Digital Demons (R)

Yes, it's R, and no, I probably shouldn't read this stuff, let alone write it. But hey. This will be short, perhaps three chapters? Not sure. Anyway, rated R for violence, blood, and sadistic, inventive methods of death. Mild swearing, if the odd 'ass', 'damn' or 'hell' counts as swearing. I don't think so, but some people are sensitive. No violence in Part 1, though, so read on.

~~~~~

Six miles north of Cerulean City stands a large, ornate mansion, with four floors of beautiful architecture, sweeping gardens and two basement levels full of computers and pool tables. It even has two tennis courts. Despite the extravagance, however, nobody lives there. It isn't used as a hotel, an art gallery or a museum. In fact, no human being has set foot within its walls for four and a half years. If one had the skill to hack the Cerulean City and Municipality Council database, one would find that the mansion is still listed as the property of the late John Wardes, an IT genius who used to work for Silph Co. To this day, people avoid the mansion without really knowing why. Some say it is haunted. Others scoff at this. The one thing they all agree on, though, is that they have no desire to go anywhere near John Wardes' old mansion.

To unravel the mystery behind this place, we must journey back in time almost five years, to when Silph Co was working on the final stages of their Porygon project . . .






"So, John. What have you got for me this time?" Mac Bega, head technician on the Porygon project, sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose before leaning his chin on his hand again and trying desperately to focus on the computer monitor in front of him. On the screen, John Wardes was ecstatic. His face filled the screen as he leant in closer to the webcam in his excitement.

"You've got to get your ass out here, Mac! This is amazing! I swear, I've made a breakthrough that will change the future of the Porygon project – and Silph Co – for the better! You absolutely have to see it in person!" Mac yawned.

"First things first, John. Get your sweaty mug out of my face and explain exactly what is so wonderful." John's face was sweaty, and flushed with exhilaration. His lank brown hair, long and ragged with neglect, hung down over his face, partially obscuring his eyes and giving him a slightly unkempt appearance. Regardless, Mac knew John was one of the most important assets the project had.

"Alright," John said, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. "Alright. I've basically expanded on the Conversion technique. My application allows Porygon to judge the nature of its opponent and create a weapon to deal with it! It contains a vast database of weaponry, energy weapons and Pokémon moves to deal with almost any situation! Not only weapons, but tools, too. Basically, if Porygon encounters a situation it cannot deal with normally, the program activates, analyses the problem and presents a solution. If Porygon is, for example, trapped in a cave-in with its Trainer, it can create a Digger Drill to clear a way out. Hell, it can bring out an umbrella if it's raining!" Mac chewed this over.

"Impressive," he said. "So, you're saying your program can create matter out of nothing?" It was physically impossible, but after all, wasn't Porygon itself? And for that matter, if any man could do the impossible, it would be Wardes.

"It's hard to explain over the cam. That's why you have to get out here ASAP. Please?" John begged. Mac sighed.

"All right . . ." he agreed. "I'll be there this evening. I assume you have a spare room in that minuscule cabin of yours?" he joked.

"It may be difficult, but I'll squeeze you in somehow," John smiled. "See you in a couple of hours?"

"Absolutely." Mac cut the connection, not wishing to waste any more time. Despite his apparent scepticism, he was just as excited as John was.

Kicking his office chair out from under him, Mac strode out of the tiny cubicle, inwardly revelling in the freedom. Ignoring the coffee stain on his shirt, he took a lift straight down to the ground floor, stepped outside and went straight to his car. In a squeal of rubber, he gunned the accelerator, swerving across incoming traffic and nipping between two eighteen-wheelers to land comfortably at the head of the queue for the traffic lights. Ignoring the honks from the other commuters, Mac allowed himself a small smile.

Whoever said geeks were conservative drivers?




Two hours later, Mac pulled into John's driveway, his sedan's wheels crunching on the gravel. Shaking his head in despair at the sheer length of the driveway – he couldn't even see the mansion yet – he slammed his foot down on the accelerator. There were no speed cameras on the driveway.

A further five minutes later, Mac finally stopped his car in front of the mansion. Checking his watch as he stepped out, Mac realised it was already past five thirty.

"Mr Bega!" came a voice. Mac looked up in surprise to see Kelly, one of John's assistants, trotting down the front steps to meet them. A bouncy, effervescent girl, just out of high school, Kelly looked genuinely pleased to see him. Then again, she looked genuinely pleased about everything, Mac reflected drily as he acknowledged her with a wave. When she came within reasonable speaking distance, he said:

"Kelly, please. I said you can call me Mac, remember?" Kelly smacked her forehead dramatically, her frizzy blond hair bobbing comically.

"Ah! Yes, that's right! Silly me! Come on, Mac, Dr. Wardes is waiting for you!" Without another word, she seized his arm and dragged him up the steps and into the mansion. Mac caught a brief glimpse of red and gold carpet on white marble before Kelly propelled him down a staircase to the basement level. Underground, everything was concrete. Elegant concrete, to be sure, but concrete nonetheless. The room was spacious, with three rows of computer monitors, as well as several other specialised pieces of equipment. A large plasma screen on the wall displayed a panoramic view of Lake Acuity in Sinnoh. Mac shivered. Just looking at it made him cold.

"Ah, Mac! You're here!" John appeared from behind a large piece of machinery, and seized Mac's arm – which Kelly had just let go of – and drew him around to a particular computer screen. "I'd offer you a coffee, but it seems you've already had one," he said, with a glance at Mac's shirt. "Besides, I want to get down to business. Look at this!"

