DISCLAIMER FROM 2024

At the encouragement of my readers, some of whom have followed me for twenty years, I have decided to reupload my old fanfiction stories. I do this with some reservations. I wanted to revise them before posting them again, but the sheer amount of words involved means that that would take me years to accomplish, and it would be better for me to focus on writing new stories instead. Maybe someday I'll go back and make the edits, but for now, I'm reposting everything, warts and all. So expect characters to be out of character, expect nonsensical sections, and expect there to be many grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.

In addition, please understand that the story you have in front of you was written by a very different person. I was a teenager who was raised on 90's media, who lived in an abusive household and in a white conservative town. I was steeped in problematic beliefs and had an equally troubling sense of humor. Anything I wrote before 2010 will reflect that.

However, my understanding of the world has grown since then. I'm an adult now, out of the closet and firmly politically left. I'm also much better at my craft these days. It makes me cringe to think about how my earlier writing must have hurt some of my readers.

That being said, these stories were also ones that people loved and missed. If they can still make someone's day brighter, that's worth something. Maybe they can even inspire others by showing them how much someone's writing can grow with time and practice. Plus, my younger self worked hard on these. Even the darkest ones comforted her during a difficult time in her life. So maybe I owe her something better than burying her words.

So, without further ado, welcome to my old fanfics! You're in for a messy and melodramatic experience. As always, I hope you enjoy the read.

CHAPTER 1: DARK ANGEL

A humanoid creature looked out the window of a small cabin to the forest outside, a hand on the frosty glass pane. The branches of the trees were barren, spouting from the trunks like bony arms, the fingers on their ends entangled with others alike to them. From the dark clouds above, he could scarcely see the fat, white snowflakes drifting down to the frozen ground below, rather peacefully. On occasion, a gust of frigid wind would stir up small flurries of pale dust, the wind making an almost silent moaning sound. Just then, he watched as the moon peeked out of the thick clouds, bathing the world in an almost holy, ghostly glow…

Soon, the scene was once again plunged into darkness as the moon hid. It was glorious however, the winter world. So fragile, cool, and sparkling…like crystal...

But there was beauty here, inside, as well…

He turned calmly to the dancing flames in the fireplace, looking at the messy blankets a few feet from it. The dim, flickering golden light, revealed the form of a young woman sleeping under one comfortably, her ebony hair falling over her shoulders and onto the material behind her. Her dark clothes were scattered around her, evidently having been removed sometime during the twilight. The creature slowly crossed over to her, sitting down beside her.

While lying on her side, somewhat stretched out, he noticed that her arms were curled close to her chest, as though defensively. The light blanket over her, a faded dark gray, covered most of her form, though left her bare legs and anything above her chest exposed. The creature quickly remedied that, not wishing for her to be cold, despite the fact that she lay near a cozy fire.

Afterwards, gently, he ran the back of three fingers across her light tan back, seeing her stir quietly as a result. She seemed to tense then, as though bracing herself for something…but then quickly relaxed, as if her unconscious mind somehow knew who was touching her. The corners of his lips tucked up in a small, rare smile at that, his dark violet eyes growing soft with affection...

He sighed contently then, recalling the night's events, and of the several weeks before. Even some memories, from years back, came to him. How it had all begun, where it had led…and despite the struggles during those times, he couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. He finally had his angel…his dear, dark angel…

…And yet…what was to happen to them now? They'd defied so many people, so many things, so this could occur. He closed his eyes wearily, wishing to let go of those thoughts. Still, they came…unbidden by him, Mewtwo.

The Team Rocket Dorms

Giovanni had never been the type of man who accepted defeat. Some even referred to him as a Croconaw whom, when biting down on something, would never let go until he'd finished with it. Thus, in the event that someone did manage to triumph over him, more often than not the victors would soon go "missing". For if the leader couldn't succeed in his original goals, he had a tendency to eliminate the ones that opposed him entirely, if only to make it clear whom was stronger…

That was exactly the case as he headed down the somewhat filthy hallway, which led to the tiny apartment of one of his top agents. His right hand, Domino (among one name), trailed behind him silently. The elder teenager wrinkled her nose for a moment at their surroundings, expressing her disgust as well as his own. Usually, he wouldn't be caught dead in such a place, even though the homes of a majority of his underlings were here. Most times, he would simply summon the one they were visiting to his office. But he felt for this particular job that he should make an exception.

