From: Karnivax (karnivax@my-deja.com) Subject: [PW!] Fire On High Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000-10-27 20:10:03 PST (OOC: Isn't it a bit early to be destroying Cinnabar?) > Ash. Not the kind that raises omnipotent pokemon only to discard them > once they evolve, nor the kind that deals with undead and other nasties. > No, this was the original kind: black char, mixed in with snowy white in > what looked like an explosion at the salt and pepper factory, and all of > it smelling of its firey origin. > > Sound was the third sense of Drake's to reawaken, jolted back to reality > by a thunderous roar. Everything was drowned out for a few seconds, the > sound so intense that it went synthesiastic by stimulating a few of his > optic nerves, to say nothing of rattling his body to the bone. > > Drake was very glad his mouth was closed so he did not have to taste > this. > > Below, several men and pokemon rushed forward to free the rafts from > their wooden confines; Drake obliged them by hefting a shell-shocked > Memuyo and a very tired Mimic off the crates. As he did so, he thought > he spied something very peculiar: a human hovering over the erupting > volcano in the distance. At this range, only a black silhouette could > be made out, and only barely through all the ash. It was difficult to > tell, but the figure could have had wings. Or maybe it was just another > oddly-shaped flake of ash, hovering in his line of view. No matter, the > task at hand was more important. > > TBC? > "Now, you guys see that, right? I'm not just imagining that huge column of black smoke on the horizon?" Flying in the direction of Cinnabar Island at maximum speed, Espio the white Charizard turned his head to look at his two passengers, who were locked in an affectionate embrace. "What...?" The plug suit-clad Jessica slowly released Kyle. The couple opened their eyes and faced forward. "The volcano's erupting!" Kyle cried as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh, Goddish...this has got to be the worst -" He hesitated a bit when he was reminded of his getting engaged several hours ago. "- and the best twenty-four hours of my life thus far." His thoughts immediately turned to his father and his home, at least one of which was in grave danger. "Espio, can't you go any faster?" Espio robotically answered, "This is the Charizard's top speed." Kyle was forced to suffer in torturous anxiety as Cinnabar slowly came closer and closer. He was so lost in concerns that he was oblivious to the approach of a giant flying Pokémon that seemed to be on a direct collision course with Espio. "Incoming!" Espio shouted right before he plummetted like a rollercoaster car to avoid the other flyer. Jessica looked up to see the majestic Moltres soar overhead. "Even the so-called god of fire is turning tail!" she commented. When the dense ash from the volcano was close enough to smell, Kyle suddenly heard a faint ringing sound coming from his backpack. "Hey, you still have my cell phone in there!" Jessica remembered. From her position right behind Kyle, she unzipped Kyle's backpack and dug out her cell phone from within a mass of tools of the Pokémon trade. She opened up the small phone and answered: "Hello?" The response came: "Jessica? Hi, this is Professor Richter..." Jessica happily clapped one hand over the phone's mic and announced, "Kyle, it's your dad!" Kyle immediately took the phone from Jessica. "Dad?" he greeted. "We're closing in on Cinnabar, there's black smoke everywhere...where are you?!" "It's all right, I'm safely on Seafoam," the Professor replied. "Good thing I called you when I did! I wanted to tell you to keep away from Cinnabar...it's not safe, and there's nothing left for you there anyway. We scientists saw the eruption coming well enough in advance that I was able to hire a Machoke-Rhydon team to move all of our stuff on to the evac ferry. Even the kitchen sink!" "Is...there anyone left on the island? Shouldn't we at least try to help the others evacuate?" Kyle unsurely wondered. "It's all being taken care of," the Professor answered. "Like I said, this eruption was not a total surprise." "Well...all right..." Kyle conceded, a bit saddened that his childhood home was going up in smoke. "Espio, change of plans. We're off to Seafoam." The Charizard saluted and then made a sharp turn. "Oh, and one more thing," Professor Richter added. "Not long before the eruption, I found a strange envelope in the mailbox. It doesn't have a return address, or even a stamp. It just says 'To Kyle, from Shard.'" Kyle clenched his fist at the mention of that name. "Did you open it?" The Professor sheepishly responded, "Well, no...I know better than to read other people's mail. I still have it with me, though..." "You have my permission to open it, Dad," Kyle said, somewhat impatiently. For several seconds after that, Kyle heard his father rummaging through the many pockets of his lab coat. "Now where did I put that envelope...oh! Here we are." Next Kyle heard the sound of paper being torn. "Let's see..." There was a pause. "'Meet me at Seafoam if you want to see the Pikachu again.'" Another pause. "Kyle?" Kyle just snarled under his breath, "We're on our way." (OOC: Looks like Panopticon will have to wait yet again... =/) --K * A * R * N * I * V * A * X-- Mr. Minni: "Look at the song title, trumpets! It's called 'Isn't She Lovely?' You've got to play this with more emotion! Stevie Wonder wrote this when he saw his newborn child for the first time!" Me: "Mr. Minni, Stevie Wonder is blind." Mr. Minni: "Shut up, you." --from my Band class