A/N: I don't know if this is something I should provide a warning for or not, but there is kinda a bad injury in this chapter. It's nothing all that gory or graphic (at least, I don't think so), but I thought I would say something, just in case.
There had been an explosion on Cinnabar Island.
Lt. Surge didn't know how it had happened, or when. All he knew was that when he and Ash had come in after their early morning training session, they had found Janine watching the news on the television. The explosion was the only thing being talked about, and by the sound of things, it was pretty serious and people were getting scared.
Lt. Surge had been calm and relaxed after their training session, but when he saw the report on the news, he immediately became serious. He had a pretty good idea of where, exactly, on Cinnabar Island the explosion had taken place, and it didn't mean anything good for the research going on there. Lt. Surge didn't know of his boss was already aware of what was going on, but if he wasn't, he needed to know.
"Janine, go tell Giovanni what you know about what happened." Lt. Surge ordered, slipping easily into soldier mode. He knew that Koga didn't want Janine involved in anything related to Team Rocket, and that included something as simple as delivering a message, but she was the one that had been watching the news for the longest. At that moment, she knew the most about the situation. "After you tell him, go tell your father too."
Ash reluctantly turned away from the news where they were currently talking about how evacuations on the north side of the island, the 'tourist' part of the island, were going. "Is something wrong?"
Lt. Surge looked at Ash and he wasn't surprised to see concern and determination in his eyes. Ash was just a kid, an extremely kind hearted kid, of course he was worried about anybody who had been near the island. But Ash was also an observant child when he wanted to be. Lt. Surge knew that Ash was probably wondering why he insisted that Giovanni and Koga were told immediately instead of just waiting an hour or two to let them hear it for themselves when they woke up.
Sometimes, Ash was far too curious for his own good.
Lt. Surge knelt on the ground next to where Ash was sitting and put a hand on his shoulder. "Giovanni's got some work going on on the other side of the island." Most people had a tendency to forget about the south side of Cinnabar Island. The north side was practically a vacation resort, but the south was where all of the old science facilities were. Most people forgot that the science labs even existed, as nobody had any reason to go to the south side of Cinnabar Island, and of those who did remember the labs, very few of them knew that they were still in use.
Ash's eyes widened. "Is it dangerous work? Is that why the explosion happened?"
Ash was definitely too curious for his own good.
"It can be dangerous." Lt. Surge admitted. "I don't know if it had something to do with the explosion," Though he did have an educated guess that it was. "But I think that Giovanni would want to know about what's going on anyways, don't you?"
Ash nodded. "Is there something I can do to help?"
"You can stay here and see if you can figure out any new information." Lt. Surge didn't know how helpful the news would be, as Giovanni had made sure to keep the research on Cinnabar Island under tight wraps. Still, it was worth a shot. "I'm going to go find Sabrina." If the explosion had something to do with that pokémon, Mewtwo, then she may be able to sense something.
Lt. Surge took Ash's hat off, ruffled his hair, and then put it on again backwards. "Stay here. I'll be right back." Lt. Surge didn't know why he was trying to reassure the kid. None of them were in any real danger. The explosion on Cinnabar Island was far from the Fuchsia Gym. There was no reason to get all paranoid.
Lt. Surge went into the hallway that lead to the guest rooms. Even though he knew that Koga didn't have booby traps down this hallway, he was on his guard nonetheless. They may be in a safe place, but Lt. Surge's training had taught him that no place was truly safe. He had to constantly be aware of his surroundings. Usually, Lt. Surge would allow himself to relax, but after the news of what had happened on Cinnabar Island, that just wasn't going to happen.
It took some trial and error, because all of the doors and rooms looked basically identical to each other, but Lt. Surge was eventually able to find Sabrina's room. He had expected her to still be asleep. It may not be extremely early in the morning anymore, but it was still an hour or two earlier than when she usually woke up. So Lt. Surge was surprised when he entered her room and saw that she was awake and sitting in her bed. This surprise was soon replaced by concern when he saw the state that she was in.
"Sabrina!" Lt. Surge ran over to her bed and knelt at the side of it. Sabrina was completely still and unresponsive. She was sitting on her bed, her legs drawn close to her. Lt. Surge's first thought was that she was in the middle of a vision, but he had never seen her in this state when she was having a vision. Sabrina's cheeks were wet with tears, and her eyes were glossy and distant. Sabrina was breathing harshly, with occasional sobs getting caught in her throat.
