It is about time that I have come back and started posting. I needed to take a break, step back and look at what I was doing. In the end, I decided I needed to change some things up. I was going to post this story way later, but now that I've scrapped other things and redid them, it's time. This was going to be my last story with my girls (Layla, Autumn) But it's going to be the start. This story and Layla's are tied together a bit, at least in the very beginning and then way later on.

You'll see familiar faces and some familiar elements, but things have changed. This story has Lance as the love interest (he's my fave!) However, romance won't be coming in until way later and you'll see why. This story has to do with Team Rocket/Mewtwo/Giovanni and such. For a while it will be in past tense, as a warning. Reviews are appreciated, especially since it's been a long time since I've written so let me know what you think!

Warning there is death already in this chapter, not gruesome but there is a blood mention in the beginning.

Marnie was a dutiful wife. All her life she wanted nothing more than a family. No matter what it looked like; friends, one kid or more, a husband or not. She had love to give and, dammit, she was going to give it! No matter the time, or her state of healthy, everything in the house was in working order. It was how her mother had always taught her. Meals for the week were prepped the weekend before, her daughter's backpack packed with everything signed, looked over and a (healthy!) lunch. Her husband was always well fed and, with a to-go cup filled to the brim with piping hot coffee, ready for work.

This always filled her with happiness and a sense of accomplishment. Her family relied on her and she was going to be there for them, rain or shine.

So when she woke up with a stomachache, she forced herself to get out of bed and get the day started. Being mid school year she was well set in her schedule. Even Wigglytuff, Komori, was up without prompt by the time Marnie came trudging out of her bathroom. Dark green hair pinned up in a loose bun, dressed in capri's and a loose button up; Marnie rubber her tummy as she padded to the kitchen.

Morning light filtered in through the kitchen window, greeting human and pokemon as Marnie put on some coffee and Komori took her spot at the table. The pink pokemon filled the kitchen with her soft singing, carefully enough to keep Marnie calm, and not lull her back to sleep.

Soon the sound of sizzling bacon and eggs cracking filled the kitchen. It brought the whole house alive, upstairs Marnie's husband inhales deeply as the familiar sounds pulls him from his fitful sleep. The sound of footsteps rushing through the house alert Marnie to the presence of her daughter barreling into the kitchen ready for the day.

Her daughter is the spitting image of Marnie herself, though more haggard in her current state. Amber's dark green hair looked as though she went through a tornado, her pajamas even more so. The one trait that Marnie is happy her daughter got was her morning bird attitude; Amber's eyes shine in the morning as she prepares for the day ahead of her. If anything explained their daughter better, Marnie had yet to find it.

Amber had a taste for life, no matter how bland certain days could be. It was even more than Marnie's own tastes!

Next to her daughter, her husband appeared, dreary eyed and just as haggard as Marnie's hair and clothes. He never looked rested and it hurt Marnie to see him in such a state, the opposite to his quick thinking, fast talking self. The complete contrast between the two of them was astounding and entertaining for her in the least.

"Good morning!" Marnie beamed as she scooped portioned out the food and set it on the table.
Komori cheers as her food is oured for her and everyone takes their seats.

"Smells divine, darling," her husband hummed before taking a large gulp of hot coffee.

"Thank you, my love," she replied while running a hand through his hair. "You should get a cut."

"I wouldn't be Dr. Fuji as everyone knows me then would I?" he teased with a glint in his eye.

Marnie couldn't help but laugh at the quip. "If that's what you're going with this morning, then I will too."

"Mom, mom! I get to paint today in art class," Amber started up while she stuffed a forkful of eggs in her mouth.

Marnie chuckled and wiped a bit of egg off her daughter's cheek. "And what are you going to paint, sweetie?"

"Komori!"

At the sudden exclamation of her name, the family pokemon stopped eating and glanced up with wide eyes. Food crumbs splattered on her mouth and cheeks hit the floor as the pokemon swallowed her bite. The family laughed at the sight before Marnie wiped the pokemon's face and cleaned the floor with a soft kiss on the pokemon's head.

