The CHERRYGROVE Team

Still rather dazed from his hastey reawaekening, and the reformation of the shatterd bone in his left ankle, Salazar's mind was everything but racing. Dull and stagnant with thought his gaze was rested down to his feet until he heard a loud scream of pained agony which snapped the Large Vulpine Pokemon out of his daze. "You...or your friends...who is first..." A sadistic voiced grated with the ebbings of glee and hunger in it's sickly voice.
Our dear boy's ear perked in surprise as he spotted the large red Crocodile, standing among the blood stainded grass next to the Luxray from far earlier, who appeared to be missing a limb, and was bleeding out next to the ifnernal beast who ravaged him. Normally Salazar would not care the least of an undead and see it fit to end it as soon as possible, but there was something about this krookidile. He could see it in it's eyes, he could smell it, hell the damn thing was speaking cohernitly and with intent. Not only did it still have the glint of intelligence in it's lifeless crimson glowing eyes, but it seemed to imminate a metaphorical aura of extreme danger, this creature is no folly Salazar mentally concluded as he observed, sitting lke a child in school attempting to solve a math problem. "Let me tell you right now, I will not be first, and nor will any of my friends while I'm still standing!" Rea suddenly roared in rage ebfore mentally tearing chunks from the ground and flinging them at the Krookidile in a raged ancient power.

His eyes now glowing a bright Cyan, the Azure zoroark created several Illusionary copies of Rea to help her avoid being hit by the large red abomination, and with this facade, he decided to create a few more copies of himself as is scattering his' selves around the area, leering hotsily at the Harbinger. And with this he crept out of sight and reappeared near the Eevee and the Pikachu, and had his shape become that of a Pachirisu as he stood gaurd next to the two smaller Pokemon. He knew Rea well enough to be fully confident she could keep the beast back, but Sorrow & the other were far to small in his opnion to face the beast themselves, so Salazar decided to stay back from now and keep a close eye on the two. Ready to jump in to aid his friend at any moment, even if his only attack that could effect the Krookidile was not very effecive.

Turning his head to the still depressed looking Pikachu, he patted him on the back and gave a silent brief smile before turning back and watching sternly at the ensuing battle.

==============================================
(Ooc: Sorry for the crappy short post and drop of quality toward the end of it, I'm hungry and rushed atm.

Sorrow looked on helplessly as the Charizard attacked the ground type without any headway. His blood turned to ice in his veins as the harbingers' words reached his ears.

"You...or your friends...who is first..." It hissed, its' large mouth snapping shut with emphasis. Sorrow couldn't breathe- all he could see was the gushing blood and the whimpering Luxray as it struggled to escape.

"Gah, you idiots! We gotta take care of that big bastard!" The little Eevee snarled, pawing at the ground impatiently.

"Let me tell you right now, I will not be first, and nor will any of my friends while I'm still standing!" Sorrows' gaze shot to the Charizard, flying towards the enormous Crookodile.

No! He wanted to scream at her, beg her not to attack again, but he was rooted to the spot. Instead, the Zoroark threw up a mess of illusions of both himself and the Charizard, reapparing close by them as a Pachirisu.
The little Pikachu looked at him in bewilderment, to which he received a pat on the back.

Ghost growled at the two.
"How can you stand there and do nothing!? You're complete morons!" He hissed, dashing forward and leaping as high as he could over the harbinger. A purple globular ball formed in his mouth, and as he reached his highest point, he spat it at the reptiles' face, landing only a few feet away from the Crookodiles' lethal tail.

Sorrow sprung into action, his daze broken. With all of his power, he sprang towards the dark Eevee and slammed into him, knocking them both as far away from the ground/dark type as he could and pinned down the struggling fox.

"What the HELL are you doing!? Get the- get off of me! We need to beat that bastard up! Did you see what he's doing!?" The Eevee bit and snarled at Sorrow, but the Pikachu stayed his ground.

It's too late...
It's too late...


(OoC- Ghost used Toxic, you can choose whether it hits or misses, dear harbie.~ And they're out of the way now, so no need to attack them.)

(OoC: Skip please.)

[lol, I couldn't tell what time it was since some of these posts say dawn and some say evening. xD I just went with Dawn. Glad to be on the team. B)]

The feeling of teleportation was a known experience to Calypso, and he felt a sense of déjà vu as he appeared with a flash and fell down once again down to the ground, missing his balance just like in the sandy desert place. He blamed it on his somewhat lack of sleep; the Abra hadn't been getting nearly enough of his much needed slumber. However, instead of falling face-first into scorching hot sand like back in Outskirt, this time he stumbled down onto firm, springy soil ground. Calypso stared at the grass stalks that waved quietly in the wind that blew through wherever he had come to, a high humming in his ears. A small, circular red insect quietly stalked up the green blade of the grass, its legs clinging to the swaying stem. It looked peaceful and normal. He could just take a nap, right there on the dark ground. Just forget everything painful that happened. Maybe he could find his friends in his dreams...

