After the tournament Martin was about as drunk as a teenager at a party. His face was as red as beetroot, his breath smelt like a junkyard and his speaking was slurred. Martin was leaning on her shoulder singing a song about Viridian City and mumbling something about woman. It was up to Jenna to take him to his room and stop him from drunkenly hitting on the nurses.

Martin leaned across Jenna's shoulders, his body bobbing back and forth.

"You're real purty nurse, you know that?" Martin said, letting out a hiccup.

Jenna had to kick open Martin's room door. She heaved Martin onto his bed, letting out a sigh of relief. For a skinny old man, Martin sure was heavy.

"Sarah?" Martin asked, staring at Jenna intensely. "Sarah is that you?"

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Sleep tight old man."

Suddenly Martin grabbed onto Jenna's wrist, holding it so tightly she almost crushed her bone.

Jenna yanked her hand out of his grip. "Hand's off old man."

"Sarah I'm so sorry," Martin sobbed. Tears started streaming down his face, "I'm so sorry." He wiped his cheeks. "I was such an idiot."

Jenna stared at him a little dumbfounded but then Martin twisted the ring on his left hand and Jenna understood.

Jenna walked over to him, pulled over a chair and held his hand.

"Please come back," he cried. "Please."

Martin rested his head on her chest. Jenna patted his head, feeling his teardrops staining her clothes.

"I miss you so much," Martin cried. "I miss you so so much."

Jenna held him throughout the night until Martin fell asleep.

...

Paul had to sneak into Patricia's room. The Nurses said that they were no visitors allowed but Paul decided not to heed their warnings. Blue wanted to head to Saffron to take on Sabrina and he wanted an early start. Paul, pidgeotto feather in hand opened the door to Patricia's room.

There she was lying on the bed. The nurses told them that she'd be fine, she just needed some rest so the magic could mend her bones and heal her wounds. She just couldn't use her own magic or fight for a while.

Paul looked at his sister, sleeping so peacefully. Her brown hair spilling over her shoulders. She looked so... delicate. It was hard to look at her now and see the woman who braved through the entire Nugget Tournament on her own.

Paul remembered, back when they were kids, she'd always be following him. Their parents only ever cared about them as political tools. Their mother was the daughter of the Chief of their tribe and their father had huge political ambitions hence their marriage. Only a man could inherit the reins of Chieftainship and amongst the Chiefs many daughters, their mother was the only one who bore a son. Their father decided one son wasn't enough and so her mother bore Patricia who unfortunately was a female.

So, while his parents were busy making connections in order to guarantee Paul as the new Chief of the tribe, Paul headed out, exploring the various nooks and crannies of the wilderness and Patricia. Patricia always followed.

One day, he remembered seeing Patricia trying to (unsubtly) pick berries while Paul was hunting with some of his friends. The other time Paul was sneaking out with one of his friends and he could see Patricia hiding in the bushes out of the corner of his eye.

Wherever Paul went, Patricia followed.

There was one day when Paul was crossing an unsteady bridge but the bridge fell and Paul was drowning. Patricia desperately tried with her wind magic to save him but failed. Paul luckily washed up on shore but that was the first time their father ever laid a hand on them. Patricia was slapped across the face, a red mark on her face, tears running down her face and ugly sobs escaping her mouth. That was the day Paul (remembering the cold depths of the lake and everything going black) and the rest of the tribe started slandering her. Calling her useless and calling her ugly names because if it wasn't for her, they wouldn't have almost lost their next Chief. They would still insult her as she burst into tears, running into her hut and crying into her pillow.

But deep down, Paul felt guilty. After all, when he was found alive Patricia was the only one who was there for her. Sure, their father visited but the only thing he cared about, the only thing he ever cared about was his position as Chief and Paul was just a means to the end.

Meanwhile Patricia was always there, holding his hands, praying for him. Once she even kissed his forehead.

When Paul grew up and their mother died, Paul saw the ugly side of their father, the ugly side of their tribe. He decided that he'd head to Pallet Town and enter the league. To his father, Paul was doing that to prove himself to their tribe. But Paul wasn't doing it for their tribe, he was doing it to get out of it.

And sure enough, Patricia followed.

Paul realized, he'd always realized that no matter how horribly he treated her, no matter what Paul called her, his little sister loved him. And it was up to Paul to show her how much she loved her too. To ask her for forgiveness after all those years he had mistreated her.

Paul placed a feather by the bedside table on her right. He was about to leave but Paul remembered, remembered the way she held his hand while he was recovering, the way she had kissed his forehead and prayed for her. Paul bent over. He brushed aside her hair and kissed her on the forehead.

Maybe Paul would do the following this time around.

...

The lighthouse stairs spiraled upwards. Flashes of light dotted the bottom floor like rain. A messy bed and stove were in one corner. Most of the space was taken up by computers and a machine covered by a blanket with flashes of green penetrating the silken surface. The light in the lighthouse moaned, sounding a lot like those magic submarines in Hoenn than a lighthouse to Elaine.

Bill had a robe covering his left arm. "Look I'm still working on it," Bill said, his voice indifferent. "Tell your boss I'm still busy."

