Foreword: Every fifth episode, I'll read the reviews I had gotten for the past five episodes and reply to a few of them. (Only a few, as in those that have something beyond a "I like your fic" or "MY EYES ARE BURNING! TAKE IT DOWN! TAKE IT DOWN!!", though the latter is appreciated as well. ^_^;)

Um... hai. This was inspired by the fanfiction "Card Captor Ashura," though I'm not doing it every episode because you know I use the foreword for other purposes. *coughs*

Anywho, right now, here's my replies to reviews for episodes one to four:

First and foremost, thank you to all those who DID say they like Warp Series. It's your comments that keep it up. ^_^

Secondly, to Light Sneasel: Your bit of information about Quantum Leap (given in the review for episode two) actually cleared something up for me. I thank you. And as for your comment about abusive shifts in your review for episode three, I agree. Let's be thankful I didn't put Bill in a situation such as that, though you DID give me an idea for a future episode... (Oh no. Sadist mode. BE AFRAID!) As for your predictions, well, I can't quite say too much about that, now, can I? ^_-

Well, that's it for this time! If you'd like to see your comment up here, keep commenting and waiting for episode ten! ^_^

***
Episode 05--
Present, Past, and Future Sight

A cloaked figure entered an inn. The innkeeper looked up as the figure cleared his throat.

"I'd like a room for the night," the figure said in a smooth voice.

"It costs money," the innkeeper lazily replied.

The figure dropped a few pieces of currency on the counter. The innkeeper's eyes widened at the value.

"We have a room available, sir," the innkeeper told him. "Just sign the book. Do you need any help up?"

The visitor shook his head as he signed the innkeeper's log. He took the key which had been placed on the desk and proceeded upstairs to the lodgings. The innkeeper glanced at the signature, then at the figure's back.

"Strange fellow," the keeper muttered.

~~~

In the privacy of his inn room, the cloaked figure slipped a messenger bag off and pulled from this a laptop computer. He placed this on the desk in the room, opened it, and turned it on. As he waited for the computer to boot up, he slipped the cloak off and placed it on his bed.

A few minutes after the computer booted up, Ziggy appeared on its screen.

"Bill? Where are you?" she inquired, looking around the room.

The figure, whom we now know as Bill, turned back to his companion. "I've escaped to an inn on the outskirts of Celadon. I'll tell you all about what happened while you were offline, starting with when I returned to the lighthouse..."

~~~

"Loki, how could you?" he sneered.*1*

To Loki, there was no moment more delicious than this.

"Isn't this beautiful?" Loki commented. "The one man I hate the most, trapped by my lackeys, about to be tortured just to extract a little information for my superior's use."

"How could you betray me?" Bill snapped. "There was a time when I was the only friend you had!"*2*

"Times change, Bill," Loki replied. "I have new friends now."

"Some friends," Bill scoffed. "The only thing Team Rocket will help you with is to help you get into jail."

"But they're a hell of a lot better in the friend business than you'll ever be, you bastard!" Loki's eyes flashed. "Now, tell us about Warp!"

Bill fell silent in shock. Finally, he managed to speak as he trembled. "Warp?"

"That's right," Loki said, holding up a disc. "Tell us all about shifting. We'd like to hear more about it."

Bill's eyes were glued on the disc. He remained silent, flustered and startled by all of this.

"Speak, dammit!" Butch snapped as he kicked Bill.

"Speak now, or later we'll arrange for you to revisit Tess," Loki told him sharply as he drew a line across his neck with his thumb. "Oh, god knows how much she wants to see YOU again..."

"Don't speak of her!" Bill barked.

Loki laughed and leaned in. "What's the matter, Bill? The name rings a bell to you? It's a shame, though. You never cared about Tess."

"You know damn well I cared about her," Bill growled. "Stop talking about her, Lokov. You don't deserve to waste your breath uttering her name."

"Neither do you, ass hole," Loki snapped. "You were the one who killed her, after all."

Bill's voice decreased in volume but increased in controlled anger. "She chose to end her life. I had nothing to do with that."

"You were the REASON Tess went and committed suicide!" Loki yelled.

"That's not true, and you know it," Bill argued.

Loki opened his mouth to say something more, but an agent cleared her throat.

