From: Maria Rocket <mobius101@aol.compactpika> Subject: [PW!] Getting Into School Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 5:28 PM Seth snapped up a newly purchased pair of shades from the counter. He opened them with a flip of his wrist. Black, his favorite color. He slid them on. #Seth, black is not a color.# "Aerie!" Seth jumped. "Don't do that!" There was a feeling of surprise from Aerie. #We do it all the time. Besides, where are you?# Sitting in a cafe in the middle of Celadon mall, Aerie gave her soda a suspicious look. #I'm bored.# Seth quickly blocked her mind from picking up his location. "Aeriiie...just wait a little while longer, alright? I'll be with you soon." #It's lonely by myself.# Seth cringed. "Stop making me feel guilty...I'm hurrying." He walked a little ways and glanced up at a dress on a mannequin and wondered how it would look on Aerie. No...it just didn't seem her style. #Then let me come with you at least! Come on Seth...# Seth's mind raced. "I have to do this on my own, Aer'. Just don't spy on me for awhile, okay?" #Oh, fine. Hmph.# "Sorry about it...but trust me, I'll be back before you know it. Love ya." After he felt Aerie's presence leave, Seth noticed a a few nearby shoppers and the people at the check out counter giving him strange, worried looks. Then he remembered the mannequin he had been looking at...and what he had probably looked like just then. He cringed and made a mental note not to respond to telepathic messages out loud in public anymore. Fleeing the store before anyone rushed him with a straitjacket, Seth felt completely giddy with excitement. He was going to find the perfect gift for Aerie. Perfect! "Puuuurrrrr....fect." Seth stopped and looked down. At his feet, the Persian grinned silently up at his friend. "Slasher! Did you just....nah. Where the heck have you been?" "Siann..." Slasher waved his tail from side to side. "Purrsian purr." Just beyond Seth, mall security put up a poster. "Huh? Shopping? But you don't.." He glanced over at the poster. "Whoa, wild Pokemon are attacking people in the mall and stealin' 'em blind! Sheesh, crazy concept. Must be Team Rocket." He got a wistful glint in his eye, then closed them tightly once. For Aerie's sake. He opened them again and leaned down to pat Slasher's ears. "Well, I'm looking for something for Aerie. Wanna help?" "Purrrrsian!" So they wandered around the mall, until Seth found what he was looking for. Excitedly, Seth turned to hurry back to Aerie. Then Slasher went and jumped out the nearest window. Seth blinked and did a take. "Out the window!? SLASHER!" He ran to the window and seized the frame with both hands and looked down. There was a large hole in the building down below. "That cat is nuts..." He jumped down after him. Unfortunately, he forgot to transform into something more convient, and crashed hard though the roof and into the floor. "Owww...." Seth mumbled from the floor. Then suddenly the air filled with shrieks. He sat up in sudden alarm. "Wha? What?" He was suddenly smacked hard in the face. As he went down, he noticed Slasher in a corner busy being petted by a number of young girls. "OUT! This is girls private school! No men allowed you..!" Next thing Seth knew, he was flung out the nearest window. Yes, another window. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" He hit the street below with a crunch. With a anguished moan, he transformed into a Pidgey one moment too late. A nearby little boy eating a snowcone, in December, looked down at him. "Look Daddy, it's a sleeping Pidgey!" "No Tommy, that's roadkill, get away from there." His father replied as he pulled the little boy away. After they left, the Pidgey peeled himself off the pavement. He glared up at the house. "PIIIDDGGGEEE!!@! Slasher, get out here now!" There was no response. Seth grumbled and transformed back into his default form. "Okay, you leave me no choice." He cracked his knuckles. "I'm coming in after you...and though they may have taken me by surprise once, no one can take me twice!" He ran back into the school. And was instantly kicked outside again. "ARRGH!" Seth jumped to his feet and spun around. "I was trained by the best! I was in the Team Rocket elite! You can't keep me out!" He shook his fist at the house. "I'm taking you out Slasher, whether you like it or not!" He ran up to the school and with a slight spin, kicked the door in. With a loud cry, he drew his weapon and charged. ...To come flying out another window a minute later. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH--Oooowch!" He landed with a sickening crunch. He rolled over with a small wail. "This is humiliating..." He sat up, and blinked. Something didn't look right.... His shades crumbled and fell off his face. "...." His face turned crimson as he clenched his teeth. "Those were brand new!" He clenched his fists. "This means war!" He jumped up and threw his arms out. In that second, he disappeared in a flash. There was silence for a good three minutes. And then... "GGGGYAAAHHH!!!" Seth came flying out from the roof of the school this time. He fell onto his face and fell silent. Mumbling, he finally pushed himself up again. "Okay...so teleporting doesn't work." He sat crosslegged there and frowned at the door. There *had* to be a way... And he cringed. "No way...." He shook his head as the flashback came on... *** A little boy with big green eyes peered into the darkness. This was a most secret place, and he wasn't supposed to be here. He reached around until he felt something cube-shaped. Bingo. "Seth, what are you doing in here?" Seth looked back. Uh oh. Busted. He quickly hid the prize behind his back. "Just playing, Uncle Meowth." He tried to look as innocent as possible. The Meowth shook his head. "In your parents' closet? Nuh uh. You're hunting for presents, aren't you?" He narrowed his eyes slightly. It looked like the kid might make a break for it. He wasn't much bigger than Meowth was, but he was tricky. Seth somehow had a way of disappearing without a trace at times... It had still been much easier for him to babysit Seth when he was smaller. "No, I was playing." Seth giggled and pushed the closet open a little more. "See, nothing but Daddy's clothes in here." He hoped Meowth wouldn't check the packages hidden behind the dresses.... And that was the first time it came to mind. He blinked up and tilted his head slightly in confusion. "This is Daddy's side of the closet...but those look like some of Mommy's clothes. But I've never seen her wear those ones... Uncle Meowth, why are there Mommy clothes together with Daddy's clothes?" Meowth sweatdropped and quickly shut the closet door. "Umm...ask me again when you're a few years older." He herded Seth out, never noticing the little box he hid under his shirt. *** Seth shuddered. No, he wasn't going to go that far. He stood and brushed the dirt from himself. Then his form shimmered and reformed. Perfect. He looked down at himself and wondered if maybe he had actually gone *farther*, but put that aside. This was war, and he was getting in there. "Slasher, you're leaving this place whether you like it or not..." The now purple-haired Seth muttered as he walked into the school in the guise of the female form he knew best. TBC? ~Maria R "Psy yie yie..." --- http://purplestudio.webjump.com --- "R is for Rrrah...Rrrah...Rocket!" - Meowth --- Rocketshipper Forever! --- TEOTWAWKI