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Post by riolu on Aug 24, 2008 14:54:31 GMT -5
OMG DIS EPIC STORY
LUVS IT MAKE MOAR PLZ
*shot*
Gravedig. Yeah, y'know what? FORK YOU ALL BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY THE R.S. Don't believe me, just go ask one of the older members and crap. They'll vouch for me and... crap.
Regardless, one of the things I said in my break topic is one of the few times I would log in to RTC is if I make a new chapter of this story, which I was starting on then. Well, I finished it last night. It's probably the crappiest chapter I have written so far, but ah well. Atleast it's out of the way now.
Oh, and the gravedigging rule? There are a few exceptions that are primarly only allowed in the library and artwork boards. If you're updating them with something significant, then it's fine to bump it despite the age. I mean, this thing hasn't gotten a post since last year, but it's all cool beans.
Now, anyway, here's the newest chapter of The Rescue Team. Once I post this, I'm pretty much outta here again. Peace.
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Chapter Six: What Lies Beyond
May 6th, XXXX
What ill luck. The other day, I have spent myself too far again in my searches. I decided to roost down in the mid Pokétoro Region on a low mountain range for a short while, simply to catch my breath, when I was caught in a landslide. I don’t know how far I was buried, but it is a miracle that I was even found alive. I was told I was underground for atleast eight hours, if not longer… and it sure feels like that. My psychic abilities are very limited right now; I can’t even lift the most simple of objects by mental power alone. And the time I was buried… past memories came to me. I saw my mother, my true mother, standing before me and cueing the lullaby see sang to me when I was a baby. I thought I was really about to die… but I was rescued by these two kind Pokémon. One of them is a Charmander, I’d say is roughly seven, maybe eight years of age and in his middle “teen” stage. His name is Bryan. The other is a Squirtle named Cody, who was recently diagnosed with a case of amnesia. It certainly is a dramatic case of déjà vu for me, to meet a pair like these two.
Regardless, in the incident of the landslide, my wings have been severally damaged and said to be broken. When I got a chance to myself, I removed the bandages and examined them. My left wing looks to be more sprained, the bones merely fractured but still functional. It will be just fine with a few days rest. My right wing, however… even if it wasn’t attached to my body, I would still feel the pain coursing through me. The bone is obviously broken, fractured through the flesh. I added a simple ointment made of the very local vegetations and wrapped it back up again, with much strain in doing so. My left wing I will not bother with reapplying the bonds.
It will probably take me a week, maybe a little more, for my psychic abilities to come back in full. But as for my wing… I will not be able to take to the skies for roughly two and a half months. That also counts for any metamorphosis as well, but I probably shouldn’t do to begin with as it would cause a scare with the local residents. But in my time here, I will help out Bryan and Cody with their newly formed rescue team. I can lend them my knowledge of experiences I’ve been through myself and my medical knowledge to heal their wounds. They’re both obviously new to this job, as evident that we barely found a place to live.
I spoke with Bryan briefly and he said he traveled nomadically. He wouldn’t say exactly where he was from, but he did say he only traveled alone for several months. Pokémon Valley, the town we’re residing in now, was originally going to be another town he would just pass through before moving on. It wasn’t until he, and I quote, “boldly leapt head-first into the raging rapids to save this unconscious Squirtle from his impending doom”. Obviously stretching the truth much more than he is, but whatever.
Once my wings have properly healed and I’m able to fly again, I will be taking my leave of these two. I was simply blind in my panic, was all. I worked myself too hard. I’ll never find him if I end up getting myself killed. I still owe him my own life after he saved me after my own mother was murdered. That incident well over ten years ago… I still owe him my life for it. I’m the only one who can find him… but I have to take a break from it now. He’s still out there, somewhere. I know he is. I can feel it. But there is nothing I can do now but give myself time to heal. I will find him soon. I promise.
-Lora
“What? What’s that look for?”