"I think it's a beautiful idea. We will have to hang it up on the fridge when you bring it home, then," Marnie mused. "She's an excellent subject for your art."

Beep. Beep. Beep!

All smiles died down as Marnie imagined the list Fuji had to do at work and Amber realized she had less time with her father. The young girl continued to eat in silence as both parents rose and left the table. Marnie grabs Fuji's coat and helps him into it before pouring his unfinished coffee into his to-go mug with a sour look on her face.

"Don't be mad, my love," he cradled her face in his hands. "I promise, it'll get better soon."

"When you apply to that new lab in Pallet Town?" she questioned with an innocent smile.

He scoffed and pecked her on the lips. "Let's discuss it tonight, shall we? After admiring our baby's work, of course."

"We better," Marnie sighed. She doubted he would be home that night and while she's disappointed, his attempted to pacify her (no matter how feeble) was appreciated. "I love you."

"And I love all my girls very much!" he exclaimed through the house, earning cries from his daughter and pokemon. "Be good today, Komori and Amber!"

Fuji winked at his wife before disappearing out the door.

It isn't long before Marnie is sending Amber off to the bus stop down the street. The pit in her stomach doesn't dissolve over the course of the day as she runs her errands. Every noise, every word punctuated as if she were dreaming.

Marnie set down her tea cup just as she heard the familiar rumble of the school bus engine headed down the street.

She gathered her things and slipped inside for just a moment to set down the paper and cup before pulling on her sandals. She always looked forward to this time of the day, when her little girl returned and they would spend the rest of the afternoon on crafts until dinner.

Amber was a blessing, Marnie's light in the darkness. She inherited her husband's features, but she had Marnie's optimistic disposition. She was always teaching her daughter just how wonderful life is and how to make the most of it. While still being a little girl, Marnie wished her daughter to never lose her innocence and spark that brings a smile to people's faces.

"Maybe we'll make Fuji a good luck charm to carry around," she mused to herself as she headed down the street towards the bus stop.

Her stomach pains had lessened, and she was starting to feel better. A small cluster of kids scurried out of the bus, each of them running towards their parents with glee. Marnie saw her young daughter step out of the bus and head towards her side of the street. The dark haired mother beamed and picked up her pace to catch up to her child.

"Amber, sweetie!" she called, just as she always did.

The young girl turned, ready to respond when the street filled with the screeching of tires. Terrified, Amber paused in the middle of the street. Her eyes were round as saucers as she took in the dark car as it careened around the corner with police in tow. Marnie's heart dropped as her legs suddenly felt heavy as she forced herself to push towards her daughter.

On the sides, parents clutched their children while shouting for Amber to get out of the way, hoping she would regain her sense.

"Move!" Marnie howled, desperately sprinting down the street. Her chest was heaving with the effort, her blood racing through her veins and pounding in her ears.

But she was far too late.

Amber turned just in time for the car to swipe one side of the girl's body. Marnie would never forget the way her daughter's body was was thrown, like a doll, to the ground. Red splattered the pavement as screams filled the air. Marnie's legs carried her the rest of the way to her bloodied daughter, unconscious on the ground.

All around her, life stopped. There were no sounds, no colors, nothing. Only the replaying image of her daughter being tossed through the air and hitting the ground with sickening force.

Grasping Amber, Marnie pulled her bloodied mass of hair out of her face while calling for her to wake up. But she could feel it in the way her daughter's body was slumped and dead weight in her arms. Tears blurred her vision as she rocked back and forth sobbing and howling in the street.

What happened next was a blur to her. She heard voices, orders, being shouted above her before medics took Amber, her precious baby daughter, away from her.

Of course, Marnie fought against it all. Her baby needed her, didn't they see that? Someone consoled her. Fuji? No, he was at work, unaware that his little girl was hurt.

Marnie regained awareness at the hospital while she dialed her husband's number.

