PART SEVEN – REVELATION

Dark, ominous clouds hung in the sky, blocking the sun from sending any rays of light and hope down. A cold wind blew past Annie, flapping her coat around her and her hair in her face as she walked numbly to her car. It had been three days since she had lost her child, and despite her depression, Annie's body felt… well, almost normal. Of course, the round swell of pregnancy was gone, and Annie's hand still routinely reached to pat the belly she no longer had. This only served to deepen her depression and sense of loss. A loud thunderclap sounded and a rain began to fall as Annie reached her car and climbed in, barely noticing the darkening clouds and the fat raindrops that were now steadily assaulting the roof of the car.

The engine roared to life an Annie's tears began to fall and she pumped the gas, desperate to leave this place behind, this building that would now forevermore remind her of the family she had lost before she had even had it.

Annie could hardly tell if it was the rain or her tears that obscured her vision and blocked her view of the road. It had been a hellish 3 days laying in that hospital, the nurses (who believed that her child had died and that the body had already been cremated in accordance with the mother's wishes) constantly pestering her to eat so that she could regain her strength. Why? She had wondered to herself. Just what the hell was the damned point, anyway? What is there to live for? Hospital grief counselors had tried to talk to her, But Annie was having absolutely none of it. Her world was over as far as she was concerned, and that's all there was to it. Finally, she had been told that she was well enough to be discharged, and it had been the first news to give her comfort. Maybe, just maybe, going home would help. Now, however, the only thought that ran through Annie's mind was that the raindrops from the sky were not rain at all, but the tears of her own mother and her child. Oh, my baby… I'm so sorry… Mama… I… failed. I failed! Failed. That word had meant her downfall before, when James Morgan had made her fail twice over 25 years ago. Now, she had failed all on her own… at motherhood, at life, at innocence, at… everything. The car lurched unsteadily onward with its unstable driver, and finally arrived at its destination. The twenty-minute drive had felt like an eternity, an eternity spent in her own private purgatory, light years away from the happiness of Heaven or even the torturous release of Hell. The rain soaked her hair and flattened it against her head as she trudged to the door, leaving her bag in the car.

I suppose it's only my just ending, Annie thought to herself. After the life I've led, the pain I've caused… the people I've hurt and killed… why would I even deserve a child? She silently asked herself as her lips quivered and she turned the key in the door. The image of the silver .45 in her bedroom burned in her mind, her instinct telling her that maybe it was the only option anymore… the only way out being to turn the deadly weapon on herself…

Her head hung, Annie entered her home and turned to face the door to turn the deadbolt lock into place when she heard the sound- a quiet, almost imperceptible click of a gun being cocked. Annie's eyes went wide as she turned and saw a male Rocket, one Li Crandall, standing there grinning at her. His uniform indicated that he was an assassin, and there was no doubt who his target was. Behind him on Annie's couch, his partner sat. She was obviously the assassin's twin sister, and she wore a matching uniform. Her gun rested comfortably in her lap, it's casual placement contradicting it's deadly ability.

"Greetings, Agent Masterson." The man growled.

Annie glared at him half-heartedly, noticing the resemblance in manner and appearance to her former protégés, Butch Crandall and Cassidy Parker. "Go ahead. Get on with it." Annie whispered.

Li looked at her, somewhat disappointed. He had been expecting more from his target. "Go ahead?" he repeated, confused.

"Do it. Kill me. You'd be doing me a favor." Annie said softly, staring down the deadly bore of Li's .45 automatic.

Li's eyes narrowed as he looked contemptuously at his unflinching target. His mouth broke into a cruel sneer. "Really." He taunted.

Annie stood before the assassin like stone.

Virginia's voice broke the silence with an icy tone. "Yeah, I suppose we would be at that, Li. After all…" The blonde rose and sauntered casually to her brother's side, her gun returning to its holster as she approached. "... it must be just so hard to lose your baby." Virginia finished cruelly.

Annie's face showed her surprise. "Wha- what? How the hell could you…"

Li smirked. "What? You really thought the Team didn't know about you or your baby? You really are pathetic, Masterson. A hopeless relic from the past." Li moved his .45 to a half-inch from Annie's face as a single tear fell down her cheek. "What do you think, sis? Should she know?"

Virginia folded her arms across her chest smugly. "Why not? Go ahead, give the bitch something to take to the grave with her."

Li's face held a perverse glee as he spoke. "You're right. Why don'tcha try this one on for size, Masterson?" Now Li's voice dropped to a barely-audible whisper. "Your baby's not dead."

What happened next would not be fully understood by anyone, ever. Perhaps Annie was able to channel that legendary energy that enables mothers to lift cars off of their children, perhaps the spirit of Carrie Koldron-Masterson entered her, perhaps her mind simply flashed back to the days of missions and Base Camp Delta… but whatever it was that actually happened, the result was truly a sight to see. Somehow, Annie fought through her physical pain and her depression, and gave a deep, blood-curdling yell. Before anyone knew what was happening, Annie's foot had connected with Li's groin with sickening force. Li gasped as his eyes went wide and he fell to the ground, his .45 slipping out of his grip and landing harmlessly on the floor. Annie swept it up in an instant and shoved Virginia out of the way as she ran to her bedroom.

