06-25-2017, 10:28 PM
Gengar's eyes snapped open. Steel bars framed a lazy, inert sea in the background, swaying gently.
"What the hell?" The ghost-type Pokemon sat up, thinking back. Where was he?
He peered downwards through the bars, outside of his cage. The deck of a sailing ship filled his eyes. Staring upwards, he took in the tall, proud mast and the flapping sails that ballooned outwards, catching the winds. A rope ran the length of the mast, secured through a pulley system, and led down to the top of Gengar's cage.
"Oh, right. That human. " Gengar patted the bars, recalling their shocking properties previously, but they remained lightning-free. Maybe the power source had run out?
Where is she? Gengar thought, his red eyes scouring the deck below. When I find her, I swear I'll possess her and make her walk the plank!
Gengar released the density of his gaseous body, slipping between the boundaries of the physical world. As his foot penetrated the base of his cage, a blinding pain coursed through him. Sparks jumped from him as he lost his concentration and solidified. As soon as he was whole, the shock stopped.
"Tricky!" Gengar shouted as a seagull wheeled overhead, crying out. "Seems like someone has dealt with ghost-types before, huh?"
The floorboards of the ship creaked as the human woman stepped out into the salty sea air. Her short blonde hair bobbed as she craned her neck upwards. Her ruby lipstick had been removed, as had her innocent countenance. Her safari suit had been abandoned for a leather tunic and pants, and her dainty hands were sheathed within leather gloves. A scabbard hung from her hip, with the hilt of her sword jutting out of its top.
"Oh, I know what I'm dealing with," she said, her voice low and full of confidence. "You're not the first Pokemon I've had the displeasure of meeting, and you won't be the last."
"I can't speak for your past experiences, but as soon as I get free of this cage, I'll be sure to put a stop to your future ones!" Gengar threatened, his stubby fingers wrapped around the cage bars.
"Feisty one, aren't you?" she said, smirking.
Gengar felt the heat rise in his mind. "Trading barbs isn't doing much for me, I have to admit. I'd rather you just get to the point already. This is more talking to a human that I've done in a long time and frankly, it's upsetting to my digestion."
"Fine. It's not like I enjoy talking to you filthy creatures." The human traipsed over to the mast and worked the pulley, lowering Gengar's cage to the deck. "I've got a job for you, and it's non-negotiable."
A magnifying glass fell out of a puff of purple smoke and Gengar buried his eye in it, pointing his gaze at the human. "Let's see ... leather armour, sword on your hip, gruff demeanour ... well if I didn't know any better, I'd say you could do whatever shit it is you need done!"
The human reached in and ripped the magnifying glass from him. It instantly disintegrated into dust. "For this assignment, I need to use a tool, for obvious reasons. I can't go waltzing onto Cinnabar Island now, can I?"
"Why? Your legs seem fine. Or did no one teach you how to waltz?" A flower puffed into Gengar's teeth. "I am an excellent dance instructor. Tango is my speciality, but I'm sure I can fumble my way through a waltz!"
The mercenary frowned. "Are you being a smart arse, or do you not know what Cinnabar Island is?"
"Ahem, madam," Gengar said, peering down a pair of spectacles that appeared from the ether, "I may appear of a learned and scholarly sort, but let me assure you, I am not knowledgeable on everything."
She crouched down, her lips bulging as if she was running her tongue over her teeth. "A new denzien of the Omniverse, I take it. Well, Cinnabar Island is a thriving den of you Pokemon. Not just Pokemon, but all sorts of vile beasts. But you, as a Pokemon, will be the best agent to send in."
"And what is it I'm supposed to do for you, out of the kindness of my own poisonous heart?"
"Cinnabar Island has a leadership council, who run the day-to-day functions of their little misfit paradise," the mercenary said. "Because their mayor, for lack of a better term, has done his best to isolate themselves from the outside world, they consistently lack for things. Supplies, luxuries, weapons, transportation. Plenty of their own misbegotten kind are happy to help, but there are usually more jobs to go around than there are hands to take them.
"So they are willing to accept the assistance of people who genuinely want to help their cause. They're not in a position to be picky; beggars can't be choosers, or so the saying goes. So if you present yourself to the council and state your intentions, then-"
Gengar snored obnoxiously, a striped sleeping cap balancing on his head, the fluffy pom-pom on its tip swaying in front of his face. His red eyes snapped open. "Oh, I'm sorry. I find exposition tends to put me to sleep."
