(New Team Rocket HQ, Laboratory Offices, Viridian
City)
Dr. Brown stared outside
the window of his office, tracing his fingers along his desk as Giovanni
so often did. When Jessie showed up with her unconscious partner, he had
convince himself that James had simply exhausted himself. But he knew better
now. After examining his favorite agent, the doctor knew. He knew all too
well. Dr. Brown knew the smell of demon breath. He had breathed it several
times…many years ago.
But the Darkness was sealed away into another
world… Could it be possible that someone actually had the power to bring
it back?
"Doctor!"
Dr. Brown was snapped out of his reverie.
"Yes, Parker?"
Jessie walked into his office, frowning at the
scientist.
"Your assistant told
me I couldn't go in to see James! Why is that?"
"I need to keep him
isolated for a few hours. If you went in with him, it's possible that you
could be contaminated…"
"Contaminated? What
the hell are you talking about?"
"Look, Jessie… It's
just very important that I run some tests on him. Why don't you do something…productive?
Go shopping or something."
"It's tempting, but
right now I need to know what's wrong with my partner."
"It's very hard to explain,
and even harder to believe…"
"Tell me what's wrong
with James!"
Dr. Brown raised his hands defensively as Jessie
stepped closer.
"All right, all right!
But I'm warning you…this might sound alittle strange."
Jessie nodded and took a seat across from him,
calming down alittle bit. Dr. Brown looked out the window, hesitating.
"Jessie… James was attacked
by a creature…called a demon."
Jessie stared at Dr. Brown for a few minutes.
"Doc…I'd kinda like
facts here."
Dr. Brown sighed.
"These are the facts,
Jessie. There are these creatures, these monsters, called demons. They
are the most vile, disgusting, and evil creatures on the planet. They work
for…for a…a bigger monster. He's like their king, I suppose. And they go
and carry out his grunt work—theft, stake outs, construction, kidnappings,
or, in some cases, homicide."
He paused here, wanting to make sure Jessie understood
so far. She didn't say anything, so assuming she did, he went on.
"Now these demons have
a special…attack, you could call it. You see, they have very distinctive…breath.
And when they track someone down and fight them, they…well, breathe on
them."
Dr. Brown saw Jessie's eyebrows rise here, but
continued.
"Once a demon has breathed
on their uh, victim, the victim falls unconscious. This of course, leaves
them completely vulnerable, and allows the demon to…to…kill them."
Jessie stood up again.
"Doctor, I hate to interrupt
your little story, but what does this have to do with James? He's not dead."
"You're right, he's
not…yet."
Her eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if you'd let
me finish…"
Jessie sighed and sat back down.
"Thank you. If a demon
for some reason is stopped or has to go, he will leave the victim in their
unconscious state. However…the victim is not forgotten. As long as he or
she has breathed on, the demon will not stop chasing them…until they've
killed them."
Dr. Brown sat in silence, waiting for this to
sink in. Jessie stared at him, her blue eyes widening.
"So…so, what are you
saying?" She asked in a trembling voice.
"I'm saying…the demon
that attacked James will go after him. And once he finds him…"
He didn't have to continue. The look in Jessie's
eyes told him that much.
(New Team Rocket HQ, Boss Office, Viridian
City)
Domino was known as Agent
009. She was the best agent on the entire team. She never failed a mission,
she never missed a shot, and she was always prepared. All this was because
she worked alone. Domino didn't do well with a partner. They would only
slow her down. She wasn't the type of girl who was ready to watch her back
and her partner's. She just wasn't up to it. It wasn't her style. So naturally,
when the boss gave her the assignment, she was very unhappy.
"You expect me to work
with HIM??" She cried, pointing to the boy at her side.
Mondo didn't seem to notice. He was too stunned
that the boss had actually given him a mission. A REAL mission. And he
had been partnered with Miss Domino! An agent like him…with an elite like
Miss Domino.
"I can't work with him,"
Domino said in disgust. "He's not even a real field agent! He hasn't had
any experience!"
"A job like this doesn't
really need experience. He'll have you there to coach him, besides," Giovanni
calmly replied.
Domino flailed her arms about.
