The Company We Keep EP 00: Devil's Food
One year after the addition of the Dual-Mew, Mew Berry, into the ranks of the Tokyo Mew Mews, a European company, known only as 'The Company', started to work on their own form of Mew. Just like the originals, there were five and they varied in which animal was put in them, only they were males and the animals weren't all endangered. However, these five were split up when they were created and the leader, known as Ryan Kamone, was tasked to find his comrades and bring them back to The Company. This is his story…
"Man, I hope I can find Skye soon. I have dinner appointments with my cousin and his family…" I sighed as I walked down an alley in the Chinatown district of California. "The scanner says that he should be in this building," I said as I stopped in front of a small jewelry shop.
"Hello? Is there a boy named Skye in this household?" I asked as I entered the store.
"Skye? Sorry, he's busy with his studies right now. Can I get your name and number? Maybe he can call you when he's done," the lady behind the register replied.
"Oh, but that is why I'm here. I go to the same school as Skye and I came over to see if he needed any help with his work," I lied effortlessly.
"Oh, in that case, let me show you to his room," the nice lady offered.
"No thank you, it would be best for you to stay here and watch over the shop. I'm sure I can find it. Thank you for the offer though," I said as politely as I could.
"That sounds good. It is the third door to the left. Remember to knock before entering, the boy can be really jumpy at times," she said, getting back to her book.
"Right. I'll be as quick as I can so that I'm not a bother to you," I said, going up the stairs. I walked to the third door and check the scanner. He was in there, no doubt about it.
"Hey Skye, I have something to tell you," I said, knocking on his door.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked, coming to the door and opening it.
"I'm Ryan Momomiya and I have answers for you as well as things you didn't even know you could do. It is up to you if you want to hear them or not, but it would be for the best to listen," I said, changing into my military form of speech.
"Alright, I'll hear you out. This gives me a good excuse to avoid homework for the time being. Spill your beans Ryan," he said, popping in a piece of gum.
"Sure thing, but let's sit down somewhere first, I've been walking for a long time and I'm afraid my legs won't hold out for much longer. Is your room fine?" I asked him
"Yeah, I have a sofa. We can talk there," he pointed out to me.
"Thank you very much," I said, sitting down with Skye sitting next to me. "The thing is, you are a MEW. That stands for Mutationally Enhanced Weapon. Like me, you gain special powers when you are in potentially life-threatening situations," I said, wondering what he was going to ask.
"And what are the specifics about my Enhanced form?" he asked.
"Wait, you aren't thinking this is crazy? Wow. Anyways, your Enhanced form is a mystery to me, it can only be confirmed by having you transform yourself. However, I can tell you that you gain a weapon or two and some part of the animal inside you will show up, like if you were a bird, wings would form or a tail, or if you were a wolf, which I am, you gain ears and a tail. Does this make sense to you?" I asked.
"Wow. Sounds complex. I can't wait to find out which one I am!" he said, getting excited. "But you wouldn't come all the way out here just to TELL me this. What is your true objective?" he asked me.
"Wow you're sharp. My objective is to gather up the MEWs and form a team for The Company. Will you come with me to find others like us and possibly kick the most major of ass?" I asked, holding out my hand to him.
"If it means I get out of school, then sure!" he said, grabbing my hand and shaking it.
"Ok then, come with me," I said, going out of his room. "Oh wait, I forgot. I'll give you 10 minutes to pack your things. Tell me when you're…"
"DONE!" he called in, interrupting me.
"Good Lord that was fast. Did you pre-pack or something?" I asked him.
"Nope, all I needed to do was take the items off my bathroom sink, two pairs of clothing, my wallet, and my DS and charger. Took me about a minute to get them all," he said, holding up a bag.
"Good. Now I'll take that," I said, taking his bag. I then used his blanket as a makeshift pulley system and lowered his bag to the ground outside. I grabbed him and led him downstairs.
"Where are you boys going at this hour?" his mother asked.
"Oh, I was just going to show Ryan the garden since he was kind enough to come all the way out here to meet me," Skye said, being a natural liar.
"Alright, but it is almost dark out, hurry back ASAP, ok?" she asked, worried like the typical mother would be.
"It's a promise Mom," he said in response. We went out the door and around the back, picking up his bag.
"Ok, now I have a car about two blocks away. Do you think you could beat me in a race there?" I asked, challenging him.
"Not really. Never been much of a runner," he admitted.
"Aw, ok then. Let's walk and enjoy the view while we go then. I'm sure you still have plenty of questions," I said, putting my hands behind my head and starting off towards the car.
"Yeah, like 'How many other members are there?' and 'Who is The Company?'" he said, asking the exact questions I had in mind.
"Well, as far as I know, there are five of us total, that includes us, and we were genetically modified by The Company for some strange reason. They keep everything in secret, even their name. Only the Inner Circle knows the real name of The Company! But I do know that I'm being paid for this, so it is worth it. Oh yeah, you're being paid now too by the way," I said, rushing through the details.
"How much?" he asked, getting interested.
"About $10/hour, but we're on the clock 24/7, so you get paid while you sleep too!" I said, happy about my job.
"Sweet, how often does a paycheck come?" he asked, being predictable as ever.
