Chapter 1
Umbramatic
The Ghost Lord
So, uh. This is that secret project/Project Gene I kept mentioning on Discord and a few other places. And after several months of being cryptic I can finally tell you...
It's a crossover (with Young Frankenstein) Halloween special. And a very silly one at that. I am probably doing one half of the crossover a supreme injustice but I tried I guess (and also removed some problematic bits you're welcome).
This was all already prewritten and is going to be posted in three parts around the beginning, middle, and end of October. Anyway, here we go:
Greenhorn Prometheus
(Banner by Chibi Pika! Cover by me)
Chapter 1: Origin
Thunder crackled across the Kanto sky in the dead of night. Was it the whim of Zapdos or some other Pokemon? It was not clear. Rain pattered down and the dark storm clouds rolled and tumbled.
In the massive estate the thunder and lightning were crackling over. Deep within its confines lay a coffin. Slowly, trembling hands opened the coffin to reveal a human corpse, clutching tightly to a box. They touched the corpse's hands, slowly pried them off, flinched when the corpse seemed to move, then grabbed the box and ran.
----------
At a university in Unova, behind a door labeled DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, a man with red hair was lecturing a class, pointing to a chart of an Altaria's brain and nervous system with a scalpel.
"As you can see, the medulla oblongata connects to-"
"Professor Altamura?" said a student, standing up.
The man's eye twitched. "It's Alti-mira. And call me Silver."
"Is it true you're the son of crime boss and sponsor of mad science Giovanni Altamura?"
Silver sighed and sat down.
"Do not mention my father in this classroom."
"But sir, have you ever thought of using your father's forays into the sciences for goo-"
"My father was a lunatic, and whatever contribution he made to science was through unwitting pawns. I would never think of repurposing it in my life. Sit down or I'll deduct from your grade for disrupting the class."
Silver did not seem to notice or care he had stabbed himself in the leg with the scalpel.
The student opened his mouth, went through several motions including one suspiciously similar to the thinking emoji, then sighed, closed his mouth, and sat back down. During the debate Silver did not notice an old man with a box enter the room.
"Anyway!" said Silver. "I believe it is time for the demonstration!"
Another scientist entered the room and handed Silver a Premier ball. Silver opened the ball to reveal a Braixen.
"Full disclaimer," said Silver, "I have never worked with this Pokemon before and probably wouldn't attempt it on one of my own. I don't really care."
The students muttered nervously. The Braixen gave him a look.
"See, this is an instinctive response, controlled by genes."
He swung a hand toward the Braixen. The Braixen stopped him with a paw.
"This is a premeditated response, controlled by behavior."
He attempted to lightly punch the Braixen. The Braixen rolled his eyes and made Silver punch himself in the face.
"Ow... Anyway! These responses are controlled by specific parts of this Braixen's brain! So what if we suppressed those?"
He produced a headset, placing it carefully on the Braixen's head. The Braixen promptly froze up, but did not move.
"Now then..." said Silver.
He started tickling it. It still did not move.
"See? If you suppress certain parts of the brain or genome or certain other biological functions... everything changes!"
He removed the headset, only to be floored by a fiery blast from the Braixen. The Braixen jumped off the table and stormed off. Another scientist approached the floored Silver, who held up a Poke bill.
"Give his Trainer five hundred will you?"
The other scientist nodded and left. Silver stood up and looked around at the class, only now noticing the scalpel in his leg and sighing.
"Class is dismissed."
The class all sighed in relief and started leaving the room. The one exception was the old man, who approached Silver with the box. Silver looked at him curiously. "Hello, what is it?"
"It's Dr. Fuj- er, Ijuf, at your service."
"What service?"
"Well, I'm here to inform you... Well, first off, your great grandfather, Beaufort Altamura, has passed."
"Oh, I'm... Dreadfully sorry, he and I weren't exactly close but this is still-"
"And on that note... You've inherited the Altamura estate."
"...Oh. Oh no no no."
-------------------------
Silver was sitting in his room, staring at his phone. As much angst potential as there'd be, it'd be a lie to say he was alone - a Feraligatr was curled up at his feet, a Magnezone floated about, a bored Weavile flicked at the drawstrings. Silver looked around at all of them and sighed.
"Well, here goes nothing."
He went to one of his contacts and called them with Watchog Chat. A girl with light blue hair tied in pigtails that pointed upward answered, with a Typhlosion peering over her shoulder.
"Silver! Hey! Nice hearing from you!"
