From: Roberto Perez-Vila <RobfromVoid@prodigy.net> Subject: [PW!] Does Another One Bite the Dust? Date: Thursday, May 20, 1999 5:05 PM Minax is hiding behind some bushes in the fields south of Saffron City. Inside her pouch rests a check worth 5000 coins. It has been two days since she received it for making a special delivery. She hasn't cashed it in yet, since most Banks are guarded by a police unit, which would probably recognize Minax the moment she'd walk through the door. Minax knew this. In her earlier Team Rocket career, she would have just stuffed her top with pillows to make herself look fat, donned a lewd T-shirt, worn torn up baggy pants, sunglasses, a Sports Team's cap to hide her hair, and a fake mustache. She had passed for a burly man in the past, but she gave up the practice of disguising herself over two years ago... about the same time she started killing Pokemon for sport. It was just too cumbersome to carry around so many supplies. While she ponders her past life, she pats her full leather bag and the holster on her belt. "This is all I need." She gazes out into the open fields, waiting for someone to pass by... She has already fulfilled her quota of stolen Pokemon for the week, but she still hasn't reached her own personal quota of dead Pokemon. So far this week, she has only killed a Pidgey, a Sandshrew, and a Clefairy. In fact, it has been two days since her last kill. Whistling is heard in the distance, and Minax picks up on the sound immediately due to her extraordinary sense. She squints her eyes in the direction where the joyful whistling is coming from... The source is a cheery boy of about twelve years of age, skipping down the road to Vermilion City. A single Pokeball is visible on his belt. "Now's my chance." Minax waits for the child to come close enough, and she leaps out! The boy is startled and turns towards Minax. He has to tilt back his head to look up at the tall red-haired woman in leather. It is quite apparent that he gets aroused by her, most likely due to the fact that he is entering puberty. He stutters as he speaks, "Wha-wha-What do you want?" His arousal is mixed with fear. "A Pokemon match." Minax lies, to get the boy to send out his Pokemon. Challenging trainers along the road worked like a charm every time. The children are so accustomed to people jumping out of no where and challenging them, that they accept the challenges immediately and forget that everyone isn't going to play by the rules. Minax knows this, and she even rests her hand on Zubat's Pokeball to further convince the pre-adolescent that she means business. "Awesome! Pokemon battles is how friendships start!" The boy smiles and grabs his Pokeball. Minax breaths out some air in what might be considered a laugh, "Yeah. Friendships." The eager child looks up at Minax, "This'll have to be a one on one Pokemon match, 'cause I only go one Pokemon. I caught him two years ago when I began my journey, and I haven't needed anyone else since." The boy chucks the Pokeball onto the floor and a flash of light later, a cheery little Diglett is popping his head out of the ground. The child continues to explain, "I come from Vermilion City, and I caught him in the Diglett caves two years ago. He's my best friend, and I'm going back home now to show my mom that I got a Boulder Badge and a Cascade Badge! I'm pretty sure Diglett's going to evolve into a Dugtrio soon! In fact, if I win this match, I'm sure he'll evolve! That'll impress mom!" The Diglett begins to pop up and down in joy, wanting to evolve so much! Minax swipes her tongue across her blood red lips, moistening them... She had painted them that morning. "I don't think your Diglett's going to win." The child begins to laugh, "Really? Why... you gotta Water Pokemon or something?" "No." Minax reaches down to her belt. "...but I've got this." A flash of silver blinds the kid's vision for a moment, and when he regains sight, he sees a large silver pistol in Minax's right hand. The innocent kid's face becomes pale, "That's... not a real gun... is it? It's... just a water gun... right?" "Might be." Minax runs the gun across her lips in a sensual manner, "Might not be... Care to test it out?" She lowers the pistol at the Diglett on the ground. By instinct, it would retract its head into the ground for safety... but it had never seen a gun before in his life, and didn't see it as being dangerous. Its eyes show a sense of ignorant calmness. The child feels like falling to his knees, but he's afraid she might shoot if he does that. He decides that his paralysis isn't about to help his cause, so he attempts to plead, "Please, lady! Don't kill my Diglett! He means the world to me!" Minax feigns a sense of empathy, "Does he really? I can understand... My Zubat means the world to me, too. I'll give your Diglett one chance to prove his worthiness before I pull the trigger." The boy stays silent and tears are slowly trickling down his face. He feels powerless, "Please... Please don't kill my Diglett. I'll give you all the money I have... I'll do anything! Don't do this! Have mercy!" "Hmm. One chance." Minax lowers her attention down to the clueless Diglett, aiming her pistol directly at the Diglett's skull, her favorite place to shoot at. "Say 'Have Mercy' if you want to live." The Diglett realizes that the giant woman looming over it is asking a question or giving a command. Being the polite little Pokemon that he is, he musters up all metal power and gives a response: "Diglett Dig! Digl..." The horrible loud noise the gun expels is immediately followed up by a bloodcurdling scream let out by the child watching the horror of his Diglett's brains being splattered everywhere, some of the blood covering his pants. He falls to the ground and tries to hug what's left of his only companion. Minax is still standing there, a twisted grin on her face for a brief moment, before she becomes disgusted by the child's display of emotion. She points the gun at the mourning child, "Go home to your mom. You'd better not say anything about what happened. If I find out that you tell anyone about this, I'll hunt you and your mom down and both of you will meet the same fate as your Diglett. Now get the hell out of here." The boy looks up at her with tear ridden eyes and a ghastly expression on his face. He stands up and runs southward, sobbing the entire way. Minax yells out at him, "Remember what I said! Don't be stupid like your Diglett was!" Minax kneels down in front of the Diglett's corpse. She grabs the bloody stump of the mole's head, and pulls the rest of its usually concealed body out of the ground. She slides her skinning knife out of her leather sheath. Less than an hour later, Minax calmly strolls back into Saffron City. Something is different about her overall appearance, though. From her ears hang a pair of tiny Diglett claws. "I really should've waited for the Diglett to evolve before killing it. That way I'd have three pairs of earrings." Minax pauses, then shrugs, "Oh well. Live and learn." -Minax