Lt. Surge didn't know exactly how to help her, but he had to help. He hesitated for just a moment before he gently took Sabrina's hands in his own. "Hey, hey, I need you to look at me, okay?" Lt. Surge freed one of his hands while still holding Sabrina's with his other. He put a hand on Sabrina's face and encouraged her to turn to him. "Can you hear me? Look at me if you can understand me."
Sabrina didn't respond for a few tense moments, but she eventually blinked and turned her gaze slightly so that she was looking directly into Lt. Surge's eyes instead of slightly to the left. Lt. Surge smiled encouragingly. "There are those pretty purple eyes." Lt. Surge could never tell what color Sabrina's eyes were. Sometimes they were blue, sometimes they were pink. And sometimes they were a purple inbetween color. That was Lt. Surge's personal favorite.
Sabrina took in a shuddering breath. "...Matis?"
Lt. Surge smiled gently. "Yeah, it's me." He gently stroked Sabrina's cheek, wiping away the tear tracks. "You're okay. I'm here." Lt. Surge knew that something must be wrong, because Sabrina was always insistent on being a professional. She normally refused to call him by his first name, so the very fact that he did meant that something was seriously wrong.
Sabrina bit her lip and leaned closer towards Lt. Surge so quickly that he practically had to catch her before she could fall off her bed and hurt herself. Lt. Surge wondered if Sabrina had gotten dizzy all of a sudden, but when he heard her sobbing into his shoulder, he knew that it wasn't the case.
"What's going on?" Lt. Surge was taken aback. Sabrina was not normally the kind of person who went looking for physical comfort, and yet that was exactly what she was doing. Well, strange or not, Lt. Surge didn't want to disappoint her. "Hey, it's okay." Lt. surge slowly got up and then sat down on the bed to make things easier for both of them. He drew Sabrina close and held her protectively. "It's okay."
"N-no, i-it's not." Sabrina muttered. "It's wrong. I-it's all w-wrong." Sabrina stiffened. "Mewtwo, it...he…" Sabrina let out a wounded cry and Lt. Surge tightened his grip on her. "I-it hurts!"
"I know." Lt. Surge stroked her hair. "I know." She had mentioned Mewtwo. Lt. Surge now all but knew that something had gone horribly wrong with the research on Cinnabar Island. The explosion. Sabrina's terror. Mewtwo. It was all connected. He just didn't know how.
A small knock on the doorframe interrupted his thoughts. Lt. Surge looked to see Janine watching them. Her expression was closed off, but Lt. Surge could see a hint of sympathy in her eyes.
"What's up, little ninja girl?" Lt. Surge asked. Janine's mouth twitched at the nickname. She always pretended to be annoyed by it, but Lt. Surge knew that she secretly enjoyed it.
"Giovanni wishes to speak with the two of you." Janine said. She looked at Sabrina. "I can prepare some tea, if you like."
"Tea would be great." Lt. Surge knew that when Sabrina was stressed, Koga would make her some tea to relax her. She didn't necessarily like tea, but it worked wonders to calm her down. Janine nodded and left the room.
"Alright, come on." Lt. Surge put an arm around Sabrina's back, and hooked the other under her knees. Making sure to still hold her close, Lt. Surge stood up and held Sabrina in his arms bridal style. "Let's go see what the boss wants.
Sabrina frowned. "I can walk, you know." Despite her protest, Sabrina had already wrapped her arms around Lt. Surge's neck to steady herself.
"Sure, but what's the point of doing that if I can just carry you?" Lt. Surge smirked. Sabrina rolled her eyes, but she didn't complain any more, so Lt. Surge took this as a sign that he wasn't going to get attacked for doing this. Feeling inexplicably proud of himself, Lt. Surge adjusted his grip on Sabrina and made his way out into the hallway so they could see what their boss wanted with them.
When they got back to the main room it was to find Koga and Giovanni waiting for them. Koga raised an eyebrow at them when he saw Sabrina being carried by Lt. Surge, but he didn't say anything. Giovanni didn't even glance in their direction. The boss of Team Rocket looked distracted and tense, and if Lt. Surge hadn't already known that what had happened on Cinnabar Island was something serious, he would have figured as much when he saw the man. Giovanni was one of the most professional men that Lt. Surge knew. The man always seemed to be completely in charge of any given situation, even when he wasn't. Lt. Surge had never seen Giovanni look so caught off guard. It was rather worrying.
After Lt. Surge had set Sabrina down and then taken a seat himself, Giovanni began. "I assume you're already aware of what's going on?" Giovanni eyed them all critically, just daring one of them to admit their ignorance of the situation. None of them did. While they may not know everything, they all had a decent guess. Something had gone wrong with the research on Cinnabar Island. That was all they were really expected to know.
