CHAPTER NINE

Jack crouched on the top of the building, making faces at the poor rangers below. "Look, why don't you just go do whatever you normally do eh? I'm waiting for someone."

The ranger who seemed to be in charge at this point took a step forward, glaring at him. "Couldn't you wait on the street like a normal human being?"

"I could... but I'm not a normal human being. I'm not normal anything, really." He grinned down at them. "As soon as Grant gets here I'll be out of your hair... If you see him, tell him I found his brother, would you?"

The one in charge sighed, running his fingers through his hair and glaring up at Jack. "Fine. Tina, Roy, would you two go search the city for Grant? I'll stay here with the guy who likes to climb buildings."

The two rangers ran off, and Jack leaned over, looking at the third. "Who said I climbed? Hannah dropped me off here... I'm not entirely sure where she went, but it seemed important."

The ranger looked at him in confusion for a moment, then realization dawned on his face. "You're a trainer! Capturing pokemon-"

Jack interrupted, "I know it's illegal to outright capture a Pokemon here. That's why Team Rocket wanted this place, it's full of rare Pokemon, and they just wander around without fear. I brought all of my Pokemon with me, although they are all a bit rare. They seem to fit in here. Think about it, you'll recognize me."

The ranger leaned against the sign that showed a map of the city, thinking. After a few minutes he glanced up at Jack again. "You're that crazy guy who moved into Shiver Camp when the research team had to abandon it, aren't you? You look pretty clean for having lived out there."

Jack grinned. "Bingo! And guess what? In a few days, you're going to need all the help you can get out there, in fact-"

"Jack Rain! What the hell are you doing in Almia, let alone the fact that you're on top of the Ranger Depot?" Grant growled, glaring at the man. He'd been a pain ever since he'd first seen him, and now he wanted to pretend to be all friendly?

"I'm on top of this building because it looks like a tree and was a great spot to wait for you at your new job. I'm in Almia because your brother needs my help, and there's a whole bunch of other stuff going on that I'm not entirely informed on, so I can't really say anything because it would just be frustrating." Jack jumped down from the building.

"Everything you say is frustrating. You're here. It's obviously something to do with the I.P. Or you'd be content with hunting down people in Johto." He glaced at the other ranger. "David, you had better go on patrol..."

The boy folded his arms, "no way in hell. I.P. That stands for International Police. Which is my business Jack Rain, you're one of the top guys. We've been trying to find you for days now, Charlotte has someone she wants you to babysit."

Jacks eyebrows rose, and he frowned, "Does everyone in this place have some sort of secret identity? Sure we're allied with the Ranger Union, but this seems a bit much. Rockets, Police, Rangers, crazy prison people out for revenge, and all of them pretending to be one another... This place has it all doesn't it? They could get a camera crew to just walk around for a day and there would be all sorts of things to film. They could call it the drama channel. All they would have to do is pick a different Ranger to shadow for a week."

Grant looked somewhat alarmed... "That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard! Why don't we just announce to the world what we're doing. I'm positive it would make things so much easier. We'd just have to fend off a bunch of trainers and rangers and whatever else they thought to throw at us."

David turned to Grant, "How exactly do you know Jack?" He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Grant rolled his eyes. There was no point in ever trying now... he sighed "I'm part of Team Rocket. Jack was ordered to capture me, but since I haven't been doing anything, it's not exactly priority. You'd think I'd be up to something far more important than babysitting some little kid, but it turns out that I can't even do that right. So I suppose it's right that I'm out here. And now I don't even get to go visit my wife, who is pregnant by the way... oh, and you know what's even better than that? I hate snow, and it snows in this stupid place every year! And if that weren't enough, now I'm going to end up in the coldest part of this region, stuck with people I had to hunt down for three months! And one of them shot me!"

"Grant, that is more than enough. I expect better from you than pathetic whining, and if Keri had wanted to hurt you with that bullet, she would have. There is a reason I'm sending you on this mission, and my granddaughter is the highest priority that exists. As for the state of Jennifer's health, this mission should take less than three months. David, get out of here before I personally shoot you. I'm not in the mood to explain to Charlotte what happened if I have to. And I'm positive that your unit leader doesn't want to do the paperwork. Why the International Police just makes extra files for us to steal on their members, I'll never understand."

The ranger glared at the man who had just come out of Vien Forest. "How about... no? And it's so that we can keep track of all those lovely holes you keep putting in us."

