Home Is Where the R Is
Chapter Ten - Undercover Mission

.

"The clothes suit you," Domino said, as Anari examined herself in the mirror. She was wearing a black and white sailor schoolgirl uniform with a red bow on the front and her brown hair had been styled to look just like Domino's. Domino had even loaned her a matching hat. Back when Anari had been preparing to join Butch and Cassidy on their disastrous helicopter ride, she had been quite surprised to learn that Team Rocket had clothing her size in their collection of disguises. She was even more surprised when Cassidy showed her outfits so small and oddly-shaped that they could only have been designed to fit Pokémon. Team Rocket was obviously prepared for anything. Today Domino had brought her several school uniforms to try on but the one she was currently wearing was the only one that fit properly.

"I like the clothes," Anari said. "But I'm not sure about the hair."

"You look fine," Domino assured her. "No one will have any trouble believing you're my little sister now!"

Anari raised her eyebrow skeptically. I wouldn't believe it. She and Mondo could pass for siblings, having the same hair and eye color, but Domino was another matter. Despite their matching hairstyles the two looked nothing alike.

"You'd best tuck in your necklace," Mondo advised, before stepping over to get his picture taken. Anari stuffed the red R in her shirt, safely out of sight.

"Stand over there, Little Miss," an agent directed her, as Mondo stepped down from the spot he was pointing to. "And stand still." Anari did as she was told. The agent used a machine to take her picture, then Domino took her place to be photographed next.

"Why is he taking our pictures?" Anari wanted to know.

"For our student IDs," Mondo said. "If anyone asks, we're all students at Pokémon Tech."

"Then how come my uniform is different than Domino's?" the child asked, pointing to the grey skirt, grey vest and white puffy-sleeved blouse Domino wore.

"Because we don't have a uniform small enough for you so we had to improvise," Domino told her. "You're actually too young to be a student at Pokémon Technical, but hopefully no one will notice.

Before Anari could ask what "improvise" meant, the man at the counter called them up to collect their IDs. Anari closely examined the card with her picture on it. The name on it was Mari Brown and it said that she was ten years old. She looked at Mondo's next, which named him Billy Brown. What a boring last name, she thought. Domino's ID claimed her name was Goldie, which might have suited her better had it not been for the last name. It reminded Anari of those restaurant and bakery commercials that advertised their products "baked to a golden brown." Baked to a Goldie Brown, the child thought, imagining a loaf of bread shaped like Domino's head. She giggled.

"The convention is for young trainers, so you'll need a Pokémon as well," Mondo told her.

"I don't have any."

"Well, there's one on the way," he said, winking. "The boss insisted on it."

"What kind?" Anari inquired.

"You'll see."

"See what?" asked James, appearing unexpectedly behind Domino. She spun around quickly.

"Don't DO that!" she ordered, annoyed at being spooked by the blue-haired idiot.

"The boss ordered us to meet you here," Jessie replied indignantly. "He said you needed to borrow something from us."

"What do you need?" James asked. "I hope it's not food because Jessie ate the last of it." Jessie hit him with a paper fan.

"I wasn't the one who ate all the donuts this morning!"

"No, but you ate the rest of our field rations!"

"Because YOU ate all the donuts!"

"Wobbuffet helped!"

"Woooobbufet!" Wobbuffet added, letting itself out of its pokéball. Domino, Mondo and Anari just stared.

"Yous two have been at it all morning," Meowth told them. "Can't yous just give it a rest?"

"Meowth!" Anari exclaimed, running over and hugging her friend.

"THAT'S what the boss wanted," Domino informed Jessie and James. "He wants Meowth to accompany us on an undercover mission."

"Meowth was da one who stole all that food in da first place and I didn't get any!" the Pokémon told Anari, looking for sympathy.

"YOU ATE ALL THE FISH LAST NIGHT!" Jessie and James yelled together.