"Sir, I don't wish to be insolent, but what about our reason for being here?" she asked.

Loki gazed back at the agent and nodded. He stepped forward.

"Tell us about Warp, Bill," he growled.

"You will leave my lighthouse without a shred of information," Bill responded icily.

"Tell us about Warp," Loki repeated.

Bill looked into Loki's eyes with a frigid gaze. "I wasn't requesting you to leave my lighthouse; I was telling you."

Loki stepped forward. "You're a spunky little bastard, you know that, McKenzie? Unfortunately, it's not wise to be spunky when you're outnumbered."

Bill smirked. "You're right. It's wise to be quick!"

With a quick movement, he wrenched his right arm out of Butch's grip, pulled a smoke bomb out of his pocket, and threw it at his feet. Smoke filled the room as he covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief and pulled himself away from the Rockets, disappearing in the cloud.

When the smoke cleared, he was gone. Loki stood in the middle of the room, snarling in his anger.

"Raid this lighthouse," he ordered. "If you find a Pokémon, pocket it. If you find information, bring it to me. And if you find McKenzie himself, kill him, rip him apart, bring me his head, and throw the rest of him into the sea!"

The agents backed away from their boss, saluted, and retreated to all corners of the building.

~~~

"I escaped through the air ducts, taking with me only some clothing, a bit of money, and a notebook computer to keep in touch with you," Bill explained as he sat at the desk.

"Nice story," Ziggy complimented. "Just one thing's bothering me, though."

"What?" Bill cocked his head.

"If you don't mind me asking, who's Tess?"

There was a long period of silence as Bill's face fell. He looked away for a moment before beginning.

"Tess." Bill sighed. "I can't explain her in words alone. She was an angel. Ten folds better than Zoe..."

He stood up and began to pace. Ziggy sighed, preparing herself for a long story.

"When I was younger, the day I had spoken to you last before we parted for ten years, I had made friends with Loki.*3* For a long time, Loki had been all I had outside of my own blood. And then, when Loki and I attended the academy*4*, we met her..."

~~~

In a hallway lit by the springtime sunlight streaming through the windows, students gathered around a bulletin board on which scores for a recent exam were posted. Boys in the males' standard uniform (white, short-sleeved shirt with the school crest on the left breast and navy pants) pushed through the crowd with excited expressions before pushing back through with disappointed ones. Girls in the females' standard uniform (white, short-sleeved shirt with a vest with the school crest on the left side, short, navy skirt, white socks into brown loafers) gazed at their scores before backing away and chatting about them with other girls.

A single boy, no doubt a younger Bill, leaned against a window sill, alone and waiting for someone. A younger Loki pushed through the crowd, sighed, and dragged himself over to his friend.

"I'm ranked 76th," Loki told him with a sigh.

"Maybe you should try studying next time, Mr. Soccer-is-more-important-than-study-group," Bill told him with a shrug.

"But soccer IS," Loki replied defensively. "By the way, I checked out the other scores. Another top rank. Do you really like to study that much, or are you just doing that to kiss up to the teachers?"

"Hey, if I keep kissing up to the teachers, they'll never suspect that those cute little pranks on our dear headmistress are coming from me," Bill told him with a wink.

"Yeah, I guess. And you know what? You even beat that cute Loveland girl," Loki said with a grin. "Maybe she'll ask you for study tips and find herself inexplicably attracted to the handsome, young athlete friend of the smartest twelve-year-old in Westwood Academy!"

"Right. And maybe my sister, Penny, will be crowned princess of France," Bill added sarcastically.

"Does France even HAVE a princess?" Loki inquired hopefully.

"No."

"Great! Then one quick e-mail to the government of France, and they'll take Penny as their royal princess, and then I'll have a chance with Loveland!" Loki planned.

Bill rolled his eyes, shrugged, and turned before walking down the hall.

"It can happen, right?" Loki asked, walking alongside his friend.

"Maybe if Satan leaves the air conditioner on and freezes Hell over," Bill replied with a shrug.

"Excuse me!" A girl's hand reached out to touch Bill's shoulder.

"Wha--?" Bill turned around abruptly.

