The Final Level (PG-16)

[Lusankya]

Accepted, Darkhaven.

Name: Michael Faraday
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Appearance: Micheal has golden blond hair and dark blue eyes. In his early 20s, he keeps clean-shaven. Fairly average build, Micheal is slightly shorter than most people. He's a little on the weak side, with smaller-than-average muscles, and not extremely physically fit. His favorite color is red, and he wears lots of it, a red T-shirt, red tennis shoes, white socks, and a pair of navy-blue jeans with stripes of red. An extremely faint scar, barely visible, runs down the side of his left cheek.

Personality: Michael has a fairly cool temperament, he doesn't get angry easily. At the same time, he's not often happy, and most of the time assumes a neutral expression. When the situation calls for it though, he can be very warm and friendly. Intelligent, Micheal loves problem-solving games and is generally good at it. He's also a handyman, rather good at fixing things. He is usually calm under pressure, but to date he's never had a life-threatening experience, and doesn't know how he'll react to one. A loner, he prefers to stay at home or at work by himself.

History: Michael lived a pretty average life. He went through all levels of school, made friends, hanged out with them on weekends, played video games, got better grades than average, went to college and got his degree in business. After working out a deal with the company who runs them, Michael started his own Pokemart in his hometown. As a child his family didn't have any Pokemon, but he did encounter a wild Vaporeon in living in the stream behind his house, and would go back to play a little with it every now and then. Living in Johto, he spent most of his time indoors, preferring the air-conditioned interiors of homes to the hot, humid outdoors. He doesn't have much experience with Pokemon, and even as an adult running a Pokemart, he doesn't interact much with Pokemon. Due to his preference for loneliness, he doesn't have a girlfriend(although he does have a crush), but he does have a few friends.

Or so he remembers.

(I now declare this RP BEGUN! *breaks champagne bottle on RP*)

Level 1: The Empty Room
Players must wake up and get their bearings before the timer runs out. If they wish to avoid being machine-gunned, they must run out of the Level 1 arena immediately after coming to. A test of their responsiveness and thinking abilities.

"Welcome to the game." A voice, female, but lower in pitch than normal. Strangely mechanical, with odd nuances and emphasis. Sounding almost... menacing.

"Blaurrggg," Michael groaned. His head hurt slightly. Strange. He wasn't lying in his bedroom, next to his Pokemart.

Blinking to clear his blurry vision, Michael sat up on his butt and looked around. He was in a white, featureless room. In front of him lay a long hallway. Outside of which he could see trees and grass.

Where was he? He turned his head, scanning the walls of the room. He blinked. Now there were small discolorations on the walls. He blinked again. The discolorations were little tubes, attached to balls, mounted on the walls. They were pointing at him.

He leaned back slightly. The tubes moved, tracking his movement.

With a start, he realized what they were. Gun turrets.

"What the-" he gasped, but was cut short by a beeping behind him. He flipped over on the ground to see what it was.

Behind him was a digital clock, its red-and-black rectangle looking evil and sinister set admist its other surroundings. It was a timer. Counting down. 15... 14... 13...

Then it hit him. Like a tractor trailer. Guns that tracked him, and a timer. He needed no further explanation. He wanted to live.

Michael shot up from his position lying on the ground and sprinted down the wallway as fast as he possibly could. Faster than he had ever ran. There was a greater need to run than he had ever experience before.

Behind him, the beeping sound continued, strangely not lowered in volume by the increasing distance. But it was joined by something else. Gunshots.

Ever hear a gun in real life? It's not like in the movies, the little "pewpewpew".

Despite already running as fast as he could, Michael coaxed a little more speed from his legs, running a little faster than he possibly could. Behind him, BANGBANGABANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!!!

He exploded out of the hallway and rolled to a side to avoid the gunshots. His lungs felt like they were popped balloons. Gasping for breath, he looked down at his body. It seemed to be fine. He didn't feel any pain, except the ones in his lungs and the pain from sprinting like that in his legs.

He got up and looked around. Surrounding him were trees. A forest? It looked liek one, and smelled like one. Turning around, he didn't see the hallway he had come out of. Strange.

He looked up. The woods looked so ordinary. But there were glimmers of white poking through the openings in the leaves. White? But the skies were blue. He supposed it could be cloud cover, but wasn't it was a little too bright for that?

Level 2: The Black Forest
A spooky woods, filled with dangerous creatures, streams, and dark caves. Players beware, they're coming for you! And feast upon your bones they shall, unless you have the wits to escape a grisly fate. Other suprises are hidden in the woods as well... Sleeping is not advised.

A voice boomed out of nowhere, startling Michael. He jumped in terror. What now?

"Welcome, players! We appreciate your participation in The Game! For those of you who have just passed Level One, congratulations! For those of you who have not passed Level One, we apologize for the great deal of pain and suffering you must be feeling right now. That is, if you are still alive enough to hear me."

The voice was similar to the one from before, but higher in pitch, brighter, and it talked faster. It still sounded strangely mechanical, however.

"The Game is simple. Survival until a certain point allows you to proceed to the next level. Death means you lose."

"As for rules, there are very few, and most of them are for you to find out on your own. Certain actions will be looked upon favorably and increase your score, and some may allow you to proceed to the next level. Death or injury will subtract from your score. On occasion, we may provide you with helpful advice to guide the way. For example, fire is hot. Do not touch it unless you wish to be burned. On other occasions, a helpful pixie may appear to point you in the right direction. That is all for the moment."

"Now, are you ready for Level 2?"

 

[Raibutai]

Level 1: The Empty Room
Players must wake up and get their bearings before the timer runs out. If they wish to avoid being machine-gunned, they must run out of the Level 1 arena immediately after coming to. A test of their responsiveness and thinking abilities.

