Day 250

[from Electron]

Mere minutes ago, the blazing wreck in front of Electron had been a vibrant cruise ship, filled with hundreds of holidaymakers excitedly looking forward to a fortnight drifting through the Caribbean. Now, the ship's fiercely-burning remains were sinking rapidly into the harbour, taking those who had survived the initial explosion with it. A few had managed to escape and swim to safety, or float away among the wreckage, but Electron knew that hundreds, if not thousands of people had perished in the disaster, and he hadn't even had the chance to save them.

The words of his handler echoed in his head once more: “You can't save everyone. Maybe something happened that you didn't know about… but whatever the reason, someday somebody's gonna look you in the eye and ask you where you were when they needed you.” I guess that day is today, Electron thought to himself. I don't know what happened here, but a whole lot of people are going to be pointing their fingers at me and saying it's my fault these people died. I guess I'll just have to cope with that.

As more and more survivors began to flee the wreckage, Electron began assisting the rescue effort as best he could, saving as many survivors as possible. By the time the ship's wreckage had submerged completely, almost 200 people had been carried to safety, but that still left almost a thousand people unaccounted for. A thousand people who, most likely, had all gone down with the ship. It was an incredible death toll, and the more the number floated around Electron's head, the worse it made him feel.

Then the crime scene investigators arrived, and their immediate conclusion made the disaster seem even worse: it had been deliberate. Somebody, they said, had planted a bomb on board the vessel; the resulting explosion had torn right through the ship, causing it to sink within minutes. With the final death toll estimated at 937, it was the biggest loss of life on American soil since 9/11, and it had all happened under Electron's watch. It was too much for him to take. He sat down on the edge of the docks, staring blankly out into the blue-grey waters as he tried to make sense of it all.

He didn't know how long he had been sat there when he heard a sudden voice from behind him. “Hey. You're Electron, right?”

Electron nodded solemnly, but didn't feel up to speaking quite yet. The man duly continued: “I can't believe something like this would happen here. What kind of a person would just blow up a cruise ship like this? All those innocent lives...”

Electron let out a heavy sigh. “You know, you're not really making me feel any better,” he said.

“Sorry,” said the man. “But what if I told you there was a way to undo all this? To stop the bomb from going off, and save all these people? What if I told you that was possible?”

Electron turned to look at the man, and to his surprise he saw that he was another super. He was a tall, dark-haired man in a crimson bodysuit, with a white fast-forward icon emblazoned on the front. His words sounded almost too good to be true, but if they were true… “Who are you?” asked Electron.

“My name is Fast-Forward,” said the man. “SHRED heard about what happened here, and they sent me along to prevent it from ever happening. I have the ability to alter the speed of my passage through time, just like a DVD remote; I can pause, rewind, or even fast-forward into the future. And I can bring other people with me as well, so long as they’re holding onto me while I do it. So, what do you say?” Fast-Forward held out his hand. “How about we travel back in time together and erase this tragedy from the history books?”

It still seemed a little too good to be true, but Electron had no reason to doubt the man, and certainly nothing to lose by choosing to go along with him. He therefore nodded and took Fast-Forward's hand. “Sounds good to me,” he said. Fast-Forward pulled Electron back to his feet, and together the two turned their attention back to where the cruise ship had been just a few hours earlier, a few pieces of debris still drifting between the recovery vessels.

“This might be a bit disorienting,” said Fast-Forward. “Feel free to close your eyes, but whatever you do, don't let go of my hand until I tell you. Got it?”

“What happens if I do?” asked Electron.

The question seemed to give Fast-Forward pause for thought. “You know… I'm not actually sure,” he admitted. “It's never happened before. But it's not worth finding out now. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I'll ever be,” said Electron.

“Alright then,” said Fast-Forward. “Let's go stop a bomb.”

Fast-Forward took a deep breath, and suddenly the world around Electron grew eerily still and silent. The waters below them froze, and the air grew deathly calm. With no movement at all around them, the silence was so great that Electron could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, the sound of his breathing amplified a hundredfold. This wasn't just disorienting: it was downright unreal. Thankfully, this state of frozen time lasted only a moment, but what happened next was just as disconcerting.

The world around them now began to play out in reverse. The waves raced back out towards the ocean, the gulls overhead flew backwards through the sky at alarming speed, and the clouds rushed across the horizon as though whipped up by an almighty hurricane. Then, as Electron watched on in astonishment, the carcass of the cruise ship rose from the water, the rescued civilians zooming one by one back into it as it slowly righted and reassembled itself. The rescue crews and emergency response teams retreated from the scene in a flurry of lights and sirens. Finally, the debris scattered all over the harbour rushed back into pace as the almighty explosion played itself out in reverse, the massive fireball rapidly retreating back into the hull as the damage miraculously repaired itself. The cruise ship now stood before them in all its original glory, its white paintwork gleaming in the Florida sunlight.

Fast-Forward was not done yet, however. “We gotta go back far enough to give us time to search for the bomb, but not so far back that it hasn't been planted yet,” he said. “Of course, I don't know when it was planted, but I'm guessing probably some time last night, while everybody was asleep. So I'm taking us back to 8am, and that gives us… just over six hours, I think, until the bomb explodes. That should be more than enough time to evacuate the ship and have a good old search. You feeling alright, by the way?” he added. “I'm sure this must be pretty weird for you.”

