"So… I don't have a choice?" you asked, Spirit now up on your lap as you hugged him to your chest, and your grandfather could only sigh slightly at your words.

"You have choices, but I'm also not going to let my granddaughter become spoiled and dumb. If you're going to stay, you need to earn your keep. Besides, I have the money and the resources to tutor you. Is this not something you want to do?"

"W-well… I… didn't say that," you decided to say with a pout, "but I didn't agree either."

"Problems with school?" Ariana smirked at you as she sat back down in her chair, and you could only let out a tired sigh, knowing that a lot of the conversation is going to be directed towards you.

"Boring. Very boring," you told her bluntly. "The younger kids in the morning, and the older kids in the afternoon. The older kid class was always smaller, because everyone wanted to go off on their own pokemon journey when they turned ten. I hear that the League is planning on changing the starting age for that very reason. But, mum said that if I did well in school I could go on my own pokemon journey. I was excited for that," you smiled meekly at her, recalling the days you'd spend in the classroom, only for your lips to frown slightly. "But once you reach a particular intelligence level, the classes get boring and tedious. The teachers spend more time on the younger students then the older ones in the classroom, so I would fool around. I started skipping my classes, until my mum told me that I wouldn't get what I wanted unless I worked for it. So I'd read books in class," you shrugged, glancing between her and your grandfather, waiting for someone to say something.

"I should have expected this," Giovanni decided to say, but you shrugged your shoulders once again.

"Don't get me wrong. There are times when I loved school, but considering we were a small town in the middle of nowhere, stuck between a cave and a forest, it's not like we could leave every morning to go to a nearby city. In fact, mum was thinking about moving but… yeah, that didn't happen," you sighed. "Or maybe homeschool me. Something like that."

"I see," you heard your grandfather say, but you couldn't help but notice the smirk upon his face, causing you to pout.

"W-what are you thinking?"

"Hmm? Just remembering," he smirked at you before sighing and sipping his cup of coffee. "… Still, I'd rather have my grandchild have a decent education then learn everything on the streets. That's not the skillset one should have if they want to be a leader. Be as dumb as the people they lead? That'll only end badly," he decided to say, but you gave him a questionable look.

"Lead? Lead who? You want me to be tutored so I can take your place?" you frowned, but he quickly shook his head.

"Actually –"

"What? Is that a no, sir?" Archer had to ask, causing Giovanni to groan and Ariana to giggle lightly underneath her breath.

"What Gio is trying~ to say is that he's leaving the choice up to you," she told you calmly, giving you a smile at the hesitant look that was on your face. "Being the heir of Team Rocket makes you a target, obviously. Furthermore, who knows if she'd be a good leader," Ariana stated, giving Archer a stern look before looking back at you from across the table. "It's too early to tell, and honestly I'd rather put my hopes in someone I know I can rely on. Not some kid."

"The point is," Giovanni huffed at his executives before turning back to you, "that I want you to make that choice, when it comes for it."

"And when's that? –"

"When you're sixteen, eighteen, maybe even twenty –"

"Seriously?!" Archer exclaimed, but Giovanni gave him a dark look, causing the man to pout and sit back in his chair so his boss could continue.

"I believe that going on your own journey will be beneficial for you. A journey brings you out of your comfort zone and can help mold you into a better or worse version of yourself. Plus, it's nice to have the public perceive you as a completely different individual. But… if you cannot find your way, cannot find yourself a good man and settle down somewhere, you're welcome to come back to Team Rocket," he told you with a light smile, and you gave Archer and Ariana a curious look before looking back at him, hugging Spirit tightly to your chest. "Home is wherever you decide it is, isn't it?"

"Actually… yeah, but I believe home is where my family is," you smiled lightly back at him before sighing and shaking your head, "b-but still… an heir? I-I don't want to be –"

"It's too soon to make a life changing decision. Plus, if your father were alive, he'd probably kill me if I were to force you into such a position. Heck, his ghost may do just that," he chuckled lightly to himself, but noticing your unsure look, and his executives staring at him as if he suddenly lost his head, Giovanni coughed into his hand before quickly sipping on his coffee.

His attempt to cover up his embarrassment caused you to giggle lightly, and the man gave you a curious look as you grinned happily at him. "Okay, well… Can we make a deal?"

"A deal? You and I?" he asked with an intrigued look on his face, while Ariana forced back the giggle that she desperately wanted to make.

"Yes," you spoke as seriously as you could muster, but you could only pout as his grin grew upon his face. "If you're going to make me learn and such like some spoiled rich brat… could you make a promise to me that you'll let me go on a pokemon journey? For real?" you had to ask, noticing his grinning face somber slightly, but you continued with a soft sigh. "I'm not stupid. In fact, daddy always pointed out where the Rocket grunts were hiding, spying on us. I just… want to be able to go off and do my own thing. That's what a journey is supposed to be about, right? An adventure. An exploration. To figure out who you are and what you want to be. I-I want to do that, but I don't want any help. Not unless it's necessary," you finished in a light mumble, but he seemed to have heard through your mumblings to flash you another smirk.

