Episode 3: Brew or Die
-Last Time On Quarantine-
"Duh, what does "parabola mean?"
"Didn't I just explain it?"
The competition truly started when teams were introduced to the Quarantine Chamber and kicked out of their bunkers.
"Ugh, this is all part of the challenge, isn't it?"
Teams searched high and low for the warehouse with the key, but after Drenig successfully landed a shot at the switch that released a ladder leading up to the ladder which had the key...
"I noticed a couple of Pachirisu run off with something shiny, and I'm almost certain it was the key. I've identified the Pachirisu as coming from the plantation nearby."
...or so they thought. Competitors managed to retrieve their keys and Artic-Uno got a head start, but it was Stawolt that rolled to victory.
"Three cheers for brave Sir Stawolt!"
Team Artic-Uno found it difficult to send someone home. Jet was getting on everyone's nerves with his rampant narcissism.
"Well look here, the mighty Percy. Shamed in front of all his admirers."
But Dylan's use as a competitor was doubted after he went two entire challenges without actually contributing anything but complaints.
"Do you EVER SHUT UP!?"
But in the end, Jet was considered a more valuable contestant, and Artic-Uno chose sourpuss Dylan as the first to go.
"Hmph!"
But this is only the beginning. Seventeen contestants remain, but only one will win. And now, we start Quarantine.
-The Next Morning-
Jet had awoken early that morning, as his mind was racing. To think he'd be on the chopping block so early in the game was hard to fit in his head. But his team wanted him to be nicer and more humble. When he decided he couldn't sleep, he climbed out of his top bunk, which he decided to take over now that its previous owner was gone, and started doing stretches till everyone else woke up. And as luck would have it, one particular pig was already awake.
"Behold!" Grant proclaimed as he stood in front of his coconut bot. Something was different about it, though. Now the coconut bot had wires inside. Still, Jet wondered how to respond to Grant.
"Hey there, uhhh Grant," Jet stuttered. "You might want to keep it down a bit. People are still sleeping."
"Oh, sorry," Grant said, rolling his eyes afterward. "Now, I present to you my second prototype of my ultimate destructo robot. ...Of doom."
"That's quite a model you got there," Jet said happily.
-Confessional Session(Jet)-
"...What a piece of junk," Jet said. "But my team wants me to be more "humble" or else they threatened to kick me out next chance they get. I can be humble, can't I?"
-After Confessional-
'Ha! Very much so. And much improved over previous model. Observe." Grant whipped out his control panel again and pressed the button that he pressed yesterday. Much like it did before, the robot did absolutely nothing.
"Are you sure you've got it all figured out?" Jet asked. "It looks kinda... doesn't work?"
"Am I still missing something?" Grant asked, grabbing the head of his coconut robot and examining the inside of it. Jet did too.
"You don't have any chips or motherboards," Jet said. "Kind of hard to make a robot without the main operation."
Grant stood up and stared at the wall. "Riiiiiight," was his initial reaction.
-Confessional Session(Grant)-
"Ugh, first the two blue mice outsmarted me, and now Jet," Grant said loudly. "I'm not exactly fulfilling my job. I'm supposed to be an evil GENIUS! But truth be told, I'm really not that smart, not even evil genius smart."
-After Confessional-
Awaking from very pleasant dreams was Team Zap-Dos. The new beds they got had many rave reviews among the contestants as they awoke.
"That was a very refreshing sleep," Chauncey stated.
"Best night of rest I've ever gotten," Drenig complimented.
One contestant in particular even decided to exit her bed in style. Kiki launched herself out of bed and started making kung-fu poses. Really, she was showing off, but it was still kind of fun to watch. Eventually, everyone was awake.
"Thy hunt shall not catch itself," Dustin proclaimed after everyone had awaken.
"Don't we have some food on hand?" Aria asked. "Why do we need to hunt for more."
"Because we don't have a way of storing the meat," Riley pointed out. "So naturally it's gonna go bad quickly."
The contestants stored their meat near the back of the room, but sure enough there were already primitive-paras chewing away at the meat.
"Maybe we should limit our catch to one Pokemon," Wren suggested.
"I could go for some more primitive-Emboar," Aria stated.
"Now that you mention it," Stawolt started."I could really go for some primitive-Emboar bacon."
"Thou who oppose shall speak their mind," Dustin stated. ..No one said anything. "I said if anyone oposes to that as our meat of choice please speak up."
"We know what you said," Kiki stated. "But we're fine with that."
-Confessional Session(Kiki)-
"I know Dustin makes L.A.R. a hobby," Kiki started. "But did he have to drag his L.A.R. hobby into Quarantine? I mean it doesn't hurt anyone but it's still kind of weird that he talks like a knights so often."
-Confessional Session(Stawolt)-
"Speaking of Emboar bacon," he started. "There's this killer breakfast restaurant me and my parents used to go to owned by this really big Emboar, and he made the best bacon. Actually, I think that place is still there: Mr. Bigs Breakfast Dive. ...Come to think of it, I do kinda wonder why Mr. Big had no problem cooking his own species. What separates the primitive-Emboar from normal ones?"
-After Confessional-
Eventually, Team Zap-Dos escaped their bunker and started to head towards the hunting fields. Some of them were even singing "A Hunting We Will Go" along the way. ...Loud enough to wake some of Team Artic-Uno's members. Lilly was especially displeased.
"Ugh, do they have to be vocal about it?" Lilly asked, trying to plug her ears with her pillow.
-Confessional Session(Lilly)-
"I cannot tell you how many times I've had people shove meat in my face like it's law that you have to eat meat," Lilly said. "They say vegetarians are guilty of this, but some times meat eaters are even worse. ...And yes I'm a vegetarian. I thought you knew that by now."
-After Confessional-
Team Artic-Uno was just waking up from their sleep. Their night of sleep was nowhere near as pleasant. Percy was the last to get up.
"Oh, morning guys," Percy said to the group.
"Morning Percy," Jet said happily. "Wanna go hunting together? I'll even help you on your throwing technique."
"Huh?" Percy stuttered, surprised at Jet's attitude right now. "Why yes, that would be nice."
"Huh, looks like you're taking last nights warning seriously," Ruce pointed out.
"Well I suppose I do get a bit carried away with my ego," Jet said. "I'll try harder to be more humble."
"I don't know if I trust it," Muffy said.
"Even if it's just an act, it's still an improvement," Ruce stated.
"True," Muffy agreed. "But I still don't trust it."
"Gah, where am I going to find a motherboard and some fixings?" Grant asked out loud, interrupting the others conversation.
"You still going on with your stupid projects?" Muffy asked in a cross manner.
"You finish the robot Grant?" Abigale asked.
"No, it's missing some things," Grant said. "Jet pointed out I still need a motherboard."
"And a brain," Muffy said, still cross.
"You doubt my mighty evil brain?" Grant asked.
"Oh please, you think I'm afraid of you?" Muffy asked. "I'm Muffy the Bad Dog, I'm not afraid of anything!"
"I'd like to test that theory," Percy said.
"Hey, breakfast aint gonna catch itself," Jet said happily while standing by the door.
"Oh, okay," Percy said as he walked over to where Jet was. "See ya guys when we get back." With that, they left to go catch breakfast.
"Jet does seem determined, wouldn't you say?" Yoshi asked. "Last night, we made him realize that he is expendable, and he learned from it. That's the kind of Pokemon who deserves a bit of honor: a Pokemon that learns from their mistakes."
"I still say he's acting," Muffy grunted.
"Whether or not we should still prepare for today's challenge," Yoshi stated.
"If anyone needs me, I'll be out picking berries," Lilly stated before heading to the door. "I'll save some for you guys." ...And then there were five.
"So, any ideas as to what today's challenge is?" Yoshi asked.
"We haven't even gotten an announcement yet," Ruce pointed out.
"Guess we'll have to wait and see then," Yoshi said to himself.
Over on Team Zap-Dos, Drenig and Kiki were hunting for today's catch. The first to nab a primitive-Emboar would be responsible for today's meal. Aria, Wren, Stawolt and Dustin were watching, conversing the whole time. Riley was doing something else by himself, probably laying in the tree again. Chauncey, on the other hand, had wandered off.
Drenig was the first to see a primitive-Emboar. Drenig cocked his arm and threw his spear. ...But he missed. In fact, his throw looked like it had less heart put into it than before.