There she was. A girl in the standard uniform, just about the same age as both Loki and Bill. Her white-blonde hair fell straight and caressed her shoulders, pulled back slightly by her black headband. Her crystal blue eyes bore into Bill's, sending shivers down his spine as if her gaze were like the ice her eyes resembled. Around her neck was a black ribbon onto which was tied a silver cross. When she spoke again, her voice was childlike, innocent, and airy, almost like wind chimes or that of a faerie.

"Are you the child prodigy from the McKenzie family?" she inquired.

"Why do you want to know?" he replied.

Loki pinched his arm and whispered, "Bill... That's Contessa Loveland! LOVELAND! Introduce me!"

Bill rolled his eyes again and glared at Loki.

"Oh fine! I'll introduce myself!" Loki hissed before smiling sweetly at Contessa. "Hey, Contessa! I'm Nathan Lokov, star of the soccer team, but everyone calls me Loki. I've heard great things about you!"

Contessa ignored him and spoke to Bill again. "You scored the top rank on the latest exam, didn't you? No one had their doubts that you would. Everyone knows that you passed the entrance exam with a perfect score, and anyone who can do that will surely be valedictorian."

"Thank you, but I'm afraid I can't help you study," Bill told her gently.

"Study?" Contessa blinked before shaking her head. "No, no! I don't want you to help me study! I simply wanted to talk to you! By the way, I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Contessa Loveland, but I prefer to be called Tess."

She held out her hand. Bill gazed at it for a moment before taking it and shaking it.

"William McKenzie," he told her. "Everyone prefers to call me Bill. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintence."

"And Nathan Lokov's pleased to meet you too!" Loki said to Tess again, though she ignored him again.

"Tell me, Bill, were you holding back?" Tess asked.

He cocked his head and let go of her hand. "Holding back? What are you talking about?"

"You don't care, do you?" She smiled.

This began to confuse him. "About what?"

"The exams. Though you scored the top rank, your score wasn't perfect," Tess told him. "I think you could have done better but didn't. Is this true?"

Bill bit his lip. It WAS true, but his reasons for holding back were personal. He took a deep breath, let go of his lip, and turned away from Tess.

"I only display my full potential," he informed her.

"I think you're lying," Tess responded.

"You're a strange girl, you know that?"

"No stranger than you, perhaps."

Bill began walking away.

Tess spoke up again. "Bill, I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone in this world."

He ignored her.

"I was holding back, too."

Bill stopped and turned slightly to stare at her blankly.

"I know what it feels like," Tess told him as she closed her eyes. "I know what it feels like to just have your books. I'm a child prodigy too, and people are intimidated by me. I thought maybe if I held back, people might think that I'm not just a super brain to be afraid of or to hate. You may not know it, but I was nearby when you took your exams. Somehow, I knew you were doing the same."

Bill turned around completely and abruptly to face Tess. The girl opened her eyes and caught his gaze.

"You and I are destined for great things," Tess said. "Can you feel it, Bill?"

He paused, staring into her eyes for what seemed like hours. Finally, he broke away and turned around.

"Come on, Loki. Let's go," he muttered.

Loki handed Tess a piece of paper. "My cell phone number. Give me a ring sometime, okay, baby?"

With a wink, he followed Bill, who had begun walking away. Tess stared at Bill and smiled.

"He knows," she muttered.

~~~

"Okay, so that explains how you KNOW Tess," Ziggy said in the present, "but it still doesn't clear up something..."

Bill, who ended up leaning against the windowsill, stared blankly at the computer image.

"What?" he asked as he cocked his head.

"You said Loki was angry at you because you killed Tess," Ziggy recalled. "No offense or anything, but I don't see you as the murdering type. What did he mean?"

"First of all, no offense taken," Bill replied with a smile. "You're right. I'm not the 'murdering type.' I didn't kill Tess."

"Secondly?"

"Secondly..." Bill looked over his shoulder and out the window. "I might as well clear this up for you. It might be better if I got it off my chest anyways..."

~~~

In the following months, Tess followed Bill around, getting close to him while still remaining enigmatic, as if testing him to see if his intelligence could figure her out. However, the relationship between Loki and Bill was slowly and steadily growing cold. By the following October, Loki barely spoke to his former friend.

