Part Five

      After the realization that the photo was somewhere at the bottom of the ocean sank in, I knew I must continue on. I was soaking wet, my uniform clinging to my waist and my hair now just a tangled damp mess, and my eyes were still stinging from the vast salty waters. Not only that, but I was still in my Team Rocket uniform, and wouldn't be able to go out in public without the police being phoned up. I slowly heaved my self up into a standing position, my legs trembling from the chills going down my spine, all the strength I had summoned so I wouldn't drown, or the confusion of what I would do next, I didn't know. All I know is that I managed to make them move, carrying me closer to some abandoned woods near the harbor.

      After carefully stepping over bulky tree roots, dead logs, and a large amount of poison ivy, I sat down behind a bush sprouting ripe berries that glistened in the sunlight. Hugging my knees to my chest, I buried my head into them and shut my eyes tightly. Though I had told myself earlier that I had to continue on, it felt good to be able to rest for once. In fact, I couldn't exactly remember the last time I could rest.

      During the nights when I had no mission to accomplish, I would usually just lay there in that scratchy mess of a bed and gaze into the dark ceiling. Being jet-black, I could never tell how high it was during nighttime, and always pushed away the wonders tugging at my heart and replaced them with no thoughts at all, just the sight of the ceiling. At the time I had forbidden myself to wonder about why I was a part of Team Rocket, afraid that the truth would be a stinging horror. But now I've faced the truth. Now I've faced the betrayal.

      Taking a deep shuddering breath, I slowly raised my head. That was enough resting for now. I had no idea when Giovanni would decide to turn the ship back. Soon, at least. The first thing I had to do was take care of my uniform.

      I had sat there in the woods long enough to realize that no human has set foot in this place for weeks. After assuring myself I was alone and would stay alone, I flung off the shirt of my uniform and turned it inside-out so the blood-red R wasn't visible anymore, and then shoved the shirt back on. It felt scratchy and bizarre against my waist, though still soaking wet. At least the R wasn't showing anymore. As for my cap, it had long since been flung off my head once I had jumped into the vast ocean.

      It didn't take long to find the city. The harbor was sitting just at the edge of it. As I trudged along the streets, I felt strangely out of place, dressed in all black. But not only did my uniform make me look out of place, but also... me. Just me. It seemed like every person that walked by had a friendly companion to be with, most often a family member. My heart sank as I thought about my family. All my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had died, and I had never had any aunts or uncles. Nobody in my family had more than one child.

      I was the last one of my family that was alive.

      Alone. I was alone.

      A new emotion I had never felt before seemed to be burning a hole through my heart. A deep, vast, and dark emptiness that could never be filled up. An emptiness of being alone in the world. What was a suppssed to do? I had no family, no friends, and no money. I felt horribly, utterly lost. But what would someone do if they found out I was alone? Send me to an orphanage, probably. What fun. Yeah right. Though I did still have my Houndoom. But what use would it be to me now?

      Sighing, I collapsed onto a small bench and gazed out into the cloudy skies, breathing in the brisk day air. Lost... I was lost... everything... was lost...

      I hardly felt my eyes softly close as I drifted off into an unsteady sleep.

***************************************************

      "Wake up, Kira." A voice spat.

      I blinked open my eyes wearily, squinting up into the bright sunlight. The whole world in front of me seemed to be a blur of colors as the memories of jumping off the S.S. Aqua slowly trickled through my mind. Kira. The stranger knew my name. For one strange moment I almost thought it was my mother. But no. Of course not.

      'They'll turn back soon. They're just giving me a head start.'

      Team Rocket.

      Clare.

      You know how different someone you know looks like compared to what a stranger looks like? If you just think back to when you first met a person, they probably look different now that they're not a stranger. For a second there my blurry mind seemed to translate Clare as a stranger, and I just continued lying there, gazing out at the skies. But now that the realization had sank in that there was a Team Rocket member standing before me, my tense muscles seemed to spring into action. In one swift movement I jumped from lying position to standing positing, my face inches away from Clare's.

      "Sit back down you idiot." Clare said through gritted teeth, pressing her flexed palms against my shoulders and shoving me back onto the sturdy bench. In my mad attempt to stand back up, Clare continued to tightly grasp my shoulders.

      "Let go." I whispered darkly, glaring into her mud-brown eyes. "I'm not going to join Team Rocket again."

      "This has nothing to do with Team Rocket." Clare whispered, equally as quiet, if not more. "It has to do with your locket."

      I suddenly stopped struggling. Clare's grip loosened. My locket? I thought back to the angry emotion that had swelled up in Giovanni's eyes as he lunged for me aboard the S.S. Aqua after I told him that I had thrown my locket into the ocean. Then I thought back to what he had said about the island the S.S. Aqua was traveling toward. "I didn't have you help because this whole plan is connected to what's inside your locket."

      "What does Giovanni want with my locket?" I asked softly.

      "Now that's more like it." Clare muttered, smirking, as she carefully sat down next to me.

      There was silence for a moment and we both just sat there, gazing out into the skies beyond.

      Finally I sighed, shattering the silence. "If you lie to me I'll be able to tell, you know."

      "You weren't able to tell before, though." Clare noted, continuing to smirk.

      I wove my fingers through my now frizzy hair. "Why are you admitting that Giovanni lied to me when I first joined Team Rocket?" I asked, suspicious. "Surely you're not betraying him...?"

