Chapter 1: Project B.E.A.S.T.
The scientists called it, B.E.A.S.T.
Bipedal
Electronic
Animarum
Spirit
Tomb
It was the pinnacle of both Team Rocket and Team Plasma's technological prowess. The end result of their most prodigious triumphs. A weapon of mass destruction whose wielders hoped would have no equal.
Final conception of Project Beast occurred two years prior. However, long had Team Rocket held an interest in blending bionic technology with what they deemed to be paranormal. With a horde of challenges present in the field of genetics, a few minds and a modest amount of money were directed to explore alternatives. After the Mewtwo fiasco, an interest in these alternatives skyrocketed.
As they embarked on this new research in the early 21st century, Team Rocket quickly discovered that supernatural was every bit as operose as science. In truth, uncovering the mysteries linking Ghost Pokémon to the human soul would prove even more complex.
Agatha, the disgraced former member of the Indigo Elite Four assisted Team Rocket in its preliminary efforts. Her insight got the supernatural feature of their experiment on its feet and running. According to the Ghost type aficionado, there was a subtle link between certain Ghost Pokémon and the soul. It was she who theorized they could create Ghost Pokémon through the extraction of the human soul. Unfortunately, Agatha's staunch conviction sealed her own fate. So sure she was that they could replicate a powerful Ghost Pokémon from a human soul, she personally volunteered for the procedure. The trial resulted not only in failure, but her untimely demise. Agatha's passing was an enormous blow to Team Rocket's overall aptitude and duly, their ambitions.
It was not until much later, when Team Rocket secretly allied with Team Plasma that both their fortunes changed for the better. Like Team Rocket, Team Plasma had been battered to the point of desperation. Both teams were in ruin and on the edge of collapse.
Concerning Team Rocket's downfall, the responsibility in its entirety could be placed on the shoulders of a single person. Out of all the meddling kids who had disrupted their operations, Red had always been the most perceptive, the most persistent, and without doubt the most corrosive to everything they hoped to achieve. He was much more than a pain in the ass. From Team Rocket's political and military campaigns to their enormously lucrative business operations in Human Trafficking and Pokémon Trafficking, he was there, everywhere it seemed, spoiling everything. Years after their first major defeat, after Team Rocket slunk to the shadows, their ambitions curbed and operations circumspect, Red persevered, determined to finish the job he started, bent on their extinction, their total annihilation. Red wasn't going to stop until they were wiped off the map. The other kids grew up into conventional adults, vesting their time, energy, and Pokémon in more normal ventures. They pursued fame or fortune or glory or all of them combined. They got married and had children. They focused on their Pokémon battling prowess and augmenting their leisure time.
Red was different. It was like he was a machine programmed with a single purpose. He didn't care about fame. He cared nothing for fortune. The only glory he desired was furtive justice. Leisure and entertainment never appeared to be on his to-do list. All he wanted was to bring about Team Rocket's end. It seemed like he was the only one who could. Or perhaps, who would.
Like Team Rocket, Team Plasma had been harried and beaten before being torn apart piece by piece. Most people didn't know the truth, but Cynthia wasn't the only one who contributed to Team Plasma's successive routs. Red was a major player as well, his presence heavily downplayed, almost overlooked entirely by the public and governments alike. Team Plasma's officials knew the truth. Red, the shadowy and seemingly invincible phenom was one of their most grievous enemies. The same, of course, could be said for Team Rocket.
So deliciously ironic then, that this Legend catalyzed their rebirth, the alliance between Team Rocket and Team Plasma.
When Giovanni and Ghetsis combined their man-power, Pokémon, and other resources, they vowed to remain united until all threats were neutralized. Granted, each team boasted fundamentally different ideologies. Nonetheless, it was with their mutual enemy that they discovered solidarity.
When Giovanni introduced to Ghetsis what would later become Project Beast, the Plasma chief was pleasantly surprised by Team Rocket's ingenuity. To Giovanni's delight, his new partner picked up where Agatha left off.
By themselves, Team Rocket had been unable to ascertain Ghost Pokémon's relation to man. Ghetsis' vast knowledge, insight, and theories on the soul got the ball rolling again. This was when Project Beast was born.
