Jason Creight awoke to the sound of the train stopping.
"Nuts," he muttered.
*Time to get to work. Too bad; I could've used the sleep.*
He looked over at the other bed in his room and saw that his roommate was already up and about.
"Good sleep, Creight?" Viper asked.
"Not really," Jason answered. "You?"
"Didn't sleep a wink," the young Shadow clan trainee responded, pulling his backpack over his shoulders. "After hearing about this kind of thing, I don't know how you could possibly sleep."
"Maybe because Koga's gym isn't my home," Jason replied. "No offense."
"None taken. But we're disembarking soon; you'll need your Gengar."
"Yeah, thanks." Jason pulled his capture ball belt off the hangar rack next to his cot-like bed, removed Gengar's ball, and opened it in his hand. "Come on out, Gengar."
The train's destination was Lavender Town. It was on its route around Kanto and Johto; it had several stopping points, and one of them happened to be just west of Lavender Town.
And Jason thought back to why they had come here.
***
After encountering each other, Jason and the Shadows returned to Viridian City.
"You'd better be right about your information," said Wolf.
"I've got no reason to lie to you. I already told you I don't like Giovanni, much less work for him," Jason responded.
"I think that's still up for debate. We'll see about your true motives soon enough."
"I'm showing you my motives, Wolf. Whether you want to believe it or not is your business. But think about this. Why would I lead you on to a place you'd most likely go anyway? I mean, Viridian's bound to have someone from Team Rocket inhabiting its streets, wouldn't you think?"
"You were sneaky enough to evade the police on many occasions, and then lead them into arrests of other parties. Maybe you've still got a grudge against us about the incident at the motel."
Jason turned to look at Wolf and stopped his wheelchair. "I do have a grudge, but at the very least, I'm willing to work with you. Now, let's settle this. You got a problem?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Wolf answered. "Your family has a background in evildoing. I don't trust you any more than I trust Giovanni. And to be perfectly honest, I don't like you much, either."
"The feeling's mutual," said Jason. "You've been looking down on me ever since we met. Either there's more that you hate about me that you're willing to admit, or you've got a serious superiority complex."
Wolf's eyes flashed, but he didn't respond.
"My turn. If you had bothered to check around instead of arrogantly assuming that I must be working for that oily-haired jackal, you would have found that I want nothing to do with him. You could have done something as simple as take your investigation to Pallet Town and asked anyone there about me. They would have told you the truth, and about my motives. You might have found yourself an ally who liked you a whole lot more than he does right now. In my eyes, coming after me as quickly as you did makes you nothing more than an airheaded wannabe hero."
"Maybe. But at least this airheaded wannabe hero can walk. As opposed to the airheaded wannabe hero sitting in front of me."
Jason permitted himself no reaction outwardly. Inside, he was fuming. He didn't know what Wolf wanted from him, but Jason knew he'd never be able to show it to him in either of their lifetimes.
He turned back toward the walk and started moving again.
*There's as much love lost between me and Wolf as there is between me and Giovanni.*
***
The Rocket grunt was feeling down in the dumps tonight. After all, all he had was his Raticate. And, truth be told, it could be smacked down by just about any of the wild Pokemon out there. And after that little attempt at stealing that cripple's Pokemon had gone awry, he knew it couldn't get much worse than this.
*What I wouldn't give for a little action,* he thought.
And suddenly, he found himself floating five feet off the ground.
He gave a short, sharp bark of a scream, and looked for something to grab onto.
But there wasn't anything within reach.
He looked down...
And saw four kids looking up at him.
One of them had his palms open and pointed in his direction.
*He's psychic!* the grunt thought, panicking. *What did I do this time?!*
"We want to ask you a few questions," said Neo.
"Let me down!" the grunt yelled. "Let me down!"
"Will you answer my questions?"
"Yeah! Anything!"
"Who do you get your orders from?"
"Some executive! I don't know her name!"
"Where is she located?"
"Lavender Town! Somewhere in the radio tower! I think the basement! That's all I know!"
And he abruptly fell to the ground.
His head knocked against the alley wall.
He lost consciousness.
***
Jason stared at Wolf, amazed. *If I'd known he could do that, I'd never have argued with him. That explains how I was knocked over at Tohjo Falls.*
Wolf, for his part, was showing slight signs of strain on his face. *Maybe he doesn't do that all that often. Either that, or the guy had too many tacos tonight.*
Jason noticed that, not surprisingly, Neo and Viper were not the slightest bit outwardly impressed with this. He decided they must have seen it a lot during their travels.
"Think he was telling the truth?" he asked.
"Yeah. He was too freaked out not to have," said Wolf.
"You're sure?"
"Reasonably. Grunts are weak-minded. They'll rat out anyone, given enough time."
"Let's hope your confidence is justified."
Wolf scoffed. "Let's go. We're finished here."
***
That was how they'd ended up in Lavender Town.
Jason hoped that they wouldn't run into much trouble while in the building.
According to Wolf, the plan was for the Shadow boys to go in and split up once they got downstairs. Jason would hang around outside the building just in case the exec tried to escape.
*If there was any doubt that Wolf didn't like me, it's gone now,* Jason thought. *On the other hand, it makes sense for me to stay outside. It's not as if access to a Rocket base would be easy for someone in a wheelchair.*
The Shadows and Jason made their way to the radio tower. It wasn't a long trek; the tower was only a couple hundred yards away. As they approached the doors, Jason brought his wheelchair to a halt. "This is my stop."
