A/N: In the last chapter, I said that Dr. Brown and his group were somewhere over the Indian Ocean. After checking on that for this fic, I found they should not be over the Indian Ocean, but the Mediterranean Sea. This is now changed. Please forgive me! *begs*
-Chapter Five-
(Black Fortress, East Hall Library, Indigo
Mountain)
Ni leafed through one
of Midas' large old books, filled with pictures of weapons and instructions
of several different fighting techniques. He scanned over the information
lightly, then moved the book aside, revealing his journal. He opened it
up and turned to a page full of sketches of that girl-Pie. He ran his fingertips
over the outline of her face and could almost feel what he imagined to
be soft, smooth skin. He gazed intently at the way he had drawn her eyes.
"I wonder…" he whispered
to himself, "how many times I've become lost in those eyes… What do they
look like when she's happy…when she's sad…or angry…"
He sighed silently then tensed as he heard the
sharp click of ShapeShifter's boots on the concrete floor. He quickly stuffed
the journal into his jacket and looked down at Midas' book again. After
a few moments, he felt her hands on his shoulders. Her chin rested on his
head as she looked at the book he was reading.
"Studying, Ni? Very
good. The boss says he'll have another mission for us soon."
Ni nodded slightly, feigning interest in the
book.
"So, is this all you've
been doing? Reading?"
"Yeah…just reading."
"Oh, I see," she drawled,
her hand sliding down to his chest.
Ni's eyes widened and reached up to stop her,
but she grabbed the journal and held it away from him. Ni turned around
in his chair.
"Shape, I…"
She shook her head, frowning.
"You need to concentrate,
Ni. On this book, not Pie."
She said the name with disgust.
"Dessert comes after
your dinner," she remarked, tapping the open book with her fingers before
walking away.
(On the shore of Palermo, Italy)
Dragonite's big eyes
searched frantically over the large, rolling waves. She brightened up when
she saw Dr. Brown's head pop out of the water. She flew out over him and
picked him up gently, taking him back to the shore. Dr. Brown looked up
at her with a grateful smile. As they landed on the shore, James was washed
onto the shore by a large wave. A soaked Meowth came crawling pitifully
out from his white jacket and they laid on the shore, gasping for breath.
Dr. Brown looked back out at the raging sea, his expression becoming grim.
"James, I can't see
Jessie out there."
James stood up shakily and watched the waters.
"Doc, I can't swim…"
"Neither can I…"
"Don't look at Me-owth,"
the cat remarked.
James' green eyes flashed with worry.
"Doctor, what'll we
do?" he whimpered.
Dragonite was already on it. She flew up into
the air and dove straight down into the freezing waters.
Demons were practically
filling the sea. They grabbed mercilessly at Jessie, who was struggling
to get to the surface. They covered her mouth, her nose, her entire face,
and she was finding it extremely difficult to breath. She reached out above
her, gripping for something, anything as she slipped out of consciousness.
Dragonite gripped her hands tightly and pulled at her. The demons refused
to let go. She narrowed her eyes at them and shot at them with a Hyper
Beam. They released their prisoner from her watery grave, and Dragonite
pulled her out from the sea.
(Black Fortress, East Hall Bedroom, Indigo
Mountain)
Ni brushed back his silky
black hair from his face and pushed it behind his ear, revealing a diamond
stud. He watched it sparkle in the mirror before him and saw ShapeShifter
appear behind him. She draped her arms around his neck and rested her chin
on his shoulder.
"It suits you, Ni,"
she purred, running her fingertips along his ear.
"Thanks," he said slowly.
"Shape?"
"Yes, Ni?"
"Can I…have my journal
back?"
ShapeShifter sighed and removed her fingers from
his ear.
"Why? Because of that
girl? Ni, why do you keep thinking about her?"
He set down his hairbrush and moved his hair
back into place.
"I just keep thinking
that she must be important to me, Shape…"
ShapeShifter turned him to face her. She placed
her hands on the sides of his face softly.
"Ni, you have a new
life here. With Midas and me… You're part of our new family. You don't
need Pie. She's a part of your old life. The life you left behind that
night I found you—out cold, in an alley."
Ni's eyes strayed from hers. She frowned slightly.
"LOOK. AT. ME."
Ni's eyes met hers again and she smiled at him.
"Now…aren't I a lot
prettier than that girl, anyway?"
"Shape…"
She cut him off as she pressed her lips to his.
Ni froze and shivered at the feeling of her cold kiss. There was a knock
at the door and ShapeShifter pulled away from him. Midas walked inside
the room and smiled at them.
"Good evening you two!
I request your presence in the Meeting Room!"
(Black Fortress, Meeting Room, Indigo Mountain)
Midas sat at the head
of a long table in the quiet room. He faced the group before him.
"Friends. All of you
are now proud members of the Midas Family. We all here like to help each
other. So, as your first group assignment, you all are going to help ME
out. First I'm going to introduce all of you to each other."
He stood and walked around to Ni. He placed his
hands on his shoulders.
"Ni Muchiwa. The newest
member of our family. Sadly, he has a very bad case of amnesia."
The people around the table nodded their sympathies.
"ShapeShifter. One of
our Dark Lord's first creations. Has the amazing ability to shift shapes.
"Billy Kidd. A former
member of Team Rocket. He has been dead for about five years."
Ni's eyes widened as he looked at Billy. The
man before him looked as alive as he did, or as Midas did. What did he
mean he was dead?
"Genesis Morgan. An
old comrade of Professor Samuel Oak. He has been dead for ten years.
"And last but not least,
Miyamoto Parker. Another former member of TR, who now wants her revenge
on the organization that sent her to her death. Which was about eleven
years ago."
Ni looked at Miyamoto.
My God, she looks so young.
Miyamoto caught his stare and smiled at him.
He managed to smile back.
"You all have a piece
of paper in front of you. On that paper is the location of the place I
want you to go."
Ni turned over his piece of paper along with
everybody else.
The Bahamas… That…sounds so familiar…
Midas sat down in his big chair and sighed.
"Now, I'm going to tell
you a story of a war that happened a long time ago…"
End of Chapter Five.