"I know, Kris, I know... I've been caught up in work for the university."
"I figured, don't worry. So what's up?"
"...Apparently I inherited the family estate."
Kris' eyes widened. Her Typhlosion growled with concern. "Wait... Your family?"
"Yes."
"...Remind me of the deal with them? I mostly know your father and assumed the rest was bad news."
Silver sighed. "First I should go over the one who just died. My great-grandfather, Beaufort Altamura. Founder of Team Rocket."
"So he's the one who started it all?"
"Yes. It started as a small smuggling ring before becoming something bigger and nastier. Eventually it was passed down to his daughter, Mary Louise Altamura... Otherwise known as Madame Boss."
"Never knew much about her..."
"She stayed quiet compared to my old man. Didn't like having her name on anything on anything that could be traced back to her, hence the codename. She had a husband but something happened and he was killed, but not before she could give birth to my dad. She did have a stint with some woman I don't know the identity of but after my dad took over Team Rocket... She left, and no one knows where she went."
He sighed.
"And after my father took over... You know the rest."
"So this family history's finally catching up to you, huh?" said Kris. Her Typhlosion frowned.
"Apparently."
"You want me to come over and help you deal with it? I'm busy with stuff but I can be at the estate when I get the chance."
Silver smiled.
"Thanks. I'd appreciate that a lot."
----------------
Silver gazed out the window of the airplane in Mistralton as the plane prepared to take off. Many thoughts stewed in his mind. What was the estate like after all these years? Would people remember him? What would they do if they remembered him? His fingers clenched tightly to the seat out of anxiety.
It was enough he didn't notice a tall man in a labcoat board the plane and sit down the way.
---------------
Silver stepped out from the airport into the fog. It was dark, late, and there weren't many others around. At least, not that he could see.
It was then he heard a noise. And breathing.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Altamura?"
Silver whipped around to see a tall blond man with a labcoat and glasses staring very intently at him.
"...Alti-mira."
"Well then!" said the man. "It's wonderful to meet you, I've heard so much about your work."
"And you are...?"
"Colress! Researcher of Pokemon power."
"Uh-huh. What are you doing here?"
"There's been reports of Mega Stones being found in the Kanto region! I need to investigate them straight away!"
He looked around.
"Problem is I don't know where to start... Also I don't have a place to stay."
Silver sighed.
"Here's the deal. Since you're a fellow scientist, you can stick with me until you find a place to stay. But don't make my time any harder."
Colress beamed, specifically in a fashion which did not give Silver much confidence his act of kindness was a good idea.
"Thank you! There's so much to discover here... Having your assistance will be beneficial, surely!"
Silver rolled his eyes, and not in an attempt to see the back of his skull. "Yes, yes..."
His gaze then diverted to the large blue... cowlick? Extending from the rest of Colress' hair.
"You know, I had a stint as a tailor... I could probably take care of that swirl for you."
"What swirl?"
There was a long, uncomfortable pause.
"...Never mind. Let's get going."
Silver set off, Colress trailing after.
------------
The two eventually got to a bus stop, waiting patiently in the fog for the bus to roll up. Eventually it did, and Silver and Colress stepped aboard.
There weren't many people on the bus at this hour, so the pair had no trouble finding seats. It was then, however, that Silver noticed a woman with dark hair and magenta clothing eyeing him oddly. He elected to ignore the woman at first, up until he heard a voice in his head.
~You.~
Silver jumped in his seat a bit, naturally earning him a few more looks from the other people on the bus. After a second he attempted to think back.
Who the hell are you?
~Not your concern right now. You know about something I'm looking for.~
And exactly what is that?
~The Altamura estate. Namely how to get in.~
Silver gulped. How'd you get that idea?
~I'm a psychic. I just know.~
Silver paused, took a deep breath. The auric spectrum was a well-documented phenomenon, there is no harm being caused to his brain by this woman poking at his though-
~If I wanted to fry your brain I'd have done it already.~
Silver turned white.
~Now. I want to accompany you to your estate.~
Why?!
~I need to check if the place still has anything nasty left over from the Rocket days. I don't intend to do any harm. At least if you don't get up to anything shifty.~
I intend nothing of the sort!
~Then we should be fine.~
...Fine. But as soon as you get what you want you're leaving with Colress.
~Fair enough. Though since you're helping I'll tell you my name. It's Sabrina.~
...Wait, you're the Sabrina? Saffron City gym leader?
~That's me.~
What have I gotten myself into?
