Biohazard (PG-10/Revised Edition)

Started by Incinermyn December 21st, 2007 2:02 PM
  • 1301 views
  • 7 replies

Incinermyn

The Abomination Lives!!!

Age 37
Male
Wisconsin, USA
Seen July 29th, 2018
Posted May 21st, 2016
646 posts
15.8 Years
Biohazard

______________________________________________________________________________
Contents
Prologue: Relics
Chapter One: Friends?

Rating: PG-10 for mild language, occasional violence, and some dark themes.

Basis: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team/Original Idea, Characters, and Plot

Genres: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Comedy (possibly with some comedic romance later on)

Disclaimer and Author’s Notes

-This should be painstakingly obvious, but, as a formality, I do not own Pokémon or Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. I’ve written this mostly out of boredom and because I had an idea for a story that could take place in the PMD world.

-A few of the areas within the PMD world may (or may not) have been changed and some of my own have been added to better suit my plot, themes, and time setting.

-Fake Pokémon as well as a few other things I have created appear in this piece. It’s fiction after all and they do have some type of significance to my story.

-This is a revised version of a piece that I originally posted back in October.

-Finally, like I said back in October, this is still one of my first fanfics…or rather one of the first I’ve decided to do seriously. I’ve written a couple others, but they were just things to keep myself occupied between classes in high school and even in college before I took off to work after this past spring semester and didn’t have a lot of effort put into them. So, I’d greatly appreciate any constructive criticism I could get on this since I really don’t have a lot of experience writing for an audience.

______________________________________________________________________________


Prologue: Relics

Canersia the Ascetic’s Prophecy

Such arrogance unparalleled since the Age of Man.
The meteor should have brought us death,
But its destruction shall only bring changes.
In the ten years that follow, this world shall transmute,
Becoming inhospitable to the indigenous organisms,
Turning suitable for the savages that thrived in eras past.

But the worst this certainly is not…

A second threat shall emerge.
A monster that Man’s sciences created.
A demon so deathly atrocious it was christened Biohazard.


______________________________________________________________________________

It was dark as my team walked down the corridor.

Shadows consumed the areas before and behind us. Only the light from Charizard’s tail flame dispelled them. Even then, it was just enough for Tyranitar and him to see me leading them forward.

“I can’t believe this place sat like this for years without anyone coming to check it out…” Tyranitar said, a hint of awe in his voice.

Indeed this building was old. There were holes in the walls several feet to our sides. I could sense parts of the wiring running through their interiors had broken apart due to years of corrosion. The tiles of the floor had a grungy feel. My soles were becoming coated with the filth they’d collected in the time since the humans left. And, the air was stale and somewhat clammy. This structure’s atmosphere was so musty that I almost wanted to leave it… Almost… We still had a job to do.

“You do remember that this settlement was just discovered a few days ago, correct, Tyranitar? Regardless, no one else may come here until our expedition is completed,” I replied.

“Yeah, I know. But, this place was a pretty awesome find,” he responded.

From what we’d seen, the town was one of the most advanced human communities of its kind ever discovered. However, not having found anything of value yet, our mission was in jeopardy of failure.

“The humans that built this city must have lived as gods. Surely, this building has relics worth taking,” I said.

After a few seconds of continuing in silence, Charizard commented, “Hey, what’s with that smell, Alakazam?”

Mixed within the air, there was the slight smell of rotting eggs. The lingering stench of sulfur, perhaps?

“Natural gas was once used in the heating of chemicals in this academy’s classrooms. Some may have remained in the gas lines even after all these years…” I responded.

“Not enough to…” he replied until the building started to creak.

I halted after also hearing something banging above us. My sixth sense immediately focused on vents in the ceiling as I looked upwards. There was nothing in them from what I could detect, however…

After a moment, the reverberations stopped and Tyranitar immediately asked, “This place isn’t gonna collapse, is it?”

“Something up there?” Charizard added.

“No. It was merely the building settling,” I said as I started walking again.

“You sure you didn’t sense anything? Sounded like something crawling through the vents to me,” he replied.

I could sense a building urge within him. Having gone this long without a fight, my comrade would gladly take any opportunity that presented itself now.

“I am positive, my friend. Nothing was up there,” I uttered.

“Could’ve fooled me…” he murmured.

Lifting my brow, I was somewhat disgusted by his doubt. Not willing to start a brawl with him, however, I remained silent.

After a few moments, we came upon a fork in the tunnel. I stopped, sensing a massive collection of amoebas directly ahead me. Once I halted, my comrades moved to my sides; Tyranitar headed to my left, Charizard to my right.

As Charizard came forward, his tail’s illumination revealed thick ooze covering the floors of the divergent tunnels and the doorway between them. Its surface bared an alternating set of lime and black streaks, all of varying sizes.

“What is that stuff?” Tyranitar asked.

“An amoebic colony. It should be easily cleared with Psychic,” I replied.

Concentrating my powers on it, the slime started to split. Immediately it started forcing me to focus on individual cells and retook its position.

“What’s wrong?” Tyranitar barked.

“It’s resisting… I can’t move it…” I replied, stopping my attack.

“Blood…” a faint voice behind us spoke. Charizard was yanked backwards.

Whipping our bodies around, Tyranitar and I saw as the ellipse-shaped jaws of a monster pulled him down the hall. After reaching a spot several yards away, the beast dropped him on the floor with its maw still attached and started to wrap its slender body around him. Its alternating lime and black coils quickly constricted around his abdomen and tail.

“Get off!” the dragon roared as he clawed the monster’s hide. It appeared useless, however…

“GY-YE!” his assailant screamed.

