บท 86: EPISODE 86: Mother*

The area is then encompassed with silence for a moment as my mother walks closer to me. Seeing her face reminds me of the times I had with her back in the orphanage.

The times when she showed me her motherly love, and the times when she hugged me when I was merely a child. How I miss those moments, but here I am now, about to face my mother.

"No matter what the circumstances are..." The words of the pillar leaders echo to my mind. I then remember my purpose, and there is no going back.

I tilt my head above, and to my surprise, Giovanni could be seen at the balcony of the indoor garden, staring down at me with the other grunts.

"Luna." With a sweet voice, my mother calls my name. Hearing her words, Lily jumps out of her Pokeball and hugs my mother's leg. Dearly, she misses her since she's the one who gave her to me.

For a moment, my mother lifts Lily to the sky and cuddles her tightly. Long time no see, the two of them are happy indeed.

"Luna!" Jenny jolts towards me but was pulled by Magnolia's hands.

"Let her be," Magnolia instructs by mumbling at Jenny's ear. Obviously, she's worried about not only me but also my mother.

After the moments of cuddling, mother places Lily back to the ground. A downpour then occurs in her eyes as she decides to hug me.

The second she embraces me, I felt the same love she showed me on my fifteenth birthday. Her tears flow to my back, making my uniform wet and soaked.

On the other side, Xavier and Charlotte smile to see the love circulating the whole area. The Masters and the Gym Leader Sabrina is also glad to see me and my mother unite once more.

"What if she says yes?" Xavier questions.

"I guess that means Luna will return to her normal life then." Charlotte smiles then responds.

"This will be her last time as Team Rocket. Perhaps one day we'll meet her again." With a heavy breath, Xavier utters, continuing to smile amidst the burning flames beneath us.

"At least she's with her mother now. We'll bid our last goodbyes later." Charlotte smirks and wipes off the single tear making her eyes blurred.

"I- I- miss your beautiful face." Mother's voice stutters as she embraces me tightly.

"I have a scar."

"That's fine with me, the important thing is that I was able to see you again. You don't know how many nights I've spent, crying in your bedroom. Every day, I wish I could feel your presence once more, and now here I am, hugging my dearest Luna." Athena murmurs in the sweetest way possible, causing me to cry as well. No, this time not even aggression could defeat a mother's love for her daughter because a mother's love is always filled with pure compassion.

"Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible. It's never easy when so much is on the line, but you can make a difference, with courage you can set things right. The gift to dream and makes dreams real is yours and mine.

The power of one begins with believing. It starts in the heart, then flows to the soul and changes the whole world. Imagine how life will be when we stand in unity, each of us holds the key to the power of one." While rubbing my hair gently, she starts to sing the lullaby she always sang to me before sleeping.

The song strengthened my tears, causing my voice to hiccup every now and then. Silence continues to drift across the room with everyone watching with happy and delighted emotions except for the boss.

He continues to watch with eyes belonging to a predator. The longer me and my mother hugs, the fiercer he becomes to the point the only thing he could do is to resist his fingers from pressing the button which could disconnect me from the microchip, ending my life for good.

"Let's go home." For a moment, we separate from each other. With a soothing voice, she insists me to return to her grasps, leaving me with the toughest decision. Should I, join her or Team Rocket?

"I know what to do, but I don't know if I have the courage to do it." With a soft and fragile voice, I confront my mother, looking to her tearing eyes.

"I- I... I'm being torn apart. I want to be- be free of this pain. Will, will you help me?" With a stuttering voice, I plead to my mother, as I finally made my final decision.

"Yes, anything." Mother gladly smiles and agrees to my plead.

With a heavy heart, I exhaled, finally doing my decision. My hands quiver gravely as I remove the object from my hand. The object is no other than a pistol that could end one's life in a single blow.

This is madness, yes I thought to myself from the very beginning, the very moment the pillars gave me the pistol. And now here I am, in front of Team Rocket and my family. I stand in between as my final decision commences.

Steadily, I hand the pistol to my mother with a smile on my face. Clearly, Giovanni isn't impressed with my actions for suddenly betraying him.

As the pistol touches my mother's hand, I then give a pleasant smile, for this will be the last day of pain. Me and Athena glance at each other with tears falling off.

"Th-Thank you." I exhaled deeply once more as my voice tries to finish my words by stuttering. This is the moment, and finally, I pull the trigger.

The sound, it suddenly disrupts the surrounding sweetness and peace amidst the flames beneath us. My mother smirks then rubs my cheeks for one last time.

The time comes, and she finally drops off the bridge and into the engulfing fire. This will be the last time to see my mother's image. At last, no more distractions and no one will persuade me to leave Team Rocket.

My actions have brought a smile to Giovanni's face since I've proven my loyalty. However, in return, it has enraged Jenny's heart and the remaining Masters.

Even Charlotte and Xavier were shocked by my actions. Their smiles corrode into an expressionless face due to the impact of my actions.

"Murderer!" Jenny yells and tries to push me off the bridge. The Master Four alongside Sabrina has also infuriated at me, causing them to instruct their Pokemons to attack me.

From above, Giovanni and his men take matters into their own hands. With advanced accurate grappling hooks made by no other than Arlo, they are able to seize Magnolia, Titus, Miriam, and Finn. Luckily, Sabrina reacted quickly and dodged the hook heading towards her.

As for me and Jenny, we fought brutally. Pulling each other's heart, punching, kicking, you name it! We fought like stray canines released from the cage.

"All that for a drop of blood?" Jenny punches my belly, causing a blood droplet to drip off my uniform.

On the other hand, Charlotte and Xavier tries to quell the fighting by separating me and Jenny apart. The rivalry between us is extremely intense, and not even a pinch of mercy or affection could be seen.

Not wasting another second, Sabrina grabs Jenny's hand and jolts towards the portal made by her Alakazam. They then teleport out of the facility. However, I remain unrest, wanting to fight her some more...

"Let me go!" I shout ferociously, removing my grip from Xavier's grasp.

From our side, grunts start to enter the action and properly arrests the Master Four for good. The firemen arrive moments later to quell the flames.

"Well done." In the exits of the facility Giovanni appraises me with his cunning looks yet I ceased to notice him. My sanity still remains unrest after the actions I've inflicted today...