Coronya Airlines Number 475 flew through a cloud bank. The silver jumbo tilted slightly, passing over puffy bumps and ridges formed by thousands of tiny water droplets.
It was an evening flight, but the destination didn't seem to be a popular one. A great deal of seats on the 747 were empty, the drink tables folded up, the mini computers shut down, the magazines undisturbed.
A few seats were occupied. A kid with spiky orange hair could just barely be seen in first class, drinking a soda while reading a magazine. A Japanese businessman sat across from him, sound asleep. Back in coach, near the front of the compartment, a fat woman with a polka dot dress was feeding Cheerios to her baby. A little girl with pigtails sat next to the woman, clutching a giant blue stuffed dog. A lanky Texan with a wide brim hat sat in the row behind her, picking his teeth.
Across the aisle was a giant panda. It was so monstrous that it occupied two seats. It hunched over a magazine, squinting at it as it turned the pages with its immense fingers. Behind it sat a dark looking man in a loincloth with a bone through his nose. A four foot gray cat in a leather jacket and orange sunglasses sat next to him.
A red haired girl in a blue shirt sat in the rear, next to the bathrooms. She rubbed her clammy hands on her jeans, staring at the strange passengers. The man with the bone in his nose stared back at her with a vacant, unpleasant expression.
The cat smiled. It hopped down from the chair, padding over to a seat next to the girl in the blue shirt.
It sat down, smiling at her. "Hi!"
He pointed to his sunglasses. "How do you like my shades? I bought them online from Harley Nook's. They're from the movie, Pillowfight Club. The exact same ones that Jack Fluoride wore on the airplane. Aren't they cool? Of course they're cool, aren't they? I mean, Jack Fluoride wore them, so they've gotta be cool, right? Well, anyways, I'm going to Gardenia for the Pelican Tournament. I hear they've got Pokemon trainers coming from all over the world! Isn't that cool? At least I think it's cool. Anyways, that's where I'm going. I've got front row seats! I'm gonna sit up there, behind the glass, and watch every exciting battle from start to finish! I don't think I'm even going to sleep!"
He took a deep breath. "Well, goodness me! I'm doing all the talking! I didn't even ask you your name!" He offered his paw. "My name is Tangy. What's your name?"
"Kyisha Kyagu."
"HA HA HA!" Little bubbles popped up in the air around the cat's head. "That's a funny name!"
Kyisha just stared at him.
Tangy winced. With a sheepish grin, he said, "Of course, it's a great name! I would have picked it myself! In fact, I once had a cousin with that same name!"
Kyisha rolled her eyes.
"So...ah, Kyisha...where are you going? You're going to the Pokemon tournament, aren't you? Ah, I can see it in your eyes. As a matter of fact, I noticed you checking in some Pokeballs at the airport earlier. What kind of food do you normally feed your Pokemon?"
"I usually feed my Pokemon the food I make them," said Kyisha. "Because I can cook good enough so they like the food I give them."
Tangy's mouth fell open, his eyes becoming quite large. "Wow! You're a cook? That's awesome! Maybe you can enter the Poke-Foods Competition going on during the tournament!" He grinned. "Good for you! It's a really good thing that you cook the food. I hear there's at least a hundred and fifty brands of Pokemon food that have been recalled due to poisoning issues. You really lucked out there." He paused. "So you cook, huh? Did you hear about Fufu's Master Chef Competition? People from all over are coming to Gardenia to register for it."
"No, I didn't hear about it." Sheesh, Kyisha thought. This cat has verbal diarrhea!
"I think you should enter. It would be a great experience, seeing all the people, taking in all the sights and smells..." Tangy took a deep sniff, as if breathing in the aroma of something. "I can taste all the great food right now." He stared at the seat in front of him. "It's lonely on these flights. I often sit by myself or next to some stranger. It makes me uncomfortable a lot of times, so I often bring along a book." He looked at her again. "I sure like stories about talking animals, don't you?"
"Kinda," Kyisha replied.
"That's good. So do I." He buckled himself in the chair, then reached into a pocket on the seat, taking out a pair of earphones. "You know what? Gardenia has a great radio station. I like to stay up late at night and listen to Phantasmo's Zone of the Unknown. I just love that program. Ohhh, but it's creepy!" Tangy shivered. "Sometimes I have to wrap blankets around myself extra tight and sleep with the lights on after I listen to him!" He paused. "I think it would be great to work at a radio station just like Phantasmo, though. All you have to do is sit in front of a microphone and talk and they pay you for it! Isn't that a great idea?"
