"For
the things which make the most difference to anyone are always achieved
by an accident..."
Chapter 1
The moon shone high above the silence. Silence
broken by footsteps, out of time with themselves, heels clicking along
the pavement.
A woman, the night not helping to see her,
walked as silently as could be done down past gardens of darkened houses,
most with boards over windows, some derelict, all definitely not empty..
At the end of the road to which she was
walking, sat the verge of a mangled piece of grassland.. The local park,
possibly, but good for nothing at this particular time..
Nearer to her then that, the road went both
left and right.. and footsteps, more, could be heard from those sides..
A small noise from the right hand side gave nothing away; the woman kept
walking knowing exactly who they were..
Unnoticed before, parked on the grass was
a rather stocky black van.. The woman noticed it now, though, and her step
picked up, unlike the others.. However, upon reaching the edge of the road,
she stopped, looked both ways to where the other footsteps were coming
from.
The others there evidently saw her, as their
moving picked up too. Two figures came from either side, quickly, stopping
at either side of the one before, who quickly glanced around, before turning
to one of them.
"You have it..?" her
aquiline voice said, lightly..
"Right here." The heavy
voice preceded a movement in the dark, and a small gleam shone off a polished
object held by him, in the little light there was.
"Good." She turned towards
the car. "So they haven't got an excuse now.."
Almost on cue, one of the doors at the back
opened. The headlights of the car flicked on as he did so, offering light
where once there was none, on the small group.
Three were men, two women. The one that
had walked up by herself was wearing the only hint of clothing colour,
in a blue blouse under a greyish-black jacket. The others were composed
of all-condition clothing, of varying greys.
One of the men to the right thought angrily.
He did have better here to do then to play scavenger hunt with a bunch
of people who he'd never actually seen.. but, he trusted the word of Estelle,
and thus he was here, waiting for a time he wouldn't know, that did come,
but not as was expected.
The windows on the large car opened, revealing
not faces, but the barrels of machine guns. Two of the group reacted instantly,
turning just as the others were realizing what was happening, probably
because it was happening through them. The one lost in thought had the
thought filled full of a bullet or twelve, as the two that had parted the
group sprinted past slow-following gunfire back the way Estelle had come.
Sure. They would have played this routine,
object for object.. However, the stakes had just been raised, and if they
could get out of gunfire, they could get what they wanted back. Perhaps.
The low drone of beating wind rushed from
behind them. She didn't look back; he did, and avoided becoming the proverbial
pillar of salt. Helicopters, and pretty well armed, judging by the knowledge
of what they knew of the group. Three had gone, and that left two. But
they would end up with more. The man licked at a small graze on his hand
as the two kept running.
"Should we fight this
lot?"
"You've seen what we're
up against. You tell me."
"I-"
"We fight then. It's
settled."
You knew someone had a way with words when
they could make you doubt what you knew to be a fact about them. Estelle
Fielding was one of the people gifted with this. To what good it was sprinting
down a darkened street pursued by two helicopters and a large car, no-one
would ever know; but the unknown ways were always the best. At least, she
thought so.
As they went forward, a row of gardens came
up; with rather large hedgerows.. Perfect for getting out of view.
"I go left, you go right.."
she said, quietly.
"Okay then.." the man
said lowly, as the two then veered away from each other, diving over their
respective hedges, as two large airborne units overshot the area. The running
of the car was still visible, it's headlights with seeing eyes that reached
very far ahead of their position.
Estelle plucked a ball from the belt.. It
was the only one she had; the only one she needed.. Her gaze shifted to
it, along it, around it as she tossed it into her lap... It's white containment
swirled around outside the opened ball as it came to shape to on the young
woman's lap, the gradually forming shape of an adult ninetales.. a weird
insignia in metal was glazed onto it's forehead.. She sat, as if she had
full knowledge of what was hand... Perhaps she did. Either way, the woman
bent close to the wolven ear and spoke, "Two air units, one ground vehicle..
armed to the balls.. and three down." The ninetales jolted at that last
remark.. a feeling of perhaps more feeling then what should have appeared
then... but Estelle knew the price of this.. "Mourning comes later.. For
now, we concentrate on staying alive..."
The unnamed people at the car had pretty
evidently driven towards the other two.. Sure, they went over the other
three.. but then they weren't out to make this clean.. They had a job to
do. The car sped ahead, lights following the two until they diverged..
"Move it! Get to them
before--" but the person was cut off by a blinding wall of light which
flare up on either side of the bush for a second or two before becoming
blackness again, the helicopters resweeping over that area to mark the
loss of light... "...Shit..."
Another man spoke into a radio device..
"You two best find them.. we didn't get them all, and I doubt we'll get
them now.."
The doors opened, and the group of six split
out of the various areas of the vehicle..
"We have to split.."
said one, before all of them went into preplanned directions, slipping
into shadows, trying to find the elusive two that they didn't manage to
do the first time...
But it wasn't there they wanted to be looking...
The helicopters didn't climb, staying fairly
low, scanning the ground as much as they were able to do.. So much were
the operators busy doing that, they didn't notice their doors open...
One of them thought he did.. at least, he
turned around.. and then just stopped, in sheer surprise.. Staring him
back in the face was something not really human at all.. though it had
a similar shape, it was definitely wolven.. The ninetales-morphic's eyes
held a cocky look to them, long braided red hair hanging either side of
the smiling face onto clothing of placid grey..
"Thassit! Take a niiiice
long look... Be the last thing you ever see, heh!" Her pawhand raced forward,
plunging a fiery claw-digit into each of the pilot's eyes..
