past them towards the area in the sky above. It made Delia's words dissolve before they could truly be formed as she held on to Giovanni tighter, startled by the sudden interruption. A brilliant green firework exploded above with a loud bang. Passers on the street, who were previously oblivious to the couple on the roof, stopped to look. Some pointed at them and others produced cameras from their bags or took pictures with their cell phones.

Among the commotion, there was Rune Antilles, who had been carrying the pyrotechnic sample. It worked with an integrated trigger rather than a fuse to light. He wanted to see firsthand which fireworks were best to celebrate when his son won the elections. Kenobi would no doubt be elected as the new mayor, since it was Giovanni's will. Rune dropped the firework upon hearing the words of his son, who was walking next to him. "You can't go to Cerulean City now, the elections are around the corner and Giovanni has already decided that he wouldn't give me another term in office after all. It's your turn now; it's your duty to serve the city in place of your retired father!"

"I have to go, I already explained it to you, please understand." Kenobi tried to sound as reassuring as he could. "I'm sure the situation will be solved before my term in office begins. By then I would have returned to Viridian City with time to prepare for my new duties. Either way, we should not discuss this here," Kenobi quickly warned. He was generally more careful than Rune when it came to words.

"Yes, yes, I know," Rune sighed deeply as he searched for a small bottle containing his heart medicine in the pocket of his suit. His son's warning seemed to be lost. "You had to lie to your dear Violet to uphold our oath of silence. Now that you have been given permission to right that wrong and tell her the truth about our leader, in light of the recent happenings involving-"

"Rune!" Giovanni shouted from the gym's roof, instantly catching the current mayor's attention. "Shut up!"

"Yes, sir!" Rune squeaked and scurried away towards his house.

"My apologies!" Kenobi soon followed his father and hurried away as well.

Thankfully, the passers were ignorant of the hidden meaning of the conversation that had been held by the Antilles father and son. Their attention was focused more so on the couple on the roof. They assumed that the gym leader was only upset because the firework going off interrupted a tender moment he was sharing with his lady.

After that annoying little event, Giovanni knew they would get no peace or privacy on the roof. He and Delia returned inside and went to Giovanni's room at the gym. "All these interruptions remind me of when we first met Rune." Giovanni's voice was filled with annoyance.

The memory was amusing to Delia. "I remember, you two were good friends right from the start."

"That's the biggest sarcasm I've ever heard," Giovanni replied with less annoyance than his initial comment. It was probably due to Delia removing the jacket of his suit and massaging his shoulders in an effort to help him relax.

xoxox xox xoxox

The day when Giovanni first met Rune was a day quite similar to the present in terms of weather and hour. However, the epidemic of that time was meeting its end along with the other gangs of Kanto. Team Rocket was beginning its steady growth and the elections were approaching to assign a new mayor to Viridian City. The gym building was a different one, the one that was demolished in later years during Ash's battle against Jessie and James for an Earth badge. A younger Rune Antilles stood in front of the gym structure and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "new gym leader! New gym leader!"

At the time, Giovanni and Delia had been taking a moment to rest, since they had both stayed out late battling to wipe out the last few gangs left in Kanto, to establish Team Rocket's firm rule of the underworld. They were cuddled together in bed, while their baby Meowth was taken out to play by his uncle Luke. Delia said her usual line of "chill out Charmander," accentuated with a pleasurable gasp as Giovanni trailed kisses down her neck.

"You're not exactly chilling out yourself," he whispered seductively in her ear.

Delia knew very well that the insistence of her statement would be lost in the fact that her arms were tightly wrapped around him with no intentions of letting go, her legs brushing against his as they became further tangled in their passionate embrace. Then a voice from outside called out with unbreakable insistence for the new gym leader to come out. "Someone's calling you."

"Ignore him," despite his request, Giovanni was unable to ignore the insistent voice himself. Fed up with the idiot that was interrupting that most enjoyable moment with Delia, Giovanni approached the window. He threw the curtains left and right, then looked out at the man, a few years older than him. He stood waiting with a large practiced smile upon his face that only made Giovanni angrier.

"Good afternoon honorable new gym leader of Viridian City!" The man chirped with more cheer than needed. "Allow me to take this opportunity to greet you properly and welcome you as the new gym leader of our proud city of Viridian. My name is Rune Antilles and as you might have heard, I am running for mayor again in the next elections. I hope to count with your vote and promise to continue making this wonderful city a better place." The mayor candidate continued bantering on and on about his political promises and aspirations.

"Rune," Giovanni gave the mayor candidate a firm glare that caught his attention and silenced him even before he threateningly ordered, "shut up!"

It was then that Rune's brain jumpstarted and he thought that maybe the delay in the gym leader's reply was not due to not having heard his calls before. He took in the young man's state from what he could see through the window from the waist up, noticing his mostly unbuttoned shirt and somewhat ruffled hair. Had he been woken up from a nap thus causing him to be cranky? The nap theory was soon proven false as a young woman peeked out the window behind the young gym leader, her face somewhat flustered. Rune blushed crimson as his imagination came up with all sorts of theories to fit the scene. He could only squeak, "yes, sir!" And run away before he further ruined his public relations with the new gym leader.

xoxox xox xoxox

Though they did eventually become lovers, that was not the only time in which annoying interruptions plagued Giovanni's time of romance with Delia. There was the occasional new recruit knocking on his door to ask a stupid question that should have gone to a higher ranked agent instead of directly to the boss. Such was the case in a similar afternoon when rookie after rookie came in to ask about something or other. It was a particularly busy week in several areas of business both legal and secret, leaving the top ranked Rockets all over Kanto. Archer and Ariana had just recently married and left on their honey moon.

Proton and Petrel were taking care of some business in Vermillion City. Leah was all but forgotten, running errands and taking care of a few smaller missions until her strategic thinking was once again called upon. Aayla had insisted on helping the scientists along with Binks, despite battling being more her strength than research. She had her own hidden agenda, but that was still unknown at the time. Giovanni had allowed it, reasoning that the scientists, though brilliant in their field, would be sitting Farfetch'd if anything went wrong and they were attacked by remnants of a gang. If that was the case, Aayla would be very helpful in the battlefield.

The situation left Luke as the highest ranked agent present at headquarters. Thus he was the mediator between the boss and the rookies. He could make all the choices that were too big for the lower ranked agents, yet not significant enough for Giovanni to have to be directly involved. Even so, agents kept coming and going seeking information and instructions from Giovanni until he blew up. "I told you to take your questions to Luke!"

"I'm sorry, sir," the rookie backed away. "It's just that no one can find Luke anywhere."

Not in the mood to be tolerant with unforeseen disappearances, Giovanni called Luke's cell phone to demand to know where he was, but received no reply other than endless unattended rings. A search began all over the old Viridian headquarters, which were not yet anywhere near as large as they would be years later. Luke was finally found in his room, buried under his collection of surf boards which he had piled up unsteadily and thus they had later fallen on him. Luke was exhausted from spending the night surfing in stormy weather quite different from the sunshine that came with daybreak. He put away his most recently used surf board upon his return earlier, causing the pile to crumble on top of him like an avalanche. Too tired to get up, he fell asleep under the surfboards and was since thought to be missing.

When he was finally rescued, Luke could do nothing more than go and on about how the waves have been "like totally like beyond awesome" while Giovanni grumbled about all the interruptions he had to endure due to the newbies not being able to find Luke.

xoxox xox xoxox

In the present time, Giovanni had let go of the burst of anger and intensified headache that came due to Rune's clumsy blunder. At least there had been no more interruptions since that one, which granted him some enjoyable alone time with Delia. He knew he would have to go to work soon, despite being quite comfortable with Delia in his arms, their bodies pressed together. Giovanni thought Delia had fallen asleep, her eyes were closed and her expression was peaceful, as if she was enjoying a blissful dream. Then her eyes opened slowly as she shifted to meet his gaze. She smiled somewhat playfully and voiced a reply that have taken years to be spoken, "I will."

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at the western edge of Kanto, in the famed Mount Silver, two Rocket agents were conducting an important search. "Hurry up Batch, we have to be the first ones to find the target. If we don't get this mission right, the boss will demote us!"

Butch frowned with a sorrow that only he understood. "I thought you learned my name by now." Cassidy sometimes got his name right and sometimes got it wrong. She at least got it right more often than most other people did.

"Shut up and give me a push!" Cassidy growled at the end of her patience. She saw a rocky ledge on the side of the mountain trail that looked as if it had enough grip available to climb it, thus providing a shortcut to higher grounds.

With a hopeless sigh, Butch linked his hands together intertwining his fingers to catch Cassidy's foot and propel her upwards towards the ledge she meant to grasp. The motion was mostly successful, except for the knee to the nose Butch received. At least Cassidy managed to get herself up the cliff and begrudgingly extended her hand down the cliff side to help Butch up.

The pair quietly crept deeper into the rocky wilderness until they saw one of the targets. Number ten was no where in sight, but the unusually colored Zoroark was there. The Zoroark noticed them and with a fast push that they didn't have time to dodge, she sent them both tumbling down the mountain.

When their painful rolling trip down finally came to an end, Cassidy and Butch sat up, examining the various scratches and bruises that were abundant all over their battered bodies. Thankfully, they suffered from no broken bones. Cassidy was quick to pull out her cell phone from its strap on her belt next to her pokeballs. She dialed for a direct call to Giovanni's cell phone, listening to it ring several times before his annoyed voice declared, "this better be important."

"It is!" Cassidy assured, "I've located Zoroark close to the summit of Mount Silver."

"Don't you mean to say we located her?" Butch complained. He was ignored as Cassidy listened to Giovanni's orders over the phone.

To be Continued

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 098: Give me Care

The sound of a helicopter just outside the Viridian gym caught Ash's attention. He was heading back after parting ways with Misty for the time being. He had watched as the taxi disappeared in the distance, knowing that the situation at the Cerulean gym would not remain a secret for too long. He still respected her wish to not want to add worry to that which was already present and didn't speak of it. After all, the need for a cure was already urgent enough for Team Rocket to pool all its resources towards finding it. As for the mysterious Zoroark, Ash wanted to join the search but realized that he couldn't risk his pokemon catching the virus. Besides, Team Rocket probably had enough personnel to conduct a detailed search anyway. Wherever Zoroark was, they would find her.

Boarding the helicopter were Giovanni, Delia, Luke and Comet. Ash quickly approached it, as it seemed that it was about to take off. "Where are you going?"

Delia revealed the news, knowing what that would cause. "We're going to find Zoroark. We're not taking the pokemon; they'll be staying here with Jessie, James, Pixel and Laiki." A lot could be concluded by reading between the lines. Despite Binks' faith in Aayla having the cure, there was no guarantee that an antidote could be produced from her cell samples. She would exhaust her energy quickly healing countless pokemon one after the other. Just in case, it was best to keep the pokemon safe. The Rocket agents that reported to Viridian were tested for the virus and sent away to an isolated underground area to be healed before having access to the rest of the base. The way to remove the virus from humans, who carried it but were not affected by it anyway, had already been discovered. However, the medicine didn't work for pokemon. By sneaking the serum into food supplies the human population was quickly being healed. Yet the virus no longer needed humans to spread, it was enough for it to spread from one pokemon to another.

"I'm going too!" Ash joined the group in the helicopter just as Delia guessed he would. His voice left no room for argument, albeit no one had any intentions of refusing his presence in the mission anyway.

xoxox xox xoxox

The helicopter landed atop Mount Silver and its passengers quickly exited the flying vehicle. Giovanni had ordered Cassidy and Butch, referring to him as Botch, not to approach the Zoroark. If she teleported away again, valuable time would be wasted searching for her and no progress would be made. If she truly was Aayla, maybe seeing people she was once familiar with would make her stay and cooperate. Capturing her by force had been proven useless in the past, before her identity was discovered. Attempting to overpower her was useless with her confusing illusions that had allowed her to slip away. With teleportation being added to her list of abilities, it didn't matter if she was as powerful as a regular pokemon, more, or less, she was simply too sneaky to be caught. It fit her in a sense, she had been a thief and criminal in the distant past, able to make close escapes and slip away from almost any situation.

A short way just beneath the summit of Mount Silver, there was a cave where they hoped to find Aayla. She was indeed there, the same majestic black pokemon with a deep violet mane. Number ten was no where to be seen and Aayla was exhausted and injured. It looked as if she had fought the mutant and was unable to defeat him. However, there was a look of peaceful accomplishment on her face, as if her purpose had been fulfilled.

"Aayla!" Delia rushed to her friend. She had never been able to let go of the guilt she felt for that time Aayla was apparently lost at sea. It was perhaps better that way, for her to finish her transformation away from Team Rocket's evolution.

Aayla stumbled forward, holding a glowing glass orb in her paw. The base with the words written in ancient language was no longer attached to it, but the swirling colors inside it were the same. That orb had been found by archeologists, dug out from the deep ground like a mysterious hidden treasure that would later become lost once again. The priceless ancient artifact was stolen from a museum by an unknown thief. The unidentified thief then sold the artifact to a mysterious lady. If the lady knew of the orb's power or not is anyone's guess. In the end, she passed the artifact to her son. He knew not of its power and could not remember it after the first time he experienced it.

