From: "William Rendfeld" <warendfeld@aol.com> Subject: Re: [PW!] [SST] Shen Gong Cue Date: Thursday, January 29, 2004 5:24 PM Adrian Tymes wrote: >William Rendfeld wrote: >> "We'll be fine," Alex noted, another strange vibe rushing towards them. "Do >you >> need any help?" >> >> Cue blinked again, then asked, #Have you encountered a being named Jason >> Cassidy?# >> >> Alex's eyes narrowed, and she replied, "As much as I hate to admit it." >> >> #Could you distract him?# Cue replied. >> >> Alex smiled. "Sure thing." > >"Heads up, Aerie. We've got to-Aerie?" Alex found herself talking to >thin air. > >#YOU.# Although Aerie's message was not directed at her, it carried >enough intensity that Alex easily picked it up. > >#No, Cue.# > >#...right. You are going to help me solve my problem.# > >#How?# > >#By returning.# > >#You would decide this for me?# > >#If I don't, others will.# > >Alex tuned the conversation out just in time to see Jason step onto the >deck. The two immediately began staring daggers at one another. > >"You again," Jason spat. > >"Figures. Were you the one chasing that shiny unown?" > >"You saw it?" > >"Yeah." Alex pointed out to sea. "It floated that way. I guess it >figured sharing a boat with the likes of you was too much. I hope it >makes it to land okay." > >"I'll let that pass. This is too important." Jason headed for a nearby >lifeboat, released it, and set off in the indicated direction. > >Once he was gone, Alex chuckled to herself. "That was too easy." > Her face hardening with determination, Alex quickly decided, "But right now isn't the time for celebration. I have to find Aerie and stop her before she does something she's gonna regret." "Need a little help?" a familiar voice asked. Alex turned. By her side stood Surtur the Combusken and ShadowWarrior the Murkrow. In his arms, Surtur held Alex's PokéBelt, weapons, and her usual clothes. "Don't tell me, you suddenly learned how to Teleport," Alex replied. "<That is less likely than a Gardevoir using Blizzard,>" Surtur corrected. "<We simply let Grospoliner out of his Poké Ball. He led us to you.>" #I hope you do not mind, Alexandria,# Grospoliner the Beldum brought up, floating down onto his trainer's shoulder and taking a gentle hold with his claw. Alex smiled, then said, "Not a problem at all." >--- > >On the other side of the ship, Yuki and Lynkeru ran as fast as they >could, Yuki keeping an eye out while Lynkeru kept one eye on her >wristradar. > >#You know, it's awfully convenient that you keep asking me questions.# > >The two girls exchanged a glance, but neither of them was the source. >The mental voice was familiar, and coming from just beyond the next >door. > >#Because they're like a tracking beacon!# > >They slammed open a door, to see Cue floating over an open cargo bay. >Lynkeru ran and leapt onto Cue, just as Aerie shot up through the bay. >They grabbed Cue simultaneously, Lynkeru's horizontal momentum and >Aerie's vertical sending them spinning skywards. > >"LEGGO!" they shouted in unison, each one clawing at the other to >dislodge their opponent. Lynkeru landed several punches that would >have stunned a normal girl but seemed to just sink in through Aerie's >clothes, while the purple haired one was having a tough time landing a >single blow on the constantly dodging and blocking swordsgirl. > >Yuki, meanwhile, was soon having a tough time seeing what was going >on. She pulled out an empty pokeball and aimed, but realized that as >high as they were, even her friend might have trouble coming out of the >fall unscathed. > >Eventually, both girls clinging to the still-rising Cue slowed their >attacks. "We seem to be at a stalemate," Lynkeru observed. > >"Maybe." Aerie smiled. "Or maybe I've got some tricks left, and I'm >holding back because I want to know if you're still serious about >catching them." > >"The unown told you you were tied with me for returns?" > >"No, but you did. Thanks for the tip." > >Lynkeru narrowed her eyes. "Aerie, let go. The longer we stay here, >the more time Yuki has to knock you off and claim this for us. I >don't want to see you hurt." > >"*Or*," Aerie countered, shaping her free hand into a blade, "I could >just cut this unown in pieces, grab you, fly down, and let whoever wants >shiny unown bits take 'em. I don't think anyone gets the wishes unless >all twenty six are returned alive." > >"You're bluffing." > >"...okay, you got me." The blade became an arm again. "But how 'bout >this: your friend makes a move against me, *especially* tries to catch >me like your other friend did, and I take that as an invite to make a >life of pain for her and her pokemon and you if you interfere, and I >walk away with this unown anyway." > >"You're not bluffing." > >"Correct