“Well, you're right about that,” said Electron. “This just might be the weirdest thing I've ever seen. But… I gotta admit, it's also pretty damn amazing.”

Fast-Forward smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “Almost there.” A few moments later, the world snapped back into normal speed, and the pair found themselves standing before the unblemished cruise ship at precisely eight o'clock. “There we go,” said Fast-Forward, letting go of Electron's hand. “8am, give or take a few minutes. Ready to stop that bomb?”

Electron nodded. “Let's do this,” he said.

Day 249

[from StarLight]

White Star quickly located the latest monster inside a residential area. It was a strange, giant spider-like creature with four long, spindly legs. It skittered through the streets at alarming speed, crushing parked cars beneath its spiked feet and sending civilians sprinting for cover. Its size and location gave White Star a lot of cause for concern. “Okay, this is really not good,” she said.

“I agree” agreed Kousen. “This monster has the potential to cause an immense amount of damage. You'll have to take it down as quickly as possible.”

White Star nodded in agreement. “Guess I'll skip the catchphrase for today and just go straight to the butt-kicking.”

White Star started to take aim at the monster, but in her exhaustion she found it difficult to keep her eyes open, let alone keep track of the fast-moving creature. Finally, with a sweep of her arm, she cried “Star Shower!” The resulting barrage of star-shaped projectiles all missed the monster by several feet, bouncing off a nearby row of houses instead. White Star fired two more Star Showers at the monster, but missed again both times, and began to grow frustrated.

“Focus, Sanae!” said Kousen. “It's imperative that you-”

“I am focusing!” snapped White Star. “You try hitting something that's moving that fast after going all day without sleep!”

“Sorry,” said Kousen, deciding it was better to back off for now. “But… maybe it would be better to try some close-range attacks for now.”

White Star forced herself to calm down and nodded. “I guess it would,” she said. “Thanks, Kousen.”

White Star swooped in, aiming to get closer to the monster. Before she could reach it, however, she heard a cry from below her: “Hey, White Star! Down here!” Looking down, she saw the White Star Fan Club waving frantically at her, trying to flag her down. This had better be important, she thought to herself as she descended towards them.

“What is it?” asked White Star. “I'm a little busy at the moment.”

“I know,” said Hitomi, “and I'm really sorry to interrupt you – well, not really sorry, because you're my idol and it's always such a great honour to get to talk to you – I mean, I know I shouldn't be interrupting you, but-”

“Just get to the point!” said White Star, growing impatient. “I have a monster to defeat!”

Hitomi seemed a little shocked by her idol's sudden outburst, and found herself tripping over her words. “Uhh, th-the, uhh… well-”

Fortunately, Nagisa stepped in before White Star's patience wore any thinner. “Black Star has returned,” she said. “She's over in the downtown area, seeking you out for a rematch.”

White Star wasn't exactly too thrilled to hear this. “Oh, you've got to be kidding me!” she groaned. “It's just one thing after another today! I'm never going to get any rest!”

The White Star Fan Club hated to see their heroine so despondent. “Don't worry, Sanae!” said Nagisa. “We'll keep her busy while you defeat that monster! You deserve a rest for having worked so hard!”

White Star was rather touched by this promise. “Really?” she said. “You'd do that for me?”

“W-we would?!” said Hinata, who seemed rather alarmed at the thought of facing Black Star. “Eh… I-I mean, yes! Of course we would!” she added a moment later, as Hitomi nudged her in the ribs.

“Thanks, girls!” said White Star. “You're the best fan club a girl could ever wish for!”

Hitomi, having quickly regained her normal enthusiasm, quickly seized her friends' hands. “Come on, guys!” she said. “Let's go stall a villain!”

Together, the four girls rushed off to delay Black Star as long as possible, leaving White Star behind to battle the monster. “Alright,” said White Star. “Time to let the light of justice shine!”

Meanwhile, downtown, Black Star was casually sitting on an overturned bus, absent-mindedly swinging her legs back and forth and staring into space as she waited for White Star to arrive. “Come on, come on,” she muttered to herself. “Where is she? She should be here by now...”

Hearing sudden footsteps, she looked down to see the White Star Fan Club sprinting towards her. They came to a stop about ten feet away; Mio and Hinata were both gasping for breath, resting their hands on their knees as they tried to recover. “I'm not… cut out… for running… so quickly… between scenes...” gasped Mio.

“What do you want?” asked Black Star.

Hitomi hadn't quite thought this far ahead – or at all, really. “We're, uhh… uhh…” Suddenly she was struck by an idea. “We're fans of yours!” she said.

“No we a-” Hitomi promptly elbowed Nagisa in the ribs. “-I mean, uhh… yes! We're very big fans of yours!”

“So we thought… we'd come… and say hi...” said Mio.

“Hmm...” While Black Star enjoyed the attention that the four girls were giving her, she was still anxious to get her rematch over and done with. “I don't suppose any of you nice girls has seen where White Star is, do you?” she asked. “I heard she was around here somewhere, but I can't find her anywhere.”

As Black Star spoke, there was a flash of light in the distance behind her, as White Star's battle with the monster continued. The White Star Fan Club glanced at each other awkwardly. “No, we… haven't seen her at all,” said Hitomi.

“But I heard that… she might be near… the town park...” gasped Mio, who was still recovering. “God, I really need to… start working out...”