As Aayla fell forward, unconscious, Delia rushed to catch her. The orb that Giovanni had thrown away years ago slipped out from Aayla's grasp. The item hit the rocky mountain cave ground and shattered upon impact into four inexplicably nearly equal parts. Four wisps of light escaped from the encasement red, blue, yellow and gray. In a split second, the light collided with Giovanni, Ash, Luke and Comet. The four succumbed to an irresistible sleep and collapsed, leaving a worried Delia to wonder what in the world was going on.

xoxox xox xoxox

One second Ash, Giovanni, Luke and Comet were at a cave in Mount Silver and the next they were freefalling through the sky. A bright light shot out from the air near by, where Ash should have been. The light reached out for the skies as if wanting to tare apart an invisible wall between dimensions. The light was far too bright and the other three had to close their eyes.

When Giovanni opened his eyes again he was alone, still falling towards the rapidly approaching ground covered in trees. It was certainly not Mount Silver that he was falling towards and it wasn't the Viridian forest either. He moved on instinct, not realizing what he was doing. As a result, the fall somehow slowed down, allowing Giovanni to safely glide into a clearing. "What happened?" His surroundings felt completely alien to him and he had a very strange sensation in his body that he couldn't push away. "Delia? Ash? Luke? Comet?" No one replied when he called. "Aayla? Did you do this? Are you out there?" There was still no reply. Uncertain of what to do, Giovanni began to walk.

As he walked, Giovanni became more aware of how different his body felt and started to remember a dream. Delia was in his dream, but she was a Mew. Upon examining himself more closely, having awakened from the daze he was left in by the harsh fall, he noticed that he was no longer human. "How is this possible?" He stared at his red-orange claws then spun around in circles until he caught his flaming tail. Was that strange dream that suddenly came into his mind a hidden memory? Was Delia transformed into a Mew? He had not seen her falling, perhaps she was still back at Mount Silver with Aayla. "Maybe I'm still at Mount Silver too, in a coma of crazy dreams after somehow hitting my head."

On the bright side, at least he was no longer a little Charmander. Giovanni extended his wings, stretching them out. He was sure he saw Ash, Luke and Comet falling, but after that light faded, they were gone. He felt as if the light had created a sort of shockwave that pushed him away. Maybe they had all been pushed in different directions and turned to pokemon, hopefully pokemon that could fly. Regardless of how strange and random the situation felt, Giovanni concluded that it was best to regroup and hopefully, figure out a way to get back home in the process. Dream or not, he might as well try to do something.

Thinking about having a better look at the surrounding area from the air, under conditions in which imminent death wasn't a distraction, Giovanni spread his wings and tried to fly. Unfortunately he could not. He flapped his wings madly and managed to hover, but flying like that would be terribly exhausting and ineffective. He tried to let his instinct guide him to fly, but it didn't work. Annoyed, Giovanni resigned himself to walking through the forest. He was careful with his tail so as to not cause a forest fire and get caught in the middle of it.

xoxox xox xoxox

After a long walk, Giovanni finally made it out of the thick forest. He spotted a somewhat familiar looking village ahead and hurried towards it. The village seemed rather empty, but he heard a multitude of voices near by, so there had to be someone around. He followed the sounds past the central plaza towards a pond, where he recalled that a Whiscash resided. He couldn't see Whiscash at the moment because of all the other pokemon gathered around the pond, obstructing his view. They seemed to be fussing about something. "What's going on?"

"It's that Pikachu!" A near by Granbull replied, his voice almost lost among the multiple conversations going on. "A Pikachu fell from the sky and no one knows who he is. We've gathered here to talk about what should be done about him. That poor Pikachu seems to be badly injured."

Giovanni felt as if he had frozen, despite being a fire type pokemon. The flame on his tail was slightly reduced as he urgently inquired, "where is he?"

"He's in the home of Team Chiray," the Granbull replied, then took the time to notice that he wasn't talking to one of his village neighbors. "You're new around here, aren't you? Wait a minute, I think I've met you before, did you happen to visit this village before you evolved?"

Granbull received no answer, Giovanni was already hurrying away from the pond and past the plaza. He headed for the little hut just outside the village. It was near there where he and Delia had appeared during their first trip to that strange world.

xoxox xox xoxox

The door to the hut burst open followed by the sound of Giovanni bumping his head on the doorframe. He lowered his head and entered the hut to be greeted by an angry shout of, "you can't just rush in here!" The owner of the voice was the same female Pikachu with pale yellow fur and pink cheeks that Giovanni and Delia had met before. The Charmeleon was there as well, he looked as though he was strong enough to evolve, but resisted evolution. There was also a Leafeon present, whom Giovanni had previously met as an Eevee.

Giovanni's attention was focused on the Pikachu that lay unconscious in a pile of soft leaves in the center of the little hut. "Ash?" He approached the Pikachu. The light that came from Ash had been similar to an aura sphere that became mixed with thunderbolts before he could no longer look at the brightness.

"Do you know him?" Charmeleon asked, before the female Pikachu picked a fight with the somewhat familiar newcomer that had rushed into their home.

"He's... my son," Giovanni concluded, too focused on the current issue to think about the irony of a Charmander and a Mew somehow breeding a Pikachu. The logic of the living world seemed to be lost to the mysteries of that world of souls.

"He is?" the female Pikachu seemed to back down for a moment and observe the Charizard. "Wait a minute, I know I've seen you before, but I can't quite place it." She didn't question the part about a Charizard being the father of a Pikachu, since she herself had raised an Eevee, who later became a Leafeon, with a Charmeleon as the father. They were not Leafeon's biological parents, but that didn't matter to any of them.

"Giovanni, the human," Giovanni automatically revealed, with the past memories of that world becoming more vivid as time passed. Simultaneously, the sense of who he was in the plane of existence of Team Rocket became a little more blurry, but he held on to it as strongly as he could.

"So it was you," Pikachu recalled, "your mate, she was called Delia, right? Is she with you too? She must be worried about him as well... Ash, was it?" She glanced at the unconscious Ash. "Unfortunately he won't wake up, so we can't feed him any berries to help him recover."

"We've patched up his injuries the best we could, but his energy seems to be dangerously low," Charmeleon revealed.

"I still say evolution will wake him up," Leafeon voiced.

Charmeleon shook his head in resignation, "there are no thunder stones left in the village. They appear in the land now and then, but they're not in season."

It was obvious that Ash couldn't wait much longer to be healed. He had nothing to rely on but the rustic methods of that world. "I'll find a thunder stone," Giovanni decided. He had no idea how he would accomplish the task, but he knew Ash's life was in danger and a thunder stone might be his only hope.

"Not to be pessimistic, but I honestly doubt there are any left," Charmeleon voiced. "Maybe Ash will wake up and eat some berries to feel better. If you still want to try to find the thunder stone, we could go see the Kecleon brothers and ask them for some clues."

"Did someone call us?" Two Kecleon, one green and one purple stood at the open door to the hut. "We came to see if you needed more berries to help your guest get better," the green one explained.

"It looks like he's still sleeping," the purple Kecleon observed, "he won't be able to eat berries like that."

"Do you two know where I can find a thunder stone?" Giovanni quickly asked.

The Kecleon brothers unanimously shook their heads. "We don't have any in stock," the green one informed.

"The customers that bought this year's supply of thunder stones have already used them by now. The stones gave their power and became like normal rocks," the purple one explained.

"Unless he is still collecting them," the green Kecleon theorized, "never mind, it's just a rumor."

"Who? Where?" Giovanni urgently insisted.

"Some time ago a very mean Drapion came to the village," the purple Kecleon narrated. "He had been hiding away for some time in a distant part of the world, getting ready to attack. When he came, we fought back and drove him away. Team Chiray was there too and all the teams from the village. Even if the village was saved in the end, some damage was still made and things were stolen. There were rumors that Drapion was trying to collect many evolutionary stones to give as payment to pokemon who would help him fight. Also, he wanted to make those pokemon that battled in his behalf stronger. He was defeated, but many of the things he stole were never recovered and might have not been used."

The green Kecleon continued the story, "there's a rumor that Drapion has a hideout somewhere and is waiting for the right time to attack again. We'll be ready for him if he comes." Realizing that the story was getting off topic, he returned to the subject of the thunder stone. "There might be a thunder stone in Drapion's hideout, but no one knows if that's true or where the hideout is."

"Except maybe Skitty," Leafeon mused aloud. "I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I heard Skitty saying she once followed Drapion to his hideout. She also said Drapion had no more allies so he probably wouldn't try to cause trouble again any time soon."

"Where is this Skitty?" One small clue led to another as each pokemon had a little information to contribute.

"She's probably in the flower garden at the plains northeast of the village. I'm not really sure if she truly followed Drapion. She did seem like she would be easy to miss, so maybe she was able to follow him without being caught," Leafeon explained.

"Even if the information isn't confirmed, it's all there is," Giovanni had no choice but to follow the available clues. "I'll leave Ash here and fly to Drapion's hideout," if he could figure out how to fly, it would certainly speed things along.

"We'll take care of Ash," the female Pikachu assured. "If you find the hideout and want backup, throw a fireball to the sky and we'll follow the signal," as usual, she was ready to jump into battle.

xoxox xox xoxox

The plains northeast of the pokemon village had many flowers, but Skitty was nowhere to be found. 'This is hopeless, is it even truly real? Why do I remember things I didn't remember before? There's something else, another memory in the back of my mind fighting to come out...' Setting the thoughts aside for a moment, Giovanni called out to the pokemon he hoped had the next clue of his unusual journey, "Skitty! Skitty, are you here?"

"I'm here," a small feminine voice came from the ground. Giovanni looked down between the pink flowers to where a Skitty was almost invisible among the flora. She really was easy to miss. She reminded him of someone, small, quiet and sneaky.

"I need to find Drapion and get a thunder stone. I heard you knew where his hideout was," Giovanni got right to the point.

The small Skitty shyly nodded, "yes, it's true. It was because of Liepard," she revealed. "He got hurt during a cave in trying to keep me safe. For a time I thought I had lost him, but later I heard he no longer remembered who he was. He ended up helping Drapion without knowing what he was doing. During the battle of the village against Drapion, Liepard recovered his memories and turned against that mean Drapion. The pokemon of the village still distrusted him even after it was over, so he left. I lost track of him, so I followed Drapion to see if Liepard had gone back there, maybe to get revenge on Drapion for tricking him. He wasn't there and I don't know where Liepard went, maybe he started over somewhere far away, but I have no idea where he is. You are not from here, have you seen him? Do you know where he could be?"

"I haven't seen who you're looking for," Giovanni had seen Liepard, but that was in his own world. He didn't think any of those were the specific pokemon Skitty was searching for. "I need to get to Drapion's hideout and get a thunder stone fast."

"You sound like you really need it," Skitty observed. "If you cross the forest towards the south and keep going southeast, you'll find a waterfall. There is a cave behind it where Drapion was hiding when I followed him. It's a long way from here."

"That's no problem, I'll fly there," Giovanni flapped his wings to no avail. "I just need to find a good spot to use as a runway."

It didn't seem like the Skitty fully understood his flying troubles since she herself didn't know anything about flying, "good luck."

"Leah?" Giovanni paused and shook his head to clear it, the Skitty looked confused, albeit she had an expression of familiarity on her face, "never mind..." It was odd, but the pokemon really did remind him of Leah, who had passed away all those years ago. If the story was more than a coincidence, then that would make Liepard similar to Han. It was only a general similarity anyway and it made little sense to someone who didn't have a full understanding of that world. Only an exceptional few could hope to begin to understand the mysteries of that plane of existence.

xoxox xox xoxox

A small distance further to the northeast, Giovanni saw a cliff with another little hut on it. Pelipper came and went from the little hut as if it were some kind of post office. Giovanni stood at the edge of the cliff and looked towards the distance. No one tried to stop him, since the Charizard's actions seemed harmless enough. Taking a deep breath, he jumped from the cliff and spread his wings. The wind of the fall pushed his wings up causing him to glide. Trying to keep his wings stretched out, he flapped them rhythmically until he got the hang of it.

Stretching out his neck and tail in the most aerodynamic position he could muster, Giovanni sped through the skies towards the south. He hoped to see the waterfall Skitty mentioned as soon as possible. Flying by his own power was an amazing feeling, though he had no time to bask in it given his haste to find Drapion's hideout and hopefully a thunder stone.

Some time later, Giovanni spotted a waterfall on a mountain side that looked like it could be the one he was searching for. He landed in front of it, finally resting his wings. He looked at the flame on his tail and at the water. It gave him a bad feeling, akin to a warning of survival instinct, just by looking at it. "I'm a fire type and that's water, this isn't good, but there's no other choice." Shielding his flaming tail as much as possible, Giovanni rushed in behind the waterfall. He was glad to find, not a solid wall behind it, but a secret cave. Unfortunately, water kept dripping from the cave's ceiling, which made him very uncomfortable.

Giovanni went deeper into the waterfall cave until he heard an angry voice calling out, "who's there?" The voice was somehow familiar, but the memory was distant. Without replying, he hurried towards the deeper area of the cave, where he heard the voice echoing from. As he arrived he saw Drapion. "I knew I heard someone, have you come here to join my gang?"

"I'm here for a thunder stone," there were several evolutionary stones in a small pile behind Drapion. Giovanni couldn't see if there was a thunder stone among them or not. There might be one under the others, he had to make sure.

"A thunder stone wouldn't make you stronger," Drapion stated as a matter of fact. "Just now it sounded as if you wanted to challenge me. Look around, you're at a disadvantage in this cave where water leeks out from the ceiling all the time. It's like being under the rain."

"It's only light rain and I am challenging you for a thunder stone," Giovanni threatened, "I will win."

"I'll show you true power!" Drapion shouted angrily.

