EPISODE 19: Return!*

Quite peaceful it is, inside the helicopter. My lungs are now functioning properly and my breathing has finally cooled before turning into another asthmatic situation. After receiving Xavier's location from Charlotte, we are now heading to Azalea Town. According to Charlotte, it is a small isolated town located on the southern peninsula of the Johto Region. The PPD branch there is quite small according to the handy town map that Charlotte has. Detective Looker is in Olivine City, therefore this will be a much easier task for us.

Above a hilltop, the pilot ceases the vehicle's operation and drops the ladders. I was about to go down in order to complete my last mission of the day when suddenly Charlotte halts me, grabbing my shoulder.

"I'm coming." Charlotte looks to me with a serious face, volunteering to help.

"Charlotte, stay here. It will only take a minute or so." I decline her help.

"And so? We've been separated for more than a week, I can't afford that to happen again."

"Charlot-" My words are cut in half.

"No matter how many times you stop me, I'm still going down." She interrupts, leaving me with no choice but to say yes. With enough persuasion, I finally concur and accepted her help.

The PPD branch of the town is merely two floors and only consists of one building, unlike Olivine which has four. The entrance of the facility is made out of sliding glass doors that could be easily shattered into fragments by throwing a stone at it. The building structure seems old and the paint is deteriorated. Strangely, it has no defensive mechanisms and hosts only typical wardens unlike those at Olivine.

"Pidgeot, take it to the skies!" Charlotte smirks afterward, tossing Pidgeot out of its Pokeball.

Pidgeot glides through the sky, scouting the windows for Xavier's location. It then returns to her trainer, however, unexpectedly it hits itself on the air. Out of now where, while returning to Charlotte, Pidgeot bumps into something that neither I nor her could see.

It falls down, luckily Charlotte was able to catch and return it to its Pokeball. In return, the incident raises our suspicion.

"Did... Pidgeot just bump into the air?" Charlotte says in a sarcastic manner.

"Strange, it must've been one of those sky pirates," I mumble, staring at the skies.

"Sky pirates?" Charlotte questions with doubt, trying to avoid herself from laughing.

"What's so funny? It's true. They call themselves the Rebirth Society. Pidgeot must've bumped into their invisible ship."

"Invisible ship? That seems quite unrealistic to me."

"Well, if you were in the Violet Museum you would've seen dangling ropes from the sky with people descending down, wearing weird eighteenth-century outfits. Luckily, we were able to escape."

"We?! So you're telling me you have a new partner now?" Charlotte enrages slightly with green eyes.

"Virgo is her name, and she was assigned as my roommate too. And by the way, I've finally met the four executives. They're in charge of the Johto Branch of Team Rocket. Our goal is to harness the power of the legends of this region in order to match the power of Mewtwo. With Lugia and Ho-Oh, team Rocket will recreate Giovanni's ambition." I explain.

"Giovanni? Our boss is a traitor." Charlotte's anger suddenly enrages.

"Don't tell me you're like Proton? I still have faith Giovanni will return." Hearing her words has also made me angry but only slightly. I opined.

"You better make sure. I was about to resign once we've rescued Xavier. I just can't handle all this stress anymore." With a frown, she speaks then remains tongue-tied afterward. After a short conversation atop a hill, we continue our mission in the town.

With confidence, both of us infiltrated the branch through the front gates. Seeing us with our Team Rocket outfits entering their facility, the wardens reacted quickly, preparing to toss their Pokeballs to us. Charlotte makes the first move, commanding Pidgeot to use Hurricane. Its move has left our foes, dizzy and worn-out from the wind.

We continue to infiltrate their branch with a smirk on our faces. Move after move, me and Charlotte worked together, forging a good teamwork that not even our foes could break. How I miss this feeling, working with Charlotte once more. I could not possibly be happier than this.

The detainment area of the branch only consists of five cells, and the first one contains Xavier right away. Although, Xavier does not seem like his normal self. Looking tired and lethargic he is, with his body shivering from coldness. Seeing Xavier, Charlotte becomes worried sick. With her Pidgeot, she orders it to knock the barriers with Drill Peck while I watch beside her, checking if there are wardens heading to my direction.

"Xavier." Charlotte murmurs, checking his temperature. From a worried look, Charlotte becomes concerned and agitated.

"Excuse me? Talk later, escape now." I interrupt with sarcasm, gathering both of their attention.

Charlotte helps Xavier stand, placing his arm around her neck. We then proceed to the rooftop of the facility with no guards or wardens nearby. It looks like this facility only contains nine wardens in which me and Charlotte has fully knocked out with our Pokemons.

On the rooftop, the three of us are greeted by our helicopter. Seeing Xavier's ill looks, the pilot has made the decision to cease the vehicle's operation, parking at the rooftop. He then walks out, helping the sick agent enter. The pilot leans his head over the window and returns to the driver's chair in order to start the helicopter again. With my last mission of the day succeeding, we return to the island, safely.

"I'm resigning." Amidst the skies of Johto, Xavier starts a conversation, bringing bad news to our ears.

"Resigning?!" I look to him with a shocked expression.

"I had enough of Team Rocket, and I am no longer willing to sacrifice myself for such an ill-will organization. Giovanni is gone."

"Giovanni will return." I try my best to change his mind.

"Believe in that, and you'll only make yourself a fool. There's no turning back, my decision is final." Xavier enrages.

Hearing the news, I have no choice but to accept it since I've tried to change his mind but he still won't listen. Perhaps this is the last day me and Charlotte will be seeing Xavier. Upon reaching the island, Xavier is met with the four executives wherein he asks for a resignation.

Even the executives are shocked to hear the news from one of Team Rocket's genuine and profound agent. They even tried to force him not to, even Charlotte did, but his decision remained the same. Due to this, the executives begged him to stay for at least a week in order to fix and finalize his resignation form. Gladly, Xavier concurs. This will be our final week with him.

Back at the tower, I introduced Charlotte and Xavier to my bookworm roommate, Virgo. Since I already have a roommate, Charlotte will be sleeping alone in her own room. As for Xavier, he also has his own room, wherein he'll be spending his final nights there.