#wiseabsol

ANGELIC SHADOWS: SHINY EDITION ___

CHAPTER 1: THE MISSION

"Art thou pale for weariness Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth, Wandering companionless Among the stars that have a different birth, And ever changing, like a Joyless eye That finds no object worth its constancy?"

- "To the Moon" by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

___

Through the window of a ranger's cabin, a humanoid creature gazed out at the forest, his hand on the cold glass pane. Beneath the wind, the branches of the trees, thrusting heavenwards like bony arms, entangled their fingers together as they swayed. Above them dense clouds churned and snow pelted down, building into dunes. Upon occasion, the wind stirred up flurries of glittering dust. As he watched, the moon peeked between the clouds. For a moment the world was bathed in a ghostly glow…before, once again, the scene was plunged into darkness. Yet even in the shadows, the winter world was beautiful, with the clarity and fragility of faceted glass, needing only a glimmer of light to make it shine.

However, the beauty of this place was not limited to the wilderness outside. There was beauty inside the cabin as well.

Turning to face the fireplace, he looked at the blankets strewn a meter from it. The flickering light revealed a young woman sleeping beneath them, her black hair falling in a tangle over her shoulders. Her clothes were in a pile not far away, having been tossed there hastily earlier in the night. He'd helped her with that, one of his claws catching on a button and tearing it off, but she hadn't minded. Warmed by the memory, he walked back to her and sat beside her. Her arms were curled close to her chest, fingers cluttering the blanket around her shoulders. She'd kicked in her sleep, though, so her legs were exposed. He tucked her in, careful not to touch the soles of her feet. She was ticklish there, and while it was tempting to wake her up laughing, she needed to rest.

He brushed his fingertips across her cheek and paused as she stirred. Her eyelids flickered and she tensed, as if bracing for something…but then she relaxed and muttered, in a low, slurred voice, that he should go back to sleep. At this, the corners of his mouth tucked upwards in a rare smile. "I do not take orders from humans," he reminded her. "Especially ones who can barely string their words together."

She opened one eye to peer at him, the iris grey as moonlight. "Liar. I ordered you around plenty earlier."

"Did you? I thought that was begging," he teased. When she flipped him off in response, he chuckled, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to her temple. "We can debate this more when you're not half-asleep."

"I'll win," she insisted, cuddling deeper into her blanket. She was probably right. He didn't mind doing what she asked, especially in that context. Contentment warmed him as he remembered the evening they'd shared. It had been worth the struggle of the last few weeks; worth the pain of the last few years. He had his angel…his dear, dark angel….

But what would happen to them now? They might have escaped together and earned this night of peace, but the fight wasn't over. That man would never let it be over. As exhaustion at the thought rolled through him, he closed his eyes and attempted to push it away. They could deal with it in the morning. But despite his efforts, it continued to weigh him down, spoiling his happiness. But then again, when had the world ever allowed him, Mewtwo, to be happy for long?

___

Giovanni Maki had never been someone who accepted defeat. Some even referred to him as a croconaw who, after biting down on something, never released it. This held true whenever someone did manage to best him. Sometimes the victor would go missing shortly afterwards. More often, they were made an example of, if only to make it clear who was stronger. Nothing could be gained from trying to fight him.

Tonight, that was what drove him to visit the Team Rocket dormitories. His right hand, Agent 009, code-named Domino, trailed behind him, wrinkling her nose at their surroundings. He could understand her disgust. He didn't come here if he could help it, despite it being where a majority of his underlings lived. In most cases, he would summon the one they were visiting to his office instead. However, for this mission, he thought it best to take a more personal approach.

They stopped at Unit 150 and Giovanni rapped his knuckles on the door. After a few moments, during which a shouting match a few doors down was all they heard, the door opened a few inches. Though the hallway was dimly lit, thanks to a few of the lamps being broken (what did he pay the housekeepers for, Giovanni wondered peevishly), the light was enough to reveal the occupant of the apartment: a young woman with tired eyes and greasy hair, who was bundled in a bathrobe. However, her eyes sharpened as she looked at them, and she didn't appear to care about them seeing her so unkempt. She instead opened the door further.

"May we come in?" Giovanni prompted, when she didn't move to let him in. He thought he had taught her better than that.

Agent 004, code-named Corvo, nodded. "Be careful where you step. It's messy."