"The point I'm making-"
"Oh come on. Give me a little credit," Gengar interrupted, stretching. "You want me to get on this council's good side."
The mercenary smirked. "And there's why I didn't give you any credit. What I want you to do is take a job for them, contact me and tell me what it is, and then act as a mole to use that job to infiltrate their council."
"A coup, eh?" Gengar said. "Changing of the government? Why would you want to do that?"
"That's hardly any of your business."
Gengar's smiled flattened. "I beg to differ. I'm being forced into this. I at least deserve to know for what purpose."
"Deserve? You don't deserve anything."
"So what makes you think I won't just run away as soon as you let me out of this cage?"
The mercenary fished out a thumb-sized device with a big red button and a small blue one. "Because if you don't, I'll push this red button." She smiled. "Like this."
A thousand vines of electricity shot through Gengar's body. The pain stiffened his entire body as he shook to the pulls of the device. The mercenary released the button and Gengar fell to the cage floor, smoke drifting from his ears.
"That wasn't the cage," the human said. "There is a chip floating inside you that will zap you whenever I hit this button. It will also activate if you try and phase your body through solid objects, so don't even think about reaching into yourself and taking it out."
"I see," he said, breathing out more grey tendrils, his voice coarse. "Very compelling argument."
"Once I've accomplished my mission, I'll take the chip out and we'll part ways forever," she said, pocketing her remote control. "If I'm fortunate, it won't be very long until we do."
Gengar hauled himself up with the cage bars. Over the edge of the ship, as it swayed in the current, the ghost-type Pokemon caught a glimpse of an island. "Is that where we're making port, captain?"
"No," the mercenary said. "That's just one of the little islands that's a part of Cinnabar Island's jurisdiction. Looks abandoned. The island proper is still a little while away." She walked back to the mast and handled the ropes. "In fact, why don't you go back up the mast and be the lookout?"
"Ugh," Gengar moaned as the human yanked him back above the deck, watching the sails ripple with the breeze. "I finally get my freedom and I'm already in someone else's cage."
His red eyes locked onto the mercenary as she blew him a kiss and grinned.
"What the hell?" The ghost-type Pokemon sat up, thinking back. Where was he?
He peered downwards through the bars, outside of his cage. The deck of a sailing ship filled his eyes. Staring upwards, he took in the tall, proud mast and the flapping sails that ballooned outwards, catching the winds. A rope ran the length of the mast, secured through a pulley system, and led down to the top of Gengar's cage.
"Oh, right. That human. " Gengar patted the bars, recalling their shocking properties previously, but they remained lightning-free. Maybe the power source had run out?
Where is she? Gengar thought, his red eyes scouring the deck below. When I find her, I swear I'll possess her and make her walk the plank!
Gengar released the density of his gaseous body, slipping between the boundaries of the physical world. As his foot penetrated the base of his cage, a blinding pain coursed through him. Sparks jumped from him as he lost his concentration and solidified. As soon as he was whole, the shock stopped.
"Tricky!" Gengar shouted as a seagull wheeled overhead, crying out. "Seems like someone has dealt with ghost-types before, huh?"
The floorboards of the ship creaked as the human woman stepped out into the salty sea air. Her short blonde hair bobbed as she craned her neck upwards. Her ruby lipstick had been removed, as had her innocent countenance. Her safari suit had been abandoned for a leather tunic and pants, and her dainty hands were sheathed within leather gloves. A scabbard hung from her hip, with the hilt of her sword jutting out of its top.
"Oh, I know what I'm dealing with," she said, her voice low and full of confidence. "You're not the first Pokemon I've had the displeasure of meeting, and you won't be the last."
"I can't speak for your past experiences, but as soon as I get free of this cage, I'll be sure to put a stop to your future ones!" Gengar threatened, his stubby fingers wrapped around the cage bars.
"Feisty one, aren't you?" she said, smirking.
Gengar felt the heat rise in his mind. "Trading barbs isn't doing much for me, I have to admit. I'd rather you just get to the point already. This is more talking to a human that I've done in a long time and frankly, it's upsetting to my digestion."
"Fine. It's not like I enjoy talking to you filthy creatures." The human traipsed over to the mast and worked the pulley, lowering Gengar's cage to the deck. "I've got a job for you, and it's non-negotiable."