Forcing most of my telekinesis on its form, I managed to gain control of it. Immediately releasing Charizard from its coils, I held the demon in midair.

“Didn’t you sense this thing?” Charizard barked as he moved back by us.

“Its physiology made it immune to detection…” I huffed, “I’m struggling to keep my hold on it.”

This thing must have developed from that colony somehow. Its cells were resisting my power!

Bringing it closer to my party, the creature contracted its body so that it was shaped similar to a large cone with a stub of a head protruding from its thickest section. Its blood-red eyes opened and a row of similar colored spines ejected from its backside as it did this. The fiend! It was trying to exhaust my psychic strength with this form!

“What is this thing?” Tyranitar asked.

“A parasite… It must…” I panted. There’s no possible way I could hold this monstrosity much longer!

“GY-YE! None shall attack the progeny!” the leech shrilled.

“GOW-YEEEEEEEEEE!” something behind us howled with an earsplitting shriek.

A tentacle then jabbed through the back of my neck, directly into my spinal cord. Several pulses of intense pain spread throughout my body. Whatever this monster was, it was somehow directly attacking my nervous system. When it was finished, the creature withdrew its tentacle.

Unable to move, I flopped onto the ground stomach first. Within seconds my comrades fell, as did the bloodsucker before us.

The fiend stretched its neck towards Charizard and commented, “Pity… You would have been my only meal…”

Looking at me and then Tyranitar, it finished, “But, now…”

Retracting its neck, the creature slithered off into the shadows…

End Prologue


For now, that's it. I'm in the middle of Chapter One's revisions, so it should be up in a couple days. In the meantime, feel free to critique if you liked this, but keep it constructive.

Grovyle42(Griff8416)

No. 1 Grovyle Fan

Male
Seen April 11th, 2023
Posted May 14th, 2014
1,103 posts
15.9 Years
It was quite an improvement from the last time (though even that was quite good).

You handled the 1st person pretty well, although some more of Alakazam's thoughts would have been nice (although I can understand that he is a pretty calm pokemon so he wouldn't have too many of them.)
Age 31
OGame, coords [18:1:189:9] Pyrotopia α and [37:4:496:7] Pyrotopia ω
Seen March 2nd, 2008
Posted February 25th, 2008
48 posts
15.4 Years
Yeech, what kind of monstrosity eats Pokemon and can resist Alakazam's Psychic? I wouldn't like to be Alakazam at that point. Great description and spine-chilling. Excellent!
This signature has been disabled.
Your banner is 250 pixels too wide; max width is 500 pixels.
Please review and fix the issues by reading the signature rules.

You must edit it to meet the limits set by the rules before you may remove the [sig-reason] code from your signature. Removing this tag will re-enable it.

Do not remove the tag until you fix the issues in your signature. You may be infracted for removing this tag if you do not fix the specified issues. Do not use this tag for decoration purposes.

Incinermyn

The Abomination Lives!!!

Age 37
Male
Wisconsin, USA
Seen July 29th, 2018
Posted May 21st, 2016
646 posts
15.8 Years
Griff: Thanks for the comment! I'm glad you thought I handled this version of the prologue well. You're right, I still could've used some more of Alakazam's thoughts. But then, I wasn't completely sure what else to have him comment on.

Kaboom: Yeah, that thing is supposed to be a real monster. The resistance to psychic powers though is supposed to be a carryover from the thing that spawned it and only something that happens in this fanfic, but still, it's in-game ability would be just as bad. Can't really say to much about it yet.

Anyways, glad to see you guys liked this. I'm still working on Chapter One's revisions. I just had a great idea for it come to me this morning, so it might not be up until the weekend sometime. :( sorry for the wait...
Age 31
OGame, coords [18:1:189:9] Pyrotopia α and [37:4:496:7] Pyrotopia ω
Seen March 2nd, 2008
Posted February 25th, 2008
48 posts
15.4 Years
Oooh... suspence! I love suspence!
This signature has been disabled.
Your banner is 250 pixels too wide; max width is 500 pixels.
Please review and fix the issues by reading the signature rules.

You must edit it to meet the limits set by the rules before you may remove the [sig-reason] code from your signature. Removing this tag will re-enable it.

Do not remove the tag until you fix the issues in your signature. You may be infracted for removing this tag if you do not fix the specified issues. Do not use this tag for decoration purposes.

Incinermyn

The Abomination Lives!!!

Age 37
Male
Wisconsin, USA
Seen July 29th, 2018
Posted May 21st, 2016
646 posts
15.8 Years
Chapter One: Friends?


Nightfall came quickly to the forest tonight. As soon as the sun was down, the shadows of twilight filled the woods, flooding the underbrush in a wave of darkness. To the creatures of the day, they were nothing more than a warning that nocturnal demons would soon awaken. Those demons, however, knew the true beauty of the nighttime realm. And, one of them was already up enjoying its splendor.

Amidst the tree trunks, a lone mammal walked southward through the timberland. Some moonlight filtering through the leaves above made the 3’ 3” tall biped look like she were the silhouette of some child. Adding to her humanlike appearance were three braids that dangled halfway down her back, all of which swayed back and forth slightly as she walked. The things ruining her façade, though, were the maw protruding slightly from her face and the silky tail rising up slightly away from her back to about her shoulder height.

With sapphire eyes that glowed in dim lighting, she scanned the branches overhead. Alternating between those of pines, birches, and maples, the combination of darkened brown and moderately gray branches with moon-bathed leaves and needles that moved in the gentle breeze that blew was simply gorgeous…something otherworldly even.