“Damn, you got nothing better to do with you time, huh?”
“It’s an old hobby of mine, sorry!”
A few days after settling in, the old, worn down hut started having a nice charm to it… but only slightly. There was still a lot of work to be done, from replacing roofing tiles to sanding down splintered rails. However, weeds were pulled, garbage cleaned up, and even tore out the mildew ridden floor and replaced it nearby smooth stones and even made delicate little patterns. Though very airy at the moment, this old hut, within were a couple of plush looking beds made from wild and dried grass. Bryan had apparently crafted them by his own hands so they would no longer have to sleep on the bare floor.
“So, you used to make beds for a living?” Cody had spoken.
“Eh? Well, no. I mean… I used to make things all the time by hand is what I meant,” Bryan had replied, taking seat on one of the grass beds and flopping down on his back, right on top of his tail. The flame on the tip his tail must be some kind of unique from other flames though, as it burned neither the Charmander on top of it nor the dry grass beneath. “Bed making… well, I learned that while I was roaming about. A bunch of other travelers showed me how to make these and I got good at it. An old hobby of mine when I was little was to make those little model ships in a bottle and such…”
Sitting with his back to a wood pillar, Cody wasn’t paying much attention to what Bryan was talking about. He instead looked outside at the sky, at the gathering group of clouds. It had been nice weather lately, even today was warm and balmy. The horizon was filled with clouds and you didn’t even get to sneak a peek at the pure blue dye of the sky, but they didn’t look to be promising of rain; weren’t heavy enough. Maybe later in the afternoon they would gather enough moisture for another spring time downpour.
A couple minutes of silence have passed between the two, a quite lifestyle already having formed. The silence was broken by Bryan as he sat back up, putting his arms on his knees and looking at Cody glancing at the sky. “Food for thought?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, what’s on your mind. Have you remembered anything about who you might’ve been? Family, friends, where you were born, what?”
Getting up and brushing himself off, he frowned as he spoke a lie. “Not even a single clue of who I used to be.”
But no way I’m telling you about how I THINK I was once human… no proof though and I’d rather not be thrown in the nuthouse for talking such nonsense. No humans around here, anyway. Only Pokémon…
“Guess that really is a stinker then” Bryan spoke, sighing only slightly. “But maybe once we get out and about on a few travels, doing our missions and all, you might see something that will just pop in your mind.”
Balling his hand into a fist and pointing at Bryan quickly, Cody spoke “Hey, speaking of missions, when do you think Lora is going to be back? She was gone even before I woke up.”
“You’ve got a lazy shell” Bryan eyed back. “Lora should be returning soon. She walked into town, saying that she had to check by the medics on her current condition and crap. I asked her if she could stop by P.R.O. on the way back and she said she would. But looking at the way a Latias walks about, it’s no wonder they depend on flying all over the place for transportation. Those stubby little legs really can’t go.”
“Yeah, I suppose so. I’m just getting bored now and we really can’t live on the little money we got from the bulk rescue the other day,” Cody said a little discouragingly.
“If all else fails, we’ll go fishing and get something to eat. May be bad tasting, but atleast it will be some cooked grub, yeah?” Bryan replied casually.
The silence has again risen up from nowhere. It has been such a lazy day, the lack of sunshine making things much less exciting than you would think it might be. A few minor tremors have shaken the land every now and again, but nothing like the gigantic rumble that rocked the area days past. They had not been on a mission since either, focusing more on making sure the place get work.
After taking this momentary break, the two got back to shaping up the base. Cody would dive under the water and gather together skipping stones kids may have used on the pond when they passed by. He would take these and arrange them in creative little designs on the floor. To amuse himself, the pieces he didn’t use yet would be set to the side in little simile faced patterns. He has no idea why, but he noticed he did that. It just made him smile when he glanced at it through the corner of his eye. Bryan, keeping clear of the water, assigned himself to trying to figure out how to get the grass beds up to the second floor. The pulley ladder was a steep angle, but he did somehow manage to find a way to get them up and set up in the bare second floor.
