Story Notes:
my next story in the Imperfect universe, and my first real foray into the Film noir/hardboiled area. hope you like it as much as I liked writing it. see if you can spot the inspiration for it. (i'll give you a hint: one came from this site, and the other came from a famous sci-fi movie about androids that needed to be terminated)
The mask of ice
Chapter two.
Back in my office, things didn't change much. As usual I was given the whole big ritualistic questionnaire from Sain. He wanted to know who the girl I had brought with me was. He was even dull enough to suggest she was my girlfriend. I simply shook my head with a smile. Rica on the other hand blushed. Now that I thought about it, the last girlfriend I had been with died almost five hundred years ago, give or take a few years. I had been seventeen on those days, my birthday being very close. But a few days after I became legally able to smoke and vote, my life was extended beyond its normal course. But some things never change...
Sain laughed as he left the office. Rica's face remained red for a good while. I simply took my usual sit, leaned back, and began to wander off into my own little world. Suddenly, Rica brought me back from my own little world with a motion. She was holding the picture of my deceased parents that I kept in my desk. It had the date written in red ink. She simply seemed confused. I snorted, looks like I would have to explain the whole damn mess of a system again. She opened her mouth to speak, but I stole the words from her
"Yes, that is I. That picture was taken roughly five hundred years ago, before the shift"
Rica seemed more confused. I sighted. She spoke anyway
"But you look exactly the same. If your really are older than five hundred years, shouldn't you look a bit more... mature?"
I shook my head
"Been wondering about that for a long time myself"
Rica seemed curios, so I sighted and started retelling the same story I've given everyone for a long time over again.
"To make it easier to follow someone's real age, the government simply established a set of measurements that made very little sense unless you had a degree in advance mathematics or physics. Basically, if someone had been born after or during the shift period (about five years in length) you aged ten years every hundred years. A normal human (Imperfect V3) could live to be...well..."
I placed my hand on my chin.
"... Now that I think about it, no one really knows how long V3s can really live. No one has ever really died of old age"
Rica seemed fascinated by this fact. It looked as though she had never really put any effort into this kind of thing. I kept going
"Another thing that has not changed in over a thousand years... if the government says its true, then it must be true. I say Bullshit!"
Rica simply giggled at my reaction. I shot a cold stare at her, but she kept giggling anyway.
"You act like your age at least! Hehehe"
Something about that giggling made me anxious, it wasn't because I was afraid of girls or anything, I could care less about that, if a girl wanted to get screwed by me, then who was I to say no? It hasn't happened yet, and I hope a few hundred more years pass before it does happen. No, it was the fact that she could produce such amusement after what had nearly happened to her.
Rica then asked me something I did not expect at all.
"So... if what you say about the age measurements is true, then what is your 'legal' age?"
I sighted, I always hated this part
"I had been eighteen years when the Shift happened. And about five hundred years have passed since then. So if my calculations are correct; that would make me about... 68 years of age"
I paused. I got mad for no reason
"A real god dammed mistake! According to the doctors I am still 18 years of age physically! And that is what counts! But because of the screwed up system, I am an old man!!"
Rica now broke out into pure laughter. I was actually beginning to loose my cool. Only one person had laughed at me like that. Rica wiped a tear off
"Well, if that's true; then you my friend are the HOTTEST 68 year old man in the world!"
I scoffed and turned around in my chair. Rica seemed to have taken the hint
"I was only kidding! Can't you take a joke?"
I simply remained quiet. I pointed towards the closet in my office
"You will find a sleeping bag and some fresh clothes in there. You will stay here for the night"
At that sentence, Rica seemed to be filled with fear. I could already smell it in the air. I asked without even facing her
"Why are you so afraid all of a sudden? Frightened the Bogeyman will come and get you?"
Rica simply remained quiet. I cold already tell something was off. I turned my chair around and faced Rica
"There is something you haven't told me yet. Isn't there?"
She nodded. I continued my inexorable stare
"What is it?"
She gulped
"Those men that attacked me..."
I finished the sentence for her
"They where after something, weren't they? That was no random attack. You're hiding something...tell me... later; not tonight"
Rica simply looked shocked. I got up from my chair and started to walk out of the office. Right when I was on the door I turned around and faced Rica one more time. She was getting ready to speak. I raised a hand
"Whatever it is, it can wait till morning. Just get some rest"
Rica once again broke into silent tears. I began to close the door
"Don't worry about being alone, Sain and Torn usually sleep here. So if anything goes wrong, they will know"
Rica nodded while still freely crying. I closed the door and locked it. As I made my way down the hall I met up with Sain who was carrying two extra large cups of decaf, and a murky smile on his face
"So; no screaming tonight? What a shame!"
I laughed
"Shut up old man. I'm too tired to stay the night. I'm going home to get some shut eye"
Sain simply looked surprised
"Drake, the night stalker finally succumbs to sleep? What happened to the old Drake?"
I shook my head, just as I was walking out of the building, Sain called me
"Hey!"
I turned around. Sain's smile was gone; instead it had been replaced by his usual solemn look
"That girl... if what your report says it's true... you know well what we have to do"
I nodded with impatience
"Yes, I know. We have to protect her with out lives if we have to. All because she has the last name of our founder"
Sain looked angry
"He's not just our organizer! He is this world's savior! That is why we must do it"
I was already walking out; I waved to Sain from my back
"Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don't already know"
Sain didn't even say a word back. I could feel he was holding back the urge to deep-fry me on the spot.
Halfway back home, I noticed how things had changed. It had been almost ten years since I had last been home, and things tend to change a lot in ten years. As I passed by an old closed liquor store, I began to evoke how the children used to play there. Careless, their shouts and yell of playfulness always putt the neighbors in a bad mood. Yet no one really cared. Children where children. A rare commodity in this new world. Now as I walked by the same spot, I noticed several nicely drawn chalk outlines. Dried blood stained the pavement and walls, not to mention several badly drawn graffiti pictures. I sighted, things had really gone to hell since the gangs and drug dealers moved in. My office had become like a little apartment, almost all my spare time was spend there, either writing one of Sain's useless reports, reading over something useless, or just plain daydreaming about things I used to do, like playing video games and eating myself within inches of my own death. It seemed like an eternity since the last time I had eaten a decent meal. As I got closer to my home, it started to rain. The cold water buffeted my already sore face and body. The threes where already dying, there was no need to have any more rain.
