Rejected: Ashes of a Dying Evil (Late sign-ups accepted)

[Seijiro Mafuné]

Veros gulped, as he saw the dead Celebi, his disgusting corpse rotting. However, those notes... he started to look at them, trying to read them all, including the one in the hand.

-=-

Mel was scared at that scene; she liked pain, true, but she didn't like seeing people being EATEN! ...Well, when they were still alive, at least. She flew back into the hall, trying to get to the room where she had seen Veros.

-=-

Venom would puke, if he had eaten something earlier. He didn't know much about Celebis, but he was sure that the smell of dead ones was horrible now. And this room was filled with them.

Still, no Undead had approached the room... yet.

 

[Zerodius]

As Veros took the note out of the Celebi's hand, he felt... strange.

FLASH!

"NO! YOU HAD PROMISED ME! YOU HAD... AAAAAAAAAAARG!!!"

CHOMP!

FLASH!

A horrible scream echoed in Veros's head... a vision of the past... a betrayal...

As Veros unfolded the note, he noticed that blood covered most of it, making it hard to read... but with much effort, it was possible to decipher it...

"T* g** *o*r ****e**, b* ** **ur **f*c* a* *3:** P*.

-*n**l*"

... most of the other notes on the desk had too much blood on them to be read... and anyway, to read them, Veros would have to move the corpse... an unpleasant experience.

Many of the notes he could read were reports... reports about some kind of machine that had been stored within the engine room of this school and about the principal getting paid so that no one might discover it.

It also seems that many groups had taken interest in them, some humans, others were lugias, others were Mews... then, they were other groups that were represented by weird symbols...

Some of the notes were seemingly personal love letters... or something like that. The blood covered most of the words and from what he could read, those letters were not kid-friendly at all and involved someone inviting the principal for "private meetings" about the machine... and it seemed that from the letters, that same person was the one that had given the principal the machine in the first place.

shuffle... shuffle...

A movement? In the trashcan?... or is it?... maybe it was the wind?... but that wouldn't make sense.

...

during this time...

...

Mel made it back in the room and saw that the Undead she had blasted before was back there, still crawling. It got just under Mel and started to stretch its arms, trying in vain to grab Mel...

It was maybe harmless... but its moans and its bloodied frame... it was... creepy...

...

during this time...

...

As Venom remained there, one detail suddenly struck him...

Those guns... didn't they seemed a little too big for a Celebi to hold them in its hands?... or something?

Nah... and anyway, if Venorox's instincts were active, then it would be an obvious fact that he would want to get away from this scene of death as soon as possible.

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

Veros shook his head, after the vision dimmed down. He then grumbled as he read and understood the note. It was obviously a trap Angela arranged, probably to get rid of the principal, if things were right.

The other notes were also suspicious. If put together, he had obviously been seduced by her, and now there was something in the engine room... something which was probably related to Cielos' scheme.

However, a quick rapping quickly disturbed him.

-=-

Mel was disgusted at the zombie, easily flying out of range, before phasing through the door. It wasn't nice, but it was faster than waiting for him to open it, at that rate.

Of course, the room wasn't nice at all. Especially the dead Celebi in the seat. And the weird basket that had shook around the same time she came in.

-=-

Venom was curious about the weird guns, but his sense of survival triggered, and he flew to the door of the office, staying away from the Undead. He started to knock on the door, fast.

 

[Leaf Green]

Shady decided he would try the right door. He couldn't imagine what could possibly be on the left. Even if his siblings went through the left, he chose right. He wondered what beyond the door, he opened it slowly.

 

[Zerodius]

OFF: Since the owner of Ski (one of the RPG characters) has never posted, that person loses control over his/her characters.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Slowly... something creeped out of the trashcan...

It was the smallest Dunsparce he had probably ever seen. It was, like, barely an inch or so long... and it was also grey with black, empty eyes.

crrrrrrk...

There was a sound... like wood being eaten by something... and all three saw several more of those strange Dunsparce crawl from under the walls and from holes in the ceiling and floor!

CRRRRRKKKLLL!!!

Dozens and dozens of Dunsparces were crawling from everywhere! Soon, the entire walls, floor, and ceiling were covered by those things!

CRRRRKKKL!!!

The slimy worms crawl toward the three and pile up on each others, forming living bridges toward Veros anbd Melodia!

