"Executive Petrel. Executive Green." Giovanni's eyes flickered between his two top officers. Green could practically see the gears turning in them, feeling the two of them being compared. "I'm happy to see you both well."

He had called Green in for a meeting, which in Fuschia meant a ninja broke into her home and scared the bejesus out of her when she was trying to finally squeeze time for a nap. Green had to be talked down from bringing a loaded gun to the meeting as a result.

"Likewise, boss," Green said, performing a short bow.

Petrel broke off into theatrical adulations. "Truly it is my greatest pleasure to perform any task you give me to my greatest ability, sir. You're the future of Kanto, and being of any use to you is my greatest priority—"

Green tuned Petrel's obnoxious brown-nosing out and instead took a moment to appreciate Giovanni's office, situated in one of the larger homes in Fuchsia's housing district. Giovanni was evidently a minimalist; his table was kept neat and tidy, and there was no decoration besides a single photo of a young boy with red hair. Green stared at the photo, curious. The boy had Giovanni's thin smile…

"—I'm grateful for the opportunity you've given me. Under your shining example, I know that Kanto's future is bright indeed—"

"Boss, with all due respect," Green finally interrupted. "May we get to the meeting? I'm sure your boots are clean enough by now."

Petrel went red, but Giovanni merely laughed. "She has a point, Petrel. Idle flattery won't get you far. It's men and women of action who impress me."

Petrel stuttered a quick apology, and Green used his lack of confidence as an opportunity. "What can we do for you, sir?"

"I've decided to greenlight the rescue mission you've been requesting."

Green's mouth fell open in surprise, but this was nothing compared to Petrel's reaction, who looked as though he were sure Giovanni lost his mind.

"Sir,with all due respect I thought we agreed that seeking out our misplaced allies was a waste of time and resources," he protested. "We're poised to strike Silph in less than a month, and we have more than enough assets—"

"I'm quite aware of what my stance on the subject was," Giovanni explained. "But Koga's spies have informed us that many of our men are at Icefall prison, so it won't be a wild Yungoos chase."

"Well…" Petrel chewed the inside of his lip. "I suppose that your considerable skill, combined with Koga and his Ninjas…"

"Oh no," Giovanni smirked, leaning forward in his chair. "We'll be far too busy planning for our assault on the Silph Headquarters. I'm leaving the prison break up to the both of you."

His eyes flitted to Green, and finally everything clicked.

"What? But there's no way that us alone..."

Green rolled her eyes, speaking over Petrel's ramblings. "Understood, sir. Thank you for finally offering me this opportunity."

"If this fails," Giovanni warned. "There will be no second chances, Green."

"I'm well aware of that," Green said softly, doing all she could to keep the murder out of her eyes. "I won't be failing you, sir. What kind of time frame do I have?"

"Within the next three days. As Petrel put, we're on a tight schedule."

"Good to know. Will that be all?"

Giovanni stared at her, evidently nonplussed by her casual acceptance. "So, you'll go through with it, then?"

"If that's all you have to stay on the matter." Green turned to leave. "C'mon, Petrel. Our boss has enough on his plate without a puddle of your urine on the floor."


Petrel was a blubbering mess as soon as they were outside of Giovanni's house.

"What could Giovanni possibly be thinking? This is a suicide mission! We have no chance—"

"Which is the point." Green gave him a look of disgust. "And to think I thought you were at least a little bit smart. I've been pestering him for this mission for months now. He thinks if I try and bomb this badly I'll be too humiliated to ever speak out against him again."

"That's all well and good," Petrel muttered. "But why on earth did I have to be roped in as well?!"

"Because you're a slimy asshole and no one likes you? Boss probably thought he could kill two Pidgey with one stone."

"Then what do we do?" Petrel asked, his expression pleading. "How do we get out of this?"

"Oh, we're not getting out of anything," Green gave him a smug smirk. "I fully plan on proving Giovanni wrong."


Green's basement, which she liked to call her "War Room", was better designed for throwing parties than strategic meetings. Indeed, there wasn't much formality; all of her maps had been set on a pool table that Ross was still playing on, Charles was far more interested in watching The Sopranos and inhaling pizza on her comfy corner couch, and Green was pretty sure Yellow was actually napping. At least Janine was watching her with rapt attention; that was a comfort.