"Welcome to the game."

"Ugh..." Pika sat up, his vision blurry. Scratching his head, Pika began to wonder what had become of his nice, cozy camp and how it had been replaced with this menancing metalic room.

Standing up, Pika's cheeks began to spark.

"Wait... that means that there's something powered by electricity nearby... But why would there be anything here?"

Pika tried stepping forward.

Instead, he was greeted with a gun turret slamming into his forehead.

Bam.

Dazed, Pika could have sworn that there was some kind of beeping noise coming from behind him.

Then he looked.

15... 14... 13...

"A-a timer? What is this? Just give me tim-"

Pika was cut off by several bullets pounding the ground inches away from his feet.

Then it hit him.

It's either life or death. That is all.

Looking at the gem hanging on his neck, he whispered,

"Please, grant me your power. I want to survive!"

The sphere hovered in the air for a moment, then glowed a brilliant green.

Then he ran. Nothing but a blur being chased down by bullets going faster than the eye can see, Pika focused all of his energy and will into running...

...5...4...3...2.......

Desperately running for dear life, he could finally see the exit! Not caring about anything else, he leaped forward.

...1...

Crunch.

Leaves? How could there be leaves in the... forest?

"Where am I? Why am I here?" Pika had just began to panic.

Wishing for an answer, Pika looked up, and was blinded by the light coming through from inbetween the leaves.

This couldn't be an ordinary forest, not after what Pika had seen from earlier. Pika finally decided to sit down and think...

Level 2: The Black Forest
A spooky woods, filled with dangerous creatures, streams, and dark caves. Players beware, they're coming for you! And feast upon your bones they shall, unless you have the wits to escape a grisly fate. Other suprises are hidden in the woods as well... Sleeping is not advised.

A loud, booming voice came from nowhere, startling the exausted Pokemon.

"Welcome, players! We appreciate your participation in The Game! For those of you who have just passed Level One, congratulations! For those of you who have not passed Level One, we apologize for the great deal of pain and suffering you must be feeling right now. That is, if you are still alive enough to hear me."

This... is a game? What kind of cruel creature would do this for his own enjoyment?

His pondering was soon interrupted by the mysterious voice.

"The Game is simple. Survival until a certain point allows you to proceed to the next level. Death means you lose."

"As for rules, there are very few, and most of them are for you to find out on your own. Certain actions will be looked upon favorably and increase your score, and some may allow you to proceed to the next level. Death or injury will subtract from your score. On occasion, we may provide you with helpful advice to guide the way. For example, fire is hot. Do not touch it unless you wish to be burned. On other occasions, a helpful pixie may appear to point you in the right direction. That is all for the moment."

"Now, are you ready for Level 2?"

 

[Darkhaven3]

Dreary, unintelligibly debilitated in his bleared mind, Wilson rose to stiff limbs, barely able to recognize that he had woken. Chilled by the air biting at his skin, he looked down at his hands, not at all surprised that he could barely make out their shape. Everything else was a mass of twisting shadows and empty white. Just coming into a state of sobriety, Wilson began to drag himself to what direction he hoped was out of harm's path - towards the ever-expanding light ahead. A beeping rung back and forth through his aching ears, but he barely cared at all. He just wanted to get out... Quickly.

Stumbling and worn by who-knows-what, Wilson finally reached out and was forced to support himself on a wall. Fatigue told him to hold his ground and vomit where he stood - the will to survive told other more horrible tales. The beeping seemed to intensify, and finally it dawned on him that he was being watched. A moment of clarity stripped him of all fatigue, and back down the hallway, he spied several colorless shapes attached to the wall - spherical, with a cyllindrical protrusion that stared at him like an all-seeing eye. He'd seen them before; Magnum Class Phagist Defense Turrets. They were posted all around the hallway, as a matter of fact - why had they not taken that last crucial step to uphold their name? He theoretically should have been splattered all over the floor by now. What was going on?

Dawning realization danced in front of him. Peering forth towards the clock situated on the wall, he realized the fatal mistake he was making that was growing worse every single second. 12... 11... 10...

Breaking into a ragged sprint, Clark plowed his legs through the air like there was no tomorrow. In a circular motion he worked every bit of energy out of his legs down the hallway in the opposite direction, sprinting like an Olympic athlete towards what he only guessed was the exit. He barrelled past rows of turrets, putting all of his concentration into the point of light ahead... Bullets began to fly, filling his sore eardrums, and by luck he managed to avoid most of them. Thankfully, the drift on the parabellum rounds used by these particular model of turrets was barely above acceptable - enough of a margin to give Clark a gap to escape to freedom.

Wilson kneeled down just around the corner, one knee to the ground and one pointed upward. He laid his back against the wall and panted heavily, unable to believe what he'd just survived. Looking down, he briefly checked himself for wounds, satisfied to find none but a minor bruise... Certainly tolerable. Finally, after catching his breath, he sighed shakily, turning his attention to the scene ahead. Vegetation?

The scent of grass and leaves entered his nostrils, and a grim note of containment was his first realization. He had done no more to escape than to get put in this situation in the first place. Let down almost, Clark sighed again, and stood painfully. A voice resonated forth from seemingly nowhere and everywhere at once, a stabbing reminder that he was a mere rat in a lab maze.

"...The Game is simple. Survival until a certain point allows you to proceed to the next level. Death means you lose."

Had he missed something? Ruffling his dark brown hair a bit, the young man searched his surroundings for the source of that strange, mechanical voice... Maybe if it was wired, he could follow the trail to freedom. Or not - depending on how deeply the sick bastards watching him wanted him to suffer in this hellhole. Escape was the only option, there was no doubt... But where there others?

