PMD: Exploration and Corruption of the New Frontier (IC)(PG-13)

[NightOfRemorse]

A soft, cool breeze blew through the tree's branches. In the distance, a Hoothoot could be heard making nighttime calls, and Houndour howled within their packs. Psh. I spit on Houndoom, Alaska thought, remembering the day a pack of them had attacked her, and the best friend she ever had, Janice the Blissey, saved her life. Janice would have wanted to join the guild, too.

Alaska's eyes remained closed as she forced herself to think about rainbows. Rainbows would help... yes, they would... "Alaska... if I do lose my mind to the corruption... I'd like you to take care of me when that does happen. I don't want to hurt anymore pokemon..." Leigh said. Alaska's eyes quickly opened in response. "Take care of you in... what way?" she asked tensely. She really hoped he didn't mean he wanted to be killed or anything like that. Alaska could never do something like that to Leigh, even if he did turn completely corrupt. Despite knowing him for not even an entire day, he was like a brother to Alaska.

 

[Megaman765]

"I mean... just stop the corruption... just try to stop me if I go berserk. Even if it means killing me..." Leigh said, Snuggling closer. "I don't want to put you through the experience of killing a friend... but if it gets to that point..." He paused. What was he saying? They were going to find a way to stop the corruption. But who knows how long it would take...

"Wait... what happened to the rest of my team?" He wondered. They dissapeared it seemed... "Seems like I'm without a team if they all left... Um... Alaska... could I tag along with your team if that is the case?" He said.

 

[NightOfRemorse]

Alaska frowned at what Leigh said. It was true. The other explorers just vanished. Or even worse... they most likely got lost and went corrupt. It wasn't that hard to make it to the guild. It was pretty straightforward. If they didn't show up yet, this was for obvious reasons; those reasons being they were no longer conscious on what was going on around them. Alaska imagined Zeke, that very hyper yet obnoxious Scyther. She imagined him mindlessly attacking innocent Pokémon, tearing them up with his scythes.

"My team is pretty much gone, too, Leigh. You and I are our own team," Alaska replied. She relaxed more against the trunk of the tree. It was actually very sad to think about. The others didn't even get to make it to the guild, and they were consumed so easily. While Leigh, he was part corrupt and even he was able to far surpass the corruption. Determination and willpower are very powerful things.

 

[Megaman765]

"hmm..." Leigh thought. Where did everyone else go...? If Alaska was the only one on his team now... well that would be just fine. "Well, I'm just glad your still around... Hey I bet you and I would make a great team anyways huh Sis..Er... I mean...Alaska?" He said, blushing that he blurted out the whole sister thing.

"You know, I'm not even sure where I came from, or what my family was like. The first thing I remember is traveling on a road. That's it... Like I was just there. I have no clue what my life was like before that... kinda mysterious huh? Hehe.

 

[NightOfRemorse]

Alaska nodded and relaxed, her eyes slowly shutting again. "I don't really know where I'm from either. You and I, with are awesome mysteriousness will conquer all of the lands! You'll see," Alaska said wholeheartedly. "And you can call me 'sis' if you'd like. I don't mind." She opened her eyes again and looked at the door of the guild, as if Chunk would pop right out. Alaska couldn't admit it, but she wanted to fight the guy so badly.

"I think we should get to sleep now, or we'll be too pooped to climb off this tree tomorrow," Alaska remarked, noticing that they were mostly talking instead of sleeping like they should've been. If tomorrow were just a carefree day full of sunshine, she wouldn't mind talking all night.

 

[Megaman765]

"He... Your right... Lets get some sleep." Leigh replied. Leigh didn't know if he would make calling Alaska "sis" a common thing but he was glad that she was ok being thought of as one. Leigh floated up beside Alaska's face and smiled. Leigh wondered if he had a sister before. He hoped that whoever it was, she was as nice as Alaska was.

"Gnite Sis." Leigh said. He lightly pressed himself against Alaska's cheek as if he were giving her a small kiss. He floated back into Alaska's arms and soundly fell asleep. He would have said something like "Love ya sis" Or something along those lines but she wasn't really his sister or anything...

