Next Gen- Another Tournament

continued from Tough Enough 

The lanky teen walked with Delilah down a long thin hallway. The cries of a Sporemon in pain echoed through the hall.

"Your mission, Keith, is to use this new type of Sporemon to defeat a group that calls themselves the "Christianity Savers".

"I've heard of them. Weren't they the ones that saved Threa that one time?"  

"This group is different. They stand in the way of truth."

Suddenly the cries stopped. A door in the wall opened and a Sporemon with piercing red eyes, and purple and black fur stepped out.

"And this is the tool you'll beat them with."

*********

Alissa lay in bed staring at the ceiling.  Must be genetic, Alissa thought, remembering her mother having trouble sleeping on the night the rest of the Charles' siblings were saved. Derek DeeCeeve was destroying anything that has to do with Sporemon and Human interaction, because he believes it's "unnatural", and he also fancied himself a ruler. Somehow, it would link to Earth again. And if they didn't stop Derek......

Was her bond with Horsea strong enough? Scratch that. Was her faith in God strong enough? She seemed to be able to trust Him with all sorts of things, but a tournament? Why didn't she trust?
 ********
Veronica stepped down into the basement. She had to admit, she preferred her sporemon as a cute, fluffy pet than a partner in battle but now. "Dustiny?" she called.

A pink ball of fluff with orange eyes and rabbit ears hopped out. It was one of the most unusual Sporemon on Threa, But its adorable demeanor hid its true power. Power Veronica would need to capture her friends, in order to protect her family.

Tomorrow was the tournament, and whatever God willed, would come to pass.

To be continued......  

Next Gen- Tough enough?

Sara O'Bon sipped the warm coffee and looked down at the coffee in the mug. She imagined the shapes in the cream looked like Alissa's face. She sighed. She looked at her left hand on the mug, more specifically, her wedding ring. It reminded her of not just her loving husband, but of Andrew, too. A little while ago, he asked if he had funds for college. He was already thinking of the future, and soon, a future with a wife.

"Thinking about the kids?" Sam asked as he came into the kitchen. He whistled the notes to "Love Lifted Me" as he poured his bowl of cereal.

"Yes," Sara said. "I had a dream about them last night. They're so capable I don't worry much, but they're so far away from home. What if a major problem comes up? We won't be able to know about it."

Sam put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "I worry too," he said, "but we can't do anything by worrying, can we?"   

"I guess not." she said. She looked at the morning sky, and knew her parents would be up in a little while. She prayed that the Lord would send her children home safe, so one day she could be a grandparent, too.

****

"How cool is that?"Andrew asked.

"I know, right?" Cody said. Andrew put out his fist and Cody bumped it with his. "If you're my opponent in the tournament, I won't go easy on you, Costric and I are ready!" Andrew said.

"Just what I want to hear." replied Cody.

"WAIT!" Alissa said, and stood up from the sofa. Andrew went over to his sister.

"What, you afraid I might beat you?" asked Andrew.

"It's not that. It's just..... are we tough enough? Our own parents couldn't win a tournament, what makes us think we can? They almost didn't save Earth. If we fail....." Alissa trailed off. Sam knew she needed comforting, but didn't know how. Sam bowed his head. 

"Lord, my sister is in doubt right now, and she needs to be confident. Confident in You, her sporemon, her friends, and herself. Please give her peace. Amen,"

*****

A skinny figure, leaned against the wall of a lab, waiting for someone. He whistled his favorite rock n' roll tune, until he saw her. A beautiful young girl, in a long gold dress. He stopped whistling, stood up straight, and tried to smooth down his gelled mohawk. When she got closer, he bowed. "Your Majesty." he said.

Delilah smiled. If her own people couldn't do a simple job, maybe this fool could. With the right tools, of course.

to be continued...... 

Next Gen- For my Family

continued from Trust, And Betrayal


Veronica Newman gulped as she looked down the dark alleyway. She imagined the kind of monsters that would like a dark, creepy place like this, just itching to eat someone foolish enough to go down the alley. She took a deep breath. For my family! She thought, and went down the alley. She found what she was looking for. The silhouette of a man leaning against wall. In the dark alley, she couldn't see his face, but she knew who he was, Derick DeeCeve.

She curtsied. "Greetings, your Highness, how is the liberation of the Sporemon coming?" She asked.

"It goes very well. I'm glad you made your decision, Miss Newman. Our attacks on your friends and family will cease, once you bring the Savers into our clutches."

Derick handed Veronica a rolled up paper. Veronica curtsied again and left. It felt good to be in the sunlight again. She hated the secrecy and the lying to her friends, and her mother, but it was for a good cause. Now her mother and new friends would be safe from the threat of the Troop. Switching sides worked for Mom when she was my age. Why wouldn't it work for me? Veronica thought, racing up the hill to her house.   