Roughly a half hour had passed before Lora could be seen pacing slowly down the route. In one claw, she had a couple sheets of paper while in the other held a couple of orange capsules that she had received from the clinic, holding within antibiotics and minor pain killers.
Shouting up the hole in the ceiling, which will always be created when you pull down the pull ladder, Cody shouts up to Bryan “Hey, looks like Lora is back now!”
Bryan peeks down the hole for a second, then proceeds to the front portion of the second floor and looks out the window. “Hey, about time! We were going to wither away to nothingness! You find something for us to do?”
“You’re too impatient, Bryan,” Lora chuckled slightly. “I picked out a couple of easy missions that will benefit us all in the long run.”
Cody stepped out of the building to meet Lora at the end of the pathway, Bryan making his own way to the base floor of the establishment. “What kind of things did you get?”
Offering the small stack of papers in her right claw, she speaks “Well, not exactly rescues. You’ll have to build up some proper experience before trying things on your own. When you two found me, it was luck and atleast there were others there just incase. But for now, I have chosen some simple missions that are a scavenger hunt.”
Flipping through some of the papers, scanning what it says, Cody thinks aloud “…tiny leaves? Sprout’s bell? Razz berries and tangle weeds? What’s this stuff for?”
“Well, I will have you know that these are common materials that are often found in the same habitat, so you should only make one trip to a general area and bring these back. Sketches and details have been provided with the mission objectives and there are six in total… really simply tasks, but the combined efforts will make for an estimate paid reward of 700 Poké. Depending on the quality of the products, maybe added benefits.”
Snatching one of the papers out of Cody’s hands, Bryan looks over the mission details and frowns. “What? We’re not doing real rescues? Oh, c’mon! I didn’t want to make a team to be some delivery boy!”
“Then it shows how much you know,” Lora said with a hint of scorn. “What is required right now is to gather these and we will need to build up our finances. Tasks like this will take little energy to complete, as opposed to trying to do bigger game that could drain us quickly with inadequate payoffs because of possible injuries made on the job. Besides that, I also want you to pick more than what the besets ask of you because I can even use them myself; these items are ingredients for medicines I’m capable of producing.”
Bryan raises a brow, but by far not thrilled about not doing something dramatic. He was looking forward to something much more epic, high strung and an adventure into the great unknown, swooping into a room to save the weak and down trotted, leap over buildings in a single bound and the like. It almost felt like it was a waste of time on his part, but sighs in supposing that Lora is right. Aside from speaking way too much in a manner that is almost too hard for him to understand, he might just prefer to run off to do this boring job to sop listening to an even more boring lecture.
“Local areas, right?” Cody asked.
“Yes. All you have to do is head into the Knot Forest down at the end of the stream,” Lora says while pointing out a generalized direction.
“Well, alright, alright. I know where it is…” Bryan said with purposeful yawn. “Just trek up the trail where I fished Cody out of and we’re there. C’mon, let’s get going already!”
Grabbing Cody by the arm, in what seems to be a growing custom, he starts to drag him in a hurried pace that often makes the Squirtle with stubby little legs stumble. For such a little guy, Bryan has some rather strong arms, in reality. He would have kept going if Lora had not called out to him real quick.
“Hold up. I do believe you are forgetting something important.”
Sighing and looking back, Bryan peeks over his shoulder. “What now?”
With a simple hand gesture, Lora points into the base and speaks. “Your toolboxes? You’ll need them to put what you gather in.”
Groaning in disbelief, Bryan slinks on back to the doorway, reaches around the corner, then carries out the two little pink and white default rescue team toolboxes. He then rejoins to Cody as they begin starting off toward the town. After walking so far, Bryan whispers into Cody’s ear.
“Man, she talks too much.”
“Ah, c’mon… there? I have to go THERE?”