“I guess I'll go look for her at the park, then,” said Black Star, getting to her feet. “Thanks for the info, girls. I'll see you all around.” With that, Black Star flew off on what, unbeknownst to her, was merely a wild goose chase.

“Well, that should keep her busy for a little while,” said Hitomi. As another flash of light appeared on the horizon, she added, “Looks like White Star's still battling that monster. Let's head back over there and cheer her on!”

“Oh, no, please, not more running-!” objected Mio, but it was too late. Hitomi had already seized her friends' hands once more and was sprinting back towards the residential area, with the tired Mio dragging behind. You can get through this, Mio, she thought to herself. Just think of White Star and Black Star kissing… White Star and Black Star kissing… White Star and Black Star… oh myyy...~

Day 248

[from Pokémon: Shattered Crystal]

All around me, the strange letter-like symbols are emerging from the walls and floating into the air, gradually drifting towards me. Gripped by a sudden terror, I try to scurry to my feet, but my twisted ankle sends me falling back onto my rear again. I scramble backwards as fast as I can, but it's not enough to outrun the strange creatures, and they're coming at me from all directions, everywhere I look. Then, one of them suddenly swoops forward and attacks.

Firebrand bursts forth from his Poké Ball in the nick of time and takes the hit for me, shrugging it off without a problem. “Thanks, buddy.” Firebrand chirps happily in response, and then beats the mysterious creature back with a blast of flame.

As more of the strange symbols start to swoop down towards us, I hear a cry from above: “Get him outta there! Get him outta there!” A rope drops down through the hole in the ceiling, and I see the researcher's face appear in the gap. “Grab on and we'll pull you up!” he calls out.

Looking around at the swarm of symbols, I realize something. “Do you know what these things are?” I call up to the researcher.

“No!” says the researcher. “I had no idea that they were alive! But they're clearly hostile, and we need to get you out of there now!”

Another of the symbols swoops down towards Firebrand, firing a strange pulse of light at him. “They're Pokémon!” I call up. “They're a type of Pokémon nobody's ever seen before! I'm going to try and catch one for you! Then you can pull me up!”

“Hey! Don't do anything stupid!” says the researcher. “Hey!”

But I've made up my mind about this. Whatever these creatures are, we could learn a hell of a lot from studying them. I order Firebrand to attack the creature that just fired at him, but before he can, it fires another pulse of light. This one strikes Firebrand square in the head and sends him tumbling backwards, collapsing on the cold stone floor. For a second, I fear the worst, but it seems as though he's still alive, albeit unconscious. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all.

“You're gonna get yourself and your Pokémon killed!” the researcher calls out. “Hurry up and get outta there!” Reluctantly, I recall the unconscious Firebrand, but instead of grabbing the rope, I grab Dusk's Poké Ball from my belt. I'm not going to let these creatures get away with nearly killing my friend.

Before I can send him out, however, there's a cry from above: “Go, Nidoking!” A Poké Ball falls through the hole in the ceiling, and out of it bursts Nidoking. It rears up and lets out a powerful Roar, and the strange symbols all suddenly turn around and flee the vicinity, heading back into the walls. Soon, the chamber is still once more.

“I'm sorry,” the researcher calls down. “But I had to do something. I couldn't just stand there and watch you get killed by those things.”

“It's okay.” I realize now that I'd made a mistake in trying to fight those creatures, especially in my current condition. “Thank you.”

“Come on, let's get you otta there before they show up again,” said the researcher. “We'll take you to the hospital, and we'll take your Cyndaquil – Firebrand, was it? - to the Pokémon Centre. You'll both be just fine.”

“Thank you.” I grab tightly onto the rope, and with the help of a female passer-by, the researcher manages to pull me out of the chamber and back into the room containing the tablet.

The researcher seems just as shaken by what has just happened as I am. “You said those things were… Pokémon?” he asks me.

“It sure seemed like it,” I say. “I don't know what else they could be.”

The researcher nodded. “We'll definitely have to mount an expedition into that chamber,” he said. “You may not have been able to catch one, but we'll certainly give it our best effort.” He glances over at the reassembled tablet. “I suppose I should thank you for unlocking the chamber in the first place,” he said. “Who would have thought that that tablet was the key to unlocking the ruins' secret...”

“Shouldn't we get him to a hospital?” asks the passer-by, who looks pretty worried. “He looks pretty hurt.”

“Oh, of course,” says the researcher. “Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. It's the least I can do.”

“-and now, here's Lisa with the travel updates.”

“Thank you. If you're planning on heading between Violet City and Ecruteak City, I'm afraid you'll have to take the long way round: there are numerous reports of a strange tree blocking Route 36, preventing direct travel between the two cities…”

It's been two days since I was admitted to hospital in Violet City. Luckily, my ankle injury doesn't seem to have been that serious, but it's still put the kibosh on my plans to fight the Azalea Gym, at least for the time being. Firebrand and the rest of my Pokémon were healed at the Pokémon Centre and are now by my side again, all perfectly fine. I just have to wait for my own injuries to heal now, and I can be on my way once more.

Day 247

[from Aura of Chaos]

“Hey, Tara. Come and have a look at this.”