"Kinda," said Kyisha.
"Well I think so, too. One of these days, I'm going to send them an application."
"And, by the way," she said faintly, "Yes, I am going to this tournament."
Tangy nodded. "Cool." He put the headphones on, listening to a program for a little while.
"This is the captain speaking," said a voice on the intercom. "The air is going to get a bit rough for a few minutes. Please keep your seat belt fastened."
The cabin shook a little, but it wasn't anything frightening.
The cat turned to look at her again. "I have a Legend of Zelda cartridge in my suitcase. I love fantasy games. Do you like fantasy or quest games?"
"I like both fantasy and quest games but I don't get time to play them anymore because I'm usually traveling," said Kyisha.
"That's cool," said Tangy. "I'm usually traveling myself, but I have lots of portable games so I never miss any of the exciting action! What about scifi? I mean, Space Battle 3 just came out. I think it's a great movie, but not as good as part 6. It's a shame that Richard Schmelton released the first three movies after he made..." Tangy began sweating. "I mean, you know what I mean, right? He made three movies, then he released three prequels that were actually the first three, and...oh!" Tangy rubbed his head. "It makes my head hurt just trying to figure that one out!" He grinned. "But I really love those movies! All of them!...What did you think about them?...Oh, I bet you don't even like science fiction."
"I like science fiction but, I've never heard of Space Battle 3," said Kyisha.
"I can't believe you've never heard of Space Battle. It's only the most famous science fiction movie of the twentieth century!" He shrugged. "If we meet again after this ride is over, remind me to take you to see it. It's a great movie. I've seen it ten times already." The cat took out a small silver box, typing something into it.
Kyisha stared at him.
"This is a BXP. Do you know what that is?" Seeing Kyisha's blank expression, he said, "It's a Barcode X Portable. With the BXP, I can get all sorts of cool items. And I never know what they will be! One time I scanned in a bag of Iams dog food and got a skull shirt in the mail. Isn't that wild?"
"Yeah, it is kinda wild," said Kyisha.
He glanced at her. "I don't think you understand how cool a BXP is. You can just take any old item that's laying around in your OOC house and type in its serial number and you can get a free item inside the game! You don't have to buy a thing!" He looked back and forth, to make sure nobody was listening. "But, of course, you have to actually have the item you're typing in. I mean, if everybody just typed in random numbers and asked for a prize, then nobody would know what the real item was that they used to receive their bonus item!" He frowned. "Sorry, I just get annoyed about people who try to power game when they don't even know what a game is about in the first place. But anyways, I have a BXP right here! Would you like to try it out and see what free item you can get?"
"No thank you."
Tangy's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You can really nab some sweet prizes with this thing!"
Kyisha nodded.
Tangy frowned. "Oh, c'mon. You haven't even tried it yet! Here. Let me give you a little demonstration. You won't even have to lift a finger." He pushed some buttons on the device. "In RL, the Game Master has an empty container of Gatorade Frost. The serial number is 052000336528. I'll just type the number in, and..." He pushed the button. "Okay, now you have a special item waiting for you at the airport. I hope it's something good!" He grinned.
"Have you ever been to Nook's Casino?
"No, I haven't."
"It's a really great place. They've got all sorts of games, an arcade, a buffet and everything! It's awesome. I go there every chance I get. What about you? Do you like to gamble any?"
"Have you ever been to Nook's Casino?" said Tangy.
"No, I haven't."
"It's a really great place. They've got all sorts of games, an arcade, a buffet and everything! It's awesome. I go there every chance I get. What about you? Do you like to gamble any?"
"I'm not really interested in casinos...I don't gamble either..." Kyisha said.
"Oh. I bet it's for religious reasons, right?" He grinned. "That's okay. There are some churches there, too. Why, there's even chapel right on the corner of the Pokemon center!" Noticing Kyisha's expression, he frowned. "I'm talking too much, aren't I? I am talking too much, right? I'm sorry."
"No problem." she said happily.
Kyisha opened a red sphere from one of her carry-on bags.
With a sudden flash of light, a Mightyena, a strange husky-like canine appeared next to Kyisha.
"Hey, Rain."
The Pokemon put its front paws on her lap and she started to pet him. He happily enjoyed this.
Tangy's mouth fell open. "Hey! Where'd that thing come from? Did you just pull that out of another dimension or something?"
"No, it was one of my Pokeballs," said Kyisha.
