Chapter Five:  Allies & Enemies

Six hours later,  a bonfire was burning brightly on the island farmed by bricks from the ruined Resort as Domino and her Rockets made their plans to begin spreading the word and gathering their true followers. 

Some distance away,  a fire also burned in the fireplace on the far wall of Michael Morgan’s office.  In the large chairs,  Jessie and James Morgan sat,  each one nervously studying the others in the room.  Constance sat on the corner of Michael’s desk,  while Kat held her head and stared at the desk as her fiancée rubbed her shoulders with a worried look on his face.  Michael himself stood at the fireplace, staring into the fire intently as if he could hear Domino plotting by her own fire.

It had been four hours since Michael and Constance and their loyalists had returned,  and Michael had ordered the Rockets of B-Unit to tell nobody if what had happened.  Immediately after,  he and Constance had rushed to his office.  Upon their arrival,  Michael had found Kat waiting with their parents,  who had come over as soon as Kat had called them.  All the Morgans knew immediately that all was not well.  When Michael had explained what had happened,  they were all in a state of utter shock.  “We have to spread the word right away.”  Kat had said,  passing her brother the phone. 

Michael immediately replaced it.  “No.  We wait.  Anyone who would turn on us must not know of this just yet,  or we’ll have a mutiny on our hands.”

“God.  How could Domino have just gotten her memory back like that?”  Kyle had asked,  giving voice to the question that had been burning in everyone’s mind. 

“I don’t know.  The human mind is a strange thing.”  Michael said.  “The only thing I know for sure is that Domino won’t just sit there.”

Jessie walked to her son and hugged him close.  “She’ll have to get through us first.”  The woman said determinedly. 

James walked to her side and embraced his wife and son.  “Me too.  We’ve beaten worse things before, right?” James said,  his mind telling him that it was a false hope at best.

Michael smiled,  and returned the hug.  “I know.” He said softly.  “But we all have to be careful now.  There’s no telling how fast the word of this will spread,  and really no way to know who will be with us and who will be against us.”

The room fell silent at this statement,  and it had more or less remained that way since then.  Michael had ordered for dinner to be sent us for everyone,  and they had eaten by the glow of the fire,  as each one tried to figure out ideas for a course of action.  None were coming. 

Now the six people,  each one a Rocket or former Rocket (with the exception of Kyle) sat around the room,  the only sound being the occasional start of an idea that inevitably fell short of a solution.  Kat laid her head down on her brother’s mahogany desk,  exhausted.  A sudden buzzing made her shoot her head back up.  “Aaah!”  she yelped in surprise.

Constance reached to the intercom in Michael’s desk.  “Shh, it’s okay.”  She said in a soothing voice.  “Yes?”  she said into the intercom.

The voice of Sheri Leonard,  a White Rocket who acted as Michael’s secretary,  answered her.  “Ms. Conway,  there are some people here to see Mr. Morgan.”

Constance looked to Michael,  who shook his head. “Mr. Morgan is not seeing anyone right now.” She replied.

Sheri’s voice came back,  “Uhm,  they’re being rather insistent…”

At that moment,  Michael’s office door jerked open violently,  and everyone in the room jumped.  Michael and Constance instinctively drew their guns as Jessie and James jumped from their chairs to face whoever was at the door.  “Iieee!  Don’t shoot!  It’s just me!”  Came a familiar voice.  Kat stared ahead through the door as her friend Lunia Oak walked in. 

“L-  Lunia?”  Kat said in disbelief.  She ran forward to the young trainer and gave her a hug.  It had been months since she had last seen her,  when she had left with… 

“What are you doing here?”  Kyle asked his former companion with a smile.

The woman stepped into the office rocking a crying baby in her arms.  To be sure,  the baby was bigger than when the group had last seen her,  but the woman looked much the same.  “Annie?”  James said with surprise. 

Annie walked past James,  and straight to Michael.  “What’s happened?”  she asked simply.

Michael gave her a confused look.  “Happened?” he repeated. 

“Cherish has been crying for almost 16 hours now.  The only time she stops is when she exhausts herself,  and even then she whimpers in her sleep.  Nothing seems to be physically wrong with her,  and that could only mean one thing…  it’s that “sixth sense” you told me you had heard about.  Has anything happened with the Team?”

Michael swallowed.  “Well…”  he said,  unsure of where to begin.  “Perhaps you should sit down.”

Annie sat down in a leather chair by the desk as Michael got closer to Cherish.  Suddenly the baby stopped crying and looked at the red-haired man who studied her closely.  Cherish smiled and cooed.  Annie looked up in shock.  “That’s the first time she’s stopped.” She said in amazement. 

Lunia stepped forward.  “Michael,  what has happened?  If it was big enough for Cherish to sense it all the way in Astrolight City,  it has to be serious.”

Michael looked to his sister’s friend.  “You guys traveled all the way here because of that?”

Annie spoke again.  “Of course.  My baby knew something was going on,  and told us you needed help, right?”

Jessie looked at Annie and smiled.  For a former enemy,  Jessie was developing a healthy respect for Annie Masterson.  “I knew you’d be a great mother.” She whispered.

James looked to his wife.  “What did you say?”

Jessie quickly shook it off.  “Nothing.”

“Enough beating around the bush.  Will someone please tell me what is going on?”  Annie asked. 

Michael smiled.  Masterson was ready as ever to help.  With a deep breath he began telling her what had happened,  consoled by the thought that the number of people he could trust had just increased…

Meanwhile,  far off in the Orange Islands,  a helicopter was just leaving the landing pad,  carrying two assassins,  a Red Rocket,  and their leader,  a blond woman in a pink cap.  “Destination, Mistress?”  Virginia Crandall asked with a vicious smile as she flicked on the searchlight, illuminating the darkness below them.

Domino pulled the bolt back on the machine gun one of the former B-Unit Rockets had given her.  “Mandarin Island.  Plenty of tourists there to rob,  plenty of money to be found.  We’ll have our faction well funded soon enough.  Then,  we’ll infiltrate Viridian,  and then…  You can join me in the fun of watching those idiot Morgans and that fool Conway die.”

The helicopter cabin resounded with evil laughter as the chopper flew on towards Mandarin Island.

The End…  For now.