The pair of semi-ellipse ears atop her head heard the tone of something off in the distance. It was a harmonious sound, some type of composition combining xylophone and violin-like music. Most likely some Kricketot and Kricketune were communing with somewhere in the woods. The combo of that opus and the gentle movements of the leaves made it seem to her as though they were performing some type of ballet in the cool night air.

Now leaving the collection of trees, she moved slowly into an open grove near the forest’s heart. As she entered the clearing, moonlight revealed several distinct markings in her otherwise pitch-black fur. Above each eye, a thin white stripe crept up her forehead until disappearing under the black locks atop her crest that were combed back between her ears. There were two stripes that ran down her back; each was a mirror of the other formed by a cascade of thin inch-long slants that declined from near her spine outward. Once the streaks reached her tail, however, they transformed into a solid one that rose up the center of her tail until fanning out across its slightly bent tip.

This creature was a Skunanne; though, some called her Seraph. Humans once raised her kind as pets and, because of this, they eventually started taking a humanoid form. Her markings too are reflections of this taming, as it was tribal peoples who initially did it.

“Looks like no one’s around…” Seraph said, a tender tone in her voice, as she approached the copse’s center while looking around.

Stopping in the middle of the grove, she inhaled a deep breath through her nostrils. Exhaling, Seraph grinned a little. There wasn’t anyone nearby from what she whiffed. Having come to this part of the forest, the last thing she needed was company, especially tonight.

“Dad said that Mom used to come out here all the time when she was around my age,” she whispered to herself.

For a moment, she looked to the sky. With no clouds, the black heavens appeared to be full of small white specks, each shimmering gently as if they were gems out in space. In the middle of the stars was a brilliantly shining full moon. Its ethereal state was enough to soothe the spirit of anyone who gazed upon its silvery luminescence. Surely, tonight was the perfect evening to start her ritual.

Slung across her torso from the top of her left shoulder to under her right arm, there was a slender vine serving as the strap to a bag that Seraph was carrying. She lifted it over her body as she returned her gaze forward. Once it was off, she dropped the football-shaped sack, made from large leaves sewn together with twine, on the grass before her.

After bending over, the skunk lass opened her pouch’s flaps with her three-toed forepaws. Inside it, she saw three small flasks that were each filled with a red liquid, a couple Pamtre berries, and a folded sheet of paper. Seraph poked a berry so that it was stuck to one of the small white, cone-shaped claws at the end of her toes and pulled it from the sack.

“He also said that she used to eat these before drinking that juice and practicing her song,” she continued, holding it in front of her face.

Pamtre berries weren’t exactly amongst her favorite foods. Just the thought of eating them made her stomach churn with disgust. But, as part of her rite, she would have to.

“Better eat this quick!” she thought, sticking the large berry most of the way into her mouth and chewing.

“Bleh!” she choked, spitting out chunks of the fruit. Its dryness was too much for her taste buds!

Seraph immediately grabbed one of the bottles by its neck between two of her toes on her right forepaw and popped its cork with one of the nails on her left one. She wasted no time guzzling the beverage to flush away the foul dry, yet slightly sweet taste of the berry in her mouth.

Once it was empty, she picked the cork lying in the grass to her left and plugged the jug again. After dropping bottle back into her bag, she licked the area around her lips. The juice had a delicious sweet flavor that was also a little tangy. Even though more could easily be made, she still wanted to savor every drop of this drink.

Reaching for another, she thought for a split-second and decided she should probably save them for the trek back home later this evening. Instead, Seraph grabbed the sheet of paper between the berries and bottles. As lifting it out of the sack, she opened the page to see the lyrics written on it.

The Forest Maiden’s Serenade
Love once lost we again shall be together.
My gentle voice will allow you to weather
Any force that dare drive against our desire.
This lasting song shall re-ignite love’s dimmed fire
In your heart by removing the pain that consumed it.
Your flame is stronger than those of the pit
Where the demons that suppressed it reside.
I know that you are longing to be at my side.

Note: Repetition of the lyrics, perfect timing, exceptional pitch, and a glossy coat are all necessary for the song’s enticing effect to occur.


A tradition passed down in her family for generations, the mastery of this song only meant one thing for Seraph…her passage into adulthood. By learning it she would in time become the Forest Maiden, a legendary siren whose beauty was said to be unmatched. Like her mother before her, attaining that rank would ensure her popularity among other creatures for the rest of her life. And, that type of recognition was a thing that all members of her kind had strived for since the time mankind kept them as pets.

Seraph cleared her voice with a mild cough. After which, she held the page before herself in her right paw.

“LOVE ONCE LOST!” she shrieked in a high-pitched squeal. She dropped her lyrics, immediately putting both paws over her mouth.

“Was…that…my voice…?” she thought, both stunned and embarrassed by the piercing sound that just came from her maw.

Both of her ears twitched violently. She could hear the sharp echoes of her cry as they carried throughout the forest. In a second or so, the sounds waned and she then heard the fluttering wings of bird Pokémon. No doubt they too were scared by her horrendous singing voice.

Stowing the lyrics in her satchel again, Seraph turned her gaze to where she had entered the copse, her right ear twitching this time. Something was coming…and it had partners… She was just able to hear their footsteps pressing lightly against the grass. Most likely, they were predators looking for an easy kill tonight.

For a brief moment, she concentrated the limited telekinesis she possessed in their direction. It was impossible to tell exactly who they were, just that they were almost there.

“Let’s see…” she mumbled, turning around and grabbing her satchel.

Quickly looking at the trees surrounding the grove, her eyes became transfixed on a tall maple at its southwest boundary. The tree also had numerous high hanging branches, making for a good hiding spot.

