Foreword: The reason why this came so late is because originally, I had another episode prepared for the seventeenth slot. Unfortunately, I thought it was WAY too soon and decided to finish it but go on to prepare another episode seventeen. The release of the OTHER prepared episode, however, will be postponed until somewhere in season three.
Okay, so let's back up and look at why this episode is so late again. I have five REALLY good excuses:
1. It usually takes me a week (average) to finish one episode, so finishing two would take two weeks.
2. My teachers are sadistic. 'Nuff said.
3. I'm in the process of moving my blog off of Geocities (who had been giving me problems with poor This Side Up for awhile) to the most reliable server I know: Lothlorien(dot)nu, owned by a friend o' mine, Allie. (Bow down to Allie! NOW!!)
4. Writer's block is bad for you.
5. I had short addictions to the SNES games, Harvest Moon and Magic Knights Rayearth. So sue me. -_-
Okay, now, why did I feel it was necessary to make two episode seventeens in the first place? Because the original episode seventeen revealed things such as what Bill's destiny really is, why this ties in with Apollo and Ash, and Keios and Zero's history, all of which would have come WAY too soon. It would have explained the next few episodes, but it's not worth it. You'll just have to wait for season three, where the story changes flavor and things start to make sense. ^_-
In the meantime, I present to you the NEW episode seventeen! ^_^
***
Episode 17--
On Your Own
Bill rested peacefully, allowing the remaining AS7 to be eliminated inside his body without any sign of this occuring. The night around him was just as tranquil and quiet as he was in his sleep as the Cheshire's Smile*1* glowed brightly among delecate pixies in the dark blue-black heavens of summer.
Save for the soft chirp of a cricket and the occasional hoot of a Hoothoot or a Noctowl, not a sound shattered the night, even from any other room in the building. Jude remained in her bed, dreaming about cute, male punk rockers singing about her. Ash and Pikachu slept side by side in their room, dreaming about food and winning Pokémon battles, respectively. Even Ziggy was in sleep mode, dreaming about... Well, actually, when she's in sleep mode, Ziggy doesn't dream.
In any case, we return to the master bedroom where the Prime himself dreamt about... strange things. Such as... Zero?
He realized he was no longer dreaming, but instead staring into a deep void that one would experience between dreams.*2* But in this void, he heard her voice drift through the darkness. He almost felt her spirit caressing the back of his neck with her long, thin hand as she whispered in his ear with that voice that almost sounded like the way one would if they spoke from within a giant, hollowed glass onion.*3*
"Bill, come with me. Shift and join me," she whispered.
"Zero... I don't know if I can," he replied, remaining still. "The AS7--"
"--Had been destroyed inside of you by your own light," she finished. "There is nothing to worry about. The glitch's effects on you are permanent. Nothing can take your powers away from you. The AS7 only proves it. Now, come..."
She was gone. He could feel it. He remained still for a moment before finally pushing out of his body.
~~~
He came to and realized he had successfully shifted into some Pokémon at the edge of Zero's lake. He managed to get up and gaze at his reflection for a moment. Ninetails.
The image ripped for a moment before he saw a piece of white material. His eyes drifted up, into those of Zero. She knelt down so both pairs of deep eyes were level before someone spoke.
{Aren't you going to call for Ziggy, Ash, or any of the others?} Bill inquired.
She smiled and shook her head. "No. This concerns you and you only, though you may think it involves everyone because everyone is tied so close to you." She frowned slightly. "Apollo thought the same way when I told him what I am about to tell you."
{What is it, Zero?}
"Now is the time I send you on a quest," she told him softly. "During the following time, you will gain complete control over your powers. After going on this quest, you will be able to not only control when you shift but also, if I reveal a place and a Pokémon, where you shift to and into what. You will be among the elite shifters. A shifter master."
{I see,} Bill responded. {But... Why are you telling me this now?}
"The time is fast approaching when you will fufill the most challenging part of your destiny. However, to be able to do this, you will need to control your shifting. I couldn't tell you earlier because it wasn't needed. However, if I told you too late, then you will have no chance against the darkness."
{Where do I have to go?}
"You will journey west of here, to the mountain on the Johto-Kanto border, Mt. Silver. In Mt. Silver, deep in the heart of the cave there, Silver Cave, there is a follower of mine, Red, and it will be he who tells you what you need to know. However, getting there will be far from easy, which is why I have chosen this skilled Ninetails to be your host. Its speed will keep you from capture, and its own supernatural powers within its nine tails will keep you alive and well. My Pokémon followers will protect you if you run into any other trouble you cannot handle."
{Zero, out of curiousity, could you possibly tell me what about my destiny requires this?}
"You will learn about that when the time comes. Now go."
Zero turned around and walked into the lake, eventually vanishing into the darkness. Bill watched her until she did this, then paused. Finally, he looked up to find Polaris and used it to tell him where west was before beginning to walk in that direction.
~~~
Jude knew when she woke up that something wasn't quite right. It was much too quiet.
Sophie*4* had been dismissed not long after Jude, who was a VERY good cook, came to live at the lighthouse. Still, Bill had the habit of attempting to cook breakfast before Jude got there first (mostly because he was convinced that he could cook decently if he just followed the recipe carefully... regardless of the fact that his cooking still wound up like a Grimer on a plate even WITH the recipes). So, even during his recovery, Jude would hear an explosion or a loud (but short, of course) string of curses coming from the kitchen, no doubt caused by the kitchen klutz she knew as her brother.
Strangely, however, this morning, she heard nothing.
She got out of bed and slowly made her way to the kitchen before peeking inside. Sure enough, Bill wasn't there. Jude blinked for a moment, then made her way over to Bill's bedroom.
"Bill?" she addressed as she pushed the door open. "It's seven in the morning. Aren't you usually up by--"
She stopped short. He wasn't here either. Or at least, he didn't appear to be.*5*
Yet, there was a depression on his bed, as if there was something on it.
Quickly, Jude ran into her room and grabbed her watcher equipment before darting back into the master bedroom. She had a hunch, and this was one way to find out if she had been right. She slipped on the visor and looked hard at the bed, only to discover Bill stretched out on it, as if he were still asleep.
"He shifted," Jude muttered. "Dammit! And I didn't know about it! Hmm... I wonder where he went, though. Better check Ziggy..."
As if on cue, Ziggy appeared with a yawn.
"No need to check me," Ziggy told Jude dully. "I wanted to check you."
"Huh?" Jude cocked her head. "What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know where Bill went."
"Wha...?" Jude blinked. "But... But you're his watcher! You should know!"
