Re: Pokémon: Storming Heaven's Gates
You were probably expecting Shadow to do the intro to this chapter. Well, you’ll see her in a minute. For now, you’re gonna listen to me.
My name is Mandy. I was once Queen of the Battle Girls. I’m likely not someone who you want to make friends with. After all, I made friends with someone five years ago, only to betray her two years later.
I was defeated, and I’ve been rotting in a cell for what I did ever since.
And I’m not sorry I did it. I have no regrets. If I could get out, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Why? It isn’t because I’m a traitor by nature. I wouldn’t betray any real friends. It’s principle. The one I betrayed… She doesn’t deserve what she has. I deserve it much more than she does.
This cell won’t hold me forever… And once I get out… I’m going to reclaim what’s rightfully mine…
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Birthright
All over Blueberry Cove Park, folks started to perspire. The temperature had suddenly gotten very hot.
Everyone reached for their water bottles, lemonade, and sodas, and drank them quickly.
A Snubbull that was with its young trainer started to pant. A Machop wiped sweat off of its brow.
This didn’t make sense. It was only late May… Why did it suddenly turn as hot as August?
* * * * * * * * * *
Shadow was shivering, but it certainly wasn’t from cold. She was facing a Pokémon of a species she had never seen before… And she now kinda wished she hadn’t. This Heatran, as Damien had called it, didn’t just look like it wanted to eat her for lunch… It looked like it wanted to flame broil her first.
“Heatran?” said Starbuck, as he wiped sweat from his own brow. “What the Hell…”
He took out his PokéDex and pointed at the monster.
“Heatran,” it said. “The Lava Dome Pokémon. No further information available.”
“Mom, have you ever heard of this thing?”
Lisa took out her journal and skimmed a few pages.
On one of them was a sketch she had made of the creature, pieced together from information found in old books and scrolls.
“Heatran…” she muttered. “So that’s its name…”
“This is a Legendary?” shouted Starbuck.
“Stories tell of a Pokémon like this one that was born in the fiery core of the Earth,” said Lisa. “It’s not very high on the hierarchy of Legendaries, but legends do say that if it is angered, unstable areas of the mantle can rupture…”
“Causing volcanoes to erupt…” muttered Starbuck. “Terrific…”
“Shadow!” shouted Lisa. “According to the most reliable Legends, Heatran is a Fire/Steel Pokémon! If you have a Water Pokémon, you should defeat it with no problem!”
“That’s very reassuring, Mrs. Conrad!” shouted Shadow. “The only problem is, I don’t have one!”
Damien laughed out loud.
“Then pardon me for saying this,” he said, “but your goose is cooked!
“Heatran, use Lava Plume!”
Heatran spit a stream of molten lava at the terrified Gengar. It dove for cover, and the Lava Plume scorched an area of grass behind it.
“Like mummy there said,” said Damien, “this guy is half-Steel. Ghost attacks don’t hurt it much.”
“Oh yeah?” said Shadow. “Gengar knows one attack that does the same amount of damage to any Type.
“Gengar, Night Shade!”
“Gengar!” muttered the Ghost. It blasted a beam of pure darkness at the much larger Pokémon. Heatran closed its eyes and strained a little, but it was clear that the attack didn’t do much at all.
“Time to use Heatran’s super spectacular signature move,” said Damien.
Heatran, fry that phantom with Magma Storm!”
Heatran erupted into an inferno of flames…
“Magma Storm?” gasped Starbuck.
“I never heard of it!” said Lisa. “It must be a move that only Heatran can do!”
Shadow screamed and fell over, as explosions erupted out of the ground around Gengar, sending lava and flaming rocks flying in an attack that was truly a Magma Storm. It seemed that the whole air was full of flames, along with the screams of agony coming form Gengar.
When the storm subsided, and Shadow picked herself up, several fires were burning, and Gengar was lying on the ground, burned and unconscious.
“You’re lucky that Gengar is an undead Pokémon,” chuckled Damien. “If it were a living one, it might not have survived.”
Shadow growled as she recalled Gengar.
“You have one Pokémon left to use,” said Damien. “Send it out so my pet can barbecue it.”
Starbuck noticed that Sofia, who they had completely forgotten about, was now running in the other direction as fast as she could.
“Let her go,” said Lisa. “We have bigger problems.”
Shadow considered her options…
Weavile was out of the question, of course. An Ice-Type had the proverbial snowball’s chance in Hell.