***

Maralay and Alissa had just finished the dishes when Veronica came in. Veronica put on the most excited face she could. "Guess what?" she asked the team.

"Ok. What?" asked Cody shrugging.

"Another tournament, and this time, it's sponsored by the Liberation Troop." Veronica unfolded the piece of paper Derick had given her. It was a poster for the tournament.  "Why not hit them where they live?" asked Veronica with a smile.

She didn't like the plan, but for her mother's sake, the attacks had to stop.  She prayed that the Lord would work this out for good somehow.

To be continued.......        

Stand Up, His Vangaurd!

 The word "Vanguard" means "One who leads", and God has called His people to lead those around them to Christ. But have we? Do you tremble because you're afraid of what others might think of you when they find out you're a Christian? Do you never talk about Christ outside of Church in case it "offends" people?

We have become lax in spreading God's word. Our kids now are told to believe what their heart and feelings tell them, rather than what God tells them. I like to watch TV, but when I do, I'm saddened by the "Believe in Yourself" mentality they all have.  Don't trust your heart, because your heart will lead you astray. My generation and the next needs to know about our Savior's wondrous love. But will you be a Vanguard, and tell them, or just fall into step with the world, hiding your light under a bushel?

If people are offended by Christ, yes, respect their feelings, but Christ didn't really care that he "offended" the Pharisees. He even called then names! He died for them too, and even as He was dying, He forgave them for killing Him in one of the most brutal ways possible. Christ is offensive. His own home town wanted to throw Him off a cliff.  Just ask yourself this: is the person offended because they don't want to hear you talk about Christ?

We are staying in the background as just an other group of "religious freaks" Instead of being aliens in the world. You've seen all the movies about how the aliens come down and want to destroy Earth? Well don't you recognize the aliens because they are drastically different then normal humans? That's what God wants us to be, (except we don't invade and destroy the planet) different in almost every way from the people around us, so that the people can see the Truth.

You should show truth with love. Did Jesus use the Word as a club to beat sinners? No! He loved everyone. Love being the main word here. For far too long we have abandoned the path of love. People will shut down when you talk about Christ, because they have met Christians who have beat them with the cat-o-nine-tails of Scripture. Show love, and you will be loved. But then again, Jesus showed love, and he was crucified for it. But shouldn't we also take up our cross, and follow our example? If you show love, and you are ridiculed for it, keep on loving!

 The next time you're afraid of telling someone about Jesus, ask Him to help you have courage. This generation needs a loving push in the right direction, Jesus.  Stand up, and be His Vanguard!

     

Next Gen- Trust, and Betrayal

continued from Teamwork 

Andrew looked out at the stars. It was comforting to know the Thraen night sky was filled with the same stars and constellations as back home. His head bobbed in time with the music from his Ipod. He was trying to understand what  God was doing.

"Have something on your mind?" Her voice made him jump. He then stopped his Ipod.

"Oh. Amanda. How did you know?" Andrew asked. She joined him on the Newman's balcony.

"Whenever my dad has something on his mind, he goes outside to get a word from God." Amanda said. "Now spill."

"Well..." Could he really tell her? Okay, it wasn't a big deal, just tell her. "Today when I met you, I felt....
 nervous.  I couldn't help it. I've never felt that way around a girl. Now when I look at Maralay or Veronica..." He looked over his shoulder at the door. He hated how his hands trembled. He banged his fist on the metal railing.  "Ow!" He said, shaking out the pain. "I hate this. I just want to be friends with you guys. I've asked God to take it away, but He hasn't. " Amanda thought for a moment.

"Give it to the Lord," she said. "You prayed for Him to take it away, but have you let Him? You need to ask the Lord to take it away, believe it's gone, and it will go away. I promise. Heaven knows how many times I've asked for Him to take stuff away." She grabbed a hanging earbud and stuck it in her ear. "Mind if you start over from the beginning of your tracks?"

***

That morning, after a training session, everyone, except Kai,  had a hearty meal of sausage and eggs.  Kai just had cereal. "I like cereal." he said in defence, and kept eating.

Amanda sat by Andrew so see if she had helped him at all. He gave the A-ok sign.

But now Andrew had a different problem. His sister usually ate their parents out of house and home. She had barely eaten anything. Also, he thought she would cream him in practice, but he surprised her and then lost to Kai. Andrew thought of bringing it up, but Veronica scooted her chair back and stood up from the table.

"I have an errand to run." She said, and went out the door.

Veronica ran down the dirt path to town, and went down Main Street. She then searched the alleyways for the right one. 789 she read, and darted down the alleyway.

To be continued.... 

Next Gen- Teamwork

continued from A New Weird Problem


Amanda got permission from her parents to spend the week at the Newman's house.  As they walked down the path, Kai and Amanda were up front talking about what they'd been doing for the past few weeks. Andrew was in back, far from Amanda. Lord, please don't let that happen again, he thought. A few minites ago, he felt nervous around Amanda and couldn't figure out why.