After several minutes of walking, I finally made it to the front porch of my home, the place was more than a mess, it was almost like visiting a hunted house. It was old, on its last legs, and it smelled like rotten wood. Soon it would be nothing but a bunch of useless wood to burn. As I slowly got nearer to the door, I caught glimpse of my old toys from childhood. The house had been my parent's before they passed away. Their deaths had been the biggest news in a while. I had lied to Rica about death from old age. So far my parents had not died alone, I knew there where others out there. I never really cried for them in the funeral. I actually envied them for finally becoming free. What was the point in living knowing that you will live for god knows how long? And worse was that your chances to have children was slim to none. What kind of world is that? Many would say that humanity was blessed...
But if you ask me, we were all damned.
The toys where still scattered in the front lawn, rotting away. Fossils from old days long gone. I finally made it up to my door and pressed my hand against the hand/paw scanner. As it scanned my fingerprints. The machine beeped as it the door became unlocked. I turned the door handle and walked in.
It was dark, wet, and it smelled stale. At least I knew no one had been living in here since my parent's death. I made my way to my old living room. Once I got there I was more than surprised to find it exactly the way I had left it ten years ago. After my parent's funeral, I cleaned it up and left it there. By that time I had moved completely into my office, much to Sain's initial aversion. I noticed that not a single item was off its place. The one thing that had changed was the fact that it was dusty. But I knew how to fix that. I extended my hand forwards and a small black hole appeared. Suddenly it was as though someone had turned on a vacuum. In a matter of seconds the room was dust free. I smiled as I dropped into my old bed, not even bothering to take my clothes off. Before I could even register it, I began to fall sleep. For some odd reason, the only thing that kept coming into my head was that girl... Rica....
**********************************************************
Several armed guards stood in front of a warehouse-like building. It was set all the way in the harbor, the stench of sewage floated all over the air. The Guards where all wearing full body armor, that included helmets with respirators. But their respirators where more like mask than anything else. It was a mask of a smiling being. It was an almost evil-like grin. Their green eyes gleamed in the darkness as they scanned the horizon for any sings of trouble.
Deep inside the warehouse, a meeting was taking place. Two of the big time bosses had arrived in person for the meting. Amongst them was a man that had long avoided his death, Giovanni. He simply sat in the one of the chairs, his lap Persian-less. He had lost everything; Team rocket was literally in the slums, bankrupt and in massive debt. But if he managed to pull off this off, he would get back all he had lost, and then some. The other crime boss was sitting at the other end of the table. He continually gave Giovanni a weary eye.
"Believe me, the product you are getting is 100% pure and exceptional, no flaws or fakes here!"
Both Giovanni and The Second man where paying close attention to a man dressed in a white formal suit. He was wearing a coat on top of his suit, and he had a dark blue tie. His hair was white, despite his young look. His eyes remained close for the whole time he spoke. Giovanni wondered how the hell he was able to see with his eyes closed. The man's strangest feature was his right hand. Which seemed to be made of a translucent crystal. Giovanni could see right trough it, revealing the man's Skeleton. His hand seemed to be quite movable, so the doubt that it was a decoration evaporated. Giovanni turned around to look at his grunt, Grey. He called him a grunt because he called everyone under his command a grunt. But since 99% of the other grunts had already either quit or been caught, Grey was his only high ranking officer. Giovanni made a motion for Grey to get close, within whispering range. Giovanni began to whisper to Grey
"I don't like this place, it is too open. Keep an eye out, I don't like being surprised"
Grey nodded and returned to his standing position. The First man spoke out again in an amused tone
"Oh where are my manners! I forgot to give you all my name!"
Giovanni and the second man shook their heads. The second man spoke
"No need to be so formal"
The first man shook his head
"Either way, you need something to call me"
He pulled out something within his coat and tossed it at the table. Giovanni and the second man leaned over to see what it was. The first man was smiling, still maintaining his eyes closed. The second man reached for whatever was in the table, he grabbed it and immediately let it go, only managing to turn it over. It was a mask that was Identical to the ones the Guards where all wearing, except this one had a much wider evil grin, it's mouth was also open, revealing two sets of fangs. Giovanni looked at the first man
"A mask?"
The first man smiled
"Ice. It's an Ice mask. Call me Ice for short"
The second man rolled his eyes upwards, in a motion of amusement. Giovanni simply remained quiet. Ice laughed
"You both should know about nicknames. Anyway; going back to business..."
Ice Snapped his fingers and several morphs appeared out of nowhere. They placed a case on the table and vanished just as quick as they had arrived in the first place. Ice reached for the case and opened it, revealing several glass vials that held a blue liquid of some kind.
The second man simply sniffed and took a look at the vial of blue material. Puzzlement in his eyes. The second man was wearing a white trench coat; he was undeniably a scientist of some type.
"Just what the hell is this supposed to do?"
Ice simply smiled, his eyes still remained closed
"You know what happened a five hundred years ago?"
The second man and Giovanni both Nodded. Ice kept going
"Well, this my friends is pure Imperfect V4 extract. You know, the ones they call 'Imperfect gods'"
Giovanni's eyes widened in shock and exhilaration. The second man simply snorted
"V4 Imperfects are a myth. The last of them where killed off five years after the shift. No one even knows how to make this stuff anymore"
Ice once again smiled
"I know someone who would be willing to share. That is, if your all willing to pay for it"
Giovanni began to think. If he could manage to re-create the Imperfect V4 formula, he could control humanity. The morphs could come later, but just the thoughts of unlimited power were enough to drive him to do anything to get his hands on the formula. He quickly shot out the question stunning Grey, Ice and the second man
"How much?"
