Author's Notes: Yes, the plot thickens! Varia's having disturbing dreams and Lord Reaper (I've been calling him that recently. Isn't that scary?) is putting his own plan into action. I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, so it may be edited later on. If it is, I'll let everyone know. Hey, in other news, I don't have to put disclaimers anymore because all the chapters are connected now! Yay! Anyway, hope that everyone enjoys this part. Oh, and I would like to thank Wind especially because she sent me fanart for this story! Thank you so much!
Chapter 9—His Own Agenda
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
Varia woke up before everyone else. She bolted upright in bed, breathing hard. The dream still lingered in her mind, preventing her from even thinking about going back to sleep. Instead, she tossed off the covers of the makeshift bed she had been sleeping in and exited the room as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake her friends. She had slept in her clothes, so she did not have to get dressed before wandering out into the main part of the gym.
After making sure that none of the gym employees had seen her, Varia a staircase and climbed them to the roof. Once there, she could see the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon. The wind blew softly, swirling her black hair around her face. Varia sighed as she looked to the west. Viridian City was somewhere off in that direction, as was her home, her pokemon, her job, and her feeling of security. Now she was out in a world that she had never explored before with people she barely knew…yet she still called them friends.
"Well," she said to herself as she sat on the ledge of the roof, "I suppose they aren't bad for humans. Probably because they're all part pokemon." That reminded her of her current situation, which only served to dampen her spirit even more. Varia's ears drooped and her tail hung off the edge of the building lifelessly. Would she ever be normal again? Would she ever be accepted back at the gym?
"What are you doing up here?"
Varia jumped at the voice and shrieked. She turned to see Emery standing at the entrance to the stairwell. The girl with the Vaporeon fins was looking at her curiously and, Varia thought, some sympathy.
"Oh, I just had a bad dream and I couldn't sleep." Varia laughed at herself. "But listen to me, I sound like a six-year-old. Getting scared by a simple dream. It's pathetic, isn't it?"
Emery shook her head. "No, it's not. It doesn't matter how old you get. You can still be haunted by dark dreams." The girl looked at her feet and clasped her hands behind her back.
"You sound like you've had your share of nightmares," Varia commented.
"You have no idea."
"Well…we could talk about our dreams. That helps sometimes," the Mew girl suggested. "I used to do that with my pokemon back at home."
Emery looked up at Varia. "Are you sure you want to listen to me?"
"Only if you listen to me," Varia answered with a smile. She indicated a spot next to her on the ledge. "Come on, sit down. It's a nice view." She turned around on the ledge so that her feet were hanging off the side of the building. Hesitantly, Emery walked over and sat down as well. She let her feet dangle over the edge, but refused to look down. It was too far of a drop for her liking.
"You want to go first, or should I?" Emery asked.
"It's all you."
"Okay." The former slave took a deep breath. "I used to live in the Orange Islands. They still have a slave trade there, although it's black-market, so not many outsiders know about it." She paused when she noticed Varia's look of surprise.
"I…I didn't think there was slavery anymore," Varia admitted.
"I can assure you, there is," Emery said bitterly. "I've been a slave my whole life. I've been abused and misused since I was five. I've lost count of how many scars I have. I don't even know what it's like to be free, but I've always wanted to know. When a man bought me and brought me back to Viridian, I thought I would be freed. Obviously, I was wrong. He just used me as a science experiment. Now, not only am I a slave, but I'm a freak, too. And now, not a night goes by that I don't have horrible nightmares about slavery or science labs. Last night, I dreamed that I was tied down to a table and all my former owners were standing around me, laughing. They each held up a syringe and jammed it into me all over. Then they started chanting 'Make the perfect slave. Make the perfect slave. Make the perfect slave!' over and over."
Varia was stunned into silence. She could do nothing but stare at Emery. Finally, she said quietly, "Wow. And I thought I had problems. Here I am, all upset because I'm away from my comfort zone, but you…you've really got something to worry about. God, I feel so selfish."
Emery's eyes widened and she shook her head violently. "No, you're not! You haven't done anything selfish! You had no way of knowing about my life." She put a consoling hand on Varia's shoulder. "Hey, why don't you tell me about your dream now? It might make you feel better by getting it off your chest. I think I'm feeling better after telling you about my problem."
Varia smiled at the younger girl. "Thanks. You know, you're pretty good at cheering people up. But I'm telling you, my dream is going to seem like nothing after yours."
"That's fine. Just talk, already."
