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"Wake up and open the door!" came a loud, yet familiar voice from the hall, interrupting Cassidy and the rest of the group's peaceful slumber.
Butch got up off the floor, his joints aching slightly, and picked up his handgun. Cassidy had already pulled another pillow over her head in an attempt to drown out the noise, and Jessie and James watched Butch approach the door from their bed with rather annoyed looks on their faces.
Butch lowered his gun to his side and opened the door with a sigh of relief as Meowth walked in.
"Meowth, what are you doing here?" Jessie asked as the pokemon hopped up on the bed beside herself and James.
"Didn't Mondo call youz guys last night?"
"Oh God, don't tell me you're the operative." Jessie said as she rolled her eyes and flopped back on the bed.
James cracked a grin.
"Hah hah. Well who else could he send for such an important mission?"
James thought for a moment, then responded with a large smile, "Lets see, there's Alvin, or maybe Dan, wait, definitely Diedra.."
"Ah shuddup.."
Everyone but Meowth laughed for a few moments when Jessie finally asked him what he really was doing there.
The short wide eyed pokemon rubbed his chin.
"You gots two of the rings now, right?"
"Yeah.." everyone nodded as Jessie answered.
"And you're wondering why you're after them, right?"
"Er... yeah.." Butch responded
"Here, let me hold one."
"What for?"
"I take it you haven't tried wearing the ring yet.." The pokemon held his paw out to Butch, waiting for him to place the ring on it, "believe me.. it'll be easier if you see this for yourself..."
Jessie nodded and Butch pulled one of the rings out of his bag, handing it to the feline.
"Ok... watch me very closely..." Meowth said as he slowly held up the ring in his left hand, and extended one of his stubby fingers from his right hand.
As he slowly brought the ring towards his finger Jessie cocked an eyebrow wondering just what the cat hoped to prove.. Then he was gone.. She blinked a few times and looked around herself as did the other three.
"What the hell?!" Cassidy exclaimed, "Where's Meowth??"
Meowth had literally vanished without a trace... just as if he'd never been standing in front of them at all.
Everyone stood up, James checked under the bed and Butch looked out into the hallway, but there was no sign of him.
"Looking for me?"
Everyone jerked around to see Meowth standing up on the bed where he'd been before.
"How'd you do that?!" Jessie demanded.
"Yeah, where were you, Meowth?" Cassidy added in as James eyed the pokemon from behind Jessie.
"Isn't it obvious yet???!" Meowth raised the ring to his finger and disappeared again, then reappeared a moment later.
"It's obviously got something to do with that ring, but how's it turn you invisible?"
"Well 'duh...' of course it's the ring, and it's not turning me invisible..." As Meowth said this he tossed the ring to James. "Go ahead... try it out.."
Everyone looked over at James.. He was a little reluctant to try, but figured if Meowth could do it, there should be no reason that he couldn't.. So he slipped it on.
It was like someone flipping on a light switch in a dark room... not that it was overly bright, but that what he saw now wasn't what he'd seen before..
He was standing in a cavern.. or so it appeared.. The colors were all wrong... Purple and blue made up the smooth stone walls, and Meowth and the others were gone.
And not just that.. he could hear a distant chattering sound... but he couldn't understand the words.. it was like a hundred whispers mixed together.. and not just that.. James kept seeing the shadows moving off in his peripheral vision, but every time he turned his head, there was nothing.
The strangest thing he thought to himself was the lack of any noise.. there was the slight sound of air moving, but other than that, there was really nothing else normal audible.. James felt a shiver run down his spine, and he quickly grasped the ring with his right hand removing it.
"James!"
Jessie hugged him.
"What?"
"Why'd you take so long?"
"What do you mean? I was only gone a few seconds."
"James, you were gone for almost 20 minutes."
"It didn't seem that long..."
He looked down at his watch, it confirmed that he'd been gone for much longer than he'd thought.
Meowth spoke up, "it seems to be one of the side effects..."
"Where was I, Meowth?"
"I already explained most of it to everyone, but I'll go over it again.."
James nodded and slipped the ring into his pocket as he sat down on the bed.
"Now first off. I don't know everything about this.. in fact, everything I know is second hand.."
"From who?"
Meowth grinned ear to ear, "From the pidgey in Giovanni's townhouse."
James cocked an eyebrow and waited for Meowth to continue.
"When you slip on that ring it changes your brainwaves... I don't know why, or what that does.. I don't even know if that's a cause or effect of the transportation. What I do know is that the other place you saw is real, and unreal in a way.. It's a source of power.. that's why Giovanni wants these rings."
"Giovanni's not the only one that wants them.."
Meowth nodded, "Butch already told me about the situation..."
"I'm not sure that Giovanni should have them now either." Butch added.
"That's the reason I came.." Meowth quickly answered.
