The ALPH Team

Garth watched as Lalita walked over to the Zoroark only to fall over. She seemed to be hurt, he could tell, even though she was trying to hide it, she was definitely hurt, but from what? He didn't really have time to think about that. The Grovyle got up and walked over to them, but kept his distance. "She's hurt, isn't she." He said as he knelt down. Though he couldn't get a very good look at her from here, he could see it all over the Zoroark and Lucario's face. He stood up again and turned around. "I know just the thing that will help her feel a little better." He said before darting off once again. No way was he going to let that Ninetales die, not until he got the chance to hear her scream and feel her fresh blood between his claws, oh how he could hardly wait till then.

He soon came back to the pond he had taken a dip in to wash off the blood of the Espeon he had killed some time ago. "Now where is... ah, bingo." He said as he looked over to the other side of it, right next to an Apricorn tree. He stepped back a bit before dashing, then when he was right at the edge he jumped. He landed in the water with a huge slash, but he had managed to jump pretty far so he didn't have to swim to much to get to the other side. When he pulled himself out of the water he shook himself of the water, even though he enjoyed it, he wasn't fond of being wet for very long. He walked over to the berry tree and knelt down, looking to see if any berries where left on it. There where two left and he picked both of them. "Perfect, with these, that Ninetales will feel better." And then I can kill her myself later. He said the last part in his head, cause he didn't know if he was followed by one of the others or not, but he had to play it safe just in case.

he got back to the others, holding the two berries protectively as to not drop one on his run back. Garth walked toward them and placed two Sitrus Berries down near Lalita's mouth before backing away, as they probably wouldn't care to much for him being so close. "There Sitrus Berries, they help heal health." He said as he sat down a few feet from the others. There was nothing wrong with the berries, they weren't tainted or rotten. They where just right. Just perfect for eating.

Fred noticed that Lalita was acting peculiar, as if she was injured. Perhaps the silver fox was hurt, and he never noticed. Before Fred could ask how Lalita had gotten hurt, Clyde had set off, and he followed. At first, the Vigoroth was completely silent, and Fred kept quiet. Normally, he would've had something to say, but Fred was feeling both curious and respectful towards these new Pokemon. It wasn't until a little while later did Clyde speak. "I'm Clyde, by the way." Yep, Fred knew that because of the others, but he merely nodded in reply. So, what's your story? Okay, here came the hard part. Fred had never told his life story to anyone, and he had just met Clyde. But Fred somehow already trusted the Vigoroth, perhaps because of his friendly nature, but Fred was not normally this trusting. Only he never got a chance to reply at that moment. W-What I mean is, where'd you come from?" The Quilava searched for an adequant response, something that had never been easy unless Fred was being sarcastic. "I come from northern Johto, from a large family. I was forced to leave..but now that I look back on it, I was just running away. I was being a coward." He spoke with some regret, but Fred quickly recovered from it. After a few more moments of silence, Fred glanced forward to see that they had come across a river.

Clyde smiled in a weak way to Fred, who returned it in a friendly manner. The Vigoroth then went to the waters edge with the Pidgeots body in his arms. "So many deserve a proper burial," Clyde said before putting the bird in the river. Before, Fred might have protested, but he didn't say a word. "You probably think I'm mad." Mad? Fred thought these newcomers were very strange, but definetely not mad! It's just...everyone just what they like before...before this!" Suddenly, Clyde made a wild gesture, likely as a way to express what he was trying to say. Fred noticed that the Clyde's eyes were wet, but the Quilava wasn't going to be low and point it out. "This hell." Fred dipped his head slightly, looking at the water. "Many think that they were always like this," he started to say, "They forget that they were once alive!"

The dimming light surprised me as I made my way through Route 45 enjoying the seemingly rocky terrain I vaguely remember loving when I was alive. Its funny how, now that the virus reanimated my brain cells, my memories have been coming back fuzzy and surreal but still they were there. The last months however, when I had lost all aspects of myself were completely gone from my memories. It was as if I had black out and finally woken up when the virus wanted me too. I wasn't really sure why everyone was terrified of becoming an undead since in my opinion it wasn't such a bad deal. Granted you lose yourself for a while but as the virus takes you over and recreates your broken brain, you feel an amazing rush of power and awe. [It may be awe inspiring but do you honestly believe that you are you? Maybe your just the virus with its found voice..] "Ugh we are so tired of the things you think. Why do you have to be so negative? Well you know what! We're going to have a party and you aren't invited!" My rambling echoed off of the landscape around me and shot back to my waiting ears. Narrowing my eyes, I growled at the voices in my head but then realized that the ones I were hearing weren't really in my head for once.