Blood soaked her shirt and pants where she had held the limp body of Amber so close to her. Tears pooled in her eyes as she explained to Fuji the situation. He kept it together better than her, curse his scientist brain. No matter the situation, he kept a level head and followed protocol. Even when her water broke, he was able to function all the way to the hospital. But how could he stay so calm when their only daughter's life hung on so weakly?

Fate has a funny way of working; something can be lost or gained in the same day. And that can have an effect on countless other lives connected or unconnected to those around them. Fate is cruel and never stops in pulling its strings.

That day, Fuji gained his dream job, but lost his daughter. Marnie got what she wanted, her husband found a better job, but lost her baby. At school, Amber had drawn a picture of their family as she saw it. Happy and together.

That was the last time they'd be seen as such.

Her string may have been cut, but its threads reached out took hold of other's lives.

From the night of her death, her parents spiraled. Her father got his job working in genetics research. His wife tried finding different ways to cope with the loss, but living in the same town, without his support, became too much. After she found out about his attempts to clone their daughter, to replace the one golden ray in their life with some cheap imitation, she left. She went home to live with her parents and to try and forget about the life she once thought was perfect.

Fuji's conditioned only declined from there. He needed money to fund his research and get his daughter back. He started pitching his ideas only to be turned down even by the lowliest of criminal organizations.

Then his luck changed.

OoOoOoO

"Just the man I wanted to see."

Fuji flinched at the sound of the other man's voice. It was sharp, and despite the warm words, it still sounded like a threat.

But what could he expect? After all, he was here, in the shady side of Viridian City on an invitation delivered directly to his house. The promise of his research being funded waited on one mysterious condition, and that was what he was there to find out. He'd do anything to try and get his daughter back, at least, that was what he told himself before he heard the sharp voice beckoning him closer.

Months ago, he never would have expected to be meeting somewhere like this, knowing that his research was on the verge of becoming illegal. But it wasn't yet, and he intended to make it before he had absolutely no chance at all.

"H-hello, sir," he greeted the shaded figure at the end of the long, rectangular office in a meek tone. His hands were shaking in his jacket pockets as he approached the large, mahogany desk. There was a faint smell of cigarette smoke in the air as he got closer, as well as the scent of a Persian. He nearly leapt out of his skin as said pokemon's eyes stared at him from behind the desk, their red hue piercing his heart.

The man in the chair laughed; it was a surprisingly warm laugh. "You have nothing to fear, I did not invite you here to die. Only to strike a deal."

"A-and if I were to refuse such a deal? A mere hypothetical situation," he added, gaining his courage little by little. This man wanted him here, then he would be the one to set the guidelines of the deal.

"Then I'd let you go and say you are a pathetic excuse for a geneticist to turn down what I have in store for you," he replied. Fuji could see the smile spreading across the other man's face. Intrigued, Fuji took a seat across from the man, his lips pursed and his brows furrowed as he prepared to listen to his pitch. "As you know, I am the leader of the elite organization known as Team Rocket. I am in search of the most powerful pokemon in the world, a challenging feat, I know, but I think I have something."

"Yes? Then why am I here?" Fuji frowned, clasping his hands and sitting back. The realization hit, and he leaned forward once more. "What is this 'something', anyway?"
"You've heard of the pokemon Mew, I presume?"

"The pokemon thought to be the ancestor to all other pokemon? It's real?"

"Yes. And we've found proof: an eyelash," the man continued, knowing he had the scientist's full attention.

"And what would you want me to do with it?" Fuji questioned, not believing the news. "Verify its credibility?"

"Think about it. I know you are the best in your field of genetics," the response was tense. The man rose from his chair and rounded the desk, his Persian watching him from his spot on the ground. Standing in front of Fuji, the scientist got a full view of his face. Angular and sharp, the face of a man used to dealing with the darkest points of life and changing it to his advantage. Despite the fear that he was feeling, the excitement of something like this overcame his sense of self-preservation.

"You want me to clone Mew."