Gallade wouldn’t last very long either. Its Fighting moves could smash steel, but there was no way Heatran would let it get close enough to use them.
That left Houndoom and Magmortar…
Wait… thought Shadow. Both of them are resistant to Fire…
But Heatran isn’t! If it’s truly Fire/Steel its Steel nature cancels out its resistance to Fire attacks!
She took a pokeball.
Well, Magmortar is stronger than Houndoom… So it’s my best chance…
“I choose you!” she shouted, throwing it.
The pokeball burst open, and Magmortar appeared in a flash of flames.
It frowned, and stared Heatran down for a few seconds. It was just as big as Heatran, but Heatran had a greater bulk.
“You think that will help?” asked Damien. “Heatran knows a few attacks that aren’t Fire, you know.
“Heatran, Earth Power.”
Heatran glowed, and the ground erupted in bursts of rock and soil around Magmortar. It grunted, and staggered to keep its footing.
Magmortar growled. It was clearly angry.
“Magmortar, listen!” shouted Shadow. “Most of Heatran’s attacks are ranged! So your best bet is to get right in its face!
“So get up there, and give it a Fire Punch!”
Magmortar nodded, and then charged at Heatran, with its left fist burning with fire. Heatran didn’t have much time to react before Magmortar slugged it with a burning knuckle. Heatran groaned.
“Seems we’ve found Heatran’s weakness,” said Lisa. “It’s incredibly strong… But it’s motor skills aren’t too great.”
“Figures,” said Starbuck. “It’s made of molten rock, after all.”
“And I think Shadow may have hit the nail on the head,” continued Lisa. “Heatran’s greatest strength is Special Attacks. But it isn’t too good at ordinary Attacks.”
Heatran groaned again, as Magmortar hit it with a second Fire Punch.
“Heatran’s ability to go hand-to-hand may not be too great,” said Damien, “but it does know some moves.
“Heatran, use Iron Head!”
Heatran grunted, and rammed Magmortar with a headbutt. Magmortar staggered back, clutching its chest.
“Now, use Stone Edge!” shouted Damien.
Oh no! thought Starbuck. That’s the move Leo’s Rhyperior used to defeat Blaziken!
Heatran glowed, and then rocky spires jutted out on its face and shoulders. It lunged to headbutt Magmortar again…
But Magmortar was ready. It slugged Heatran with another Fire Punch on the crown of the head, sending it to the floor.
Heatran growled and got up.
“Magmortar, since it likes Lava Plume so much,” said Shadow, “why not use your own?”
Magmortar didn’t need any prompting. If fired a blast of molten rocks from its hands, and Heatran groaned as it was hit by them.
Damien grit his teeth with anger.
“All right you bimbo…” he said. “It’s clear that your Pokémon is too hot even for Heatran to handle…
“I can’t win this battle… But thanks to a little move I taught Heatran, he’s gonna drag your Magmortar down with him…
“Heatran…
“Use Explosion…”
“NO!” screamed Lisa, hiding behind Starbuck.
“Yeah, right!” shouted Starbuck. “What do I have to hide behind?”
Shadow watched in terror as Heatran started to erupt in flames. Damien was out of his mind… A Pokémon this powerful using Explosion would reduce the whole park to a scorched crater… And there was nothing she could do to stop it…
“NOW!” screamed a voice that they hadn’t heard before.
Suddenly, three high-pressure blasts of water shot from somewhere behind Shadow and struck Heatran. The Legendary Pokémon let out an incredible scream as the flames surrounding it were replaced by clouds of scalding steam.
Shadow looked behind her, and saw Officer Jenny by a fire truck with three firemen, who were holding the hoses that were soaking Heatran. But despite this attack, it seemed Heatran would not give up. It roared with pure rage, and the flames started to rise again.
“Increase pressure!” shouted Jenny.
A fourth fireman turned a winch to the highest point, but it was no use. The intense heat was turning the water to vapor before it even reached Heatran.
I’ve gotta take that thing down before it remembers Damien’s command! thought Shadow. Hope that water weakened it enough…
“Magmortar, use Dynamicpunch!”
Magmortar roared, and charged at the huge Pokémon, and slugged it in the face with a crunch so solid that Shadow felt it.
Heatran let out one final moan, and collapsed on its stomach.
“You worthless piece of…” growled Damien.
He was interrupted as Jenny grabbed him, and held his arms in a lock.
“That’s quite enough, pal,” she said. “You’re under arrest.”
“WHAT?” shouted Damien. “Show me the law against Pokémon battling!”