"Thy brave knight has failed his accuracy," Dustin said before shifting to his normal voice. "What happened?"
"I... I don't know," Drenig said, thinking about last night's discussion.
"You're still not obsessed over killing your own food, are you?" Aria asked.
"I... I don't know," Drenig repeated.
"He's still obsessed," Aria said to the rest of the group.
Over by Kiki, she had decided to duck under a tree and wait for her chance. Eventually, she saw another primitive-Emboar. She threw with everything she had and nailed her target right in the neck.
"Ha! Kiki one, Drenig zero," Kiki said, getting a bit competitive. But after she gloated, a Chesto berry fell on her head. She looked up in the tree and saw a primitive-Zigzagoon. "Awww, hi there little cutie," Kiki said to the Zigzagoon. "Don't be afraid little guy, I won't hurt you."
Aria looked over and smiled at Kiki, noticing the little guy she just found. "Awww, what a darling," Aria said, trudging over to Kiki and the primitive-Zigzagoon. Drenig looked over and couldn't help but feel...concerned.
"Aw man, why do we hunt some animals but adore others," Drenig asked as he walked over to the group.
"I think it's because Zigzagoons are not palatable," Dustin responded. "But come on, they are kinda cute."
"It just feels so wrong though," Drenig said.
"I don't know, I still think you're thinking too much into it," Dustin said. "Besides, you're a Krookodile. You're carnivorous whether you like it or not."
"Ay man, I suppose you have a point," Drenig confessed.
"Say, where's Riley?" Stawolt asked.
"Riley? He's over on that tree over yonder again," Wren pointed out.
"Duh, and Chauncey?" Stawolt continued.
"He's probably off chasing Lilly again," Wren said.
"What about Pudge?" Stawolt asked.
"Ummmm," Wren stuttered. "Oops. I think we forgot to wake him up."
Sure enough, back at the Zap-Dos bunkers, Pudge was just waking up. When he did, he noticed everyone was gone.
"Oh no!" Pudge cried. "I'm missing the hunting trip!" Pudge rushed out the door, hoping to catch up to the other team.
Meanwhile, Chauncey was doing exactly what people expected him to do: Looking for Lilly. On his way, Chauncey stopped by a Pecha berry tree and decided to pick a few Pecha berries for himself and Lilly. When he continued his search, Chauncey saw her by the fence picking berries. But she seemed disdained by the berries she saw.
"Ugh, all these berries are too sour," Lilly said to herself. That's when Chauncey decided to go up to the fence with a berry in hand.
"Would you rather have one of these?" Chauncey asked. "I picked them a while ago, but if you wanted something sweeter, I could give you one.
Lilly was indifferent at first. She thought Chauncey was a creep. But at the same time she admired him for doing something nice.
"Ummm, thank you," she said, taking the berry from him and eating it happily. "This is very nice, thank you."
"I... wanted to apologize for the way I've been treating you before," Chauncey said. "You were right, maybe I should try to be a bit more... what's the word."
"Go slow?" Lilly asked.
"Something like that," Chauncey answered. "And I guess I just wanted to get to know you more."
"Well... you seem to be on the right track," Lilly complimented. "You've become... slightly less creepy anyway."
"Really? That means you like me?" Chauncey blurted out, completely disrupting his momentum.
"Ugh, no," Lilly answered, noticing that Chauncey hasn't really changed as much as we wants to think he has. "But thanks for the berry." Eventually, Lilly walked off, away from Chauncey.
-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-
"What did I do wrong?" Chauncey whined.
-After Confessional-
That's when Pudge ran up to Chauncey, frantic about getting to the group in time for hunting.
"Chauncey! Chauncey! Where are the others?" Pudge asked.
"I don't know," Chauncey said before looking around. Eventually he could see the group carrying a primitive-Emboar high above their heads. "Oh, looks like they're coming back."
"Awww, I missed it!" Pudge whined.
-Confessional Session(Pudge)-
"Me and my dad also shared the tradition of hunting primitives," Pudge said. "But we were more than just a pair, we were a team. My dad and I even compete in marksman tourneys where we shoot all sorts of projectiles at different kinds of targets. I'm really good with a sling stick."
-After Confessional-
Eventually, both teams had their food for breakfast. So far, things seemed more or less uneventful.
-Savil the Witch Doctor-
Of course, as you would guess, today wouldn't be so tame. After everyone has had their breakfast, Bertram appeared on screen again to greet them.
"Morning subjects," he greeted.
"Can't you just call us contestants?" Lilly from Team Artic-Uno asked Bertram.
"No, as long as you are here, you are my "subjects," Bertram said. "Don't like it, tough."
"Well we don't, you bucktoothed bully!" Muffy shouted.
"Bully?" Bertram asked. "Those words hurt, you know that. You should watch what you say around me, you cowardly creature."
"I AM NOT A COWARD!" Muffy Roared.
"Whoa Muffy, calm down. Don't let him get to you," Jet said, trying to be supportive. Muffy just sat down and grunted, trying to control her anger.
"Anyway," Bertram continued. "Today's challenge is when we officially start our search for the cure to the zombie apocalypse."
Everyone just stared at the screen. Someone even coughed.
"No one takes me seriously?" Bertram asked. "Might I remind you what happened to Jet a couple of days ago?"
"Right, right. Zombie apocalypse, help find cure, right?" Lilly asked.
"Do any of us look like scientists?" Ruce asked.
"I'm a scientist," Grant said proudly.
"Don't even kid yourself!" Muffy yelled.
"Sis, can I sit away from Muffy please?" Abigale whispered to Ruce. "She's starting to scare me."
"Alright, I'll be the first to ask," Yoshi started. "Why do you need us?"
"I do not need you," Bertram said. "Savil is the one who needs you."
"Wait, who?" Grant asked.
"All in good time," Bertram said. "Her helpers Itsy and Bitsy should help lead you to her."
"Is this a trap?" Abigale asked. Bertram pawed his face.
"Oh bother," Bertram said. "This is a reality show. I hate to break the fourth wall, but it is. Even if it was a trap, it would be part of your assignment. Nothing dangerous is going to happen. Now, if you would open your doors, you should see either Itsy or Bitsy on the other side by now. Truthfully, it makes no difference since they're twins."
"I'll do it!" Jet offered before hopping to the door. He opened the door and saw a tiny Spritzee behind the door.
"Follow me to Madame Savil's cave," the Spritzee said. The team got up and did what they were told, following Itsy or Bitsy to the place they were going.
Over at Team Zap-Dos, they were following their Spritzee to a destined location. To where they did not know.
"Bitsy! Who is Madame Savil?" Pudge asked.
"I'm Itsy," the Spritzee corrected. "And you will find out soon enough."
"I wanna know now!" Pudge cried.
"In a few minutes," Itsy said.
"No! I wanna know NOW!" Pudge pouted.
"Hey, you enjoy spankings?" Aria asked Pudge.
"Whatever this challenge is, I'm ready to show what I've got," Wren said.
"Me too," Stawolt said with a smile. Wren looked up at Stawolt and gave a friendly laugh. It was a sign that showed Wren liked him.
-Confessional Session(Wren)-
"Stawolt seems to be a nice person, and ever since we got out of the truck I've always wanted to spend more time with him as friends," Wren stated. "He's already shown that he's more resourceful than he looks, and he could be a valuable ally to our team."
-After Confessional-
Eventually, Dustin could make out a cave in between the fence line.
"Thy belief is thou has spotted our destination," Dustin said.
"Correct," Itsy said. "Savil's abode is in that cave.
"Whoa, caves are cool!" Pudge mentioned.
Both teams got to the cave at about the same time. It wasn't a very big cave, and only had one big room where both teams met. There were shelves lining the walls with bottles and herbs resting on top of them. There was a large leather tarp going around in a circle in the middle of the room, and both teams could see some foul smelling smoke coming out of the curtains.
"*Cough* Bleugh! What's that stench!" Kiki cried.
"It smells like a Garbodor," Abigale mentioned.
"That aint no Garbodor," Yoshi brought up. "It smells like really heavy perfume."
"What Pokemon smells like perfume?" Stawolt asked.
"I know of one," Aria mentioned. "Savil, you are an Aromatisse, aren't you."
"How do you know ANYONE is back there?" Riley asked.
