(ACE) The MARSH Team

As Rhea watched Carmen get up, still dazed from the hit, a hint of concern played at her heart. That is, until Carmen opened her mouth and reminded the Kangaskhan exactly why the child irritated her so much. "It... it can't be! It just knocked me out!" And without further ado the troublesome lizard fell faint onto the ground. Rhea let out a loud groan and realized that she was the only one capable of carrying the kid to the gate with them. This was so not her day...

"Good God would you can it so we can hurry up? If they can't handle themselves, then they shouldn't fucking be here, should they? Come on, Mother Goose, I thought you wanted to get to the fucking gate." Rhea turned around with a snarl and stomped her foot, daring Seth to come say that to her face. But then am idea popped into her head that made a snide smirk grow across her face. "Alright, jackass, you want us to get moving? Then grab her and lets go. Oh, and if you drop her I will personally stomp you into the ground, got it?"

With that said Rhea stretched, gave the rest of the kids a smile, then started walking back towards the gate. She absentmindedly started scratching the egg in her pouch and realized that it was starting move rather violently. It was going to hatch today, tonight at the latest, and she was still stuck in this damn marsh. "FUCK!"

((OOC: Next post egg is gonna hatch, can wait for tonight, lol))

"Alright, jackass, you want us to get moving? Then grab her and lets go. Oh, and if you drop her I will personally stomp you into the ground, got it?"

Seth stood wide-eyed, mouth agape in shock and apall. CARRY her?! Who did that bitch think he was, some sort of beast of burden?! "If you want her so bad, you can fucking carry her, you crazy bitch!" he growled back, anger overriding any fear he should have been feeling at the kangaskhan's threat. "You really think I can? She's as heave as I am!" Spitting on the ground and following her lead, he left Carmen, stomping as he went.

Virgil sighed, looking to the unconscious charmander. Well... one of them had to, and he was feeling a bit better. A charmander wouldn't hurt too much... He bent down and began to maneuver the Charmander off of him when a cry of frustration caught him off guard. "FUCK!" Rhea cried, obviously distressed.

"You ok...?" Virgil called, usure of what to do.

Carmen lay unconscious, her dreams filled with little Scorpions and earthquakes as she was shaken. It appeared that something was moving her, perhaps carrying her?

A small sound echoed into Carmen's head.

"Fuck"

Carmen recognized the voice, but could not place it. Soon, the hundreds of little black glasses wearing Skorupi began laughing at her, taunting her for her loss against one small bug.

"No, go away, stop it, leave me alone you bugs."

Carmen murmured, the words escaped from her thoughts, and even in unconsciousness, the words slipped out of her mouth, a soft, fearful whisper.

((OoC:Sorry for taking so long, I couldn't think of what she could do, and she had already had a dream post before, so I thought it would be repetitive, so, sorry about taking so long, and having a short post. And Yikes! I think I cut it a little close-4 minutes before her death Warrant would have come into effect))

Despite her pleas, no one was willing to go with her and look for Arceus and Fynne. As the group began to move on, Martha stayed where she was for a moment. Orbs of tears rolled down her cheeks, and she sniffled and twisted her wool round her finger nervously. She hated to imagine how angry Arceus would be with her if she went with the others to leave her behind, but at the same time she did not want to be left alone. For far too long she had been alone before she had met her new friends ... no, her family. These Pokemon were her new family and even though Arceus and Fynne had been a part of it, she knew that she would only put herself into danger if she left the group to look for them. She did not want that, and she knew that either Arceus, Fynne or her family would want her to do that. With a sad sigh, Martha reluctantly began to follow them, eventually catching up to Mum just as the Kangaskhan cursed loudly.

"Mum! What's the matter?" The concern in her eyes was plain to see as she toddled up to the large Normal-type and softly tapped her leg. "Are you OK?"