"Once a week, we need money to get from place to place you know," I pointed out, to which he nodded.
"Anyways, we're here. Get in and I'll get us to an airport. We're off to New York for the next member!" I said, pumping my fists.
"Awesome! I've always wanted to go to New York. I hear the Buffalo Wings there are really good," he said, drooling slightly.
"Come on, we'll find out when we get there."
"…And that's how I saved Christmas," I said once we touched down in Florida. We had just gotten our third partner and The Company told me the location of the latest member located.
"Interesting story, it really passed the time on that 5 hour flight…" Sebastian Hawke, our newest member, said when we got off the plane. We got out of the airport about 20 minutes later and went straight to the Expedition that was left for us by The Company.
"Hey, what's this thing?" Skye asked as he hopped in the front of the car.
"I think it's a note. Let me see it," I said, taking the paper from Skye. "Dear MEWs, We have put the coordinates for your hotel in the Expedition's GPA system. When you arrive there, give the Alias 'Mr. Bryant' to the register and they shall have your room prepared. Inside you will find four optical scanning devices, or OSDs. Use them one to a person and learn Japanese with them. When you have found the fourth member, your next target will be in Japan. Also, when you find the fourth member, give him the OSD and head to the airport. Your flight will be waiting. Get back alive, The Company. That sounds easy enough. Let's roll out!" I said after reading the note out loud.
After driving for 25 minutes, we reached the Barrington Hotel and got to our room. We scanned ourselves and settled down for the night.
The next morning we all were still a bit groggy, all but Sebastian, so we took our time getting ready. After about one and a half hours, we left on foot and explored the Central Plaza in search of the next member.
"Man, this is gonna be tough," Sebastian complained.
"It took us 2 hours to find you in NEW YORK! So I suggest you zip it and look with us. I have a tracking device that," I started to say when a seagull swooped down and stole the tracker. "Tracks them… Crap! Ok, now it might be a little complicated…" I sighed.
"What could be a little complicated?" a stranger walked up and asked me.
"Excuse me, but could I ask who the hell you are?" Skye said, faking civility.
"One of you guys of course. I mean, isn't it rare to have different colored hair naturally? I mean, the one who just had his GPS stolen has burning red hair, which can't be natural, yet it is. The rude one has bright orange hair with black highlights. Either that is the best damn job of dying I have ever seen or it is natural. And the quiet one over here has bright blue hair with no other color showing in his roots, he has to be a natural blue-head," the strange man said.
"And since you have green hair… have you exhibited strange behaviors lately related to animals?" I asked him, curious as to if this guy was our man.
"Why yes, I've been hearing strange clicking sounds from the dolphin exhibit at the aquarium nearby, and the thing is that I can understand what they are saying!" he exclaimed.
"Interesting. My name is Ryan. What is yours?" I asked him.
"Oh, I'm Richard. You can call me Ricky!" he said happily.
"How do you know that our hair isn't dyed?" Skye asked.
"Oh, my father is a hair stylist, so I can easily tell between fake colors and real colors. Fake colors just cover the other TRUE hair, so it has a certain tint to it that shows the real hair. You guys don't have a tint, meaning your hair must be natural," he explained to him.
"Oh, makes sense. I'm Skye and he's Sebastian. Nice to meet you!" Skye said, happy that this dude wasn't a total creep and even more happy that this mission was almost over.
"Can I join your group?" Ricky asked.
"Ok, now I'm weirded out. How do you know about this stuff?" I asked.
"Simple. I overheard your conversation a while back while you passed me. I was window shopping, you see, seeing as my aunt needs new sandals but is currently sick with a cold," he said.
"Well then. He's nosy, arrogant, and smart. Perfect for our team! Welcome aboard Ricky. Now use this OSD and let's head to your house to pick up your personal belongings," I said, gesturing him to lead us to his house. As we walked, I explained what he was and what the group is about. I also told him about the group's current personalities and about The Company. Once he gathered his stuff, we found a convertible waiting for us down at the bottom of the steps.
"Wow, they never cease to amaze me. I mean, how much crap do they have? First an Expedition then this…" I sighed as I hopped in the driver's seat. I drove us to the airport and got us on the private jet they had set up for us. "Oh COME ON! This is just too much man!" I yelled as I got on.
"Oh well, as long as it gets us where we need to be, I'm fine with it," Sebastian said, to which Skye and Ricky nodded.
"Fine," I sighed, getting in a seat and strapping in.
As I turned off my music and laid back in the chair on this long flight, I couldn't help but wonder what Japan was like and what the fifth MEW was like. Thinking on this I swiftly fell asleep. In my sleep, I saw a pink-haired girl coming closer and closer, but I couldn't make out her face. She kept coming closer and closer until finally she was within view for me to see what she looked like. But before I could actually memorize her face, I woke up from a sudden burst of turbulence.
"Ichigo…" I said, still half-asleep.
"What's that, Ryan? You must have been dreaming. We're coming in on the airport and we hit a bit of air pressure. We're ok now, but we have to buckle up, we land in 10," Skye said, having had experience with airplanes, his father being a pilot and all.
I wondered who this girl was and why I dreamt of her. And why did I suddenly say Ichigo when I woke up? I guess I'll have to wait to find out…