      "Betraying Giovanni and all of Team Rocket? No." Clare answered, tilting her head up to look at the sky and closing her eyes. "But I'm betraying someone else."

      Someone else? A family member? A friend? Was Clare possibly more like me than I thought? That emotion that I saw in her mud-brown eyes when I was five years old, and then the second time I saw it, on the ship...

      "Well then, tell me why Giovanni is interested in my locket." I told Clare sharply.

      Clare let a long breath out. "Did you ever find something behind the photo in your locket?" She asked.

      Behind. My stomach dropped. Never before had I ever looked behind the photo in my locket. When I had taken the photo of the locket on the ship, I took it out and shut the locket back up too quickly to notice anything.

      "I never looked." I answered wearily.

      "Well, there's supposed to be a jewel. A jewel with powers. It was found by your father long before he joined Team Rocket, when he was still a miner. But he knew little of how to control its powers. Thinking it useless, he gave it to your mother right before they divorced, when you were two. As a part of Team Rocket, he had spied on your mother many times after they divorced, and the last thing he heard from her about the jewel before he died when you were three was 'I'll keep it safe... somewhere.' Now, the reason why he was spying on your mother after they divorced was because he then learned that the jewel actually was of use. But then he died when you were three and all the rest of us had to continue the task of retrieving the jewel."

      I just sat there, letting all of Clare's words sink in. A jewel with powers...

      "The jewel... what type of powers does it have?" I asked.

      Clare leaned in closer to my face and spoke in just barely a whisper. "Extraordinary powers."

      I still wasn't satisfied with her answer, but accepted it. "So, why are you here?" I asked slowly.

      "You threw your locket into the ocean, right?" Clare asked. I nodded in reply. "Well then, we better go get it. I'm on your side now."

      "How?" I sighed.

      Clare smirked. "What, you thought I came all this way unprepared?"

      And at that moment Clare gestured to the bulky jet-black bag behind her, filled with scuba gear.

***************************************************

      "Surely you'll be coming with me, right?" I asked, sighing, as I struggled to tilt my head to look up at the wandering Wingulls. Never before had I worn scuba gear before, and it felt rubbery and tight against my thin skin. I also felt heavy - it took a lot of effort to move around freely. Most of the weight was strapped on my back. Air tanks. Of course.

      "Oh yes, of course I'm going to the bottom of the ocean with you, even though I don't have scuba gear for myself." Clare answered, rolling her eyes. "Note the sarcasm."

      Of course Clare couldn't come with me. I bit my lip. I had never done anything like this before, and my heart seemed to be leaping up to my throat. Whether I couldn't focus because of the burning prickling feeling on my face, or something else, I didn't know. The only things I could focus on were the emotions sparking through my heart and mind at that moment. Suspicion and worry. According to Clare, she wasn't betraying Giovanni and all of Team Rocket. But wouldn't she be betraying them if she really was on my side? And the worry. What if I drowned? What if there's a leak in the air tanks? Could this all be a plot to murder me?

      ...A loud whirring sound... a shrill scream piercing the air...

      Me, five years old. My mother. Murder.

      Urging my body to use all the strength it had, I whirled around to face Clare. "How do I know I can trust you?" I asked softly, searching for an emotion in her mud-brown eyes.

      Clare sighed and gazed out at the sea beyond for a moment. Then she answered.

      "Because I'm your only chance right now."

      Again, I wasn't satisfied with her answer, but accepted it. She was right. At the moment, I was alone in the world.

      "In that case, I guess I'm ready." I said, my voice trembling.

      "You guess?" Clare repeated, smirking.

      "Yes." I replied softly. "Nowadays I'm never sure if I'm ready for these things."

      Clare leaned in closer to whisper quietly in my ear. "Well, sometimes it's good to wonder about things."

      I didn't say anything. Instead I just slowly raised my head to look up into her eyes, my face rising into a soft smile, and then I jumped into the vast, cold, ocean waters below.

      What happened next was a moment that leaves me breathless when I think about it. It was like wearing tight rubber gloves on your hands and running them under cold water, except that the cold water was everywhere, and the rubber wasn't just on your hands. The feeling of being forced to the ground under the weight I carried on my back had evaporated into just a slight touch on my back, and it was as if I could no longer... well, feel. There was all of the vast aquamarine color that was engulfing me, but not dampness. Just the tight feeling of rubber against my skin. Though my movements were rather slow because it took quite an effort, I now felt more freedom than ever. But I knew I wasn't completely free, and still had something to accomplish.

      My locket. I had to find my locket. The determination settling down in my heart was the only thing urging me to pump my legs, to swim closer the darkness below the wavy surface of the waters. The small beam of light emerging from the waterproof flashlight I held in my covered hand wasn't enough to totally eliminate all of the darkness. Yet I still searched on, the water pressure seeming to crush my ears, pain surging through my veins. My heart leapt to my throat as the light of my flashlight reflected off something small. Squinting as I swam closer, I could barely make out the cursive words engraved in its shiny gold surface that read Together Forever. Making an effort to grip it in my other hand, I couldn't help grinning. I had succeeded.

      But as I tilted my head up to look at the shining surface and then tilted it back down, the beam of light engulfed something else that was slightly smaller. Something that took my breath away and sent wonders trickling down my mind. Before pumping my legs one last time to struggle to the surface of the vast salty waters, I took a hold of the object in the same hand that as holding the locket, and then began my swim up.

      Not only had I just found my golden locket, but I had also found the photo.