The two silently stopped at number six 'o' nine, and even though the door was unlocked, Giovanni politely knocked. For a moment, the sounds of conversations and fights within some of the other rooms nearby was all that could be heard. Then, without warning, the wooden barrier in front of them opened a few inches. The light from the bright hallway, despite the number of burned out or melted light bulbs, revealed a young woman, clad in only a towel. However, she did not flush at the fact that her superior(s) saw this, only opening the door further without hesitation.

"May we come in Agent Winters?" questioned Giovanni, with authority, seeing how she didn't step away from the doorway for them to pass through at first.

The teenager, about nineteen by the looks of it, nodded, "Go ahead."

As the visitors quickly crossed through into the dimly lit home, they heard the door click shut behind them, and let their eyes glance around quickly. On the other side the apartment, the kitchen and entrance to the bathroom could be spotted. And to their right was a wall that divided a portion of the space off. Though, they could spy through the large rectangular hole there to see a messy bed in the far corner of the room. In the center of the hardly closed off space was a wide table, bare of flower vases or even dirty dishes. As far as latter went, the apartment was lacking them, though piles of cloths were scattered about the floor, making the place far from immaculate…

"Watch your step," Ms. Winters warned as she crossed, barefoot, over to the bathroom, intending to get dressed, "I don't believe either of you would like having your foot speared by something."

Giovanni and his closest agent, ignoring the thought of how ridiculous it would look, carefully high-stepped until they reached the table, sitting in the chairs provided. Domino attempted to relieve her building boredom and distaste for being in the other Team Rocket member's home, by amusing herself with counting the number of cracks in the cream-colored paint on the walls and ceiling. As her dark lavender eyes swept to the bed, she gave an involuntary start at the fact that there were red eyes peering at her from beneath some of the sheets. She quickly averted her gaze, noticing the variety of weapons that lay on the shelves to one wall, the one that revealed the bed from the door. It had been like looking through horizontal jail bars, that…

The bathroom door abruptly swung open (or rather, inwards), taking the blond from her thoughts. The occupant of the apartment quickly came out in a pair of jeans, neither baggy nor hugging as most would find comfortable depending on their style. Her sweater, dark gray, did not show the red 'R' insigna that would have identified the grown female as an agent. Of course, it wouldn't do well if she made that known all the time…, Agent 009 thought sarcastically.

"Is there something you'd like to drink?" asked the one they were visiting, her silver eyes calm, but intent.

"Do you have Pepsi?" inquired Domino, adding a false sweetness to her voice, making it very clear she did not want to be here. Giovanni shot her a warning look, though it seemed that the dark haired woman did not notice, or else didn't care.

"I don't have soda." The occupant of the house stated in monotone, "I have herbal tea and coffee though."

Is this…girl on a sugar hiatus or something? Domino wondered mildly, unable to fathom how that was possible. While she usually ate only health foods, for obvious reasons, the teenager couldn't resist having a cookie or can of pop occasionally.

As though hearing that thought, the other female, her black hair still wet and dripping from her shower earlier, reached up into a cupboard and suddenly threw something towards the blond. The teen quickly caught it, having for a second wondered if it was a weapon, but saw it to be a small bag of Oreos. Domino stared at it, in shock. Eh-heh…so the other agent was human.

"Shadow enjoys those, though I'm sure he'll be fine with you having some."

Or perhaps not…

Giovanni, at that moment, was pointedly using the virtue of patience, even though it was bothersome to him. He liked things done fast and accurately; like a sniper's shot. However, he found if the result of waiting was more beneficial, he'd do so. He took a sip of the strong black coffee from the mug that the light, coffee-and-cream color skinned woman handed him. Domino did the same with hers, though an expression of disgust crossed her face at the taste. However, she needed the caffeine, to get her through what would surely be an irritating talk.

The other woman's silver eyes darted to the vanilla folder in front of Giovanni, taking note of it. So…she had another assignment. She felt neither eager, nor dismayed at this, it not being a positive or negative thing to her. Though, in truth, it probably was to others.