The fateful night was cold and clear. It was a Saturday night, so the students were allowed off the academy's campus for a small period of time. It was then when Tess led Bill on that last walk.

It was a bit ironic that Tess had worn black that night. Bill thought nothing of it, for Tess prefered wearing that gothic dress, that heavy, black coat, those black stockings, and those black boots. But the expression on her face should have been his sign. She was grim and distant, more so than usual, and her eyes were fixed on the full harvest moon.

They approached a bridge spanning a wide, swift river. Tess stopped and looked over its side. Bill stood by her side and let loose a single breath, watching as the vapor curled from his mouth upward. He put his hands in his coat pockets and looked at Tess.

"No riddle?" he inquired. "Tess, you haven't said anything since we left. Is there something wrong?"

Tess's gaze softened as she watched the moonlight strike the river.

"You're all I have," she said. "My parents see me as nothing compared to my sister. My friends have abandoned me. All I can think of is a void quickly filling with dark chaos. I feel like the world."

Bill drew a hand out of one of his pockets and let it rest on her shoulder.

"Tess..."

Tess looked at him. "Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if you were gone? If you never existed? Did you ever wonder if anyone would care?"

"Tess, don't think like that," Bill told her in a soft tone. "I would care if you were gone."

"You must be the only person who does," Tess mumbled with a sigh.

She smiled at him before taking off the cross hung on the black ribbon around her neck. She tied it around Bill's and touched the silver. He took the hand that touched the cross and held it.

"Tess, I just want to let you know that..." Bill stopped. He couldn't go on. He let go of her hand and looked over the rail of the bridge.

"Bill, I want you to promise me something," Tess told him.

"What?"

"I want you to always remember me." She leaned in and whispered one final thing. "I love you, Bill. I always had."

She pulled away. He looked up and stared into her eyes for one final time. Transfixed, he watched her lean over the side of the bridge. Inch by inch, she leaned forward before she finally flipped over the rail and fell into the bitter cold rush below.

"TESS!" Bill screamed, climbing onto the rail.

"What do you think you're doing, boy!?"

He felt pairs of hands grab him and pull him back. Apparently, a group of citizens of the town nearby had just come onto the bridge, not noticing the black-clad Tess but instead her friend.

"What a foolish thing to do!" a woman in the group scolded. "Thinking of jumping off the bridge like that!"

"You don't understand!" Bill pleaded. "My friend -- she fell over the railing!"

The rest of the night was a blur. People ran up and down the banks of the river, trying to find Tess as police officers kept Bill on shore, asking him question after question until all he wanted to do was to jump off the bridge himself.

They didn't find Tess until morning. By then, her body was cold and filled with water.

~~~

"Some people blamed Tess's death on me, just because of what she had said," Bill explained in the present. "You don't know how many times I had tried to tell everyone that Tess always spoke oddly and that I had nothing to do with her decision. However, I've heard the accusations so many times that I don't even know if what I say is true anymore. I don't know if one of the reasons Tess jumped WAS because of me."

"That's incredibly depressing," Ziggy commented.

Bill sighed.

"So what do you plan on doing now?" Ziggy inquired.

Bill walked forward to the laptop. "I don't know. I at least want to get a good night's rest. Then, I'll try to go back to the lighthouse to see if it's safe. If Team Rocket is still there, I'll try to find some place else safe so I can shift without worry. Until then, I'm begging you, Ziggy, hold my cases. I think that if I don't hear about someone needing me, I won't end up shifting. And of course, now would be the worst time to be caught outside my body."

Ziggy nodded and closed her eyes. "Alright then. Sweet dreams, Bill. Ciao!"

Ziggy had the laptop shut down. Bill smiled, shut the laptop, and slipped it back into his messanger bag. He then slipped off his shoes, flopped onto his back on the bed, paused for a moment, and drew a cross hung on a silver chain out from under his shirt.

It was the same silver cross that Tess had worn on a black ribbon. For fear of losing it, he put it on a chain. And for fear of forgetting her, he constantly wore it when he was awake.

His hands slipped to the back of his neck to undo the clasp. Carefully, he pulled off the chain and placed it and the cross into his bag. He sighed, remaining still on his back for a few moments before closing his eyes.

It had DEFINITELY been a long day...

~~~

He heard her. Singing. A faerie voice singing a familiar song...