~Hopefully not much. Hopefully.~
----------
The bus came to a stop at the end of a long, winding trail. Silver, Colress, and Sabrina got off and looked around as it sped off, as if in a hurry to get away from the place.
"Colress? Sabrina here is going to be accompanying us for now," said Silver.
"Oh? You're Sabrina? The Pokestars celebrity?" said Colress
~That's me.~ said Sabrina.
"Wonderful! Your unique perspective could help our research!"
"Don't get too cozy," said Silver. "You both are leaving as soon as I get situated and Sabrina checks out the place."
With that, they made their way up the trail, passing through dark trees with wild Pokemon making eerie noises within - for ambience, obviously. Eventually the trio cleared the trees and came across an impressive sight.
A castle reached upward into the dark sky, its spires seeming to touch the clouds. Faint light shone through the windows, but it seemed less inviting and more foreboding.
"This is... The estate," said Silver. "I remember it a little too well."
"It looks suitably ominous!" said Colress.
~I dig the aesthetic.~ said Sabrina.
"...Okay, neither of you get it, let's just go in."
Silver sighed and knocked on the door.
It slowly creaked open. As it opened wider, it revealed a visage that made Silver and Sabrina's eyes widen.
"...Agatha?"
~Agatha?~
Nearby several Mudsdale neighed in fear at the name.
"Hello, you three."
"Agatha," said Silver, wincing as the Mudsdale neighed in horror again, "how are you even ali- er, what are you doing here?"
"After your father was deposed as the head of Team Rocket, it was decided I would help take care of the estate in his stead, and so with that I resigned from the Elite 4 to pursue a nice little retirement. That is until you all showed up."
"Pleasure to meet you Agatha!" said Colress to further Mudsdale neighs. "It's an honor to meet someone so esteemed in this region!"
~Agatha,~ said Sabrina, being very careful not to broadcast her message to the Mudsdale, ~Are things... all right?~
"Splendid. There's no one here to bother me. Aside from old man Beaufort and he's... You know."
"Er, yes," said Silver. "Can we come in now?"
"Certainly, my dear," Agatha said.
Silver did not like the way she said "my dear", or the longing look in her eyes when she said "my dear", or that she had said "my dear" at all, but he headed in anyway, followed by Sabrina, then Colress. Right before the door closed, however, Colress poked his head out.
"Agatha!"
The Mudsdale neighed in fear as Colress snickered and closed the door.
---------------
Inside the estate, it was about as lavish as you'd expect a damn rich person's home to be. Fancy chandeliers, paintings all over the walls, and lit candles, among other things, decorated the entire place.
"Come now," said Agatha.
She led the three through the estate into a massive library.
"Amazing!" said Colress.
~What's in these books anyway?~ said Sabrina.
"History and literature from where my ancestors came from," said Silver. "Scientific treatises. Books on Ground-types."
"I've been taking good care of it while the family's been gone," said Agatha. "Follow me, please, Silver."
She started leading him up a winding staircase. They eventually got to a large, imposing door, which Agatha opened to reveal a room containing a bed and a second library, and large portraits of Beaufort, Madame Boss, and Giovanni.
"This was your great grandfather's room. It's yours now."
"I see..." said Silver.
He started inspecting the books.
"...Where's the private library?"
"Hmm?"
"These books, they're all the same sort you'd find downstairs, just a bit more esoteric. I know my father and grandparents had a bit more than these to hide."
"Those are the only two libraries I know, Dr. Allymeera."
"Alti-mira. And I think I need to go to bed."
"Would you like brandy?"
"Er, no."
"Warm Moomoomilk?"
"No thank you."
"Ovaltine?"
"...They still make that? Ack, I just want to go to bed."
"Very well. Goodnight."
Silver headed off to another corner of the room to unpack his pajamas, only to see Agatha kissing the Madame Boss portrait and telling it goodnight out of the corner of his eye.
He stood stock still until she left the room and then hurried to bed.
------------
Silver tossed and turned in his sleep, muttering to himself.
"No... I'm not like them... I can't... I'm a scientist, I don't believe in fate... no, I can't say it, I can't-"
He started singing. "Destiny! Destiny! No escaping that for me! Destin-"
A telepathic slap. Silver woke up. "Huh? What was that? How-"
Sabrina walked in the room. ~Next time, have less loud nightmares. I'm trying to sleep too.~
"Fine, fine."
~Also could you turn off your easy-listening muzak?~
"What muza-"
Then he heard it. Slow, soft, quiet, but unmistakably some kind of string instrument. Silver didn't really know his strung instruments, granted, but he could recognize one dammit.
