Yeah, so, here's another chapter... Sheesh, things are starting to get toward the big climax of the story and still no reviews. Better ride this one out, then.
17.
“So the Shadow Forces know that we’re here?” Stevens asked, pacing the length of the room.
“No. They know that the three of us are still in Rome…They don’t know that you’re here,” Nichols explained.
“So, what are we going to do now?” Katharine asked.
“We need to see what they’re up to…” Nichols muttered, gazing out of the window. “Since Stevens is the only one of us that the Shadow Forces doesn’t know is here…She should take a little undercover trip into the Colosseum.”
“Alone?” The camerlengo asked. “If they find her down there, they’ll rip her apart for solely being there, not to mention that, if I’m correct in saying, the two of you hunt Shadow Followers in America.”
“We do…but we believe the Shadow Followers that Hastings has brought here are mainly out of Europe and Aquapolis. No one will probably recognize a detective that they don’t know is in the country.”
“If she’s going down there, one of us needs to go with her,” Katharine insisted.
“Nichols can’t go. Apparently, all of the Shadow Followers in the city are after him after he pulled that stunt at the café,” Stevens mused. “And there is absolutely no way the Chosen One can come with me…” She focused her eyes on the camerlengo. “What type are you?”
“Psychic.”
“Do you know how to make yourself invisible?”
“Yes…” He answered hesitantly.
“How good are you at fighting?”
“I’m learning, but…”
“You won’t fight unless you have to,” she finished for him. “I understand. Just keep yourself invisible and follow after me at a safe distance and we should be fine.”
“As long as we don’t run into Hastings while we’re there.”
“Is he really as powerful as they say he is?” Stevens asked, genuinely curious. At the same time, she looked as if she didn’t want to know the answer to her own question. From all of the Shadow Followers they had interrogated in the Major Case Shadow Division, Stevens had gotten the feeling that the Commander was to not only be respected, but feared. He had a reputation for being both cruel and downright powerful. No law system had been able to bring him down anywhere on Earth. If she ran into him, Stevens reasoned, she would most likely have to quickly talk herself out of a death sentence.
The camerlengo nodded, confirming her worse fears. Of course, they all knew that they had to be slightly wary of the Shadow Commander in order to do their jobs, but his rumored power made most of their heads spin. She glanced over at the priest to see his reaction to their discussion of Hastings. He didn’t seem to be the least surprised at what they spoke about the Shadow Commander. This made her suspicious.
“Have you met the Shadow Commander before, Father?” She asked, slipping into detective mode. She hated not knowing everything that was going around her, which made her the perfect candidate for a detective. Her driving force was that she couldn’t stand leaving things a mystery.
He nodded, hesitating before he spoke. “You can say we grew up together…He’s my brother…my twin brother.” His words surprised even Nichols, who knew nothing of this fact. The two detectives looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between the two of them about how the two brothers were obviously polar opposites. Imagine the Shadow Commander having a twin brother that was not only a priest, but in a high position in the very church he was trying to bring down.
“Has he ever approached you to get you to work with him in the Shadow Forces?” Stevens pressed, fascinated by this extremely interesting fact. Nichols leaned closer, also interested in hearing the camerlengo’s answer. Katharine paused from petting Pika, waiting for her father to speak. As she had never met Hastings before a few weeks prior, she didn’t know what kind of relationship the two brothers had.
“He did once years ago when he first joined the Shadow Forces, but…I refused…” The camerlengo gazed down at the ground as he spoke. He was hesitant to share information from their past, but if it helped them take down the Shadow Commander, it was worth it. “I don’t know if David told you this, but I’m a healer. I can be within a few feet of someone with an illness or injury, and they’ll start to heal instantly. Hastings, on the other hand, is a destroyer. His powers are unbelievably destructive in battle and most injuries he causes never heal.” He hesitated again, looking around at the three Aquapolians who were hung on his every word. Katharine had even let go of Pika unconsciously. The Himalayan tabby was now winding around Stevens’ legs.
“Our parents were killed by a human terrorist bombing in Dublin when we were young. We parted ways when we were eighteen. Hastings to join the Shadow Forces, and I to join the church. Unfortunately, we got into a fight before we left and both injured the other beyond repair in some way. Mine was physical…a scar that even I can’t heal…” He shrugged off his coat, under which he wore a short sleeved black shirt. Running up and down his right arm was a huge scar that looked painful. Katharine jumped up from her seat. She had never seen it before. Putting his jacket back on, the camerlengo continued. “I’m not exactly sure what I changed about Hastings, just that I injured him mentally.”