And then the ringing in his ears cleared, as if swept away by the suddenly strengthening wind, and he heard the chaos. The Abra scrambled up in massive panic as a loud, echoing screech, filled with pain, tore through the place that Calypso now realized was a small city [more or less like a town]. An oddly colored Charizard [really, what was with all the strange colored pokémon? Calypso had already seen at least three in his first destination] flew backwards, bouncing like an oversized Magikarp over the ground before coming to a skidding halt. Calypso's gaze, naturally, followed the direction from where the Charizard came -- and he saw the cause. A hulking, red-scaled reptilian beast wearing blood like a king's robe, eyes red and an unimaginable level of pressure hanging in the air around it.

It looked around at something the Abra could not quite see, stomping at the ground and causing such a tremor that Calypso immediately felt it necessary to cling tightly to the grass stems where the bug had already flown away in fear. A big Luxray tumbled right to the crocodile's feet; and without a hesitation, it bit off one of the Luxray's legs with hardly any effort, as if its maw had bitten through tissue paper. The scream that followed practically shattered Calypso's eardrums, and he immediately sat up and backed away, his back softly hitting against a solid tree. He was just about in tears, his breathing coming in sharp gasps. He thought this place would be better than that desert; he thought it might've been safe. It turned out that the Abra just got himself into an even deeper problem, the very one that he wanted to avoid. Undead. Why did Calypso just run away from Outskirt? Just because one pokémon disappeared, just because he was too afraid. Why was he such a coward? There had been no Undead at the Stand; no bad memories haunting and eating him away like parasites.

A furious roar distracted Calypso from his thoughts, but not quite enough. The Charizard, having more or less recovered, stood with a tense air around her, her claws clenched into tight fists. The ground cracked and stone slabs and boulders gathered from anywhere possible, before flying straight at the Krookodile. The Abra was vaguely aware of other pokémon in the area, such as one or two Eevees he thought he saw around -- and there were more than one of those Charizards? Was it Double Team? Calypso finally snapped out from his prior confusion in curiosity of the new one, looking at the copies; and saw that there were not only those of the Charizard. A familiar, blue and grey Zoroark [or rather, many of them] glared at the Krookodile with dark hostility. The Zoroark that Calypso knew; could he ever make a face like that? But it surely must've been him. No other Zoroark had a color scheme like that, nor had the Abra ever seen that facepaint on any other.

"Sa...lazar?" he breathed, temporarily teetering away from the border of tears. Was Calypso lucky, or unlucky that he had found his carnival brother in a situation like this? The Abra shakily stood up, the weight of the bag around his shoulders feeling like a hand that dragged him down, his body shaking like a leaf in a storm, glancing from copy to copy -- which of the illusions was the real one? "Salazar!"

It seemed the prey's little friends wanted to answer for him. "Let me tell you right now, I will not be first, and nor will any of my friends while I'm still standing!" She summoned stones from the ground and began sending them towards the Krookodile but the Harbinger simply laughed. He grabbed his prey and allowed the feline to act as a shield, taking the attack for him. Though as the Luxray took the last of the stones a large ball of sticky fluid smacked right into the side of the croc's head, burning his eyes and making it impossible to see from the right one.

"How dare you!" With a loud roar he swung his mighty tail towards the small bundle of black that appeared near him but one of the others pushed him out of the way before he could land a hit. "Fine then...you want him-" he held up the Luxray, dangling him like bait on a hook. "Take him." His jaws opened wide and he bit down right on feline's throat, ripping away peeling back fur and flesh until the spine was exposed. He watched with morbid glee as the cat's wounds spurted his life blood onto the ground as his heart still pumped despite the fatal bite. When the last of the death throws finished, and the body stopped its twitching, he tossed the corpse to its companions. The prey had been no match for him.

With a snort and a loud slap of his tail to the ground the croc turned to leave, diving into the hole from where he had emerged. Using his Dig he traveled to the outside of town where he caught the sounds of another above him. Sticking his head out of the ground he spotted yet another electric type and his bloodlust stirred once more. This prey didn't look nearly as formidable as his last one but it might taste better. going back underground he launched another Dig, propelling himself with lightning speed towards the Manectric before leaping from the ground with jaws wide.

The first bite was fatal, as his mouth closed fully around the middle of the electric hound. It barely struggled at all before it's body gave to the shock and blood loss. He dropped the meat and looked down at the pathetic excuse for prey, disappointed that it had been so easy after the last one. But he shrugged and lay down on all fours, nudging the Manectric head first into his jaws and swallowing it whole. His belly was so full it was beginning to protrude, lumping in odd places and dragging his belly to the ground. It seemed he wouldn't be able to walk on two legs for a while so he settled with going back underground and making his way to his next victim.

(This was double-duty post, the fulfillment of my contract on the Luxray and a Harbinger Attack on the Manectric. Both characters are now deceased.)