 

[Lusankya]

(OOC: Since nobody's posted in the OOC thread, I'm putting this here: Don't put the Level names and descriptions(in bold) in your posts, those are just for you to get an idea of what each level is like.)

 

[Freestyle Farfetch'd]

"Welcome to the Game"

The voice rattled around in his skull for a moment, as what little there was in the room came into focus. Really, all he saw was a transition from black to white. The position he found himself in was lying flat, on the ground, facing the ground. Pretty positive that he hadn't fallen asleep in a white room, the orange rat hurried himself up to survey what little was around him. The game? He liked games.

"13-12-11"

The genderless, vocoded voice continued. Wait! No, don't! Coming to his senses, he saw the steel army mounted on the walls in front of him, and instincts kicked in. This was danger, so therefore, you must run. Thankfully, running was something he was by this point, fairly adept at. On all fours, he could reach upwards of 20mph, and this had always been something that had kept him out of trouble.

Seeing as there was only one direction that could be headed for, without further thought, he proceeded. Noise. And lots of it, was what resounded around the room. The noise of gunfire, backed by the oh-so-soulless countdown, it was enough to drive anyone with any time to think mad. Thankfully, Radcliffe was not in this predicament, and the only thought on his mind was the grey blur of the door that was now only... THUD! Zero feet before him. He hit the colossal sheet of solid aluminum almost head on. He had made it. But too where? As may be expected, the impact had knocked him clean out. He had managed a whole 10 seconds of consciousness between waking up, and colliding with the door. Impressive. As his vision slid back in, the doors had opened and he saw before him... Route 110? Nah... Route 110 has a sky. All he knew for certain right now is that his head hurt, and this wasn't a game.

"The Game is simple..."

Trees, ground, leaves. A forest of sorts lay before him.

"... Survival until a certain point allows you to proceed to the next level..."

But, no sky? Why no sky? White, Mr-Mime-gloves-white, spread out over the horizon above the trees. The void?

"... Death means you lose."

Suddenly realizing the presence of the voice. He scanned the area for any discernible speaker. Alas, there was none. Bewilderment, was the main thought on his mind, other than the fact that his head felt like it was being attacked by a million Beedrill horns. His normal good humour had escaped him. Narrowly escaping with his life was nothing new to the begotten rat, but the sensation of being in entirely unknown territory overwhelmed him.

"...As for rules, there are very few, and most of them are for you to find out on your own. Certain actions will be looked upon favorably and increase your score, and some may allow you to proceed to the next level..."

He sat where he lay, wearing the blank expression of total hopelessness. The voice continued to wash over him. Realizing affter not very long that this wasn't going to help him, he cautiously forayed out into the "wilderness". If this was a game, he could win it.

"Death or injury will subtract from your score. On occasion, we may provide you with helpful advice to guide the way..."

"I'm the frickin' orange hustler." He thought to himself. If he'd survived the way he had for the last 14 years, he wasn't going to stop now. Maybe he'd win Pokedollars. Maybe he'd just get a pat on the back. No matter, he was going to do something. There'd be no death, and injuries could be sucked up.

"...For example, fire is hot. Do not touch it unless you wish to be burned. On other occasions, a helpful pixie may appear to point you in the right direction. That is all for the moment."

The advice brought his usual smirk back between the yellow pouches on his cheeks. If he could run away from machine guns, he could manage not to touch fire. Was this game for morons? He certainly wasn't going to be the moron.

Realizing that he had lost himself in thought, he stopped to look around. By this point, he found himself quite in the middle of a uniform, quite unnatural plantation-like forest. There was none of the usual extraneous foliage, just uniform height, uniform width pine trees, separated neatly by a dusty path. Apparently, there was none of the danger he'd just faced. Was this it? Had he won already? Surely not. Ah! There. On the horizon, he spotted a grey blurry figure, slowly growing larger.

He knew what must be done. He felt strong, and foolhardy enough to take whatever was coming straight on. He stood firm, grounded his tail, and waited for the humanoid to come close enough. Sparks flew from his scrawny yellow cheeks, as he prepared for the attack.

 

[Chabz]

(OOC: Is it alright to use our Pokemon attacks? Or are they disabled? I can edit.)

"Welcome to the game."

Lesrons eyes suddenly snapped open at the sound of the female voice, even in the short timeframe Lesron detected that it wasn't the voice of a pokemon or human - the possibility of a machine? Where the heck was he was the next big thing that came to his mind, the feeling of a cold floor beneath him caused him to sit up, but he didn't expect what he saw - a gun turrent staring him directly in the face. Lesrons eyes shot instantly to the timer that sat behind the massive weapon, the number at the moment was 15 and was already moving on to 14 and so on.

Oh crap..this is not going to end well. I need to get the heck out of here fast.

As Lesron thought to himself, he jumped to his feet and immediately began running in the opposite direction of the device that could very well end his life - glancing around the scene trying to figure out how to escape, out of the corner of his eyes he saw that the gun turrent was following his movement with every stride. Lesron picked up speed by bending over a little more and his feet began a rapid movement as he launched himself forward, into the air to get a better view of the area - his jump benefitted him as he saw an exit just a short ways away.

Lesron landed and continued to make his way in the direction of the exit, but he let his eyes drift behind him back to the gun and the timer and a look of fear imprinted itself across his face - the timer read 1 and then immediately after it turned to 0 the turrent started firing in Lesrons direction. Picking up as much more speed as possible, Lesron raced forward and the exit door came into view - he positioned his hands so that they were facing each other, a purple ball now forming inbetween them, and Lesron launched the Shadow Ball attack at the door and watched it explode open in front of him.