"I know," Ziggy replied with a worried tone. "But Bill shifted, and Zero won't tell me why or where to. Without a hint from Zero, I could be looking for your brother 'til he comes back himself."
"Don't you have a tracking device on him or something?"
"Sure, I could track him, under normal circumstances, but right now, Zero's even taken the time to... cover him up so I can't pick up on him."
"Why would she do that?"
Ziggy gave her a worried glance. "I don't know, but trust me, I'm just as worried about Bill as you are."
"So... What should we do?" Jude asked.
Just then, her COM device beeped. She looked at it and sighed with frustration.
"Hold the thought. The rookie has to shift," Jude said bitterly as she walked to Ash's room.
Jude knocked on the door and waited. Not long after, Ash opened it and yawned.
"Morning, Jude," he mumbled.
"Cut the chat; you've got to shift," Jude told him bluntly.
"Can't it wait until I've had some breakfast?" Ash groaned.
Jude held up a fist. It was just too early for her to deal with something like this.
"Shift now, or I'll serve a knuckle sandwich with a side eggs, sunny-side-up and spiced with blood," she threatened.
"I hate sunny-side-up eggs."
"Go, you moron!"
Ash rolled his eyes. "Geez! I'm going! I'm going!"
He closed his eyes and shifted out.
"One of these days, I'm gonna kill him," Jude growled.
"Hmm... You know, Bill once told me about an old saying that said, 'You hurt the ones you love,'" Ziggy commented. "Now I know why. You want to hurt Ash so badly, you must really like him!"
Jude screamed, "WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO HOOK ME UP WITH THAT STUPID, BABYISH TWERP!?"
With a final growl, she pressed a few buttons on her COM device to locate and contact Ash.
~~~
'I'm still hungry,' Ash thought as he woke up inside his host.
He found himself in the middle of a forest, next to a child no doubt only about eight years old, fast asleep with a backpack under his auburn-haired head.
{I wonder if he's got anything to eat,} Ash muttered to himself.
"Dear god! Don't you think about anything BESIDES food!?" Jude snapped as she appeared behind him.
{Yeah! Winning Pokémon battles!} Ash replied.
"Ugh! Thank god there's only one of you among the people I'm forced to hang out with," Jude muttered before glancing at her COM device. "Okay, so, you're in the body of a Teddiursa belonging to Henry, the little boy who's sleeping over there. He ran away from home because of a little argument with his parents, and it's up to you to figure out a way to persuade him to go back home. It seems easy enough, but there's a catch."
{What?}
"He's lost too."
{GAH! Can't you tell me which way to go?}
"If I knew, you'd just get lost again," Jude replied. "Besides, I'm sadistic."
{I'm starting to wish I had Ziggy.}
"Good. Then start your mission and see if I care."
{What?}
"He's waking up, so I'll see you later."
{Hey! WAIT!}
Unfortunately, Jude vanished. Ash, however, remained behind to growl in frustration.
~~~
Jude took off her watcher equipment and put them on her bed. Ziggy, in the meantime, remained there, watching her.
"Geez, do you have to be so hard on him?" Ziggy inquired.
"Yeah," Jude replied. "It's for his own good."
"Really? You know what Ash's 'good' is?" Ziggy muttered with a smirk.
Jude ignored the innuendo. "I just want to be a good watcher, and if he can't keep up with me as a shifter, then hard luck."
"You know, I'm thinking it's more than that."
"What do you think it means, Ziggy?" Jude inquired with a warning glare and her teeth clenched.
"You know, Bill and I joke around, saying that you two would make a good couple, but maybe you're just venting your own frustrations on Ash," Ziggy told Jude thoughtfully. "Do you want to talk to Ziggy about it?"
Jude's look softened. "No, not right now."
"Are you sure? It would make you feel better. Besides, Ziggy's a good listener!"
"Nah. You wouldn't want to hear it."
Ziggy shrugged. "Okay, but just remember, you can always talk to me about girl things. I might have been programmed by and spent most of my time with a guy, but I'm great with girl talks."
"Thanks, Ziggy."
Jude began walking out of her room, headed for the kitchen. Before she did, however, she turned around to see Ziggy still there.
"By the way, Ziggy..." Jude said. "I finally see how Bill can call you the perfect companion."
Jude disappeared through the doorway, leaving Ziggy to stay behind to grin a bit.
"Aww... He DOES care..."
~~~
Ash's stomach wasn't the only one that growled. So did Henry's. And apparently, they were fresh out of food... and money to go with it.
"Oh..." Henry groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have run away from home... But I won't go back! There's no WAY I'm going back there!"
{Wish I knew why you didn't want to go home so much,} Ash muttered, half to himself. {I'd go home too if I had nothing out here, not even Pikachu.}
"But my parents are so strict!" Henry exclaimed, as if answering Ash's question. "They won't let me go out on a Pokémon journey! 'Not until you're older,' they say! Well, there's a lot of people who get their trainer's license when they're my age! What about me!?"
Henry's look softened.
"But still... I miss them..."
He turned back to Ash.
"Teddiursa, I want to go home!"
Ash jumped up and grinned broadly. {GREAT! That's great to hear, Henry! Then let's go!}
"I guess you're happy that you get to go home too," Henry said.
{Of COURSE I am! Can't you tell!?}
Henry sighed. "But I can't go back."
{Huh?} Ash stopped and cocked his teddy bear head. {Why?}
Henry burst out crying. "I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH WAY IS HOME!!"
At this point, Ash fell over.
{Oh yeah!} Ash said somewhat painfully. {I forgot he's lost too!}
~~~
"Hey, Ziggy!"
Ziggy appeared beside Jude again as Jude sat at the kitchen table (half ignoring her breakfast), pressing buttons on her COM device.
"What's up, Jude?" Ziggy blinked.
"Are you getting information from Zero that can help Ash out?" Jude asked. "You know, such as where Henry's parents live."
"Sorry, Jude, but Zero says that Ash is going to have to get a hang of this shifting business REALLY soon," Ziggy replied. "So she won't tell even me about any sort of information. I guess she wants us to get used to figuring things out on our own and with the help of each other."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Maybe she knows something big's going to happen, but she won't say what."*6*
"Hmm..." Jude thought for a moment. "Hey, did you find out where Bill is?"
"Unfortunately, that's another piece of information Zero won't give me yet," Ziggy told Jude with a sad sigh. "She says that Bill has to work through his latest mission on his own."
"But... You're his watcher!"
"Yeah. I know that. But apparently, this doesn't matter."
Jude growled with frustration.
"Yeah, I know how you feel," Ziggy commented as she cocked her head.