"WoooOOOOOOOOOO!" A sound erupted from behind the curtain. Suddenly, a large fluffy creature pulled the curtain back to reveal herself. She had two abnormally big horns and a huge snozz. Aria, as usual, was correct in her assumption, it was an Aromatisse.
"Greetings survivors," the Aromatisse said. "Yes. I am Savil, the Witch-Doctor. I run my own little apothecary right here that sells potions and ingredients. And I know how to make the potion you seek."
"What potion do we seek?" Stawolt asked.
"Yeah, Bertram was kinda vague with his instructions," Lilly pointed out.
"Huh?" Savil stuttered. "He didn't tell you that you were to come here for a certrain potion to help cure zombification?"
"No," everyone said in unison.
"I'm starting to wonder how competent of a host Bertram is," Chauncey said.
"Well then, in that case..." Savil started. "Bertram called you here because he wanted you to fetch more of this potion that can cure zombification. Unfortunately I am out of potion AND ingredients. That is where you come in. There are three ingredients in particular that I need. I need a few Reviver seeds which can be found in an abandoned hospital, as many doctors carried them around. Second, a Red Herb known for giving Pokemon energy after a powerful attack that can be found in the garden of a tech lab, where these herbs are grown to give its old employees the strength to work all day."
"Tech lab you say?" Grant asked.
"Why do you ask?" Chauncey questioned. "Is there something you like about technology?"
"He's an eeeeevil genius," Muffy said sarcastically.
"The THIRD ingredient I want from you," Savil continued. "Is a special Big Root that is said to aid in vampyric abilities, grown by an old Swoobat who STILL lives in the jungle to this day.
"And what are their names?" Aria asked.
"His name..." Savil started
"THEIR names," Aria corrected. "We're not going to be encountering the same Swoobat."
"HIS name is Varmy," Savil stated. "And he lives in the center of a large jungle that takes up BOTH HALVES of the peninsula you are currently on. His house is located inside the fence-line, just like this cave. Questions, smarty-puss?"
Aria just swallowed her pride and shut up. She spent too much time being a smart-alack that she forgot to know when to open her mouth and when not to.
-Confessional Session(Aria)-
"You win some, you lose some," Aria stated. "You think you have this game all figured out and then you're thrown a curve ball. This was a minor wrong on my part, but now I should be more careful what I say."
-After Confessional-
After explanations, Savil started shuffling two small decks of cards. She then lied the cards out in groups of three on a small table. "I'm no psychic, but I do like playing with these cards Bertram gave me earlier. They are like fate cards, and today they will decide who will be grouped with who. To forewarn, there will be no take backs. You receive who you receive. I shall start with Team Zap-Dos."
Eventually Savil turned three cards over. One card had Kiki on it, the second card had Riley, and the third card had Chauncey.
"Kiki, Riley, and Chauncey will form team A for Zap-Dos," she said before turning another set of cards. The second set came up as Aria, Drenig, and Pudge.
"Aria, Drenig and Pudge will be team B for Zap-Dos," Savil said before turning over the remaining cards with Wren, Dustin and Stawolt on them. "Through process of elimination, Wren, Dustin and Stawolt will be team C."
Immediately, Drenig and Dustin looked at each other. It was obvious they were disappointed that they wouldn't be on the same team.
"Aww man," Drenig said. "No offense to Aria and Pudge, but I was kinda hoping I'd be on Dustin's team."
"No takebacks," Savil reminded.
"It's okay Drenig," Dustin said. "I'm sure you, Aria and Pudge will make a fine team. Right guys?"
"Right!" Pudge said happily.
"Yes, very much," Aria said, a bit disappointed herself. She had nothing against Drenig in particular. In fact, it was Pudge she did not look forward to working with.
"Right, now over to team Artic-Uno," Savil said before turning over three cards: Jet, Ruce, and Percy. "You three are team A for Artic-Uno."
"Yes!" Jet said happily. "I get to work with two people who are stronger than me."
"Uhhh, creepy much?" Ruce asked.
-Confessional Session(Ruce)-
"Hmmm, I admire Jet for trying to improve his attitude," Ruce said "But now he's starting to come off as a suck-up. But I suppose it's better than old Jet."
-After Confessional-
Savil turned over three more cards. The cards were Yoshi, Lilly, and Muffy.
"These three cards have spoken for Yoshi, Lilly and Muffy to be team B," Savil stated.
"No! I can see the cards!" Muffy yelled, stating the obvious.
"And the last team is..." Savil started before she turned over three more cards. One with Grant, another with Abigale, and the third had... Dylan on it?
"Huh? Who's this guy?" Savil asked. "He's not in your group right now. Oh well, I guess Grant and Abigale will have to be their own team."
"What?" Ruce cried out, noticing her sister was stuck with the "evil genius." "You're trusting him with MY sister?"
"That's how random select works," Savil pointed out. "Sad, huh?"
"Don't worry Ruce, I'll be fine," Abigale said.
"Yeah... Fine and dandy," Grant said, nervous about working with Abigale.
-Confessional Session(Grant)-
"Assigned with HER!?" Grant freaked. "She's already onto my true self, she could bust me wide open! I have to really drive that super-villain motif home, or else NO ONE will take me seriously! ...Why do I care? Let's just say I like to entertain. In high-school, I ALWAYS played the badguy because are cool. And I'm on TV, so why not play the role of Grant the Dastardly for his fans? Why do I care whether THEY know who I am if I don't care what the audience thinks? Because the more I can PROVE that I can play the role, the more seriously they will take me. If I tell them my secret..."
"Hey pork-chop, could you hurry it up, you're on a timed recording," Bertram's voice called out. Grant started to talk really quickly.
"If I tell them my secret, then they will humor me with bad acting," Grant said. "And wouldn't you rather see realistic acting? I thought so. Okay, I'm done."
-After Confessional-
"Now that we have our teams picked out," Savil stated. "It's time to choose which locations each team..."
"Tech lab! Tech lab!" Grant blurted out. Ruce decided to ask the others what their opinions on him going there were.
"What do you say, should we humor him?" Ruce asked the A and B team. The others nodded in agreement. "Fine, Grant and Abigale get the tech lab."
"I wanna do the Tech Lab too!" Pudge said.
"Hmmm, personally..." Aria started before her and Drenig blurted out "I would rather venture in a nice airy jungle," in unison. Except Drenig put his usual accent on "I."
"Really?" Aria said to Drenig with a smile.
"No! I wanna go to the tech lab! I wanna beat that furry girl!" Pudge whined.
"And miss out on all the cool jungle animals like Luxrays and Ambipoms?" Drenig asked.
"Luxrays and Ambipoms!?" Pudge shouted in glee. "Ooh, I wanna go to the jungle! Can we, pleeeeeease?"
"Huh, good idea," Aria complimented Drenig.
"Hey, I went through that phase too," Drenig mentioned. "I always liked going to the zoo and seeing our primitive ancestors."
"If you're taking the jungle, we'll take the hospital," Chauncey said.
"Did you ask us?" Kiki asked.
"Oh sorry, would you like to search the hospital?" Chauncey asked.
"Might as well," Riley said.
"Thy leaves us to a place in thy future," Dustin said in his L.A.R. voice.
"To the Tech Lab!" Wren yelled before trying to run out of the cave.
"I'm not done yet," Savil mentioned before Wren got far. "Team Artic-Uno, have you made your choices?"
"We're going to the jungle," Jet spoke for his team.
"And we chose the hospital," Lilly stated.
"So we are all settled," Savil said. "I will be providing each of the six teams with a map. These maps will help you find the correct locations to where you are going." Savil, Itsy and Bitsy handed the maps to all the teams before Savil went back to her cauldron and started stirring it. "May your journeys be successful."
"May they shall," Grant said. "Come on little furry, let's make post-haste to THE TECH LAB where I..."
"Not so fast," Ruce said, walking over to Grant. "I'm warning you Grant, if you do ANYTHING to harm my sister, and if any of the fur on her costume is ripped off, don't think you'll get off easy."
"Fine, fine, I'll take good care of the little one," Grant said.
"Her name's Abigale," Ruce said.
"Tamato, Tamoto," Grant said. "Let's go Abigale TO THE TECH LAB! MWAHAHAHAHA!"
"See ya sis!" Abigale said happily, walking behind Grant.