She silently sat down, taking a small drink from the steaming cup of mint tea she'd prepared for herself. She'd never enjoyed coffee…it was nasty stuff. Keeping one up, and yellowing the teeth… Though really, she supposed she shouldn't talk about the taste. After all, (even though she wasn't certain where she'd picked it up,) she drank tea!

"So…who do you want me to kill this time?" she asked.

Domino very nearly chocked at the blunt question that Ms. Winters spat out. She certainly wasn't one for being subtle…and as an agent who sometimes had to go undercover, that was essential. At least, to 009 it was…

"Not 'who' exactly. Rather what." Giovanni told, pushing the folder across the table to the inquirer.

The young woman raised a thin, dark eyebrow at this.

As she opened the file, the leader continued, "Its name is Mewtwo. One of the top cloning researchers I recruited four years ago, who went by the name of Dr. Fuji, created it for me. However, it managed to escape…twice." He stated, somewhat bitterly.

In the year after the occurrence on Mt. Quena, the Latin man recalled sullenly, he'd found rumors from a distant region to the west, of a mysterious feline, to be more than unsettling. From his agents there, it had been described as a violet, bipedal cat, handsome and graceful, with a demonic edge. Supposedly, it could sometimes be seen flying about in the night sky, only in moonlight, from time to time.

Because even levitation was difficult to achieve with most psychic pokémon (for, since it had no wings, they concluded that to be its element), the downright flying had made them assume it to be a high level, and so of interest to Giovanni. Of course, with the nagging sense of familiarity he received when looking at the distant, shadowy pictures, he couldn't help but be intrigued. However, he did not take the matter very seriously. After all, he had more important things to think about than of some pokémon oddity.

Very soon though, the feeling of de ja vu became too much to ignore. Being one who not only worked with his sharp mind, but with his instincts as well, Giovanni decided to look into it. And soon, (rather reluctantly, because he didn't truly believe in the credibility of such things,) he found himself going into hypnotic therapy to find some sort of answers. And he'd certainly found some…entire banks of memory that had been locked away by Mewtwo's amnesia-inducing skills.

For one cannot truly erase someone's memory. They can only block or repress them. Depending on the power usage during that "wipe" made it more or less difficult to recall them. Ash himself, when faced with the tortured Mewtwo in Purity Canyon, had almost overcome the barrier placed in his mind, to make him forget about what had occurred on New Island. However, he did not (even though that incident wouldn't be a secret by the time his companions and he had left). But with aid, Giovanni, someone whose return of memories of the clone was far less welcome, had.

And to confirm what the hypnosis had unlocked in his brain, Giovanni had made sure to look into the top-secret files he'd supposedly kept on the Clone Project. Indeed, his dreamlike recollections were not false…the documents had proved that. But seeing as how Mewtwo would undoubtedly slip away again if he attempted to capture it, that was no longer his desire… He would not be made a fool of again!

"He." Agent Winters spoke out of nowhere, correcting the Team Rocket head, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Giovanni blinked discretely, his eyes narrowing for a moment, "Pardon?"

Silver eyes glanced up at him from the papers, "He. The medical records here state that Mewtwo is male."

The brown haired man was taken aback, not expecting her to say such a thing, "…That may be so. But that clone is but a creation… While it may have some of the qualities similar to an actual person, it is not one." He said, not allowing his surprise to show.

For a moment, he thought he saw her eyes flash at that.

Perhaps not, for she dismissed the matter, going on to a different topic. "Why exactly do you want to kill him though? I…cannot see any reason why you should."

She keeps calling' it' a 'he'…Giovanni noticed edgily, not liking it, but answered her nonetheless, "Mewtwo is an extremely rebellious creature. It would rather perish than serve me, as it so boldly put it… So really, if it refuses to obey my commands, I have no use for it. However, I would not see the power it possesses in another's hands." He explained, thinking about the challenges that could arise from other criminal organizations, or even from the government, if Mewtwo filled them in on him… Not that such was likely, but the possibility still existed…

The young woman nodded, taking another sip of her tea. His reasoning made sense. Setting the cup down afterwards, she asked the one question Giovanni knew he should expect, but hated all the same, "But why chose me?"

When he didn't answer, she glanced at Domino, whom was chewing one of the few remaining cookies left slowly, "From what this reads, Domino has experience with him. She also has a variety of high-level dark pokémon, I've heard. It would be far more practical to send her."