The second man shot a blank stare at Giovanni; he was not going to get beaten to the punch that easily. He blurted out just as fast
"Whatever he pays, I'll pay double!"
Ice cleared his throat and then spoke in an amused tone
"Gentleman, since you are both so interested in my product, I'll give you both a deal!"
He clapped his hands and suddenly another morph girl appeared out of thin air. This time an Eevee. She was carrying a briefcase of some kind. The girl handed Ice the briefcase and disappeared just as fast as she had arrived. Ice then held the briefcase and placed it on the table. He clicked both of the case's locks and swung it open. Before the eyes of Giovanni, Grey and the second man where several tubes of what was undeniably 'green sludge' a very potent drug that could drive just about anyone insane with visions, nightmares, and Death. While under it's influence, the victim was prone to extreme violence, and then sudden memory loss. If overtaken it could cause death, but if lightly taken it could give immense strenght and stamina. Giovanni had heard of such a drug, it was derived from Imperfect V1 blood. Those mutant atrocities that ran all over the sewers and in the wilderness. Nothing but animals. They could be tamed, and they even kept some of their former intelligence. Too bad it was not enough to justify their own freedom, most of them where only good enough to be minions at best. Green sludge was one of the most sought after drugs on the streets, besides crack and Weed, two old world drugs that had somehow survived to this day. Crack houses where always filled with Green junkies. The drug was evil, but it brought money, and that's what really mattered to drug dealers, they could care less who took it.
Giovanni gave the vials a long stare. The last time he had messed with Green sludge, he had lost several thousand dollars just trying to get rid of it. It brought nothing but bitter memories. Giovanni shook his head
"Do you have something else besides green sludge?"
Ice snapped his fingers once again and one of his morphs walked up to Giovanni. It was a Gardevoir morph. She was wearing her normal clothing, but it was somehow a lot more lavished. She handed Giovanni a second briefcase. Giovanni took it without question, managing to get a look at the Gardevoir's face. It was one of pure amusement, somehow that frightened him. As the Gardevoir walked away she turned to face Grey, she stopped for a moment and surveyed him, Grey could feel some tints of shyness rising up. She started to walk again, but as she passed by Grey, she shot him a wink. Grey turned red for a few moments; he was not really good with the ladies. Giovanni looked inside the case. They're where several other vials, but these ones had a red liquid instead of green or blue. The liquid bubbled as though it was boiling. Ice smiled as Giovanni looked up at him
"That is Morph serum. Very difficult to create in a lab. None other than Silth himself created that serum there. That alone should be enough to assure its quality"
Giovanni faced Ice. He looked at him with some intrigue
"And how did you get your hands on the formula...? It's not like he handed it to you?"
Ice simply smiled once again. Somehow Ice's smiles made Giovanni feel uneasy
"I have my ways. That's all you need to know... Now then! Shall we discuss a price?"
Giovanni took his seat. The second man pulled out a checkbook and gave Giovanni a hand motion
"Well, what is your price?"
Giovanni began to think. His organization was basically in the slums, he had very little money as it was, just being here was a gamble for him. Giovanni finally cleared his throat and signaled Grey to come forwards. He was holding a briefcase (why do they all use briefcases?) Grey placed the case on the table and took several steps back. Giovanni placed his hand on the case and began to unclick the locks. Then he slowly opened the case to reveal 70% of all the money team Rocket had left. Ice simply jumped from the surprise of seeing so much money. The second man only growled at Giovanni, he spoke in an angered manner
"I thought you where in the street! How is it that you have so much money left?!"
Giovanni simply smiled. The second man leaned back in his chair, searing mad. Ice began to laugh
"Hohohoho! Well then, business is business. I guess Mr. Giovanni here gets the price!"
Giovanni nodded as he got up, grabbed his purchase and his gift, and walked out towards the exit. He was smiling for the first time in a long while. The guards opened the main gates where Giovanni's ride awaited. It was a long limousine; it was black and had several white stripes. Giovanni got in and found the car to be a lot roomier than he expected it to be. He looked down at his watch; Giovanni was beginning to get impatient. He called to the driver
"Hey driver, just get me out of here will ya? The grunt can take the bus or something"
No response from the driver. Giovanni simply coughed. He was already late as it was.
Grey was getting ready to follow his boss when Ice called to him. He turned around in surprise
"Say son! How's about a word?"
Grey simply stood in place. He was sure a little chat was not going to hurt. So he turned around and walked back towards Ice, Grey spoke in an insecure voice
"Ye-yes sir! What is it?"
Ice simply chuckled
"Son, call me Pryce. Ice is only when I'm conducting business"
Grey nodded. Pryce kept going
"You got a name son?"
Grey stood surprised. No one had ever asked his name, all this time he had simply been known as 'Grunt' or 'Agent' he was a little hesitant at first, but finally spoke out
"Huuu... my name is Grey sir Pryce"
Pryce again shook his head
"Just Pryce son. Listen, I like you kid. Even though you're very young to be involved in organized crime, you seem to have the nerve!"
Grey knew Pryce was right, but had never given it much though. He needed the money anyway, and no one else would hire him. Pryce simply kept going
"Now you may have your reasons for being with the Rockets, and I respect that. But someone like you should be working for someone like me, you know, who pays more and has more respect"
Grey simply listened. He agreed with Pryce, but he would never dare speak that out loud, it could get him killed. Pryce smiled and grabbed grey by the shoulder, and both of them began to walk outside. Giovanni watched from his car and wondered what the hell his Grunt was doing. Grey continued speaking to Pryce
"So, I've got a deal for you. How's about you join me? The pay's better you know"
Grey shook his head. His reply was wobbly
"No... Even if I wanted to sir, I'm already hired by team Rocket. I would be branded a traitor. The only way I could leave team Rocket and join you would be if... I don't know- if Mr. Giovanni blew up and was never found or something like that"
Pryce smiled.
