He was tall. He was tall, broad, clearly muscled and strong, and very well-dressed.

And he was infuriated.

Serena watched Giovanni Rocketto with a sense of muted awe, and a stronger sense of fear. She'd grown up watching this man become one of the most influential men in the world. She had products in her house that had come from his company. She'd watched him on TV and had even read his book.

And now she had also just found out he was the Boss of Team Rocket, and Archer was in the midst of explaining to him the situation. Giovanni looked like he was ready to burn up a few more people the more he listened to Archer, and Serena had had no idea that her friend had known this man or that she was that important to him.

At a certain point, Giovanni's head snapped over to her, and his intense glare made her wilt. She honestly became terrified as he stalked over to her, and was soon enough right in front of her.

"Your mother was responsible for Ash being taken?" he growled out.

And she was both afraid and guilty, and she burst into tears, burying her face into her hands.

"It's not her fault," she heard Diantha come to her aid, her voice soft and welcomed to Serena. "Don't blame her for her mother's wrongdoings."

Serena heard a huge sigh and she looked up and saw through teary eyes, that Giovanni still looked aggravated but not as scarily angry towards her as before. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering in another language under his breath.

"Where is her pokémon?" he snapped out as he straightened himself.

"Pikachu is at my home, while Maximus has been with Professor Sycamore, hopefully getting his wings fixed," Siebold replied quietly, still feeling despondent over the whole thing.

"What happened to him?" Giovanni scowled.

"The traffickers damaged his wings pretty badly," Malva stepped in to speak for the upset group. "Sycamore told Siebold and Ash that they had a machine they've been working on, that was supposed to help pokémon heal quicker. He'd asked to have Maximus for at least a few days or so."

Giovanni took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Have her Pikachu know about what's going on. He'll be angry otherwise, I'm sure. More so than he would be at what's happened. He'll get to work on finding any lead we can get towards finding Ash. As soon as Maximus is healed, you can transfer him over to me. As his old trainer, he's familiar with me and will want to work towards finding Ash directly."

Serena couldn't believe that Ash's Charizard she'd told her about had been Giovanni's as well...

But then he turned back towards her, and his eyes -while not furious -were still dark and a simmer of anger was just below the surface.

"Archer told me everything, and had made sure to extract every single detail from you. But now I need you to tell me where is your mother?"

Serena froze up, and she could feel the room just basically become silent and still. But then...

Her mother had been willing to sell her out, so why wouldn't she (in another way) sell out her mother?

"She's probably still in the hotel room," Serena replied, strangely finding no hesitance in her voice.

"Good," Giovanni's voice was firm. "Archer, get the car ready. We're leaving."

"I want to come," Serena blurted out, and once again she felt everyone's eyes on her.

Giovanni turned to face her again. "Girl, you should know -I am not going to meet with your mother and talk over tea. Do you realize what I am going to do to her when I find her?"

A collective flinch went around the room, but Serena nodded shakily. Drasna came over to her.

"Sweetie, you don't have to go. You can let them go on and do what they will, but you do not need to come with them," Drasna offered.

Serena wiped at her eyes. "I sent a picture to my mother of Ash and me. That's how she found out. And it's my fault. And the fact is...if Ash hadn't been there, my own mother was willing to sell me to those people."

It was quiet again, before Drasna squeezed her shoulder and stepped back. This time Lysandre stepped forward, towards Giovanni though.

"I will accompany you," he told him. "I may not have known Ash long, but I consider her a close friend nonetheless. And...from one boss to another. I suppose we should share the burden of the brutality that will be committed in this region from this day forth."

Giovanni watched the man for a second before nodding. Malva spoke up then.

"Lysandre?"

Lysandre turned to face her grimly. "I desired to make this world a more beautiful paradise. You were right, Malva. We, Team Flare, have failed in that from the beginning, allowing these people to operate in our region. I promised that girl I would create a beautiful world for her. I will not make a liar of myself."

