Post by Nina_Lumos on Jul 11, 2008 21:16:58 GMT 12
Believe it or not, Pecoros is the powerhouse tank of the game'sentire roster. At early levels in-game, all its stats, except for Int. and Agi., grow exponentially, especially Def. and HP, making it a real RPG tank!
The various plant growth around the Dump have begun dissolving as the newly-formed quartet made their way out. Pecoros wasn't affected, physically or mentally, by the scientific phenomenon around him.
Pretty soon, the bright glare of an afternoon sun met their eyes. The Dump's guards were astonished to see the three of them. As arranged earlier, Peco would hide its face behind its leaves so no one could see its peculiarity.
"We got rid of the Mutant!" Momo told the guards proudly.
"Th-That's amazing!!" one declared. "We had you kids pegged all wrong!"
"I'm pretty sure that the director will be pleased to hear what you've done. Go on back to the Plant; we'll take care of the rest of the mess here."
The group nodded, then headed straight for the Plant. Dr. Palet himself was waiting for them at the entrance. "Momo! So good to see you again! I heard you took care of our little problem?"
Momo nodded. "Yeah... But I wouldn't call it little!"
"How can we ever thank you, Momo?"
Momo gave a knowing glance at Ash and May, then said, "There is one thing... We have to get to Wyndia, and the road is blocked..."
"Wyndia!? Say no more--leave it to me! I'll get you there! Don't worry--I have a plan." Palet pointed to the main building. "All right then! We'll have everything ready tomorrow, so why don't you rest there at the inn tonight?"
The group, exhausted, couldn't refuse the director's offer.
=====
The next morning, Palet revealed his plan. At the entrance of the Plant, a horse-drawn cart full of crops and hay is waiting for them. "This cart is headed for Wyndia," Palet explained. "If you hide inside, you should be able to get by unnoticed."
"What do you think, Momo?" May asked.
"Won't they check the goods on the cart?" Momo inquired.
"Heh heh heh heh... don't worry... Just make sure you hide really well."
Momo turned back to her friends. "All right then... Let's try it. It's our best bet."
All the workers at the Plant were there to offer their thanks and see them off. After saying farewell, Momo and company squeezed into the cart, trying their best to stay hidden. The cart's keeper then herded the horse and its load out of the Plant, and everyone returned to their jobs.
Palet, however, remained. When he was sure that no one can hear him, he said, "Heh heh... Whew... I was lucky that the people Balio and Sunder are after turned out to be Momo and her friends.
"Those two will take care of them for me... And no one need ever learn about the mutant plant! heh heh heh heh..."
=====
Surprisingly, there was no one guarding the East-North Bridge, like Momo deduced earlier. However, the trouble began as soon as they reached the Egnock Road.
On the road, just as its driver was turning the cart in the fork leading to Wyndia, Sunder arrived from the west road. "Here they come!" the driver hissed to his passengers. "Get your heads down!"
"Hoooold it... What's that?" Sunder asked, flanking the horse's path.
The driver was easily intimidated by Sunder's stature. "Um...This...is a shipment from the plant to Wyndia...
Sunder leered. "Shipment, huh? OK...I'll take it from here...now scram!" The cart driver jumped off the cart, scared, and raced back to the Plant again. "Don't worry!" Sunder shouted after him. "I'll take good care of it! Ha ha ha ha ha!!"
=====
Unknown to Ash and his friends about Palet's betrayal, they couldn't figure out how Balio and Sunder knew how they were coming. With the help of his goons, Sunder heralded his prisoners back south, to Genmel.
Sunder's men remained outside of Genmel's walls, while the gang leader took the captives inside himself. "You're in for it now, you little squirt!" Sunder gloated to Ash."You won't be getting away this time!"
The horseman heralded his cpatives right into the office of Balio. It was bare, with only a glass office desk in the middle and a cage in the corner.
Bound, Ash and his friends could do nothing but to listen to the criminals. "So...kids..." Balio said, imitating a tone of a schoolteacher. "I hope this has shown you how the world works
"In the end... It's people like us who get what they want, right bro?" Sunder added.