It had been a few days since Xeron and Tara had arrived in Clauston, and they had not yet received word of another Shoukan attack. To pass the time, and to earn some extra money while they were there, they had started performing quests for the local townspeople. Today they were in a swamp to the east, gathering medicinal herbs for an old woman, but Xeron appeared to have found something rather more interesting. It was a fragment of some kind of crystal, as blue as the midday sky. It had been lying there amongst the moss and tree roots, seemingly untouched for years, but as Xeron wiped the grime from it it seemed to sparkle and gleam as though it had been cut just yesterday.

Tara promptly headed over and joined him in gazing at the object in curiosity. “What is it?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” said Xeron. “It looks like it's been broken off from a larger crystal, but… how it got here, I have no idea.”

“Do you think it might be valuable?” asked Tara.

“I think it might be priceless,” said Xeron. “Look how clear and bright it is.”

Xeron handed the crystal to Tara, and the moment it touched her fingers, she felt a sudden rush of mana pulse through her body, energizing her. She'd heard of items and artefacts that could increase a Witch's power, but this was beyond anything she had ever experienced. She let out a gasp of surprise.

“What is it?” asked Xeron.

“There's a huge amount of magic in that crystal,” she said. “It's like nothing I've ever felt before.”

Xeron took back the crystal, examining it with interest. “There's mana in this crystal?” he repeated.

Tara nodded. “Lots of it,” she said. “And if this is only one piece, then...”

“...then somewhere out there are more crystals just like this one, all loaded to the brim with mana,” said Xeron. “I wonder what would happen if we put them all together...”

“-we'd have one incredibly powerful magic source,” said Tara.

Xeron nodded. “I think we should take this to Corwyn, at the Great Library,” he said. “He'll know what this is. We should also take a look around, in case there are any more of them nearby.”

“Good idea,” said Tara. “But shouldn't we be gathering those herbs?”

“We can look for both at the same time,” suggested Xeron.

“I guess so,” said Tara.

The pair duly set off once more, gathering the herbs they'd been sent to find while scouring the area for any more crystals similar to the one Xeron had found. They could not find any others, and so once they had gathered enough herbs, they headed back to Clauston to complete their quest and consult with Corwyn.

The quest paid out a fair amount of gold, and it suddenly occurred to Tara that the two of them now had more money than she had ever had before. “What should we buy with all this?” she asked.

“Well, we'll need supplies, of course, and some new weapons and armour wouldn't go amiss,” said Xeron. “Did you get everything you needed from the Reservoir?”

Tara nodded. The supplies in the underground Witches' market had been second-to-none, and she had obtained several spellbooks and mana-restoring potions. Of course, with the power that the crystal fragment contained, it was possible that she wouldn't be needing them.

“Then for now, let's head over to the Great Library and find out more about this crystal,” said Xeron.

The duo proceeded to the Great Library, and upon entry they quickly located Corwyn stood upon a high ladder, perusing a book from one of the shelves. “Excuse me?” Xeron called out. “Corwyn?”

Corwyn slid nimbly down the ladder and turned to face the arrivals. “Ah, Xeron and Tara,” he said, adjusting his half-moon spectacles. “I wasn't expecting you to return so soon. Any luck tracking down that sorcerer and the Orb of Chaos?”

“Not yet,” said Xeron. “We're actually here about something else.” Xeron took out the crystal fragment and held it out for Corwyn to see. “We found this in the swamp to the east. We don't know what it is, but apparently it has an immense amount of magical power. We figured that you'd know what it is.”

Corwyn snapped his book shut and approached the crystal, intrigued. “Hmm… how very interesting...” He held out a hand. “May I…?”

Xeron handed the crystal over, and Corwyn held it up to his glasses, turning it over and examining every detail. “I'm no Witch,” he said finally, “but even I can feel the power emanating from this crystal. Hmm… this just might be...”

“Just might be what?” asked Xeron.

“I'll need to consult a book,” said Corwyn. He set off through the library, with Xeron and Tara quickly following behind him. Arriving at one of the many tall shelves, he set down his book and the crystal at a nearby table and rifled through the shelf in search of another book. Eventually he pulled a large, dusty volume off of the shelf and set it down on the table with a loud thump. “Let's see here...”

Flicking through it, he soon found the page he was after. It was an illustration of an elaborate wooden staff with a massive sky-blue crystal set into the end. Corwyn picked up the crystal once more, examining it to see if it matched the one in the book. “Why, yes,” he said finally. “I do believe the two of you have discovered a Beren Shard.”

“A Beren Shard?” asked Xeron. “What's that?”

“I assume the two of you have heard of the ancient Silver Witch Beren?” asked Corwyn.

“I have,” said Tara. “He's the greatest sorcerer who ever lived.”

“He was certainly the greatest Witch ever to have graced these lands,” said Corwyn. “During the Akedan Wars, he single-handedly wiped out an entire battalion of five thousand troops with a single spell. It it said that much of his power was stored within the crystal atop his staff, and it is thought that a part of his soul was stored within it, so that he could remain living even after death. However, in his final battle, the Silver Witch was cut down, and the crystal removed from the staff and smashed into sixteen pieces. Legend has it that should the pieces be reunited again, Beren's soul will return from the underworld.”

“So… this is one of the pieces of Beren's crystal?” said Xeron.

“I believe so,” said Corwyn. “The power you can feel within it is that of Beren himself.”

Tara's mouth fell open, as she tried to comprehend that before her lay a fragment of the soul of the greatest Witch to have ever lived. “Wow,” she said. “That's amazing!”