Glancing back again, still running forward, Lesron watched as the bullets began to hit the ground closer and closer to his feet - as Lesron raced out the door he leaped to the left and rolled before standing his ground in case of any other surprises, the gun fire stopping since he was out of sight.

-----

A new voice suddenly spoke from nowhere, echoing from the new forrest area that Lesron found himself in.

"Welcome, players! We appreciate your participation in The Game! For those of you who have just passed Level One, congratulations! For those of you who have not passed Level One, we apologize for the great deal of pain and suffering you must be feeling right now. That is, if you are still alive enough to hear me."

A game? This entire thing, where I am risking my life against gun turrents and god knows what else, is only a game for someone to watch!?

Lesrons train of that was interrupted by the voice continuing its speal about the game he apparently has found himself in.

"The Game is simple. Survival until a certain point allows you to proceed to the next level. Death means you lose.

As for rules, there are very few, and most of them are for you to find out on your own. Certain actions will be looked upon favorably and increase your score, and some may allow you to proceed to the next level. Death or injury will subtract from your score. On occasion, we may provide you with helpful advice to guide the way. For example, fire is hot. Do not touch it unless you wish to be burned. On other occasions, a helpful pixie may appear to point you in the right direction. That is all for the moment.

"Now, are you ready for Level 2?"

Great..now I have to figure out how to get out of this forrest, aswell as finding/avoiding other people. This day just keeps getting better and better.

 

[Lusankya]

(Please people, USE THE OOC THREAD FOR ALL OOC AFTER THIS POINT. I do not want this RP to be cluttered with OOC comments.

And yes, anything goes.)

 

[Clark]

Darkness... Cold, metallic surface... White. Unfamiliar air. Peculiar tubes... Surrounded... Trapped? Noise... Strange noise. Unnatural noise. Beep... Beep... Beep...

Shaymin blinked. Her green eyes flicked from side to side as she came to her senses. Something was wrong. This was not her home. Her paradise. That was apparent. Rather than a soft, grassy patch of flowers, a hard, solid floor lay beneath her paws. There were no clear skies or sweet aromas. Just a wall. A round wall, sealing her into a small space. And that blaring noise... Beep... Beep... This was not right. It was uncomfortable. Incorrect. Not meant to be.

Her gaze turned to a rectangular indentation in the wall. Black, in color. Glowing red light. Symbols... Symbols that changed with every ring of that sound. Beep... Beep... It hit her quickly. Humans. They were doing this. More than likely, to trap her. To use her powers for their own selfish, greedy desires. With a tilt of her head, Shaymin noticed the hallway. White and ominous, it lay befor eher eyes. Her hypothesis was flawed. Humans wouldn't allow her to escape so easily. They may have been greedy, but they were definately not stupid. All the same, the instinctual urge to flee from this compressed space called her forward. And so, she darted.

Beep... Beep... That noise. Beep... It chimed out from the room. Beep... Somehow... Beep... It frightened her... Beep... The hallway was void of any obstacles, but it was long... Beep... Perhaps this was a trap...? Beep.

All of a sudden, the loudest sound imaginable broke out from behind her. Louder than the beeping noise. Louder than thunder. It didn't beep or crash. It exploded, in a powerful blare that sent all of Shaymin's fur up in a single horrified heartbeat.

She didn't take the time to look back and see what it was. To do so would be insanity. Instead, her winglike ears flapped quickly, and she felt her body detatch itself from gravity. Except, there was something else different. She was heavier. She had a defined wieght, and still felt the ground's pull tugging at her paws. This had never occured before... This form was called the Sky Forme for a reason... Shaking her head, she let herself fall back down. Running would prove faster.

All of this; the rise into the air, the realization, and the fall, occured in about a second. That one second, however, was a dreadful loss. The sound was growing louder... Several tiny objects rammed into the flooring behind her, colliding with the surface in a horrible smashing sound. She had to escape. Now.

Even without flight Shaymin could prove herself to be fast. A fierce and wild determination filled her as she dashed, pushing her forward. You want to get me? ... You'll have to catch me, she thought. Of course, her mind was whirling with excitement and confusion all at once. She had no idea where she was. Why she was here. What she was running from. Why it was after her. Where she was heading. All she knew was to run. And that she did.

The tunnel ended abruptly. The entire setting had suddenly changed. Soft dirt and leaves were pressed underneath Shaymin's paws now. The air had a fresh, woodsy scent to it. Trees. Bushes. Foliage. A forest.
"Welcome, players!" a voice rang out. Shaymin glanced around, wondering where it had come from, but found no source within her vision. "We appreciate your participation in The Game! For those of you who have just passed Level One, congratulations! For those of you who have not passed Level One, we apologize for the great deal of pain and suffering you must be feeling right now. That is, if you are still alive enough to hear me."

She blinked again. What was this? She could understand basic human speech, but this seemed... rediculous. A game? What...? A game that required her to abandon her sacred duties? Just to come here...?

"The Game is simple. Survival until a certain point allows you to proceed to the next level. Death means you lose."

"As for rules, there are very few, and most of them are for you to find out on your own. Certain actions will be looked upon favorably and increase your score, and some may allow you to proceed to the next level. Death or injury will subtract from your score. On occasion, we may provide you with helpful advice to guide the way. For example, fire is hot. Do not touch it unless you wish to be burned. On other occasions, a helpful pixie may appear to point you in the right direction. That is all for the moment."

"Now, are you ready for Level 2?"

This made no sense. This was crazy. She wasn't supposed to be here. All the same, though, the same wild feeling Shaymin had experienced before was rising. This was exciting. A great risk. Life or death. Far more entertaining than sitting around in a field of flowers... While her dutiful, responsible side knew she needed to escape from here and return to her home, her adventurous side was, honestly, ready for more... A smirk found its way to Shaymin's face. Well, then. Bring it on!