"I'm not making that music."
Sabrina blinked, then looked around. ~Hmmm. It seems to be coming from behind this bookcase.~
"Behind it? That can't be right..."
He got up to look. Sure enough, the music came from behind the wall.
"Hmm."
He removed a book from the bookcase. Nothing. "Let me try closer to the noise..."
He started looking over the books on the other side of the bookshelf. "Hand me that candle so I can see, will you?"
Sabrina plucked an old-fashioned candle from the wall and suddenly the bookcase did a 180 rotation, trapping Silver on the other side.
"Ack! Put it back, put it back!"
~Hmm, I think I'll just leave you here,~ said Sabrina.
"This is serious!"
Sabrina pouted. ~Fine...~
She put the candle back. This time the bookshelf did a 360 spin, still trapping Silver on the other side.
"I'm going to have to block it with my body!" said Silver.
~Bad idea but OK.~ Sabrina removed the candle again, Silver trying to wedge his way through only to get stuck.
"Okay maybe just push it?" said Silver.
Sabrina sighed and sent out her Alakazam. ~Fix the bookshelf for the yakuza brat.~
~Most certainly,~ said her Alakazam, locking the bookshelf in a sideways position, Silver stumbling over to Sabrina's side as she gazed in.
~Yep. Hidden passageway.~
"And the music's coming from it..." said Silver. He paused. "We should probably go in."
~I definitely should. This has Rocket all over it.~
Sabrina recalled her Alakazam and the two descended down the passageway.
---------
There were Spinarak cobwebs and Rattata everywhere as they descended. Eventually they reached a door; Silver took the handle in his hand only for it to break. He sighed and pushed the door open; beyond he found strange bottles and tubes and a display of preserved human and Pokemon remains.
"Gross..." said Silver.
He looked down a row of preserved, labeled human heads. Three years dead, two years dead, six months dead, freshly dea-
"Hello!" yelled the freshly dead head, causing Silver and Sabrina to jump back and yell only to realize it was Colress.
"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was-" Colress sung.
"Colress! Enough fooling around!" said Silver. "How'd you get down here?"
Colress removed himself from the display to join the other two. "I came down through the dumbwaiter! I heard the most lovely music, and I headed after it so it could be a source of scientific inspiration! I'm just a hair away from finding it!" he said, pointing to his swirl.
"Wait I thought-" Silver started to say.
~So it wasn't you. Not that you seem to be the musician type.~
"...So someone else must be down here. And the only other door's that way."
"Looks dangerous..." said Colress. "You two go first, I'll do my scientific duties from the rear."
Silver groaned as the group headed onward, to another door. Silver opened it to nothing but darkness. "Are there any lights in here?"
"I see a switch, but it looks dangerous," said Colress.
Silver pulled the switch only to yell as sparks flew.
"Told you!" said Colress.
The switch, thankfully for Silver, did successfully turn the lights on. The group started out in awe at what they saw.
A massive laboratory lay out before them, with test tubes and beakers and strange cylinders and equipment all around. Silver's eyes widened as he recognized flash cloning technology among it all.
"It can't be..."
~The rumors were true after all,~ said Sabrina.
"Rumors?"
~The lab on Cinnabar wasn't the only lab Rocket had. They had this backup the whole time... and probably used it to test prototypes of the Mewtwo project.~
"Exactly," said Silver. "To think it was here this whole time..." He looked around. "It's pretty messy."
"Well, scientific environments need to be sterile but if you want to renovate the place maybe some flowers, throw pillows, Pokedolls..." said Colress.
"Wait," said Silver. The music's stopped, but there's a light behind that door..."
The group crept down and opened the door, only to find a room full of books and papers. Silver looked around to find a violin resting on the table. "Well the music must have been coming from this..."
~What even is this side room though?~ said Sabrina.
"Music room, I guess?" said Colress, inspecting the violin.
Silver inspected the books. "Wait... It can't be... It is! This is the private library!"
He started shuffling through the books and papers, until he came across one book in particular -
How We Did It, by Dr. Fuji and Giovanni Altamura
"...My father and his colleagues weren't ones for subtlety."
-------------
It was even later into the night. Sabrina and Colress were fast asleep, heads on the table, but Silver was engrossed in the book.
"These formulas and methods and hypothesis... They all seem like the ramblings of a madman to an outside observer but if you dissect them carefully they're almost genius..."
He gave a manic grin, a dangerous light in his eyes.
