[HKim]

D quickly walked over to her seat across from Commander Kim. He simply nodded his head in her direction, weary from the long trip from Pallet Town to Goldenrod. As she took her place, she turned and watched as Dr. Mario clumsily stumbled into his own chair, not really paying attention to it. Staring up, he looked as if he wasn't fit to practice medicine. However, he prooved himself countless times and even cured a biological virus created by the Alliance. He may look insane, and act insane, but he still was a genius.

Quietly, everyone around the table turned their attention to Daniella, who by now had positioned herself to begin the meeting. With a quick clearing of the throat, she began.

"As you may already know, the last mission to assassinate Empress Catriona failed." she announced while several members nodded their heads. "From what I gather..." she continued,"this wasn't a simple mistake of being spotted. Someone told the Alliance we were coming."

A chorus of mumbles broke out, but quickly died down as Daniella spoke on.

She frowned. "From what Sidney tells me, we were betrayed by one of our own." She glanced over to the Intelligence Officer.

"Yes, that is precisely what happened." he acknowledged,"Several sources, unfortunately none that I can name, tell me that Empress Catriona and Emperor Nate recieved a message from a rebel, warning them about our plot to kill the Empress. Luckily for us, instead of preparing a defense force, they simply hoped to take the entire team out with a well aimed cannon blast, one that almost killed the entire group if Daniella hadn't proceeded with the plan ahead of schedule."

He sighed, then continued. "Unfortunately again, my sources don't know who leaked the plan or how it exactly reached the Alliance. All we know was that the plan had been passed along a chain. The informant contacted another person, who in turn passed it along to another informant. We don't know how many people the message passes through."

"Give us an estimate Sidney." responded Daniella.

He looked to her, never changing his neutral expression. "In my opinion, a chain of 4 to 5 people would be the most efficient. Too many to track easily and too few to garble the message. However, this chain could be made up of Alliance and Rebellion members, or even by those in neutral territories. Whatever the case, my agents are on it and we'll figure this problem out. Heh, we'll even take care of it for you."

Sk laughed, glancing menacingly at Sidney. "You would. Always assassinating those who oppose us, under our noses. And never telling us anything. How do we know that you're not the informant? Hmmm? Every so often, my troops disappear, and it would be foolish of me to not consider if you're taking them out1"

Sidney, merely stared, and leaned back in his chair. "Upset Seto? Don't worry, I'm not killing your men. If their like their leader, than they're not even worthy to be killed by my agents."

Sk jumped to his feet. "Why you!!!"

Sidney smiled and rose to his feet in response. "What are you going to do? Kill me?"

Daniella, stood up, her hands placed sternly on her hips, face cold as ice. "Sk, Sidney, please. This is not a playground and we're too old to bicer like toddlers. If you haven't noticed, we have a war to win and I'm not going to have two officers fight eachother over a simple squabble. Now sit down!"

Sk scowled at her, quickly deciding wether it was worth to continue the arguement, decided it wasn't, and grudgingly sat down. Sidney, simply shrugged, and glided back into his chair, the sickening grin still poised on his face. Daniella, simply sat down, taking the time to calm herself and focus back on the meeting.

For a moment, no one spoke, waiting to see who would break the tension first. D simply stared at everyone, hoping that she wouldn't have to be the one to do it.

She was lucky. Dr. Mario, unfazed by the arguement, spoke up. He looked directly at Daniella and said,"I know where Syrus is." Then he turned his head back up to look at the ceiling. Not caring if his words mattered or not.


At the mention of Syrus, all eyes fell upon the baffled-minded doctor. For more than a year, Syrus had remained captured, stowed away from view. Not even Sidney's secret cover opperatives were able to locate the lost leader. How Mario ever came upon this information, was a miracle in itself.

But more so to Daniella than anyone else. It was not only her life that depended on him, but the life of their child. When Syrus had been captured, Daniella was half a month pregnant, her husband never knowing the existance of their child. Daniella was left alone to raise a fatherless daughter.

But now.... Now there was a possibility of his return. A hope, a dream that many would try and die for. Like Daniella, General Syrus was respected by all, even though his methods were a bit more harsh than Daniella's own. Yet, he had been the only one to ever confront Emperor ElimN8 face to face, the only one to even match his own wit and intelligence. Unfortunately, because of this, Syrus had been a prime target.

There were rumors, that about twp years ago, several attempts were made on Syrus's life, but back then he lead the powerful forces and technology of Saith Industries, the main constructor of Outer Heaven, The Towers of Sunset, and Inner Heaven. Unfortunately, only one of their three immense projects survived into the present. The forces of the Trainer-Magma Alliance under the Emperor cast a large dent into the world, seemingly targeting the riches of Syrus for some unknown, vengeful reason.

Luckily, Syrus managed to escape each situation, facing death and destruction along the way. His high degree of suspicion upon the Emperor created The Magnificent Rebellion, one of the main forces to oppose the Alliance. Just in time, for the power of the Alliance had quickly swooped down upon the lands of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Orange, killing, and persecuting all that opposed them and stood for freedom.

For months, battles raged on. After several failed plots to defeat the Alliance using the Towers of Sunset and Outer Heaven, Syrus finally was captured in the Battle of Mauville. Commander James, who had been there, tried to follow the Alliance forces, but they had been violently beaten and unable to pursue them. In the end, Syrus was gone, and no one knew anything as to his location.

Since then, the war has gone downhill. The Rebellion had been pushed away from Hoenn, having to retreat to the Orange Islands. In Johto and Kanto, it had been a standstill with Syrus, but now, the Alliance forces had pushed past the border and now threatened the western Johto. If it weren't for the help of Team Aqua under Regent Andi, also known as Shroomish, Johto would have been devastated and the Rebellion would be elimnated.

Yes, they were desperate, willing to devise plans that might slow the Alliance, make them pause for a second so the Rebellion could breath. But so far, only minor missions had been successful and Empress Catriona's strategy over seas had stretched their resources along the Orange Islands. Defeat seemed eminent if nothing drastic was done, and unfortunately, all their drastic measures were defeated.

If Syrus was alive, then they had a chance. The Rebellion needed him desperately.

D turned to watch, as Daniella quickly caught her breath and began to speak. Her eyes filled with a mixture of excitement, fear, and hope. Yet, behind them lay the same determination and power that kept them fighting and the same bond that paired her to Syrus. She wanted him back, she wanted him now.

"Doctor. Where is Syrus?" she questioned seriously, her hands clenched in anticipation.