"Guys, focus," Green snapped. "I know it's been a slow going lately, but can we try for a bit of discipline?"

"I'm awake!" Yellow snorted, sitting up straight in her chair, which almost caused her to lose balance. She steadied her chair with her psychic powers. "See?"

"C'mon, it can't be that important," Charles said, not looking away from the TV. "What do we gotta do, more community service? Clean up after the Pokémon in the zoo?"

"That sounds fun!" Yellow chirped.

Charles threw her an alarmed look. "No, it doesn't!"

"Actually," Green said, loud enough to quiet the chatter. "Giovanni told me that he was greenlighting the Icefall Rescue Operation. We have a hell of a lot to plan."

This caused an interesting reaction.

"Yes! Oh, Green, this is amazing!" Janine practically tackled her in a hug. "We've been planning this thing for ages now!"

"Wait, Icefall prison?" Ross said. "What dumbass would ever even try to break into that place?"

"Us," Green said. "Thanks to Janine's reconnaissance—thanks, babe—we know that virtually everyone in Rocket we've lost is there. Our psychics have been manipulating the memories of the people the police have captured, so it makes sense that they want them in a more fortified position that's virtually impossible to breach."

Ross put down his pool stick. "Yeah, impossible to breach. That includes us, doesn't it?"

Green gave him a smile that promised wickedness. "Oh, my sweet imbécil, of course that doesn't include us. Like Janine said, we have a plan."

"Did you just call me an imbecile in Spanish?"

"Maybe. Now, shut up and listen because we have a lot of explaining to do. Janine, do you have the documents?"

A folder containing the fruit of months' planning, maps and statistics and notes and strategies, struck Green in the face. She gave Janine a death glare.

Janine smiled innocently. "Yes, I have the documents." She pointed at the papers that had spilled all over the pool table. "See?"

"Janine, one of these days I'm going to give into my repressed rage and choke you."

"Ooh, kinky."

"Bad Janine! You know you're not allowed to be horny in the War Room!" Green growled, though a hint of laughter managed to escape as well. "Look, as anyone with basic geography knowledge knows—"

"I don't!" Yellow piped up. "I was raised in the wilderness, so I really only know Viridian Forest."

"And bro, you think Ross and I know shit about geography?"Charles snapped, gesturing to himself and Ross. "We're blued colored as shit, I dropped out of high school."

"Actually, I'm a college graduate," Ross said. "I have a PHD in psychology. I minored in marine biology but that kind of turned out to be a waste."

"Seriously, a PHD?" Janine let out a long whistle. "So that would make you Doctor... Wait, what's your last name anyway?"

Ross raised an eyebrow, looking almost offended. "We've known each other for years and you don't know my last name?"

"I'm sorry! Once you forget you just feel awkward about it and too embarrassed to bring it up, okay?"

"All right, all right. My last name is Wich."

"Hey. Hey, Janine," Yellow said, breaking into a fitful of giggles before she could deliver her line. "Does that make him a Wich Doctor?"

Janine and Yellow cackled, leaning on one another for support. Green rolled her eyes.

"Guys, suicide mission, remember?"

This sobered everyone quickly.

"Jeez, thank you," Ross muttered, now bright red. "Can we stop getting off on tangents—?"

"Oh, and by the way!" Green snapped. "That pun doesn't make sense because that's not how you pronounce 'Wich'. Just because the reader can't tell what the pronunciation is doesn't mean you can exploit them to make a shitty joke!"

"All right, all right, sheesh, I get it," Yellow said, raising her hands in surrender while Janine continued to snicker.

"Can we get to the part where we figure out how we're not going to die?" Charles said. "I'm very concerned about that part."

"Fair enough," Green said. She spread out one of the maps over the pool table. "The Sevii Archipelago exists of nine islands, the biggest being Icefall Island, which is our target. They're pretty far south, so we'll need to teleport to get close enough."

Pulling out a marker, she drew a circle around the biggest of the islands. "The caves on Icefall Island have been renovated to hold prisoners, and it's pretty well defended thanks to, well, you know, us."

"We are a pretty big threat," Janine said, smirking as she punched her open fist.

