A/N: HEY GUYS! I guess it's been a while since I posted another chapter. I'm going to try to review/post as many chapters as I'm able, before I head off to a retreat this weekend. There, I'm not going to have ANY wifi, which is going to suck, but maybe it'll give me some time to review more chapters and post them when I get home, and work further in my fanfic stories. I have a lot of plans that I hope to complete: finishing a new, improved resume, get closer to finishing my stories, and possibly completing one of my playthroughs. So, yeah. I need to pack for the trip, so we'll see if I add another chapter after this today or not, but I'm kind of excited to have some time to myself, to reflect on my life. I've kind of hit a standstill right now, and while it's given me the time to go forward on OC stories and such, I should really be getting my life together.

But hey. Having a Criminal Justice degree did help me with this story. Plus, I kind of like the 'crime' genre, and no I'm not a criminal or anything. I just prefer crime shows… and supernatural shows. I'm not the best as writing horror stories, but I do prefer the suspenseful and supernatural, and stuff.

But I'm ranting, again. Anyways, thank you PhoenixLord27 & NoxNightKing for following, and PhoenixLord27 for favoriting this story. And, I hope you guys ENJOY the chapter!

! #$%^&*()

The entire day was spent roaming around the Rocket base, Petrel showing you every single floor, and almost every single nook and cranny. The mundane quarters below the ground floor, the lounging areas all throughout the building, but mainly close to where the grunts and agents dwelled, the cafeteria, the training grounds, and then all of the offices and rooms above the ground floor. You learned quickly that mostly everything was underground, and only a few things were above ground. Heck, even the parking space was underground, which was a very interesting design. Sure, there are emergency exits, but if a fire were to break out on an upper floor of the building, those down below would have a hard time of getting out.

But you suppose it's all for secrecy. After all, the Rocket base only seems to be seven stories tall, from the outside. Your new living quarters, you figured out, were on the top story, and the Boss' main office space was on the sixth story. There are probably a set of stairs that can directly bring you to the top, onto the roof. You couldn't wait to explore on your own.

But… you doubt your own exploration adventures will be happening anytime soon. You could tell that your grandfather wanted to keep an eye on you, even at the expense of his executives. In fact, you overheard Petrel and Ariana arguing about who would be taking care of the 'rugrat' next, and that it wouldn't be them.

You don't need to be taken care of! You've handed yourself up to this point, and their bickering over you is getting on your nerves.

But, oh well. Either way, you've figured out some interesting things about this base, things you'll have to exploit later. Especially the card key information Petrel told you, and the fact that the training floor is for, both, people and pokemon. Maybe you can sneak in there in the middle of the night? You wouldn't mind some training, on your own.

Yet, you couldn't help but feel annoyed at the looks you were getting, as you walked throughout the hallways, by Petrel's side all day. Either they were looks of confusion and intrigue, or disgust and irritation. After all, you're the only kid here at the base, and most kids are here because their parents cannot find babysitters for them. That's something you overheard. Some were concluding that you were Petrel's kid, which made you snort in disgust.

But… to hear that there are other kids here, sometimes… did make you hopeful. Everyone around here is running around, doing this or that, looking as if they're in a rush to get something done. You stick out like a sore thumb because, a, you aren't wearing any sort of Rocket uniform, and b, you're a kid. A snot nose kid that can easily get in everyone else's way.

You especially felt that way when you were shown where the laboratories were. All the guys and gals in white coats, running around and almost tripping over you, glaring at you as if their stumbling was your fault. Whatever they were doing, the experiments they were planning, made you weary, especially when you saw caged up pokemon.

You knew this wouldn't be perfect, but… pokemon… in cages? Anything in cages makes you weary, if you're going to be honest with yourself.

"You've been limping kid. Are you alright?" you heard Petrel ask you as the two of you waited for the elevator to show up, again, and you shook your head at him. "… You sure? –"

"My leg is fine, I think. I just dinged it a bit when I was jumping off of a roof," you told him, glancing up and noticing the wide eyes he was now giving you. "… What?"

"Why were you jumping off of a roof?" he asked, his tone more confused and intrigued then worried, you noticed, but you sighed and shrugged your shoulders at him, tucking your hand into your pant pocket and feeling Spirit's pokeball between your fingertips.