The Liepard stumbled backwards in surprise as the Harbinger leaped from the ground and claimed the Manectric, devouring it before leaving the scene as quickly as it came. Words choked in Cashlin's throat at she fought back the urge to scream, slowly regaining her composure. The feline stood there for a moment, staring at the splatters of blood before dashing out of the undergrowth, stumbling across the debris-covered ground towards the dead body of her brother, Acelin.

She was staring, body rigid with horror at the unrecognizable carcass, before slowly prodding at the corpse with a shaking paw. A cold emotionless had washed over her eyes, half-lidded with fatigue. "Where's..." Cashlin was unable to finish her sentence, instead harshly kicking the dead body before turning away with a scowl, only to find her attention drawn to the newcomer, an Abra. The Psychic was calling for the Zoroark, maybe they knew each other? The Liepard quietly laid down, looking around.

"I wonder where Jose went..."

Rea growled as the Krookodile just laughed at her, but then raised the Luxray's body to act as a meat shield. Rea suddenly tried to jerk her attack away, but it was too late. The rocks slammed into the Luxray, making him scream. Rea suddenly just stood there in horror, the copies of Salazar around her not seeming to comfort her any more. It was weird.... Salazar's presence always seemed to make her feel better. Wouldn't er best friend make her feel better...? No.... She had just hurt an innocent pokemon. He may have been a... she hated to admit it, a bit of an ass, but she still... DAMAGED him. Flung her fury willy-nilly.... "What are you doing.... Throwing your rage like an Arceus-damned boomerang...." She hurt someone she was trying to defend. At that point she felt like a tiny little speck of yellow on a color spectrum as wide as Kanto. She hadn't hurt anything that had been in trouble before in her life. Yeah, she fought for her friends, killed for her friends, all those zombies. It was blood rain and blood shed.... She emptily watched as the Krookodile ripped out Acelin's throat, crimson liquid coming from his neck arteries was spurting out like a water gun.

"Fine then...you want him.... Take him."

She had fought for a friend and hurt them, and helped them to their demise.... She quietly sat in the black void of her mind, contemplating the emotional consequences she just inflicted on herself. She hardly noticed as it ran away, its feet thumping the ground. The faint cry of her friends name hit her ears. She was slightly numb that she helped in the weakening of Cashlin's brother.... She barely felt the twinge of the leopards presence near her. She glanced over, unnerved.
"...C--Cashlin.... I'm so s--sorry.... I... I didn't mean to hurt him...." she suddenly crumpled under her legs, falling to her knees. Her front paws barely dug into the soft dirt, keeping her swooning body up. She felt sick. She had to push the harbinger.... She bit the hand that fed her. She put her neck in the lions jaws. Or rather... she put the lions neck in the dragons jaws. "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry...." she started to whimper, on the verge of crying. She didn't know what else to say to her. She helped with the hurt of her brother. Cashlin must be... upset.... The poor Charizard was just trying to help.... She was working herself into a damn lather.

[skip, do not have time]

The Pikachu clenched his eyes shut as tears flowed from them.
He heard everything that happened; felt every poisonous word that the cruel little Eevee snapped at him. The bloody struggle had ceased, leaving the Charizard in a heap of pain and sadness, the Luxray in an indiscernable mess of gore at her feet, and his sister seemingly indifferent to the entire thing.

A sudden sharp kick connected with his belly, knocking him off and away from the black little fox.
"You slimy, pathetic, cowardly RAT!" Ghost snarled at him, licking his paw clean and spitting at the Pikachu in disgust.
"You LET HIM DIE! YOU ALL DID!" He roared, his hate-filled voice betraying his child-like body.
"You're not strong! None of you! You're not worth the dirt under my paws!" He spat, his eyes throwing daggers at each of them. "I can't believe I even helped you! You're not worthy of the kind of death HE had!" With a snort and a fur-bristling growl, he turned on his paw with his tail straight out behind him. Before leaving, he turned to look over his shoulder.
"Stay the hell out of my face, all of you. You're all pathetic."

...Just like daddy.
And with that, the small black Eevee dashed into the forest, angry tears streaming down his face as he rushed as fast as he could away from the smell of blood.

__________________

Sorrow whimpered quietly as he slowly pulled himself to his feet after a few minutes of just laying there where he landed, letting the Eevees' words sink in.
He's right...I just...stood by...and let that thing kill him...What kind of Pokemon am I...to do that...?
Sorrow swallowed the lump in his throat as he blankly picked up the light orb that fell a few feet away, and stared into it. Tears began to drip down onto the glowing ball, making the electricity inside spark with excitement. Despite its' beauty, Sorrow was not fazed. Instead, he clutched it close to his chest, and looked to the others with a long, sorrowful gaze.
I'm sorry...
He wanted to say.
But he couldn't.
He couldn't do anything.
With a pained sniffle and quiet whimper, he shuffled into the nearby forest, his ears low and tail dragging on the ground, until nothing but a faint silhouette could be made out in the shadows.

I'm meant to remain alone.
I don't deserve to be around others.