"That we are," Green agreed, giving Janine a grin of her own. "There are four tower patrols bordering the prison, and a small army of guards. I mean 'army' literally. Janine unfortunately couldn't find a way into the cave, so while we have the outside mapped out, we have no idea what the interior is like, and it's supposed to be a maze, and on top of that…"

She bit her lip wondering if there was any way to soften the next bit of news, because it was a doozy. "Lorelei of the Elite Four is in charge of security."

Green was met with blank stares. She paused to let that information sink in.

"So," came a new voice. "It is impossible, then?"

Will, the masked psychic who had offered fealty to Green when she declared her intention to usurp Giovanni's title, talked so little that Green often forgot he was there. Evidently, he had found the popcorn machine, as a few kernels flew telekinetically into his mouth from the box he was holding.

Yellow nodded in sympathy. "It does sound pretty bad, Green."

"It's not impossible. Like I said, I have a plan." Green cleared her throat. "The Sevii Archipelago is pretty distant from Kanto, even despite technically being part of the territory. Law enforcement as a result is split between each island, and not particularly equipped to deal with serious threats on their own. Against a considerable force, they'd require aid from Icefall, which basically serves as a home base."

She drew circles around each island on the map. "We're going to divide into squads to cause some chaos on each island. Like I said, local law enforcement isn't particularly impressive, so you should have an easy time of it."

"Oh, I get it," Yellow said. "We force them to divert their intention from Icefall to send reinforcements, weakening their home defense."

"Which allows for our main strike team to have an easier time getting access into the prison," Green said. "I'll make sure everyone has a rendezvous point so all of us can escape before being overwhelmed. No casualties, unless shit really goes south."

"This still sounds dangerous to me, Greenie," Ross said. "Sure, you'll be diverting enemy attention, but scattering our forces leaves us weaker as well. You seriously think you can win a pitched battle under those conditions?"

"Of course not," Green said. "In fact, I want our strike team to be as tiny as possible. Will, Janine, Yellow and I will be the only ones infiltrating the cave. I have no intentions of being bogged down in combat. Of course, ideally I'd be given a team of ninjas to make the stealth job easier—"

"But there's no way my dad would go for it," Janine said, shaking her head sadly. "He already thinks even attempting the rescue mission is a waste of time and resources."

"And so does Giovanni," Green said. "We're absolutely expected to fail this mission, but we're going to succeed despite the odds. Nothing's stopped us before, so we won't start now."

She was lying through her teeth; she was genuinely terrified about their chances, but apparently, she was a good enough actor to convince her friends they stood a chance. They were already nodding, steeling themselves…

"You still fail to mention the Donphan in the room," Will said. Green could not see his eyes, but she could tell by his tone that he was still skeptical. "Lorelei. She's much more powerful than all four of us, and I doubt she'll be foolish enough to be baited to leave Icefall."

"Firstly, she's not more powerful than all of us. Yellow is a living nuke when she wants to be—"

"And risks being severely injured in the process!" Will countered.

"I thought you two were working on that!" Green bit her lip, staring at Yellow, who suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"We are," Yellow said. "But I don't know, Green. If I use too much of my power at once… I'm worried I'll just end up being a liability, using Mew's power really puts a strain on my body."

"Well, can you control how much of it you use?" Green said, trying to keep desperation out of her tone. She was really counting on Yellow's abilities for the mission.

"I…." Yellow closed her eyes. "Y-yes. I think so. If I can exercise some sort of restraint, I think I'll be okay."

"Good." Green turned back to Will. "Look, if all goes well, we'll avoid Lorelei entirely. This is a stealth mission, and it's not like she's a master of espionage."

"Yes, but if we're forced to—"

"If we're forced to fight her, we'll handle it," Green said firmly. "We've got Yellow's powers. Janine's a good battler; Koga taught her everything he knew. You were one of Sabrina's Gym Trainers, yeah?"

Will nodded hesitantly. "Well… yes."

"Then you must know your way around a battle as well. I'm not a bad Trainer either, if I do say so myself. I'm not saying we can beat her, but the four of us should still be able to hold our own.

"Guys, I can't make it more clear how vital this mission is. This is the chance to show Rockets who sacrificed everything for their cause that they are not going to be abandoned, thrown away. That's how we prove we're better than Giovanni, through action. Yeah, it's risky, but holy shit, guys, everything we do these days is risky.

