From: A person in a place with a thing. (newhaights@aol.comanyte) Subject: [PW!] Out of Time, Part 2B (or, not 2B) Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2001-03-21 13:18:05 PST (OOC: Story by Haights, battle by ADRIAN. Adrian Tymes. Not Andrusi.) (OOC2: Not that he couldn't write a good battle...^_^;;) *** Outside Saffron City limits, Andrew and his newly-acquainted Haunter talked strategy. "So...according to the pokedex, ghosts _are_ strong against Psychics..." "Haunt." (OOC: So his Pokedex is glitchy. Or maybe not...I'm not too sure if this changed in GuS, and I'm still not quite sure about BRYan... so sue me.) "...but unfortunately, you're no Misdreavus." "Haunt..." Haunter pouted. "Aww, I didn't mean it like...I'm just saying, there's that pesky poison attribute. We'll have to find a different way." While the two were talking, a strong gust blew up, throwing two newspapers into Andrew's and the Haunter's faces -- odd, since Haunters don't have physically solid faces, but that's beside the point. Andrew peeled his off. It was from the Weird Science section of the Saffron Sun, and it read: NEW DISCOVERY FROM PROFESSOR ELM: Dark Types Discovered Immune to Psychics, says Johto Prof. "Hrrm," says Andrew, dejectedly. "That won't help much either." "Haw..." Haunter pouted again behind the paper. How would he ever get to help Andrew? In the meantime, he removed the paper and showed it to Andrew. "Haunter haunt...haunter?" <This looks interesting...what do you think?> Andrew snatched the paper. It was the Entertainment section. It read: SPRINTER IS GOING PLACES: "Blade Sprinter", Schpielbunk Sci-Fi Thriller, Moves Shooting Location to Saffron "Oh s***...s***s***s***s***s***..." Andrew went stark white. <What's wrong?> inquired Haunter. "What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! A huge androidal raptor with me on its kill-queue..." Andrew didn't know where he got that term from... "...and my friends right above it and who I almost killed and it's REALLY SORE about that is..." Andrew shut his mouth for a while and looked around the corner... (Karnivax wrote:) > "All actors to their places!" Stevon Schpielbunk suddenly >bellowed. The street outside a building adjacent to Silph became >flooded with a mob of extras. Panopticon took his place among them. >The other actor in the scene, a trench-coat-clad middle-aged man about >whom Panopticon knew very little (he knew only that the man's character >was named Decker) took his place just outside the mob. "Cue weather!" >Schpielbunk ordered. > > At Schpielbunk's command, the Raichu gaffer stopped generating >electricity to do a frenzied Rain Dance. Dark cumulus clouds quickly >gathered overhead, and within a minute, a strong rain started to come >down. > > "Quiet on the set!" Schpielbunk shouted next. When he was >absolutely sure that everyone was quiet, he barked, "Marker!" > > A marker went up. "'Blade Sprinter' scene sixty-six," the marker- >holder announced. "Take one. Action!" > > The crowd of extras started to run for shelter, as they had been >instructed to do. Panopticon moved through the crowd as fast as he >could without running. Decker, brandishing a toy gun that looked >remarkably like a "Star Wars" heavy blaster, charged into the mob after >him. Panopticon made his way out of the crowd and broke into a run on >to a less crowded street, where a few cameras were waiting to film it >all. The cyber-saur looked over his shoulder and "accidentally" plowed >into two pedestrian extras. All three went down. > > Decker emerged from the crowd and dashed toward the fallen >Panopticon. Panopticon got to his feet and resumed running. Decker >aimed his "laser" at the cyber-saur, but the two extras were in >Decker's line of fire. Decker ran past the extras, got down on one >knee, leveled his phony gun, and shouted at Panopticon, "Stop or you're >dead!" > > Panopticon did not stop. A harmless beam of light flew from >Decker's gun...but Panopticon had already turned the corner. "...RIGHT AROUND THE F#@%ING CORNER RUN RUN RUN!" Andrew bolted down the street, just before Panopticon got to the intersection. Luckily for him, he was fast enough to get away...and... > "Cut!!! Print it!" Schpielbunk shouted. "That was dynamite!" ...he didn't go anywhere anyways. But by now, Andrew didn't care. Haunter in tow, he ran aimlessly down the street until he got around the train station. It had emptied somewhat from a few hours ago, but it was still mobbed. "GET OUT OF THE WAY THERE'S AN ANDROID VELOCIRAPTOR AFTER ME MOVE MOVE MOVE!" A few people, who were already a little skittish, took alarm of this, but most people ignored it. After all, since when does anything as wild as a cybernetic dinosaur make its presence known in Kanto? Andrew tried to break through the crowd but was stopped by a security guard. "Hold it, hold it, hold it. What's the problem kid?" "I'm being followed by a huge velociraptor!" "Uh...huh. Whatever." "But look! Back there -- " Andrew looked behind him and saw...nothing. No sign of Panopticon. "Uhm...oh. Sorry, sir. I guess I, uh, lost him...or, or something." "Lost who?" "The velociraptor who was chasing me." The security guard scoffed