“Yes, you have to.”
“Oh, but why me?!”
“Because you’re the only one who can make it there.”
“No, no I can’t.”
“Yes you can.”
“Why don’t you go there?”
“Because you can fly while I can’t, otherwise I would go there.”
“You can swim.”
“Stop avoiding the subject. You can and will go.”
“No, I can’t.”
“…you’ve made longer trips than that before, you know.”
“But I’ve never been there before.”
“…you’re too damn timid, you know that?”
“Keeps me safe.”
“Timid and stubborn… I have no idea how you ever got like this.”
“No, not going, and you can’t make me.”
“Then I’ll get the spoon.”
“…”
“Thought as much. Now get going.”
“That’s not fair…”
A leisurely hike through the country side, it probably took no more than twenty minutes to get from home to the Knot Forest. It wasn’t exactly a difficult walk to do, by far. The overcast weather didn’t make the experience as enjoyable as it should’ve been though. Despite it all, Cody and Bryan did make good talk. They spoke of what kinds of effects these herbs and berries might do. It would look like, for the most part, these are pretty common growth. Bryan even claimed that he would pick some of them when he was really little, so he should recognize atleast some of them.
They proceed into the forest for a short while, following along the stream as their guide, before Bryan indicates “Hey, I was just thinking. Does anything look familiar to you?”
“Whazzat?” Cody said.
“Y’know, does this place look familiar? This is where you would’ve come from if you came down this stream and all… so anything look familiar?”
Looking around, Cody just switches his eyes from place to place, shrugging his arms while responding “Err… these are trees. I’ve seen trees before. And grass… I know I’ve seen grass somewhere before as well.”
“No, you know what I meant!”
“Well, you know what I mean as well.”
“So nothing then, huh?”
“It sucks not remembering.”
“Well, anyway, you got the reports, right?”
Raising his hand, Cody reveals to Bryan that he has the documentations of their assigned tasked for the day at the ready.
“Ok, good. So, let’s get some tiny leaves first then,” responded Bryan.
Finding the first item on their list was rather easy. The reports seem to have purposely been made for new rescue teams, as they had plenty of detail of where they grow, how they look, and even illustrations of what they are to be looking for. They managed to pick up what they were looking for along with the extras requested by Lora. When they proceeded to the second item on their list, the results were very much the same. Bryan remarked that these we retard proof documents and the pictures were simply there just incase if one didn’t know how to read. One after the other, all accumulated items were stuffed into Bryan’s toolbox since his arms were free.
Two hours go on as they look for the materials. When their search finally dwindles down to their last item, something called a “tochukaso mushroom”, they become confused by the description of where to find it.
“In moisture filled areas, with plenty of guano and humidity. Excavation of these traveling mushrooms may prove as a challenge to some. Beware of paralysis.”
“…what in the world does that mean?” Bryan beckoned. “Traveling mushrooms? You kidding me? This sounds like a prank to me!”
“And I’m not trusting of this ‘paralysis’ part, myself… one trip to the hospital is enough for me, thanks.” Cody replied.
“Well, whatever. The description says there should be a small passage that leads to a cave around here… I can understand mushrooms growing in a cave, but walking?”
“I don’t think that’s all the mushrooms do.”
Following directions given on the statement, Cody and Bryan managed to find their way to where this cave lies… although, by accident. What they didn’t know about the so-called “passage to the cave” was it was a six foot drop straight down in the form of a sinkhole. Turning the corner of where the map says to turn, they took that tumble straight down and landed with an echoing thunk.
“Gragh… that was less than fun…” Bryan said as he attempt to get back onto his feet, rubbing the back of his head.
Cody only replied with some grunt sounds as he had fallen down onto his back and was stuck due to a rock formation that made it difficult to get off a shelled back. Bryan was able to lend a hand to Cody and regain both their balances. As they did, they noticed a breeze flowing forth from one of the walls in this hole, finding the real passage to the cave that was described. This passage served as a windpipe to the cave that progressed further underground. Currently, it is in a state where it would quite literally be exhaling. Much like anything that exhales, the “breath” was warm, moist… and reeked to high heaven.