 

[NightOfRemorse]

"Goodnight, bro," Alaska replied, falling asleep within ten minutes. She was exhausted, and with good reason. It was still sort of surprising that everything they had gone through happened all that same day.

The next morning, the sun shone brightly, and reflected off the dewdrops on the trees. Alaska's eyes flickered open, and she noticed she was sitting in the same position, but she was on a lower branch. What the heck? She looked at Leigh, who appeared to still be asleep. She pat the top of his head and gazed around. A Pelipper flew past and dropped off mail in the mailbox. As quickly as he arrived, he flew away. Alaska merely blinked at the mailbox, not wanting to move and wake up Leigh.

 

[Megaman765]

Leigh slept soundly that night... it was the best sleep he could ask for. It was quiet the whole night and the feeling of the air after the rainstorm was pleasant as always. The next morning Alaska patted on his head lightly he didn't wake up. He snuggled up closer to Alaska still soundly asleep. Eventually he woke up and looked up at Alaska. "Gmorning." He said with a smile. He began to float up but noticed the gel like substance stuck to Alaska a little. He floated to the air and noticed some of the green gel was on her leg.

"Oh, sorry Alaska. Heh. I forgot that it's kind of a sticky substance. Hehe." Leigh said to Alaska. Leigh noticed the Pelipper putting mail into the mailbox as well. Maybe it was for one of them? Nah... but it wouldn't hurt to look.

 

[jarchio]

Jarchio woke up with a loud yawn. "maybe i should sleep up here more often..." he sighed nimbly leaping off the roof like it was two inches off the ground. Sun beating down on him, jarchio yawned again. "Geeze these bindings hurt..." he mumbled to himself. Quickly marcus looked around him before unraveling the wraps around his right arm letting it breath. "i wish i knew why i had this mark...." he whispered to himself gently touching the cross shaped mark.

 

[D. Lawride]

It's morning... Chunk thought to himself, watching as the clouds in the sky were starting to clear away and the sun appeared in the horizon, shining over the guild and the forest surrounding them... but also over the mountains, showing just how high and how dangerous they were. I saw them yesternight... in my dreams... my parents...

The straw bed was still the way it was when the guild assistants made it after the fight; Chunk had used it only until he fell asleep, to abruptly wake up and head for the nearest window, where he would stay the entire night, first to watch the rain fall, and then to watch the sky light up as morning broke.

Could this mean that... they're not alive? The sight of a Pelipper approaching caught his attention, and kept his mind busy until it flew away again. It won't be long until I find out. We're leaving soon.

"I'd better find Layne. The sooner we're out, the better."

 

[NightOfRemorse]

"Don't worry about it," Alaska said, poking the gel on her leg. It stuck to her claw, and she automatically blew on it. It froze completely solid, then Alaska broke it off. She picked up Leigh and did a front flip off the tree.

"Do you think this letter is for us?" she asked, walking toward the mailbox. She wanted to check to see who it was for, but in a way, she thought this would be an invasion of privacy, since they were considered visitors… Nevertheless, she opened the mailbox and peeked inside. There was a single brown package, and it was fastened closed with a thin rope. Alaska took it out and eyed the print on the side of the package.

((OOC: Mega or Lawride can choose what it is, lol))

 

[Megaman765]

"ah!" Leigh screamed as Alaska grabbed onto him and did a front flip off of the tree. Fast, and athletic... Sheesh. Leigh thought. Oh! The postbox... Leigh observed the brown package and what it was labeled to... it was labeled to Leigh! Who would want to send something to him? The sender's name was anonymous. He hadn't helped anybody yet as far as he knew... Pokemon usually get gifts for helping Pokemon in various areas of the land...

Leigh began to open up the package using his psychic abilities. Inside was a little bag packed with a few berries inside of it. "What in the world...? Why would anyone be this generous...? Considering the state of the world...?" Leigh thought. The berries didn't seem corrupt, infact, they smelled fresh... Leigh looked inside the mail box again and noticed there were a few more letters or packages but they weren't labeled toward him.

"Seems like we found our breakfast huh? Lets share a few with the rest of the guild!" Leigh exclaimed.

