There is a need to find an extremely secluded place where they all can meet in secret in order to plan for the big battle ahead. This is something which they as the former leaders of SKIP had started, it is their responsibility to end it.

Fortunately, Lance had managed to find such a place for them. An area where no outsiders are allowed entry and is not under the jurisdiction of either the Indigo Government or the League because it is private land, which means that they would not need to worry about being watched. The owner of the place had given them permission to enter and use it for the time being, which means that they now have a secret base of operations in which both the interpol and the former SKIP members can hang out and plan for the big day.

As to how Lance managed to convince the owner of Olivine's West Forest, Volkner Tide of Sunyshore, to do so Samuel has no clue. It surprised him that the former Gym Leader of Sunyshore is the owner of the mysterious West Forest in the first place. Who would have thought that an ex Gym Leader from Sinnoh would settle down here in Johto? Now also the husband of Jasmine, Olivine City's Gym Leader no less?

In any case, he's not going to complain and he is sure neither will his fellow SKIP comrades. It's not hard to tell that Volkner is not exactly willing in having people like them disturb the tranquility of his West Forest, so they try not to impose too much on him. Having a Sinnohan tangled so intimately in Indigo's affairs is not supposed to happen in the first place anyway, so it's best if they do not cause him further trouble for all the generous help that he had so begrudgingly given. Already, they had converted his entire garage into their own lab and from what they can tell, it's probably Volkner's only sanctuary in the West Forest that Jasmine allows her husband to do whatever he wants there.

"Comfortable?" Volkner asked lazily with his leg propped on the surface of a nearby table, his eyes surveying whatever is left of the familiarity of his garage. Samuel can practically see the pain in Volkner's eyes of having his precious garage converted into a boring stuffy lab.

He can understand. He was once in his shoes when he and Agatha were still husband and wife. Just like how Volkner's garage is his only sanctuary in his home, his underground lab was also his only sanctuary back when he and Agatha built a home together in Pallet.

"Sorry about this." Samuel said apologetically. "We'll make it up to you after all this is over."

"It's fine." Volkner casually waved it off with a sigh. "I should have expected something like this when Lance asked me if the interpol and SKIP could use my forest as a secret base of operations. Whatever. I will just renovate the entire thing the moment this whole mess is over. At least I will be kept busy for a while."

"Thank you for volunteering to help Indigo." Samuel said sincerely from the bottom of his heart. Volkner has no obligations to help Indigo. There's nothing in it for the Electric Specialist to do so and he has everything to lose simply by being involved, yet he is here, playing a crucial role in stopping Giovanni and his mad plans.

"Please don't say it as though I'm some sort of saint. I am, and will always be, a selfish asshole. I didn't volunteer." Volkner deadpanned. "When the Indigo Champion who is also your resident Dragon Master literally went down on his knees to ask for my help, there was no way I could say no no matter how much I don't want to get involved. Well, at least that's something to brag about to my future kids. Lance going down on his knees gave me a huge scare, you know? I nearly thought he was going to pop the question with a ring in hand when he did that. What would Jas say if her handsome husband received a marriage proposal from the Indigo Champion himself? I will be sleeping on the couch for the next decade, that is for sure."

Samuel chuckled at Volkner's bad attempt of a joke. Well, Volkner's been complaining non-stop about the task he's been given ever since he got here but Samuel can tell that there's no real bite to it. Volkner's simply complaining for the sake of complaining. The eyebags and dark circles around Volkner's eyes told a very different story. The Electric Specialist must have stayed up very late last night to complete the task Lance had asked him to help do and if rumours about this man is to be believed, Volkner does take his job seriously no matter how laidback and disagreeable he appears to be.

"You know that I'm not here just to see the pathetic state of my garage, right?"

"Was wondering when you would say that." Samuel replied as he took a seat within the garage-now-turned-lab because it seems that their conversation will take awhile. It's only the two of them in here for now. The rest will be coming over about an hour later. "You don't look like the type to seek others out without a good reason. You are busy enough as it is."

"To be honest I'm not sure if telling this to you now is a good idea, but it concerns your family, so I thought I should inform you first and from there, whether you want to tell the rest of your family is your own decision."

"My family?" Samuel clarified, which Volkner replied with a nod of his head.

"Come on, Professor, don't tell me you don't find this entire fiasco fishy as hell." Volkner cut straight to the point without delay. "First of all, an informant appeared from literally out of nowhere to warn us of the Rocket threat that would have blindsided the entire Indigo. Not only that, it came at the right time. Not too early, not too late. It came at a time when we have just enough time to prepare ourselves against the Rockets."

"I agree." Samuel nodded his head in agreement. "Everything does seem a little too coincidental and our luck has been a little too good considering what Giovanni is planning. But what does this have to do with my family?"

"I'm getting there, give me a while." Volkner replied before talking about another seemingly unrelated topic. "The entire dump of information the informant gave us? It can be broadly classified into two categories. The dirt on Kain, and the dirt on the Rockets. One of them is significantly more than the other. Take a guess which is it."

"Seeing that the informant appeared to warn us of the Rockets, it should be them, but going by your tone of voice I have a feeling that it is otherwise."