"That can be arranged son..."
Suddenly, Giovanni's car exploded. It was an Epic explosion that shook everything all around it. Grey watched in dismay as his boss was erased from the face of the earth. The explosion had been so intense that only a black scorch mark remained where the limo had once been. Pryce began to slowly walk back into the warehouse. Grey slowly turned around. Pryce was still smiling, and his eyes still remained closed. He was holding the blue ice mask in his hand
"If you change your mind..."
Pryce tossed the mask at Grey. It fell in the ground with a loud thud. Grey looked at it for a while and then looked up at Pryce. He placed another mask on his face. He called out to Grey
"Just call"
And with that, Pryce disappeared in a miniature blizzard. All the guards also vanished in the same manner. The second man who had been staring at everything simply got up and began to scream at the top of his lungs
"HEY!! I WASN'T DONE WITH BUSSINESS"
Suddenly, the whole warehouse exploded. A scream could be heard before the roar of the blast overtook it. Grey was shot several feet back but landed unharmed. He slowly got up and walked towards the burning Wreckage. He looked at it and then looked at the mask in the floor.
A shadow had been watching everything unfold. Someone had beaten him to the punch. But he had discovered something quite interesting. Pryce.... He jumped and disappeared from the scene. Looks like someone else had become reaper for the night.
**********************************************************
Grey began to slowly walk back to Rocket HQ. Now that Giovanni was out of the picture, Grey had been unwillingly promoted to the new Team rocket boss. Like there was any need for that. Rocket was essentially diminished. Besides the boss's son, he was the only one left in charge. Rocket HQ still held the glamour of the old days, days when thousands of operatives used to call the place home. Now there was nothing. Grey pushed the button and headed straight for the penthouse. All the other floors where empty. When he got to the very top, he was greeted by a huge manor. Grey walked inside straight to Giovanni's office. Now that he was boss, it was his office. But when he got there, he found that he was not alone at all. The same Gardevoir morph that had winked at him was sitting in his Giovanni's chair. She was seemingly enjoying it. As soon as grey walked in, she spoke in a sultry manner
"My boss has taken quite an interest in you, an I can sense why"
Grey gulped. He was beginning to sweat from nervousness. The Gardevoir got up from the chair and started to walk up to Grey. Her walk was extremely alluring; Grey could not help but sweat. The Gardevoir smiled
"My boss sent me to give you this"
Suddenly two cases appeared from thin air. The Gardevoir grabbed them from mid air and handed them to Grey. He was still sweating. The Gardevoir stroked his face, as Grey finally began to feel something click in him. The girl smiled
"You're cute, and you seem to be innocent. I like them innocent"
She turned around and wrote something in a piece of paper. Once she had been finished she handed the paper to Grey, who took it by instinct. The Gardevoir smiled as she walked out the door
"By the way, my name is Janet"
As she continued to walk out, she waved a hand
"I'll be seeing you later, handsome"
And with that, she teleported. Grey let out a huge sigh of relief. He had never felt so embarrassed, so uncomfortable, so aroused... he let the thoughts slip out of his mind as he looked at the cases Janet had given him. They held money, lots of it. Enough to restart Rocket with honors. Grey wondered what this really meant. When he looked at he paper Janet had given him with some suspicion. After the events from that night, Grey would never look at things the same. Grey read it
"Pryce: 877-765-9888"
Grey fell deep into thought. He looked at the paper once more and saw that something had been written on the back. He read it as well
"Call me ;) Janet: 877-655-3376"
Grey blushed. His mind had wondered back into her
**********************************************************
As usual, my dreams where filled with nightmares, horrors that I had seen during my life, and things that I knew still awaited me. They where dreams of the day my life ceased as I knew it. Dreams of horrors deep underground, things that might or might not even be real. Monsters that hid in the shadows, and the worse demon that walks this earth...
...Humans.
For some reason, just thinking about humans brought the notion of the four horsemen. The beings that where supposed to herald the end of times. War, Famine, Pestilence, and finally Death. Had they already roamed the earth?
In my opinion they had carved the whole world.
How else would you explain so much suffering? But even as bad as those four where, there was even worse one. One that no one knew about until ten years after the shift. Ixol, the fifth horseman; Oblivion. But he was long dead. Destroyed by our so-called founder. But I couldn't help but feel as though some of Ixol's evil still lived in this world. Waiting for the right moment to rise once again. If that happened who would rise to save us?
I opened my eyes towards the darkness of the room. Such thoughts always made me feel depressed, but there was just no other way to put it. It was all truth, and truth oftentimes is disheartening. Just then I noticed something standing at the very edge of the room. I knew well who that was, the skull-like mask, the grey coat, the ribcage armor under the coat, even his energy seemed to point out he was the one who I was looking for. I slowly rose from my bed just to face him. We both stared at each other for several seconds before I broke the rather unnerving silence
"So... you are the one who's been doing all the vigilante work. I got to hand it to you, when it comes to being thorough, you don't disappoint"
The masked killer simply shook his head
"You and I are not so different you know, we both have taken a path that involves death and law. You keep the peace and balance in the world, and I cut down anyone you miss"
At this I finally got up, wide-awake, I was ready for anything, even fighting if I had to. The killed simply raised his hand
"I didn't come here to start any trouble. All I came for was to give you this"
The killer waved his hand and a jar appeared out of thin air. It was filled with ash; I wondered what the hell he had in mind. He spoke in a cold tone
"Just run some DNA test on that, and you will know who died tonight. But my hand did not deliver the judgment"
At this I became confused
"What do you mean? Someone else committed the murder?"
The killer nodded. He turned around and opened a portal. Before he crossed completely I spoke out something that I just needed to know
"Just who are you?"
The killer turned around
"I have no name. Just call me Fifth"
And with that, he jumped into the portal and vanished from my room. I was left surprised and a bit frightened. In my hands where the remains of some unlucky bastard. But at least now I had a name to accredit death to...
Fifth.
................................................
But why Fifth...?