again. Now. All that aside, I'd rather make friends than >enemies. I've made enough of a mess with the people who were already on >my side. So, given that you don't seem to want to give up and neither >do I, and assuming our friends don't interfere, can you think of a way >out of this?" > [A little more Thread Duct Tape...] Clayton wrote... >Cue sweatdropped. Unused to real >combat, the shiny Unown did what it's >apt to do when panicked... Freeze Time >for about one minute, giving the >panicky Cue a chance to get away again. > The whole getting chopped into >pieces thing was probably the wrong >thing for Aerie to say. Alex arrived at that point, fully redressed in her usual clothing and with her Pokémon alongside her. "What the hell...?" Alex asked, seeing Lynkeru and Aerie suspended in the air. It was about that time that time unfroze, and Lynkeru and Aerie realized that they were sitting in thin air. Exactly two milliseconds later, the two began to fall. "Aerie!" Alex cried out, rushing under the falling pair with Surtur hot at her heels. With perfect timing, Alex caught the younger girl in her arms. "Nice timing," Aerie noted. "But you do realize that wasn't necessary." "Old habits die hard," Alex explained. She looked to Lynkeru and asked, "You okay?" "Yeah, something broke my fall," Lynkeru replied. That something was, of course, Surtur. "<Get off of me, you red-headed midget!>" Surtur yelled. Lynkeru scrambled off of Surtur and nervously said, "Sorry about that." "<It had better not happen again!>" Surtur yelled in response. "C'mon, it's gotten away!" Aerie yelled, trying to get out of Alex's arms. "Oh no you don't," Alex replied. "Not until I get some answers." "Your loss!" Yuki called back as she and Lynkeru dashed out of the cargo hold. Aerie continued to squirm in Alex's arms as Alex took a tighter hold of her and said, "Aerie, snap out of it already! You can teleport, remember? You can catch up with them later!" "This is important, Alex!" Aerie yelled. "So are you," Alex replied. "Now calm down and tell me what I need to know." No answer. "Okay, fine, Plan B," Alex replied. "That was a Shiny Unown, right?" "Yes!" Aerie replied. "You're after it because of the prize, right?" Alex asked. "Yes!" Aerie repeated. "And you want that Shiny Unown so that you'd have a better chance at the wishes, right? To try and stop your parents from fighting?" Aerie stopped. "Yes," she admitted. Alex sighed. "Aerie, you're gonna hate me for this, but I can't let you do that." "Why not?" Aerie asked, turning her head towards Alex. "How else are they going to stop fighting? For all we know, this might be the only way to end it!" "At what cost?" Alex asked. "For all you know, this may change your mother and father into something they don't want to be." Aerie looked at her, and asked, "What do you mean?" "Consider it for a minute," Alex replied. "How do you stop someone from doing something to someone else? You imprison them. Only this wouldn't be like throwing a criminal into a jail cell; it'd be like trapping someone within their own mind, robbing them of their free will. It'd be the exact same thing your father spent his life fighting against." "Like trapping a Pokémon in a Silph-built Poké Ball," ShadowWarrior added, making the simile all too clear. Aerie blinked, and then considered Alex's words. "You mean...I'd be doing that...to my own parents?" "A fate worse than death if I've ever heard one," Alex said. "I'm not questioning your reasons, just your methods. I don't think you want that for them." "But what can I do about my parents?" Aerie asked. Alex smiled. "The way I see it, you just don't want to see your parents fight, right?" "At least," Aerie replied. "Then maybe a little family counseling is in order," Alex replied. "But I'd rather we had that Unown helping us. Sometimes questioning oneself leads to illumination, after all." "But how can we find it now?" Aerie asked. Alex let go of Aerie, then gently tapped her forehead. "Unown put out a vibe all their own. And now that I can put a name to the vibe, I can track it. Something your dad taught me." Aerie smiled, then said, "I knew Dad had a good idea training you." "Course he did, he's your father," Alex replied. She stood up, allowing Surtur to come to her side and for ShadowWarrior and Grospoliner to take their positions on her shoulders. "That Unown's on the Main Deck." "Great," Aerie replied. "Hang on, Cue, here we come!" With those words, the two girls and the three Pokémon teleported out of the room. Already continued in 'Q The Action'. William Rendfeld Creator of Echowarrior, the Pokémon Resistance, and Alex Masters 178,000 Excellent Author Points 1 'I knew odd pokefacts that confused a bread crumb' point. 20 Y2Tech Points