The next day, Serena was understandably quite shaken up by what had happened yesterday evening. She was sitting on her throne, pondering what to do. Serena needed protection and quick. She wasn't going to cower in fear and never leave her palace again, but she would be stupid to leave again with no proper security. And the guards at the palace were nowhere near equipped for this task. She only had one option and that was the Musketeers. She had never really engaged much with them and hadn't needed them until now. She sighed and decided she'd have to summon Captain Giovanni to speak with him. She was very familiar with him, having been escorted by him on important occasions a few times since she ascended to the throne. But she always felt a little unnerved by him. There was just something she didn't quite like about him…

A couple miles across from the palace, the man himself stomped into his quarters early in the morning. He looked agitated, as several Musketeers avoided his wrath on his way up. Giovanni slammed his door shut and immediately walked over to his book shelf. He pulled a purple book out and then a secret passageway suddenly appeared behind the bookcase. Captain Giovanni always told his workers never ever to touch his books and this was the reason why. He walked into the passageway, which led to a downward spiral staircase. Giovanni stomped down there and ended up in a dungeon of some kind. The three masked figures who tried to assassinate Serena were standing there, waiting for him. There was silence for a while, as a rat scurried across the dungeon floor, probably fleeing the man who just entered the room. Giovanni slowly walked around the three of them. He sneered and jeered a little to intimate them and kept turning his head back and forth at them, to make them jump. He could be very unpredictable and the three of them were quaking in their boots, frightened of what their boss would say or do next.

'IMBECILES!' he suddenly shouted.

Giovanni slapped the masks off them and pushed the two humans down to the floor. He looked at them in pure disgust. The third one was a Meowth and remained on his feet, but still cowered in fear like the others.

'Wh-what's wrong boss?' asked one of them.

'What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?!' he fumed. 'When I give you an order, I expect it to be done. EXACTLY as I instruct! To the letter!'

All three of them gulped.

'Wh-what did we do wrong?' asked another one.

Giovanni sighed.

'Jessie, James, Meowth. When I hired you to carry out this task, I thought you were up to the job. I thought you were the right agents to do what needed to be done. For the good of Kalos. Team Rocket is not an institute for idiots…'

'We are the right ones, boss! You can count on us!' said Jessie.

'Then why did you try to KILL the princess, when I explicitly instructed you to kidnap her?! Killing her would attract too much attention. Instigate an unneeded investigation! Do you want me to get caught and this whole operation to fail?!'
Jessie and James shook their heads.

'O-of course not. Apologies, boss. There must have been some confusion somewhere along the line…' said Meowth

Meowth side-eyed Jessie and James.

'But we promise it won't happen again.'

'Yes, it won't happen again!' repeated Jessie.

They all got on their knees and started to plead with Giovanni.

'Please give us another chance,' begged James.

Giovanni stroked his chin and considered it.

'Hmm, well I'll give you one more chance. If you fail me again, I shall deploy more competent agents to serve me. Is that clear?'

'Sir, yes, sir!' they all said.

They saluted him and bowed to him.

'Okay, in that case, stand by for instructions. And this time, listen to me very, very carefully…

Team Rocket nodded emphatically, eager to make it up to the boss.

'I want you to kidnap the princess and lock her up in Lumiose Tower. If I am to become the rightful king of this land, I need you to successfully do this and keep her there, until the Pokemon Panto show begins at the Royal Lumiose Theatre in December. Do. You. Understand?'

Team Rocket nodded again to show their understanding.

'Good. But, you still failed me. So you shall serve a punishment…'

Giovanni walked over to the wall and pulled a lever. Team Rocket screamed and fell down into a deep pit.

'You will serve you punishment here, until I am ready to call upon your services again.'

Team Rocket accepted their punishment without another word said and then there was a knock at the dungeon door.

'Come in,' said Giovanni.

Another Team Rocket agent entered. The agent had the body of a very elegant woman, as she swaggered into the room, with her hands on her hips.

'Yes, Agent O?'

'Excuse my interruption, Boss. But I have just received a message from the princess.'

'The princess?' questioned Giovanni.

His eyes popped out at her and he looked worried.