(OoC- It's been great, but I just don't have time for so many teams anymore with school. They may be back if a spot ever opens later)

What was it that Calypso believed to be luck? It most certainly wasn't the situation he found himself in now. Despite the joy of reuniting with the Zoroark that the Abra had considered his elder brother for as long as he could remember, other, following events tipped the scale in favor of 'misfortune'. The smile that was just beginning to grow on Calypso's face was instantly wiped out along with his surprise, replaced with horror that was unimaginable for his younger mind. The Epidemic was no place for any young to be in, yet it seemed the Abra drag the bright red flag of misfortune and terror everywhere he went as of late.

The rocks that the Charizard had hurled towards the red devil, the Krookodile easily blocked with the ragged body of the bloody lion that had rolled to its feet earlier. Calypso stumbled back again, his attention fixed on the sight; it was just one of those situations where you couldn't look away even if you wanted to. The crocodile laughed darkly as the Luxray took the hit, though his attitude took a swing once the Eevee's attack hit him right in his face. He roared in anger, and apparently having had enough, the Krookodile's long jaws bit down on the Luxray's throat and ripped it out, windpipe, esophagus, spine, flesh and all. Had it already been dead? No, the Luxray was still alive, gurgling on its own blood and injuries.

Not even a full minute later, the electric pokémon fell silent and the crocodile flung its body to the ground without a second thought. Calypso breathed heavily, sliding down with the bark of the tree digging into his back as he hit the ground yet again. The red king of death, still wearing his crown and robe of blood, simply barked another laugh before leaving, apparently having gone into the ground -- what did Calypso know? He was too disoriented to focus, his eyes stuck on the dead Luxray and his body shaking worse than a flag in a storm. Obviously, Calypso could call himself the luckiest Abra in the world; still simply an adolescent, yet exposed to sights and senses that even elders couldn't imagine. Tears traveled down past Calypso's cheeks and hit the ground before he had even known he was crying. Again? He was crying again? How could he ever grow up if tears and sadness came at every event?

The atmosphere in the air was, needless to say, quiet and suppressing. A Liepard walked to the corpse, first rigid and horrified, yet a cold glaze of indifference and fatigue washing over her eyes at the apparent confirmation that the Luxray was really dead. The Charizard seemed equally horrified and also broken, apparently in the hands of remorse that she had hurt the electric-type that had apparently been the Liepard's sibling. How? Why was that Liepard so indifferent-looking, then? Were siblings nothing? The fire lizard began breaking down in sobs, apparently at a mental limit. Though Calypso's eyes never left the Liepard, Charizard and Luxray in the semi-open field, the voice that tore through the oppressing silence was harsh despite the youth of it.

"You LET HIM DIE! YOU ALL DID!... You're not worthy of the kind of death HE had!"

Finally, the Abra let his gaze look over to see a bristling, angry Eevee, upset with his tail standing straight up. He began to move away as if to leave, but not before giving one last glance over his small shoulder.

"Stay the hell out of my face, all of you. You're all pathetic."

And he was gone. The Pikachu that had been next to him slowly raised himself from where he laid on the ground. The electric mouse pokémon looked so sorrowful. Picking up a dazzling, strangely light sphere, the Pikachu let his tears fall before silently moving away into the woods. And that was it. Calypso sat there in total silence, shedding tears for... what? He didn't know the lion. He didn't know anybody here, except for Salazar. It was just for himself, from the distress, from the horror. He really was just as pathetic as the Eevee had said. I'm selfish, Calypso thought, the words echoing in his mind that felt nearly as blank, yet was swimming. He didn't know what to do. What was there that he could do? The dead couldn't come back to life. Calypso was a clown. Clowns weren't supposed to shed tears. They were supposed to smile, and make others smile, too.

So why couldn't Calypso stop crying?

Ender had taken refuge near Dark Cave for the night. The bush he had chosen, both for it's size and for the lack of branches underneath, had served as perfect cover. Now, however, as the sun began it's climb into the morning sky, he found himself heading south- towards Cherrygrove. He was hunting aimlessly at this point. He knew his half-brother was out there somewhere, but he didn't know where he was, let alone his name or appearance. He only knew he was looking for a pokemon of the Dratini evolution line. Yeah, that was helpful.

His current search had him wandering across Johto, having already scouring most of Kanto. He had headed east when he searched most, if not all of the mainland, and found himself unable to cross the water to Cinnibar or the Seafoam islands. He promised himself he would find a way there eventually, but the mainland would have to come first, due to the easier access. So here he was, strolling down the middle of the road, his black body contrasting heavily with the light dirt. The only protection he had from the early sun was his feathered hat, but for now, it would do.

As he approached Cherrygrove, however, the sound of yelling caught him off guard. Quickly shifting his weight into a protective stance, he moved forward more cautiously than before. He couldn't make out the words, but he could feel the anger in them just as well. Before long, he could see the source group, standing in the middle of a relatively flat area. His eyes couldn't quite see from this distance, but from what he could make out, the scene was... horrific, at best.