She didn't notice the look she got from the blond in response to that, "Agent 009 has turned the mission down. Seeing as how she was one of the many that had their memories erased by Mewtwo, you should be able to understand why. Besides, with your abilities, you're likely the only one in this organization capable of handling it." Her superior told matter-of-factly.

The females near him had very different reactions. Domino scowled with deep annoyance and fury at the compliment, while Ms. Winters seemed to take no notice of the flattery. But, he was right…she did have skills that others…lacked.

"So, will you accept Agent Winters?" Questioned Giovanni after a moment. Further discussion was unnecessary, since everything the teen needed to know was in that folder…even Mewtwo's supposed whereabouts.

The young woman thought it over in a split second, "I can't see why not."

Giovanni gave a small, yet triumphant smile, pleased with her answer. "Good…" Then, he glanced at Domino, seeing her finish her coffee and snack, "009, if you would wait outside for a few minutes. I have some personal matters to discuss with Ms. Winters."

Domino quickly hid her growing anger, "Sure thing boss." She muttered, grinding her back teeth at the same time. She did not like a thing about what was going on, for so many reasons… It was not as though she didn't think Mewtwo shouldn't get thrashed for what it'd done, but still…!

As Agent 009 left, nearly slamming the apartment entrance door behind her, Giovanni chose to ignore the action. Domino had always held a certain distaste for the young woman in front of him, whether it was simply because she didn't respond to various things like a normal person, or because Giovanni had a rather unique relationship with her, he wasn't certain. There was also the fact that Agent Winters was his left hand, and far closer to anyone else in power when it came to 009's position…

The remaining slender woman seemed to tense then; and quickly took Domino's and her mug to the sink, washing them. Almost as though she knew what was coming, she was very clearly trying to ignore Giovanni's stare, not letting him catch her eyes. However, Giovanni made no sign of leaving without the matter being discussed…

"Cassandra." He said her name with warning, dropping the formalities between them.

She didn't glance at him, "I don't want to talk about him." She stated firmly.

The leader inwardly growled, having gone over this topic repeatedly with her, even though she showed no signs of budging…but in the end, he knew he'd win. He always did! "Cassandra you can't keep doing this! Zachariah's offer is perfectly reasonable-."

"Excuse me if I don't like the idea of marrying someone, who frankly is more interested in my body than me!" she snapped, her usual emotionless mask falling. She so hated this argument!

Giovanni sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, "The incident at the dinner party was a long time ago."

"Oh, like hell it was! It was just a few months ago, and that was the first time I met him! I am NOT going to be engaged with someone who'd use me as a sex toy! If he wants some of THAT pleasure, he can go hire a whore just like you do," she said venomously, giving him a glare.

Inwardly, Giovanni nearly flinched at the comment, but had no desire to punish the young woman as he would any other who dared use their knowledge of his private life as an insult, "That was rather uncalled for…"

She quickly sniped back at him, "But it's true. Is he even aware of my-."

"After you met, he became quite interested in you. He's read your files…so yes, he is."

There was silence for a few moments at that, while Giovanni glanced around again at the apartment. There were gashes in the walls, as though someone had shot, stabbed, or been slammed into them. Which was likely the case…there had been many fights in here, some far more bloody than others. He couldn't help but disapprove of its condition, seeing as how he'd sent various employees to repair the damage a number of times. Still, it didn't appear that anything had been done to patch the place up. He vaguely felt annoyed, not liking the idea that his personal assassin was living in such a small, trashy dump. But no matter how he'd suggested to her to move into more spacey quarters, as Domino and any others in high power had, she refused. Just as she was with the proposal offer...

"I simply cannot see why you won't accept. Even if my nephew wishes to have you simply for your beauty, do you believe that will be different with anyone else? Love is a ridiculous notion my dear girl, even when it's physical. And who exactly would be willing to get that close to a murderer? Will you answer me that?"

Cassandra had no answer; and would not look at him for more reasons than one. In truth, she had also thought about that a number of times. But it was not as though she needed someone to love her. In fact, the idea was preposterous! Still, what Giovanni had said did somewhat hurt her. She refused to allow that emotion to show however, or the fact that she knew he was right…

He went on, "Zachariah, while not nearly clever enough for the job, I'm willing to admit, is the only heir I have. As my ward and left hand, the idea of you being bound to him seems to be a perfectly intelligent thing to do. Not only could you defend him, but in the event something does happen to him, that would make you first in line for carrying on this organization once my time is complete." He stated, hoping dearly for that end to be retirement rather than death.

