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The large airport windows vibrated slightly from the sound of the incoming air traffic. At one time they were probably completely silent, absorbing all of the vibrations and directing them away through the rest of the large structure of the building.. but they were just materials.. and materials break down after time.
Butch stared passively out the large portal, ignoring the slight hum it emanated whenever a plane landed. The other four in the group sat around the stout table, a cup of coffee for each of the humans, and a bowl of chicken and rice for the hungry pokemon.
Meowth had never enjoyed the idea of traveling in a pokeball, possibly from the notion that he fancied himself much better than other pokemon. In reality he was, of course, a very special creation.. How many pokemon could actually speak and understand english?
Jessie of course had never been overly kind to the cat.. maybe it was because she didn't like the way he'd scratch her, or maybe it was the fact that at times he seemed to usurp her authority in the group... In any case, she never seemed to have any qualms about locking him in a ball and sticking it in her pocket..
The flight in had been relatively short, only a little more than an hour. Jessie and James didn't seem to mind it, however, Butch could tell that Cassidy had enjoyed it even less than he had.. In their seating assignments he'd started out between two girls. They looked to be just into high school.. talked like it too. After about ten minutes of the two jabbering past him back and forth he'd offered to trade seats so he could get out of the uncomfortable position..
He didn't really pay attention as Jessie James and Meowth argued about assorted trifles, he just continued to watch as the large planes drifted in and flew away. His attention was diverted, however, to the sound of a cellular phone ringing.
Cassidy checked her bag, thinking it was her own phone. Of course it wasn't, her phone had been disabled for several days, and Butch leaned down under the table.
There was a small black phone lying under their bench, on the floor, and he picked it up, still ringing incessantly...
"Somebody must have dropped it.."
"Let me hold it!" Jessie said, snatching the device from his loose grip.
She grinned mischievously and clicked the button to receive the call.
"Hello?" Jessie sat there with the grin for a few moments longer before the expression melted away.. Her face was white as she stammered out, "Look, I don't know who you are, but you've got the wrong number and the wrong person.." she quickly shut the phone off and got up.
"What's wrong?"
"We've got to get out of here.. Meowth, return!" she held the pokeball up and Meowth was sucked in.
"Who was that? What's wrong?" James asked as they all got up from around the table.
Jessie didn't get a chance to answer.
"That was the boss."
The four turned to see five figures, four men and one woman, all dressed in black business suits and dark sunglasses approaching.
"Check please!" Cassidy said as she comically motioned to a nonexistent waiter.
"Well I'm sorry, Valli, but mountains are high, that's why they're mountains!"
Valli squealed every now and then as the two led their donkeys up the paths into the rising spires of the Andes mountains.
Sarah sighed and briefly entertained the notion of pushing her over the edge of the path so she'd be done with her for good.. Of course she didn't.. Valli was annoying a lot of times, but she was still one of her few friends..
Sarah hadn't even bothered to tell Valli that they'd been instructed to return to haven. "Better to disregard that and actually bring back a ring than to come back empty handed.." she thought to herself.
She pulled one of her canteens out of the satchel her donkey was hauling and took a swig of the warm water.
She looked down at the valley below as she returned the container to her donkey's burden. The small huts of the village where they'd acquired their supplies and beasts of burden were beginning to look like children's play toys in the distance..
They'd skipped Jerusalem, instead catching the first flight to LaPaz they could get. Sarah had dealt with those four jerks enough.. and in addition, they'd taken her gun.. she hadn't even had a chance to get a new one yet..
She grit her teeth as she thought about it..
"Hey Sarah, look at that."
"What?"
She turned to see Valli pointing towards the sky. She caught a brief glimpse of the blue and white helicopter just before it passed out of her view behind a nearby hill.
It felt as if all the blood had been drained out of her body as she turned to her friend, "turn around, we're going back!"
"What? Why??! We've been climbing this stupid path all day!"
"GO!!!"
Valli jumped back slightly at the force in Sarah's voice and turned her donkey around, walking back the way they'd come..
Sarah knew that helicopter.. it was one of the boss'.. she definitely didn't want to be caught.. They only thing to do now would be to hurry back to haven and hope no questions would be asked...
Jessie and James walked confidently in front of her.. this wasn't the first time they'd been prisoners.. but it still left an upset feeling in her stomach..
She looked over to Butch... The unconcerned expression on his face sent a shiver down her spine..
The four were led through the crowded airport and right out the main entrance.. Cassidy had toyed with the idea of running.. after all, their 'escorts' didn't even seem to have guns.. security in Jerusalem for that sort of thing was very tight..