"There's a room reserved for the two of you at the hotel across the street from the convention center," Domino said, hoping to get rid of the pair as quickly as possible. "We'll return Meowth when the mission is over."

"A hotel room?" James asked. "You mean for free?" He and Jessie both cheered, their quarrel immediately forgotten.

"Hot water!" Jessie cried.

"Room service!" her partner squealed.

"And BEDS!" they exclaimed together, dancing joyfully.

"The clerk at the front desk is one of us," Domino said, handing Jessie a card with the hotel's name and address on it. "Just tell him you want service at rocket speed."

"Back in your ball!" Jessie commanded Wobbuffet. As soon as the Pokémon had disappeared, she and James sped out the door at rocket speed- much to Domino's relief. She really couldn't stand those two. It was bad enough Giovanni had insisted on the loud-mouthed cat tagging along. She had secretly dubbed the trio "Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest". She hadn't decided who was dumbest.

"Why did the boss tell us to make sure their hotel room only had one bed in it?" Mondo asked Domino, as Anari swung Meowth in the air happily some distance away. "Is he punishing them again?"

"No, he wanted to make sure they stay occupied, so they'd stay out of our way."

Mondo's face turned bright red and he accidentally swallowed the gum he was chewing. "T-the boss thinks of everything, doesn't he?"

"A leader with foresight if ever there was one," Domino agreed.

. . .

"...And then we had to clean all the toilets, and mop the floors and do all the laundry!" Anari complained to Meowth, who was sitting in the backseat with her as Domino drove them to their destination. The Pokémon was perched cosily on pile of grey blankets.

"Dat sounds like a lotta woik," Meowth empathized.

"It wasn't fair! Sometimes I just want to run away from home!"

"Actually, many people who work here DID run away from home when they were young," Mondo said, sitting up in the passenger seat of the car. "My father did. He ran away from an orphanage."

"James ran away too," Meowth said.

"Was he an orphan, too?" Mondo inquired. Meowth snickered.

"Hardly. Jimmy lived in a house so big yous could fit TEN orphanages in it!"

"Runaways are common here," Domino told them. "The boss encourages the recruitment scouts to seek them out."

"Why does he do that?" Anari wanted to know.

"For one thing, they're desperate. Makes for easy recruits, but it can also be risky."

"Why?"

"Because desperate people do dangerous things. Their loyalties can change on a dime and they take unnecessary risks. When a person is feeling desperate enough they'll cling to anything without thinking of the consequences. A drowning man will reach out for any item held out to him, even if it's an electric cattle prod!"

Anari asked what an electric cattle prod was and Mondo told her.

"Still, the benefits generally outweigh the risks," Domino continued. "Children who leave home are already conditioned to rebel against authority. Today's dissidents are tomorrow's assassins. That's what my father used to say. And once settled and properly trained, they're much easier to work alongside than those with lingering attachments to people on the outside who might cause their conscience to override their judgement. "

"What is a dissident?" Mondo asked. Anari wanted to know, too.

"A dissident is someone who disagrees with the established order of things," Domino explained. "Father believed that people on the fringes of society who don't agree with the rule of law are more likely to rebel against it by joining organizations like ours; and he was right."

Meowth personally didn't think runaway youths were quite the same as political dissidents, but he couldn't argue with the fact that both tended to fall on the wrong side of the law. Anari briefly wondered what it would be like to run away. She had a hard time imagining where she would sleep or who she would go to for food. Kids who really do run away must have a hard time... she mused.

"There should be some blankets folded up back there," Domino told Anari. "Do you see them?"

"Yes, Meowth's sitting on them."

"Good. When we get back I want you to hide under them until we clear the area."

"Okay," the child agreed. "Hey, is it true that Domino isn't your real name?"

"That's right. Many people within the organization abandon their birth names to keep the police from discovering their identities. Giovanni's mother was the first to do it, and when I became an agent I decided to do the same."

Big Brother changed his name... Anari thought. He changed mine, too. "So why did you pick the name Domino?" she asked aloud.