As the Dunsparces moved, they swarmed over the dead Celebi's body... and when the swarm got off it, only bones were left. In merely a few seconds, like piranhas, they had devoured him! Worse, red lights appeared in the skeleton's orbits and he slowly rose, moaning loudly!

Those leech-like monsters had seemingly killed the Celebi and had turned him into an Undead!... and it seemed like Veros and Melodia were next!... and the Dunsparces just keep on flooding in the room, covering all the exits with a thick veil of living, slimy, disgusting worms!

...

The Undead corpse kept on staring on Venom and trying to grab him... but suddenly, the corpse got scared and begun to crawl away as quickly as it could (which is not fast)!

The windows... strange... they turned grey and slimy... but it's then that Venom realized that out of nowhere, thousands of leech Dunsparces had arrived inside of the room and had flooded it!

...

As Shady made it in the right room... he found himself in some kind of strange hall. An elevator was just in front of him... and it seemed like the elevator's door was unlocked. It seemed like this complex had thirteen floors and that this was the seventh floor...

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

Veros and Mel were surprised... but Veros quickly recovered. "Mel! Blast the door with all you've got!" he screamed, even as he made a gate. Mel nodded, before making a quick energy beam, and she sent it forward just as water came blasting off the gate, both aimed at the door.

-=-

Venom was still knocking at that moment, but he noticed there was something... weird... at the door. He flew back, taking his distance, before hearing the sounds of rushing water and a psychic blast.

This caused him to fly away from the door, leaving it to the side.

 

[Zerodius]

As Venom got away from the door, there was a loud explosion and the sound of rushing water...

CRRRAAAAACK!
FLWOOOOOOOSH!!!

The door was knocked down by the strenght of Veros's and Mel's attack!... and the door was knocked backward, the Dunsparces, like water, flooded out into the hall like water!

The Undead corpse moaned more and more loudly as it tried to crawl faster away from the leeches, as if scared... but unfortunately for it, it was way too slow.

The leeches did not devour this new morsel of meat... unstead, the flood covered the body... and then, there was a slimy sound... like small cuts being made and then something sliding on a smooth surface... and the corpse rose out of the flood, its mouth wide open as it tried to scream, the slimy leeches flooding into under its skin through small holes they had pierce in its skin... and soon enough, the Celebi corpse's skin turned bright red and it begun to vomit blood non-stop as it was devoured from the inside.

crrrrkll...

Nore of those leeches begun to crawl out from under EVERY nearby door and from various holes in the floor!

This looks ugly! Looks like Veros and his Pokemon must escape from this floor ASAP or end up as snacks for leeches!

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

(OoC: I have talked to Zerodius, and he agreed to give me control over Ski.)

Veros pulled Mel outside, and as they were flying away, he grabbed Venom and raced towards the stairs... but he surprised the two as he went towards the lower stairs!

Before any of them could respond, he jumped on the water, and the three held their breaths, instinctively. Veros started to swim downwards, looking for an air pocket.

-=- Probably a while ago... -=-

Ski looked at the city he had just entered. Apparently, there were some strange people in a group, and they were talking about something that probably didn't concern him. However, the Gastly that floated just behind him was curious.

<"Hey, Ski! Let's see what those people are talking about!"> he said, in that mischievous tone of his. While most people would just have neglected what he said, Ski wasn't one to do so. Especially since Loki would have ran off and done so if he didn't comply.

So, he sighed and walked towards the gathering, followed by Loki.

 

[Zerodius]

Unfortunately, it seemed that there was no air pockets nearby... and the leeches crawled next to the water, awaiting for them to surface...

The only way seems to be through ; there's a door underwater and it is seemingly unlocked... and the room beyond it seems familiar... in fact, it's the same room where that rampaging Milotic once was... which means that there is air there!... but also that it's pitch-black and that it's imossible to see there, since all lamps are broken.

...

As Ski made it in the middle of the gathering, he found out that people were leaving already. Looks like the event is already over...

But as the people left, Ski noticed that one of them forgot one of the notes that were given by the ones who has organized the gathering...

 

[Leaf Green]

Shady went in the elevator. He thought for a moment, then pushed floor 5's button, he didn't know were he would be going. Shady gulped as the elevator started moving. Where was his siblings?