“You broke about seven laws, fellah!” replied Jenny. “Never mind the fact that your Pokémon nearly burned the park down, it’s prohibited to use Pokémon with this level of power outside of a Gym or a tournament setting.”
She handcuffed him, and wasn’t very easy while doing it.
“Buddy, with the Twisting running rampant, there are safety guidelines for using Pokémon this powerful. You ignore them, you aren’t gonna last long…”
As Damien was hauled away, Shadow took some deep breaths.
“Magmortar, return…” she muttered.
Magmortar turned to light, and was drawn into its pokeball.
“Shadow?” asked Lisa.
“’Not very high on the hierarchy’?” shouted Shadow. “How powerful are the ones that ARE high?”
“Very powerful indeed,” muttered Lisa. “Take it from an old trainer who once fought one of the strongest…”
“Mom?” said Starbuck. “When did you…”
“A long story, Starbuck,” she said. “I’ll tell you someday.”
She changed the subject.
“Despite the fact that she received help from those firemen, Shadow’s Pokémon struck the final blow, so she won that battle. We found and defeated a Pokémon that we never saw before.
“So… What did the Peddler say to do next, specifically?”
Starbuck sighed.
“We each have to have a Ghost on our teams,” he said, “and then tonight we have to… walk north. And he told us not to talk until we got there.”
“Got where?” asked Shadow.
“He said we’d know when we got there,” said Starbuck.
Lisa sighed.
“We may have reached a point where natural law no longer applies,” she said. “When dealing with celestial forces, there is a time when everything you thought you knew becomes worthless, and you start seeing the world in a way that most mortals cannot.
“I’d wager that from this point on, the methods we must use to reach the Guardians are unorthodox. The only thing we can do is follow whatever instructions we get, and go wherever they lead.
“Because it may well be that the one giving us our instructions now… Is Arceus himself…”
Starbuck shivered a little. He looked at his watch.
“Two-thirty,” he muttered. “It won’t be dark until about seven. Maybe we should heal our Pokémon and ourselves, and rest up…
“Dealing with Ghost Pokémon is never easy…”
* * * * * * * * * *
Sofia had not stopped running until now. She caught her breath at the parking lot of a gas station.
Man, if she didn’t want to see him before, she really didn’t want to see him NOW. What was he thinking using a Pokémon that dangerous?
She took out her cell phone and dialed a number.
“Hey, Giorgio?” she said. “Look, I’m really sorry, but I have to take that day off you owe me tonight. Something came up.
“Yeah, I know… No, it has nothing to do with the job. Don’t worry, I’ll be there all the earlier tomorrow night.
“Just be sure to keep Cass away from the big pressure cooker. I’m not gonna be there to clean cheese off the ceiling this time.”
She sighed as she put the phone away.
She just wanted to relax tonight.
And there was one place where a member of Rocket Reborn could relax, where everyone knew your name… And everyone was always glad you came…
* * * * * * * * * *
Five o’clock.
The first basement level of the Grasp Building was occupied by, of all things, a bar and grill. It was called the Red Rocket, and to most Grasp employees, it was forever out of reach. Most of them didn’t even know the requirements for joining this club.
The only requirement was, you had to actually belong to Rocket. If you did, the place was a nice restaurant and bar. The members of Jessica’s organization liked it for the friendly atmosphere, reasonable prices, and food that was both good and came in large portions.
Right now, Sofia was laughing over a martini with a fellow member named Mick, who also happened to be her boyfriend. (Damien would never have gotten her to accept him back, no matter what he did.) Mick was one of the higher ranking members, mostly because he was both willing to do a Pokémon Dare and had survived many of them.
“Yeah,” said Sofia, “I have the night off, big guy… And I’d just love to spend it with someone who can take a direct hit from a Hariyama.”
“Hey, you should Dare someone yourself sometime,” said Mick. “Sure, losing isn’t fun, but winning is the best.”
“Well…” said Sofia.
Then the whole room fell silent as someone entered.
It was a tall man, muscular and broad, dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans. He had long, blonde hair, and a thick beard.
“Digger?” said Sofia, nervously. “What’s he doing here?”
“I’d wager, anything he wants,” said Mick.
Everyone watched the man with looks of sheer terror as he made his way to the bar.
“Uh… What can I get you… sir?” stammered the bartender.
“Coffee, black,” said Digger.
“Right away…” said the bartender.
He surveyed the room as the barkeep brought the coffee. He knew that everyone was afraid of him… It was hard not to be.