Seraph made a mad dash for it with her bag slung around her torso again. Reaching the tree’s trunk, she immediately dug the claws on her forepaws into the tree’s bark and pulled her body off the ground enough to get a grip with the ones on her hind legs’ paws. Quickly, she was able to scale the maple until reaching a branch about twenty feet off the ground.

“She’s close…” she heard a strict voice whisper.

Sitting on the limb silently, she watched as a canine came into the grove from its north side with his brownish-red maw to the ground sniffing. The otherwise black hound had horns that curled behind his head from where his ears should’ve been as well as a bone collar around his neck. Also visible was the strap of a small chest-like container slung over his torso so it rested at a slant from his right shoulder across his back.

Stopping in the exact area she was before, Seraph was able to see the series of three bones resting with some distance between each other on the beast’s backside before his slim tail that had a triangular spike at the end. She noted how the bones each had three razor-thin cuts in the same areas near their midsections.

Lifting his head, the 4’ 7” tall hellhound’s eyes glared directly at her for a long moment. He couldn’t see anything but leaves and branches mixed with shadows. However, he knew she was there…somewhere.

“Get over here, now!” he barked, turning his head back to where he came from.

“Jeez, what’s your problem? It’s not like she’s gotten that far,” a moderate, yet slightly sharp voice replied.

“She’s probably dead. I mean, this forest isn’t exactly kind to its night visitors, Houndoom,” a feminine one added, “Who knows what freak could’ve gotten to her?”

Two more monsters then crept into the grove. One was a black 3’ 7” gremlin with a wide red frill that rested atop his five-pointed crown. The fiend had his scrawny arms with rake-like claws for hands crossed behind the long red ears that dangled from the sides of his head. The red collar around his neck shifted slightly as he walked up to Houndoom with a smirk that revealed a few of his fangs. Several featherlike appendages serving as his tails also moved a little as he walked.

“Why the hell did she come here to begin with?” Weavile asked as he and the feline to his left approached.

“Skunanne doesn’t have any friends back in Pokémon Square. My thoughts are that she found a mate and came out here to be with him,” she replied.

The four-and-a-half foot tall lioness had a spiky black mane covering the upper portion and back of her head. A patch of blue fur covered the areas surrounding her mouth and underneath her eyes. The black part of her pelt continued around the back of her ears and dropped down her neck to the torso, where it continued to cover the front half of her forelegs and the entirety of her forepaws. On the back of each foreleg was an area with alternating horizontal blue and gold stripes. Part of her abdomen was covered in the blue pelt covering her mouth and hind legs. That area then gave way to another patch of black hair covering her hips and tail, which had a four-point yellow spur at its tip.

“Oh… These idiots…” Seraph thought as she stood, recognizing them from back home, “Wonder who sent them?”

Hardly anyone she considered a threat, the threesome was known as Team Hellfire. Even though a Silver-rank rescue team from Pokémon Square, they weren’t exactly well loved. The team only undertook missions that offered large rewards. The only reason they’d ever take anything else would be if a higher ranked team forced them to.

“What is it, Houndoom?” Luxray asked as she and Weavile flanked their boss.

“She’s gone into the trees,” he replied and then turned to Weavile on his right. Snarling at the imp, some embers appeared in his maw.

Opening his left eye to the sight, Weavile uttered, “I’m going.”

He dropped his arms to his sides as he headed over to the tree Seraph scaled a moment before. In a fashion similar to hers, the fiend quickly clawed his way up the maple while the other two watched. During his ascent, Luxray caused her eyes to gleam gold.

“Weavile! Look out!” she then shouted.

“What’s wrong?” he barked, reaching for Seraph’s branch. Pulling himself up, Weavile’s face made contact with something furry.

“You seriously chose the wrong end to be on, Weavile,” Seraph giggled, looking back at him so he was able to see the glow of her sapphire eyes.

“Skunanne, wait! We just came here to take you home!” he screamed, fearing of what she was about to do.

“Tough! I came out here to be alone,” she snickered, “Hope you like Pepper Spray!”

A powerful blast blew Weavile back to the ground with enough force to leave a small crater near the base of the tree where he landed and a fiery-hot liquid splattered on his body. At the other end of the detonation, Seraph was launched from the branch into the night sky.

Though the attribute had been suppressed somewhat due to how man once tamed her ancestors, Seraph still possessed the ability to spray a few types of secretion at will. The attack she meant to use was supposed to spray an eye irritant in Weavile’s face. However, she unwittingly used a move called Vile Musk that unleashes a powerful discharge of spray that became superheated upon release, which sent her relatively light form flying.

Screaming at an earsplitting pitch, she rose over the forest in a moderate arc. The flock of Pidgey that her previous shriek woke up and startled flew past as she reached the apex of her ascent. Her presence, however, caught the eye of something else flying after the group as she started to fall from the sky. Changing its course, the large bird dove into the forest after her.

As she descended back to earth, the flaps of Seraph’s satchel opened. All of its contents were dumped, the remaining berries, bottles of juice, and the lyrics to her mother’s song. When the sheet flew before its face, her pursuer caught the paper in its short beak. Entering the trees, the creature perched itself on the upper branches of a tree out of view and watched in silence as she crashed on the trail below.

Belly down in the dirt of the path, Seraph lied still for a moment, trying to recover after the crash knocked the wind out of her. That last stunt wasn’t exactly the escape she was intending to make, but she got away from Team Hellfire just the same. However, her crash attracted the attention of yet another creature hanging from the branch of a birch a few meters away from where she now was.