Totally bemused by the speed at which everything was happening, Mac peered at the display. The monitor showed a Porygon, defined only by an electric blue web, bobbing inquisitively around the screen. John hit a key and the Porygon became fully defined, its blue and pink body filling itself in. Mac nodded. So far, so good. John tapped a few more keys. The Porygon on the screen stretched and elongated, its head sharpening to a hook-like beak, and what appeared to be wings sprouting from an altogether more powerful-looking back; its legs also elongated, growing into hooked claws, until it resembled an eagle more than the original duck.

"Mac, may I introduce you to Porygon-X?" Mac stared. At the sound of its name, Porygon-X emitted a piercing, digital shriek that screamed out of the speakers, causing the two scientists to wince. "Porygon needed to be larger to compensate for the extra hardware. As well as that, it needs a bit more oomph to wield some of those bits and bobs. The Digger Drill I mentioned earlier, for example. So I took a few liberties with the design. That can be changed at any time, if you don't like it." Mac watched in fascination as Porygon-X flapped around the screen, looking almost like a normal bird.

"John . . ." Mac found he had a hard time speaking. He swallowed and tried again. "John, this design in itself is very impressive. Porygon, for all its functionality, is not completely suited to combat. Your Porygon-X might just be the answer we've been looking for."

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!" John was really getting into his stride now. "Just let me run the combat simulator . . ." As he tapped keys, he explained, "The simulator is completely random. It will put Porygon-X into a random environment against a random opponent! It could be facing anything from a Pidgey to piece of heavy artillery!" The screen behind Porygon-X shimmered and shifted, resolving itself into a craggy mountaintop, with rain pouring down with great force. Porygon-X screeched once, and began to glow. The light obscured the Pokémon for a few seconds, before it faded, revealing Porygon-X holding a large umbrella in its claws, specially modified so that it would still shield it from above.

"You weren't kidding about the umbrella," Mac murmured in awe.

"Of course not!" John cried, tapping another key. "Running opponent generator, now." Another bird appeared on the screen, much larger than Porygon-X; with yellow and black spiky feathers and a long orange beak. "Oh, ho, ho!" John chortled happily. "Zapdos! This ought to be interesting!" Reacting instantly, Porygon-X began to glow once more. Zapdos, screeching violently, began charging a Thunderbolt. Porygon-X resolved itself once more, this time holding two items. The first was a grounded lightning rod, which easily absorbed the massive Thunderbolt. The other, which was altogether more dangerous-looking, was . . .

"What is that?" Mac asked. John peered at it closely.

"I believe it's a canister of liquid nitrogen. Acting on Zapdos' weakness to ice, I suppose. Hm. I don't recall programming that particular weapon in there. Kelly, was that you?" he asked over his shoulder.



"No, Dr. Wardes," Kelly said. "It must have been Jacob."

"Must've been," John snorted. "That'd be just like him. Oh, look!" Porygon-X, swooping up into the air, had activated the nitrogen canister, which – evidently pressurised – sprayed a jet of nitrogen at Zapdos, which screeched in agony and spiralled to the ground, landing in a crumpled, sparking heap. Porygon-X screeched in victory, beginning to glow once more. When the light faded for the third time, it was left calmly holding the umbrella again.

"Unbelievable," breathed Mac, watching numbly as John tapped another key, causing umbrella and mountain to vanish. Porygon-X was left flapping coolly around the screen. "Absolutely incredible. But . . . does it work when Porygon-X gains corporeal form?"

"Of course it does!" John said happily, grinning from ear to ear and bouncing around like a Buneary on steroids. "Over here!" He led Mac to a machine he recognised – it was the one that turned computer data into a tangible Pokémon. Flicking switches and pressing buttons, he primed the machine. "Kelly, would you do the honours?" Bouncing almost as much as John, Kelly shot over to the wall and pulled a large blue lever, activating the machine and turning the lights off.

Dozens of sharp, metal prongs, glinting in the light from the computer monitors, extended from the ceiling and floor, coming to rest in a complex pattern, all pointing in towards a central point. As the scientists watched eagerly, small, crackling bolts of blue energy leapt from one spike to another, and another, until a spherical web of blue electricity was created. Within the sphere, dozens of small, white points of light were coalescing, growing larger and more numerous with each second. The interconnected spikes reacted to this, sending bolts of energy into the middle, striking the white specks with flashes of blinding light. In between flashes, the onlookers could see the white points joining together, becoming larger and larger, forming a familiar outline . . .
All at once, the device emitted a huge flash of light which lasted for several seconds, causing the three spectators to cover their eyes. When the light died away, Mac opened his eyes and blinked away the afterimage to see Porygon-X sitting calmly on the floor where the web of electricity had been, wings quietly folded.

"It's . . . alive," he breathed.

"Of course it's alive!" John exclaimed, beginning to bounce again. "Come on, Mac, you can test it out! Kelly, lights and computers, please!" Kelly rushed off to flick a couple of switches, and while the lights flickered back into life, the banks of computers sank smoothly into the floor, leaving the familiar outlines of a Pokémon battlefield behind in their place. Even the large screen on the wall sunk back into the concrete and was covered by a steel sheet that slid quickly into place.

"What? Me, test it out?"
"Of course!" said John, for what seemed to be the hundredth time since Mac had arrived, steering him towards one end of the battlefield before dashing off to stand at the other, behind Porygon-X. "Come on! Call out your Pokémon!"

"All right," Mac said quietly, pulling a PokéBall from his belt. "Let's roll."


~~~~~

Fun, yeah? Well, the violence starts in the next chapter. Till then, be safe, think positive, and don't eat yellow snow.