Up ahead was a group of living Pokemon. Just the thought of their bodies in my jaws made me hungrier then I had been in a while. With all of the undead around it was getting increasingly harder to find good quality food but now here it was right in front of me. The strange colored one, a Ninetales no doubt, was on the ground seeming to be hurt which brought a sigh to my muzzle. Yes it was wounded and probably easier to kill but I loved the thrill of the fight it takes to bring down my prey and with an already wounded creature, there was no thrill. "Well what's the point. We're out numbered anyway. Looks like we're going to have to stalk them for a while." Still talking to myself, I crept through the shadows easily hiding with my dark purple, almost black now, fur. Another smell caught my nose and I noticed the green one was infected which made me laugh softly to myself as I stalked my prey keeping out of their range of sight and smell.

(OOC: As you can tell, he is coherent but crazy. Check his profile if you need an explanation. I can't wait to roleplay with you guys! Oh also, when I do this: [text] those are his thoughts or so called "voices" as he calls them.)

((OOC: Hey guys, you know route 45 is all the way on the other side of Johto, right? lol. We are on route 35.))


No, Silver was wrong. It wasn't just the herbs wearing off. Why didn't she listen? Something was wrong, Lalita knew it. Garth even offered her some berries, but she couldn't quite reach them. She tried lifting her head for the medicine the Lucario was offering, and suddenly a white hot pain rushed through her and she screamed. Loudly.

She began hacking and coughing, like she couldn't get enough air. A coppery taste began filling her mouth and her heartbeat began going crazy. Lalita's head began swimming and she was getting dizzy, and a strange gurgling noise was coming from her throat. She felt like she was drowning and there was nothing she could do about it. In a panic she clawed at the ground, trying to fight air back into her lungs.

((OOC: Uh oh, punctured lung led to collapse...))

Clyde had listened to Fred’s history in silent curiosity, touched by the quilava’s honesty. A coward - that was something he hadn’t expected from the fire-type. Regardless of whether or not it was true, Clyde held no prejudice and instead ushered a soft smile. He was secretly glad he hadn’t asked him the same question; the vigoroth couldn’t handle pouring out his emotions right now.

"Many think that they were always like this. They forget that they were once alive!"

He was pleased that Fred understood him. He’d struggled to explain his misplaced pity for the infected but apparently the quilava sympathized, and he was incredibly grateful. He nodded his head in agreement, muttering the word ‘yeah’ softly as he stared down at his reflection. With a sigh, he raised his head and turned away from the river.
“Well, we best get back to the others,” Clyde smiled. This little break had been pleasant, almost peaceful in this otherwise hectic world, but he knew he couldn’t inhabit it for long. He was already becoming fearful of what may have passed in his absence – how Garth had acted when he hadn’t been under the vigoroth’s close observation. With another smile at Fred, he set off back in the direction they’d come, glancing over his shoulder to check the quilava was following. A faint rustle in the trees caught his attention, and Clyde quickly snapped his head around to the source of the sound. He was sure he’d seen movement, perhaps a flash of purple – but before he could investigate further, a terrible scream pierced the previous tranquility.

Clyde’s heart leapt to begin violently beating in his chest. He recognized the voice’s owner and a sickly shiver swept over his form.
“Lalita...” He exclaimed urgently, his eyes wide as his mind blocked out the previous threat of an infected lurking in the vicinity. Without a second thought, the vigoroth was running. Ignoring the sudden pain in his side, Clyde returned to all fours to reach a powerful, frenzied sprint towards the group. Concoctions of emotions were bubbling beneath the surface and the vigoroth was plunged into a state of panic. He was furious with himself – it was Garth, he was certain of it and he’d just gone and left them at the slippery bastard’s mercy. A growl rumbled within his throat. Please be okay, please be okay..., he felt like crying. He would not lose another friend to the monsters of this world.