 

[Lusankya]

Michael felt an itch starting to develop in the back of his throat, and began pounding his chest in an effort to nullify it before it induced him into a coughing fit. He was oxygen-deprived enough already after his olympic-worthy sprint, a fit of uncontrollable coughing would only make it worse.

Still on his hands and knees catching his breath, he felt the itch in his throat pass. Good.

He stared at the ground. Ordinary grass, layered on top of ordinary soil. Sweat drops collected on his forehead, flowed to the tip of a little tuft of hair, and dripped onto the ground. The grass bent under the weight of the sweat drops, and the dirt soaked it up like what he would expect it to.

What was this place? He closed his eyes for a few moments. A game? What kind of horrible, despicable person would gain amusement from watching people fighting to the death like this?

But even as he asked himself that question, he realized with a sinking feeling that humans were bloodthirsty creatures. He remembered stories of people in the old days who would hold "gladiator" battles in arenas, forcing criminals to fight to the death for their amusement.

He opened his eyes. Something seemed different. His eyes widened when he realized that there where the grass had been lit by a white, omnipresent glow, now it was hidden by shadow.

He looked up, not knowing what horrible thing might stand there to end his life.

It was a girl, a teenage girl, with absurdly pale skin, white hair, wearing a white full-length extremely fluffy dress like people might have worn in the 20s, and a shawl draped around her shoulders, attached by a shiny bow in front in the shape of a four-leaf clover.

The girl stared at him. He stared back, gazing into those deep blue eyes. Hypnotic. He felt as though one could drown in those eyes.

The girl smiled, patted him on the head, and abruptly vanished. Vanished not as in teleportation, but simply running away extremely fast. As Michael watched the mysterious teenager dash off, he wondered how anybody wearing a dress like that could run.

He stood up and dusted off his pants, then froze when he felt a deep rumbling, like distant thunder.

Or an earthquake. The ground beneath him was shaking. Michael turned around. A gigantic blurred thing was rolling down a hill, barreling towards him, smashing aside small trees and bushes.

Michael dove to the side, into a bush. Tucking in his arms and legs, he rolled right through the bush and into a clearing.

He looked up a saw a massive centipede, as big around as two of him standing shoulder-to-shoulder, feasting on the remains of something that looked horrifyingly human. Blood and pieces of flesh were scattered everywhere, and there was something that looked like part of an arm hanging from a tree branch.

Almost losing his stomach at the sight, Michael ran back into the bush, eager to put as much distance between him and the centipede and the rolling thing as possible.

Stopping to catch his breath again, he looked around. Nothing seemed to be coming. The rolling thing hadn't come around for another shot at him, and the centipede had been too busy gorging itself on its catch of the day to notice him.

Unbidden, words came to mind. "Don't react, anticipate," his old karate teacher told him. Michael didn't know why he was thinking of this now, as he had only attended three classes despite paying for the full set, but the words made sense. Simply reacting to dangerous monsters with his name written on them would get him killed. He had to anticipate where danger might come from.

He scoffed at his own line of thinking. Easier said than done, anticipating danger in a place where anything seemed possible and he knew nothing about.

Scanning his surroundings warily, he wandered deeper into the forest.

 

[Raibutai]

"Ugh... ack... my head..." Pika's head began pounding after his mindless sprint. Leaning against a sizable tree, Pika took acount of his surroundings.

"This can't be an ordinary forest... and monsters? I sure do hope I don't run into one of those..."

Pika heard a rustle coming from a nearby bush. Taking action immediately, Pika leaped behind a tree.

What is it? Maybe it's one of the other players... I want to talk to someone about this. My head feels like it's going to explode...

A sudden jolt of pain surged through his head. Hitting the ground, Pika gasped for breath.

I'd better rest now... but I must not fall asleep... Ugh...

Right before Pika could drift off to the blissful land of sleep, something jumped out of a bush.

"Wha? Wh-what's happening?" Pika blindly climbed up the tree he was leaning on in order to get a better view.

From the looks of it... It's something like a Mighteyena, but not. It seems... much more vicous.

This thought was completed when the wolf-like creature darted up his tree.

Hesitating to think, Pika lost his balance and fell off the branch he was resting on.

What do I do? I can't...

Pika's eyes widened as he landed in a pile of soft brush.

"Okay... I think I've had enough of this forest already. Maybe I should look for another player."

Pika trudged on, into the darkness of the forest.

 

[Twilight Wolf]

A feminine voice resounded in my dreams.

"Welcome to the games."

It seemed like a menacing whisper to me, and so it woke me up with a sudden start. I was in a hall, on a metal bed, with gun turrets pointing at me. I glanced down the hall to see a forest in the very far distance. All was fine.. All was fine.. Then, the words 'gun turrets' sunk in.

Wait! Gun turrets?!

There was a strange beeping noise behind me. I quickly looked behind me to see a digital clock.

15...14...13...12...

The first word that came to my mind: 'Bomb'. That alone was enough to get me outta here. But if I moved, I would get shot. But I had to take a chance, either way.

Then I took flight.

With somewhat of a leap, I lefted quickly into the air and started gliding quickly. And adding to that irritating beeping noise was a constant

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

that followed me. There it was. The forest. It was almost in my grasp.

3...2...1...

Then, I made one final flap with my wings in attempt to make it out. I never felt the ground.

My eyes were closed, but it was still dark. I thought that if I would open my eyes, there would be a white nothingness, so I was scared to. That voice. It came.

"Welcome, players! We appreciate your participation in The Game! For those of you who have just passed Level One, congratulations! For those of you who have not passed Level One, we apologize for the great deal of pain and suffering you must be feeling right now. That is, if you are still alive enough to hear me."