Sadie wanted to leave, but something just made her feel attatched to this... rather odd group. She didn't know what it was. Maybe it was just the company of other people that she liked, even if she barely knows them, or likes them. The only she did like was the only one that showed kindness, as well as the only one who introduced herself; Martha. She cared for others, something Sadie only felt with Kurt...

Suddenly, the Kangaskhan cursed loudly. Sadie looked back at her. Reluctantly, she let out a sigh and floated over towards the Kangaskhan. "Is everything alright, miss?" The Frillish asked. Though the Flaafy called her 'mom', Sadie didn't use the word because she thought it would be a bit awkward to use it, especially considering that Sadie wasn't sure whether or not the Kangaskhan even liked her.

With a whimper the Skorupi slowly uncurls. Behind the dark of his glasses the landscape has once again fallen into natural shadow and the approaching night only makes things darker, soothing the Skorupi's frazzled nerves.
In fact his ever repeating mantra calms his rapidly beating heart as he recovers from his panic attack.
"Everything's alright..."
He repeats as he scuttles across the spongy marshy ground.
He feels a lot calmer now there are no organge scaled lizards trying to blind him.
In fact he can't see any other pokemon at all, living or dead.
Akira scurries onwards in the bleak landscape, searching for a place that was warm and close and dark.

((I hate to do this, but skip please. The dual profile isn't ready yet and I am in a lot of pain, so trying to write is not working for me. I think I am done for the night.))

((Skip as well; I'm not sure what to do lol))

Carmen slowly woke from her terror-plagued nightmare, reality and nightmare mixed, and for a moment the world still had scorpions everywhere. She shrieked, then as realization dawned on her, the Scorpions faded from sight, and Carmen calmed down.

Almost as soon as she had calmed, her emotions-mainly anger-flared up again. She wanted to hunt down and kill the stupid bug. And she made a silent vow to herself that she would find it, and she would get some sort of revenge.

((OoC:Sorry bout the shitty post, couldn't really think much))

(I hate to do this, but I have to skip for various reasons. If anyone wants to talk to her, it could help me with a post.)

With a crooked gait the Skorupi continues his drunken loping walk, zigzagging aimlessly across the marsh lands. Under his heavy dark-lens glasses he is having trouble picking out the subtle differences between water and ground and already his nice shiny blue shell has been coated in a purple-brown mud.
The feel of solid earth against his skin again is comforting but the grime keeps trying to layer itself on his glasses and the soothing softness of being buried alive is not something he can afford right now.
His mind blurs as does his little legs as he eats up distance at an incredible pace, his eyes jittering like dice in a cup as the yielding landscape offers him no safe place of rest.
Even if he cannot see them the tiny bug can hear the voices floating on the murky breezes, at times ethereal and distant but at others heart-stoppingly close.
This landscape makes him feel peeled, as stripped of strength as the desert had and from his experiences any other living would be no protection.
They would probably boil his fluids in his shell until they bubbled out his depressed ears or tear off his legs one by one and gouge out his eyes with razor claws before peeling away his shell piece by piece until he was a bleeding weak thing oozing out into the mud.
Another strain of sound reaches Akira's ears and the Skorupi's breath sticks in his throat.
Desperately he makes a desperate bid for a nearby twisting tree, wood soft with rot and he burrows himself in, holding bits of rot and fungus over his body to conceal his frail form.
"Everything's alright..." He cries to himself, thin tears of terror oozing down his shell.

"Not yet. No please...not yet!" Everyone came to her with concern after he loud utterance, but the violent shaking in her pouch wouldn't stop. Even the Frillish overcame her fear of the large female and came up to her. "Is everything alright, miss?"" Rhea forced a fake smile on, trying to convince everyone that everything was okay, but she knew that it wasn't. "I'm fine, I'm fine. But..." she started, until she heard a loud crack.

