Chapter 24

Gem gently rapped his claws against his wooden desk. He looked at me, then he looked at Octavius, then he looked at me again with a look of pure annoyance.

"What is with you and bringing back strangers," Gem grumbled. "Do I have to remind you that this an organization set on taking down a criminal organization…not a fucking hotel!?"

"I know…"I said. "But he might still have information regarding Jojo and his organizations hierarchy."

"Really?" Gem said as he looked towards Octavius.

"Oh, yes…Mr. uh…"

"Gem…"

"Well Mr. Tem first off, I might not have any more information regarding Jojo and second…"

"Let me stop you right there squid breath."

"Excuse me?"

"First of all, I am the only one allowed to give people stupid nicknames. Isn't that right pup?" Gem said as he turned towards DJ.

"Yes sir…"DJ grumbled.

"Second, if you don't have any more information then why in the name of Arceus are you here?"

"Well…you see I needed somewhere to hide from the Smiths. Otherwise they might catch me, grill me and serve me to that overgrown son of a bitch and…"

Gem just held up his hand signaling Octavius to stop.

"I get it…" Gem muttered.

"They might even drench me in soy sauce…and I hate soy sauce! Also he…"

"IF YOU DON'T SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH I WILL PEROSNALLY FRY YOU AND DROWN YOU IN THAT FUCKING SAUCE!" Gem yelled.

Octavius slowly inched away from Gems desk and towards the far side of the room. Gem lifted his mug and took a large gulp of his coffee before he returned his attention to the three of us.

"Now then, are there any questions from you three?"

"Yeah, what are we going to do about this Copper girl?" DJ asked. "From what we've been told she doesn't like to stay hidden like the other two."

"We will still need to gather information on her movements…luckily for me I do have a few clients who might know something about her and her habits. For now you three just focus on your missions and I will update you if anything comes up."

"What about Octavius?" I asked as I looked towards the Octillary.

Octavius was admiring Gem's collection of assorted coffee mugs. He wrapped his tentacle around one of the, and began to admire it.

"AHEM!" Gem said scaring Octavius.

The octillary's tentacle quickly unwrapped itself from the mug allowing it to fall onto the hard dirt floor. Gem's red eyes flickered with a small hint of anger, and his body began to tremble. He took in a small shaky breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"We will discuss the terms of his stay and the opportunity of his becoming one our newest spies." Gem muttered.

"Right."

"Right now I would recommend you two take Moon Boy up to Sector C."

"What's in Sector C?" Sophie asked.

"One of the best doctors you will ever see…Oh, and don't forget to wipe your feet before you walk in." Gem laughed.

"Wipe our feet?"

"You'll see."

Sector C was a lot nicer and a lot different than Sector E. Unlike Sector E the cast, iron lanterns that illuminated the main hallway were replaced by beautiful, brass, lamps that hung from the walls rather than the celling. Each of the squads doors had a brass name plate attached to it, and a small welcome matt sat outside of each of them. The hard dirt floor had been covered by a layer of smooth, pine planks.

"I kind of wish we got stationed here…"Sophie mumbled.

"Yeah…were in heck did they get brass lamps..." DJ said.

"Guys…focus…"I grunted.

The three of us continued out walk until we eventually came to a wooden door that was a little bigger than the others. A large, faded, Red Cross was painted in the center of the door identifying it as the medical ward.

DJ gently pressed his hand up against the wooden door revealing a large, cavern divided into two areas. One half of the cavern was filled with rows of green curtains that divided the occupants from one another. The other half of the cavern was covered in rows of large, wooden shelves filled with bottles, beakers, and simple medical equipment. The floor was made up of polished pieces of white tile. Large, brass chandeliers hung from the celling illuminating every square inch of the cavern.

The three of us took a cautious step into the cavern and looked around in amazement. A couple of pokemon carrying a box full of berries rushed passed us and quickly disappeared behind a curtain.

"This is amazing…"Sophie muttered as he gazed around the room. "Who knew something like this would exist underground.

