From: <sailrgal@swbell.net> Subject: Re: [PW!] The Shot Heard 'Round the World Date: Thursday, November 18, 1999 11:18 AM In article <38338912.22A0F11E@prodigy.net>, RobfromVoid says... > >Bandraptor wrote: > >> Minax let out a grunt of disgust, annoyed that she had to spell >> everything out. >> "One of you, grab that Aerodactyl, and try not to drop it, like that >> idiot >> Wartortle did." She gestured to the gunny sack, which was lying on the >> ground. >> "And one of you, pack up those worthless Nidorans. We may not be able >> to turn >> them in at Headquarters, but we'll still need to bring them with us, >> lest they >> run off and warn their trainer." >> >> Neither Oz nor Nori were particularly anxious to advance on the >> snarling poison >> pins. They seemed hard-pressed to decide what to do next, but in >> truth, it all >> depended on one thing -- Which was more intimidating: an angry >> Nidoran, or an >> angry Minax? > >As if to solve the dilemma present in both Oz's and Nori's minds, Minax >reaches into her holster and pulls out a shiny silver pistol. Much to >Oz's relief, she doesn't point the gun at anyone - he'd hate the Nidoran >to be killed because of him, and he'd especially hate to have to die >himself for a cause he really didn't believe in. Instead of aiming her >gun at the Nidoran or the humans, Minax holds her pistol loosely in her >hand, gazing no where in particular. She tosses her red hair, cups her >free hand behind her ear, and tilts her head so that her ear faces the >sky, "We have company. A trained Fearow is hovering above." > >Rubix the Wartortle rolls his eyes and scoffs, "...do you think you're a >Zubat or something? You liar. There ain't no Fearow up there. You just >want us all to run away so that you can have Gwythaint all for your..." >Splat. "What the hell?! Did the whore kill me?! I see a white light >before my eyes... Hey, I got into heaven! Wicked! Maybe I can kill Nori >from up here..." > >Nori shakes her head in disgust even though Rubix can't see her, "Rubix, >the only white thing before your eyes is Fearow crap." > >"WHAT?!" Rubix spits water into his hands and rubs the white substance >from his eyes. Once his face is clean, he shakes his fist at the sky, >"Let me at 'im! He defaced my beautiful face by defecating on it! I'll >kill the bastard!" > >"She's already way ahead of you." Nori points to the dirty wall of the >building that makes up the eastern side of the alleyway. > >Rubix spins around and looks up to see Minax racing up the fire escapes >on the side of the very tall building, towards the top, "D'oh. Well, at >least she ain't gonna make it to the roof... the fire escapes don't go >that far. What a dumb..." > >"...asss long as you're not busy, Nori..." Oz interrupts Rubix's insult, >"Minax sort of ordered us to pack up those Nidoran, and I don't think >that I can do it alone... Please help me out here. After all this hard >work, it would be a shame not to join Team Rocket because I couldn't >sack some Nidoran." Oz's Sandshrew boggles at his trainer's statement >and falls over! > >Rubix snickers, "Part of Team Rocket's initiation is to make love to >Nidoran? I always knew they were kinda queer, which is why Nori joined >them, I'm sure..." Nori narrows her eyes at her Wartortle, "You can't >leave anything to the imagination, can you?" The Wartortle retorts, >"When you've got a trainer who's got no brain, you need to make things >loud and clear!" > >Deciding that Nori and Rubix aren't going to be much help, Oz dives >towards Spunky, the male Nidoran. In self defense, the purple Pokemon >bites Oz on the hand. Oz sighs, "Here we go again. GETITOFF!!! >GETITOFF!!! GETITOFF!!!" > Back at the Pokemon Center, Sarah Jane paces to the best of her ability. Anxiously she tried to mentally connect with Bombadier several times. At her last connection, she could tell that the Fearow had found something and was going to investigate. "Miss Eckert?" says Nurse Joy. "Your Pokemon are ready." Sarah Jane whirls around to face the nurse. "Thank you," she says as she claims the 4 Pokeballs. Once outside, she released the Alakazams, Hypno, and Mr. Mime and told them what happened. Sarah Jane slowly felt her mind boosted by the presence of her Psychic Pokemon. She begins to connect with Bombadier again. > >When Minax finally reaches the highest fire escape, the roof of the >building is still about a ten foot jump away. She places her gun back in >its holster, bends downward slightly, then springs upward in a high >jump... but her jump isn't high enough. She reaches for her bag to find >something useful. When she opens her sack, Omelette the Chansey peeks >outside, sees the huge drop to the ground, and hides, trembling from >fear. Minax looks at her belt, "Oh yeah, there's that Bellsprout I >caught..." > >Minax snaps her Pokeball off her belt and points the Pokeball at the >floor, pushing the release button with her thumb. A Bellsprout emerges, >peeks over the edge of the fire escape, and much like Omelette starts >trembling, which looks