"So it is," said Wolf. "It may be best if you get on your Skarmory and take to the air. If the exec tries to escape, she might do so from any part of the building, and obviously you can't see all of it when you're parked on the ground. Neither can you chase her down in a wheelchair."
"True," said Jason, trying to ignore the contempt in Wolf's last comment.
The Shadows entered the building.
***
As the Shadows made their way through the building, Viper turned to Wolf and said, "Jason's right. You have a serious problem with him, and whatever it is, it isn't helping us be a team."
"My problem with him is none of your concern."
"It is when it keeps us from being able to work together effectively."
Wolf and Viper stared each other down for a moment.
Finally, Wolf said, "We need to concentrate on finding the exec."
"Oh, yeah," said Viper, "avoiding it is really gonna help."
Wolf glared at his younger brother. "Now, you listen to me. I do indeed have a problem with him, and I will take it up with him in the fullness of time. In the meantime, I would advise you to keep the mission in mind for the duration."
"Fine."
As the Shadows continued down the hall, Neo spotted a computer lab on the left side. "Hey, what about using those to find the exec?"
Wolf snorted. "You think Team Rocket's database is in a computer lab on the upper levels?"
"No, but if we used my Porygon, it could track transmissions from the exec's computer and find out where she is."
Wolf considered for a moment. "Good idea. Do it."
***
Jason was beginning to feel eminently bored, even though flying around on his Pokemon was as fun as ever. What was there to do, when there was no one escaping?
*Besides,* he thought, *if they truly are part of the Shadow clan, they should be able to reach the exec without an alarm being raised.*
***
"Looks like Porygon found something." Neo sat down at the terminal.
"What have we got?" Viper asked.
"It says here that a transmission is being sent from one of the computers in the sub-basement to Viridian City."
"Can Porygon open up the channel for us?" asked Wolf.
"It's trying, but the transmission is heavily encrypted."
"Then use the line to get into the computer on this end."
"Good idea."
Even as Neo was typing in the instructions, Porygon was already moving through cyberspace to comply.
***
"They wanted what?!"
"They wanted to know who I took my orders from."
"And you told them?!"
"I was freaked out! One of them was psychic! He took the information from me!"
"This compromises our whole operation! The boss gave us strict instructions! He told us, and we told you, that all members of Team Rocket need to go into hiding for the time being, and here you go and blow the entire thing! What if those kids come looking for me?!"
"It's not my problem anymore, lady."
"I promise you that you will pay for this!"
The screen was deactivated, leaving the disgruntled Rocket exec in the darkness of the sub-basement.
And then the screen reactivated.
"What?" The exec looked up at the screen, confused. "Damn computer; that's the fourth time this week it's had problems."
But this was no ordinary problem brought on by malfunction. The exec's heart skipped a beat when an image came to life on the screen.
The image of a Porygon.
Then a warning flashed across the screen. "Virus Detected!"
A second warning flashed. "Intruder Alert!"
And to top it off, a nearby voice said, "Vileplume, sleep powder."
That was the last thing the exec heard before dropping into the ether of unconsciousness.
***
When she came to, the exec discovered that she was in a room even darker than the one her terminal was siuated in. She'd been bound to a chair, and in front of her stood three dark figures wearing black cloaks. Hoods concealed their identities, but they were undubtedly the ones who had done this to her.
"We're going to play a simple game," said Wolf. "I will ask you a question, and you will answer it."
"Let me out of here, you little brats!" snarled the exec. She struggled against her bonds.
"Such an attitude. Vileplume, stun spore."
Immediately, the exec's limbs all turned to jelly. She couldn't budge.
"Now, are you willing to play or not?"
"I'll never rat out the boss!"
"Oh, we know who your boss is," said Wolf. "It wasn't too hard for us to figure it out. But we want to know where he goes when he's not in his gym."
"You think I know this stuff?" the exec snorted. "The only one who would know that is the boss himself."
As if on cue, the computer terminal began to bleep.
"Not neccessarily true," said Neo, as he went to investigate. He sat down at the terminal, cracked his knuckles, and watched the screen. He grinned a moment later, though it couldn't be seen through the depths of his hood. "Looks like you won't have to play Twenty Questions after all. I've got what we need."
"Good. In that case, give her another shot of sleep powder, Vileplume."
The exec dropped off again.
Wolf reached into the closet the Shadows had stored her in and grabbed a spool of tape.
A few moments later, the Shadows left, and the exec was locked in the closet, incapable of speech.
"So where does he go?" asked Wolf.
"Whirlpool Islands," said Neo. "He enjoys catching some rays, apparently."
"Direct contrast to us," Wolf noted.
"Yup." Neo rolled up his sleeve and checked his watch. "We've got 28 hours before Koga's gym goes up in smoke. Hopefully, we'll have Giovanni convinced with time to spare."
"We'll see about that," said Wolf. "Right now, we ought to get going."
***
Jason saw the Shadows exit the building with considerably enlightened looks on their faces. "Skarmory, take us down."
As soon as Skarmory was within earshot of the boys, Wolf looked up and shouted, "Whirlpool Islands!"
Jason nodded, then said, "Skarmory, take us there!"
***
He was relaxing on the beach. There was nothing he enjoyed more than kicking back and relaxing, especially on a bright day like this. Though he couldn't deny the comfort of darkness, he also couldn't deny the comfort of the warmth the sun gave him.
And then a shadow passed overhead.
Two shadows, in fact.
He looked up through the tint of his sunglasses...
And saw two gigantic flying Pokemon hovering overhead.
One was some sort of metallic bird-like Pokemon that he didn't recognize. *Hah! Some sun and a rare Pokemon! What could be better?*
And then he recognized the other one.
