From: Cat-Gonk (gjaniMPERATOR@iinet.net.au) Subject: [PW!] Through The Never Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000/05/19 Her destination was Rosetta Town, somewhere west of Pallet, or was it east? She couldn't quite remember, but with any luck her instincts would land her in the right place. Haunter were good at that kind of thing, she recalled from a life not so long ago. [PW!] Through The Never By Cat-Gonk. Night Shade's corporeal form hurtled through the void, teleportation giving her a moment to think and try to catch hold of the memories that were leaving her, like heat from a furnace. ------ Charmeleon leapt to his mistress' aid, claws leaving faint trails of light as they sang through the air, and vanished into his prey before re-appearing, blood running from their edges. Away from the battle, Kadabra hovered in the air, meditating, building up energy for his role in the combat. Vaulting backwards, Night Shade drew two pistols from the holsters at her shoulders, and fired them at her advancing assailants. Three shell casings hit the ground with a faint metallic tinkle, three bodies hit the ground. Such slaughter had once reviled her, but now it seemed almost natural. They aren't humans, she believed, but cattle to be consumed for her benefit. A Golduck brought its webbed hands to its forehead, and released a Hyper Beam at Charmeleon. The Hyper Beam impacted into a rocky outcrop far from the battle, passing through the spot where Charmeleon should have been, destroying it instantly. In an instant, bright red ribbons were where the duck Pokemon's neck, Charmeleon's Double Team ability giving him the drop on his would-be destroyer. The workers, seeing that their attempt to drive off one of Team Rocket's most ruthless agents was futile, turned and ran. Night Shade gunned down two as they attempted to escape, Charmeleon vomited a cloud of fire to block their escape but most were willing to run through the flames to get away from the woman in purple and her crimson companion. Most had hidden inside the dam's scaffolding, Night Shade casually tossed a grenade into the maze of pipes and platforms, and was rewarded by seeing the construction site explode into a hail of metal and water as the dam burst. Kadabra raised his arms to the sky, his spoon rippling in the air like a piece of cloth from the sheer amounts of energy the psi-Pokemon was radiating. From all across the battlefield, Pokeballs glew purple, floated upwards, and vanished into the ether. Empty Pokebelts flopped to the ground as their contents were spirited away. By the time the torrent of water had reached their position, the three figures had vanished. As the cascade swept the battlefield clean, taking all the evidence of the massacre with it besides a faint tinge of red in the water, a large piece of signpost floated down with it, bearing the words "Hellion Town Project". ------ Hellion Town, yes, that was it. It was near to Rosetta, or was it Fuschia? ------ Two Pokeballs broke through the Pokecentre's glass walls, followed by a hail of bullets. Glass showered over the patrons as they dove and scrambled for cover. Kadabra concentrated, and cast his arms forwards as if hurling a net. A nimbus of mental energy floated from his hands and drifted to the Pokecentre's holding bays, where it collected Pokeballs from the shelves in its glowing mass as it travelled. Charmeleon stood watch as Night Shade recited the Team Rocket motto, keeping an eye out for any grasps towards a Pokebelt. A resounding clatter came from the holding bay as the psychic web dissolved into nothingness. In the counter, Kadabra lay in a crater created by the force of his impact. A Mr Mime stood where Kadabra once was, his chest slightly scratched by the force of his impact. "Excellent. Wallace, keep her busy." Night Shade immediately grasped for her holstered pistols, and found them stuck to her waist. She turned around to the Pokecentre lounge, where a proud-looking man around the same age as her lay on a sofa, a Pokeball in his hand. "Raphael. Hydro Pump." The Pokeball projected itself out from his palm as if it were carried by mental energy, but this was an illusion used to intimidate. Night Shade herself knew such tricks, it was either the man's Mr Mime that carried the projectile or a sudden snap of the wrist. Charmeleon had already broken into a charge, the Pokeball landed a few feet away from his position. Without even having to power up, a Squirtle shot Charmeleon with a blast of water so powerful that it carried the fire-lizard to the other side of the Pokecentre, out through the empty glass walls and into the street. It followed this up with a lightning-speed Skull Bash, propelling itself with a blast of water and slamming into the Charmeleon's gut. Night Shade's pistols were somehow freed, and she raised them at Raphael in an instant. The second she squeezed the trigger, the two weapons fell apart in her hands, the screws undone and plates unwelded by the Mr Mime's psychic talents. Knowing better than to try going hand-to-hand with a psyker, she gave the order and Kadabra teleported them to safety. The man recalled his Squirtle, and dusted off the left shoulder of his suit. Adjusting the single bleached-white lonk in his deep black hair, he got up from the couch and walked out from the Pokecentre. ------ His face was particularly dark and handsome, she remembered. He seemed to be half-Asian, and the people around him treated him with infinite respect, wait, how did she know how others saw him? Did she see him again? Pieces of the puzzle were falling together, but Night Shade knew that she didn't have them all. ------ She fell into his arms, the heat from his body distinctly noticible in the chill of the Hellion night. The shapes of the half-finished twin skyscrapers glinted in the pale moonlight as did the two lovers, the moon's faint light illuminating the outlines of their bodies as they embraced in the darkness. As a schoolgirl, she'd never felt attracted to anyone, though she had felt her effects on those around her. Now, her own influence was outmatched, her lover had caught her in his grasp and held her tightly to him as her icy composture melted with the fires of passion in side her. ------ Her search for a name unearthed even more memories as she dug for the truth. What was the man's name? He was someone important, a mayor, or an entertainer of some kind, maybe a Pokemon trainer or a businessman... ------ The liquid turned red. Night Shade didn't know what she was feeling, was it love, or fear? She was ill-experienced in both those emotions, and didn't know what would happen. It