"But, but, but…I thought
you told me that field agents like Kidd and Sundance were dispensable!"
Giovanni stroked his Persian.
"I know. But it's not
Kidd and Sundance I'm worried about. I want to know what's going on up
there. Those two are the only ones who can tell me."
"But…" Domino began
to protest.
"Are you questioning
my authority, 009?" He asked in an icy voice.
Domino stepped back and hung her head, dropping
her hands to her side.
"No sir…" She muttered.
Giovanni turned to the young boy.
"Mondo, do you understand
your assignment?"
Mondo snapped back into reality.
"Uh, uh…sir?"
Domino groaned.
"If you need anything,
ask Domino. She will be your mentor on this mission. Don't fail me."
"Yes sir!"
"Right…"
"You are dismissed."
As soon as they were outside, Domino grabbed
Mondo by his jacket collar and pulled him to her.
"Now listen, rookie!"
She growled. "I'm not going to mess this up looking out for you! You better
follow my instructions and stick to them exactly, because if you get caught,
I'm NOT going back in to save you! Understand?"
Mondo gulped and smiled weakly.
"Yes, Miss Domino!"
Domino scowled and pushed him away.
"Good. Then let's get
going."
Outside the boss' office,
Candy, the secretary, sat daintily at her desk. No one was in the halls
now, except a female executive talking quietly to a new Dan'in. She watched
them for a few seconds, then looked away, opening an old magazine the boss
had allowed her to have. After flipping through the pages some, she sighed.
"This is such a boring
day…"
"Maybe I can change
that for you," she heard someone say behind her.
She whirled around in her chair, to stare up
into the shadowed face of the executive.
"Excuse me?"
The woman smirked and brought out a gun, smacking
her upside the head with it. Candy let out one pained gasp before sliding
to the floor.
"That was way too easy."
ShapeShifter molded her body to resemble Candy's
blonde locks, blue eyes, and petite figure. She turned to Ni who was dressed
as a Dan'in agent.
"Now, I'm going to tell
the boss that you're here to receive your first mission, alright? You're
going to tie him up and gag him. Make sure you tie him tight. But don't
leave any bruises or anything."
Ni nodded and watched as ShapeShifter knocked
on Giovanni's door.
"Sir! There's a Dan'in
here for his first mission! Shall I send him in?"
Giovanni's gruff reply came from behind the door.
"Yes, go ahead!"
ShapeShifter jerked her head towards the door.
"And remember, if any
agents come in, shoot first and ask questions later."
"You mean I'll have
to…kill them?"
ShapeShifter cut her eyes at him, and he went
inside.
Giovanni looked up at
him and pulled open a drawer of files.
"So, you are ready for
a mission, are you?"
"Yes sir."
"Very well. I shall
see if I have anything for you…"
As he was looking through the papers, Ni brought
the rope Midas had supplied him with out from his pocket, along with his
gun.
"Ah, I think here is
something…" Giovanni stopped, feeling the cold metal against his forehead.
"Come quietly, Giovanni.
And I won't have to hurt you."
Giovanni slid his hand under his desk, pushing
a button with a silent alarm that only his guards could hear in their earpieces.
He slowly stood up, allowing Ni to tie the rope around him.
Outside, ShapeShifter
heard the thundering pound of boots against the tiled hallways. She kicked
Candy's body under the desk as the guards came into view.
"We heard the boss'
alarm!" They panted.
ShapeShifter pointed down another corridor.
"Intruders! They went
that way!"
The guards followed her directions without hesitation.
ShapeShifter smirked, but wasn't for long. She gave out a short yelp, realizing
Candy had come to when she kicked roughly at her legs, knocking her to
the floor. Candy stood and stomped her high heeled foot down on the imposter's
hair, pinning her to the floor.
"Guards! Get back here!
In Giovanni's office!!"
The sound of the guards skidding to a stop echoed
through the halls and they turned around and ran back the way they came.
ShapeShifter growled and reached up and dug her sharp fingernails into
Candy's leg, drawing blood. Candy screamed and brought her leg away, allowing
her to stand again. ShapeShifter whipped out her gun, but before she could
shoot, a guard leaped at her and wrestled her to the ground. He squeezed
her hand tightly until she let go of the weapon and he tossed it to Candy.