"Shoot her! Kill her!" Li said hoarsely as he curled in a ball on the floor, tears streaming down his face. Virginia's assassin instincts took over as she drew both her .45's and fired at Annie's retreating form. The bullets tore into the frame of Annie's bedroom door, splintering the molding and missing their intended target by mere inches.

In the bedroom, Annie threw her bedside table drawer open and pulled out her own old Team-issued .45 and the spare clip of bullets. Ever since she had left Jessie and James' cabin that night months ago, she had kept the weapon cleaned, maintained, and close by, dreading the day when the Team would come for her. It had been a precaution that had become strict habit when she had learned of her pregnancy. Annie now clutched her gun and Li's tightly as she backed up against the bedroom wall by the door and listened to Virginia's low, threatening voice as she slowly approached the bedroom. "C'mon out, you little bitch… It won't be so bad…" Virginia's voice was like pure acid, a tone she herself had used many times in the past. Suddenly, Annie felt a great swell of pity for every target she had ever hunted. Sweat drops appeared in little beads on Annie's forehead as she saw the twin pistols enter the doorway, followed by Virginia's cold, stony face. The assassin's eyes stared straight ahead, a fatal mistake which ensured that Virginia never saw Annie coming as she plowed into her side and knocked her into the dresser.

Annie ran back through the door to her living room, dropping into a crouch and rolling to where Li lay on the floor, still stunned and in a fetal position. Virginia aimed her guns at Annie as the Red Rocket sat up and pressed her own gun against Li's head. Li whimpered as Annie pressed it home with enough pressure to leave a bruise. "Drop it." She snarled at Virginia.

"Not a fuckin' chance." Virginia replied evenly, her guns trained closely on her target.

"You know, I'd be willing to bet that even if you shot me, I'd STILL be able to pull my trigger and blow your sorry brother straight to Hell! You really wanna take that chance… Sis?" Annie finished in vicious, wild tone.

Virginia stared at her as Li kept whimpering in a panic. "Ginny… do as she says, dammit!" the assassin managed to say.

After a moment's hesitation, Virginia growled and dropped her guns to the floor. "Kick them over." Annie commanded. Virginia grudgingly complied with the order.

Annie's face tightened as she straddled Li, still keeping her gun firmly pressed against his temple. "I saw my baby dead. I held her body. What do you mean she's alive?" She asked as calmly as she could, her deliberate speech hiding the burning rage that boiled inside her.

"That wasn't really your baby. It was somebody else's baby who happened to die that day." Virginia replied.

"Then where's my baby?" Annie asked through clenched teeth.

"I don't know." Virginia lied. Annie saw through it instantly. She moved her gun from Li's head and pressed it against he left upper leg. A millisecond later, her finger squeezed tightly around the trigger and a bullet ripped into Li's leg. The trapped assassin screamed in a guttural croak reminiscent of his father.

"Where's my baby?!" Annie demanded, watching Virginia's eyes widen as dark red blood spurted from Li's wound.

"I- I can't…" Virginia stammered, then fell silent as Annie's .45 drove another bullet through Li's other leg.

"Last chance, Blondie." Annie growled. "Unless you want a dead boy for a brother, you'll tell me!"

Virginia's front shattered. "The Boss has her!" She yelled, tears streaking her face. "He wanted to take her, raise her himself!"

"How did he take her?" Annie yelled, burning with a fury that made every emotion she had ever felt pale in comparison.

"Ian Loomis." Virginia said desperately.

"Ian?" Annie asked, confused. "You threatened him?"

"He was on our side from day one. He's a Rocket!"

Annie's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in hate. She raised her gun from Li's head and fired at Virginia, catching the Assassin in her shoulder and spinning her around before she fell to the ground, clutching her bleeding wound. Li gasped and entered shock as Annie stepped to where his sister lay on the floor. Without hesitation, Annie leveled her weapon at Virginia's head as the blonde squeezed her eyes shut tightly and waited for the death she had been sent to deliver to Masterson.

No, Annie thought. It can't happen like this. Not anymore. Annie reached for the small communicator on Virginia's belt, and pressed it into the assassin's hand. "Here. Call for help. You two losers need it." She said icily as Virginia looked up at her from the floor with humility. Annie swept up one of Virginia's guns from the floor and slipped it into her left pocket. Li's gun sat in her right pocket. With a final sneer to Virginia, Annie ran out the door of her home and into the rain outside as Virginia made the call for help. Ten seconds later, Virginia heard the engine on Annie's car roar to life as the Red tore away in the direction of Viridian City, home of Team Rocket's central headquarters, and now, of her baby.

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE TEACHER AND THE STUDENTS