-Confessional Session(Ruce)-
"My sister doesn't seem to have any problem hanging around with Grant," Ruce stated. "I know Grant's a joke, but whether he's dangerous or not, he's still almost as annoying as Dylan, Old Jet, and Muffy. But Abigale seems to be putting up with him just fine."
-After Confessional-
And so, the six groups head out for their quests to find their ingredients. But they didn't know what dangerous looking obstacles they would have to face.
-And We're Off-
We'll keep you up to date with the six teams, but for now the camera decided to follow the group of Kiki, Riley, and Chauncey.
"Finding a reviver seed in an abandoned hospital. How hard can that be?" Chauncey asked.
"It does sound a bit easy," Kiki mentioned. "Still, I better watch out."
Just then, they noticed Riley running off. "Where is he going?" Chauncey asked.
"I think I found the hospital," Riley called out, running past a patch of flowers including a big one with a bright red head and a strange white stem and long leaves flowing down like a dress. It kind of looked like a Lilligant, except more like a normal flower. In fact, it was a primitive-Lilligant.
"Wow, what a pretty flower," Chauncey said, running up to the flower.
"Yeah, it's pretty. Now let's go," Kiki said, wanting to get on with the challenge.
"I've never seen a lilly quite like it," Chauncey said. ...He just triggered his own buttons. "Lilly..."
"What did I tell you about obsessing over the opponent?" Kiki asked. "She's not on Team Zap-Dos. Deal with it already."
"Ugh, your attitude towards my affection to Lilly is entirely uncouth," Chauncey retaliated.
"We have a CHALLENGE to complete," Kiki shouted. "Let's go."
Kiki started to run off towards Riley. Chauncey just dipped his head and followed, letting out a sign after he took his gaze off the Lilligant.
-Confessional Session(Kiki)-
"If all Chauncey can think about is Lilly, does he REALLY belong here?" Kiki asked. "He needs to get his head in the game, or else he could be going home soon."
-Confessional Session(Riley)-
"Sometimes I see a useful player like Kiki," Riley started. "And then I look at losers like Chauncey. It makes me wonder how useful my team really is."
-After Confessional-
But as the two hospital teams would realize, it would not be that easy. As Team Artic-Uno's expedition got closer, they noticed a hospital... with a collapsed roof.
"Okay, maybe this won't be so easy," Muffy said, looking at the walls. "But what's the worst that could happen."
They then saw a piece of the roof fall off and down into the hospital. THAT was an indication of what could happen.
"Never say "what's the worst that can happen" or "what could possibly go wrong," Lilly said. "That's cursed speak."
"Oh who believes in superstitions like that?" Muffy asked.
"Maybe someone should scout ahead," Yoshi said, starting to walk forward.
"Fine! I'll do that," Muffy said before trying to grab Yoshi to keep him behind. But immediately, Yoshi fought back and slapped Muffy in the face.
"What's the big idea, you brute?" Yoshi asked. Yoshi was offended by Muffy's insistence to to beat Yoshi to the hospital. And, as you'd guess. Muffy started crying again.
"Oww! That hurt," Muffy whined. "Why did you have to hit me?"
"You can't even take a slap?" Yoshi asked. "You will never last long in battle."
"Maybe... Maybe I should go forward," Lilly said to the two before helping herself. Yoshi and Muffy just ignored her.
"Why do you act so big around people, yet you crumble under pressure?" Yoshi asked. "Why do you feel the need to bully people!? What is the point of it, you barbarian!?"
Muffy was still crying a bit, but she seemed to open up. "It's because the kids at school were always mean to me," Muffy said.
"Huh?" Yoshi was starting to wonder if he should hate Muffy or pity her.
"Muffy always got bullied when she was a Snubbul. I didn't want to be pushed around so much, so I tried to be big and strong like the people who picked on me so much. I don't want people to think of me as a weakling and a coward, I want people to think of me as a brave powerful Granbul able of defending herself."
"So you chose to become a bully yourself?" Yoshi asked. "How is that working for you?"
"It's not," Muffy said sadly.
"You know, strength doesn't come from aggression," Yoshi said. "It comes from courage. Have you ever read the Psychic Of Az?"
Muffy nodded her head to confirm she had read the book. She was still kind of crying.
"Then you're familiar with the Cowardly Luxray?" Yoshi asked. "Cause you seem to be just like the Cowardly Luxray. You start out big and strong, but when a tiny growlithe barks at you, you can't take it."
"Are you saying I'm weak!?" Muffy yelled.
"No, I didn't finish," Yoshi said. "But along the way, the Cowardly Luxray tries to better himself by doing things he didn't know he was brave enough to do, like when he helped his friends save Dorry from the Malicious Malamar of the SouthWest and how he helped Dorrie find Gelda through all the dangers on their way to find the Malevolent Malamar of the North-North-West after Az's balloon takes off without Dorry."
"So?" Muffy asked. "What's your point."
"My point is that you too can use your desire to be strong to help instead of harm," Yoshi said. "Then maybe people will still see you as the big tough Granbul you want them to think you are, and have them like you as well."
"You're right," Muffy said, cheering up a bit. "I never wanted people to hate me. I just want people to respect me. ...But I'm still not confident enough."
"You'll gain that confidence," Yoshi said. "I know you will."
-Confessional Session(Muffy)-
"Yoshi must help a lot of people out," Muffy said. "He seems like a cool guy anyway, and maybe he has a point. From now on, I don't want to be Muffy the Bully any longer. I want to be Muffy the Brave."
-After Confessional-
Lilly came back to the group and saw a smiling Muffy and Yoshi patting her in the back. But at the current moment, Lilly thought little of it.
"It looks like the coast is clear," Lilly said. "We should be able to go inside and find what we need. ...But there's a lot of rubble..."
"I can push it out of the way," Muffy said happily.
"Huh? Well yeah, that the spirit I guess," Lilly said. "But we might need more than one Pokemon."
"Okay," Muffy said with a nod. Eventually the three were off into the hospital, trying to get their ingredient.
Next, we check up on the team of Grant and Abigale, who have just arrived at the tech lab.
"Right, now to search for the... errr" Grant stuttered, looking at the map again. "Red herb. Hmmm, it should be growing in one of the labs. Why don't we split up."
"Do you think there's anything dangerous here?" Abigale asked.
"Preposterous," Grant said. "Just stay away from anything that looks fun. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will check over here. You check the other way." Grant pointed down a hallway for Abigale to go down.
"Okay," Abigale said as she walked down the hall. That left Grant to do business alone.
"Hmmm, now to find a working motherboard," Grant said before looking through all the machines.
At first he found one that looked safe enough to grab from, but when he did he immediately got zapped. Not painfully, but enough to tell him it was a bad idea. But eventually his eyes wandered to a device that looked like it was completely destroyed, but had an intact motherboard.
"Perfect," he said to himself before grabbing the motherboard. "Now to just... errr, carefully removed the motherboard... oh come on why won't it come off."
The reason the board wouldn't come off was because it was screwed in. Grant scrambled around for a screw driver, and as luck would have it there was one right next to the machine.
"Now to unscrew all eight screws," Grant said to himself as he was unscrewing the first one. Just then, she heard a call.
"Uhhh, I don't think I was supposed to go in here," Abigale called out.
"Quiet, I'm working," Grant called back.
"HELP!" Abigale screamed.
That's when Grant realized: If anything happened to Abigale, Ruce would not let him forget it. Right now, Grant had no choice but to go and help.
"I'm coming little furry," Grant yelled as he ran off down the hall that Abigale went down.
On the other side of the fence, Dustin, Wren and Stawolt made it to their lab. Their lab seemed just as run down, but unlike Grant, they had their eyes on the game.
"I'd look around for a map to the lab," Wren said. "There should be one on the walls."
"Thou be thee?" Dustin asked, standing right next to what looked like said map. It was right next to the entrance. It made sense for the scientists to put them in a convenient location for easy access.
"Right, well done," Wren said before hopping over to the map. "It looks like the herb lab is just across all this machinery on the other side of the lab."
"What are we waiting for?" Stawolt asked. "Let's go." Stawolt slowly walked around the machinery to where he thought was the door. "There we are, in..."
Stawolt opened the door and immediately he was sprayed down with black sludge coming through the door. Wren decided to run over there to help.
"Actually Stawolt, that's the trap-testing room," Wren said. "The herb lab is far down these halls."
"What is this stuff?" Stawolt asked.
