From: Karnivax <varanus@nospam.com> Subject: [PW!] Eve of Descension Date: Thursday, August 26, 1999 1:47 PM Since I'm going on vacation until Monday, I figured I'd resolve the issues that MTSowbug brought up. So this story is really, really short for one of my stories. --EVE OF DESCENSION-- Part 1 by Karnivax Having activated his personal cloaking device and having slipped past the main gate to the Safari Zone undetected, the cyborg dinosaur Panopticon now had the job of finding a suitable Pokémon to serve as a host body for when his master at last manifested himself upon the earthly realm. For the first time in a long time, Panopticon had dispatched his only Pokémon - the white Charizard known as Inferno - to help in the search. Panopticon had not counted on the fact that his Charizard would incinerate any Pokémon that Panopticon did not deem worthy of being a host body, but the saurian cared little. Using a guide to the Safari Zone he had taken from one of the visiting trainers, Panopticon was bent on tracking down the rarest and most fearsome-sounding species in the area. But the rarest species did not satisfy him. He ignored the quadrupedal Tauros, as he was looking for a biped. He was unimpressed by the insectoid Scyther and Pinsir. Kangaskhan looked much too slow to him. Dratini took too long to evolve. He scoffed at Chansey for obvious reasons. As he passed each of these Pokémon by, Inferno very casually turned all of the rejects into charred corpses. However, in time, Panopticon found a Pokémon he was satisfied with...a member of one of the most common species in the Zone. It was a Nidorino. _Hmmm...thisss creature would not amount to much in itsss current ssstate. But with the aid of a Moon Ssstone...it could make a formidable hossst for the massster,_ Panopticon analyzed. While still cloaked, Panopticon hit the surprised Nidorino over the head to knock it out, grabbed it, and started heading for the exit with Inferno. To onlookers, it would have appeared that a white Charizard was following a Nidorino that was floating a few feet above the ground. But there were no onlookers nearby. As Panopticon escaped the Safari Zone with his catch, he noticed a creature that was essentially a pinkish clone of himself coming his way. The clone had a red ruby-like object embedded in its forehead. "Ssso, the great Praetor Proteusss comesss down from hisss divine throne to mingle with the common folk," Panopticon sarcastically hissed at his doppelganger. "What do you want? I could have sssworn you were sssupposssed to be off fighting Mewtwo." Panopticon turned off his cloaking device. Proteus was silent, but Panopticon read his facial expression like an open book. "Ah...I sssee...you *did* fight Mewtwo," Panopticon chuckled. "And you sssuffered a crussshing defeat, did you not?" Finally Proteus spoke. "I would hardly consider a narrow loss a 'crushing defeat,' Templar." "But you ssstill were unable to sssubdue Mewtwo," Panopticon pointed out. "Asss I predicted well in advance, might I add! You would do well to lisssten to my predictionsss from now on..." He threw his reptilian head back and laughed. "I am still Praetor here, *Templar*!" Proteus growled angrily, as he was unaccustomed to taking such jeering from Panopticon. "Do not forget that!" "I would not dream of it, Praetor," Panopticon said. He bowed slightly. There was still a subtle grin on his saurian face. "Now, wasss there sssomething you wanted?" Proteus calmed himself down. "I wanted merely to give you the latest news." --EVE OF DESCENSION-- Part 2 by Karnivax "Isss it truly necessssary for you to do ssso in perssson?" Panopticon groaned. "Yes," Proteus snarled. "Now listen. I revisited headquarters after losing to Mewtwo, and it would seem that your most recent catch, Phoo the Cockroach, succeeded in abducting Bill. Through threats of hostility, the master goaded Bill into rapidly building the apparatus that will soon transfer the master's mind into whatever host body you decide on. Being the gracious despot he truly is, the master then returned Bill safely to his home. However, the master is watching Bill. If Bill reveals the details about his journey to the master's quarters to anyone, it will be our job to exterminate the scientist. I feel obligated to inform you that Bill has two disguises. One is that of a brown-haired, glasses-wearing young British man with a bow tie...the other, in which he is more often seen, is that of a green-haired young American man...apparently Bill is a bit of a paranoid sort." "Isss there anything elssse?" "Of course. I was told to inform you that the master expects you to bring the chosen host body to him