“As in he became the ruthless killing machine he is today?” Stevens asked.
“He was already like that before our fight. He was born without a conscience…But, for some reason, halfway through our battle, he decided not to kill me, which was his original intent.”
“Maybe your mark on him was to give him a conscience?” Nichols asked.
“It could be.”
“So, is he still not willing to kill you?” Stevens asked.
“I think he believes somehow that I’ll still join his cause further down the line…which will never happen,” he said firmly, glancing at Katharine.
Nichols followed his line of sight. “Of course not,” he muttered.
“So when are we going to the Colosseum?” Stevens asked.
“Why don’t we strike tomorrow?” Nichols said. Stevens and the camerlengo nodded.
“What do you need me to do?” Katharine asked eagerly.
“Stay out of harms way,” the camerlengo answered before Nichols could open his mouth.
The detective sighed. “And you can help me cover the area to make sure they get out safely.”
“Okay.”
They stood in silence for a few moments, thinking over their plans in their heads.
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“How does the area look?” Stevens asked. She and the camerlengo were only a street away from the Coloseum. Crowds of tourists had already clogged the streets at nine o’clock that summer morning. It was enough for them to force their way closer to the Coloseum along their route from the hotel.
“It looks clear, just a bunch of tourists, both human and Aquapolian.” Nichols’ voice rang lound and clear over her earphone. He and Katharine were stationed a few streets away, making sure that no Shadow Followers were coming in the direction of the Colosseum. According to Nichols’ observations, most Shadow Followers entered and exited the base at night so as not to be easily spotted. During the day, there were simply too many tourists around the monument.
A few yards before they reached the Colloseum, Stevens turned around to address the camerlengo, only to see that he wasn’t behind her. All she could see and hear were the bustling of the tourists that surrounded her. “I’m right behind you. Don’t turn around to speak to me.” The camerlengo’s voice came from the space a few feet in front of her. “Let’s go before someone accidently runs into me,” he said. The only downside to his being invisible was that Stevens couldn’t see where he was walking. Though he was supposed to be only a few feet behind her, when she entered the door hidden behind one of the Colloseum’s pillars, she ran into him. Both Aquapolians had tried to enter the doorway at the same time. She let it fall shut behind them before she spoke.
“I don’t know if this is going to work,” she whispered as they descended into the dark depths underneath the Colloseum. Dim lights shone over their heads, spreading just enough illumination to ensure that neither of them slipped and broker their necks on the steps.
“I’ll keep a few steps behind you unless someone comes into my space,” he whispered back. “Just don’t speak to me. If there’s a threat, I’ll be able to catch it at the same moment you do.” They finally entered a small hallway, Stevens leading the way into a passageway lined with glass. She marveled at the modern machinery she spied through the obviously newly built windows. Scientists scurried around a few yards beneath the level the two Aquapolians stood on, checking computers and running machines.
Stevens stepped closer to the glass and pressed her face up against it, straining to see what the machines were for. Several different types of plants she identified as being indigenous to Aquapolis grew in mini-greenhouses throughout the room. Scientists were experimenting with different chemicals they extracted from the plants.
“Something biological?” The camerlengo whispered. He stood only a few inches beside the detective. She scowled in his direction, not sure exactly where he was. “I know I said not to talk, but…it’s better for me to speak than for people to see you talking to yourself.”
“Yeah, we don’t want anyone to think I’m crazy, do we?” She rolled her eyes and returned her gaze back to the room in front of them. “What are they up to?” She whispered to herself.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” the camerlengo whispered furiously.
“Wait…why?”
“Hello there!” Stevens turned to see the Shadow Commander himself striding toward her down the passageway. Her breath caught in her throat as he drew closer. He glanced around the passageway before turning his cold eyes to her. “What’s your name, soldier?” Stevens regained her composure before answering.
“Maylene Sailor, sir. I was just sent in from the Jhoto Headquarters.” He nodded.
“Right…” The Commander stepped closer as Stevens struggled to keep her composure. “Tell me, Maylene, have you see anyone else in this passageway while you’ve been here?”
“No, sir, I haven’t.”
“Then you might want to step aside so that I…” The Commander didn’t finish his sentence before a psychic blast slammed into him, knocking him back a couple of feet. The camerlengo came back into view again, and, grabbing Stevens arm, practically dragged her out of the passageway.
“What are you doing?” She demanded as they stepped back out into the street.
“He was going to kill you.”