Cassidy looked back towards the mammoth glass enclosed structure as they were led to a large black limousine with darkened windows. She bit her lip and slipped in the rear passenger side door after Jessie and James, Butch took the seat next to her. They were accompanied by two of the agents, one of the males, and the female..
Cassidy looked over at Jessie, wondering what she was waiting for.. normally she'd be the first to strike.. but her look was only met by an abbreviated wink..
She watched out the rear window as the airport tower receded in the quickly growing distance.. No one said anything, and her three companions still sat expressionless around her.. Only the light vibrations of the black radials against the cobblestone roadways intruded through the silence of the cabin.
Gradually the line of tall shops and boutiques was replaced with the closely huddled dwellings of the residential sector.. The sides of the lane were paced by the human refuse of the day.. Old women walked their laundry, and a few tourists tried in vain to blend in..
The distances between buildings gradually grew until they were replaced altogether by the sparse desert chaparral. The cobblestone lane also conceded to the parched dirt and gravel of the expanding wasteland that lay before them..
Cassidy felt a lump in her throat as she noticed the male agent sitting next to her sliding a handgun out of a small compartment hidden in a panel next to the seat.. She looked over at Jessie and James uncomfortably.. they were staring out of the driver side window, into the parched desert sea of late afternoon, no sign of concern on their features.. Butch looked likewise as comfortable with the situation.
She looked down at her clasped hands between her knees, and felt the vehicle slow to rest in the desolate evening wasteland.
The four were motioned by the muzzle of a handgun to exit the cabin, and Cassidy filed out behind Butch through the rear driver's side door.
The sun had not set completely, but still washed the landscape in a reddish glow as the four stood silently.
Their five arresters followed and stood in front of the limousine for a few moments. After appraising the situation with a malicious grin, the man that had been driving spoke.
"Well well.. If it isn't the stooge troop.. I've been waiting a long time for this."
Cassidy rolled her eyes.
"Confident till the end, I see. Now hand over what we want, and we'll make this painless as possible."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't you? Then who do you want to die first?"
The driver pointed his gun at James, "Him? Or maybe her." He directed his weapon from James to Jessie, then to Butch, "or maybe him.."
Cassidy grit her teeth as her eyes narrowed.
"Or maybe a self centered Team Rocket agent." The Female agent said as she placed the barrel of her gun against the driver's head.
Cassidy looked a little surprised, then smiled as she finally realized what was going on.
"Put your gun down, slowly, Egries."
Egries growled but slowly bent down to put his gun on the ground.
"Now kick it over to Cassidy."
He once again complied with a frustrated expression.
"Go ahead, pick it up, Cass."
Cassidy nodded and picked up the gun, pointing it back at Egries with a smirk. Two of the other agents had likewise caught the remaining one off guard and he'd given up his gun without any trouble.
"Go ahead and get back in, guys."
Jessie, James, and Butch all filed back into the rear cabin with a few jeers.
"You can go too, Cass."
"I'll just wait on that..."
"All right... Get down on your stomach, Egries.. Same with you Victor.."
Cassidy watched as the two men slowly got down on their hands and knees then laid face first on the hot desert ground.
"Ok, now you count to one thousand, then you get up and do whatever you want.. but if we see you again, we'll kill you.."
The two figures on the ground just grunted their acknowledgment.
"This is for your walk," she said as she drew a canteen out of the limo and tossed it down on the ground just next to where Egries lay.
Cassidy reluctantly returned to the rear cabin of the limousine, taking a long last look at the two figures lying on the desert gravel. The female agent followed her and the auto finally began moving again.
She felt a little embarrassed when Mondo took off his wig and pulled the fake brassiere out from under his clothes..
"Jesus, Mondo, it was you all that time? Why didn't you tell me?!" Cassidy said as she punched him lightly on the arm.
Everyone had a good laugh about it, Jessie and James had easily recognized their old partner, and apparently if Butch hadn't recognized him, he had done a good job suppressing his surprise..
Butch likewise dropped his bag and slumped down onto the rigid wooden chair adjacent to the flimsy light blue door.
It was still early evening on this longitude, but all of the traveling was really starting to get to the two..
Mondo shuffled in a few moments after them and shut the door, bringing his suitcase into the bathroom with him.
The ever growing group of travelers had decided to get some rest before beginning their search for the next, and, thus far, most elusive ring.
Cassidy had been a little surprised, and more than a little perturbed when Diedra had revealed herself.. Cassidy didn't much know her partner, Din, but she'd had only negative dealings with Diedra.. Diedra was a lot like Jessie used to be in most ways.. selfish, conceited.. and quite vindictive.. Of course, most of those things still described Jessie to a point.. but Jessie was much easier in her dealings with her inner group of friends now. Having opened up a little bit over the years.