"During that day when things went to shit, I guess. You see, I had the address to where I'd meet my grandfather, so I went out to meet him, myself. I noticed something was fishy when I showed up, so when I heard gun shots I released a bunch of pokeballs nearby. Then, I climbed up onto the roof to get a better view, but… the roof was rotten and unstable, and I didn't realize that until the ground started to shake. The roof was caving in, and I would have hit the concrete, but suddenly a rhyperior showed up and caught me before I could tumble to the ground. I think I twisted my ankle or something," you told him, staring down at your left leg before looking back up at him and shrugging your shoulders, "but it was only numb so I don't think too much about it."

"Kid, seriously, you should have said something," Petrel groaned, the two of you stepping into the elevator as the doors closed before you, and he pressed a button, sending the two of you back down below the ground level. "I'm bringing you to the infirmary."

"B-but it doesn't really hurt –"

"Viola, you're just as stubborn as your grandfather. Don't fight me on this. Besides, if the Boss thinks your limping is my fault then I'd be in trouble."

"Fine, fine," you huffed, glaring up at him, but then you glanced away, staring at the reflective walls and sighing to yourself. "… So… ah… y-you were talking about how you executives have a particular set of skills?"

"Right," Petrel chuckled underneath his breath, knowing that you were trying to change the subject, again, to avoid topics about yourself and your own personal problems. "Usually, the Boss has about four executives, though at some times it's more or less by a person or two. Four is a good rounded number to distribute the workload, I assume. Plus, there are many agents underneath our commands, that report to us and not the Boss. The Boss, you see, is like a CEO of a major company. Heard about, but rarely seen, though unlike Madame Boss, the current Boss does his best to introduce himself, at least once, to every grunt that shows up. Even if it's not much of an introduction, and just a form of intimidation."

"I figured," you decided to say, and he smirked at your blunt comment.

"Right. Well, Giovanni promoted me to executive because I can easily disguise myself as anyone or anything I want… but mainly people, rarely pokemon. I occasionally teach the recruits at the Rocket academies when they have to learn about disguises, since it's my forte. I'm usually the guy who goes out and spies on people, for the Boss. Archer is the Boss' right hand guy. He knows almost everything the Boss is thinking, only if Giovanni wants it that way. Even Giovanni is selective about the information he shares, but if the Boss isn't going to show up, then Archer is. If it be the grunt recruits graduating or there's a crisis that needs to be solved, Archer will show up about ninety percent of the time, unless Giovanni is very interested in the results. At that point he shows up just to make sure his plans work out.

"Ariana is a very good interrogator, but also a people person, like myself," Petrel grinned happily, and you gave him an unsure look as he gleefully continued. "She's in charge of the agents and grunts, mainly. If there's a star agent, for example, Ariana is the one who will give the agent some recognition. She's good at figuring out which agent works for which mission. Proton on the other hand… he –"

"He's an assassin, I'm guessing," you decided to say, knowing that an adult wouldn't want to admit such a thing, and noticing his stare at you, you quickly continued, "I mean… you all probably killed someone at one point, but that, ah, Proton guy has the eyes of a killer."

"Oh… I was hoping you wouldn't notice that," Petrel chuckled nervously, but you gave him an unimpressed look, so he decided to continue. "Proton replaced a guy I used to know. He handled all of the shootouts and targets we may have. The kid filled the role quite nicely, but he's always a quiet twerp, until… he has a gun pointed at your head. He's not the best guy to be messing with. When it comes to interrogation, he'd rather beat the guy up and ask the questions later, which in an underground group like Team Rocket, is certainly necessary.

"So… yeah. Any questions?" he decided to ask, glancing down at you as you shrugged your shoulders.

"Well… just how large is Team Rocket?" you had to ask, but before he could think up an answer you decided to clarify your question. "I mean… father told me that Team Rocket has spread pretty far. There's no way one could avoid Team Rocket, these days. A global underground empire, I assume, but what I mean is the organization. Grunts, agents, executives, and the boss. Is there more?" you asked the man, and Petrel couldn't help but chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Geeze… for a kid you sure know too much," he mumbled underneath his breath, but you shrugged your shoulders in response.

"I'm not on the run and hiding for nothing," you responded, giving him a slight smirk. "I'm not as stupid as you think."