"Yes," the man grinned, though it only served to make his eyes seem like they were glaring when he did. "I understand that you lost a little girl a few months back. I am sorry for your loss. I have a little niece myself, and it would be a terrible loss if she were gone. I am able to fully fund your work into bringing her back as long as you make me a powerful pokemon. Do we have a deal?"

Fuji stared up at the man, Giovanni, as he alluded to in the invitation.

It was clear that his intentions were skewed, but the opportunity was a once in a lifetime kind of opening. If anything, he could make breakthroughs and get his daughter back in mere months rather than the projected years.

"After you get what you want, will I still have funding for my work until it's finished?" Fuji replied. He needed his bases covered.

"Of course. A team will be provided for you. I've found countless others who want to assist you in this endeavor."

"Can I request someone be brought in?"

"Depends."

"You're a gym leader, aren't you? Then you know him. Blaine."

"Ahh, yes. I assure you he'll be there."

At this point, it was clear to Fuji that he must do it. This is what he'd been searching for, an offer that helped him get his daughter back. In addition, he would get to recreate a legendary pokemon. He would surely become rich after this, he could imagine how much he would learn by the end of this. The loads of labs calling him, all hoping to get him to work with them in finding cures or even more.

And his daughter. Amber, standing at his side once again as they traversed the world together, hand in hand. He'd be able to watch her grow into a smart and beautiful young woman with the world's knowledge at her fingertips. He just needed to do this one thing, and it would all come true.

"Where do I sign?"

XxXxXxX

"Sir, Dr. Fuji is here to see you," a grunt informed the boss as Giovanni took a sip of whiskey at his desk.

The past few years had been average in the department of money making, but outstanding in Fuji's field. He had obtained a live specimen, and it was steadily growing. It seemed that Giovanni hadn't made a mistake in hiring him after all. Now he just needed to find a way to keep himself afloat until the specimen was ready.

His contacts needed pokemon, and he needed a way of shipping out some while simultaneously pulling in money.

"Send him in," the boss sneered and turned to face the door.

Beside him, Persian stirred from his slumber and lifted his head to purr at his master's hand. Giovanni stroked the pokemon's head before clasping both hands beneath his chin as the scientist stepped into the room.
Over the past few years, Fuji had grown to see Giovanni as a boss he didn't need to be scared of as long as he did his job. The man was rude and scary, to say the least, but he gave him what he needed any time he asked for it. There had been no quarrels so far, and Fuji intended to keep it that way.

Ragged and sleep deprived, the scientist fell into the chair in front of the Rocket Boss's desk and began to talk. He knew Giovanni despised waiting.

"There's a slight problem, well, a future problem," Fuji started, waiting to be urged to continue.

"What do you mean?" Giovanni raised his brow, giving Fuji the opportunity to go on.

Fuji released a sigh and clasped his own hands. "The specimen will grow to be quite powerful. However, my professional advice after talking with the other scientists, would be to get a control, if you will, for this pokemon."

"'A control'?" the boss echoed before testing his theory. "You mean something to keep the pokemon in control, behavior wise or power wise."

"Both. On this earth, it's commonly believed that everything has a balance. A simple example would be the food chain, something to keep nature going smoothly. Pokemon have their own balances between their ecosystems with each other," the scientist explained. "If we just add in this all powerful pokemon with nothing to counteract it, there could be unforeseen consequences."

"And why should I care about these consequences?" Giovanni challenged, taking a long sip of his drink.

"If you want to keep this Pokemon, then you should care. Being ignorant will only take this pokemon away from you," Fuji replied in a clipped tone.

"I see, what kind of control do you suggest, then?" the boss returned, seeming interested in where this conversation was heading.

"Before I go on, I have to say, I may need more samples to stabilize the specimen." Fuji tossed that in before moving on without giving Giovanni the chance to reply. "It could be another clone pokemon, or, to be safe, an object to inject into it that keeps it from getting too powerful for even you to handle."