"We're not part of Team Rocket," Elaine said.

Bill scoffed. "Please, I've had enough of your jokes..."

Bill saw a dagger land with a thunk in front of him.

"Carmen," Elaine said.

Carmen yanked Bill out of his seat. Bill kicked against the air, his eyes widening in fear as he saw the rage in the Charmeleon mages eyes and the droplets of blood on his face.

"What's the meaning of this?" Bill said, his voice shaking. "I thought your orders weren't to harm me."

Carmen let Bill go as an Ekans wrapped itself around. Elaine knelt over, dagger against his throat.

"We told you," Elaine said. "We're not Team Rocket and we can harm you as much as we want if you don't talk."

Bill nodded.

"So, tell us what Team Rocket want with you or else we're going to do a whole lot worse than them."

The Ekans loosened its grip around Bill. Bill let out a sigh of relief but judging by the look on the girl and the Charmeleon's face, he was not in the clear yet.

"Before we begin," Bill said, dusting himself off. "If you're not part of Team Rocket, are you here to rescue me?"

"No," Elaine said. "We don't work for anybody."

Bill nodded. "Cool, cool, cool."

"So, will you tell us what Team Rocket wants with you or will Naga here have to squeeze it out of you?"

The Ekans hissed at Bill. Bill stumbled backwards, waving his arms in retreat.

"No, no," Bill mumbled. "I'll talk. I'll talk."

"So, start talking," Elaine growled.

Bill whimpered. "Okay, okay."

Bill picked himself up. He shook his head and sat on his chair.

"You m-might want to take a seat," Bill said. "This is going to be long."

Elaine nodded. "Very well." She pulled up a seat and sat across Bill. Carmen, not caring what Team Rocket wanted decided to pace around the lighthouse, keeping an eye on Bill instead he tried anything.

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"Do you want tea or anything?" Bill asked, pointing at a kettle on his desk.

"Cut the bullshit and tell us what you know about Team Rocket," Elaine snapped causing Bill to stumble in his chair a little.

"Okay, okay," Bill said, pouring himself a cup of tea because boy was, he stressed. He took a sip, Elaine tapping her feet against the floor and staring straight into his eyes. Bill got the message and put his cup down.

"First and foremost," Bill said. "What do you know about Mew?"

"The mythical Pokemon?" Elaine asked. "The one that has the DNA of all Pokemon."

Bill nodded. "Yep. Apparently, they're still alive."

"Impossible," Elaine said. "They went extinct ages ago."

Bill shook his head. "Nope. Kantonian scientists found a whole bunch of em on some island on the outskirts of Hoenn. And sure enough, they captured all of them. Of course, other regions found out and this sparked the Great Mage War."

Bill took a sip of his tea. "Kanto being on the losing side decided to experiment with the Mew. This led to project M2 in which I was one of the scientists."

"So that's why Team Rocket is interested in you?" Elaine said. "Still, why is Team Rocket so interested in Project M2?"

"Project M2 was a project where soldiers were implanted with Mew cells," Bill explained. "The Kanto Military Department thought we could create a whole bunch of super soldiers. The results were... mixed, to say the least."

"What happened?" Elaine asked.

"They were some successes," Bill said. "The Ditto battalion being one of them. Soldiers who could change their form into anybody they wished and use their magic. It allowed people to infiltrate enemy battalions and gather information. There was also the birth of the Mew mages. Mages that were capable of immense psychic power. They've all but died out. But the biggest discovery of Project M2 was the birth of the berserker gene."

"What's that?" Elaine asked. That piece of information had also piqued Carmen's interest who was listening intently.

"Some scientists thought the Mew cells injected into our soldiers weren't enough," Bill said. "So, they tampered with it, improving upon the gene structure. Making it more powerful and more... unstable."

Bill took a sip of his tea. "We tried it out on some soldiers and they..." Bill shook his head. "They changed."

Bill took another sip. "They were two changes. The physical changes and the psychological changes. Some of the soldiers grew tails, some of them had their fingers change but all of them were powerful. They were literal gods on the battlefield. They could tear through an entire battalion in less than five seconds. But the Berserker Gene changed something else in them to. It made them mentally unstable."

Tears started falling down Bill's face. "They killed so many. So many innocent people were ripped to shreds and mowed down like cows. I had never seen such a massacre."

Bill straightened himself and sighed. "It took the help of the Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres mages of that time to clear up the mess... our mess. But even they weren't enough. The Silver and Golden family of Johto had to pitch in and kill all those soldiers. These soldiers, the Mewtwos as we called them were all killed. All except one."

"What happened to that one?" Elaine asked.

"Michael was an exceptional soldier," Bill said. "Perfect for Project M2. Out of all the soldiers he was the only one who wasn't affected psychologically by the Berserker Gene. But if you give a man like Michael, a man with his talents the power of the Gods..."

"Bad things are bound to happen."

Bill nodded. "Michael butchered the Articuno and Zapdos mage and left the Moltres mage crippled. It took the joint efforts of the head of the Gold and Silver family to defeat him. But the Kanto Military Board didn't want him dead. No. Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and all the other regions had mages of God like power. Kanto needed her own mage with the power to match so they locked him up."