"In memory of my father. He died on a mission when I was young."

"Yours did too, didn't he?" Anari asked Mondo. He nodded.

"That's right. A lot of people have lost family members that way. Miss Jessie lost her mother on a mission as well. Being a Rocket is dangerous work."

"Let's hope we all prove to be smarter and more fortunate than our predecessors," Domino said. Mondo and Anari agreed.

. . .

The convention center was huge. It stood four stories tall and the roof appeared to be a round glass dome. Anari wondered what a flying-type would see if it perched on top of the building and looked inside. Domino parked strategically around back close to the emergency exit and gave instructions for Meowth and Mondo to disable the security cameras and set up smoke bombs near the exit. The two entered the building from a side door (Meowth picked the lock) while Domino and Anari walked all the way around the building to go through the main entrance.

"We'll walk around the convention center until they're finished," Domino told the child as they entered. She paid at the booth and both of them had to present their student IDs. Finally they were each given a badge with their fake name on it before being told they could enter.

"Won't Mondo get in trouble for not having one of these?" Anari asked, holding up her badge.

"I'm sure Billy will think of something," Domino replied. "Now listen: When we're finished here the smoke bombs will keep us from being followed. Once they go off head straight out the back exit. Don't dawdle, and don't get yourself lost. Once the smoke clears we should already be out the door. Stragglers get left behind."

"Isn't that what you got in trouble in the first place?" Anari pointed out logically. "Leaving people behind?"

"Just make sure you do it," Domino told her crossly. "Smoke bombs signal the end of a heist and all Team Rocket members should be out of sight before the smoke clears. Including you." Especially you! Domino thought. She didn't dare imagine what the boss would do if she came home minus the child he'd placed in her care upon her own request.

The interior of the building somehow seemed even bigger than the exterior. It was filled with creatures she had never seen before from places she'd never heard of. Anari had never seen so many Pokémon in one place before. Not even her uncle had this many, and Team Rocket possessed more Pokémon than anyone she knew.

"What's that?" she asked Domino, pointing to what appeared to be a cloud on an extremely high pedestal.

"That's one of our main targets," Domino explained. "Altaria."

"Look at the babies!" Anari pointed, jumping up and down with excitement. Nestled against the bird were two tiny Swablu.

"Hush!" Domino whispered. "Don't bring attention to yourself. You'll have plenty of time to get a closer look once they're in our possession." They moved past Altaria's perch and continued to walk around. Some of the rooms wouldn't allow them to enter without identification and proof that they'd paid the entrance fee, so "Mari" and "Goldie" pulled out their badges and fake IDs. No one gave them any trouble. Domino was taking mental notes on what Pokémon might be worth stealing in addition to those already on her list but Anari had completely forgotten their mission by the time they'd entered the third room.

"Look at the fluffy Mareep!" she squealed. "There's a Skitty sleeping on it's back! And that Furret looks just like my Grandma's!"

"Calm down," Domino told her crossly. "You act like you've never seen Pokémon before. Do you see any of the other children here making such a fuss?"

"Oh wow, look at the Mareep!" a boy yelled excitedly, actually jumping up and down.

"And a SKITTY!" his older sister squealed. "On it's a back! A SKITTY!" The two made a beeline straight for the objects of their affection, knocking Domino over in the process. A third child, eager to get a closer look at the Furret, stepped on the blonde's head.

"Ow!"

Anari grinned smugly as her chaperone picked herself up and wiped some dirt off her skirt.

"Oh, shut up," Domino grumbled, even though the little girl hadn't said anything. Anari laughed.

.

When Mondo and Meowth finally returned a while later they were both in disguise. They each wore a black cap and a matching black shirt that had STAFF printed on the back. Mondo had also managed to secure a badge from somewhere, which was now pinned to the waist of his pants.

"Took you long enough," Domino told them. "Is everything set up?"

"All ready to go," Mondo confirmed.