'Venom, that's who he reminds me of, but it doesn't look like he knows anything beyond being a Drapion. Maybe their similarities are only a coincidence,' Giovanni thought as he got ready for battle.

xoxox xox xoxox

Aside from Ash and Giovanni, Luke and Comet were also thrown into that mysterious world. After that strange light that came from Ash faded, the group was separated while still falling. Comet saw a Gligar heading towards him as his shape changed into that of an Absol. Since the orb was broken, their souls in their out of body experience went through a harsher entrance into that world. Comet, completely turned into an Absol, was falling fast. Fortunately the Gligar was able to catch him and get him to the ground safely.

"You saved me, thank you," Comet told the pokemon. "How did I end up falling?"

"This is another place, a good place, but I don't think you're supposed to be here. Your body is still back in the other world, isn't it? Not mine, mine is gone, dissolved into nothing, it was her doing. I don't hate her for it, because it means I can stay here. Nothing scares me here; I don't feel angry anymore, this place is peaceful." Gligar looked as if he had been waiting for such peace for a long time.

"I don't understand what you're talking about, but a talking pokemon is really rare. I've only seen one other like that." Comet was referring to the Meowth who was always with Jessie and James.

"Take a good look at yourself," Gligar waited for the reaction that soon came.

"I'm a pokemon? How did this happen?" Comet poked the horn sticking out of the side of his head with his paw. He wondered if an Absol would feel out of balance with one. Yet the long thick white fur on his other side seemed to balance things well enough, since the horn was lighter than he imagined.

"I don't understand it myself. I only know that you're not supposed to be here if you still have a body back there," Gligar seemed to speak in riddles that left many questions unanswered. "It's your business if you want to go back. I don't know why I caught you. I guess I don't completely blame you for being luckier than me, but I'm still jealous because you were absolved from everything that I had to suffer," Gligar began to leave.

Confused by his words, Comet quickly followed. "Who are you? Can you at least tell me that?"

"I was never given a name there. I'm starting to forget it all. I'm sure I'll forget about it entirely eventually. That's alright, I don't want to remember that time anyway," Gligar started to fly. "It was like waking up from a nightmare. I won't be going back and I won't think of that world anymore. Unlike me, it looks like you do have a place there. I don't, so I'll just have to forget about it, the world, the pain, the fear and you too, my so called brother." Extending the wings under his claws, Gligar gained altitude.

"Ten, you're the one known as number ten. When you said it was her doing, you were talking about Aayla, right? Then she must know what all this is about," Comet concluded. "How do I go back, how do I become human again?"

"You're on your own, I have a new life to live," Gligar flew away and disappeared in the distance.

To be Continued

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 099: Give me Importance

The water dripped from the ceiling all over the rocky floor of the cave behind the waterfall. Giovanni, transformed into a Charizard, was preparing to battle against Venom. The past Tempest leader had appeared in that world as a Drapion with no memories of his former human self. He could have a thunder stone hidden in his stash, which would be needed to help Ash recover. Giovanni started off the fight with a flamethrower attack. Unfortunately, he was feeling the effect of the water falling on him like a constant light, but significant rain. The attack was diminished further as the flame dissolved almost completely into smoke. What was left of the fire was easily dodged by the Drapion. Venom took the opportunity to fight back, rushing forward and spinning to try to hit Giovanni with his tail in a poison sting attack.

Giovanni jumped back, avoiding the deadly tail of his Drapion opponent. The collision of Venom's tail on the rocky surface left a noticeable indentation with its force. Stumbling back and nearly tripping over his own tail in his haste, Giovanni tried to recover as fast as he could. He knew the environment had him at a disadvantage and fire attacks would not be very effective in that cave. He doubted Venom would follow him out if he tried to lead him away. If anything, he might try to use the waterfall to his advantage, but probably wouldn't leave the protection of the humid cave. If fire attacks weren't working, he would just have to do something else. Giovanni was on the attack again, this time with dragon claw. Unfortunately the Drapion's skin was like armor and hard to pierce.

"You can't win!" Venom taunted as he attacked again. The Drapion's tail collided with its target this time, inflicting poison on Giovanni. Combining the effect of the poison with the wet atmosphere was very bad for the Charizard. He felt weakened, as if he could barely stand. "You lost," Venom prepared to finish the fight with Venoshock, an attack that would be made more powerful by the fact that Giovanni was poisoned.

In a desperate attempt to defend himself, Giovanni went on a wild attack with flare blitz at point blank. Venom's attack was interrupted by the fire. Despite the humid atmosphere working against the element of fire, the attack was so close to the target that it barely had time to lose strength. Unfortunately it took a great effort and Giovanni could barely push himself to attack again. He knew he couldn't let what could be his only opportunity escape. Refusing to give up, with his competitive spirit and determination at its maximum despite the disadvantage he was in, Giovanni went all out with one final dragon rage attack.

The last attack overpowered Venom, who lost consciousness. Weakened severely, Giovanni struggled to reach the pile of evolutionary stones searching among them for a thunder stone, without which all his efforts would have been in vain. Thankfully, he found one thunder stone in the pile and with it, he set off to leave the cave. It was no easy task to exit the hide out. Giovanni made it past the waterfall hiding the entrance, but the effort proved too great. Just as he landed outside the cave at the river's shore, he collapsed.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Comet had made it to the shores of a beach. He was still confused about his location, but hoped to find some answers when he found his father, Giovanni and Ash. Seeing some pokemon gathered at the beach, he walked over to them and asked if they had met anyone by the names of Luke, Ash or Giovanni.

"Didn't that newcomer say he was called Luke?" A nearby Simipour commented, "he's a bit unusual, but a great surfer."

"Can you tell me where he is?" Comet inquired; at least he managed to find one of them. But why would his father be surfing at a time like this?

"There he comes!" A Croconaw pointed at the sea where a Floatzel was riding a wave on a rustic surfboard.

The Floatzel reached the shore after a flawless performance, to be greeted by the cheers of the onlookers. "The waves are like totally awesome, man! I like knew Heaven had to be like totally good, you know? But I like never like imagined it would like be like this great, you know?"

"Dad!" Comet made his way through the crowd of mostly water pokemon.

Hearing Comet's voice, Floatzel searched for its source among the pokemon gathered there until he spotted the Absol who had his son's voice, a voice much like his own. "Comet? Like why are you like here? You're like too young to like die, you know?"

"We're not dead!" Comet insisted. "Number ten is the one who passed away, kind of. He's here as a Gligar and he seemed happy about it. He's staying in this world, but we need to go back to our own world. We have to find Giovanni and Ash."

xoxox xox xoxox

During his time of partial unconsciousness, Giovanni thought he heard some voices similar to Luke and Comet. He felt as if someone was moving him with difficulty, making slow but steady progress. He wanted to get up, he wanted to open his eyes, but he didn't have the strength to do so. He fell into a deep coma for a while and once again reached a state of half consciousness some time later. He felt a bit of an electric shock, but it wasn't too harsh, just enough to make him growl in annoyance. Then there was another voice like Ash's voice. He was saying something about berries. Another electric shock came, that one stronger. He opened his eyes finally, just barely conscious being forced to wake up by the electricity.

"That always wakes me up," there was a Raichu holding some berries. "Eat these, they'll make you feel better.

With no energy to argue, Giovanni ate the berries, soon feeling their beneficial effect. The world around him became clearer as he recovered his strength. "Ash?"

The Raichu looked relieved, "are you okay now? Comet and Luke brought you here. You had a thunder stone, that's how I evolved."

"I'm fine," Giovanni observed Comet and Luke's new forms too.

"Dude, Giovanni, it's like awesome that you're like a Charizard, man! It would be like lots of fun if you could like give me a ride sometime, you know?" Luke, transformed into a Floatzel, grinned in anticipation.

"Oh yes, that would be fun," Giovanni started to reply in a light tone, then his face turned serious, "not happening."

While Luke pouted, Comet explained what had happened to number ten and what he had learned about that world.

"At least ten is taken care of," that was one less problem for Team Rocket to deal with as his plans became a reality. "The last time I was here, I was taken back by Gardevoir in a dream," it sounded strange, but that was what Giovanni's newly uncovered memories revealed. There was also something else, another locked memory that still fought to resurface.

"Gardevoir spoke to me when we came," Ash revealed. "She said that the orb was a passage between this world and our world. This world is a place of souls where people and pokemon alike wait to be reborn. Everything here is made of energy, projections coming from people's souls. She said something about a collective conscious, I couldn't really understand. The point is that this world is apparently not a physical place of existence."

"Are we like ghosts?" Luke asked, "like actual ghosts, not the pokemon type?"

"Something like that, I think," Ash nodded.

"It fits what ten said," Comet voiced. "When we came the orb was broken, we all saw it fall and shatter. I have a feeling that we should be heading back as soon as possible if we don't want to get stuck here."

"That's right, I don't know for how long the temporary portal will last," Ash agreed. "Gardevoir asked me to help her in making it, to release my energy for it. The portal won't last forever so we need to get over there."

Giovanni snapped out of his deep thoughts as the group made their way outside the hut. He looked up at the area where they had fallen from, the place where Ash released his energy. There was a light up there, shining in every color imaginable, the portal that would lead their souls back to their bodies.

"I can't say I fully understand what's going on, but good luck getting back home," Charmeleon spoke.

"If this place really is the in between of lives, maybe we'll see each other again after some more decades pass," the female Pikachu from Team Chiray commented.

"Yeah, or maybe we'll meet in the other world," Leafeon agreed.

The Raichu who was Ash, smiled hopefully as he usually did during goodbyes, "we'll see each other again one day. I don't know when, but we will."

Giovanni looked towards the portal and extended his wings feeling more confident about flying after having gotten some experience. "It looks like everyone will be getting a ride after all."

"That's like totally awesome, man!" Luke cheered, even if the detour was strange, it was very amusing to him. Ash, Comet and Luke all climbed on Giovanni's back.

Giovanni got a running start, jumping and flapping his wings. It took some extra effort to gain altitude, but he fell into a steady pace higher up. He headed for the fading portal just in time to make it through, back to the world were they belonged. As they disappeared, they saw a Gligar watching them. The Gligar flew away as if leaving behind all past ties to Team Rocket, to truly start anew.

xoxox xox xoxox

A few days later at the Viridian Rocket headquarters, Archer entered Giovanni's office with an important announcement, "the antidote is ready. Binks was able to make it with a sample of Aayla's blood cells." The top ranked executive looked at the blinking light on Giovanni's phone. "He tried to call you directly but you wouldn't answer." Though Giovanni was yet to say a word, Archer sat down across from him in front of the large polished desk. "You've been distracted lately, ever since you came back from the mission to find Aayla. I understand that it was a success. Delia convinced her to come back willingly as long as her safety and freedom were assured." He leaned back on the chair, becoming comfortable and letting out a breath. "Don't overanalyze it, that world I mean." Archer, Ariana, Proton and Petrel had heard about Giovanni's experience directly from him. "I think it's best to focus on taking over the living world."

Giovanni, who had been staring off into space, closed his eyes and nodded. "If that place really is a sort of collective consciousness then it would be impossible to overtake it, no matter how strong one's own will may be. Besides, when I was there I had no big ambitions; I suppose it's the nature of that place. I wasn't thinking about that, it's this world that I was thinking of. It's been bothering me since I was there. My memories of my first visit to that mysterious world were locked away for some time. During my second visit they were unlocked. There was also something else, another memory that I can't quite reach yet. There's something hidden in the back of my mind that I feel I should know, but I don't. New Island, the failed Mewtwo project, there's something that doesn't fit."

"The island laboratories were destroyed, the project was determined to be a failure because all the clones died." Archer repeated what was known to them, what they thought had happened. Luke's clones were being kept here at Viridian at the time, thus were spared from when the laboratory was destroyed. Binks spent a long time in recovery. The project was declared as a waste of resources, not something worth pursuing again." Archer paused and allowed those thoughts to sink in. "Are you thinking that with the recent technological advances it might be worth to try again? Unfortunately, we don't have a sample to work with."

Giovanni had been going in circles around the issue for some time. He decided to take different approaches to the dilemma and see if he found any clues that would explain that nagging feeling in the back of his mind. It was as if something came loose, and an avalanche of information was imminent. "I want to meet with all the executives, Binks should be there too."

xoxox xox xoxox

The meeting was swiftly organized as per Giovanni's orders. It was convenient that all the executives and the requested scientist were currently at Viridian. The meeting took place in a more private conference room, one equipped with secured data ports to the most precious secrets of Team Rocket. Each person invited passed their keycard in front of the door's sensor as they went in.

The polished metallic table had a black mirror-like surface and silver legs, the pipes twisted into decorative shapes akin to abstract modern art. The carpet was plush and thick, in the darkest shade of crimson. The chairs matched the table in colors and style, with a specially designed kind of wheels that ran smoothly on the deep carpet. The walls were not adorned with art, but instead with charts and diagrams bringing to light the current biggest issues and victories of Team Rocket, as well as serving as a reminder of future plans.

Donuts and coffee were already set in front of each space as the invited shuffled to their seats, setting laptops and agendas on the table in front of them. When there were snacks available from the start, it meant Giovanni wasn't sure how long the meeting would be. It would last until a solution was reached, however long it may take, the issue at hand would not be postponed. However, no specific topic was mentioned to the executives or Binks, in what could be catalogued as the most mysterious and random reunion Giovanni was yet to appoint.