It was a Dragonite.
He grinned. *It's a dream come true!*
And then he saw that there were people mounted on them.
A huge gust picked up all around him. He was sent flying from his seat.
As he recovered from the wind, he watched as three people approached him on foot, while the fourth stayed mounted on his Pokemon and led it to him.
The three figures were impossible to identify because they wore black cloaks and hoods.
He couldn't see the other one, either, because the shine of the sun off that Pokemon was overwhelming for his eyes.
None of them spoke.
Finally, he chuckled and said, "This beach is taken. Sorry."
"You'll be a lot more sorry when we're through with you," responded the figure in the center.
"Is that so?" He raised an eyebrow. Then he called, "Guards! Attack!"
When nothing happened, he frowned. "Guards!"
"I'm afraid your guards are incapacitated," said the figure.
"And what, precisely, do you want from me?" asked Giovanni.
"You will release ownership of the Fuschia City gym back to Gym Leader Koga and pay his debts in full. And you will cancel your order to destroy that gym."
Giovanni grinned. "I see. You must be members of his revered Shadow clan."
The figure didn't reply.
Giovanni stood up and approached the trio.
The leader whipped out a sword from the depths of his cloak. The light of the sun glinted off it.
"I would advise you not take another step if you don't want yourself run through."
Giovanni chuckled again. "Go ahead. Another will take my place. And my replacement will have control of the entire organization."
"Then we will negotiate with your replacement."
"There will be no negotiating with fake ninjas." Giovanni's voice had hardened. "I am not interested in your ultimatums. Likewise, I am not interested in performing the tasks you want me to perform."
The trio remained absolutely still, and absolutely quiet. The sword remained pointed straight at Giovanni's chest.
"What if I were to tell you that the Fuschia City gym is not the only one at stake?" he asked. "What if I were to tell you that the scope is much wider than just your precious gym?"
There was no response. *Like talking to a wall,* Giovanni thought.
"What if I were to tell you that other gyms in Kanto have already accepted their fates?"
"Then I would tell you to release ownership of those gyms to their original gym leaders, as well," said the center figure.
"And what if I told you, once again, that I will do nothing of the sort?"
It wasn't the center figure who responded.
"Then I would bet you five thousand credits that you're still afraid of heights."
Giovanni found himself being wrenched off the ground by steel clamps boring into his bare shoulders.
He looked down...
And saw the ground thousands of feet below him.
He began to scream.
"That's right, Giovanni!" Jason shouted. "Five thousand credits! Hope you got it on you, 'cause I want payment up front!"
Giovanni continued to scream.
"And if you don't have it with you, that's all right! It's five thousand more every day you don't give it to me! Interest, you see!"
Skarmory released Giovanni.
The crime boss began his long fall.
Skarmory dive-bombed back to the ground, and Jason said to the Shadows, "I've had my fun with him now."
Giovanni continued to fall.
Wolf looked up at him. "Think we should catch him?"
"Nah," said Neo. "Let him go splat."
"I think you should catch him," said Viper. "But only when he's an inch off the ground."
"Okay, then," said Wolf. "Which one of us gets to do it?"
"You do, of course," said Viper. "It hit you the hardest."
"And that makes me want to save his life? You've gotta be kidding me."
Giovanni was only a thousand feet from the ground now.
"Fine, fine," said Viper. "I'll do it. then you can do whatever you want. But at least I'm doing what's right."
"What's right isn't always what's fun," said Neo.
"Don't I know it. Kadabra, come on out and catch Giovanni."
As soon as Kadabra materialized, it used its psychic powers as a net for Giovanni.
"Deja vu," Jason muttered, as Giovanni hit the net.
"What do you mean, deja vu?" asked Neo. "You did this before?"
"Remember when I told you I almost killed him to get the Earth badge? Well, this was how. Only it was a much shorter fall."
"Hmm. Maybe you should've taken it outside."
"Probably. But it was fun anyway."
Viper and Neo snorted at this remark, but Wolf permitted no reaction. Grudgingly, he rather liked the solution that Jason had used.
He didn't want Giovanni to live.
The man didn't deserve it.
Wolf thought Jason had been plotting to do Giovanni in himself, without anyone else.
That was why Wolf hated Jason.
He hated Jason's confidence in himself and his Pokemon. He hated the fact that he and Jason had the same goal.
He hated the fact that the visualized end result of achieving their goal was the same.
Giovanni only had one life.
Wolf had felt it his duty to hear Giovanni's last breath.
That duty was for no one else.
Not Jason.
Not even his own brothers.
Just him.
He approached Giovanni and pulled out his sword again.
Giovanni stared up at him, dazed and confused.
"Does the name Tirenza mean anything to you, you heartless coward?" Wolf barked.
Giovanni grinned. "Of course it does. My favorite test site. It was a shame, wasn't it? So many good buildings were destroyed. But that's life, isn't it?"
"That experiment of yours cost more than you'll ever know. And it'll cost you your life now." Wolf put his hood back. "And this is the face of your judge, jury, and executioner."
"I see. You three must be the weaklings I told... *it*... to get rid of. A pity it did not do so. Another mistake that needs to be rectified."
Wolf roared. "*I'm going to kill you!*"
"Kadabra, stop him!"
The sword was psychically ripped from Wolf's hands.
Wolf turned around and glared at his brother. "Don't you dare take the opportunity away from me now!"
Viper didn't back down. "I'll take the opportunity away from you when I please! Killing him isn't the answer, and you know it!"