"Yeah, no kidding." DJ said. "Everything is so organized and clean…"

"Hello and welcome to the medical ward!" A large chansey asked as she stepped out from behind one of the rooms. "How can we be of service today?"

"Our friend here got burned in a fight and he needs some help." Sophie explained as she stepped towards the chansey "We were hoping you guys could heal him quickly so…"

"STOP! DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP!" The chansey frantically yelled.

"What why?"

"YOUR FEET ARE FILTHY! If the doctor catches you dragging dirt in here….oh…"

I looked down at Sophie's feet and noticed a thin layer of mud sticking to the pads on her feet. I looked down at my feet and discovered a bright blue welcome mat. We had completely ignored Gem's warning and now we were going to pay for it. The flames in the chandeliers flickered and the chansey's entire body began to shake. The staff quickly ducked into nearby rooms.

"Now…why is someone yelling about dirt being tracked into my beautiful facility?" An old, accented voice called form the far end of the cavern.

An old cinccino stepped out from one of the curtain rooms and gazed at us. Her piercing green eyes slowly moved as she examined every square inch of our body. Her eyes stopped when she noticed Sophie's muddy feet touching her beautiful tiled floor.

"Now…I try my hardest to make sure my sector is clean." She hissed. "And I hate it when ruffians like you lot walk in here carrying filth!"

"But I didn't…"

"Doctor they didn't know!" The chansey yelled.

The cinccino ignored them and began to slowly walking towards us. The white scarf of fur that hung around her head slowly began to glow with a strange golden light. The lights in the chandeliers flickered and a sudden, small wind moved the bottom of the curtains.

"Sophie…"I whimpered. "Step back on the mat…"

"The what?"

She looked down and noticed the mat. She quickly jumped back onto it and began dragging her feet against it.

"See all clean, everything is…"

"NO THERE IS STILL A SPOT!"

"Doctor Rosemary!" The chansey yelled as she stepped into the cinccino's path. "The dirt can wait they have a patient who needs medical attention!

Her green eyes fell upon me and the golden light that surrounded her scarf quickly began to vanish. She whispered a silent curse as she quickly approached me and began examining my burns. Once she was done she looked at me and shook her head in disapproval.

"Tell me sugar, how in hell blazes did you get first and second degree burns on your chest, sides and stomach?"

"Let's just say I got a deadly hug…"

"Flame body can't do this level of damage sugar…"

I just shook my head and started telling her about my encounter with Raymond. I told her about how he had managed to engulf his entire body in fire. I told her about our fight and how it almost ended with me being burned to death. After I had finished talking she just shook her head and sighed.

"Team Sandstorm…those bastards juts don't know when to stop." She muttered. "First they experiment on pokemon to achieve a new level of perfection, then fuse them with humans, and now forcing those fusions to use moves that could kill them."

"So…can you help our friend?" Sophie asked.

"Does a magikarp flop in a river on a hot summer's day?"

"What?"

"The answer is yes, I can help your friend here." She said before she turned to the chansey behind her. "Go get a room ready for our new patient. Make sure it has everything ready for burn treatment."

"Yes doctor." The chansey said before she rushed towards the back of the cavern.

"Now then uh…"

"Jackson." I answered.

"Jackson you can follow me and we can get started on your treatment. Oh, and by the way you can call me Doctor Rosemary or Ms. Rosemary."

"Ok…"

"One last thing Jackson…before we start I must ask you a very important question."

"What's that?"

"How loud do you scream?"

"What? Uh, not to loud, why?"

"I just like to joke with my patients to relieve tension. This treatment won't hurt at all." She said sweetly.

Rosemary lied, her treatment hurt like hell! It was almost like being hugged by Raymond and then dunked into a barrel full of fresh lemon juice.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I yelled as the paste began to burn. "I thought you were curing me not killing me!"

"I warned you didn't I sugar?" Rosemary grunted. "Now hold still I have one more layer to apply."

"Will it hurt….FUCK?!"

"Shut you trap and take it like a man…" She grumbled. "Nurse bring me the root patches."

"Right away Ms. Rosemary!"

"What will they do?" I grunted.