To be continued...Chapter End Notes:whoo! I am LOVING THIS STORY!! it is coming out better than I hoped!! (if you see any mistakes please let me know on the spot so I can fix them!
Back in my office, things didn't change much. As usual I was given the whole big ritualistic questionnaire from Sain. He wanted to know who the girl I had brought with me was. He was even dull enough to suggest she was my girlfriend. I simply shook my head with a smile. Rica on the other hand blushed. Now that I thought about it, the last girlfriend I had been with died almost five hundred years ago, give or take a few years. I had been seventeen on those days, my birthday being very close. But a few days after I became legally able to smoke and vote, my life was extended beyond its normal course. But some things never change...
Sain laughed as he left the office. Rica's face remained red for a good while. I simply took my usual sit, leaned back, and began to wander off into my own little world. Suddenly, Rica brought me back from my own little world with a motion. She was holding the picture of my deceased parents that I kept in my desk. It had the date written in red ink. She simply seemed confused. I snorted, looks like I would have to explain the whole damn mess of a system again. She opened her mouth to speak, but I stole the words from her
"Yes, that is I. That picture was taken roughly five hundred years ago, before the shift"
Rica seemed more confused. I sighted. She spoke anyway
"But you look exactly the same. If your really are older than five hundred years, shouldn't you look a bit more... mature?"
I shook my head
"Been wondering about that for a long time myself"
Rica seemed curios, so I sighted and started retelling the same story I've given everyone for a long time over again.
"To make it easier to follow someone's real age, the government simply established a set of measurements that made very little sense unless you had a degree in advance mathematics or physics. Basically, if someone had been born after or during the shift period (about five years in length) you aged ten years every hundred years. A normal human (Imperfect V3) could live to be...well..."
I placed my hand on my chin.
"... Now that I think about it, no one really knows how long V3s can really live. No one has ever really died of old age"
Rica seemed fascinated by this fact. It looked as though she had never really put any effort into this kind of thing. I kept going
"Another thing that has not changed in over a thousand years... if the government says its true, then it must be true. I say Bullshit!"
Rica simply giggled at my reaction. I shot a cold stare at her, but she kept giggling anyway.
"You act like your age at least! Hehehe"
Something about that giggling made me anxious, it wasn't because I was afraid of girls or anything, I could care less about that, if a girl wanted to get screwed by me, then who was I to say no? It hasn't happened yet, and I hope a few hundred more years pass before it does happen. No, it was the fact that she could produce such amusement after what had nearly happened to her.
Rica then asked me something I did not expect at all.
"So... if what you say about the age measurements is true, then what is your 'legal' age?"
I sighted, I always hated this part
"I had been eighteen years when the Shift happened. And about five hundred years have passed since then. So if my calculations are correct; that would make me about... 68 years of age"
I paused. I got mad for no reason
"A real god dammed mistake! According to the doctors I am still 18 years of age physically! And that is what counts! But because of the screwed up system, I am an old man!!"
Rica now broke out into pure laughter. I was actually beginning to loose my cool. Only one person had laughed at me like that. Rica wiped a tear off
"Well, if that's true; then you my friend are the HOTTEST 68 year old man in the world!"
I scoffed and turned around in my chair. Rica seemed to have taken the hint
"I was only kidding! Can't you take a joke?"
I simply remained quiet. I pointed towards the closet in my office
"You will find a sleeping bag and some fresh clothes in there. You will stay here for the night"
At that sentence, Rica seemed to be filled with fear. I could already smell it in the air. I asked without even facing her
"Why are you so afraid all of a sudden? Frightened the Bogeyman will come and get you?"
Rica simply remained quiet. I cold already tell something was off. I turned my chair around and faced Rica
"There is something you haven't told me yet. Isn't there?"
She nodded. I continued my inexorable stare
"What is it?"
She gulped
"Those men that attacked me..."
I finished the sentence for her
"They where after something, weren't they? That was no random attack. You're hiding something...tell me... later; not tonight"
Rica simply looked shocked. I got up from my chair and started to walk out of the office. Right when I was on the door I turned around and faced Rica one more time. She was getting ready to speak. I raised a hand
"Whatever it is, it can wait till morning. Just get some rest"
Rica once again broke into silent tears. I began to close the door
"Don't worry about being alone, Sain and Torn usually sleep here. So if anything goes wrong, they will know"
Rica nodded while still freely crying. I closed the door and locked it. As I made my way down the hall I met up with Sain who was carrying two extra large cups of decaf, and a murky smile on his face
"So; no screaming tonight? What a shame!"
I laughed
"Shut up old man. I'm too tired to stay the night. I'm going home to get some shut eye"
Sain simply looked surprised
"Drake, the night stalker finally succumbs to sleep? What happened to the old Drake?"
I shook my head, just as I was walking out of the building, Sain called me
"Hey!"
I turned around. Sain's smile was gone; instead it had been replaced by his usual solemn look
"That girl... if what your report says it's true... you know well what we have to do"
I nodded with impatience
"Yes, I know. We have to protect her with out lives if we have to. All because she has the last name of our founder"
Sain looked angry
"He's not just our organizer! He is this world's savior! That is why we must do it"
I was already walking out; I waved to Sain from my back
"Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don't already know"
Sain didn't even say a word back. I could feel he was holding back the urge to deep-fry me on the spot.
Halfway back home, I noticed how things had changed. It had been almost ten years since I had last been home, and things tend to change a lot in ten years. As I passed by an old closed liquor store, I began to evoke how the children used to play there. Careless, their shouts and yell of playfulness always putt the neighbors in a bad mood. Yet no one really cared. Children where children. A rare commodity in this new world. Now as I walked by the same spot, I noticed several nicely drawn chalk outlines. Dried blood stained the pavement and walls, not to mention several badly drawn graffiti pictures. I sighted, things had really gone to hell since the gangs and drug dealers moved in. My office had become like a little apartment, almost all my spare time was spend there, either writing one of Sain's useless reports, reading over something useless, or just plain daydreaming about things I used to do, like playing video games and eating myself within inches of my own death. It seemed like an eternity since the last time I had eaten a decent meal. As I got closer to my home, it started to rain. The cold water buffeted my already sore face and body. The threes where already dying, there was no need to have any more rain.