"I see how it all happened... And how it all failed. Yet I don't want to stop here..."
"...I want to do one better."
***
It's a crossover (with Young Frankenstein) Halloween special. And a very silly one at that. I am probably doing one half of the crossover a supreme injustice but I tried I guess (and also removed some problematic bits you're welcome).
This was all already prewritten and is going to be posted in three parts around the beginning, middle, and end of October. Anyway, here we go:
Greenhorn Prometheus
(Banner by Chibi Pika! Cover by me)
Chapter 1: Origin
Thunder crackled across the Kanto sky in the dead of night. Was it the whim of Zapdos or some other Pokemon? It was not clear. Rain pattered down and the dark storm clouds rolled and tumbled.
In the massive estate the thunder and lightning were crackling over. Deep within its confines lay a coffin. Slowly, trembling hands opened the coffin to reveal a human corpse, clutching tightly to a box. They touched the corpse's hands, slowly pried them off, flinched when the corpse seemed to move, then grabbed the box and ran.
----------
At a university in Unova, behind a door labeled DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, a man with red hair was lecturing a class, pointing to a chart of an Altaria's brain and nervous system with a scalpel.
"As you can see, the medulla oblongata connects to-"
"Professor Altamura?" said a student, standing up.
The man's eye twitched. "It's Alti-mira. And call me Silver."
"Is it true you're the son of crime boss and sponsor of mad science Giovanni Altamura?"
Silver sighed and sat down.
"Do not mention my father in this classroom."
"But sir, have you ever thought of using your father's forays into the sciences for goo-"
"My father was a lunatic, and whatever contribution he made to science was through unwitting pawns. I would never think of repurposing it in my life. Sit down or I'll deduct from your grade for disrupting the class."
Silver did not seem to notice or care he had stabbed himself in the leg with the scalpel.
The student opened his mouth, went through several motions including one suspiciously similar to the thinking emoji, then sighed, closed his mouth, and sat back down. During the debate Silver did not notice an old man with a box enter the room.
"Anyway!" said Silver. "I believe it is time for the demonstration!"
Another scientist entered the room and handed Silver a Premier ball. Silver opened the ball to reveal a Braixen.
"Full disclaimer," said Silver, "I have never worked with this Pokemon before and probably wouldn't attempt it on one of my own. I don't really care."
The students muttered nervously. The Braixen gave him a look.
"See, this is an instinctive response, controlled by genes."
He swung a hand toward the Braixen. The Braixen stopped him with a paw.
"This is a premeditated response, controlled by behavior."
He attempted to lightly punch the Braixen. The Braixen rolled his eyes and made Silver punch himself in the face.
"Ow... Anyway! These responses are controlled by specific parts of this Braixen's brain! So what if we suppressed those?"
He produced a headset, placing it carefully on the Braixen's head. The Braixen promptly froze up, but did not move.
"Now then..." said Silver.
He started tickling it. It still did not move.
"See? If you suppress certain parts of the brain or genome or certain other biological functions... everything changes!"
He removed the headset, only to be floored by a fiery blast from the Braixen. The Braixen jumped off the table and stormed off. Another scientist approached the floored Silver, who held up a Poke bill.
"Give his Trainer five hundred will you?"
The other scientist nodded and left. Silver stood up and looked around at the class, only now noticing the scalpel in his leg and sighing.
"Class is dismissed."
The class all sighed in relief and started leaving the room. The one exception was the old man, who approached Silver with the box. Silver looked at him curiously. "Hello, what is it?"
"It's Dr. Fuj- er, Ijuf, at your service."
"What service?"
"Well, I'm here to inform you... Well, first off, your great grandfather, Beaufort Altamura, has passed."
"Oh, I'm... Dreadfully sorry, he and I weren't exactly close but this is still-"
"And on that note... You've inherited the Altamura estate."
"...Oh. Oh no no no."
-------------------------
Silver was sitting in his room, staring at his phone. As much angst potential as there'd be, it'd be a lie to say he was alone - a Feraligatr was curled up at his feet, a Magnezone floated about, a bored Weavile flicked at the drawstrings. Silver looked around at all of them and sighed.
"Well, here goes nothing."
He went to one of his contacts and called them with Watchog Chat. A girl with light blue hair tied in pigtails that pointed upward answered, with a Typhlosion peering over her shoulder.
"Silver! Hey! Nice hearing from you!"
"I know, Kris, I know... I've been caught up in work for the university."
"I figured, don't worry. So what's up?"
"...Apparently I inherited the family estate."