"Tommy, we're so close! We can't let him slip through our fingers now!" Wolf pleaded.
"No, Peter. This is where I hold the line."
"You want to do it as much as I do! You lost the same family, the same friends!"
Jason didn't understand the back and forth of the brothers. "What are they talking about?"
"Can't talk about it now," said Neo.
"You've gone insane, Peter," said Viper. "I know what he did hurt you. It hurt all of us. You think it's easy for me to tell my Kadabra to help save Giovanni's life?"
Wolf shoved a finger in Giovanni's direction. "He doesn't deserve to live!"
"No, he doesn't. And you don't deserve to kill him."
Giovanni was beginning to stir.
"Kadabra, use hypnosis," said Viper. "Convince him to perform the tasks we've requested, and make him forget any of this ever happened."
Kadabra, with a spoon in one hand and Wolf's sword in the other, complied.
Giovanni fell asleep.
"That's the end of it, Peter," said Viper. "We're finished with him now. You want to kill him, then don't do it on my watch."
Wolf ground his teeth.
Then he rushed Viper.
"Kadabra, hypnosis again!"
Before Wolf was even close, he hit the ground.
He was asleep.
Viper turned to Jason. "Under the circumstances, I think it might be best if we relocated to a place where Giovanni isn't snoring his head off."
"Good idea."
***
Three days after Jason and the Shadows had returned to Fuschia City, Wolf finally awakened from the hypnosis he'd been put under.
The first thing he did was mentally cuss Viper out for stopping him when he had the chance.
The second thing he did was realize that it may have been for the best.
He opened his eyes.
Viper, Neo, and Jason were looking down at him.
"How you feeling?" Viper asked.
"I'm still mad," said Wolf. "But did Kadabra's hypnosis work on Giovanni as well as it did on me?"
"Sure did. Giovanni's donations have pulled all of the Kanto gyms out of their debts, and he's returned ownership to their respective gym leaders."
"Boy, that must've cost him a pocketful."
"Oh, yeah. He'll be reeling for some time."
Wolf sat up. "Koga around?"
"He's teaching a class."
"Then I guess all is back to normal."
Viper's face contorted in a reluctant fashion. "Well... not quite."
"Oh?" Wolf raised an eyebrow.
"I'm planning to go with Jason."
Wolf contemplated this for a moment. "Okay. Why?"
"Because you're always saying I should learn from other people how to train my Pokemon. I've been hanging around you two so much that I'm not really learning anything. This is the perfect opportunity. Besides, I think that it may be more difficult having the guy who stopped you from doing what you wanted to do so badly hanging around you for much longer."
Wolf nodded, understanding his brother. He didn't know if he would actually mind having the kid around, but he realized that Viper was right. It *was* the perfect opportunity.
And, Wolf realized, Viper could learn a lot from Jason.
All three of them knew Jason's reputation as a trainer.
"All right, then," said Wolf. "When are you leaving?"
"Anytime he's ready," said Jason.
"And, uh, I'm already packed," said Viper.
"Well, in that case, you'd better hit the road. There's a lot of opportunity waiting for you out there."
Wolf got off the cot.
He and Viper embraced each other.
"Take care out there, all right?" said Wolf.
"You can count on it."
When the brothers pulled away, Wolf looked at Jason. He pointed at him. "You make sure he doesn't get into any trouble out there."
"I don't think that'll be hard," Jason answered, grinning. "Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?"
"I suppose so. Doesn't mean I like you, though." Wolf offered his hand.
Jason shook it. "Well, then, I'll be waiting for that day."
Jason and Viper left the building.
The wheelchair-bound trainer looked to his new companion. "I heard you and your brother using real names. Yours is Tommy, huh?"
"Thomas, to be precise."
"Can I refer to you by your real name?"
"If you like."
"Yeah. And Wolf's real name is Peter?"
"Right."
"Then what's Neo's?"
"Jonathan."
The continued down the path.
After a few minutes, Jason said, "I've been meaning to ask you something. Since we're gonna be traveling together, this is as good a time as any."
Viper--no, Tommy--shrugged indifferently. "Go ahead."
"When you were arguing with Wolf, or Peter, or whatever his name is, you were talking about losing your family and friends. How?"
Tommy sighed. "You read the plaque on the Tirenza memorial, right?"
Jason frowned. "You were survivors of what happened there?"
"We sure were. The fourth one your Pokedex talked about was Koga. He's our uncle. So not only did we lose a mother, Koga lost a sister. He was heartbroken after that incident. So were we, but especially Peter, since he's the oldest."
"And what happened there?"
Tommy shook his head. "I'm not ready to talk about it, and I doubt you would believe me anyway."
"Oh, I don't know about that," said Jason. "My life has been filled with unbelievable occurrances. But I won't push it."
"Really? Anyone else I've known has tried," said Tommy, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, I've had my own dirty little secrets, too, as you well know. I'm told that my Gyarados was not alone, after all, when it came to freeing the Pokemon from those cages. And that means you three all know about my past."
Tommy nodded. "Every single juicy bit."
"Then why attack me under the assumption that I was a Rocket associate, when you knew my intentions all along?"
"Peter didn't care. Whatever his problem is, it made him refuse to believe that your hands were completely clean of Giovanni and his antics." Tommy threw his arms up. "I know it sounds crazy, but until he comes up with another reasonable explanation, that's the only one I've got."
"Yeah, I've noticed that your brother has a hard time warming up to people."
Tommy waved his hand dismissively. "He'll get over it in time. But in the meantime, we've got some training to do, haven't we?"
"True enough."
With a new companion at his side...
Jason Creight moved on.