The three of them nodded. Giovanni looked at them all carefully, as though he was judging just how truthful they were being. After a tense moment, he seemed to decide that whatever they knew had to be good enough, because he continued. "The research on Cinnabar Island has reached a critical phase. A helicopter is already on its way to pick me up and take me there so I can clean up the mess myself."
Giovanni's voice was even and calm, but Lt. Surge could see the uncertainty in his eyes. He didn't know just how serious the situation was any more than the rest of them did. That was the reason why he was headed to Cinnabar Island, so that he could see things for himself. A part of Lt. Surge was tempted to do the same thing, while another part of him was screaming at him to stay as far away from the danger as he possibly could.
"I need the three of you to stay here." Giovanni said. "Be ready for an assignment at any time." This brought Lt. Surge back. It had been a long time since he had been in this situation, told to sit in the sidelines until he was needed. Lt. Surge had never really been fond of this waiting game, but it was better than being part of the exposable groups that were thrown into dangerous situations, just to double check that things were, indeed, dangerous.
"...Are we to continue training the boy while you're gone?" Koga asked hesitantly. Lt. Surge looked at his companion strangely, because why was that the first question that he thought to ask? Giovanni also gave Koga a strange look, though it was more suspicious than confused.
"Ash shall be coming with me." Giovanni said. "He's getting his things now."
Lt. Surge was shocked, and he could tell that Sabrina was too. Ash, a ten year old boy who really shouldn't be involved in Team Rocket matters, was going with Giovanni to Cinnabar Island? Why? Lt. Surge had suspected that Giovanni would slowly try to introduce Ash to Team Rocket life, but bringing the kid to an island where top secret research had been happening, and where an explosion had been just earlier that day? Wasn't that just a bit much?
Evidently, Lt. Surge was not the only one that thought so.
"What?!" Koga looked at his boss in horrified disbelief. "You're not serious."
Giovanni's gaze hardened. "I'm completely serious." They all knew that he was, but none of them wanted to believe it. Lt. Surge had seen people's lives ruined because they were forced into dangerous circumstances at too young an age. For years he had tried to look past ones' age when he worked with them, because regardless of whether they were children or not, there was still a job to do.
Koga had no such experience.
"You can't take him!" Koga said loudly. The ninja rarely ever raised his voice, so he must really be serious about keeping the boy safe. "He's just a child."
"Silence!" Giovanni said in a low, cold voice, though it sounded much more intimidating than any shout could. Giovanni and Koga glared at each other for a moment. "I am going to Cinnabar Island. Ash is going with me. And you are to stay here." Giovanni repeated his orders. "Is this understood?"
Koga opened his mouth, most likely to tell their boss just what he thought of these orders. Before he could get the words out though, Lt. Surge put a hand over Koga's mouth, silencing him and holding him back.
"We understand, sir." Sabrina spoke for the three of them. Giovanni eyed all three of them for a few tense moments before they heard the whirring sound of an approaching helicopter. Giovanni couldn't have called it more than a few minutes ago, so it must have either been a very fast helicopter, or it had started nearby. Or both.
Giovanni gave them all a warning look before he pushed himself to his feet. "See that you do." He said shortly before he was up and out of the room.
Even after Giovanni had left, Lt. Surge kept a firm grip on Koga. He knew that the ninja rarely ever acted rashly and without thinking, but he didn't want to chance it. Koga was clearly very worried about Ash's safety, probably because of that annoying fatherly instinct of his. Lt. Surge had seen Koga get upset over times that their work for Team Rocket affected children, but this was the first time that he had dared to speak up to their boss about it. In some ways, Lt. Surge agreed with Koga, but that didn't mean that he thought it was a good idea to so blatantly question Giovanni. Not even Sabrina would dare to stand up to Giovanni about a matter like this.
"Calm down, ninja boy." Lt. Surge hissed as he tightened his grip on Koga. The ninja was doing his best to try to slip away from him, but Lt. Surge wasn't about to let go. "I get it, really, I do, but this isn't how you should do this." Lt. Surge couldn't think of any off the top of his head, but he knew that there were other ways to keep Ash safe rather than just going against their boss.
It took a few moments, but Koga eventually stopped trying to escape. He didn't relax, but Lt. Surge didn't think he had to worry as much about the ninja running off on him. "Okay...I'm going to let you go now, but you can't go running off on me, alright?" Lt. Surge waited for Koga to nod his head before he dared to loosen his grip.