"Can this 'object' be a person?" Giovanni mused with an innocent glint in his eye, but behind his hands he was grinning.

This was the opportunity to toy with nature.

"Hmm, I suppose it could be possible. There have been many accounts of pokemon and people able to communicate with one another. I suppose there could be more cases where the circumstances are different. We do have a neurologist on the team who has been tampering with the idea of bonding people and pokemon..." Fuji played with the thought while rubbing his chin. He eventually shrugged and looked at Giovanni with a half smile. "Always worth a try, right? It would have to be someone young with the energy to keep the pokemon in check. A mind sync isn't fatal, but it can be a bit painful."

"It's possible at this stage?"

"This is the best stage to do it. The brain is forming as we speak, and as long as the specimen is young. It's a good thing I need samples as well, human or Pokemon would be fine. Hopefully the subject and the samples are the same; it'd make this experiment easier."

"Excellent," Giovanni grinned. "It will take a while to locate the subject and bring her here."

"You already know someone?" Fuji frowned. "It's not a child, is it? The neurologist wouldn't like that."

"What they don't know won't hurt them."

"But-"

"Oh, and I have someone who would be able to understand this young girl. She's special on her own and will need someone of his expertise to be able to work with my neurologist. His name is Dominic Wolfe, at least that's what he goes by now," Giovanni scribbled down something in his notepad before standing to escort Fuji to the door. "I'd be careful with him around. He's a great worker, but not everything is as it seems with him around. He's also a bit obsessive. Be careful."

The door slammed shut behind Fuji, and he released a shaky exhale before heading to the helipad for a ride back to New Island. His hands shook as they had all those years ago when he first walked into Giovanni's office. He had the awful feeling that someone else might lose their daughter.

In his office, Giovanni settled at the desk and picked up his 'gear to make two phone calls. The first was sent straight to the voicemail of Dominic. He informed him that his research was needed and that he had better arrive promptly, or he would miss out. The second was to someone else, someone who he liked to pretend he was close with, but really hated deep down.

It was his brother. The two only got along in childhood before the reality of adulthood tore them apart. Giovanni took the road of leading their mother's organization, after all. She had spent most of their lives building it up and bringing home money. The two used to be close, but those days were long gone now that they were on two opposite sides of the spectrum.

Aaron worked for the G-men, but not much since Giovanni provided the director with information and even pokemon when the need arose. However, his brother's insatiable urge to rid Johto and Kanto of Team Rocket put a damper on the boss's mood.

They both chose different lives, Giovanni the one of crime where he cut corners to get what he wanted, and Aaron, who chose the life of a goody two shoe, with a beautiful wife and a daughter all living in Celadon City.

"Hello, Aaron," Giovanni greeted him with mock happiness. "Just calling to check up on little Serena. How is she? Fine? That's good. Say, doesn't she have a birthday party coming up in a few days? No, I personally won't show up, I'm not as stupid as you think...Don't worry, I'll get her something nice. Right."

They closed off without goodbyes or even a friendly exchange.

Instead, Giovanni sat back and planned the events of the day in question. Due to the Blackthorn lineage, thanks to her mother, Serena was already gifted with a bit of telepathy that Giovanni deemed useful. She was a headstrong girl, just like their mother, and that made her the one of the few he actually cared about. He believed she could make it through the testing, and if she did, then he knew she'd be easy to convince to help him.

If not, he always had Dominic to help with that.

Though the man had yet to bring him any kind of device to control humans, Giovanni had seen a prototype as well as the blueprints to such a thing. Having control over people wasn't much up the Rocket Boss's sleeve, but if it was to keep his pokemon in line, then so be it. If there was anything Giovanni learned from his mother, it was to do whatever was necessary to get what you wanted. And that's exactly what he's going to do.

And now, Amber's thread had reached another thread with the help of her father. The threads of Fate were always connecting and disconnecting, but this was a matter of connecting. Amber's thread touched several more, and the rest of the pathways kept growing until the strangest connections were made.

It was only a matter of time before it all came full circle.