Once more, there was no response.

Giovanni tried again, his voice shockingly gentle for a criminal leader who'd been responsible for a number of heinous things in his life, "I am also concerned for you. You've been slaying others since you were ten! And in recent years, your job has been all that's mattered to you. Sooner or later, I'm certain you'll crash."

Then, he destroyed what might have been an honest sign that he could truly care for another being, "And I can't have that…you're an important part of Team Rocket, too important for me to lose. I can scarcely recall the last time you relaxed."

She shot him a look, "That's because I haven't."

"Which is precisely what I mean!" he stated, ignoring her tone, "It's…unnatural for you to continue on the pace you are! You-."

The agent had had enough of this, "Giovanni, if you want me to marry Zachariah, just order me to. I'm not a child who needs lecturing."

Cassandra had never disobeyed a command, no matter how difficult it might be to carry out. That was her payment for being taken in by Giovanni after she was orphaned. And while she hated the idea of being the wife of a pervert, if it would cease these arguments that she'd grown so sick of, she'd do it. As long as he understood that she would never sleep with the young man… Giovanni would just have to live with the fact that his "daughter" would not be bearing him any grandnephews/nieces. Ever.

The leader was a bit shocked at the sudden change of tune, but inwardly grinned. So…he'd finally broken her stubborn decision! Once again, he'd manage to triumph. Oh, how that gave him a sense of satisfaction...

"Well then, when you get back, you'll be engaged. There's a nice thought to look forward to!" He kept back his laughter at her expression.

Maybe I'll just let Mewtwo kill me… Cassandra thought in irritation. It couldn't possibly be more painful then what awaited her when she returned. Damn, damn, damn!

Giovanni stood, that matter complete, "As for the mission, your supplies will be stored in the usual manner." He told, and then went on to say, "Your plane will leave at eleven hundred hours tomorrow."

Cassandra nodded, preferring this subject by far.

Giovanni quickly let himself out, leaving Agent Winters alone. She cursed under her breath, not liking the idea that she'd given in to becoming his niece-in-law. Well, if Zachariah tried anything, she could always castrate him…she couldn't think of anyone who would mind if she made a few little "mistakes" while she was at it. Maybe cutting into his bladder and letting him poison himself would be fun to watch…

A few hours later, she could be seen sitting down at the table once more, the papers in the file spread out in front of her. She shouldn't think about what would happen after she'd managed to kill the clone. She had to think about the task at hand…her new mission…

Among the files was Mewtwo's actual history, and what had led to his birth:

Nearly twenty years ago, when Team Rocket was still under the leadership of a woman only known as Madame Boss (Giovanni's mother), her top agent was sent on a mission to find the legendary Phantom Pokémon, believed to reside somewhere in the Andes Mountains. The creature, supposedly the most rare and powerful pokémon in existence, was otherwise known as Mew. However, the agent never returned from her mission, and the radio transmissions she sent ceased after a time.

Years later, once Giovanni had inherited Team Rocket, the story of this incident came to his attention. Soon afterwards, a tiny fossil was found in an excavation site, perhaps coincidentally near the foot of the same mountains that the Phantom Pokémon was said to reside. The remnant, it was found, was a perfectly preserved Mew eyebrow. It was the desire to have the legendary, but supposedly extinct creature, which led Giovanni to hire the leading scientist in the field of cloning, the genius Dr. Fuji.

The man was an older gentleman, whom had become obsessed with discovering the secret of life after the death of his only child, Amber. The little girl, only eight, had been killed in a car accident. It was his hope though, that through cloning, he could resurrect his daughter. This desire however, and his attempts spurred from it, only had the effect of driving his wife away. So, he was left completely alone, his family gone. Perhaps that was why he accepted Giovanni's offer; despite the fact that he knew the leader was the head of a criminal organization. For with the funding and the latest equipment, the chances of bringing Amber back fully was far more likely.