"Yes, exactly that." Volkner emphasised with a snap of his fingers. "Weird, right? If the whole informant warning Lance shebang is to warn us of the Rocket threat so that Indigo will not be blindsided by the sudden eruption of war, why give us so much information about Kain? I understand if he gave us a number of it to prove to us that Kain cannot be trusted, but what he gave us is way too much. So, why? That got me thinking, how on earth did this informant manage to get all this super duper secret information in the first place? You were Indigo's Champion, Professor, you had worked with Kain before. Tell me, on a scale of one to ten, how paranoid is that old fart?"

"A hundred." Samuel snorted at the thought of the unpleasant President of Indigo and what he had done to his SKIP comrades. "But I see your point. Kain is extremely careful about what he does. Getting just a single speck of dirt on him is hard, getting so much dirt on him is not supposed to be possible."

"My sentiments exactly. I had thought that maybe Indigo doesn't place as much importance on cybersecurity as Sinnoh did, so I went to check it out with my porygon-z. Guess what? Indigo's cybersecurity is rock solid. Not in any way inferior to Sinnoh's."

"Volkner." Samuel had to resist the urge to facepalm and sigh. "You cannot just-"

"Hack into the Government's database. I know." Volkner replied with a roll of his eyes. "Jas and Lance already told me off for that, but to be fair Lance did promise me free reign to do whatever I need to get the job done, so stop complaining. Besides, I did find out something that you guys will never imagine. It's what I'm about to get into that concerns your family and many others."

"So what did you find out?"

"Everything that the informant gave us about Kain? It's almost the exact number of files on him and all of his dirty dealings my porygon-z can find in the Government's database. There's only one file that the informant did not give us and I'm very sure that it's not because he or she could not access it because it's not even the most classified file he or she leaked to us. That one file was not given to Lance on purpose, I'm very certain about it. The informant doesn't want us to know about that file, at all."

Volkner then passed to Samuel a printed copy of whatever he had technically gotten out of the Government's database through illegal means.

"Project Illusion. Top secret project authorised by Kain that is supposedly illegal if found out. That is the missing file that the informant chose not to give us. You can read for yourself what it really is about on page two."

"That bastard." Samuel seethed the moment he read the summary of what Project Illusion really is about. "I knew his hands were never clean and he always took things to the extreme, but must he stoop so low?"

"If you are angry now, I suggest that you cool your rising blood pressure before you flipped to the bookmarked page. Like I said, it concerns your family."

Samuel looked at Volkner in incredulity, then back to the document at hand. He still took Volkner's advice and took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever may come before flipping to the bookmarked page.

What he saw shocked him to the core.

Operative Number: 2043

Code Name: Pikachu

Known given birth name: Jane Green Oak

Place of abduction: Azalea Town

Date of abduction: Year 509, February 22nd

Method of abduction: Taken from family after inciting a stampede of wild rhyhorns living in the area to run through the town. Operative's memory was subsequently modified. Operative family members believed operative to be dead since the body was never found.

Cause of death: Killed in front of Rocket group as a show of warning after cover was blown. Death confirmed by partner, Operative 2046.

Age at the point of death: 16

Misc: Operative was found to be in possession of a houndour and gastly at point of abduction, whose memories were also altered when they were also brought along during the abduction process.

Jane. His granddaughter, Jane. That bastard Kain abducted his granddaughter for his own ends and killed his son and daughter-in-law in the process.

"You okay?"

"Give me a while." Samuel took deep breaths as he visibly tried to rein in his anger. After an unknown period of time, he finally mustered the willpower to look through his granddaughter's profile once more. Right on the top right of the page is a photo of his granddaughter decked out in an operative uniform. She looks exactly like Daisy, albeit a lot younger since this photo was obviously taken when she was only in her teens.

Jane was alive all along, and he wasn't there to save her from Kain's grasp. Now, she's dead. Dead for almost a decade and he knew nothing about it.

He's late, again.

"If you need some time alone to sort out your thoughts I will just see myself out now." Volkner whispered as he slowly got out of his seat. Samuel quickly prevented that from happening.

"No, please stay." Samuel insisted. "I need to know. Everything that you found out about this Project Illusion, please tell me what you know. This is important to me and to my family."

"So it's true then? Everything about her on this report? Especially on how she was abducted?" Volkner asked, to which Samuel responded with a silent nod of his head.

"My children did get caught up in a massive rhyhorn stampede in Azalea on the day we lost them and Jane. My son and daughter-in-law also did have a gastly and a houndour and we never managed to find them. Not even houndour's corpse. We never knew why the rhyhorns were provoked or angered but these are rhyhorns, they are not the smartest creatures around and sometimes there are no reasonable explanations for their sudden berserk behaviour at that stage of their lives. Because of this, Agatha and I, we could only conclude that whatever happened was a stroke of bad luck and that was it. We never knew that the stampede was incited on purpose."

"If the information here about your granddaughter is true, then I guess it's safe to say that everything else on the other operatives are true as well." Volkner said with a frown as he crossed his arms. "From what I read in this file, Project Illusion has 359 operatives in total, 358 are already marked as dead, including your granddaughter."

"So there's one still alive?"