The "A" in B.E.A.S.T. stood for anima: the soul. Through trial and error, scientists from both Team Rocket and Team Plasma discovered that the human mind could not survive without the soul. The soul, on the other hand, could indeed survive without the mind. If done correctly, extracting a soul from its host, from its body and mind, did not cause inclusive death. In its stead, a Ghost type Pokémon was born, a creature known as Yamask. It was a delicate shred of life, something lying on the very fringes of existence, surviving with little rationale or mental machinations at all. It was almost like a clean slate, a new piece of life waiting to be imprinted.
But not entirely. The soul retained horribly fragmented memories in addition to the original nature of its host, the singular trait exhibited by all Pokémon. Originally, Giovanni planned on extracting single powerful souls, creating several exquisite Yamasks which they would then metamorphose into more powerful weapons. Ghetsis had another proposal. He recommended using many souls, animarum, to create a single singular entity, the Ultimate Weapon. There was a caveat to doing this, however. Even a single human anima could prove very dangerous.
Their prized-possession, the Grand Anima they called it, was the source of this potential danger. Several souls, Ghetsis contended, or dozens tossed into the melting pot would dilute the negative qualities inherent in the Grand Anima while keeping its positive attributes intact. Inevitably, Giovanni approved of his logic, and Beast's final conception became a reality.
Within Yamask, the soul could be preserved and then bonded to another organism without a soul, or as they correctly postulated, a Pokémon with room to spare. Spiritomb had 108 slots available for inclusion. All they required were the right ingredients and a Spiritomb worthy of the renovation.
The final elements were composed of 107 trustworthy souls all sacrificed in order to placate the various idiosyncrasies of the main ingredient, the Grand Anima. These items were placed in the powerful Spiritomb Team Rocket managed to pilfer from a very prestigious trainer. The might of the "Spiritomb" was represented in the final two letters of the acronym B.E.A.S.T, the "S" and the "T."
Beast was their ultimate creation. The Ultimate Weapon; a mixture of man and Pokémon and machine.
Building Beast's body was one of the concluding steps to the project. The "E" in B.E.A.S.T. represented "Electronics." The mechanical body required an enormous amount of technological engineering and innovation in robotics, and of course enough monetary resources to build, refine, and perfect it. Blaine, the Team Rocket scientist whose expertise and genetic material helped finalize the Mewtwo experiment, could not be persuaded to assist in their new effort, much to Giovanni's dismay. It was no matter. Team Plasma had erected the Mythical creature Genesect, a dual Bug/Steel type Pokémon. Once again, Team Plasma's expertise, this time on cybernetics, proved invaluable to Beast's finalization.
The "B" in B.E.A.S.T meant "Bipedal." Standing upright, Beast was an imposing six-and-a-half feet tall, its frame supporting its spherical Ghostly 'head,' the contents of which were concealed. Designed to look like a man, Beast was fitted with a cybernetic endoskeleton, of which it was granted complete control. All four limbs, the arms and legs, were entirely mechanical underneath. The contemporary plan was to graft synthetic skin and even muscle tissue to sheath its metallic body. They had already given it a face – eyes, nose, lips, even ears and hair. Due to a slew of concerns regarding aesthetics, they were not quite satiated with its appearance. While the scientists continued to adjust its exterior, Giovanni elected to shroud it in apparel: a thick black hooded cloak and armored leggings and gauntlets.
The purpose of giving it a humanoid appearance was simple. Team Rocket was never trying to create the ultimate Pokémon, not after Mewtwo's duplicity and later Genesect's failures. This time, Team Rocket and Team Plasma attempted to assemble something far more potent: the ultimate Pokémon trainer, one with unmatched Pokémon battling prowess, the ability to defend itself if need be, and most importantly of all, an entity with fanatical loyalty to its creators.
Beast had exceeded everyone's expectations. Really, its only flaw was that it was awfully shy. In fact, until the previous night no one had heard it make a peep. It had never spoken to anyone, ever, even when ordered to do so.
Furthermore, it didn't even speak to the Pokémon it used for battle. And yet, it had yet to lose. Beast never complained. It never disobeyed, save for its bewildering muteness. Besides that, Beast had done everything they ever asked.