~~~
Ash and Henry had been wandering around the forest for literally hours, and the boy STILL can't find a single thing he remembered on the way in. No unusual trees, no ledges, nothing. Both were totally clueless to where they were.
"Teddiursa, do you think you can remember where we came in?" Henry finally asked.
{WAH!} Ash jumped, then looked frantically around. {Uh... Can I remember the way in...? Uh...}
"No?"
Ash rubbed the back of his head with a paw. {Sorry.}
Henry groaned, then slumped down to sit with his back against a tree. He drew his knees up to his chin and began to cry.
"I should never have run away from home..."
Ash groaned and sat down.
{How am I supposed to get Henry home when I don't know where his home is to begin with...?}
{Psst!}
Ash looked up into the branches of a tree to see Artemis in it, on his side along a branch with his head propped up by on of his paws.
{Artemis?} Ash blinked.
{Apollo and I used a little persuasion to get Zero to tell us where Henry has to go,} Artemis explained in Pokémon tongue. {She finally told us that there's a road west of here--} Artemis pointed towards Ash with a clawed paw. {--which will take you to Henry's hometown. When you reach the road, turn north and keep going until you reach the first town outside of the forest. That's where you have to go.}
{It's good to find USEFUL help,} Ash commented, thinking of Jude.
{Hmm. I'll take that as a compliment.} Artemis grinned. {Now get going before your charge makes a watering hole.}
{Got it! Thanks again!}
Ash ran west, pausing only to hear Henry stop crying.
"Hey! Teddiursa! Where're you going!? Wait for me!"
Henry got up and ran after the Teddiursa, who had continued to run.
Artemis was left in the tree to watch the shifter and the charge run off. The white sneasel narrowed his eyes in thought.
"I know I should leave this to Jude, but maybe I can tell her all that I know and still keep an eye on Ash..."
Artemis sat up and slid off the branch, vanishing halfway to the ground.
~~~
Only a few hours later (I say hours because, well, let's face it -- Ash just isn't the type of person you'd want to guide you through the forest, even if you love the guy to death.), the Teddiursa burst through a row of brush and literally stumbled upon a wide, dirt path.
"Great job, Teddiursa!" Henry complimented as he too walked through the brush and onto the path. "You found the road!"
{Alright!} Ash reacted cheerfully as he stood back up and froze. {Did Artemis say go north or south...?}
Artemis, who remained hidden in a tree nearby, slapped his forehead with a clawed paw.
"I remember now!" Henry exclaimed before jumping up and down. "We were going south before I saw a Yanma and before we went off to try to catch it!" At this point, Henry turned north. "I think this is the way home!"
{At least one of us does,} Ash said with an embarrassed tone.
Henry began running back home with his Teddiursa chasing after him.
{Hey! Wait for me!} Ash cried as he ran after his charge.
In the tree, Artemis sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "No wonder Jude gets fed up with him so often..."
~~~
Jude watched through the COM device. So far, so good. Ash wasn't messing up his assignment the way Jude had feared.
All of a sudden, she heard a noise coming from somewhere in the main hall. Grabbing one of her PokéBalls, she slowly crept out of the living quarters and spied on those who had just broken in.
Bonnie stood behind a Forretress, watching it break down the door to the cellar.
"Hurry up, you twit, before McKenzie's got enough time to do something!" she ordered.
The Forretress growled, backed up, and rammed again into the door.
"Can I help you?" Jude asked.
Bonnie gasped and looked over her shoulder.
"Well, look at the little sweetie, thinkin' she's a match for us," Bonnie taunted. "Sugar, why don't you leave us alone and go play with your li'l dolls?"
Jude narrowed her eyes. "I don't DO dolls."
"Hmph! What a rude little girl!" Bonnie sneered. "Clyde, why don't you use your host to teach her some manners?"
Forretress growled and turned away from the door with a menacing glance.
"Ooh, so you want a Pokémon battle, huh?" Jude smirked. "Sounds like fun! Go! Flareon!"
Jude threw out her PokéBall, allowing one of her two favorite Pokémon (the first being Cyndaquil) to burst forth from the sphere and confront its new opponent.
"Clyde! Spikes!" Bonnie ordered.
Forretress glared at her and growled.
"Well, if you're gonna feel that way about me giving you orders, then go ahead and order yourself around, sugar!" Bonnie snapped angrily. "I'll stand right behind you when you screw up!"
Clyde ignored her and attempted to Tackle Flareon, who, in the process of the argument, used Sand Attack. The Forretress, of course, missed.
"Alright, Flareon!" Jude smiled. "Use Flamethrower!"
Flareon breathed in and shot a jet of fire at Clyde upon exhaling. The bug/steel type burst into flames, after which he ran around, giving sharp cries before finally using Self Destruct close to Flareon. The fire type was knocked off its paws and into Jude's arms as the pinecone Pokémon flew literally through the roof and into the sky.
Bonnie remained behind.
"I've got more Pokémon," Jude threatened. "Some of which are stronger than my Flareon. Now, get out of here before you end up just like your partner."
"Not until I get what I want, sugar," Bonnie replied. "And I ALWAYS get what I want."
"Hmph. Brat."
"You may think that way, but it's better to be rich and spoiled than poor and without anything!"
"Tch. Then what do you want?"
Bonnie smirked. "I want Bill to come with me, darlin'."
Jude narrowed her eyes. "You're too late."
Bonnie blinked. "What? What are you talkin' about!?"
"He's not here," Jude replied as she stuck out her tongue.
Bonnie burst out laughing. "You honestly think I'd fall for that!? Sugar, it takes more than THAT to trick a beautiful goddess like me!"
Jude glared at her as Bonnie picked a PokéBall off her belt.
"Now, I'm gonna make you talk, little girl!" Bonnie announced.
"Starmie! Ice Beam!"
Bonnie was hit squarely in the back by a single beam of cold light. She immediately froze up in a block of pure ice.
"Starmie! Get behind the Antiwarp agent and blast her out of her with Bubble Beam!"
The Starmie obeyed its master, sliding through the doorway and around Bonnie so that the southern girl remained between it and the door. From Starmie's red core, a solid stream of bubbles shot out, pushing the block of ice across the floor and out the doorway.
Jude suddenly found a figure in a dark cloak standing beside her, spraying Hyper Potion on her Flareon.
"Thanks," Jude muttered. "But who are you?"
"I am Apollo," the figure replied. "You hadn't met my human form before, but I'm sure you know me through your brother. I'm one of those who kept him out of trouble."
"Oh. I guess I should thank you for that too," Jude thought aloud as she set down her Flareon, who was already squirming in her arms. "So, why did you come here?"