"Come give me your softness
Comfort me through all this madness
Ooh, don't you know with you
I'm born again?"*5*

He knew he had shifted, but the thought of finding out what he had shifted into wasn't a thought that had crossed his mind. Instead, he was keen on finding the voice. So, instead of finding out what he was first, he let his instincts take over, forcing him to run on all fours through a forest and to the edge of a crystal lake where the voice had been singing in the meantime. He stopped to hear the end of her song.

"I was half not whole
In step with none
Reaching through this world
In need of one...

"Come show me your kindness
In your arms, I know I'll find this
Don't you know with you
I'm born again?

"Lying safe within your arms
I'm born again..."

The girl stopped and turned around. Bill couldn't quite see her, as she was framed by the setting sun, but he could make out her silhouette. And she looked like...

{Tess...}

The girl, who had been standing in the middle of the lake, began gliding toward him. Her shape grew nearer and nearer, and she indeed looked to be about the same height and shape as Tess, save for odd butterfly wings on her back.

She reached the sandy shore of the lake before Bill and stood before him, still framed by the setting sun. The hem of her white, elfin dress (one with cloth butterfly wings on the back), oddly enough, was obviously not wet. Perhaps she was a divine creature, specifically, an angel...

{Tess...} Bill's eyes travelled up to see the girl's face.

Though she was as tall as and shaped similar to his deceased friend (and sounded similar to her when she sang), it was obvious she was different. Her hair was raven black, not blonde-white, and instead of a black headband in her hair, a silver ring went around her head and suspended a sapphire on her forehead. Her deep eyes were dark brown, not crystal blue, though the distant, enigmatic emotion was still there.

{I'm sorry...} Bill said to this girl, temporarily forgetting that no human could understand him. {I thought you were someone I knew...}

The girl gave him a sympathetic gaze before speaking with a soft, echoed voice. "Contessa Loveland. You remember her fondly, and your heart feels as if it lacks a piece now that she has passed on to the otherworld.*6* Please don't feel saddened upon her departure. She's happy now."

Bill looked up at this girl abruptly, not knowing what to say or do next. She leaned forward and touched Bill's cheek with one hand.

"How appropriate that you assume the body of the Pokémon god of water," she commented.

And for the first time in the shift, Bill realized which Pokémon he had gone into, and indeed it was the Pokémon god of water, Suicune.

"Of course, I have arranged for that," she told him as she rose and stood before him. "I have been waiting for a long time to meet you, Bill." She paused and smiled. "I find it appropriate that your name means 'determined protector.'"*7*

{Who are you?} Bill inquired, stepping back a bit.

"Forgive me for being so rude as to not give you my name," the girl replied. "I have many names. Lyralina, Chuuko, Aigori, Soarwen... However, you know me most by my modern name, Zero."

{You're Zero?} Bill's eyes widened.

The girl nodded and smiled.

{I'm sorry,} Bill apologized. {I just imagined you as older. You appear to be twelve years old...}

Zero frowned in disappointment. "But I'm fifteen."

{Oh! I'm sorry...} Bill stopped, deciding to quit while he was ahead.

Zero smiled and waved her hand. "I forgive you. It's an honest mistake."

The sun finally set. The stars began to appear softly next to their round, silver queen. Zero sighed, gazing at the moon for a moment.

"The queen... Isn't she beautiful?" she muttered before turning her gaze back on Bill. "But there isn't time to admire Her Highness just yet. We have a lot to discuss, young shifter. Will you walk with me?"

Bill hesitated.

"I have frequently told you in your dreams that the time will soon come when I will answer your questions," Zero told him. "That time is now. Walk with me, and I will tell you all you want to know."

Bill nodded, causing Zero to smile.

"Of course, this will not be a private event between you and me," Zero told him before looking up. "Ziggy Alpha, will you join us?"

To Bill's surprise, Ziggy appeared.

"Ziggy Alpha, present, accounted for, and ready to join in!" Ziggy saluted cheerfully.

Zero smiled and began walking away. Both Ziggy and Bill kept up by her side. The three remained silent for awhile before Zero spoke.