To Be Continued
"Nuts," he muttered.
*Time to get to work. Too bad; I could've used the sleep.*
He looked over at the other bed in his room and saw that his roommate was already up and about.
"Good sleep, Creight?" Viper asked.
"Not really," Jason answered. "You?"
"Didn't sleep a wink," the young Shadow clan trainee responded, pulling his backpack over his shoulders. "After hearing about this kind of thing, I don't know how you could possibly sleep."
"Maybe because Koga's gym isn't my home," Jason replied. "No offense."
"None taken. But we're disembarking soon; you'll need your Gengar."
"Yeah, thanks." Jason pulled his capture ball belt off the hangar rack next to his cot-like bed, removed Gengar's ball, and opened it in his hand. "Come on out, Gengar."
The train's destination was Lavender Town. It was on its route around Kanto and Johto; it had several stopping points, and one of them happened to be just west of Lavender Town.
And Jason thought back to why they had come here.
***
After encountering each other, Jason and the Shadows returned to Viridian City.
"You'd better be right about your information," said Wolf.
"I've got no reason to lie to you. I already told you I don't like Giovanni, much less work for him," Jason responded.
"I think that's still up for debate. We'll see about your true motives soon enough."
"I'm showing you my motives, Wolf. Whether you want to believe it or not is your business. But think about this. Why would I lead you on to a place you'd most likely go anyway? I mean, Viridian's bound to have someone from Team Rocket inhabiting its streets, wouldn't you think?"
"You were sneaky enough to evade the police on many occasions, and then lead them into arrests of other parties. Maybe you've still got a grudge against us about the incident at the motel."
Jason turned to look at Wolf and stopped his wheelchair. "I do have a grudge, but at the very least, I'm willing to work with you. Now, let's settle this. You got a problem?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Wolf answered. "Your family has a background in evildoing. I don't trust you any more than I trust Giovanni. And to be perfectly honest, I don't like you much, either."
"The feeling's mutual," said Jason. "You've been looking down on me ever since we met. Either there's more that you hate about me that you're willing to admit, or you've got a serious superiority complex."
Wolf's eyes flashed, but he didn't respond.
"My turn. If you had bothered to check around instead of arrogantly assuming that I must be working for that oily-haired jackal, you would have found that I want nothing to do with him. You could have done something as simple as take your investigation to Pallet Town and asked anyone there about me. They would have told you the truth, and about my motives. You might have found yourself an ally who liked you a whole lot more than he does right now. In my eyes, coming after me as quickly as you did makes you nothing more than an airheaded wannabe hero."
"Maybe. But at least this airheaded wannabe hero can walk. As opposed to the airheaded wannabe hero sitting in front of me."
Jason permitted himself no reaction outwardly. Inside, he was fuming. He didn't know what Wolf wanted from him, but Jason knew he'd never be able to show it to him in either of their lifetimes.
He turned back toward the walk and started moving again.
*There's as much love lost between me and Wolf as there is between me and Giovanni.*
***
The Rocket grunt was feeling down in the dumps tonight. After all, all he had was his Raticate. And, truth be told, it could be smacked down by just about any of the wild Pokemon out there. And after that little attempt at stealing that cripple's Pokemon had gone awry, he knew it couldn't get much worse than this.
*What I wouldn't give for a little action,* he thought.
And suddenly, he found himself floating five feet off the ground.
He gave a short, sharp bark of a scream, and looked for something to grab onto.
But there wasn't anything within reach.
He looked down...
And saw four kids looking up at him.
One of them had his palms open and pointed in his direction.
*He's psychic!* the grunt thought, panicking. *What did I do this time?!*
"We want to ask you a few questions," said Neo.
"Let me down!" the grunt yelled. "Let me down!"
"Will you answer my questions?"
"Yeah! Anything!"
"Who do you get your orders from?"
"Some executive! I don't know her name!"
"Where is she located?"
"Lavender Town! Somewhere in the radio tower! I think the basement! That's all I know!"
And he abruptly fell to the ground.
His head knocked against the alley wall.
He lost consciousness.
***
Jason stared at Wolf, amazed. *If I'd known he could do that, I'd never have argued with him. That explains how I was knocked over at Tohjo Falls.*
Wolf, for his part, was showing slight signs of strain on his face. *Maybe he doesn't do that all that often. Either that, or the guy had too many tacos tonight.*
Jason noticed that, not surprisingly, Neo and Viper were not the slightest bit outwardly impressed with this. He decided they must have seen it a lot during their travels.
"Think he was telling the truth?" he asked.
"Yeah. He was too freaked out not to have," said Wolf.
"You're sure?"
"Reasonably. Grunts are weak-minded. They'll rat out anyone, given enough time."
"Let's hope your confidence is justified."
Wolf scoffed. "Let's go. We're finished here."
***
That was how they'd ended up in Lavender Town.
Jason hoped that they wouldn't run into much trouble while in the building.
According to Wolf, the plan was for the Shadow boys to go in and split up once they got downstairs. Jason would hang around outside the building just in case the exec tried to escape.
*If there was any doubt that Wolf didn't like me, it's gone now,* Jason thought. *On the other hand, it makes sense for me to stay outside. It's not as if access to a Rocket base would be easy for someone in a wheelchair.*
The Shadows and Jason made their way to the radio tower. It wasn't a long trek; the tower was only a couple hundred yards away. As they approached the doors, Jason brought his wheelchair to a halt. "This is my stop."