As they stepped into the apartment and the door closed behind them, Giovanni saw what she meant. It was a small space, structured like the other single apartments in this complex. Across from the entrance was the kitchen: the refrigerator set into the far corner, bare of photographs; the crumb-strew counters extending on either side of the stove and the sink; the grease-spotted microwave and other appliances shoved into the other corner. There were dishes piled in the sink, with empty cans of pokémon food and takeout containers next to them. Beside the kitchen was the bathroom, with a hamper of dirty clothes overflowing by the door. To their left was a closed closet; to their right, a short wall divider with a flat-screen television on top. Beyond it was the woman's bed, the blankets and sheets twisted together. In the center of the space was a table cluttered with papers, used mugs, and wax from a melted candle. Finally, there were metallic glints on the carpet: blades, halfway polished and then set aside.

"Try not to slice your feet open," Corvo said, crossing barefoot to the bathroom, presumably to make herself presentable.

Giovanni and his right-hand agent, keeping a wary eye on where they stepped, reached the table and its empty chairs intact. As they sat down and waited for Corvo to join them, Domino attempted to relieve her building boredom and distaste for being here by counting the number of cracks in the paint of the walls and ceiling. As she followed one down to the bed, she startled at the red eyes glaring at her from beneath the blankets. A shiver crawled up her spine, but then the bathroom door swung open, and when she looked back, the eyes were gone.

Domino noted with irritation that her fellow agent hadn't bothered to dress in her uniform. The dark grey jeans and sweater she was wearing lacked the signature crimson R of their gang. Couldn't she put in more of an effort when their boss went out of his way to visit her? Everyone else had to show their allegiance to Team Rocket by dressing the part. Why did Corvo think she was an exception? Well, Domino knew why, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

Corvo went into the kitchen and started scooping coffee grounds into a filter. "Do you want coffee or something else, Domino?" Corvo asked her, knowing that Giovanni preferred coffee, but that Domino only drank the stuff when it was thoroughly drowned in milk and sugar.

"Do you have a soda? Or something harder?" Domino said, keeping her voice honey sweet, hoping to needle Corvo. She was more fun when Domino could crack that calm facade. Not that they spent much time together. Not by choice. But they'd known each other for years, and Domino knew how to get a rise out of her.

Giovanni abruptly looked very tired and rubbed the bridge of his nose, but didn't interrupt.

"You know I don't," the other agent said. "I might have a raspberry tea, though?" she added, gesturing to one of the cupboards.

"It's fall. Don't you mull cider each fall?" Domino asked. She didn't really care, but usually she could count on that when they worked together this time a year. It was some sort of tradition for the other agent. Probably something from her mother? It definitely wasn't something she got from Giovanni. The only drinks the man made were mixed. 

Corvo paused. "I haven't gotten around to it."

Domino glanced around the apartment again. Yeah, obviously, Corvo was letting things slide. Thank god her work ethic didn't suck as hard. "Forget it. Coffee's fine."

Corvo stared at the coffee maker and tapped her fingertips on the counter as the brew percolated. She poured three cups, heated the milk, and mixed in the amounts of sugar and milk they each liked - Giovanni taking his black, Domino's with more milk than coffee, and her own a reasonable tan color. Then, remembering something, she reached into a cupboard and tossed a package at Domino. It crinkled as Domino caught it: maple creme cookies. Well, at least she'd bothered to have the right kind of snack for the weather.

"Thanks," Domino said reluctantly, tearing it open and nibbling at the first cookie.

During this time, Giovanni firmly employed the virtue of patience - he excelled at patience - and waited for them to finish their exchange. There had been a time when he'd hoped the two would become friends, but that hope had died the first time he'd had them train together. The property damage had been considerable. It didn't help that Domino was jealous of Corvo and had, at one point, considered her a rival. It also didn't help that Corvo thought that was ridiculous and told her so. Domino hated when people didn't take her seriously (except her marks, who weren't supposed to). She'd worked hard to become Giovanni's right-hand, after all. Ultimately, the two women were similarly shaped, but incompatible gears, at least when they didn't have a mediator. Giovanni had tried and failed. Silver had been much better at it, but Silver wasn't here anymore. So Giovanni just had to wait this out. 

He took a sip of his coffee and was amused at the expression on Domino's face as she drank hers. Namely, that she didn't hate it. She drank it faster than she normally did, but she also glowered at the folder he'd set on the table, so he guessed she wanted the caffeine to get her through the next ordeal: discussing Corvo's mission.