"Trust me kid, I doubted you were dumb at all. If you're Giovanni's kid, and Silver's kid, then you most certainly have a brain," he grinned at you before sighing and shaking his head. "And let me answer your question… Yes, you're right. The structure of the organization is quite large. Grunts are just the low-ranking fellows that, usually, haven't been around for too long. Agents are the Rockets that have proven themselves, in one way or another. There are a lot of branches, though, that an agent can fall into, and there is ranking within the agents as well. S rank is our highest rank, followed by A, B, C, D, and lastly the F rank. If you're in an F rank then you're close to being… disposed of. You've preformed so poorly that the Boss isn't going to even send you back to society with a wiped-out memory. He'd rather just get rid of you, at that point, but you have to had done some really stupid things, and perhaps be doing them purposefully, before it gets to that point.

"But even with those ranks, there are field agents, base agents, and spy agents. All sorts of agents, including assassins. Some look like everyday folk, and others wear the red 'R' upon their clothes, at all times."

"And the training. You say there are academies?"

"There is a Rocket Academy base in almost every major region. If we have solidified our operations in a region, then we set up an academy, but only once we have done so. If we have enemies still lingering in the region, then we squash them, first. Each academy has the usual basic classes and such. Most that show up are running from a bad living situation or were sent out on pokemon journeys, but never did accomplish anything. We usually have the new recruits train for about three weeks, and after three weeks, if they aren't making too much progress or they obviously want to leave, we wipe their memories before throwing them back to society. After that, there are six months before we go through the process again, and if they aren't making progress then we wipe their mind and put them back in society. But after about seven to nine months, depending on the need for new grunts, we no longer give the option of wiping their memories. It's either they make it, or we break them. Simple as that," Petrel shrugged at the thought.

"Wiping a person's memory can be quite easy, especially with psychic types, but there is always the possibility that a person will regain their memories, over time. So by the seventh month, they know and have seen too much. Sure, maybe they'll recall classes on how to break into places and such, but that doesn't mean they'll recall where the academy is or where a top-secret Rocket base is. We have to live on secrecy, kid. That's the only way our team has survived for as long as it has."

"So, when Trainer Red and Gold showed up –"

"The boy may have thwarted our plans, but we have been around for so long that simply taking us down a few times would not stop us, and that Gold boy? Yeah, he was just in the way. The Boss came back when he was ready to do so," Petrel smirked at you, but noticing your unamused look he shook his head at your expression. "When you're already branded a criminal, it's hard to live in society. Honestly, everyone on the outside is just outsiders, and can easily do us harm. Heck, my rap sheet is so large that I'd be thrown into prison and the key tossed out the window. And the Boss has it worst. If things go wrong then it's all on him. That's just how it is," he shrugged, making you nod your head and glance at the doors with a thoughtful look on your face. "… Anything else, kiddo?"

"No… just… it's weird. I've heard so much about Team Rocket, but to hear everything from another point of view is… interesting. I guess I need to be open minded," you decided to tell him, but he smirked at your statement.

"Kid, for you to come to that conclusion, and to ask rather adult and thoughtful questions, shows that you are already open minded about this entire situation. I'm just surprised you're even asking," Petrel chuckled underneath his breath, sighing contently as the doors finally slid open, and they made it to the floor where the infirmary was set up. "Let's go kid. After we're done with this, we'll go get some lunch."

"Great. I'm getting hungry," you decided to tell him, wondering to yourself if you should let Spirit out of his pokeball or not. While he is a great comfort to you, having a shiny pokemon around makes you… nervous, around a bunch of thieves. Plus, if you're in the way then he's also get in the way, and you'd rather have to endure one person yelling at you, instead of two for accidently tripping over you and your furry gray companion.

)(*&^%$# !

"Hello grandfather," you spoke as you slurped on a smoothie that was in your hands, causing the man sitting at his desk to glance up at you with an intrigue look on his face.

"Have a good time, Viola?"

"Yep! Petrel showed me everything~, or maybe almost everything," you stated with a grin, turning to the man who was nervously making his way into the office. "Right?"

"Of course, kid. And you're welcome," Petrel gave you a smirk, and you grinned happily as you rushed over to your grandfather, careful not to spill the smoothie drink in your hands, and you stopped right in front of his persian, who had lifted his head from his currently curled up position on the floor. "Is there anything else, sir?"