Diedra and Din were in the room next door. They'd be staying with Jessie and James as they seemed to all get along well, plus it kept Mondo out of Jessie's way.. He wouldn't admit it, but everyone knew he held a slight jealousy of James when it came to Jessie.. But in any case Mondo was usually great fun.. Chatting about nothing for hours on end was his specialty, and helped curb the feelings of loneliness Cassidy sometimes experienced..
She sighed and rolled over onto her stomach. It seemed the group had been sitting all day.. sitting in airliners.. sitting in airports.. sitting in cars.. and her back was feeling the vengeance of it..
Butch was still sitting motionless, as he often would. Apparently thinking.. about what Cassidy never knew.. She knew him very well.. knew his favorite foods.. knew his favorite color.. She still didn't know what went on in his deepest thoughts though. They'd been friends since childhood. Going through school together Butch had always been a loner that didn't do much talking, he had a tendency to just stare off as if not paying attention to the present situation..
Cassidy didn't have a lot of social contact herself.. most likely due to her friendship with him. All of the other girls acted like they didn't like him, and precluded him from anything they did..
She smiled to herself slightly as she thought back to an episode that had happened when she was younger..
"Hey Butch.."
"Yeah?"
"Could you rub my back? It hurts.."
"Sure."
Cassidy went back to remembering as Butch came over to sit on the edge of the bed next to her.
When they were only 10 one of the most popular girls in school, Amy, threw a party.. She'd invited Cassidy, but specifically instructed her not to bring Butch, or even let him know there was a party at all.. Of course when the day arrived Cassidy just had to show up with him.. after all, she'd felt like he was her only real friend, and that everyone else should be so lucky as to make friends with him too.. It was tough convincing Butch to come.. he used to sit up in a tree house all of the time when he was little.. which meant that's where Cassidy spent most of her time as well.. He never was much for socializing, just couldn't seem to do a lot of talking..
When Cassidy finally showed up she got about the reaction she should have expected.. Especially considering everyone was ten years old.. Amy's parents weren't surprised at all.. there was no formal guest list or anything of that sort.. just a bunch of kids getting together to play silly little games and make lots of noise. Cassidy chuckled lightly to herself and stretched as Butch lightly massaged her shoulders. That was the last party she'd gone to before joining team rocket..
However, the one thing that really stuck out in her mind about that night was the way Butch had reacted.. When Amy took him aside to tell him that she hated him and didn't want him there, he'd just looked at her with the same blank expression he would have used if he were looking at a wall.. After awhile Amy just wandered off, and Butch and Cassidy left.
"Oh, uh, am I interrupting something?"
Cassidy's mind was pulled back to the present as she turned her head to look at Mondo.
Butch had also withdrawn his hands and looked over at their roommate as he exited the shower.
"It's ok, Mondo.. Butch was just trying to help me relax.."
"Yeah, I'm sure he was." Mondo answered back with a self assured grin.
Cassidy rolled herself over and sat up on the side of the bed as Butch got up and walked towards the bathroom.
"I'll just take my turn," was all he said as he picked up his pack and closed the door behind himself.
Cassidy looked at the door for a moment then flopped back again, staring up at the texturing on the ceiling.
She could hear Mondo going about normal sorts of activities.. putting on some cologne.. slipping on some socks and his shoes, and finally flipping the television on to look for anything that might be intelligible.
He took her a little off guard when he finally spoke.
"Hey Cass.. You like Butch, right?"
"Yeah.. I guess so.. why?"
"I mean, really like him.. not just the friendly act you put on.."
Cassidy bit back against her breath for a moment, then fired back.
"That's none of your business, Mondo."
"Aww, come on Cass, you can tell me.. and maybe if you do, you should tell him too.."
"Well do you like Jessie?" Cassidy came back with her secret weapon for this particular discussion..
"Hey.. that's different..."
"You bet it's different."
Cassidy rolled over to face fully away from him and pulled the covers up over herself.
"I'll take my shower in the morning, goodnight."
"..."
Mondo lowered the volume on the television, and she could hear him shift around on the other bed a little bit as she drifted away.
Some people believe that dreams are a glimpse of our own untapped extra sensory perception, or sixth sense.. A sense that allows us to see the future, or the past, or see things in places far away..
Many others believe that dreams are a psychiatric window for us to better understand our own emotions and feelings. Entire books and series of books have been written on the meanings of symbols in dreams..