Grant stood straight, feeling odd wearing a Ranger Uniform in front of his boss... Giovanni looked angry, and Grant felt like he had a reason to be. Giovanni glared at the ranger, a look that sent shivers up even Grants spine. He'd been on the other end of looks like that. "You sound like a child. You have no idea why I'm here, but you would insist on trying to listen in anyway? Charlotte placed you in the ranger union for a reason, I wasn't under the impression that it was because you were incompetent and unable to understand when you're outmatched." He threw a pokeball, "Take him out."

Before he knew what hit him, David had been thrown through the air, smacked into a wall, and had fallen unconscious. Jack raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to shoot him."

Giovanni glared at him, resting a hand on his Rhyhorn. "I changed my mind. He should still be alive, although he's probably not going to be working for a while. Jack, for once in my life, I'm glad you exist. Though it doesn't make you any less of an annoyance."

Jack shrugged. "Most of the world seems to feel the same... So when is everyone else getting here? I got Charlotte's message and got out here as fast as I could." He turned to Grant, "I made contact with your brother, Grant. I'll tell you more later though, since now isn't really the time."

Grant made a face. He was not looking forward to this. Giovanni frowned, "Keri and Silver will probably be late, they were still at the gym when I arrived. I doubt Dominic and Katrina will be here at all, and Viox has been watching from the top of that wall I flung David into for the last seven minutes."

Viox jumped down, glaring at all of them. "I'm glad I kept this uniform."

Giovanni examined her. "Wearing that thing around here is likely to get you killed, and it's a little outdated, but it will have to do."

Viox's mouth twitched, and she said, "The new uniform is nice, but it's not really my style. You can have whoever put it in my house go and get it." She took a position next to Grant and stood at attention. Jack was leaning against the sign, looking slightly concerned.

Giovanni frowned at the group gathered before him. One member who was out of practice, an Elite who was acting like a whiny brat, and an enemy all of Team Rocket seemed to have dubbed 'the crazy Dragonite guy.' And soon they were all going to be joined by two people who wouldn't listen to him unless threatened with death. "This is almost as bad as when I started out."

Grant looked at him with interest, Giovanni glanced at him, "What, did you think I just randomly started out like this? Don't be ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous is the fact you bothered to send us uniforms." Dominic walked around the Ranger Depot, holding out the clothes. "We aren't coming." Katrina followed, looking at everyone gathered. She was surprised that there weren't any rangers here yet... except for one that looked dead... she bit her lip and went back to looking around at everyone else.

Giovanni nodded. "I expected as much. You may as well stay to wish your friends luck."

Viox glared at him, and Giovanni returned the look. "I gave them the choice, Viox. I believe that Katrinas condition, and Dominics lack of... ability, would most likely hold you back, if I forced them into it." Giovanni ignored the glares coming from Dominic and Kat, and instead turned to the Ranger Depot.

Silver dropped down from the roof of the ranger building, his Crobat perched on his outstretched arm. Keri silently melted out of the woods, her Scyther stepping directly behind her, she stayed just in the shadow of the trees, making sure that she was out of Giovani's line of sight. Silver smirked, "I'll wear black, but there's no way in hell you're getting me in one of those uniforms again."

Giovanni's mouth twitched, and a sharp glare was aimed at his son. He hadn't expected him to wear the uniform, but he had expected him to return it. It was made to fit, and the thing hadn't been cheap. "I suppose it will have to do. Where is it?"

Silver smirked, "Oh I'm keeping it. I'm just not giving you the satisfaction of seeing me in it."

Giovanni raised an eyebrow, a slightly amused expression on his face, "then why bother keeping it?" He was now genuinely intrigued.

Viox was watching Keri, who immediately turned a nice shade of pink, then quickly recovered. Viox wrinkled up her nose. "Ew."

Everyone glanced at her, slightly alarmed, Silver especially. Keri took the opportunity to quietly sneak up behind Giovanni, who had a slightly disgusted look on his face. She fought embarrassment, her emotions were becoming increasingly harder to control, stood on her toes and hissed, "watch your back."

Giovanni whipped around, throwing out a Pokeball, and yelling out a command. Keri and her Scyther danced a few feet back, avoiding the attack and causing the Rhyhorn to slam into a tree, breaking it in two like a toothpick. She glared at him, eyes determined and dangerous. Her crouch was almost cat like, like she was ready to spring in a split second. Giovanni relaxed slightly, and called back his Pokemon before it could attack again. "That was flawless, don't ever do something like it again." He said, and he thought silently, 'or I will kill you.'

She kept her gaze steady, "I am not out of practice." He voice came out in a low growl, "Actually, I've never been in a better form." She stood, the same look, but much colder. "And I will not take orders from you again."