Lt. Surge had been so desperate to calm and help his friend that for one crucial moment he had nearly forgotten who he was dealing with. Lt. Surge hadn't completely let go of Koga right away, he had done it slowly, but as soon as he wasn't restraining Koga's head anymore the ninja took advantage of the situation. Quickly, before Lt. Surge could even think about what he was doing, Koga threw his head back and hit him straight on in the nose.
Surprised and in pain, Lt. Surge accidentally released Koga completely. It was only for a moment, but that was long enough for Koga to run off out of the room after Giovanni.
Lt. Surge cursed under his breath and went after his friend. "Koga!" That ninja was going to get himself killed. Why did he have to be so darn protective and stubborn? Sometimes Lt. Surge prefered it back before Koga had become a father. The man had been distant, cold, stick in the mood who had been a pain in the butt to work with, but at least he never would have done anything like this.
Lt. Surge continued to curse Koga as he chased after him. Koga was more familiar with the gym than he was, so he knew the fastest way to get to the large courtyard, which was where Giovanni likely was. Koga was also a faster sprinter than Lt. Surge was. Normally this didn't bother the soldier, as he had more stamina than anybody else he knew, but stamina didn't do him much good when he just needed to get to his friend as quickly as he could.
Lt. Surge got lucky when he all but ran into Janine, who had been on her way to the main room where they had been. All Lt. Surge had to do was mention her father, and she pointed him in the right direction to go. Apparently Koga had also ran into her in his rush to get out.
Lt. Surge muttered his gratitude, as well as an apology, to Janine, and then he was off again. With her help, Lt. Surge was soon able to find his way into the courtyard where he not only found Koga, but Giovanni as well, and even though Koga couldn't have been there for more than a few minutes longer than a minute or two, the tension in the air was already thick enough that it could be cut with a knife.
Koga and Giovanni were staring each other down, just as they had been in the main room, except this time they both had a pokémon out, ready to attack if the situation called for it. If they just had their pokémon at their sides, Lt. Surge wouldn't have given it a second thought. People used pokémon as empty threats all the time. But as Koga's Arbok was right next to Giovanni, tense and ready to strike, and Giovanni's Nidoking was in much the same position except near Koga, Lt. Surge was pretty sure that these weren't just empty threats.
"Koga, what are you doing?" Lt. Surge clenched his fists, but he didn't dare move any closer. He didn't want to give either of the pokémon any reason to attack.
"What I should have done days ago." Koga said tensely without taking his eyes away from Giovanni. "We've been silent for long enough. It's about time one of us says what we're all too afraid to say."
"Koga, don't." Lt. Surge warned.
"No, please, continue." Giovanni said, his tone as even as careful as ever, though there was an unfamiliar fury in his eyes as well. "If you have something to say, Koga, say it now." Giovanni was just begging for Koga to rise to the bait and give his Nidoking a reason to attack. If Koga was in his right mind, he never would have even thought about letting himself get caught in such an obvious trap.
Unfortunately, Koga was about as far from being in his right mind as he could possibly be.
"You've taken this boy under your wing, and we all know it wasn't out of the goodness of your heart either." Koga said.
"Of course it wasn't." Giovanni scoffed at the very idea. "As you know full well, I believe the boy may be of use to me."
"Not just because of his potential connection to legendary pokémon." Koga said confidently, and Giovanni narrowed his eyes at him. "Did you think the rest of us failed to notice? Ash's age. His dedication to being the best trainer he can be. His eagerness to learning what he can from you. The similarities aren't obvious, but they are there."
"I'm warning you…" Giovanni's face twitched slightly and for once they could actually hear the anger in his words. Nidoking growled and tensed, ready to attack, but Koga didn't even flinch. If Koga dared to push him any further, who was to say what he would do as a result. But then, Koga had never been one to let caution stop him from doing what he had set his heart on doing.
"No, I'm warning you," Koga said sharply. "Do what you will on Cinnabar Island, but leave Ash out of it."
"You will not tell me what to do with my child!" Giovanni actually shouted.
"He's not your child!" Koga said just as loudly. "This game of pretend has gone on for long enough. Ash is not your child, and I will no longer sit idly by and watch you as destroy him the way you did Silver!"
A line had been crossed.
Humans weren't made to take hits the way that pokémon were. That much was painfully clear when Nidoking, at Giovanni's silent command, used double-edge on Koga. An audible snap was heard as at least one of the ninja's ribs broke under the pressure. Koga screamed in pain and fell to his knees, his arms wrapped protectively around his chest. Lt. Surge twitched and had to resist the urge to run to his friend. Giovanni was approaching Koga, and if Lt. Surge interfered, he might just make things worse for the both of them.