Rhea growled in alarm, not ready for the egg to hatch yet, but the little one had decided against that on her own. A brilliant light suddenly emerged from her pouch and Rhea had to grab the egg and put it on the ground to let the little one out. There had been no time to prepare herself for the hatching so her pouch was still very tight, leaving little room for a youngling fresh from the shell. As the light began to fade Rhea stood proud, waiting for it to reveal her daughter, but what actually appeared nearly gave the Kangaskhan a heart-attack.

"What the hell is that?!"

Carmen almost had to cover her eyes as a blinding white light flared from the egg which was in Mums pouch. It was hatching. As the light slowly faded, Carmen was surprised to find not a baby Kangaskhan, but something... else!

Carmen looked at Mum and asked:

"Mum? I thought that the egg would contain a Kangaskhan, but what is that?"

Carmen looked questioningly at Mum, awaiting a response.

((OoC:Sorry, not sure what too do or say till we know what it is, so can't really do much for now.))

Martha's tail started to twitch rapidly in excitement. Finally, Mum's egg was hatching! Since she had first seen it she had been looking forward to seeing the little baby Kangaskhan emerge, bright-eyed and adorable. She was hugely looking forward to helping Mum take care of it. Martha would be her little helper! "Come on, let's go see the baby!" she said to Sadie as she toddled over to where Mum was standing, facing away from her. But then the adult Kangaskhan exclaimed in surprise, "What the hell is that?!"

Curiously, Martha peeked around Mum's bulk and gasped at the bizarre Pokemon before her. "Um ... that doesn't look like a Kangaskhan," she said nervously, scratching her head.

There seemed to be something going on with the Kangaskhan. Sadie didn't know what it was and she said she was fine. "Come on, let's go see the baby!" Martha said to the Frillish. Baby? She thought to herself. A small grin came across her face. Sadie loved children. She thought about what Kurt said to her a while back.

"Children are the future, Sadie. If we take good care of them now, they will take of us later."

Sadie happily went over by the Kangaskhan and looked down at where the egg was. Her smile shrunk a little, but there was still a little bit of it there. "What the hell is that?!" The Kangaskhan said. Sadie looked down at the newborn. She couldn't tell what it was. "Even though it isn't a Kangaskhan, you should still take good care of it. My trainer always said if we take care of children now, they'll take care of us tomorrow." The Frillish wasn't sure if she should've said that, since the group doesn't really pay that much attention to her. Then again, they probably weren't even listening to her...

"Everything's alright..." Akira whispers quietly under his breath as he carefully looks out through a tiny gap in his disguise.
He had seen many odd things in his time under the knife but this thing was indeed strange.
Was it a fire type?
The Tiny skorupi flinches back into his hiding place. The biodegrading remains of the fungus infested stump threaten to give way under his weight at any time so the diminutive bug type freezes stock still and merely observes.
What he sees makes him shudder with fear.
As well as the terrifying fire lizard that tried to remove his glasses there is a strange etheral pink thing with long poisonous looking tentacles, a form of sheep-like pokemon and a huge vaguely reptilian thing looking at the blob of a pokemon where the egg had once been.
Khanghaskhan.
He remembered that name and he remembered the pokemon.
In the lab their children were taken from them to make them fight and the end result was normally a bloddied mess of the pounded flat body of whatever had been unfortunate enough to come up against him.
The thing in the pouch wasn't one of those babies he could tell, for one it was entirely the wrong color but the sight still sparked fear in the tiny scorpion pokemon's heart.

"Mum? I thought that the egg would contain a Kangaskhan, but what is that?"
"Um ... that doesn't look like a Kangaskhan."
"Even though it isn't a Kangaskhan, you should still take good care of it. My trainer always said if we take care of children now, they'll take care of us tomorrow."

If one more of them had a smart comment Rhea was just going to lose it. Instead of her baby, the precious life she had been carrying around for months, out came this...this...thing. It was brilliant red with yellow leaves sticking out of it, and it almost looked like- "Oddish!" Holy shit it was. The new little Oddish bounced happily up and down as it stared at Rhea, a big goofy smile on its face, and the Kangaskhan could only stare at it in confusion. When the little one tried bouncing up to her Rhea backed away quickly and the little one's face fell.

