From: Marco262, I _am_ the WooMaster (marco262@yahoo.com) Subject: [PW!] [G/S transition] End of an old misson, start of a new life (Part 1) Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2001-02-11 12:26:10 PST Darian's chin hit his chest for the umpteenth time. He lifted up his head groggily and slapped his cheeks to try to stay awake. Not that he knew why he had to, but it seemed like a good idea. Beside him, Pardus was deep in slumber splayed out on his side. Darian watched him, but that turned out to be a bad idea, and the peacefulness that radiated from his feline friend soon sent him into a deep sleep. Darian stiffened, realizing where he was. Or, at least, it felt like he stiffened. He was sitting on a hard steel chair. Even looking at it from a distance, one could tell it was for function, and not comfort. He sat in a spotlight shining down from somewhere far above him. Anything past the spot that the light illuminated was completely lost in darkness. To his left was a video screen suspended by a cable stretching up to infinity above him. On the video screen was a shot of himself, slumped against the outside wall of the convicted Diversity Gym. Pardus was nowhere to be seen, save for on the video screen, where Darian had left him. Darian sighed. He'd been to this place before, and the only way to get out of this dream was to go through the same routine. A faint puttering noise reached his ears, like the sound a 30 year old car would make. It grew louder and louder, and a metal sphere danced into view directly in front of Darian. It was the same metallic gray as most metals and about the size of a softball. Many small craters sat on its surface, each about the size of a quarter. In each crater was what looked like a glob of red paint, with a small dot in the center. Lines in the sphere connected the craters, as if the craters were filled with water, and a small civilization was building canals through the metal surface. It rotated any random time, in a random direction, on a random axis, but it moved through the air in front of Darian's face with a deliberate air. It was like it couldn't figure out which way was up, but it knew everything else otherwise. "Darian." The voice was inhuman, and could easily be duplicated by any idiot who could work a synthesizer. Darian stared at the sphere. "Why am I here? I haven't killed her yet, and the next check isn't until after the spring thaw." The voice ignored him. "Something has been brought to our attention, and we think that it should be brought to yours." "My curiosity is piqued." Darian deadpanned. He wasn't about to waste any diplomacy or emotion on a gray ball. "As it should be. Are you aware of your mission?" "To seek out and destroy the pokémon poacher, Minax." "Good. And why should you do this?" "To protect the good of Mother Nature." "And why must we protect the good of Mother Nature?" "She is the ultimate justice, and the ultimate provider. She gives us what is necessary to survive, and decides with her eternally balanced scale if a species should live or die." Darian recited. "Excellent," the voice said, as happily as an inhuman voice can sound, "There is a promising lifetime ahead of you filled with wonderful service." "It is what you made me for." Darian said bitterly. The ball stopped suddenly. After a few moments, it zoomed out of sight. The video screen by Darian exploded. Darian instinctively brought his hands to protect his face. When he brought them down, he realized there was a slip of paper in his hands. It said simply: "There's no way to be subtle with you. The mission is canceled. You will report to your supervisors." Darian didn't have time to be surprised. The paper suddenly burst into flames, and in less than a second, engulfed Darian and burned him to nothing. Darian sat up, holding his head in pain. In his sleep, he had shifted and banged his head hard on a low windowsill. Pardus was staring at him. It was obvious to Darian that adrenaline was rushing through Pardus' system because his pupils were contracted and his ears flat against his head. Darian must have yelled out when he hit his head and this woke up Pardus suddenly. "It's okay Pardus." Darian said soothingly. "Just a bad dream." And then, his feet were gone. TBC... -- -Marco262, Aspiring Regular