'Yes, she has summoned you to the palace. Immediately. She sounds very impatient.'

'Oh. Very well. Thank you, Agent O. I shall make haste there now. Take care of these clowns while I'm gone…'

He pointed down at them. Agent O nodded and then Giovanni left promptly.

Captain Giovanni marched into the throne room and bowed to a very irritated looking princess. Serena tapped her fingers impatiently on her throne. She cleared her throat and looked at him with a look of clear distaste.

'I came as quickly as I could, Your Highness.'

'Hmmm. Not quick enough for my liking.'

'Apologies, my queen. I am at your service now. What do you require of me?'

Giovanni was unnaturally different in the manner he spoke to Serena. He talked down to everyone else and loved to exercise his power usually. But Serena was the one person he had no authority over. And he so desired to have control over her too. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Pandering to such a young queen, made him sick. But he would be a fool to displease her, with the power she still had invested in her, despite her very youthful age.

'I require protection. Bodyguards. The finest Musketeers you have in your ranks, Captain.'

Giovanni gave her a confused look and acted like he didn't know why she would ask such a thing. When in actual fact, he figured out why in seconds. He knew the incompetence of his agents would have some repercussions and come back to bite him in some way. Giovanni thought fast and tried to invalidate the request.

'But, Your Highness, you are perfectly safe already. You are always under my personal protection and the palace guards are more than enough to keep you safe.'

Serena shook her head defiantly.

'No, Captain. I am not satisfied with that at all. I cannot be protected at all times by palace guards and you are only one man, Captain. And retired might I add. I need a team of your best Musketeers to guard me whenever I leave the palace. Now are you going to provide me with that or not, Captain?'

'Well, I must protest-'

'No! I don't want to hear anymore! I have made my decision and I demand it to be done. Immediately! I'd hate for your reputation to be brought into disrepute, Captain. I can easily replace you with someone else if it is necessary…'

'Oh. No, no, no. That won't be necessary at all, Your Highness… But, please. Allow me time to scout out the best Musketeers and prepare them for such a big honour.'
Serena furrowed her eyebrows and squinted her eyes at him. There was just something she didn't trust about him one bit. He served her mother well enough and was highly respected in the palace over the years. But her intuition always doubted his authenticity. And her intuition was almost always right.

'Hmmm. I suppose… I will give you 72 hours to present me with Musketeers I deem to be sufficient enough. If they are not sufficient enough, I shall call upon the services of the next Captain to take over from you.'

Giovanni begrudgingly accepted her terms and nodded.

'Thank you, Your Highness. I will not disappoint you.'

Serena was still far from impressed and just wanted Giovanni to leave now. She could not stand his presence any longer.

'Well, that remains to be seen. I will expect you to deliver within the time allocated. Now, leave.'

Giovanni bowed, with a devilish grin that Serena did not see and then he excused himself.

The next day, Giovanni was sitting at his desk early in the morning, desperately thinking of a way he could correct the errors of his agents. He didn't actually want to deploy his best Musketeers to protect the princess. His agents would be no match for them and his plan would have failed before it ever really took off. He had his fingers in a diamond formation, as his head began to hurt a little from thinking too hard. Giovanni was stumped as to what to do next. It was a game of chess. And his pawns had royally messed up. He needed a new chess piece to take the queen out. Agent O was his queen piece, but he wanted to save her for when he really needed her. A secret weapon for later. Then, just as his mind went into overdrive, three knights walked into his office. It was Ash, Brock and Gary, clocking in for their shift. Giovanni forgot they were coming in to work today and almost dismissed them immediately, as he leapt from his chair a little angrily. The three boys froze and weren't sure what to do. They looked at their boss and tried to read his mood. Then rather surprisingly, his usual stony face turned into a wide grin. He got a wicked idea.

'Gentlemen!' began Giovanni. 'Just the three lads I wanted to see!'

The boys looked at each other in confusion.

'U-us?' asked Gary.

'Yes! You three! I've been watching you. Keeping an eye on you…'

Brock gulped. He was sure they had done something wrong and were for the chop now.

'Y-you have?' he asked sheepishly.