“Oh, that is just tasty…” Cody coughed, holding his hand over his nose and mouth. “You mean this mushroom stuff is in there?”
“Erk… in a pile of guano… I don’t know what it is, but the name does not sound good…” Bryan responded, choking on his words.
“Well… in and out. Let’s be quick. I don’t know how long I can take this stink.”
“I’ll go first then… it gets dark quick, so my flame will help us see better. But yeah, in and out QUICK.”
The two rush on ahead into the cave passage, trying so hard not to gag from the progressively overwhelming stench. After about a trek in about fifty meters, carving their way through some winding passages, they are confronted by the source of this smell.
“…THAT’S GUANO?” they both exclaimed at the site before them. What was witnessed was far from appetizing as the guano was a large, black, and stinking pile of composition before them. Right above, upon the ceiling, was a flock of slumbering Zubats. When you did the math, the results were quite obvious… guano was Zubat poop.
“Mmm… that is some good goop,” Cody remarks sarcastically.
“I’ll pass on the desert,” hacked Bryan. “Now that we found the guano heap, where is the… hey, look!”
Bryan pointed out with his finger to a small object projecting from the pile of crud. It was the shape of a small, red mushroom with yellow spots on it. It looked exactly like how it does in the picture they had of it.
“Finally, the touch-something mushrooms!” Bryan continued to exclaim. “Great! Here, I’ll go and grab it real quick and let’s be out of this smelly place before we not only lose our lunch, but the rest of our vital organs in the process!”
Rushing over, Bryan hops between large and small piles of guano to reach his destined goal of the little red mushroom. When he was a few feet away, he almost lost his footing and narrowly avoided slipping straight into the largest pile of guano of them all. Regaining his footing, he signed in relief that he didn’t have to take a disgraceful trip. Bryan then carefully tip-toed over to the mushroom on top of a pile of guano, plucking it from its spot.
“Ok, I got it, so let’s get out of her-AH-WAA-WAA-WAA!”
Before he could even finish his sentence, he became entirely unable to move, losing his balance and face planting straight into the lovely pile of Zubat after diner surprise. Though as funny as it may sound, Cody didn’t laugh about it and tried to rush to help Bryan up, but was stopped by a small, eeking voice.
“Get out! Get out! Get out!”
The mushroom that Bryan had in his hand had squirmed free of his grip and it turned it was attached to a reddish-orange insect with glass eyes and oddly shaped front claws. This bug was a Pokémon known as a Paras.
Unsure of what to do, Cody called out “Bryan, are you alright?!”
“Paras! Damnit, it would figure! I don’t know why I didn’t notice it before!” Bryan shouted at the top of his lungs as he slowly regained control of his body and crawling out of the mushy pile, completely coated in crap.
“Get out! Get out! Get out!” the Paras continued to chant from uptop its throne of digested waste.
The flame on Bryan’s tail burning with intensity, Bryan glared at the Paras and yelled “You are SO paying for that! I’m gonna get those freakin’ mushrooms from you, Paras, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us!”
Surprised and rather unsure of what’s going on, Cody remarked “Wait, we’re gonna have to fight?”
Bryan looked at the Squirtle from over his shoulder and commanded “You attack with you Bubble and I’ll take it down with my Ember!”
“…I do what?”
“Blow Bubbles at it!”
“That doesn’t sound very-“
”JUST DO IT!”
The hell does he mean for me to blow bubbles?!
Without thinking, he did the only thing that he could possibly think of when it comes to “attacking with bubbles”. Cody filled his mouth with what liquid that he could on such sort notice, fixed his mouth in a blowing position and… blew a spit bubble. It popped even before it left his lips.
