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<TITLE> Shoki and the Sanctuaries, Part 1</TITLE>
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<BODY> --Chapter 1, The Characters are Set,

The Mood is Set, The Setting is Set, Lights, Camera…--

Onett was bustling, Onett was busy, Onett was boring. Poor, young, bored, sixteen-year-old Ness finally finished his homework, and laid down on his bed. He looked at the Ultimate Bat, and it began to float into the air. It flew over to his lap before stopping and landing with a flop. Ness smiled and picked up the bat that had seen many a gory battle, and wondered if he would have to use it on his arch nemesis.

On the outskirts of Onett, a small black portal appeared between two Elm trees. A young girl, barely past fifteen, stepped out from the portal and onto the dew filled grass. She giggled as the warm summer rays kissed her cold cheeks, and realized she had spent too much time in the Sub Zero Time Zone, if time ever did pass there.

She giggled again at her sudden prospect, and when she was done acting like a six-year-old schoolgirl, She held her hands out and hummed like a computer. She knew that with her Shoki Magic, finding the boy she was looking for was a walk in the park. She threw her heart out (figuratively, not literally,) into her Shoki search.

The response sent her whole body reeling back. All of the energy she threw into her magic seemed to have disappeared. She began to think about it for a second, and it hit her. It seemed her friend Lyana was wrong. The planet still had a little power left, and what power it did have, it was using it to absorb all of the powers used that weren’t native to this new world. She snorted in disgust as she found out her Shoki would be of no use here, and decided to find him the usual way.

’Search,’ She said to her mind, and without a backward glance to the battered seaside cottage, she wandered into the town.

In a strange, crystal like place, in a cave with a weird machine, known as the final resting place of the evil yet powerful Giygas, a similar portal appeared, and this time a full grown woman stepped through it. The portal dematerialized and she began to chant. A light appeared on her palm, and soon it flew all the way through her body. She smiled; this dimension could not hold a barrier over Shoki or her Mysteck and so she could use her powers to the fullest here.

Suddenly she felt the hair on the back of her neck stiffen and rise. She whirled around so fast she could not be seen. Sitting on the Devil’s Machine, still looking youthful, but having a wild glare in his eyes, was fat, evil Pokey. The lady instantly brandished a naked bastard sword before Pokey could even see it. All Pokey did was smile.

"So, you’re the one Giygas told me about before, when he was…" Pokey said with an air of sickening sadness in his voice, and the woman lowered her sword a fraction of an inch.

"Giygas, I’ve heard of that. One of my planet’s tales is about a Universal Cosmic Destroyer, and how a friend of the planets of the universe would help destroy him, instead," She answered.

Pokey growled, "He would have been the great Destroyer, if it was not for those annoying kids who stopped his reign." He said in a tone of disgust.

The woman smirked, "Pardon my saying so, but you’re a kid too." When Pokey’s eyebrows knitted, the woman was sitting right next to him, sword sheathed, "But I can already tell you were the one Giygas called, and the boy that stopped Giygas is named…"

Pokey jumped up, and in his annoying pig-voice he cried, "Don’t say his name!" He got ready to fight by pushing a button on a remote, and his Mecha Spider replaced the remote. He leaped inside and squealed, "If you say his name, or speak of him again, I’ll…"

"Hold on, oh Piggy-One," The woman said, suddenly on the Mecha Spider’s cockpit, "I have reason to believe a woman named Kristie is looking for that boy you hate. Ness, was it?"

Pokey seemed interested, and looked up through the glass at her, "Who’s this Kristie?" He asked.

"According to The Apple of Enlightenment, as you call it here (I’m not even going to tell you what we call it) She is a Chosen One, much like Ness is, the two of them have much in common," She explained, "We have something in common too. We both want…"

"Revenge," Pokey finished for her, cracking his knuckles.

"Now, here’s the plan I was thinking of, you know those weird sanctuaries, that’s what you call them, right? Well, I was thinking…"

--Chapter 2, Kristie--

"Let’s see," Kristie said to herself as she walked up to a small house at the base of a hill, "If I can disguise myself, no one will notice me."

Just in case you wanted to know how Kristie found Ness’ house so fast, it is because of her heritage. A Lokon is an extremely erudite race that can figure things out very easily, faster than humans can. Yet they look different from humans, (How many humans have you seen with overly large heads?) but Kristie is different. Being a Half-Lokon made her look like a normal human, (Thank goodness.) Because of her heritage, figuring out how to use her mind for magical properties, (PSI) was no problem. The real problem was that not all of her Shoki powers could be used with PSI. When she remembered she couldn’t disguise herself, she kicked the ground in disgust. Finally deciding what’s done is done; she shook out her hair and knocked three times on the door.

Tmp…knock tmp, the knock she did was in traditional respect for what she thought was a beautiful house. When she realized that only Kari, her arch-nemesis, would recognize it, she decided to destroy the urge to use her world’s traditions. Her thoughts were soon interrupted when the door was opened, and in the doorway was a woman, Ness’ mother.

"May I help you?" Ness’ mom asked, staring at the girl’s strange clothing.

"Um, yeah," Kristie said, Suddenly she drew a blank. How was she going to get inside without peaking interest? "Uh yes," She said again, "I need room and board please, no one else will accept me, and the hotel is too expensive," She started.

Ness’ mom looked her up and down, "I’ve never seen clothing like that, where are you from?"

Kristie thought fast. The only thing she could think of was her planet, "Esirina…" She whispered vacently.

"What?" Ness’ mom asked.

Her voice snapped Kristie into reality, and she decided to stick with the answer she accidentally came up with, "Yeah, a country named Esirina, far to the west of here, across the ocean." Kristie waved her hand to the west, as if it were very far away.

Ness’ mother nodded slowly, "Yes, we have a couch for you, as long as you pay the rent."

Kristie smiled, "I have a job," She lied.

"Well then, come on in, I hope you will find it homely here." Kristie’s smile broadened, and she entered. Suddenly, her mind sensed him. He was here…

--End Part 1, and Chapter 2--
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