The scrawny mammal released his long vertebrae tail’s grip on the limb, dropping to the path. Once on the ground, the critter rolled off of his back and stood upright on his seemingly weak hind legs. He then started to amble towards her somewhat sluggishly.

“Are you okay?” he uttered, a very weak tone in his voice.

“Uh… Yeah… I should be…” Seraph huffed in response.

After a few seconds, she dug into the ground with the claws on her rear paws and did a pushup to get her body out of the dirt. Pushing back with her forepaws, Seraph found herself falling backwards into a sitting position.

Taking a few deep breaths, she tried getting her bearings. Looking off to her right for a moment, Seraph noticed a large collection of birch trees and…perhaps…a few oaks a ways behind them. It was difficult to tell because of how dark it was and their somewhat close proximity to each other. Turning to her left, there was more of the same.

“I’m all the way on the southwestern edge of the woods?” she thought.

Seraph spent a good portion of her time exploring this forest; yet, there were still places she seldom trekked. This area in particular she’d been though only twice before. It seemed so foreign to her. But, if she could pick up a familiar scent, she’d have no problem finding her way back to town.

“Whoa… That attack I just used must’ve been something to launch me all the way here…” she mumbled.

“Hey, keep it down… You don’t want to wake that diurnal next to you…” the creature behind her whispered.

“Hmm?” she uttered.

Seraph looked at the dirt patch to her left. A few feet from her was a 2’ 4” weasel-like mammal. Because he was lying on his right side, she was mostly able to see just the brown pelt covering his head, back, and forked tails. Hunching forward slightly to examine him better, she noticed the Mohawk-like hairdo atop his crown and the yellow floatation ring around his neck. There was no mistaking what this creature was.

“Buizel don’t live around here… Where’d he come from?” she mumbled to herself.

“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t…” the one behind her said.

Standing, Seraph replied, “And, just who the hell are you to tell me what to do? You don’t even know who I am…”

Turning around and looking slightly downward, she barked, “AH!”

Seraph couldn’t help but shiver at the sight she now beheld. A foot before her was one of the most decrepit creatures she’d ever seen. Her eyes were transfixed on the elongated maw protruding from underneath a pair of large white eyes with small black dots serving as irises for a long moment. Each jaw had four teeth near its frontal area with a gap between them so it looked like there were two on each side of his mouth. Gazing through the space separating his teeth, she noticed that his lower jaw was hanging down halfway from his face, most likely because his thin jawbone was broken. Slowly moving her stare down his body, Seraph saw that this creature’s skin was tight against his body. In his dingy brown fur, she was able to see the three fused bones of his ribcage. She also noted how thin his abdomen was as well as how his pelvis was visible. The thing that really surprised her was the fact that his hind legs were actually able to support his form because of how bony they were. There was no possible way this creature was part of the living.

“Didn’t anyone tell you it’s not polite to stare!” he replied, “But, then… Since you’re gawking, I can safely assume you’ve never seen an Oposease before.”

Oposease… She’d only heard of them a few times before. Despite their overall weak appearance, they were rumored to be savage beasts that dropped from branches onto unsuspecting prey and then viciously clawed their victims to death. Looking at his arms, she saw that there were black cone-shaped claws at the ends of his three-fingered forepaws. No doubt those rumors were true.

“You can calm down. I’m not going to hurt you,” Oposease said.

Staring back at his face, Seraph watched as he twitched the left of a pair of trapezoidal ears atop his head. She noticed the right one had a bite taken out of it. One attack probably didn’t go so well for him.

“So, who are you, and what happened?” he said, moving one step towards her.

“Get back!” she yipped, pulling both of her arms against her chest and stepping back.

“Hey! Keep it down! I was just asking,” he replied, sticking his right forepaw out and slightly upward.

Seraph sniffed a few times. She didn’t notice it until now, but he reeked of decay! Now she was certain that he was some type of undead Pokémon.

“I’m…uh…Skunanne… But you can call me Seraph. Tell me something. Are you even…alive?” she uttered, reluctantly extending her paw towards him.

“What do you mean by that? Of course, I’m alive!” he said, raising his meager voice somewhat as they both shook.

As they stopped, she replied, “Sorry… I didn’t mean to be offensive… It’s just…”

“My smell… I should be the one to apologize. I’m don’t normally have company, and I’m so used to it I keep forgetting how nasty it must be to others,” he replied.

“You don’t know the half of it, buddy!” she thought, with a slight sneer.

“What?”

“Nothing…” she said, turning her expression into somewhat of a poker face.

“So, are you going to answer my other question?”

“Uh… Someone was chasing me and one of the attacks I used against him launched me here,” she replied.

“Was it Destail? He loves chasing girls,” Oposease said and then chuckled, “On second thought, probably not since he only likes chasing girl birds.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she retorted, raising her right paw as if to swat at him, “You better not be saying I’m ugly! I swear I’ll claw your eyes out if you are!”

Well above them, the bird who pursued Seraph during her decent squinted his hazel-iris eyes and mumbled to himself, “Mammalian curs… Of course, I would never waste my time or grace in an attempt to woo such a hideous creature as her… Hmph…”

Oposease continued, “No, no! He just goes after other birds is all I’m saying. Anyways, what part of the forest are you from? I haven’t seen you around before.”

“The far eastern…” she calmly said, putting her arm back at her side.

“A lot of diurnals live in a town near there. That guys probably from there, too,” he responded, pointing at Buizel with one of the claws on his left hand, “I’ve got to say, you’ve got guts living where you do. I never could knowing those things that are up during the daylight hours are that close to my home.”

“Hey, how long’s this Buizel been here?” she asked him.