He slid to an abrupt halt as the group came into vision. Lalita was sprawled beside Gormlaith, obviously in agonizing pain and reaching out for something. Garth stood a distance in front of her.
“Get away from her!” Clyde roared, rushing forward to fill the space between the ninetales and what he thought was her attacker. His white, bloodstained fur stood on end, a frown hung over fierce eyes as he bared large fangs at the grovyle. He heard Lalita coughing behind him, gurgling. Clyde lost it. The natural vigoroth instinct took over and he rushed towards Garth, one of his fists glowing a brilliant white as he aimed a powerful focus punch. That bastard was going to pay – Clyde intended to kill him.

( Look out! Clyde’s snapped! Sorry if you didn’t understand my post - Clyde’s just misread the situation. He has no idea what’s wrong with Lalita and just thinks Garth is responsible for it. >:3 )

Gormlaith was relieved to hear that it was just the herbs wearing off. That relief, however, was short lived. Lalita's condition started to deteriorate quickly, too quickly and severely for it to be just the herbs wearing off. The silver fox was obviously in trouble. "Silver! She can't breath! What do we do?!" Gormlaith asked, panic in her voice. She had never had to deal with a situation like this before, so she turned to her teammate for help. Silver was very knowledgeable in medicine, so hopefully she would know the problem and be able to fix it.

The chaos was increasing every second. Clyde suddenly burst forth from the woods, rage written on his face. He jumped between Lalita and Garth, threatening the grovyle. Before Gormlaith's mind could process what was happening, Clyde was lunging at Garth.
"Clyde! What are you doing?!" the zoroark cried, bewildered. This was no time for fighting. She wanted to stop him, but at the same time she didn't want to leave Lalita's side. The suffering ninetales was the priority, and hopefully Clyde would soon realize this.

Silver was, at first, really glad that Lalita didn't have anything worst happening to her but then she heard Gormlaith cry out, "Silver! She can't breath! What do we do?!" This caused her eyes to widen as she quickly did another scan of Lalita and saw the punctured lung. She may be knowledgeable about these things but this is something she can't easily heal with just herbs. ~She's got a punctured lung. We have to get these herbs in her to numb the pain and then try to work with the bone and bind her tightly to keep the bone in place until it can heal. It will be painful and we will have to make sure she gets plenty of Oran berries and Sitrus berries so she can heal. I don't like that Garth fellow but he did bring some Sitrus berries and they look ripe enough to eat~ she said before she grabbed the berries that the grass reptile brought and, once she had the another large leaf shape into a bowl, she gently crush the berries together to make juice and, as gently as possible, began to help Lalita drink the juice after she had made sure she had the herbs to numb the pain. Once that was done she took some more long grass and, using her aura scan, she worked on, gently as she could, move the bone and bound her hoping that the herbs, juices, and bounding of the bones will help Lalita.

As she did this she thought back to her trainer, Mizuki. Mizuki had told her about a move she would be able to use when she evolves that could be very helpful in battles. Silver thought back to that day. "Silver," Mizuki called catching the Riolu's attention. Once Silver was looking at her Mizuki had smiled and said, "There is a move I would like to tell you about. It's called 'Heal Pulse' and it can be really helpful in battles when you are in a double battle. Heal Pulse will allow you to be able to heal your targets health. When you use it it should heal any wounds or at least most wounds weather inside or outside the body. If you ever want to learn this move just let me know. All you really have to do is concentrate with your aura and focus on the part of the body you would like to heal. It could mend some bone fractures as well once you have enough experience with using it." When she remembered that information about Heal Pulse she decided to give it a try. She closed her eyes once more and gently place her paw over where she had earlier seen where Lalita was hurt. Her black ears began to wave in the air and a small blue light surrounded her and Lalita. Once she was able to get that done she concentrated and remained focus on where she wanted to heal. Soon her paw glowed a light pink and, with her aura sense abilities, she slowly move the rib bone in place and healed the punctured part of the lung. She made sure that Lalita didn't feel any pain as she did this and if Lalita will noticed she will realize that she is surrounded by warmth while Heal Pulse took in effect. After Silver was sure she had done the best she could she slowly lowered her aura sense and gently moved her paw away. The amount of power she had used took a lot of her energy so she knew she will have to rest soon.

~Lalita how do you feel now? Is the pain gone and are you able to breath easily now~ she ask by mind and Lalita would be able to hear the pure exhaustion that was in Silver's voice as she spoke. Using that large amount of power to heal Lalita took a lot out of Silver and it could be seen by those close by that she could barely stay awake and her legs were shaken from the overuse of the power that she hasn't used before.