That is, until the night before.
Beast was currently in its holding cell. It was a small room with a one-way glass mirror, allowing scientists, researchers, and those with a special clearance to view the instrument, study it, watch it. Within the larger adjacent space, their main laboratory, most of the researchers and technicians were dressed in stark white coats as they went about their business. They were there conducting analyses and performing perennial examinations pertaining to Beast, as well as human and Pokémon souls. Some of them were scrutinizing test tubes or looking through microscopes. Others had test subjects lying on tables, a few of them awake and aware, others motionless bodies under the effects of Hypnosis. A few personnel were tending to the Yamasks, whom were weeping quietly as they gaped at their masks, replicas of their former human faces.
Three of the four Team Rocket Executives were there too. Clustered around the one-way mirror, they were observing Beast as it remained in pseudo-captivity. Archer and Ariana wore white attire, signifying their signature status. Proton was also present, clad in black. All three Generals were no doubt wondering what could have gone wrong. The indulgence of yesterday's victory had been ebbed by the ensuing disaster.
In those long bionic arms, the three Rocket Executives noticed that Beast was holding someone; a woman with pale skin and long black hair. She lay there silent and inert, almost lifeless like a doll. After a series of Pokémon battles the night before, Beast had gone on a rampage, evidently traveling hundreds of miles to Kanto to abduct this woman, who seemed to be in a deep sleep. Being part Pokémon, Beast knew several attacks, of course. One of them was Hypnosis.
"It defeated the Unova Elite Four, yesterday," Archer muttered.
"The Boss will be pleased with that," Proton said, his tone one of positivity and optimism. He hadn't a clue how much Archer despised him.
"Indeed, gentleman," Ariana said, "but that's not why we're here."
"True," Archer admitted sullenly. Seconds later, momentous thoughts provoked a smile. "Beast crushed Iris' dragons. Still, I wish Cynthia could have been there to face it instead. Can you imagine?"
"Would have been ironic," Ariana said, rolling her eyes.
"She hasn't been seen publically in weeks," Archer continued, hoping to keep the topic off of their pending predicament. "Where do you think she is now?"
"Looking for us, no doubt," Ariana shrugged. "She's pissed. We stole one of her prized Pokémon."
"True, true. Hey, maybe she's the one who burned down the Big Riddle Inn!"
"Her? Twenty-eight people died in that fire. She's not that vindictive."
Archer grunted. "I was making a joke."
When the double doors flew open across the room, all three Generals jumped.
It was just Petrel. "H-h-haaaay – what's-width all tha ruckus?" he stammered, striding towards them. He was sloshed. The others all exuded a collective sigh of relief. As much as they adored the Boss, this was not to be a meeting filled with jovial celebration. They were tense.
"You're lucky you got here before he did," Ariana remarked, anxiously raking through her red hair.
"Yah, and ur lucky ur sweeping with him," Petrel replied, slobber flying every-which-way.
Silence ensued for several moments. Ariana glowered at Petrel relentlessly, who was too busy to notice while picking the wax out of his ear. Archer could only suppress his laughter for so long. Once it came out, it spewed like lava from a Camerupt. At the thought of the Boss entering and discovering even a modicum of merriment from him, he quickly recollected his cool. For several minutes, quiet reigned once more.
Ironically, the introverted Proton was the one to slash it away.
"Has the boss been informed of, you know, at least the gist?"
Archer shrugged. "He is aware."
"Giovanneeknowseverything," Petrel sang as he swayed his arms and ass around.
"I wouldn't say I'm omniscient," a low voice grumbled far across the room. The double doors were wide open, having not made a sound, and in the doorway was Giovanni, his crimson suit matching his severe temperament. At the sight of him, the four Rocket Executives bowed in genuine veneration, as did every single scientist and researcher present. A beefy blue Polywrath slowly, carefully drove the elderly Boss forward, who sat with a rigid posture in his wheelchair.
"Giovanni," the lot of them bellowed in harmony before prostrating deeply once more. The Boss held up an open hand, granting them permission to stand at ease. As the Polywrath pushed the Boss closer, he spoke.
"Petrel, your breath is pungent. I can smell it from here."