“No, he was going to kill YOU.”
“I know that look. He could tell you were lying.” Stevens wrested her arm from his grip and walked beside him at a brisk pace. They didn’t speak until they were several streets away.
“Next time, give me some warning before you attack. You nearly hit me with that blast,” she complained.
“I’m sorry. I had to act quickly in case he attacked you.”
“Is he really that powerful?”
“Let’s just say that if he knew you were an Aquapolian detective, he would have incinerated you.”
The thought chilled Stevens to the bone so powerfully that she actually shivered in the warm heat of the summer sun. She had faced many a powerful Shadow Follower on the streets of New York City, had almost been stabbed several times and had suffered from an electric shock to the system by and electric-type who almost refused to be taken to prison alive. However, all of the rumors of the Shadow Commander had simply been stored in the back of her mind. As a detective in New York City, she doubted that the Commander would ever make it to America to come face to face with Major Case. Now that she had actually met him, she understood why he struck fear in the hearts of those who had never even met him. She believed it was part of the legend behind him combined with his intimidating presence and cold, dark eyes. If he hadn’t already proved to be a living, breathing Aquapolian, she would have thought she had run into a real demon in the Colloseum’s passageways.
“We need to get back to the hotel as quickly as possible…” The camerlengo muttered, distracted by the sound of a phone ringing. The two Aquapolians glared at each other, wondering which of them had been stupid enough to leave their cell phone on during a deadly mission. A few seconds later, after the priest pulled a small blue phone from his pocket, the fool proved to be him. Stevens gave him an even more intense glare, to which he answered, “You could have easily passed it off as your own cell phone.” She rolled her eyes as he answered.
The conversation was short, but proved to change their course of escape. “I have to make my way to the Vatican…” The camerlengo explained, turning around in the opposite direction to which they had been walking a few seconds before. “Go straight to the hotel and report everything to Nichols.” He looked up at the sky, surprised to see that the sun was nearly setting. He had expected it to be earlier in the day. Now, they would both be traveling in a more dangerous city than before. “We should get going,” he said before running off.
Stevens only looked after him as the priest rounded another corner, shaking her head at their experience as she rushed on to the hotel, still shivering from her apparently close brush with incineration.
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“We had a few spies come in today…” Hastings muttered, sitting back in his office chair and gazing across the room at Janice, who stood as stoic as a rock, her arms crossed and her mind sharp. “I know that you’re one of the best Pokemon hunters in Aquapolis, but I’m going to have to call you off of the search for the legendary beasts for the time being.”
The hunter was repulsed by any strong show of emotion, but anger overtook her so quickly that she had to keep her voice in check while speaking to the Shadow Commander. “But, sir…who are you going to have catch the Crystal Beast now?” She tried to control her shaking arms, but the thought of being dropped from an assignment infuriated her.
“We’re going to stop going after the Crystal Beast for now. The next step in our mission is about to take place.”
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The camerlengo was on the lookout for any Shadow Follower that may have followed him from the Colloseum as he walked up the steps to the back of the Vatican. One of the Swiss Guards greeted him and escorted him to the Pope’s offices.
“I’m sorry that I’m late…We had a run-in with Shadow Followers near the Colloseum,” he explained to the pope after entering his chambers.
“There are still Shadow Followers roaming the streets?” The pope asked, surprised.
“Yes, sir. We still don’t know what they’re up to here in Rome.”
The pope paused before continuing. “Perhaps it’s time to call in the Italian Army…”
“They won’t be able to stop them with guns. Aquapolians are immune to those weapons…”
“The Shadow Forces must be brought down…Or, at least, we must curb their efforts to attack the church by offering them a deal.”
The camerlengo couldn’t believe his ears. “A deal, sir?”
“Yes…” The pope looked at him thoughtfully. “Who under the church’s protection is the biggest threat to the Shadow Forces.”
The camerlengo could scarcly breathe as he answered, “The Chosen One.”
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“I’m telling you, they’re creating some sort of biological weapon down there,” Stevens said, sitting in a chair inside the hotel room.
“Amazing that they built a lab down there within only a few months…” Nichols muttered.
“Who knows if they’ve been down there for years?” Katharine pointed out.
“We need to go down there again, but with more fire power.”
“Are you suggesting I go as the Crystal Beast?”
“Perhaps, as long as we don’t run into that hunter anymore.”
“What hunter?” Stevens asked.
“Janice. You know, that famous Pokemon poacher from Sinnoh.”
“She’s here in Rome?!”