"I see… Well… if I were to send you off on a journey like that, I'd want you to bring someone competent by your side. Plus, I'd expect you to call me every other day or send me some sort of message, so I know where you and what you're doing."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay," you smiled happily at him, sitting up in your chair while you couldn't help but smile up at him. "That's a promise, right?"

"A promise," he chuckled at your determined face, "but I expect you to not cause too much trouble around here. There's still not that many people in our organization that knows I have a kid, who had a kid, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Seriously Gio? –"

"If Archer is expecting the child to be the next boss, then other people will as well. Everyone. I don't want that burden on Viola's shoulders, right now. Let her think about her studies, first," he decided to say before giving you a smirk. "After all, you're a Roket, and Rokets aren't dumb."

"I-I hope not," you decided to say, but you heard Ariana chuckle underneath your breath, causing you to look over at her. "W-what? –"

"If you were having trouble in school with the lack of attention, then you'll get plenty of attention with tutors. Plus, they'll want to make you happy to keep the Boss happy," she stated, causing you to pout.

"That's what I'm afraid of," you decided to say, glancing at Archer. "I don't like suck ups."

"What are you referring to?" Archer asked as you looked at him, but you quickly turned your head away.

"N-nothing!"

"Hah! Be a bit more assertive, Viola," Giovanni chuckled, patting your head as you gave him a curious glance, before turning to Archer and smirking coyly at the thought that passed through your mind.

"Well… if you want me to… You do everything without questioning my grandpa, and while that makes the work easy, that doesn't mean people shouldn't be questioned. That's how people in power get cocky and start abusing it. I-I mean… I'd rather be told that I'm doing something wrong, horribly wrong, then regret my actions later. I'm just saying," you shrugged slightly, but you glanced over at Ariana as she began to laugh and slap the teal haired man on the back.

"Hahaha! Even the kid can see that you're a suck up! Told y'ah it's too obvious."

"Shut it, Ari," Archer huffed, but noticing the amused look on his boss' face, and the curious one on yours, he sighed in defeat and slumped his elbows onto the table "… When is our food going to be here? I'm starving."

"So am I," you groaned, plopping your head onto the table until you felt someone scratching at your pant leg.

"So am I," you heard the persian say, and you huffed at him as Giovanni snorted in response.

"You already ate," Giovanni stated, and you quickly continued with a grumble.

"And I gave you an entire bowl. Two bowls! You don't want to be a fat lazy cat, now do you?... Wait, maybe you do, but you won't be very good at battling, now would you?" you smirked at him, but yelped as he clawed at your leg, just enough to make it hurt. "Hey! –"

"Don't test me, cub –"

"I certainly will, jerk!" you responded back, causing Giovanni to sigh as he suddenly picked you up, placing both you and a bored looking eevee on his lap, while noticing the curious look his executives gave him before glaring down at his persian.

"Persian, that's enough –"

"Fine, fine. No need to be so angry," the persian snorted, glancing between the two humans with a curious look, before sitting his butt down and licking his paw, running the damp paw through his fur. "I'm just hungry."

"Well, you're not in the woods trying to survive, now are you?" you huffed. "So one bowl is enough."

"I get it. Enough~~" the persian groaned, turning to the eevee. "Your owner can be unfair."

"Trust me, it can be worse," Spirit decided to say, and he let out a light mewl giggle as you jostled the eevee in your arms. "Hey, it can be."

"Can it," you pouted, but before there could be more arguing the six of you heard the doorbell ring, and you watched Archer make a quick beeline towards the door.

"… You can talk to pokemon too, eh?" Ariana decide to say, glancing between Giovanni and yourself with a snarky grin, and the man rolled his eyes and let out a tired sigh.

"Don't make a big deal out of this, Ari."

"I'm not, I'm not," she chuckled, holding up her hands slightly, but she quickly scrambled to her feet as Archer tried to fumble two large trays in his hands, quickly snatching up one tray so the food wouldn't tumble to the floor.

! #$%^&*()

"Perhaps the Boss doesn't want you to be a part of the team, but surely there's a reason why you linger around here, for no real reason," Archer huffed as he walked into his office, a much smaller space compared to your grandfather's office, without a lobby area for waiting agents to reside in. He pointed for you to sit down in a chair by the wall as he sat down in his own plush chair, glancing at all of the paperwork on his desk.

You pushed back the snarl that wanted to leave your breath. Out of all of the executives, Archer is probably the most boring. Ariana was always yelling at people, but that made for an entertaining day, Petrel was always roaming the building, and on occasion you've got to leave the building and smell the outdoors for the first time in a while, and while Proton unnerves you, as long as you're quiet and don't bother him he doesn't seem to mind you lingering about.

And then there's Archer.

"Here," he huffed, handing you a large book that made your eyes gloss over, and the groan you were holding in came out at full force. "Read this. I'm going to ask you questions about it when you're done."

"But I don't know the first thing about rocket science. This mathematics makes no sense to me –"

"Understand the terminology and why we, Team Rocket, would find value in such a book –"

"Obviously it's because rocket is part of the title. Team Rocket, right?" you huffed, but he shook his head at you.