"Thank you, Sir," the drunkard said, saluting. Every single day that went by Archer wondered how the guy hadn't been demoted to a grunt. That, or reduced to a Yamask and placed inside the mighty Spiritomb. He was a loyal specimen, at least. Undying loyalty was one of the main ingredients they sought to insert into the Spiritomb. It was the most important trait Beast needed to exhibit to offset the duplicity of its primary essence, the Grand Anima. Every single Yamask inhabiting the Spiritomb contributed to its power and personality. Some souls were more useful than others. Some souls were stronger, more robust, and more distinct. The quality of the Yamask and its potential traits were measured by the scientists.
Polywrath rolled the Boss a few meters from the Rocket Executives before coming to a halt. "Apparently there's been some excitement this morning," Giovanni said, his piercing black eyes judicious as they inspected his four petrified Generals. "Is that correct, Archer? I recall placing you in charge of Beast last night."
Archer nodded solemnly, but then uttered, "It's not my fault, Sir." His fright was not unreasonable. Last time Archer gravely disappointed the Boss, he lost his right hand. Literally. Archer would never forget the day Giovanni's Rhydon slowly grinded it down to a stump of bone using Horn Drill. After his punishment and concurrent demotion, Archer strove with newfound zealotry to regain the Boss's approval. For there was something that surpassed his fear; it was the frustration he found with his own failure. The responsibility of Beast belonged to all four Rocket Generals, but it was not allocated equally. Archer had been steering the reins on this project for quite some time, almost single-handedly, and he greatly appreciated the renewed faith the Boss had placed in him. Once again, Archer had risen through the ranks to become Giovanni's right-hand man.
Bowing his head, he said, "Forgive me, Sir. This is the first major problem we have encountered with Beast's sentience. I hope it will be our last, as well."
"Fine, Archer, but don't spare any details. I want to know everything."
"Of course," Archer exclaimed, grasping his stub of a right hand with his good one. "It all started yesterday evening, after Beast defeated the Unova Elite Four and became the Champion. It won, almost effortlessly, might I add. Absolute desecration! Typing didn't even matter. It beat Marshal's Throh with a Furret. A Normal type beat a Fighting type. It was unreal."
"I am aware of that," Giovanni said with sedation. "I watched it compete while having some whiskey with Ariana, here. It was a pleasant evening, wouldn't you agree?" He nodded in her direction.
"It was lovely, dear," Ariana replied, grinning. Taking his comment as permission to abscond away from the others, as well as any blame, she strolled over next to his wheel-chair. When her eyes met his gaze, that smile widened. Giovanni did not return the gesture.
"Glad to hear it," Archer squeaked. "Very glad to hear it, Sir!"
Giovanni's eyes narrowed. "Please, continue Archer. I'm waiting."
Archer nodded. "After its victory and induction into the Unova Hall of Fame, we rendezvoused with it behind the local Pokémon Center. Everything had gone according to plan. Beast is extremely intelligent, Giovanni, Sir. Its autonomy, in my opinion, is its greatest asset, one of our greatest achievements." He motioned to the assortment of technicians and scientists who were trying their hardest to appear concentrated and competent. "Maybe the greatest achievement. We never experienced any issues, Sir, any at all, up until then. Minus its refusal to speak, Beast had followed all orders without objection or even a semblance of hesitation."
"Get to the point. I want objective details, not pedantic jargon."
Archer nodded weakly. "It…spoke, Boss, Giovanni, Sir," he said at last.
If Giovanni was surprised by that information, only his raised eye-brows hinted at it. Beforehand, Beast had remained ubiquitously silent. At first, they were more than a little concerned. How could it command Pokémon if it couldn't speak? They had built a vocal apparatus specifically designed for it to communicate and issue orders to Pokémon. Subsequent trials inferred that it wasn't that it could not talk, but that it refused. Moreover, the only direct order it disobeyed was its repudiation to speech. The only reason they did not deem Beast a failure was its mastery over captured Pokémon. How it was collaborating with them their scientists had yet to understand.
"What did the weapon articulate?" Giovanni asked.
"According to reliable sources, it said and I quote: We must save her." Archer gulped audibly. "End of quote. After it said those words, that's when it went AWOL. One of our grunts attempted to put it back in its Pokéball, our Master Ball, and it…well, he is dead, Sir."
