From: Shard Fields or Megasomething <goola2u@aol.compostheap> Subject: [PW!] Service With a… Vengeance? Date: Saturday, July 31, 1999 4:10 PM Shard finished gnawing on his now-cold grilled cheese and bacon sandwich, and was wondering when Banshee and Melodia would stop over-enjoying their candlelight dinner a few tables away. After what seemed like… And, knowing those two, could very well have been… hours, Shard got his answer. Just as the two floated into Shard’s arms, the waiter arrived with the 3rd helpings. The Jigglypuffs had ordered some coffee for when they got back, probably, Shard suspected, because they expected to be drinking a lot of wine, a theory that their current actions were supporting Shard had ordered another of his favorite sandwich, and some onion rings, a departure from the fries he usually had. Undermine, whose appetite, like everything, was currently in a large bowl of chef’s salad, barely large enough to hold the Dugtrio. Shockwave was happily sipping on a 9-volt, blissfully unaware of how fast the chicken that he’d drowned in ketchup would get cold. Pain Dance, lacking a mouth, was absorbing some Gatorade through his skin, something Shard wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to. But then, he’d said the same thing about what Gangreen did to fruit, like the pineapple that the green Paras had wrapped itself around and proceeded to suck the innards from, and he now barely noticed. He’d had the Hitmonlee for longer, but it was probably a similar situation. He thanked the waiter as he set the Jigglypuffs down, and found himself with two questions, which he all but asked at once. "Melodia, is it just me, are you getting rounder than normal? Jake, where’s Tom?" "His shift ended," explained Jake. "Puff?" said Melodia indignantly, a bit confused as to what Shard was insinuating, as she fiddled with the bow on the back of her head. After the very lengthy meal was at last finished, Shard left payment, and tip, on the table, and proceeded to the exit. On the way out, however, he was stopped by the waiter. "Hey Jake, what gives?" asked Shard, confused. "You stiffed me on the tip, Rocket," scowled the waiter. Shard dropped to the floor laughing. "Man, that’s a guy who needs money… here ya go, five more, may I go now?" Asked Shard, picking himself up and handing the brown-haired waiter some more money. "No," said the waiter, snatching the cash rudely, "because a green-haired Rocket killed my Hitmonchan, Klinger." "Look, I never killed any Hitmonchan!" protested Shard. "Don’t play dumb," shouted the waiter. "that Raticate of yours…" "Whoah, whoah, WHOAH! Back up the truck! Raticate, I don’t have a Raticate… But if it’s a pokemon battle you want, I choose my drunken Jigglypuffs!" "Hey!" groans a voice like a bullfrog from a booth behind the one Shard was sitting at in protest. "How dare you confuse me, Butch, for that scrawny what’s his name?" "It’s SHARD, and you stay out of it, Froggy!" snapped Shard. "FROGGY?!?!?!" exploded Butch. "Raticate, decimate him!" "Hah," laughed Shard, "that puny vermin will never stand up to true barbarian might! Pain Dance, whomp that rat!" "Mon lee," said Pain Dance indignantly, tuning his head, shutting his eyes, and crossing his arms. "Look," said Shard, "I’m sorry I called you a barbarian, I meant it in the ‘Mighty warrior’ sense. Now, will you please clobber that Raticate?" That was all the encouragement the Hitmonlee needed, wanting nothing more than to fight. The Raticate got in a Quick Attack, but one little nip made little difference to the Hitmonlee, other than to make it mad. "MON LEEE!" he screeched, a Hi Jump Kick resulting in a fainted opponent and a Raticate-sized hole in a wall. Butch retreated, and Shard noticed that Jake had left. He shrugged and went off to get tickets for the upcoming Barenaked Ladies concert. *** Cassidy was FURIOUS at Butch. "You took our only pokemon out to lunch… And got it clobbered?!?!?!" "I can explain, my…" Butch begged, but Cassidy cut him off. "No. I don’t want to hear it, Froggy." Now it was Butch’s turn to be furious. "DON’T CALL ME FROGGY!" he screamed in Cassidy’s face, before running away. *** As Shard walked down the street, after picking up his ticket for the Barenaked Ladies concert that would be in Celadon in about a week or so, and finding that trainers could bring up to 6 pokemon to the concert for free, he had been stopped by Mondo. He’d assumed the meeting with the boss was bad news, especially since it was about "something that had been kept secret from the boss." Mondo’s reassurances that it was gonna be "really cool" hadn’t helped. Now, however, it seemed that Shard was getting a promotion. "Anyone who can avoid being killed by someone such as Sabrina," explained Giovanni, "Deserves a place in the ranks of Code Red, if not higher." "Um, can you tell me who else is a Code Red agent?" asked Shard. "Butch and Cassidy, for starters," smiled Giovanni. These words felt to Shard like a dagger had been shoved through his chest while he was tasting something VERY nasty, and the face he made was much that of the same situation. TBC? .sig not included. Shard Fields on AGNP Megasomething on ATT