"Okay, here goes. I was standing in this dark room. The weird thing was that I was wearing some strange metal armor with all these wires and things connected to it. There was this visor over my eyes, so I couldn't see very well. Then this figure appeared above me. It was a really vague image, but I got this intense feeling of hatred when I saw him. The figure said something, but I can't remember what. It really made me angry, and suddenly, the whole place just exploded. The building or whatever I was in collapsed all around me. Then my viewpoint shifted, and I was watching the whole thing happen. I saw the building fall and a streak of blue light shoot out from it. Then the worst part of the dream happened. I heard this voice, and it told me to follow it, to find my destiny. It said that I had no choice and that I would die if I disobeyed it. Then I woke up." Varia rubbed the back of her neck. "It's stupid, really. You know, hearing it out loud makes me realize just how stupid it really was."
"Then what scared you about it?" Emery asked. "There has to be a reason why you were scared."
"I don't know," Varia answered slowly. "I guess it was the voice. It just gave me the worst feeling deep down. It was like my instincts were telling me to stay away from the voice."
"Maybe your subconscious was trying to tell you something."
"Yeah, sure," Varia laughed. "Look, a dream is just a dream, nothing more. I was probably just stressed about everything that's happened recently."
Emery gave Varia one final look, then swung her legs back around and stood up. She started walking back to the stairwell. "I don't know, Varia. It sounded awfully detailed to just be a regular dream, in my opinion."
Varia turned and followed her down the stairs, not saying anything in response. They both reached the end of the stairs and headed towards the kitchen, hoping that someone else was up and cooking breakfast, and someone was, fortunately. One of the gym employees was making pancakes over the stove, listening to music on the radio as he worked. Varia and Emery sat at the table, waiting patiently for him to finish.
Suddenly, the smooth jazz that the radio had been playing was interrupted with a news story. The announcer's voice crackled as it spoke.
"We interrupt this program to bring you an important news bulletin. This morning, one of the attached buildings to the Viridian gym was destroyed in a vast explosion. Police are still unsure of the cause, but most are guessing that it was a terrorist attack. Fortunately, no one seems to have been injured in the explosion. We will bring you further information as it is available. Now back to your program, already in progress."
As the jazz music picked up again, Varia and Emery stared at each other in horrified surprise.
"Your dream…" Emery whispered.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Varia said in return, darting from the kitchen and to the nearest bathroom.
****
Lani, Slater, and Angel discovered Reaper the next morning. He was sprawled out in the back seat of the jeep, snoring quietly. There were no clues as to what he had been doing out all night.
As the only one who cared to wake Reaper up, Lani approached the slumbering boy and shook his shoulder a bit. When she received no response, she shook him harder and said, "Reaper, wake up. It's time to drive into Saffron. We've still got a job to do." Her voice seemed to rouse him, as he opened his eyes and yawned. Reaper pushed himself up into a sitting position and stretched languidly.
"Man, is the sun up already?" he groaned. "Well, I guess that's what I get for staying up all night and hunting."
"Hunting?" Slater questioned. His tone indicated that he did not care if he got an answer or not.
"Yeah," Reaper answered. "I wanted to see just what I could do with my Houndoom half, so I went out and hunted some of the local fauna. I must admit, the pokemon DNA we've all been given seems to be providing more than just new looks. I've got the strength and speed of a Houndoom now." He paused, looking thoughtful. "I wonder what else I got?…"
"Look, we can worry about that later," Lani declared. "Right now, we've got to track down those five research specimens before they leave town or the boss will have our heads."
"Right you are, Lani dear," Reaper agreed with a laugh. He jumped up into the passenger's seat in front, letting Slater and Angel take the back seat. The jeep's hierarchy had been established when they first left. Lani wanted to drive, seeing as how she was the leader of this motley crew. Reaper refused to sit next to a psychic and Angel obviously had issues with sitting next to the single person who had caused most of his suffering. So, Lani and Reaper always took the front while Slater and Angel were always in the back.
After they had all loaded up into the jeep, the Rockets drove down the road towards Saffron City. The group traveled in silence until they reached the outskirts of town. There were a few houses scattered about, as well as some small shops and restaurants. They were just passing a pokemart when the jeep hit something in the road. Whatever the car had hit, it caused the tires to blow out, making the jeep skid out of control. Lani spun the wheel as hard as she could, trying to regain command of the vehicle. It proved all in vein, however, as the jeep flew right off the road and into a ditch. It hit with a great enough impact to make the passengers lurch forward, restrained only by their seatbelts. Finally, the jeep settled, smoke pouring out of its broken engine.
"Good god," Slater grumbled. "What the hell did we hit?"