Giovanni's lips pressed together in a thin line.
"How was this grunt killed?"
"They contend Beast did not make contact with him physically. Our coroner is performing an autopsy just to be sure, but we suspect it used a Dark attack."
Giovanni gave the one-way glass mirror a side-long glance. "How did you track it down?"
"After it escaped, we ordered it to return to base. We never stopped commanding it to come back. Eventually it did. With her." He pointed through the glass at Beast and the passive woman it grasped in its arms.
"I assume she was in the Unova region at the time?"
Archer shook his head. "Beast nabbed her from the Gym in Saffron City."
"That's preposterous!" Giovanni roared, scowling. Nearly everyone in that giant space, all four Executives and the dozens of scientists and technicians, shuddered.
"It's true, Boss," Archer said, his voice on edge. "Beast traveled from Unova to Kanto within the span of approximately one-half hour, no more than two. We're not sure how fast it's able to move, but its handlers were unable to keep pace with it. It can levitate and pass through solid objects unabated."
Giovanni was livid. He glanced around him, his black eyes discerning an atmosphere of ineptitude. "I want these scientists to reexamine its speed stat, Archer. Today."
The General's head bobbled forward so hard he became dizzy. "Yes, Giovanni, Sir!"
"Polywrath!"
"Poli," the muscly blue Pokémon reverberated.
"I'd like to take a closer look."
Polywrath nodded in understanding. It calmly, meticulously guided the man in the wheel chair forward. "Farther, keeping going – STOP!" Giovanni's paralyzed legs were inches from the glass wall. As ineffective as it was to contain the creature, which was part Ghost thanks to the Spiritomb, that wall was the only thing separating them from it.
Peering through, Beast was standing on its knees thirty feet away, its body lathered in a dark hooded robe. One of its gauntleted hands appeared to be groping the woman's face. Upon closer inspection, long, metallic fingers were intertwined in her black hair.
"It appears Sabrina will be rejoining Team Rocket after all," Giovanni said quietly. "I always knew she would change her mind. First the Ninja Master and now we have the Psychic Mistress. Still, I have concerns. Contact Ghetisis at an appropriate time later this morning. Tell him I wish to speak with him this afternoon. Our weapon requires new management, and I have the ideal trio in mind."
He turned his head and attention to the red-haired woman by his side. "Has the media caught wind of this?"
Public dissection and deception was Ariana's domain. "There's no story," she said. "It appears no one witnessed Sabrina's abduction."
"Good. Will her disappearance ignite suspicion of our resurgence?"
Ariana shook her head assertively. "This should be a non-issue. We are as safe now as we were when she was a traitor too scared to go to the Police for fear of self-incrimination. Really, our most pressing concerns are still vigilantism. We know that Cynthia is actively working against us. However, she isn't the only one. According to Jessie and James, one of our weapon shipments was hit again last night in Kalos. No one was harmed, but five Machamps were stolen along with two Conkeldurr. Who is behind these thefts we have yet to determine. Most alarming of all is what happened in Kanto on Cinnabar Island. It's been a month since the fire and the authorities still can't identify all of the bodies, but we know many who perished were supporters of Team Rocket. Four of them were among our most generous donors. Butch and Cassidy's deaths are now confirmed, as well, Sir. We've downplayed its significance to public, but I cannot emphasize this enough: that was a deliberate, malicious attack on us by somebody in the know and we have yet to–"
"–Stay on point," Giovanni interrupted. "We will discuss these thefts and the Blaine fallout later. The topic is Sabrina."
"Alright," Ariana said, sighing, her passion downgraded considerably. "Like I said, it's a non-issue. I'll make sure of it. Listen, everybody loves to gossip. The public is far more captivated by the fabled status of celebrities like Sabrina and Janine, gods in their eyes, than the notion they've gone missing…and might not be coming back soon. Look at Red. The son of a bitch devoted his life to stopping us. For a long time, he was very successful. So why did he fail? Our alliance with Team Plasma played a major role, but let's remember that in our two-decades long war with Red we fought against a single man. The Police were handing out traffic tickets. The politicians bickered. As for everyone else, they simply had better things to do.