“Oh God, you forgot a whole lot more than I thought,” Bryan exclaimed as he gave himself a slap on the forehead.
Man, I really feel stupid now…
Turning his attention back to the Paras, still chanting the same two words, Bryan shouts “Nevermind, I can take care of a Paras easy anyway!” With his arms held out high and his chest forced out, he takes a deep breath before exhaling hard and releasing from his mouth a fury and dancing flames, an attack known as Ember. The Paras then changes its attitude as it takes a tumble backwards from being struck by so many of the mini flames, dropping some mushrooms as it does. When it gets to it’s feet, it makes a very quick and panicked scramble back into the depths of the cave. Once out of sight, Bryan stops letting lose his Ember attack.
“Ha, that’ll show him to think twice about Stun Sporeing me!” Bryan says proudly.
“Was… was that really necessary?” Cody questioned.
Turning toward Cody, Bryan replies “You still have a lot to relearn about being a Pokémon. You couldn’t even do a simple Bubble attack.”
“You don’t know how insane you sounded, telling me to blow bubbles at it.”
“Well, you don’t know how weird you look not having any idea of how to use the most basic of water type moves.”
“…you stink.”
“I feel in a pile of crap, what do you expect? Now c’mon, let’s get the mushrooms and get out of here. I need to get a bath.”
“Wait, if you have a flame on your tail, how can you-”
“Shut up.”
“Sounds like you two had a fascinating day,” Lora said as she threw another piece of wood onto the camp fire.
“Hey, Cody ended up getting his day to shine, so why not me?” Bryan said with his back to the group, splashing water from the pond over his face in almost an obsessive compulsive order of removing more fecal matter that has been long removed from his face.
Looking at Cody curiously, Lora couldn’t help but say in concern “I don’t know why you didn’t respond in the same manner Bryan did… it is basic Pokémon instinct to battle when confronted like that. Unable to use Bubble… this is a first for me, and I have seen a lot.”
“Well…” Cody said nervously, “I… I just don’t know either. The more I’m thinking about it, the stupid I feel. You’re both saying it is such an easy thing to do and here I just did a spit bubble out of confusion…”
“It’s a unique case,” Lora assured.
“That doesn’t mean it’s good. What if I took more damage to the head than just basic amnesia?” moaned Cody.
Rejoining the group, Bryan sits on the ground next to Lora. “Well, maybe a little training will take care of it. You seem to think too much, which may have confused yourself, y’know?”
“That may be a good explanation,” Lora agreed. “Tomorrow, we should take a look in town for a gym or training facility. Or even, at the very least, someone who can serve as a proper mentor to help you remember how to recall your abilities.”
“Why can’t neither you two do it?” Cody asked.
“Uhh… Cody, I’m a fire type,” Bryan replied. “I can’t use Bubble even if I wanted.”
“As for myself,” Lora continued, “I am in no state for any kind of physical training. If I were in good mend, I could probably help you out. But for now, I cannot even perform my own type attributed moves.”
Looking up at the sky, Cody sighed in a depressing manner. “Well, that’s beyond my grasp… we’ll just give a give it a try tomorrow.”
The clouds have never left the sky; they remained stationed there throughout the entire day. Only the glow of the fire and the occasional flash of lightning would bring a glow to the darkness of the unforgiving night. In this kind of setting, many strange and forbidden things come out to play. Ranging from Pokémon adapted to the dark or ghost and ghouls spoken in tales, there has always been something that frightened all about the night. It is because it limits what one can see, so it falls to the realm of the unknown. And now, Cody’s memory is as dark and unclear as a moonless, clouded sky. He tries what he can, but this is a pressing matter upon his mind. But, though his past is unknown, atleast his future looks promising with this pair he has met up with, Bryan and Lora. Tomorrow the sun shall rise from beyond the horizon, taking on the next challenge.
It watches from beyond.
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ive never seen you so ticked off... yeesh... anyways... good story...