[ POV Change ]

As Jessie slowly opened her eyes, the darkness enveloped her like a thick, suffocating blanket. She struggled to sit up, only to realize that she was tied to a chair. Panic clawed at her chest as she frantically tried to free herself, but her attempts proved futile. She was trapped, and she had no idea where she was.

As she struggled, she heard a faint sound in the distance. It was a scream - a blood-curdling cry of terror that echoed through the darkness, sending shivers down Jessie's spine. Her heart raced with fear, and she felt dizzy and disoriented. She knew she had to keep calm and focused if she wanted to get out of this situation, but the scream continued, filling her with dread and despair.

Jessie fought to keep her thoughts under control, but worst-case scenarios flooded her mind. She tried to imagine who could be making those sounds and what they were going through. The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became.

Finally, Jessie couldn't take it anymore. She broke down into tears, her body shaking with fear and despair. She had no idea what was happening or how she was going to get out of this situation. All she could do was pray for help and try to stay strong.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a figure entered the room. It was Austin, but he was dressed in a disguise that made him look like Doflamingo. His nonchalant demeanor only added to Jessie's fear, and she tried to portray a face of confidence, but she failed as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Sorry about that," Austin said, "I had to take care of someone before I came here."

Jessie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who was this man, and why was he doing this to her? Her mind was racing, and she had no idea what was going to happen next.

"Awe, don't worry," Austin said, his hand creeping up to brush Jessie's cheek, "I'm not going to hurt you, as long as you cooperate."

Jessie shuddered at the touch of his hand, and she knew she had to do whatever he asked if she wanted to survive.

Austin pushed a photo of a woman in front of Jessie, and she recognized her immediately.

Austin exclaimed," Miyamoto, an active team rocket member under the former boss of team rocket, Madame Boss."

Austin's words were like music to Jessie's ears as she after so many years finally got some information about her mother.

Jessie's heart leaped with hope. After all these years, she finally had some information about her mother. She looked up at Austin with tears in her eyes and asked, "Can you tell me more about my mother?"

Austin's smile turned cold and calculating, and Jessie could feel the tension in the room.

To Austin's eyes, he was seeing a fellow struggler who was desperately trying to get some answers but unlike him, she had all those answers in front of her.

Austin took a deep breath to collect his thoughts as he exclaimed in a cold voice," Miss Jessie, answers come at a price. Are you willing to pay said price for the answers you want ?"

Austin's words cut deep into Jessie's heart as she was denied information about her mother.

Jessie wanted to scream out that she was willing to pay the price but seeing the trouble that the man in front of him took for all of this, the price for her mother's information shouldn't be that easy to pay.

" What do you want ?" Jessie asked while maintaining a calm face as Austin simply replied.

" I want you to work for me to destroy Team rocket."

Jessie blinked a few times before bursting out laughing at Austin's ridiculous notion.

Destroy team rocket..... pfft.

" You know taking down Giovanni and his base of operations isn't that hard." Austin simply exclaimed as Jessie's laughter froze when she realized the name of the boss of the team rocket coming from this stranger's mouth.

" Y, You," Jessie exclaimed as her eyes were as wide as marbles when she gazed upon Austin's confident look.

" How do you know that name ?"

" Miss Jessie, I have lived long enough to witness the tides of fate ebb and flow. The world is a labyrinthine maze of chaos, and yet there are patterns, patterns that can be deciphered if one has the eyes to see them. And today, my dear, I sense that fate has brought us together for a moment of reckoning." Austin exclaimed bullshiting some cryptic words as he pulled out a shiny quarter from his pocket, glistening in the dim light of the room. The metal glinted like a beacon, calling out to something deep within Jessie's psyche. She felt drawn to it, unable to tear her eyes away.

"Now, Miss Jessie," Austin continued, his voice low and steady. "Let us put this coin to the test. Heads and Team Rocket will win. Tails and they will win."

The tension in the room was palpable as Austin raised the coin into the air, his hand trembling ever so slightly. For a moment, time seemed to slow down as the coin spun, a blur of silver and copper.

Jessie held her breath, her heart pounding in her chest.

And then, with a resounding clink, the coin landed on its edge, perfectly balanced in the middle of the table. Jessie stared at it, her mind racing. What did this mean? Was it a sign? Or was it simply chance, a fluke of fate that had no greater meaning?

Austin's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see him smiling at her, his eyes glinting with a deep, knowing wisdom.

"Do you believe in fate, my dear?" he asked, his voice soft and enigmatic. "Or do you think this was merely a roll of the dice?"

Jessie felt her heart skip a beat as she looked into his eyes.

" Maybe the absence of signs is a sign. Don't you think so?"

Jessie's eyes widened in disbelief as Austin made his proposal. "So, you want me to betray the most powerful organization in Kanto and Johto based on something as intangible as fate?" she asked, her voice quivering with uncertainty.

Austin's eyes bore into hers, his expression was unyielding. "My dear Jessie, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate," he said, his voice low and steady. "But don't think of our meeting as just a mere coincidence. Think of it as fate, or even a sign, for a better tomorrow for yourself."