“It most certainly is,” said Corwyn. “For centuries, the locations of the Beren Shards have been unknown to the world – all except one, that is. By good fortune, that Shard happens to be located here, at the Great Library. That leaves fourteen Beren Shards still out there, waiting to be collected. Assemble them, and the legendary hero of Albion will walk the earth once more.”

Day 246

[based on Pokémon xTreme]

With Brandon and Emma gone, Seth was forced to lead Taylor and Kieran out of Mt. Moon himself, with his Skarmory brushing aside the few wild Pokémon foolish enough to attack. “Hey, you said you wanted some Grass-type Pokémon, right, Taylor?” he said. “There should be some out on Route 5, south of Cerulean. They might be a bit tough, but I'm sure you can take one down and catch it.”

“Thanks, Seth,” said Taylor. “I'll head out there after lunch and take a look.”

“No problem,” said Seth. “There might be a few Electric-types there as well, so you can sample the obviously superior type for yourself.”

Taylor chuckled. “Thanks,” she said. “But Brandon reckons a Grass-type will help me with the third Gym as well.”

“Well, he's not wrong there,” admitted Seth. “Third Gym's a Ground-type Gym, so Electric Pokémon… not a good idea.”

Before long, the trio were out of the cave and stood blinking in the sunlight of Route 4. On the other side of the hilly traverse lay Cerulean City, a large, pristine metropolis, and their ultimate destination. Brandon and Emma, it seemed, were long gone. “Well, I guess we'd better start walking,” said Seth.

“How far is it?” asked Taylor, a little apprehensively.

Seth shrugged. “Few miles,” he said. “Hey, you wanna be a Pokémon trainer, you gotta get used to doing a whole lotta walking.”

“Well, it's better than flying, I guess,” said Taylor. “Alright, let's get going-”

Before the trio could set off, however, there was a sudden flash of light nearby, and Claire Voigt and her Gardevoir stepped out of thin air onto the grassy hills. “-at his fly is undone,” said Claire. Then, realizing that she had teleported mid-sentence, she turned to scowl lightly at Gardevoir. “I told you to stop doing that,” she said.

“My apologies, mistress,” said Gardevoir, curtseying politely.

Claire swiftly zeroed in on Taylor, who seemed to be rather confused by the woman's sudden arrival. “You must be Taylor, Brandon's student,” she said. “It's a pleasure to meet you.” She then turned to Kieran, who looked equally confused. “And you must be Kieran, Seth's student. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm Claire Voigt, one of the Elite Four.”

Taylor was still rather taken aback by the woman. “How did you-”

“-know your names?” Claire interrupted. “Easy. I'm a psychic. I can read people's minds and predict what they're going to say before they say it. For example, right now you're both thinking, 'I want to get away from this crazy lady so I can go and have lunch'. That's perfectly fine, I've got stuff to do anyway. I came here following a distress signal from Brandon, he wants me to rescue him from his date with Emma.”

“He does?” said Taylor.

“I dunno if you've noticed,” said Seth, “but Brandon isn't exactly the dating type. He's more of a hit-and-run kinda guy.”

“Thank you for that elegant summary, Seth,” Claire remarked. “But yeah, a serious relationship has always been the last thing on Brandon's mind, and I was getting some serious negative vibes from him just now. Wherever it is Emma's dragging him right now, he doesn't wanna be there. Or at least, not with her.”

Taylor couldn't help feeling a little conflicted by this. On the one hand, she was relieved that Brandon wasn't too keen on dating Emma and wanted to get out of it; presumably this meant he was as eager to get on with their training as she was. On the other hand, the fact remained that Emma was carrying his baby, and she wanted him to do right by her. “I thought he'd be enjoying the attention,” she remarked.

“Not the kind of attention Emma's giving him, by the sounds of things,” said Seth. “She's probably acting all lovey-dovey with him, and he hates that shit.”

“Fair enough,” said Taylor. “So, what are you gonna do, just teleport in there and crash his date?”

“Well, I would do, but I don't know where he is,” said Claire. “This was where he was when I picked up his thoughts, but I don't know where he is now. I assume the two of them are headed to Cerulean, though?” Once again, Claire picked up the answer before Taylor or the others could provide it. “They are? Great. Let's head over there together and then you can go have lunch while I go rescue him from Emma. Your Pokémon are all beat up, right? Here, hand them over and I'll heal them for you. I have plenty of Max Revives spare.”

“But you're not carrying a backpack,” said Kieran.

“I don't need a backpack,” said Claire. Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, she pulled out a handful of Max Revives. Taylor and Kieran glanced at each other, shrugged, then started to hand over their fainted Pokémon for Claire to revive.

Day 245

As the two teenagers made their way up the front garden of the abandoned house, one was significantly more eager about the prospect of breaking into it than the other. He shone his torch at the boarded-up windows, trying to find a possible entry route, while his friend cowered behind him. “I'm telling you, Taro,” he said, “we really shouldn't be doing this-”

“And I'm telling you, quit being such a wimp,” said Taro. “We're here for a reason, remember?”

“But… if the ghost is real, then-”

Taro rolled his eyes. “For the last time, Souji,” he insisted, “there is no ghost. That's why we're here: to prove to all the gullible idiots like you that this whole ghost story is just a bunch of baloney.” Having found a promising-looking window, he held the torch out to his friend. “Here, hold the torch for me.”

