Author's notes: I have been away from this fic for almost five months now. I joined the Marine Corps, and have been doing some hard training lately. However, I am back now and hope to start posting chapters again regularly. Thank you for reading.

Ch. 10

First Arrivals

It was late the next morning when the plane finally touched down just outside of Iceberg Village. Ash, Misty, and Hiei were all hot, and happy to get off the plane. Though, they were not too excited about the cold that greeted them.

"Ash, grab the bags. I'm going to get us some transportation." Hiei said as he walked away briskly.

"Where are you going?" Misty asked.

"I'll be back in a minute. Just wait inside for me." With that, Hiei was gone.

As he ran down the street, he thought of what was going to happen. He thought of the stories he'd heard, and the rumors about the Monster. So many things had been said, that no one could separate fact from fiction. The only thing that no one on the island doubted was the fact that the Monster existed. They all knew it did. They could see it-- if they chose to travel to the glacier—frozen into the ice. He knew however, that no matter what the Monster was capable of, his people would fight until the end. The only thoughts that really puzzled him were: Who set the Monster free, and, how would they stop it?

"That's some crazy stuff." Cori noted. He and Tak had been sitting in the Captain's Quarters for the last hour or so while Tak explained why he had run out so quickly.

"Whatever you want to call it, it's not a game. Team Rocket does not know what it's getting into. They have no idea the power that is stored inside it. It's a creature of death and destruction. Once awoken, it will not stop until it has destroyed every living thing on the planet." Tak had not cracked even the notion of a smile for the last eighteen or so hours. Of course, he didn't have a great reason to smile today.

"Well, will the MPCU be able to hold it?"

"I seriously doubt it. Even if they do manage to hit it with that thing, it may not even be a pokemon. A giant pokeball may have no effect on it whatsoever."

"Thank you for the ride sir." Misty yelled over the loud, outboard engine. Hiei had managed to convince an old fisherman to drive them out to the island.

"Don't mention it, miss. Though I don't know why you would want to go out to that place. There's nothing there but mountains. Buncha rocks, ya know?"

"We're going to try and save the world." Ash yelled.

"Oh, I get it. Tree huggers. Well good luck to you." They flew toward the island as fast as the small old boat would carry them. Hiei wanted nothing more than to see that his family and friends were safe, and then he knew he could relax.

"Yes sir. The containment unit is prepped and ready to be deployed." Stf. Sgt. Andrews said. He had been monitoring the machine personally for the last five hours. He wanted nothing to happen to his creation.

"Good. Stay at one hundred percent alert. There is no room for error on this one. Remember though, you're still on standby until I give the signal personally. Understood?" Giovanni's voice was low and commanding. He took his business seriously, and expected his operatives to do the same.

"Everything will be ready. I will be awaiting your command, sir."

"Good. And, staff sergeant, if you pull this off, I may have a spot for you on my board. Do you like the title Colonel Andrews?"

"Yes sir. Thank you sir. I won't let you down."

"See that you don't." With that, the crime lord ended the conversation.

"Sergeant Knelling," Andrews said turning around. "Create a rotation roster for each post. I want the MPCU at operational readiness at all times. We will not fail in our mission."

"Yes sir." The base second in command replied. "Don't worry sir. There is no way we can fail."

"I hate this climb." Misty said, as the trio climbed the side of a steep mountain.

"It's not much further." Hiei said. They had reached Mikan Island, and were greeted with the cold, jagged rocks that it was known for. They began their climb at around three that evening. It was now coming on seven, and they were still climbing. Hiei of course was holding back for Misty. He helped her over large cliff faces, and encouraged her to climb on her own when he could. Ash, on the other hand, had taken the bags and gone ahead. Though, all three of the bags were Misty's (Hiei didn't pack anything, and Ash had stuff on the island already).They climbed for another hour or so, when Hiei finally saw Ash waiting by a large carving in the rock. The carving was a large circle with, Hiei knew, almost three hundred little circles inside it.

"I was wondering what had happened to you guys. Thought you fell or something." Ash joked.

"Well, open the door." Hiei said annoyed.

"Hmmph. I gotta do everything around here." Ash complained as he turned around and faced the carving. He put out a finger, and touched three of the small circles, each one lighting up as he did so. He stepped back from the carving just as the whole thing lit up. The carving slid back and up revealing an entire town inside the mountain. They stepped through the opening, and looked down into the town.

"I'll never get tired of this sight." Hiei smiled. He had a lot to smile about. He was looking down into the place he was born. Mikan Village. Little stone houses littered the area. The whole place was green and lush with vegetation. The entire town was surrounded by mountain, except for the hole in the top where sunlight came through. The entire idea was breathtaking, not to mention the sight of the place. Hiei knew, nothing could be more beautiful. He reached out and took Misty's hand. She smiled and leaned on his shoulder in return.

"Hiei!" They heard a voice call from the left.

"Kona." Hiei said. He began walking down the path toward a girl, who was running toward them. They met, and the girl crashed into Hiei, throwing her arms around him.

"I missed you so much." The young woman said.

"I've missed you too. How've you been sis?" Hiei asked.

"Well, there's a problem."

"I know. That's exactly why I'm here."

I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Thanks for your support, and reviews. They mean a lot. Really.