 

[NightOfRemorse]

Alaska watched the package open itself, or rather, by Leigh's psychic powers. She couldn't help but be a little envious. Psychic powers were cool! The package revealed a bag of berries. Leigh wondered out loud why somebody would be so nice and send these. "Are you sure they're safe?" Alaska asked cautiously, sniffing at the bag. They smelled particularly fresh, but Alaska was still wary of anybody eating them. After all, the sender didn't write their name on this. They remained anonymous...

Or maybe, Alaska was just being too careful. They did smell fresh, and maybe the sender just didn't want anything back so they didn't include their name. After a long pause, Alaska said, "All right. Let's eat 'em, then." She walked toward the door of the guild and looked over her shoulder at Leigh.

 

[Megaman765]

"Hmm... good point... well, a taste test wouldn't hurt!" Leigh said as he recklessly took one berry out of the bag and absorbed nutrients out of it for him to snack on. Once he at the whole thing, the lifeless berry hit the dirt below him. Leigh stared blankly ahead of him and fell to the ground as if he were dieing. He made a couple loud coughing noises to hopefully trick Alaska.

After the little prank, he got up and laughed mischievously "Hehehehe, Aw they're fine! Best tasting berries I've ever had!" He said, floating alongside Alaska. Leigh floated into the dining room and noticed a large crowd of Pokemon. He floated about giving them two berries each. He saved quite a few for himself since he was going to be going on a fairly long trip.

He passed by the last pokemon who said... "Kehehe. Thanks." Leigh replied "Not a problem.". He said to him. He wasn't even paying attention to who he passed by but the voice was familiar... and that...laugh...!

Leigh turned around instantly and noticed it was Retus! The guildmaster took care of him though...right? He was casually eatting with the rest of the group but none of the other Pokemon seemed to notice. They must have assumed he was another guest. Retus smiled and waved at Leigh. "Gmornin! So how was your night?" He said to him trying to pull off a nice act. A small Caterpie was crawling on his shoulder.

"You!...Did you send these berries?" Leigh asked. Retus laughed.

"What? Of course not. Kehehehe... But probs to whoever sent them! These taste delicious!" Retus said relaxing against his chair."

 

[jarchio]

Jarchio walked into the guild wrapping the bands around his mark once again. Slowly he entered the dinning hall, took one glance at all the pokemon, and walked back out. "Im not much of a socializer...." he sighed to himself pulling out more gummies. "time to get training....." jarchio mumbled walking back outside trying to use aura to find his way.

"DRAGON PULSE!" he yelled outside as a purple aura covered his body. "And now.... BONE RUSH!!" as the massive bone appeared in jarchios hands, it was instantly covered in the same purple aura. "Yes! Yes! Its working!" he laughed with a smile. Suddenly the purple aura around the bone started to become deformed and pull away from the attack making it an active bomb! "no! No no no NO!" quickly jarchio threw the bone to the ground and leaped away barely avoiding the explosion. Rising back to his feet he chuckled as a cold sweat dripped from his head.

 

[NightOfRemorse]

Alaska flinched when Leigh fell to the ground. He began to loudly cough. "LEIGH!" she exclaimed, picking him up and shaking him. "Hehehehe, Aw they're fine! Best tasting berries I've ever had!" he said, floating alongside her. Alaska stared blankly at him, and then smiled. She had the admit, the joke was funny… but only after she realized it was one. When they went into the dining room, Leigh handed out several berries to each Pokémon. Alaska quietly walked behind him, looking at the faces of each Pokémon when they received their share. Leigh stopped and turned around to look at one of them. Alaska didn't notice and kept walking.