"You're excused, Petrel… Thank you," Giovanni decided to say, and the purple eyed man couldn't help but smirk at his Boss' rare gratefulness.

"You're welcome, sir, but keep an eye on the kid. She likes to disappear if you're not careful," Petrel chuckled lightly underneath his breath, causing the man to give him an irritated and unsure look, but once the executive left his office Giovanni sighed to himself, glancing down at you as you continued to slurp your smoothie, interrupting his peace and quiet.

"… I see you had lunch."

"Yeah. Did you?" you asked, but he smirked at your question.

"If I did or didn't that's up to me to decide –"

"Mum always said that if you don't eat your meals, then you'll get fat off of eating snacks all day," you countered with a smirk, glancing around before you walked over to a random small table with a lamp upon it, placing your drink upon the table before walking back over to the desk. "Mum always complained about my eating habits."

"Oh?" Giovanni couldn't help but ask in a curious tone as you gave him a happy grin.

"Y-yeah! I'm an insomniac who rarely eats, unless I'm starving~! Mum always forced me to sit down and eat every meal with her. Daddy didn't care too much, though. Just as long as we had a meal at least once a day," you shrugged your shoulders before walking over to his desk, placing your hands up upon the wooden top as you stood on your tippy toes, trying to see the top of the desk. "Soooo~… what are you working on?"

"Business stuff," your grandfather responded, smirking at your nosiness and the frustration that was upon your face as you tried to look at the papers sprawled upon his desk. "… What did Petrel tell you anyways?"

"Stuff like how Team Rocket worked. Where everything is, and such… I knew that Team Rocket was practically all over the place, but I didn't realize it's a global criminal organization," you decided to comment, glancing up at him with curious eyes as he chuckled and suddenly snatched you up underneath your armpits.

You yelped as you were easily picked up and placed upon his lap, the persian staring at the scene with a curious gaze before yawning and slumping his head back onto his paws, finding the display rather boring compared to the catnap he was enjoying. "Thank me for that," he chuckled proudly, letting you see the documents upon documents that were upon his desk, files that were opened and unopened, and honestly you didn't even know where to begin as your eyes wandered all over the desk, trying to pinpoint a spot for you to look at. "Sure, your great grandmother was a smart woman, who could command an army if she wanted to, but she wasn't the best at negotiations. Peaceful resolutions. If there was a problem, she would rather conquer then accept a temporary treaty, and then use that peace to spread her influence even further."

"Oh… So, ah… who exactly started Team Rocket?" you had to ask, looking up at your grandfather curiously as he propped you on his knees, as he began to lean forward and rearrange the mess that was on his desk.

"Madame Boss, or rather, my mother. She started this entire mess, and even now I don't quite understand why she went through all of the effort. She always had a deep seeded resentment towards the current establishment," he told you, noticing your confused eyes and he continued simply. "The Pokemon Leagues that were established worldwide, to keep the peace. Even I didn't escape the world wars, but your father, I was hoping he could have a peaceful life that didn't revolve around warfare and destruction. If mankind continued on the path they had created, then we would have surely destroyed ourselves in the process. Even if there isn't a Pokemon League established in some of the smaller regions, they still have a sort of… oligarchy set in place, who make the tough decisions for the citizens.

"I suppose… your father thought it would be better to play nice with them, instead of countering them, like your great grandmother liked to do. But for some reason, there's still this deep resentment, and the ones who are the very top of the Leagues just won't let that go. I don't know what my mother did, but it's something that cannot be forgiven… I'm sorry for that, by the way. If you weren't born then you wouldn't have to deal with this mess," he sighed to himself, and you couldn't help but give him a curious look before smirking and shaking your head.

"I'd rather know then be naïve, grandpa. Plus, i-it doesn't mean I'm going to follow in your footsteps or anything… or father's…" you admitted, glancing at the papers before looking up at him with wide eyes. "So who is this Madame Boss?"

"Her name was Maria Roket, but I know that she changed our family's surname long before she had me –"

"Maria?" your eyes widened at the realization, and your grandfather gave you a curious look as you continued with a grin, "That's my middle name!"

"Right," he chuckled, patting your head, looking at his desk for a moment before looking back to you with a smirk on his face. "It wasn't a decision I made. Your parents decided to give you the middle name of Mariam, after your great grandmother. I didn't even know until your father told me."

