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Melris crept closer to the street vendor's cart, his eyes flicking from a single loaf of bread amidst many to the vendor, distracted by a customer, and back to the bread. Walking slowly as if passing, the boy's hand shot out, deftly grabbing the single loaf of bread and stashing it into a baggy pocket at his side as he continued walking. Rounding a corner, the boy took off at a sprint before the vendor could realize his deception.

I'm sorry, I'll pay you back some day.

After finishing the bread, Melris made his way out to where the other homeless gathered and sat down at his usual spot. To his left, a number of the younger members of the community were chatting idly.

"They say he's killed over a hundred men!"

"I heard it was a thousand!"

"You're all wrong! The Black Shadow doesn't even kill his prey, he just leaves them in the streets to die!"

"You idiot, that's still killing!"

"Yeah, seriously!"

Melris listened wordlessly to the older boys' gossip. Everyone in the slums knew of The Black Shadow, and even if no one had met him, everyone viewed him with equal parts fear and reverence. A man shrouded in myth and legend, The Black Shadow was considered to be a god among men by the poor and destitute of Saffron - he stood up for the poor and killed the people that harassed them. He was a hero.

The boy listened to the stories until nightfall, and he fell asleep.

Melris wasn't alone, however. A girl about his own age with black hair and steel blue eyes slinked out of the shadows and leaned over him. "Wow. They really kicked your a**, huh?" She sighed at the lack of a response. "Out cold, huh? Figures. Come on, I should get ya to my dad. He'll prob'ly be able to help ya."

Kneeling down, the girl pulled Melris up, wrapping his arm around his shoulder and dragged him away.

"You could have been caught!"

"I couldn't just leave him there, Dad! He might have died!"

"His injuries weren't fatal, Karina, but you know better than to put yourself at risk, especially when the cops are involved! This could all have been a trap! Do I really need to remind you of what happened to your mother?"

Silence fell over the room, followed by a meek "******** you." Melris heard a door slam and he opened his eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. Looking around, the first thing he noted was the cast now fitted around his broken leg. The second thing he noticed was a sandy-haired man with steel blue eyes pointing a knife at him. "Your name. Now."

"Melris Malagan. Did you help me?"

The man pocketed the knife and sighed. "Against my better judgement, yes. But it was my daughter that brought you here and forced the issue. If you're going to thank anyone, it should be her. Regardless, you can call me Shaw."

"Shaw...?" The boys eyes opened in wonder as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. "You're the Black Shadow!"

Shaw scoffed. "What, you a fan?"

"Everyone in the slums are! You're a hero, Mr. Shaw!"

The man laughed. "A 'hero' is the last thing I'd expect a Team Rocket operative to be called, but there it is."

"...You're a member of Team Rocket...?"

"Yeah."

"Please! Let me join you!"

Shaw paused, then shook his head. "Forget it. It's not an easy life, and it's definitely not a life for a kid."

"Please! Anything is better than the slums!"

The man merely sighed. "Look, you can stay here until your leg heals, but you can't go anywhere until then. I've got to protect my family, and I can't risk you exposing us."

"Ow!" Melris cried out as the stick collided with his ribs.

"Suck it up, kid. You'll get hit with way worse as a Rocket."

"But you don't have to actually hit me!"

"You'll never learn to dodge if you don't fear the pain. Unless you aren't interested in being a Rocket anymore?"

Melris hardened his resolve. "No, let's continue."

Shaw grinned. "Then let's continue." He swung the stick down at Melris' shins and the boy cried out again.



Shaw handed Melris a hula hoop. "What's this for?"

"Core training. I want you to swing that until you can do it one hundred times in a row."

"Is that even possible?"

"Do you want to join Team Rocket?"

"...Yes."

"Then get to it."



"How is he?"

Karina shrugged. "He cries sometimes, when he thinks I'm sleepin'."

Shaw shook his head. "He's just a damn kid."

Karina frowned. 'Oh, hey, daughter! How was your day? Do anything fun while I spent it all with the boy you picked up? Again?' But the girl said nothing, merely shrugging. Figuring her father wasn't going to say anything else, she turned to leave.

"Karina."

Karina's eyes lit up and she whirled around. "Yeah, Dad?"

Her father wasn't even looking at her. "It's past your bed time, get to sleep."

Karina figured that if you could feel yourself rot away, it would be the feeling she felt right now. "...Yes, dad."

Karina opened the door to the room she and Melris shared and stepped in, shutting it softly behind her. Standing with her back pressed against the wall, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When she had sufficient night vision, she crept over to the corner of the room and removed the floor boards, revealing a large book. Tears dropped down onto the cover, and the girl hastily wiped them off before going to the source.

"I miss you, Mom."



"What are you doing?" Melris inquired, looking over the bits and pieces that Karina was working on.

"Buildin'."

"What are you building?"

"A bomb."

Melris' eyes shot open. "Are you serious?"

Karina sighed. "Yes. What, ya got a problem?"

"No, it's just... isn't that hard?

"At first." Sensing the boy had more questions, she stopped fiddling with the parts. "My mom, she was in Team Rocket with Dad. She was really good at makin' explosives. Before she died, she left me a book on how to make 'em. I'm not good enough to make most of the good stuff, but I'm workin' on it."

"I'm sorry about your mom."

"It's not your fault. 'sides, she died a long time ago, when I was seven. Now, if ya shut up, I can finish this one."

Melris nodded and watched the girl work.

Melris quickly showed himself to be a skilled thief, able to access places that the older rockets couldn't. One day, Shaw returned home with a debriefing for the boy's next target.

Shaw looked over the mission debriefing. "Alright, kid, it's a simple one this time. You have to sneak into Cafe Gorgeous and steal some money. It's not going to be heavily guarded, but you should still be careful."

"Understood."

Shaw nodded approvingly. "Good to hear it."

Melris ran through the alleys, a smile on his face as the rain poured above him. The mission had been a resounding success - there were no guards, and he had gotten all the money in the register with ease. Shaw would be so proud of him. As he neared the drop off point, however, an imposing figure stood in his way. Seeing the man who had broken his leg a year prior, Melris froze in fear. "Y- you...!"

The man had a cruel smile as he nodded, mocking Melris. "M - me!" He leveled a gun at the boy. "I knew you were in Team Rocket, boy. I can kill them, and no one's gonna care. Who'd miss a bunch of thieving murderers?" Before he could pull the trigger, however, a man burst from the shadows and tackled Hughes to the ground.

Shaw turned to Melris and shouted at him. "Go!" Melris' legs refused to move. "NOW!" He roared as he struggled to keep the other man down. The officer shoved him off, however, firing a shot into Shaw's stomach.

Eyes wide with fear, Melris finally willed himself to move, and as he ran, he heard another series of gunshots, followed by soul-crushing silence.



Shaw was dead.

Karina looked up at Melris, her eyes puffy and red. "You." The word was filled with so much hatred and vitriol it surprised even herself. "You stole Dad from me for a year, and now you've killed him! I should never have brought ya home that day! You should have died, not him!"

Melris wiped away his tears as he gave the girl a sad smile. "I'm sorry. You're right." The boy turned and left the hideout.

Karina's eyes widened as she realized what she had done, and she scrambled to her feet. Rushing to the door, she swung it open and called out to him. "Wait, no! Melris, I didn't mean it! Come back!" But the boy was no where to be seen. She sank to her knees, making a splash in the puddle outside the door. "Come back...." She sobbed quietly to herself as the rain poured around her.