"Have you seen Anar- er, I mean Mari?" Domino asked them. "I've been looking for her for the past fifteen minutes! I told her not to leave this room. Blast that girl, where IS she?"

"Up there," Mondo pointed. Domino looked up. The child had joined a group of boys who'd managed to avoid the security guard's notice as they climbed the plastic indoor display tree in the center of the room. The faux-tree (complete with green fabric leaves) was enormous, and "grew" four floors high, all the way up to the glass dome ceiling. The upper stories of the convention center had railings where people could view the impressive display from different angles, and with the tree currently filled with flying-type Pokémon the children on the upper floors were pushing and shoving to get a better look. Thankfully Anari wasn't that high up. She seemed to be trying to get a better look at a Hoothoot perched on one of the lower branches. Unlike her male accomplices, however, Anari wasn't dressed for climbing trees. The skirt of her uniform was far too short for her to be engaging in such an activity.

"Don't look!" Domino scolded Mondo.

"She's a kid," he retorted. "And we've got to get her down before that security guard sees."

"Hey, you kids!" the guard yelled. "Get down from there!"

"Too late," Meowth said.

Slowly the four children made their descent down the display tree, disappointed. Anari soon learned that going up was a lot easier than trying to get back down. She couldn't see her feet and the patent-leather Mary Janes Domino had insisted she wear with her uniform were slipperier than her normal shoes. To everyone's horror (and her abject terror) she slipped, plummeting to the ground and landing on the security guard. They both collapsed in a heap. To Mondo, Meowth and Domino's relief Anari stood up, seemingly unhurt. The same could not be said for the middle-aged security guard, who clutched his back in pain. Domino clenched her fists.

"I'm... going... to... KILL HER!"

. . .

"What did I tell you about attracting attention?!" Domino scolded the seven year-old in front of the mirror of the the ladies room. "If you were my daughter I'd give you a tanning you wouldn't soon forget! You could have been hurt!"

"I just wanted to see-"

"I don't care!" Domino said emphatically. "Now hold still!"

Anari sighed and stared at her now badly-scuffed shoes as Domino took the ribbons out of her hair and smoothed it down to its normal style. It was too disheveled to leave up and Domino wanted to alter the girl's appearance as much as possible now that dozens of people had watched her and the trio of reckless brothers get scolded first by the security guard, then by the convention staff.

"We have a mission to complete and I want no more foolishness from you!" Domino said as she tossed Anari's hat in the trash. "I have to get the Pokémon we're supposed to steal or we'll both be in trouble when we get home. You stay with Mondo and Meowth from now on and you'd better not cause anymore trouble!"

"Can we steal that Hoothoot?" the girl asked hopefully as they headed for the door.

"No! Thanks to you we're going to have to avoid the central room entirely. Or weren't you listening when the head of the convention staff threatened to revoke your badge if they caught you in there again?"

"What does "revoke" mean?"

"It means throw you out!"

"Oh."

"Actually, da correct definition of "revoke" is ta nullify or take away," Meowth quipped as Domino and Anari came out of the bathroom. "Nice Jigglypuff underpants, by da way," he said to Anari, who turned pink. The cat-type had ditched the uniform and stuffed it in Mondo's shoulder bag so he would appear to be nothing more than an ordinary Pokémon.

"And if they take her badge away she'll be thrown out!" Domino responded. "So it's up to you two to keep her out of trouble. I've got to get to work." The group had a brief discussion on the remaining items on Domino's list. Meowth had already swiped several of the Pokémon they were supposed to steal while he and Mondo were disabling the security cameras and the pokéballs were now in Mondo's bag. Domino was pleased with this unexpected bit of good news and her opinion of the cat-type rose several notches. "You get Altaria, then, while I get the rest of the items on our list," Domino said to Meowth. "I'm sure "Billy" and "Mari" will help. Be discreet, and don't let her out of your sight!" With that she was gone.

"So where is Altaria?" Mondo asked his companions.