"The patches will help keep the solution close to your skin. Allowing your skin to absorb the nutrients it needs to help speed up your natural healing ability."

"Will they hurt?"

"If you move to much they could tear off and rip off a layer of skin."

"Ok…so no moving…"

The chansey returned with the patches and Rosemary gently placed them onto my wounds. She gave me a small pat on the chest and smiled.

"Now, you are not allowed to move for a solid seven hours."

"Seven hours!"

"Your body needs time to absorb the solution, and moving might cause the patches to come off. There is also a chance that you might open up the scared tissue and let's just say, I'm not in the mood to mop up your blood…"

"Right…"

Rosemary gave me another soft pat on the chest before she turned and began walking out from my makeshift room. Once she and the chansey had left I took in a deep breath and tried to fall asleep. It had been a rough day for me and I just wanted it to be over. But something was preventing me from going to sleep.

I couldn't stop wondering about Raymond and if I made the right decision to spare him.

"I don't need your pity…"Raymond's voice said in my thoughts. "You and I…are enemies…"

"Why don't we just kill him!?" Octavius said.

"Because no matter how I look at it were still in the same situation…"I muttered to myself.

One of my burns began to sting, but I ignored the pain and continued my train of thought. Maybe I should have finished him off, but then again it didn't seem right. He was defenseless, weak, powerless, and he was already at death's door step. All I would have to do was snuff out his flame and he would have been finished.

But then I remember that he was just like me stuck in a body that wasn't his. He wasn't a weapon, or a force of pure destruction, he was a human. Just like everyone else who had fallen victim to the Topaz Project.

"We might be enemies…but…I just couldn't bring myself to finish him off…" I muttered. "Even if I did…then I wouldn't see myself as a hero…I would just be another villain…"

"Finish who off?" A familiar voice asked form the foot of my cot.

I jumped at the sound of the new voice and I slowly tiled my head to find Megan standing at the foot of my cot. She gave me a small, warm smile before she walked over to the side of my bed.

"So…how are you?" She asked bashfully.

"Oh, you know happy to be alive…but pissed that I'm stuck in this situation."

"Yeah, it must suck to be stuck here…"

She went silent for a few moments before she took in a small shaky breath.

"So…did Sam… do that to you?"

"No… one of friends did this to me…but Sam did try to cut my head off a few days ago…"

"Yeah…I saw the…damage"

There was another awkward pause before Megan took in another deep breath and continued.

"Look I wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Ok?"

"I…I want to join you…"

"Join me?" I said. "Like, you want to sleep in this medical bed?"

"No, you dork! I want to join your squad!"

"My squad?"

"You know, the team you go out on missions with…"

"But I thought you hated me for making them turn you into a vulpix?"

Megan took in a deep breath through her nose.

"Look…a couple days ago…when you mentioned Sam's name I…I started having these weird dreams." She said. "I saw myself as…well my human self…and I saw Sam. I remembered growing up with him…always protecting me and telling me that as my brother it was his duty to protect me."

I just laid there and silence and waited for Megan to continue. She bite the bottom of her lip as she tried to fight back a small stream of tears.

"Then, the next night I dreamed of meeting you and DJ for the first time…and the note you left for me on my computer…that's when I found out that Sam…the one I trusted more than anyone…was a bad guy…"

"That's when you found out that he was a part of Team Sandstorm…isn't it…"

"The grunts called him sir…and they treated him with respect…and he let them do this to me…"

"So you want to join my team so you can lure him out…" I muttered. "You want to use me as bait…"

She gazed towards the dirt floor and avoided my gaze.

"Yes and no…Jackson, I think there is some good in him…I think I might be able to get it out…and maybe…just maybe we could convince him to switch sides…"

"Do you really think he is going to just switch over?" I asked. "Megan he tried to kill me and my friends. What makes you think he will listen to anything we say?"

"I think I can get through to him!" She barked. "I think if he sees that it's me he might…he might…."

She bit the bottom of her lip again and gazed at me with her blazing amber eyes. Sam was the one family member who could see through the vulpix and see his younger sister. He was the only one who could really save her from this nightmare, and remind her that there is someone from her family stuck in the same situation.