"Stop arguing and just read it. Don't be so difficult, Ms. Rosso."

You snarled, but did as you were told as you slumped into the chair that was provided for you, cracking open the book with a pout on your face. You may have a brain, but most of the time you don't understand what's going on. In fact, you don't get why he's so insistent that you read things! It's obvious he's keeping you preoccupied so he can work in his office, but still. It's annoying.

He could at the very least send you out on errands, like Ariana and Proton do, or take breaks every once and a while. Just work, work, and more work.

So, you attempted to read the very hard technical book for a while, but your attention span could only last for so long, and eventually you were sitting upside down, your head on the floor and your feet up in the air, with the textbook in your hands as the blood rapidly rushed to your brain. There was a lot in this book, from the basic functions of a rocket, to the engines; how one could build a rocket and send it to the stars. You glanced at the date, noticing it was about five years old, before staring at the page you were reading in a bored manner. There were barely any pictures, but you suppose the information as a whole was interesting enough. Rocket fuel is very hard to make, and everything is so technical and expensive.

But, slowly, you slipped out of your position, sitting upon the ground with the book in front of you, your eyes concentrated in thought. All the while, you didn't notice that Archer was staring at you from the corner of his eyes, both irritated yet intrigued by the realizing look on your face.

He watched you with a smirk as you took out a small notebook and began to write in the book. He could tell you were taking notes on the material, now, or at least the parts you found interesting. You may find the books boring, but he could tell you were at least trying to understand. He could barely see what you were writing, but he had time to ask you questions later.

Right now… he had a lot of work to get through, mainly paperwork, and a lot of conference calls as well.

It's obvious to the man that you're an intelligent child. Your very random with your questioning, but necessary questions speak wonders of your mind. He could tell you are a curious child, who wants to pick apart every detail and find the deep seeded reasons for why things are the way they are or how something works.

He can see the Boss in you, and he felt a sense of pride that he gets to be a part of your education.

He knows the Boss won't approve of this, but he intends on teaching you exactly what you'd need to know to be the next Boss. Sure, business lessons and finances are in order. Understanding the values in the free market, as well as the underground markets. The black market. The ins and outs of manipulation. Of getting what you want. One slip up can end the empire your grandfather has set up. Archer knows that.

He can recall the time when his Boss left. When Giovanni disappeared for no damn reason, saying that Team Rocket had been disbanded. He put it upon himself to keep the team together, but without the Boss there, the charisma and drive that kept the team moving quickly fell apart. And to learn why he left…

Yes…

He can certainly see the Boss in you.

A girl that went out of her way to live on her own. Only a pokemon or two by her side, even though she is too young to be a competent trainer. No matter how smart she may be. For weeks, months, they had trouble tracking the girl down, until she popped up in an obscure location, aboard a shipping vessel. The only reason why the Boss put the pieces together was because of his gym leader buddy. That… Lt. Surge.

After everything the Boss has been through, Archer is surprised he still keeps in touch with those gym leaders. Leaders who have betrayed their duties in one way or another. But then again, it's not like they talk often. But…

This is all so confusing, for him. Why wouldn't the Boss want the girl to be his heir? She'd make a very good leader. She knows how to be stubborn and stand up for herself. She knows how to talk back when she really wants to. She just needs to be trained. To be taught what needs to be taught, what is expected of her. She has connections, connections to people even the Boss cannot reach.

Those Dex Holders… those former children, now grownups with their own children and lives to live, whom caused so much trouble for Team Rocket in the past.

She is very familiar with them. He knows. He can tell. After all, her father was one of them.

So… why? He just cannot understand this decision.

Yes, maybe any child can be an heir. Maybe any qualified agent can rise in the ranks and gain the Boss' favor, but he was Madame Boss' heir. This is a family business. Why not have the child join? It's not like she can live out on her own anytime soon. It'll be, at the very least, three years before she can officially become a trainer, and that promise the Boss made has to be fulfilled.

So… until those tutors are picked and show up, he'll do everything in his power and abilities to teach the girl what she needs to know. After all, even if she isn't some heir shouldn't she know what she'll be up against? There are former Rocket members who want to overshadow or completely demolish Team Rocket. There are even those in the ranks who want to take the Boss' place, when he retires… or rather, dies in some way or another. Even if she refuses, her life will still be threatened by other people. By power hungry people who want to get rid of a potential threat.

She is a threat. There's a history in this team, in that family, Archer has never been able to see, but he can tell that his Boss is always on edge. Always risking his life, knowing his life is at stake at all times. Even now… after cleaning up the mess with Mr. Castillo… the team is still at risk.

Meaning the girl is also at risk.

She needs to grow a strong outer shell. She needs to be tough and strong, yet witty and hold confidence. Right now, she's too meek. She accepts what is spoken to her. She needs to grow out of those shy little habits.

It'll only get her killed.

Get the Boss killed… and…

He doesn't want to see that happen. Not after everything he had to do to get the Boss back.