Giovanni spoke to Koga in a quiet tone that Lt. Surge couldn't hear from where he stood, but he could tell that it wasn't gentle. Koga didn't say anything in return, but his glare was response enough on its own. Giovanni, annoyed and furious, looked to his Nidoking and nodded. The pokémon harsly grabbed Koga's shoulder and pushed him down to the ground. Koga grimaced in pain at the movement, but that grimace soon turned into a sharp cry of agony as Nidoking put his foot on Koga's back and slowly began to increase the pressure.
Lt. Surge flinched and began to reach for his pokéballs before he even realized what he was doing. It was dangerous, and probably stupid, but he couldn't just stand here and watch as his friend got hurt.
Just before Lt. Surge was about to send out a pokémon to stop Nidoking, he felt a hand on his arm, there both to calm him, and restrain him.
"Sir, the situation on Cinnabar Island has escalated." Sabrina said shortly. She must have followed them out there.
Giovanni glared at Koga, who was lying on the ground in front of him, for a moment before he decided that he had other things to worry about. Giovanni returned Nidoking back into its pokéball and made his way to the other side of the clearing, where the helicopter was already waiting for him.
Lt. Surge briefly wondered if Ash was already on the helicopter. If he was, he likely hadn't seen or heard anything, or else he would have run out to stop the fighting. A part of Lt. Surge was glad that Ash was still unaware of just how messed up a situation he was in, because nobody deserved this kind of thing. Another part of him almost wished that Ash had heard them, because he knew the kid wouldn't dare go anywhere with Giovanni after the way he had hurt Koga.
Lt. Surge didn't think too much about Ash though. The second that Giovanni was in the helicopter Lt. Surge loosened his grip on his pokéball and ran to his friend's side.
"You idiot." Lt. Surge slowly helped Koga into a sitting position, wincing in sympathy at every pained grimace or groan that Koga made. "You stupid idiot. Why would you do that?" Koga had to have an idea of how Giovanni would react at his words.
"H-he's just a-a kid." Koga flinched when Lt. Surge started to lift his shirt so he could get a look at his chest. He couldn't help Koga if he didn't know how bad the damage was.
"I know." Lt. Surge sighed. It was hard to scold Koga for doing something so stupid when he had also been fairly tempted to do the exact same thing.
Koga looked up at Sabrina, he looked awkward and uncomfortable. "Are things o-on Cinnabar actually w-worse?"
Sabrina frowned slightly. "I suspect they are, but I don't know for sure." She admitted. "It was just the only thing I could think of to get the boss to stop before this one did something foolish as well." Sabrina gestured towards Lt. Surge, who just shrugged. He wasn't going to apologize for what he had been about to do. "Now, I suspect that you won't be satisfied with the attempt you just made?"
Koga shook his head. "I'm n-not letting Ash get sucked into this n-nonsense." Koga leaned on Lt. Surge for support as he tried to pull himself to his feet. Lt. Surge adjusted his position to help him better.
"And I'm not going to let you get yourself killed just because you feel like being noble." Lt. Surge said. "If you're going to go pretend to be a hero, you're not going to do it without me." Koga's small smile showed how much he appreciated the offered help.
Sabrina sighed. "You're both crazy, going against Giovanni's orders like this." She shook her head. "I suppose somebody will have to go with you to make sure you don't do anything foolish."
"So...We're all going to Cinnabar Island?" Lt. Surge asked, just to clarify. His two companions nodded and he smirked. "Great. And I think I know how to get us a ride."
A/N:...I hope that none of you were still holding onto the idea that I would end up redeeming Giovanni in this story. That's not what I'm doing, and that never was what I had planned on doing. I hope you guys aren't disappointed though, but I don't think it should come as that much of a shock that Giovanni is a bad guy.
To the one that guessed that in previous instances in this story I was talking about Silver, mega brownie points to you. I was so happy that my hints and vagueness were understood by at least one of you, but not so obvious that it took all the suspense out of the matter.
For those who don't know (so, for anybody who is only familiar with the anime), Silver is a character from Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, though it isn't until HG and SS is it revealed that he is Giovanni's son. I honestly don't know how much you guys know about things that aren't from the anime (I was actually surprised at how many people were shocked at how many Gym Leaders were in Team Rocket, which is in the Pokémon Adventures Mange), so I thought I would explain that, just in case.