Kris' eyes widened. Her Typhlosion growled with concern. "Wait... Your family?"
"Yes."
"...Remind me of the deal with them? I mostly know your father and assumed the rest was bad news."
Silver sighed. "First I should go over the one who just died. My great-grandfather, Beaufort Altamura. Founder of Team Rocket."
"So he's the one who started it all?"
"Yes. It started as a small smuggling ring before becoming something bigger and nastier. Eventually it was passed down to his daughter, Mary Louise Altamura... Otherwise known as Madame Boss."
"Never knew much about her..."
"She stayed quiet compared to my old man. Didn't like having her name on anything on anything that could be traced back to her, hence the codename. She had a husband but something happened and he was killed, but not before she could give birth to my dad. She did have a stint with some woman I don't know the identity of but after my dad took over Team Rocket... She left, and no one knows where she went."
He sighed.
"And after my father took over... You know the rest."
"So this family history's finally catching up to you, huh?" said Kris. Her Typhlosion frowned.
"Apparently."
"You want me to come over and help you deal with it? I'm busy with stuff but I can be at the estate when I get the chance."
Silver smiled.
"Thanks. I'd appreciate that a lot."
----------------
Silver gazed out the window of the airplane in Mistralton as the plane prepared to take off. Many thoughts stewed in his mind. What was the estate like after all these years? Would people remember him? What would they do if they remembered him? His fingers clenched tightly to the seat out of anxiety.
It was enough he didn't notice a tall man in a labcoat board the plane and sit down the way.
---------------
Silver stepped out from the airport into the fog. It was dark, late, and there weren't many others around. At least, not that he could see.
It was then he heard a noise. And breathing.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Altamura?"
Silver whipped around to see a tall blond man with a labcoat and glasses staring very intently at him.
"...Alti-mira."
"Well then!" said the man. "It's wonderful to meet you, I've heard so much about your work."
"And you are...?"
"Colress! Researcher of Pokemon power."
"Uh-huh. What are you doing here?"
"There's been reports of Mega Stones being found in the Kanto region! I need to investigate them straight away!"
He looked around.
"Problem is I don't know where to start... Also I don't have a place to stay."
Silver sighed.
"Here's the deal. Since you're a fellow scientist, you can stick with me until you find a place to stay. But don't make my time any harder."
Colress beamed, specifically in a fashion which did not give Silver much confidence his act of kindness was a good idea.
"Thank you! There's so much to discover here... Having your assistance will be beneficial, surely!"
Silver rolled his eyes, and not in an attempt to see the back of his skull. "Yes, yes..."
His gaze then diverted to the large blue... cowlick? Extending from the rest of Colress' hair.
"You know, I had a stint as a tailor... I could probably take care of that swirl for you."
"What swirl?"
There was a long, uncomfortable pause.
"...Never mind. Let's get going."
Silver set off, Colress trailing after.
------------
The two eventually got to a bus stop, waiting patiently in the fog for the bus to roll up. Eventually it did, and Silver and Colress stepped aboard.
There weren't many people on the bus at this hour, so the pair had no trouble finding seats. It was then, however, that Silver noticed a woman with dark hair and magenta clothing eyeing him oddly. He elected to ignore the woman at first, up until he heard a voice in his head.
~You.~
Silver jumped in his seat a bit, naturally earning him a few more looks from the other people on the bus. After a second he attempted to think back.
Who the hell are you?
~Not your concern right now. You know about something I'm looking for.~
And exactly what is that?
~The Altamura estate. Namely how to get in.~
Silver gulped. How'd you get that idea?
~I'm a psychic. I just know.~
Silver paused, took a deep breath. The auric spectrum was a well-documented phenomenon, there is no harm being caused to his brain by this woman poking at his though-
~If I wanted to fry your brain I'd have done it already.~
Silver turned white.
~Now. I want to accompany you to your estate.~
Why?!
~I need to check if the place still has anything nasty left over from the Rocket days. I don't intend to do any harm. At least if you don't get up to anything shifty.~
I intend nothing of the sort!
~Then we should be fine.~
...Fine. But as soon as you get what you want you're leaving with Colress.
~Fair enough. Though since you're helping I'll tell you my name. It's Sabrina.~
...Wait, you're the Sabrina? Saffron City gym leader?
~That's me.~
What have I gotten myself into?
~Hopefully not much. Hopefully.~
----------
The bus came to a stop at the end of a long, winding trail. Silver, Colress, and Sabrina got off and looked around as it sped off, as if in a hurry to get away from the place.