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

Veros would have hit himself, but he didn't have air to waste. He swam towards the door, releasing the two Pokémon to open it, and swam inside, hoping he'd manage to find an air pocket before long.

The door was left open, but from what Veros could see, it didn't really matter; it was very bleak. Grabbing the two Pokémon again, he started to swim forward, trying to spare his breath, since he didn't know how long it was going to take. Looking up, he could only see nothingness, either from the leeches or from the dead.

Mel was looking around, both surprised and joyful. The stench of death... now that they were calmly swimming, she could pay attention to it. This place was just like a battlefield, yet it wasn't filled with the hatred... just with sadness. She gulped in some air, as the nice feelings were trying to be removed... Veros didn't feel nice there. There was something... odd coming out of him, that she couldn't understand.

Venom was feeling gagged, having the sensation of drowning flooding him. He wasn't used to swimming, being a moth, and so he had a lot more trouble with holding his breath than the others. It wasn't enough to trouble him, oh, no, but if the three of them were swimming separately, he would come up first, for sure.

As they were wrapped up on thoughts, however, Veros started to feel the typical daze related from lack of air. The others were clearly suffering the same effects, and that urged Veros to hurry. However, he was getting... Wait a second. What was that? He looked up. Yes, there! That was a lamp!

Swimming upwards, he found an air pocket. Yes! He pulled the two towards it, and so they refilled their lungs with oxygen, before going back down, now restored.

-=-

Ski didn't really react to the leaving of the people, although he'd have preferred them to explain what they were talking about. Still, that note on the ground... he picked it up and read it.

 

[Zerodius]

As Venom and his Pokemon dived back underwater, they noticed stuff that they hadn't noticed before... back when they were busy running away from the raging Milotic.

The machinery... there was an awful lot of machinery for what is supposed to be a common school... and then, there was this strange, condemned door...

Then, Veros saw something interesting! A Celebi whose left leg had got stuck into a gear and since this gear wasn't as strong, the gear hadn't crunched his leg... and ironically, it would have saved the Celebi's life. There were bite marks on the leg and it seemed half ripped off... and yet, it wasn't the bite marks of an Undead... but rather, self-induced marks. The Celebi had tried to rip off its leg to get out of this situation and save its life... and obviously, his attempts had ended in failure.

The Celebi was stuck in his last expression... one of panic. Its entire body was so tense... and its left hand was gripping a flashlight with all of its strenght... a flashlight that although it was shut off, seemed to be in a fine state.

...

On the note, Ski read this:

"To all Pokemon trainers. The Elite Four is looking for brave and competant Pokemon trainers for jobs concerning the safeguard of areas infested by aggressive Pokemon. All interested Pokemon trainers are expected at Plateau Indigo.

P.S. Bring your Pokemon with you. The Pokemon League does NOT distribute Pokemon to the trainers who will come without their Pokemon."

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

Veros swam downwards, towards the flashlight. He grasped on the Celebi's hand, and then pried the fingers open, trying to get it.

-=-

Ski crumpled the note, before throwing it into a trashcan. He wasn't that interested in joining the League... while it might have been something good, he felt it would be a waste of his abilities to do something as low as grunt work.

He decided to head to the closest Center, as he would prepare for the upcoming battles in the city... getting the upper hand was essential.

 

[Zerodius]

Getting the flashlight was quite difficult ; the Celebi must have been utherly terrified when he died as Veros had to use all of his strenght to open his hand.

As Veros stared at his newly-acquired flashlight, he noticed two things... first, it had a cool meter that shown how much energy it had left (it's about 75% full), second, it had a sticker on it with "waterproof" written on it.

Looks like he'll be able to make use of it...

...

The Pokemon Center was not too far from Ski's location. As he made it inside of the building, the local Nurse Joy was sitting at the reception, smiling alongside her Chansey.

"Welcome to Celadon City's Pokemon Center!" she announced, smiling. "Please show me your trainer license now."

...

rrrrrrr...

ding!

The elevator's door opened, revealing a hall... There were three doors... one on the left, one in the back of the hall, another one on the right.

All three doors are seemingly unlocked...

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

Veros pressed the button on it, as he noticed that it was thankfully full enough to last for the entire building, if needed. With a loud 'CLICK', it sent light forward, illuminating the hall.