It was with quick comprehension, other than Giovanni and Archer, that the rest of them realized that Lysandre was the boss of Team Flare and Malva was also part of the team. And by Malva's look, it was clear she understood and that she would definitely be going along as well.

The rest of the Kalos Elite stayed behind, while they went into Giovanni's car and drove to Hotel Richissime. It was with the realization that she was leading these people to her mother, and that her mother was going to be viciously "interrogated." For the first time, a small grain of uneasiness entered her.

It stuck onto her all the way from exiting the car to being in front of the doorway, to which she knocked and said it was her. As soon as her mother opened it however, Archer pushed her mother inside and they entered into it quickly, shutting the door behind them with an ominous thud.

"Serena! Who are all these people?" her mother screeched, feeling terrified.

Vaguely, Serena thought that at least now her mother felt what she had during the ambush, and what Ash was probably feeling right then.

It was an out of body experience, and she heard and saw everything in a sort of muted way. It had been like that since earlier.

Giovanni asked the questions. His voice was cold and unfeeling, and there wasn't a single ounce of sympathy in those dark onyx eyes of his.

Archer enforced his command and dealt out the punishments. If an answer wasn't satisfactory, or she wouldn't say anything, Archer's gloved hands were loud as they encountered resistance. Bruises were already forming on her mother's normally fair skin, but Serena was just feeling detached.

And when her mother looked at her, eyes pleading, Serena felt herself shut down and look back without any feeling.

How could you do this? she wanted to say to her mother. How could you be capable of this?

In her mind, she couldn't help but think 'I am not your daughter. Don't look at me.'

No mother would actually be willing to sell their own child.

~*~*~

Colress wasn't sure what to make of the group that was now working under him. They were very quiet, although very efficient and hard-working, volunteers. But they also tried to keep their eyes to the ground, and wouldn't talk much to him, unless it involved the work he gave to them. And when it came to research, the volunteers didn't say if they were okay or not with his procedures. They allowed him to do whatever, and it disconcerted him.

Science was dangerous and research was a huge part of it. Which made the research and experiments he'd been doing definitely have a sense of danger, and only those volunteers comfortable with it should actually really be comfortable volunteering for such tasks.

"Coffee?"

Colress turned to Ash with a faint smile, accepting the cup from her. This was the girl who'd been trailing after Romeo Degrassi that day, and who he'd found himself getting close to and working closely with. She was immense reliable, smart, funny, but still a little bit sad and withdrawn at times. Sometimes, she still shied away from him, like she was expecting something bad to happen. That had been extremely prevalent in the beginning, until Colress had somehow managed to prove he didn't mean any harm.

She also, though, tended to try to keep her eyes to the ground. Colress couldn't really figure that out, or what was wrong.

"Careful with that," Colress gently moved Ash away from the case of vials he had in front of him. "These contain dangerous chemicals that I need to move. I was just going to get protective gear on." Ash nodded, and Colress thought for a second. "Would you like to help me?"

Ash's eyes widened, but she gave a small smile. "That would be nice," she said quietly.

Colress retrieved an extra lab coat for her, smaller in size than his own, and grabbed the safety gloves and goggles. Maybe if he showed her how to do things around here, she could be kept on as his assistant...

A side-glance at her, especially in her lab coat, and an involuntary flush took over his face.

He would definitely like that, and he hoped that she wouldn't mind the position. She could even do something other than mill about with the other volunteers when they're not doing something, or bringing him coffee and whatever item he needed. He could teach her some things in the lab, keep her occupied and learning, and she could actually just work alongside him from then on.

~*~*~

Ash decided Colress was kind and she actually liked him. She also firmly decided that he actually didn't know anything about her and the others, or where they came from and how they were obtained. She was also pretty sure Colress had no idea that he, or even his group, had been dealing with traffickers and those who associated with them.

A Zorua licked her hand, and she smiled down at it.