rather silly when one's body is the width of a >thin piece of string. He hugs a pole with his leaf arms, "Bell Sprout! >Bell Sprout!" > >"You can advertise phone companies later, Bellsprout." Minax points to >the roof of the building she is trying to scale, "Right now, I need you >to use your Vine Whip and grab onto something up there." When the >Bellsprout doesn't budge from his secure place, Minax brandishes her >long skinning knife, "Perhaps I wasn't making myself clear?" Minax's >Bellsprout recognizes the lethal blade. He saw humans use similar blades >to cut down trees, and he doesn't want to meet the same fate. > >Two vines, much thicker than the Bellsprout's body, somehow emerge from >his body, and extend upward. He feels around with his vines until he >finds something to hold onto, then his vines become taut. Minax slides >her skinning knife back into its sheath and grabs hold of both vines. >She uses them to climb up to the top of the building, where she vaults >onto the roof. She grabs her Bellsprout's vines and pulls him up by >them, forcing the poor coward to join her on the roof. When the >Bellsprout pulls his vines back into the nothingness from whence they >came, he points up at the sky with one of his leaves and shivers, >"Sprout!" > >"FEAROW!" Bombadier, Sarah Jane's Fearow, is the current cause of >Bellsprout's worries. The majestic Flying Pokemon dives down to the roof >of the building and circles Minax's head, trying to figure out if this >is the red haired man that Sarah Jane was talking about. Minax sure >doesn't look like a man, but she does have red hair... Bombadier perches >on the side of the building and addresses Minax cordially, in an attempt >to find out where Cuddles and Spunky are, "FEAR... Fearow Fear?!" > >"You're looking for something, aren't you?" Minax grins at the Fearow, >"I can sense it in your tone of voice. You're looking for stolen >Pokemon. Yes, and the fact that you can't find them enrages you, since >you don't want to disappoint your trainer. You're looking for two >Nidoran and an Aerodactyl. Well, you won't find any of them here. Do you >know what you *will* find?" >"Fear?" Bombadier asks, while tilting his head to the side. > >"That's a good guess, but the fear will only be temporary." Minax >removes her silver pistol from it's holster and aims it at Bombadier's >red feathery chest, "The correct answer is death. Death that will last >forever." Minax pulls the trigger. > Outside the Pokemon Center, Sarah Jane screams. Sigfreid and Svengali steady her as her body goes limp. Jon's Alakazam and Shields look at her. They know. Tears fall from Sarah Jane's eyes..... Bombadier.... she had trained him from the time he was a Spearow.... dead.... Deep within her mind, those parts that had been blocked by her youth and inexperience open to release a flood of energy pulsing through every part of her mind, body, and soul. Power.... channeled by emotional trauma and anger. Ignoring the pain in her ankle, Sarah Jane stands straight and tall. Her eyes appear to glow. The psychic Pokemon look at their trainer and nod. Then the group disappears. > >Oz is tying the string on the bag that he finally managed to get the >Nidoran and Pteryx back into, when he hears a loud gunshot that makes >him fumble the bag, causing the three Pokemon to spill out! The bruised >teenager sighs, "Here we go again again..." > >Rubix's ears twitch, "What the hell was that noise?" > >Thud. The corpse of a Fearow lands in the alleyway, wings spread out. A >puddle of blood starts oozing away from the dead body. Nori, Oz, Rubix, >and the Nidoran twins all stare in disbelief. Rubix is the first to >break out of the trance, trying to keep his tough guy image, "I told you >I was gonna kill him for crapping on me, and there ya go! Let that be a >lesson to you, Nori!" > >"Nido..." Cuddles turns away from the Fearow's corpse, recognizing that >he is Bombadier. She starts weeping... Spunky places one of his paws on >his sister's arm, trying to comfort her, trying to keep back his own >tears, "Nido... Nidoran ran..." > >Oz and Nori keep staring at the Fearow's body, expecting something >further to happen. Something further does. From the sky, two black >leather boots with Minax in them crash onto Bombadier's corpse. When >this happens, the Fearow's body acts like a ketchup bottle that has just >been squeezed, sending a red liquid splattering onto everyone there- but >that liquid is not ketchup. Despite this fact, Minax raises her >blood-stained hand to her mouth and licks it, "Mmm! Tastes like red >rum!" > "Murderer." A small girl appears from the shadows. Minax appraises the girl visually. She doesn't look any more than 8 or 9 years old. "Stay out of what you don't know little girl," returns Minax. The girl steps forward with a Mr. Mime beside her. Nori stares. "Ni ni do!" shriek Cuddles and Spunky excitedly. Pteryx squawks happily. Now that their adoptive mother was here, everything would be all right. "I thought those vicious little Nidorans looked familiar," says