Digger’s job description was not known for certain. What was known was, he was called to watch whenever a member of Rocket challenged Jessica to a battle for leadership of Rocket. When Jessica ultimately won, Digger helped her carry the defeated – and usually unconscious, because it always a Dare – opponent away. Where they went, no-one knew, and no-one ever saw the opponents again.
Most members thought that Digger was Jessica’s executioner. He rarely even showed himself at any other times. He apparently only answered to Jessica herself, making him an odd man out in the system.
As he sipped the coffee, he looked at his watch. He didn’t expect his boss to be late.
At five fifteen on the dot, everyone took notice as Jessica herself appeared in the doorway. Her eyes and Digger’s eyes met. She nodded, he nodded back.
Digger tossed two dollars on the bar, and walked out. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they both left.
“You haven’t spoken to her yet, have you?” asked Jessica.
“She’s clueless,” said Digger. “As far as she knows, she’ll be there for another three years.”
They turned towards the wall in the hallway, one that didn’t suggest anything except a plain wall. Jessica simply pressed her palm against it, and a door-sized panel opened, revealing a private elevator.
Inside the elevator there were no buttons. Just a glass panel. Digger placed his hand against it. The door slid shut, and the elevator started to go down…
* * * * * * * * * *
The belief that Digger was Jessica’s executioner was only partially true.
Jessica did indeed order the death of some members who dared challenge her… But only if the only skill they had was skill that they imagined. Some trainers simply had delusions, huge egos, or the inability to believe that any trainer could be as powerful as stories said they were. When such fools challenged her, Jessica soundly defeated them, and they paid for their folly with their lives.
But… Some challengers had actual skill. Some were smart, and powerful enough to be an actual challenge. Jessica had a special punishment for them.
In the deepest subbasement of the Grasp Building was her prison. Jessica and Digger were the only humans – aside from the prisoners – who knew of its existence. He was its jailer, and his staff were Pokémon chosen for strength and ability to intimidate.
Prisoners were told upon coming here that they would never leave, this being their punishment for daring to challenge Jessica. They didn’t know that hope did exist for them. All of them had come close to defeating her, and Jessica knew she might need trainers with that much ability someday. She’d let them think she threw away the key… It would make them eager to accept any offer for release.
Jessica had come here with one prisoner in mind.
“Rhydon,” she told Digger, as they walked down the cell block.
Digger took a pokeball from his belt.
Jessica stopped at a cell and looked inside, through the small panel of one-way glass.
A young woman who was about her age was lying on a cot reading a book. She was about six feet tall, and quite muscular. Her dirty hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore a ragged and dirty halter top and breechcloth – along with a metal collar around her neck.
Jessica smiled. She and Mandy went WAY back.
Mandy was once Queen of the Battle Girls. She was a Pokémon trainer of no small skill. And even before Rocket Reborn was founded, she and Jessica knew each other, both as allies and friendly rivals.
Jessica offered Mandy a place in her new group when it started, and Mandy eagerly accepted. Mandy soon became Jessica’s enforcer. She’d refuse to battle anyone who didn’t agree to a Dare, calling him a spineless coward if he refused. If she won, her Pokémon’s attack on the trainer would likely send him to the hospital.
If she lost, the attack wouldn’t ever cause her smile to waver. She’d tell the trainer to train the Pokémon more. With Mandy, it was truly a case of what didn’t kill you made you tougher.
Soon, Rocket Reborn grew into a modest-sized organization, and Mandy was Jessica’s second in command, and possibly the one she trusted the most…
No-one apparently knew that she was planning to betray her apparent friend in the worst way. No-one knew her reasons. They were known only to her, and she never revealed them.
Secretly, Mandy captured a Gible. She then started a training regimen using cruel and very illegal methods, designed not only to make it stronger, but to give it an incredible bloodlust, as if the Twisting wasn’t enough. Soon, it evolved into a Gabite, and then a Garchomp. Mandy now had an incredibly powerful Pokémon with a taste for blood.
At a very public Rocket event, Mandy’s challenge was all but subtle. She actually punched Jessica in the face, knocking her over, and then said that she was taking over Rocket. She could either stay down and let her, or get up and battle her in a Dare. Jessica wouldn’t stay down, and the Pokémon battle quickly began.