"I think Zorua wants to play with you," N smiled briefly. She'd met him on the first day they'd landed on Unova and had made it to Team Plasma's base. Since then, he'd taken to hanging around her a few times a day, and sometimes his face would be oddly a light shade of red. He was also shier around her than around the others, and she hoped she didn't intimidate him somehow. Ash found him rather adorable and liked how sweet and protective he got with her sometimes. It was like having a brother, and she really appreciated the feeling of safety she got from him, and even with Colress.

"Ash, Colress needs you," Brad, a Team Plasma grunt, came to get her. His orange hair stuck out everywhere, and she could guess that Brad had been taking a nap somewhere he'd hidden at, before Colress had found him.

"Okay," Ash said. She rubbed Zorua's head and offered a bright smile to N, missing the quick blush that stole across cheeks. "See you later, N!"

She then followed after Brad, who led the way to Colress.

"You were sleeping, weren't you?" Ash accused teasingly.

Brad coughed, cheeks pinking slightly. "Yeah, so?"

"And you got caught."

Brad wouldn't admit to pouting, but she'd been spot on.

"Whatever," he grumbled. They saw another of the group Ash came with walk by then, eyes to the ground. "Geez, what's with you and the others preferring to keep your eyes down, huh?"

Ash answered idly, not thinking about it. "We were trained to. Well, I was advised. We're not allowed to be eyeballing anyone, and just looking around could lead to reckless eyeballing and choosing up by mistake."

She, herself, had learned about that from Romeo, and didn't want to accidentally choose a pimp by accident just because she locked eyes with them. He'd told her it's best, in this business and around those people, to keep your eyes to the ground. Although, she had a feeling that everyone here from Team Plasma wasn't exactly in that business, and also that the others were more likely still doing it -despite most probably coming to the same conclusions as her -because they were used to it and it had become habit. Wherever they'd come from had made sure the habit had become ingrained in them.

Brad stopped short and stared at her. "What?"

Realizing what she'd said, she tried to backtrack. They were all currently safe there, even if it was another Team. She didn't want to ruin the only safe haven all of them had managed to find.

"It's nothing," she lied smoothly. "Eye contact is just a bad thing. You know? It's just...rude. Yeah, really rude."

Because she wasn't going to say anything to jeopardize a place they had found to be safe and away from those traffickers.

~*~*~

Colress, after hearing what Brad had told him, felt uneasy about what he'd learned. He'd called Ghetsis, and now he, Colress, and Brad and his sister Aldith were standing in a group together.

"Who found those people?" Aldith asked first.

"I don't know," Colress admitted. "I had someone be in charge of finding people willing to work for Team Plasma and be volunteers for research and the experiments. And I told Brad to find that person."

Ghetsis stayed quiet, listening with a serious face.

Brad frowned. "I made a lower grunt be in charge of that. His name was...Tadashi. Yeah, that was his name."

And when they brought the grunt in question in, the young man easily broke and spilled everything.

"I couldn't find anyone," he confessed. "So I ran into a guy, who said he could get me a group of people to come work with us on what we want no questions asked, and we'd only just pay a certain sum of money for them. I swear I had no idea! I didn't think I was dealing with those people."

And oh Arceus, it all now made so much sense. Colress felt sick thinking about it, that all of those now working for him weren't volunteers at all. They were trafficking victims, and had had no say then and definitely thought they still had no say now. And Ash...

That made him stiffen up, more so when she'd been brought in. She wrung her hands and she suddenly seemed even smaller in her lab coat than usual, and it just made Colress ache and want to put his arms around her and promise to keep her safe.

"My name is Ash Ketchum," she started out once she'd been prompted to start. "I was taken in Saffron City and brought all the way to Kalos..."

And she told them -him -what had happened to her, how she'd gotten away, and then was caught again. And this time brought into Colress and Team Plasma's care. It made Colress, in a rare fit of fury unlike him, want to dump those people in a vat of acid, especially hearing how one had violated Ash and another had hurt her and threatened to cut her eyes out.

When Ash went back to the others, the little group in that room were silent and not looking at each other.