While Souji held the torch, Taro pulled out a crowbar and began ripping off the wooden boards covering the windows. “Even if the ghost isn't real, isn't this still breaking and entering?” Souji pointed out.

“Sometimes, when you're doing investigative work, you gotta take a few risks,” said Taro.

With the boards removed, Taro put away the crowbar, took the torch back from Souji, and climbed in through the broken window. The room he found himself in was thick with dust, muffling his footprints; the beam of the torch illuminated the particles as they drifted lazily through the air. Shining the torch around, he saw that the room was almost entirely bare, with only a faded, moth-eaten rug and a few dusty pieces of wooden furniture scattered around.

Taro looked back to see Souji still standing outside, staring through the window with some trepidation. Taro shone the torch at his face, causing him to flinch and cover his eyes. “You coming in or what?” he asked.

Reluctantly, Souji climbed in through the window to join his friend. The two briefly explored the room, but it was clear that there was nothing of interest within it. Souji, however, was still uneasy. “Seems empty to me,” he said. “Can we go now?”

“Don't be stupid,” said Taro. “We're gonna search the entire house, just to make sure that-”

“Leave this place!”

A girl's voice suddenly echoed through the darkness, catching the two friends off-guard. The voice somehow seemed both timid and fierce at the same time, and though Taro was not intimidated, Souji certainly was. “Wh-what was that?!” he said.

“Leave this place at once!” the voice insisted. “You are not welcome here!”

Taro was still unfazed. “Relax,” he said. “It's probably just being played over speakers or something, as someone's idea of a practical joke. Come on.” He gestured to Souji to follow him, then proceeded through a nearby doorway in the direction of the voice.

Taro and Souji found themselves in a narrow, dingy corridor. Here, too, the air hung thick with dust. To their left, the corridor led to the front door. A pair of abandoned shoes still sat near the boarded-up door, a spider web stretched across the foot hole of one of them. To their right, the corridor branched into two, with one path leading upstairs and the other leading to another doorway. As far as they could tell, the corridor was deserted. “I don't like this...” said Souji.

“Please!” the voice called out, a measure of panic starting to creep into its tone. “For your own safety, you must leave at once!”

Taro, still undaunted, continued sweeping the corridor with the torch beam, in search of the source of the voice. Suddenly, the beam fell upon the figure of a teenage girl standing at the foot of the stairs, which had been empty just a moment before. The girl was thin, almost emaciated, and her skin was almost deathly white. She wore nothing but a stained white gown that hung loosely from her skeletal frame, and her long, matted purple hair hung down over her entire face, shielding it from view. She looked as though she had walked right out of a horror movie.

Souji let out a loud cry of terror, jumping behind his friend and trembling from head to foot. “If that's not a ghost, then what the hell is it?!” he cried out.

“I told you,” said Taro, staying rational. “It's just someone playing a practical joke. It's some chick in a costume, nothing more.”

The myserious girl dramatically raised a hand. “I am not 'some chick',” she declared, though her voice still wavered slightly. “You must leave now, for your own good!”

“I-I think we should do what she says-” said Souji.

“No way,” said Taro. “We came here to prove that that ghost is a phony, and that's exactly what I'm about to do.”

With that, Taro began to advance towards the girl. Strangely, the girl seemed to become more terrified with every step he took, and soon she began slowly backing away from him. “No, please… you must get away from here!” As Taro continued to advance, the girl's voice grew more and more frantic. “Al… alright, it's true! I-I'm just a girl in a costume! Please, you don't need to- NO!!”

But it was too late. Taro had reached forward and seized the girl's wrist. In an instant, his eyes shot open in pain and terror, his pupils rapidly dilating. Letting out a rattling gasp, he tried to pull away, but his body refused to move. An invisible force was coursing through him, stripping him of every last ounce of energy. The girl looked away, ashamed. There was nothing she could do now. There was nothing anyone could do.

The hand holding the torch grew limp, and it fell from Taro's grasp and clattered down the stairway, landing on the floor of the corridor below. A moment later, there was a loud thump, and Taro followed behind, collapsing down the stairs. His face fell into the torchlight, and Souji could see that his eyes were still wide open, unblinking, a look of agony and horror frozen on his face. Taro was dead.

As Souji gradually realized what had happened, his expression turned to one of abject terror, his entire body trembling. He let out a horrified gasp, taking a step backwards. “T… Taro...”

The girl also took a step backwards, flinching away from Taro's corpse. “I… I'm so sorry...” Her voice began to crack, as though she were starting to cry. “I… I tried to warn him...”

Souji continued to slowly back away, growing ever more terrified until his fear eventually consumed him. Letting out a horrified scream, he turned and fled as fast as his legs could carry him. “Demon!” he cried out. “Demon!”

Souji scrambled out of the broken window, and as he sprinted from the house, his screams gradually faded away. The girl sat down on the stairs and hugged her knees to her chest, her thin shoulders shaking violently as she began to sob. “I'm sorry,” she whispered, her once-powerful voice reduced to a pitiful whine. “I'm so sorry… so sorry...”

Day 244

[from Devastation Online]

ATRAC RESEARCHERS ISOLATE “INCREDIBLE” NEW ELEMENT

Researchers at the Alien Technology Research Centre in St. Leonard have isolated a previously unknown chemical element found in the armour of a crashed Devastator. The finding, published in an online journal on Tuesday, could account for the remarkable toughness of the Devastators' armour, and could also pave the way for powerful new weapons capable of combating the alien machines.