Onlookers later described the battle as the most brutal thing they had ever seen. One by one, Pokémon on both sides collapsed. Finally, Jessica was down to two Pokémon, one of which was on its last legs, and Mandy was down to her last. Mandy released Garchomp, and it savagely finished off Jessica’s second-to-last Pokémon. Mandy’s plan was now obvious – she didn’t only intend to defeat Jessica, she intended to kill her.
Then Jessica released her last Pokémon, and Mandy’s plan fell apart. It was an incredibly powerful Abomasnow, one of the most powerful Ice-Types. Garchomp are Dragon/Ground Pokémon, so Ice is deadly to them. Abomasnow defeated the Garchomp without half-trying.
Very few members of Rocket believed that Jessica had simply lucked out enough to have an Abomasnow on her team at that time. Most believed that she knew about Mandy’s plan all along, and had stayed one step ahead of her.
As Garchomp fell, Mandy expressed fear for the first time. Jessica glared at her, and then told her that if she got on her knees, she would be spared Abomasnow’s Sheer Cold attack.
Then Mandy did the dumbest thing she could have done: She actually did fall to her knees. And Jessica had been lying. The reason she wanted Mandy on her knees was so Abomasnow could get a clearer shot.
Poor Mandy was nearly frozen solid. Folks didn’t know at that point whether she was still alive or not. Then Jessica gave her a kick, and told everyone watching that this was the fate of traitors.
The last everyone saw of Mandy was Jessica and Digger dragging her away. Everyone assumed that if she wasn’t dead, Jessica would soon fix that.
Mandy still lived. For three years, she had been confined to this cell. Digger and Jessica were the only ones who ever came to see her. But she had learned her lesson – she wouldn’t beg anymore. She had remained defiant since her imprisonment began. She wouldn’t even answer Jessica when she asked repeatedly what the reason was for her betrayal.
Jessica took a small microphone on the door and spoke into it.
“Mandy,” she said, “step onto the circle.”
Mandy grunted in anger. She slammed the book closed and crossed her arms.
“Do it, Mandy,” said Jessica.
Mandy didn’t respond.
“You want me to activate the collar?” asked Jessica. “Now!”
Mandy sighed.
She got off the cot, and stepped onto a circle in the center of the room.
As she did, two iron manacles latched onto her ankles. Then, two long chains reached up out of the floor and grabbed her wrists. The chains pulled taunt and then latched in place.
Jessica turned to Digger.
“Open it up,” she said.
Digger punched in a code, and the door slid open.
Then he held up the pokeball, and a huge Rhydon appeared in the room as Jessica walked in.
“Don’t struggle, Mandy,” said Jessica. “If you do, you get a Hammer Arm in the face.”
“Are these really necessary?” growled Mandy.
“The chains?” said Jessica. “Of course they are. I know that if your hands were free, you’d try to strangle me.
“Well, get it out of your head, because that’s not going to happen.”
She smirked.
“Mandy, Mandy, Mandy…” she said. “Less than a week ago I was more than prepared to let you rot down here for good…
“But never let it be said that I’m not without mercy… I’m going to give you an offer… An offer for a second chance.”
“Why?” said Mandy.
Jessica shrugged.
“Well, you were my best trainer,” she said. “And the only trainer brave enough… Or maybe dumb enough, I don’t know… To attempt a Pokémon Double Dare.”
“You want me to do a Pokémon Double Dare?” asked Mandy.
Jessica nodded.
“I’ll let you out, Mandy,” she said, “but that’s the condition for you staying out. You’ll find a trainer I’m having trouble with, force him into a Double Dare, and kill him. If you succeed, you get freedom.
“If you fail, you go back here. Forgiveness only reaches so far.”
Mandy closed her eyes.
“What if I say no?” she said. “What if I decide to stay in this cell where it’s safe?”
Jessica chuckled.
She walked behind her prisoner. Then she gave her a slap on the behind. Mandy closed her eyes and seethed with rage.
“Wow,” said Jessica, “buns of steel…
“You’re a Battle Girl, Mandy… You cherish your body… It’s a temple… Such big muscles…”
She felt Mandy’s ample bicep.
“You know the stuff that Digger has been feeding you?”
“You mean the prison gruel?” asked Mandy, angrily.
Jessica chuckled.
“Well, I suppose you could call it ‘gruel’,” she said. “But actually, Mandy, it’s an incredibly nutritious dietary supplement. It was invented by Brawly in Dewford. He and his apprentices eat it all the time. It’s loaded with protein, carbs, vitamins… all the good stuff.