Estelle got out the way she came in, perching
on top of a building, as the craft she had just been in started to spin
around and around... Guy musta hit one of the pedals full on, as the second
helicopter raced past, wondering what the hell happened there..
Of course, he wasn't safe either.. The passenger
he had gained, which happened to be all but a mass of black, had him in
such control as even if he looked behind, he wouldn't see him... The burakki-anthro
exited a similar way, before the plane took a u turn, and in some form
of kamikaze, headed straight for the other aircraft.. a light grin crossing
the darkie's face as he watched the collision and explosion that followed...
And so did the people on the ground... However,
they also say the two exits made... and promptly ran in that direction...
"Just like lambs to the
slaughter.." muttered Estelle, as she clambered the quick way down a fire
escape.. She needed to make it back up to where the others had fallen..
but, there were the few in her way... She fanned her tails; some action
was always good to come by, as she walked around the side alley where they
were bound to appear any time soon...
A guy appeared; alone, always fun.. He saw
the blow just as Estelle gave the guy a new mouth.. He dropped, but was
followed by another, predictably enough.. This one actually had the
nous to fire first and ask questions later... only a bout with agility
managed to keep her from being hit... Until the ever-fateful click of an
empty gun sounded. The man stood, motionless in the seemingly empty alley..
"..I got her..?" he mumbled,
half-hopefully... until an area of the alley lit up with flame... The girl
had migrated from two legs to four, and sitting there growling now was
a ninetales, but she was at least as big as the guy itself.. And all he
could do was freeze as she ran up, and gave a final bite to someone with
not a chance at all...
She then stopped, and reversed it, so far..
A muzzle became it's former small self; sizes rearranged; digitigrade paws
became feetpaws.. all was fine, she was bathed in a rather eerie glow...
Until the not fully reformed nine'morph turned around.. to look muzzle
to muzzle at something different; a gun. Held by a person number three.
"Bye bye, toots." called
the trigger, as shots rang.. The form broke to two.. the smaller one, the
top one, fell back.. reforming again as Estelle's ninetales, which pooled
red across the floor... Estelle had by now entered a fit of rage, and sliding
the first guy's gun up with her feet, dealt the man several impressive
blows with it's butt, running the guy into a wall, dazed... before loading
whatever was left of the magazine into the guy's head, with silence coming
after a click..
Astonished, Estelle turned back to where
her pokémon, her friend and ally, lay in her own puddle...
"Damnit... This was the
last thing I needed..." she said... But she halted.. as from the distance
rang out some shots, then a loud cry.. more like a shout really.. And she
knew that voice straight away. It was the sound of pain coming from a burakki-morph.
"...Alex?! Oh god, no...
this is just.." Estelle nearly broke... but common sense told her if Alex
had been downed, then there were still some others about.. And without
her ninetales, she was pretty much helpless... She picked up the body of
the wolven pokémon, before exiting the alley.. This had gone too
fast.. they were too careless... But right now, she needed to get out of
there, so she did; she ran, past the alley, the bushes, the car......
It seemed like an eternity later.. she reached
what was left of the others.. dripping her ninetales' lifeblood behind..
but they both knew there was nothing doing.. the heat from the firetype
was beginning to die...
The girl, her front slightly stained, she
not caring... she didn't know what to do... The five of them had been wiped
so easily... it was impossible... But.. if it didn't happen now, it would
happen later... Or so she kept herself going...
Riling through pockets of bloodied jackets,
she was looking for an intact pokeball.. the ones inside would be dead
by now, but she needed something.. Something... like that, as her hand
clasped around one...
Desperately, she tossed it out... The reclined
figure of a vaporeon presented itself.. A weird look crossed the vap's
face as he looked at Estelle, as if to say ~Why did you call me out
here.. you're not Chris..~ Of course, it took the vap mere moments
to look down, and notice she was standing in pools of blood, and other
things.. and she lay down, there and then.. Chris was dead.. and he didn't
look up as Estelle walked to him..
"Complete annihilation..
Look at it, it's a pathetic sight.." Estelle placed her hand atop the vap's
head.. "And I hate to make it one more, as well.." as her fingers touched
the alike insignia, a cool disc of metal.. solid to the touch.. "I have
to reform a group again.. but I need this as well; I've only got the one..
and well, you're bound.."
The vap shook his head, and looked up solemnly..
then just nodded.. He knew about this part.. she needed two of the units
to make more.. He placed his paws on either side of his head, sitting on
haunches.. then turned, keeping paws where they were... trying to show
something..
"You want.. by neck rather
then just remove the unit.." Estelle sighed.. removing the unit wouldn't
kill the vappy.. but he'd rather be dead then mentally incapacitated, the
proverbial vegetable.. as removing the unit was likely to cause...
A paw tapped at her.. His look was stern,
but solemn; ~You get those who got Chris..~ Then he just stood there,
and looked at Estelle for a while... Silence took the area like a thin
veil... Estelle placed a hand just under each ear.. the coldness of the
vap reflected something not far away now... "Someone has to forgive me
for this one..." She closed her eyes.. the vap said one last sigh.. and
then she spun the vap's head about nearly one-eighty, in a sudden movement..
Two straight clicks and a crack, and the vappy fell sideways, a trickle
present from both nostrils and mouth.. Estelle added another, with a large
tug on the disc.. which came off easily, with no tensed muscles keeping
it secure.. She then plucked the one from her already dead vappy, and placed
them into a pocket on her all-weather top.. which she zipped up.. before
hearing what she took to be the returning of the others from further down..
and sprinting away down the road going right.. leaving the area in complete
darkness...