Corvo looked at the folder with a neutral expression. She sat down and sipped her coffee, wishing it was mint tea instead. Given the thickness of that folder, she had hours of study ahead of her, though, so she might as well keep the pot on warm.

Setting her mug down, she said, "So who am I killing this time?" Please let it be a rival Team leader. She almost felt good whenever she killed one of them.

Domino nearly choked on her drink at Corvo's lack of tact. It was probably for the best that Corvo was rarely sent undercover. Her lack of subtly would get her caught in two days flat.

Their boss, however, wasn't perturbed. "Not who, but what," he said, pushing the folder to her.

She raised a dark eyebrow and opened the file. Giovanni watched to see if she would have a reaction to the photograph inside, but she only seemed mildly curious. "The creature I would like you to hunt is known as Mewtwo. Dr. Fuji created it for my use." He ignored Corvo's startled look at the name and added, bitterly, "However, it managed to escape from our control…twice."

A few years after the incident on Mount Quena, he'd found rumors about a mysterious feline, recounted by his agents on the Unovan coast, to be rather unsettling. His informants had described the creature as a bipedal cat with white-and-purple fur, which could sometimes be spotted soaring through Castelia City on moonlit nights. They'd guessed that it was psychic in element and - given that the trainers they'd sent after it had turned up later with holes in their memories - a high-level one at that. And since no studies turned up what it could be, they concluded that it must be an unidentified and likely rare pokémon, and so of interest to Giovanni. After he had received blurry, distant snapshots of the creature, he'd been inclined to agree. Especially because there seemed to be something so...familiar...about it. However, he'd initially hadn't pursued it further. There were more important projects to focus on. But it had festered in the back of his mind until, finally, he couldn't ignore it anymore.

Following a hunch, he'd asked his fellow Gym Leader, Sabrina, if she knew anyone who was skilled with unearthing buried memories. It had taken feeding her a sob story about Silver for her to loan him one of her people - she didn't trust him, but she'd also gotten sentimental after reconciling with her parents - but she had delivered. Her expert had found entire banks of memory that Mewtwo had hidden. Telepaths could not erase memories, after all. They could only suppress them with varying amounts of success, depending on the energy spent and the skill employed during the wipe. Afterwards, Giovanni had searched his archive and found the confidential files on the Mewtwo Project, verifying that what he'd remembered was true. He'd debated what to do next - clearly, the artificial Legendary wasn't to be trifled with - and decided that trying to capture Mewtwo again would be fruitless. But he also couldn't let it continue to make a fool of him.

Breaking him from his thoughts, Corvo said, "He."

Giovanni blinked. "Pardon?"

Corvo glanced up at him. "He. The medical and psychological reports say that Mewtwo is male. "

That shouldn't matter to her. "Perhaps," he said, "But it a pokémon, not a person, and an artificial one at that."

She tilted her head slightly. "He's not a robot. He's a living being."

"Not for much longer," Domino said crossly.

Corvo gave her colleague a slow nod. "But why do you want him dead? It took a fortune to make him. You'd be throwing that away."

Giovanni reminded himself that he'd wanted a left-hand who would ask question and not a mindless automaton. "Mewtwo is dangerous. It might be content to wander around another continent for now, but what if it decides to strike back at us? What if it allies itself with one of our enemies? Or they find a way to control it? It has the power to level cities. Better to deal with the threat now than regret it later," he explained.

"Or you might be provoking him by sending me," she argued.

Not in the way she was thinking. "I'm confident you will succeed where I could not," he said.

She did not look convinced. She glanced at Domino, who was enjoying the last cookie from the pack. "What about Domino? She has high-level dark pokémon and experience dealing with him. Wouldn't it be more practical to send her? Pokémon usually fall into her area of expertise." Corvo was sent to deal with humans. Guard pokémon were the most she dealt with in her line of work. 

Domino glared at her. Giovanni sighed. "Domino has turned this mission down. Given that she was one of Mewtwo's victims, I do not blame her. And as I said, I believe you have a better chance of success than anyone else."

Domino scowled, while Corvo continued to look skeptical. But she did have more combat training than the other members of the Team Rocket elite, so perhaps he was right.

"Will you accept, Agent Corvo?" Giovanni asked.

What did she have to lose, except her memories or her life? She choked down a laugh and said, "If that's what you need."

Giovanni gave her a satisfied smile. "Excellent." Then, seeing that Domino had finished her coffee, he said, "Domino, if you would wait outside for a few minutes? Corvo and I have a personal matter to discuss."