again. A nearby passenger piped up, "What about the one working on that new Schpielbunk movie?" He held up the same article Andrew had seen; the security guard snatched it, and after skimming it, he scoffed yet again. "If you mean this guy -- " he jabbed at the newspaper -- "then you must be high, or something. And he's been too busy to do anything past the movie recently, never mind chase some kid." "But -- " Andrew paused. Did this guy really need to know about their grudge? Nah, why would he care? "Never mind, sir." "Now, were you trying to get anywhere in particular, kid?" "Uhm..." Andrew thought. "Oh yeah! I'm on my way to Saffron Gym." The security looked at Andrew, and at his Haunter. Then he did something Andrew didn't rightly expect. He turned into a Haunter himself. Well, not quite. But he laughed just like one. "Haw haw haw hahahaha!...Hey, Joe! It's another one of those guys that thinks he can beat Sabrina with a ghost!" "But...I have a plan..." "Heh, believe me kid, I've seen about a hundred kids come here with a plan and they all got shot down." "But..." "Take my word for it, just give up." "But my friends are there, and they've been waiting for me! They need me!" "Oh. OOOHHHHH...uh-oh. They're in deep now...Uhm." "Well, can I go?" "Uhm...sure. But just remember...people have gone in there with plans and lost. Miserably." Andrew thought about that...he turned back to the guard. "Do you have any other suggestions?" "Yeah. Don't get her mad." "Uhm." Andrew gulped, and hesitated. Sabrina sounded so much harder than he had ever heard. Was it really worth it to risk his neck? He mentally slapped himself. Of course it was. So he'd get stuck in some sort of psychic prank. Its not like he's the only one...right? "Haunter...time to re-think our strategy." "Haunter haw..." "Eh...true. We never thought it anyway." Andrew pondered for about a minute. Suddenly he shot up. "Aha! I've got a plan!" "Haunt?" "Our plan is...to have no plan." Haunter looked at Andrew oddly. He sweatdropped. What was Andrew talking about? But he couldn't mind that, as Andrew sprinted toward the gym. He could see the doors to the entrance now. He ran, went to push the door open... "WHOAAHHH -- " *thump* ...and fell flat on his face when they opened by themselves. After dusting himself off, he wondered to himself if the doors were opened telekinetically, and if those who opened them knew he was coming already. 'Nah,' was his reply, from a random psychic. 'We just installed sensors on the front door. Makes it seem a little too much like a supermarket door, but whatchu gonna do?' Thankful for this little tidbit of info, Andrew ran down the hall to the main entrance. As he approached, a *description of Questor* opened the door...only to be hit head on by Andrew like a wide reciever. Both went tumbling. Andrew sprung up, still determined to get to Sabrina before it was too late. "Sorrygottagobye!" Andrew blurted out as he went through the doors. Questor just sat on the ground. "This is just not my day," he lamented. *** Andrew, a bit wary, approached the final doors hesitantly, fearful of what this set of doors would have in store for him. Fortunately, these were normal doors...normal for a Psychic-themed gym, of course. They slid open upon contact, and Andrew, convinced that something was going right for a change, entered. He looked around. "Hello-o-o...?" he yelled. Sabrina was nowhere to be seen. "I know you're in here, so don't try to play games with me." Suddenly, an eerie noise came from the gym leader's chair. Sabrina had made her flashy entrance. "So," she deadpanned. "Are you here for a badge?" She knew full well what he was here for; she was just toying with him. "You know full well what -- " I said that. "Oh, sorry." It's ok. "Where were we -- oh yes. Sabrina, what have you done with Gads?" "Gads? Gads who?" Her absolute lack of emotion almost dripped of sarcasm. "I know you're a psychic and all, but you can quit playing with my mind. Gads Trisan." "Ah yes. The dojo member. You know...I've been meaning to talk with him for quite some time now..." "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?!" "Nothing...yet." Andrew showed apprehension at the pause. "Her friend, however, is a different story..." Sabrina snapped her fingers, and the room went suddenly dark. "W...where are we?" Sabrina stood silently. "What did you do to Mara?" Sabrina pointed off into the distance...although the darkness so permeable hardly lent itself to any sort of depth. Andrew finally set his eyes on a small white area. Drifting toward this, he could see that they resembled people. As he drew closer, he could make out a small line of people, nondescript, faceless, forming a line from...nowhere. Each one was dressed accordingly for a Saffron Gym member -- white lab coat, surgical mask, a very sterile appearance. Each, in turn, silently pointed at a different person, kneeling in front of them. As they each pointed, the kneeling person cringed, as if each point was an accusation that the other was ashamed of, or at least simply burdened at hearing. After the accusation, each person simply...vanished. Upon closer inspection, Andrew further noticed