"If you say so," Will said, finally resigning, and Green let out a silent breath of relief. Will was often the most critical of her leadership. If she could convince him they had a chance, she could convince anyone.

"Alright then, get some rest. We're gonna spend the next couple days training so we have the procedure down pat when we make our move." Green stood up. "Any more questions?"

No one had any. Charles and Ross were already making plans of heading to the bar, already talking about the incoming mission like it had already happened; no doubt expecting it to be a spectacular success. Will was dragging Yellow away for training.

Leaving Green to bang her head against the table as soon as they were gone.

Janine patted the back of her head sympathetically. "That speech really took a lot out of you, huh?"

Green let out an unintelligible moan.

"Alright, let's get you up." Janine grunted, pulling Green to her feet. "Jeez, you look exhausted."

"Yeah, well, I feel exhausted too," Green said with a tired chuckle. "Looking the part is well warranted. I'm sure I look hideous right now."

"You always look beautiful to me, Green." Janine offered a small smile, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Even when you're about to pass out."

Green giggled. "I'd return the compliment, but I see four of you right now, and I want to flirt with the right one."

"C'mon, sleepyhead," Janine said, letting Green lean on her so she could help her up the stairs. "Time to get you into bed."


Janine had been trained by her father since she was a little girl. He had taught her how to escape any trap, sneak her way out of any danger. He'd call her his slippery little eel on more than one occasion.

Unfortunately, she had not been trained to escape being used as a pillow, and Green had an iron grip when she wanted to cuddle.

So, there Janine lay, on Green's bed, resembling a human teddy bear with Green snuggled into her shoulder. Fast asleep already.

Janine let out a small, disappointed sigh. She wanted so badly to just drift off, but unfortunately she had work to do.

Janine's fingers slipped under Green's armpit, tickling her. Green moaned in discomfort, loosening her grip to swat at Janine, giving her the chance to slip out of the bed.

"Yes!" Janine let out a hissing whisper of elation. "Janine: Master Ninja. The best escape artist around—"

She drove her foot into Green's bedside table.

"Fuck! Ow! That smarts!" Janine howled, clutching her injured foot. Not realizing she was hopping towards the window, she tripped, lost her balance, and tumbled backwards, out into the open air.

Fortunately, she knew how to land on her feet. Unfortunately, Koga, who had been standing outside Green's house, had apparently seen everything. He was snickering openly at her.

"Daaaaad!" Janine whined. "Stop using your ninja skills to watch me embarrass myself!"

"You make it too easy, sweetie," Koga said, still chuckling. "These days wherever Green is, you're never far behind."

"Yeah, well, you're a creep for standing outside of my friend's house at 3 AM!" Janine pouted. "Bad look, dad."

"I only came to see if I could find you. This just happened to be the most likely place." Janine didn't miss the bitterness in his voice, and she flinched.

"What do you have against Green, anyway?" she muttered.

Koga's bushy eyebrow rose. "Nothing. I am sure she's a lovely person. But I will not deny that I'm not pleased with how much power she's accumulated in such a short time. She's young, and very proactive, and I believe that to be a dangerous combination."

"Well, given her string of successes—"

"I have no comment speaking to her competency," Koga interrupted. "In fact she's probably much more deserving of her title than most of our other executives. I worry about her ambition. In truth, she reminds me of Giovanni when he was her age."

"Giovanni? But you worship Giovanni."

"I only worship the Fire of Life," Koga corrected. "But I admire Giovanni because of his experience in leadership. He has proven over the years that he can make difficult, necessary decisions. Green, on the other hand, is an idealist."

Koga suddenly straightened, resembling the strict teacher he was when he had taught Janine personally. "What is the Ninjas' mantra regarding idealism?"

"Idealism is a lie," Janine said without hesitation. It was so ingrained in her that the words had just sprung to her lips immediately. "The Ninja recognize that ideals must be preserved by necessary action."

"Precisely." Koga gestured for Janine to walk with him, and she quickly fell in line. "Our methods are perhaps ruthless, but with a worthy enough cause, such ruthlessness is justified. It's not pretty; that's why we stay in the shadows."

He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to lecture. Please stop me when I get like this."

Janine laughed. "No worries, dad."

"In truth, I wanted to find you because I was worried." Koga's eyebrows knit together. "You are… sure you want to be part of the Icefall rescue mission?"