Domino gritted her teeth and said, "Sure thing, boss." She closed the door with more force than necessary as she left.

He would have to have a talk with her later. He understood that she didn't like or understand Corvo, and that she probably knew what this conversation would be about, as much as it was a family affair. But if she thought her temper was going to change anything, then she was overestimating her importance. That and it wasn't as if Corvo was going to challenge her for her job anytime soon. He'd tried to teach Corvo how to run the gang and navigate the politics between its factions. But managing people was not something she cared about, and the mystery surrounding her wasn't a replacement for charisma. At best she could spook the grunts into compliance, but intimidation only worked when you were seen as something more than human. And if anyone else saw the inside of her apartment, they wouldn't make that mistake.

"Should I hire a cleaner?" Giovanni asked.

She looked thrown. "What?" He gestured to the mess. "It's fine," she insisted.

"Archer will expect better from you," Giovanni said.

Her eyes hardened. "That would mean something if he hadn't ignored me for most of our lives."

He suppressed a wince. She wasn't wrong. Archer had looked at her and seen an orphaned ward, quiet and dull as a sparrow. That he'd changed his mind recently had nothing to do with who she was as a person. Still, perhaps that might change as they got to know each other. They were adults now. Surely they could put the past behind them? "He's noticing you now," he said.

"Only because Domino isn't an option," Corvo reminded him.

And wasn't that a surprise? Giovanni would have thought that Domino would jump at the opportunity to tie herself to his nephew, his heir apparent. Instead she'd laughed in Archer's face and told him she didn't need him to get what she wanted. And that she had more taste. He was pretty sure Archer would have arranged a car bomb for her, except that Domino had people spying on him, and would have found him out before he had the chance to set it. It was a shame, really. They would have made a fearsome couple.

"He told me over dinner that you've become a beautiful swan this last year," he said. "That he was a fool not to see it before."

Her laugh was harsh. "You're joking."

"You don't believe in true love?" he asked.

She gave him a deeply unimpressed look. "He wants me because he knows you favor me." That and Silver wouldn't let Domino hunt him down if Cassandra would be caught in the crossfire. "Even though I'd be shitty at your job."

"Only because you won't try," he said.

"Because I don't want it," she reminded him. "Domino wants it. She'd be good at it. Give it to her."

"She's not blood," Giovanni said tiredly. This was an old argument. "The family requires that."

"I'm not either," she pointed out. "I'm not your daughter."

That stung. "You are in the ways that matter," he said quietly. "Or does me taking you in when you were five not count?"

Her eyes went unnervingly blank at that, before her shoulders slumped. "I know. But you're the boss. Why not change the rules?"

If only it were that simple. Archer's faction might be smaller than Domino's, but it held more of the purse-strings. "What do you want, Cassandra?" he asked instead.

She stared at him, then said, quietly, "Maybe I just want to be done. With all of this."

Absolutely not. He hadn't spent years training her for her to throw it all away. "And who would replace you? We're going to be taking on the League soon. Do you think that will go smoothly without you?"

There was a flicker of disappointment on her face. She slumped in her seat and looked away from him. "You can kill people without me," she said.

"With ten times the agents, who would do your job half as well. At a certain point, it becomes a numbers game. And I'm not letting my personal assassin bow out because she's tired. We all need to pull our weight, Cassandra. You can rest after we take Kanto," he said.

Her eyes met his. "And that will make you happy?" she asked.

It would be a start. But perhaps she had a point. He had been working her hard lately. "How about this: you do this mission for me. And when you're back, you take Archer's offer. You take a well-earned break. Then he will take on more leadership duties." He would need a loyal officer to run Kanto when he expanded Team Rocket's reach, after all. "You protect him. Maybe he meets an unfortunate accident, maybe not. But that will take up most of your time. I'll only be able to send you on a few missions afterwards. The family will understand."

She looked tired, but she didn't immediately shut the idea down, either. "And what else will he expect from me?"

"Not much. He has his...companions. And a child by one of them. He shouldn't need you for that," Giovanni said.

"You're sure? I don't...." She grimaced. "I don't like people that way."

Oh, he knew. If only she and Silver had loved each other like that. Then all of this would be much easier. But Silver had a girlfriend he wouldn't talk about, and Cassandra.... "Perhaps you haven't met the right one?" he said.    