“His name’s Buizel? How do you know that…DIURNAL!” he managed to bark.

“Shut up and answer me!” Seraph howled, readying to use claw his face with Fury Swipes.

“Since I got up, around sunset!” Oposease squealed before she made contact.

“And, for the record, I’m not a diurnal. I just live with them,” she replied.

“Whoa… Guess they’d never think about messing with you then…”

“Uh… Right…” she uttered, scratching the area under her right ear and with a slight grin, “Anyways… I’m being hunted by a group of three Pokémon from that town. So, we should really get out of here.”

“Diurnals from that town…” he replied, swallowing some air due to fear, “Here?” Immediately, he started to fall backwards.

“Hey! There’s no time to play dead! We have to get Buizel up and run for it!” she barked. Oposease snapped out of his automatic trance and jumped back to his feet.

“Are you crazy? The diurnals are savages that’ll kill you in an instant!” he managed to yelp.

“Hey, keep it down! Good grief, can’t a guy take a nap?” a moderately low-pitched voice behind Seraph spoke. She turned her head and glared at Buizel, who was still lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

“You heard him… He just wants to be left alone…” Oposease whispered.

Seraph turned her body around and went over to Buizel’s side. She bent down by him and positioned her mouth next to his face.

Oposease’s eyes widened and he yipped, “Don’t wake him up, Seraph!”

“In case you weren’t listening,” she whispered, “There’s a pack of ravenous Pokémon after me.”

Using her paw to slowly course the half-oval of a flipper on his left arm, she continued, “I’m sure they’d absolutely love the taste of your tender…succulent flesh this evening. What better breakfast could there ever be for such starving nocturnal carnivores such as them than freshly killed Buizel… Mmm… Just the thought’s even got my mouth watering…”

She then slowly licked an area near the two black marks on his cream-colored cheek. If that little tease wouldn’t scare him, she didn’t know what would.

“Okay… Why did you just do that…and what are you talking about?” he uttered, opening his left eye and blinking a few times.

“He’s up!” Oposease yipped and then flopped back first onto the ground.

Seraph looked at him with a slight twitch in her right eye. This possum’s obscene fear of diurnal Pokémon was seriously starting to get to her. Sighing, she returned her gaze to Buizel.

“You alright, kid?” she asked him.

“I…think so… But I still don’t get what you’re talking about,” Buizel replied as he turned onto his back, revealing the cream-colored fur of his stomach and face, “Hey! You’re a Skunanne!”

“Oh, yeah! And, you’re a Buizel!” she said mockingly, “Great way to state the obvious, buddy.”

“Hey! You don’t need to chew my head off, jeez!” he responded, “Anyways, where are we?”

Buizel started to sit up, but immediately closed his eyes and grabbed his temples. Migraine pain spread quickly throughout his forehead.

“You sure you’re alright?” Seraph asked him.

“Oww… Yeah… Just a little headache, but it’s starting to go away,” he replied, blinking a couple times, “You didn’t answer my question yet. Where are we?”

“The forest area west of Pokémon Square,” she replied, standing up and crossing her arms, “Now, I’ve got a question for you, Buizel. How did you get here? I mean…we don’t exactly see a lot of your kind in places like this.”

“Really, I don’t know. For some reason, I can’t remember much of anything. Is my name really ‘Buizel’?” he responded. Buizel then stood and looked around at the trees.

Seraph turned her head to her left away from him and mumbled, “Great, he’s an amnesiac…”

“So, we really are in a forest. Weird… I can’t recall anything, but, for some reason, it seems like I should to be here…” Buizel said, putting his arms behind his head. He then started to laugh.

“You’re taking this pretty well for someone who doesn’t remember anything. If I were you, I’d be scared half to death about now,” she replied, turning back to him with her eyes closed, “Especially since…”

“Hey, Skunanne! What did you do to your boyfriend?” Buizel asked her.

Opening her eyes, Seraph turned to her left to see him standing to the right of Oposease looking down at the creature’s motionless form. Walking over to the two, she noticed how Oposease was positioned as he lied on the ground. His arms and maw were sticking into the air and his bony tail formed a loop from under his back.

“For your information, I prefer Seraph. Call me Skunanne again and I’ll spray you with the new attack I just learned. Oposease snap out of it!” she said, unwittingly kicking a pebble at him as she approached.

After the stone hit him, Oposease immediately sprung a few inches into the air, screeching and clawing wildly. Buizel jumped back to avoid him; however, Seraph ended up being landed upon by the critter as he fell back to earth.

“Get off me!” she barked, pushing the possum’s weak body back to where he sprang at her from. Flopping back onto his back, Oposease immediately sat up and glared at Seraph.

“You should’ve just left him touch me. I was going to kill him,” he remarked.

“Yeah, right. Wasn’t even attacking and I knocked on you back down,” she replied, looking at her claws, “See! Didn’t even break a nail. Like I was just pushing air aside, you’re so flimsy.”

“You don’t have to be mean about it…” he mumbled, standing.

“Dude, are you even alive?” Buizel asked as Oposease got up.

The possum turned to him and said, “I may not look it, but, yes, I am alive!”

“Yeah, Buizel, Oposease is alive, even though he doesn’t look or smell it. He’s just one of those little freaks of nature that doesn’t fit in anywhere else because he’s so different from everyone else. That’s why he lives out here by himself…” Seraph commented.

“Oh… Sorry… I didn’t know being different was such an issue for you, Seraph… If you feel that way, this zombie will leave. I don’t mind. I’m used to being alone,” Oposease replied, turning away from the two with his head down. He then started over to a nearby tree in a sluggish walk.

