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Chapter 1 :

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            "Yet another wasted day."

Musashi threw a dead leaf into their tiny campfire and groaned, watching as it shriveled into nothingness. Surrounded by trees on three sides, a view overlooking the sleeping village of Ochre, the fire did nothing to light past the small circle in which they sat. Overhead, a thin veil of clouds hid the stars, and made the moonlight hazy.

            "What d'you expect ?" Kojiro yawned as he idly used a thin twig to draw vague pictures in the soft ground by his feet. "You didn't really think that she'd give us a real job, did you ? Still, it'd be nice if we actually had something to do..."

            "If I hadn't had to wake you up to eat lunch, I'd agree." Musashi snapped.

            "Well, what do you expect ?" He repeated mildly, just slightly narrowed his eyes at her. "I spent all morning watching that old man talking to the stones in his garden. I don't see how that wouldn't put anyone to sleep..."

            "Kojiro's got a point, Musashi." Nyasu commented from his own place by the fireside, "'Dis job stinks."

            "I know it does." Musashi said, throwing another handful of leaves into the flames. They glowed like fragile embers. "Things sure have gone downhill."

            "You can say that again..." Kojiro sighed softly and, after throwing his twig to the fire, he lightly cupped his cheek in his hand. Dully, he watched the flickering body of the fire but his attention was far from it. "I mean, things weren't always great under Sakaki, but at least then we'd get to do interesting things. Now all we get to do is sit and watch perhaps the most boring town in the entire world..."

            "At least we ain't gettin' blasted off all the time." Nyasu said, trying to lighten the moods of his companions.

            Musashi looked up as though remembering something. "Oh, did you see ? Rasu's back at HQ again. Remember how much he hated Domino ? Now he's going around and practically telling everyone she's a goddess."

            "Mm. I know that only too well..." His expression turning somewhat sullen, Kojiro offered another heavy sigh as he turned his glance somewhere off to the side. "The other day, he had me cornered and he wouldn't stop talking about Domino and how much better she is than Sakaki ever was. I had to distract him with a Pokéball. Fortunately it was empty, but still..."

            "Well, ya know why it's like that, don't'cha ?" Nyasu offered as he eyed first his male companion, then the female.

            Two equally curious gazes turn on the feline Pokémon.

            "Sheesh ! Don't tell me that ya didn't know !" Obviously enjoying the attention, the Pokémon rolled his large eyes and made quite a face. "Don't either of ya listen to anything that's said 'round base ?"

            "Spit it out, Nyasu, what do you know ?" Musashi said, curiosity making her sharper than she'd intended.

            "Alright, alright. Sheesh !" With another roll of the eyes, Nyasu finally consented to telling what he had heard. "Well, ya both do know about the mutant Pokémon, right ?"

            Both his human companions nodded; they had seen the 'altered' Pokémon in the labs at HQ. Supposedly enhanced versions of their original specimens, many looked like completely new Pokémon. Stronger, faster, and apparently with dispositions worse than that of a brooding Gyrados.

            "Well, I had the chance to talk with one while ya both were busy goofing off." The feline admitted with no undue lack of pride. "It had some pretty interesting things to say, too..."

            "You never told us that before." Musashi said, sounding vaguely miffed.

            "Of course he didn't..." Kojiro added in a faintly annoyed tone. "He didn't have a chance to show off before now."

            "Show off ?!" Nyasu exclaimed in response to the male Roketto's comment.  Dropping into something of a huff, he quickly crossed his arms and then turned his back on the two. "Fine. If ya want to be like that, then ya'll just have to find out about it on yer own !"

            Musashi shot her partner a look that plainly said, 'Coddle him... at least until he spills the beans.' Aloud, she sighed and simply said, "Nyasu, we were only kidding."

            "I'm sorry for saying that, Nyasu..." Kojiro sighed in what he hoped was at least a somewhat believable tone. Having caught his partner's look as well as having known Nyasu for many years, it was pretty plain that he'd have to play along. "I didn't mean to say that you show off at all. Really, I only said it because I was jealous that you found the information instead of me. I couldn't imagine what we'd do without you..."