He grabbed ShapeShifter in a vice grip that almost made her choke. Then
he and the other guards bust into Giovanni's office. Ni froze as they entered
and Giovanni took the chance to elbow him hard in the stomach, momentarily
knocking the wind out of him. Giovanni broke free of the ropes and grabbed
both of Ni's wrists. The two locked stares and Giovanni was shocked for
a split second at how empty the man's eyes were. Giovanni wrenched Ni's
gun from him and pushed him away. As the guards advanced towards Ni, ShapeShifter
managed to grab a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground. The shock stopped
Giovanni and the guards instantly and the started to wheeze. Ni felt ShapeShifter
grab his arm.
"Forget Giovanni. It's
time to retreat."
When the red smoke cleared away, Ni and ShapeShifter
were gone.
(New Team Rocket HQ, Parking Deck, Viridian City)
Domino watched Mondo
stuff their equipment in the back of the white rocket jeep. She tapped
her foot impatiently.
"My gosh, you're so
slow!"
" I'm sorry, Miss Domino…"
"Yeah, you sure are,"
she snorted.
Mondo opened his mouth to reply, but was cut
off by Candy's voice on the intercom.
"Mondo and Agent 009,
please report to the main desk. Mondo and Agent 009, please report to the
main desk."
Mondo turned to Domino.
"What do you think they
want, Miss Domino?"
Domino began walking towards the elevators.
"Hopefully to take me
off this damned mission…" She muttered under her breath.
Giovanni and Mark were
waiting in front of Candy's desk when Domino and Mondo arrived. Candy's
hair and make-up was messed up and her clothes were wrinkled. Domino scoffed--very
unprofessional for the boss' head secretary.
"You asked for us, sir?"
"Yes. There has been
a slight change in plans."
Domino brightened at this statement. Mondo got
nervous.
"You'll still carry
out your "rescue mission"…"
Domino sighed.
"…but there's something
else I need your…assistance on."
"What's happened, Boss?"
"It appears that Team
Rocket is being attacked," Mark answered, "at least, Giovanni is. We need
to take him to a safe place for him to wait until our enemy has been taken
care of. We need you two to escort him to our Underground Base beneath
Celadon City."
"An underground base?
Don't you think that's a little extreme?" Domino interrupted.
"No, the boss does not,"
Mark replied sharply. "While the boss is in hiding, you and all the other
agents will answer to me. Understand?"
Domino scowled.
"Whatever."
Giovanni wasn't paying attention. His thoughts
were drifting back to the attack in his office. After the attackers had
left, Giovanni had gotten a good, long look at the man's gun. Inscribed
in the metal had been a name Giovanni hadn't heard in years and he had
almost forgotten.
Midas Ranielli. My little cousin is at it
again.
Only this time, it was much more than it ever
was before. Giovanni didn't know what Midas had up his sleeve, but he knew
his cousin was crazy. And he would do anything to bring Giovanni out of
power…and maybe even worse.
(New Team Rocket HQ, Agent Morgan's Room, Viridian
City)
Jessie sat beside her
sleeping partner, absentmindedly playing with his soft blue hair. Dr. Brown
watched her from the doorway, scribbling something on his clipboard. James'
eyes slowly opened and he looked up at Jessie.
"Jess…"
"Oh, you're awake!"
Dr. Brown exclaimed, about to walk out. "Very good! Now I'll just leave
you two here, and…"
"Doctor!" Jessie hissed.
Dr. Brown sighed and turned back to them. James
sat up, more confused than usual.
"What happened?" He
asked Jessie.
Jessie managed to smile weakly at him before
turning to the doctor.
"Dr. Brown's going to
tell us. He's going to tell us EVERYTHING."
Dr. Brown nodded and sat down in a chair across
James' bed.
"Very well. James, I'm
afraid you are in grave danger. The whole world is, for that matter. It's
a very long story…and one I would like to forget. But you two have a right
to know…"
Meowth and the other pokémon stood outside
the door, listening in attentively.
"Many years ago, before
either of you were born, there was a war. A war nobody save a few selected
people remember…"
End of Chapter Seven