As he got closer, he could see the corpse of the Luxray, and the other survivors huddled around it. He could spy at least three different reactions across the living's faces, so Ender could guess the group had mixed feelings about the deceased. What had happened here? He said nothing as he walked closer, ducking his head slightly in respect, shadowing his eyes with his hat. He stood off to the side a bit. He would let the others acknowledge him when they were ready.

((Hoping everything's alright. >.<))

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry...." Cashlin's fur bristled with annoyance, narrowing her eyes at the Charizard. "Stop it. Just, stop." the feline muttered, looking away. "Things like this don't matter anymore, at least, not in this world. Simply the norm, one of the many deaths we'll come across." her breath hitched, forcing down the tears. "Absolutely nothing to be sorry about. Even if there was... anything you c-could do..." the Liepard's ears lowered. "Th-there's no way to go back. What's d-done is... done. J-just don't dwell on it."

"You LET HIM DIE! YOU ALL DID!... You're not worthy of the kind of death HE had! You're not strong! None of you! You're not worth the dirt under my paws!" Cashlin glared daggers, standing up tall now, lookind down upon the black Eevee, whom shortly after shouting at them, left for the forest. "...Good riddance." she spat, turning herself away from the body. "I, I don't think... Kids like that, if they think they can save... everyone... I don't think those type of people can so easily stay alive in this new world. Sometimes, there's nothing you can do to change it, others are simply better off dead." the feline's words were only barely over a whisper. 'I had to learn that the hard way.'

Cashlin walked over to the Abra, trying to smile as she sat before the psychic. She sat there for a bit, lending her company to the weeping Calypso, before standing again when she noticed the dark intruder a few ways away from the group. Nodding to the psychic, she offered her name before she bounded away. "I'm Cashlin."

Leaping towards the black Sceptile, the Liepard cringed at the pain of her wounds, but kept nearing the grass-type. Her emerald eyes analyzed the foreigner carefully, a curious look on her face. "Not the best time for a newcomer to appear, but greetings anyway. I'm Cashlin." she sniffed, only to be relived that this Pokemon didn't smell like the dead. "Also, lovely hat."

"Stop it. Just, stop. Things like this don't matter anymore, at least, not in this world. Simply the norm, one of the many deaths we'll come across. ...Absolutely nothing to be sorry about."

Rea lifted her tan muzzle from the space she had been staring at. She jerked her head and the crystals of saltwater flew off her scale-adorned muzzle. She looked at Cashlin, her copper eyes heavy with guilt.

"Even if there was... anything you c-could do... Th-there's no way to go back. What's d-done is... done."

Rea looked to Acelin again, who's body was a bloodied heap.

"J-just don't dwell on it."

Even if the Liepard had been distressed, Rea seemed to find her words comforting. The Charizard flipped her tongue in her mouth in urgent need of keeping her composure. Cashlin was right. Even if Acelin died, she had had good intentions.... She had had good intentions. She didn't mean to help kill him.... She was aiming for the Arceus-damned Krookodile.... Suddenly growling assaulted her ears as it came right from where the harbinger had last been.

"You LET HIM DIE! YOU ALL DID!"

Rea flinched. She had just been getting into a calmer state of mind. This threw her brain for another loop.

"You're not strong! None of you! You're not worth the dirt under my paws! I can't believe I even helped you!"

Rea simply stared, blank but full of unneeded adrenaline. Y'know, the chilly-hot, seering-coldness kind of lava-ice that builds up in your veins. Her eyes kept their lifelessness of the current moment as they reflected her numb brain.

"You're not worthy of the kind of death HE had!"

Rea jerked again. The words had been so mentally painful that she physically felt it, her heart being wrung out and put in a vicegrip. As appalled and damaged as she was, she kept still and looked at the black Eevee.

"Stay the hell out of my face, all of you. You're all pathetic."

She watched him leave, the burning bee-stings he left still causing the Charizard pain. His words buzzed in her ears like angry locusts.
You LET HIM DIE! YOU ALL DID!
You're not strong! None of you!
You're not worth the dirt under my paws! I can't believe I even helped you!
You're not worthy of the kind of death HE had!
You're not worthy of the kind of death HE had!
Stay the hell out of my face, all of you. You're all pathetic.
You're pathetic.
Rea ached as she tried to keep her cool, her cheeks puffing from her troubled breathing. Her squinted eyes looked around the expanse, seeing Sorrow looking dejected and sad himself. He started to walk away. The words caught in the dragons throat, being tackled by her urge to cry. The pale Pikachu walked away from the group. Oh no. Oh no no no. They couldn't all be leaving. Rea frantically looked around, seeing Salazar. She needed to hang onto someone to keep herself from crying. She flung herself at the illusion fox, shaking slightly as she lowered her wings that she apparently rose in a defensive manner before, and wrapped her reptilian arms around him. She didn't even realize if she was holding too tightly, she just buried her head in the fluff of his fur to blind her vision. She tried to stop the flowing memories that hit her then.