"If what is written there on page three is to be believed, then yes. Coincidentally, that surviving operative is your granddaughter's partner, Operative 2046." Volkner said as he gestured to the report in Samuel's hands with a slight jerk of his head. "There comes another problem. The file on Project Illusion that I dug up, it only has 358 profiles instead of 359. When I got my hands on it the profile and particulars on the only operative alive had already been wiped, which is this unknown Operative 2046."

"So we will never know who Operative 2046 is?"

"Very likely." Volkner replied with a grim tone. "I had my porygon-z did all he could in finding out more because I have a feeling that this Operative 2046 is our secret helper, it will explain a lot of things and weird points about this whole shitshow thus far. It's just my gut instinct, of course, but as much as possible I want to have the clearest possible picture on the entire situation. My porygon-z had managed to double check the timing of the wipe, it was on the same day where there was a breach in security of the Government's database that till now, nobody at Indigo HQ had noticed. We also tracked the time of the breach to be just a few days before the informant first had contact with Lance. By all rights the Indigo database's cybersecurity is so damn tight that not even my porygon-z can hack into it alone, Indigo's cybersecurity is just that solid, but it still got hacked anyway without anyone the wiser. That security breach was what my porygon-z exploited to even manage to infiltrate into the database in the first place and retrieved this file. We would not have even gotten inside the database otherwise."

"So someone had somehow hacked into the Government's database all by himself, and then copied everything there is about Kain but for some reason, never gave Lance the file on Project Illusion. Not only that, that hacker purposely wiped everything there is to know about the only survivor of Project Illusion who is probably still running around working for Kain under the influence of Hypnosis." Samuel quickly summarised the entire situation and tried his best to not think about Jane. He will deal with that matter later in private.

"That's basically it." Volkner replied. "Just from this alone it's highly likely that whoever this informant is, he or she must be related to Project Illusion one way or another. Thing is, the file itself had stated that everyone else that was involved or knew about the project were all KIA. Meaning to say, right before we found out about it, only two people in this world know about its existence. Kain, and this Operative 2046. If the hacker is indeed a separate person and is working against Kain, why would he or she erase 2046's particulars? It doesn't make any sense. That Operative 2046 may be just what we need to bring Team Rocket down from within. If we can free the Operative from the Hypnosis' influence and work with that operative, we can bring Team Rocket down from within. It's definitely the better approach. So why did that not happen?"

"Assuming that the hacker and the informant are the same person, or that they are different individuals that are working in the same group for a common goal, whoever that person or persons may be, he or she has his own agenda to meet, that's what you are saying." Samuel caught on immediately. "That informant may be helping us, but he or she is also fighting their own battle."

"Or worse, manipulating both Team Rocket and Indigo to fight it out and then come in at the last moment to take whatever he is here for. Or they, depending on whether this informant is indeed working alone." Volkner cautioned. "In any case, finding out the informant's motives is equally important. If we get blindsided, again, we are all royally screwed."

"2046, huh?" Samuel went back to reading his granddaughter's profile again and again, his fingers lightly touching the printed picture of the granddaughter he will never have the chance to see or talk to.

"If that person is still alive I will get everything I need to know out of him or her. That person was Jane's partner and was the one who confirmed her death. It's very likely that person was there by her side in her last moments. Operative 2046 is simply another victim of Kain's actions. If possible, I want to help him reunite with his family too. Or her. Whoever Operative 2046 may be."

"If 2046 is indeed our informant, I'm not sure if he really is on our side. Influence of the hypnosis aside, what he does still doesn't make any sense. Most of the operatives in Project Illusion worked in designated pairs and were sent to infiltrate Team Rocket undercover, including your granddaughter, and 2046 is her designated partner. So going by that logic 2046 should also be undercover in Team Rocket at that time and judging from the quality of information he or she gave us, that person had not only managed to keep his cover while spying on Team Rocket from within for so many years, that person had successfully infiltrated deep within their inner circle. If 2046 doesn't want us to hit him with friendly fire by mistake on the big day itself, the last thing he or she would have done is to not let us know who he really is. The wipe was so thorough that even my porygon-z could not restore the missing page. Now that we have nothing else to go on about 2046's identity, we have no idea if we might accidentally kill him because he's with the Rockets. It just doesn't make sense no matter how I think about it."

"If we go by your logic and if 2046 is indeed our informant, then it's highly likely that his motivations are personal." Samuel reasoned. "Kain used to have a hypno which is extremely skilled in Hypnosis, it was what caused SKIP's downfall when the cover of one of our members was blown. But to my knowledge the hypno was never to be seen again for quite a number of years and Kain never did get another pokemon to replace the hypno. Maybe the influence of Hypnosis on 2046 had worn out because of the hypno's death, allowing him to finally take independent action in warning us about the coming threat while acting as if he is still under Kain's control."

"If that is true it means this whole setup is all for revenge. Revenge against Kain for what he had done to the operatives of Project Illusion." Volkner said in obvious concern. "This is a war that will implicate an entire nation spanning across two regions and the biggest terrorist organisation in the world. If 2046 is really in this for revenge there's a chance that this guy set this all up just to settle his personal vendetta. If that is the case he might be too blinded to care who lives or dies in his quest for revenge, I had seen it happen a few times in Sinnoh whenever someone from the Special Forces see their own comrades fall before their eyes in the line of duty and simply went nuts, as rare as such situations are with me around. It's not pretty."