“Hey! Who do you think you are, Seraph? You don’t have any right to be nasty to him!” Buizel retorted.

“No! She’s right. I’m a freak of nature who looks like he’s dead and, in six or seven weeks, I will be,” Oposease uttered as he reached the tree’s trunk, “My kind has a short lifespan, about 22 weeks. We live our lives alone and die without anyone noticing. I don’t have any friends…and making them is pointless.”

Seraph’s eyes widened somewhat just then. That last sentence struck her hard like a Graveler rolling down a mountainside at high speed. When it came to friends, she had none either…at least, none that weren’t just family friends.

Crossing her arms behind her back and staring at the ground, she said, “Oposease, I’m sorry.” He turned around and headed back towards the two.

“I don’t have friends back in Pokémon Square. My dad and the other adults there are the only ones who are nice to me,” she continued.

“And me… I can’t remember anything that happened before she woke me up, so I don’t have any friends either,” Buizel added. Oposease stopped before them and gave somewhat of a smile.

“Amnesia could be a terrible burden, Buizel. And you shouldn’t be alone in a world like this. So, how about it? Care to be friends?” Oposease said, putting his right paw into the middle of the triangle they formed.

“Yeah, why not? You’re the first two I’ve met here anyways,” Buizel replied, placing his paw on top of Oposease’s. Both then looked at Seraph.

“I really came out here tonight to learn a song my mom used to sing that made her one of the most popular Pokémon around here. Seeing as how my singing’s horrible…and I don’t have any real friends, sure,” she uttered and then added her paw to their pile.

“Was that your voice that shrieked earlier, Seraph?” Oposease asked as they each took their hands off the pile.

“Yeah…” she uttered, gently kicking some dirt. Just the thought that he was able to hear her atrocious singing practice all the way over here was embarrassing.

“I’ve heard worse,” Oposease replied.

Something started to gurgle. Oposease and Buizel both grabbed the area near their stomachs.

“Whoa… I’m starving,” Buizel said.

“I was so focused on not waking Buizel I hadn’t taken the time to eat…” Oposease commented. Both looked at the bag under Seraph’s arm.

“Do you have anything to eat in there?” Buizel then asked.

“If you’ve got something, Seraph, share it, please,” Oposease added.

“Well…there’re some Pamtre berries, but you’re not gonna like the taste. Might like the fruit juice I’ve got, though,” she replied, pulling the bag in front of her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that… I love Pamtre berries!” Oposease said.

“Well, you’re the only one…” Seraph thought as she opened its flaps.

She reached into her sack with her right hand. Feeling around quickly, she couldn’t find anything.

Looking into it, she barked, “What happened? Where’s my song!”

“Calm down, Seraph!” Buizel said.

“Calm down? Those lyrics were the most precious thing my mom ever owned! Without them, her legacy’s lost!” she howled, readying to claw Buizel for his naiveté.

Above, their eavesdropper took a second to glance at the wrinkled paper that he held in his beak. Only the first two lines were visible in the dim lighting, but he recognized them as something he knew by heart.

“Siren Song… It is unbelievable that Skuntress’s daughter would have such an atrocious singing ability…” he muttered to himself.

“So, that’s why you came out here? To practice Skuntress’s song? You really shouldn’t try to hold to your mother’s reputation, Skunanne,” Luxray’s voice spoke.

Oposease and Buizel turned around to see the lioness as well as her teammates, both of which were to her right, coming down the northern part of the path a few yards from them.

“That stupid song’s caused us nothing but pain! And, after that stunt you pulled back in the grove, I outta claw your eyes out!” Weavile yipped, clawing the area ahead of him.

“Weavile! This is a rescue, not a punishment mission,” Houndoom authoritatively barked, “But I can’t say I blame your attitude after the nightmare we just went through to track her down a second time.”

“Well, well, well…if it isn’t Team Idiots? I was wondering when the hell you three morons would show up,” Seraph said as she walked between Buizel and Oposease.

“Oh, you’re askin’ for it now!” Weavile yipped as he started to charge her.

“Enough!” Houndoom barked, launching small flames at the gremlin’s tails.

“Good grief, Houndoom! What was that for?” he whined, plopping his rear-end on the ground quickly.

“How many times do I have to tell you? THIS IS A RESCUE MISSION! You’re forbidden to attack the client no matter how annoying his or her antics get, you incompetent little turd!” his lupine commander shouted, huffing in frustration as he and Luxray stopped a few feet from Seraph, Buizel, and Oposease.

Snorting after a moment, Houndoom turned to Seraph’s group with his eyes closed and calmly stated, “I have to apologize to all of you for that last outburst. You see, this idiot has been raking at my nerves for the past few minutes with his moronic ramblings of mutilation and I’ve been trying to get it through his thick head that such actions are unprofessional for this type of assignment.”

“Grr…” Weavile growled, sneering at the others.

“Cut the crap, Houndoom. You might try to put up a good act, but you can never fool me. I know as well as you that you’re not doing this purely out of kindness,” Seraph said while looking at her claws again. Houndoom opened his eyes and glared.

She continued, “So, let me guess… My dad or Metalupus threatened to kick your sorry butt if you didn’t come out to find me.”

“Why you ungrateful little…” Luxray growled as she caused sparks to appear around her body.

“Tell me something… Do I have to fry your butt too, Luxray? Because I’d do it gladly!” Houndoom barked at her.

Stopping herself and looking at him through the side of her right eye, Luxray replied, “You’re seriously going to let her mock us like that?”