"So what do we do now?" Aldith asked quietly, wrapping her mind around the fact the younger girl she'd sort of adopted as a sister had been forced into their care in the first place.

Colress frowned. He had an idea, but it made him hurt personally to make it. And yet...

If it made Ash happy, then he could be content.

~*~*~

Before he was to head back to Kanto, Giovanni was going to look around Kalos and find out who and where Serena's mother had contracted this dealer of hers. He was going to find this man, find out where the hell Ash was, and do whatever needed to be done to get rid of this group for good. They'll never be able to lay their hands on Ash ever again.

"Are you going back to Kanto?"

He turned around and watched the young girl Ash had made friends with. The honey-brown hair of hers, caramel more like, had been recently cut short, framing her face in small waves. The girl's eyes showed how tired she really was, as well as her overall posture.

He remembered back at the hotel how the girl had unflinchingly watched her mother being interrogated, even at the cruel hands of himself and Archer. She'd said nothing, hadn't responded to her mother, and didn't move or look away. In fact, the girl's eyes had watched at first indifferently, before they'd hardened and even a sliver of coldness and a bit of hate had entered her eyes.

"Not too soon. I still have business in Kalos to take care of," Giovanni told her determinedly.

"I want to join Team Rocket," Serena said suddenly.

He watched her in contemplation. "Why not Team Flare? They're your region's Team, and Kalos is your home and where you live," he prodded, slightly curious about this girl's request.

"Team Rocket has been on these people's trail from the beginning. I want to be involved in that," Serena said urgently. "I want to be chasing them down, even if it means going to region to region. And while Team Flare maybe involved in this now, you know a lot more and are more active about this. You don't even have the restrictions of staying in one region! I want to go wherever I have to take them down, and-and find Ash and save her!"

Ah, the crux of the main problem and the same girl Giovanni was chasing after and wanted to keep safe.

"If I stay in Kalos, I have less of a chance to find her, save her, say I'm sorry," Serena cried. "I don't want to just stay here and be based in Kalos, and feel useless. I want to actively go after them, after her."

Giovanni continued to watch her in contemplation, before nodding slowly.

"Very well. You may join Team Rocket and come along with us. Be warned that you'll be essentially leaving everything behind, your whole life, everything that was yours and part of you in Kalos. And you would need to have a steel stomach for the road ahead of you. Brutality has been attached to our name, and we're not going to let go of it."

Serena nodded determinedly, not willing to take any of that back.

~*~*~

Ash was practically brimming with anxiety and excitement. On one hand, she would be going to the mainland and hopefully soon to home. On the other, she worried of leaving the base and going back to where things were dangerous. And who knew if the journey she would take, with N accompanying her, would be safe?

The airports were definitely not, considering Romeo had told her that the airports all over Unova were a favorite destination for "recruiters." And if Tobias was really still looking for her, her looks would be easy to spot around those areas and she'd be recognized.

All of them were unsure, but they'd checked the safest route would be a ship from Unova to Sinnoh. A shorter distance with no stops in between, meant a less likely way for the traffickers to get someone off of that ship and to some island base (or something to that extent). It wasn't foolproof, but she at least had N, who had Zorua. Brad and Aldith would accompany them incognito, watching from a distance and preparing for trouble. It was also better than if she were to take a ship all the way straight to Kanto, which led to more possible dangerous outcomes, and with the three of them being unable to accompany her the rest of the way.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem would be when she got to Sinnoh. The three had to stay on the ship and head back to Unova, which left her alone for the rest of her journey back to Kanto. She'd have to travel through Sinnoh all the way to Kanto, and try to keep safe.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just stick with you?" Aldith asked, looking anxious herself.

Ash frowned. "Colress needs you and Brad to help with finding the others' homes and getting them back too. Of that group, I'm the only one who lives over in the mainland, while the rest of them at least lived around Unova or even some from Kalos. And N, your father needs you to help with maintaining the Team, while Colress is busy and can't help him manage Team Plasma."

