Post by WARendfeld on Aug 15, 2012 9:04:39 GMT -6
Three Terrors
Lilycove City’s normally pleasant weather seemed far less pleasant than normal, grey clouds lazily sweeping overhead and adding to a gloomy atmosphere. Cass wasn’t sure whether that was an ill sign of things to come or simply the weather being unusually appropriate, but she wasn’t too concerned. She was just glad that it was warm enough that she didn’t need to wear a jacket as she walked through town, hoping for a quiet morning and little attention…
“Excuse me! Cassandra Gale! Could I have a moment?!” Those hopes were dashed as she found herself rushed by a lean reporter, a camera man trailing behind him. “Dirk Garland for Hardline News! I want to ask you some questions about the death of…!”
Her answer was prompt. “No comment.”
Undeterred, the journalist continued to follow her. “Listen, people are asking questions about the death of Edward Nullen in his prison cell. No puncture wounds, no sign of strangulation; speculation points to poison.”
“And I’m not the medical examiner. Even if I was, I wouldn’t say anything until…”
“Your sister once killed Jackson Canmore, who was arrested for…!”
That tore it, and Cass turned to face the reporter. “I know what he did!” She glared at him with an intensity that she wished could scare him off, helped by her being several inches taller than him, as she explained, “Yes, my sister killed a man, who’d kidnapped her as an infant and who’d hired assassins to kill her years later. The courts consider it a case of self defense and she was never charged. Do I think she had anything to do with the death of Edward Nullen? No. Now leave me the hell alone, you worthless paparazzo, or…”
She paused as she realized the man was gasping for air, and backed off as his cameraman was attacked from behind, a knife going into his back. She ran as the camera dropped and fell to the ground, only to stop and find herself looking into the spectacled eyes of a tall, long-haired man, a katana pointed directly at her chest. “I’d advise against leaving, Ms. Gale.”
“Yeah!” Her hands were immediately bound behind her even as she attempted to struggle. “I love the taste of fear in your thoughts – I’d hate for it to go away!”
Cass had never met them before, had never so much as considered meeting them in the past, but she’d remembered her sister telling her about the second band of assassins that had crossed her path, the ones that had actually managed to do more damage to her than Canmore’s assassins had. Despite her understandable terror, she calmed herself enough to defiantly remark, “Whatever you’re planning, you won’t get away with it. Alex…”
“Your freak bitch of a sister got lucky.” Garland’s neck was snapped as the telekinetic stepped forward and glared at their prisoner. “Three times. She won’t be lucky a fourth time.”
“Search her, see if she has a cell phone.” The fourth, the scarred one, briefly frisked her with a scowl before producing the required item from one pocket and handing it to his leader. Alexander flipped it open with one hand as he stored away his sword, then pulled out his own phone and dialed the first number on speed dial.
-
The home phone rang at the Masters family residence, and Alex groaned, having sat down for a quick snack of a homemade submarine sandwich and hoping that it wasn’t another interviewer. She got up and answered, “Hello? Masters residence.”
“Alexandria Masters. Congratulations on your meaningless acquisition of eight badges; I’m afraid you won’t be doing much with them.”
She remembered his voice with crystal clarity, pains of memory flashing through her right arm as she remembered the first time she’d crossed paths with the man she was talking to. Her own voice turned cold as she answered him. “Alexander. Tell me, are you still punting Poochyenas or have you graduated to stealing candy from infants?”
“We have your sister.”
Her cold tone turned frigid and venomous. She didn’t even need to hear her sister’s voice to gain confirmation of the threat. “Let her go. She’s nothing to you.”
“We have a contract. Even if the one we signed it with is dead, we will honor that contract, unless you do exactly as I tell you to do. Come to the Lilycove Harbor alone in two hours. Leave your Pokémon behind. Any police, and Frederick will do to her what he’s done to himself, only much faster. Am I understood?”
Alex promptly hung up on the man, rage clear on her face. He didn’t want her to bring any Pokémon; that wasn’t a surprise, given that the four of them hadn’t used Pokémon in their past meetings with her. She wouldn’t have used any either; this was a fight between people, not a simple Pokémon battle, and she was inclined towards treating it as such.