"First of all, I want you all to doubt what you know," Giovanni began in a rather unusual way, once everyone was seated. He was at the end of the oval shaped table. To Giovanni's right sat Archer and next to him Ariana; to his left were Proton, Petrel and Binks. The scientist was recovering his focus at an amazing rate, no longer running away from reality, though he was not without occasional complications. "The first topic of our meeting will be New Island," the Rocket leader revealed. "I want each of you to speak of it one by one; the others will try to find contradictions. Even if you believe that you must have misunderstood something if your version contradicts someone else's I want you to say what you know as you know it." He looked at Binks as if searching for any signs that he should leave the meeting.

"I'm okay," Binks spoke as if reading Giovanni's expression. "I can talk about this. I have no intentions of denying myself the truth. Should I go first?" Giovanni nodded and Binks continued, "Dr. Fuji always spoke of reviving his daughter, Amber, it was his personal project alongside the Mewtwo project. The boys would help provide extra data," he referred to the clones of Luke. "Forgive me, my memories are fuzzy, but this is what I know, Fuji had great hopes. After the accident I was surprised that the project was cancelled. Without such a brilliant colleague as Fuji to constantly reassure me that this was all for the right cause, my views began to change and I started feeling guilty. The destruction of the lab was a sad event, but maybe one full of karma. I spent a long time recovering, but even so I was surprised that the project had been cancelled when I heard about it after being released from intensive care. I concluded that what led to the cancellation was the destruction of the original Mew sample."

There was a silent pause as all those present took in Binks' words. Then began the questioning, the way to the hidden truth was to read between the lines. "All the data was kept in New Island along with the sample. Backups should have been made, though it was uncomfortable because of the constant renovations the Kanto area was undergoing. The data was more protected there, so it remained only there. Even so, such a precious sample... Something might have been left, if only a small hint of the sample. Why didn't I order the lab ruins to be explored in search of it? I had other business in Kanto, but that's not enough. What was I concentrating on so much that I didn't order the ruins to be explored?"

No one had a definite answer to that question, but they were beginning to see what Giovanni meant by doubting what they knew. In an effort to add something, Archer looked up some information in the archives. "Team Rocket's business at the time immediately after the lab's destruction was focused on expanding to other regions that we were barely beginning to reach. Commerce with the Orange Islands increased significantly. Later, there was the development of a machine to capture exceptionally strong pokemon, though it was never successfully put to use."

"Why not?" Giovanni questioned.

"The technology and power was effective, but there was no target that required such machines to be caught. I believe the goal were the legendary birds, but that hunt never really took off." Archer paused looking at the screen of his laptop connected to a data port. His gaze traveled to the Rocket leader meeting his eyes. Giovanni wasn't one to leave things half done.

"Wasn't there a failure in the power supply of that device?" Proton inquired. "I'm not sure if it's the one I'm thinking of, but didn't it blow up?"

"If it did, why wasn't it fixed?" Giovanni continued to inquire.

"Because it was experimental, being tested to see if it was worth it?" Ariana took a moment to go over her own words as well as everything else that was spoken so far. "We're just making up excuses and concluding what is logical to conclude, while contradicting ourselves in the process. In the end, it seems all our memories about certain things from that time are blurry. There was another project before the capturing device, some armor of sorts that I'm also having trouble remembering. Strangely, I remember everything else from that period as clearly as it is normal given the time that has passed."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Giovanni was glad that the executives were at least seeing his point.

"I don't see anything strange about that time," Petrel mused aloud. "I remember all of you being busy and hearing rumors about the Mewtwo project being a success. I was busy with business at the Orange Islands at the time and wasn't exactly in constant contact with headquarters. The rumors were false, a pity, I would have designed a grand costume for Mewtwo if it were real. I know you won't let me dress your pokemon, but I thought you'd make an exception for that one."

"Rumors?" The feeling of uneasiness increased in Giovanni, along with a sense of anticipation. "This was top secret, how could you have heard rumors?"

Petrel shrugged, "Proton told me, probably as a joke."

"No, I didn't, I never said anything like that," Proton defended.

"The reason why the ruined laboratory wasn't explored, the purpose of the armor and the machine to catch powerful pokemon, the reason why those projects were dropped..." Giovanni could come up with explanations for them, but he felt as if he was only filling in the blanks as Ariana said. His mind came up with all sorts of logical explanations that didn't quite fit his determination. Why did he give up? "What destroyed the lab in the first place? Was it really a chain reaction caused by the power reactor? Why did we conclude that without a detailed investigation?" Giovanni wanted to find answers and he had gone into that conference room determined not to go out without them. However, there was a faster way to come up with those answers, a more precise way. "Meeting postponed," he finally announced. "Take some time to think about what was said here. Question everything; we'll talk again after I gather some facts from New Island." Giovanni left the conference room to assemble an investigation team.

The four executives and Binks sat at the table for a few moments longer. Proton took a big bite of his donut, "Giovanni's worrying me."

"I'm more worried about the fact that you still haven't learned not to talk with your mouth full," Ariana commented, receiving a roll of the eyes from Proton. "In all seriousness," she continued, "Giovanni's recent experience has really affected him, but he has a point. It's odd that there seems to be something that doesn't fit. I'll check the data and put some information together with what we have. If anything, we might discover some past misinformation, maybe even sabotage. It would be a bit late, but we could still learn from it."

"If you ask me, you all need a vacation," Petrel suggested. "Giovanni's having a stressful time. It happens now and then. Remember when he lost his temper and nearly killed Rune, which led to his heart problems? Remember when he did those training exercises in the mountains on a whim? It's just one of those times."

"Training exercises?" Proton tried to remember what Petrel was talking about.

Archer looked up some extra data in the system, "it was close to the time when the machine to capture powerful pokemon was declared a failure. We weren't training. We were following a vague clue that Moltres had been spotted near that mountain area."

"Zapdos," Ariana corrected.

"There were no legendaries, we were trying out the guns, training the rookies, you know," Proton insisted. "We were playing war, it was a training exercise."

"I was at the Orange Islands so I didn't get to play general that time," Petrel frowned. "I would have come up with some amazing special edition uniforms for the occasion."

"We weren't playing generals, we were hunting legendaries," Ariana insisted.

"Actually, the system says nothing about Moltres, Zapdos or Articuno being spotted near that area. We always keep tabs on them to figure out the patterns of their migrations in hopes of capturing them, though so far there have been no real patterns. None the less, that data should be in the system," Archer massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on with all the contradictions.

"Let's just continue with our usual duties for now," Ariana suggested. "I'll take care of organizing the data we have in the archives and make sure it's ready for our next meeting."

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at Cerulean City, Ash, Misty and her sisters were all rejoicing about the discovery of the antidote. Lando and Daisy were there as well, with Violet, Lily and Brock; Kenobi had gone to visit too. He had hidden Giovanni's identity from them before and lied to do so. It was something for which Violet became upset when he confessed after Giovanni's identity was revealed to Misty and thus would be difficult to keep from her sisters. After several apologies, Violet forgave Kenobi and they stayed together.

"To think the gym leader was the Rocket boss all along. This will be our secret to guard," Lando concluded, he knew he would be busy with business related to the production of the antidote. "I'm just glad an antidote was discovered, even if it won't be officially on the shelves for a few more days."

"But darling, the pokemon need it!" Daisy insisted.

"I know, beloved, yet it is outside of my control. Until the Pokemon League approves, we cannot distribute the antidote. We were only able to heal our pokemon right away because of our connections," Lando admitted.

Ash pouted in frustration hearing this, "I don't like bureaucracy," he declared, though he wouldn't let it ruin the relief that finally overcame him when he was given the antidote to protect his pokemon from possible future infections and to heal the pokemon that were infected. He offered to deliver the antidote to Cerulean City right away and flew out on Charizard soon after.

The cure was a virus in itself that mutated the bad one into something good. It was called Pokerus, a virus that only pokemon could contract and made their bodies stronger. It boosted their immune system to a point where no known illnesses could even begin to affect them, save for poison and such conditions originating from another pokemon.

For most of Ash's journey, he focused on pokemon training and left his aura abilities to develop on their own without seeking training. They grew in time and sometimes manifested themselves. Ash could also call upon his abilities, somehow becoming more used to them by instinct with the passing of the years. His experience in that mysterious world where he evolved from the image of a Pikachu into Raichu were not without effect. Evolution aside, it was being exposed to that world which made him more aware of his own aura, thus more able to control it. He felt uneasiness in the air despite the situation looking as if it was steadily heading towards a significant improvement. He catalogued the odd feeling as stress from an exhausting ordeal and tried to remain positive. After things settled down, he would return to Viridian City and stay for a while to try to further get to know his father. They would battle, they would talk and things would work out somehow.

To be Continued

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 100: Give me Possibilities

At the Cerulean City gym, the good health of the pokemon gradually restored the sense of hope and peace of the humans around them. Ash looked down at the pool from the diving board where Misty floated below, along with many of the pokemon who were fond of water. Her eyes were closed in relaxation, almost as if she could fall asleep on the water's surface, flowing gently on her back. She looked up, her eyes meeting his. "Come on in, the water's fine."

Ash grinned as if mentally adding 'so is the view,' before he jumped into the pool like a cannon ball with a big splash. Misty's peaceful floating was interrupted by Ash's dive, which started a playful battle of splashing each other between the couple. They kept playing until Ash's cell phone, which had been left at the edge of the pool, began to ring. Thinking that it might be his mother calling about something urgent, while hoping that it wasn't anything urgent, Ash went to answer the call. "I'll get you back, this retreat is only temporary."

"Swim away while you can," Misty teased.

The one calling Ash was not Delia, it was Gary. The young researcher had received a supply of antidote which was very welcomed, but also very suspicious. He couldn't hold his silence any longer and pretend he believed the excuses he kept hearing. He had to know the truth. "Ash, I need to talk to you in person." That way it would be easier to read Ash's expression and not so easy for him to escape.

"Is something wrong with the pokemon?" Ash asked in worry.

"No, it's not that," Gary reassured. "The pokemon are alright now, I received a sufficient supply of the antidote. None of them are in danger. There's just something I need to talk to you about," something that his grandfather seemed to be somehow aware of, but kept in stubborn silence. "It's about Team Rocket."

Ash fell silent before finally voicing as casually as he could, "what about them?"

"Come to Pallet and I'll tell you," was Gary's reply before ending the call. He knew that if Ash was hiding something, he would head for Pallet Town right away.

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At the Viridian Rocket headquarters, Delia was looking for Giovanni. He had gone to a meeting with the executives earlier and disappeared afterwards. He mentioned he would be busy with work, but she wondered where he could have gone. Heading in the opposite direction down the hall, she saw Luke. "Delia, everything is like going so well now, you know?"

She returned his smile, sincerely relieved that the illness problem had been solved. "I'm very relieved, but it seems Giovanni is busy again, not that I'm surprised." Her Rocket cell phone beeped, signaling the arrival of a text message. Delia curiously glanced at it and there was a warmth in her eyes.

"Is it like from Giovanni?" Luke guessed.

"Yes," Delia confirmed, "as I thought, he'll be busy today, but at least he remembered to text me. It's good to know he thought of me."

"He's like always busy, you know?" Luke agreed, "but he like loves you, we can like tell, you know?" We referred to the executives and long time elite Rockets who had known Giovanni for years.

The text message was simple, a reminder that Giovanni would see Delia that evening. At first she didn't read too deep into it, then suddenly every mental alarm in her system went off. He would see her when he returned from New Island.

xoxox xox xoxox

Giovanni had gone to a place he had not visited in many years, New Island. Pixel was managing the equipment in the large helicopter, consisting of various scanners that could create a digital image of the New Island ruins for easier navigation. Comet would go into the ruins to capture videos and explore, to hopefully find some clue of what was missing. The mission was expected to be difficult since they weren't sure what exactly they were looking for, but the suspicious sights began to appear right after landing.

"The sensors finished constructing the 3D map of the ruins. It looks like some areas will be impossible to reach without considerable excavation. This area here has a tunnel leading to it and it's pretty big, it requires minimal excavation so it might be a good place to start. Even so, the entire ruins are noticeably unstable." Pixel reported. "According to the data, this area has had seismic activity due to recently active undersea volcanoes. The pressure sensors should warn us of possible earthquakes, but only within a few seconds of them."

"No worries, I'll make sure not to get trapped down there," Comet checked that all his equipment was ready and that his earpiece was working, before exiting the helicopter. Pixel would remain there to serve as a guide with the maps and sensors.

Comet, Pixel and Giovanni were the only ones there, with Giovanni having piloted the helicopter himself, focusing in arriving at the destination as soon as possible. He also didn't want many agents to distract him from bringing out whatever was in the back of his mind. He kept thinking of New Island, but he didn't know why. It was as if his subconscious knew something that was fighting to appear at the surface of his thoughts.

The Rocket leader, who had exited the helicopter immediately after landing, returned and picked up some equipment. "The landscape doesn't match. The only thing left of the data of this lab are the blueprints for the building. Use that with the simulator and see if you can get a match with the landscape. Run the program both ways. If the lab was destroyed and something else was built here, I want to know what it was."

"Yes, sir!" Pixel began with her assigned task. With the advances of technology, simulations could be run to predict the state in which a structure would be left when exposed to a certain intensity of damage. It was mostly used to calculate how reinforced a structure needed to be with the expected conditions it would have to withstand. Though it was mostly used by architects, it was also useful to know how much of a mess a certain type of attack would leave behind, among other uses.