Still some others believe in a more Freudian explanation, though somewhat more pedestrian, still having some merit, and some documented proof. The Freudian theories are basically all centered around dream imagery as a representation of human desire, neurosis, and phobia. According to these theories most dreams are also sexually related, and the adjoining neurosis and phobias are all also connected with human sexuality.
Or maybe life as we know it is really just a dream.
Any of these theories may be correct, and conversely, it's conceivable that none of them are..
Dreams may be messages from a higher power, instructions or lessons for us as humans.. Whatever these dreams may really be.. may they all be sweet and good..
The screen began with images of small children, running aimlessly over fields of long unkept grass. The images eventually shifted and focused in on two children that weren't moving.. a little blue-haired boy and a little girl with light blonde hair.. Cassidy squinted her eyes as she struggled to recognize them, but in the subconscious world of her dreams she couldn't seem to keep her thoughts straight.. She could only continue to watch the images on the screen unfold in front of her.
The young boy had a small animal in his hands.. it looked like a hamster.. no make that a mouse..
Cassidy felt a shiver run down her spine.. as much as she hated to act like a typical girl in any way at all, she still didn't like mice..
The boy held the mouse out for the girl, and she reached out to receive the gesture.
The girl held the mouse in front of her face and smiled at it innocently, but her smile was quickly abated as she tossed the mouse down.
The girl was suddenly bawling, and Cassidy could see why.. the crimson teardrop that fell from the tip of her finger.. She'd been bitten.
Cassidy closed her eyes to the sight.. she couldn't stand to see that child wail any longer.. However, as she closed her eyes she became aware of something else.. the sound around her.. not the sound of the child.. the images on the screen were accompanied by no audio.. but rather the sound of breathing.. a very deep and slow breathing..
Cassidy gradually opened her eyes and noticed the slight dampness around them... The image of the children was gone, and everything around her was dark again. But the breathing was still there..
"Yamato.."
The voice was even and low, and rumbled through her.. almost as if coming from within her own head..
"Where are you?"
The voice laughed for a moment.
"Where are you? And who's Yamato?"
"You are Yamato, and I am with you."
"No.. That's not my name.."
"It is your name."
"No, my name's Cassidy.."
"That's the name your parents gave you.. God named you Yamato."
Cassidy had long covered her ears, but it didn't seem to matter the voice rung right through her.
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
She rolled off the far side of her bed just as a dark figure lunged at her, the glint of a steel edge flashing in the subdued moonlight.
Butch and Mondo both shot up at the sound of her scream. Mondo jumped at the figure and was quickly thrown to the floor.
The shadowed figure raised the blade ready to come down on Mondo, but Butch flew in tackling him to the bed.
The two wrestled for a few moments, right in front of Cassidy, who scrambled as hard as she could away from the scuffle into the corner.
Mondo also seemed to be in some shock, watching the larger Butch wrestle around on the bed with their assailant.
They were fighting over the knife, and eventually it got worked down between them..
Cassidy held her breath as she heard the low groan.. Butch finally seemed to gain the upper hand.. and she winced as she heard the sickening sound of the blade cutting through flesh..
Finally the figure stopped moving, and Butch slid back off of it, onto his knees in between the beds.. His torso was covered in blood, as were his hands and arms.. He breathed unevenly, almost as if hyperventilating...
"The shakes..?"
Cassidy looked up to see James and the others standing at the door to the room..
Butch just nodded slowly, and Cassidy could see the tears in the sides of his eyes..
"Don't worry.. I still get em too.. bad.." James said as he walked over and kneeled down, resting a hand on Butch's back..
Butch just put his hands around his stomach and kneeled there shivering...
"Come on guys, get up.. we've got to hide this.."
Cassidy just continued to sit in the corner, staring at Butch.. who was still kneeling down holding his stomach as if to keep himself from vomiting.
James and Mondo stood up and picked up Egries' body..
"Looks like old Egries wanted revenge.." Mondo said as he helped shove the body under one of the beds at James' direction..
Cassidy looked back from Mondo to Butch, and felt a slight pang in her stomach.. Diedra was kneeling down next to him with her arm around his shoulders in an apparent attempt at comfort..
"Come on Butch.. you need to get cleaned up.." she said as she stood and tried to pull him up by his shoulder.
He finally stood up wobbly and she walked him towards the bathroom..
"Tell you what, Cassidy.. we'll all stay in our room tonight, all right?" James said as he walked over to her and extended his hand down to her..
She reluctantly took it and was led out, looking back towards the wet puddle of blood that stained the top of the bed...