Before that however, almost half a decade went into his own experiments, in which the scientist (and his employees) succeeded in creating an enhanced Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander; and a clone of his daughter as well. Giovanni's offer then came into play; and he began to also create the clone of Mew. Because the creature hadn't been seen in several centuries, this involved much guesswork, and some modifications to make the clone stronger, as Giovanni had requested. In a month, Dr. Fuji and his colleagues had succeeded in making the infant, and dubbed it Mewtwo.

When the clone was only a few months old, an unexpected thing occurred. Ambertwo, as she was called, contacted the cat in telepathy, and began to speak to it. The other clones, Bulbasaurtwo, Squirtletwo, and Charmandertwo, were quick to join them. But as more time went on, Ambertwo, being a human clone and considerably weaker, began to die. The others, save for Mewtwo, disintegrated just before her in their cultivation tanks. From Mewtwo's erratic brainwaves and distress after they died, the scientists guessed that the children, especially the girl and the kitten, were quite close. To cease its traumatized struggling, Mewtwo was made to forget about the incident.

While some considered the experiment a failure, the being Giovanni had invested in so much money survived. Though it was alone throughout the next several months, highly sedated, it grew to adulthood in but a year. When it awoke however, it lashed out violently, wiping out the lab and killing those who'd created it. The Team Rocket leader managed to bring Mewtwo to his side though, despite its uncontrollable temper. In the year that followed, the clone fought in the Viridian City Gym under Giovanni's command, though was used in various other tasks as well.

But after a year, the creature lashed out once again, breaking free of the restraining armor that had been carefully suppressing its power. It destroyed the Team Rocket base, and nearly killed the leader of the organization in the process. This is likely because it was revealed to Mewtwo that its only reason for being was to fight, to serve. In the next year, what the clone did remained unknown.

Yet Giovanni wished to have the creature back, and managed with Agent 009's (aka 'The Black Tulip') aid, to find its hideaway at Purity Canyon, a vast, natural landmark in the Jhoto region. It was soon found that Mewtwo had created other clone pokémon like itself, undoubtedly to comfort any loneliness it might have. After being used as bait, so Mewtwo could be captured and restrained by the machines made for that purpose; those creatures would have been utilized in experiments, in the event that the plan had succeeded.

Had that happened, Mewtwo would have been the leader of a clone pokémon army at some point in the near future. Though unwillingly, it would help to bring the world under Giovanni's rule, the dream of Team Rocket since its creation. However, a small group of trainers intervened, managing, despite the odds, to fight back Giovanni's forces. This fight went on long enough for one of them, a young boy, to drag Mewtwo (whom had been previously weakened, almost to the point of death, by the same machines used to keep hold of it), to the Mt. Quena spring. From there, the creature's strength was restored.

After that, to defend its companions, Mt. Quena (for it was to be used as a new laboratory base), and itself, the clone moved the spring and lake of Purity Canyon, and them, to an unknown area. Then, Mewtwo wiped the minds of the Team Rocket force used in the top-secret mission to reclaim it, of its existence and anything related to it. This amnesia spell included Giovanni and Agent 009, whom would later rediscover their memories of the incident…

Cassandra blinked, partially unsettled by what she had just read. Many reasons for her emotions on the matter flowed through her mind, most of which she chose to ignore. The only thought she allowed to surface in her head, was that she found it strange that she'd never been introduced to the creature. She was usually the first to meet new agents of power. Though, as a super-clone pokémon, he might not have been considered one…

Taking her eyes away from the being's history, she looked at his anatomy records, his personality file, and other such papers inside the folder she'd been given. Sipping another cup of tea, she didn't notice the black and gold feline that approached her feet. As he jumped into her lap though, she smiled softly, scratching the creature behind the ears, petting his dark fur. As he curled up in her lap, closing his ruby eyes and purring, she finally looked down at him fondly.

"Good evening Shadow…it seems I have another mission." She told him quietly, though she was certain he already knew.

"Umbre…" came the response. He bared his teeth slightly to make his opinion of her so-called occupation clear.

"You shouldn't worry about me…you know well that I'm more than capable of handling myself. Besides, Giovanni wouldn't send me to terminate someone I couldn't handle."

He gave her a look, "Breon."

She chuckled slightly, "Yes, yes, I know you don't approve of him…or Domino. You gave her quite a scare earlier by the way."

