From: "Chet Weaver - Chicks Dig Giant Robots" <zeroohki@netscape.net> Subject: [PW] Don't Go Into the Basement Date: Friday, June 11, 2004 11:23 PM "Hmm." Perhaps Lynkeru was getting a little too familiar with the old woman's house on Route 111. Her first clue that they had perhaps overstayed their welcome was when Marvin disappeared on a trip to the bathroom a day or so ago. Odd, considering that the first clue should've come from their host rather than one of the fellow guests. Even Mamoru was getting tired of sticking around this place. Yet every day the old woman, for whatever reason, politely offered to let them stay the night again and Lynkeru always accepted. Lynkeru wasn't so sure why she just had to stay every time she was asked to. The old woman just offered so consistently that Lynkeru felt there had to be something too it. She hadn't told anyone about this, but she was under the distinct impression that she was going to get something if she stuck around long enough. With each passing day, however, it became more and more like a contest to see who would crack first, herself or the old woman. So far, the old woman was winning. "There's just something very odd about this door," Indi, Lynkeru's fairy, said above the range of normal human hearing. Lynkeru, fortunately, was an elf and quite capable of hearing her. "But it's just like all the other doors in this house," Lynkeru replied, giving said door a quizzical look. "And it's been here the whole time we have. But there is something odd about it. I just can't put my finger on it." "I guess it's time to investigate," Indi twinkled. "Farore knows it's the only door in the whole house we haven't looked behind yet." "Yep," Lynkeru agreed. She opened the door and began walking down a flight of stairs. "Think she'll get mad if she finds out we're down here?" "You 'accidently' set her kitchen on fire and she didn't even twitch," Indi pointed out. "Somehow, I doubt she'd mind too much." It gradually became too difficult to see. That's the sort of thing that happens when you descend into a dark basement. The only illumination came from Indi's naturally soft glow, and that didn't increase the visibility much. After some fumbling around in the dark, a thought occured to Lynkeru and she reached into her personal hammerspace and brought out Guyver the M-shaped shiny Unown. "Hey, Guyver, can you make us a torch or something?" Lynkeru requested. "Or maybe find a lightswitch?" Indi inquired. "Nown." Guyver nodded as much as a big eyeball with skinny protrusions could and gleefully floated into the darkness. It eventually returned and passed a lit, makeshift torch to Lynkeru. "Thanks," Lynkeru said, a little put off by the materials. "This... uh..." "A torch made of bone and cobwebs," Indi noted. "That's not good. Still, you can set it too..." "Yeah, that's getting kinda old," Lynkeru interrupted. "Guyver, were did you get this?" "Un..." Guyver hovered back the way he came with Lynkeru and Indi close behind. A shape soon formed in the darkness, a horrifying image that became clearer as the torch drew nearer. Bound to the wall in some sort of silken cacoon were the mummified remains of a human being. "Holy..." Lynkeru started. "Looks like Nana's got a hobby," Indi said, her attention on something else. Lynkeru waved the torch around and saw several other corpses in similar states. "And there ain't nothin' holy about it." "Okay," Lynkeru said evenly. "I think we've seen enough of this." "Indubitably," Indi agreed. "I say we turn around, walk back up those stairs, get Mamoru, and slowly and calmy GET THE $#!+ OUT OF HERE!" The trio dashed for the stairs, only to watch as a silhouette at the top closed the door securely. With the light from the top of the stairs gone, the only hint of movement was the sound of feet slowly descending the stairs. Soon a figure was slowly illuminated by Lynkeru's torchlight. Lynkeru let go a sigh of releif when she saw who it was. "Oh, Mamoru, it's you," she said. "For a moment, I thought you were..." Mamoru was suddenly flung through the air by an unseen force and landed at Lynkeru's feet in a heap. Where Mamoru was standing a moment ago was now the old woman. "I'm afraid Mamoru won't be waking up for quite a while deary," the old woman said wistfully. "He'll be asleep for more than enough time for his precious life juices to be drained from his body." "Who... what are you?" Lynkeru demanded as she reached behind her into hammerspace to retrieve one of her swords. "Me? Oh, I'm just an old woman," the old woman replied. One by one her limbs went limp as if they were sleeves of a coat someone was pulling their arms out of. "An old woman who would love to have you FOR DINNER!" The old woman's face stretched and distorted and a pair of segmented eyes became visible through her nostrils, which were now at the sides of her head. Her mouth, stretched into an insanely evil smile, had given way to an insect-like probiscus. As the creature rose into the darkness, Lynkeru got the distinct feeling that she was planning on dinner for one tonight. "Guyver, you try to revive Mamoru," Lynkeru said, drawing a broad-bladed sword. "I'll handle the old lady." No sooner had she said that when the old lady came flying out of the darkness mandibles-first. Lynkeru parried the gruesome maw with her sword and could feel the weight of a much larger creature behind it. She barely saw a dark, thin appendage lash out at her from the darkness before it slammed her into a wall. Once again, the old woman disappeared into the darkness. "This isn't good," Lynkeru complained to Indi. "I can't fight her with the torch in one hand, and I can barely see her even when I do have it!" "Maybe you can find another use for..." Indi began. "Move it! She's coming down from the ceiling!" Lynkeru leapt away from the wall just in time to avoid the large creature barrelling down from the ceiling. She dashed into what was probably the center of the basement and saw the old lady soared towards her. "I can't carry this torch anymore," Lynkeru noted. "So why don't YOU carry it!?" Lynkeru shoved the torch into the monster's insect-like mouth. The old lady wailed and trashed about in an attept to dislodge the torch, sending burning embers everywhere. The embers landed on the cobwebs, setting the walls themselves ablaze. In the light of the burning dead, Lynkeru could see that the old lady was merely a disguise hanging loosely from the head of a giant spider monster. "Now I can see you clearly," Lynkeru said smugly while drawing her second sabre. "And you can't hide in the darkness anymore, or climb the walls without getting burned." "I'll suck you dry!" the giant spider shreiked as it lashed out at Lynkeru with a giant leg. Lynkeru rolled out of the way of the appendage and slashed at another, knocking the creature off-balance. She then hacked away at the body until the monster rose back up and backed off. Unable to climb the wall safely, it opted to spray Lynkeru with sticky thread, knocking her over and sticking her to the floor. The spider monster trotted over to Lynkeru as she tried in vain to pry herself loose. She had an arm free, but her sword was woefully just out of reach. "Are you in a hurry to leave?" the spider monster said as it's glistening, saliva-dripping mandibles drew closer and closer to Lynkeru's neck. "Won't you stay for a quick bite?" "Tide! Blizzard!" "Laaap, praaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!" A deathly chill wind washed over Lynkeru and the spider monster, quickly encasing the large beast in a block of ice. Soon after, Yuki picked up Lynkeru's discarded sword and cut her out of the spider's webbing. "Thanks, Yuki," Lynkeru said as Yuki returned her sword. "I thought I was a goner for a moment there." "Thank Guyver," Yuki said as she recalled Tide the pink Lapras. "If it hadn't picked the lock, got a glass of water, and poured it over Mamoru to change him into me, we'd probably both be spider food by now." "Thanks, Guyver," Lynkeru said, patting the M-shaped shiny Unown on the top of its eye. "Unown," Guyver said gleefully. "C'mon," Yuki said. "Let's get out of here before that creature thaws out." "Just hold on a sec," Lynkeru said, readying her swords. With a dramatic yell, she charged and leapt at the frozen beast. She struck it on the head with both swords, shattering it into a thousand peices. "I guess that thing'll never harm anyone ever again," Yuki noted. "Plus I feel a whole lot better," Lynkeru said. She put her swords back into hammerspace and picked up what appeared to be a heart-shaped badge from amid the monster's remains. "Now let's go before the smoke suffocates us to death." As they all went back upstairs and out of the house, Yuki asked, "What was that you picked up down there?" "Let's just call it a momento," Lynkeru replied. She got out her PokeGear and activated the Shiny Unown Radar mode. "The Unown have all done a fair amount of moving in the past few days. Looks like the closest batch is northwest of here." "That better be where Marvin is," Yuki said as they headed north. "It'd be a shame if he died in that monster's basement." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The door to the basement slowly creeked open. An old lady stepped out, dusting ice particles off the sleeve of her kimono. "What frightful children," the old woman muttered as she shuffled into the kitchen. "Leaving such a mess in my basement. I swear, children these days. You'd think they were raised by Mongol hoards or something. Maybe some nice tea will make me feel better..." The old woman fixed up a pot of tea and set down in the living room to enjoy it. Soon enough, the door opened and another young Pokemon trainer walked in. "Come in, dearie," the old woman said. "You're just in time for tea. Oh, dear, dear. Aren't your Pokemon exhausted? If you'd like, rest up here. That's a fine idea! You should do that." To be continued...? -- Chet "Tech" Weaver AIM: PanGatomon MSN: Nichirasu@hotmail.com eMail: zeroohki at netscape dot net Yahoo! Messenger: tech_weaver ICQ: 122744531 Webcomic: http://desperadocoyote.keenspace.com My Adventure Quest character: http://www.battleon.com/aq-chardetail.asp?temp=131213 You can play Adventure Quest at http://www.battleon.com Sometimes, I notice someone has posted a reply to one of my messages and I think, "Oh, great, what did I say this time?"