"Zero wanted me to," Apollo replied simply. "I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling we all will find out soon enough."
"Do you know where Bill is right now?" Jude asked.
Apollo turned to look away from Jude. "No. She said he needs to go about this on his own."
On his own...
Jude's eyes widened upon realizing something.
"Oh god! I left Ash all alone on his mission!" she screamed as she bolted back to her room.
Apollo sighed. "She and the young one have much to learn..."
~~~
"The young one" looked over the quaint little town which lay in the valley before him. Henry looked nervous.
"Teddiursa... I don't want to go home now," Henry said as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
{What...?} Ash blinked incredulously at him.
Henry turned around and began walking back down the road.
{Oh, no you don't!}
Ash jumped forward and blocked Henry's way back.
{Alright, Henry!} Ash began. {We just made our way through a forest in a day, walked countless miles, pushed through a ton of bushes and brush, and even SKIPPED LUNCH, all to get you back. And now you're telling me that you DON'T want to go home!? Listen, when I skip a meal, it's to do something important! Don't tell me that all of a sudden, this isn't important to you!} Ash pointed a claw at Henry. {It's about time you went back home, and I'll take you there! Your mom and dad are worried sick about you because you're just way too young and not even close to being ready for a Pokémon journey! You're going back home, and you're staying there!}
Apparently, Ash overlooked the fact that Henry couldn't understand a single word he just said. He realized this when Henry stared blankly at Ash's claws and replied, "I take it you want me to go home, huh?"
{Yeah!} Ash responded, angry that he went hungry for nothing.
Henry paused for a moment, then sighed and looked at the ground. "I guess you're right. I should just go home. Besides, I don't think I'm ready. Our time in the woods told me that." Henry looked up and smiled. "Yeah! I'll wait until I'm older and when we're both a little stronger! Then, we can both go out there and cream every Gym Leader from here to Olivine City!"
Henry turned and (literally) marched back to his home. Ash grinned and shifted out.
~~~
Jude looked over her shoulder to see Ash shifting back in. Ash remained flat on his back for a moment.
"Jude, you owe me two meals!" he announced.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Bite me. How's that?"
"What!?" Ash sat up abruptly. "HEY!!"
Jude grinned spitefully. Ash growled before sparking an argument between Jude and himself. They continued as Apollo, Artemis, and Ziggy walked into the room and stared blankly at the two.
"They argue as if they're siblings," Apollo commented.
"How does the Prime put up with this?" Artemis asked.
Ziggy, who previously had her arms crossed and her eyes closed, opened one eye at Artemis and replied, "He has an incredible amount of patience."
~~~
"So, what did you find out?" Crocus questioned with her back turned towards Bonnie and Clyde as the battered duo stood in her office.
"We tried to capture McKenzie himself, but apparently, he wasn't at his lighthouse," Bonnie explained.
Crocus turned around and pounded her desk in anger, causing Bonnie and Clyde to jump, yelp, and hug each other.
"Imbeciles!" Crocus snapped. "I sent you to McKenzie's lighthouse to find out just how many other shifters exist, not to capture the son of a bitch! I already KNOW that he's not at his lighthouse! Agents stationed in Pewter City had located him on a shift and chased him into the Viridian Forest!"
"We're sorry, boss!" the two flunkies said in unison. "We didn't know! We'll never make a stupid mistake like that again!"
"Get out of my office and wait until I give you another assignment!" Crocus ordered. "I don't even want to see you right now!"
Bonnie and Clyde scrambled out of her office and slammed the door shut behind them.
'It's agents like that which bring me one step closer to getting on Keios' bad side,' Crocus thought. 'If that happens, I swear to god, they'll pay for that dearly...'
~~~
There had been an assortment of mirrors on the wall of one room in the darkened mansion. None full length; all only the ones you would typically hang on the wall as a constantly moving picture.
One of these mirrors contained an image different from the rest. While the others reflected what was in the room, this one reflected what was in the world. Currently shown in this mirror was a scene in which a strange Ninetails defeated several Antiwarp shifters at once with a good Fire Spin. As the shifter's sparks of light floated up into the air, the tails of the Ninetails began to glow as an eerie, red corona surrounded the balls of light.
The viewer, obviously, was not happy. Keios growled, keeping himself from smashing the mirror.
"The Prime is getting closer," Keios muttered to himself. "This morning, he departed from Aigori's spring on Mount Moon, and already he has arrived in Viridian Forest. So far, Crocus' agents have failed to destroy him and the light inside him. That light MUST be extinguished if I have any hope of getting what I want from this world, especially before he gains complete control over it and his own powers.
Keios stepped away from this mirror a bit.
"The closer the Prime gets to Mount Silver, the more my patience with Antiwarp wears thin. If Crocus fails to come up with a plan that will successfully destroy the Prime before he reaches Aigori's damn servant, then perhaps it will be best if I allowed her to witness the true extent of my power..."
The Ninetails in the mirror continued on with a smile on his face. Keios turned back toward the mirror and began to growl louder.
"Celebrate now, Angel... You won't live long enough to enjoy being a shifter master..."
At this, Keios lifted a fist and smashed the mirror.
***
End episode 17*7*
---
Footnotes:
*1*: Cheshire's Smile. It's a metaphor comparing the crescent moon to the smile of the Cheshire Cat.
*2*: According to a good friend o' mine, Savaga (who might as well compile her own scientific encyclopedia straight from the knowledge she stores in that greymatter of hers), everyone experiences more than one dream per night... just we can sometimes only remember one. (I've had occurances where I can remember two or more individual dreams... or they all meld together in one big, fantastic... quirktacular. i.e. The time I dreamt I was in a theme park under an orange sky, then wound up in a New York City deli, watching Napoleon order a bagel while using an Italian accent. I have no idea what triggered either dreams, but I think it has something to do with writing humorous fanfiction right before I go to bed. o_o;)
*3*: No, I'm not hungry; I just couldn't help but make a Beatles reference in there. XD Strange song, though. =/
*4*: I'd like to take the time to remind you that Sophie is the name I gave to Bill's cook. She only had one appearance in Warp Series, and because it was so obscure, I can't even remember when it was. ^_^;
*5*: Jude can't see Bill's body while he's out of it unless she's got her visor on.
*6*: Yep. Foreshadowing.