"Let's just hope that is not the case." Samuel agreed before going back to look at Jane's portrait, then back at Volkner.

"Thank you, for informing me about this. I really appreciate this."

"Don't mention it." Volkner waved it off, his lazy demeanour returning. "It's simply the right thing to do. Let's just hope that Lance's informant really is working for our cause or we are all screwed."

"Whether the informant is indeed Operative 2046 or not, let's place our trust in that person this one time." Samuel said after a short period of silence on his part. "If the informant truly started a war for his own personal reasons there are better ways to go around doing it than to warn Lance. Call me an optimistic fool, but I prefer to see the good in people."

"Being an optimistic fool is still a lot better than being a complete fool in my book. Just look at Kain." Volkner scoffed upon mentioning the name that Samuel now etched into his old bones. Once this is all over, he is not going to have mere words with the President. He is not going to just demand an explanation.

He is going to take action, something that he should have done a long time ago. If he had done that, maybe his children and granddaughter would not have paid for his mistake with their lives. Maybe the other 358 operatives of Project Illusion would not have needed to live such a horrid life. Maybe the sole survivor, Operative 2046, would not need to live like a puppet on strings and is still subjected to Kain's control.

It's all his fault. He was the Champion and he had failed in his duty, spectacularly, and now others are paying for his mistakes.

This time, he will make things right. Giovanni, Kain, SKIP. It's time to end things once and for all and to make things right again.

He will see to it no matter the cost.

'You okay in there?'

'There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. So please don't make me think about my current circumstances right now.'

I rolled my eyes at Mewtwo's answer. If he can be this sassy with me, then he's probably fine.

'So, it's Shakespeare this time?'

'Freedom, Freedom! Wherefore art thou freedom?'

'I believe you confused the word Romeo with freedom.'

'Have you ever heard of improvisation? Do I look like a Juliet to you? Do I look like I have a Romeo to find right now?'

The two of us are back at the Fuschia hideout. With the information we had gotten out of Fuji, Mewtwo's body is finally complete. There is just one small problem.

'If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? For the sole act of putting me in this accursed M2 Bind, I, the second coming of Mew, shall smite thee annoying one with my almighty powers the moment I am free! For FREEDOM!'

Giovanni is a really cautious man. Right before Mewtwo's body was completed he already had the scientists strap the M2 Bind on Mewtwo just in case Mewtwo decided to go rogue. As of now, Mewtwo has a complete body and is free from the tank, only to be trapped in that armour which is the M2 Bind, and there's nothing I can do about it but to watch and hope that Lance has a countermeasure in getting the M2 Bind off Mewtwo because this is not something that I can do for Mewtwo.

I would be lying if I say I wasn't worried about Mewtwo now that he is strapped with the M2 Bind, which means that his actions are now under Giovanni's total control. Although seeing how chatty Mewtwo is even in this state, I say he's alright, just very bored and annoyed that he is still being restrained even when he is now truly born into the world. This is why I am here, to keep Mewtwo company lest his frustrations make his temper rise to his boiling point and compel him to do something foolish and ruin all of our hard work. Powerful as he is, Mewtwo is just a naive child in many aspects. He still needs the guidance of an adult.

'Sometimes, the better part of valour is discretion. Just endure it for now. I'm sure Lance and his men are finding a way to free you from the M2 Bind as we speak. I had made it very clear to him that it is something that must be done.'

'Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air! Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. All the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts! ...Oh, I actually memorised all of them! Good job me!'

'You don't understand a single thing you are quoting, are you? The way you string them up makes no sense.'

'Keep quiet, I'm having my moment. TO BE OR NOT TO BE: THAT IS THE QUESTION!'

'A very good question indeed.' I mused, remembering full well the context of that quote from my past life.

'Huh? I was really asking a question? Oh nevermind, I have a few more! Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand, the blade pointing towards the heart of the annoying one?! Lord, what fool this annoying one is! Off with his head!'

'Make sure he doesn't hear you say that.' I mentally replied in amusement.

'What do you take me for? I am Mewtwo, I don't make silly mistakes like that. Right, ahem, back to where we were. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor Mewtwo, that struts and frets his hour within this damning M2 Bind, and then is HEARD NO MORE; it is a tale told by… told by… uh… Jayce? Told by who again?'

'Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'

'Oh, right. TOLD BY THE ANNOYING ONE, FULL OF INCOMPREHENSIBLE GOD SAVE THE WORLD SPEECHES OF NO SIGNIFICANCE! OFF WITH HIS HEAD! OFF, I SAY! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!'

'That works too.' I cannot help but chuckle in amusement. Mewtwo's fun is infectious. 'And Mewtwo?'

'Yes, my chosen one?'

'Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. I believe you are all of the above. Never change, Mewtwo.'

'Why, thank you, Jayce. I shall etch your kind words into my memory. To thine own self be true, I have always admired this part of you.'

'Why, thank you to you too.'

'Do you have any more quotes to share? I'm getting bored.'

'Doesn't stop you from reading my mind to find out more.'

'Oh right, silly me. Give me a moment to search for another… ah ha! BEWARE THE ANNOYINGNESS THAT IS GIOVANNI, GET THEE TO A NUNNERY! GET THEE TO A NUNNERY! OFF WITH HIS HEAD! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!'