“If I hadn’t been giving it to you, the lack of activity would have made these splendid muscles atrophy a long time ago…
“If you don’t agree to my terms, you’ll start getting what the other prisoners get. You cherish your body, Mandy… If you refuse, I’ll let it go to waste!”
Mandy closed her eyes sadly.
“I guess I have no choice,” she said.
“I knew you’d see it my way,” said Jessica.
She turned towards the door.
“Once I’ve left, Digger will release you, and show you to the nice room I’ve arranged for you in the main building. It has a change of clothes, a shower, and a PC where you can retrieve your Pokémon. They’ll be very happy to see you.”
“My Pokémon?” shouted Mandy. “You said that you killed them!”
Jessica chuckled.
“A little white lie,” she said. “Digger and I had a bet as to when you’d stop sobbing after I told you that. I didn’t win, if it makes you feel better.”
* * * * * * * * * *
It was now seven o’clock.
Alone in the room she had been given, Mandy felt refreshed for the first time in a long time. After three years of being given sponge baths, she had finally been able to shower. And she had finally been able to throw away that filthy old Battle Girl costume that she had been wearing when she thrown in the cell and put on a clean one.
She strapped on her Pokémon bandoleer, and took a deep breath. She thought of Jessica.
Then she looked at the PC she had been given.
“Oh, you were a fool for letting me out, Jessica,” she said, sitting down at it.
She started to type in some programs. She knew that if she was caught, those chains would become a permanent feature of her imprisonment.
She really didn’t care. She didn’t have much left to lose.
“There’s a myth about Battle Girls,” she muttered. “People think that when we become as strong as an ox, we become just as dumb as one. Well, that’s true for some of us, but not all.”
As Mandy suspected, Jessica had changed her password in the past three years, but it was no problem to crack. After fifteen minutes of hacking, she had broken into her old friend’s files.
“What an interesting hobby you seem to have acquired, old friend,” she said. “The Plates, huh? Hmm… This may be a good way to start…”
* * * * * * * * * *
It was now eight PM.
At another section of the Grasp Building, two guards holding heavy-duty rifles were standing in front of a steel door.
They were surprised to say the least to see a Pokémon wander down the hall. It was a pretty little flower fairy with a red rose for one hand and a blue rose for the other.
One of the guards chuckled.
Then the Pokémon started whistling. It whistled a sweet, musical melody. The two guards held their heads…
In a minute, they collapsed, asleep.
Mandy walked out from around the corner. She took a pair of earplugs out of her ears.
“Good work, Roselia,” she said. “Your Grasswhistle put them under. Even with my earplugs, I felt like taking a nap.”
She bent down, and took a keycard from one of the guards.
“Thanks,” she said to the sleeping guard.
She scanned the keycard in the door.
A plate opened up.
”Hand print identification please,” said a computerized voice.
Mandy looked at the guard again. Then she lifted up his hand, removed his glove, and pressed his hand against the plate.
There was a beeping, and the door opened.
“Thanks again!” said Mandy.
She walked into the vault. Inside was only one item – it was one of the Plates, this one colored orange.
“The Fist Plate!” said Mandy.
She carefully looked at the pedestal that it was on, and the equipment around it. As she expected, the place was lit up like a pinball machine. The Plate was naturally wired. Simply taking it would trigger an alarm – or kill whoever tried to steal it.
She took a set of wire cutters out of her pouch.
As she expected, the three wires that the pedestal was connected to were three colors: red, blue, and yellow.
She knew which one to cut – Jessica herself had told her the little rhyme you had to know when disarming things like this: Red, you’re dead, blue, you’re through, yellow, you’re mellow.
She carefully clipped the yellow wire.
The fact that all the lights went dark was proof enough that she had succeeded.
“Come to Mandy,” she said, grabbing the Fist Plate. “Ah, it’s a shame that I don’t have time to look for the three other Plates that my old friend has…
“But this will be good to start…
“Only one thing matters now… Revenge…
“Once I’m done, Jessica, you’ll be the one languishing in that cell. And I’ll claim my birthright…
“Mom, dad… I’ll make you proud of me…”
She looked at the picture she had been given of Starbuck.
“But first thing’s first. Let me apologize in advance, Starbuck… I don’t want to kill you… But sadly, that’s what has to be done…”
Coming up next:
What is Mandy’s birthright? It’s a question that will remain unanswered for now.
Coming up next, Starbuck and party venture into the unknown on a quest to find the Spooky Plate. And Lisa must face a Guardian with an eccentric attitude. It’s all coming soon…
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Originally Posted by Zorak
