The Days That Will Come, The Day That Never Came Chapter 2: Plans That Will Never Succeed By: animeinsanity Ages: Giovanni: 34; TR Elite Leader Mirage: 21; Ash: 16 Disclaimer: (I forgot to put this on the last one) I don't own anything. The only thing I own a weird brain. ************************************************************************ " It was stolen? That won't matter now. We have the information needed recorded on our lab computers. No, our plan will not fail." A calm, but eerie, voice replied to the person on the other line tonelessly. He puts the black phone back down, done with his call. Cold steel grey eyes glinted dimly as the Rocket elite walked down the hall, almost soul-less looking. They don't call him, the leader of the Team Rocket Elite Force, Mirage for nothing. The elite's pale, faded, pastel lavender hair matched to his eyes; it looked lifeless. No Rocket grunt would dare to look him in the eye. They say that if you even take one straight glance at his pupil, you would go insane, seeing things that weren't actually happening. And it won't be temporary. It'll be forever, like you're cursed, consumed by madness every single day. That's why no one looks at Mirage in the eye. Not even the great Giovanni who, right now, is waiting for Mirage's arrival. Black booted feet padded silently down a tiled hallway. Mirage stopped, turning to the left where the TR boss' office was waiting. " Password?" asked a computerized voice. Lowering his voice to a murmur, Mirage whispered, " Dark Persian." The door to the office unlocked itself with a click, allowing the elite inside. Giovanni, the brown-haired, power-hungry Rocket leader, heard the door open and close with a click. Even though the rumors might not be true, he's not going to be the first one to find out. He kept his eyes on the table as he spoke to Mirage. " I've heard that there were some problems at TR HQ 3, am I right?" Mirage made a silent nod. " Some kind of spy barged in and took the map," Mirage informed, glancing at Giovanni. The Rocket leader still kept his eyes lowered. With the wave of his hand, he dismissed the elite. Ash walked quietly down the crowded street. It was a normal day at Celadon. People bustle here and there trying to get to their destination. Of course, with the rush hour traffic jams, that won't be an easy matter. The spy stopped when Pikachu sniffed the air. " Darn it. It's one of those expensive places. Those restaurants always make my stomach grumble," he complained, peeking through a glass door. Ash took a look. Pikachu was right. All the silver platters, all the glass wine cups, all the gold silverware; certainly this restaurant makes feasts and banquets every single day. All of the sudden, a security guard rushed out of there, shaking Ash's hands. " Ah, Ashura, nice to meet you, again," the guard replied hastily. ' Being part of the police spy force sure does wonders,' Ash thought sarcastically. " So, Ty, you want me to take over your shift while you do your stuff? Don't worry. I've got lots of free time," the spy offered. Ty gave him a small smile before replying, " Thanks. My niece just got back from Goldenrod. Since her dad, my brother, is in Fallabor working, I have to take care of her. What time is it anyway? Dear Ho-oh, I'm late! See you later Ashura!" Being security guard at the restaurant was no big job. In fact, since Ash caught a person smuggling coins, he got treated to a free lunch. Pikachu however, was not exactly enjoying his time. A Raichu, defiantly a pampered one, walked up to him, followed by her some of her many lovers. Pikachu got to admit though, she was kind of cute, but obviously she wasn't his type. With a flirty smile, the Raichu sat down next to Pikachu delicately. " My, my. What do we have here? Is it just me, or one of the toughest looking Pokemon of my kind's evolution chain is right here in this very romantic restaurant?" she said breathlessly, as if she could've swooned right there. The Pokemon behind, especially a Scyther, all growled menacingly at Pikachu. He ignored them, continuing with his lunch. The Raichu still wasn't giving up. By the time that the Raichu's owners left, Pikachu was scared out of his wits. ' Man, that one's crazy!' he thought, racing towards Ash. ' I'm not marrying her!' Ash, who just finished his lunch, heard his cell phone ring. Answering it, Ash said, " Hi. Ashura here. What? Something important? Well, what is it?" Then came the dreaded answer. " They're starting their plan sooner than we thought!" " Plan? It can't be… You mean they can achieve it even without the map?" " I'm afraid yes." " Don't worry. I'll be there as soon as we can." There was a moment of silence as Ash ended the call. Pikachu could right away tell that it's urgent. One look from the spy told everything he needed to know. In a flash, the duo raced out of the restaurant. Ash puts on his black trench coat and jumped. Pikachu followed, letting his paws touch the roof of a building. Quickly, Ash took out the map and paused. " We're going to Hoenn, Pika." Scaling over the rooftops, they headed towards the Hoenn region. Rocket grunts prepared the transport vehicles as their leader sat in a helicopter, gazing out the window. Smirking, Giovanni sipped a cup of red wine, content and happy that his plan was so far going well. The TR Elite Force was one of the strongest army there is, even stronger then probably Kanto itself. Since he's bringing them along, the Rocket leader knew nothing would stop him. Meanwhile, Mirage wasn't thinking about the successful plan. He was getting an odd feeling. ' This plan might be a successful one, but I can't help thinking that the turn of events will go so unpredicted that even the future won't be prepared for it,' the Elite leader thought. Getting on the boss' helicopter, Mirage saluted to Giovanni. " The translation was complete. However, the strange markings on the map did not tell you how to open it or work it. It just gives you a single riddle," the elite reported. Giovanni took the piece of paper that was in his hands, which printed on it, was the translated riddle. " I knew this won't be easy," the brown-haired leader grumbled. The riddle is unsolved, for now: " Where the space and time meet, There's a tear that can't be healed. It's the ice that won't melt in heat, It's an opening that can't be sealed. Nothingness won't describe it, Yet full will not fill it. It shines like a candle dimly lit, It darkens like faith that just quitted. Who will pass through and can't come out, Who will pass through and return once more? Not a sound can be heard if you shout, Not one will find its invisible core. That describes this curse you're about to unleash, But is it a horror or blessing none can tell. This is not a weapon for the selfish and the weak, Yet to the One it's the wishing well."