"Fine, fine," Brad grumbled. "I think that's Colress now, with our tickets."

Indeed, Colress came over to them, handing a ticket each. As he handed one to Ash, he gave a quick look to others. The three Plasma members left to the ship, leaving Colress with Ash. He gave her a small smile as he held her hands.

"Thank you for everything," Ash beamed happily and thankfully at him.

"I'm sorry that it's taken so long for me to actually find out anything from any of you," Colress pursed his lips. "I am a scientist, but I do not condone the unlawful and morally wrong experimentation of those who don't wish to volunteer. Or overall cruelty. And in that case, I must reevaluate my own conduct regarding my experiments regarding pokémon, and hope to treat them as wholly as one should you."

Ash was extremely happy and proud of Colress' outlook, and of his newfound determination to be more conscious of how he treated pokémon in his experiments as well. He had never been a cruel person, although he'd told her that it had slipped his mind on how he hadn't exactly kept the pokémon's feelings and overall health in mind in many of his experiments. His goal had always been for the betterment of both pokémon and people though, but he now knew he should think about all those things.

"And Ash," Colress continued. "I hope you have a safe journey and you will get home safely."

To her surprise, he leaned in quickly and kissed her, before moving back and becoming stuck in a flustered state.

"Good luck!" he said, using one of his rather more adorable (slightly geeky) grins, usually reserved for when he was being extremely enthusiastic about something (usually an experiment).

Ash echoed that grin and went back to hug him close, inhaling his slightly clinical scent (with a hint of ammonia and iodine). She'd miss him for sure, especially working with him and learning all the things she did. Maybe one day, she might decide to work in a lab, maybe even his lab...

"See you, Colress! I'll look you up when I get back to Kanto!"

She was so close to home. She hoped it wouldn't be too long until she made it.

~*~*~

From every region, there seemed to be a universal meeting. Bosses of each Teams were holding a meeting of their members, having received an unusual, encrypted transmission. The large screens in the giant meeting halls were dark before crackling to life. Soon enough, a man hidden in shadows lounged in a chair in the screens. When he spoke, his voice clearly was modified and came out distorted.

"Ladies and gentlemen -especially the boss of each respective Team," the man spoke, voice still somehow smooth despite the distortion. "I am the leader of Team Rocket."

Quiet whispers broke out within each meeting hall, and Maxie, Archie, and Cyrus had a time trying to quiet everyone. Lysandre stood to the side, watching as Giovanni commanded the camera, his own Team standing around the meeting hall silently, while the Kalosian Rocket agents stood around near to their boss. In Unova, they were also silent, collected together with the trafficking victims they were with and had been in the middle of organizing and trying to help get home. Some Plasma members saw a light in the victims' eyes at seeing the Rocket Boss onscreen, and guessed it was because, by then, that Team and its boss were hugely known opponents of the trafficking ring.

"I will admit that I have left each of you alone, not caring to take any territories other than my own. You are also beholden to suspicions that I may have my own foothold in each region regardless. I will neither confirm nor deny that. However, that isn't important. What is, is that if any of you get in my way hunting down the human traffickers that, I will swear on your lives and your Teams' lives, I will cut every single one of you down. If you oppose me, try to stop me when I come to your region pursuing these people, if you condone this -"

And suddenly the image of the man in shadows were replaced by a video playing, a little boy being taken apart and then beheaded, and the screams of the boy echoing in each hall to the horror of everyone forced to see it.

"I will destroy you," the shadow man came back on, this time sitting up and looking intently at the camera, still not revealing who he was. "If you even own a single snuff film, I will personally make sure you get to feature in one."

A big red R appeared in the man's place, and then the video feed cut off.

"Well shit," Archie muttered. "I knew those Rockets were crazy."

And that was without saying how he'd had an inkling they'd get involved with the Rockets' trail of blood and horror somehow, and have their sights set on the other Teams -just in a different manner than Archie had initially thought.