“Yeah, and apparently releasing her Pokemon all over the place. She nearly took the camerlengo and I out with her Garchomp.”
Stevens shook her head. “Don’t you get the feeling sometimes that we’re up against impossible odds.”
“If the Chosen One weren’t on our side, I would say we are. But, with her here, God’s on our side.”
“Let’s hope that’s true. Otherwise…” She paused. “Who knows what Hastings is up to?”
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“Are you suggesting that we trade Katharine for peace here in the Vatican?” The camerlengo asked.
“We can’t afford to do that, however…” The pope nodded for the Swiss Guards to leave the room. Once they were gone, he continued. “It may be best for her to join the Shadow Forces for a time to ensure that she is not hunted here in the church.”
“If she is handed over to the Shadow Forces, they’ll kill her, and the church will fall.”
“Are you so certain she holds the power to protect this church until the end?”
“She destroyed that demon who was here a few months ago. There’s no telling what she can do to the mortals in the Shadow Forces!” He was raising his voice, but he didn’t care. Something in him rushed to protect Katharine before the church, and he was mad at himself for even thinking such a thing.
The pope stepped closer. “Then tell her to stop fighting the Shadow Forces for now, or she’ll be killed.” A chill came over the camerlengo as the pope continued, his words ominous. “You can take that as a threat if you would like, but with the two of us leading this church, the Shadow Forces’ reign is unstoppable.”
“Are you suggesting we quit?”
“No, I’m suggesting we help them.”
An ominous silence filled the room. The camerlengo couldn’t believe his ears, until he sensed something odd about the aura in the room. He hadn’t been able to put his finger on it before, but now he knew…
He was standing in the presence of a Shadow Follower. And, as only he and the pope were in the room, there was only one explanation for the aura. Backing a few paces away from the pope, he asked, “How long have you been a Shadow Follower?”
He smiled. “As long as Cardinal Reed was, but I decided not to leave. Instead, join the church and see if I can serve the Shadow Commander in this way. Now…” He paused. “You can join me in leading the church without the necessity of destroying it. Or…the Shadow Commander can see to it personally that the Chosen One will not survive the week. Your choice, Patrick.”
“There is no choice in this…” He muttered, backing up further to close the chamber door. “How could you betray us all like this?”
“Seeing as how I’ve been a Shadow Follower for my entire life, I don’t see a betrayal at all. Now, your answer?”
The camerlengo though through his answer for a few more minutes.
“No.”
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The light shining through the hotel window woke Katharine the following morning. She sat up in bed and stretched, knocking Pika off of the bed. She gasped and bent down to pick him up, whispering, “I’m so sorry..” She glanced over to the other bed where her father lay, dead asleep. She wondered what time he had gotten in the night before.
A loud knock startled her and woke the camerlengo, who slowly sat up and turned toward the door. He sighed as Katharine stepped forward to open the door for Nichols, who burst in, holding his cell phone.
“We’ve got to get to the Vatican…NOW.”
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“I don’t see how this is possible…”
The two detectives, Katharine, and the camerlengo stood in the pope’s chambers, surrounded by the Swiss Guard’s own personal forensics team, who were milling about, taking pictures of everything. The body had been taken out of the room, but anyone could have guessed that someone extremely important had died there the night before. Of course, the pope’s body had been removed from the room as soon as one of the Swiss Guards found him that morning.
The four Aquapolians were too shocked to speak for a few moments, wondering how anyone could have gotten in and killed the pope without an alarm being raised.
“Shadow Followers?” Nichols finally asked.
“I can sense some Shadow energy in here…” Katharine said, her arms crossed as she paced the room.
“Someone must have slipped in and out without the guards’ realizing…A ghost-type perhaps? Most can slip through glass.” Stevens motioned to the large windows. “Then whoever it was simply levitated to the ground outside.”
“What do you think they’re planning to do?” Nichols asked.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? With the pope gone, they plan to have the place taken over before the end of the week…”
While Nichols and Stevens traded theories as to how and why the pope was killed, Katharine stepped over to her father, who was still frozen in shock. “Are you okay?” She asked, placing a hand on his arm. He jumped slightly, startled by her sudden touch, then sighed.
“If only I had stayed a while longer…I could have saved him.” He ducked his head, and Katharine tightened her grip on his arm, trying to comfort him through her touch. After a few minutes more, he pulled himself together, and a determined light shone in his emerald eyes. He turned to Nichols and Stevens, who were still surveying the crime scene. “I’m calling the Legendary Team back to Rome,” he announced. They turned around with surprised looks on their faces as he stepped out of the room, furiously dialing Riley’s number on his cell phone.
