Subject: [PW!] Yet Another Past Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 08:55:09 -0700 From: Adrian Tymes <wingcat@pacbell.net> Organization: SBC Internet Services Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon "Doppler..." The name echoed through Marcia's mind like an echo yearning for release. She knew the ditto would no longer come when summoned, and often had not in the past, but her finger twitched nonetheless as she remembered that night. In front of her was not an open lobby, but a rain-soaked plain. The pokemon center was not intact around her, but in ruins just behind her. > So little > distance had been made that Minax was not even close to out of sight of > the center when she saw her prey - he was just on the other side of the > building. On the ground in front of him was a familiar, though slightly > distorted, meowth; the absolute lack of motion from either one indicated > some kind of psychic activity, probably Doppler torturing another > victim. Her hand curled around a nonexistent gun. The monster who helped start her life of pain would die tonight - even though it was high noon. She smiled at the ease...then frowned. > This was too > easy. Were there no traps, no guards? A quick check around indicated > not. Of course there were no traps. She was Nurse Marcia, in one of the safest places in Violet City, nowhere near Mount Moon and yet > She was sure of her target: the pidgey somehow already knew > Doppler's scent - perhaps he met him before - and was positive that one > of the two in front of her was him; the two were a meowth shape and a > human shape, and the tracks from the center were a human's. A noise from her side caught her attention. Omelette was a little worried, seeing Marcia drift into a daydream, but a quick glance from Marcia seemed to reassure Omelette that everything was ok. That check done, Omelette scurried off to a back room, leaving Marcia alone to contemplate > the proverbial perfect opportunity, a situation which simulations > promised in abundance, but in reality never happened. Ever. > Except that it was happening now. > > Casting her last doubts aside, Minax loaded her special bullet, raised > her gun, and fired. The bullet made suprisingly little noise - not that > much propellant, to make room for extra poison, she guessed. But she > saw Doppler's skin pucker where it hit. "Bullseye," she whispered, imagining a target that even her mind's eye had not seen at the time. > Minax locked eyes with Doppler, and smiled. > > Doppler's face was unreadable, mostly because it was melting. > "Minax...why?" "Just because." Part of her mind knew it was not what she said at the time. The rest of her had long since ceased caring. > "Minax...I...loved...you..." The remaining half of his corpse exploded > into pink dust, which quickly settled to the ground in the light rain. > > "And I hated you." She kicked the main pile of dust, and watched it > scatter like a pile of dust. "I'm not *asking* you to love them, just heal them!" Nurse Joy's firm voice snapped Marcia back to the present. "Huh? Wha...?" "Honestly," Joy asked, reaching for Marcia's shoulder, "there's a line of-" She jerked back as if burned. As Marcia's mental fog lifted, she saw that there was, indeed, a short line of trainers waiting for service. Quite a few of them seemed frightened by something...and only then did Marcia become aware of the laser scanner in her hand, held as if it were a real weapon, pointed out the door at a man in the distance. Joy's hand went to Marcia's forhead. "Oh, my...you're burning up with fever! You're in no condition to be working right now." Before Marcia could protest, Joy hauled her off her seat, took away the scanner, and leaned her next to the counter. "You take the rest of the day off." "But..." "No buts. Now I know why Omelette was so worried when she asked me to come out here. In fact...Omelette! Make sure Marcia goes home!" "Sey!" Omelette saluted, then grabbed Marcia's hand and started to lead her away from the desk. Marcia followed in a daze, only partly aware of Joy apologizing to the trainers she had scared, reassuring them that guns were just a myth. Eventually, she stumbled through the center's main doors, bumping into the one she had been aiming at earlier. "'Scuse m..." Pause. Look, and see him looking back in total and utter and therefore equal surprise. > "Minax...I...still...love...you..." There are moments when the hero and the hero's true love meet, not the first time by any stretch, but the first moment they realize they are madly in love with each other and openly acknowledge it. This was not one of those moments. TBC?