But how could she take care of something that wasn't hers? Memories of the Pidgeotto flooded her mind, watching it fly away carrying her screaming daughter with it. Tears began rolling down Rhea's face as she recalled that horrid day and how she had found the small egg in the remains of an undead raid. This child had no one else in the world but her, but what was she supposed to do with it?

While the two brothers had been uncommonly quiet, Virgil could associate his own silence with unease, but his brother, he wasn't sure. The situation had gotten tense, and with the egg cracking, it seemed even the smartest of smart-asses could only watch as one of the most precious events of life took place. Virgil knew Rhea was a strange woman, but what popped out of the egg only made the cat and dog pair stare in disbelief.

An... An oddish?

Virgil's mind quickly concluded that this was a very, very bad thing, as Kangaskhans were naturally very protective of their young. Where the hell was Rhea's actual broodling? From the welling tears in her eyes, he assumed she knew about as much as he did. If she went on a rampage now... Before Seth could open his mouth for some smart-ass remark, Virgil clamped his paw down on the dog's mouth, earning a cry of surprise from the other. Unfortunately, even with Seth underfed, the latter was stronger, quickly turning the tables and forcing the cat to the ground.

"You do not touch me, Fuck Face," he growled, his paw heavy on Virgil's throat. He let him go, though, righting himself on his feet and turning back to Rhea and the little bouncing plant. "So. It's an Oddish. Or some sort of bouncing pepper. What the hell are you going to do with it?" It was an honest question, and really, one of the few that wasn't laced with disdain.

Carmen was dumbfounded by the fact that what was on the floor was a bright red Oddish, with golden leaves.

"It's not as cute as most I've seen, and aren't shiny Oddish green, I've met two. In my old life, I met with many beautiful and rare Pokémon, including shiny Pokémon. I remember cause when my posh trainer looked away, I sent flames at the little things. After that, their owner left and never came back. But that thing, it's ugly and red and all... weird!"

"What the hell are you going to do with it?"

Carmen heard the end of Seth's question. Looking at him, she said calmly:

"If it was my choice, I'd get rid of it, I mean, it's so weird"

When Carmen realized hat this would most likely end up with everyone angry at her, she added:

"Just kidding, perhaps we should, find someone who can care for a kid, one that's an Oddish. My guess is that you're used to looking after hard-head Kanghaskhan babies. Plus, we're not exactly the best influence over children. An anger issue Kanghaskhan, a violent Smeargle, a hyper-active Flaafy, a weird Frillish, and a smart ass Charmander. The most normal of all of us is Virgil, and that's not saying much. "

Carmen knew that she would most likely infuriate everyone, but she really couldn't care less. She had a point, was this really the best group for raising a kid, especially after two adults disappeared without a trace. How could they keep an eye on a child, when they couldn't keep an eye on two big adults. If they kept the kid, they'd probably lose it.

Mum remained quiet as everyone around her began to fluster, asking questions and trying to get a good look at the strange baby. Martha was sure that she had seen a Pokemon like that before, but its odd colouring confused her and obscured the name from her. A little disturbed by Mum's silence, Martha toddled round her large bulk to the front, and stood right next to the baby. With a jolt, she noticed that the Kangaskhan was crying, and immediately ran up to her and hugged her leg.

"Don't cry, Mum!" she begged, softly stroking the scales on her knee. "It'll be OK! I ... I know that the baby is a little strange, but I'll help you look after it if you like!" She wasn't entirely sure if Mum's tears were ones of sorrow or happiness, but she doubted it was the latter. Clearly this baby had not been what she was expecting. This only made her even more curious.