Nori. "I should have known they were yours, Sarah Jane." "That the girl you're always complaning about? No wonder. She looks a heck ov a lot brighter than you do," quips Rubix. "Bright? Hell, she's practically glowing!" says a startled Oz as he notices the glow in Sarah Jane's eyes. "I've come to take back what is mine." A sudden wind blows in the alley. "You and that clown?" scoffs Minax. "Little girl, you should know better than to mess with Team Rocket." Two large Alakazams and a Hypno come out of the shadows. Minax shifts uncomfortably. Then she notices that Sarah Jane is levitating about 6 inches off the ground. "You fool," she hisses to Oz. "You had to go and steal Pokemon from a psychic!" "I didn't know she was a psychic!" returns Oz in fear. He turns and tries to run, but suddenly a trash can floats over upends, dumping trash all over Oz. Then the can drops on top of him and flips over, with him inside. The lid closes, trapping Oz inside. Minax turns to run, but finds herself unable to move. Sarah Jane then turns to Nori. "You were once our friend," she says in an eerie, disjointed voice. "The Meowth corrupted you." "What are you talking about? You guys dumped me..." returns Nori angrily. "The Meowth... it drove you to chase Spectre.... You chose to pursue him instead of rejoining the group.... murderer." "Hey, I didn't kill your stupid Fearow...." Nori protests. "And you guys ran off and left me! You abandonded _me_!" "You killed Starscream," replies Sarah Jane. Nori freezes. How could Sarah Jane know about the Pidgeot? "It died an agonizing death as you crushed its Pokeball under your foot. Perhaps you should feel its dying moments.... Starscream will haunt your dreams and give you no peace...." "You're a freak...." stammers Nori. "Serves you right," adds in Rubix. "Stealing and murdering poor defenseless Pokemon." "Just shut up!" Nori shouted. "Both of you shut up!" Pain began to flood her mind.... for a brief moment she feels as if she is helpless in a dark void.... then explosion, pain, and oblivian. Screaming Nori opens her eyes. "You'll never have peace until you cleanse your concience," returns Sarah Jane. "Your concience will torment you." As Sarah Jane's head turns, so does those of the Psychic Pokemon, as if they were acting in unison. "Come on Gwythaint," says Rubix as he makes a grab for the baby Aerodactyl. Suddenly the Wartortle finds himself flying through the air and out of the alley. Minax and Nori watch in surprise as Cuddles, Spunky, and Pteryx suddenly float through the air and into Sarah Jane's arms. The little Pokemon, still shaken from their ordeal, cuddle against their adoptive mother. Minax is unable to move as her sack also floats to the ground, gently setting down out of harms way to protect the little Chansey inside. Then Minax and Nori find themselves abruptly thrown across the alley and against a wall. Sarah Jane's eyes fall on an old, discarded sheet in the trash. The sheet floats through the air to Bombadier's body. The shrouded body then levitates into the arms of Jon's Alakazam. Now able to move, Minax struggles to her feet and pulls her gun. "Kid, you've messed with the wrong Rocket." Minax fires her gun. The bullet stops in mid air. It twists around, moves in a geometric pattern, then drops to the ground. Minax fires again. The next bullet dances in the air, then falls again. Suddenly, Minax's hand and gun twist so Minax is looking down the barrel. "Care to try again?" asks Sarah Jane. Minax tries to move her hand away, but only feels her finger tighten on the trigger. The Rocket looks from the girl to each of the psychic Pokemon. Even the Mr. Mime has a malevolent glow to his eyes, making the normally comic appearing Pokemon look evil. "Any of you even think of harming any of my Pokemon, you'll have me to deal with. I may not be this forgiving the next time." Minax finds herself flying into the trash again. As she looks up, she sees Sarah Jane give her Nidorans and Aerodactyl an affectionate squeeze. Then the group disappears. Minax pulls herself out of the trash and brushes herself off. "Good riddance..... Omlette!" Minax picks up her sack. Inside she finds the baby Chansey sleeping peacefully. Then Minax looks where Sarah Jane stood. The girl knew that the baby pokemon was in the sack and removed it from danger... But the kid was dangerous. And somehow Nori knew that psychic - something she would have to investigate later. Minax sees Nori struggling to her feet while Rubix limped back to the alley. "Hey! That girl took Gwythaint!" complains Rubix. "Just shut up!" says Nori, clutching her head. "When did Sarah Jane get so powerful..." she wonders. "She gets all the breaks...." "Get me outta here!" they hear in a muffled shriek from one of the garbage cans. Minax kicks the can over forcefully in her irritation. "Ow ow ow...." complains Oz as he crawls out of the can. He rubs his rear as his Sandshrew crawls out behind him. "Is she gone?" <TBC> RL Note: This will be continued in another thread later in the day. - Time Lady