"Bill, I have been watching you for a very long time. Ever since you were only two years of age. Even as a baby, I sensed that your destiny would be great and strange. Intrigued, I kept watching you until you became a shifter. Not wanting to see you in danger, I connected myself to your computer, accessed your Ziggy, and began to speak through her, trying to help you. I believe she has absorbed my desire to protect and help you, has she not?"

Bill looked at Ziggy, who had then turned away and blushed.

"I will tell you now what I am," Zero announced. "I am an omniscient spirit, with knowledge of the past and of the present and an eye opened for the future. Ask me all you want to know."

{Tell me, do you control my shifting?}

Zero grinned softly. "That I do not. You have complete control over when and where you shift. I can only see who desires the help of a guardian angel and whisper their location to you, though you cannot hear me outside of this conversation. Your heart, in all its nobility with all its desire to help those who need it, forces you to shift. When you truly feel you have helped enough, you shift back."

{So there is no conscious way to control this,} Bill stated in disappointment.

"I never said that," Zero replied. "There IS a way. Through meditation and extreme concentration, you will be able to harness your power. After that, you will only shift when you consciously want to or subconsciously feel that you are in grave danger. However, there is no way to control where you go. At least, not yet. Right now, your heart and soul decides that, not your mind.*8* For example, when I called for you, your soul decided to choose the Suicune host I have left open for you. There were other choices for hosts, and yet your soul was attracted to the god of water because it is oriented with the element of water. There's a reason why you live by the sea."

There was a small pause.

{What will happen if I don't finish a mission?}

Zero paused for a moment, her serene expression turning to a saddened one. "There will be a life that will fall into darkness. You will shift back as you normally do, but you will also take a bit of that Pokémon with you. Too much of this will damage you mentally and physically."

Bill opened his mouth to ask another question, but Zero interrupted him.

"The rest you can figure out on your own by now," Zero said. "Either that, or I will tell you more on another night. For now, I must tell you of what is to come before you must leave..."

~~~

Two Houndooms howled for their masters and broke down the door to the inn. They barked over their shoulders, startling the innkeeper, as four Rocket agents, all in black, stormed in.

"Hey, you hooligans! Keep your Pokémon in their PokéBalls!" the innkeeper barked (no pun intended).

The Rockets grabbed the book of signatures on the innkeeper's desk, scanning the list of entries. The innkeeper quickly realized who these four were and backed into a corner.

"Look, I don't want any trouble from Team Rocket," he said. "I don't have any Pokémon, but if you want money, just let me know, and I'll get it for you."

"We don't want your money, old man," a female Rocket told him sharply. "We're just looking for one of your guests."

"He's not in here," a male Rocket muttered.

"How much do you wanna bet the bastard signed with a pseudonym?" the second male Rocket asked.

"So you want the Houndooms to find him for us?" the second female Rocket inquired.

The second male Rocket smirked and nodded.

"Houndoom, go and sniff out our little 'friend'!" the first female Rocket ordered.

Barking up a storm, the fire dogs of darkness bounded up the stairs, sniffed at each door, and knocked one down. The Rockets followed, finding themselves in an empty room where a cloak lay on the bed and a messanger bag sat on the floor. Otherwise, it appeared to be untouched.

"He's not here!" the female Rocket exclaimed with a whining tone.

"He may not be here, but I think we can find what Boss Lokov wants in that messenger bag," the first male Rocket supposed.

"Let's see..." The second male Rocket grabbed the bag and opened it to find the laptop. He pulled it out, not noticing a chain with a cross falling out of the bag as well. "Nice..."

"It should have SOMETHING on it," the first female Rocket figured. "Let's take it back to the boss."

"Good idea," the second male Rocket complimented as he carried the laptop out of the room under an arm.

The Rockets and the Houndooms followed, right out of the inn, past the terrified innkeeper.

~~~

At that moment, Ziggy vanished. Zero looked up.

"I sense that Team Rocket has been close to your true body," Zero told Bill. "But you need not worry. Every time you shift, your body goes into hiding. No one except Ziggy, myself, or a shifter can see it. However..."

She paused as Bill urged her to go on.

"However, I'm afraid they have made off with something of yours," she informed him. "There will be other shifters soon, all of whom will present problems to you. You will have an equal opposite whose face you already know. However, as you are the original shifter, and one pure of heart, no less, you will be at a greater advantage due to time and desire to do good in this world. I have, and will forever have, faith in you, and I know you can overcome any obstacle Destiny has in store for you."