But, of course, Carmen decided to make things uncomfortable in her own unique way. By the time she had finished Martha was riled up. She stepped away from Mum and stomped over to the Charmander. "Carmen, this is hard enough for Mum already!" she said. "Don't make her angry; she needs us to help her!" She stared her in the eyes for a moment before returning to Mum's side. She just prayed that Carmen's harsh words would not cause another argument.

What?
Just... what?

The baby that had hatched wasn't a Kangaskhan. It was a red Oddish. "Well... she's definately unique..." She still couldn't call something odd. Aside from the fact that it wasn't what the Frillish was expecting, the baby grass type sure was cute. A slight smile crept on her face as she cautiously moved to the baby's side. Sadie didn't want to scare away the poor dear, so the only thing she could do was sing. However, at the fear of being yelled at by everyone once again, she changed it to a soft hum.

The Charmander then chose to be a smart-ass, and pretty much labeled everyone in the group. Sadie's label? The weird Frillish. She turned her head to the Charmander and glared at her. "You think I'm weird? Just because I sing? You don't even know why I even sing, do you? My trainer taught me how to sing, but he also shot himself right in front of my face. I sing to get rid of the image. So why don't you think try to think about why people do, in your words, 'weird things' next time someone does something that doesn't meet your approval?"

Sadie suddenly stopped and just fell to the ground in sadness. She didn't feel any tears come out. She didn't even let out a sound. She just looked at the ground, and thought about how much she missed Kurt. "Why Kurt...?" The Frillish murmured.

(OoC: Sadie was humming this song.)

The soft sounds of the Frillish's humming penetrates to the Skorupi's depressed ear drums and for a moment his tears of fear no longer trickle down his shell.
Human Music was a thing he had never encountered, underground there had not been much use for it among the Digletts he thought of as his family but the soft tune soothed his frazzled nerves a fraction.
Nothing that made such soft noises to a strange child would kill him simply for being here.
"Everything's alright..." He softly whispers.
He has spent too long in his hiding place.
His long poisonous tail is starting to go numb and he can tell it is only a matter of time before the rotting dead tree gives way under his weight.
With filth smeared across his shell and dark glasses the tiny Bug Type cautiously moves one leg free of the hollow in the wood and drops the large bits of fungus infested bark that had hidden him.
Scurrying swiftly on his short legs the crawls down the tree trunk and shelters behind it to watch the scene further, his dark glasses gleaming faintly in the gloom of the tangled tree roots.
He rests one ivory white claw on the root in front of him as he watches with interest.
A red Oddish, that was odd indeed.

"So. It's an Oddish. Or some sort of bouncing pepper. What the hell are you going to do with it?" Rhea turned and snarled at Seth, causing the small Oddish to begin crying at the harsh display. Her vicious look fell almost immediately into one of pity but still the motherly Pokemon was at a loss as to what to do for it. Taking care of everyone came so naturally to her, all the time, but this one tiny creature she couldn't feel the instinct to nurture. It obviously needed her but the words 'that isn't my daughter' just kept playing over and over again in her mind. She kept staring at it.

Carmen began running her mouth again, and the words 'anger issue' didn't begin to describe the rage that the tiny lizard was pushing Rhea to. If she didn't shut up in next few seconds she was going to find herself out cold again, this time courtesy of a rampaging Kangaskhan. She found Carmen much more agreeable when she wasn't conscious. Luckily Martha stepped in and basically told Carmen to shove it, so Rhea gratefully pat the Flaafy's shoulder and offered her a smile. Even the floating fish told off the tiny fire type and she couldn't help but feel a little impressed. Good for her.

Her smile fell when her eyes went to the tiny Oddish, still crying and trying to bounce up to her. Once again Rhea backed up in concern, not actually letting the tiny one touch her. "Virg...Martha...I..." she couldn't bring herself to say it. How does a Pokemon known as the Motherly Pokemon tell anyone she has no idea how to care for a baby? It was like that part of her brain switched off whenever she looked at the child. She couldn't explain what was happening to her, and it was starting to scare the hell out of her.