"Let me help you," Wren said, trying to clean the sludge off. "It just seems to be play slime. It doesn't look like they were actually going to use the testing for something serious."
Meanwhile Dustin had started going down the halls when a siren started go off.
"Uhhhh..." Was Dustin's response. Wren and Stawolt both ran at Dustin, expecting some kind of trap to go off, but they ended up clonking heads with each other. Stawolt being much heavier than Wren ended up knocking him over. Stawolt, embarrassed for himself, went over to Stawolt to see if he was alright.
"I'm sorry Wren," he said. "I was just trying to save Dustin."
"It's alright Stawolt," Wren said, acting like he was fine. "You were just being a good guy." Eventually Wren got up and dusted himself up.
"Thy belief we should identify the spy who wishes to befall our kingdom," Dustin said in his L.A.R. voice before going to his normal voice. "It turns out that particular trap was broken, but I don't want to take any more chances so... What should we do?"
"Oww, my head hurts," Wren said. "Maybe you did get me good."
"Do you want me to carry you?" Stawolt asked.
"Aww, you're a good guy," Wren said as he fell down on Stawolt. Stawolt decided to pick him up and put him on his shoulder.
"Why don't we just run?" Stawolt asked.
"Worth a try," Dustin said. And with that, they both ran down the halls, hoping to bypass the traps before they triggered.
-Confessional Session(Wren)-
"Stawolt also seems to have a big heart," Wren said. "I guess I have some compotition as the big brother, but that makes me want to learn more about Stawolt. He seems like a pretty cool guy."
-After Confessional-
Taking a break from them, we then take a look at Aria, Drenig, and Pudge's team. Pudge was rather excited to see what he'd find here. Already he was finding some cool primitive birds.
"Whoa, did you see that guys?" Pudge asked. "I've only seen one of those in zoos."
"Quiet," Aria snapped. "I'm trying to figure out where the shack is. Th map doesn't say particularly, but Savil said it would be along the fence line, so we should look there."
"Ay man, but what about the wildlife?" Drenig asked. "We don't even know if there's anything dangerous in the woods. And what about this "Varmy" character? Savil never mentioned whether he was friendly or not."
"That is true. We need to take that into account," Aria responded.
"Awww, you're missing it!" Pudge whined. "The primitive-Slakoth is playing on the tree."
"Awww, isn't that something," Drenig said as he watched and saw the slakoth hanging on the tree.
"Yes that's very cute," Aria said. "But we need... uh oh." Aria stopped.
She then spotted a creature lying down near their area. And it didn't look too friendly. But the one thing that worked in their favor was that it was asleep.
"Okay, we should be very quiet," Aria sad to Drenig and Pudge. "Let's just keep walking. If we stay quiet, maybe it will stay..." Too late.
"AHHHH! Primitive-Luxray!" Pudge shouted, waking the Luxray up immediately.
"Ugh, thanks alot," Aria said to Pudge, cross with his reaction.
"Use your beautiful singing voice to put him to sleep," Pudge said. Aria just stared at Drenig, not finding the words to say to Pudge.
"Is he serious?" Aria asked.
"What if I just threw a rock at him," Drenig asked.
"No, that will just make him angrier," Aria said as she watched the Luxray slowly stalk the group.
"Climb the trees!" Pudge cried. "Luxrays can't climb." Pudge started to climb, but immediately was pulled down by Aria.
"Yes they can," Aria said before she took Pudge and ran. Drenig ran along with her.
"What do you suggest?" Drenig asked.
"Water, there must be a pool of water somewhere," Aria said as she scanned the area. Eventually, she found a pool. "Over there!"
"But I can't swim," Pudge said.
"I'll carry you then," Aria said as she and Drenig rushed into the water. The Luxray decided it had better things to do that to try and chase a bunch of Pokemon into the water.
"Whew, that was close," Drenig said. "Good thinking Aria."
"We should be closer to Varmy's house," Aria said. "In fact, I think it's across here."
But one thing didn't seem right. The water they were in was very sludgy and it seemed to be riddled with disease.
"Are you sure this water is safe to swim in?" Drenig asked.
"Can't be too bad," Aria said. "Bertram doesn't seem like the kind to put us in actual danger like this. Besides, the Luxray has to be drinking something."
"Yeah, because being chased by a primitive-beast is like sitting on the couch and watching television," Drenig countered. But in the end, what could possibly go wrong?
Lastly, we check up on Jet, Ruce, and Percy. Ruce was currently thinking of Grant and Abigale right now. She was thinking of all the horrible things Grant could let happen to her.
"Do you think I really should trust Grant with my sister?" she asked.
"What choice do you have?" Percy asked.
"Bertram could have made an exception," Ruce stated.
"Yeah, but it's done and over with," Jet said. "I'm sure your sister will be OW!"
Jet looked to his right and saw a primitive-Aipom in the tree. It appeared the monkey had just thrown a coconut at Jet's head. Jet of course felt the need to retaliate.
"Hey! Butt-face!" Jet said, picking up the coconut and tossing it in his hands a few times. "How about a taste of the Jet?"
Jet threw the coconut at the Aipom with what he could, and managed to hit the Aipom. The Aipom fell out of the branch and to the ground.
"Ha! That'll learn him," Jet said confidently.
"So much for the new and improved Jet," Percy said. Jet paused his ego and then gave Percy an apathetic look.
"Oops. Sorry, I should keep my ego in check," he said.
Just then, they heard some angry screeches. The monkey Jet just knocked down had gotten some reinforcements, and now the monkeys were chasing after Jet, Ruce and Percy.
"Maybe that's not all you should keep in check," Percy said before running.
After a little bit of running, Jet had an idea. "Wouldn't it just be easier to fight them off?" he asked. "I think we can do it."
"That sounds dangerous," Ruce stated.
"Well, what's your plan?" Jet asked. Deep down, Ruce did want to kick some butt.
"The same as yours," Ruce said before she stood her ground. Jet did just as well. Percy also stayed to fend them off.
As the primitives got closer, Ruce let her arms fly. She pushed off any Aipom that got close to her, even punching a few. Jet retaliated with a series of kicks that helped him survive the barage of monkeys. Percy had no problems grabbing them and flinging them backward like they were nothing. Eventually, the Aipoms gave up and left them alone to continue their quest.
"Ha! We make a good team, don't we?" Jet asked.
"Yeah," Ruce said. "You're much more tolerable when you're not shooting your mouth off. Now let's go, we have a big root to harvest."
And with that, Ruce and the game fled deeper into the woods, hoping they could get a reward from Varmy the Swoobat.
-Deadliest Shopping List Ever-
The trip through the hospital was more or less uneventful for the group of Kiki, Riley and Chauncey. They had to climb piles of rubble, but that was pretty much it.
"Okay looks like the supply closet should be riiiiight..." Kiki was talking about the supply closet when she noticed the closet was blocked by a lot of rubble. "Ha ha, very funny Bertram."
"Yeah, didn't take long to figure it's here on purpose," Riley said. "I'm going to see if I can't find some explosives. Not like I have anything better to do." As usual, Riley wandered off, not wanting to be around the others.
"There's a big pillar blocking the doorknob," Chauncey said. "Maybe if we move this pillar, we can reach the closet."
"Yeah, good luck," Kiki said. "Ugh, I am so glad Percy's team picked the jungle."
"Wait, you're still fixated on Percy?" Chauncey asked.
"Duh," Kiki said. "I still can't believe he's pretentious enough to show off."
"You told me not to fixate on Lilly," Chauncey said. "Doth that not make you a hypocrite?"
"No," Kiki responded, tension showing in her voice. "My fixation is based on competitive spirit AGAINST the opposite team. YOURS is based on affection FOR the other team. There's a HUGE difference."
"Well irregardless to that, we should at least TRY to move the pillar," Chauncey said.
"Irregardless?" Kiki asked. "You didn't even pass English class, did you."
"Listen, do you want to get the seeds or not!?" Chauncey yelled.
-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-
"Ugh! That Kiki character is REALLY starting to annoy me!" Chauncey yelled. "She even has the audacity to insult my "super-laa-tiv" vocabulary? How many people use the word "super-laa-tiv" in a sentence like that? Who? That's what I thought."
-After Session-
"Why don't we get Riley first?" Kiki asked. "We might be able to push it aside easier."
