AvA: Corruption (outdated)

Ch. 2 - The Assault

Chosen stepped out of the back door and breathed in the fresh morning air.

The sun was just beginning to peek out from behind the hills in the distance.

Chosen sighed and smiled. No more worries... at least for now. He'd awaited this moment for nearly a year and half, ever since the earthquake had happened. He thought that the end of their troubles was finally here at long last.

He was wrong.

A small missile shot out from the trees nearby and impaled itself in Chosen's stomach. He doubled over, gasping for breath, then fell face-first onto the grass.

Purity, who'd seen everything from an upstairs window, lurched back from it and bolted down the stairs, not stopping when a passing Lime asked, "What's wrong?"

She skidded to a halt in the doorway. There stood Chosen. He looked perfectly fine, except for the fact that he was shaking slightly.

"Uh... Chosen?" she asked tentatively, "Is there something-"

Chosen's head swiveled around to look at her. She stared into his eyes, and in that split second, understood everything that was going on.

She turned and tore back down the hallway she'd come, with Chosen in hot pursuit. She could hear him getting closer and closer. Did he really run that fast?

She dashed up the stairs and through a door, kicking it shut behind her. Almost immediately, the door burst open. Chosen slowly advanced, making a strange gargling noise in his throat.

"Ch-Ch-Chosen?" Purity's teeth chattered with fear as she stepped backward, searching with her hand for the door she knew was behind her somewhere. Chosen growled. Her hand brushed against the door, and she gave it a hard knock.

Suddenly, to her horror, she heard Ragey's agitated voice coming up the staircase. "Hey! What the heck's going on?"

He stormed through the door, and was about to say, "Can't a stick get some sleep around here?!" when Chosen pounced.

"No!" Purity cried, and rushed forward as the door behind her creaked open. She summoned her ViraBlade and stabbed it into Chosen's back. Chosen snarled, his teeth still clamped on Ragey's wrist.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a spark of green. Then, she felt herself being lifted upward toward the ceiling, her ViraBlade slipping out of Chosen's back, which had no trace of a wound whatsoever. Chosen's teeth scraped off Ragey's wrist as they were separated. Ragey was now grey and hissing.

Second stood outside his bedroom door, eyes glowing, green particles floating all around him.

"Enough. Play."

"We weren't playing!" Purity protested desperately, "Chosen was shot by an unknown projectile, and when I found him, well..."

Second held up a hand and nodded, his eyes dimming a little. "Yellow?"

Yellow poked his head out of the room. "Yeah?"

"Have you seen anything like this before?"

Yellow studied Chosen and Ragey. Blue and Green peeked out as well.

"Holy sh-" Green began.

"Watch that mouth, boi," Blue chided, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Wait." Yellow snapped his fingers. "Isn't that like, um... those shadow mobs King used to summon?"

"Ah~ yes, of course." Second nodded. "Those corrupted mobs, turning on their own brethren-"

"That's it!" Yellow clapped his hands. "These two are corrupted!"

Green snapped a picture of Chosen and Ragey, who were growling and gurgling at each other.

"Corrupted," Second echoed, "That gives me an idea. Green, send me that photo you just took."

"Okay...?" Green glanced at him suspiciously before obliging.

Second opened a portal and tossed Chosen and Ragey through. "Let's let them chill in the wilderness for now. Meanwhile, we've got some research to do."