Giovanni smirked, then turned around to look at Silver... Then glanced back at Keri... "I believe Keri has made her position very clear... Although she has had the courtesy to wear the uniform, you will notice some differences. I have considered it, and Keri will be in charge of this mission for as long as I see fit."

Keri walked around him, standing next to Silver. "The only reason I got away with that was because you were distracted," she said curtly, "and I don't appreciate the status change. I said no. I believe I said it around fifteen times, and that's just from what I can remember. The new uniforms are nice though, did Amy design them? She was always complaining about how impractical and ugly the others were... actually, most of us were." She looked down to admire the material.

Giovanni frowned at her sudden mood change. "Yes, Amy Devox designed them. She'll be pleased to know that you remember her, and that you like the uniform. I had that one made by her personally. To show both your previous and current status."

The colors were all the same, but instead of the uniform resembling badly tailored pajamas, it took on the appearance of an actual outfit. The pants were black, but more form fitting instead of acting like a pair of sweatpants, the shirt was a little more complicated, but simple in it's own right. It was the same color as the pants, but split in the middle from the bottom of the shirt to a spot just under her chest, to reveal a red tank top. On her left shoulder was a silver pin, in the shape of an R with a fully blossomed rose underneath it.

"I didn't want to offend her, that's why I'm wearing it. The enhanced fireproof and waterproofing qualities are nice too... I'm glad that Amy remembered I won't wear those stupid skirts, whoever thought of that in the first place was a complete nut job. Absolutely no protection..."

"Uh... Keri? Not that I'm objecting to you calling him a nut job, but..." Silver was pointing straight at Giovanni. He was finding this somewhat amusing, and somewhat disturbing at the same time. Team Rocket fashion wasn't exactly something he'd ever considered. Or even thought anyone would care about. Sure he got the status symbol thing, but why bother with the uniforms when you had better things to do, like hunt down rare Pokemon or set buildings on fire and rob helpless people? He reexamined his thought, and realized that he'd prefer someone obsessing over what they were wearing.

Giovanni shrugged. "Enough about the clothes. Your pin has a tracking system in it, when you put it on, you should have noticed the small buttons on the side of the rose," he paused, pulling something out of his pocket. "Each one of you will receive a pin," he held out a handful of silver pins, each one in the shape of an R. He handed the first one to Grant, whose had the only difference besides Keri's. It was gold instead, set on top of a silver triangle. The rest were plain silver R's, with three tiny buttons on the sides in red, black, and silver. He handed them to Silver, Jack, and Grant. "I want you to remember this carefully. The black button will set off a signal that communicates with the other pins. If at any time you are separated, pressing that button will set off all of the pins. They will emit a signal that will get louder the closer you get to one another. Once the pins are within three feet of each other, the signal will stop." He looked around, making sure everyone was listening. "The silver button is a distress call, it causes all of the pins to emit a series of seven beeps, no matter how close or far from one another you are. If one or two of you go off alone, and run into something you can't handle, press the button. That is an order. Pride will only get you killed on this mission, is that understood? Don't fight alone, don't go off alone."

Each one of them nodded or mumbled their acknowledgment, then Giovanni continued, "it shouldn't have to be used, but the red button is in case of a dire situation. Pressing completely disables your pin. It will not emit a signal, it will not beep, the other two buttons on it will not work. Unless you have been captured, or are going to die, do not touch that button." He pulled something else out of his pocket, a small tablet about four inches tall and four inches wide. "This alerts me to your status, and can be used to track a pin. If a single pins signal dies, I will automatically assume the worst." Giovanni looked each one of them in the eyes, making sure this got across. If your pin died, you were dead. Then he turned around and began walking back to the forest. Looking over his shoulder he said, "you are dismissed, I expect you to begin heading to Almia Castle Prison before the end of the day."

.~.~.~.~.~

Emily woke with a start, staring around the room. She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep, and she pulled the blanket against herself tighter, curled on the bed. When that man had told his guards to take them to the rooms, she hadn't expected this. There was a huge fire going in a fire place, and old rugs covered the floor. There was a window, but she didn't look out of it, because right outside was a huge drop, right into freezing water filled with chunks of ice. She'd made the mistake of looking out it once in hopes of an easy escape. There was a dresser, drawers filled with old clothes that fell apart at a touch, a couple mirrors... She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. There was even a book case, and old dead flowers in vases all over the room. Like it hadn't been touched in hundreds of years, except now, for the bed to be made up for her. She shuddered. It was creepy enough, being in the castle, but now she wondered who this room had belonged to... would they have welcomed a visitor? Had they been royalty? Or merely a guest in the old castle?