One thing's for certain. Mewtwo definitely has no idea what he's quoting.

"How did it go, Archer?"

"It's done, sir." Archer replied proudly from where he stood across his leader in the office of the secret hideout. Giovanni swiveled his chair around to face him, the expression on his face told Archer everything he needed to know about what Giovanni think about the success of Operation Mirage.

"I knew that I could count on you." Giovanni praised his most trusted subordinate with a proud grin. He had known and raised Archer since he was a young child ever since SKIP was eradicated. To him, all of his Executives are like his own children, but Archer had always been a little special. He truly thought of Archer as his own son and always trusted him to do the most important of tasks. It has always been that way ever since his best friend, Archer's father, was killed in cold blood by Kain and he and Ariana took Archer in and raised the boy like he was their own.

That same boy had become a man and is now his most trusted subordinate. Archer had also never let him down, not even once.

Team Rocket became what it is today because of many reasons, but the main reason why it still remains standing is because of the tight control of information within the organisation. There are only two people within the entire organisation that know the full extent of the organisation's operations, reach, and capabilities, and that is him and his wife. Even his Executives will never know the full picture of what Team Rocket truly is. It's not that he doesn't trust his Executives, he trusts them with his life but sometimes absolute loyalty will never be enough to protect Team Rocket's secrets. SKIP fell not because anyone was disloyal to their cause, it was because the information was forcefully extracted from his comrade which led to a series of unfortunate events that led to its extermination.

For the sake of their goals, whatever had happened to SKIP can never be permitted to happen ever again. They will ensure it through any means necessary.

It was because of SKIP's extermination that he experienced that when he and his wife first founded Team Rocket, they both agreed that nobody else other than the two of them will ever know the full extent of the organisation in any way, shape, or form. It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of necessity. Operation SKIP is a big operation, one only made possible because of the hard work of his trusted Executives. Plague's proposed method to take down the corrupt Indigo Government is a bold move, but Giovanni can see the beauty in it. Like Plague said, if executed well, it might be able to sway the entire Kanto region to fight for their cause in one fell swoop.

Still, Giovanni cannot help but be amused at the thought of his newest Executive. Plague may not realise it himself, but he does have a flair for the dramatics despite always acting in a way to draw the least attention to himself. Every single big operation that he had a hand in planning is always flashy in its execution, yet somehow nobody ever knew that he was the one behind every single act he had done in Team Rocket's name.

"If it wasn't for Petrel's prior contributions in Operation Access, Operation Mirage wouldn't have succeeded. I couldn't have done it alone." Archer spoke, bringing Giovanni out of his thoughts. "Our success is indeed a cause for celebrations, are we going to inform the other Executives what we had achieved?"

"Let's only reveal it on the big day itself." Giovanni replied after giving the matter some thought. "Not just because for the sake of absolute secrecy, but knowing when to reveal information is also another key part to winning a war. What we now have on our hands can be a great morale booster on that day itself. Resources, infrastructure, preparations, logistics, firepower. Every single basic requirement to win a war is now in our hands while Indigo remains ignorant of what we are planning and severely underprepared for what is to come. Now, all we need is morale. I know it doesn't feel good to hide certain things from our trusted comrades, but for the sake of our beliefs, it must be done. I'm sorry, Archer. I know how you feel about this but I will still ask this much from you. Considering the importance of what we just acquired, I still feel that there is a need to keep the existence and success of Operation Mirage under wraps."

"I understand." Archer replied as he took out three master balls from his pocket and presented them to Giovanni. The master ball is a recent invention that they only managed to invent and acquire through their secret control over Silph Co and their collaboration with Team Galactic. The world still doesn't know the existence of such a powerful pokeball. Nobody but them.

"In that case, I will leave them in your care, sir."

"You keep them." Giovanni stated without hesitation because Archer has his full and complete trust. "You earned this, Archer, they are now yours to command. You will have the honour of commanding them into battle on the day itself."

Archer's surprise is evident on his face, but he recovered quickly.

"If you are certain, then I will do my best to meet your expectations." Archer replied with confidence before putting the three master balls back in his pocket. "I assume that Petrel had managed to infiltrate Indigo HQ and steal what we needed?"

"He completed Operation Acquire splendidly." Giovanni nodded in affirmation with a smile on his face. With Petrel's success in stealing the Clear Bell and the Tidal Bell, Team Rocket can now finally devise a way to acquire the Rainbow Wing and Silver Wing. Kanto's legend of the Thu-Fi-Zer can finally be recreated and made a reality.

"It seems that working with Team Galactic was the right choice to make. We wouldn't have achieved such success otherwise." Giovanni said with a smile of satisfaction on his face as he leaned back to rest on the backseat of his office chair. Everything that they had been fighting for, it will come to fruition very soon.

He's eager to see everything come to a complete success.

"As much as it hurts my ego to admit, I can agree that the organisation is indeed behind the Galactics when it comes to Pokemon Capture and Control Technology." Archer apparently shared the same sentiments as well with his truth admission. "I take it that Proton and Plague had all completed everything on their end as well?"

"They did." Giovanni replied with a vague answer since the tasks that he assigned to Proton and Plague is not something Archer should be aware of.