Giovanni walked over to him and put an arm around him. The boys didn't know what to think, as they fretted that they could be in deep trouble.

'Well, yes! Of course, Son! You three have worked very, very hard! And good employees deserve to be rewarded!'

'Rewarded?' inquired Ash.

His ears were really pricking up now. He strived for success and was desperate to impress the boss from day one.

'Oh, yes! You deserve it! And guess what? Today's your lucky day!'

'It- it is?' asked Gary

Giovanni nodded with a really forced smile.

'But why?'

Giovanni slapped Gary's back heartily, but a bit too hard, causing him to lose his balance a little. Then Giovanni turned to face them all.

'Because you three are finally getting your wish!'

'What wish?' asked Ash.

'Oh, my dear boy. Come now! You wished for it yourself only weeks ago! What was your name again?'

'Ash.'

'Ash! Yes, that's it! Ash, my boy! I was actually really impressed with your bravery when you asked me, you know,' lied Giovanni.

He patted Ash's head.

'So… from this day on, you are no longer lowly cleaners, but… honorary Musketeers! Congratulations!'

He beamed at them and spread his arms out wide jubilantly. Then he shook each of their hands. Ash, Brock and Gary's mouths would have dropped down to the floor if they were cartoon characters. But the pure shock of the moment made their mouths wide enough, to at least make them look like they were something out of a cartoon.

'Wh-what?! Musketeers! You've got to be kidding? Are you sure?' asked Ash.

'Nope! No kidding at all! You've got what it takes and you will be starting training immediately! In fact, I have a very special assignment for you. Are you ready, boys?'

They all nodded emphatically, excitement creeping up on them now and silencing the doubt.

'Okay, drop your cleaning equipment and follow me…'

'Aye, aye, Captain!' they all said.

Ash, Brock and Gary were jumping for joy and couldn't believe this was really happening. This was huge. A massive opportunity to finally live their dream and improve their status in the world. There was nothing they wanted more than this. But they tried to contain themselves and show some composure. They had to be serious about this. Captain Giovanni marched them out of his office and over to the Musketeer training grounds. He assigned them to his best general and instructed him to teach them as much as he could to them in 72 hours. He didn't want them to be trained too well, but he still had to make it look good after all. They still had to know the basics at least, so the princess wasn't suspicious. Besides, in Giovanni's mind, there was no way two commoners with no experience whatsoever, could ever actually be anywhere near good enough. Captain Giovanni left them to it and made his way back to his office, with a spring in his step and rubbing his hands gleefully. He chuckled to himself. There was no chance in hell those three simpletons could stop his agents from kidnapping the princess and fulfilling his plans. He had rescued his plan, as three eager knights entered the chessboard, unsuspecting of what the puppet master was really using them for…

3 days later, the boys were ready. Well, as ready as they could be anyway. Captain Giovanni marched them through the palace gates and into the Grand Royal Palace. They were dressed in full Musketeer uniform now, exactly like the captain. Ash opted to keep his original Musketeer hat, despite being offered a new one. He'd come this far with it, that it was kind of becoming a bit of a good luck charm for him now. Ash, Brock and Gary couldn't be more excited to finally be able to be just like their childhood heroes. Yet, there was an overwhelming anxiety looming over them. They needed to get this right. The boys did wonder why they were picked, especially for such an important mission, but they trusted the captain. If he had faith in them, they had to have faith in themselves. Their thought process was suddenly interrupted, as Captain Giovanni halted them at the throne room doors.

'Wait here, you three. I am going to talk to the queen first and then when I open the doors, you may enter. Understand?'

They nodded.

'Good. Don't let me down.'

Giovanni entered the throne room. Princess Serena was staring out the window and turned around to face the captain. Shauna was on the other side of the room, preparing tea and brought two cups over to them.

'No, thank you, Lady Shauna,' said Giovanni.

Shauna gave him a funny look and then handed Serena her tea. She took it and sat on her throne. Giovanni waited to be addressed, as Serena took a long sip and made him wait, to his chagrin.

'Captain Giovanni. I trust you have carried out my orders?'