"Oof!" she said, bumping into Leigh. "What? What happened?" Alaska looked directly at Retus. So, he made it in one piece after all. He smiled and waved at Leigh. "Gmornin! So how was your night?" he asked, a small Caterpie on his shoulder. Alaska had to resist the temptation to eat it, as small bug Pokémon are what she ate when she was living alone. Besides, what the heck was Retus doing with a Caterpie, anyways? Alaska looked at it closely. This Caterpie couldn't possibly be corrupt. Just by looking at its eyes, one could tell it was a regular Caterpie. "You!...Did you send these berries?" Leigh asked. Retus laughed. "What? Of course not. Kehehehe... But props to whoever sent them! These taste delicious!" Retus replied, relaxing in his seat. "I thought you ate… gemstones," Alaska commented. What would be Bruno and Hirotaro's reaction to having Leigh here? They most likely thought they had taken care of him for good, but obviously, that wasn't so.

 

[jarchio]

"If i cant get this combo down what use am I!?!" marcus mumbled to himself standing in position. Once again he called out for dragon pulse and was covered in the purple aura. Again he called for bone rush and it all started to work fine. Jarchio took a few swings at a tree with the attack before the aura started to deform again. Only this time he didnt have enough time to get away and the explosion caught him sending him into the side of the guild with scratches and bruises covering his body.

"JUST ONCE!!!" he yelled into the air while he laid on his back barely able to move. "JUST ONCE CAN I DO SOMEHING RIGHT!!!!" he yelled again slamming his fist into the ground.

 

[Megaman765]

"Kehehe... Alaska. Looking as lovely as ever I see!" Retus said winking at her. "Yeah, I perfer Gemstones, but I don't see any Gemstones around here do you? Kehehe. Big rule in survival, work with whats available. I don't mind a little change in my diet." Caterpie let out a cry. "Huh? Want one too buddy?" Retus asked holding a berry up to its mouth. Caterpie happily ate the berry whole.

"So! How about that Guildmaster eh? Great guy! Beat me to a freaking pulp and left me out in the rain to die!" He said with a sarcastic tone. "I had to resort to letting a bit more of the corruption inside of me to heal my wounds. I wasn't going to make it by myself..." Snype hopped off his chair and smiled at both Leigh and Alaska.

"They left you out there...?" Leigh thought. Seemed a bit harsh, even if he was a wanted criminal. Also seemed stupid considering what this guy was capable of doing. "But... why are you here then?" Leigh asked.

"To sit down an relax! Ya know, relax a bit! Is that so bad? Kehehe. I'm only a guest looking to take a break from all of that hard work." Retus said, snickering a bit. He leaned on Alaska's shoulder. "So how have you been doing miss?" Retus asked her, smiling.

 

[NightOfRemorse]

So Retus was about adaptation, and he was good at it. Give him a pair of sneakers, and he'll eat them if he has no other choice. Alaska was going to find out everything about him. She wanted to know everything there was to know. This task would be an easy one, since Retus was the type who could have a mouth stuffed with socks and he would keep talking. The information Alaska would achieve could be used against Retus to bring him down for sure. He was a criminal, wasn't he? Retus leaned on Alaska's shoulder and asked how she was doing. She ignored the question, however.

"Why would you relax here, when the same guys who beat your ass- I mean beat you up, are right in this building?" Alaska gestured to the whole area. "I mean, if you don't wanna end up looking like a melted BeDazzler, you should leave."

 

[Megaman765]

Snype crossed his arms and got off of Alaska's shoulder. She had spunk, Just the way Retus liked it.

"Kehehe! Glad you asked! You seem to forget what I'm capable of! I'm only here for some hospitality after that last fight. Of course, if you all really want to start a fight with me I'll gladly call up some "friends" over to the guild. Considering I'm in the stronghold, being overrun by corrupt pokemon wouldn't be a very fun way to start the day huh? Kehehe... I'm really not looking for a fight." Retus said to them. The other pokemon weren't listening as they were all munching on their food. Snype was acting as casual as possible.

"So how about it? We can act like friends for a little while? Just like old times when I was your escort!" Retus said cheerfully, glancing at Alaska. Leigh glared at Retus... he remembered that he could control the corruption... no... he wasn't about to ask for lessons from this guy.

"The guild is Probobly well protected for those kinds of assaults. How do you know it will work?" Leigh asked.

"Well, if it dosn't work, at least it'll cripple whatever forces you got in here. Not very impressive I gotta say... besides you two that is. You seem like you can hold out pretty well." Retus said, his eyes glimmering.