With the data collected by the sensors, the program would compare the actual ruins to how the ruins of the lab should look like. It would also use the data from the ruins to determine how the structure looked like before it was destroyed. Archeologists of all regions had rejoiced at the commercial release of the program. That particular function was rarely used in Team Rocket. The portable sensor mechanisms were released upon their arrival to New Island. They were small and had varied appearances. Some looked like miniature cylinders with helicopter-like propellers and others looked like mechanical Surskit. The strongest sensors were in the atmosphere under the command of Sapphire, a PorygonZ that resided in a powerful satellite. Sapphire was in communication with Diamond, the PorygonZ at the top of the command chain of the Rocket digital systems.

While Pixel ran the programs and Comet headed below ground, Giovanni stood outside the helicopter, contemplating the ruins of New Island for a moment longer. A strange black structure, thinner near the end, lay in shambles as if a tower had stood there before, but there shouldn't have been a tower there. Debris of violet propeller-like blades similar to pieces of a windmill lay scattered about, which didn't belong there either. After Comet disappeared into the darkness of a cramped passage to the ruins below, Giovanni went his own way underground without an earpiece. He wanted to focus by himself and see what he could uncover.

xoxox xox xoxox

To say the area Comet was exploring was cramped, dusty and dark would be an understatement. There was hardly enough room to move and the air was thin, though just enough to breathe without needing an oxygen mask. "Are you getting the video feed, Pix?"

"In high definition," Pixel's voice replied from Comet's earpiece. "The architecture programs are loading up possibilities; so far we have no matches. It looks like the boss was right. Something else was probably built here in place of the lab. I'll have the program convert the possibilities into the most likely aspect. So far it looks like some kind of tower with windmill-like propellers."

"Weird," Comet wondered why something as attention grabbing as a tower would be built in a place that as far as he knew was supposed to be secretive. It was true that ships seldom went close to that area anyway, but Giovanni seemed to have more of a liking towards hidden underground laboratories for his works of secrecy.

"That's what the simulation shows," Pixel asserted. "It's also why we're here, to find things that don't seem to make sense," it was Giovanni's order for them to watch out for such things.

Comet spotted some strange transparent pipes tinted in green and orange. They were crushed, as was everything else in the underground ruins. A control panel was near by, obviously it was completely incapable of functioning. Comet removed one of the side covers of the device and pointed his flashlight at the mass of broken wires inside.

"That looks promising," Pixel commented, "I doubt the main drive is intact, but maybe we could get something out of it."

"I'll try to get it out without damaging it more," Comet replied, pushing wires and connectors aside.

"There it is," Pixel saw what they were looking for on the screen, from the small camera attached to Comet's flashlight. "That metal box should contain the hard drive. Did you remember to bring a screwdriver?"

"You bet," Comet looked for the proper tool on the utility belt he had brought along. "This belt has more gadgets in it than Batman's. The only thing it doesn't have is a Zubat, Golbat and Crobat trio of sidekicks." Just as he reached for the screwdriver, Comet noticed a pokeball that was not his and looked into the semi-transparent top at the reduced pokemon inside, it was a Crobat. "Actually, it does come with a Crobat," he put it back on the belt since he didn't need any assistance from it at the moment. He had to wonder how many Rockets had used that Crobat in missions. Its pokeball seemed to be handed out to whoever was using the rest of the equipment on the set.

The exploration of the New Island ruins continued in a similar way, until Comet had gathered sufficient data from that area and headed to the surface to deliver the recovered hard drive along with another interesting thing he found. The item appeared to be similar to a pokeball, made of metal painted black, its color chipped and scratched in time. It was broken in two pieces that fit together over each other, both cracked. One piece was pure black and the other had three gray lines on top. Where the pokeball's button should be, there was a mechanism similar to it, shaped as a yellow eye with a red pupil.

xoxox xox xoxox

When Comet returned to the helicopter, Pixel had a peculiar display on the screen. It was the result of the programs that analyzed the ruins. It was only an approximation of the structure's appearance, but no matter how anyone looked at it, it was definitely different from the blueprints of what should have been there. A tower had supposedly stood at the island at some point, with a windmill at its peak and a few smaller similar towers surrounding the main structure. The underground deeper levels of the laboratory had become mostly flooded passages with the rise of the tides over time, but had been spacious in the past.

"I got a call from Ariana," Giovanni had instructed Pixel on the way, to forward the processed data to headquarters. "She was doing her own investigation and was intrigued by our findings. She mentioned that she would call for another meeting with the executives, so I've been forwarding the data to them. I didn't hear the full story, but apparently there are some strange contradictions that no one can make sense out of."

Three of the executives had been gathered in a conference room, Archer, Ariana and Proton were there trying to reconcile their contradicting theories, memories and evidence. It was as if they couldn't even trust what they remembered and if they thought too hard, things got blurry. It was something that they unconsciously ignored in the back of their minds until it was brought to their attention. Petrel was missing from the conference and claimed to be attending some important business with Delia and Luke when he was called.

"It looks like there really is some kind of hidden secret here. It all seems so suspicious," Comet voiced. "Do you think someone remodeled and used the facilities in the past before they were destroyed again?"

"Looks like it," Pixel mused, "the question is, how did they manage to get away with it? What were they trying to accomplish?" Another theory emerged, "do you think that it was related to Neo Rocket, a group of traitors covering for each other? Did they even exist back then?"

"It seems a bit early for Neo Rocket to have existed, but I wouldn't set aside any possibility right now," Comet looked at the image of the tower on the screen. It looked like a 3D model for the beta version of a video game. "Is the boss still walking around the island?"

"Yes, I've been buried to my neck in data processing and he didn't want any interruptions anyway." Pixel glanced at the time display on the bottom right of the main screen in the back of the large helicopter. The flying machine had two blades to be able to gain altitude. "He's been gone for a long time, maybe you should check on him from afar while I start working on squeezing some data out of that hard drive."

"I'll make sure he doesn't see me, I wouldn't want to break the boss' concentration when he's so focused on something." Comet left, making his way through the surface of the ruins as quietly as possible. He would go back to the helicopter, grab a snack from the supplies and get ready to explore the areas of the ruins that needed more excavation to get through.

In the mean time, Pixel continued gathering clues, which she would forward to the executives. "Ready Prism?" She dismantled the hard drive's box carefully, as her PorygonZ appeared on the screen with an affirmative answer. "This might be tricky." Pixel placed the disk part of the drive into a scanner. It was scratched and cracked, but hopefully some data could be extracted from it, even if they weren't complete files.

xoxox xox xoxox

After some time passed, Comet returned to the helicopter, where Pixel was, with no news of Giovanni. "I searched all over the island's surface and I couldn't find the boss anywhere. He might have gone underground by himself."

"That's bad, when you came back to get the digging equipment, I was going to tell you not to go down there for a while," Pixel warned in alarm. "The sensors detected an increase in pressure. The undersea volcanoes are active again. The effects will be minimal in the sea, but there can be earthquakes and that could cause a cave in at the ruins."

"He didn't even take an earpiece along," Comet recalled.

"I'll try calling his cell phone," Pixel attempted to do so, but the result was a sound originating from a compartment at the cockpit which contained Giovanni's cell phone. "One thing is trying to disconnect himself so he can focus better, but this is not a good time to do that. The boss can take care of himself, yet somehow, I feel as if we should have kept a better eye on him." She checked the sensor's volcanic pressure reading again. "The pressure is increasing; at this rate it's almost certain there will be an earthquake soon. If I change the scanners settings I might be able to track the boss' heat signature, but the undersea volcanoes are giving me a lot of interference."

"I'll go have a quick look around," Comet decided, "if you get the sensors to work and find him, you can guide me there."

"I'm working on it," Pixel agreed, "be careful down there."

"I will," just as Comet was heading out of the large helicopter again, another helicopter landed nearby.

The newly arrived flying vessel was smaller than the first, possessing only one blade. It was clearly made for quick transportation for a few passengers rather than to carry heavy equipment. Delia, Luke and Petrel exited the smaller helicopter and quickly made their way to the larger one. "Comet, is Giovanni here?" Delia asked.

"Here as in on the island, yes," Comet replied.

"Where is he?" Delia looked towards the large helicopter, theorizing that Giovanni was inside.

"Somewhere on the island, in fact, I was just on my way to get him," Comet grinned as if trying to lighten the atmosphere before the discovery of news that those present didn't want to hear.

"Dude, is he like down at the ruins, or like something?" Luke correctly guessed, to which Comet nodded just as there was a light earthquake.

"Did you feel that? This is no time to be under a pile of unstable ruins!" Delia worried. "Where's the radio? I have to tell Giovanni to get out of there. I'll tell him about the ruins if it'll keep him out of danger."

"Wait a minute, you know about the strange mystery we're trying to solve?" Petrel dramatized. He didn't expect Delia to be so well informed when she literally ran into him at the hall while Luke hurried after her due to her running off so suddenly. He wasn't there during the time when the executives lost their memories as they directed squadrons of Rocket agents to capture the clone pokemon, providing background support to Giovanni's operation. Instead, he was caught up with plenty of work at the Orange Islands. "I'm not going to miss out on things this time; I want to go underground too!"

"No one should be underground right now!" Delia firmly insisted, while Comet attempted to sneak away. "Stop right there young man! Giovanni doesn't have a means of communication on him, does he?" It would explained why she had not seen or heard anyone making an effort to call him so far and instead Comet was sneaking off to get him. "I'll have to go get him."

"Maybe I should go get him," Comet offered.

"I want to come too!" Petrel pouted, feeling left out.

"We could like all go, you know?" Luke suggested unsure.

"I don't want anyone to be in any unnecessary danger," Delia argued.

"It's coming!" Announced Pixel's voice from inside the large helicopter. Not even five seconds later, an earthquake, much more noticeable than the last, was felt. The shaking didn't last long, but it was strong. The ruins shifted and some of the debris on the surface collapse on itself, blocking the tunnels to the areas below, where the damage was probably far worse.

"Giovanni!" Delia ran towards the center of the island, where a large pile of ruined material was, as the shaking stopped. She looked around it for a way in, but found only a tiny tunnel, far too small for a human to fit in. Then the ground shook again, it was a gentle movement, but it was almost constant.

"What's going on?" Petrel shouted, as if upset that the ground was shaking without Team Rocket's permission, at such an inconvenient time for them. He rushed to the large helicopter in search of an explanation, "who said there could be an earthquake now?"

Pixel adjusted the settings of the programs on screen, "one of the undersea volcanoes is erupting. If it doesn't stop, it might trigger the others to erupt too."

Comet received the update via his earpiece and ran to shore. "I'm not sure how much of a difference this will make, but try to cool off that volcano Shenron, use blizzard!" He released his Gyarados into the sea. The pokemon immediately noticed the water's hot temperature. It was uncomfortable, but not bad enough to burn. "Come back if it gets too hot."

Shenron swam deep under the sea, approaching the affected area as much as possible. The water was black, the thick smoke refused to dissolve even in the liquid. The powerful Gyarados released a blizzard with all his strength, trying to cool the area and calm the volcanoes.

As Comet stood at the shore watching the water and the light smoke rising from it, a Charizard landed near by with an unexpected arrival. "Ash?"

"What's going on?" Ash asked as he jumped off Charizard and recalled him into his pokeball, thanking him for the ride.

"Right now I'm trying to cool off some undersea volcanoes," Comet explained, "Shenron is using blizzard to cool the water."

"I'll help, go Glalie!" It was one of the pokemon Ash had switched into his team from a PC at Cerulean City. "Ice beam!" The pokemon promptly froze Ash in a block of ice. The ice twitched until it broke, to release a shivering Ash. "Not on me, on the volcanoes under water!" After being given a specific target, the mischievous Glalie dove into the water to help cool off the volcanoes.

Delia and Luke had joined Pixel in the large helicopter where the equipment was. As of yet they were unaware of Ash's arrival at the island. "We have to dig him out!" Delia worried.

"It might be dangerous to dig before things stabilize, it could cause another cave in and make things worse," Pixel warned.

"So like what can we like do?" Luke inquired with urgency.

Before anything else could be said, a loud noise was heard from outside. Giovanni emerged from the ruins with three of his main team of pokemon. Persian had stayed at the Viridian headquarters for the time being. Rhyperior, Golem and Machamp opened the way for the Rocket boss to escape the ruins unharmed. He was received on the surface by Delia, who hugged him tightly in relief. "Let's go home," though she said that, Delia herself wasn't sure where home was to her anymore. Was it her beloved town of Pallet? The Viridian gym, or Giovanni's personal residence at the edge of Kanto near Victory Road? "I'll tell you about the ruins, just be careful in the future and don't do anything rash or..."

Giovanni looked at Delia with puzzlement; he was close to uncovering the secret that was bothering him, the memories that were buried deep inside. He saw something like a dream, an image of an unknown pokemon that he felt he should know. The being had white and purple fur, but the details were blurry. It was akin to looking at a painting that had been submerged in water before the paint was dry. "You know about this?"

Delia nodded, "I thought there were certain things best left forgotten. This is something I haven't really thought about for a long time. I should have realized it before, when you told me about your experience in that mysterious world and what it made you begin to remember. I should have known it was this."

Still shocked by the revelation and the certainty that there really was something going on, Giovanni recalled his pokemon and went to the large helicopter with Delia. The shaking had stopped, as detected by the sensors. Ash and Comet called back their pokemon, thanking them for their help in suppressing the undersea volcanic activities, at least temporarily. They returned to the large helicopter and it was then that Ash saw that his parents were there and they saw him.