"Yeah, I doubt we're gonna find any explosives in a hospital," Chauncey said. "But what COULD a hospital have?"
"Good point," Kiki said. "There must be something." Just then, Kiki saw something coming at them. "CHAUNCEY, WATCH OUT!"
"Wah!" Chauncey cried as he leaped out of the way of what was coming.
...Except it was only their team mate Riley. Riley managed to find a sledgehammer and charged at the pillar before swinging it down. He screamed as the hammer hit the pillar and shattered it into several more manageable pieces.
"Where did you find that?" Kiki asked.
"In a utility room," Riley said, acting like Kiki should have known that. "They must keep it around for convenient construction purposes.
"You know, you could have given us a warning before charging in here," Chauncey said.
"Oops, sorry," Riley said before slamming the hammer against the door, breaking it open. "Well? Let's go."
Eventually the team cleared the rubble and went through the door. What would await them back there?
The team of Yoshi, Muffy, and Lilly was about to find out. They too encountered the same problem with rubble in front of the door.
"Now what do we do?" Lilly asked the group.
"Uhhh," Muffy started before stepping forward and puffing out her chest. "I volunteer to remove the rubble."
"Huh? What's up with her?" Lilly asked.
"We had a little talk earlier," Yoshi said before going up to Muffy. "I dunno, I don't think you can do it yourself."
"I can," Muffy said. "Because I am Muffy the Brave!"
"That must have been quite a talk," Yoshi said.
Muffy then started to lift the big pillar in front of the door. She lifted with all her might, trying desperately to move the pillar.
"Come on! Come on! Move! ...Please?" Muffy was starting to frustrate herself with the pillar. No matter how hard she pushed, it wouldn't budge. That's when Yoshi decided to come to her aid.
"Baby steps, cowardly Luxray," Yoshi said trying to help Muffy. Even with Yoshi's help it wasn't moving much.
"Wait, you just called her... What now?" Lilly asked before going over to the pillar to help lift it. With their combined strength, they managed to push the pillar out of the way and get to the door. ...But Muffy seemed a bit sad.
"I wanted to do it myself," Muffy said. "I wanted to show how brave and strong I am."
"It's okay Muffy," Yoshi said. "You should start small though. Try to swallow your fear when it comes to situations that require courage. And maybe if you whined a bit less... no offense... People might really start to look up to you. After all, a happy assertive Granbul is better than a fearful crying one."
"Okay," Muffy said, nodding with a smile. After pushing the rest of the rubble away, they found the supply room. It didn't take long for Lilly to find the seeds.
"There, jars full of them," Lilly said. "We should take a whole jar just in case we botch up a brew."
"Makes sense," Yoshi said. "We should get back to the cave. We're probably the first ones to finish, but we should still make haste."
We next check on Grant, who is running for dear life trying to find Abigale. Eventually, he finds her... in a big room with a large pool of water surrounding the entire room, and a sinister looking primitive-Sharpedo in the tank. There was a steel platform along the wall for walking on, it was obviously used as an observation deck for feeding time.
"AHH! Help me!" Abigale cried.
Grant looked around for a weapon he could use. Of course they kept something on hand for emergencies. Hanging on a wall was a big laser gun that looked like it just might scare the Sharpedo off.
"Ha! The foolish beast obviously underestimates my intelligence," Grant said before taking the cannon. "Face the mighty brain of Grant the Dastardly! MWAHAHAHAHA!"
Grant fired the cannon off at the Sharpedo, making sure not to hit Abigale. Finally, Grant got a successful hit and managed to scare the Sharpedo off Abigale. As Abigale swam closer to the platform, Grant grabbed Abigale's hand and pulled her to safety.
"Thank you Grant," Abigale said before going up to hug him. But Grant shoved her off.
"Silence," Grant said. "I did that for my own selfish needs. Your sister said..."
"I don't think so," Abigale said. "I think you actually cared about me there."
"I did NOT!" Grant said, waving his arms around. And when he did so, he ended up dropping the laser gun and smashing it on the platform. "NOOOOOOOO! The device! My beautiful device!"
"I'm sure the lab has another," Abigale said.
"No!" Grant cried. "That was MY device! I invented it!"
"No you didn't," Abigale said. "I saw you pull it off the wall."
"I made a deal with this lab long ago," Grant said.
"But this is a reality show, it's not real," Abigale said to Grant.
"GAH!" Grant then noticed on the ground an intact motherboard from the smashed gun. "Ugh, maybe I can still make use of this," he said before stuffing the motherboard in his coat.
"I like you, Grant," Abigale said. "I think you're a nice Grumpig deep down."
"La la la la la! Not listening!" Grant said as he started walking down the hall on the opposite end of the tank.
"He he, you're funny," Abigale laughed.
"Talk to the hoof," Grant said. "The face don't want to hear your despicable garbage for a second longer."
"...You really are pushing the evil Scientist motif far aren't you?" Abigale said. "You know you don't have to do that, you can show the real you."
-Confessional Session(Abigale)-
"He really cannot fool anyone," Abigale said. "He wants to seem like an evil genius, but I know he saved me for more than just my sister's warning. If he were really evil, he wouldn't have cared what my sister said to him."
-Confessional Session(Grant)-
"No! No! No!" Grant cried. "Abigale is ruining everything! She knows I'm a fake, and she'll blab to everyone! I have to eliminate her somehow, I must! I... I... I'm just not evil enough to do so. Maybe it's time to throw in the towel. NO! I must convince Abigale I'm a REAL scientist. ...Oh what's the point. Maybe the ruse has just hit its wall."
-After Confessional-
It was time for Dustin, Stawolt, and Wren to finish their challenge. They had gotten to the secret garden room, but it was locked. And it had a keypad next to it that required a three-digit number.
"Duh, the door won't open," Stawolt said obviously. Wren was still on his shoulder, rubbing his head, which left Dustin and Stawolt to find out what to do. Dustin immediately saw the paper on the door that spoke of a code.
"Thy must solve the code," he said. "Thy can't proceed unless."
"Duh, let's just press numbers," Stawolt said. "One, two, three." ...Nothing happened. "Uhhh, one, one, one?" Nothing happened. "Duhhhh..." Stawolt mashed buttons, but to no avail. It wouldn't open.
"No, we can't just press random numbers," Dustin said. "We have to play it smart. What does it say."
"Duhhh, Dex number for mutated rot and waste escaped from its plastic prison," Stawolt said. "Duhhhhhh... I got nothing."
"Come on Dustin, think," he said, scratching his head. "What's a plastic prison? What Pokemon is mutated rot and waste."
"Ugh numbers..." Wren said. "Five sixty-nine."
"Huh?" Dustin said. "Okay..." He then pressed the numbers five, six and nine into the keypad and viola, the door opened. "Wait, how did you know?"
"It's a Garbodor," Wren said. "Garbodor is a monster made of rot and waste, which probably means garbage. And plastic prison probably refers to a garbage bag. Garbodor's dex number just happens to be five-hundred and sixty-nine."
"But how did you figure that out," Stawolt asked. "I thought I hurt your head."
"It just hurts, I don't have amnesia," Wren said. "It's not like I cannot still think or calculate."
"Who cares, the door's open," Dustin said. "Onward!"
But Grant and Abigale were hot on their trail. Grant kept looking down at Abigale wondering if he should really spill the beans or not.
"Look, I guess I should come clean a bit," Grant said. Grant was still unsure if he wanted to go through with it. "I... I... I think your costume is kinda cool."
"Really?" Abigale asked.
"Yes," Grant said. "The big Mohawk and the spiked collars for example. They feel so... evil..."
"I don't wanna look evil," Abigale said. "I was going for punk-rock Pikachu."
"Oh the heck with it," Grant started, just about ready to cut the cord. "You win Abigale, I... huh?"
Eventually, Grant came upon a similar door to the one Dustin and Stawolt found. This one had a different puzzle.
"Dex number of a beautiful creature with wings of many colorful variations," Abigale said.
"Hmm hmm hmm, yes!" Grant said. "Vivillon! It's dex number is..." Grant walked up to the keypad and typed in three numbers. "Six! Six! Six! The number of EVIIIIIIIL! MWAHAHAHAHA! OPEN SESAME!" Grant grabbed the door handle and twisted it. The door opened without a problem.
"Tee hee, you sure like playing the evil villain," Abigale said.
