Well really pumped to be publishing my first chapter in a long sequel that I have planned and hopefully you guys might like it and once again I do NOT own pokemon and am not using this for any malicious intent or breaking copyright laws, etc. And without further ado on with the story.
Chapter 1 - A blast to the past
Laughter crept up my throat as soon as I saw Dawn trying to put on a lacy nightgown that was way too big for her. Silently cursing her bad luck she motioned for me to pick a much smaller size of the same dress to which, of course I teasingly declined. After throwing me a venomous glare which only fuelled my amusement, she sighed and went by herself to look for another dress.
"You know" she said, "helping a girl find a decent dress that fits her well isn't exactly a crime" she said haughtily.
"Not everyone feels the same way" I replied "although you look rather good in that pompous nightgown, I say how much does it way? A ton?" I asked jokingly.
"Humph! Well for your information it does feel like it weighs a ton, and secondly... Um, can you help me find the blasted zipper!" She cried angrily and her expression, which was, as I say the funniest display of artistic perfection, coupled with her awkward pose which reminded me of an elephant trying to get a mosquito off its back while riding a unicycle, made me chuckle, which was not a common sight to see.
"Hahaha ... Well I must say", looking intently at her (who was silently giving me a death glare) and resumed speaking quietly "you look quite ravishing in that dress", attempting to put on my lustful bravado which, I believe must have worked as she looked away blushing.
Of course the only consequence of my prior statement was the eerie awkward silence that descended between us, which was finally broken as a saleswoman announced over the speaker that the store would be closing in little over an hour.
Picking the dresses that she chose, I paid for them and we walked out of the store without much conversation.
"Well I got what I need, for Drayden's wedding, and I think Diana is going to love the silver tiara I got her" she said gleefully, to which I smiled, Dawn may be a handful sometimes but when it comes to helping anyone in need, she's always been there for them, and for that I've always respected her decisions.
You see Drayden was a man, who was, in my opinion, oblivious to love in every sense. I mean love could walk right in front of him, and slap him right in the face and he still wouldn't notice it. Contrastingly Diana was, the moment I saw her, was already head-over-heels in love with him even before I truly got to know him.
The chain of events which took place between them were almost always short and awkward until Dawn entered the picture. Taking it upon herself to be Mrs Love Bug, she bolstered their dying relationship from the brink of collapse to perhaps the happiest couple I've ever seen and know. They just announced their wedding (which was planned for November) and one could only think of one person to thank for this and of course that was Dawn.
"Hey ... You in there? Hello!" Snapping out of my internal debate I saw dawn giving me a concerning glance which I silently dismissed. "You okay? I though I lost you for a moment" she said worriedly.
"I'm fine, well ok at least, sorry about that", she replied.
"It's okay" she replied.
Silently driving back home, we got in the house and I instantly fell on the bed worn out and exhausted after a day of shopping. After all shopping is a guy's worst nightmare, well… next to horse radish, I think.
"What were you thinking about back there in the mall?" She asked curiously.
"Oh nothing much just thinking about some random stuff", I replied "well at least it's a Friday, I can finally sit up late and get those new design papers done and hopefully get a full day with my gym training tomorrow." I said contently.
"Hmm ... We'll at least plan it out later ok, so do you want a drink?" She asked curiously.
"No thanks Dawn" I replied curtly.
"Well ok then how about a ..." She was cut off by the phone ringing.
"Gimme a sec Dawn, I'll get it" I said as I walked over to the phone.
"Hello, Brendan speaking, who's this?" I asked.
"Long time no see old friend, how have you been?" A low, raspy voice responded.
That voice stirred something deep within me as a trace of remembrance surfaced within my mind...
"Vendetta is that you?!" I exclaimed.
"The one and only ... " He replied.
"It's been a long time coming old friend, but why now of all times?" I asked.
"Have you reconsidered returning to the team, they're hell bent on persuading you to return... And I ..."
"I'm afraid I must decline the offer my friend not after ... That. I haven't been the same." I answered warily.
"Isn't there anything I can do to persuade you?" He asked pleadingly.
"I'm afraid not old friend" I answered with a smile.
"Well before you leave Sarah wanted me to give you a message" he said airily.
"Hmm... I wonder what that could be" I said teasingly.
"Something about a ... Project Paradine and some mumbo jumbo details... Ha! Right Brendan? Umm ... Brendan?" he repeated.
Upon saying those words I froze, dropped the receiver and almost instantaneously was lost in thought, WHY? Why now of all times, I thought it was all over, but now it's back slapping me right in the face! Damn it, I slowly took the receiver and spoke the next few words coldly.
"Vendetta ... I can't say much for now, but if what you say is true, then I'm returning to the team immediately ... Ask questions later, right now scramble me a ride, I'll be there immediately, ok bye."
Needless to say Dawn, who was there in the side-lines was very curious to my sudden change from my hesitant to compelling nature to re-join the team which was a quick change in the span of a few seconds.
"Care to explain Bre?" She asked gently, seeing the pained look in my eyes.
"Can you get me a glass of whiskey … please Dawn" I asked nervously. Slowly nodding she went out of the room and soon returned with a pint.
Taking a shot of whiskey, I answered...
"Do you remember my earlier job Dawn?" I asked gently.
"Of course you were a lead scientist for Paradine laboratories, but you soon left without giving anyone a good reason... Which still remains a good question to this day though? Why did you truly leave?"
I looked towards the window as the rain gently struck the glass, the raid droplets raced along its surface.
"I know you deserve to know the truth Dawn, but what I'm about to say to you is a closely guarded secret and many have died to keep it so and I want you to do the same."