"I know where it is," Anari replied. "Over this way." She led them to the room containing the pedestal where Altaria was perched with its offspring and pointed to it. Mondo's face fell.

"There's no way I'm going to be able to reach that high!"

"Maybe we can do it together," Anari suggested. "Pick me up." They snuck behind the giant pedestal and Mondo lifted Anari onto his shoulders. Even on tip-toes they failed to reach the sleeping Pokémon. "We need a ladder," Anari said.

"Too big," Mondo replied, putting her down. "People would notice us bringing it in here and wonder what we're doing."

"What about dat over dare?" Meowth asked, pointing to a step stool on the other side of the room.

"Might work," Mondo agreed. "But we need a cover story for why we're bringing it here."

"We could say we're cleaning," Anari suggested.

"With what?" Mondo asked. "We don't have any cleaning supplies."

"Den let's go find some!" Meowth said, and the group spent the next twenty minutes searching for a janitor's closet. By the time they secured the supplies they needed and returned to the room containing Altaria and Swablu, the step stool had been removed from the corner and the group spend another twenty minutes trying to locate another one. Anari was silently reflecting on the fact that field missions were a lot more leg work than she had originally anticipated when Domino found them, carrying a large bag that Anari (correctly) suspected was filled with stolen pokéballs.

"Do you have it?" Domino asked Mondo.

"We're getting it now," the boy said. "Had to get a few things first."

"Do you want to wait in the car?" Domino asked Anari. "We're almost done here."

Anari shook her head. "I'm helping."

Domino nodded approvingly. "Good girl. I'll be waiting, then." They parted company with the blonde and before long Meowth spotted another step-stool. This one looked older and shabbier than the first, but Mondo figured it would do. He carried it back to the room while Anari lugged the cleaning supplies.

"We'd better hurry up and get this over with before "Goldie" gets impatient," the young Rocket remarked as he set the stool down behind the pedestal where no one would see it. "I'll pretend to be cleaning. You and Meowth use these." He handed the youngest member of his team three pokéballs- one for Altaria and one for each of the Swablu. He then grabbed the mop and began cleaning the floor while Meowth and Anari stealthily moved behind the pedestal. The cat climbed onto the child's shoulders and she climbed onto the old wooden stool.

"Can you reach?" she asked Meowth.

"Nope, still too high. We're gonna have to get Mondo to do it."

"Mondo!" Anari whispered to him, forgetting to use his fake name. "It's too high. We need your help." Mondo put the mop back in the bucket and snuck behind the pedestal. He picked Anari up and Meowth took his place around front to keep watch.

"Can you reach?" Mondo asked, just as Anari had done before.

"Just a little higher," Anari said softly.

"Try getting on my shoulders."

Anari did so, and footstool began to wobble from their movement. One of the three wooden legs was shorter than the others and every time either of them moved it shifted, causing their stomachs to lurch. They stood still for a moment, fearing the thumping on the floor might have attracted attention, but no one came to investigate. Finally Anari pulled two of the three pokéballs out of her skirt pocket. How am I going to do this? she thought. If I can't get them all at the same time the last one is going to be scared. Should I get the Swablu first, or...?

"Anari, hurry!" Mondo hissed, trying to keep his voice at a whisper as he balanced on the wobbly footstool. "What's taking so long?"

Anari watched the creatures nestle against their sleeping mother as she continued to wrestle with her conscience. If I take them now, they're going to be scared... they won't know where they are or where their mother is. There's got to be some way to get all three of them together.

"Anari please!" Mondo whispered desperately. "I don't think this thing is going to last lo-" The stool gave way before he could finish his sentence, but not before Anari managed to simultaneously capture both Swablu in the pokéballs. Mondo tried to grab the pedestal for support, but the structure was not one solid piece as it appeared. It was constructed of round, light-weight plaster blocks stacked on top of one another and when he threw his weight against it in his panic the whole thing came crashing down in a cloud of white smoke. Both children hit the floor and Mondo cried out as he twisted his ankle.