(ooc: I had ask Suicune if I could get her to remember the attack and have it replace Detect so now Silver has the attack Heal Pulse the bad thing is, since she isn't use to it, when she heals something big, like with Lalita, it will take almost all of her energy and she will have to rest soon after she used that large amount of power. Her healing minor wounds won't do this to her)

Garth just sat and watched as Lalita started to choke on her own blood, concern flustered on his face. If she dies then that means one less victim for me, so you better live you damn fox. He thought as he watched the Lucario and Zoroark try to treat her, but he didn't get to watch for long before the Vigoroth returned and shouted something to him. "Get away from her!" It shouted as it put itself between Garth and Lalita. The Grovyle was about to say he hadn't done anything when he felt some force hit him right in his face and send him flying into one of the trees.

Garth shook his head and wiped some blood off his mouth before turning to the Vigoroth. "What is your problem!?" He shouted before jumping out of the way of Clydes next attack. It took a lot not to laugh in enjoyment and he dodged the Vigoroths attacks, it took a lot to keep his look stern as he was attacked. "You big idiot I haven't done anything to her!" Yet. He said the last word in his head before jumping a ways from the rampaging Vigoroth. "Fine, if you want to fight then I'll fight." He growled and the leafs on his arms turned into blades and he charged Clyde. With luck he could chop the things head off with one blow, but then the others would all turn on him, so he had to make it a miner wound with no threat to his life, oh how waiting could be so frustrating.

Fred's ears shot up as he heard the scream. Clyde had definetely heard it too. For a few moments, Fred was too stunned to speak or move, what if the scream belonged to the others? "Lalita," Clyde exclaimed, his eyes wide. Before Fred could get a single word out, the Vigoroth had broken into a run. "Oh, bloody hell!" Fred shouted before chasing after Clyde, the guy was no doubt running back to his friends. Even though Fred was very quick, Clyde was easily outdistancing him. The Vigoroth seemed to have been driven into a sort a frenzy, most likely because of Lalita's scream. Gosh, Fred wasn't used to running like this. He had already become short of breath, and there were stabbing pains in his side. The Quilava could barely see Clyde's white fur anymore, and Fred couldn't keep up the pace forever. Great, now Fred couldn't even see Clyde in front of him anymore. His lungs were on fire-how long would it be until Fred reached the others again? How in the name of all things mental am I supposed to know?!

"Get away from her!" someone (and Fred had a good guess at who) shouted. Fred burst into the clearing, finally, only to see Clyde leaping at Garth, his fist glowing brilliantly. Lalita was lying down next to the black fox, choking and gurgling, while the blue one was trying to help with whatever had happened to the silver fox. Judging by the other fox's shouts and the general behavior, Garth was not the culprit of Lalita's..er, problem. "Clyde!" Fred yelled, and jumped onto the Vigoroth's back as a distraction. "Get ahold of yourself, man!" Okay, so Fred was screwed if Clyde retaliated, but did that really matter? What really mattered was that Garth was charging at Clyde, his leaves formed into blades. Fred didn't want to actually fight the Grass-type right now, so... Fred leaped in front of Clyde, knocking his hat off so it wouldn't burn. In an instant, the Quilava's back and head erupted with flames.
"You might want to keep back! You're not exactly welcome right now!" Fred warned.

The thrill of the hunt flooded through me as I realized that now there were two weak Pokemon in the group and a fight beginning to break out between a couple of them. Thinking quickly, I began calculating my best chance for food but looked to the grass type and wondered how hard it would be to get around him. Chuckling darkly to myself, I decided I didn't care. Hunger was beginning to engulf me but the virus didn't take over for I controlled it even though I wanted more than anything to let loose my bloodlust. For now, I still waited, a plan ticking through my mind.

A strange light surrounded her and Lalita felt the drowning sensation stop, and a calm filled her. There was no pain, but she could feel the bone snapping back into place and the hole in her lung sealing. And then the light faded, like it was a dream. Oh...the dream. Lalita remembered when she first passed out from the original injury. There was a point in it similar to this where she felt like she was drowning and then everything faded away. How odd...

~Lalita how do you feel now? Is the pain gone and are you able to breath easily now~ She looked up at Silver and nodded. "Thank yo..." she began, but something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Fuzzy and Garth were fighting! What were they doing? Clyde hit Garth and Garth sharpened his leaves to blades. They were serious...and now Fred was getting into the middle of it? Oh this had to stop. Charging forward the shiny Ninetales leapt in the middle of all the commotion, showing a limberness she hadn't felt in a good while, and fanned out her tails as a distraction. "Everyone STOP! NOW!" she cried out desperately. She was ready to take any attack they threw at each other if it meant that they would stop acting like crazy people.

