Title : Is It Really You?
Summary : What would happen if there had been a girl in Martin's life who broke his heart when she died? How much confusion would ensue if she were to suddenly reenter his life?
Rating : T for language
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PP : Well, it's time for Chapter 3! And, dear TaterTot has even come out of her room to help me out!
TT : You know this fic would go to hell without me. Anyways, I've decided that TaterTot isn't such a bad name, I mean it does go with PotatoPuff.
PP : Well, whatever. I suppose I am kind of glad that you're back, I mean I couldn't think of enough swear words to keep the chapter rolling.
TT : You see, that's why you don't write stuff like that. I'll turn you into a proper lady yet.
PP : Oh, yes, of course, you will...IN YOUR DREAMS! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA!
TT : Whatever. Will you just write the disclaimer and get this chapter started?
PP : NEVER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
TT : (backhands PotatoPuff, knocking her out) Well then, PotatoPuff does not own Martin Mystery or anything else that Marathon has copyrighted. She does own Rachel and this storyline though. Now, because PotatoPuff is unable to type right now, I get to write this chapter whatever way I want to! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Damn, she's starting to rub off on me. Let's just get this thing started.
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Chapter 3 : Could It Really Be?
"Martin, Martin, wake up!"
"Uh, no, five more minutes."
"Martin, the Center's been calling for an hour now, and it looks like you were having a nightmare."
Martin finally, slowly opened his eyes to find Diana standing over him with a concerned look on her face, shaking him awake. He slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position, knowing full well what his nightmare had been about.
"How did you know I was having a nightmare?" he asked.
"You were tossing and turning, and telling someone not to go. It almost looked like you were in pain."
The concern on Diana's face was starting to fade away, and he didn't want to worry her more, so he told her that it was nothing major, that he could hardly remember it now.
"Just give me 10 minutes to get ready, and we'll head off to the Center."
She didn't look completely satisfied, but she didn't ask him any more questions, which he was grateful for, just went outside to wait. Martin crawled out of bed, and over to the dresser. He just stood there for a moment with his eyes shut, head hanging down, feeling the pain tearing through his heart at letting her go again. He finally opened his eyes, and stared at himself in the mirror.
"Why did the dream continue this time?" he whispered. "Why was this time special?"
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The dream was still on Martin's mind as they walked into M.O.M.'s office a few minutes later, her last words, "duty calls", running through his mind. He was so deep in thought that he didn't see the cord laying on the floor in front of him. When he tripped over it, it came out of the wall, shutting off the lamps that were the only source of light in the office at the moment, and he grabbed the table in front of him to regain balance, shaking the table and causing the beaker on it to tip over and break. He heard it from two female voices at the same time:
"MARTIN!"
He winced. "Not again," he thought. Luckily, M.O.M. had been sitting at her desk at the time, and was able to turn the main lights on, so they could all see the bright purple liquid oozing over the floor.
"Whoops?" Martin said.
He could hear the danger and promises of violence in M.O.M.'s voice as she said, "You're lucky I need you on this mission, or else you'd be facing a 2-week suspension right now, Agent Mystery. Now, sit."
Martin rushed to do as she said, with Diana and Java following close behind him, scared to do anything right then to piss her off even more.
"You're being sent to New York to investigate a sudden pulse of paranormal activity that coincided with the reappearance of a G.P.S. signal that we haven't seen in 4 years. Both signs only appeared for the length of about a minute, a couple of hours ago, but we'd like you to see if you can find out what it was," M.O.M. told them.
Martin was confused. "A G.P.S. signal you haven't seen in 4 years? Well, whose was..."
He suddenly understood. He stared down at the floor and clutched his U-Watch tightly.
"Rachel..." he whispered.
M.O.M. just smiled at him sadly. "Yes, Martin. Now you understand why we need you on this mission."
Diana gasped, while Java just looked confused. Java had joined the Center after Rachel's death, but Diana remembered her. Rachel was the reason Martin had joined the Center, and because Martin joined, Diana had too. Rachel had died a week before Martin and Diana passed their final test and became full agents. Martin looked back up at M.O.M. with a question in his eyes, the same question that everyone who knew about the
G.P.S. signal was asking. Could it really be... her?
"Your rooms have already been reserved. That's where you'll be dropped off through the portal. The signal originated from Ground Zero. Good luck."
With that, M.O.M. opened up the portal and the three of them rushed through, Martin in the lead. After they were gone, and the portal was closed, M.O.M. sighed, and put her head in her hands.
"Oh, Martin," she said, "if only you knew who Rachel really was."
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"Martin, we've been searching ALL DAY. It's getting dark. I don't think we're going to find anything. It was probably just a glitch in the Center's computers." Diana said.
Martin sighed. He hated to admit it, but all day, the thought that Diana had just voiced had been echoed by his heart. The hopes that had surfaced when M.O.M. told him the news had slowly disappeared.
"You're probably right, Di. It's just, you didn't know her as well as I did. If there was even a whisper of a rumor that she was alive, I would've jumped on it, even though I saw her body. I just didn't want to give up if she really was here this morning," he said, holding back the tears as he turned to look at Diana.
They had been searching all day and the U-Watch hadn't even picked up a hint of the residue that should have been there after a burst of paranormal activity.
"I understand, Martin," Diana said, walking up and putting a hand on his shoulder, "it's just that we're all exhausted, and, if she was here, we should have picked up some sign of it hours ago. We'll go back to the hotel, get a good night's sleep, and report back to M.O.M. in the morning."
"Sounds like a good idea. Let's do that," Martin replied, only half concentrating on her. The other half of his mind was focused on a young lady with fiery red hair, and sparkling blue eyes, that had once again slid out of his grip.
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TT : Oh, that chapter was kind of depressing. MUCH better than anything SHE could write.
PP : Uhh, nun, wha, what happened?
TT : Nothing much, hey look! You've got Chapter 3 done!
PP : What? I don't remember doing that.
TT : (slinking away)
PP : YOU! GET BACK HERE NOW!
TT : Uh oh! I better get out of here! Please read & review! I'll really appreciate it!
PP : I AM SOOOO GOING TO TOTALLY MURDERIZE YOU!
TT : UH OH!