Pokémon World Online

Part 43: Grim Prospects

Disclaimer: I don't own the usual and I don't own Grim. He belongs to Moya.

ooo

Twilmer opened her eyes as she yawned; stirring from her peaceful night's slumber...only something wasn't right. A dark fabric seemed to ensnare Twilmer. She struggled as hard as she could to no avail. "Help! Hey! Help!" Twilmer shouted becoming more and more panicked.

"Uhh," Helium blinked as he watched Twilmer struggle under his robe. He lifted it up and Twilmer tumbled out.

"Thank god, you saved my life, Helium," Twilmer smiled. "Wait, when did you get so big? Oh no! That shroud must have been a hacked item! It's shrunken me!"

"Twilmer, that was my robe," Helium blinked, confused.

"I know the problem here," Trellaine yawned as he walked over to the two. "She hasn't realized that--"

"I'M A PICHU!" Twilmer shouted.

"--that she's a Pichu," Trellaine finished.

"Why the HELL am I a Pichu again?" Twilmer asked, tapping her little foot impatiently.

"I forgot to mention since this charm is only half and only half as powerful, since you are too lazy to fix it at my tower, that there are time restraints," Trellaine explained.

"Meaning?" Twilmer asked with anger rising.

"You can't stay in your true form twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. It won't let you stay as a human for as long as you would like," Trellaine explained. Twilmer slumped over looking quite depressed. "Cheer up and have an orange," Trellaine tossed her one.

"May as well make do with what I have," Twilmer sighed, using her tiny rodent teeth to bite the peel off.

"Can't a guy get any shut eye around here?" Drix groaned as he sat up, awakened by the commotion. Caesar fluttered his wings in annoyance, but went back to sleep on Guy's head, which he was using as a perch. Guy was still snoozing peacefully. Twilmer scowled up at him over her orange. "Rather moody this morning, aren't we?" he asked, stretching so that a popping noise could be heard from his back.

"Drix, shut up or I'll make you shut up," Twilmer growled, sparks coming from her cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want," Drix said, yawning. "Now what's for breakfast? Wait, let me guess, oranges."

"Look, if you want to jump into my bag and find something else from the fruit vendor's warehouse I steal from, go right ahead." He held his bag open, "no takers? Then have an orange." He pulled one out and tossed it to Drix. He placed a thoughtful hand to his chin as he looked at the Salamence pendant attached to Drix's large sword. "You know, you're pendant could be at full power once again if you absorbed all the power from Drix's." Everyone looked at him.

Twilmer looked at Drix and knew she could not and would never ask to drain the power out of his amulet. It just wouldn't be right. Drix seemed to tense at this suggestion, but Twilmer waved it off. "I'm not that much of a bitch," she smirked.

The scent of oranges seemed to have stirred some of the other party members. Emily23 woke up, rubbing her eyes. Lopunny woke up as well. Max, however, was still snoozing. "Good morning, everyone," she said with a yawn. "So where are we off to today?" she asked eagerly, hoping they would pass near a town. Trellaine handed her an orange as she went to stand with the rest of the party. Victoria had taken to eating the peels, though grudgingly. She hungered for a fresh egg stolen from a nest. She was then surprised by the fact that she could feel hunger as she never had been able to before.

"Drix and Aura knew someone who might be able to get us into the Dialga and Palkia event, right?" Twilmer looked up at the swordsman.

"Oh yeah," he commented idly, nibbling on his orange. "Anyways, don't ask me about that bastard; Aura is the one who knows more about him than I do." Drix spat an orange seed onto the ground.

"You don't seem to like him; what happened?" Helium asked.

"Nothing really. I just met him enough to know he hates me as much as I hate him," Drix said nonchalantly.

"Why does he hate you?" Helium asked.

Drix nodded towards Aura, "My guess is that he had a crush on her, and hates me because she dropped out of the top 10 and then started hanging out with me more." Drix shrugged.

"That sounds like a stupid soap opera." Twilmer crossed her little arms.

"Yeah, well, with all that happens with the higher level gamers, you could probably write a soap opera," Drix smirked.

"Why is that?"

"Well mostly 'cause all the quests, events, and such that we do are only available for us, so you pretty much meet each other all the time. And as a high-level player you don't associate with most lower levels." Drix explained. He then noticed Emily23 standing behind Trellaine slightly. "Hey, Em, about before..."

"It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're talking to me," she interrupted with a smile. She knew he would never be able to apologize, but this was enough for her.

"Okay glad that's over and done with. Now, it seems we need Aura to get to Zero, but she's asleep," Twilmer sighed.

"Then I guess I'll have to wake her up," Drix grinned evilly.

"How do you plan to do that?" Twilmer asked with a small smirk of her own.

"Watch and learn." Drix grabbed the bucket they had used last night to put out the fire and poked Max awake to fill up the bucket.