All activity in the room came to a halt.

Meowth, shaking bits of plaster out of his fur, saw that everyone's attention had been diverted from their own various activities to the now-ruined display in the back of the room. Altaria, fearing that her children were buried under the rubble, began calling out to them. When the Swablu didn't answer back the Pokémon began to panic. Meowth quickly scampered out of the way as the giant blue bird began digging through the broken pieces of plaster.

What's going on here?" somebody asked.

"The Swablu are missing!" a little boy observed. "Altaria can't find her babies!"

Everyone in the room began talking at once while Mondo and Anari, covered in white plaster dust, exchanged helpless looks. What were they going to do now?

When Altaria was satisfied that her babies were not among the wreckage she began searching the room, calling out frantically. Anari felt like a monster. Mondo took out an empty pokéball and threw it, but Altaria broke loose and reemerged even more furious than before. Finally the enraged creature burst through one of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, causing several children who'd been leaning against it at the time to crash through it. Fortunately for their sakes they were on the first floor of the convention center.

"Hey, you don't work here!" a member of the convention staff said, coming up to Mondo. She yanked the cap off of his head angrily. "How did you get ahold of a staff uniform?"

"I-"

"Just what did you think you were doing?" another employee demanded. This man wore a one-piece jumpsuit with the name of the convention center monogrammed on the front pocket and around his waist was a utility belt with a giant ring of keys hanging from it. Mondo guessed him to be a janitor, who of course would not be pleased with the mess he would now be stuck cleaning up. Mondo tried to think of a cover story, but his creative juices had dried up under the pressure. Anari was thinking on what Domino said about desperate people doing dangerous things. She was desperate enough, but she couldn't think of anything dangerous to do that would get her out of this room and back home to her uncle.

"Isn't obvious what's going on here?" a man nearby said. Everyone turned to look at him. In the young man's hand was the empty pokéball that Mondo had tried and failed to capture Altara with. It had a prominent red R stamped on it. "They're from Team Rocket!" Again the children exchanged looks but said nothing. Neither knew what to say.

"What's Team Rocket?" several people in the group asked.

"They've come to steal!" the young man clarified. "They must have taken the Swablu!"

"Of course that's what happened!" the female staff member agreed. "The boy stole those clothes and his little cohort here was trying to help him steal Altaria. Somebody get security!" Fortunately for Mondo and Anari the security personnel were all rushing outside to deal with the enraged Altaria. None had time to spare at the moment to deal with the kids who'd caused the problem in the first place.

"They're hardly a threat to public safety," a slim, frail-looking woman said. "Calm down. Just find their parents and-"

"Not a threat to public safety?" the male employee interrupted. "Look around you!" He pointed to the ruined display with one hand and gestured towards the broken window with the other. The group of children who'd crashed through it were all crying outside both in pain and terror as Altaria rampaged. Inside, surrounded by a crowd of strangers who he knew would gladly hand him and his companions over to Officer Jenny, Mondo couldn't help but wish he was outside himself. He'd rather take his chances with the enraged Pokémon.

"Still, they're only kids," the woman said, moved to pity by their obvious terror.

"A thief is a thief!" the janitor declared, pointing an accusing finger at the two children. "Just because they're young does not mean they're innocent!" It was certainly true; no one in the room could deny it. Anari clutched Mondo's arm nervously. She certainly looked innocent, regardless of what the truth might be. So did the teenage boy she was clinging to. Mondo's ankle was throbbing in pain and he feared that escape might be impossible under the current circumstances. He looked very young and very scared.

Meowth, however, never lost his head for a moment. Botched missions were something he had plenty of experience with and he knew at this point there was only one thing left to do: Get out, and make it fast. He grabbed a remote control out of Mondo's bag and pushed the button. Suddenly the room began filling up with smoke and Mondo quickly forced himself to his feet. He fell back to the ground and forced himself up a second time using Anari for support. Meowth led them through the crowd and out the door, fury-swiping anything in his path. Several people tried to follow, but once they were out of the room Mondo pulled a weapon out of his shoulder bag and shot anyone who made it out the door.