Each of his Executives are entrusted with very specific and important tasks that are to be completed before the start of Operation Skip. Archer's was Operation Mirage, Petrel's was Operation Access and Operation Acquire, Proton's was the Growth Project, Plague's was the Mewtwo Project and Operation Ruin. At most, each of his Executive would know the vague idea of what one other Executive is tasked to do to avoid confusion or accidental interference with their specific tasks, just like how Archer has very brief knowledge that Petrel is involved in Operation Acquire and nothing else.

Once again, such an arrangement was done for the sake of secrecy. A similar arrangement was also what SKIP had adopted during its days. The precautions that SKIP took ensured that not all of them perished that fateful night. It was their only saving grace.

"I am looking forward to seeing if the powers of the Thu-Fi-Zer is indeed as unstoppable as it was told in the legends." Giovanni stated in both curiosity and expectance. "They are the very forces that represent the might of Kanto, the original protectors of our motherland. If what the legends stated are indeed true, once the Thu-Fi-Zer is born even Johto's Tower Duo would not be able to handle the full might of the Thu-Fi-Zer."

"And Mewtwo can easily handle Johto's Legendary Beasts on its lonesome." Archer completed Giovanni's train of thoughts without missing a beat. "With that, we are now not only equal to Johto in terms of firepower, but are superior to them. I truly believe that Zapmolcuno can handle the full might of Ho-oh and Lugia combined."

"Thu-Fi-Zer." Giovanni corrected Archer out of habit. They had been through this argument many times. "The name Zapmolcuno is such a mouthful."

"I guess this is where we agree to disagree." Archer said in good jest. "Zapmolcuno is indeed a name that is more well known and it's easier to strike fear into the hearts of Johtonians using this name than using Thu-Fi-Zer. I still strongly contest for using the name of Zapmolcuno for our Winged Mirages."

"And you should give credit to the origins of the legends of the Winged Mirages. The Thu-Fi-Zer is their original name. The name Zapmolcuno is merely a bad transliteration."

"But sir, nobody ever knows what the Thu-Fi-Zer is. Zapmolcuno, I insist that we use the name of Zapmolcuno."

"Tell you what. We ask for Ariana's opinion on this issue and see which is the better name. The loser has to treat everyone to a drink once Operation Skip is over, deal?"

"I'm in if you are in for it, sir. Petrel will definitely be very happy that he can drink for free. You know how much he loves his alcohol."

"Drinks on you then."

"I'm very sure Ariana would agree with me on using the name Zapmolcuno. The drinks will be on you, sir."

"For the last time, Archer, it's Thu-Fi-Zer."

There's really nothing else for me to do once I had successfully helped Mewtwo complete his body and helped Team Rocket steal every single bit of information they need about Kain and the corrupt Indigo Government. Operation Ruin, that was the name of the operation that needed me to use Team Rocket's porygon army to hack and infiltrate into the database of the Indigo Government without anyone the wiser and copied everything we found there, effectively stealing all of Indigo's secrets. Honestly, it would have been a lot harder if it wasn't for the fact that I exploited my status and authority as Kain's private agent and cooperated with Nosy from within. It was what made that unknown breach in Indigo's cybersecurity possible.

Have to give Indigo's cybersecurity some credit alright.

What I do not know is what tasks my other Executives are entrusted to complete. I do know a little about Proton's task, and that is amassing the army we need on the big day itself, but that's it. There's nothing further I can do to dig up more without raising suspicions from my fellow Executives and from Giovanni, so I have no choice but to give up in pursuing this matter lest my cover was blown.

All I can hope is that Lance had indeed taken my warning seriously and is doing his best to prepare for the unknown. If not, Indigo might really fall. There's really nothing much that I can help anymore, I'm at my limit.

WIth more free time on my end means more time for me to daydream and let my thoughts wander. I sat on my chair in my own private office as my hand held a piece of paper in hand. My eyes have been looking over that same page over and over again for the past two hours, the only thing that will ever prove that she ever existed.

Operative Number: 2043

Code Name: Pikachu

Known given birth name: Jane Green Oak

Place of abduction: Azalea Town

Date of abduction: Year 509, February 22nd

My fingers gently skimmed across the printed copy of Jane's profile as I read it for what seems to be the thousandth time. Her picture is at the top right corner. She is smiling. How long has it been since I last saw her face? In my mad quest to rise to be Executive, I had never kept a picture of her for fear of having anyone doubting my loyalty to Team Rocket if they found out about how I truly felt about Jane, the traitor to the organisation, so the only time I can see her face again is in my nightmares and those are getting lesser and lesser day by day ever since the Hypnosis on me came undone. For once, I actually missed having nightmares.

Not anymore. Things are coming to an end very soon, I can finally keep a picture of her on me. I now have a picture of her to remember her by when I start to miss seeing her face again. I had printed a small passport sized photo of her and it is now in my wallet. It is the same image that I am looking at right now which is also printed on her operative profile.

And I really miss her. Now, more than ever. I really want to see her again and tell her that everything is finally coming to an end. I will break this cycle of hatred, one way or another. All the hate, all the injustice, and especially all the greed and corruption, I will vanquish it soon enough. It's time for Indigo to usher in an era of change, all for the greater good. Our sacrifices will not be for nothing. 358 of us had perished but they would not have died in vain, I will see to that.