"He he he, because being bad is SOOOO good," Grant said as he ran into the room and grabbed a hoofful of Red Herbs. "Come my minion, TO THE SECRET CAVERNS!"
As Abigale and Grant were running, Abigale decided to ask Grant a question.
"You want to be friends?" Grant asked.
"Only if you promise never to tell anyone I'm not a real evil genius," Grant said. Grant figured Abigale already knew so he might as well say it.
"Sure thing, friend," Abigale said as they ran out of the lab.
Over with Jet, Percy and Ruce, the had finally made it to Varmy's cottage where they could see several plants with Big Roots in them. They could just see Varmy perched upside down on a pole jutting outside of his house. He was currently sleeping.
"Uh, mister?" Ruce asked. "Mr. Varmy sir?"
"What do you want!" Varmy yelled, awaking from his sleep.
"We heard you are growing big roots here, and we wish to have one for a potion we are making to cure zombification," Percy added. "May we please have one?"
"No!" Varmy yelled. "You young mortals come here all the time taking my Big Roots and I'm running out of Big Roots to give! Leave at once!"
"But we need one!" Ruce said.
"I SAID LEAVE!" Varmy roared.
"Not a very kind old bat are you?" Jet asked.
"You're testing my patience!" Varmy said. He watched Jet walk closer to the roots. "One step closer and you will regret it!"
Jet just stared him down and tilted his head. He didn't really care what he thought. But his team mates did.
"Jet, I wouldn't test him further," Ruce said.
"Look we need the root, don't we?" Jet asked before he looked up at Varmy. "I'm sorry sir, but we need one of these for our potion. Now you're just going to have to..." Jet took one step closer.
"Time for REGRET!" Varmy yelled as he swooped down on the group, causing a chase to occur.
"Couldn't even have given us time to strategize?" Ruce asked.
"Oops, my bad," Jet said, trying to seem sorry.
Aria, Pudge, and Drenig had reached Varmy's hut and noticed the others were being chased by the crazy Swoobat.
"Doesn't look like he wants to give up his Big Roots," Aria said. "We'll just help ourselves then."
"Are you sure that's..." Drenig started.
"Shhh, you'll alert him," Aria said before carefully removing a Big Root from the pot. "Now we can get back."
But as they started to walk away quietly, Pudge opened his mouth.
"Hey mister!" Pudge called out. "Is it true you're a vampire?"
"No!" Aria groaned.
"You little scoundrels!" Varmy said, averting his attention to the Team Zap-Dos members. "That's mine!"
"We're sorry mister," Pudge said before swiping the Big Root from Aria and started walking closer. "We'll give it back, honest."
Aria was worried Pudge would really do it. She had to think of something. But there it was right in eyeshot: Her answer.
"Uhh, now they're stealing a root," Aria said. "We'll put ours in the pot."
It was true, Jet had reached the pots and broke one apart for the root. It was then that their team started to run.
"Why the little!" Varmy cried before turning around. "Give me back my ROOTS!"
Pudge then started back for the cabin, but Aria grabbed him by the scruff of his back and pulled him the opposite way.
"Hold onto it," Aria said. "Let's go."
"But shouldn't we give the root back?" Pudge asked.
"No!" Drenig cried. "Keep running!"
"But..." Pudge started.
"Give me that!" Aria said, swiping the root away from him.
"Hey!" Pudge cried.
"We have to..." Aria started. "We... got to get back and... owwww, why does my tummy feel sick right now."
"Aww man, mine too," Drenig said, holding onto his gut.
"What's wrong with you two?" Pudge asked.
"Are you sure that swamp water was clean?" Drenig asked.
"I don't even know what's what anymore," Aria said, feeling that maybe her sass was starting to bite her in the butt.
"Miss Aria," Pudge said. "Can I..."
"Oh shut up you brat!" Aria yelled, clenching her stomach as if she was in pain.
-Confessional Session(Pudge)-
"I thought Aria was a nice person at first," Pudge said. "But she's been acting really mean! Maybe her voice is the only thing likeable about her."
-Confessional Session(Aria)-
"Ugh..." Aria's face was starting to turn green. "Between that annoying panda and finding out you're wrong again... Ugh, today's not been my day. Anyone have a waste basket?"
-Confessional Session(Drenig)-
"Lesson learned," Drenig said, also looking green in the face. He also had a waste basket in one claw. "If water looks disease ridden, chances are it's disease ridden."
-After Confessional-
Jet, Ruce, and Percy were still trying to run away from Varmy. But Varmy was gaining on them.
"Maybe if we run along the tree line, he'll find it harder to chase us," Jet said, putting the suggestion out there.
"That does sound feasible," Ruce said. "But really Jet, you pushing Varmy's buttons didn't help."
"Well... I'm sorry," Jet said. "I guess I got a bit happy with my ego again."
"Never mind that," Percy said. "Through the trees."
The group decided to run where the trees were heaviest, which helped them keep going while slowing Varmy down.
"Curse you kids!" Varmy yelled. "Always stealing my Big Roots! I aughta have you eaten alive by Zubats!"
Eventually, Varmy's voice kept getting more and more faint. Jet breathed a sigh of relief.
-Confessional Session(Jet)-
"Okay, so my ego still needs some work," he said. "But I'm sure if I work hard enough to improve my ego, I can stay in the game. Cause I got my eyes on the prize."
-After Confessional-
Now everyone had their ingredients, all that was left was getting back to the cave.
-Homecoming-
The first to arrive were Abigale and Grant. Grant had made Abigale hum a knock-off tune of a popular science-fiction movie while Grant slowly marched into the cave, making his eeeeeeevil entrance. Abigale stopped humming once Grant reached Savil.
"Mwahahaha! I have secured the Red Herb!" Grant said.
"Excellent," Savil said. "Now before you throw it..."
"Please, I'm a scientist," Grant said. "I know how everything works as far as potions go. ...Okay, maybe I should ask for some tips just to be safe."
"The Red Herb must be finely minced in a small bladed spinner," Savil mentioned.
"Excellent!" Grant said. "And what about the Reviver Seed and the Big Root?"
"The Reviver Seed must be crushed with a mortar and pestle," Savil mentioned. "The Big Root must have its legs and leaves chopped off, then ground with a grater."
"Resplendent," Grant proclaimed. "I will have my minions make the necessary precautions and adjustments before added to the brew."
"One last thing," Savil started. "Seed, Herb and Root. That's the order in which they should be added, thirty seconds at a time."
After being lectured, the team of Yoshi, Lilly, and Miffy showed up.
"Huh? You got here first?" Lilly said to Grant.
"Nevermind!" Grant said. "You of the hospital team should grind the seed in a mortar and pestle on the table over there."
"Wait, are you sure?" Yoshi asked.
"It's okay," Abigale said. "Savil told him everything."
"And this Red Herb will not chop itself," Grant said.
"Why not chop it yourself you..." Muffy yelled before Yoshi patted her on the back.
"Remember, assertiveness," he said before he went to crush the seed.
"Uhhh, you got the herb. Maybe you should grind it yourself maybe?" Muffy asked.
"Oh alright, but I'll wait for the others to get here," Grant said.
"Huh, you really do seem to have changed," Lilly said, happy that Muffy was starting to act more pleasant.
And it didn't take long for other contestants to get there. Eventually Kiki, Chauncey and Riley showed up. Chauncey had the Reviver seed and ran over to Savil for instructions. She told Chauncey what to do.
"Got it," he said. "That doesn't sound hard." Chauncey then ran to the table and started grinding up his seed in the mortar and pestle.
Next Dustin, Stawolt and Wren showed up. Dustin ran up to Savil for instruction on how to prepare the Red Herb.
"As you wish my lady," Dustin said in his L.A.R. voice before he ran to the table and crushed the herb in the manual mixer.
Finally Aria, Drenig and Pudge showed up.
"Ugh, my stomach," Drenig said.
"I would have done things differently myself," Aria said. Eventually, Pudge swiped the root out of Aria's hand and ran to the cauldron with it.
"Whoa, slow down little guy," Savil said as he got near. "First you HAVE TO NO!"
Pudge didn't listen to anything Savil was trying to say. Pudge saw the cauldron, darted for it, and his first instinct was to throw the entire root in hole.
"No, you fool!" Savil said. "The root is supposed to be grinded with a grater! You were supposed to cut the legs and the leaves off first!"