post haste. He would have contacted you himself, but he is still in the process of recovering from using all of his power to create the psionic dampening field around the Underground Dungeon, and at the moment he would rather avoid unnecessary energy expenditure." "The hossst body isss right here," Panopticon noted, pointing at the Nidorino. Panopticon noticed Inferno glancing at the Nidorino hungrily and blowing smoke from his draconian nares, so he kept the famished Charizard at bay with one hand. Proteus raised one gelatinous eyebrow. "I personally would have selected Scyther or Pinsir...but I suppose that if the master is displeased with your selection, he'll only have you to blame, now won't he?" Proteus let out a subtle chuckle. "Now take that Nidorino to the master, and be quick." "And how, exactly, am I sssupposssed to accomplisssh that?" Panopticon wondered. "You are the only one who knowsss how to get to the massster'sss bassse on foot." Proteus sighed heavily, then started walking over to a gigantic oak tree standing just outside the Safari Zone. Then he kicked the tree, and a large hidden panel opened on the bottom of the tree's trunk. "What...?" Panopticon wondered, approaching the tree. "In a less enlightened time, one might have referred to this as a secret passageway," Proteus dryly explained. "I prefer to think of it as an alternative, albeit clandestine, means of egress to a subterranean structure. I find it gives me a heretofore unestablished pedigree of credibility. Don't you?" "But who made it? Certainly the massster could not have..." "My first task upon pledging my loyalty to the master was building a series of underground tunnels leading to the master's base, and a series of hidden passages leading to said tunnels, to make transport to and from the base easier," Proteus told him. "There is one passage to the tunnels hidden in each major city. To you it probably seems like a daunting task, building all of those tunnels. But for one who can turn into a Dugtrio, it is as facile as misappropriating a confection from an infant. Now follow the tunnel and you will ultimately reach the master's chamber. Try not to look too shocked when you see him for the first time." Proteus shifted down to his true Ditto form and started slithering away. "Now, if you'll excuse me - not that you have a choice - I understand that a girl named Natasha who has impressive psychic potential is getting married...so, assuming I haven't missed it already, I'm off to possibly crash a wedding. Heh heh heh..." Proteus's cackling trailed off as he disappeared into the distance. Panopticon slowly entered the secret passage, making sure to close it behind him. He found himself in a pitch-black dirt tunnel. He pressed a button on the small console under his left wrist, and the cybernetic monocle over his right eye that normally served as a deadly eyelaser was converted to a harmless flashlight. Then Inferno entered the tunnel and did an even better job of illuminating it with his blue tail-flame. Panopticon shut off his flashlight, deployed his rocket-powered rollerblades, and took off at full speed down the seemingly endless tunnel, still carrying the helpless Nidorino. The swift Inferno followed close behind. After two hours of straight-ahead blading, Panopticon finally arrived at the point where all of the tunnels intervened. It was a dome-shaped room with the walls, floor, and ceiling made of nothing but dirt. There were eight other tunnels in addition to the one Panopticon and Inferno had gone through. But Panopticon noticed that one of the tunnels seemed significantly wider than the others. He headed through it, and found it was much shorter than the others as well. It led into an even bigger and much darker dirt room. At first Panopticon was not quite sure where he had wound up, but only seconds after he entered the room, a bright red light filled the subterranean cul-de-sac. As Panopticon clearly saw when the red light went on, inside that room was what could only have been the current manifestation of his master. The master's booming voice reverberated throughout the whole dirt room: "Welcome, Templar. I see that all of the components for the Descension have come together at long last..." Panopticon's reptilian mouth simply fell open. He nearly dropped the Nidorino in surprise. Who is Panopticon and Proteus's enigmatic commander? Only I (and Shard, whom I spilled the beans to) know for sure! ^_^ --K * A * R * N * I * V * A * X-- "If practice makes perfect, but nobody's perfect, then why practice?" -Alfred E. Neuman -- Posted via Talkway - http://www.talkway.com Exchange ideas on practically anything (tm).