*7*: Whew! Finally! It took me awhile, but episode seventeen is finally finished! I'd like to pause briefly to apologize if this episode lacked what the previous episodes have as of feel. I kinda rushed to get this one done, even if it wound up being a week late. ^_^; Anywho, season two is coming to a close rather soon. When? I'm not sure. I suppose we're about two to four episodes away from the season finale. But stick around and see what happens! ^_^
Okay, so let's back up and look at why this episode is so late again. I have five REALLY good excuses:
1. It usually takes me a week (average) to finish one episode, so finishing two would take two weeks.
2. My teachers are sadistic. 'Nuff said.
3. I'm in the process of moving my blog off of Geocities (who had been giving me problems with poor This Side Up for awhile) to the most reliable server I know: Lothlorien(dot)nu, owned by a friend o' mine, Allie. (Bow down to Allie! NOW!!)
4. Writer's block is bad for you.
5. I had short addictions to the SNES games, Harvest Moon and Magic Knights Rayearth. So sue me. -_-
Okay, now, why did I feel it was necessary to make two episode seventeens in the first place? Because the original episode seventeen revealed things such as what Bill's destiny really is, why this ties in with Apollo and Ash, and Keios and Zero's history, all of which would have come WAY too soon. It would have explained the next few episodes, but it's not worth it. You'll just have to wait for season three, where the story changes flavor and things start to make sense. ^_-
In the meantime, I present to you the NEW episode seventeen! ^_^
***
Episode 17--
On Your Own
Bill rested peacefully, allowing the remaining AS7 to be eliminated inside his body without any sign of this occuring. The night around him was just as tranquil and quiet as he was in his sleep as the Cheshire's Smile*1* glowed brightly among delecate pixies in the dark blue-black heavens of summer.
Save for the soft chirp of a cricket and the occasional hoot of a Hoothoot or a Noctowl, not a sound shattered the night, even from any other room in the building. Jude remained in her bed, dreaming about cute, male punk rockers singing about her. Ash and Pikachu slept side by side in their room, dreaming about food and winning Pokémon battles, respectively. Even Ziggy was in sleep mode, dreaming about... Well, actually, when she's in sleep mode, Ziggy doesn't dream.
In any case, we return to the master bedroom where the Prime himself dreamt about... strange things. Such as... Zero?
He realized he was no longer dreaming, but instead staring into a deep void that one would experience between dreams.*2* But in this void, he heard her voice drift through the darkness. He almost felt her spirit caressing the back of his neck with her long, thin hand as she whispered in his ear with that voice that almost sounded like the way one would if they spoke from within a giant, hollowed glass onion.*3*
"Bill, come with me. Shift and join me," she whispered.
"Zero... I don't know if I can," he replied, remaining still. "The AS7--"
"--Had been destroyed inside of you by your own light," she finished. "There is nothing to worry about. The glitch's effects on you are permanent. Nothing can take your powers away from you. The AS7 only proves it. Now, come..."
She was gone. He could feel it. He remained still for a moment before finally pushing out of his body.
~~~
He came to and realized he had successfully shifted into some Pokémon at the edge of Zero's lake. He managed to get up and gaze at his reflection for a moment. Ninetails.
The image ripped for a moment before he saw a piece of white material. His eyes drifted up, into those of Zero. She knelt down so both pairs of deep eyes were level before someone spoke.
{Aren't you going to call for Ziggy, Ash, or any of the others?} Bill inquired.
She smiled and shook her head. "No. This concerns you and you only, though you may think it involves everyone because everyone is tied so close to you." She frowned slightly. "Apollo thought the same way when I told him what I am about to tell you."
{What is it, Zero?}
"Now is the time I send you on a quest," she told him softly. "During the following time, you will gain complete control over your powers. After going on this quest, you will be able to not only control when you shift but also, if I reveal a place and a Pokémon, where you shift to and into what. You will be among the elite shifters. A shifter master."
{I see,} Bill responded. {But... Why are you telling me this now?}
"The time is fast approaching when you will fufill the most challenging part of your destiny. However, to be able to do this, you will need to control your shifting. I couldn't tell you earlier because it wasn't needed. However, if I told you too late, then you will have no chance against the darkness."
{Where do I have to go?}
"You will journey west of here, to the mountain on the Johto-Kanto border, Mt. Silver. In Mt. Silver, deep in the heart of the cave there, Silver Cave, there is a follower of mine, Red, and it will be he who tells you what you need to know. However, getting there will be far from easy, which is why I have chosen this skilled Ninetails to be your host. Its speed will keep you from capture, and its own supernatural powers within its nine tails will keep you alive and well. My Pokémon followers will protect you if you run into any other trouble you cannot handle."
{Zero, out of curiousity, could you possibly tell me what about my destiny requires this?}
"You will learn about that when the time comes. Now go."
Zero turned around and walked into the lake, eventually vanishing into the darkness. Bill watched her until she did this, then paused. Finally, he looked up to find Polaris and used it to tell him where west was before beginning to walk in that direction.
~~~
Jude knew when she woke up that something wasn't quite right. It was much too quiet.
Sophie*4* had been dismissed not long after Jude, who was a VERY good cook, came to live at the lighthouse. Still, Bill had the habit of attempting to cook breakfast before Jude got there first (mostly because he was convinced that he could cook decently if he just followed the recipe carefully... regardless of the fact that his cooking still wound up like a Grimer on a plate even WITH the recipes). So, even during his recovery, Jude would hear an explosion or a loud (but short, of course) string of curses coming from the kitchen, no doubt caused by the kitchen klutz she knew as her brother.
Strangely, however, this morning, she heard nothing.
She got out of bed and slowly made her way to the kitchen before peeking inside. Sure enough, Bill wasn't there. Jude blinked for a moment, then made her way over to Bill's bedroom.
"Bill?" she addressed as she pushed the door open. "It's seven in the morning. Aren't you usually up by--"
She stopped short. He wasn't here either. Or at least, he didn't appear to be.*5*
Yet, there was a depression on his bed, as if there was something on it.
Quickly, Jude ran into her room and grabbed her watcher equipment before darting back into the master bedroom. She had a hunch, and this was one way to find out if she had been right. She slipped on the visor and looked hard at the bed, only to discover Bill stretched out on it, as if he were still asleep.
"He shifted," Jude muttered. "Dammit! And I didn't know about it! Hmm... I wonder where he went, though. Better check Ziggy..."
As if on cue, Ziggy appeared with a yawn.
"No need to check me," Ziggy told Jude dully. "I wanted to check you."
"Huh?" Jude cocked her head. "What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know where Bill went."
"Wha...?" Jude blinked. "But... But you're his watcher! You should know!"
"I know," Ziggy replied with a worried tone. "But Bill shifted, and Zero won't tell me why or where to. Without a hint from Zero, I could be looking for your brother 'til he comes back himself."
