Chapter 27
"Mission Impossible"
Billie was quiet after our meeting with the boss. She wasn't silent…she was just quiet.
"…So it's really true…"
"…Yeah."
"……I'm sorry."
"…Why?"
"…Because……Ash…It's just not right…People shouldn't do that…to people…"
I looked at her differently…She looked very upset…very sad…I almost felt sorry for her.
"Pika!"
'Look!'
I looked where Pikachu was pointing. A little ways down the hall, the Persian was standing there…waiting for us.
"…Persian?" I asked.
"Perrrr…" it rumbled in reply.
"Pikachu! Pika?"
'Persian! What are you doing here?'
"Perrrrrsiiiaan…"
…I was waiting for you.
I jumped and glanced down at Taper, who smiled wryly at me.
What? You don't want me to translate?
"Um…"
"…Why were you waiting for us, Persian?" Billie asked.
Persian looked at her funnily. Then it smiled and nodded.
"Perrrrsian……Pe-errrrrsiaan…"
'I was waiting for Ash…I think I can help him…'
"Help me? How?…Why?"
Persian looked up at me.
"Pe-errrsian……Pe-errrr…"
'Because you need help……and I know who can help you…'
"Pikachu?"
'I thought you said you could help him?'
"Perrrsian…Perrsian…"
'I can…by taking him to the man who created his sickness…'
"Sickness?" I said.
"Perrsian…Perrrr."
'You have an infection. That makes you sick.'
"I am not sick!"
"Hee…Um…Persian's got a point there, Ash…I mean…Viruses make people sick, don't they?"
"I am not sick!!"
"Persianper…Perrrrsian…"
'Follow me. We have to get there before Master realizes what I've done…'
Its master is my master too… I realized.
With that, Persian turned on its heels and bounded away.
"Pikapi!!"
'Hey! Wait up!!'
"That Persian's gonna get in a lot of trouble…" I muttered.
"Not if this works out and I can help it," Billie grinned, "Come on! We're gonna cure you!"
"What if I don't want to be cured!?" I protested as Billie started dragging me away again.
"Trust me. You do."
When the master finds out about this everyone will be in a lot of trouble…
* * *
"Should we get the others, Persian?" Billie asked.
"Per?"
'What others?'
"Um…Ash's friends…uh…Should we get them?"
Persian thought about that.
"Perrrsian…Per."
'Maybe later. We have to hurry!'
"Oh…Right."
That's right. Hurry. Hurry and get there, so I can call up our master.
We kept running…We must have looked silly, what with three Pokémon leading the way and a girl dragging some kid along behind her…
It took a while to reach the guy's house. It was way on the outskirts of town, so far out actually, that I'm not sure if it was even part of the city.
Persian slowed to a stop and waited for the rest of us to catch up.
"…Perrrsian…Perrrr…Persian…Sian!"
'…This is the place…Just go up and knock on the door. When he answers it, tell him your problem and he'll probably help you fix it…I have to go back now……Goodbye!'
Before any of us could say anything, it had leapt off and was running with all the speed and grace that its kind was gifted with.
"…I guess we should go knock…" Billie said nervously.
"Yeah. If you really want to. We could always turn back, y'know."
She glared at me. "Well, you've just made up my mind. Come on. We're goin' in."
The three of them walked up to the door, and Billie was dragging me along, as usual. Since there was a doorbell, she rang that.
He's coming, Taper informed us.
"Oh goody," I muttered.
"Shut up," Billie said.
In a little while, the door opened, and we were faced with a man with long, gray hair, a lab coat, small glasses…the works. A typical scientist.
He adjusted his glasses with one hand and peered at us.
"And…what do you want?" he asked.
"Um…Sir…" Billie began, "A while ago, you gave a…virus…to a man…um…Did you know that he is the head of Team Rocket?"
"Huh…? Oh, you mean that man…Um…Yes…I did know that…"
"Um…Did you happen to know…by any chance…what he wanted to do with that virus?" she asked.
"Uh…What virus are you talking about?" he asked, adjusting his glasses again.
"The one to make a biological robot," Billie almost whispered.
He stepped back in surprise.
"How-? Uh……" He glanced around, suddenly nervous. "Maybe you'd better come inside…and…we can discuss this…in private…"
"Yeah, I thought that would be a good idea," Billie said.
He let us in. He looked strangely at Pikachu as it was coming in. I could see why. It was still wearing my stuff. After glancing around outside, he closed the door swiftly.
He paused a moment before speaking.
"How did you find out about this?" he whispered, even though we were in private now,
Billie patted me on the shoulder.
"You see this kid here?" she asked, "He's got your little virus swimming around inside him right this second."
The scientist had been right in the middle of adjusting his glasses, but when he heard her say that, they fell off his nose and into his hands. He hastily shoved them back on, crooked.
"What did you say!?" he gasped.
"I said what I said. Ash here is a 'biological robot'."
He straightened his glasses out then grabbed me by the shoulders.
"Is this true?" he asked me.
"Uhh……Yeah…?" I said.
He let go and I stumbled backwards. He fiddled with the corner of his glasses rapidly.
"That can't be! I told him not to use it on anyone! I told him discreetly that it was only a prototype, and it was not to be used on anybody, let alone a human…Especially a little boy like yourself…"
"Little!?" I exclaimed.
Billie laughed nervously.
He looked down and started tapping his foot.
"This is just terrible. The only reason I gave it to him in the first place was because he forced me to…I didn't want to give it to anyone until I had concocted an antidote…"
Billie stared at him.
"…You mean you can't help us?"
He stopped fidgeting and looked up. His eyes were sad.
"No. I'm sorry…If only I had known that he was going to use it so soon…I would have worked faster…but…as it is now……there isn't any cure."
That's good…
"But…but there has to be a cure!" Billie protested.
The scientist shook his head. "I'm sorry, young lady, but I already told you-"
"No! You don't understand! There has to be a cure, because you were the one who created it, and you have to be able to destroy it!"
"I'm sorry…I really am……The only hope I can offer you is that I'll try to come up with a cure as soon as possible……However…that could take anything from a couple of days…to…a couple of years……"
"Years!!?"
"Piika!!?"
'What!!?'
He tapped the points of his index fingers together.
"Hopefully, it won't take that long……"
"You'd better hope so!!" Billie replied.
I knew things would go my way…Now…to get back to the boss…
…Something way back in the back of my mind was desperately disagreeing with me…but it was easily snuffed out…