"How am I supposed to know?!" Lani snapped back. She was in the process of unbuckling herself from the seat. "Let's just get outta here before the whole thing blows up."
"Sage advice, Lani dear," Reaper said. He merely ripped the seatbelt from the seat and hopped out of the car. The other three followed a bit more slowly. They climbed out of the ditch and stared at the wrecked vehicle.
"Well, now what do we do?" Slater asked. "We've got no transportation."
"I guess we're walking to the gym," Lani sighed.
Angel spoke up then. "We can't walk during the day," he said. "We'll be noticed."
"So we'll wait until it gets dark," the Persian girl told him. "It's no big deal. If those research specimens are at the gym, I doubt if they're in any big hurry to leave."
"Well, if we're just going to hang around here, I'm going to do some shopping," Reaper stated with a laugh. He pulled his trenchcoat all the way around his body to hide the knives and the Team Rocket uniform, then walked across the street to the pokemart. The other three watched, stunned.
"He's taking this well," Lani commented.
Slater suddenly rounded on her. "He's insane! Of course he's taking this well!"
"Oh, just back off a bit, Slater! He's not all bad!"
"Not all bad?! Girl, are you even listening to yourself?!"
The two continued to snipe at each other. Angel couldn't care less what they were arguing about. He never took his eyes off Reaper as the other boy entered the shop. Angel just knew that something was wrong. He had to follow the half-Houndoom, even if it meant more torture at the sadist's hands. He just couldn't let anyone be hurt. So, while Lani and Slater bickered over The Reaper's mental state, Angel folded his leathery wings around his shoulders like a cape and crossed the street to the pokemart. As he pushed the door open, a small bell chimed to signal his entrance. Almost immediately, Angel scanned the aisles for any sign of The Reaper. He walked up and down the store, trying to find his foe. Finally, Angel found the other boy.
He was standing at the checkout counter.
Angel narrowed his eyes and kept his distance. Something was very odd about this. There was Reaper, actually paying for whatever he had chosen to buy. He wasn't trying to steal it and, even more surprising, he wasn't sticking a knife into the cashier's heart. What was that lunatic planning, Angel wondered.
"Thank you and please come again!" the cashier said cheerfully. "Oh, and have fun at your costume party, sir!"
Reaper smiled at her. "Oh, I will. Don't worry about that." Then he picked up the plastic bag containing his purchases and walked from the store. Angel made sure to avoid being seen by the woman at the cash register and followed Reaper out the door. Reaper was waiting just outside for him.
"What, you didn't see anything you wanted to buy in there?" he asked mockingly.
"What are you up to?" Angel demanded.
Reaper laughed harshly. "Are you accusing me of plotting something? Honestly, if I was, do you really think I'd tell an insignificant maggot like you?"
Angel balled his fists, but managed to keep himself from attacking his foe. "At least tell me why you didn't kill that woman in there. You owe me that much."
Reaper's twisted smile disappeared from his face. He stared down at Angel with his red eyes and spoke in a flat voice, "It is you who owes me. Never forget that. If not for me, you would be dead. I chose to keep you alive, so your life is my possession." Before Angel could make an angry retort, Reaper continued. "But I'll still tell you why I spared the life in there. It should make the game more interesting. You see, Angel, it is true that I could have killed her and stolen what I wanted. But thievery is a petty crime, a crime that only weak mortals would lower themselves to committing. I will not commit such trespasses, not now, not ever."
"What about killing and torture?" Angel asked pointedly.
"Do you cry when you crush an ant beneath your heel? Do you mourn the loss of a miserable little fly when you swat the life out of it?"
Angel was so shocked, he couldn't find his voice to respond.
Reaper grinned derisively. "And you probably want to know what I bought, don't you? Just a few potions, in case one of us should get hurt. Oh, and this." He reached into the bag and pulled out a small, black box. It had no adornments, save the number "42" engraved on the top of the box. Reaper carelessly tossed it up and down in the air, then slipped it into one of the pockets of his trenchcoat.
"A TM?" Angel questioned.
"Yep. And don't bother to ask why, because I don't intend on telling you." With that, Reaper turned his back on the other boy and walked back to join Lani and Slater, who were still arguing over some vague point.
Angel expression darkened. He had spent enough time with The Reaper in his dungeon to know that he was planning something. Unfortunately, there was no way to get an answer from that maniac unless he felt like giving it. All that was left now was to wait for the plan to be fully revealed.
And I swear that I will be there to stop you, Reaper, Angel thought.
Author's End Notes: And there you have it. I'm still working on Indigo's vignette, so I hope it'll be out by Friday. Then it's on to Angel's!