Companionship

"Where did you come from?"

"Away."

"Away?"

"I'd quite like to go back there too. Want to come?"

"But you- I..."

"You don't have to. I can just go."

"No!"

"So you're coming?"

"I... don't know."

"It'll be fun."

"How do you know?"

"Um..."

"You don't."

"No."

"Then stay here. With me."

"Don't you want to find out?"

"What if it's bad?"

"Then it's bad. So what? There are wonders to be found."

"It's dangerous."

"But we'll be together."

"We could be together here."

"No."

"What? But you-"

"I'm going. Come with. Let's explore the wonders of the universe. Together."

"We always were one,"

"Why stop now?"

Pokémon: The Golden Apocalypse, Chapter Nineteen

Red looked up at the looming cliffs, and tried to recall how he'd ever gotten down them before. It seemed a long while ago, though it had actually occurred that morning. When he had traversed them that time, he wasn't fighting against gravity, and he was well-rested, though admittedly dehydrated. Now, he could barely stand, and his vision was swimming. If not for the poliwag squirming slightly in his arms, he would have laid down and waited to die. As it was, he doubted he could ascend past the first ledge, a scant ten feet from the ground, without fainting.
He took a step forward and the darkness at the corners of his vision pulsed, sending pain through his head, and causing him to stagger into the cliff face. His breath came in short, painful bursts as he sank down to the ground. Behind him, muffled shatterings came from the buildings the pokémon had broken into. Above both this and the sound of his blood pounding in his ears, Red heard the screeching and caterwauling of the ape-creatures as they discovered the pond. He took a breath to steel himself and turned to see, to his dismay, that they were no more than a minute's ambling walk from him.
Fighting muscles that protested every movement, Red managed to shift Nyoromo from his arms into his pack, which he had somehow kept with him during his flight. He rose slowly, forcing himself to stay conscious. Raising his right arm, he found a handhold just above his head. He hoisted himself up, and clung to the wall as the world spun. For a moment the cliff was above him, threatening to fall, and the next it was below, yet he was being pulled up. Red could feel the bile rise in his throat, but somehow managed to choke it back and climb up the madly rotating landscape.
At some point during the hellish climb he heard a screech of discovery from one of the pokémon at the lake, and he knew that it might already be to late. He climbed anyway, through his world of madness, so that Nyoromo might escape. His eyelids fluttered, and touch guided him. Without sight, the dizziness prevented him from telling up from down, and he could only hope that he ascended. It was only when he found his hands and feet scrabbling uselessly along a smooth surface without finding purchase that he looked again, expecting to see the stone flying past him as he fell. Somehow he remained still against the wall. He gave his spinning mind a chance to figure out how he was floating when reality became fixed once more.
He was on a ledge. The world made sense, but he felt no relief. He didn't feel anything. Nothing had any emotion attached to it. As he stood, there was pain, but that was it. He didn't feel it. He simply recognized it. Just as he recognized the sounds of his pursuers, close by yet muffled. He began to climb again, noticing a pull on his pack and the faint sound of ripping, but that meant nothing.
It was only when he reached the next ledge that Nyoromo's cries from below caught his attention.

Back in the Middle of Things

This is technically only an announcement and largely for the benefit of the few that commonly traverse this blog and the multiverse it explores. Tonight I've commented on just about everything that I missed commenting on this year so far. The beginning half of this year from late January to late February was probably one of the worst periods of my life yet and I sincerely apologize for who I was during that time period. As you can tell I'm back again and I'm hoping to be more involved then before. As of right now the main contributers to this blog are on a vacation so I'm left here running things. Something that I've been thinking about tonight is instituting new commenting/posting rules. This subject while be under review with my co-admin Reogan for the next months as we ponder how to make this more of a rather pleasant site. We may leave things the way they are, but I'd just like to inform you of the potential coming changes. Among other things I've been utterly submerged in this blog as I take a full time admin job for a bit. I've created a new tag called "Announcements" which will hopefully make it easier to locate all those peculiar irrelevant posts, or the ones that actually inform you of things you wanted to know were going on. I either case I'll continue to work on this; an suggestions would be much appreciated. God Bless, have a good day.

-Met

Consequences, Part 6

EPILOGUE, FIVE YEARS LATER:

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Christina asked her fiancee.

"Yeah. It's been five years. I mean, we were away at college and everything, but... I still need to make peace--let him know that I've forgiven him," John replied.

She smiled in understanding. "Do you want to be alone?"

"If you don't mind..."

"Go."

John walked down the path to his father's gravestone. As she watched, Christina thought back to the whole ordeal. It had barely lasted a day, but it had changed the both of them permanently.

Meanwhile, John had knelt at the gravestone. "Dad, I... I know that your problem wasn't all your fault. I mean, the kidnapping me and attempting to do the same to Christina... but you were sick. I understand that now. So..." John tried and failed to clear away the lump in his throat, "I forgive you. It took me a while, but I do. And I love you," he added as tears filled his eyes.