"So it is," said Wolf. "It may be best if you get on your Skarmory and take to the air. If the exec tries to escape, she might do so from any part of the building, and obviously you can't see all of it when you're parked on the ground. Neither can you chase her down in a wheelchair."
"True," said Jason, trying to ignore the contempt in Wolf's last comment.
The Shadows entered the building.
***
As the Shadows made their way through the building, Viper turned to Wolf and said, "Jason's right. You have a serious problem with him, and whatever it is, it isn't helping us be a team."
"My problem with him is none of your concern."
"It is when it keeps us from being able to work together effectively."
Wolf and Viper stared each other down for a moment.
Finally, Wolf said, "We need to concentrate on finding the exec."
"Oh, yeah," said Viper, "avoiding it is really gonna help."
Wolf glared at his younger brother. "Now, you listen to me. I do indeed have a problem with him, and I will take it up with him in the fullness of time. In the meantime, I would advise you to keep the mission in mind for the duration."
"Fine."
As the Shadows continued down the hall, Neo spotted a computer lab on the left side. "Hey, what about using those to find the exec?"
Wolf snorted. "You think Team Rocket's database is in a computer lab on the upper levels?"
"No, but if we used my Porygon, it could track transmissions from the exec's computer and find out where she is."
Wolf considered for a moment. "Good idea. Do it."
***
Jason was beginning to feel eminently bored, even though flying around on his Pokemon was as fun as ever. What was there to do, when there was no one escaping?
*Besides,* he thought, *if they truly are part of the Shadow clan, they should be able to reach the exec without an alarm being raised.*
***
"Looks like Porygon found something." Neo sat down at the terminal.
"What have we got?" Viper asked.
"It says here that a transmission is being sent from one of the computers in the sub-basement to Viridian City."
"Can Porygon open up the channel for us?" asked Wolf.
"It's trying, but the transmission is heavily encrypted."
"Then use the line to get into the computer on this end."
"Good idea."
Even as Neo was typing in the instructions, Porygon was already moving through cyberspace to comply.
***
"They wanted what?!"
"They wanted to know who I took my orders from."
"And you told them?!"
"I was freaked out! One of them was psychic! He took the information from me!"
"This compromises our whole operation! The boss gave us strict instructions! He told us, and we told you, that all members of Team Rocket need to go into hiding for the time being, and here you go and blow the entire thing! What if those kids come looking for me?!"
"It's not my problem anymore, lady."
"I promise you that you will pay for this!"
The screen was deactivated, leaving the disgruntled Rocket exec in the darkness of the sub-basement.
And then the screen reactivated.
"What?" The exec looked up at the screen, confused. "Damn computer; that's the fourth time this week it's had problems."
But this was no ordinary problem brought on by malfunction. The exec's heart skipped a beat when an image came to life on the screen.
The image of a Porygon.
Then a warning flashed across the screen. "Virus Detected!"
A second warning flashed. "Intruder Alert!"
And to top it off, a nearby voice said, "Vileplume, sleep powder."
That was the last thing the exec heard before dropping into the ether of unconsciousness.
***
When she came to, the exec discovered that she was in a room even darker than the one her terminal was siuated in. She'd been bound to a chair, and in front of her stood three dark figures wearing black cloaks. Hoods concealed their identities, but they were undubtedly the ones who had done this to her.
"We're going to play a simple game," said Wolf. "I will ask you a question, and you will answer it."
"Let me out of here, you little brats!" snarled the exec. She struggled against her bonds.
"Such an attitude. Vileplume, stun spore."
Immediately, the exec's limbs all turned to jelly. She couldn't budge.
"Now, are you willing to play or not?"
"I'll never rat out the boss!"
"Oh, we know who your boss is," said Wolf. "It wasn't too hard for us to figure it out. But we want to know where he goes when he's not in his gym."
"You think I know this stuff?" the exec snorted. "The only one who would know that is the boss himself."
As if on cue, the computer terminal began to bleep.
"Not neccessarily true," said Neo, as he went to investigate. He sat down at the terminal, cracked his knuckles, and watched the screen. He grinned a moment later, though it couldn't be seen through the depths of his hood. "Looks like you won't have to play Twenty Questions after all. I've got what we need."
"Good. In that case, give her another shot of sleep powder, Vileplume."
The exec dropped off again.
Wolf reached into the closet the Shadows had stored her in and grabbed a spool of tape.
A few moments later, the Shadows left, and the exec was locked in the closet, incapable of speech.
"So where does he go?" asked Wolf.
"Whirlpool Islands," said Neo. "He enjoys catching some rays, apparently."
"Direct contrast to us," Wolf noted.
"Yup." Neo rolled up his sleeve and checked his watch. "We've got 28 hours before Koga's gym goes up in smoke. Hopefully, we'll have Giovanni convinced with time to spare."
"We'll see about that," said Wolf. "Right now, we ought to get going."
***
Jason saw the Shadows exit the building with considerably enlightened looks on their faces. "Skarmory, take us down."
As soon as Skarmory was within earshot of the boys, Wolf looked up and shouted, "Whirlpool Islands!"
Jason nodded, then said, "Skarmory, take us there!"
***
He was relaxing on the beach. There was nothing he enjoyed more than kicking back and relaxing, especially on a bright day like this. Though he couldn't deny the comfort of darkness, he also couldn't deny the comfort of the warmth the sun gave him.
And then a shadow passed overhead.
Two shadows, in fact.
He looked up through the tint of his sunglasses...
And saw two gigantic flying Pokemon hovering overhead.
One was some sort of metallic bird-like Pokemon that he didn't recognize. *Hah! Some sun and a rare Pokemon! What could be better?*
And then he recognized the other one.