the kneeling person. She was also wearing a Saffron uniform, but unlike the others, her face was visible. "It's Mara." "Yes. This was her agreement." "What agreement?" "She agreed that if she lost to me, she would be one of ours. This is merely her...breaking in session." Suddenly, another distinctive person appeared. Although in the single file, and dressed accordingly, this person had a very familiar face. Although a certain appendage was missing, Andrew immediately recognized it as... "Gads! What are you doing here?" Gads simply walked forward in line. "Gads! Listen to me!" He blinked. "...they can't hear a word we're saying, can they?" "No. The process needs no distractions." Andrew looked back at Gads. He approached the same point as the others had before him. "Gads would never go along with this..." An anger appeared in Gads' face, one that Andrew had never seen before. "No, this isn't real..." Although silent, Gad's searing words were almost deafening. "No...no..." The lights came back on. Andrew laid in shock in the middle of the arena. "That wasn't Gads." "No...it wasn't. But it seemed all too real to you, didn't it? Believe me, it was just as real for her too." "Can't you stop it?" "Why would I? She is mine, fair and square . . . and, if Gads doesn't win tomorrow, so will he." Andrew stood in shock. 'Both of them . . . I'll lose both of them . . . my only real friends . . .' "I'll take his place." In her mind, she smirked, but belieing this, she feigned surprise. "What?" "I can't stand to see my friends like that. I'll battle you tomorrow, in Gads' stead. One-on-one. If I win, Mara is released." "Very well. But keep in mind...if you lose, both of them are mine...and I'll have something even worse in store for you." Suddenly, the arena flashed, blinding Andrew. When he regained his bearings, he was back in the Dojo. More specifically, he was in the Trisan kitchen. From the other room, Gads yelled, "Who's out there . . . Andrew! It took you long enough! Where have you been?" "Uhm...talking with someone." "...Sabrina?" "Yeah." "What happened?" "She showed me what she did to Mara." "And...?" "It's not pretty." The two stood there, Gads imagining the worst, Andrew remembering it. "I, uh, struck a deal, though." "What?" "I take your place tomorrow. I win, Mara comes back. She wins..." "It's both of us?" "Yes. And something else for me . . . but never mind that. I think I know what to do." *** The next morning, in the Gym, there was an air of anxiousness as Gads waited for Andrew to arrive. He wasn't so much nervous about whether Andrew would win, but if he didn't show up . . . Gads would have to face Sabrina herself. 'If Mara couldn't win, then what chance do I have?' Gads worried. Sabrina, on the other hand, smiled. Although hardly noticeable, it meant a world of happiness. She knew there was barely the smallest chance of Andrew losing this, if he ever showed up. All of a sudden... "SAFFRON CI-TAY, ARE YOU READY TO *ROCK* *AND* *ROLL*?" Music blared from a metaphysical boombox as a figure reminiscent of a lead singer of Lovely KISS or Twisted Sciz-tor descended onto the stage. "I could see the wires from here," Gads piped up. Andrew facefaulted. Sabrina's lip curled. "You realize you don't stand a ghost of a chance." Twin groans came from the other side of the arena. "That one's been done." "To death." "But, hey, at least you're getting in the spirit." She rolled her eyes. "Alakazam..." "HOCUS POCUS!" Gym leader and trainer blinked, neither one having heard that move before, and neither one sensing anything deeper than surface thoughts. Sabrina tried to analyse this psychic shield... ...but got nowhere, for in truth, there was no shield; Andrew was going on stream of consciousness alone. "Oh, sorry, hope you don't *mind* if I use a few tricks." She frowned. Was this trainer making a mockery of her powers, maybe even rivalling her own?!? #DESTROY HIS POKEMON.# Her alakazam winced a bit, not used to hearing that much fire in his mistress's telepathic voice, but set to obeying. One psybeam, tapping that same anger before her echoes faded from his mind, flared out towards its target...and missed. "Whoa, where'd you get the TM for that? *Dis*incorporation Incorporated?" She heard the accentuated syllable, and so did her alakazam. Another, stronger psybeam, and another miss. The alakazam tried protesting that anger-fuelled attacks were less accurate, but Sabrina would have none of it. "0 for 2." Andrew only bared registered Sabrina's frown before his next words seemed to appear from nowhere - though in his current mental state, any inspiration could take seed from anywhere. "You'd better not pout, You'd better not cry." Shot three, miss three. The ghost danced around the psychic, suddenly stopping in place... "You'd better hit this time I'm telling you why." ...and opening up a hole in its middle, just wide enough for the fourth psybeam to pass through and hit Sabrina, knocking her unconscious. Her alakazam fell to the ground like a doll with its strings cut. "Andrew is a-coming, to ROCK!" *** TBC? (There. That should be better.) -- NewHaights: NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION. NOBODY.