There was nothing more to say.

Managing On My Own

"We've got you covered,"

"You sure? I'm not sure how I'll handle this on my own."

"It'll be fine, everything is set up for you and you hardly need to do any work."

"Nice... Why are you doing this though? You won't be able to see any of your work until you get back."

"We have a standard here, and it will be maintained. I'll make sure my fellows do likewise."

"No one will be interested without all of you around."

"You never know, we've had visitors before"

"Alright then, go ahead, and enjoy your trip."

"Thanks, we appreciate your help."

"Thank you; I appreciate your help."

I looked at the drafts.

I looked up.

"But..."

They were gone.

I looked back at the drafts.
"You've gotta be kidding me."

So here I am, managing on my own...

Staring

Jon stared into the window of a truck passing by. A man rolled down his window and flicked a cigarette out of it. Jon stared into the next window, a Buick, as an old lady drove by and glanced at him angrily. He saw a mini van pass by with a toddler scraping his nose. He looked into the window of a Lamborghini tail-gating behind it. A man in a suit looked at him, a shocked look on his face. The man fell over in his chair and smashed into the mini van in front. The back of it erupted into flame as the Lamborghini fell off the bridge they were crossing. The mini van swerved in front of his car. He heard his parents scream as they slammed into the front, than the back window smashing as the semi behind them crashed, then explode, due to the oil that caught fire in the load it was carrying. The bridge cracked, and then snapped and tilted back, as the cars on it started rolling down into the river below. The semi fell on top of a yacht sailing under the bridge, which just so happened to be a suicidal terroist yacht, that was supposed to be detonated near a military ship. It bombs detonated, causing an avalanche on the cliff it was sailing by. A building set by the cliff's edge fell due to the lack of support, killing everyone inside.

I ran out of ideas, I'm sorry, bad day, so, yeah, don't stare into people's windows, it could be dangerous.

Story Two, Chapter Five

As was custom, the Chosen slipped away from her village under the shroud of night, taking with her all her possessions. These were left in the Burning Pits to be destroyed, and no trace was to be left.

As was tradition, when her family awoke to find her gone, they made no mention of her, and ate their morning meal in silence, waiting patiently for the days orders to be relayed to them.

As per regulations, the guards met her as she ascended the steps of the Temple, and walked silently beside her. They escorted her through the sanctuary to her chambers. She entered, and they remained outside her door, waiting for orders.

As the Ritual demanded, the Chosen removed all her clothing and placed it in the incinerator, donning instead the garments befitting her new position, which lay on the bed. As she lifted the Robe of the Servant and reverently slipped it over herself, a note fell from a sleeve. The Chosen lifted the note and obeyed the instructions, taking a small, bullet-like object from the bedside table, and placing it in her right ear.

As he had a thousand times before, the man in the shadows spoke.

"Welcome, Speaker."

As every Speaker had before her, the girl gasped, and asked hesitantly,

"God?"

Deep in his darkness, the man smiled.

Pokémon: The Golden Apocalypse, Chapter Eighteen

Red began to throw dirt on coals, while the old man scattered the remaining fish about the clearing. Just as the last coals had been covered, the man reached Red. He picked up the wooden grill he had roasted the magikarp on, and handed it to the spearow, which took it in its talons.
"Take this with you, if you can. If it's too much, leave it. Fly quickly." The bird hopped off the man's shoulder, and began to fly haphazardly away, weighed down by its burden.
"Sir, what exactly is happening?" asked Red.
Rather than speak, the man looked up. Red followed his gaze. The sky was empty, and had just a hint of the brilliant hues of evening. The only odd thing about it, was the lack of birdsong in the air. Red tried to see what the man was looking at.
A moment passed.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the west end of the sky, and moved quickly forward to fill Red's view. Complete darkness fell over the clearing, and only the man's breathing told Red he was not alone. Two seconds passed in the shadow before the shadow gave way at the polar edges. Light trickled around some obstruction, and for another second, the clearing was faintly shown in a dusky haze. Then, the two lines of light met in the west, and quickly moved east revealing the light of day.
Red gasped as he realized a massive pokémon had just flown overhead, a pokémon so large that even its tail could block out most of the sun. He opened his mouth to ask what it was, but was instead nearly pulled over as the man tugged him to the crevice they had entered from. Despite his age, the man moved quickly, with the crazed stride of a creature terrified.
Though younger, Red tired faster, as his exertions from the day before left him drained. As he ran, his mind raced. What could that thing have been? Why are we running? Isn't it gone? Maybe if it finds us Nyoromo could- no. Not against that. Nyoromo couldn't- Where is Nyoromo?
Red spent a terrified second trying to recall where his poliwag had been in the clearing before he realized he held it in his arms. In his shock, he hadn't even realized he had picked it up. His relief gave him enough renewed energy to keep pace with the man until the mouth of the first canyon was in sight, with the Fallen Viridian beyond it. There was no sign of danger, and safety was in sight. Instead of slowing though, the man only ran faster, his staff swinging dangerously in his right hand. Red couldn't ask why, as all his breath was spent trying to catch up. Without any visible danger, though, Red lost the will to continue, and began to slow once more.
A cacophony of squawks burst out above him. Red looked up to see the largest flock of bird pokémon fleeing from the direction the behemoth had gone. The cliff walls were so high that most were contained in the same canyon Red ran through, and they quickly overtook him and reached the opening. They scattered in all directions over Viridian, leaving an ominous silence that gave Red the motivation to sprint once more.
Then he heard it. A rumbling in the distance joined with faint squeaks and growls and roars to produce a quiet, but ever-louder background to his pounding heart. He glanced back, and a faint dust cloud was brewing near the rear of the valley, kicked up by a thousand score of scurrying feet. Red gave everything he had, and ran until he reached the man's house, just as the old man did as well. He stood, panting, as the man turned to him.
"Kakuna... shell." he managed to get out. "Only room... for... one. Go south." He paused to wheeze. He waved his arm as he caught his breath. "Go. Most... can't climb." He slipped inside as Red tried to process what the man meant. He heard the faint whisper of a bolt being drawn. A voice drifted out from inside. "Good luck."
Red didn't waste a moment. He hurried to the forested cliffs of the south, glancing to the foothills of the Tojo mountains as he did so. The cloud was hurrying toward the opening, and reached it as Red passed the pond where he had entered Viridian. A herd of nidoran galloped out, accompanied by rattata and a screeching band of primates. These pokémon swung their bodies forward on their hands as much as they ran. Red recognized them from pictures he had seen in some of the few books in Pallet, but couldn't recall anything else about them in his panic. The beasts scattered as the birds had, and the forerunners of that arc headed straight towards the ruined city.
The wave broke on the first buildings as Red reached the cliffs.