"What!?" Pudge exclaimed when he'd realized what he'd done. "No! I gotta get the root back!"
"Too late!" Savil cried. "The leaves are poisonous! You've tainted the potion!"
"Are you serious?" Aria asked, clenching her tentacle. "Now we have to go back and get another!"
"I don't know if I'd bother," Drenig said, pointing to Jet, Percy and Ruce.
"Excellent!" Grant exclaimed. "All my subjects are now here!"
"I don't even tolerate the subjects crap from Bertram, let alone a pig that likes to play super villain!" Ruce said, immediately rushing up to him. "And I hope you did NOTHING to allow any harm to..."
"Sis, I'm alright," Abigale said. Her fursuit, although a bit wet, was completely intact.
"What happened to your favorite costume!?" Ruce cried in shock.
"Mr. Grant saved me from a big monster," Abigale said.
"Really?" Ruce asked, turning her attitude around.
"Grant made this really cool laser gun," Abigale started. "And then he fired it right at the monster and he saved me."
"Awww, I can't believe I'm saying this," Ruce said. "But I'm proud of what you did."
"Yes," Grant said. "Let her think that I truly cared about her and didn't save her for selfish reasons."
"Tee hee, he's actually kind of a cool guy," Abigale said.
"Now! To your stations minions," Grant said. "We have a potion to complete."
"Just humor him," Abigale whispered to Ruce. Ruce nodded and went over to the table of tools.
"The one with the seed must crush in a mortar and pestle," Grant said.
"I know," Yoshi said, already working on it.
"The one with the root chops the legs and the leaves then grinds the rest with a grater," Grant continued.
"Yes master," Ruce said, trying to sound truthful.
"And now, my part," Grant finished, putting his Red Herb in a manual mixer. Once all the ingredients were completed, Grant walked over to the cauldron with his grounded herb and called commands.
"Minion A, are you ready?" Grant asked Yoshi.
"Seed all grounded," he said before he brought the mortar and pestle to the cauldron.
"Now... ADD THE SEED!" Grant said. Yoshi did just that. Grant then waited for about thirty seconds, counting in his head before adding the Red Herb. "Minion B, are you ready?"
"Yes master," Ruce said, bringing a plate of the ground root to the Cauldron.
"Alright," Grant said, waiting for another thirty before giving the command. "ADD THE ROOT!"
Abigale dumped the root into the cauldron, and Grant stirred it. The brew started to change colors untill eventually an explosion of foam and smoke came from it.
"It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!" Grant yelled.
"Are you sure you did it right?" Ruce asked. It was then that Savil walked over to the cauldron and sniffed the brew.
"The aroma seems right," she said before she took a spoon and sipped the potion. She widened her eyes at Grant then.
"This potion... is PERFECT!" she said.
"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" Grant laughed once again.
"Team Artic-Uno is the winner," Savil announced.
Team Zap-Dos was angry. Not at themselves, but at Pudge. He had cost them the challenge. Everyone huddled around him and Pudge started to feel scared. Everyone was bigger than him.
"Wait! No, don't hurt me!" Pudge cried. "I'm sorry!"
Eventually, both teams returned to their bunkers, where Bertram was waiting atop the wall that divided the two teams. The stairs leading up to the Quarantine Chamber were right there as well.
"Well well well," Bertram started. "One team emerged victorious thanks to one very mad scientist."
"The pleasure is mine," Grant said.
"And the other team submerged defeated," Bertram said.
"Can me and Drenig please get some bismuth?" Aria asked.
"What happened?" Dustin asked Drenig.
"Aww man, we had to go into a germy swamp where..." Drenig started until he was cut off.
"Shush," Bertram said. "The winning teams prize... is a masterfully prepared primitive-Clauncher with salads to go with."
"Thanks for thinking of me," Lilly blurted out, referring to the salads.
"In addition," Bertram added. "Barnums Sports and Fun would like to award you with free balls, hitting sticks AND catching gloves for an enjoyable outdoor experience."
"Woo! Sports goods! Now it's a game," Jet said happily. The rest of his team seemed just as happy.
"And the losing team?" Bertram continued. "Well, let's just say there will be one less skull to explain things to. Come along."
-Confessional Session(Kiki)-
"That Chauncey needs to go soon," Kiki said. "But he's not the one who cost us the challenge."
-Confessional Session(Wren)-
"Sorry man," Wren started. "But you just aint ready for a competition like this."
-Confessional Session(Aria)-
"Ugh, do I need to say anything?" Aria said, still kind of sick.
-After Confessional-
Everyone had made it to the ceremony in front of the chamber. Bertram was handing out milk and a little something extra.
"Here you are, here you are," He started before he got to Aria and Drenig. "And here you two go, the bismuth you asked for."
Betty was there with two cups of bismuth which she handed to the two who were sick.
"If you ever feel sick, we always have medicine on hand," Betty said before walking back to the milk.
"Why don't you wash it down with the milk?" Bertram asked Aria and Drenig. "After all you have to drink it or you forfeit." It was then that Bertram walked back to the table where he explained things again.
"Remember, if you are eliminated you cannot return to this game show for the rest of the season," Bertram started. "Now when I call your name out, that means you are safe. First, Aria."
"Ugh, thank you," Aria said, trying to smile through her sickness. She had no worries she would go home, but still felt happy.
"Drenig, you are also safe," Bertram stated. Drenig smiled as well. "Kiki! Dustin! Wren! Stawolt! Riley! You are all safe."
"Whatever," Riley said.
"No!" Pudge cried, now worried about his own fate. "I'm sorry!"
"Pudge! Your reckless thinking cost your team the challenge," Bertram mentioned.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Pudge repeated.
"And Chauncey! You seem to spend more time trying to score with an opposing dame than you do concentrating on helping your team win the game," Bertram said before stopping to think about what he said. "Blech! I just rhymed!" He shouted. "Betty, do you have any soap?"
"No," Betty said simply.
"It's true," Chauncey said. "But I can't help it. Lilly is such a beautiful person and I really do want to get to know her. But I am here to win, and I will still work to help my team! I may have a crush on Lilly, but I am a team player!"
"Well..." Bertram started. "Your team better hope so, because they have given you another chance."
"Phew," Chauncey said.
"Which means Pudge, you have drank the tainted milk," Bertram said.
"NOOOOOOO!" Pudge whined. "I don't wanna leave the game! I only got here a few days ago! Please! I'll do anything, Mr. Bert! Just let me stay in the game!"
"Too bad," Bertram said before grabbing Pudge and hoisting him over his shoulder. "That's tough life for you."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Pudge whined. "I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!"
Bertram placed Pudge in the chamber and quickly shut the door on him. It didn't take long for the green gas to fill the room. But the whole time, you could hear Pudge crying. Really, it was incredibly embarassing to watch. Eventually the smoke cleared and Pudge was finally gone.
"Alright, I am drawing the line right here," Bertram said. "All in favor of putting kids through a maturity test before letting them on the show?"
"Agreed," Everyone said in unison.
"Then it's decided," Bertram said. "So we never have another "Pudge" on this show again. Ugh, I can still hear him crying! ...Or is it just me?"
-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-
"Can I really balance Lilly and team play?" Chauncey asked. "I don't know. But if I don't, then I could be the next one sent home. ...But maybe I should give up on trying to win Lilly over. ...At least until the merge, where we both meet. "I'll be waiting for you Lilly."
-After Confessional-
Bertram was still up near the chamber as the team left to return to their bunkers. It was time for him to announce the end of the episode.
"Well, that marks the end of Pudge and this episode," Bertram said. "Will Chauncey set aside what he believes is his one true love to win the game. Will something else happen? If so, what will come up? Next episode looks to be a fun one. And I hope you will keep watching this splendid program. Until next time, we say goodbye to you for now."
-Next Time On Quarantine-
"Vower? Who is he?"
The contestants confront a big bad dude.
"He has been known to kill Pokemon..."
Only one thing can tame this massive fiend.
"Let the first ever Quarantine Kitchen Wars begin!"
Players must hone their knives and sharpen their skills as they serve to hundreds of zombies in a resturaunt challenge.
"My hunger cannot be satisfied so easily!"
It's Team Artic-Uno and Team Zap-Dos verses the most dangerous food critic around.
"I hope he won't kill me for this dish."
All this and more in the next chapter of Quarantine: Steak Through The Heart.