“Can he do that?” Stevens asked, turning to Nichols with a curious look on her face.
“Do what?”
“Disregard the pope’s orders like that.”
“At the moment of the pope’s death, he became the leader of the church again. He can retract any of the pope’s decrees that he wishes to.”
“We’ve got to stop this,” Katharine said firmly, stepping up to speak to the two detectives. “Before anyone else gets hurt.”
“The only question is how…” Nichols muttered, pacing the floor much like Katharine had minutes earlier. Stevens could tell that her partner was deep in thought as he moved back and forth across the floor, his boots making noise each time he turned to pace again. Katharine ducked her head and crossed her arms, thinking through as many of their options as she could. There was only one solution that she could think of, but she wasn’t going to speak of it again until the rest of the Legendary Team members arrived in Rome.
Another pair of footsteps sounding on the chamber’s floor caught her attention, and she raised her gaze again to see her father walking toward them. He was still dazed by the shock he had received only half an hour earlier, but he seemed to be as deep in thought as the other three Aquapolians about their predicament. For a few seconds, Katharine wondered if he wasn’t able to convince the other Legendary Team members to return to Rome.
“I called David, and he said that Riley will get the word out to the rest of the Legendary Team in a matter of an hour. David can be here tomorrow, while the rest of the team may take a few more days to get here,” the camerlengo said hurridly. Katharine breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently, the other members were dying to return to Rome and help fight the Shadow Forces, especially after such an important figure in the church had been killed.
“IF they can get through security, that is.” The four Aquapolians turned to see Richter marching through the chamber toward their small group, an angry scowl on his face. “Must I remind you, Patrick, that, although we must take into account who died here last night, this is still a crime scene that I am in charge of.” He scowled at the two detectives even harder. “And the last time I checked, neither of you have security passes.”
“We’re detectives from New York’s Major Case Shadow Division,” Nichols explained. “I’m Zach Nichols, and this is Serena Stevens.” The two detectives fished their badges out of their pockets. Incidentally, both of them also had trainer’s licenses attached to their badge case, indicating that they both were authorized to bring Pokemon on their patrols.
“Then you both are WAY out of your jurisdiction,” Richter said. “And…” He turned to the camerlengo, his face darkening even more. From the look on her father’s face, however, Katharine could tell that he was getting mad. She had never seen him so angry before, even after the very often times she had been scolded as a child for being mischievous. He had never raised his voice to her, but now, as she saw Richter about to launch an argument at the camerlengo, she could tell that he was going to shout back.
“I believe His Holiness issued a decree that no more Legendary Team members were to be allowed into the Vatican.” A slight smile crossed Richter’s face. He believed that he had won.
“I’m repealing his decree!”
“What?!” Richter stared at him, astonished.
“Two popes have died within a few months, one of natural causes and the other by the Shadow Forces’ hand. It’s time that we stop the Shadow Forces now, and the only way to do so is have the Legendary Team here to help fight. As long as there is no acting pope, I WILL ensure that this church still stands, which includes using my position to repeal decrees.”
Richter, still stunned by the camerlengo’s statement, nearly jumped out of his skin when one of his Swiss Guards called to tell him that there was a message back at his office. He glared at the priest once more before leaving. The three Aquapolians left with the camerlengo in the chamber turned to look at him in amazement. He didn’t notice the surprised looks on their faces before he stepped out of the chambers once again.
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“WHAT?!” Langdon shouted over his cell phone. Everyone in the lecture hall turned to stare at him. Glancing around, he realized that he had shouted over the speaker he was supposed to be listening to. Hurridly, he stood up and exited the hall, hurrying down the steps to his office, where he quickly slammed the door shut. “Are you telling me that the pope is dead?!” He furiously whispered to Rowan, who was on the other side of the phone.
“Yes. Apparently, the Shadow Forces got to him last night. All of us are to be back in Rome as soon as possible.”
Langdon was already gathering up his things in his briefcase. “I’ll be there by tonight!” He shouted, rushing out the door and down the passageway.
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House leaned forward in his desk, nearly falling backwards from the weight distribution he had put on it a few seconds beforehand. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, putting down the phone.
“What?” Asked a younger man sitting in a chair on the other side of his office. He had light brown hair and wore a lab coat, unlike House.
“Looks like I’m taking another trip to the Vatican.”
The doctor across the room rolled his eyes. “Really? This again?”