She nodded and so I began.
"3 years ago I was chosen as one of ten elite scientists who were to take part in a secret project known now as Project Genesis, our goal at the time was very different from what people state it to be today, our goal was to bio engineer the first cross species of human life forms. By combing our knowledge of molecular sciences we created the first 12 specimens or as we called them "kittens", they were small kitten-like-fur balls in comparison to their huge containment pods where they were grown."
"And according to the official reports there was a huge explosion following which days later the director of operations declared it as a failure and that the explosion was caused by a gas leak, the project was stamped as a major failure."
I silently drummed my knuckles on the window pane watching the lone water droplets skim through its transparent surface.
"But it wasn't was it?" Dawn guessed from the look on my face, "Something else happened down there ... "She guessed.
"You're right there Dawn, the testing went on and eventually drew to halt when 10 of the 12 specimens had died from over stress that their new bodies were subjecting them to, we were on the verge of declaring the project as a failure and I was given the task of nursing one of the last kittens before it's death, after staying with it for a few hours the other scientists began taking leave for transporting the other one and I was one of the few scientists who left with the developing kitten, nursing it slowly and gently, until surprisingly a few days later, the kitten's vitals spiked and with a strong pulse opened its eyes for the first time."
"hmm…..hmmm…." the kitten attempted to move its mouth as I stared in obvious shock, but as soon as the kitten awoke it immediately drifted back into its deep slumber and its vitals levelled again.
"Knowing there was a chance I stayed with the developing kitten. For the next few days it was a heart wrenching time as the kitten seemed to pull itself out of the brink of death every time, a delicate balance of life and death and eventually within weeks grew to its full size, in which there have been numerous spikes in its vitals as it attempted to make contact, during which I stayed with it and only left its side either for a toilet break or for food and soon with its Development complete the specimen with its advanced psychic powers broke free from its containment. Realising the close bond we shared after all those numerous encounters and its fate should it be left behind, to be used as an expensive albino lab rat for their different experiments. I took her with me, upon realising that the other specimen had survived, I was elated but as the realisation dawned on me that the second lab was destroyed by the enraged specimen, I knew almost immediately lives have been lost and the program was to be terminated."
Looking at Dawn "In other words the other specimen was to be killed" she spoke silently.
"Hoping to conceal her existence, I sent her away to a faraway island hoping to keep her safe, and with her safe I gave the word to kill project genesis, soon after which I falsified the documents of her termination."
"What happened then?" She asked.
"We swore to never speak of the project again ... But it seems something's up again." I replied worryingly.
"Why did you save her in the first place?" Dawn asked me gently.
"Because she did not deserve that fate, she never had a say in anything, she was created by human design and ingenuity and was to be killed by humans, I believe when I saw her, I knew she faced great pain and … I believe that's the only emotion she ever felt ….. Pain" I swallowed some of the remaining contents of the glass in my hand, to ease my throat and continued.
"But when she tried to talk to me she must have felt something else….. Something other than pain and loneliness, I believe she survived because she knew that there was something worth fighting for, so she endured and for that alone, she's earned my respect. She was not an animal, she could comprehend small parts of human speech and could speak to an extent, for a sentient creature, who was intelligent and could control emotions just as others, she could, in my opinion classify as a human being."
"But what I'm worried about is why they want to talk about an old project that should have been terminated long ago, could they have possibly found out something?" I spoke more to myself.
"What do you think it could possibly mean?" She wondered.
I sat quietly swirling the small amounts of whiskey I held in my hands, the sloshing sound temporarily taking my mind of things. "I'm afraid there's only one person who can answer that question and that's an old friend of mine, her name's Sarah" I responded.
"Oh so it's a girl, huh" she asked warily trying to mask the small amount of jealousy that threatened to show through.
I chuckled a little at her obvious jealousy over other girls, who she thinks are quite "infatuated" with me.
My chain of thought was soon broken with the sound of moving propeller blades, and I could guess that it would be Vendetta. Checking my watch again and calculated that it took him roughly 18 minutes to scramble those choppers.
"He's getting slow" I mused out loudly.
And sure enough the front of the apartment was broken down to show a very delighted Vendetta and a seriously pissed off commanding officer.
"I must disagree, sir Vendetta" I heard the officer speaking to him, his cheeks flushed in obvious anger. "There is simply no way that we can involve civilians into these matters, it would, how should I put it ... Compromise their safety and integrity of the operation." trying his level best to get vendetta to change his mind of bringing me into this mess no doubt. But if there's one thing I know about Vendetta is that when he's made up his mind on something, he won't stop until it's done.
"I'm afraid colonel you don't understand who your referring to as "civilians" in this case, I suggest you take a closer look" he suggested pointing towards me.
The officer still didn't get it while Vendetta approached me and grabbed me by both sides of my shoulders and hugged me warmly, "it's good to see your doing well Brendan, but sorry for all this, security protocol you know."
The colonel suddenly seemed to understand as he stared at me in shock and awe, "bu.. Bu.. But sir that...that isn't THE Brendan as in the the top guns?" He asked stuttering and reverently as if I was some sort of deity who fell from the heavens.
"Hahahaha of course, col. There's only one Brendan we've all come to know and love" he answered calmly and pointed to the door as he spoke quietly to me "they want to see you Brendan, it's been way too long" while also silently addressing Dawn, who was very interested at all the attention I was getting.
I only glanced at the door and my eyes widened as I looked through the door and saw...
Bwahahahahaha... Man I love giving these cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. c:
So stay tuned as Brendan hopes to unravel the mysteries of the past, and how it will affect his world...