"Colress? Sabrina here is going to be accompanying us for now," said Silver.
"Oh? You're Sabrina? The Pokestars celebrity?" said Colress
~That's me.~ said Sabrina.
"Wonderful! Your unique perspective could help our research!"
"Don't get too cozy," said Silver. "You both are leaving as soon as I get situated and Sabrina checks out the place."
With that, they made their way up the trail, passing through dark trees with wild Pokemon making eerie noises within - for ambience, obviously. Eventually the trio cleared the trees and came across an impressive sight.
A castle reached upward into the dark sky, its spires seeming to touch the clouds. Faint light shone through the windows, but it seemed less inviting and more foreboding.
"This is... The estate," said Silver. "I remember it a little too well."
"It looks suitably ominous!" said Colress.
~I dig the aesthetic.~ said Sabrina.
"...Okay, neither of you get it, let's just go in."
Silver sighed and knocked on the door.
It slowly creaked open. As it opened wider, it revealed a visage that made Silver and Sabrina's eyes widen.
"...Agatha?"
~Agatha?~
Nearby several Mudsdale neighed in fear at the name.
"Hello, you three."
"Agatha," said Silver, wincing as the Mudsdale neighed in horror again, "how are you even ali- er, what are you doing here?"
"After your father was deposed as the head of Team Rocket, it was decided I would help take care of the estate in his stead, and so with that I resigned from the Elite 4 to pursue a nice little retirement. That is until you all showed up."
"Pleasure to meet you Agatha!" said Colress to further Mudsdale neighs. "It's an honor to meet someone so esteemed in this region!"
~Agatha,~ said Sabrina, being very careful not to broadcast her message to the Mudsdale, ~Are things... all right?~
"Splendid. There's no one here to bother me. Aside from old man Beaufort and he's... You know."
"Er, yes," said Silver. "Can we come in now?"
"Certainly, my dear," Agatha said.
Silver did not like the way she said "my dear", or the longing look in her eyes when she said "my dear", or that she had said "my dear" at all, but he headed in anyway, followed by Sabrina, then Colress. Right before the door closed, however, Colress poked his head out.
"Agatha!"
The Mudsdale neighed in fear as Colress snickered and closed the door.
---------------
Inside the estate, it was about as lavish as you'd expect a damn rich person's home to be. Fancy chandeliers, paintings all over the walls, and lit candles, among other things, decorated the entire place.
"Come now," said Agatha.
She led the three through the estate into a massive library.
"Amazing!" said Colress.
~What's in these books anyway?~ said Sabrina.
"History and literature from where my ancestors came from," said Silver. "Scientific treatises. Books on Ground-types."
"I've been taking good care of it while the family's been gone," said Agatha. "Follow me, please, Silver."
She started leading him up a winding staircase. They eventually got to a large, imposing door, which Agatha opened to reveal a room containing a bed and a second library, and large portraits of Beaufort, Madame Boss, and Giovanni.
"This was your great grandfather's room. It's yours now."
"I see..." said Silver.
He started inspecting the books.
"...Where's the private library?"
"Hmm?"
"These books, they're all the same sort you'd find downstairs, just a bit more esoteric. I know my father and grandparents had a bit more than these to hide."
"Those are the only two libraries I know, Dr. Allymeera."
"Alti-mira. And I think I need to go to bed."
"Would you like brandy?"
"Er, no."
"Warm Moomoomilk?"
"No thank you."
"Ovaltine?"
"...They still make that? Ack, I just want to go to bed."
"Very well. Goodnight."
Silver headed off to another corner of the room to unpack his pajamas, only to see Agatha kissing the Madame Boss portrait and telling it goodnight out of the corner of his eye.
He stood stock still until she left the room and then hurried to bed.
------------
Silver tossed and turned in his sleep, muttering to himself.
"No... I'm not like them... I can't... I'm a scientist, I don't believe in fate... no, I can't say it, I can't-"
He started singing. "Destiny! Destiny! No escaping that for me! Destin-"
A telepathic slap. Silver woke up. "Huh? What was that? How-"
Sabrina walked in the room. ~Next time, have less loud nightmares. I'm trying to sleep too.~
"Fine, fine."
~Also could you turn off your easy-listening muzak?~
"What muza-"
Then he heard it. Slow, soft, quiet, but unmistakably some kind of string instrument. Silver didn't really know his strung instruments, granted, but he could recognize one dammit.
"I'm not making that music."