_________________________

"Oddish..." the tiny female's voice whimpered softly, still trying to get her momma to look at her. Momma kept running away and wouldn't come near, and Oddish couldn't figure out why. When the loud noises started again, and Momma's face got all angry, she cried because it frightened her. She had no idea what they were saying but the tension in the air was more than enough to make Oddish cry. Why didn't Momma want her?

Disheartened and lonely she blinked through her tears, looking around at all the other voices. They weren't Momma, and some of them were very angry, but there was one that seemed pretty quiet. He was next to the angry one who Momma got mad at, and was all soft and fuzzy. So little Oddish scooted back towards that one, her eyes still locked on Momma even as she moved away. Momma didn't seem to run as long as Oddish wasn't going towards her, and she didn't want Momma to run... Finally she made it to the fuzzy one and hid behind his leg, tears still running down her face but making much less noise, and hoped that he wouldn't run from her too. "Oddish..."

((OOC: In case it is hard to tell, since Eliana has no idea what anyone is or even what colors are, she is hiding by Virgil. lol. Sorry Virg but he is the only one who didn't yell. XD))

Virgil was soon back on his feet, flinching slightly from Rhea's aggressive response to Seth's stupid question. While he was sure his brother felt himself in the right, the liepard knew better than to ask a question as delicate as that so callously. The poor oddish didn't seem to know what to do, as Rhea kept walking from her. He watched as the little newborn quickly tottered to his own legs, her trembling form shaking in fear. A small sigh escaped him as his tail slowly wrapped around the small plant. The poor thing... Many of his siblings had gone to him or his eldest sister, looking just like that... Wanting to ease the strain on his wound, he lay down, keeping himself calm for the infant. After all, if she picked up on his demeanor, she may as well. "Hey, baby girl, c'mere," he called gently, knowing she wouldn't understand the words. Still, his voice might be able to soothe her...

Seth, on the other hand, watched the display with disgust. He turned to the charmander, who was running her mouth again like a damn loudred. "Do you ever shut the fuck up when you're awake?" he asked her, glare on full. "You should try it some time." His disdainful glare then turned to his brother, who seemed to be the current haven for the weed. Stupid Virgil, sucking up like that. Whatever. If he wanted the little plant, he could have her. The big bitch seemed unsure of what to do, her words soft as she stared down at the infant root. "Virg...Martha...I..." she whispered, her eyes betraying her panic and fear. The smeargle scoffed.

"Is this really that difficult for you?" he asked, hands on his scrawny hips. "It's not your kid, therefore, not your responsibility. Leave it. There's no need for you to risk your life and limb to care for a kid that's not even yours." His "parents" had certainly gone by that law, why couldn't she? "After all, if push comes to shove, we could just eat it."

Carmen was surprised that the Frillish stood up to her. Martha had already gotten angry at Carmen previously, but the Frillish had seemed like such a wimp. Carmen had no idea about it's terrible past. And Carmen had believed her own past was a nightmare!

"I... Sorry, Sadie. I didn't know."

Carmen looked away from everyone. Perhaps she had been a little blunt in her statement.

By the look of Mum, she had no idea what to do with the weird Oddish.

Soon, Seth began berating Carmen.

"Do you ever shut the fuck up when you're awake? You should try it some time!"

"You know, you don't exactly have the smallest mouth either, you know. You're an asshole to everyone, you try to kill your own brother, you call Mum a bitch constantly, and then you get angry at me as soon as you hear me make a rude remark. How about you try shutting up, I haven't heard you give out a single compliment or helpful comment once! You're just as fucking bad as me you shithead!"

As soon as she stopped speaking, he spoke to Mum.

"Is this really that difficult for you? It's not your kid, therefore, not your responsibility. Leave it. There's no need for you to risk your life and limb to care for a kid that's not even yours. After all, if push comes to shove, we could just eat it."

Carmen had no idea what to do next, so she just sat silent, not wanting to get yelled at again.