            "Well....." Stretching this word over many syllables, the feline Pokémon again turned back to his two human companions. Glancing from one to the other, he soon broke into a toothy grin. "I suppose that I can forgive ya both, since ya finally managed to show some good manners....."

            Rather than chance his claming up again, either human made comment to that.

            "Anyway, I managed ta talk with one of 'da mutants and it was tellin' me about 'dis one trainer 'dat it had.." Nyasu continued as if the little argument had never happened. "Apparently, it's trainer had run off to join 'dose Neo-Roketto people but Domino caught 'im. Know what she did 'den ?"

            "You're the one telling the story, Nyasu, not us." Musashi said, trying to sound as unimpatient as possible.

            "Ya, I know 'dat." The feline responded as coolly as he could. Still, even Musashi's softly disguised impatience couldn't derail him now that he had a captive audience. "Anyway, it told me 'dat Domino had brainwashed it's trainer so 'dat he'd come back to her side ! After, of course, she got some good information from him."

            Musashi stared in astonishment at the Pokémon, apparently trying to decide if he was telling the truth. She looked at Kojiro, "Brainwashed ?" she repeated incredulously.

            "Brainwashed..." Like his partner, it seemed that Kojiro just couldn't quite grasp the idea that Domino would be doing this. Sure, she was evil and ambitious, but someone who'd go around brainwashing people? His expression easily showing his surprise, he glanced first at Nyasu then at Musashi. "Though, you know, it would explain Rasu's sudden changes."

            "Of course it would !" The feline Pokémon responded in an exasperated tone. "Why else would everyone who left Domino suddenly be singin' her praises ? Didn't ya think 'dat was a little odd ?"

            "Rasu was a little odd to begin with." Musashi reminded them.

            "Mm. That's certainly true..." Kojiro nodded, then again he turned to Nyasu. "How do you know that this mutant Pokémon was telling you the truth, anyway ? I mean, it couldn't it just have been lying ?"

            "Ya don't believe me ?" His expression mirroring their earlier surprise, Nyasu sadly shook his head, a rather good copy of a mournful look touching his expression. "Ya think I wouldn't be able ta tell if it had been lyin' ?"

            "It's not that." Musashi quickly assured him, in an effort to keep him talking. "It's just... it seems a little extreme, don't you think ?"

            "Yea. It's very extreme." The feline Pokémon agreed readily. "But it's also just her style. I mean, ya know that she's just usin' Sakai until she's strong enough on her own, right ? And d'ya really think that she'd be glad that so many of her own are runnin' off on her ?"

            "Everyone knows Sakaki is just a puppet anymore. Maybe she brainwashed him, too." Musashi mused.

            "Brainwashed Sakaki ?" Kojiro seemed to ponder on this for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "I'd really hate to think that... but it does almost seem true. How else would he let his power slip away like that ?"

            "So you'se two believe me, then ?" Nyasu asked expectantly.

            "I guess so..." Kojiro nodded with slight uncertainty. Sure, he had never been a fan of Domino, but to think that she was actually doing those sort of things really... rather scared him. Trying to keep this from his expression, he glanced across at Musashi. "What about you ? What do you think ?"

            "We believe, Nyasu." Musashi assured him, holding out her gloved hands to the fire to chase away a chill that had nothing to do with the cool night air. "I just don't like where this whole thing is heading, that's all."

            "Well, we do have a choice, ya know..." The feline reminded them upon noticing their glum and spooked expressions. "Ya both know about them, right ?"

            "Neo-Roketto ?" Musashi said, knowing exactly the 'them' Nyasu spoke of, "Sure, everybody knows about them. Domino's always ranting and raving about something to do with them, it seems like."

            "What about them, though ?" Kojiro inquired softly as he glanced curiously at the Pokémon. After a moment, realization dawned on his features and, with a soft chuckle, he slowly shook his head. "You're not going to suggest what I think you are, are you ?"

            "Well, it'd be better than working for her." Nyasu said bluntly.

            "Unless we got caught. Then... we'd end up just like Rasu." Musashi said, letting that implication hang in the air.

            "Then again..." Though he had winced slightly at the unsaid implications of Musashi's words, Kojiro couldn't help but add a bit of optimism to the fray. "... if we do stay, then we're bound to keep getting jobs like this one."

            As one, the three friends sighed.