Oak. Jane's an Oak all along. Talk about a cruel twist of fate. With such a prominent family as her background she could have been anything she wanted to be. She could have been so much more. Her life was so bright. She could do anything and succeed simply by being an Oak.

She need not have died. Killed by my own two hands no less.

I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning back into my office chair and enjoying some semblance of privacy and silence within these four walls. I've always been searching for answers, searching for the truth, and when I finally got them all in the palm of my hand I found myself wishing that I'd never seeked them out in the first place.

Jane Green Oak. Her full name is Jane Green Oak.

I unlocked and opened the top drawer at the bottom of my desk, bringing out the printed copy of the file on Project Illusion that I have copied and retrieved when I sent Nosy and his porygon army to hack into the Government's database undetected and dig out every single dirt I could find on Kain. I recognise many of these faces. How could I not? Once upon a time, we did everything together, all 359 of us. We train, eat, sleep, cry, laugh, bleed, we had done everything together as members of Project Illusion, brainwashed to do Kain's bidding and believing that everything we did is for the greater good.

The file on Project Illusion is the only thing that I never gave Lance and Giovanni. Not only that, I had wiped all traces of my existence and deleted my own profile in the Government database. As of now, officially, there is no Operative 2046 in Indigo. Not any longer. Kain won't be noticing the breach anytime soon, he's too busy to do so and he's the only one who has access to files with secrecy as high as Project Illusion. When the date to the finale comes closer I will have Nosy erase my identity as Jacob Myers as well. After that, I can finally be rid of my past and shed all of my false identities.

Once this is all over, I can finally be myself. I can finally be Jayce, the identity which she picked for me and what I will choose to be.

I idly flipped to the page that I had deleted from the Government's database after I had copied what I needed. Looking right back at me on the top right hand corner of the page is a picture of myself. The picture was taken around the same time Jane had hers taken, about a year or two before her death when we had sneaked out of the organisation to report back to Kain and update our personal particulars. It's been almost a decade since then, I think. It's been about eight years since I had killed her. When I had Nosy and his gang of nosy parkers to hack the Government's database I had also wanted to know who I truly am. Now, I have the answers I seek, but I really wish that I had not known about it the moment I saw what is documented on my profile.

Operative Number: 2046

Code Name: Gengar

Known given birth name: NIL

Place of abduction: Pallet Town

Date of abduction: Year 509, January 3rd

Method of abduction: Taken from family after setting Operative's house on fire. Operative's memory was subsequently modified. Operative family members believed operative to be dead since the body was never found.

Status: Active

Misc: First son and child to Grimsley Dandolos. Operative was found to have a very strong affinity for dark types even as an infant. Reason for such an affinity was never found.

I am Grimsley's son. I am the son of an Elite Four from another region. It was only after managing to get my hands on the complete file on Project Illusion and looking through every single page that I realise Kain has a hobby of collecting children from prominent families or whose parents are established people within their field of expertise. Jane's family and mine are not the only big names I had seen in this file. There are many others. It seems that Kain is obsessed with our pedigree when he first started his abduction plan to kickstart Project Illusion.

With this piece of information to tell me what I need to know, I guess all of my prior memories of joining Project Illusion at around the age of three was fake as well. Nothing that I remembered about my past prior to meeting Jane seems to be real and I will never know what is the truth in that hazy period of my life. Damn Kain and his stupid hypno. Glad that hypno's dead.

I know Grimsley. When I first started my path to be a Dark Specialist I had used everything I have and could find to know more about every single famous or infamous Dark Specialist alive or dead. It was to learn how to be a proper Dark Specialist. I know that Grimsley's wife and youngest son had passed away, that piece of news is not exactly private. Now, he thinks that he is the only one left in his family because I had supposedly perished in that fire when I was abducted from him more than two decades ago, an incident that I have no recollection of.

I really wish that I was from some no name family with a few members still around or simply an orphan plucked off the streets. At least I would not be so conflicted if that were the case.

Fact is, I'm dying. It's just a matter of time before I croak and kick the bucket. I don't even know if I will survive what is to come this coming National Day. If I go out and inform Grimsley that his eldest son is not dead and is in fact, still alive, but then give him a plot twist that said son is about to die soon from an incurable disease, it will be too cruel to him. I don't want to imagine the emotional rollercoaster he will have to go through when he finds out that I am alive all along only to later find out that he will lose me as fast as he had found me. I don't want him to experience this needless heartache and drama. I'm a criminal. If people found out that someone of his status has a son who is also one of the most notorious criminals in the world's history, the pressure and scorn he will face from the public and from the Unova League is no laughing matter. I don't want him to ruin his life for a son that by all means, he had already lost no matter what he chooses to do.

There's nothing in it for him in knowing the truth, that the son he thought he had lost for more than twenty-two years is in fact alive but about to die soon. I don't want to shower him with this cruel truth and have him face the scorn of the world for my sake. It's not worth it, not when I'm slowly dying from within.