"Oh." Tangy frowned. "You really scared me. Next time, warn me before you do something like that." Tangy took out a piece of gum and began chewing it. He offered it to Kyisha. "Gum?"
"What flavor is it?"
"Tuna."
"Yuck. No thanks." The plane tilted downwards, dropping through the clouds. The forests and farms and cities grew larger and larger in size. Kyisha's ears popped.
There was a bump as the plane's landing gears settled down on the runway. The cabin shook. The passengers were subjected to a series of rolling bumps, then the plane slowed. Outside the window, one could see airplanes, mobile staircases, and baggage cars.
About ten minutes later, they stopped.
A voice came on the intercom. "This is the captain speaking. We are now at GIA. You may safely unfasten your seat restraints and proceed to the front of the plane. Please make sure to take all children, purses, carry-on luggage and other items with you as you exit the plane. And thank you, once again, for flying with Coronya Air."
In the next few minutes, passengers began crowding into the aisles with their bags and personal items. Tangy scampered over to his original seat, digging a bright yellow bag out from under the chair. He went up to Kyisha, waving to her. "It's been nice meeting you, Kyisha. If we're lucky, we might even meet again sometime. Of course, normally when you meet people on a plane, you never see them again." He shrugged. "But I'm going to buy you a cool gift, just in case we meet again. I hope you can find me." With that, he scampered down the carpet and out the exit. He was gone before she could ask where to get the free bar code item he'd ordered for her. Kyisha took her bag out from under the seat, checking its contents.
The bag contained special revitalizing potions for her Pokemon, Pokemon vitamin supplements, a Pokestyler, as well as fifty dollars in traveler's checks, and fifty American dollars.
She had a Mightyena and a Bayleef's Pokeballs in there, but nothing else would fit. A lot of the items were in her suitcase. She had a baggage claim ticket in her pocket, so that was okay.
Kyisha grabbed her things and walked out of the plane. She walked past the ticket desk and looked around.
She was at Terminal 17-B Gardenia International Airport, Gate 33C. The terminal was swarming with people and bizarre creatures of all shapes and sizes. Some rode on wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, or trams. There were people with babies in strollers. A row of shops lay across the hallway from the gate. From her current position, she could see Nook's Boutique, a Garbucks, LeClass, Kirk's, MacDunkles, Lemon's, some restrooms, and a huge hallway. There were televisions and vending machines all over the place. A lot of the televisions were showing GNBC, a cable news station, but there were a few showing other stations. There were telephones, internet computers and wireless hotspots, bar code machines, soda machines, vending machines, a Pokemon kiosk, and lots of hard plastic chairs full of strangers.
Tangy sat in one of the chairs. He had a pair of headphones over his ears, and a goofy grin on his face. He tapped his toes and wagged his tail to whatever he was listening to. A group of animals stood near an escalator, passing out fliers. Their shirts read CFM.
A massive crowd had gathered at one end of the hallway. Kyisha couldn't see much of what was going on from her vantage point, but she saw steam coming up, and there was a banner above their heads reading `Poke-Foods Cooking Demo.'
There was a scream. Kyisha looked up. It was difficult to tell if the scream came from the program on GNBC or from somewhere in the airport.
A voice, sounding like a baseball announcer, began speaking on a loud intercom. "Um...it's not a very good idea for you to, like, accept strange gifts at airports, unless they come with the official Gardenia Bar Code. If a stranger asks you to hold their briefcase or something, um, I don't think you should take it, or something, because it might have a bomb inside. But if you are lucky enough to get something with an official Gardenia Bar Code, or something, it might be okay (I guess). Just don't let any terrist, ter, um, those bad guys, give you anything, okay?"
Kyisha went outside, wandering down a street, trying to figure out where to go.
Kyisha paused for a moment and thought for a second. "Oh, shoot! My bags! I almost forgot!" she said to herself, running back to the airport. She went in and went to the baggage line. A sky blue bag was bumping along the conveyor below the dropoff hole. At first, she didn't recognize it, since it had a red stain on the bottom. But nobody else had a bag like that. Kyisha guessed that the baggage handlers had tossed around the bag in a rather brutal manner, and the berries were probably all smashed. She scrambled along the belt to retrieve it. She pulled the handle out and rolled it alongside her.
I wonder if I have everything this time... she thought to herself.
She left there, stopping in front of a small cafe. It was called Choy's, and they served tea and egg rolls.
Looks more calmer than the airport...