She sat down and ate her snack, but even as she ate, she found herself considering how the day had gone. This morning, she’d learned that the man who’d come close to raping her sister had been murdered in prison. Alexander mentioned a contract; she could see Nullen being stupid enough to arrange a hit in prison, and she could just as easily see him being killed by Alexander and his associates. As she finished her sandwich and downed the last of her drink, she rose to her feet and made her way back to her room.
The first time she’d faced Alexander and his associates, she’d only gotten away with unexpected help, a shattered arm and bruised ribs in the bargain. The second time, she’d defeated them, but only with help. The third time, she’d crossed paths with them during her time in Orre, and defeated them again, albeit without help. She knelt down at her bed and retrieved her swords, and quietly decided that they’d gone too far this time. Threatening her was one thing; threatening her family another entirely.
This was the fourth time her path had crossed with theirs, and she’d heard a long time ago that four was not a lucky number in certain corners of the world. One way or another, she wouldn’t face these bastards again.
It was time to end it.
-
“She cheated! She had to have cheated!”
“Isabelle, she didn’t cheat! Let it go!” Melanie groaned in frustration as she listened to her friend rant and rave. All she’d wanted was to get a cup of coffee or something and take her friend’s mind off what had happened, but she found herself dealing with the blonde’s anger and rage over losing to someone she’d hardly taken seriously. “Seriously, Alex went in there with a plan and well-trained Pokémon, all of which were equal to yours! She played to their strengths! Carrying on like this isn’t going to do you a damn bit of good!”
Isabelle grumbled. “I’ve been training Pokémon longer than she has; thanks to that overprotective bitch of a mother of hers, she started late! How can someone who started late match someone who’s been at it for years?!”
“Gee, maybe she trained really hard and got some pointers from her sister?” Another groan as she massaged her forehead. “Seriously, you need to let this go and…”
“Let this go?! Hell no! I’m finding her and getting a rematch! There’s no way she can…!” Isabelle paused as she caught sight of Alex riding a bus down a nearby street, winding her way eastward. She then grinned. “Well, that’s convenient. Come on.”
“Wha…?” She barely managed a protesting whimper before following her friend, knowing that this would only end in tears.
TBC!
Lilycove City’s normally pleasant weather seemed far less pleasant than normal, grey clouds lazily sweeping overhead and adding to a gloomy atmosphere. Cass wasn’t sure whether that was an ill sign of things to come or simply the weather being unusually appropriate, but she wasn’t too concerned. She was just glad that it was warm enough that she didn’t need to wear a jacket as she walked through town, hoping for a quiet morning and little attention…
“Excuse me! Cassandra Gale! Could I have a moment?!” Those hopes were dashed as she found herself rushed by a lean reporter, a camera man trailing behind him. “Dirk Garland for Hardline News! I want to ask you some questions about the death of…!”
Her answer was prompt. “No comment.”
Undeterred, the journalist continued to follow her. “Listen, people are asking questions about the death of Edward Nullen in his prison cell. No puncture wounds, no sign of strangulation; speculation points to poison.”
“And I’m not the medical examiner. Even if I was, I wouldn’t say anything until…”
“Your sister once killed Jackson Canmore, who was arrested for…!”
That tore it, and Cass turned to face the reporter. “I know what he did!” She glared at him with an intensity that she wished could scare him off, helped by her being several inches taller than him, as she explained, “Yes, my sister killed a man, who’d kidnapped her as an infant and who’d hired assassins to kill her years later. The courts consider it a case of self defense and she was never charged. Do I think she had anything to do with the death of Edward Nullen? No. Now leave me the hell alone, you worthless paparazzo, or…”
She paused as she realized the man was gasping for air, and backed off as his cameraman was attacked from behind, a knife going into his back. She ran as the camera dropped and fell to the ground, only to stop and find herself looking into the spectacled eyes of a tall, long-haired man, a katana pointed directly at her chest. “I’d advise against leaving, Ms. Gale.”
“Yeah!” Her hands were immediately bound behind her even as she attempted to struggle. “I love the taste of fear in your thoughts – I’d hate for it to go away!”