The Charmander flipped and twisted as she slammed into the ground from being thrown. She got up astounded, looking to the Machoke who had just thrown her.
"Heh heh. You puny gecko, you're nothing more than a puff of ugly green fire." Another pokemon, a Arcanine, insulted her as she stood up. "What are you anyway? What kind of Charmander has stripes and breathes green fire? You misfit. You're a disgrace to fire pokemon." the fire husky growled at her. The Snorlax with them laughed. "Yeah! With those big wings and eyes and... duh...." it looked up to think.
"Shut up, you big lummox."
"And what are you to be so under leveled, you weakling? Look at us, we're the same age as you AND we're evolved." the Machoke snickered. Rea stood, her face steely and unreadable. They walked around her, chanting. "Useless, worthless, all you are is just depressed!" Rea didn't even look at them, but waited until they stopped. "... You quite done yet? I don't like to have mouth garbage assaulting my ears." The Arcanine gave a brusque hmph. "I didn't even know you had ears you stupid little thing. Maybe we should leave her, she doesn't want to realize how weak she is, so why not let her delve in this little fantasy she has, eh? I wouldn't have the heart to see this little thing die at my hand. Haw!" and with that, the Arcanine turned around to trot away. The others whooped and hollered and ran away from her. "You're pathetic!"

Those big blue eyes she knew to be gentle stared right into her, now like a raging ocean. He was so hard to read sometimes....
"C'mon, you can't be that weak. All I did was push you a little on accident." The black Charmeleon stood over the other striped Charmeleon as she lay on the ground.
"W--Well it hurt.... You don't realize how strong you are sometimes." the girl muttered, looking back up at her male counterpart. The other Charmeleon nodded and offered a hand out to her to help her up. Rea gently put her paw in the others, being pulled up. The other was significantly taller than her, towering over her like a black pillar. The ebony lizard put his head on hers and brought her close. Secure.... Safe....

A paw to the chest. The same blue eyes turning into a storm. The force of the shove was great. "What the HELL were you doing with him??" the black Charmeleon roared. Rea squinted. "He's just a friend--"
"OH. A FRIEND." the black lizard almost got saliva on her from the force of his screaming, "A FRIEND? What are you doing with a MALE? You're a girl, you're supposed to have girly, froo froo friends, not GUYS! It's slightly pathetic."
Rea couldn't ever fit in with the girls. The other female pokemon all shunned her. It was true; no pokemon wanted to talk to her besides the guys. She just so happened to be with a friend.... She liked her guy friends because they weren't superficial. Superficial.... She hated how she looked sometimes. "You know I don't fit in with the girls...."
"It doesn't mean you should be friends with guys! You're lucky I didn't fuck that STUPID grass type up with my Arceus-damned FLAMETHROWER." Rea winced.
He had come barging in on their casual conversation about something. Stupid boy thought that she was cheating on him. He ran up and shoved her away, screaming and hitting her friend. "GET NEAR HER AGAIN AND I'LL RIP YOUR BALLS OFF AND THROW THEM TO THE SHARPEDO." Rea hadn't hung out with him since....
"Get rid of your damn little boyfriends or you're going to lose your real one." Rea cowered. She hated how he screamed.... She had to get away.... Running away from your problems.... It was a usual solution for her. With no family living here, only her scientist friend....
"Jenee.... I'm sorry.... I'm sorry I was so weak...."
She took the bag from the lab. Jenee's bag.... But she turned her back for one moment, and was cornered by an undead. The striped Charmeleon threw herself out of the lab, chasing the blood-thirsting zombies away from the place. She hoped she was safe.... She never wanted anyone to hurt.... But she hadn't been strong enough to defend anyone....
Not even herself.

Rea withdrew from her thoughts, realizing she was shuddering by then, her eyes flowing tears. The rivers of salty water dripped off her nostrils as she moved her head to the side, putting the side of her head on Salazar's torso. Her eyes were still pale. No more running away....

-----
(OoC: Yay for long-as-hell posts. :D)

"You LET HIM DIE! YOU ALL DID!... You're not worthy of the kind of death HE had!"


"Stay the hell out of my face, all of you. You're all pathetic."

Salazar flinched at the harshness of these words, sadly admitting to imself that he did not intervine becuase the Feline's death was so blaringly impending that even rescuing him from the Jaws of Krookidile would only just prolong his death. Far too late, did Salazar notice Sorrow now almost completely out of sight, walking mournfully away, no more than a shadow in the rows of trees, gone. Salazar stared slate faced as the Liepard expressed no emotion for her fallen comrade, her carlessness toward the brutal murder of this other mildy digusted Salazar, yet he understood and bitterly accepted her opnion on the matter.