She slid out of the bed, bare feet touching the cold carpet. She flinched at the sting of the cold, then took a deep breath and walked over to the bookcase. None of the spines were marked with words, like they were at the library in school. Instead they had stamped symbols, or nothing at all. She reached up and carefully pulled down a book from the second shelf. She gently opened it, and winced as the binding cracked and fell apart, pieces of pages and the old leather of the book fell off, leaving old brown pages that crumbled under her touch. She frowned and gently set the book down on the floor next to the shelves.

She began to turn away when something on the first shelf caught her eye. A small book, bound in black leather, with a bright red symbol in the shape of an oval on the spine. She paused, then turned and gently pulled the book off the shelf. Stamped on the front there was an image of a short chain, consisting of five links. The book was in far better condition than the previous one, and the leather only creaked slightly when she opened it. She flipped the pages, stopping in the middle, "is the last day. I will have completed the ritual, then the fools will not be able to touch me. I will be immortal by the power they most trusted. Tristen, if you could see me now, if you ever read this, dear boy, know that I did this for you. Tristen, my son, you were murdered by those fools, murdered for your capabilities, but I know, I know you can see me now boy, you can see the ink on this page. As I live, so shall this record..."

Emily frowned and skipped ahead a little bit, finding a place where the writing seemed to start anew. "Tonight is the Full Moon of the Ninth Cycle, and they are coming Tristen, and they shall witness my new power! They called me a fool, son, for living out here... but they did not know that I was truly preparing the ritual! When the woman comes to clean, you know what I do, boy? I cover the smell with wildflowers that the flying Pokemon bring me! They had no idea, no way of telling, no, they couldn't know Tristen. This is just between me and you, just between us. I can feel my Pokemon returning... me, my Pokemon. I am the first to truly own such a creature! Not befriend, or just turn to captivity, but truly own through both my heart and soul! She is a majestic creature, Tristen, a Pokemon that few have ever seen before! I have decided to call her Anna, after your own dear mother, may her rest be in peace. I have done this all for you boy, all for you! Tristen, there are so many things I wish to teach you, I have written everything down, everything is..."

Emily shuddered and set the book down on a desk. Whoever had written that... he must have been crazy... She turned back to the bookcase, and noticed several books that had the same marking on the spine. All of them bound in leather, but she frowned as she noticed something; some of them seemed new. She began pulling every one with the same mark off the shelf, collecting them into piles. She pulled a chair from the desk and stood on it, reaching the ones up high, and climbing on the desk to reach the ones sitting on the top shelf. When she was done, she noticed that she had stripped more than half the entire bookcase. She grabbed the one that she had pulled last, off the top shelf, and flipped to the middle like she had with the last one. "am a ghost to this place, Tristen. The only one who see's me is a man, he has learned to listen in this place. Ever since they began changing this castle, my power has been slowly dying, Tristen. Almia castle is not the same as it was two hundred years ago, boy. Without you to share it with, this power has become far more of a burden, I have told you this a thousand times, Tristen, yet you do not come... But this man, boy, this man is just like me. His grief is great, none speak to him. He has told me of the mutterings he hears, of the power of Pokemon, of a man he peruses, who stole what was rightfully his! And a woman too, he tells about a woman who betrayed him, Tristen! I am all but invisible, yet he sees me. The truth Tristen, he knows the truth, as I did and do! His wish is revenge, as is mine. We shall work together Tristen. All of us, and we shall persevere against those that stand in our way. It is only right, boy. It is only right..."

Emily frowned and skipped ahead a few pages, like she had with the last journal, the back of her neck prickling. The writing stopped before the book was finished, this was the last entry the man had written. She frowned, and flipped to where the date started, it had been marked just a few months before. "I have been tricked Tristen. I am dying. For the first time ever, I am truly dying. Tristen, please... please know that I am coming. I am sorry, I couldn't change what happened, I couldn't stomp out the murderers completely. I couldn't stop them Tristen. I do not have time to make another chain... I did not foresee this. He spoke of betrayal with the utmost hatred in his heart, Tristen, yet... He is a hypocrite, my boy. A hypocrite. He lashes out against betrayal with his tongue, yet with his hands he has killed my beloved Anna. My beloved Anna, Tristen. I have told you of her a thousand times. How she is faster than the wind and stronger than the earth... yet still she fell when faced against him. Speaking of a hatred for her kind, he pulled out a sword, an ancient thing that has been preserved by the time of this place, and struck her down, Tristen. My dear Anna... My dear Tristen... I shall join you soon. Know that I love you both."