Simultaneously, the broken pieces of files that the system was analyzing were finally processed. The program popped up to the surface of the screen above the other applications. What was contained in the recovered hard drive, among other things, were video files taken years ago. The full files could not be restored from the damaged storage device, but a few scenes could be saved. The screen was flooded with a collection of screen shots of different people that were at present over a decade older than in the images. A boy with black hair wearing red, a slightly older boy with brown hair wearing blue, a girl with brown hair and a pokeball necklace.

There were also pictures of many different pokemon, but the one thing that caught everyone's attention were the pictures of a boy who looked a lot like Ash. He was in the company of two others, identifiable as Misty and Brock. Giovanni looked at the pictures in puzzlement, "those pictures."

"They were... in a hard drive from the ruins," Pixel quietly replied, feeling the tension building up in the air.

After looking at the pictures for a moment longer, Giovanni looked at Delia, who seemed worried. Then he looked at Ash, "why are your pictures here? What was here? What do you know about..." The blurry image of the white and purple pokemon resurfaced in his mind, becoming slightly clearer. "What do you know about Mewtwo?"

To be Continued

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 101: Give me Harmony

At New Island, Giovanni, Delia, Petrel, Luke, Comet and Pixel stood in silent suspense as they waited for Ash to answer Giovanni's question. A hard drive was found in the ruins of New Island in bad conditions. However, a relatively small amount of data could be retrieved from it. The processed files revealed screen shots of Ash from an incomplete video file taken over ten years ago. It was a very suspicious finding, which the Team Rocket leader was set on unraveling.

Ash stared at the images on the screen. He guessed that the images must have been recorded by Mewtwo, maybe before he made the choice to invite him to New Island. He had no idea such files existed and it was even more shocking that they would be found after so many years. The past was something that could never truly be left behind and had to be faced. Ash's memories had been unlocked faster after his trip to that other world, thanks to his aura abilities. He could remember everything from New Island with the clarity that the events would have if his memories had not been locked.

Ash tried to say something, but found himself unable to find the words. He thought that after the problems with the virus were solved, things would be calm. He would get to know his father as someone more than just the leader of Team Rocket. He would be optimistic and look at the positive side of each situation, the side his mother noticed. He didn't want a conflict to arise, he didn't want to be placed against his father, he didn't want to think of Giovanni in that light. He wanted to see him as the gym leader, as a skilled trainer, not as the man who used pokemon for power.

The large screen displaying the images suddenly went black. Taken by surprise, Pixel tried to make the computer system respond, but the keyboard was dead. "What's happening? Prism, are you okay?"

The words 'intruder alert' flashed red on the screen and the machine screeched as the main CPU began to overheat.

"Prism, what's happening, respond! Sapphire, come in Sapphire," Pixel's voice was cut off by the sound of the computer short circuiting. The electric shockwave pushed those gathered there away, towards the front of the spacious helicopter. An unconscious PorygonZ, Prism, was thrown out of the computer and materialized outside of the cyber space.

When the unexpected technological problems quieted, the computer system was surrounded by a stream of smoke, completely fried beyond functioning. All the portable sensors that had been released outside were deactivated and unresponsive. "The data!" Giovanni knew that Ash had more answers than what he could obtain from the scraps found at the New Island ruins, but he still wanted that data to have another perspective to look at.

"I was transmitting it to headquarters, it should have been saved there," Pixel made a quick call on her cell phone directed at Ariana, who wondered why the stream of data had suddenly become disconnected. At least she could confirm that the data which had been recovered thus far was safely delivered to the Viridian headquarters databases. The strange incident that caused the malfunction and the apparent invasion of an unknown hacker was being investigated.

"Looks like there's even more things than we thought going on," Petrel commented on the unexpected occurrence.

"Let the executives take care of this mystery, I have another mystery to solve," Giovanni decided. "You can all return on this helicopter. Even if the computer server is clearly out of order, it's separate from the flight controls, so this won't be a problem for transportation. Ash, Delia and I will return on the smaller helicopter." It was a final choice that left no room for argument. The three of them exited the large helicopter and headed towards the small one. Both flying machines were painted black; the big one had a red R on its side, while the smaller one had a green leaf, the symbol of the Earth badge of Viridian.

xoxox xox xoxox

Though Giovanni had begun to ask his questions in the air, Delia insisted that they should talk calmly when they landed. Even if he was impatient to know, Giovanni took Delia's advice, given that he was currently piloting the helicopter. Besides, Ash didn't look like he could say anything at the moment even if he tried.

The helicopter landed not at the Viridian gym, but instead at Giovanni's mansion near Victory Road. The trip went by in silence, save for a small sound from Ash's cell phone when he received a text message from Gary pressuring him to hurry to Pallet Town. Ash replied with a simple 'not now' text message that conveyed a world of emotion. He knew that somehow, Gary would understand that he had a lot to deal with and he would be there as soon as he could.

When Rex received the three arrivals to the mansion he couldn't help it but to wonder if someone had died, since their expressions seemed so solemn. There was also an underlying frustration in Giovanni's eyes, worry in Delia and an intense look in Ash's eyes that went from sad, to frightened to completely lost, depending on which thought currently ran through his head.

As they made their way into the mansion to find a quiet place to sit and talk, they didn't even hear Rex mentioning that the Viridian mayor had stopped by and was still at the mansion. Rune was about to leave when he found Giovanni, Delia and Ash on his way out. "You're back! I was just talking to your staff about a party. We could have it at the gym. It will be a celebration of the antidote and the health and peace that it will bring, an oath to prosperity and an excellent campaign closing! I know Kenobi is the official new candidate, but you know I can't seem to stay away from these things. Between your home staff and mine, all the food can be easily prepared. Some delicious custom made recipes would really stand out. I'm sure we can also find a way to integrate a forest theme to it, what do you think? It will be grand!"

"Rune," Giovanni growled with unparalleled fury. For a moment, mayor Antilles thought the Rocket boss would hit him again and that time he wouldn't live to tell the tale. Thankfully, no physical violence occurred, as Giovanni finished with his usual, "shut up!"

"Yes, sir!" Fearing for his life, mayor Antilles ran out in a panic. He concluded that this was not a good day to talk to Giovanni about parties.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at the Viridian Rocket headquarters, the unexpected technological difficulties experienced at New Island were interpreted. Archer, Ariana and Proton were joined by Petrel at a conference room. The agents who were present at the time of the event on New Island were there as well, which included Luke, Comet and Pixel.

"It has been determined that what happened to the equipment on New Island was no accident, nor was it directly caused by an enemy. It was our own Sapphire who, with the help of Diamond, rendered the equipment useless," Archer seriously explained. Sapphire was the satellite inhabiting PorygonZ in charge of the sensors and espionage equipment, while Diamond was on top of the digital command chain and supported the security of each individual PorygonZ in the digital domain of Team Rocket. "The PorygonZ acted in such a way due to an intruder trying to take control of Sapphire. The intruder was traced back to New Island, to the Team Rocket equipment. Agent Pixel, what do you have to say about this?"

"The intruder was obviously using some kind of cover up, it wasn't me," Pixel was annoyed not to have noticed such a thing.

"The hacking did indeed have its origin elsewhere," Ariana confirmed. "However, we have no solid proof of this or a way to pin point where it started. The only reason we know this is because, given the speed at which you were sending us processed data, you must have been pushing the equipment's CPU to its limits, running various instances of the architectural simulation programs in high precision mode. For the data to arrive here at HQ at such a rate, it is the only explanation. Taking that into consideration, you would not have enough system resources left to do the hacking. Make sure such things don't slip by in the future."

"Yes, ma'am..." Pixel's mind was elsewhere, thinking of what could have happened and why neither the system's security, nor Prism, nor she, noticed it.

"Luke, it's time for you to be integrated to your new duties," Proton had a hint of annoyance in his voice, though it was directed at the situation rather than Luke. "While you're training pokemon and playing war general with an army of rookies, I'll be buried in this investigation. You're probably too nice to really mess with the rookies, what a waste," Proton made an exaggerated annoyed face, which far from proving a point, only served to amuse all those present.

"That's like totally awesome, man!" Luke didn't even try to feel sorry for Proton and his participation in a long and arduous investigation. He was too focused on looking forward to his new assignments.

"That's all for now, you may return to your duties," Archer announced, which prompted Luke, Comet and Pixel to leave the conference room.

After they were gone, Petrel observed Archer's pensive state and inquired, "what is it?"

"That girl is friends with Delia. If it turns out she's a traitor, it will make things difficult. She is also close to Comet, who is among our best agents. He's Luke's son and Luke just regained Giovanni's trust after pursuing that goal for a long time," Archer voiced seriously, his face stern with concern in his eyes. "I believe in Luke's loyalty and his son has been raised on the principal of loyalty to Team Rocket. However, Pixel is an outsider, recruited from an entirely different environment, an environment from which one would not guess a Rocket agent would come."

Following her husband's train of thought, Ariana continued, "Comet is young and has the same carefree attitude of his father. Though he was raised to be a loyal Rocket, I wonder if his optimism will be his betrayal. Would he take her side if she's a traitor, believing things will somehow work out and she'll change into a loyal Rocket? They are a couple after all. If Comet joins her, then what will Luke do? He's loyal to Giovanni, but is clearly very attached to his son."

"Aren't we going too far?" Petrel voiced. "Pixel could be innocent; the set up might have really just slipped by. With the earthquakes, finding those files at the ruins and worrying about Giovanni being trapped underground, it was a pretty distracting atmosphere. She probably didn't notice she was being used as a cover up. We at least know that she wasn't the one doing the hacking on Sapphire's satellite, right? Besides, who would be stupid enough to do something traitorous when Giovanni is so close by? One would think a computer geek is smarter than that."

"So it would seem," Archer accepted the point. "There are too many questions related to this incident. The PorygonZ satellite project is a key step towards world domination, one that must be firmly established and tested beyond a doubt. There might be someone out to ruin everything and we need to make sure that doesn't happen. To top it all up, there's also the matter concerning New Island, which is Giovanni's main focus right now."

"So it's up to us to hunt down the culprit for the Sapphire incident and defend the satellites. At least we know Sapphire and Diamond's security is working, even if the programs haven't been fully integrated. Such an important step..." Proton's face turned serious. "We'll have to be extra careful. Whoever gets in our way will regret it. Giovanni made it pretty clear, he's got his own battle, this is our fight."

xoxox xox xoxox

In one of the top security underground laboratories, Binks was working on a few experiments. He had become far more active, focused and capable since Aayla returned to headquarters. In a sea of shades of gray, the fluorescent colored liquids in the small glass vials stood out. Binks added green and blue liquids from glass vials into a clear beaker and set it aside for the moment, allowing the colors to mix oddly and become a metallic silvery substance. He looked over at the lab's corner where Aayla was curled up sleeping. He had tried to find a more comfortable place for her to rest, but she ignored him and stayed there. "You're grieving, aren't you? You don't fully remember, but somehow you know." Binks looked at her sadly and let out a hollow breath. "At least Secura can rest in peace and her curse didn't overtake the world. We can have some time of peace now."

Aayla had in truth been awake and listening. Her ears moved slightly as she looked at Binks and shook her head. "Do not assume what you do not know and doubt what you do." For the first time Aayla spoke the human language, proving that she did still have the ability to do so, even if she had been out of practice. "There are those who are created by nature and those who originated as a consequence of humans. Be it by consequence or nature, they exist within the mysteries of life. However, those who were made by the hands of humans with a purpose and not as a consequence or natural phenomena are different, for now. They will have to join us, they will have to live with us, or else they will not live at all, merely existing."

Binks felt as if he was frozen. He didn't understand what Aayla was talking about, but it sounded both significant and cryptic. "What does that mean?" Binks managed to push out the words.

"Time will tell, it is not something that science can heal. To grant life, that is something that we may ask for, it is something that we may attempt to trigger, but in the end, the choice of granting such a wish belongs to another." Aayla once again closed her eyes and rested her head on her paws. "I am only here to see how the unfinished business will end," she muttered quietly before drifting off into a heavy slumber.

"Please explain!" No matter how much Binks urgently insisted, Aayla did not speak of her strange interpretation any more. However, it was a confirmed fact that Akira had indeed passed away. Perhaps her words were a reference to the existence of an immortal soul, or maybe they weren't directed at Secura at all. What if she was denying his assessment that a time of peace would come? Binks tried to turn his attention to the experiments again, but found himself overwhelmed with worry and confusion. His hands trembled as he tried to set the vial he picked up back on its holder, but his reflexes were terribly clumsy. "I don't want to lose sight of reality... I don't want this..." He finally managed to place the vial where it belonged and stumbled away from the table.

His loyal Raticate was by his side as usual, looking up at him with worry. Binks picked her up and held her in his trembling arms. He approached the resting Aayla and sat down on the floor next to her to wait for the inexplicable shadows that his mind conjured to leave the room and let him be. In the end, though he had improved, he had no hope for a real cure, no hope for medication to free him completely. Frightened beyond reason, despite knowing there was nothing to be afraid of, he waited for the worst to pass. He looked at Aayla and his sadness surpassed fear. "Why must I do what you say, even if it hurts me so much to think it will hurt you? I don't want you to carry this pain."

With the removal of so many blood cells to conjure the main ingredient of the antidote that brought forth Pokerus, Aayla was left weak. It was at her insistence that her blood was taken, as she did not possess the energy to heal all the affected pokemon faster than the terrible epidemic could spread. However, mass-producing the antidote with just a tiny sample of her blood cells, a few drops diluted in a bottle of chemicals, was enough to end the epidemic. As her healing blood was removed, when her body recovered, the essence of Pokerus would weaken and more blood cells would be required for the next batch of antidote to be made. The antidote was not infinite, but Pokerus could spread from one pokemon to another after the antidote was administrated, hence a relatively small amount of antidote could make a big difference by its side effects of spreading its healing.