"HE MIGHT…HE MIGHT BE THE ONLY WAY I CAN FULLY REMEMBER WHO I AM!"

The small curtain room was silent for a few moments as I slowly digested what she just said. It reminded me that she had come into this strange new world with only a few strands of her memory left. Sam could be the key that would unlock everything to help her fully remember who she was.

Her amber eyes bore into me and they pleaded for me to say yes. In my eyes it was a bad idea because in the end someone might get killed. But if Megan could do it then that would get rid of a powerful enemy, allowing us to rest easy. I looked down at Megan, smiled, and slowly nodded my head.

"Thank you Jackson!" She squealed happily. "I won't…I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't Megan…and I hope you can convince your brother to turn over a new leaf…otherwise I might have to keep worrying about losing my head."

"I'll make sure it stays on." Megan said before she turned and began walking out of the room. "Oh, and Jackson…"

"Yes, Megan?"

"Thank you…for believing in me."

I just nodded my head and watched as she slowly walked out of the room and around the corner. Once she was gone I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. A wave of exhaustion washed over me and I found myself slowly slipping into unconsciousness.

If Megan could convince Sam to change sides then maybe he might have some humanity left in him after all. And what happens if she fails? What will we do then?

"Then we might have only one option," I thought to myself. "We might have to kill him…"

Octavius looked at Gem, then he looked at Mr. H, then he looked at Bentley who was waiting patiently for his master to give him a request.

"So…uh is this an intermission?" Octavius said sheepishly.

"No…it's not…"Gem muttered as he slowly lowered himself into one of the stump shaped chairs. "This meeting is in regard to your relation with Jojo and any other members of his organization."

"Look I already told you, I told Tiffany everything I knew!"

Gem stifled back a laugh and Mr. H raised one of his eyebrows. He looked at Gem and motioned for him to explain.

"That's Jackson's code name." Gem laughed. "I assigned it to him so he could keep his real name a secret when out in the field. DJ and Sophie also have one, but theirs aren't as funny."

The former human just slapped his floating hand against his forehead and slowly dragged it down his face. Gem just let out a small laugh and took a small sip from his mug.

"Anyway continue…"Mr. H muttered.

"Continue! There's no point in telling you anything! I told you everything I know about that fat bustard and…"

The office door slowly opened and Rosemary walked into the office. She gave Gem and Mr. H a small smile as she walked over towards Bentley.

"Be a doll and grab us some tea, Bentley." She said.

"With pleasure Ms. Rosemary." The bannete said before he bowed his head and proceeded towards the office door.

"Tea…you mean piss water?" Gem grumbled.

"Tea is actually very healthy for you Gem. It's a lot healthier then that brown bean juice you enjoy."

"Now listen here you over grown cotton swab…"

"ENOUGH!" H yelled silencing the two sector leaders. "We are here to learn more about the enemy not to listen to you squabble about drinks!"

The two pokemon just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Now then…"

"FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME I DON'T HAVE AYNTHING TO TELL YOU!"

"Now sugar." Rosemary said sweetly. "There is no reason to shout we just want to know if you have information you would like to tell us personally."

"Why would I hold back info just to tell you later…"

"If you tell us anything about Jojo and his operation." Rosemary interrupted. "We will make you one of our moles."

"Moles?"

"Basically you would be working out in the field collecting more information and infiltrating areas for more info."

Gem leaned over to Rosemary and whispered something into her ear. The machine slowly nodded her head and continued.

"Of course you also receive a moderate level of security. Meaning you will have a low chance of getting seriously injured or killed."

The octillary rubbed the side of his tentacle against his nozzle shaped mouth. After a few moments of silence he finally nodded his head and took in a deep breath.

"Before I left…uh…the smiths had handed me my next assignment." Octavius said. "It involved collecting certain pieces of information…"

"What information?" Gem pressed.

"Info on a group called…Team Sandstorm…"

"We already knew that…"Gem muttered.