“Preliminary tests indicate that this new element could have a hardness rivalling that of diamond, as well as exceptionally high tensile and compressive strength,” said Prof. Amy Johnston, one of the researchers responsible for the element's discovery. “At the same time, it appears to have a remarkably low density, comparable to that of carbon fibre, which would allow the Devastators to have extremely thick armour without compromising their mobility. The result is that they can withstand incredible amounts of damage.”

With an atomic number of 160, the new element is by far the heaviest ever discovered, and will require the addition of an eighth row to the existing periodic table. Its discovery confirms the “g-block” hypothesis, which reasoned that the eighth row would contain more elements than the seventh. It also confirms the existence of a second set of “islands of stability”: while most elements heavier than uranium have extremely short half-lives, those on the islands of stability decay slowly enough to be useful. Element 160's stability, however, appears to be far beyond that predicted by any scientists, and opens up the possibility of the existence of other stable superheavy elements.

The element's atomic number places it in the same group of elements as iron and osmium, two other metals renowned for their strength and hardness. But even with this in mind, Prof. Johnston considers the new element's properties to be highly remarkable. “It's like nothing we've ever seen before,” she said. “It throws a lot of our understanding of the periodic table into question, particularly the “islands of stability” theory. This discovery, and the ones it could lead to, have the potential to revolutionize the planet, not just in terms of warfare, but in terms of all kinds of manufacturing.”

Prof. Kevin Hough, who worked alongside Prof. Johnston on the discovery, had warned that it will be some time before this new element becomes commercially viable. “Clearly the Devastators have a way of procuring this metal in vast quantities, either through mining operations or through synthesis,” he said. “Whether it's naturally-occurring elsewhere in the universe, or whether it's been synthesized by the Devastators, we simply don't know yet.”

“But since it obviously doesn't occur naturally on Earth, the only way we can currently obtain it is either through salvaging it from Devastators, which is extremely dangerous, or through synthesis, which may not be possible with current technology. We're definitely going to try, though,” Prof. Hough added. “The potential of this new element is far too vast for us to ignore. It could take years for it to become available in sufficient quantities to be useful, however.”

The new element has not yet been officially named by IUPAC, but will receive the temporary systematic name “unhexnilium” (chemical symbol “Uhn”). Prof. Johnston and her team, perhaps understandably, are eager to come up with a snappier name for it.

“We're rather torn at the moment,” Prof. Johnston explained. “Half of us want to give it some kind of fantasy name, because of it incredible properties. Something like 'adamantium' or 'mythril'. The other half want to name it after themselves. Personally, I wouldn't mind if it got named after me – I think 'Johnstonium' has a nice ring to it – but sadly IUPAC has a rule against naming elements after living persons, and I don't intend to die anytime soon!”

Day 238 (Catch-Up)

[from Electron]

It didn't take Electron long to locate the abandoned shooting gallery, and he quickly descended towards it. He could not, however, see Andy anywhere. "Andy?" he called out. "It's me, Electron. I'm here to protect you. Please come out so we can talk. I just want to help you."

Andy's voice rang out from behind one of the stalls. He sounded very emotional. "I never wanted any of this to happen!" he said. "If I'd known how all of this would pan out, I would have stopped them, I swear!" Andy hesitated, unsure whether he wanted to hear the answer, then asked, "Matt's dead, isn't he?"

Electron nodded. "I'm afraid so," he said.

"Oh God..." said Andy. He sounded as though he were on the verge of tears. Electron slowly rounded the stand Andy was hiding behind, and found him slumped against it, holding his head in his hands. His revolver was clutched tightly in his right hand, pointing off to an angle. Electron crouched down in front of the terrified man, and suddenly found himself unable to believe that such a man could possibly have committed such a horrific crime.

"I never meant for any of this," Andy sobbed. "That woman... she's coming to kill me, isn't she? She's coming for me."

"If my hunch is correct, then yes," said Electron. "She'll be here soon. But don't worry. I'll be right here with you, waiting for her. When she comes for you, I'll stop her. I'll make sure she sees justice for what she's done to your friends. But I want you to do something for me in return, alright?"

Andy looked up at Electron with tearful, pleading eyes. "You want me to turn myself in?" he asked. "Alright. I'll do it. I'll tell the cops everything."

Electron nodded. "Thank you. That's all I want from you."

Andy nodded, and put down his revolver. "So... now what?" he said. "We just wait for her to show up?"

"Pretty much," said Electron. "And when she does, I'll finally put a stop to all of this. I promise. Nobody else is going to die today."

Electron had no idea how long he sat in silence with Andy, waiting for the Iron Maiden to arrive. It could have been fifteen minutes, it could have been three hours. All he knew was that the tension made it feel unbearably long, and when the metal-clad figure of Jasmine Dailly finally did appear in the distance, it was almost a relief to him.

"She's here," Electron whispered to Andy.

Andy didn't find this as much of a relief as Electron. "Oh God," he gasped. He instinctively seized his revolver once more, clutching it for dear life. "How did she know we were here?"

"Your wife, I imagine," said Electron. 

 "That... dumb bitch..." For all his harsh words, Andy's bravado had completely evaporated in the face of death. As Electron stood up to confront Jasmine, tears began to stream down Andy's cheeks.