Aayla's power would still be weakened as a consequence of the lack of Pokerus concentration in her system, which her body had become accustomed and even dependant to. She could no longer teleport and the illusions that she created were easier to break. Her movements, though still relatively agile, were also not as fast as they were before. She slept more often, surrendering to an exhaustion that seemed to remain with her even after hours of sleep. It was her choice none the less to spread the cure as quickly as possible; it was her personal mission which she convinced Binks to help her with in taking the sample from her.

xoxox xox xoxox

At the mansion, Delia, Ash and Giovanni were in one of the many sitting rooms. This particular one had a circular couch as the centerpiece with a round gold plated table in the middle. The area where the black leather circle opened to allow people to sit within it, was adorned with a pair of statues on either side, both also covered in gold. The statues were detailed, though their similarities to the pokemon they represented, Lugia and Ho-oh, were left in theory in many ways. The carpet was a neutral gray, which made the gold stand out further.

Triangle shaped topazes lined with golden frames formed a majestic chandelier overhead. All in all, the room seemed far too fancy for a simple place to talk. The round table could be used to host a fancy dinner and most other activities seemed out of place there. However, the three current occupants of the room had other things to think about. Giovanni faced Delia and Ash, which made the atmosphere of an interrogation invade the room even before the first words were spoken.

"Let him go..." Ash whispered so softly that his voiced seemed to be lost into nothingness. "Please, just let him go."

"You do know where Mewtwo is," with every passing moment, Giovanni felt as if his memories became clearer. He saw himself in control of Mewtwo, then fighting to recapture him.

"Not exactly," Ash truthfully replied. He didn't know, and wouldn't say even if he did, what Mewtwo's exact location was, but he had an idea.

Seeing that Ash had falling into a long silence, face downcast, Giovanni addressed Delia. "What do you know about Mewtwo?"

"You used him to battle, but that wasn't the whole of your plan, it couldn't have been." Delia spoke softly, trying to keep her voice even and calm. "He escaped and you tracked him down. You tried to catch him by force. You should just let him go, he's a living being!"

"Mom..." Ash's soft whisper interrupted as Delia's voice had become upset. "Let me... You should... I really think you should stay here. You've done a lot of good, more than you might realize, I can feel it. Please stay here. I'll be the one to go."

Delia's eyes widened as she perceived the hidden meaning of her son's words. Ash knew that this argument would run deep; he knew that he might end up having to separate from his father for some time. He was asking her to stay by Giovanni's side. He could feel her influence on him, even if it was a slow and gentle process that would take a life time to fully take effect. Even so, it was significant and it was something only she could do. "I can't, I..." Delia closed her eyes and breathed, her heart was already racing. She had always chosen Giovanni, she chose him over herself, over justice and over her own family with the exception of her son. Now her son was asking her to stand by his father's side even if he couldn't.

"Please," Ash insisted, lifting his gaze for the first time since his arrival, to meet his mother's eyes. "This is what's best, so please." Pikachu remained quiet by Ash's side the whole time.

With tears starting to form in her eyes, Delia accepted Ash's request. "I trust you."

"Thank you," Ash stood and looked at his father in all seriousness. "I know what will happen if I tell you about Mewtwo and you know I'll try to stop you if you pursue him. We'll decide in a battle. Show me your full power, if I can't win, then I'll tell you everything I know about Mewtwo."

From that point on, everything became a blur to Delia. She followed them outside to witness their battle, but was sent back. It wouldn't be safe to get too close. She would watch from the window while they battled behind the mansion. The structure was equipped with a state of the art security system to protect it from pokemon attacks. The system recently underwent considerable upgrades. As she watched from the window, she recognized the pain in her heart. It was the pain that came when people dear to her stood against each other. She had felt it before, but this time it was more intense than ever. It reminded her of another occasion when she also felt as if she was caught in the middle and at the same time wasn't there at all.

xoxox xox xoxox

Years earlier, when Giovanni had just recently become the gym leader... At the police station, Jenny let out a defeated breath as she gathered her things. It was time for her to retire though she was still of age to keep working. She felt as if she had done enough, let her cousins do the rest until it was time for her daughter and nieces to step forward and keep up the family tradition of working towards upholding law and order. She might wear a law enforcement uniform again, but only as a privately hired guard, since she was still too young to retire completely.

She didn't feel right about handing in her badge, but she didn't feel wrong about it either. She knew the truth about the new Viridian gym leader, Giovanni. After losing a battle to him, her own battles felt insignificant by comparison. She hoped that the facet of his persona who believed in his pokemon would overpower the side of him that was too ambitious. At the time, from her perspective, it looked as if he was just barely balanced.

Jenny heard some quiet but firm footsteps approaching and instinctively looked up in mild curiosity. She didn't expect to see anyone procuring her, let alone him. "Is it true?" A man noticeably older than Jenny, with graying brown hair inquired. "Is it true that you're leaving us?"

"Superintendent..." she breathed, "yes, I'm afraid so. It seems my heart just isn't in it lately."

"Our battle is far from over," the police superintendent spoke sternly, his voice a mix of disappointment and grief.

"I feel as if I'm only a bystander," Jenny admitted. "If that's what I am, then I might as well stand back and watch."

"I'm going to expose him," the superintendent's voice was determined and unbreakable. "Everyone is opposed to the idea; they speak of the consequences of picking a fight. Some even see Team Rocket in a positive light because they defeated the other gangs that used to plague Kanto. That was something that the police force couldn't do. I was overwhelmed just trying to clean the force of double agents and small gangs. They even did that for me. During their operation the corrupt officers stepped into the war and were ultimately processed thanks to their involvement against Team Rocket. They were ironically finally doing their job in a sense when they were at last exposed and arrested."

"Then maybe Kanto really is better off in his hands," Jenny quietly spoke.

"Never!" The superintendent slammed his fist into the desk with a loud noise that made all eyes in the station land on him. He cleared his throat as if telling everyone to mind their own business. The officers continued working, pretending they were unaware of the superintendent's conversation. "If we leave justice in the hands of someone who is more so a villain than a vigilante we will regret it."

"So you'd leave it up to a vigilante then?" Jenny challenged, knowing all too well what the answer would be.

"Absolutely not," the superintendent frowned sternly.

Jenny sighed, she was younger than the superintendent and thus in theory less experienced, but it looked to her that he was throwing a tantrum because someone did his job more effectively than him. The superintendent was usually an understanding and kind person, albeit today he was clearly frustrated. He was an honorable man who would do anything for justice, to defend the innocent and protect the good. None the less, he was only human, a human who commanded little power despite his position.

The superintendent was expected to clean out the corruption from the police and rid Kanto of its dangerous era of gangs. The era had seemingly ended, though by someone else's hand and at a price that would truly be revealed in the future. "It's time to reclaim Kanto."

Jenny set the box she was holding with her belongings back on the desk. "Maybe I should stay for a while longer, if you don't mind."

"All honest officers are welcomed and appreciated," the superintendent excused himself with those words, leaving Jenny to reorganize her desk.

Jenny still didn't feel as if her authority could do much, but she wanted to see what was to come up close and maybe act if the opportunity came. She stood not for the law or the police; she would stand for what she thought was best for Kanto, regardless of what that entailed.

"Jenny, is it true you're leaving?" A male officer, slightly younger than her, though certainly not a rookie, inquired.

Jenny smiled as if the thought of quitting had never crossed her mind. She tugged away the envelope with her resignation letter in her pocket. "Of course not, I'm just cleaning my desk."

As her coworker left, she noticed that a name plate had been placed on the desk that used to belong to the chief of the station. The chief had been put into trial after conspiring with some of the gangs which Team Rocket later disbanded. At least the police force could start anew; thinking about that, Jenny became a little more optimistic. She read over the name plate that sat on the chief's desk, it looked like the superintendent would act as the Viridian police chief himself.

Then a thought occurred to Jenny, the superintendent had been very busy with the internal affairs of the police, it was only natural that he had no time to keep up with the news. He only knew the basics about what had happened, he only knew about Giovanni. He had not heard about the lady that stood by his side. Jenny bit her lip and shook her head. She finished organizing her desk and sat down to go over some reports. Before immersing herself completely in the written works, she glanced at the name plate on the chief's desk one last time, but chose to remain silent.

To be Continued

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 102: Give me Fortitude

Kanto was beginning to feel the change of most of its gangs being put behind bars. It was a chance for prosperity and growth in many ways. Viridian City had a new gym leader and a new mayor. The citizens were quite pleased, as both men appeared to be capable and dedicated. Naturally, the mayor would often socialize with the gym leader, as he felt it was his duty despite thinking the gym leader was a little scary. That socializing would lead to an alliance, which would pull another important figure to Team Rocket's side. All in all, things were looking up.

The panorama at the police station was quite different. The superintendent was stressed and very behind in his work. He had settled into his desk and finished most of his paper work. The documents were mostly about the trials that the officers affiliated with gangs would have to go through after being discovered. Team Rocket had been a relatively small gang with no connections to the police. In theory, it was due to Madame's interference. Apparently, she always made things backfire for her son when he tried to establish convenient connections with the police. It was perhaps her own way to push him into doing things on his own without assistance from double agents in the authorities and thus become stronger by his own skill, but most simply assumed she hated him.

Letting out a breath that seemed to carry all his stress, the superintendent wrote his signature in his last piece of paper work for the day. The sun had set a while ago and the day time shift had ended, giving way to the arrival of the night time officers. He tidied his work station and put away his confidential papers in a locked drawer before glancing at the photo in the corner of his desk. A slight smile appeared on his face despite all the stress he was in. He was doing this for them, for his wife, may she rest in peace and for his daughter, may she live happy and safe. It had been a long time, but he would see his daughter soon. He was anxious to hear about what she had been doing and how her pokemon studies had progressed. He felt guilty to not have kept up with her properly, but he trusted his good friend Professor Oak to guide her in his place when work kept him away.

xoxox xox xoxox

At the Viridian City gym, the second Giovanni stepped into his quarters, with his loyal baby Meowth on his shoulder, the sweet scent of perfume greeted him along with a pleasant sight. Delia was putting the finishing touches on her outfit with some light makeup that brought out her natural beauty. She wore a royal blue dress that was long enough to be formal, but short enough not to be a ball gown. The dress hugged her body nicely, without being too showy. She had her hair down, parted to the side with a sapphire hair clip and matching earrings. Her eye shadow matched her jewelry's color and her lips glowed with clear gloss.

This was exactly what Giovanni wanted to return to after a long day of catching up with his new gym leader duties, political socializing and managing Team Rocket. He could picture what would come next, a delicious romantic dinner from Delia's incomparable home cooking, a relaxing atmosphere and...

"I'll be going now, don't wait up for me," Delia picked up her purse, gave Giovanni a quick kiss, petted Meowth and headed for the bedroom door.

Giovanni felt as if a pokemon had used water gun on him. "Wait a minute, where are you going at this hour, dressed like that?" Needless to say, he wasn't pleased.

Delia sighed; she should have guessed he would forget. She smiled, still in a very good mood, "I told you about it yesterday. Tonight I'm going to meet my father for dinner. He hasn't had time for me lately and wanted to catch up in a nice restaurant. I would invite you, but this is kind of a father daughter reunion and I don't think dad wants to share my attention with another man tonight. I'll make plans for all of us to get together in another occasion so you can meet him, as the gym leader, I mean... since he's with the police."

"Your father is a police officer?" Giovanni received yet another shock, which felt like being hit by an ice beam attack.

"I told you this weeks ago," Delia reminded. You replied, and I quote, "does that mean you're an undercover officer here to seduce me into turning myself in?"

"You know I wasn't really listening!" Giovanni admitted what he felt was obvious, watching as Delia smiled and giggled.

"We have a lot to talk about, I haven't seen my biological father in ages," Delia explained.

"I do remember you saying you spent most of your time studying with Professor Oak," Giovanni recalled. Delia had told him about how her mother passed away when she was very young due to an illness that she, fortunately, did not inherit. Her father was always buried in work and often left her with her teacher, Professor Oak, who raised her more so than her own father. "So you're going to see your father, who you're not even all that close to and is a police officer no less, instead of spending time with me?"

"That's all the more reason why I should see him!" Delia insisted, then reassured, "at his age, he's no doubt a step away from retirement." She never imagined that as things stood, her father had no intentions of retiring until he was physically unable to continue working. "I want to take the first step to become closer to him. I want him to know he can count on me and that I understand that he had to take care of his career to support me, even if I would much rather have a lot less growing up if it meant spending more time with him. That aside, I knew he had good intentions and he made sure I was always well looked after. Professor Oak was like another father to me and I never felt neglected." She took a deep breath and finished, "so you see, I really have to go see him. We have a lot of catching up to do so we might stay up late talking. You should get some rest and we'll spend some time together tomorrow. You don't even have to tell me anything about secrecy; you know I won't breathe a word."

"I trust you," Giovanni assured, "it's just surprising..." It wasn't all bad if he thought about it in the right light. The police didn't seem to represent an obstacle at the moment, even more so because they were understaffed after their internal clean up. Yet the fact remained that Jenny and who knows how many more officers, knew of his secret identity. "What if he knows who I am? What if he just wants to take you away from me?"