After several minutes of walking, I finally made it to the front porch of my home, the place was more than a mess, it was almost like visiting a hunted house. It was old, on its last legs, and it smelled like rotten wood. Soon it would be nothing but a bunch of useless wood to burn. As I slowly got nearer to the door, I caught glimpse of my old toys from childhood. The house had been my parent's before they passed away. Their deaths had been the biggest news in a while. I had lied to Rica about death from old age. So far my parents had not died alone, I knew there where others out there. I never really cried for them in the funeral. I actually envied them for finally becoming free. What was the point in living knowing that you will live for god knows how long? And worse was that your chances to have children was slim to none. What kind of world is that? Many would say that humanity was blessed...
But if you ask me, we were all damned.
The toys where still scattered in the front lawn, rotting away. Fossils from old days long gone. I finally made it up to my door and pressed my hand against the hand/paw scanner. As it scanned my fingerprints. The machine beeped as it the door became unlocked. I turned the door handle and walked in.
It was dark, wet, and it smelled stale. At least I knew no one had been living in here since my parent's death. I made my way to my old living room. Once I got there I was more than surprised to find it exactly the way I had left it ten years ago. After my parent's funeral, I cleaned it up and left it there. By that time I had moved completely into my office, much to Sain's initial aversion. I noticed that not a single item was off its place. The one thing that had changed was the fact that it was dusty. But I knew how to fix that. I extended my hand forwards and a small black hole appeared. Suddenly it was as though someone had turned on a vacuum. In a matter of seconds the room was dust free. I smiled as I dropped into my old bed, not even bothering to take my clothes off. Before I could even register it, I began to fall sleep. For some odd reason, the only thing that kept coming into my head was that girl... Rica....
**********************************************************
Several armed guards stood in front of a warehouse-like building. It was set all the way in the harbor, the stench of sewage floated all over the air. The Guards where all wearing full body armor, that included helmets with respirators. But their respirators where more like mask than anything else. It was a mask of a smiling being. It was an almost evil-like grin. Their green eyes gleamed in the darkness as they scanned the horizon for any sings of trouble.
Deep inside the warehouse, a meeting was taking place. Two of the big time bosses had arrived in person for the meting. Amongst them was a man that had long avoided his death, Giovanni. He simply sat in the one of the chairs, his lap Persian-less. He had lost everything; Team rocket was literally in the slums, bankrupt and in massive debt. But if he managed to pull off this off, he would get back all he had lost, and then some. The other crime boss was sitting at the other end of the table. He continually gave Giovanni a weary eye.
"Believe me, the product you are getting is 100% pure and exceptional, no flaws or fakes here!"
Both Giovanni and The Second man where paying close attention to a man dressed in a white formal suit. He was wearing a coat on top of his suit, and he had a dark blue tie. His hair was white, despite his young look. His eyes remained close for the whole time he spoke. Giovanni wondered how the hell he was able to see with his eyes closed. The man's strangest feature was his right hand. Which seemed to be made of a translucent crystal. Giovanni could see right trough it, revealing the man's Skeleton. His hand seemed to be quite movable, so the doubt that it was a decoration evaporated. Giovanni turned around to look at his grunt, Grey. He called him a grunt because he called everyone under his command a grunt. But since 99% of the other grunts had already either quit or been caught, Grey was his only high ranking officer. Giovanni made a motion for Grey to get close, within whispering range. Giovanni began to whisper to Grey
"I don't like this place, it is too open. Keep an eye out, I don't like being surprised"
Grey nodded and returned to his standing position. The First man spoke out again in an amused tone
"Oh where are my manners! I forgot to give you all my name!"
Giovanni and the second man shook their heads. The second man spoke
"No need to be so formal"
The first man shook his head
"Either way, you need something to call me"
He pulled out something within his coat and tossed it at the table. Giovanni and the second man leaned over to see what it was. The first man was smiling, still maintaining his eyes closed. The second man reached for whatever was in the table, he grabbed it and immediately let it go, only managing to turn it over. It was a mask that was Identical to the ones the Guards where all wearing, except this one had a much wider evil grin, it's mouth was also open, revealing two sets of fangs. Giovanni looked at the first man
"A mask?"
The first man smiled
"Ice. It's an Ice mask. Call me Ice for short"
The second man rolled his eyes upwards, in a motion of amusement. Giovanni simply remained quiet. Ice laughed
"You both should know about nicknames. Anyway; going back to business..."
Ice Snapped his fingers and several morphs appeared out of nowhere. They placed a case on the table and vanished just as quick as they had arrived in the first place. Ice reached for the case and opened it, revealing several glass vials that held a blue liquid of some kind.
The second man simply sniffed and took a look at the vial of blue material. Puzzlement in his eyes. The second man was wearing a white trench coat; he was undeniably a scientist of some type.
"Just what the hell is this supposed to do?"
Ice simply smiled, his eyes still remained closed
"You know what happened a five hundred years ago?"
The second man and Giovanni both Nodded. Ice kept going
"Well, this my friends is pure Imperfect V4 extract. You know, the ones they call 'Imperfect gods'"
Giovanni's eyes widened in shock and exhilaration. The second man simply snorted
"V4 Imperfects are a myth. The last of them where killed off five years after the shift. No one even knows how to make this stuff anymore"
Ice once again smiled
"I know someone who would be willing to share. That is, if your all willing to pay for it"
Giovanni began to think. If he could manage to re-create the Imperfect V4 formula, he could control humanity. The morphs could come later, but just the thoughts of unlimited power were enough to drive him to do anything to get his hands on the formula. He quickly shot out the question stunning Grey, Ice and the second man
"How much?"