It was a Dragonite.
He grinned. *It's a dream come true!*
And then he saw that there were people mounted on them.
A huge gust picked up all around him. He was sent flying from his seat.
As he recovered from the wind, he watched as three people approached him on foot, while the fourth stayed mounted on his Pokemon and led it to him.
The three figures were impossible to identify because they wore black cloaks and hoods.
He couldn't see the other one, either, because the shine of the sun off that Pokemon was overwhelming for his eyes.
None of them spoke.
Finally, he chuckled and said, "This beach is taken. Sorry."
"You'll be a lot more sorry when we're through with you," responded the figure in the center.
"Is that so?" He raised an eyebrow. Then he called, "Guards! Attack!"
When nothing happened, he frowned. "Guards!"
"I'm afraid your guards are incapacitated," said the figure.
"And what, precisely, do you want from me?" asked Giovanni.
"You will release ownership of the Fuschia City gym back to Gym Leader Koga and pay his debts in full. And you will cancel your order to destroy that gym."
Giovanni grinned. "I see. You must be members of his revered Shadow clan."
The figure didn't reply.
Giovanni stood up and approached the trio.
The leader whipped out a sword from the depths of his cloak. The light of the sun glinted off it.
"I would advise you not take another step if you don't want yourself run through."
Giovanni chuckled again. "Go ahead. Another will take my place. And my replacement will have control of the entire organization."
"Then we will negotiate with your replacement."
"There will be no negotiating with fake ninjas." Giovanni's voice had hardened. "I am not interested in your ultimatums. Likewise, I am not interested in performing the tasks you want me to perform."
The trio remained absolutely still, and absolutely quiet. The sword remained pointed straight at Giovanni's chest.
"What if I were to tell you that the Fuschia City gym is not the only one at stake?" he asked. "What if I were to tell you that the scope is much wider than just your precious gym?"
There was no response. *Like talking to a wall,* Giovanni thought.
"What if I were to tell you that other gyms in Kanto have already accepted their fates?"
"Then I would tell you to release ownership of those gyms to their original gym leaders, as well," said the center figure.
"And what if I told you, once again, that I will do nothing of the sort?"
It wasn't the center figure who responded.
"Then I would bet you five thousand credits that you're still afraid of heights."
Giovanni found himself being wrenched off the ground by steel clamps boring into his bare shoulders.
He looked down...
And saw the ground thousands of feet below him.
He began to scream.
"That's right, Giovanni!" Jason shouted. "Five thousand credits! Hope you got it on you, 'cause I want payment up front!"
Giovanni continued to scream.
"And if you don't have it with you, that's all right! It's five thousand more every day you don't give it to me! Interest, you see!"
Skarmory released Giovanni.
The crime boss began his long fall.
Skarmory dive-bombed back to the ground, and Jason said to the Shadows, "I've had my fun with him now."
Giovanni continued to fall.
Wolf looked up at him. "Think we should catch him?"
"Nah," said Neo. "Let him go splat."
"I think you should catch him," said Viper. "But only when he's an inch off the ground."
"Okay, then," said Wolf. "Which one of us gets to do it?"
"You do, of course," said Viper. "It hit you the hardest."
"And that makes me want to save his life? You've gotta be kidding me."
Giovanni was only a thousand feet from the ground now.
"Fine, fine," said Viper. "I'll do it. then you can do whatever you want. But at least I'm doing what's right."
"What's right isn't always what's fun," said Neo.
"Don't I know it. Kadabra, come on out and catch Giovanni."
As soon as Kadabra materialized, it used its psychic powers as a net for Giovanni.
"Deja vu," Jason muttered, as Giovanni hit the net.
"What do you mean, deja vu?" asked Neo. "You did this before?"
"Remember when I told you I almost killed him to get the Earth badge? Well, this was how. Only it was a much shorter fall."
"Hmm. Maybe you should've taken it outside."
"Probably. But it was fun anyway."
Viper and Neo snorted at this remark, but Wolf permitted no reaction. Grudgingly, he rather liked the solution that Jason had used.
He didn't want Giovanni to live.
The man didn't deserve it.
Wolf thought Jason had been plotting to do Giovanni in himself, without anyone else.
That was why Wolf hated Jason.
He hated Jason's confidence in himself and his Pokemon. He hated the fact that he and Jason had the same goal.
He hated the fact that the visualized end result of achieving their goal was the same.
Giovanni only had one life.
Wolf had felt it his duty to hear Giovanni's last breath.
That duty was for no one else.
Not Jason.
Not even his own brothers.
Just him.
He approached Giovanni and pulled out his sword again.
Giovanni stared up at him, dazed and confused.
"Does the name Tirenza mean anything to you, you heartless coward?" Wolf barked.
Giovanni grinned. "Of course it does. My favorite test site. It was a shame, wasn't it? So many good buildings were destroyed. But that's life, isn't it?"
"That experiment of yours cost more than you'll ever know. And it'll cost you your life now." Wolf put his hood back. "And this is the face of your judge, jury, and executioner."
"I see. You three must be the weaklings I told... *it*... to get rid of. A pity it did not do so. Another mistake that needs to be rectified."
Wolf roared. "*I'm going to kill you!*"
"Kadabra, stop him!"
The sword was psychically ripped from Wolf's hands.
Wolf turned around and glared at his brother. "Don't you dare take the opportunity away from me now!"
Viper didn't back down. "I'll take the opportunity away from you when I please! Killing him isn't the answer, and you know it!"
"Tommy, we're so close! We can't let him slip through our fingers now!" Wolf pleaded.
