Saffron City, Kanto
Team Rocket HQ
1800 hours

Business had been good lately.

Profits were back up, the gym was operating normally once again, the shareholders were behaving (for once!), and not a single employee had had to be fired this week. In fact, a very promising young woman had just been hired for their operations in Unova.

Which were going very well, the company's Chief Executive Officer thought with a wide grin as he idly swirled a mint julep. He had his feet propped up on the desktop, leaned back in his chair, feeling like he could conquer the world today if he so desired. But he was in such a good mood today; he didn't much feel like it. Hell, maybe he'd donate to charity.

Giovanni chuckled at the thought and brought the glass to his lips, taking a contented sip. Mid-life crisis, what a joke! He was well into his fifties and Team Rocket was more profitable than they'd been in years, maybe decades.

He then lifted the glass to the ceiling. "If only you could see me now, Mother," he intoned before taking another swig. He then set the glass aside on a coaster, right next to his gold-plated nameplate. Underneath the desk snoozed a Persian, his long-time companion and arguably the most pampered feline in Kanto. Not that she deserved anything less, he mused with another smile. He was, after all, one of the wealthiest individuals in the region, and damn it all if he wasn't going to enjoy it!

The chime of his office door interrupted his thoughts, but no matter, he thought. Giovanni removed his feet from the desk, straightened out his black suit jacket, and sat up slightly. "Enter," he called, and in walked his secretary, a rather pretty redhead by the name of… of…

Ah, whatever. He beamed at the young woman, and it must have caught her off-guard, because when she finally looked up, she squeaked and nearly dropped the small stack of files in her arms.

"Melissa! How kind of you to join me."

"It's Michelle. Michelle Rosenberg. Sir," she corrected in a small voice.

"Ah," he said dismissively, waving it off. "As the English say, 'What's in a name?'" Though he had a feeling she'd corrected him more than once.

Giovanni sat back and gestured for her to come forward. "Please, take a seat." The young woman carefully set the papers down on the edge of his mahogany desk and sat in a chair across from him. "I was just having a drink. Can I get you anything? A martini? You look like you could use one."

She looked up, startled. "N… No thank you, sir. I don't really drink." Michelle attempted a smile of her own. "I assume business is going well today, sir?"

"Good all month, my dear secretary. You're sure you don't want anything?"

"Quite, sir. But thank you."

He sighed and polished off the last of his own drink. "Very well. What news do you have for me?"

"Well, sir…" She cleared her throat and flipped open the first file folder. "A very interesting message came for you this afternoon. At first I thought it was just another rumour, but I did a little checking, and…" Michelle's voice trailed off and she grimaced, not meeting his gaze.

Giovanni felt the entire month of pleasantries and profit melt away with that look. That terrible, terrible look every person under him gave him when they were going to tell him bad news. It was always the same. That guilt-filled, slightly shameful, more than a little fearful, look. But he cleared his throat, trying and failing to keep his expression cordial. "Go on, Miss Rosenberg," he prompted.

"Sir, it was a communiqué from our base in Sinnoh. It was about… Cyrus."

He frowned at the mention of the infamous Team Galactic leader. Rumour had it he'd died two or three years ago. Galactic had collapsed without its leader, so Giovanni had decided to start setting up a base in the region. It wasn't anything fancy, an arms dealer here, a rigged casino there, overpriced and forged valuables… No real threat.

But he had a horrid feeling this was going to all change with what she told him.

"And… what of Cyrus?"

"Eyewitness accounts state that he has been spotted numerous times in Sinnoh over the past month. Several anonymous sources claiming to have known him before his disappearance have confirmed it is, indeed, him. Also, many individuals suspected of having once been part of Galactic have all at once either quit their jobs or taken off more than a month." She paused, not even daring to peek at his shocked gaze. "Sir, he's alive."

"I gathered that."

"Sir, I-"

"Give me a moment." Giovanni started searching for something, and eventually retrieved a bottle of vodka from a desk drawer. The Rocket leader poured it into what his mint julep had been in and took a large swig, savouring it as it burned down his throat.

Much better.

At last he set down the glass so roughly it rattled a few items on the table and the woman jumped. But at his gesture, she went on, her high voice trembling slightly.

"Giovanni, sir, there's… one more thing you should know."

"Then cut to the chase and tell me, Miss Rosenberg," he practically growled at her.

She gave a nervous nod. "It seems, sir, that there have also been a number of Psychic attacks on major cities in the region. I did a little digging of my own and found a few... very interesting photographs taken by bystanders. The Sinnoh government at first hid them away, but you know I have my ways."

"Am I to assume you have printed off copies?"

She pursed her lips and gave another tight little nod. Michelle flipped to another file and took out a sheet of photo paper. "The image was low-quality, but I was able to enhance it."

Almost hesitantly, Giovanni took the photograph from her. It was larger than the usual print size, maybe twenty by twenty-five centimeters. He narrowed his eyes to focus in on the slightly-blurred photo, only to widen them a moment later.

Standing in front of a burning tower, one that looked suspiciously like the legendary Spear Pillar, was none other than Cyrus himself, aged a few years but otherwise no different. He still wore that ridiculous silver vest with the horrible black pants underneath. He still had that tacky blue hair that made him look like a teenager with a man's face. He still had that permanent scowl on his face.

But what Giovanni didn't expect were the three Pokémon flanking him:

Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf.