From: "William Rendfeld" <warendfeld@aol.com> Subject: [PW!] Recovery Date: Monday, August 02, 2004 7:03 PM Adrian Tymes wrote: >"And just where were you two?" Ben inquired of the two females clutching >their stomachs. > >Carol raised her head to protest with what little strength she had, >"Hey, you were the ones who left us behind...owww..." > >"I didn't think you'd sleep through us leaving. What happened, food >poisoning?" > >"We could be so lucky," Rubix tossed out. "Judging by the sounds, I'd >say it was shortly after the fun part of your adventure started." > >That got the psuedo-gastly's attention. "Heard that?" > >Rubix nodded. "I think half the town heard that one guy screaming >overhead. I'm surprised you got out of there before the cops arrived. >Anyway, the restaurant owner wanted to calm down his patrons, and how >better than with a pokemon battle? We'd racked up a large tab by then, >so he said he'd let us eat for free until closing if I could beat his >plusle and minun. His mistake for offering. Theirs for taking >advantage of it when I won." > >"Hey," Nori groaned, "I'm not used to having that much food available." > >"Me neither." Carol squirmed a bit, trying to give her slightly bulging >stomach as much room as possible. "It's always been grab and go, and >worry about where your next meal's coming from after worrying about >surviving until then." > >#Hey, breeder boy,# Raffy 'accidentally' broadcast. #As much fun as it >is to watch them, I know you know a good remedy for their condition.# > >"I was just about to ask Nurse Joy for the ingredients," Bob replied as >he exited the room. > As Bob bustled about to retrieve the needed medicines, Alex continued to rest on a small couch, lightly covered by a sheet. The tranquility at the surface, however, only contrasted the chaos within... - "You murdered me..." "I didn't..." "You killed me. Monster..." "I couldn't..." "You're as terrible as I, girl. You're inhuman. You're a cold-blooded freak..." "No, I...I..." Alex found herself once more engulfed by her guilt had having taken Cassidy's life. She'd been raised to preserve life, to help those who needed help and generally do good. But what she had done, in taking Canmore's life, felt against all that she had been taught. She felt like a monster. "You are a monster, girl." She'd killed someone. She was a cold-blooded… Wait a second. "Canmore tried to wipe me out when I was a baby." "You had no right to kill him." "His son murdered my father." "You killed him!" "He sent bounty hunters after me, threatened my friends." "You had no right." You had every right. He threatened your loved ones, and would continue to do so. He evaded justice once, he could most likely do so again. His death wasn't cold-blooded; it was a necessary evil. You did what was needed to be done to safeguard your loved ones; your friends, your family, the members of your team. "She had no right! She's a murderer!" "Shut up." Alex's inner guilt, in Canmore's form, looked at her in surprise as she rose to her feet at last, fueled by the rest of her mind; common sense, emotion, instinct, her own experiences and two distinct races' worth of genetic memory. "You...!" "I said shut up. I've dealt with you before, or something like you. My guilt, my sadness, whatever nagging part of my subconscious you are that tells me to turn away, run from my problems, and not face them head-on. Yes, I killed him, but I didn't have much choice. His was one life, and he was threatening several. I doubt he'd have stopped at kidnapping, either." "You...!" Alex's sword soon found itself at the neck of her 'guilt' as she said, "Me doing what I did wasn't exactly what I'd want to do, but I didn't have much choice in the matter. And me not doing that, well, I'd have a bigger problem from you with the consequences of that, wouldn't I?" The manifestation looked at her, and said, "I'll never leave, you know." "Don't expect you to," Alex replied. Casting a glance towards a few of her other memories, she added, "I just have better things to consider." Elsewhere, what Alex remembered of her father, given some form within her mind, smiled. - Ben looked over towards Alex's prone form, still a bit limp on the nearby couch, and asked no one in particular, "You think she'll be okay?" His question was answered as Alex began to stir, raising herself into a sitting position and stretching her shoulders. She looked at those gathered, and silently said, "I'll be okay. I can live with it." "Live with what?" Nori asked at last. Carol said nothing, but also shared a bit of curiosity over what happened. Alex sighed, then rose to her feet and answered, "It's a long story." TBC? [NS: Okay, that's a pretty damn quick bit of recovery for Alex, I'll admit, but she's never been one to mope around, now has she? Anyway, Beth, if you're out there, can't wait to see Nori's reaction to Alex's recent escapade. Will she ever have a mouthful...] William Rendfeld Creator of Echowarrior and Alex Masters 178,000 Excellent Author Points 1 'I knew odd pokefacts that confused a bread crumb' point. 20 Y2Tech Points