"Sir," she protested. She didn't sir him unless she was mad. Good. He'd rather have her angry than listless. 

"Do you think I want you to keep living like this?" he said, gesturing to their surroundings. She could have luxurious quarters like the other elite did, with personal cooks, cleaners, even escorts, if that was what she wanted. Why did she stay here when she could have so much more? She barely spent the money he gave her. He'd checked. "You're making your life harder than it has to be."

She stared at him. "I am?"

What was she implying? "You were never going to have a normal life, Cassandra. You know that. You were born into this organization, and you were born different. I know what I ask of you is hard. But I also know you can handle it." Just like her father had. "And you don't do yourself any favors by ignoring the perks of your position."

"You want me to party like there's no tomorrow?" she asked.

"It might do you some good. You're in your twenties. You should live a little wildly. Before you joints start to ache," he joked. 

She gave him a weak smile, before it wilted. "And all I have to do is marry a man I don't like?"

When she put it like that, it made him sound horrible. "I married someone I didn't love," he confided in her. "But we made it work. We even had some good times." He reached over and placed his hand on hers, and ignored how hers jumped under his. "It won't be so bad. He knows who you are and what you've done. He won't judge you for it. Do you imagine anyone who isn't us would say the same?" She belonged in Team Rocket. With him. "I want you as my family, Cassandra. Please say yes."

He watched her resistance finally crumble. "Fine," she whispered. He had obviously made up his mind. And the boss always got what he wanted in the end.

The smile he gave her was heartrendingly sincere. "Thank you," he said. "Archer and I will begin making the arrangements."

"You have fun with that," she said, standing and collecting the mugs.

"You would be surprised how enjoyable picking flower arrangements is. Any requests?" he asked.

Would yellow carnations be too on the nose? He probably knew the symbolism, though. "Whatever you think would be nice," she said.

Maybe she wouldn't have to worry about this. Mewtwo might kill her. What she'd read of his file so far showed that he was capable of it. And if he didn't and Archer tried something - she could handle him, couldn't she? It wasn't like she would be drinking anything. All she would need to do is threaten him if he got frisky, and then call up one of his favorites to entertain him. It would be simple. She would be able to make it work.

And afterwards, she would have a break. A nice, long, bloodless break.

"Your plane will leave at six hundred hours tomorrow. Your luggage will be sent ahead of you," Giovanni said as he went to the door.

Cassandra nodded and waited until her let himself out. Domino was going to be furious, but when wasn't she? Looking back at the folder on her table, Cassandra sighed and went to refill her mug. First she had to get through her mission: kill the psychic kangaroo-cat monster. She sat back down and began reading in earnest, starting with the clone's history.

Back when Team Rocket was under Madame Maki's leadership, her second-in-command, Miyamoto, was charged with finding the legendary phantom pokémon, mew. Believed to reside in the Andes Mountain Range, this pokémon was said to be the rarest and most powerful in the world. While Miyamoto regularly sent radio transmissions with updates on her progress, these transmissions eventually stopped. Investigators who looked into her disappearance eventually concluded that she died in an avalanche. The search was then postponed. However, after Madame Maki passed and Signore Giovanni Maki inherited Team Rocket, the search resumed. It uncovered an excellently preserved mew fossil: an eyelash with intact roots. Signore Maki then commissioned Dr. Fuji, Kanto's leading expert in the field of cloning, to recreate a mew from the remains.

Dr. Fuji accepted the commission under a condition: that Signore Maki would allow him to create other pokémon clones and one human clone as well, which would also have a portion of the fossil's DNA spliced in. Since mew was said to be immortal, Dr. Fuji argued that medical advances could be make through the additional experiments, and that the other pokémon might have increased combat potential. Signore Maki agreed, though soon learned that Dr. Fuji had ulterior motives. The human clone, he learned, would be derived from Amber Fuji, Dr. Fuji's deceased daughter. Despite this conflict of interest, Signore Maki allowed the program to continue. Since a mew had not been seen in centuries, and because Signore Maki wanted the clone to be stronger than the original, genetic modifications were made to the eventual embryo. Dr. Fuij and his colleagues named their creation Mewtwo.