Sabrina blinked, then looked around. ~Hmmm. It seems to be coming from behind this bookcase.~
"Behind it? That can't be right..."
He got up to look. Sure enough, the music came from behind the wall.
"Hmm."
He removed a book from the bookcase. Nothing. "Let me try closer to the noise..."
He started looking over the books on the other side of the bookshelf. "Hand me that candle so I can see, will you?"
Sabrina plucked an old-fashioned candle from the wall and suddenly the bookcase did a 180 rotation, trapping Silver on the other side.
"Ack! Put it back, put it back!"
~Hmm, I think I'll just leave you here,~ said Sabrina.
"This is serious!"
Sabrina pouted. ~Fine...~
She put the candle back. This time the bookshelf did a 360 spin, still trapping Silver on the other side.
"I'm going to have to block it with my body!" said Silver.
~Bad idea but OK.~ Sabrina removed the candle again, Silver trying to wedge his way through only to get stuck.
"Okay maybe just push it?" said Silver.
Sabrina sighed and sent out her Alakazam. ~Fix the bookshelf for the yakuza brat.~
~Most certainly,~ said her Alakazam, locking the bookshelf in a sideways position, Silver stumbling over to Sabrina's side as she gazed in.
~Yep. Hidden passageway.~
"And the music's coming from it..." said Silver. He paused. "We should probably go in."
~I definitely should. This has Rocket all over it.~
Sabrina recalled her Alakazam and the two descended down the passageway.
---------
There were Spinarak cobwebs and Rattata everywhere as they descended. Eventually they reached a door; Silver took the handle in his hand only for it to break. He sighed and pushed the door open; beyond he found strange bottles and tubes and a display of preserved human and Pokemon remains.
"Gross..." said Silver.
He looked down a row of preserved, labeled human heads. Three years dead, two years dead, six months dead, freshly dea-
"Hello!" yelled the freshly dead head, causing Silver and Sabrina to jump back and yell only to realize it was Colress.
"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was-" Colress sung.
"Colress! Enough fooling around!" said Silver. "How'd you get down here?"
Colress removed himself from the display to join the other two. "I came down through the dumbwaiter! I heard the most lovely music, and I headed after it so it could be a source of scientific inspiration! I'm just a hair away from finding it!" he said, pointing to his swirl.
"Wait I thought-" Silver started to say.
~So it wasn't you. Not that you seem to be the musician type.~
"...So someone else must be down here. And the only other door's that way."
"Looks dangerous..." said Colress. "You two go first, I'll do my scientific duties from the rear."
Silver groaned as the group headed onward, to another door. Silver opened it to nothing but darkness. "Are there any lights in here?"
"I see a switch, but it looks dangerous," said Colress.
Silver pulled the switch only to yell as sparks flew.
"Told you!" said Colress.
The switch, thankfully for Silver, did successfully turn the lights on. The group started out in awe at what they saw.
A massive laboratory lay out before them, with test tubes and beakers and strange cylinders and equipment all around. Silver's eyes widened as he recognized flash cloning technology among it all.
"It can't be..."
~The rumors were true after all,~ said Sabrina.
"Rumors?"
~The lab on Cinnabar wasn't the only lab Rocket had. They had this backup the whole time... and probably used it to test prototypes of the Mewtwo project.~
"Exactly," said Silver. "To think it was here this whole time..." He looked around. "It's pretty messy."
"Well, scientific environments need to be sterile but if you want to renovate the place maybe some flowers, throw pillows, Pokedolls..." said Colress.
"Wait," said Silver. The music's stopped, but there's a light behind that door..."
The group crept down and opened the door, only to find a room full of books and papers. Silver looked around to find a violin resting on the table. "Well the music must have been coming from this..."
~What even is this side room though?~ said Sabrina.
"Music room, I guess?" said Colress, inspecting the violin.
Silver inspected the books. "Wait... It can't be... It is! This is the private library!"
He started shuffling through the books and papers, until he came across one book in particular -
How We Did It, by Dr. Fuji and Giovanni Altamura
"...My father and his colleagues weren't ones for subtlety."
-------------
It was even later into the night. Sabrina and Colress were fast asleep, heads on the table, but Silver was engrossed in the book.
"These formulas and methods and hypothesis... They all seem like the ramblings of a madman to an outside observer but if you dissect them carefully they're almost genius..."
He gave a manic grin, a dangerous light in his eyes.
"I see how it all happened... And how it all failed. Yet I don't want to stop here..."
"...I want to do one better."
***
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