She smiled lightly. "As Contessa once told you, you were destined for great things, and this was never meant to end at just your early success when you were a normal human. Be brave and keep your heart innocent, and your destiny will come."

She leaned over and kissed Bill on his crest before standing back up and backing away.

"Here is where we part," she told him. "Yet, I will not truly leave. I will always be here to aid you when you need it. For now, I say a farewell for you will not see me until I find I need to speak with you like this again. And so, farewell and good luck, Bill. Until we meet again..."

She turned around and walked away for a bit before vanishing. Bill remained alone for awhile before the flash of silver light came again.

~~~

He slowly woke up and looked around. The door was barely on its hinges, but the rest of the room remained untouched. Quickly, he looked down at his possessions. He picked up the cross and chain and held it in his palm for a few moments before picking up his messenger bag to place the chain back inside. It was then he realized that it was lighter than it should be.

He nearly literally tore it open, finding a void inside which had been previously filled by his laptop. His eyes widened before he grabbed the rest of his possessions and rushed out of the room and down the stairs, finding Officer Jenny speaking with the innkeeper.

"Excuse me, sir," Officer Jenny addressed, turning away from the innkeeper and grabbing Bill by the sleeve. "I don't know if you're aware of this, but Team Rocket recently broke into this inn. Is there anything you would like to tell me that could help me catch Team Rocket?"

"Unfortunately, no," Bill replied. "I was asleep at the time."*9*

"It seems that none of the other guests have reported anything about Team Rocket," Officer Jenny told him. "No stolen possessions of any kind, no harrassment, nothing. Is there anything of yours that happens to be missing?"

Bill paused for a long time before answering, "My notebook computer."*10*

~~~

Loki walked into the lab again and approached Dr. Crocus.

"Crocus! Status report!" he demanded.

"Good news and bad news, sir," Dr. Crocus replied. "I'll give you all of the good news first. McKenzie's laptop contains a bit of the Zigurat Alpha program. We've not only been able to copy this program to create our own form of Alpha which we call Oracle, but we've also been able to extort information from her by putting her in sleep mode and hacking into her memory banks. The other good news is that we've successfully created a shifter out of Agent Mondo."*11*

"Well done," Loki commented before frowning. "Now I'd hate to ask, but what would the bad news be?"

Crocus sighed. "Unfortunately, we received the information on controlling shifts a moment too late. We've lost Agent Mondo. Secondly, the Alpha program had crashed before we could get all of the information. It stopped halfway through Alpha's instructions on controlling the shifts, right after a bit about meditation, and when we rebooted the computer, the Alpha program deleted itself from the computer completely."

"If only all bad news were as trivial as that!" Loki laughed. "You have a good amount of information AND a duplication of the Alpha program, so where would the problem be?"

"Sir, I..." Crocus trailed off, flustered.

"We will continue as scheduled," Loki told her. "The point is, Agent Mondo hadn't died from the modification process, and therefore, neither will I."

"But sir--!" Crocus began.

"We will continue as scheduled," Loki repeated sharply.

"Yes, sir," Crocus finally muttered.

"Good!" Loki smiled at her, nodded, and walked away, happier than he had been within the last few weeks.