Balio nodded. "The strong get what they want... And the weak can't do anything about it... Just like in the Contest of Champions."
May suddenly had an idea. "So...if we enter the Contest and win... we'll be strong, too, and we can get what we want-- to be set free!"
Both horsemen were horrorstruck. "What!?" Sunder exclaimed. "You want to enter the Contest!? We've been nice to you so far 'cause you're worth a lot o' money to us, but there's a limit to how far we can be pushed!
"Just give up and stop struggling... We're gonna take care of everyone else, but don't worry, Princess--we won't touch you."
"No way! Let us all go! I won't let you hurt anyone of my friends! Let us enter the Contest!"
Sunder turned back to his brother. "Uh-oh...They're all getting uppity, bro. We should get rid of 'em now."
Balio however, had a different idea in mind. "...Wait a minute, Sunder... It might not be a bad idea after all..."
"But...if they enter, there ain't no one who'll think they can win... Huh? Wait a sec..."
Balio nodded. "Exactly, bro... No one will bet on them...which means that if they do win, we'll make that much more money...
"All right, Princess, we'll let you enter. I'll even let you loose until the Contest starts. You can train, or buy weapons, or whatever you want. But don't even think about running away... We'll get all the roads guarded tight... And we'll keep one of you here as a hostage."
"Boy, you sure are clever, bro... I never would've thought of that... OK, so if we have Ash and the Princess enter the Contest, who stays behind as a hostage?"
Momo, being affectionate for her, er, pet Pecoros, volunteered to be the hostage. While the others were set free, she was taken to the cage.
"All right, then, it's decided," Balio said. He glared at Ash menacingly. "All right, Ash, we're counting on you to put up a good fight for us. After all, you gave us enough trouble. If you lose, it's the end for you... And you won't get away from us again--got it?"
Ash clenched his fists. But, he could't do anything that might endanger his friends. He, May, and Pecoros were taken out of the office by Sunder.
The Contest of Champions. There are certain rules in the Contest that I'm going to change, to make it more like a story than a game.
Part 19: The Plant's Big Rat
The various plant growth around the Dump have begun dissolving as the newly-formed quartet made their way out. Pecoros wasn't affected, physically or mentally, by the scientific phenomenon around him.
Pretty soon, the bright glare of an afternoon sun met their eyes. The Dump's guards were astonished to see the three of them. As arranged earlier, Peco would hide its face behind its leaves so no one could see its peculiarity.
"We got rid of the Mutant!" Momo told the guards proudly.
"Th-That's amazing!!" one declared. "We had you kids pegged all wrong!"
"I'm pretty sure that the director will be pleased to hear what you've done. Go on back to the Plant; we'll take care of the rest of the mess here."
The group nodded, then headed straight for the Plant. Dr. Palet himself was waiting for them at the entrance. "Momo! So good to see you again! I heard you took care of our little problem?"
Momo nodded. "Yeah... But I wouldn't call it little!"
"How can we ever thank you, Momo?"
Momo gave a knowing glance at Ash and May, then said, "There is one thing... We have to get to Wyndia, and the road is blocked..."
"Wyndia!? Say no more--leave it to me! I'll get you there! Don't worry--I have a plan." Palet pointed to the main building. "All right then! We'll have everything ready tomorrow, so why don't you rest there at the inn tonight?"
The group, exhausted, couldn't refuse the director's offer.
=====
The next morning, Palet revealed his plan. At the entrance of the Plant, a horse-drawn cart full of crops and hay is waiting for them. "This cart is headed for Wyndia," Palet explained. "If you hide inside, you should be able to get by unnoticed."
"What do you think, Momo?" May asked.
"Won't they check the goods on the cart?" Momo inquired.
"Heh heh heh heh... don't worry... Just make sure you hide really well."
Momo turned back to her friends. "All right then... Let's try it. It's our best bet."