Three figures jumped out of the bushes. They wore the long robes that indicated they were part of the Liberation Troop. One of the figures had a sporemon the kids recognized as an Amafist. The other was a water-type called Megator, a huge aligator, and the other was an earth-type called Magnitite.

"Hand over your sporemon, now!" the biggest figure cried.

Andrew saw his sister nod, and knew what that meant. They rushed in front of the party. "If you want to get our sporemon..." Andrew started

"Then you have to get through us!" finished Alissa. Andrew marveled at how they worked together. Sometimes, they got on each other's nerves, and teased one another, but when the time came to be a team, they could cream anyone.

"Amafist, super punch!" the biggest figure called. The Amafist leaped an incredably high distance off the ground to come down and punch the earth sending shock waves through the ground.  Amafist never got the chance.

"Horsea, hoof stomp!" Alissa said, and her sporemon, a blue horse with a frothy white mane and tail stomped the ground

"Costric, chained lightning!" Andrew cried and his furry, yellow monkey shot two big bolts of lightning from each of his hands. The lightning surrounded the Amafist on the right and left, and made way for the tidal wave Horsea created to sweep away Amafist.

"Two more!" Alissa said. A large boulder was launched their way. Costric nimbly dodged, caught the boulder, and threw it at the Magntite. That only left Megator. Horsea stomped again but this time the sporemon swam through the current and smashed into Horsea.

"It didn't work."  Alissa said.

"I have a plan. Do that move again" Andrew said.

Alissa gave him a confused look and did the hoof stomp once more. As Horsea galloped toward the Megator, Costric jumped on its back. The wave hit the Megator and it swam toward their sporemon again. "Chained lightning!" Andrew called, and Costric's hand lit up with sparks. The water was electrified and the Magator was stunned, then knocked out. The other members congratulated Andrew and Alissa.

Andrew was glad they were headed to the Newman's house. He needed to think.

 ****
 "Poor babies," Delilah mocked, as the three figures cowered before her. "Pathetic! My father isn't  pleased with your attacks on the Savers. It's time we change tactics."

To be continued.......         

Next Gen- Weird New Problem

continued from New Member? 

Sara O'Bon stood on a moonlit beach gazing up at the stars. She looked down and saw two toddlers holding her hands- her children. She slowed down to allow their wobbly legs to catch up. She smiled and enjoyed the wonder on their faces as they looked at the stars and gasped and pointed. She bent down and asked Andrew "Can you find the Milky Way?" Even back home on Threa the Milky Way streamed across the heavens. Andrew's little face told her he was thinking hard, and pointed to the cluster of stars stretching across the sky.

"Very Good!" she said and bent down to give him a hug. She felt a tug on her shirt. "What about me?" asked Alissa. She picked Alissa up and twirled her around. I enjoy this. Sara thought. But I thought the kids were teenagers.  Alissa giggled as Sara set her down on the sand. Suddenly Andrew and Alissa grew up, to the age she thought they were. They gave their mother a tight, loving hug, and dashed through a portal to Threa.

Sara awoke and sat up. It had been a dream. She smiled, remembering her kids as little tykes, holding them to steady them, and walk, ever so slowly, letting them take their first steps. "Lord," she prayed. "Please watch out for Andrew and Alissa, and if it's not too much trouble, tell them their Momma loves them."

She rolled over, careful not to wake Sam, and tried to calm her mind. She had a Momma mind, trying to let her kids grow up, but not wanting to let go. She wondered if it was as hard for her kids as it was for her. She smiled. God would protect her two gifts from harm.
                             ***

Kai knocked on the door. A girl, about Andrew, Alissa, Cody, Maralay, and Veronica's age appeared. Pretty. Andrew thought. He wasn't head-over heels or anything, but he did have to admit, she was pretty.  

"Hi, Kai." the girl said. "Who are your friends?" Kai introduced each of them. "My name is Amanda Strander." After she and Andrew shook hands, his hand tingled. Even when Veronica shook hands he didn't feel that. What weird new problem faced him, so far away from home and family? Never in his life had he been..... nervous around a girl. He'd never felt it, save for just now, but, nervous? It had to come now?

Amanda looked at the others. "You probably know this," she said. "But my Sporemon was taken by the Liberation Troop a year ago. I don't want revenge, I just want to see if I can find him. Is it okay if I join?"

"Sure." said Andrew. He meant it, but he couldn't help feeling like something else wanted her to be on the team. Suddenly a shriek tore through Andrew's thoughts.

"IT'S A GIANT BUG!" cried Alissa.

No, it not," Amanda said. "She's my Sporemon I got after they took my old one. She's a Mariposamon."  A large purple butterfly fluttered onto the door step. She reached down and petted it's furry head.

Deep in the shadows, three figures watched. "Well,well, looks like we got another Sporemon for the Troop" Kenta said, smiling evilly.

To be continued.....