"What is your problem!?"

Clyde’s focus punch had been a direct hit, knocking Garth back into a tree with a disgruntled outcry. He wasn’t finished though, he aimed another attack, but this time, missed. His animalistic fury made him clumsy, uncoordinated – just determined to do the grovyle the upmost damage in the shortest amount of time. Garth was dodging almost effortlessly and this only worsened the vigoroth’s mood. He knew this was going to happen, the damn creature would have the advantage of speed and wear him out, but he continued his aggressive approach regardless. He was about to aim a hammer arm when Gormlaith’s panicked words broke through to him.

"Clyde! What are you doing?!"

He abruptly halted his attack, glaring at Garth as the grovyle muttered something his ears refused to translate. The urge to kill the lizard was overpowering, but the total bewilderment in the canine’s voice had caught him off guard, giving him a flash of what he’d become. He took a deep, shuddering breath, looking over his shoulder to see Silver crouched over the wounded Lalita, Gormlaith standing, concerned beside them. Guilt swept over him, his eyes softened and he opened his mouth to speak when a sudden force in his chest brought him back into the fight. Garth’s razor-sharp leaves had penetrated his chest, causing him to emit a pained roar as a bloody cross-shaped wound emerged against the thick, white fur. It wasn’t a deep, life-threatening wound, but it was painful and bleeding profusely. His step faltered slightly as he glared daggers at his attacker. Before he had time to recover, there was something atop his back. The sudden weight alarmed him and in his confusion, he attempted to toss the creature from his body. However his energy was quickly fading as his movements grew more sluggish, fearful of the unseen being but too weak to take any action against it.

"Get ahold of yourself, man!"

Clyde recognised the voice and relaxed slightly. Fred wasn’t a threat, but the quilava’s hasty actions had added fear to the vigoroth’s already hostile mood – there was no telling what he might’ve done in his alarm. As the weight was lifted, the quilava suddenly appeared a short distance in front of him, flames ablaze as it took a defensive stance. Clyde couldn’t rationalize why Fred was protecting him. They’d only met an hour or so previously and shared one conversation, Clyde was hardly worth risking his life for at this stage. He was touched nonetheless.

"Everyone STOP! NOW!"

The vigoroth was more than shocked at Lalita’s sudden appearance and apparent recovery to stand between Garth and himself. His jaw hung ajar as his eyes ran over the ninetales – she wasn’t limping, no breathing difficulties... nothing. He frowned, confused. Had he been seeing things? Maybe she hadn’t been injured after all, just resting or having some kind of coughing fit. He was speechless. As his breathing steadied to a deep, rhythmic pace, Clyde’s mind cleared to permit his true character to regain control of his body.
“W-Wha-“ He struggled to form words, totally lost. The past few minutes had been almost a blur, everything happening so quickly and at the time he’d been numb to his own consciousness, and pain. Now that they’d returned, he was sick with himself. He’d promised himself that he’d never let himself fall into the vigoroth stereotype, and now he’d willingly gone and succumbed to the species’ famous aggression. He feared what the others may have seen.

“I-I-“ It was hopeless to explain. He looked to each of the creatures gathered, his body visibly shaking as the pain from his injuries returned. In his actions, Silver’s makeshift wrap around the wound on his side had been somewhat ruined. Half of the bandage was hanging loose, bloodstained to reveal the foul gash beneath which was bleeding again from the strenuous movements. He glanced to it, the same stingy sensation flooding back into his senses. The bloody cross on his chest wasn’t as agonizing, but still contributed to the growing aching of his body. It had been awhile since he’d battled with such passion and he’d almost forgotten how tiring it was, but now that an uneasy peace hung over the vicinity, Clyde was growing far more aware of his own health.
“I-I’m... sorry,” He choked out helplessly. The emotional distress was difficult to distinguish between the effects of physical pain currently contorting Clyde’s face. Mentally and physically, he felt dreadful. Taking a few steps backwards, the vigoroth’s eyes soon wandered to Silver and Gormlaith. What if they thought he was dangerous? They could think he was no better than that damn Garth. But even Garth hadn’t been aggressive. Garth hadn’t willingly attacked any of them, but he had. His eyes were wide, alarmed at the judgements passing through each and every pokémon’s mind. With another shaky exhale, he thought of Bonnie. What if she’d seen that display? She’d been the one person to change his aggressive ways; she’d be ashamed to see what had just occurred. “I’m sorry,” He muttered again under his breath, addressing Bonnie rather than the group. His legs gave way beneath him and he slumped onto the ground, trying to steady his growing paranoia and overbearing guilt. He was too overwhelmed by his own thoughts and fatigue to continue the battle. Garth had won; Clyde had lost most spectacularly.