"They're all too busy keeping pace with the fluidity of modernity to pay attention. Sabrina is a celebrity, a household name, sure. Everybody knows who she is. But in time, she will fade. All stars fade. People stop caring. Then they forget completely." Ariana dared to place a hand on Giovanni's arm. "Just like they forgot about us, dear."
His twinkling black eyes were pointed forward again, focused intently on what laid beyond the glass wall. He almost seemed to be in a kind of trance. Not once did Archer see those eyes of his blink.
"Soon, we will make them remember. When that happens, those fools will wonder how they could ever have turned a blind eye to Team Rocket." The others nodded in unanimous approval. At long last, Giovanni's solemn face broke into a tiny tight-lipped grin.
"Boss, if I may."
It was Proton. He was quiet but not usually this quiet. Archer knew he had something up his sleeve, the bastard, always surreptitious about his ass-kissing.
"By all means, Proton," Giovanni said, nodding.
Clearing his throat, Proton said, "Sabrina has a son by the name of Lucian. He lives in Saffron City with her."
"Does he really?" The Boss sounded surprised, as if that was an omission on his part. "And?"
"And, well, I was wondering if it would be prudent to bring him here. Concerning Sabrina, her abilities could be an invaluable asset if we could persuade her to utilize them for us. Her son would serve as collateral, much like Janine with Koga."
"Very well, Proton. Since it was your idea, I'll leave you in charge."
Proton nodded eagerly. "It should be a simple kidnapping, depending on the strength of the Pokémon he has at his disposal."
Giovanni frowned. "Team Rocket has nothing to fear, not anymore. Still, we are not yet ready to be openly aggressive. I want this handled delicately. If you make haste, chances are you won't need to resort to any violence."
Proton checked the time. His Holo Caster said it was, "3:07am." This Lucian was likely in his bed, fast asleep, and thus very vulnerable. Oh, how he adored the Boss's infinite cunning. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Koga. May I borrow Koga?" he asked brusquely.
"By all means," Giovanni said, waving his hand and effectively giving Proton the green light to excuse himself to do whatever he deemed necessary. Archer glowered enviously as he paced through the exit.
Deductions swam through Proton's mind like a school of Magikarp. Koga was already stationed in Kanto. He could infiltrate the residence and apprehend the poor sap while he was snoozing. A little sleeping power and the boy would stay that way. In the unlikely scenario that Koga failed to use subtlety and had to resort to brutality, he was an expert trainer and Elite Four member, the Ninja Master. His work would be quick and clean regardless. This kid, Lucian, was unaccomplished. Aside from being Sabrina's kid, he was a virtual unknown.
Is that a problem, Proton wondered?
He had done his homework, which didn't require much effort. It also didn't cultivate much data. The Internet offered very little information regarding the son of the celebrity Sabrina. All Proton had gleaned was the name, Lucian, an age of nineteen, a Valentine's Day birthday, and the fact that Sabrina was his mother. According to public records, he was her only child. Considering her unmarried status, the kid was a bastard. But that was an insignificant detail. Now, the fact that Lucian was the progeny of Sabrina, the Mistress of Psychic Pokémon, that was worth mulling over. There was no doubt her son would have at least one Psychic Pokémon along with him. Perhaps an entire arsenal. It struck Proton suddenly that this was a giant red flag. Koga was adroit and seasoned, his Pokémon as well, but all of them were of the Poison variant. If pitted against Psychic types, Koga would be at a severe disadvantage.
The answer was obvious: quantity over quality. Nobody said he had to play fair. If Koga failed to do it alone, a deluge of grunts would turn the tide in their favor. He would ensure they were equipped with Dark type Pokémon, as well. It wouldn't matter how many Psychic Pokémon Lucian threw out; they were no match for Dark.
Proton didn't stop there. He methodically considered every avenue.
There was a thunderstorm in Saffron City. It was reportedly raining, heavily too. Proton would ensure his grunts had a Water type Pokémon on hand, just in case.
With his plans ready for execution, Proton contacted Koga using his Holo Caster.
"Koga. It's Proton."
"I can see that," Koga replied in his gruff voice. "You're up early."
"Shut-up, Koga. I've got a job for you."