"Don't you have a tracking device on him or something?"
"Sure, I could track him, under normal circumstances, but right now, Zero's even taken the time to... cover him up so I can't pick up on him."
"Why would she do that?"
Ziggy gave her a worried glance. "I don't know, but trust me, I'm just as worried about Bill as you are."
"So... What should we do?" Jude asked.
Just then, her COM device beeped. She looked at it and sighed with frustration.
"Hold the thought. The rookie has to shift," Jude said bitterly as she walked to Ash's room.
Jude knocked on the door and waited. Not long after, Ash opened it and yawned.
"Morning, Jude," he mumbled.
"Cut the chat; you've got to shift," Jude told him bluntly.
"Can't it wait until I've had some breakfast?" Ash groaned.
Jude held up a fist. It was just too early for her to deal with something like this.
"Shift now, or I'll serve a knuckle sandwich with a side eggs, sunny-side-up and spiced with blood," she threatened.
"I hate sunny-side-up eggs."
"Go, you moron!"
Ash rolled his eyes. "Geez! I'm going! I'm going!"
He closed his eyes and shifted out.
"One of these days, I'm gonna kill him," Jude growled.
"Hmm... You know, Bill once told me about an old saying that said, 'You hurt the ones you love,'" Ziggy commented. "Now I know why. You want to hurt Ash so badly, you must really like him!"
Jude screamed, "WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO HOOK ME UP WITH THAT STUPID, BABYISH TWERP!?"
With a final growl, she pressed a few buttons on her COM device to locate and contact Ash.
~~~
'I'm still hungry,' Ash thought as he woke up inside his host.
He found himself in the middle of a forest, next to a child no doubt only about eight years old, fast asleep with a backpack under his auburn-haired head.
{I wonder if he's got anything to eat,} Ash muttered to himself.
"Dear god! Don't you think about anything BESIDES food!?" Jude snapped as she appeared behind him.
{Yeah! Winning Pokémon battles!} Ash replied.
"Ugh! Thank god there's only one of you among the people I'm forced to hang out with," Jude muttered before glancing at her COM device. "Okay, so, you're in the body of a Teddiursa belonging to Henry, the little boy who's sleeping over there. He ran away from home because of a little argument with his parents, and it's up to you to figure out a way to persuade him to go back home. It seems easy enough, but there's a catch."
{What?}
"He's lost too."
{GAH! Can't you tell me which way to go?}
"If I knew, you'd just get lost again," Jude replied. "Besides, I'm sadistic."
{I'm starting to wish I had Ziggy.}
"Good. Then start your mission and see if I care."
{What?}
"He's waking up, so I'll see you later."
{Hey! WAIT!}
Unfortunately, Jude vanished. Ash, however, remained behind to growl in frustration.
~~~
Jude took off her watcher equipment and put them on her bed. Ziggy, in the meantime, remained there, watching her.
"Geez, do you have to be so hard on him?" Ziggy inquired.
"Yeah," Jude replied. "It's for his own good."
"Really? You know what Ash's 'good' is?" Ziggy muttered with a smirk.
Jude ignored the innuendo. "I just want to be a good watcher, and if he can't keep up with me as a shifter, then hard luck."
"You know, I'm thinking it's more than that."
"What do you think it means, Ziggy?" Jude inquired with a warning glare and her teeth clenched.
"You know, Bill and I joke around, saying that you two would make a good couple, but maybe you're just venting your own frustrations on Ash," Ziggy told Jude thoughtfully. "Do you want to talk to Ziggy about it?"
Jude's look softened. "No, not right now."
"Are you sure? It would make you feel better. Besides, Ziggy's a good listener!"
"Nah. You wouldn't want to hear it."
Ziggy shrugged. "Okay, but just remember, you can always talk to me about girl things. I might have been programmed by and spent most of my time with a guy, but I'm great with girl talks."
"Thanks, Ziggy."
Jude began walking out of her room, headed for the kitchen. Before she did, however, she turned around to see Ziggy still there.
"By the way, Ziggy..." Jude said. "I finally see how Bill can call you the perfect companion."
Jude disappeared through the doorway, leaving Ziggy to stay behind to grin a bit.
"Aww... He DOES care..."
~~~
Ash's stomach wasn't the only one that growled. So did Henry's. And apparently, they were fresh out of food... and money to go with it.
"Oh..." Henry groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have run away from home... But I won't go back! There's no WAY I'm going back there!"
{Wish I knew why you didn't want to go home so much,} Ash muttered, half to himself. {I'd go home too if I had nothing out here, not even Pikachu.}
"But my parents are so strict!" Henry exclaimed, as if answering Ash's question. "They won't let me go out on a Pokémon journey! 'Not until you're older,' they say! Well, there's a lot of people who get their trainer's license when they're my age! What about me!?"
Henry's look softened.
"But still... I miss them..."
He turned back to Ash.
"Teddiursa, I want to go home!"
Ash jumped up and grinned broadly. {GREAT! That's great to hear, Henry! Then let's go!}
"I guess you're happy that you get to go home too," Henry said.
{Of COURSE I am! Can't you tell!?}
Henry sighed. "But I can't go back."
{Huh?} Ash stopped and cocked his teddy bear head. {Why?}
Henry burst out crying. "I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH WAY IS HOME!!"
At this point, Ash fell over.
{Oh yeah!} Ash said somewhat painfully. {I forgot he's lost too!}
~~~
"Hey, Ziggy!"
Ziggy appeared beside Jude again as Jude sat at the kitchen table (half ignoring her breakfast), pressing buttons on her COM device.
"What's up, Jude?" Ziggy blinked.
"Are you getting information from Zero that can help Ash out?" Jude asked. "You know, such as where Henry's parents live."
"Sorry, Jude, but Zero says that Ash is going to have to get a hang of this shifting business REALLY soon," Ziggy replied. "So she won't tell even me about any sort of information. I guess she wants us to get used to figuring things out on our own and with the help of each other."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Maybe she knows something big's going to happen, but she won't say what."*6*
"Hmm..." Jude thought for a moment. "Hey, did you find out where Bill is?"
"Unfortunately, that's another piece of information Zero won't give me yet," Ziggy told Jude with a sad sigh. "She says that Bill has to work through his latest mission on his own."
"But... You're his watcher!"
"Yeah. I know that. But apparently, this doesn't matter."
Jude growled with frustration.
"Yeah, I know how you feel," Ziggy commented as she cocked her head.
~~~
Ash and Henry had been wandering around the forest for literally hours, and the boy STILL can't find a single thing he remembered on the way in. No unusual trees, no ledges, nothing. Both were totally clueless to where they were.
"Teddiursa, do you think you can remember where we came in?" Henry finally asked.
{WAH!} Ash jumped, then looked frantically around. {Uh... Can I remember the way in...? Uh...}
"No?"
Ash rubbed the back of his head with a paw. {Sorry.}
Henry groaned, then slumped down to sit with his back against a tree. He drew his knees up to his chin and began to cry.
"I should never have run away from home..."
Ash groaned and sat down.
{How am I supposed to get Henry home when I don't know where his home is to begin with...?}
{Psst!}
Ash looked up into the branches of a tree to see Artemis in it, on his side along a branch with his head propped up by on of his paws.
{Artemis?} Ash blinked.
{Apollo and I used a little persuasion to get Zero to tell us where Henry has to go,} Artemis explained in Pokémon tongue. {She finally told us that there's a road west of here--} Artemis pointed towards Ash with a clawed paw. {--which will take you to Henry's hometown. When you reach the road, turn north and keep going until you reach the first town outside of the forest. That's where you have to go.}
{It's good to find USEFUL help,} Ash commented, thinking of Jude.
{Hmm. I'll take that as a compliment.} Artemis grinned. {Now get going before your charge makes a watering hole.}
{Got it! Thanks again!}
Ash ran west, pausing only to hear Henry stop crying.
"Hey! Teddiursa! Where're you going!? Wait for me!"
Henry got up and ran after the Teddiursa, who had continued to run.
Artemis was left in the tree to watch the shifter and the charge run off. The white sneasel narrowed his eyes in thought.
"I know I should leave this to Jude, but maybe I can tell her all that I know and still keep an eye on Ash..."
Artemis sat up and slid off the branch, vanishing halfway to the ground.
~~~
Only a few hours later (I say hours because, well, let's face it -- Ash just isn't the type of person you'd want to guide you through the forest, even if you love the guy to death.), the Teddiursa burst through a row of brush and literally stumbled upon a wide, dirt path.
"Great job, Teddiursa!" Henry complimented as he too walked through the brush and onto the path. "You found the road!"
{Alright!} Ash reacted cheerfully as he stood back up and froze. {Did Artemis say go north or south...?}
Artemis, who remained hidden in a tree nearby, slapped his forehead with a clawed paw.
"I remember now!" Henry exclaimed before jumping up and down. "We were going south before I saw a Yanma and before we went off to try to catch it!" At this point, Henry turned north. "I think this is the way home!"
{At least one of us does,} Ash said with an embarrassed tone.
Henry began running back home with his Teddiursa chasing after him.
{Hey! Wait for me!} Ash cried as he ran after his charge.
In the tree, Artemis sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "No wonder Jude gets fed up with him so often..."
~~~
Jude watched through the COM device. So far, so good. Ash wasn't messing up his assignment the way Jude had feared.
All of a sudden, she heard a noise coming from somewhere in the main hall. Grabbing one of her PokéBalls, she slowly crept out of the living quarters and spied on those who had just broken in.
Bonnie stood behind a Forretress, watching it break down the door to the cellar.
"Hurry up, you twit, before McKenzie's got enough time to do something!" she ordered.
The Forretress growled, backed up, and rammed again into the door.
"Can I help you?" Jude asked.
Bonnie gasped and looked over her shoulder.
"Well, look at the little sweetie, thinkin' she's a match for us," Bonnie taunted. "Sugar, why don't you leave us alone and go play with your li'l dolls?"
Jude narrowed her eyes. "I don't DO dolls."
"Hmph! What a rude little girl!" Bonnie sneered. "Clyde, why don't you use your host to teach her some manners?"
Forretress growled and turned away from the door with a menacing glance.
"Ooh, so you want a Pokémon battle, huh?" Jude smirked. "Sounds like fun! Go! Flareon!"
Jude threw out her PokéBall, allowing one of her two favorite Pokémon (the first being Cyndaquil) to burst forth from the sphere and confront its new opponent.
"Clyde! Spikes!" Bonnie ordered.
Forretress glared at her and growled.
"Well, if you're gonna feel that way about me giving you orders, then go ahead and order yourself around, sugar!" Bonnie snapped angrily. "I'll stand right behind you when you screw up!"
Clyde ignored her and attempted to Tackle Flareon, who, in the process of the argument, used Sand Attack. The Forretress, of course, missed.
"Alright, Flareon!" Jude smiled. "Use Flamethrower!"
Flareon breathed in and shot a jet of fire at Clyde upon exhaling. The bug/steel type burst into flames, after which he ran around, giving sharp cries before finally using Self Destruct close to Flareon. The fire type was knocked off its paws and into Jude's arms as the pinecone Pokémon flew literally through the roof and into the sky.
Bonnie remained behind.
"I've got more Pokémon," Jude threatened. "Some of which are stronger than my Flareon. Now, get out of here before you end up just like your partner."
"Not until I get what I want, sugar," Bonnie replied. "And I ALWAYS get what I want."
"Hmph. Brat."
"You may think that way, but it's better to be rich and spoiled than poor and without anything!"
"Tch. Then what do you want?"
Bonnie smirked. "I want Bill to come with me, darlin'."
Jude narrowed her eyes. "You're too late."
Bonnie blinked. "What? What are you talkin' about!?"
"He's not here," Jude replied as she stuck out her tongue.
Bonnie burst out laughing. "You honestly think I'd fall for that!? Sugar, it takes more than THAT to trick a beautiful goddess like me!"
Jude glared at her as Bonnie picked a PokéBall off her belt.
"Now, I'm gonna make you talk, little girl!" Bonnie announced.
"Starmie! Ice Beam!"
Bonnie was hit squarely in the back by a single beam of cold light. She immediately froze up in a block of pure ice.
"Starmie! Get behind the Antiwarp agent and blast her out of her with Bubble Beam!"
The Starmie obeyed its master, sliding through the doorway and around Bonnie so that the southern girl remained between it and the door. From Starmie's red core, a solid stream of bubbles shot out, pushing the block of ice across the floor and out the doorway.
Jude suddenly found a figure in a dark cloak standing beside her, spraying Hyper Potion on her Flareon.
"Thanks," Jude muttered. "But who are you?"
"I am Apollo," the figure replied. "You hadn't met my human form before, but I'm sure you know me through your brother. I'm one of those who kept him out of trouble."
"Oh. I guess I should thank you for that too," Jude thought aloud as she set down her Flareon, who was already squirming in her arms. "So, why did you come here?"
"Zero wanted me to," Apollo replied simply. "I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling we all will find out soon enough."
"Do you know where Bill is right now?" Jude asked.
Apollo turned to look away from Jude. "No. She said he needs to go about this on his own."
On his own...
Jude's eyes widened upon realizing something.
"Oh god! I left Ash all alone on his mission!" she screamed as she bolted back to her room.
Apollo sighed. "She and the young one have much to learn..."
~~~
"The young one" looked over the quaint little town which lay in the valley before him. Henry looked nervous.
"Teddiursa... I don't want to go home now," Henry said as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
{What...?} Ash blinked incredulously at him.
Henry turned around and began walking back down the road.
{Oh, no you don't!}
Ash jumped forward and blocked Henry's way back.
{Alright, Henry!} Ash began. {We just made our way through a forest in a day, walked countless miles, pushed through a ton of bushes and brush, and even SKIPPED LUNCH, all to get you back. And now you're telling me that you DON'T want to go home!? Listen, when I skip a meal, it's to do something important! Don't tell me that all of a sudden, this isn't important to you!} Ash pointed a claw at Henry. {It's about time you went back home, and I'll take you there! Your mom and dad are worried sick about you because you're just way too young and not even close to being ready for a Pokémon journey! You're going back home, and you're staying there!}
Apparently, Ash overlooked the fact that Henry couldn't understand a single word he just said. He realized this when Henry stared blankly at Ash's claws and replied, "I take it you want me to go home, huh?"
{Yeah!} Ash responded, angry that he went hungry for nothing.
Henry paused for a moment, then sighed and looked at the ground. "I guess you're right. I should just go home. Besides, I don't think I'm ready. Our time in the woods told me that." Henry looked up and smiled. "Yeah! I'll wait until I'm older and when we're both a little stronger! Then, we can both go out there and cream every Gym Leader from here to Olivine City!"
Henry turned and (literally) marched back to his home. Ash grinned and shifted out.
~~~
Jude looked over her shoulder to see Ash shifting back in. Ash remained flat on his back for a moment.
"Jude, you owe me two meals!" he announced.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Bite me. How's that?"
"What!?" Ash sat up abruptly. "HEY!!"
Jude grinned spitefully. Ash growled before sparking an argument between Jude and himself. They continued as Apollo, Artemis, and Ziggy walked into the room and stared blankly at the two.
"They argue as if they're siblings," Apollo commented.
"How does the Prime put up with this?" Artemis asked.
Ziggy, who previously had her arms crossed and her eyes closed, opened one eye at Artemis and replied, "He has an incredible amount of patience."
~~~
"So, what did you find out?" Crocus questioned with her back turned towards Bonnie and Clyde as the battered duo stood in her office.
"We tried to capture McKenzie himself, but apparently, he wasn't at his lighthouse," Bonnie explained.
Crocus turned around and pounded her desk in anger, causing Bonnie and Clyde to jump, yelp, and hug each other.
"Imbeciles!" Crocus snapped. "I sent you to McKenzie's lighthouse to find out just how many other shifters exist, not to capture the son of a bitch! I already KNOW that he's not at his lighthouse! Agents stationed in Pewter City had located him on a shift and chased him into the Viridian Forest!"
"We're sorry, boss!" the two flunkies said in unison. "We didn't know! We'll never make a stupid mistake like that again!"
"Get out of my office and wait until I give you another assignment!" Crocus ordered. "I don't even want to see you right now!"
Bonnie and Clyde scrambled out of her office and slammed the door shut behind them.
'It's agents like that which bring me one step closer to getting on Keios' bad side,' Crocus thought. 'If that happens, I swear to god, they'll pay for that dearly...'
~~~
There had been an assortment of mirrors on the wall of one room in the darkened mansion. None full length; all only the ones you would typically hang on the wall as a constantly moving picture.
One of these mirrors contained an image different from the rest. While the others reflected what was in the room, this one reflected what was in the world. Currently shown in this mirror was a scene in which a strange Ninetails defeated several Antiwarp shifters at once with a good Fire Spin. As the shifter's sparks of light floated up into the air, the tails of the Ninetails began to glow as an eerie, red corona surrounded the balls of light.
The viewer, obviously, was not happy. Keios growled, keeping himself from smashing the mirror.
"The Prime is getting closer," Keios muttered to himself. "This morning, he departed from Aigori's spring on Mount Moon, and already he has arrived in Viridian Forest. So far, Crocus' agents have failed to destroy him and the light inside him. That light MUST be extinguished if I have any hope of getting what I want from this world, especially before he gains complete control over it and his own powers.
Keios stepped away from this mirror a bit.
"The closer the Prime gets to Mount Silver, the more my patience with Antiwarp wears thin. If Crocus fails to come up with a plan that will successfully destroy the Prime before he reaches Aigori's damn servant, then perhaps it will be best if I allowed her to witness the true extent of my power..."
The Ninetails in the mirror continued on with a smile on his face. Keios turned back toward the mirror and began to growl louder.
"Celebrate now, Angel... You won't live long enough to enjoy being a shifter master..."
At this, Keios lifted a fist and smashed the mirror.
***
End episode 17*7*
---
Footnotes:
*1*: Cheshire's Smile. It's a metaphor comparing the crescent moon to the smile of the Cheshire Cat.
*2*: According to a good friend o' mine, Savaga (who might as well compile her own scientific encyclopedia straight from the knowledge she stores in that greymatter of hers), everyone experiences more than one dream per night... just we can sometimes only remember one. (I've had occurances where I can remember two or more individual dreams... or they all meld together in one big, fantastic... quirktacular. i.e. The time I dreamt I was in a theme park under an orange sky, then wound up in a New York City deli, watching Napoleon order a bagel while using an Italian accent. I have no idea what triggered either dreams, but I think it has something to do with writing humorous fanfiction right before I go to bed. o_o;)
*3*: No, I'm not hungry; I just couldn't help but make a Beatles reference in there. XD Strange song, though. =/
*4*: I'd like to take the time to remind you that Sophie is the name I gave to Bill's cook. She only had one appearance in Warp Series, and because it was so obscure, I can't even remember when it was. ^_^;
*5*: Jude can't see Bill's body while he's out of it unless she's got her visor on.
*6*: Yep. Foreshadowing.
*7*: Whew! Finally! It took me awhile, but episode seventeen is finally finished! I'd like to pause briefly to apologize if this episode lacked what the previous episodes have as of feel. I kinda rushed to get this one done, even if it wound up being a week late. ^_^; Anywho, season two is coming to a close rather soon. When? I'm not sure. I suppose we're about two to four episodes away from the season finale. But stick around and see what happens! ^_^