"Look, I already told you guys that I was just a grunt, the bottom of the food chain, the bottom of the ladder, the ass crack of the…"

"We get it…"Rosemary muttered. "Did he want any particular information regarding Team Sandstorm?"

Octavius shifted himself and scratched his head in thought. While this was happening Bentley opened the office door and walked in carrying a tray holding four cups of tea. He carefully gave a cup to Mr. H, Rosemary, and Octavius.

"He wanted to know more about this project…I think it was called…uh…"Octavius grabbed the top of his head. "It was something involving a gem stone…"

"Topaz?" Gem asked.

"No…It was something else…"

"I thought the Topaz Project was the only gemmed named project they had?" Gem whispered to Rosemary.

"Apparently not anymore…and if Jojo is trying to get info on it then we need to act fast…" She whispered back.

"I give up!"Octavius announced before he gulped down his entire cup of tea. "Now my question why are you guys after Jojo…and why are you guys also interested in this Team Sandstorm?"

Gem looked at Rosemary and motioned for the cinccino to speak. She took a sip of her tea and then cleared her throat.

"Well, we are an organization determined to one day take down Team Sandstorm. As of right now we are currently gathering information to monitor them so that one day we may have the ability to accomplish our goal. Jojo on the other hand is another matter."

"How's that?"

"Imagine having access to machinery that could literally make you a god." Mr. H said. "Machines and scientist who could turn an ordinary pokemon into a hybrid capable of decimating an entire city, or a machine that could turn humans into Pokemon allowing you to make an infinite army who may or may not obey your every order."

"Why would Jojo want a machine that could turn humans into pokemon? In my opinion that's a stupid idea for a machine."

"Wish the scientist thought like him…" Gem whispered. "Then all of our members who are test subjects wouldn't be stuck in this situation."

"It doesn't matter what the machine does…the point is he is a threat to our mission. If he gets a hold of any of that technology he could make himself one of the most powerful pokemon in the world."

Octavius shifted himself and tried to shrink away from the haunters gaze. He slowly shifted his tentacles allowing Gem to catch a glimpse of a small object being pushed towards his back tentacles.

"That is why we need you to help us find Copper so that we can get his exact location and catch him before he tries to break in and take the technology for himself." Mr. H continued.

"Right…well I will try to do everything in my power to make sure you…I mean we find him." Octavius said with a hint of devotion in his voice. "So when can I start a week from now…two weeks?"

"Two days." Gem said still eyeing the octillary's tentacles in hope to catch another glimpse of the object.

"TWO DAYS! NO, NO, NO, YOU CANT DO THAT THE SMITHS!"

"And why are you afraid of them?" Gem pressed. "We have pokemon who use to work for Jojo in our organization and they don't worry about the Smiths in fact they always tell us they never see them."

"Well…uh…you see…"Octavius murmured as he shifted himself again.

Gem caught another glimpse of the object and slowly bent forward to get a better view. But just as he was about to finally see it one of Octavius's tentacles moved in front of it blocking his view.

"Alright you get to stay here for one week." Gem said as he leaned back into his chair.

Octavius bowed his head in respect and rushed out of the office. Once he was gone Gem looked towards the other three organization members and smiled.

"He's hiding something."

"Yep…and he sucks at it." Rosemary muttered before she took a sip from her tea. "Whatever it was is obviously very important…heck it could be the reason why the Smiths are interested in him.

"Whatever it is he is hiding we might be able to extract it and use it against Jojo." Mr. H said.

"You want to use squid breath as bait? I'm fine with that."

"No, we need him alive you gem munching gremlin." Rosemary snapped. "He has something that Jojo wants and we need to get it."

"Alright then," Gem said as he slowly got up from his chair. "Leave it to me I'll make him talk."

"And what exactly are you going to do?"

A wide grin quickly spread across the sabeleye's face. His red gem eyes glinted with a devious light.

"Well you know what they say everyone has a few skeletons in their closets, and I think I'm the master at ripping that closet door open."

The haunter just grunted at the remark.

"So whatever he is hiding in there I am going to find out. Even if means I have to use force."