"Oh I don't know if it's such a good idea." Twilmer mused, but the mischievous look in Drix eyes proved he was determined enough.

ooo

"Damn it," Aura cursed, falling to her knees in defeat. Sparia, her Prinplup, was standing beside her, worse for the wear. Her opponent stripped her of one of her rare items and walked away. She cursed again, slamming her fist on the ground. She had been careless and her carelessness had cost her the fight. She wallowed in her self-pity for quite some time until the sound of soft footprints on the grass around her made her look up. Despite PWO not having been out very long, this gamer had the appearance of an old man. Aura was intrigued as she stood up, slowly due to the fact that she had not yet cured herself since she had been wallowing in her defeat, and observed the old man.

"You there, gamer," the man heralded. He had a Japanese accent. Aura began to walk over to him, stumbling a bit from a leg injury. "You seem to be quite a sloppy fighter and unprepared as well. Out of potions already?"

Aura growled as she pulled one from her inventory and healed herself and Sparia. "No, I just hadn't healed myself yet. Why should I need to explain that to you, old man?" Aura asked, furrowing her brows.

"Do not judge me by my looks, young woman. Just because I am old does not make me any less able to fight than yourself. Even if my skills were what my age would imply them to be, I could still easily defeat you. You appear to be sloppy and very brash."

"You dare insult me? I'll make you eat those words." Aura gritted her teeth and charged forward, swinging her towards the old man. He easily dodged it and pulled out a thin sword of his own. Aura snorted at the small size as the sword she currently had was rather large and showy. She swung at the sword, hoping that hers would break the small sword, but the old man dodged again. "You're fast for an old guy."

"And you are slow for a young woman." Aura growled and lunged towards him. He used his thin sword to block the attack and easily threw her off balance. He then rushed forward and held his sword at her throat; Aura not daring to breath. Aura dropped her sword. The old man nodded, satisfied, and backed off. Aura rubbed her neck and refused to look at him, both angry and sad at having lost yet again that day.

"I underestimated you," Aura admitted with a shrug. "It was a grave mistake to make. Take one of my rare items and go."

"Your attitude pleases me. You lost and instead of wallowing in self pity as you did last time, you appear to be willing to accept and learn from the mistakes you made." Grim considered her and then smiled, tossing her a potion.

Aura looked at it in surprise."You don't need to--"

"Drink it and get up. I want you to face me again."

"Again?" Aura looked at him incredulously, taking a few sips from the potion.

"Yes, but this time concentrate. You react without thinking. You also rely too much on the size and appearance of your sword. A plain, small sword can work circles around a large blade if the bearer knows how to work it."

"What are you getting at, old man?"

"The name is Grim. I would like to teach you the way of the sword if you will let me."

"Why are you rewarding me when I lost?" Aura cocked her head in confusion; the empty potion bottle disappearing from her hand.

"Your attitude shows that you can improve greatly. Something tells me that these sword skills will become very essential for you later on. Also, you remind me of myself back when my father was first teaching me the way of the sword." Grim grinned at her and she nodded. "Now come at me with your best shot."

ooo

An outraged scream pierced the silence of the morning. Twilmer didn't even know that Aura was capable of making a sound like that. Guy jerked awake, scaring Caesar. Aura stood up, soaking wet and pissed off. Drix dropped the bucket, paling at the murderous look on her face. She gave him a look that a lion must give a gazelle before he kills it. "YOU ARE SO FUCKING DEAD!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, not pleased at being woken from her nostalgic dream. Her black hair was plastered to her forehead, her wet clothes clung tightly to her body, and an annoying cold chill ran through her. Her hands began to move towards her katanas, but she stopped them. There was no sense in killing a party member now since they needed the numbers, but once this was all over, Drix would get his punishment.

"Errr..." Twilmer mused, earning herself a death glare. Meanwhile, Drix was nearly toppling over with his laughter. "Did you make any contact with that Zero guy?"

She merely glared, taking off her soaked vest and twisting it to get the water out. "He's training in the Coronet mountain range, but he agreed to meet us halfway there at Koom Valley."

"Koom Valley?" Trellaine interrupted suddenly. "Isn't that obvious Discworld reference?"

Aura shrugged. "I guess some of the programmers had to put in some of their custom content. Looking at you and Twil, I say the programmers could put whatever the fuck they wanted in this game. Either way, he will meet us, but..." She stilled for a second, wondering. "He's not the type of person to do something out as a gesture of kindness. There's usually some profit in it for him so, I doubt he will help us out...or at least not for free."

"Drix says he had crush on you." Emily23 smirked, and then giggled as Aura swatted the swordsman over his head with her icy cold vest.

"We used to hang out together when we were both in the Top Ten. Then I... had to leave PWO." She fell silent for a moment. "When I came back he was way over my level and we couldn't do quests together anymore. That's how I've met this asshole." She pointed to Drix.

"So, we meet in Koom Valley, then? It's not that far." Twilmer felt a little wave of relief wash over her. They started to get ready for departure.