Cass had never met them before, had never so much as considered meeting them in the past, but she’d remembered her sister telling her about the second band of assassins that had crossed her path, the ones that had actually managed to do more damage to her than Canmore’s assassins had. Despite her understandable terror, she calmed herself enough to defiantly remark, “Whatever you’re planning, you won’t get away with it. Alex…”
“Your freak bitch of a sister got lucky.” Garland’s neck was snapped as the telekinetic stepped forward and glared at their prisoner. “Three times. She won’t be lucky a fourth time.”
“Search her, see if she has a cell phone.” The fourth, the scarred one, briefly frisked her with a scowl before producing the required item from one pocket and handing it to his leader. Alexander flipped it open with one hand as he stored away his sword, then pulled out his own phone and dialed the first number on speed dial.
-
The home phone rang at the Masters family residence, and Alex groaned, having sat down for a quick snack of a homemade submarine sandwich and hoping that it wasn’t another interviewer. She got up and answered, “Hello? Masters residence.”
“Alexandria Masters. Congratulations on your meaningless acquisition of eight badges; I’m afraid you won’t be doing much with them.”
She remembered his voice with crystal clarity, pains of memory flashing through her right arm as she remembered the first time she’d crossed paths with the man she was talking to. Her own voice turned cold as she answered him. “Alexander. Tell me, are you still punting Poochyenas or have you graduated to stealing candy from infants?”
“We have your sister.”
Her cold tone turned frigid and venomous. She didn’t even need to hear her sister’s voice to gain confirmation of the threat. “Let her go. She’s nothing to you.”
“We have a contract. Even if the one we signed it with is dead, we will honor that contract, unless you do exactly as I tell you to do. Come to the Lilycove Harbor alone in two hours. Leave your Pokémon behind. Any police, and Frederick will do to her what he’s done to himself, only much faster. Am I understood?”
Alex promptly hung up on the man, rage clear on her face. He didn’t want her to bring any Pokémon; that wasn’t a surprise, given that the four of them hadn’t used Pokémon in their past meetings with her. She wouldn’t have used any either; this was a fight between people, not a simple Pokémon battle, and she was inclined towards treating it as such.
She sat down and ate her snack, but even as she ate, she found herself considering how the day had gone. This morning, she’d learned that the man who’d come close to raping her sister had been murdered in prison. Alexander mentioned a contract; she could see Nullen being stupid enough to arrange a hit in prison, and she could just as easily see him being killed by Alexander and his associates. As she finished her sandwich and downed the last of her drink, she rose to her feet and made her way back to her room.
The first time she’d faced Alexander and his associates, she’d only gotten away with unexpected help, a shattered arm and bruised ribs in the bargain. The second time, she’d defeated them, but only with help. The third time, she’d crossed paths with them during her time in Orre, and defeated them again, albeit without help. She knelt down at her bed and retrieved her swords, and quietly decided that they’d gone too far this time. Threatening her was one thing; threatening her family another entirely.
This was the fourth time her path had crossed with theirs, and she’d heard a long time ago that four was not a lucky number in certain corners of the world. One way or another, she wouldn’t face these bastards again.
It was time to end it.
-
“She cheated! She had to have cheated!”
“Isabelle, she didn’t cheat! Let it go!” Melanie groaned in frustration as she listened to her friend rant and rave. All she’d wanted was to get a cup of coffee or something and take her friend’s mind off what had happened, but she found herself dealing with the blonde’s anger and rage over losing to someone she’d hardly taken seriously. “Seriously, Alex went in there with a plan and well-trained Pokémon, all of which were equal to yours! She played to their strengths! Carrying on like this isn’t going to do you a damn bit of good!”
Isabelle grumbled. “I’ve been training Pokémon longer than she has; thanks to that overprotective bitch of a mother of hers, she started late! How can someone who started late match someone who’s been at it for years?!”
“Gee, maybe she trained really hard and got some pointers from her sister?” Another groan as she massaged her forehead. “Seriously, you need to let this go and…”
“Let this go?! Hell no! I’m finding her and getting a rematch! There’s no way she can…!” Isabelle paused as she caught sight of Alex riding a bus down a nearby street, winding her way eastward. She then grinned. “Well, that’s convenient. Come on.”
“Wha…?” She barely managed a protesting whimper before following her friend, knowing that this would only end in tears.
TBC!