A game?!

My eyes flickered open. I was on the ground, my wings wrapped around me.

The voice came from above. This was all a game for some sick minded people who wanted to watch us suffer?! I wasnt too tired though, thankfully.

"The Game is simple. Survival until a certain point allows you to proceed to the next level. Death means you lose."

"As for rules, there are very few, and most of them are for you to find out on your own. Certain actions will be looked upon favorably and increase your score, and some may allow you to proceed to the next level. Death or injury will subtract from your score. On occasion, we may provide you with helpful advice to guide the way. For example, fire is hot. Do not touch it unless you wish to be burned."

Fire? Dont touch it? I roll in fire. I sleep in fire. Why wouldnt I you idiots?

"On other occasions, a helpful pixie may appear to point you in the right direction. That is all for the moment."

"Now, are you ready for Level 2?"

Level two?! How many levels were there? Will we ever make it out alive?

Then, there was only the silence of the forest. It was too quiet. Too quiet for sure. Tremors shook the ground, and lots of them. It was an earthquake.

I turned around to see what looked like a giant bug rolling down the hill. I lifted into the air just in time to dodge the massive thing. It unravelled and to my great surprise, it was a centipede. It rose up to it's full height, which was the height I was in the air, and seemed to stare me down. It wriggled violently, and swungs around, trying to hit me.

That's when I realized that on the ground, there were human body parts, flesh, and every disgusting thing you could imagine. There were flesh, blood, and guts everywhere, pretty much. I wouldnt be able to dodge around much longer. I rose higher.

The centipede saw that I was too high to reach, and went along eating the decapitated body parts that littered the forest.

I flew down to the depths of the forest, and trudged along, hoping to find some company.

 

[Clark]

The voice that had been speeking went mute. All was quiet. In the eerie silence, what had once been determination started to fade into cold fear. Shaymin blinked. She couldn't die... could she? Legendary Pokemon weren't supposed to die... And if she did, what would happen to the world she left behind? That thought sent a shiver down her spine.

A world without nature... A world where no plants flourished and no lush greenery brought life to the species whom inhabited the lands. Without Shaymin, would plants cease to exist? Without plants, herbivorous creatures would starve. Carnivores would lose their food source as well. Life itself could easily fade into the past... A gray world. A lifeless, gray world...

Stop it, she thought to herself. Now is no time to be thinking like that.

Suddenly, her ears flicked. She turned her head immediately toward what she identified as the sound of paws pounding down on crackled leaves. There stood a canine. Larger than a Mightyena. More vicious-looking than a Houndoom. Only, it was definately not a Pokemon. It was something completely alien.

Soot-black fur bristled along its back as it sniffed at the air. The beast was standing by a tree, a rather disappointed look on its face. Then, it saw Shaymin. It must have just missed out on a meal. She was its next target. But, of course, no legendary Pokemon would dare go down without a fight.

Her first instinct was, actually, to flee. However, she didn't want this... this thing chasing her through the forest. She could definately take it in a "battle", however.

Thus, her second instinct was obvious. This was a forest. Shaymin was in her element. here more than ever, she should be able to summon forth many deadly forms of foliage... All in a second, her mind flashed with thoughts of how to begin. A tree root, rising from the ground and constricting her foe until it either gave up or suffocated to death... Or perhaps a wall of vines, armed with venomous thorns, which would collapse onto the beast if it so much as tried to chase after her...

Her plan was shattered, however, as soon as she reached for the ever-familiar energy that would summon forth these things. It wasn't there. In its place was an unfamiliar void. Hollow. Empty. Nonexistent.

This had never happened before. She was supposed to create natural plant growth. It was her assigned power. Her duty. And yet, here she stood, unable to uphold that duty. This was wrong. This was false. However, the wolf-like creature didn't seem intent on giving her another moment of thought.

With a furious cry that sounded somewhere between a bark and a snarl, it lunged at Shaymin with an open jaw full of unrealistically huge fangs. She closed her eyes and sighed, without moving. If her legendary powers were useless, then she would have to rely on her more basic abilities. Not to say those were necessarily any less frightening to a creature unfamiliar with Pokemon.

An orb of semi-transparent green energy began forming in front of Shaymin. Energy Ball, the attack was called. A sphere forged from nature-driven aura with the sole, simple purpose of dealing damage. The wolf-creature was approaching... faster and faster... Shaymin smirked. This would probabaly be a bit of a surprise for her enemy.

She sent the orb flying and leapt back, ears flapping gracefully to soften her fall. The wolf yelped as the attack hit it, quite literally, head-on. It was flung back a little ways. The beast growled. Shook itself. Opened its dark eyes. Shaymin gasped. It didn't look very harmed at all.

Now running seemed like a viable option. If she couldn't use her real abilities in this place, and a fully-charged Energy Ball to the head did little damage, this creature was probabaly not worth the effort of fighting. Thus, she fled while she had the chance.

The forest's arms welcomed her as her paws batted against the ground, harder than usual. Luckily, the beast's snarls began to fade slowly into the distance. It was chasing her, but it wasn't fast enough. She was small. Agile. Quick. Whatever her follower was, it seemed to have a lot of muscle weighing it down, which couldn't possibly make running quickly very easy. So, she plunged into the darkness of the woods, hoping that no other aggressive beasts would confront her...

 

[Chabz]

The wind was rushing past Lesrons face, his feet pit pating the ground, as he ran through the forrest trying to find out just how to escape this game - or atleast survive it. The incident before had been way too close and he was going to try and avoid any immediate danger to his life from now on if he could, but who knows what kind of creatures lay within this mysterious place - Lesron would however be prepared for whatever came his way this time, the gun turrent had only had the upper hand because he'd been asleep and was only given 15 seconds after he awoke. Lesrons eyes darted from side to side every few seconds as he ran, making sure not to be taken by surprise by anything he might encounter - dangerous or not.