All was going according to plan.

~~~

End episode 5*12*

---
Footnotes:

*1*: Flashback mode, if you haven't noticed. Let's get the Drew Carey Flashback Girl (from the improv episode involving the guy from Cheers and the Blue Man Group) in here! (By the way, she DOES kinda look like Ziggy, only with a different hair color and slightly different clothing. ^_-)

*2*: I just want to establish the fact that I had this planned even before the first episode was published. It's either that (a) Light Sneasel is a freaking psychic, or (b) I've made it REALLY, really obvious. ^_^; Either way, good job, Light Sneasel! =D

*3*: Loki was the other boy at the very beginning of the first episode. Now you know why I had you remember him. ^_-

*4*: Bill's refering to Westwood Academy (yes, named after Professor Westwood from "The Solution to Evolution"), another creation of mine. Supposedly, it's a private school in Johto for children wishing to go into some sort of occupational field having to do with Pokémon. Because, according to my fanworks (meaning this may not be real), he attended "the academy" AFTER his Pokémon journey, he had gained that interest in Pokémon (Read Masaki's character page on Ryoshuu [e-mail me for the URL] to understand this part. I'm not bothering here) and wound up there. Loki, who had gotten back in touch with him by this time, decided to attend the same school as his former friend, despite the fact that Bill was put in a much advanced grade that he was. And where does all of this come from? Unwritten fanfiction, unfortunately. ^_^;

*5*: These are some of the lyrics to "With You, I'm Born Again" by Billy Preston and Syreeta. (Only slightly modified so that this girl won't sing "Woman, don't you know with you I'm born again?" because she's straight. I have nothing against homosexuals/bisexuals; it's just a fact that this girl is straight. =/) It's an incredible song; I love it so much, though I'm aware that it really doesn't fit here. Unless you think it's false foreshadowing because Bill thinks this girl is Tess ressurected, at which point I'll have to say it's okay then. ^_^;

*6*: The otherworld is, in Celtic mythology, a world where one goes after they die to be revitalized before being reincarnated.

*7*: Actually, it is. William, according to a friend of mine (Mel-Mel) and Webster's (the dictionary, people), either means "determined protector" or "helmet." And yeah, I know. Helmet. And "kabuto" means "helmet" in Japanese. Yes people, there IS a connection! ...Unless Masaki-sama received his dubbed name AFTER "Masaki no Toudai" aired in Japan. Then it would be a weird coincidence... or the reason why the dubbers decided to curse Masaki-sama with the common name of Bill... =/

*8*: This might cause big confusion. Here, I concider the soul and the mind to be two separate things. In this work, the soul is not like a big ghosty spirit or something (as some concider it to be); it would be related to the heart and emotion, personality, subconsciousness, etc. The mind, however, would probably identify with that big ghosty thing if it ever took form. In other words, this would be the knowledge, identity, and consciousness of a person. Of course, I'm partially making this stuff up because it's nighttime once again, and I really don't feel like pulling out my books to verify all of this. -_-

*9*: This is partially true, remember? Just remember, kids, it's a REALLY STUPID idea to lie to cops!

*10*: Another name for a laptop, if you don't know. I dunno. I just can't see Bill saying "laptop." To me, that's an American thing someone British just wouldn't say. (Just like "french fries" are American, but "chips" are British.) Then again, there's a lot of things I've already written about that I just can't see Bill doing/saying, but that's another story. ^_^;

*11*: Refers to Mondo/Mundo, Musashi and Kojirou's little helper from the Roketto Dan drama CD's. For those of you who don't know, Mondo (as I prefer to call him) helps Musashi and Kojirou by helping them get back on their feet after blasting off, repairing the Nyassu balloon and other modes of Roketto transportation, and offering moral support, especially to Musashi. *wink, wink* (He's also a big fan of Nyassu and once traded his Metamon for our favorite scratchcat Pokémon.) Anyways, I happen to like Mondo (He's one of my favorite Rokettos, right under Sakaki, Kojirou, and Yamato.), so I couldn't help but include him here. Besides, I couldn't come up with a singular Rocket that had a punny name without ending up with a duo. O_o;

*12*: I know it was a semi-quickie that technically doesn't fit in with the normal flow of things (Bill doesn't go off and shift into a Pokémon to help someone; he shifts to listen to someone.), but hey, it answered a heck of a lotta questions. (That and it let me use Tess. I've been DYING to use that character somewhere... Hmm... Maybe she'll turn up later in Warp Series...) And by the way, the character of Zero is in reference to something specific. A nice, big bag of cyber Halloween candy goes to anyone who can correctly guess what, and a sum of Pokédollars on top of that to Light Sneasel if HE'S the person to get it. (Why money to only him? Because I'd be so amazed with the fact that he's basically figured out 55% of the story that I'd start paying him for anything further. ^_^;) And of course, I'm not telling right now. Hey, I still have to have a FEW mysteries in the story. After all, Quantum Leap was never completely figured out either. =/ (And by the way, yes, this chapter makes Warp Series VERY different from Quantum Leap, but didn't I tell you to expect that in the first episode? ^_-)