Still, at least I now know a little about myself. I may not have been with my family long enough to have been given a name since I was apparently abducted just a week after arriving into this world as a baby, but now I know that I am a Dandolos, a member of a distinguished family of Unova. My father is an Elite Four. With this piece of information I went to dig further using what resources I have on hand and found out that my mother is a Kantonian who had worked under Professor Samuel Oak for a short while before she married my father. I had a younger brother, his name is Asher, also a Dark Specialist and a historian. From what Nosy had found out for me Asher had died in the Lacunosa Invasion just a few months back when Team Plasma struck. I would never get to know my mother or younger brother, something which I truly regret. I now know my true age. I am twenty-two this year. Jane is apparently older than me by two years, which is kind of funny now that I think about it because we had always thought that I am the older one.

I'm a Dandolos. I now have something to pin my identity to. I do have family in this world, I'm not just any random orphan plucked off the streets that I thought I was. I do have an identity and I did not simply drop into this world from out of nowhere.

I finally have an identity. I finally have something to call myself by, even if I will never tell anyone else about this. For everyone's sake, I will bring this secret with me to my grave. I do not need my father getting involved in my mess, a mess which will be nothing but detrimental for him. I do not wish for him to experience another heartache again, not after how he just lost his son to Team Plasma, another notable terrorist organisation in this world that is similar to Team Rocket, only to find out that his oldest son ended up as a terrorist, the one thing that took away his only family member left after his wife passed away five years back.

God, why is this world so cruel?

My resolve made, I picked up a lighter and lit it, letting the bottom right corner of my printed profile catch fire and watched as it slowly burned away in the ashtray that I never used which is placed at the corner of my office desk. With this, nobody will ever know that 2046 exists. With this, nobody will ever know that Grimsley's oldest son is in fact, alive. In just a few more days, Nosy will ensure that even the name Jacob Myers will be silently erased from existence without anyone finding out. There will be nothing left to indicate that I had once been here in this world.

I'm not supposed to be here anyway, interfering with the affairs of a world that I don't belong to. Someone like me is not supposed to be here in a world that was once fiction. This is for the best. Whatever secrets that I had found out, whatever wrongs that I had committed, let it all end with my death. I do not want to feed into this endless cycle of hatred and grief any longer. I just want everything to end.

This is for the greater good.

I watched as the paper slowly burned and turned to ash, watching as the fire consume the only thing left that can prove who I really am. From this day onwards, Operative 2046, codename Gengar is no more. In a few days time, Jacob Myers will be no more. After National Day, Executive Plague will be no more. In about two weeks I will be a nameless existence that doesn't exist in a world that I shouldn't be in. All that is left for me to do after I end Kain and help Lance end Team Rocket is to let Jane's family know where her grave is at. She deserves to be buried in a place much better than that unmarked spot in Viridian Forest. She should be placed to rest in her hometown alongside her parents.

After all that is done, I will need to find people that will and can take care of my pokemon. I need to find kind people that are willing to take them in, however broken they might be, before I pass on. It's my responsibility as their trainer that I do so. After that, I can finally rest in peace, and so will my secrets.

There's really not much to do now other than to wait. For once, there's nothing much to do than to relax and enjoy my time before everything starts going to shit again.

Jane's revenge, I will get it. The corruption in Indigo, I will help uproot it. Team Rocket, I will exterminate it. For Jane's sake, for my sake, for the sake of all 359 operatives who were unjustly taken from their homes and thrust into a life that they never wanted to live, I will see it done. I will see that the curtain for the finale falls as it should have fallen a long time ago. I will see that every single gamble I took pays its due dividends. I will see to it that the sacrifices made by my fellow operatives will be remembered by Indigo, as a reminder to not let something like this happen again. Too many lives had been needlessly lost to protect this fragile facade of peace. 358 people had paid the price, now it's the turn for the 359th to do so in order to bring things to a close.

It's time to exterminate all the wrongs and make things right.

We're not accepting any objections.

AN: Zapmolcuno, or also known as Thu-Fi-Zer in certain translations, is a pokemon that is the fusion of zapdos, moltres, and articuno. It is an entity unique to the Pokemon Adventures manga, an adaptation of the pokemon series which was what truly made me fell in love with pokemon. The introduction of the Zapmolcuno is my way of paying tribute to the Pokemon Adventures manga, which had gave me many happy memories in my childhood while I was reading it.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the pokemon world that I am writing about is the world of Pokemon Adventures. I'm merely incorporating one element of it into my story.

Just in case you guys are interested in knowing, in the English translation of the Pokémon Adventures manga, Thu-Fi-Zer does not have an official name. The term "Zapmolcuno," was given by Coronis of which reflects its Japanese name, サ・ファイ・ザー Thu-Fi-Zer, a combination of the Legendary birds' Japanese names Thunder, Fire, and Freezer. This particular bit of trivia was also what inspired me to write about the small disagreement Giovanni and Archer had in regards on how to refer to Zapmolcuno as Zapmolcuno or as the Thu-Fi-Zer.

As always, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Character and Pokemon List:

Name: Jayce

Official Identity: Jacob Myers

Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos

Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar

Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent

Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague

Team Rocket Rank: Executive

Pokemon Team:

1. Ninetales, female

2. Exeggutor, male

3. Weavile, male

4. Honchkrow, female

5. Gengar, female

6. Houndoom, male

7. Umbreon, male

8. Hydreigon, male

9. Drapion, female

10. Zoroark, male

11. Bisharp, male

12. Shiftry, male

13. Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless