Had so much fun, I might write the next one soon. R/R!


Chapter 41: Stop Wasting Time


Skye looked ahead, to the white painted building, he noticed something very, very, peculiar.

"Chu? . . . raichu ra raichu?" Jenna?. . . wasn't the building supposed to have been abandoned?

From their vantage point, it looked as though the building was in service, and they were both assuming it wouldn't be.

"Pika! Pikachu pi. . ." Rats! This changes the plan. . .

"Raichu rai raichu raichu. Rai rai. . ." I think that since the flier only mentioned he was going to this place. We should turn back. . . maybe we can find a trail.

"Pika pi. . ." This might take forever. . . Jenna said in a saddened tone.

"Raichu rai. . . chu rai." Hey. . . don't look so sad. We'll eventually find it. Skye warmly nuzzled Jenna. She did the same, and attempted to kiss him, but Skye was suddenly alerted by a rustling in the bushes on the side of the road. He pulled away from her, much to her dislike and stood between her and the roadside. "Who's there?"

"Me."

"Me who?"

"It's-a me, Mario!"

"GAH!" Proven, Mario was about eighty times as strong and anyone, especially with that sword of his. But Mario stepped out of the forest to show he wasn't wearing his purple body armor. It didn't matter much to Skye. . .

"Fiend! Stay back from Jenna!" Skye yelled at him, in a fighting stance and sparks emitting from his cheeks.

"Woah, woah. . . I'm not here to fight you." Mario pulled up the sword he held.

"That's Phil's sword!" Jenna yelled, and Skye swung a kick at Mario, which was easily dodged. "He defeated me in combat! He now carries my sword. And he wanted to tell you something."

"What's that?" Jenna asked, still a bit suspicious.

"When you two meet again, he'll say it best in his own words."

"Oh. . . you came all the way over here to tell us just that?"

"Nope. I also want to see just why I turned out the way I did. The last ten years seemed a blur to me, and I don't know why. I need to make up for it. You have my services."

"Wow. . . just like that, and we have a legend on our side." Skye said, "Alright, Mario, we're trying to find the location in which Jack Forrester disappeared ten years ago. He was supposed to have gone to this lab, but we can't get in to find where he went next."

"And it might be a long trek." Jenna commented, "The best we can pinpoint when he disappeared is still about a month's time. . ."

Mario nodded, "Follow me. If this lab is still in operation, then that means important computer files should be inside."

"But we can't go in! Hybrids are a wanted species in this world!"

Mario thought it over. "I notice that you two have a potential for being very stealthy. . ."

Skye and Jenna looked at each other and smiled.

Back at the abandoned warehouse, Todd had regained his wits, and he was huddled in a corner. His van was missing, Rico was a Rhydon Hybrid, and basically his code of ethics fell apart in twenty seconds.

He had torn off his shirt, as he didn't have any need for it anymore, and it was constricting his now oversized chest. And he thought.

Chain chomp?

Then it suddenly struck him. Super Mario Bros! It was like that information was repressed from him. . . as though he was following a very strict path up until that point, and then released to think clearly once again. And it seemed that way for the last ten years of his life.

What did I do? He couldn't remember why he chose some actions that he did. . . he loved training pokémon when he was a kid, and the strangest thing was. . . he always wished he was one.

That is. . . until ten years ago.

Why did he suddenly devote his life to the hunt? That wasn't what he would have done! He rather liked the idea of being a Hybrid. . .

I hope those guys are okay. . . he thought, though not in English anymore. The entire idea was rather cool, being able to talk in a new language and never having studied it before. . . but he was growing increasingly worried about them. . . they might have stolen his van, yes, but it didn't seem like he did anything to get that van, either. Besides. . . he was still a good guy, wasn't he? That meant that they were most likely trying to do something good, as he previously 'thought' all Hybrids were inherently evil.

He sniffled a little bit, more out of reflex than thought, but then he realized he smelled them! He could detect their scent with his nose. . .

Hey, why not help them out? It couldn't hurt now that he couldn't got back to society. . .

Todd got up, and glanced over at Rico. He sighed, knowing that he'd have to wake him up. He walked over to him and shook his massive body. "Rico. . . wake up, man. . ."

Rico sighed, having been awake for some time. "We're Hybrids, Todd. . ."

"I know. Get up."

"Why?"

"We're going to help them."

"We are? Why's that?" Rico got to his feet, his shirt was basically torn off from the change.

"Because we can." Todd smiled and followed his nose out the garage, Rico right behind him.


"No." Jenna said. "At least, not in front of Mario."

"Come on, Jenna! It always works in the movies!" Skye retorted.

"I find it unnecessary to wear a bikini just to grab their attention, as they would be after me because I'm a Hybrid."

Skye snapped his fingers. "Oh well. . . some other time."

"I'll say. . ." Jenna kissed him on the cheek. "Nice try, though." She walked out to the building's edge. "You two ready?"

"Well, I don't know." Skye replied, "I was really ready to see you in that bikini. . ."

"Just get to work!" Jenna walked out into the plaza. You might imagine what happened next, as anytime anyone sees a Hybrid, pandemonium and public unrest ensues. The building emptied almost immediately when Jenna walked by. Skye and Mario made their way up the stacked crates outside the stucco walls and into the upper story windows, which were very much cleared. Word spreads fast. Where they would decide to run, neither of them knew. But a bounty was at least $5000. . .

Skye promptly got on a computer. "Uh oh. . ." he said, "We've hit a snag."

"What?" Mario responded.

"I don't know how to read."

Mario sighed. "Let me try." He got on. "Woah. . . this definitely is advanced from what I'm used to. . ."

"Find the archives."

Mario did remember how to use a computer in general, but was really at a loss for what to do, so he followed Skye's directions.

"1989, use the search to find the latest files on Forrester."

"It um. . . requires a username and password."

"arthuraadmin, s0as0."

Mario typed it in. "How did you know that?"

"No clue. Just comes to me."

Mario shrugged and continued looking. "Here. . . Forrester, signed out, going for coffee."

"Rats. . . that means we'll need to go into town. . ."

"I don't see much of a problem there. . ."

"Two Hybrids and a four and a half foot tall deformed superman with a sword. Tell me that doesn't strike you as odd."

"Well, disguises always work in the movies."

Jenna showed up at the window. "Find anything?"

"Yes. . . say, what happened out there, anyway?"

"Utter panic. It was fun to watch, then too easy to get away. The Hunters still think I headed downtown."

"Well, that's where we're going."

"I knew that was going to be too easy. . ."

"Not to worry!" Skye pulled three trenchcoats off a nearby rack, along with matching hats, and handed them to everyone. He looked a little surprised, but shrugged when he saw one just Mario's size. They all headed back out the window, and down the side stacked crates, and into the city.

"This might take some doing. . . because now they're looking for us. . ." Jenna said.

"Yes. . ." Skye replied, "Rai chu rai rai. . ." Hindsight is 20/20. . .



NEXT TIME: ON VIDEO GAME: Skye, Jenna, and Mario run into a planning snag, but receive some unexpected help! Next time, same Video Game time, same Video Game channel! Until then, Ciao!


From the Acts of Gord, Book of Annoyances, Chapter 13:


Gord has his computer and MP3 love action wired into his stereo and with it, he can wield much music love action all around the store!

And with part of this, he also has a headset wired into his computer. Primarily used for networked gaming, it can also be used to make Gord into DJ Gord!

And DJ Gord was on the good. Music was booming, games were playing, the good times were all about. And then a new customer walked in the door.

And over the speakers bellowed "Welcome to the Player's Edge, the hottest nightclub in town! I'm DJ Gord, and I'm dealing up fun-o-tainment!"

Customer turns and leaves.

www.actsofgord.com