"What is that thing?" Anari asked. She'd seen Mondo pass out weapons to agents on countless occaisions, but she'd never seen him wield one before.

"Dart gun," he explained. "They'll sleep long enough for us to make our getaway."

"What's going on?" Domino asked, running up to them. "Where you able to get Altaria?"

"No, it broke out of the pokéball," Mondo answered. "We got the Swablu but Altaria destroyed a window and escaped outside."

"No matter," Domino replied. "The Swablu will evolve in time. I swiped all the Pokémon in the trading center and replaced them with empty balls. There's bound to be something good in the lot. Let's get out of here!"

Anari looked down at the pokéballs in her hands. If they weren't going to get Altaria... These Swablu will never see their mother again... just like me. I'll be just like...

"D-Domino... Mondo..." Anari whimpered. "I don't think-"

"Think later!" Domino ordered, pushing the child in the direction of the exit. "We've got to get out of here!"

"But... Altaria! We have to get Altaria!"

"There's no time!" Mondo told her as they ran down the hallway. He hobbled behind the rest, his ankle in agony. "Thanks to our stunt back there someone is bound to have called the cops by now!"

"The Swablu are going to lose their mother unless we do something!" the child cried desperately. "And Altaria will lose her babies!"

"It can't be helped, kid," Meowth told her. "We gotta got get outta here!"

"But they'll all be sad!" Anari cried, heedless of her now dripping runny nose. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"They'll get over it!" Domino said severely. Anari stopped in her tracks.

"I shouldn't have done this... I shouldn't have done this! We should give them back!"

Mondo's eyes widened. "Anari!" he exclaimed, horrified. Domino, in no mood for nonsense, slapped the girl hard. Anari stared at the woman in shock. Domino grabbed her by the arm and half-dragged her down the hall. The child resisted, slowing them down and making it easier for Mondo to keep up.

"This is what we DO here, Anari!" Domino informed her angrily. "We steal Pokémon! This is how we make our living, how your uncle stays in business! You know that! Would you destroy an entire empire and put hundreds of people out of work for the sake of a handful of Pokémon?"

"What about the people we HURT?"

"Those on the outside are our enemies. We have our own to think about."

"But-"

"Many of the men and women here would never be able to keep employment in the outside world, and some would go back to lives of starvation, homelessness and imprisonment. Is that how you would repay those who've been good to you, who've given you a home?"

Anari wrenched herself away from Domino's hold and sank to the floor. Mondo also got to his knees and put his arm around the sobbing girl's shoulders. "Miss Domino, please..." he pleaded, not wanting to upset his young friend further. Domino ignored him. She refused to coddle Team Rocket's heir the way the rest of HQ did. If this child was to head the organization one day she couldn't afford to be babied in times of crisis. Weak upbringing bred weak leaders, and weak leaders didn't last long.

"On your feet, Mondo!" the elite agent commanded. He obeyed her, wincing in pain.

"He's hurt!" Anari objected.

"He'll live," Domino informed her coldly. She sent Meowth on to make sure their path to the car was secure, then grabbed Anari by the arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Yes, people are going to get hurt- some may even die on these missions- and the Pokémon aren't going to be grateful for their change of address, either. But you will learn to live with it! You are Team Rocket's heir and as such it will be your duty one day to keep this organization together and provide for the needs of everyone it. Our work keeps everyone fed and every day brings your uncle one step closer to fulfilling his ambitions. You are a part of this mission, and there's no going back now. Now get moving!" Those last three words were accompanied by a rough shove in the direction of the exit.

