Adventures of the Space Pizza Delivery Guy

Chapter 11: Pokeball

As the ship started to move towards the asteroid belt, Ethan pulled out the anchor, which kept them at bay, 

Ethan shouted, “Chronna, I’ll be taking the flying backpack now! Brace yourself. The pressure inside the asteroid belt is intense! No matter what, don’t let go of the steering wheel.” 

When Ethan remembered what Chronna told him earlier, he could not help but smile. He then remarked further, “Even if your hands felt like ripping apart, don’t let go!”

Chronna chuckled before she nodded. She affirmed, “Got it!”

Ethan then redirected his gaze back at Captain Smith, “Once we are inside the asteroid belt, the pressure would be enough to give us time, the Salamander won’t be able to adapt to intense pressure. Even our bodies as irregulars aren’t able to do so as quickly.”

“You’ll be using the flying backpack to support yourself with the pressure, and I’ll be using my flying shoes,” Ethan added, “We only have a maximum of 6 attacks, give or take, before the Salamander fully forms its ultimate form. If it survives our six attacks, it will be unstoppable.”

Captain Smith gulped. He nodded and said, “Understood. So what should we do?”

Ethan cleared his throat before he answered, “You probably don’t know this, but a couple of years back, I had some… fun encounter that got me almost fired from my job as a space pizza delivery boy. Anyway, that year was 1998 at Earth J1114.”

Captain Smith looked at him as if he was anticipating a cool and awesome story, and he asked, “And then? What happened?”

Ethan continued, “Do you know Pokémon?”

The Captain gave Ethan a puzzled look and asked, “No. What is that?” 

He thought that it was something very awesome, as Ethan mentioned it while they prepared to face the Salamander.

Ethan smiled and said, “Pokemons are creatures that you can capture after beating them in a fight with a Pokeball. If you manage to daze the pokemon just enough, it becomes easier to catch.”

“So what’s the plan, Ethan? We’re running out of time,” Captain asked with tension in his voice. The Captain knew that it was not easy to daze the Salamander. 

“I believe we have a Pokeball right here with us, captain,” Ethan smirked as he said that.

“I don’t even know what that is, Ethan. How do we have that here?” Captain Smith asked impatiently. 

“That is our Pokeball, Captain Smith,” Ethan pointed at the backroom of the ship, “We lure the Salamander into the backroom with my pizzas and capture it into your escape pod, just like they would catch pokemons in the cartoon back in Eatch J114.”

“That just might―” but before Captain Smith could finish his sentence, the entire ship shook and flew both of them off their feet. 

The pull of the asteroid belt was getting stronger by the minute.

Chronna struggled to keep the ship away from the asteroid belt as much as possible, but its pull was gradually proving to be much stronger. 

She had to hold the wheel. 

If she faild to do so, the asteroid belt would pull them in, and they could be crushed under the massive pressure of the force of the asteroid belt.

The situation was so dire that anyone else would simply abandon ship or leave their life at the mercy of their fate. But the ones in this ship were no ordinary people. They were still there because they were irregulars, and irregulars, by definition, were not like everyday people. 

“Looks like Chronna’s having a tough time up there,” Ethan thoughtfully said while trying to get back to his feet.

“We don’t have much time, Ethan, and the asteroid belt is going to pull us in. We have to act now,” Captain Smith added with unmasked concern.

Helping each other get up, they embarked deep into the battered and bruised ship. 

Exposed and ripped electrical wires sparked all around them as the duo made their way through the now darkened corridors of the once-grand spaceship. Their only source of light was from the lightsaber in the hands of Captain Smith and the sparks from the ripped electrical wires.

The ship shook from time to time, and each time it felt worse. They could feel the pressure from the force of the asteroid belt getting stronger. 

No regular creature would be able to stand the amount of pressure these three were in.

As the two made their way down the hallway of the ship, they came to split, where there were two ways they could go. 

The Captain and Ethan looked around themselves and looked back at each other. 

They both were thinking the same thing there; they had to split up if they wanted to find the Salamander before the whole ship crashed into the asteroid belt. 

Ethan and Captain Smith looked at each other and nodded. They both knew what had to be done. 

At this point, the Salamander was stronger than the three of them combined, and it’s not even at its final form yet; they both were aware of the risk they were taking, but there’s no turning back then, and all of them knew that.

As Ethan turned around to head down the path right side of him, he saw a narrow path with some damaged wires and flickering lights everywhere. 

He began to make his way down, and the Captain did the same on the other side. 

The deeper they went into their paths, they started to go through their plans. 

Both the Captain and Ethan kept running, playing the plan inside their head over and over again. 

Once either of them got a sight of the Salamander, or if the Salamander found them, they would attack it with their knives and lightsabers to get its attention, and since after each attack, the Salamander got stronger, they would not fight it. 

Rather they would use themselves as bait to lure it in the backroom where the escape pod was. Lure it into the pod using the pizza, lock it down and send it flying into the asteroid belt where it would eventually be obliterated into oblivion. 

It’s easier said than done, Ethan thought to himself.

Slowly, Ethan made his way down the narrow pathway that seemed to be endless. Shivers ran down the spine of Ethan. 

He knew very well how strong the Salamander really was. He had fought it himself. 

He also thought if the Salamander was so powerful that it managed to take out a space squadron in its previous form, what might it be able to do to him in the form it was in then?

You can’t freak me out overthinking the situation. It’s never good to overthink. Concentrate on the plan, Ethan, concentrate on the plan. Ethan kept talking to himself to keep his brain focused. 

While Ethan kept muttering to himself, the ship jolted up again, but this time it was bigger than before. 

Before Ethan could regroup himself, he heard a noise that he wanted to hear, but not while he was disorientated. 

It was the sound of something slimy crawling above him. Ethan knew what it was and he knew he found the Salamander.