skymin, use seed flare! D<

[Cacophony]

Hopeless terror. A sea of it. Marley, or Cacophony as she had been nicknamed, was drowning in it.

Cacophony was no stranger to hopeless terror, nor was she new to being trapped in chains and dimly lit cells. But this time, the terror seemed three times worse. This time, every fiber of her being shook and sobbed.

This time, she faced certain death instead of cruel experimentation. What kind of death? She didn't know. All she knew was why- Cacophony was a failed experiment, they said. She had retained human emotions.

Another feeling was beginning to probe her- confusion. Why was she so terrified of departing forever from this living hell that she suffered for past four? five? years?

Perhaps it was due to the tiny hope of escaping this place that she had harbored all this time, and now that hope was shattered as she neared execution.

Or maybe it was the way they were treating her, like the toy one played with for a few days before losing interest and forgetting about it. Cacophony was their little toy, and now they were tossing her aside like nothing. She was to join a forgotten sea of nameless, unfortunate victims. Self-centered as this notion may be, it was infuriating all the same.

Or maybe it was a combination of these two.

She wondered if Lyra had felt like this when she was executed. Lyra had been a bookish Wurmple morph who had been her companion for all this time. She was the one who gave Cacophony her name, after hearing the squwaky abomination her voice had become.

Lyra had been taken from her cell some time ago. Cacophony desperately entertained the notion that she had just been moved, but now that her life was almost over she could let herself realize that Lyra had been executed.

"Three morphs have escaped from their executions!" shouted a voice outside her cell. The sound of quick, urgent footsteps immediately followed.

What?

Really?

What sort of miracle was this?

Relief surged over Cacophony, calming her panicked self. If three morphs escaped, she could too. Most of the guards would be too occupied with those morphs to notice her own attempt.

But what if you fail? a small voice in back of her mind said.

Right. Um.

They'll kill me, but they were going to anyway. she answered. This was a rare golden opportunity- she had to seize it. It was better to die after a valiant attempt to continue living than go to her grave after doing nothing but experience some sort of terrified mini-seizure.

Cacophony looked at her shackles. There was that narrow slit where its two halves were closed around her armwing. She could try Drill Pecking it; well, as well as she could while chained. She did have a beak, after all. With a small burst of confidence, a sense of urgency, and ever-persistent fear, she began her escape attempt.

[Nayeun]

The chains, so roughly shoved onto you a moment before, suddenly didn't seem so threatening. If you could slip out of them, you'd be free. Nobody would notice you. Everybody was still occupied with the three escapees, remember? This was one time it was good to blend in.

Oh, but... if they did catch you... what would they do? Kill you? Well, that's what they were aiming to do in the first place. So why not try anyway, and die with a mindset that at least you tried for freedom?

The shackles curved around your wrist, where feathers furred the area around it. A drill peck might work, since the metal should be malleable. But if it's not, you'll have to use the crack where they connected.

[Cacophony]

Cacophony looked at her chains and stood up. Hopefully, she could perform the necessary spinning without much difficulty. Okay, let's do this, she thought.Let's do this.

She dug the tip of her beak into the slit as far as it would go, and began spinning as fast as she could, hoping dearly that this would work. Surely it would work. Right? Unless the slit was too narrow, her beak not sharp enough... no, it had to work, it needed to work. Her life depended on it. Please, I beg of you, please work for me!

[Nayeun]

The shackles snapped somewhere deep in the mechanics. It sounded like it should open, but... unfortunately, as you tested it, you found that not to be true. They were, however, a little looser... Perhaps you could smash the shackles against the wall?

Or maybe another drill peck would do the trick. Or even... using those sharp claws on your feet to your advantage? If you were flexible enough, the slightest thing could break them.

The right shackle jangles loosely on your arm, yet not loose enough to slip off. The left one was still pretty tight on.

[Cacophony]

Shaking her wrist vigorously, a wave of anxiety passed over Cacophony as the stubborn shackle still clung to it. Get off me! Get off me! I don't have much time! ...Okay, calm down, Marley, just do another Drill Peck. Drill Peck! Drill Peck!