The second man shot a blank stare at Giovanni; he was not going to get beaten to the punch that easily. He blurted out just as fast
"Whatever he pays, I'll pay double!"
Ice cleared his throat and then spoke in an amused tone
"Gentleman, since you are both so interested in my product, I'll give you both a deal!"
He clapped his hands and suddenly another morph girl appeared out of thin air. This time an Eevee. She was carrying a briefcase of some kind. The girl handed Ice the briefcase and disappeared just as fast as she had arrived. Ice then held the briefcase and placed it on the table. He clicked both of the case's locks and swung it open. Before the eyes of Giovanni, Grey and the second man where several tubes of what was undeniably 'green sludge' a very potent drug that could drive just about anyone insane with visions, nightmares, and Death. While under it's influence, the victim was prone to extreme violence, and then sudden memory loss. If overtaken it could cause death, but if lightly taken it could give immense strenght and stamina. Giovanni had heard of such a drug, it was derived from Imperfect V1 blood. Those mutant atrocities that ran all over the sewers and in the wilderness. Nothing but animals. They could be tamed, and they even kept some of their former intelligence. Too bad it was not enough to justify their own freedom, most of them where only good enough to be minions at best. Green sludge was one of the most sought after drugs on the streets, besides crack and Weed, two old world drugs that had somehow survived to this day. Crack houses where always filled with Green junkies. The drug was evil, but it brought money, and that's what really mattered to drug dealers, they could care less who took it.
Giovanni gave the vials a long stare. The last time he had messed with Green sludge, he had lost several thousand dollars just trying to get rid of it. It brought nothing but bitter memories. Giovanni shook his head
"Do you have something else besides green sludge?"
Ice snapped his fingers once again and one of his morphs walked up to Giovanni. It was a Gardevoir morph. She was wearing her normal clothing, but it was somehow a lot more lavished. She handed Giovanni a second briefcase. Giovanni took it without question, managing to get a look at the Gardevoir's face. It was one of pure amusement, somehow that frightened him. As the Gardevoir walked away she turned to face Grey, she stopped for a moment and surveyed him, Grey could feel some tints of shyness rising up. She started to walk again, but as she passed by Grey, she shot him a wink. Grey turned red for a few moments; he was not really good with the ladies. Giovanni looked inside the case. They're where several other vials, but these ones had a red liquid instead of green or blue. The liquid bubbled as though it was boiling. Ice smiled as Giovanni looked up at him
"That is Morph serum. Very difficult to create in a lab. None other than Silth himself created that serum there. That alone should be enough to assure its quality"
Giovanni faced Ice. He looked at him with some intrigue
"And how did you get your hands on the formula...? It's not like he handed it to you?"
Ice simply smiled once again. Somehow Ice's smiles made Giovanni feel uneasy
"I have my ways. That's all you need to know... Now then! Shall we discuss a price?"
Giovanni took his seat. The second man pulled out a checkbook and gave Giovanni a hand motion
"Well, what is your price?"
Giovanni began to think. His organization was basically in the slums, he had very little money as it was, just being here was a gamble for him. Giovanni finally cleared his throat and signaled Grey to come forwards. He was holding a briefcase (why do they all use briefcases?) Grey placed the case on the table and took several steps back. Giovanni placed his hand on the case and began to unclick the locks. Then he slowly opened the case to reveal 70% of all the money team Rocket had left. Ice simply jumped from the surprise of seeing so much money. The second man only growled at Giovanni, he spoke in an angered manner
"I thought you where in the street! How is it that you have so much money left?!"
Giovanni simply smiled. The second man leaned back in his chair, searing mad. Ice began to laugh
"Hohohoho! Well then, business is business. I guess Mr. Giovanni here gets the price!"
Giovanni nodded as he got up, grabbed his purchase and his gift, and walked out towards the exit. He was smiling for the first time in a long while. The guards opened the main gates where Giovanni's ride awaited. It was a long limousine; it was black and had several white stripes. Giovanni got in and found the car to be a lot roomier than he expected it to be. He looked down at his watch; Giovanni was beginning to get impatient. He called to the driver
"Hey driver, just get me out of here will ya? The grunt can take the bus or something"
No response from the driver. Giovanni simply coughed. He was already late as it was.
Grey was getting ready to follow his boss when Ice called to him. He turned around in surprise
"Say son! How's about a word?"
Grey simply stood in place. He was sure a little chat was not going to hurt. So he turned around and walked back towards Ice, Grey spoke in an insecure voice
"Ye-yes sir! What is it?"
Ice simply chuckled
"Son, call me Pryce. Ice is only when I'm conducting business"
Grey nodded. Pryce kept going
"You got a name son?"
Grey stood surprised. No one had ever asked his name, all this time he had simply been known as 'Grunt' or 'Agent' he was a little hesitant at first, but finally spoke out
"Huuu... my name is Grey sir Pryce"
Pryce again shook his head
"Just Pryce son. Listen, I like you kid. Even though you're very young to be involved in organized crime, you seem to have the nerve!"
Grey knew Pryce was right, but had never given it much though. He needed the money anyway, and no one else would hire him. Pryce simply kept going
"Now you may have your reasons for being with the Rockets, and I respect that. But someone like you should be working for someone like me, you know, who pays more and has more respect"
Grey simply listened. He agreed with Pryce, but he would never dare speak that out loud, it could get him killed. Pryce smiled and grabbed grey by the shoulder, and both of them began to walk outside. Giovanni watched from his car and wondered what the hell his Grunt was doing. Grey continued speaking to Pryce
"So, I've got a deal for you. How's about you join me? The pay's better you know"
Grey shook his head. His reply was wobbly
"No... Even if I wanted to sir, I'm already hired by team Rocket. I would be branded a traitor. The only way I could leave team Rocket and join you would be if... I don't know- if Mr. Giovanni blew up and was never found or something like that"
Pryce smiled.
"That can be arranged son..."
