The Swamp

You felt a sudden chill stab freezing needles to pick at your spinal cord when you saw the entrance of the swamp. It was getting late in the day, and it added an ominous tone to the already dark forested marshland. You could listen to the strange constant noises of the swamp, echoing around the entire biome that just plainly creeped you out. Jackal nudged you with his arm while walking forward, “Hey dude, let’s not keep that Toxicroak waiting.” You smile at that. It was fortunate that you had a good partner in tow that's about as motivated as you are. Whether he did it out of obligation from earlier, or if it's just him truly becoming friends with you, it was appreciated to not have to worry about this journey alone.

"Back at the lake," You begin to say to get Jackal's attention. "I'm glad that you're okay."

The Typhlosion blinks, taken aback while being unsure of how to respond. "Oh, uh, yeah me too. You got him pretty good back there~"

"A bit of luck was also involved. I didn't mean to crack that gem of his." You answer. It did seem important to Gold considering his emotional breakdown, but perhaps it would stop him from hurting anybody else with it for now.

"You sound like you pity the guy." Jackal huffs, pulling at the strap of his satchel.

"Well, I do." You admit. That makes the Typhlosion do a double-take of his head swinging over towards you.

"The hell?" He asks loudly. You put a finger to your mouth to gesture him to quiet down. You were in unknown and dense territory after all. The both of you traverse through the marshy bog, and you listen out for any other movements. Ever since you arrived in this biome, it always felt like you were being watched as you and the Typhlosion treaded through murky waters, walked over muddy lands, and ventured through moss and misty vegetation. Yet, no purple glimmers could be seen. Jackal lowers his voice and mutters, "That pervy little guy tried to kill us!"

"Most people have probably tried to kill him." You didn't want to have to remind Jackal that he also did the same thing before at Jade Gorge. "But he calmed down and promised not to attack us. So it's whatever. Live and let live."

Jackal sulks his head down with a bitter face, feeling guilted. "Man, you just can't hold a grudge, can you?"

"Not against someone like that at least." You reply.

The Typhlosion just huffs and lifts his head again. "Lace, you're one hell of a weird guy." Your ears perk at that. Was it weird to help? Jackal explains himself better afterward, "Like...you're way too understanding. It's like this apocalypse hasn't even had an effect on you. You just trust that people will get better, y'know? Despite that everyone's just looking out for themselves now-a-days, or are a day away from goin' nuts."

"I mean...I know I could trust that when I met you, Jackal." You remind him. He just gets confused in response. "I mean that, earlier you used to look out for yourself. But here you are, with me, out to 'save the world' and risking your life for me despite you nearly ending it awhile back. It means you changed your outlook, and I'd personally say for the better." Flashing a smile at him, you assure that you had no hard feelings for the Typhlosion.

The fire-type wrinkles his lips, unsure whether he should smile or not considering that fact. "H-Heh...huh, yeah, I guess I have, haven't I?" With that, Jackal also felt a bit more inclined to give Gold a better chance next time. If there would be a next time.

Ryzer the Village Chief from Redeemer’s Grotto had told you that the Toxicroak you're searching for probably lived in the center of the swamp, which wasn’t much of help, but at least it gave you somewhere to look. Problem was, you didn’t know how large the swamp was. It was only by Gold's direction that you would just have to keep walking and keep a lookout for any form of housing or civilization. It also made you ponder if others lived within this swamp, excluding the infected. Out in these times, one should always assume ferals are lurking about.

The marshland never seems to end as you continue to plow through the dense slough. While you appreciated the dimmer atmosphere with a lot of obstructions to keep yourself hidden, the same could be said for the infected. The predators could very well use the surroundings to their advantage. It was as though your sixth sense was picking up something to alert you of a presence. While you weren't skilled at all at it considering your time alone, you endeavored to use the sensors of soft dreads behind your head to detect the aura of any life nearby. You definitely feel something, but how close or far it was, you could not tell. A faint buzzing fills your ears, getting you to stop in place.

Jackal halts as well to turn around, “Don’t tell me. Your sensitive big ears picked somethin' up.” He drops his bag while glancing around. His eyes focus on the trees as you do, but something was wrong. In the peripheral of your vision, you notice leaves floating through water from behind Jackal. While plenty of vegetation simply floated along the water, this looked too deliberate. Before you could say anything, two arms wrap around his own, trapping the limbs by his shoulders! The Typhlosion gasps and quickly panics from whatever was attacking him.

“Jackal!” You call out to the Typhlosion, ready to help him in his aid.

A female Leafeon was right behind him, holding his arms out as she flicks her tongue to brush against the side of his head. Her purple lavender eyes pierce through one’s sight like a spear, and despite her hourglass figure, her strength seemed to match Jackal's own brawn. The infection had the leaf-cat as powerful as a large Typhlosion, something that easily freaks Jackal out. "Wh-What the hell?" The Typhlosion growls, feeling her breasts squish against his back and her purrs thrumming by his ear.

Beautiful looks or not, she had to be stopped. You pounce out to Jackal, ready to free him. However, another feral would be present to halt you. The faint buzzing from earlier turned into loud buzzing, and all of a sudden, you are also locked into a hold with arms securing around you! "Gyah?!" You grunt in shock and try to flail in the confusion. You thought something locked all four of its limbs around you, but when glancing down, you notice four black exoskeleton arms draped around your arms and waist. The chitin was that of insect-hide, and a hard chest pushes against your back. Below you, you can see equally dark armored legs dangling down behind yours, ending with sharp claws as a long rectangular tail is draped between them. The tail itself was sectioned off into other rectangles the whole way down, each imbued with a red sphere. Looking up, you would bear witness to the face of your captor.

You were in the clutches of a Yanmega. The dragonfly anthro greens as it licks between its two sharp mandibles, glaring at your with glowing purple lenses. Your eyes shrink, and your squirms increase all the more wildly. The four-armed insect retains its species as a being with six limbs, despite not even needing to use its legs. The Yanmega buzzes up higher out of the shallow waters to completely lift you from the surface, dangling you in its strong grasp. Much like the predicament Jackal was in, your upper body is trapped within an arm-lock, but the extra pair of arms from the dragonfly has your hips even from being able to twist about.

You struggle inside the grasp of the bug anthro all the same. Your mouth opens up to try and give Jackal advice, but you're **** to see the Leafeon completely slam him over into the swamp water. He submerges down with her, and from there, all you can see is his legs kicking and splashing about blindly. Like that, he wouldn't be able to use his fire at all. It would be completely a fight dedicated of who could overwhelm the other in the wrestle. While you have faith in Jackal's strength, you didn't want to leave it up to chance. You needed to help him. But first, you have your own problem to deal with.

Drool oozes over the top of your head to get your ears to splay out to the sides, feeling the warmth of the goo ooze down the side of your face. "G-Ghhhk, I'm coming Jackal! Just...wait a sec, rhk!" You assure our partner, but he probably couldn't even hear you. You needed to do something, or else you were dragonfly food; something you never thought you'd have to worry about being.

Seeing as you can't use your arms to free yourself, you open your jaws instead and bite into one of its arms!

1. Your fangs cause the Yanmega to let go in pain!

2. Your fangs are not enough. You're in for it now.