was still many months before she'd have to disappear, make herself hidden, somehow mask what was happening to her. Until then, she'd pretend that nothing had happened. This one would be her grande finale, something to keep her in the memories of billions until she could resurface. ------ The memories of her final moments were clear, but turned grey near the end. ------ Something had gone wrong. Very wrong. She was meant to be in then out, now, escape seemed like an impossibility. Kadabra couldn't Teleport them out, he needed time to concentrate, and time wasn't something they had. Pinned down in the courtyard, they had to fight their way out. Their planned blitzkrieg through the Rosetta University had gone very, very sour. At this late hour, the grounds should have been ripe for the picking. Four young men lay dead in the grass, Night Shade's former honour guard. Their menacing purple uniforms were streaked with crimson blood, bodies burnt, or beaten, or otherwise destroyed. Their Pokemon weren't in any better shape then their owners, of the eight carried by the Cadets, only two still had the strength to keep fighting. Both Golbats had been cut down by psionics, Muk was now little more than a nasty stain due to the immense blasts of water that had dissolved its liquid form and Victreebel still burned, its war-shriek now a cry for help. Only Hitmonlee and Nidorino remained, fighting alongside their battle-hardened brethren, Charmeleon and Kadabra. Another Pokeball was flung into the melee, but before it could open a bullet penetrated its metal casing. Night Shade's machine pistols blazed, barrels white-hot as they fired round after round into the darkness, but she had no idea what was out there beyond the floodlight's reach. She was backing towards a dormitory, cleared by a hand-grenade through the window. Spotlights swung in the darkness, trying to draw a bead on her before she could shoot out their glowing eyes. Fire had began to take hold in the gardens, giving both Night Shade and her assailants much-needed light as Charmeleon belched fire into the darkness. Kadabra's psionic attacks threw clumps of dirt into the air as he powered them up. Confused Pokemon were easy prey for Nidorino's Horn Drill, they were too disoriented to escape their demise. Hitmonlee spun like a gyroscope, legs whirling like a shuriken's blades in flight as it rained blows upon its enemies. Yet they were fighting a losing battle, for each Pokemon they took out of the battle, two more stepped in to take its place. An Officer Jenny hit the ground, blood trailing from the edges of her mouth. The mewling of injured Growlithe filled the air as Night Shade trained her shots on a police wagon, tearing holes in its sides before igniting the fuel tank, causing the vehicle to explode and rain debris over the battlefield. A horrible crunch cut through the battle, Hitmonlee lay motionless on the ground, a huge fist-shaped crater in its torso. As the Machamp bellowed its triumphant war cry, Hitmonlee being the first undeniable fatality of the battle, a purple aura surrounded the superpower Pokemon's head and destroyed its mind from within. Kadabra had avenged the death of his comrade, but now escape was looking more and more unlikely. Nidorino's cry was next. It was beside Charmeleon one moment, and hit the ground several metres away seconds later. Looking up, a large Flareon stood atop the West Wing, its fearsome profile shillhouetted against the moonlight. Night Shade saw the Flareon as well, its fur billowing in the wind. There was something familiar about it, she'd seen it before. "Cinder, Quick Attack! Helsapien, Fury Swipes!" That voice, Night Shade knew that voice. Kadabra was next, a huge bite-mark in its side before it could even see its assailant. Night Shade aimed and fired, but rather than hitting the Flareon, the spray of bullets laced the rapidly-advancing Primeape's body. Its charge continued, Night Shade holstered her pistols and prepared for close combat. Drawing a knife from the sheath on her shoulder, Night Shade drew back in a defensive stance. Primeape's claws swirled forwards, tearing deep gashes in Night Shade's arm as she thrust the knife forwards to attack. Retreating, Night Shade was barely able to parry the Primeape's attacks, let alone attack herself. In mid-swipe, the furious pig-monkey Pokemon collapsed forwards as it lunged, having lost far too much blood from its gunshot wounds. The battlefield seemed to have grown silent. She felt alone, save for her Charmelon, and another figure in the distance. She heard a high-pitched whine, and a rush of air. "WIGGLY!" Her body crashed through a wall, the sheer force of impact carrying her intot he building. "WIGGLY!" Special-issue Rocket body-armour offered no protection against the incredble force of the mysterious weapon she was facing. Unable to move her arms and return fire with her pistols, she managed to get to her feet and run. "WIGGLY!" Night Shade felt herself thrown into the air, landing on her back. The blast had taken out her legs, and she didn't have the energy to move even if she could. Looking down, her body was covered in gobs of pink goo which mingled with the blood pouring from her horrible injuries. The last of her life-force ebbing away, she stared up at the ceiling, awaiting the final blow. All was silent, other than the approaching footsteps. As her assailant came into her blurred field of vision, she was filled with terror. It was him, the man in the Pokecentre, the man in the night, the last face she thought she'd see staring down at her with the barrel of a gun aimed at her forehead. She thought she saw some kind of remorse on his face, but she knew she did not. His finger hesitated, and pulled back in the trigger. The last noise she heard was the same high-pitched squeal, a sound she'd never forget, not even through death. ------ Fading back into reality, Night Shade paused to re-orient herself. It was morning, and people were walking around. There were a lot of Pokemon running free, eating their morning meals. Her first instinct was to hide, but then she remembered, she had the perfect disguise. She_was_a Pokemon. Acting as animalistic as possible, she latched onto a grad student carrying a basket of food. One memory escaped her, that of Charmeleon meeting his end. Charmeleon might be using the same tactic as her, she thought, awaiting his mistresses' return in this very preserve. Her grad student passed her an apple, which she was able to consume despite her ethereal form. Plenty of people, plenty of Pokemon, she thought, just the right place to re-enter the land of the living.