Suddenly, Giovanni's car exploded. It was an Epic explosion that shook everything all around it. Grey watched in dismay as his boss was erased from the face of the earth. The explosion had been so intense that only a black scorch mark remained where the limo had once been. Pryce began to slowly walk back into the warehouse. Grey slowly turned around. Pryce was still smiling, and his eyes still remained closed. He was holding the blue ice mask in his hand
"If you change your mind..."
Pryce tossed the mask at Grey. It fell in the ground with a loud thud. Grey looked at it for a while and then looked up at Pryce. He placed another mask on his face. He called out to Grey
"Just call"
And with that, Pryce disappeared in a miniature blizzard. All the guards also vanished in the same manner. The second man who had been staring at everything simply got up and began to scream at the top of his lungs
"HEY!! I WASN'T DONE WITH BUSSINESS"
Suddenly, the whole warehouse exploded. A scream could be heard before the roar of the blast overtook it. Grey was shot several feet back but landed unharmed. He slowly got up and walked towards the burning Wreckage. He looked at it and then looked at the mask in the floor.
A shadow had been watching everything unfold. Someone had beaten him to the punch. But he had discovered something quite interesting. Pryce.... He jumped and disappeared from the scene. Looks like someone else had become reaper for the night.
**********************************************************
Grey began to slowly walk back to Rocket HQ. Now that Giovanni was out of the picture, Grey had been unwillingly promoted to the new Team rocket boss. Like there was any need for that. Rocket was essentially diminished. Besides the boss's son, he was the only one left in charge. Rocket HQ still held the glamour of the old days, days when thousands of operatives used to call the place home. Now there was nothing. Grey pushed the button and headed straight for the penthouse. All the other floors where empty. When he got to the very top, he was greeted by a huge manor. Grey walked inside straight to Giovanni's office. Now that he was boss, it was his office. But when he got there, he found that he was not alone at all. The same Gardevoir morph that had winked at him was sitting in his Giovanni's chair. She was seemingly enjoying it. As soon as grey walked in, she spoke in a sultry manner
"My boss has taken quite an interest in you, an I can sense why"
Grey gulped. He was beginning to sweat from nervousness. The Gardevoir got up from the chair and started to walk up to Grey. Her walk was extremely alluring; Grey could not help but sweat. The Gardevoir smiled
"My boss sent me to give you this"
Suddenly two cases appeared from thin air. The Gardevoir grabbed them from mid air and handed them to Grey. He was still sweating. The Gardevoir stroked his face, as Grey finally began to feel something click in him. The girl smiled
"You're cute, and you seem to be innocent. I like them innocent"
She turned around and wrote something in a piece of paper. Once she had been finished she handed the paper to Grey, who took it by instinct. The Gardevoir smiled as she walked out the door
"By the way, my name is Janet"
As she continued to walk out, she waved a hand
"I'll be seeing you later, handsome"
And with that, she teleported. Grey let out a huge sigh of relief. He had never felt so embarrassed, so uncomfortable, so aroused... he let the thoughts slip out of his mind as he looked at the cases Janet had given him. They held money, lots of it. Enough to restart Rocket with honors. Grey wondered what this really meant. When he looked at he paper Janet had given him with some suspicion. After the events from that night, Grey would never look at things the same. Grey read it
"Pryce: 877-765-9888"
Grey fell deep into thought. He looked at the paper once more and saw that something had been written on the back. He read it as well
"Call me ;) Janet: 877-655-3376"
Grey blushed. His mind had wondered back into her
**********************************************************
As usual, my dreams where filled with nightmares, horrors that I had seen during my life, and things that I knew still awaited me. They where dreams of the day my life ceased as I knew it. Dreams of horrors deep underground, things that might or might not even be real. Monsters that hid in the shadows, and the worse demon that walks this earth...
...Humans.
For some reason, just thinking about humans brought the notion of the four horsemen. The beings that where supposed to herald the end of times. War, Famine, Pestilence, and finally Death. Had they already roamed the earth?
In my opinion they had carved the whole world.
How else would you explain so much suffering? But even as bad as those four where, there was even worse one. One that no one knew about until ten years after the shift. Ixol, the fifth horseman; Oblivion. But he was long dead. Destroyed by our so-called founder. But I couldn't help but feel as though some of Ixol's evil still lived in this world. Waiting for the right moment to rise once again. If that happened who would rise to save us?
I opened my eyes towards the darkness of the room. Such thoughts always made me feel depressed, but there was just no other way to put it. It was all truth, and truth oftentimes is disheartening. Just then I noticed something standing at the very edge of the room. I knew well who that was, the skull-like mask, the grey coat, the ribcage armor under the coat, even his energy seemed to point out he was the one who I was looking for. I slowly rose from my bed just to face him. We both stared at each other for several seconds before I broke the rather unnerving silence
"So... you are the one who's been doing all the vigilante work. I got to hand it to you, when it comes to being thorough, you don't disappoint"
The masked killer simply shook his head
"You and I are not so different you know, we both have taken a path that involves death and law. You keep the peace and balance in the world, and I cut down anyone you miss"
At this I finally got up, wide-awake, I was ready for anything, even fighting if I had to. The killed simply raised his hand
"I didn't come here to start any trouble. All I came for was to give you this"
The killer waved his hand and a jar appeared out of thin air. It was filled with ash; I wondered what the hell he had in mind. He spoke in a cold tone
"Just run some DNA test on that, and you will know who died tonight. But my hand did not deliver the judgment"
At this I became confused
"What do you mean? Someone else committed the murder?"
The killer nodded. He turned around and opened a portal. Before he crossed completely I spoke out something that I just needed to know
"Just who are you?"
The killer turned around
"I have no name. Just call me Fifth"
And with that, he jumped into the portal and vanished from my room. I was left surprised and a bit frightened. In my hands where the remains of some unlucky bastard. But at least now I had a name to accredit death to...
Fifth.
................................................
But why Fifth...?
To be continued...Chapter End Notes:whoo! I am LOVING THIS STORY!! it is coming out better than I hoped!! (if you see any mistakes please let me know on the spot so I can fix them!