After what seemed like a long time, Emily shut the book. She felt as if she were intruding on something that had been meant only for the boy that had been written to. She had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach though. She looked at all of the books, then looked around the room. After a minute, she spotted her backpack. They had left almost everything in it, even her pocket knife. She grabbed the bag dumped it out, then put the book she was holding inside. She grabbed the one she had read before from the bottom of a pile, knocking it over, and put it inside too. She looked over them... she figured could only carry about twenty of them... She picked the books up at random, shoving them into her backpack, counting as she went. She stared at the pile of books left. She felt as if she'd barely taken any of them at all.

Emily grabbed one, opened to the first page, and began reading.

.~.~.~.~.~

In her dreams, she wandered down a hall, and the hall was filled with bookcases, and the bookcases were filled with books. All of them journals. Every time she paused and opened one, she would see her name repeated, over and over, like a call for help... she shoved another book back onto the shelf, and turned around. Looking down the hall, she could see someone. Emily stepped closer, and they became clear. Her voice was distorted for a second as she tried to speak, then it became clear... "Ethan!"

He smiled. "Emily, you're dreaming."

She looked at him, confused, then realization dawned on her face... it was all a dream. She frowned. She had been so happy to see him... "So... when I wake up-"

Ethan shook his head. "No Emily, the Abra is helping me. We're both sleeping. Abra is using it's power so that we can speak together. Neat huh? We should be able to remember it when we wake up too, cause Abra is helping."

Ethan grinned at her, and she couldn't help grinning back. "That's awesome Ethe! How did you learn to do it?"

He looked thoughtful for a minute... "Alakazam told me it was possible... but we never tried it. He says Pokemon dreams and human dreams don't work the same, so I couldn't try it out at home. The Abra that is helping us though is really smart, she suggested it when she found out we were in different rooms. I'm glad we can at least talk..." He looked around at all of the bookshelves... "Emily, what are all of these books? They all look the same."

She frowned, looking at them with a somewhat disturbed expression. "I found some just like them in my room. More than a hundred, I think. There are probably even more in other parts of the castle. What I read from them was weird... like the guy who had written them was over two hundred years old. He kept writing to his son, even though he wrote that his son was dead. He kept repeating things about finding people and getting them back for killing his son... It's creepy Ethan. I must have fallen asleep while reading them. I got all the way through one, but I couldn't keep my eyes open once I started reading again. I didn't understand a lot of it..." She reached up and gently pulled one of the books down, flipping to the middle... there was her name, written the same, over and over. Still.

"Can I see?" Ethan looked over the book... "It doesn't say anything... when I wake up I'll see if there are any in my room. They all look the same, right? Like the books here right now?"

Emily nodded, and put the book away. "Hey Ethe... this is still a dream right? But we're awake in it... They say that if you have a dream, but are awake in it, you can do anything you want in it!" She smiled, excited.

Ethan's eyes grew a little wider, then his face broke into a grin. He grabbed her hand, and started running down the hallway. "Then as soon as we get to the end of this hallway, we'll be in a forest! Full of awsome Pokemon!"

Emily jumped, running next to him. "Yeah! And we can be jungle people! I bet I can climb trees faster than you!" She laughed, letting go of Ethan's hand and running ahead of him.

Ethan realized that he'd never seen her act so happy and carefree before. He hadn't known her long, but he was excited... Emily wasn't being serious, she was just having fun! "Hey! Wait up!"

XOX

So... little more on what Ethan can do there. I was originally going to do something different with this part, but sometimes things just write themselves. Actually, I'm glad I decided to go the direction of the dream thing, because it will make things easier later. I think this is the first time a chapter has been written where Sterling isn't directly involved in some way. Weird. Actually, I cut the part with Sterling off and made it part of the next chapter because I like where I ended this one. Heh. And I like keeping my chapters under fifteen pages.

Thanks to RedHerring1290 for reviewing Chapters One, Two, Three, and Four.

Thanks to Dodectron for reviewing Chapters One and Two.

Thanks to SuperSaiyanPrincess for reviewing Chapters One and Three.

Thanks to xUNGracefulxAssassinx for reviewing Chapter Two.

Thanks to Dark Phoenix54 for reviewing Chapters Two and Three.

Thanks to Punki-x-Munki for reviewing Chapter Three.

Thanks to Mirage for reviewing Chapter Three.

Thanks to kissinglink for reviewing Chapter One.

Thanks to blackwingsdescend for reviewing Chapter Five.

I also offer my thanks to Farla, despite her unnecessary rudeness, for reviewing Chapter One.