"Cerulean Cave," Elaine said. "The Kanto Military has bases set up over there."

Bill nodded. "Or they used to, before Team Rocket took over."

"No way," Carmen said.

Bill nodded. "Yes. Giovanni has connections everywhere. He's a dangerous adversary which brings me to you two. You guys don't look like International Police. What do you want with him?"

"Revenge," Carmen said. "I want to see Team Rocket pay for what they did to my friends."

Elaine didn't want to answer Bill but Carmen's directness put her in quite a tight spot.

"Revenge," Bill scoffed. "Revenge? This thing is much bigger than your revenge."

"We don't care," Elaine said. "We'll do whatever it takes to avenge our loved ones."

Bill stared at them blankly for a moment before he started shuffling through his table.

"What are you doing?" Elaine asked, already readying a dagger.

"I have an informant," Bill said. "He's part of the International Police. I was supposed to meet him at the S.S Anne to see what he had found out about Team Rocket but seeing as I'm supposed to be locked up here..."

Bill pulled out a crumpled-up ticket with S.S Anne emblazoned in the center in bright red letters.

"I figure it'll benefit you more than it benefits me."

Elaine took the ticket. "You still didn't explain what Team Rocket wants with you. What are those machines you have covered up?"

Bill flashed them a weak smile. He uncovered the machine revealing two large cylinders with a bright green liquid that bubbled.

"Gene transporters," Bill said. "One of the last two left behind from the war."

"Giovanni wants you to create super soldiers?"

Bill nodded. "Yep. I've been delaying it for quite some while but Giovanni's slowly seeing through my ruse."

Bill sat down, slumping over his chair. "I don't know who you are, hell I don't even care but please do what you can to stop Giovanni from achieving his goals. I don't want what happened in the war to happen again."

Elaine nodded. "Let's go Carmen."

Elaine left the lighthouse but Carmen walked over to Bill.

"What do you want?" Bill asked. "I told you everything I could possibly tell you."

"I notice you don't use your left arm and it smells... weird."

"Your tribe always did have the sharpest nose," Bill said, pulling up his sleeve revealing a withered brown husk of an arm. An arm so weak and thin that it looked like it could scatter into dust at any second. "I was once of the first people to be experimented on. The mew genes didn't agree with my body, it ate away at all my cells. The doctors managed to stop the spread but my left arm was affected."

Carmen nodded. "I didn't understand a word you just said."

Bill chuckled.

"Carmen hurry up," Elaine shouted. "We don't have all day."

"See you around kid," Bill said.

Carmen nodded. "Yep, see you around."

...

Alice had never tried to read somebody's mind before.

Usually when she did, she ended up with a splitting headache and was out of commission for a few days. But now, with all the power flowing through her body, she figured she'd be able to do a mind reading without feeling sick.

As the woman with her face covered and the Charmeleon exited the lighthouse, Alice focused. Focused on their minds, focused on the psychic aura that emanated from their bodies.

The woman with her face covered managed to avoid the psychic link she established but soon she found herself connected to the Charmeleon.

"Do you feel something in your head?" Carmen asked, feeling a mild irritated feeling at the side of his head like radio static.

Elaine shook her head.

Carmen shrugged and followed behind her.

But Alice. Alice could see through all his memories. From having rocks thrown at him when he was 7, to crying while wrapped in the wings of his Master, to crying in the chest of his dead Master. To being rescued by a girl with antennae, to seeing a boy with a dagger dying. Soon Alice found names attached to those faces: Hitokage, Carlotta and Sean.

And then even more memories, even more emotions. Guilt at snapping at a girl with cherry blossom hair, a buried but tangible concern for a timid girl with brown hair, and a sort of indifference to an old man with a magikarp staff and a sort of suspicion to the woman with her face covered, a sort of fear. The woman was the one who killed her friends, her family. But this Charmeleon, this Charmeleon was the one who killed Mike, who killed the closest thing to a father she had. Alice could see from the memory that flashed through the Charmeleon's head, the memory of Mike's mauled face, of the blood on his claws. The mixed feelings of satisfaction and guilt that swirled around his head like typhoon threatening to consume him.

But Alice also felt one emotion. One firm emotion that stood like a mountain amidst the raging emotions that boiled in Carmen's heart. Love. Love for that pink-haired girl (Jenna), love for that brown-haired girl (Patricia) and a drive to take care of the old man (Martin).

That love was a mountain that was slowly being buried by the raging winds of revenge, by the swirling typhoon of guilt and the violent waves of being a killer. But it was still there, it was still holding strong.

Alice ended the psychic link, her consciousness and self flooding back to her.

"Jenna, Martin and Patricia," Alice mumbled to herself. "Jenna, Martin and Patricia."

They were his family, his friends. And they were still alive.

Not for long, Alice thought. She was going to murder them, murder all three of them right in front of his eyes and teach him, teach him the pain of losing family. Teach him the pain that he had put her through.

The blood that made up the seals were a testament to that.

To be continued...