As the clones grew, the researchers discovered evidence that Ambertwo and Mewtwo were communicating telepathically. The other clones, Bulbasaurtwo, Squirtletwo, and Charmandertwo, soon joined in. The researchers speculated this ability was due to their shared mew DNA, but unfortunately, they didn't have a chance to study the phenomenon for long. Four of the clones, including Ambertwo, experienced an unexpected and sudden collapse on a cellular level, disintegrating in their gestation tanks. Only Mewtwo survived. Its brainwaves grew erratic afterwards and its powers threatened to go out of control, and so Dr. Fuji and his team had no choice but to sedate it. Mewtwo's brainwaves normalized afterwards and it grew to adulthood without further complications.

However, its temperament proved to be violent. Footage found in the New Island Laboratory's black box showed it destroying the facility and its creators within minutes of it waking up. However, Signore Maki managed to pacify it and bring it to the mainland. In the year that followed, the clone fought in the Viridian City Gym under his command.

However, the clone lashed out again after a year, breaking free from the armor that was suppressing its power. It destroyed the facility housing it, which Signore Maki was visiting at the time. He was miraculously unharmed. After another year of searching, Signore Maki and his second-in-command, Domino, found the clone at Mount Quena, a nature preserve in Johto. Strangely, there were other clone pokémon accompanying it, though where they came from is a mystery. Giovanni Maki speculated that Mewtwo had made them itself, though this was never confirmed. Through the use of state-of-the-art capture drones, Mewtwo was apprehended and the other clones rounded up.

Unfortunately, due to the meddling of several trainers and wild pokémon, Mewtwo was released. It then moved itself, its companions, and the spring of Mount Quena to an unknown location. Similarly, Giovanni Maki, Domino, and the rest of our operatives were moved back to their staging base, with no memory of why they were there. It was later confirmed that Mewtwo had used its amnesia ability to wipe their memories of its existence. Fortunately, that was not enough to stop our leaders, Giovanni Maki and Domino, for long.

Well, clearly the two of them had fans. Must be nice. Cassandra wondered what the report was missing, though. There's been an entire year between Mewtwo running away and being found, and a few between the events at Mount Quena and now. That was a lot of time to get up to mischief, including somehow making other pokémon clones? That suggested that he was extremely intelligent and resourceful, even if this report suggested otherwise. And why had Mewtwo killed his creators, including Dr. Fuji? She hadn't been comfortable around the man - not when he'd been so curious about her own genetic code. One of her fondest memories of Giovanni was him putting his foot down and saying that it was none of Dr. Fuji's business, and that he would deny his grant from the League if he kept prying. It was the first time she'd felt safe with him. If she had to guess, Dr. Fuji had put his foot into his mouth again, except this time, he'd pissed off someone as powerful as a god. He probably had only himself to blame, as extreme as Mewtwo's reaction had been. 

And she couldn't feel too bad for Dr. Fuji. Not after what he'd been trying to do with Ai. That clone, Aitwo - it wouldn't have been her, even if she had lived. 

Was that why she hadn't been introduced to Mewtwo? Because Giovanni hadn't wanted to open old wounds? He usually made sure she knew all of the major players in Team Rocket, even if she never worked with them. Maybe Giovanni had thought it was too risky, considering that Mewtwo had murdered nine people within minutes of his birth. With a sigh, she sipped more of her coffee, which was rapidly cooling, and went over the other files. Good medical prognosis. Excellent combat abilities. Standoffish personality. An aversion to touch. Questionable breeding capability? She didn't envy whatever doctor had tried to figure that out.

As she continued her studies, an ebony-and-gold fox squirmed out of her blankets and padded over to her. When he leapt up and settled on her lap, she smiled and scratched behind his ears. He leaned into her touch, closing his ruby eyes and purring.

"Good evening, Shadow. It seems I have another mission," she said.

"Umbre," he rumbled, baring his fangs at the file.

"You shouldn't worry so much. I can handle whatever Giovanni throws at me." If she was too tired afterwards to clean her apartment, so what? Shadow didn't mind, and it wasn't like she ever brought anyone over. Domino stopping by to deliver the occasional letter from Silver didn't count. 

He opened his eyes just enough to glower at her. "Breon."

"Yeah, I know you don't like him. Or Domino. I think you scared her earlier."

Her umbreon's laughter sounded like stones being ground together. Cassandra stroked him down his spine. They'd been together since she was sixteen - an anonymous gift. She'd woken up one day to find a runt of an eevee outside her door, mewling for food. She hadn't gotten a pokémon when she was younger. She'd known Giovanni's hopes for her, which included a lot of travel and more danger, and it hadn't seemed fair to involve a pokémon in that. But it would also have been unfair to turn the little guy away on an empty stomach, and so she'd fed him, and then he'd curled up against her palm purring, and she hadn't had the heart to send him away afterwards. 