"Ok, so what now? Do we just stop? We can't do that, Giovanni would have us killed if we showed up without the other rings knowing what we know.."
"You're right, we can't stop now. We must retrieve the other rings before they do."
"Who's 'they' anyway?"
Butch rubbed his chin for a moment, "Well.. we don't know who they are.. but I doubt they're looking for them for any virtuous reason..."
Meowth added in, "what's more, from what I've gathered.. that other world, dimension.. or whatever you want to call it.. isn't as abandoned as it seems...
"Damn.. this thing is deeper than I thought.." she thought as she looked up to see Valli staring back down at her from the edge of the crevice. The floor was still about twenty feet down when Sarah felt the rope suddenly go slack, and she hit hard on the stone base of the crypt.
"Valli!" Sarah screamed as she sat up, her bottom throbbing from the fall. She looked back up at the crevice; Valli wasn't standing over it anymore. A feeling of sick hopelessness rushed over her.
"Sarah, are you ok?"
She looked back up to see Valli had returned to the opening in the ceiling.
"Valli! How'd you let them do this??!"
"They said something about a spider and a curse, then they all ran away."
"Well pull the rope back up!"
"Um... Sarah... the rope is down there with you..."
Sarah turned her flashlight and a few feet away saw the end of the rope that had followed her down.. She sighed and pulled her knees up to herself..
"I'll go find a rope or someone to help."
Sarah didn't bother to respond, she just curled up in the small circle of sunlight that came down from the ceiling, hoping Valli would find some way to get her out sooner rather than later...
James turned to Butch, "Why don't you give it a try?"
The two were sitting in adjacent seats on the airliner. They were heading for egypt, their work in the east was done..
Butch had felt uneasy about the rings since Meowth had first explained things to them. He also thought about how strange it was that he'd never even tried any of them on.
"I dunno.. maybe when we're on solid ground."
"Well.. it was just a cave.. There isn't really anything else to say.. it was a little on the weird side though.."
Butch nodded as a stewardess handed them each a pack of peanuts.
James poked Butch to get his attention again and smiled wickedly as he tossed peanuts over the seat in front of them on Jessie and Cassidy.
Butch laughed a little too before Jessie got up with an angry look on her face and snatched both of their snack-packs.
After she sat back down James had a good laugh. Butch just felt his stomach rumble and was glad the flight would soon be over..
As Valli plodded on and took a swig from her canteen she noticed what looked like a truck driving over the dunes in the distance.. and what's more.. it was heading in her direction.
As the vehicle got closer she could make out that it was a jeep, and there were 4 people in it: two guys and two girls..
She flagged them down as they approached, hoping to get some help without having to go all the way back to town.
James rolled down the window as he approached, smiling out at the young woman. "What's a sweet young thing like you doing out here?"
Butch and Cassidy shared a quiet laugh from the back seat as Jessie pinched James hard on the back in retaliation to the flirtatious greeting.
Valli blushed a little, then said that her friend had fallen into an old trap, and she'd need help and a rope to get her out.
"hmm... well we'll give you a ride then," James said
"What about the camel?"
"Don't worry, just get in and bring your stuff, he'll find his way back home."
"Ok.." Valli said as Butch scooted over up against Cassidy in the back seat so the young woman could sit next to him.
Cassidy felt a little flushed at the gratuitous contact and turned her head to look out the passenger window in the hopes that no one would notice..
Valli directed James on what way to go, and everyone raised an eyebrow noticing they were headed in the same direction that the GPS was pointing them.
After a few minutes they reached a small work site and everyone got out, Butch grabbed the rope out of the back as they did, and James slipped his .38 into his right-hand pocket.
Valli walked over to the crevice and yelled down, "Sarah, I'm back, we're going to get you out!"
"It's about time!!" Sarah yelled back, walking over to stand under the opening.
Valli threaded the nylon rope through the pulley and Butch lowered it down.
"Ask her if she got the ring." James said to Valli with a grin.
Valli (being the air head that she is) didn't think anything strange of James asking such a question, "hey Sarah, did you get the ring?"
"Yeah, I got it, now get me out of here!!"
Butch finished lowering the rope, and after a few seconds felt several tugs on it. He pulled the light load up.
"Finally!" Sarah said as she got off the rope and kneeled down on the sand. But her elation soon turned to despair as she looked down the barrel of a .38.
"Hand it over." James said with a smile as Butch handcuffed the struggling Valli and tossed her to lie on her back on the sand.
Sarah grit her teeth and gave James the ring as Jessie looked on evilly from behind him.
"Oh yeah, and another thing, 'Love', put these on." Cassidy said as she tossed her a pair of handcuffs.
Sarah put on the handcuffs and made a mental note to herself that she would have to inflict severe amounts of pain on Valli when she got the chance..