After what happened at the Pewter Gym, Leaf was very troubled, and she did not want to rush things and challenge Viridian Gym as soon as possible.
Aizen decided to take things slow and the group spent three days inside the Viridian Forest. They camped by the lake where the Pokémon of the Forest gathered at noon, and Leaf let out her Pichu to have some fun with the Pikachu Colony.
The two Vulpix enjoyed their time a lot as well since they got to meet a lot of wild Pokémon, and the three days were truly a memorable experience for all of them.
By the time they stepped into the Viridian City, Leaf was brimming with confidence, and this time, she promised herself to not take any chances.
Aizen too was looking forward to the Gym Match, but when they arrived at the Pokémon Center, he had a package waiting for him that made him frown.
His gut feeling told him that he should not open the package in front of the girls, and he trusted it by excusing himself when they arrived inside their suite.
The Orayen Prince carefully opened the Package after Lyla informed him that it was safe, and as soon his eyes landed on an Amethyst and Silver Pokéball, which had "M" written on it, his mind briefly blanked.
He knew what it was as he had seen its pictures from the ones that Joseph and Lance had managed to retrieve from the Silph Co. Headquarters months ago when it was attacked.
It was the last Master Ball, which President Fuji had lost in Lavender Town and Team Rocket had gotten its hands on.
He carefully inspected it, and then minimised it before sending it to Lyla, inside the Promise Ball, the place where no human could get their hands on it.
And then he picked up the letter that came with it.
"You are a nuisance, but we both have some pressing issues on our hands. Don't let this fall into the hands of Indigo Council. It will end up in the arms of our Mutual Enemy." ~ G
Aizen frowned at the initial, and a name popped up in his mind.
There was something else inside the envelope, a small pendrive, and he quickly went out of the Center and purchased a new laptop, which had the slot to read it, from a nearby store.
He was not going to risk using it on his personal laptop or watch. There was a lot of sensitive data in those devices.
Returning to the suite, under the curious eyes of Anira and Leaf, he entered the room together with Sabrina.
Aizen used his watch to record everything, and from Sabrina's watch, they contacted Bill and Krane and soon started a Conference Call.
"I have received something from Giovanni." He told them as soon as the call was connected and showed them the Pendrive.
Within two minutes, the rest of the Action Team was on the call too, and only then did Aizen insert the pendrive into the laptop.
He did not have to do anything as the device overrode the system and started opening dozens of files, and then when it stopped, a video started playing, which was the footage of Team Rocket's Laboratory at the Cinnabar Island being attacked and the image of the Pokémon whom they were looking for.
"Life isn't worthless. I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant, it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are. I just need to find the answers..." He heard Mewtwo speak before the body of the man he was grabbing by the neck, exploded into a bloody mist.
The one who was killed was Kenta, President Fuji's younger brother.
There were some files related to Project Mewtwo, and then there was something which shocked them.
Giovanni, somehow, had more information on Team Doom than the Arcane Creed and one name of a certain Region was at the top.
"Orre..." Bill pensively said and Krane was more dismayed when he learned that Dr. Yung from the Mirage Mansion was a member of Team Doom.
And then finally got clues about who the members of Team Doom were.
As soon as they went through everything, the data on the pen drive was automatically erased and the laptop he was using had smoke rising from it, a result of a small explosion which destroyed the the device.
"Aizen, you are not allowed to go after them." Joseph immediately said when he observed the Orayen Prince wearing a frown on his face. "We will deal with them together."
He nodded his head to those words, which relieved Cynthia a lot, and then they went through everything again.
"Lance." Joseph took the Kanto Champion's name, who resolutely nodded his head.
"I will find the agents of Team Doom in the Indigo Council." He promised even if he knew that the task was not going to be easy.
Every member of the Indigo Council held a lot of prestige and power, and even he, the Champion of the Region, could not blatantly act against them.