When she was done with the file, she carefully lifted Shadow from her lap and set him on the floor. He watched her dart around the room, packing up the blades and doing some hurried cleaning, knowing she might not be back for a week or more. Afterwards, she went to the closet and flung it open. Lining the shelves were more weapons, along with vials of various chemical concoctions, some to knock people unconscious, some to cause memory loss, and others with more lethal results. She didn't bother with those; getting that close wouldn't be wise. She would need the infrared - she would ask Giovanni to throw in whatever version they had that picked out clone physiology - and maybe a gun or two? What about a rifle? Sniping him from a distance was probably the safest play. While she determined what to bring, Shadow jumped onto the table, curious who her target was. 

Oh. This was. Not good.

He looked back at Cassandra, concerned. He should stop her. Nothing good would come from her trying to kill the shadow of mew. But how could he explain that to her? He could convey simple concepts to his human, not...everything that she was missing here. She didn't even seem worried. She kept packing her clothes with a soldier's efficiency. How was he supposed to protect her from this? Maybe he could get her to take him with? But when he mewled and pawed at her leg, and jumped into her suitcase to make his point clear, she lifted him out of it and said, "No, Shadow. As much as I'd like you with me, I'm not putting you in danger. Don't worry, I'll set your fountain and your feeder up before I go."

As if it was himself he was worried about! With a huff, he grumbled a prayer to the Legendaries, then went to check to that she wasn't forgetting anything important.

At dawn the next day, Cassandra drowsed as her flight took off. The sky was overcast and rainy, but despite the weather, a flock of pelipper escorted them to the edge of the ocean. She watched them wistfully, wondering what it would be like to only have breakfast to worry about.

"Miss, would you like something off the cart?" the flight attendant asked.

Cassandra, not feeling hungry, shook her head. Once the attendant moved on, though, she felt the seat behind her shudder. She twisted around and saw two grubby hands clutching the headrest. A child with messy black hair and blue eyes stared at her. His red-haired mother was asleep in the seat beside him. "Have you ever been on a plane before?" he whispered, not wanting to wake her.

His mother really should be paying more attention. Not her child, though, so not her problem. "Many times," she said. Though usually not ones quite this long. She usually worked in Kanto and Johto. Once she'd gone as far as Orre, but Unova was much farther away. It would be at least another ten hours before they reached land again. The jet leg was going to be awful, even if she did manage to sleep through the flight. And then she'd have to adopt a nocturnal schedule when she arrived. Mewtwo only came out at night. 

Tugging her from her thoughts, the child said, "Oh. I haven't. How long will it take?"

For a child like him, with nothing to do except play with his Gameboy and watch bad in-flight movies? "Forever," she said.

He made a face, then asked, "What are we supposed to do?"

"Sleep, if we can," Cassandra said, feeling a headache forming. She'd been up most of the night preparing.

"That's boring. We could talk instead?" he suggested. 

"I don't think your mom would like you talking with a stranger," she pointed out.

"But you seem nice," he protested. "And you have cool eyes."

He'd raised his voice loud enough to wake his mother. She spotted him standing on his seat, swore, and wrestled him back into it. "Don't bother the other passengers. I'm so sorry," she said quickly to Cassandra.

Cassandra couldn't help but smile. "That's alright. Apparently I have cool eyes."

The mother groaned and began to lecture at the boy, who looked sullen. Cassandra turned around and settled against her airline-issued pillow. Cute kid. Probably would be a charmer when he grew up. Her eyes were nothing special, though. Grey, even a grey as pale as hers, was a boring color.

___

By dusk the next day, Cassandra was refreshed and ready to begin her search. Her luggage lay open on her hotel bed. She changed into her uniform, grateful for the crispness of the autumn night. It would make the padded black silk of her vest bearable. She added blades to the sheathes strapped to her arms, stuffed her lock-picking tools into her belt pouch, checked that the infrared camera was working, and made sure all of the rifle parts were accounted for in their case. It had been designed to resemble a viola case - a wink on Giovanni's part. As far as the Unovans would know, she was an overly bundled tourist who might try her hand at street music at any moment. She'd had a flashier uniform than this, once, but practically had won out after the first few missions. At least this would keep her warm. Whether it would be enough to blunt telekinetic force was another matter.