"Don't worry," said Electron. "I'm going to end this." Electron stepped out from behind the shooting stand and started to make his way towards the ever-advancing Iron Maiden. "Jasmine!" he called out. "You have to stop! This is not the right path!"

"This is the only path I have left!" came the reply. "The police have done nothing! I've learned that the only way for justice to be served is to serve it yourself!"

"What you're doing isn't justice, it's murder!" said Electron. "It's making you no better than them!"

This seemed to strike a nerve with Jasmine, who raised her swords in anger. "Don't you ever, EVER compare me to those racist low-lives!" she yelled. "They murdered my husband in cold blood, just for the colour of his skin!"

"And I'm not saying that's right," said Electron, "but what you're doing isn't right either. This man needs to stand trial and be held accountable for his crimes. If you kill him, Jasmine, your husband will never face justice."

Jasmine came to a stop about fifteen feet away from Electron, and the hero thought that perhaps she had listened to reason after all, and decided to abandon her misguided crusade. Then a moment later Jasmine let our a cry of rage and sprinted towards Electron, her swords ready to swing. Electron was quick to react, and as Jasmine slashed wildly at him, he activated his electromagnetic barrier and the swords harmlessly deflected off of thin air. 

Jasmine made a few more harmless swings before realising that she was wasting her time attacking Electron; her real target, Andy, had panicked and started to flee. She darted past Electron, sprinting after the man. Electron frantically sprinted after her, and after a moment's charging, he fired an Ion Beam directly at the small of her back. Although the metal armour absorbed most of the charge, the force of the blow was still more than enough to send her tumbling to the floor, her blades spinning out of her hands.

As Jasmine climbed to her hands and knees, scrambling to pick up her swords again, Electron hurried over to her, knelt down beside her and placed anew electrified hand on the backplate of her armour. To her horror, Jasmine now found herself immobilised. "The hell have you done to me?" she asked. "Let me go!"

"I'm using your armour's electromagnetic shield to hold you in place," said Electron. "You're frozen. Now, it's time you finally gave up on this. It's over. The police will be here shortly to pick you both up."

Seeing that the Iron Maiden was incapacitated, and solemnly accepting his fate, Andy had turned round and was starting to walk back towards them. Jasmine snarled with anger as she watched him approach. "This man killed my husband!" she yelled, tears starting to well in her eyes. "He has to die!"

Upon reaching Jasmine, Andy fell to his knees before her, still despairing. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I could have prevented all of this... if only I'd done something that day…"

"What the hell are you on about?" barked Jasmine. "You did do something that day! You killed-"

"No," said Andy, shaking his head. "No, I didn't. But I may as well have done."

"What really happened that day?" asked Electron. Andy took a deep breath, and began. "That day, the four of us, we were... we were out on a fishing trip, like we do every now and again," he said. "We were just sat up at the wharf together, with some fishing rods and some beers, you know, just to... just having fun. We didn't set out that day to kill someone, honestly-"

"But you did!" Jasmine interrupted.

"Let the man finish," said Electron.

"Uhh... right," said Andy, startled. "Well, uhh... we were chatting, like always, and John and Kevin started telling some kinda racist jokes. They do that all the time, I didn't think anything of it, I mean, they're just jokes, you know? We didn't realize your husband was there, but he must've overheard us, 'coz all of a sudden he comes over and tells us to stop. Matt's like, 'Sure,' but John, he's had a couple more beers than the rest of us, he's pretty pissed. He's like, 'why don't you fuck off back to Africa, ni-'" Realising the company he was in, Andy cut himself off at the last second.

"Anyway, the guy gets pissed, starts ranting about how scum like us are why racism still exists, and why people like him can't walk the streets without fear of getting shot... John and Kevin told him to fuck off, and then things just kept getting more heated. There was a fight... well, it weren't much of a fight... I don't even remember who threw the first punch, but the next thing I know, the guy's on the ground, and John and Kevin were laying into him. Matt has horrified, he tried to pull them off him, I swear, but I just... I just stood there and watched..."

Andy's face filled with genuine regret. "I just stood there and watched them kill him. I'm not sure whether they meant to... but they only stopped when they realized he wasn't breathing anymore. John looked up at Matt and I... Matt was on the floor, they'd knocked him away after they tried to stop them... John said to us, he said, "We're in this together. Nobody talks, nobody mentions this to anyone". Matt wanted to tell the police, but Kevin said they'd just arrest him too, and that was enough to scare him outta doing it. Maybe I should have talked to them myself, maybe I should have-"

Andy cut himself off suddenly, and heaves another sigh. "It doesn't matter," he said. "Your husband's dead, Mrs. Dailly, and I can't bring him back. But you can't bring back the friends you took from me either. Matt... he was innocent, he was trying to help! And you killed him anyway! And you would've killed me just the same if it wasn't for Electron!"

As Andy finished his recollection, a deathly silence fell over the shooting gallery as the words sank in. Slowly, Jasmine's expression turned to shock and horror. "Matt tried to... help my husband?" she repeated in a stunned whisper. "But... I was told that-"

"I swear, I'm telling the truth!" insisted Andy. "I was there, after all! Whoever told you it was all four of us got their facts wrong! I won't deny I've done some terrible things, but I'm not a murderer!"

As the truth sank in, Jasmine grew more and more horrified until she could barely stand it. Her knees and elbows have way beneath her and she collapsed to the ground, her eyes wide with shock. "My God," she gasped. "What have I done?"