[PKMN] SPACE CASE!

[skinstealer]

LAST TIME...on SPACE CASE!

something changed about me, didn't it?

EPISODE 22: Cerulean Campus (Pt 1)

---

You are now Minerva.





...and despite it all, you've made it.



You've had to go through slopes and pits and ohhh you have had!
Enough caves!
For a lifetime!




You have NO idea how other golbats do it!




But- you certainly did, in the end.




Filigree and Frond stay close to your chest as Stretch hauls you the rest of the way, your body ideally absorbing the pulses traveling through the sled.


It's in more control than earlier, thank god, but-


It doesn't seem like it can turn it off, now.
Its breath is ragged, laced with growls, tail lashing.


In control in this situation does not mean good, and you're getting increasingly worried.
How long had this been getting bad?
You had noticed the current getting more intense, the strange looks it'd been giving you, but



it said




it was just stress.





And you believed it.






The sled stops, Stretch thankfully managing to have enough restraint to set you down gently.

STRETCH: ...we're here.

 

Rappel scrambles to your side, unfastening you.

RAPPEL: Sorry bud, another traveler needs it more-

 

You nod, letting her help getting Frond and Filigree safely to the side.


Eerie is slowly lowered on, strapped on in your stead.

RAPPEL: Okay, ooookay...



 

She looks...terrible.




The woman who mentored you and had looked so powerful even just hours ago is clearly in agony, her jacket falling off both of her wounded shoulders as she struggles to keep her posture upright enough.

Still, her expression is determined, and every time you open your mouth to protest, she shakes her head at you.

RAPPEL: It's go time, Minnie-
RAPPEL: I've been in this position enough.
MINERVA: But-

 

She puts a tentacle arm against your wing, eyes stern.

RAPPEL: Bravery runs thin in times like this.
RAPPEL: Hold onto what you have-
RAPPEL: -until we cross that finish line.

 

You swallow





and nod.

MINERVA: Just tell me what to do.

 





 

A makeshift sling is made out of Stretch's hoodie and some rope, Rappel working quickly to get the bellsprout in an easily carried state.

RAPPEL: Okay, good- excellent-

 

You'd have to carry Frond outright- something that would have been a difficult balancing act if not for all of the practice hugging Stretch.

The thought gives you a small bit of comfort, only to be interrupted by the electabuzz approaching.



Whatever this form it's taken is, it's still fully present...but Stretch seems more in control now, examining Frond before sighing and looking up at you.



Its eyes are wide as ever, but its dilated pupils are still somewhat uncanny.

STRETCH: ....
MINERVA: ....
STRETCH: This is going to be-
MINERVA: I know.

 
 

You take a deep breath.

MINERVA: i know.
MINERVA: ...just come out of it okay, alright?

 

Its antennae crackle.





To your surprise, it presses its head against you, taking a deep breath in-





-before doing the same to Frond, coughing as it takes in some of the remaining spores.

MINERVA: ...are you-

 

It raises a hand, looking somewhat woozy.

STRETCH: M. Morale.
STRETCH: ...for coming out of it.

 

You blush, savoring the feeling while you can.

MINERVA: We'll be right behind you.










SWEETPEA: ...hhhohkay.
SWEETPEA: It's the side entrance, alright-
SWEETPEA: -few halls away from the Evolutionary Geology department.
RAPPEL: So if we can get in-

 

Xey nod.

SWEETPEA: W-we can find Orion and Ursa.
SWEETPEA: They can get us out-
SWEETPEA: -as long as-

 

Xey trail off, taking a deep breath to gather xemself.

SWEETPEA: ...hmph!
SWEETPEA: OKAY
SWEETPEA: game face on.

 

Xey look over the rocky outcrop you've managed to scoot to, as close as you can get to the lockdown gate without tipping off what appears to be a group of Osteo members trying to break in.

SWEETPEA: ...would have expected this to still be open, in a break-in....
SWEETPEA: But- it's better chances for safety inside.
RAPPEL: I like those odds.
STRETCH: ...so long as we get through those 6 goons.
RAPPEL: Those odds I do not.
RAPPEL: It's double our numbers, but only in terms of people on the field.
STRETCH: As far as actual vitality...
SWEETPEA: we're in trouble.

 

Xer voice comes out quiet.

SWEETPEA: ...I won't hesitate this time.
STRETCH: Good.
RAPPEL: All hands on deck.
RAPPEL: Usually I'd have some kind of speech-
????: HEY

 

 

A voice cuts through, a goldeen seemingly having caught on to your presence.

STRETCH: shit
GOLDEEN: COME OUT AND WE WON'T HURT YOU!

 

Your throat runs dry as you hear the faint laughter of another grunt.

????: -some more bodies for the boss-

 

Sweetpea fumbles with its capelet, pulling off xer pin-





-and fastening it onto your own.

SWEETPEA: 4810.
SWEETPEA: C-can you remember that?
MINERVA: I-

 

You nod, heart pounding.

MINERVA: Yes, I- I will.
SWEETPEA: HOHKAY

 

Xey thunder away, passing by Stretch and Rappel both as xey enter full view.

SWEETPEA: IT'S ME YOU WANT!

 

4810, likely the key code.

4810. you just have to remember-








The golden stalks forward, extending a particularly hefty looking bone club.


Sweetpea tries to snap xer claws, the Osteo grunt swiping away the pathetic attempt at summoning flame around her.

GOLDEEN: You barely look standing, froggy...

 
 

Sweetpea backs up a step-



-and then narrows xer eyes.