A twig snapped to Lesrons left, his head swiveling in that direction immediately as he skidded to a hault in the dirt beneath his feet. His eyes began to light up, but not from charging an attack for him to defend himself - it was quite the opposite, it was a blast of fire heading in his directions. Thinking quickly, Lesron leaped backwards and into the air up into the trees - but was suddenly blasted downwards into the ground, mere second later be impacted further into the ground as something landed on him. The pressure was released, as whoever had attacked Lesron leaped forwards and landed with a soft landing. Lesrons eyes drifted upwards, his face trying to hide the serious pain he was feeling, to his attacker - it was a woman, wearing: black sunglasses, a black overcoat, a red tanktop, black pants, and red boots.

"I hope you are enjoying this game, because I know that I am - very much so. I've encountered multiple creatures today, but none of them were as skilled as you - not many could have avoided my trap from before, you know the fire blast. What is you name creature?"

Lesron pushed himself up, using a lot of strength to just stand up, to face his opponent - he knew that if he was going to die here, it wouldn't be on the ground and it'd be during a battle.

"My name is Lesron, and who do I have the pleasure of battling?"

"Mallory is what I go by, my true name was lost long ago when I entered the game myself - now I've been placed in this level to help the host keep people from winning. And now its your turn to die!"

Mallory begun charging forward with a quick speed, but Lesron had expected it - his fist glowing a light blue color as he punched the ground, ice burst through the ground and began to spread and Lesron leaped to the right. This had of course caught Mallory off guard and she was sent sliding on the new icy ground and directly into a tree. Lesron took this oppertunity to begin running in the opposite direction as his new female "friend" in a hopes to escape, but a short distance away she leaped from out of nowhere and nearly punched Lesron halfway across the forrest - but at last second he had turned slight, lightening the blow and he simply begin running in the direction the impact had turned him towards.

Holy crap, this girl is very strong - I never thought someone, who looks human, could be that powerful.

Lesrons body began to be surrounded by white lights, his pace quickening as he continued to run for his life - Mallory again appeared from no where looking to land the punch, but Lesron unleashed his Hidden power attack. The white balls of energy began to pummel Mallory in the chest, seemingly freezing her in mid air, before sending her flying backwards through multiple trees - the sounds of falling trees accompanyied the mysterious girl, and Lesron hoped they delayed her from persuing him for some time. Racing off, yet again, Lesron hoped the next thing he came into contact with would be a friend - rubbing his face he knew that it would not be likely.

 

[Lusankya]

(OOC: Posting this here because I don't want to doublepost in the OOC thread:

Chabz, you don't need to edit your post, but in the future, don't have opponents that are "real" people or Pokemon. There will be humans and Pokemon as parts of the game later(Level 5 muahahaha), but keep in mind humans or Pokemon that originated outside the Game can only be players, never game elements.)

 

[Raibutai]

Pika gasped as he tripped over an oddly placed rock.

"Woah! Ow..." Rubbing his throbbing head, Pika peered at the rock.

Appearing to say something, the rock bore some black markings.

What does it say?... I'll keep it, I suppose.

Picking up the rock, Pika continued on his journey.

After a few minutes of walking, Pika fell into deep thought.

Why... am I here? I don't belong here... and... is there anyone else? Or have they been all eliminated? I hope not...

Just at this moment a human's limb crashed down from the skies.

Wah? What's this? Another player like me, d-dead?... How can this be?

Suddenly, a giant centipede came crashing through the trees.

"AH! I gotta run!" Pika began pounding the ground as fast as he possibly could.

Still not enough... I gotta use the gem.

Pika held the emerald in his paw and murmured a few words. The stone began to glow, and Pika felt suddenly rejuvenated. Finally able to escape, Pika didn't stop running until he saw...

A Medicham?

... Could it be? Another player? Oh, please don't telll me I'm dreaming...

Pika ran towards the other Pokemon, in hopes that he had fond a friend, an ally, someone to be with.

 

[Twilight Wolf]

I lumbered wearily through the dense underbrush. It was very hard to keep from tripping. Various sizes and lengths of vines and roots litter the ground, thankfully the body parts were excluded. I sniffed the air, hoping to recieve some trace of life.

Nothing yet.

But I couldnt even smell the plants.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. All of this was fake, artificial, not the real thing, which meant there was pratically nothing at all to eat. I sighed heavily.

I'm going to die out here. There's no food. No trace of water. No, well nothing. I wont be missed, nethertheless, but I dont want to die. Not now, not here. If I was going to die, I was going to die in a happy place, not hell. Never this hellhole. This place has a certain trace of death in the air, though. No doubting that.

What will become of me if I die? Will I be like all of the others that died here? Will I just be left here to be eaten and rot away? Would I just be tossed aside? Will anyone else make it out of this game? Would I be able to help other players?

So much was whirring through my mind. Too fast... Too much... I felt a slight headache coming on. I relaxed as much as possible (which was hardly anything). It helped a bit, but not much.

Rustle rustle rustle...

I heard the bushes rustling suddenly from behind. This caused me to whip around in surprise. Nothing was there. Nothing at all. Only the fake trees, grass, vines, roots, ect. I sniffed the air once more.

There was life nearby.

There was also something different about the ground in front of me. It seemed like it bulged slightly. There was a flower on the bulge. I craned my neck down to look at the bump more throughly.

It was a Pokemon.

Not just any Pokemon.

It was a Shaymin.

A legendary. Pokemon.