“So what if she mocks us?” he replied, looking at her for a brief moment and then turned to Seraph with a grin, “We’re the only escorts she has back to town. And you said it yourself, Luxray, this forest isn’t kind to its night visitors. A lot of Pokémon enter here and never come out alive…”

“Hey, leave Seraph alone!” Buizel said to him.

Moving his head slightly to his left, Houndoom continued, “Now here’s an example of just such a Pokémon… A creature that has very little combat experience like you would never survive here, kid…”

“Anyone can fight, you know!” Buizel retorted and then slapped the dog’s maw a few times with his flippers. After Buizel finished, the canine turned his face from the critter and snorted.

“Doubleslap? Let me show you a real attack!” Luxray laughed.

Again, she caused sparks to appear around her mane. After a second, the lioness pounced on him. The stun alone from her tackling him would’ve been enough, but the electrocution from her attack was overwhelming. If she didn’t stop, he’d quickly be dead!

“That’s enough, Luxray. We don’t want to hurt him too much…” Houndoom then said. The large cat got off of Buizel just then, jumping back by her leader.

“Buizel… You okay?” Seraph asked, giving her left paw to him.

Grabbing it trembling, he replied, “What was that? It was horrible…” She pulled him up slowly so it’d be easier for him to get his balance back.

“What a wimp! You can’t even take a basic Spark attack,” Luxray commented.

“Now…” Houndoom continued, looking at Oposease, “This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen. What are you, some type of underfed Rattata?”

“I’m an Oposease and quite proud of my appearance, mind you!” Oposease tried to yip.

“A what? Oh-poe Disease? Speak up! We can’t here you from all the way over there!” Weavile chuckled as he stood and started to approach the possum.

“Did I hear that right? You’re an Oposease?” Houndoom asked and then laughed, “What the hell! You’re not that savage creature they kept preaching about back in town! How can you even stand on those scrawny legs of yours? Ha! Ha! Haw!”

“You better not make me mad!” Oposease growled.

“Or else what?” Weavile replied, swatting at the critter with his left claw, “What a weakling! One hit and he’s down!” The blow caused Oposease to fly off to the side of the trail and into the underbrush.

“Good one, Weavile!” Luxray howled in excitement.

“You see, Skunanne… It’s these kind of Pokémon that deserve to be separated from the rest of us stronger, better-built ones. Which is why, if you’re smart, you’ll come home with us…” Houndoom said, returning his head towards Seraph with his eyes closed. Opening them, he saw her furry behind as it sprayed something at him.

“Argh! My eyes!” he wailed.

The secretion she used on him was painful. When he tried to keep his eyes closed, there was a tingling sensation that made him want to blink and opening them only caused burning.

“Hope you enjoy that Pepper Spray, Houndoom! It’s gonna stick with you for a while!” Seraph snickered as she stood back up.

“Why you little… YEOW!” Luxray whined, feeling something digging into the flesh of her underbelly.

Jumping back a few feet, she saw that Oposease was the one that clawed at her from a hole he’d dug. Hearing her growl, he looked back to see her ready to pounce on him. Once Luxray jumped at him, the possum ducked back into the burrow.

“Smart-aleck! I’m going to kill you…again!” she roared as she tried sticking her paw into the hole to reach for him. Unable to fit it more than a few inches, the feline pulled her appendage out and turned in Weavile’s direction.

“Go underground after him, Weavile!” she ordered.

“Right!” the imp replied and started scratching the earth.

“Enough!” Houndoom barked as he started to head back in the direction his troupe had just come from.

“This mission is over! Luxray! Weavile! Lead me back to town!” he hollered.

“But, Houndoom! What about…?” Luxray replied as she turned and took a few steps towards him.

“I have my limits…and getting hit with Pepper Spray’s one of them! Leave those ingrates here! They can die for all I care!” he yelled, “Now, get over here and take me back to town!” Hearing that, Luxray immediately headed to his side.

“Metalupus is going to kill us when we get back home…literally…” Weavile whined as he started to walk in their direction.

Once the other three were gone, Oposease came out of his hole and asked, “What was that all about, Seraph? Didn’t you say they were predators?”

“Yeah… And…what were they talking about?” Buizel added, still a little shaky due to Luxray’s attack.

“Well…” she uttered, looking down at the ground. The fact that they’d just fought the rescue team a family friend had sent to escort her back to town was kind of embarrassing.

“Hmm…” Oposease said, walking up to her.

“You see… Those guys were a group from Pokémon Square known as Team Hellfire. One of these guys my dad knows probably sent them to take me back home,” she responded.

“Why were they sent after you? Didn’t that guy know you could handle yourself out here?” Buizel asked.

“Uh… Yeah, but I never really told anyone I was coming out here, so…”

“So, they thought you went missing, right?” Oposease said. She nodded a few times.

“Great, so now what? I suppose you want to head home, right?” he continued.

“Buizel’s been hurt, Oposease… We should really get him out of the forest…” she replied, looking at Buizel as he still trembled.

“Hmm… I know a shortcut through the woods that’ll get you back there in no time, but I’ll only show you two to the outskirts of it. There is no way I’m going any further than that!” Oposease said.

“Thanks, guys…” Buizel uttered. Seraph then grabbed Buizel’s left arm and put it over her shoulder.

“Well, that’s what friends are for, right?” Oposease replied.

“Friends…” Seraph whispered as he started leading them down the path a little, and then into the underbrush.

Once they were gone, the avian that had been watching them mumbled to himself, “Friends, indeed… Impudent mammals…”

Spreading his massive wings and fanning his three immense tail feathers wide, Destail leapt into the skies with a cry resembling that of an elegant choir singer.

End Chapter One