THE MIDAS SAGA
Book Two: Eternal

Disclaimer: Same deal. I don't own PKMN or it's characters. I do own Oakley, Annie, Devon Brown, Genesis Morgan, Ni Muchiwa, Billy Kidd, Candy, Mark, Midas Ranielli, Lord of Darkness and all demons associated with him, Dr. Van Von Kinle, and Marie Ranielli.

-Chapter One-


(Professor Ivy's Laboratory, Valencia Island)

Ash sat himself down in front of Professor Ivy's videophone and dialed his home number. After a few minutes, the screen flashed and his mother appeared.
"Hi mom!" He greeted.
"Oh, hi, honey!" She replied. "Have you talked to Professor Oak yet?"
"Yeah, mom, I have. That's why I'm calling."
He then explained to her about the ancient relics, the demons, and the Lord of Nightmares. He told her he was going to a place called the Bahamas to retrieve one of the ancient relics so they can stop the Lord of Nightmares and whoever was up in the Indigo Mountains. After he finished, there was a moment of silence while Ms. Ketchum bit her lip and looked over her shoulder. She turned back with her motherly smile plastered on her face.
"All right, honey! Just don't forget to change your underwear everyday!"
Misty giggled behind him and Ash facefaulted.
"Mom…you don't have to tell me that anymore. I'm not a little kid…"
"You're right, honey, I'm sorry. Old habits die hard, I guess," she chuckled. "Call me when you're done saving the world!"

(Ketchum Residence, Pallet Town)

After Delia hung up the phone, she walked out into the hallway and roused the sleeping Mimey.
"Mime…" he yawned, stirring and looked at her with his eager eyes.
"Mimey?" She queried. "Have you seen Oakley?"
Mr. Mime thought a moment then shook his head.
"Mime, Mr. Mime!"
"Oh," she sighed. "I wonder where he could have gone…"
She went into the living room, followed by Mimey. She looked down at the couch where she had left Max dozing. There was a blanket lying halfway on and halfway off the couch…but no Max.
"Oh no, now where did he run off to?" She wondered while Mimey hurriedly picked up the blanket and folded it neatly.
As he went to go put it away, she noticed the front door was opened a crack. She went to it and opened it more, sticking her head outside.
"Do you think they could have gone to…to Gary's house, maybe? Or…or the laboratory? Or…" her voice trailed off as her eyes came to rest on the distant mountains.
"Oh…Oh Mimey! You don't think they would've gone up to those mountains, do you?"
Mimey came to stand beside her and shrugged his shoulder. She stepped outside and shivered at the cold breeze.
"Maybe I should just go and see…"
She started off down the road, but stopped when Mr. Mime called out to her. She looked back and saw him running after her with her jacket. He pushed it into her hands.
"Mime, Mime, Mr. Mime!"
She smiled at him.
"Yes, it is a little chilly, isn't it? Thank you, Mimey."
She continued walking and after a slight bit of hesitation, Mimey came to walk beside her.
After walking for several minutes, Delia stopped. She had come to the place where the strange barrier was, and knew she couldn't get any further. The wind was blowing a little harder now; her hair blew about her face. She held her hand over her eyes and looked around.
"Oh, Mimey, I don't see them! But it would have been impossible for them to get past this barrier, wouldn't it?"
"Mr. Mime…"
The barrier suddenly began to crackle and electric sparks flowed out of it, reaching almost for her and Mimey. Mimey stood in front of her.
"Mr. Mime!!"
He brought up his hands and created Light Screen, shielding them both from the black electricity. Delia looked over Mimey at the barrier. Her brown eyes widened as she saw a small gap where the electricity was rising up to attack them.
"Mimey, start walking forward," she ordered.
Mimey glanced back at her, but did not question. Instead, keeping his hands raised, he began to walk towards the barrier. Delia followed behind him closely, as they slowly got nearer and nearer. When they were directly underneath it, she gave Mimey one big push and together they fell…to the other side of the barrier.
She sat up on her knees and stared out ahead of her. The mountains were directly in front of them, the black sky towering above them, and the very top of a tall fortress peeking out from behind them.
"We made it through, Mimey," she breathed happily.
She looked down at him and quickly became concerned.
"Mimey, are you okay?"
He was shaking and breathing heavily. A few parts of his body where the shocks had touched him were burnt and he didn't seem to have much energy left from holding up Light Screen for so long. Delia reached down and caressed his head.
"Oh, Mimey, you must be exhausted. We'll rest here for now, okay?"
Mimey nodded at her, smiling weakly. She settled down beside him and let him rest his head on her shoulder.
"And in the morning, we'll go see if Oakley and Max are in that building up there," she decided aloud.
She closed her eyes and the two soon were in peaceful slumber.

(Black Fortress, Prisoner Cells, Indigo Mountains)

Itch…itch…must get…itch…itch…
The restless Rocket struggled in his chains, straining his fingers to reach the back of his neck. He groaned in frustration and allowed his aching hands to relax.
"I'm gonna DIE in here!!!!" He yelled, only causing himself to cough.
Butch hung his head limply over his chest and sighed. He was just grateful he was actually still in one piece. Midas had missed his leg on purpose. He said he wanted to make sure he was scared. Next time he wouldn't be so fortunate.
Butch had just closed his eyes when he a faint sound outside the door. He lifted his head eagerly as the door opened and he soaked up the warm light. The man he saw in the doorway was not Midas, however. It was another man, his dark hair falling just below his shoulders. His jacket had an M emblazoned on it.
"Who are you? One of Midas' henchman?" Butch asked groggily.
Then he realized that if he was, he couldn't afford to be sassy. He valued his life too much. But the man didn't seem to notice the comment, or at least choice to ignore it. He walked towards Butch and for a split second his heart raced with the thought that he might be coming to execute him. The man reached up and undid the lock on Butch's chains.
"I'm to relocate you," he explained before Butch could ask. "Midas thinks that perhaps this room isn't the most comfortable of rooms."
"No, you think?" Butch snapped.
The man looked at him and smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry."
Butch looked away from him.
"I don't need your pity."
"Of course not."
The man held onto Butch's chains tightly as he led him out of the room and down a hallway. Butch's legs felt like jell-o and he could barely walk. He squinted his eyes so the bright lights wouldn't blind him. After a few seconds of silence, Butch asked the man his name.
"My name?" He sounded a little surprised. "My name's Ni."
"I'm Butch."
"I know."
"Right. So what do you do here?"
"Well, I…"
A girl passed by them at that moment and gave Ni a sharp look. He looked down until she was out of sight, and then spoke quietly to Butch.
"I'm sorry…I was told not fraternize with you."
"Whatever," Butch shrugged.
Ni led Butch to a room and gently nudged him inside. The room was much more comfortable looking than the other room. For one thing, there was a window. A medium-sized bed was placed over in a corner, across the room from a mini refrigerator. A door on the opposite wall led to a small bathroom with a sink, a shower, and a toilet. As Butch was looking around, Ni took his chains off and gathered them together in his hands. As he turned to leave, Butch stopped him.
"Wait. Why is Midas moving me here?"
Ni looked over his shoulder.
"I can't tell you that, Butch. I truly am sorry."
"Yeah, okay."
He started to go again, but stopped once more.
"By the way…your uncle says hello."
Butch turned around swiftly but Ni had already closed the door.
"Wait! Ni! What do you mean? My uncle?"
He went up to the door, but it was locked. He could hear Ni's footsteps walking away. He frowned.
My uncle… My uncle Billy? I don't have any other uncles… But that's impossible, he's…
"He's dead…"

End of Chapter One