 

[Clark]

That scent. It didn't smell like this forest landscape. Shaymin had noticed it in the air only a split second ago, and immediately she knew that much. It was... life. Not plant life. A Pokemon. That had to mean... another player... Right?

A series of emotions ran through her. Fear. What if it's aggressive? Doubt. Perhaps it isn't another player at all... Curiosity. If it is... Interest. ... maybe I should try to meet them. Caution. But I'll have to be careful...

She slowed her running pace (as the wolf-creature had probably lost her trail a while ago), now padding slowly and silently toward the scent. The Pokemon. The player. Silence was her best bet at safety... She had to be calm. Quiet. That way, she could choose whether or not she wanted to be notic--

Bump.

Holding back a surprised yelp, Shaymin found herself tripping over a tree root. Her small body tumbled over, landing in a bush with a loud rustle. Damn, she thought (for yes, even Shaymin tends to swear when provoked). Well, that ruins my whole plan...

Her eyes flicked about. Left. Right. Up. Stop. What in the...

Orange scales covered a huge body. Huge, as in, gigantic, especially compared to a Shaymin. Long neck. Long tail, tipped by a burning flame. And those gigantic wings...!

Of all the Pokemon I could've run into... A Charizard. And, with my luck, this one's aggressive.

She didn't dare move or speak, however. She just stared at the dragon, waiting to see what it would do.

 

[Twilight Wolf]

The Shaymin seemed very surprise and also seemed tempted to run away. A hint of fear was in it's eyes.

" I am nothing to be afraid of, little one." I calmly, trying to be nicer than usual. I swished my tail again, the oxygen igniting the more.

I stretched my wings to their full length (about twenty feet, FYI), yawned slightly. It felt good to stretch, even if I had finished flying not too long ago.

"So..." I said a bit awkwardly. "Are you like me? Simply a player trying to survive in this already horrid excuse for a game?" I asked curiously, cocking my head ever so slightly.

Since it was a Shaymin, there was no possible way it was aggresive. Shaymin is a calm Pokemon that has been given the power of nature.

It can give life to a place, with vines and flowers. It was practically a plant itself in a way. But I really dont think that Shaymin could grow plants here. There was absolutely no nature.

None. Zip. Nadda.

I waited for a reply, thoughts whirring through my head.

 

[Clark]

"I am nothing to be afraid of, little one," the Charizard said simply, in a calm voice that was definately female. She then yawned, stretching out her impressive wings. Shaymin let the fur on the back of her neck relax. This Pokemon meant her no harm. She seemed calm and gentle.

Fair enough. Still, the words agitated her. They were soft. Caressing. Like those of a loving mother speaking to a tiny, helpless child. Belittling, was the word Shaymin was looking for. Her huge, fluffy ears twiched in aggrivation at this. Yes, she was Shaymin. Yes, she was the Pokemon of nature and flowers and what not. All the same, she was anything but gentle when in a situation like this.

"Don't patronize me," she growled in a rather cold tone, staring straight into the immense dragon's eyes. "I'm a lot tougher than you'd think."

She softened her gaze just a bit as the faintest hint of reason hit her. Easy. I don't want to anger a Pokemon many times my size... Though she was positive if the Charizard attacked, she'd manage to escape in soem way or another. Legendary powers or not. Plus, the Charizard would have to be stupid if she decided to go stomping through the forest or lighting trees ablaze in an attempt to harm her. That would, without a doubt, attract many deadly and flesh-starved creatures, whom would outnumber and kill even the most powerful of Pokemon.

"Precisely why I managed to survive Level One," she added, in response to the Charizard's question.

 

[Lusankya]

Michael was sitting down, his back against a tree. His legs had grown weary from walking around in this forest. He wasn't very athletic, and didn't get out much; as a result, his body was definitely not in peak physical condition. His legs ached, and his feet hurt.

He stared at the top of the tree. This one was oddly shaped, and seemed to sway differently in the wind than the other trees.

Wind. That was strange. Michael was fairly certain they were indoors. How was there wind? Well actually, he supposed it wouldn't be that hard to located a few vents here and there. But those would generate noise.

He shook his head. The technology level of this place had to be high. Where did they get all these creatures he had never seen before?

Several leaves fell down and scattered around him. He picked one up. What-

His train of thought was broken by a dull thudding. He stood up, eyes wide, staring in the direction of the thuds.

A gigantic, hairy, black tarantula the size of a minivan broke through the underbrush and charged straight at him. He dodged to the side, but was struck in the stomach by one of the spider's many legs, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. The spider crashed headlong into the tree, causing more leaves to fall.

The ground began to rumble. The spider looked around, its beady little eyes focusing on Michael. It advanced a few steps. Michael stepped back, his eyes locked on the spider. But when the rumbling continued, the spider glanced back at the tree it had just hit. For a second, it seemed... almost afraid. But whatever it was, it must have decided it passed, for it continued to advance on Michael.

Then, out of nowhere, a gigantic hand swooped out and grabbed the spider, hurling it a hundred feet into the air. Michael gaped at where the spider just was, and then looked up. He gasped.

The tree was alive,

More than that, it was moving. And worst of all, it was coming after him.

The tree's trunk had separated in two massive pillars of legs. Branches had collected into what looked like a head and arms. The tree giant bellowed, and took a mighty step towards Michael that shook the ground.

Michael screamed in terror, and took off, flying in the other direction, moving as fast as his legs would take him. The tree giant ran after him in hot pursuit.

He burst into another clearing, and saw what might have been a Charizard and a small hedgehog-like Pokemon that he couldn't quite identify, and didn't want to stay around to take a closer look. The tree giant stepped into the clearing, its mighty legs easily clearing a path through the bushes.