Chapter 2: monochrome factory
"She's running away, milord! We can't allow her to escape!"
"She won't, my dear. I'll go after her."
"But what about the princess?"
"Put her in her room. We'll deal with her later."
"Why? I want to kill her good and proper right now!"
"I know you do, but I don't want to miss out on it. Await my return and do what I say, dear princess."
"…Yes, my precious lord! I shall do as you say!"
Her body has never felt so damn cold and weak. Each and every step marked a moment in which she wanted to collapse and let whoever's trying to murder her finish the vile act. She thought of questions that her mind could not provide the answer for: why was she being subjected to this pain? What happened to this mansion? What is going on? The stereotypical questions every person in her situation would ponder, would try to solve.
Even being choked by fear and struck with uncertainty and wrapped with pain, Peach couldn't help but feel a tinge of hunger. When was the last time she has eaten…? Ah, she can't remember. Every memory before she woke up was nothing more than a taunting darkness. Pure fucking mockery, designed to darkly poke fun at her current situation. A nice little reminder of her pathetic status as the unfortunate horror protagonist, facing her fears with sweaty palms and useless determination.
Her stomach told her to go scavenge for nutrients like a dirty, starved dog; her throbbing head told her to stop thinking so damn stupidly and attend to your injuries like a good little screwed-over princess.
She doubted there was food in the mansion anyway. Probably rotten and disgusting. Ha, exactly like the situation she was in.
Still, she should check…
Argh, no. Fuck it. Fuck it all. She'll eat when she is certain that she can survive. Her top priority was getting to the infirmary – that precious, wonderful sanctuary – and treat her wounds. From there, she'll figure something out. An escape plan that – hopefully – won't fail her and become the cause of her utterly bloody and horrid death.
Her very unfortunate death.
Her death that she shouldn't be thinking about at this moment.
The eeriness of the third floor haunted her every step, stalking her, wrecking the last of the few nerves she had left. Her footsteps were hollow; her breath was shallow. Would it be so bad to succumb to the sweet invitation of the darkness? It was oh-so-welcoming. It beckoned to her, called gracefully out to her, being a well-decorated invitation.
She took the metaphorical invitation and ripped into pieces, letting it fall to the bottom of her thoughts. She had injuries to tend to, mysteries to solve, and – possibly – lives to save. This was not the time for her to give into death. She is Peach Toadstool, Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, damnit! She has no plumber in a shining overalls to save her. This time, she could not be the damned damsel-in-distress. This was her labyrinth of hell she has to find her way out of.
Peach glanced up at a sign that dangled over her head. Infirmary: Next Left, it read. Peach grinned. Oh thank God, she'll live! She began running (despite the massive pains and aches that pulsed through her body). She ignored every shot of pain as her heels clacked loudly and rhythmically. Rounding the corner (and nearly tripping in the process), Peach noticed that Dr. Mario's door was wide open.
That was not a good sign. It was a very damn bad sign.
The princess entered the room and saw the good doctor's medical supplies strewn everywhere, various spots of blood decorating the floor. It seems as though everyone took everything they needed and got the hell out. Peach looked around, needing nothing more than a few bandages and some wet cloths. Using the flashlight, Peach illuminated the corner of the room where the cloths and bandages should be.
There were few left, but they were there. Peach scurried over to them, gathering the remaining items in her arms. She walked over to the sink and wet a few cloths, pressing them to her head. Her headache had finally subsided, and there was nothing else left for her to do than to dab at the dried blood and her wounds. Once she determined it was clean enough, she wrapped the bandages around her head, remembering what Dr. Mario told her to do. She wrapped the last bandage and sighed heavily; she was already feeling much better. Now, if only she could discover something to eat, then all will be right with the world.
She popped open some pain pills and took four. It was probably too much, but she would do anything to get rid of her nagging body pains. The princess hoped to pills could kick in quickly; in the meantime, she would stick around here until she fully healed, and then she would go down to the basement, hopefully meeting some of her fellow Smashers along the way.
A high-pitched scream prevented that.
Peach's eyes scoured the room. Who the hell was that? The scream sounded too close for comfort, and the infirmary didn't have high-quality hiding spots.
"Where are you, you stupid bitch? I know you had survived; I didn't hear your bones fucking crush!"
Peach's eyes widened, recognizing that voice from earlier. Not wanting to wait for the fellow hostile survivor, ran out of the infirmary, headed to a hopefully safer part of the mansion.
Jogging down the stairs, a faint, but foul, smell reached Peach's nose, it seemed to be coming from the second floor. Despite her better judgments, she decided to survey the scene. The smell was comparable to rotten food, and Peach sighed. Who the hell let precious food spoil? Damn, that could've been food she could happily chomp down on.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she noticed the smell had gotten stronger, more disgusting. She covered her nose at the revolting scent.
"Why...?" she mumbled to herself. "Why does it smell this way? Oh dear, this is hella unholy…"
Peach walked on the marble of the second floor, noticing that it, too, was stained with blood. Blood, blood, blood. Damn, it was everywhere, constantly mocking her. She looked around, searching for any clues when the clanging of metal caught her attention. She turned around and saw a faint light down the hall, leading to the large training room. She followed the light, hoping to find Mario, Luigi, Marth, Lucina, anyone.
