DISCLAIMER: .. / -.. --- / -. --- - / --- .-- -. / .--. --- -.- . -- --- -. .-.-.-
DISCLAIMER #2: I do not own Age of Empires and am in no way affiliated with the various parties who do.
"(Ugh! I can't stand this!)" moaned Staraptor.
No matter how far away Sceptile, Noctowl, and Staraptor moved from the party, the noise just seemed to follow them, until it became a deafening roar in their ears.
"(What's that?! I can't hear you!)" shouted a disgruntled Noctowl.
"(I said, I can't stand this noise! I'm leaving!)" Staraptor shouted back.
"(WHAT?! I can't hear! The party is too loud!)"
Sceptile was already pushed to his limit from the noise, and seeing the two bickering Pokemon threw him over the edge.
"(Both of you SHUT UP!)" he shouted angrily as he grabbed a wing from each them and started roughly dragging them toward the fence that bordered the lab. "(We're getting out of here!)"
The celebration was just heating up at Ash's house. Several of Ash's friends had already showed up and were catching up on events. Everyone was in a good mood. Well, almost everyone.
Ash was sitting in a corner, pretending to listen to Richie narrate his recent adventures in Hoenn to an attentive Max.
"I guess she isn't coming. But I shouldn't be so surprised. She's probably competing in some contest in Johto right now. She probably forgot all about me," he thought sadly. "She's probably really happy, being around Drew all the time." He sighed. "I need to stop being so selfish. I should be glad that she's probably really happy right now. Who am I to decide who she can and can't love?"
His depressing thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He stood up slowly, and trudged over to the door, forcing a smile onto his face as he opened it. To his immense surprise, May was standing in front of him.
"(Tell me again, why we are doing this?)" asked a grumpy Sceptile.
"(Still grumpy? I thought getting away from all those drunken savages would've been enough to calm you down,)" said Staraptor.
"(Now, let's not call our friends that. It makes them sound like barbarians,)" said Noctowl soothingly.
The trio was hiding in the bushes across the road from Ash's house, looking through the windows at the gathering within. While they were supposed to be plotting their next moves, they were really arguing amongst themselves.
"(What's so bad about barbarians? The Mongols were my favorite civilization in Age of Empires II,)" said Sceptile.
"(Personally, I preferred the Turks. I would wreak havoc with their gunpowder weapons! My opponents would learn to Ph34r t3h [\/]igh+j 5t4rap+0r's l33t 5ki11z!)" declared Staraptor.
Translation: My opponents would learn to fear the mighty Staraptor's elite skills.
"(Normally, I would berate you two for getting us off track, but since we're talking about video games, I feel I must contribute to this conversation,)" interjected Noctowl. "(My favorite civ was the British, because of their longbows. A5 j00 \/\/0u1d 5aj, I 70t411j 0wnz3rd mj 3n3mj'5 4zz.)"
Translation: As you would say, I totally owned my enemy's ass.
"(Ha! Any fool can use the British, or as they are really called in the game, the Britons. I+ 74k35 a tr0e [\/]a5ter 2 p14j a5 t3[-] 7ur[5.)"
Translation: It takes a true master to play as the Turks.
"(Umm… guys, you may want to look at Ash's house now,)" said Sceptile, interrupting Staraptor and Noctowl's little debate. The two swiveled their heads around just in time to see May pull Ash into a hug.
The three were silent for a moment.
"(Wow, this may actually be easier than we thought!)" said Staraptor.
"(Or maybe not…)" said Noctowl as he noticed how nervous Ash appeared to be in the embrace.
Finally, May broke off from the hug and went to greet her other friends, leaving a dumbfounded Ash standing behind her.
"(Yeah… he's going to need a lot of help,)" observed Sceptile.
Ash was still standing as May had left him, his mind on overdrive.
"Did… did that actually happen? I could dreaming right now, or something. That's it, I must be dreaming! Or maybe it was just a friendly hug, between friends. Yeah… between friends…" He was so lost in thought, he didn't notice the thin vine that wriggling its way underneath the front door.
"(Okay, I'm almost there,)" said Sceptile, as he concentrated on controlling the vine that was sprouting from the ground in front of him.
"(Are you sure this is a good idea? If you lose concentration, Frenzy Plant will go out of control,)" said Noctowl.
"(Yeah. The last thing we want to do is end up killing somebody,)" added Staraptor.
"(Well, maybe if you guys didn't talk to me, I could concentrate better!)" growled Sceptile.
"(Sorry!)" responded Noctowl and Staraptor simultaneously.
Now, the vine was sliding along the floor, unnoticed by the attendees. And then, it found its target, and began wrapping itself around May's ankle.
"(Are you sure this is a good idea?)" repeated Noctowl. "(Harming our trainer's crush doesn't make me feel too good.)"
"(I know what you mean. My conscience is giving me a beating right now,)" said Staraptor. "(But we're not gonna seriously hurt her, right? Just one little tug to the ground.)"
Ash was still lost in his thoughts when he heard a shrill shriek behind him. He turned around just in time to see May fall to the ground. But when she fell, she grabbed the closest thing to try and steady herself, which turned out to be the punch bowl. Unfortunately for her, it couldn't support her weight, and tipped over, covering May in red raspberry fruit punch.
"(Wow, that did not go according to plan,)" said Sceptile guiltily.
"(Yeah, I don't think getting May doused in fruit punch was part of the plan,)" replied Staraptor sarcastically.
Ash was at May's side instantly, and helped her to her feet.
"May, are you okay?" he asked, even though it was obvious that she wasn't.
"I'm fine, Ash. Just little wet," she replied, beet-red from embarrassment. Neither of them realized that they were still holding hands. This fact was not lost upon the spies across the street.
"(They're actually holding hands!)" cried Staraptor.
"(Hmm… It seems we succeeded after all,)" mumbled Noctowl.
"(Well, if this is what it takes to get them to hold hands, I'd hate to find out what it takes to get them to kiss,)" thought Sceptile out loud.
"(Relax, we'll cross that bridge as we get there.)" Staraptor waved his wing dismissively. "(Armageddon can't be too hard to pull off, can it?)"
"(No, it can't be too hard,)" said Sceptile thoughtfully. "(But we didn't finish the Age of Empires II debate from earlier. I 7hi[\]k +3h 7ur[ 4nd Bri+0[\] ci\/i1iz47i0nz sux. 7h3j d0[\]'+ [-]4v3 4m4zi[\]g c41v41ry 4rch3rz 1i[3 +3h [\/]0ngo1z.)"
Translation: I think the Turk and Briton civilizations suck. They don't have amazing cavalry archers like the Mongols.
This remark only caused more squabbling, which became so intense that the trio didn't notice a certain green haired boy walk up to Ash's house and knock on the front door.