"Yes," Janine said, her jaw set tight. "I'm an important part of the plan. Besides, I'm not a fan of Giovanni sending Green out on a mission he doesn't think she can win."

Koga hesitated. "I'm not pleased about it either if we're being honest. I am not sure why Giovanni is humoring Green at all. It seems a total waste."

"So, we're not going to make this mission a waste. We'll just have to win."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Janine could tell Koga wasn't convinced, but he was holding his tongue.

"You know, I can tell you're hiding something, Janine."

Janine's blood ran cold. "You can? What, are your Ninja senses tingling?"

"No, my father senses are tingling. In fact, whatever you have planned, you are hiding it well. But you've never been able to hide your emotions, and I can tell you're miserable."

"Do you trust me, dad? That I have our clan's best interests at heart?"

Koga nodded. "Without question."

"Then you're going to need to trust me." Janine steeled herself, becoming hard as iron. "I'm invoking our first rule of code."

"First rule of…" Koga's eyes widened. "When performing duty, a Ninja is at their truest. No one can interfere, not even—"

"You'll know everything when Executive Proton arrives." Janine bowed. "Know that everything I do is for the good of our clan."

She left him there, staring openmouthed, but stopped for a moment when he called after her.

"Even still…" Koga seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "I-I'm your father. If you need someone to talk to—"

"I'm afraid not, father." Janine turned to give him a sad smile. "It's as you said; our duty must come first above all else, even before our relationship as father and daughter."

Koga had nothing else left to say.


Yellow sprung back, landing on her hands to dodge the rock that slammed into the dirt in front of her. Two more flew at her from her right and left, forcing her to perform a spinning flip to dodge. The stones froze in the air, compelled by her psychic power. With a grunt of effort, she threw them back at Will, who was standing at the ready.

Smirking Will stepped to the side, the first stone passing over his shoulder. He stretched out his hand, and the second was halted, inches away from his face.

Yellow landed on one knee, taking slow, calming breaths. Her head throbbed with pain, but she managed to ignore it.

"Good," Will said. He tossed the stone back to her with his mind. "Find your balance. Do not overextend. Don't waste your considerable might."

Yellow nodded, catching the stone with her mind and hurling it back. Will's favorite exercise was a telekinetic version of catch; the rock flying back and forth between the two psychics to mediate Yellow's power. They had spent the last few weeks training in the Safari Zone, where they were sure they would never be bothered. It was a nice spot by a pond, under a canopy of trees. Pokémon used to come to watch, curious, but they tended to leave quickly once Yellow inevitably began to scream out from the pain.

"Slow it down," Will said, and Yellow's breath hitched as she willed herself to put less pressure on the rock she was tossing at him. "You've been making good progress."

"Thank you." Yellow shot Will a grin. "I've been… you know. Working really hard at it."

And just like that Yellow's head split open from the pain. Her eyes squeezed shut, and what was once green was pink, pink flames swarming around her, trapping her…

"You're not improving fast enough, Yellow. Not fast enough to save Kanto."

"I'm trying!" Yellow was not sure if she was screaming out loud or simply in her own head, but she did not care. The pain was too much. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but they burned her skin. "I'll do anything you want, just stop!"

"It isn't about what I want, Yellow. I am gone. But your job remains. I cannot stop, not until your job is finished. I'm with you always. Be better."

"Stop!" Yellow screamed again, forcing her eyes open. The stone had been blown to smithereens.

Yellow's legs gave out, and she winced as her bare knees hit the wet grass. Trembling fingers reached for her face, discovering that she hadn't actually been crying. She let out a few shaking gasps.

Will was looking down at her, his mouth a thin, disappointed line. "You haven't been listening to what I'm teaching."

"I'm sorry, I try to…" Yellow said quietly. "Mew's voice is just louder sometimes. I'll be better, I promise."

"You don't have a choice," was Will's cold response. He was walking away from her, leaving her alone under the canopy. "That will be all for tonight. We don't want you to burn yourself out."

Yellow stayed still for a long time after he was gone, hugging her knees. She considered letting her Pokemon out but decided against it.

"I have to do this alone." Closing her eyes, she began to lift another rock. Immediately, the headaches began to plague her again.

But she did not stop all night. Not even when she was hacking up blood.