"And you," Aura hissed, jabbing a sharp finger at Drix's arm. "Do anything like that ever again and you can forget about more moments like last night."

ooo

As the party busied themselves getting ready for departure and meeting up with Zero, she walked through the trees to the spot she had agreed to meet with Grim. She saw the old man walking over to her; arms full of bags of healing items. "Do you know how much money I had to spend on these? I bet you are not even grateful, woman." He looked up at her fondly, face betraying his harsh tone. "It is good to see you again, Eskarine. I had grown worried. You never leave your apartment anymore. The newspapers are piling up on your doorstep."

"Ken Yamanka, there's no need to worry about me. I've just gotten caught up in this huge mess." Aura picked through the bags, organizing them neatly in her inventory.

"So I've heard. You sure know how to land yourself in some interesting messes. Are you still using the two blade technique I taught you?"

"Of course I am and it's saved my ass more times than I can count; especially recently. Thanks again for the supplies, Grim." Aura tossed the bags back to Grim, who put them in his inventory.

"Don't mention it. Now good luck and don't forget to keep candles with you in case of storms," he teased. Aura rolled her eyes and waved to him as he used a warp stone to teleport away.

"Old man," she smiled, walking back through the woods to the party, another memory washing over her.

ooo

Aura jumped and quickly dodged an attack sent towards her. She did a flip in the air and landed with her katanas held out to her sides. She blocked the small sword Grim thrust towards her. She gritted her teeth as she defended against a flurry of his own attacks. Finally she saw an opening and took it, knocking the small sword out of his hands. "That's enough for now." Grim picked up his sword and placed it back into its sheath. He pulled out a handkerchief from his inventory and wiped his brow. "You are showing a lot of improvement."

"I'm glad I did decide to train with you. My level is soaring through the roof. And with all this training, you have to be high enough to be the tenth member of the top ten." Aura sat beside her master on the grass, a gentle breeze cooling them after their sparring match. The sun had just begun to set and was painting everything a lovely hue of orange below.

"I seriously doubt that. You see, I am only level thirty five." Grim pulled out two potions, tossing one to Aura.

"What?" She exclaimed, nearly dropping her potion. "You're only level thirty five?" Aura had not realized her trainer had been at such a low level and yet he had mastered each sword skill perfectly. She had never thought to check his level either, assuming he was well over her own.

"It's not the level, but the skill." Grim took a sip from his potion, which was satisfyingly cold.

"But you have such stamina and your skill suggests you must have been training nonstop in this game, but you're level is so surprisingly low..." Aura trailed off, having yet to uncork her own potion as she rolled it back and forth between her hands.

"Ahh, you see my parents owned a dojo in Japan before they moved to America after World War II. My father taught me everything he knew about swordplay and respect and so the skills just came naturally to me in this game. I am old and not able to move around well without a cane in real life, so this game is a pleasant release from those limitations and be able to wield a sword like I once did. I used to be a martial arts teacher myself." Grim smiled at her shocked expression. "Now drink your potion before it gets warm."

Aura obeyed as she watched the old man with renewed respect. He must have been through a lot in his life. The two spent the rest of the evening swapping stories between breaks from sparring matches.

ooo

Aura emerged on the other side of the woods, walking towards the small rag tag group of gamers. Somehow the fate of many things had become their problem. What a fine mess they had gotten themselves into. "Hey Aura!" Drix popped out of nowhere, scaring the swordswoman out of her thoughts. She snarled and threw her still drenched vest at him hitting him in the chest before storming off ahead.

"Koom Valley isn't that far ahead, come on," Aura stormed forward, leading the way. Everyone shared a chuckled behind her back as they followed behind. Most were relieved to finally be on the move again.

ooo

A particularly nasty thunderstorm was brewing outside. Eskarine was glad that she and Madeline were safe indoors. She stood to get a snack when a lightning strike hit very near her apartment and the power flickered off. "Just fucking great," she hissed. She hadn't even thought to get any candles and lord help her if she could remember where the flashlights were. She sighed and walked towards the front door. "I'm going to ask the neighbors if they have any candles," Esk called over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her.

She walked to the door right beside theirs and knocked. She could hear someone shuffling around inside. Soon the door opened and an old man with a cane appeared at the door. "What can I help you with?" he asked, looking up. Aura could have sworn she recognized that voice, but shook it off.

"You wouldn't happen to have any spare candles I could borrow, would you?" Esk asked, slightly embarrassed. She saw the old man had already set up several around his apartment.

"Ahh, yes I do. One moment please," the man nodded and began going through his drawers. As he did, Eskarine couldn't help but look around. She noticed an online gaming helmet sitting next to his computer and his apartment had many different swords hanging around as decoration. Suddenly something clicked. "Here you are," the old man returned, handing her a bow of small candles.

"Thank you, Grim." She smiled. The old man looked up at her and shook his head with a grin.

ooo

End Part 43

Just back story and some plot.