She opened the door and went in. There was an old lady behind small bar in front of her and tables everywhere else. She could see a door that probably lead to the kitchen. The old lady smiled at the sight of Kyisha.
"Hello," she said, "Welcome to my cafe."
Kyisha smiled and said politely, "Could I get a cup of sweet tea please?"
"One minute, please," she said as she went through the door behind her.
She opened up her backpack, grabbed her notebook and her mechanical pencil. She started to write a letter. When she had written half of a page, the old lady was back holding a cup with steam over it.
"Thank you." Kyisha said as the old lady put the cup in front of her.
"You must be new in town." she said.
"Yes," Kyisha said with a sigh.
"You don't have to pay for that then." she said happily, "My treat."
"Okay..." She said, sipping at the tea, "This is delicious."
"I don't get that much anymore..." the old lady said to herself. She went back around the bar and through the door once more.
Kyisha looked around. She was at Terminal 7C. It looked basically like 17-B. Besides Choy's, there was a row of other shops. Woolywood's Smokehouse, Fisherman's Wharf, The Papermill, a gift shop, Mizzio's Pizza and another Nook's Boutique. Across from her, Kyisha could see a Pokemon Information Station.
"Hey! There you are!" said a familiar voice.
Kyisha looked down and saw Tangy. "Hey."
The gray cat smiled, offering a colorfully wrapped gift box. "I forgot to give you your bar code item." He handed her a card. "And this is the official Gardenia bar code for it. Never accept a strange gift at an airport without one of these."
Kyisha took the gift. "Uh, thanks. I guess."
Tangy waved goodbye. "Tootles!" He scampered out of sight.
Kyisha stared at the package. She had no idea what was inside. The tag on the outside only said ? She stowed it in her bag.
There was a loud scream. Kyisha turned and saw a crowd of bears in airport security uniforms running past her. One of the bears stopped in front of her, talking into his walkie-talkie. "This is 308. I'm in front of Choy's at Terminal 7. What's going on?"
"308," said the monotone female voice on the radio. "There is a dangerous monster at baggage claim. Use extreme caution."
"Baggage claim?" said Kyisha. "But I was just there!"
"Monster appears to have come off the runway and is now attacking airport personnel and customers. It appears to be sick. If it cannot be captured, please destroy it at once."
"Ten four," said the bear. He ran off down the hallway.
Kyisha sighed and drank the last of her tea. She stowed away her notepad and pencil. She grabbed the handle to her backpack and walked quickly to baggage claim.
I hope I'll be able to do as I can, she thought. Seeing that I was trained under Claire...
Claire was an expert Pokemon trainer. She'd been on television programs about using Pokemon as watchdogs and guardians against criminals. She hoped the training would come in handy.
A mob of people and odd creatures rushed past her as she hurried down the escalator. She pushed through a flood of customers and came to a baggage conveyor.
A black shape had settled over the conveyor, its huge hairy body blocking up the luggage dump chute. The thing had sixteen legs, and glowing red eyes. The conveyor was stopped, its sliding steel plates scattered around on the floor among shredded rags and bone fragments. A burning mechanical smell hung in the air, mingled with a strong spicy odor. A security agent stood at each wall, aiming their weapons at the beast. Everyone else had fled.
One agent opened fire. The beast uttered a low growl. Big globs of white slime poured out of the creature's wounds. A great black head edged under the fluorescent light, opening its mandibles. A long tentacle shot out, wrapping around the bear's body, and he was dragged toward the conveyor.
"Get out of here!" someone shouted behind Kyisha.
Kyisha turned around. "What?"
A security agent was there, gesturing to the escalator. "Go! Now! Hurry!"
Kyisha heard a munching sound, then a scream. She turned and saw a ripped security uniform hanging from the monster's mouth.
Kyisha found herself being pushed to the escalator.
Shots were fired. There was another scream.
Kyisha looked back. Now only two agents were left.
Author's note: I don't write PBEM roleplaying games like normal people. Mine are more like novels that people occasionally add lines to, and I try very hard to make game mechanics flow with the story. This piece is part of one of those games. My co-author, Kyisha Kyagu, seems to have disappeared after the last section of this story, so the plot will stop abruptly after a few chapters until I can figure out that part.
I have a few chapters to go before we get to that piece, so get ready to enjoy some serious cheese.
I did most of the writing, my player only providing the main character's actions, which explains the distracting side trip to the tea shop and the reference to Claire, a character I'm not familiar with. It's also heavily influenced by Animal Crossing, making it a very strange version of a Pokemon game.