Consequences, Part 5

(Sorry it's late.)

"No, John!" Christina cried. Staring at Mr. Cordell, she spat, "Your excuse for a father is a rat, but don't kill him. Don't sink to his level."

"Aha!" yelled John's father. "You do love me, Christina! You don't want me to die!"

"No I don't! I never loved you! You're sick, disgusting, and weak!" She turned her gaze back to her boyfriend. "I love John."

John grinned. "I love you, too, Christina."

"NOOO!!!!!" his father screamed. Before either of them could react, he had thrown himself into the rushing river. Immediately, his head cracked on a rock, and his body caught on a branch dipping into the river.

He wasn't moving.

Pokémon: The Golden Apocalypse, April Fool's

Red had just begun to stamp out the coals when a spray of frigid water washed over his feet. To his shock, it came from Nyoromo. When the last embers were steaming, the flow stopped, and Nyoromo looked up at Red.
"Wag?"
"You- you did well Nyo. You did very well." Red glanced up. A dark speck had appeared in the sky, and was slowly growing larger. He heard a sound behind him. Turning, he saw the man running.
"Hey! Wait!" Red called. The man glanced back, and in doing so distracted himself and tripped. He hit the ground with a sickening crunch. His arm was twisted at an odd angle, as was a leg, and his staff protruded from his midsection. Red ran to him, and bent down. He heard the man weeping.
"Sir! Is there anything I-"
"Shut up! Shut up you ungrateful whelp! Look what you've done! You've damned us all by what you've done. You've-" Here the man groaned as he raised his head. "You've-" He stopped talking, his eyes looking past Red.
"By Arceus! It's M-" The man's eyes rolled back in his head, and blood poured from the sockets. His mouth opened far too wide, and his cheeks tore. Red watched in horror as his teeth elongated and sharpened, growing into a horrible grin. The staff grew thick, ripping the his torso, and it sprouted branches as it grew tall. The man's shoes tore as his toes and fingers reached into the ground, expanding into pallid, fleshy roots. Through the translucent substance, Red could see filthy blood coursing up into the tree, which stood dead and leafless. Red was horrified. When the man moaned again, he wondered how anyone could survive such a-
He will never die. Red turned and looked at a creature that radiated evil. Only slightly taller than Red, the humanoid had a catlike face. A cord of flesh ran from the back of its head to its back. A long tail swung lazily on the ground. It gestured, and there was a popping noise, and blood spattered upward. Red looked down and saw a scrap of blue flesh. Nyoromo was
Dead. Pokémon may not deserve to live, but they don't deserve the fate humans do. It's your kind that made me what I am. A pokémon in your image. Now I shall remake you. It raised a three fingered hand, and Red buckled. As he fell to the ground, he felt two things burst from his back. As they flapped, he realized they were wings. He turned to look at them, but his eyes had become stone. He tried to scream, but only a terrified whinny came from his mouth. As his mind shattered, all he knew was terror too great to be grasped.
The pokémon surveyed his work, and sensed the pain it had wrought. Still unsatisfied, it rose, and flew south to a small town called Pallet.