Anari obeyed her, and Mondo followed behind meekly, limping. His body protested painfully, but he knew Domino was right to force him onward. He had no desire to receive medical treatment from inside a police cell. Seeing his difficulty, Domino relieved him of the shoulder bag and let him use her for support as they vacated the premises.

Anari clenched the pokéballs containing the two infant Swablu in her hands- infants that would never again see their mother. How well she knew what that felt like! I'm a baby-snatcher... she thought as she ran. I'm a thief! She now fully realized the truth that she'd been pushing into the back of her mind the entire time: I'm one of the bad guys.

She thought back on the many things she'd done since coming to live with her uncle. She had stolen. She had helped other agents cover up their crimes. Now she'd helped to take babies away from their mother and because she had faltered, Mondo had gotten hurt. But as much as those thoughts haunted her, the realization that came next was somehow much worse: A day would come when she would lose count of all the crimes she was an accessory to and she would graduate from her youth into a world where she would command others to commit crimes just as her uncle did now. Just like his mother before him. She was a link in the chain, helpless to part from the destiny that was her birthright. What had happened to the vow she'd made back at Team Rocket's training school, to Tony and to herself, to never sell her soul?

No one can escape fate, her uncle was fond of saying, and she now realized that he was right. Not because she was incapable of leaving- Giovanni's own son had proven how easy that was- but because her heart wouldn't allow her to be anywhere else. Her uncle and all the people she had come to see as friends had become her entire world. She wouldn't give any of them up, not even the angry blonde who'd just slapped her across the face. Team Rocket was her family, her home, and as much as it pained her to admit it to herself, the price of her guilty conscience was worth it. I don't want to lose them... I don't want to be alone.

"Anari, are you all right?" Mondo asked, when he noticed she was slowing down. "Did she hurt you?"

"Don't baby her!" Domino ordered.

Anari fingered the captured buttons on both pokéballs, thinking how easy it would be to release the creatures from their enforced confinement. The thought was a foolish one and she knew it. Such an action would only earn her another slap from Domino, and the Swablu would be easily recaptured. Their fates were already decided, and so was her own. It's too late, she thought, her heart breaking as she minimized the size of both pokéballs and put them in her pocket. It's too late for them and it's too late for me.

"I'm fine," she assured Mondo, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her wrists and swallowing the urge to break down again as the average child might have done in her place. "We have to hurry and go now before they catch us." Domino muttered that it was about time she started talking sense, and they soon exited the building. Meowth was waiting outside.

"I'll stay here and make sure nobody comes out this door 'til you guys are gone," the feline told them. "I'll meet up with Jessie and James afterward."

Domino agreed and continued to help her injured young comrade to where the car was parked.

"Get in," she ordered. "And cover up!" Mondo and Anari quickly piled into the back seat and covered themselves with the grey blankets. "Lay as flat as you can!" Domino told the children, tossing the shoulder bag and her bag of stolen pokéballs to the floor of the car and starting the engine. Altaria was now attacking the convention center. It had destroyed several more windows on the first and second floors and people were fleeing the building in terror. Anari hoped Meowth would be all right.

"This is all my fault," Anari said to Mondo when they were on the road and Domino had deemed it safe for them to come out from under the blankets. Mondo was no longer trying to conceal his pain as he rubbed his ankle. Anari felt guilty. "If I hadn't taken so long you wouldn't have hurt your ankle."

"I'm the one who messed everything up," Mondo answered. "I shouldn't have grabbed that stupid pedestal."

"You wouldn't have done it if the stupid stool hadn't broke," Anari reasoned.

"So it's the stool's fault!" Mondo decided. Anari smiled faintly.

"Yeah," she agreed. "It's the stupid stool's fault!"

"Are you okay?" Mondo asked her, seriously. "I know this mission was hard on you, but-"

"I'll get over it," she cut him off, not wanting to talk about it any more. "What happened... Whatever happens, I... I'll learn to live it." Her heart clenched, realizing Domino had spoken the truth. She would indeed learn to live it.

She already had.

.

To be continued in chapter 11