Corruption (Panic Null)

Chapter One: Setting Off

SMG3 stood uneasily next to the door. His backpack and parachute bag were on his back, ready to go into the castle ruins. He knew they would have to jump and parachute in. The walls of the ruins were too dangerous to touch, or at least, they didn't have a good grip. Any climbing equipment would not stick into the walls.

Meggy came down the stairs first, her bag and parachute bag on her back. Behind her followed Leaf, bouncing excitedly for a new adventure. Three did not want to bring her, but she insisted. So, Atem sent a bodyguard with her: his second in command, Uzi. She too had on a backpack and parachute bag. Three looked in appreciation at her; he was told at the last minute that Uzi was coming along, and he didn't know if she would have time to pack.

After those two, SMG4 walked down the stairs with his bag and parachute bag on. Three smiled softly at him. If only Four decided to stay behind... After all, this entire trip was because they saw someone looking like him in the mansion. It was uncertain if the strange creature was connected to his friend, but it was possible that it was connected to the castle ruins. The colors surrounding the being reminded him of the corruption down in the old castle when Four lost his mind wanting a perfect video.

He frowned, thinking of the memories. Four was different then, not at all himself. There was no sign of his friend in whatever he saw that day, but then whatever it was snapped the real Four back to it. Yet, Three wondered if the nightmare was over after they fled the palace. Days later, he went down there to get the star in Peach's Castle, and they barely made it out alive. Whatever corruption Four released had not only destroyed the castle and took over the place below it, but it also took over the princess. She nearly killed them as they retrieved the star from the palace.

Meggy placed a hand on his shoulder, and she smiled at him caringly. He smiled back. She was comforting him. The orange haired female remembered the chaos of those days. After all, she tagged along to save Four and get the star. Now, she's venturing back down there with them. Three knew that if there was a Mario, he would not venture down there with them again. He would sit out, and that would be a first for him to see the "oh so brave" Mario sit out from an adventure.

He waited a little longer to see who else was coming as Ryou walked down the stairs. He looked behind the boy, expecting to see Bakura, but the Thief King was nowhere to be seen. He felt a little silly as he caught sight of the Ring, remembering that the thief can go into the Millennium Ring at will. He hid his embarrassment well, even though the others wouldn't know why he was red.

After he cleared his throat, Three said, "Is everyone ready? Got your parachutes and hard hats?"

Everyone nodded, and he opened the door to start the adventure. He saw Tom outside with Tari, teaching her how to ride a horse, while Tails and Yusei worked on a motorcycle. It was unsure if the bike belonged to Yusei or someone else in the mansion, though it could be a duel runner which meant that it belonged to Yusei. He waved at the four as they headed into the forests, walking towards the city.

Three knew they probably should have rode horseback, but he was more determined to get the adventure underway. He needed to find out what was going on, so he could keep Four and the others safe. He blushes as he thought about keeping his best friend safe. He shouldn't care about the guy he was cosmically linked to, but he did in his own way. He smiled, thinking about the good times they had together as they walked around the city to where the hole was. Inside that hole would be the castle ruins that they had to parachute into.

As they approached the area, the crew could see that the hole in which the giant maws were had gone dormant in time. They were still red and jagged, but they had taken up a frozen state instead of moving like they did in the past. Three walked ahead of the others to stand at the entrance, looking into the deep maws of the now gone beast. His expression was unreadable as he gazed down, knowing that there still could be other creatures down inside the hole.

Meggy came up beside Three to look down into the hole as well. He looked at her as she stood there, staring blankly into the red abyss. It didn't take a genius to know she was thinking about the last time they dove into here, when they had to retrieve the star to make the ShowGrounds that stood a couple miles away from the crater. It was then they realized how messed up this goo was to transform a whole princess alongside her castle into a dangerous terrain to walk in.

When the castle was standing, the basement was where you could access the Shadow Realm. Three knew of the Graveyard Keeper that wandered the area of the shadows. If it got a hold of you, you could perish or worse! As he went back to gazing into the dark crater, he knew that they would not only set foot into the castle ruins but the Shadow Realm itself. It was a dangerous task, but they had to find out what was down here.

Four stood on the other side of Three, gazing into the crater. "So... are we ready to get this party on the road?" he asked lightly. He knew of the dangers inside the crater, so he wasn't exactly thrilled to be going back.

"I guess so... Everyone, take a running start!" Three told the crew as he stepped back away from the hole to take a running leap into the crater.

Seconds later, the others followed in. Uzi held Leaf's hand as they dove into the cliffside while Ryou was right behind Meggy. His Millennium Ring was put inside his shirt so it didn't hurt him as he dove off into the maws of the beast. Four was the last one to jump over the side as they started their descent into the crater heading straight towards the castle ruins.