This was a whole other side to Giovanni that rarely showed, the side of him that was protective. Delia stayed comfortably in his embrace for a while. "I won't say a word, I promise." Delia felt a little guilty to hide the truth about her boyfriend from her biological father, yet with Professor Oak's acceptance of the relationship, though he certainly wasn't thrilled about it, she felt as if she could face anyone's disapproval or ignorant bliss with a straight face. That man was her biological father, but she would be lying if she denied feeling that Professor Oak was the main parental figure in her life. "No one is going to separate us."

xoxox xox xoxox

The police station was a short walk from the Viridian gym, but Giovanni insisted on driving Delia anyway. He didn't need to hide as the gym leader and dropped her off without incident. The police superintendent and current chief of the Viridian City police station, Davin Ketchum, exited the building just in time to see a young woman getting out of a car and the car driving off. He met the lady at the door, taking a moment to recognize her. "Delia?" He spoke unsure, barely above a whisper.

The young woman smiled, looking even more like her mother had in her healthier days. "Hi, dad." She went to hug the man she had not seen for a long time. He looked noticeably older than when she last saw him. He had lost some weight and had sleepless bags under his eyes, plus his hair had become grayer.

"Look at you, my little girl is all grown up," he spoke with a hint of sadness at having missed most of that process, though he still managed to make himself smile. "You look so much like your mother. But let's not talk out here," he began to lead her towards his car, "we'll have a nice dinner and talk until we catch up on everything."

xoxox xox xoxox

The atmosphere at the restaurant was elegant and peaceful. After the waiter left with their order, the father and daughter began to catch up on the happenings of each other's lives. "How are your studies with Professor Oak going? I haven't really spoken to him in a while," or to her. "We've both been busy; me with the police and I can only imagine how busy the epidemic has kept Samuel and you. At least the antidote is finally out there." Davin was aware of Team Rocket's involvement in that process, but chose not to mention them.

"Everything is fine now." The conversation was barely getting started and Delia already felt as if she hit a wall. "I actively participated in the research process to find an antidote." It was paraphrased, but it was still mostly true if the term research was used loosely. "I'm really glad it was finally discovered. Right now I have another job as a..." how could she define what she did for Giovanni while making it sound like a regular job? "A pokemon training assistant and secretary."

"Then you're not researching anymore?" Delia's father tried to mask the hint of disappointment in his voice. He had hoped she would become a pokemon scientist, doctor or nurse. However, as long as Delia was safe, he would be okay with the career she chose. "What do you do in your new job?"

"Lot's of things," Delia smiled and willed herself to act natural. "I help train pokemon, tend to them and take care of some business related things on the side."

The description was too general and short for Davin's liking, but he understood that his daughter might not be ready to talk as if they saw each other often, because they didn't. He blamed himself for the invisible wall between them and knew the process of bringing it down would be a slow one; so slow perhaps that it could not be done alongside his job. Yet he had to build a good world for his daughter, he found justification in that mission. "I've had some changes in my career too," Davin ventured off to speak a little about himself in hopes of building a familiarity that would encourage his daughter to tell him more about her own life. "I'm the police superintendent now." After those words were spoken, the waiter returned with their meals, setting the plates and cups on the table.

"What?" A worried expression overtook Delia's face. Her father took it logically and assumed she worried about the possible dangers of his job. He reminded himself that she was no longer a little girl, thus was more aware of the less pleasant happenings of the world.

The waiter thought the expression was directed at the food and with the most apologetic look he could muster, he asked, "is something not to your liking, my lady?"

"I'm sorry," Delia laughed quietly and tried to lighten the atmosphere. "I was simply surprised by my father's news. Dinner looks delicious, thank you."

"I am glad you think so," the waiter was visibly relieved. "If you need anything at all, please let me know and I will be happy to get it for you. It is an honor to have you here with us, Lady Roketto."

All color drained from Delia's face as her father's countenance turned red in anger, "what did you call her?" The police superintendent demanded furiously.

The waiter bowed regretfully, "my deepest apologies, I will use more discretion in the future."

"This isn't about discretion, what do you know about the Roketto? Why did you call my daughter that? Do they have connections in the police? I will clean the force of double agents if it's the last thing I do!" Davin glared in enraged frustration at the waiter, who seemed to be at a loss for words.

The outburst brought forth the attention of several other customers, as well as the restaurant manager, who rushed over to calm the situation. "Go back to the kitchen," the manager sternly sent the waiter away, then faced the angry man and the distressed young lady. "I apologize if you were offended. I will assign you a new waiter and your meal shall be on the house." They were aware of who Giovanni was through the connections the establishment's owner shared with the mayor.

Enraged to seemingly be counted as an ally of the mafia, Davin was about to angrily reply, but there was yet another interruption. "Delia!" Rune Antilles' loud voice bellowed from across the elegant dinning hall, adorned in gold and green. He hurried to the other side of the restaurant taking his young son's hand to make him dash along with him and signaling for his wife to follow. While Rune clumsily made his way towards the commotion, dragging a confused young Kenobi along, who only wanted to finish his barely started dessert; Naberrie Antilles, who sometimes chouse to go by her maiden name of Naberrie Coruscant, wife of Rune and mother of Kenobi, made her way over in a slow and regal fashion. She possessed grace that made her husband's occasional ineptness seem far too mismatched for her.

"You are the newly elected mayor," Davin recognized Rune and further wondered what was going on. There were rumors about the new mayor forming an alliance with the gym leader, even if no proof could be found of any wrong doings. The fact remained that the mayor and the gym leader seemed to be good friends in the public eye and that was suspicious enough.

"Yes, yes I am and I am quite pleased and ready to keep my promises of making Viridian City a better place!" After his brief acknowledgement to the man who he didn't realize was the new police superintendent and Viridian police chief; Rune directed his happy outburst towards Delia. "It's so wonderful that you're here. Perhaps you'd consider joining my family's table after you are finished with your business? We would be so honored. Oh, yes, this is my son, Kenobi." Rune finally released the boy's hand, remembering that he had dragged him over with the purpose of introducing him to Delia.

"Kenobi, greet the lady properly," in the span of time that had passed, Naberrie had since caught up to her husband at her own composed pace. Her voice was sweet yet commanding. The color of her hair and eyes were nothing like her son's who at first glance seemed to take completely after his father with black hair and green eyes. However, if one set aside her sky blue eyes and her hair which seemed to be an eternal debate between purple and crimson, it was possible to notice some of her features in her son. Her angular thin nose, long shape of the eyes and pronounced facial features made their appearance in her son in a more boyish manner that was a definite contrast to his father's nearly square head and full cheeks.

At his mother's voice, Kenobi bowed like a gentleman of times passed asking a noble lady to dance. He took Delia's delicate hand in his small one and placed a kiss on it. "I am Kenobi Antilles Coruscant, at your service dear lady."

"And I am Naberrie Coruscant of Antilles," the lady added. "It is fortunate that we have met."

"Coruscant?!" Davin was further angered by the mention of the name of a mafia family, though it was a name of the past. The Coruscant clan was no longer as big as it used to be, some said consumed by the Roketto and others theorized sabotaged by one of its own members.

"My name is Delia Ketchum, I am pleased to meet you both," Delia replied formally while throwing a worried glance at her father, who was feeling utterly ignored and disrespected.

"Should I find a bigger table for everyone?" The restaurant manager could feel the tension in the air and wanted the situation to settle down as quickly as possible.

"My husband and I have already dined and were only waiting for our son to consume his dessert. However, I believe Lady Delia's dinner yet remains untouched. Perhaps she would enjoy dinning under the stars, let us move to a table on the roof." Naberrie's elegant and commanding voice once again left no room for argument. Her young son discreetly tugged on the skirt of her dress, the smooth fabric an undecided color between dark purple and black, depending on the angle and light. The boy's silent message was answered by his mother's hand briefly resting on his head. "We would also like for our son's dessert to be moved there as well and do prepare some coffee for my husband and I." She did not have to specify which kind because they already knew what to get for her.

"This is an outrage!" Davin exploded, "I know who you are." He pointed accusingly at Naberrie, who merely chuckled in indifference.

The elegant woman twirled her long hair around her fingers, accentuated with dark crimson nails that matched her lipstick. She allowed her hair to fall over one shoulder, the other bare in her elegant dress. "Delia, darling, you have much to learn about controlling your business, they are a double edged sword after all." She began to walk away placing a friendly arm around Delia's shoulder and leaning in to whisper things the other woman didn't understand as they walked away from the scene.

Delia, confused beyond reason, allowed Naberrie to lead her away towards the luxurious stairs. Kenobi cheerfully followed walking beside his mother. Rune was the last to react and scurried along after them, not before telling the frustrated superintendent, "we should go," still unaware of who Davin was in more ways than one. Rune had learned that when Naberrie spoke everyone was to remain silent, especially him, as she often pointed out that he had the most vexing ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Visibly fuming, Davin followed the group to the roof of the restaurant, intending to resolve the conflict of confusion that overtook him and find out what kind of connection those dreadful people may have with his dear sweet daughter.

As soon as they were on the roof, away from prying eyes and ears, Davin demanded to know, "what is the meaning of this? Do you people intend to threaten my daughter?" As he threw out the accusation, he pulled Delia away from Naberrie and reached for his police gun.

"That was a most unwise move," Naberrie's icy glare chilled the atmosphere, no one could ignore her strong presence. The click of a dozen sniper rifles being readied echoed through the silence as Davin released his gun into its holster and left it there. He knew it would do him no good to try to defend his daughter against such terrible odds. He could barely see the silhouettes of the hidden guards in the darkness.

"You planned this, you somehow knew that I would be here," Davin was frustrated for taking so long to react. He wanted answers in relation to his daughter's apparent recognition of the mayor, who turned out to be the husband of a lady of the mafia. He should have known Delia must be utterly confused; they must be strangers to her, whom she politely humored because she recognized the Viridian mayor's face. "Leave Delia out of this, she's innocent!"

Unable to stand it any longer, Delia finally spoke, "enough of this. I would like to know what's going on. What business do you have with my father?"

"None what so ever, my dear, sit, eat, your dinner will become cold," Naberrie took a seat at the table, signaling for Delia to do the same. "Do not feel threatened, friend, the guards are here to protect you as much as they are here to protect me."

"Delia is not your friend!" Davin tried to stop his daughter from sitting down, but could not.

"Father, please calm down," Delia spoke as evenly and urgently as she could while suppressing the alarm in her voice. "Sit, eat and relax. I will take care of the situation."

Davin sat down next to Delia, but did not touch his meal. Kenobi sat between his mother and Delia, closer to Naberrie, absorbed in the enjoyable process of eating his cake, slowly and properly. Rune sat at Naberrie's other side, silent save for the quiet thanks he offered the restaurant manager when he brought coffee for him and his wife.

Taking a deep breath, Delia tried to sort the mess that lay before her. "First of all I must clarify that I am here to have a nice quiet dinner with my father, I am not conducting any business."

"I see," Naberrie observed, her eyes focused on a point beyond the table as if staring off into the distance in superiority. "Though you both had the name of Ketchum," she spoke of Delia presently counting her as a Roketto, "I had assumed that the title of father was something you reserved for Professor Samuel Oak of Pallet Town."

Delia stiffened; the last thing she wanted was to add something hurtful to the already nerve-wrecking mess. "This is not the issue at hand," she neutrally spoke. "Davin Ketchum is my biological father and I appreciate him. If you know about Professor Oak, if you know so much about me, then you must be will informed about my purpose for being here tonight."

"Indeed," Naberrie confirmed. "No more charades, I will go to the point and tell you the story, but that man's determination is a hindrance so I would rather he not hear it. Fear not, he will not be harmed, I just want him to leave for a short while." With a discreet nod, Naberrie called two of her armed guards, who stepped forward to escort Davin away.

"Go with them, it'll be okay," Delia assured, though she was uncertain of it herself. What she did know was that she felt frustrated. That frustration evolved into anger and her seldom dried patience ran short. As soon as her father was out of sight and thus presumably out of earshot, Delia spoke as bravely as she could. She could feel the invincibility of a vigilante once again, but there was something dark about it. It was as if the vigilante, though still powerful, had been corrupted. She pushed the worries away and stayed strong. "If you are so well informed, then you must know who I am beyond a name and face. You must know the power of the Roketto." She glanced at Rune, who seemed far easier to intimidate and far less intimidating then Naberrie. Then with her best impression of an angry Giovanni, Delia dangerously warned, "if what you have offered the Roketto is a false alliance..." She purposely trailed off into silence, her glare unbreakable, leaving a nervous Rune to picture all the horrors his imagination could come up with.

The mayor began to sweat and shift uncomfortably in his seat. Kenobi was enjoying the last portion of his slice of cake while ignoring the grown up talk and Naberrie remained unfazed. "On the contrary," Naberrie's sweet voice pierced the atmosphere with the strength of a thousand knives. "This is the proof of our true alliance." Naberrie paused and glanced at her son, who had finished his dessert and sat quietly waiting. "Kenobi, would you like a chocolate shake?" Offer a child sweets and regardless of the amount of food recently consumed, the child will gladly agree, Kenobi was no exception to the rule.

"I would love one," Kenobi smiled with the true innocence of a child.

"Rune, why don't you take Kenobi downstairs and get a chocolate shake? Delia and I will stay here and talk woman to woman," Naberrie smiled, her face serene yet somehow still commanding.

"Yes, darling!" Rune was all too happy to get a breather from the tense atmosphere. Kenobi paid the guards no mind, as his mother had told him they were present to keep them safe and it would be impolite to stare at them. Rune never truly got used to his wife's way of life, which he considered to be excessive in terms of danger.

To be Continued

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