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.