A magnifying glass fell out of a puff of purple smoke and Gengar buried his eye in it, pointing his gaze at the human. "Let's see ... leather armour, sword on your hip, gruff demeanour ... well if I didn't know any better, I'd say you could do whatever shit it is you need done!"
The human reached in and ripped the magnifying glass from him. It instantly disintegrated into dust. "For this assignment, I need to use a tool, for obvious reasons. I can't go waltzing onto Cinnabar Island now, can I?"
"Why? Your legs seem fine. Or did no one teach you how to waltz?" A flower puffed into Gengar's teeth. "I am an excellent dance instructor. Tango is my speciality, but I'm sure I can fumble my way through a waltz!"
The mercenary frowned. "Are you being a smart arse, or do you not know what Cinnabar Island is?"
"Ahem, madam," Gengar said, peering down a pair of spectacles that appeared from the ether, "I may appear of a learned and scholarly sort, but let me assure you, I am not knowledgeable on everything."
She crouched down, her lips bulging as if she was running her tongue over her teeth. "A new denzien of the Omniverse, I take it. Well, Cinnabar Island is a thriving den of you Pokemon. Not just Pokemon, but all sorts of vile beasts. But you, as a Pokemon, will be the best agent to send in."
"And what is it I'm supposed to do for you, out of the kindness of my own poisonous heart?"
"Cinnabar Island has a leadership council, who run the day-to-day functions of their little misfit paradise," the mercenary said. "Because their mayor, for lack of a better term, has done his best to isolate themselves from the outside world, they consistently lack for things. Supplies, luxuries, weapons, transportation. Plenty of their own misbegotten kind are happy to help, but there are usually more jobs to go around than there are hands to take them.
"So they are willing to accept the assistance of people who genuinely want to help their cause. They're not in a position to be picky; beggars can't be choosers, or so the saying goes. So if you present yourself to the council and state your intentions, then-"
Gengar snored obnoxiously, a striped sleeping cap balancing on his head, the fluffy pom-pom on its tip swaying in front of his face. His red eyes snapped open. "Oh, I'm sorry. I find exposition tends to put me to sleep."
"The point I'm making-"
"Oh come on. Give me a little credit," Gengar interrupted, stretching. "You want me to get on this council's good side."
The mercenary smirked. "And there's why I didn't give you any credit. What I want you to do is take a job for them, contact me and tell me what it is, and then act as a mole to use that job to infiltrate their council."
"A coup, eh?" Gengar said. "Changing of the government? Why would you want to do that?"
"That's hardly any of your business."
Gengar's smiled flattened. "I beg to differ. I'm being forced into this. I at least deserve to know for what purpose."
"Deserve? You don't deserve anything."
"So what makes you think I won't just run away as soon as you let me out of this cage?"
The mercenary fished out a thumb-sized device with a big red button and a small blue one. "Because if you don't, I'll push this red button." She smiled. "Like this."
A thousand vines of electricity shot through Gengar's body. The pain stiffened his entire body as he shook to the pulls of the device. The mercenary released the button and Gengar fell to the cage floor, smoke drifting from his ears.
"That wasn't the cage," the human said. "There is a chip floating inside you that will zap you whenever I hit this button. It will also activate if you try and phase your body through solid objects, so don't even think about reaching into yourself and taking it out."
"I see," he said, breathing out more grey tendrils, his voice coarse. "Very compelling argument."
"Once I've accomplished my mission, I'll take the chip out and we'll part ways forever," she said, pocketing her remote control. "If I'm fortunate, it won't be very long until we do."
Gengar hauled himself up with the cage bars. Over the edge of the ship, as it swayed in the current, the ghost-type Pokemon caught a glimpse of an island. "Is that where we're making port, captain?"
"No," the mercenary said. "That's just one of the little islands that's a part of Cinnabar Island's jurisdiction. Looks abandoned. The island proper is still a little while away." She walked back to the mast and handled the ropes. "In fact, why don't you go back up the mast and be the lookout?"
"Ugh," Gengar moaned as the human yanked him back above the deck, watching the sails ripple with the breeze. "I finally get my freedom and I'm already in someone else's cage."
His red eyes locked onto the mercenary as she blew him a kiss and grinned.
![[Image: gdc0h.gif]](http://www.cytokineindustries.com/chevereto/images/2018/04/18/gdc0h.gif)