The closer she got to the light, the stronger the smell. Ah, it was so rancid, so disgusting. Peach's senses were overwhelmed, and she felt the strong urge to vomit. The princess swallowed it down and soon, she entered the training room.
The entire room was lit by candles. It was like a ritual took place in here. Here, the smell was at its peak, its absolute strongest. Damnit, this was so fucking disgusting and frightening! Peach wanted to run – she regretted walking in here – but the sounds of metal piqued her interest again. The sounds were curiously coming from above her. Clang, clang, clang. She slowly looked up, eyes meeting horror at its finest.
There were the bodies of various Pokémon strung from the ceiling, metal chains wrapped around their broken, limp necks. Some of the eyes bulged out almost hilariously in a cartoonish way; others had their eyes rolled back in the heads. Few were graced with having no eyes at all, leaving two deep, black sockets that she swore she saw bugs crawl out of it. She could see the bright pink muscle, the bones poking through their skin. Their skin was marked with various cuts and bruises – they were tortured, these poor Pokémon. Pikachu, Greninja, Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle, Lucario, and even Mewtwo. They were all unbelievably dead, mutilated nearly beyond recognition. Out of the corner of her eye, Peach noticed a candle flicker, and her eyes trailed down, down, down…
And then she yelped.
Her eyes were glued to a lifeless Jigglypuff, chained to a makeshift operating table, body split down in two. The candle lights illuminated her, allowing Peach to clearly see and appreciate the anatomy of the Balloon Pokémon. The organs slid past each other, making squishing and squashing noises as they fell to floor. Plip, plop! Plip, plop! There goes what Peach assumed to be a kidney. Then a lung. Then some intestines snaked its way to the floor, followed by another lung and a heart that will never beat again.
It didn't take long for Peach to decorate her dress with bile. A yellow-green dress splashed with polka dots of orange and red isn't the greatest fashion statement. Ahaha, she looked like a mad old woman finally going senile. What a surprise her hair hasn't turned stark white yet. She would begin screaming, showcasing her newfound insanity, when a moving object captured her attention. She was going to panic, but when the object moved into the light, she found it was Pichu. Somehow, the Pokémon made it out unscathed, not meeting the fate his evolved form has faced.
The Tiny Mouse Pokémon eyed Peach warily, as if he was staring into the eyes of an unknown threat. He scampered his way over to Jigglypuff's spilled organs, much to Peach's horror. "No," she squeaked out. But she was helplessly ignored as Pichu analyzed the carnage, looking from the organs to Jigglypuff to the Pokémon that floated like angels above him. Pichu's attention returned to the mess on the floor. Peach squeaked again as Pichu poked at the lung curiously and then, without warning, devoured it. The Pokémon ate it quickly, greedily, leaving nothing left, and lapped at the blood that was on the floor.
Pichu eyed Peach again and growled at her. Peach took the hint, not daring to take a step towards Pichu and his new food source. The Tiny Mouse Pokémon grabbed the other lung – apparently, lungs were his favorite snack – and scampered back into the darkness, leaving Peach alone again.
The princess took the opportunity to drop to her knees and cry hysterically, screaming profanities and pleading for someone, anyone, to wake her from this hellish nightmare.
They walked into the princess's room, swords in one hand. They weren't too surprised when they realized she had escaped. That just meant they had to hunt her down, and that was the fun part. Looking at each other, they smiled and left the bedroom. The shorter of the two grabbed the taller bluenette's hand, intertwining her fingers with his.
"Milord," she spoke, unable to hide her giddiness, "will I finally get to kill her now? No interruptions or anything?"
The lord smiled and spoke elegantly. "Of course, dear princess. I'm sorry that I had to delay your turn for so long. Can you forgive me?"
The princess chuckled cutely. "Of course I forgive you! I understand that you couldn't allow that precious prey to escape so easily. It's no problem. Besides, I've thought of new and creative ways to torture her! I think you will be impressed."
"I am already impressed by your vigor, dearest. You truly are my descendant."
He grasped his fellow bluenette's shoulders, forcing her to face him, and crushed his lips against hers. The two stayed in that position for a few short moments, with the lord being the one to break the passionate moment off. He caressed her face, staring into her deep blue eyes.
"Absolutely breathtaking," he breathed. "Now, let us go find that wily little Peach, shall we? She's way overripe."
The princess smiled, placing her hand upon the lord's hand. "I agree, milord."
. . .*Swallows down vomit* Well…that was deliciously fucked-up. Let's play Pokémon Ruined Childhood Version!
Lol, it had taken so long to write this chapter. But, now that the hard part's done, everything else will be smooth sailing on a sea dyed scarlet! Which means I can finish all eight chapters before August 18th! See you in chapter 3: whimpers and horripilation.
Ya know, I wonder that, since Jigglypuff's a Balloon Pokémon, is she just full of air. No organs or anything, just freakin' air.
Also, I've realized that once I'm done with this story, I'll never be able to play Fire Emblem Awakening the same way again. Good job, Mika, ruining the game for yourself!