Marley administered another Drill Peck, this time with slightly more frantic ferocity than her first attempt now that she was beginning to doubt her plan. If this would not free her from this accursed piece of metal, well, she'd have to go completely berserk on it with beak and claw... and wall and floor and anything.

[Nayeun]

Your beak caught something as it drilled, and with a sharp crack, the shackle slid off your wrist easily, split in half.

The other one was going to be just as easy... Beak slip in, twist...Only a few more seconds until you're out of here!

You hear some pounds and a roar that sounds very, very close. "They're headed for the Heatran! Everyone clear out!" a voice shouts.

[Cacophony]

Joy and happiness rushed through Cacophony as the shackle finally gave away and fell off. Oh sweet Arceus, yes! She allowed herself a quick moment revel in this successful bout of defiance, the very first in what she hoped would be a long series. She eyed the other one confidently, and was about to begin yet another Drill Peck when suddenly, she was startled some pounding noises and a roar. They did not "They're headed for the Heatran! Everyone clear out!" yelled a voice.

She shuddered at the closeness of the roar, though she realized that this was even better. No one would be there to stop her. She swiftly began yet another Drill Peck on the shackle, and another after that.

[Nayeun]

The shackle split with a sharp crack, along with sharp pain. The tip of your beak had caught a rugged part inside of the shackle and it slit, the tip ripping off of your beak as you twisted.

The shackle slid down your arm and landed on the floor with a clunk. You were free!

The sounds of the Heatran--growls and howls--came from your left. Yells of the guards came from your right.

[Cacophony]

Cacophony let out a squawk at the sudden pain. She felt the place where the tip of her beak. It was no matter, though- a beak tip was a small price to pay for freedom. She beamed until it hurt and let herself leap with joy with said freedom. Thank Arceus, yes yes yes!

...but what about the cell door? Her spirit plummeted. Cacophony desperately examined the spaces between the bars. They seemed large enough for her to squeeze through with some effort- she was, after all, rather thin. She turned her head and her body so that her face and side faced the bars, sucked in her stomach, and entered one of the spaces.

As she did so, she heard that beast- the Heatran- growl and howl to the left of the cell, and to the right she heard those accursed guards shout.

[Nayeun]

You were at a pause--go right, and you'd likely get caught. Go left, and... well, Heatran was the only word needed. Judging from those roars and shrieks, it was not something easily tackled. So how...?

Which way should you go?

Suddenly, a shout. "They've escaped! Search the building!" The footsteps suddenly increase to your right. Heatran quiets.

[Cacophony]

Cacophony glanced left and right frantically. Guards, or Heatran? Getting caught again, or facing that monster?

Getting caught again would lead to certain death. But Heatran probably wasn't easy to pass uninjured, and there was possibility of death there. She ran her feathery hand through her hair, groaning internally as she realized just how difficult escape would be.

"They've escaped! Search the building!" came a cry from the right, and Heatran's roaring and growling almost completely stopped.Well, that changed things. She didn't have much time before somebody came across her, and perhaps Heatran had calmed down a bit. She began scampering to the left.

[Routalempi]

Your reckless running around caused you to hit another pokemorph, who was coming from around a corner. You both fell down. "Oww... try to look where you're going, will ya?" the morph said. Then, it quickly looked at you. "Wait... are you one of us... or one of them?"

A Sentret pokemorph. He had a long, striped tail and big ears and there was a big, white circle on his face. He had short, bronze hair and chestnut eyes. His skin was pale brown. He seemed to have short fur, too.

"Well? Answer!" he snapped at you.

[Cacophony]

Cacophony stared at him for a moment, shocked, while her mind raced. Who is "us"? Who is "they"? Well, maybe he's one of those Pokemorphs who are escaped. If he was a guard, he'd seize me or attack me or something. And he'd be bigger. "I'm... one of you," she said. She decided to keep it at that. This Sentret morph didn't seem to be a guard, but if he was, she didn't want to say anything stupid.