"Cameran Palace is their target. It's been confirmed now." Bill pensively said. "They want to end the Cameran Bloodline. And then they will come after the other Royals..." He frowned, clearly very disturbed by the plans of Team Doom.
"Aizen, Cynthia, Riley, Sabrina, and Glacia. I want all five of you at the Cameran Palace within a week." Joseph ordered, and they nodded their heads and discussed a few more things.
"Lance." Aizen suddenly called out to the Kanto Champion, just when they were about to say goodbye.
"Yes?"
"Who's the representative from Indigo Council for the Annual Games?"
Lance raised his brow at him.
"Arlo and Bonna. They are League Advisors, and Arlo is also the son of the President of Hayden Corporation."
"Start with them, but don't alarm the enemy." He meaningfully said, and everyone frowned at his words.
"I will add one of my most trusted to the list of Representatives to keep an eye on them." The Champion nodded his head and ended the call with a very troubled expression.
"He looks tired." Riley sighed.
"Being a Champion is not easy. You are responsible for the entire Region." Cynthia lightly said and then ended the call as well.
"We will see you guys in a few days. Take care." Aizen too ended the call and then leaned back into the sofa.
He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds and then closed his eyes, trying to keep some troubling thoughts at bay.
"Something is troubling you." Sabrina said, and it was not a question.
"Yes."
"What?"
He remained silent at her question for a few seconds and then opened his eyes.
"The organisation that targeted my Family, killed my parents, my Grandfather, my Uncle and Aunt, my Cousins, and wanted to kill me and Anira, had links to two people who were on the file of Team Doom."
Sabrina understandingly nodded her head.
"What happened to that organisation?" She asked, and Aizen closed his eyes again.
"I killed them."
"All of them?"
"Yes." He answered.
"And do you want to kill these two as well?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I hate them." He truthfully said.
"Is it worth risking your life?"
Had someone else asked these questions, even if it was Cynthia, Aizen would have gotten angry at them, but he just could not get angry at Sabrina.
It was something even he found a little strange.
"No."
"You should remember that you are the last Male Orayen. If you die, your Bloodline ends with you." She told him, and he could not help but chuckle at her words.
"I will not throw my life away, my dear Sabrina. Don't worry."
The Pink-eyed girl nodded her head, and then her brows furrowed a little.
Seeing her reaction, he leaned close to her and captured her lips, pulling her into a deep kiss.
A part of him really wanted to tear off her clothes and take her to the bed, but he did not want to make her the victim of his raging emotions.
When they finally separated, Aizen laid down on the sofa and pulled her on top of him, hugging her as he closed his eyes.
The Moonheart obediently stayed in his arms, and soon closed her eyes as well. She found the rhythm of his heartbeat a little too comforting, something she had come to like a lot, and before she knew it, she too was sound asleep.
It was not until late in the afternoon when Anira and Leaf entered the room to remind him that he had a Gym Match in a couple of hours that he woke up, and Sabrina, who had slept soundly in his arms, opened her eyes as well.
The younger girls giggled when they watched her cutely stretch her arms and yawn, a sight they had never seen before, and they found it just too cute.
"Good morning!"
"Good afternoon," Sabrina replied to Leaf, who just laughed some more and then left to get ready.
Anira curiously glanced at the new laptop, and then at their watches, which were on the table, set in a manner where Conference Calls were conducted, and she understood that whatever her brother was not telling her, concerned the Action Team.
"Is everything okay?" She looked into his eyes and asked, still wearing her smile.
"For now, yes." He lightly said. "Not for long though."
"What happened?" She asked, hoping that he would tell her, but he just pulled her to him and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"I will be fine. You know that, right?" He gently asked, and the smile returned to her face and she nodded her head.
"Get ready. It's your last Gym Battle in Kanto."
Aizen laughed as he watched her skip out of the room, and then stood up to stretch his arms.
"Let's get this over with." He lazily yawned as he walked into the bathroom to freshen up.