He swam up, recovering the lost air, and then went down again. This time, he used the flashlight to explore.

-=-

Ski took out a Pokédex from his jeans' pocket, and presented it to the nurse. It unfolded, and quickly showed his license.

 

[Zerodius]

Apart from the various Celebis stuck in the same situation than the dead one Veros had got the flashlight from, Veros noticed how the place was filled with heavy machinery...

The logo on the machinery... "Vortex Corporation"... he thought that he had seen this name somewhere in a history book but for some reason, he could not remember where he read this...

Then, there were various holes in the floor... large enough for him to go through... but beyond, underwater, he saw nothing but the murky depths.

At the opposite side of the room, the light shown that there were two opened doors leading deeper within the flooded basement...

=VEROS=
-Veros-
Life Force (1) (||||||||||)
Air (|||||)

-Melodia-
Life Force (1) (||||||||||)
Air (||||||||)

-Venorox-
Life Force (1) (||||||||||)
Air (|||)

...

Nurse Joy continued to smile. "So... are you here to recover the health of your Pokemon?" but then, she noticed Loki and her smile vanished.

"Hmm... is there a reason why your Pokemon isn't in its Pokeball?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

Veros thought about going downwards, but Venom was obviously having trouble holding his breath. He looked around, and finally found the hole where they had come out from earlier. Pulling the two with him, he swam towards that direction, until he was under the hole. He then pushed Venom upwards, towards the dry land.

"Wait here," he told him, before taking another deep breath, soon followed by Mel. They then swam towards the nearest hole, using the flashlight to check inside.

-=-

Ski turned towards Loki, pulling out a Pokéball, and compressed it slightly. This process put the Gastly inside the ball again. He then took four more Pokéballs, and put the five in the table.

 

[Leaf Green]

Shady thought again and sighed. He hesitated for a moment, then peering at the three doors, he walked toward the farthest one. He looked at the strange unlocked door, creaked it open a little, then stumbled inside.

 

[Zerodius]

Venorox found himself, alone, in the gym where the party had first appeared...

During this time, Veros used the flashlight to light up the darkness in the nearest hole.

The hole seems to lead to a second floor... and there's seemingly no air pockets below... unless there is one under one of those strange machines lying around... that or those machines are death traps.

As for important objects... well, those machines... they are weird. They were obviously soul processing machines... except that they were of a type that no Celebi corporation would ever make... indeed... those machines were a bit too... advanced... to be made by Celebis... but who would create better soul processing machines than Celebis?

Then, there are strange objects in the bottom, on the floor of that new floor... VERY suspicious-looking objects... but unfortunately, Veros can't identify them from where he is ; he'll have to actually dive to their level to see them.

=VEROS=
-Veros-
Life Force (1) (||||||||||)
Air (|||||)

-Melodia-
Life Force (1) (||||||||||)
Air (||||||||)

... during this time...

Nurse Joy took the Pokeballs and smiled. "Good! We shall take care of your Pokemon! You can wait in the cafeteria if you want."

With that said, the nurse turned around and left...

==========================================================

As Shady opened the door, he found himself in some kind of dark room... with a huge machine in front of him.

Blue energy swirled about in glass tanks and were forced into the machine... and then, horror struck as Shady noticed how the energy formed the shapes of screaming faces! Those were actually souls!

The souls were forced in the machine... and on the other side, strange crystals came out of an opening and were placed on a conveyor belt. Then, those crystals were brought to another machine which smashed the crystals into a powder and then infused it in a huge machine... a machine in which corpses of Pokemon both alive and dead were dropped and then ripped apart into a bloody mixture that was then used to create shapes... shapes that were infused with the powder...

... and out of this final machine came... Undead abominations! Soulless, ugly, scary abominations! Then, as they were placed on a conveyor belt after creation, a mechanical arm was injecting control chips into their brains... or whatever acted as their brains.

This room... it was a factory... a factory where they killed people and created undead, soulless soldiers using their souls and bodies!

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

Questions flew through Veros' mind, as he inspected the room. Were those machines created by Mews, maybe? Or... but how would Cielos get that much information about the machines?

Diving lower, he used the flashlight to look for air pockets, as well as more information on what those objects were. Mel followed behind him.

-=-

Ski nodded, before heading towards the cafeteria.