One of the segments on Sweetpea's trunk tail starts glowing.



Distance closing between the two of them.





The goldeen lunges, Sweetpea just barely managing to dodge






only to stumble onto one knee.

More of xer tail lights, the trunk charging.




Your eyes widen.

GOLDEEN: Thought we cleared all you lunatics out already....



 

She pulls the club back, her expression gleeful as she readys the swing.




Sweetpea tanks it directly to xer face, not even flinching













why do you have that move card anyway




as the last petal on xer tail glows bright.

STRETCH: GET DOWN

 

Stretch barrels into all three of you, knocking you, Frond, and Filigree over as a massive psychic pulse bursts out of xem, enough to make the cave walls shake.



You realize you're flinching- only to register a light headache at best.




Stretch, however, looks


far worse,


clutching its head and panting.

MINERVA: S-stretch!
STRETCH: I'M FINE-!

 

It comes out as a roar, the electabuzz staggering away and joining an equally haggard looking Rappel.

STRETCH: JUST KEEP EVERYONE SAFE!

 

Its last look is desperate.

MINERVA: I-I WILL!






 

You are now Stretch.



The world is spinning.



Your head is tearing itself in two



right along the scar



as you join Rappel's side.






The omastar tosses you a potion, your hand moving to catch it before your brain can even register the movement.



Automatic.




Instinct.

RAPPEL: Bottoms up.
 

You both slam them back, tossing the containers away.


Your pulse arcs around you, thrumming in waves.



Rappel's wings extend- less spread to them, a clear focus on speed over power.




Now or never.



The omastar rushes out first, immediately drawing god knows how many elemental attacks, the blasts too hard to make out.


You push yourself against the cave wall and launch, passing her and going straight for the first grunt in reach.





It had always been so hard.
Everyone making decisions for you.
You never really had a say in anything at all.









Your claws extend, an awful guttural noise wrenching itself out of your throat as you go straight for the rapidash's neck, your pulse further splattering blood out of the claw wound.


One down.







All you had wanted was to get the fuck out of Pallet town and lose yourself in battling.
Run yourself into the ground.
Find some scraps of recognition.
Have a number next to your name for once in your life that wasn't a patient code.
Have a headline that wasn't about you being raped in the woods and how tragic it was for everyone else.











You hear Rappel make a loud, pained cry and pivot, launching yourself towards the closest target to the sound.







But then people started inviting themselves into your life.
Breaking the isolation you had built SO well
Pulling you into their struggles, their backstories, their lives
Touching you and embracing you and making eye contact and worrying about you










The kabuto's shell slams into the rocky ground easily, punctuated by the sound of something cracking.

Two down.






And making you break your vows to yourself over and over
Because you're desperate.
You had to keep yourself in check.
You were supposed to.








Another venusaur- the variant so obviously different that you don't hesitate to pounce at them, tearing into their throat with your teeth as a pulse violently knocks them unconscious.

Three.





It got you out of the hospital.
Good behavior so you wouldn't get taken out of school again.
Playing nice your parents would stop locking you away.
No more biting.
No more getting into fights.









The dragonite's wing separates from his body like torn paper.
He manages to bite you, but it doesn't matter all that much- the pulse rippling through his throat as you elbow his head into the wall.

Four.





You suffocated yourself down to the very last particle.
Denying any desire or effort to exist as a person
as someone with goals
as someone with needs.







The last grunt stands between you and the door.






After all, what you need is just a disgusting, perverse wish.
You were twisted into something Wrong, something that could never deserve something like this.
To be given any sense of humanity, allowing you to exist among other people and welcomed with open arms-
It had always been a sickening thought.








Blastoise.






And yet here they are.
Your team.
Offering care,
compassion,
touch,
support.






Armored.





They invited themselves in, peeling you apart and exposing your own insides and vulnerabilities.
And yet, despite all that
despite seeing the sickness and seeing jut how vile you really are
They believe in you.






You know its soft spots, though.
Tender, vulnerable






Maybe they don't always like you
or agree with what you're doing
but they're here even now.






weak points.






You tried to tell yourself that it was easier to push them away.
It'd be safer for everyone if you said nothing
just like
with the bar
with Frond
with Everything Else.






It tries to fire a desperate blast of water at you, only for you to repel it back with a single, pulsating slash.







What Eerie said had really stuck with you.
All of the anger and bile in you
It's the card you were dealt.
Your whole body a weapon, your sick head just as bad.
But it'll be useful now.







Digging your claws in between its scutes is so easy.






You got out of Pallet Town.
You got a number next to your name.
You got that headline from the gym clear.
You got your team.











Too easy.






And now you have to protect it.













You are now Frond.

Your eyes fluttered open when the screaming hit its fever pitch- or, probably...did...

You feel bleary, and everything hurts.
You haven't felt this kind of agony in years-


You register more of your surroundings, Minerva clutching you for dear life.

FROND: mmminnie, what's-

 

She doesn't blink, her mouth slightly ajar as she stares in rapt attention.



You follow her line of sight





until you see it.




A spray of gore coating the ground, a solid chunk of flesh torn out of a fallen mon




Stretch pulling itself away from the blastoise and shakily onto its feet.




It staggers, leaving you to take it in.







You have no idea why it's practically naked, or covered in viscera-


-but as it makes full eye contact with you


and you register its appearance, its behavior the past week, the looks it keep giving you and Minerva, paired with all of the research you'd done late at night over the past decade-






one thing is clear.







Its nesting cycle's in full force-






-and electabuzz get nasty.
 

 

---

what's every bad thing you've ever done?