Rea seemed to be lost in thought, her facial expression deeply troubled, looking around frantically before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, causing him to drop his Pachirisu illusion, and removing all of the copies of Rea and himself. Looking down with his one good eye at his shaking friend, who was obviously in emotional distress, Salazar felt bad. But his focus was on something much more important to him right now,The Abra nearby. Salazar had no doubts that it was Calypso, and this left him almost in a poker-faced stupor of thought, were the other Carnival members alive? If so how many? were could they be? Laurie, Sevil? Mastiff? The friendly Pawniard clowns? With a twitch of his head, Salazar broke from his thoughts and came back to reality. "Calypso..." He spoke softly, watching the young Pokemon sitting in the grass, tears streaming down his face as he cried. Stepping from Rea's grasp Salazar started at first what was a slow trot, but ended up running, kneeling down next to the Abra, he grabbed him and hugged him tightly, crying now himself, but out of joy.

"..Calypso.." The Zoroak choked as he held his friend in his arms, too long had Salazar been plauged with the thoughts of what had happened to his fellow carnival members, were they could be, what horrors they would have to endure, or worse of all... what horrors they might have become. And the fact that here was one of the entities he saw as 'family' a little brother of sorts to him, was overwhelming for Salazar. He had so many questions and concerns. "...You have no idea how happy I am to see you again... I thought everyone might have been killed.." breaking from the hug, he looked down at the Psychic Fox in his seemingly perpetually closed eyes, " I promise everything will be alright" Salazar finished saying before wiping some of the tears from his face. And with this, Salazar seemed to have an air of more confidence around him, the blanket of depression that seemed to cling to him like sap vanished, and in turn the Zoroark was beaming with happiness that another one of his friends had survived this now damned and forsaken world. In his haste to comfort one of his closest carnival members, Salazar had forgotten the other temporarly, and with this joyus revealiation, cast aside his vow of silence for the time being.

==================================
(Ooc: first post via laptop :o, i got my notepad to stop being a dicknozzle and world :D)

Calypso wiped his eyes with a yellow arm, trying to stem the trickle of unwanted tears from his eyes. He wasn't a little kid anymore, or so he had always said; the others in the circus had always treated him like the youngest one there, calling him the baby brother of the carnival. The carnival... he missed it, so much. With a hiccup, the Abra looked up at the sound of softly crunching leaves at the Liepard that made her way over to Calypso quietly, sitting down before him. He looked at her with a small frown, one of sadness and uncertainty; a little smile sat on the leopard's face, though the Abra thought that the grin didn't reach down much farther than her face.

"I'm Cashlin," the Liepard said, before standing up and leaving to greet someone else. Unsure how to respond, the Abra stared for a moment, his tears stopping for a second as Cashlin spoke to someone at the edge of the woods. He hadn't been paying attention as a certain old friend dashed towards Calypso, and he had only been turning around, seeing a flash of blue in his peripheral vision, before being engulfed in a hug. "...Calypso..." he heard in a choked out voice, his face buried in a chest of dark-colored fluff. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you again... I thought everyone might have been killed..."

The Abra looked up, getting the fur out of his face to see the Zoroark he had missed. Salazar looked like a mess; he used to look perfect and groomed, fit for the highlight of an entertaining show; now he had twigs and injuries littering his entire body, and one eye was oddly blank and unseeing. Calypso flinched a little at seeing how different his 'brother' looked, despite being the same pokémon. How long had it been since they last saw each other, again? Another question nagged at the back of Calypso's mind as he glanced at every injury and scar that had appeared on the Zoroark's body: and how long would they be able to stay together?

The Epidemic was ruthless. Just like how they were torn apart from each other along with their stable lives in the very beginning, they could easily be torn apart anytime now, as shown by the death of Cashlin's brother or the leave of the young Eevee and Pikachu. And yet... "I promise everything will be alright," the Zoroark murmured, wiping his face with a dark-furred arm. He looked confident and strong, an air of happiness around him. Why couldn't Calypso be that strong? "Salazar..." the Abra mumbled, looking up at the Zoroark with a blank face for a moment, really letting it sink in that for this moment, even if it was for just this moment, he had been reunited with his carnival brother.

The tears began flowing again as Calypso immediately lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the older Zoroark's torso, returning the hug tightly. He sobbed into Salazar's chest, crying like a little child, finally letting go of all the fear and loneliness he had held inside him for days. Everybody wasn't dead. He wasn't alone. "I missed you," Calypso said with a hiccup, still clinging close to the illusion fox. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for running away," he added, recalling how he had simply teleported away at the danger of Undead back at the three rings. Maybe he could've helped at least a little bit, helped the others to escape with his psychic powers; but no, he had vanished with a flash, and now, who knew how many others were still alive?

((I hage to skip, under the circumstances, but i won't be able to post on time. Very sorry.))

Huffing when the Sceptile didn't answer her, she decided to simply ignore the grass-type as she walked back towards the group. "Alright, we need to get out shit together," There were too much tears. It was like a lake of sobbing was being created, almost rivaling the one of blood. "We don't want to attract another undead, so we'll need to get rid of Acelin's body. The best way to dispose of his body would be to cremate him. But if you don't want to do it, Rea, it's alright. We'll figure something out," Cashlin definitely was not a sympathetic feline, but seeing the state that the Charizard was in made her heart break a little.