His words hung in the air like a heavy mist, enveloping Jessie in a sense of foreboding. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of fate he was referring to and what kind of sign this was supposed to be. But before she could voice her concerns, Austin pushed a small recorder toward her.

"Even if you don't believe in fate," he continued, "believe that I am the only one who can give you the answers you require. Think about it for a moment. Do you want answers or do you want to remain ignorant? It's your choice, but don't make a choice that you will regret in the future."

Jessie stared at the recorder, feeling both intrigued and apprehensive. She knew that Austin was right - she had been searching for answers for a long time, and this might be her only chance to get them. But at the same time, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something ominous about this whole situation.

As Austin left the room, his footsteps echoing in the silence, Jessie hesitated for a moment before pressing the play button on the recorder. The sound of a woman's voice filled the room, speaking in hushed tones.

"Hello, this is Miyamoto speaking," the voice said. "Boss, you won't believe this. God has children."

The words hit Jessie like a bolt of lightning, and she felt a sudden rush of adrenaline.

As Jessie listened to her mother's voice, tears started to stream down her face.

At first, she was overwhelmed with emotion. She couldn't believe that she was finally hearing her mother's voice after all these years. She felt a flood of memories wash over her, and she couldn't hold back the sobs that wracked her body.

In the small dark room, a lost child cried over the voice of a woman she could have called mom.

••●••••●••••●••••●••••●••

[ Celadon City - Team Rocket Base ]

Executive Proton's footsteps echoed through the silence of the underground corridor that led to cells his base in Celadon City. The path was poorly lit with a few yellowish lights spaced apart, which gave the place a gloomy feel. A young agent opened the door to the locked room where they kept the marauder. Proton appeared as a dark silhouette due to the poor light of the place. He entered with a firm step and the gazes of those present turned against him, surprised by his presence.

"Everyone get out", he ordered dryly.

The three Team Rocket agents who had been trying to get information out of the man hurriedly left but not before inclining their heads towards the executive, the agent who had guided him there also left. In the place, there was a gasoline can that contained water, some work tools, and a car battery with some current connected. His soldiers had amused themselves by torturing this enemy, but without much success, for he had stood his ground without saying a word.

Proton directed his gaze toward the center of the room where there was a small metal table and a cold and dirty chair, illuminated with the white light of a spotlight that swayed above them. There was a young man who must be no more than a few years younger than him, his hands were tied behind the chair. His face was swollen from the blows and one of his eyelids ran bloodied with a large cut above the brow. Proton had his right hand in his pants pocket. He looked at him seriously noticing the wet and dirty clothes. The scent of what he recognized as the blood hit him a moment later. The team rocket executive took a few steps toward the boy who gave him a mocking smile.

"Wow, the big boss has arrived", The teasing and daring tone of voice did not go unnoticed by the impetuous boss.

Proton did not flinch, he just looked at him with his deep dark eyes studying every detail that could give him clues. He smirked and placed one of his hands on the shoulder of the young man who shuddered, feeling as if his body warned him of imminent danger. With terrifying speed Proton grabbed him by the hair and smashed his face against the cold metal, the noise was thunderous. The blood spurted from the young's face, and he let out a scream of pain feeling his front teeth split in his mouth, the salty taste of blood filled his throat and he felt like he was choking, he coughed for air when without contemplation was taken again by the hair and smashed mercilessly against the table.

The team rocket executive walked around the chair and took a knife that was on the metal table, the young's eyes danced in fear, waiting to be attacked again, so he decided to close them and wait for the next blow, but what he felt was a slight feeling of relief when noticing the release of his hands, that he astoundingly raised in front of him, to his chest.

"I'll give you a chance", Proton said in a tone that even seemed sincere.

The young man looked at him doubtfully, he ran his hands over his wrists trying to alleviate the pain he felt in them, and he stood up, looking at the man in front of him, he thought that being one against one he could defeat him and maybe get out of that garbage can. However, he soon realized that he was not in the best position. For a moment silence reigned.

Suddenly the young man began to laugh sardonically. His blood-soaked face made him look disturbed.

"If you show me your face, it's because you think I won't get out of here, right?" He spat at Proton's feet, who didn't answer. "You should be more cautious, now I know your face."

" It is an executive's job to present themselves as the face of team rocket. Knowing my face isn't going to matter that much to you. So tell me, where are the other members of Lance's lapdogs hiding ?"

" W, what ?"

" You think team rocket doesn't know, brat. I assure you we know a lot more than the league thinks. So I'll ask again, brat. Tell me what I want and you won't get hurt."

" .... "

" ( ~ Sigh ~ ) Looks like you want to do this, the hard way. Clench your teeth, because this is going to hurt " Proton said with a smile as he picked up a pair of pliers before he was interrupted by a call.

Proton sighed and picked up the phone to see the caller was from Silph co.

" Agent Alex Aarons, what do you want ?"