All the workers at the Plant were there to offer their thanks and see them off. After saying farewell, Momo and company squeezed into the cart, trying their best to stay hidden. The cart's keeper then herded the horse and its load out of the Plant, and everyone returned to their jobs.
Palet, however, remained. When he was sure that no one can hear him, he said, "Heh heh... Whew... I was lucky that the people Balio and Sunder are after turned out to be Momo and her friends.
"Those two will take care of them for me... And no one need ever learn about the mutant plant! heh heh heh heh..."
=====
Surprisingly, there was no one guarding the East-North Bridge, like Momo deduced earlier. However, the trouble began as soon as they reached the Egnock Road.
On the road, just as its driver was turning the cart in the fork leading to Wyndia, Sunder arrived from the west road. "Here they come!" the driver hissed to his passengers. "Get your heads down!"
"Hoooold it... What's that?" Sunder asked, flanking the horse's path.
The driver was easily intimidated by Sunder's stature. "Um...This...is a shipment from the plant to Wyndia...
Sunder leered. "Shipment, huh? OK...I'll take it from here...now scram!" The cart driver jumped off the cart, scared, and raced back to the Plant again. "Don't worry!" Sunder shouted after him. "I'll take good care of it! Ha ha ha ha ha!!"
=====
Unknown to Ash and his friends about Palet's betrayal, they couldn't figure out how Balio and Sunder knew how they were coming. With the help of his goons, Sunder heralded his prisoners back south, to Genmel.
Sunder's men remained outside of Genmel's walls, while the gang leader took the captives inside himself. "You're in for it now, you little squirt!" Sunder gloated to Ash."You won't be getting away this time!"
The horseman heralded his cpatives right into the office of Balio. It was bare, with only a glass office desk in the middle and a cage in the corner.
Bound, Ash and his friends could do nothing but to listen to the criminals. "So...kids..." Balio said, imitating a tone of a schoolteacher. "I hope this has shown you how the world works
"In the end... It's people like us who get what they want, right bro?" Sunder added.
Balio nodded. "The strong get what they want... And the weak can't do anything about it... Just like in the Contest of Champions."
May suddenly had an idea. "So...if we enter the Contest and win... we'll be strong, too, and we can get what we want-- to be set free!"
Both horsemen were horrorstruck. "What!?" Sunder exclaimed. "You want to enter the Contest!? We've been nice to you so far 'cause you're worth a lot o' money to us, but there's a limit to how far we can be pushed!
"Just give up and stop struggling... We're gonna take care of everyone else, but don't worry, Princess--we won't touch you."
"No way! Let us all go! I won't let you hurt anyone of my friends! Let us enter the Contest!"
Sunder turned back to his brother. "Uh-oh...They're all getting uppity, bro. We should get rid of 'em now."
Balio however, had a different idea in mind. "...Wait a minute, Sunder... It might not be a bad idea after all..."
"But...if they enter, there ain't no one who'll think they can win... Huh? Wait a sec..."
Balio nodded. "Exactly, bro... No one will bet on them...which means that if they do win, we'll make that much more money...
"All right, Princess, we'll let you enter. I'll even let you loose until the Contest starts. You can train, or buy weapons, or whatever you want. But don't even think about running away... We'll get all the roads guarded tight... And we'll keep one of you here as a hostage."
"Boy, you sure are clever, bro... I never would've thought of that... OK, so if we have Ash and the Princess enter the Contest, who stays behind as a hostage?"
Momo, being affectionate for her, er, pet Pecoros, volunteered to be the hostage. While the others were set free, she was taken to the cage.
"All right, then, it's decided," Balio said. He glared at Ash menacingly. "All right, Ash, we're counting on you to put up a good fight for us. After all, you gave us enough trouble. If you lose, it's the end for you... And you won't get away from us again--got it?"
Ash clenched his fists. But, he could't do anything that might endanger his friends. He, May, and Pecoros were taken out of the office by Sunder.
To Be Continued
The Contest of Champions. There are certain rules in the Contest that I'm going to change, to make it more like a story than a game.