"No, Peter. This is where I hold the line."
"You want to do it as much as I do! You lost the same family, the same friends!"
Jason didn't understand the back and forth of the brothers. "What are they talking about?"
"Can't talk about it now," said Neo.
"You've gone insane, Peter," said Viper. "I know what he did hurt you. It hurt all of us. You think it's easy for me to tell my Kadabra to help save Giovanni's life?"
Wolf shoved a finger in Giovanni's direction. "He doesn't deserve to live!"
"No, he doesn't. And you don't deserve to kill him."
Giovanni was beginning to stir.
"Kadabra, use hypnosis," said Viper. "Convince him to perform the tasks we've requested, and make him forget any of this ever happened."
Kadabra, with a spoon in one hand and Wolf's sword in the other, complied.
Giovanni fell asleep.
"That's the end of it, Peter," said Viper. "We're finished with him now. You want to kill him, then don't do it on my watch."
Wolf ground his teeth.
Then he rushed Viper.
"Kadabra, hypnosis again!"
Before Wolf was even close, he hit the ground.
He was asleep.
Viper turned to Jason. "Under the circumstances, I think it might be best if we relocated to a place where Giovanni isn't snoring his head off."
"Good idea."
***
Three days after Jason and the Shadows had returned to Fuschia City, Wolf finally awakened from the hypnosis he'd been put under.
The first thing he did was mentally cuss Viper out for stopping him when he had the chance.
The second thing he did was realize that it may have been for the best.
He opened his eyes.
Viper, Neo, and Jason were looking down at him.
"How you feeling?" Viper asked.
"I'm still mad," said Wolf. "But did Kadabra's hypnosis work on Giovanni as well as it did on me?"
"Sure did. Giovanni's donations have pulled all of the Kanto gyms out of their debts, and he's returned ownership to their respective gym leaders."
"Boy, that must've cost him a pocketful."
"Oh, yeah. He'll be reeling for some time."
Wolf sat up. "Koga around?"
"He's teaching a class."
"Then I guess all is back to normal."
Viper's face contorted in a reluctant fashion. "Well... not quite."
"Oh?" Wolf raised an eyebrow.
"I'm planning to go with Jason."
Wolf contemplated this for a moment. "Okay. Why?"
"Because you're always saying I should learn from other people how to train my Pokemon. I've been hanging around you two so much that I'm not really learning anything. This is the perfect opportunity. Besides, I think that it may be more difficult having the guy who stopped you from doing what you wanted to do so badly hanging around you for much longer."
Wolf nodded, understanding his brother. He didn't know if he would actually mind having the kid around, but he realized that Viper was right. It *was* the perfect opportunity.
And, Wolf realized, Viper could learn a lot from Jason.
All three of them knew Jason's reputation as a trainer.
"All right, then," said Wolf. "When are you leaving?"
"Anytime he's ready," said Jason.
"And, uh, I'm already packed," said Viper.
"Well, in that case, you'd better hit the road. There's a lot of opportunity waiting for you out there."
Wolf got off the cot.
He and Viper embraced each other.
"Take care out there, all right?" said Wolf.
"You can count on it."
When the brothers pulled away, Wolf looked at Jason. He pointed at him. "You make sure he doesn't get into any trouble out there."
"I don't think that'll be hard," Jason answered, grinning. "Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?"
"I suppose so. Doesn't mean I like you, though." Wolf offered his hand.
Jason shook it. "Well, then, I'll be waiting for that day."
Jason and Viper left the building.
The wheelchair-bound trainer looked to his new companion. "I heard you and your brother using real names. Yours is Tommy, huh?"
"Thomas, to be precise."
"Can I refer to you by your real name?"
"If you like."
"Yeah. And Wolf's real name is Peter?"
"Right."
"Then what's Neo's?"
"Jonathan."
The continued down the path.
After a few minutes, Jason said, "I've been meaning to ask you something. Since we're gonna be traveling together, this is as good a time as any."
Viper--no, Tommy--shrugged indifferently. "Go ahead."
"When you were arguing with Wolf, or Peter, or whatever his name is, you were talking about losing your family and friends. How?"
Tommy sighed. "You read the plaque on the Tirenza memorial, right?"
Jason frowned. "You were survivors of what happened there?"
"We sure were. The fourth one your Pokedex talked about was Koga. He's our uncle. So not only did we lose a mother, Koga lost a sister. He was heartbroken after that incident. So were we, but especially Peter, since he's the oldest."
"And what happened there?"
Tommy shook his head. "I'm not ready to talk about it, and I doubt you would believe me anyway."
"Oh, I don't know about that," said Jason. "My life has been filled with unbelievable occurrances. But I won't push it."
"Really? Anyone else I've known has tried," said Tommy, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, I've had my own dirty little secrets, too, as you well know. I'm told that my Gyarados was not alone, after all, when it came to freeing the Pokemon from those cages. And that means you three all know about my past."
Tommy nodded. "Every single juicy bit."
"Then why attack me under the assumption that I was a Rocket associate, when you knew my intentions all along?"
"Peter didn't care. Whatever his problem is, it made him refuse to believe that your hands were completely clean of Giovanni and his antics." Tommy threw his arms up. "I know it sounds crazy, but until he comes up with another reasonable explanation, that's the only one I've got."
"Yeah, I've noticed that your brother has a hard time warming up to people."
Tommy waved his hand dismissively. "He'll get over it in time. But in the meantime, we've got some training to do, haven't we?"
"True enough."
With a new companion at his side...
Jason Creight moved on.
To Be Continued