"...Arceus this atmosphere is triggering all my feels... No me gusta," muttering under her breath, swaying dangerously side-to-side. "We need to find stable shelter... and food..." Cashlin's eyes were clouding, breathing labored as she fought to stand up straight. "You, Sceptile, make yourself useful..." the Liepard's throat felt as dry as the Unovian Desert, sweat drenching her matted fur. Her pupils were dilated, blurry vision glancing over to everyone.

"Eve-everyone... Just please work among yourselves... Figure something out," the Liepard coughed, head hanging low. "I... I'll be watching over all of you..." legs shaking like earthquakes, she suddenly collapses onto her side. "Acelin... You better be wai-waiting at those fucking pearly gates for me..." Cashlin choked, before closing her eyes.

She fainted.

( Ooc: HOLY TITS ON A STICK, DID NOT REALIZE I WAS MY TURN. GOTTA SKIP BROSKIS.)

[Aiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. OTL How did I miss this? Normally I'm good with keeping up with Cherrygrove, fff. I can't really move on right now without Salazar, so skip for this turn please. :<]

Ender was startled by the Liepard's forthcoming attitude. She was right in all regards- including the hat, of course, but it still surprised him. Unfortunately, it seemed she mistook his lack of words for rudeness, and stalked away. He jumped when she fell down, however. He only let out a soft breath when he saw her sides rise and fall with her breathing. She had only fainted, it seemed. Arcues, what happened here?

Turning to the others, a small, cheerless group which forced Ender into pity. Looking to the closest one, the oddly colored Charizard, he introduced himself. "I'm Ender. What can I do to help?" None of them looked like they were in the mood for pleasantries, but he always hated being in groups of people without knowing names. It made working with them so much more difficult.

[aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA SO MANY PEOPLE ARE GONE WHY. Sorry, I didn't realize it was my turn right after Cash's. <<; And sorry for bad post too. ]


The Zoroark did not answer Calypso's question immediately, but that was alright. After all, who could blame anyone here for being speechless, whether temporary or not? A lot of things had happened in the past, what, thirty minutes or so, and the sun was still just climbing the horizon in the breaking of dawn. There were more pressing matters at hand; one, for example, the fainting of the young Liepard that had introduced herself as 'Cashlin' to the Abra. He stood up, legs still slightly shaky, before nervously making his way from behind Salazar towards the Liepard and also the big, black pokémon that Calypso thought looked a lot like a Sceptile. Maybe it was, and just weirdly colored just like all those other pokémon he had seen at that desert stand, where he had been before coming to this forest. There were certainly a lot of these differently colored pokémon around.

"I-is she okay?" Calypso stuttered, sounding timid and weak and berating himself for it. The Sceptile had turned to the weird-colored Charizard and called himself 'Ender'; at least he now knew his name. "My n-name is Calypso... I'm not sure how to help. Is Miss Cashlin...?" He barely even knew what was going on; how could he hope to be of assistance when he couldn't assess the situation? But at the very least, the Abra could see the faint rise and fall of the leopard's flank, so that was a good sign. She hadn't suddenly died. Calypso let out a slight, quiet sigh of relief, though worry still piled up and pressed down on him like weights. "...Should we wait for her to wake up?"

Ender tipped his hat to the painted Abra. Calypso... that was an interesting name, to say the least. Perhaps he would inquire later... In answer to his question, however, he shook his head. [color=indigo]"She's alive."[/color] He said, trying to keep his voice soft. Looking around at the others, he bit the corner of his mouth in thought. He was the newcomer, and as such was hardly the one to be making decisions. However, the state in which these folk were in... He wasn't sure of there was anyone else who could.

Voicing his opinion softly, he tried to see if there was anywhere they could take shelter. "This area is too open, and too well lit." He haited being somewhere he couldn't protect his back. "We're sitting targets as long as we stay here. Does anyone know of somewhere we could take shelter?" Hopefully they wouldn't see it as taking charge. Something told him the fainted cat wouldn't like that much which she woke up.

Cashlin's body was slightly twitching, fur bristling up pathetically as she lay there in the mud. Tears were streaming down her ragged, once beautiful face. The Liepard was, although unconscious, in fear. The feelings of darkness crawling over her body made her resting form shiver, slowly letting loose a pitiful whimper as she saw into her land of dreams.

"I don't want to die..." the dark-type murmured in her sleep, grinding her fangs harshly as if to bear a pain. Her legs were shaking almost uncontrollably now, tail tip twitching in unknown anticipation. Cashlin wanted to wake up, wake up so badly but no matter how hard she tried she found that the looming black of her reverie trapped her in. She flinched away her front leg, as if a foe was trying to bite it. "I don't want..."

[OOC: She's still unconscious, but trying to wake up. VwV Anyone can wake her up if they want.]

(OoC: skip OTL no idea what to post, lets just say that Salazar told Calypso that he missed him too, and that there was no need to apologize for thing he couldn't help, then lets say he agreed with Ender.

I've been distracted with school lately)