"O-oh… but I always wondered about that," you admitted, and he smirked as sat back in his chair.

"I named your father after Mt. Silver… and the fact that he had gray eyes. That's a trait in my family I honestly am not aware of. Maybe from his mother's side," he shrugged, closing his eyes as he sighed to himself. "But, your parents wanted to keep up the color names, I suppose. You were named after Violet City, as well as the flower. Your middle name was my great grandmother's, and the surname… yeah. You already know. And then that aunt of yours named her son after Blackthorn City, I believe. I don't know why she would be attached to such a place, but I do know that boy of mine spent a lot of time in Blackthorn… strangely enough," he decided to say, a thoughtful look crossing his face before turning to you and giving you a light grin.

"Anyways, you could think of it this way: your great grandmother set up Team Rocket, and then I expanded on her vision. As far as our establishment as a criminal organization, Team Rocket spans the globe, almost every region, in some sort of way. If not direct, then indirectly. After I returned, I decided to continue staying in the shadows until we've taken out every opposing force, or brought them under our control."

"Oh… but what are your plans after Team Rocket has spread everywhere?" you had to ask, noticing the man giving you a stern look while you gave him a nervous smirk in return. "I mean… okay, so Team Rocket expands their empire. Conquers the underworld. Takes out all of the gangs and teams that are in the way. What's next? Just… what? Stay hidden? Do nothing? Maybe try to take out the Pokemon Leagues, for example? But if you do that, would that just create a vacuum of power? Would Team Rocket try to fill that void? And even if the team could, it would just be about fear and intimidation. Even if the Leagues are rather rotten, that doesn't mean the system doesn't give others some security. Just… Team Rocket wouldn't last long if they did that… right?" you asked, looking at him curiously, but you blinked a few times, noticing the stunned and confused look on his face, and you gave him a nervous chuckle and looked down to your lap. "Ah… s-sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No need to apologize. I wasn't expecting a little girl to question so many things," you heard your grandfather admit, and you couldn't help but sigh lightly at his words.

"Y-yeah… I know. But –"

"That makes me proud," he chuckled, suddenly rustling up your untamed hair, and you stared up at him, confused, as he grinned down at you before rustling up more of your hair, tangling it up and making it an unkept mess. "You have an interesting thought process, child, but you're rather young to be questioning such adult matters."

"Well, maybe the adults are too stupid to see the big picture," you responded with a pout on your face, annoyed that your hair has been ruined, but you didn't stop him, seeing the grin that was on the man's face. "And… w-well… I figure it wouldn't hurt to be honest with you," you admitted, watching the grin on the man's face fade slightly, but he patted you once more on the head before taking his hand off of your head and turning back to the papers on his desk. "… Soooo~…"

"… Can't stay still for too long, huh?" the man couldn't help but smirk slightly at you before picking you up and setting you down onto the ground. "I still have a lot of work to get done. I'll have one of my executives send you back to the apartment –"

"Actually, ah… C-could I stay here, with you?" you decided to ask, and when you saw the puzzled look on his face you could only sigh in response, grabbing your smoothie and sipping more of the sugary beverage. "I can handle being alone, but… I want to see what you do, I guess," you told him, but he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's mainly paperwork. Very boring things –"

"Please?" you asked, sweetly, and he rolled his eyes and let out a sigh of his own.

"… Fine, but don't be a distraction," he told you, sternly, and you quickly nodded your head in response.

"G-great! I won't!" you exclaimed, suddenly sitting down next to the persian, who glanced over to give you a curious look, and you grinned down at him before looking up at your grandfather and smirking back up at him, from your position on the floor. "I won't make a peep, I swear!"

"I highly doubt that, but we'll see how it goes," he chuckled at you, looking back to his work as you slumped your shoulders, glancing around the room and taking in everything you could see in his office.

While you know this'll be very boring, you didn't want to be alone right now. What's the point of discovering this long lost relative if he's never around, and other people are? It's obvious he's pawning you onto other people, but… he's told you so much, too. You cannot help but be gleeful over all of this new information, and you slumped down, your head on the carpet as you stared up at the ceiling, wondering what other secrets you can uncover during your stay here at Team Rocket.