'Yes. Of course, Your Majesty. I have hand picked the best Musketeers you could dream of! You will never have to worry about your safety again. They are the best of the best and-'

Shauna rolled her eyes and left through the back door, to get more refreshments. Serena put her hand up to stop him.

'Enough. Stop prattling on and show them to me. Now.'

Giovanni was really trying to sell it to her, but Serena had no patience today. So he cleared his throat and got on with it.

'Okay. Apologies, Your Majesty. So, without further ado, may I present to you, your new personal bodyguards!'

Giovanni opened the doors and ushered the new recruits inside. Ash, Brock and Gary immediately saluted, wanting to give off a good first impression to their queen. Brock and Gary then bowed, but Ash failed to do so. Instead, his hand slowly slipped back down to his side, as he just stared at the princess, gawking like an idiot. Serena's face was remarkably similar to Ash's, except hers was more pleasantly surprised. She barely even acknowledged Brock and Gary and just stared back at Ash and was convinced she'd seen him somewhere before. They were looking right into each other's souls, as if they were the only two people in the room. Ash wasn't quite putting two and two together like Serena, though and was more so just taken aback by how beautiful she was. Whereas, Serena was still trying to work out just where she might have seen Ash before, but she couldn't concentrate because the guy was just too damn handsome.

'God, he's hot,' said Serena to herself, in her head.

There was a lengthy silence, which was starting to become a little awkward now, until Giovanni broke it.

'Well… What do you think, Your Majesty? Will they suffice?'

Serena shook her head and unlocked her eyes from Ash's.

'Err… Yes, I suppose so.'

In truth, Serena could already tell that they were inexperienced, just by their initial stances when they entered the room. But she never expected to find one of them so ridiculously attractive. And the fact that she was almost 100% sure she had met him before, was making him the most interesting man in the whole of Kalos to her. More interesting than any of the men Bonnie tried to match her up with. Then suddenly, Shauna returned with some macaroons, a cake and a knife and hummed her way over to Serena. Ash, Brock and Gary immediately reacted to her sudden entrance and rushed over to stop her getting any closer to the queen. Gary was first to make contact, as he pinned her down to the floor. The macaroons went flying. Then the cake flipped up in the air and landed straight on Shauna's dress and completely ruined it. Thankfully, Shauna still had a tight grip on the knife, even though it wasn't actually that sharp anyway. But the boys didn't know that.

'Stop right there! No one touches the queen on our watch!' said Gary.

Ash and Brock quickly joined the scuffle and dived in. They wrestled the knife from her hands. Serena was shocked.

'Unhand her!' she cried.

'But-but, she has a knife! And you are in danger, Your Highness!' said Brock.

'No, I am not! She is my lady-in-waiting! Now release her at once!'

The boys looked at each other like dumbstruck fools and instantly knew they messed up. Giovanni chuckled to himself on the other side of the room. His plan was already working perfectly. And he barely had to lift a finger.

'Oh, right... Please, accept our most humblest apologies, Your Majesty,' said Ash.

He knelt on one knee and took his hat off, in respect. Brock released his grip on Shauna and apologised. Gary remained on top of her for a little longer and cheekily winked at her. Shauna scoffed and pushed him off her in disgust. He apologised too. Then Brock and Gary joined Ash, either side of him.

Shauna got back to her feet and brushed what was left of the cake off her dress. She shook her head and tried to see the funny side of the situation.

'Hmmm. These must be your new protectors, Your Highness…' she said sarcastically.

She looked at them up and down and looked very unimpressed.
'I mean, they're eager. I'll give them that. But they'll never last. They're not suitable at-'

'No matter,' interrupted Serena. Mistakes can be forgiven. You may rise.'

Shauna looked bemused, surprised Serena wasn't giving them their marching orders. Ash slowly lifted his head, as Serena saw his face up closer for the first time. She looked straight into his eyes again and then she just knew in that split moment. They were the same eyes. Two dazzling chocolate brown orbs, she never thought she would ever see again. She gasped a little and then he smirked at her. His boyish good looks took her off guard ever so briefly and made her blush a little. Kanto Boy was back in her life. Somehow. And hopefully to stay this time.