The Umbreon gave a rough laugh, like stones being ground together. Cassandra gave him a pat on the head, showing some of her hard to come by affection. Shadow was perhaps the only creature on the planet that had a hope of understanding her…and the only one whom she ever gave a tender look. For, in truth, he was her only companion…her only friend. He'd been given to her as a gift, an Eevee then, a few years back. Since that time, through their bond, he'd evolved into a creature of the night, like herself. As odd as it had been at first, his presence, the young woman was now thankful for his company. In fact, she quite enjoyed it. For without the feline, she'd likely have gone insane in recent years.…

Finishing reading about her prey, she sat up, startling the snoozing dark pokémon for a moment, before he landed on his feet. He watched as his mistress, if that was what she could be considered, began to prepare for her trip. Spying her take out a familiar black case, and the layers of velvet inside, his red eyes observed as she expertly grabbed a few of the many dangerous weapons on the shelves and walls from their places.

The agent favored knives and drugs above all, and he knew, out of all the lethal things she planned to bring, she would likely only use her twin silver blades, and perhaps slip in a 'knock out' pill into a drink. Knowing the procedure by heart, he turned away, jumping up on the table. He opened the folder with a swift paw, gazing at a picture of the being Cassandra was to destroy…

And his tail gave a tiny flick, for reasons known only to him…

A few minutes later, as he turned back to the female human, he saw that she was now packing a few weeks worth of clothes, among some things. Crossing over to the bathroom, he went through the dark door, gazing at the cracked mirror. Opening the cabinet, he grabbed one of the bottles in his mouth, and carried it back to the teenager; knowing if wouldn't be good at all if she forgot…

Several hours later, Agent Winters sat in contemplation on board a plane that was going to a distant city in the regions west of Kanto (and Jhoto). The sky was overcast, a number of rain clouds making the day dim, a mix of gray and blue. As she saw a flock of Pidgeottos flying to the plane's side, she looked at them almost wistfully. Whether she simply imagined it or not, she felt a dull ache between her shoulder blades, and on impulse tugged at the chocker around her neck. She quickly stopped as she felt a flash of burning pain on that area of her skin as a result…

"Miss, would you like something off the cart?" asked a uniformed woman in the aisle.

The young woman was jerked from her thoughts, "No thank you." She turned the offer down politely with a shake of her head.

The flight attendant accepted that, moving on. Suddenly however, Cassandra felt her hair being tugged gently from behind, and twisted around quickly. There, right behind her, was a little boy, his short brown hair messy, his blue eyes gazing into her silver ones gleefully. His mother was slumped in her seat beside him, sleeping. The agent didn't know entirely how to respond to this situation…she was not used to children.

"Have you ever been on a plane before?" he asked her, curious.

She didn't give an amused grin as one normally would when she replied, "Yes…many times."

He blinked at her; "Oh…" he looked as though he wanted to say something further, but sat back down in his seat by a reprimand from his awakening mother.

Cassandra turned around in her seat, but heard a soft comment from the boy before she shut her eyes for a quick nap.

"You have odd eyes…they're pretty though."

This time, she supplied a small smile… Thank you… Someone once told me…they're like pools of moonlight…

As night fell, the young woman stood in her dimly lit hotel room, her suitcase (somehow managing to pass security with its weapons) lying open on the well-made bed. She quickly grabbed her dark "uniform" from inside it, pulling off her casual cloths and tossing it on. Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt satisfied with her appearance. The shirt left her back open, something essential to her, though it revealed an array of tiny scars from previous years in her life…

She silently pulled out her twin blades from the soft velvet underneath her cloths and other items, enjoying the feel of them in her hands. They fit so well… Unlike guns or larger weapons, they were perfect. Without flaws, sharp and sweet, cold and gleaming…they were like her, in a way. Both they and she seemed to be made of metal… With her job, she needed to be of something stronger than flesh to survive.

Nearly ready for the task at hand, she turned the clasp around the ornament "jewel" within her collar, which was actually a disguised dial. The action, incredibly simple, completed the transformation. She gave a small sigh, as though in relief, as the hidden part of her was revealed in a small flash of black light… Large, ebony raven wings hung lightly upon her back, giving her the appearance of a dark angel.

Now, she was ready.

She crossed out onto the balcony, and with one swift, graceful movement, took flight.