(( Sorry, long post :B ))

Silver heard the other speaking around her and saw that Clyde and Garth were attacking each other. Sure she didn't like the grass reptile but she knew it wouldn't be good to start anything just yet with him. She had falling weakly to one knee because of the use of her Heal Pulse attack. She was really glad she was able to succeeded in healing Lalita but she was two weaken to be able to do the same for Clyde right now. When she saw how upset Clyde was, for suddenly attacking like he did, she force herself back up on her feet and slowly went over to him and place a gentle paw on his shoulder. Though as she did this she put more of her weight in the touch then she meant to, showing Clyde fully how much she has weaken. ~Clyde it's alright. If I was in your place and saw what I saw without knowing what really happen I would attack someone as well especially someone I don't trust but everything is alright. Lalita is fine I have healed her with my Heal Pulse attack. Though the cost in return is that I'm weaken more then I normally would be if I had healed only a minor wound. Do you want me to heal you as well? I'm sorry as well for always talking by mind but it's mainly because of that Garth and now it's because I'm too weak, at the moment, to be able to move my mouth and form words~ she thought to him once she was sure she had his full attention.

It all went by fast, Lalita, who was ill and seemed to be dying just a few moments ago had now thrown herself in front of Clyde and Garth's fight. It took all of the Grovyles will power to stop himself from continuing his attack, His blades stopping only inches away from the ninetales neck, oh how he would love to have kept doing, to see her head drop to the floor, to see her blood pore out if her neck like a fountain, oh how he would have loved to see that. Alas though, he had to stop, though he couldn't take much more of this. It was clear as day they did not like him, though he continued to stay, but no more.

Garth backed away from the ninetales, an evil grin plastered on his face as he looked at them all. He pictured them bleeding, blood pored from there mouth and eyes until they fell out. He watched as there fur fell out, there skin falling off to reveal bone. He couldn't help it, he couldn't help but chuckle as he watched his hallucination take over. He didn't even notice the gray that had started to creep along his arm leaves, the purple that was now plastered on his neck from where he was bitten, he had finally lost it.

He let out an insane laugh, before he charged at the one who was the closes to him, that shiny Quilava. His blades where once again glowing as he closed the distance. He could see the shock and fear on its face. He lashed out at the Quilava, leaving a large gash in its back. He was supposed to slice the creature in half, but it moved out of the way just in time. He looked at the blood on his bladed leaf before turning back to the fire type. He lashed out at it again, listening to its screams as he sliced at it before he started to cut its arms off, then its legs. Its hat had fallen off, now soaked in the Quilavas blood as Garth stood over the fire type. Giggling as he looked at the pain in its eyes. "Time to put you out." He said as he lifted his blades into the the air then brought it down, slicing the Qilava's head clean off its limbless body, though he didn't stop. He continued to lash out at the lifeless body, chopping it to pieces, until there was hardly anything left to chop. Just a pool of blood and chunks of flesh that was one the Quilava.

He blinked, panting from the rise of excitement he had just gone through. He looked at the mess that lay in front of him, the blood that now covered his arms and body. He still couldn't help but giggle at what he just did. "Well, this was fun." He said as he looked to the others. They where helpless to stop him, and yet, they where right all along about him. He was not someone who should be trusted, he was someone to be feared. And infected with a mind is what he was. He could think, he could feel, and the feeling he loved, he longed for, was that he felt when he was cutting someone up. When he looked into there eyes as they looked at him in fear, that little glint of plea that showed just before he decapitated them. The Qilava's lovely hat, was now forever stained with the blood of its owner. "I believe I am no longer welcome here, so I shall take my leave." He said as he turned and jumped into one of the trees, looking over his shoulder, that evil, insane smile still plastered on his face before his disappeared into the trees.

((Garth is now inactive, but this is not goodbye dear Alph, for someone new is going to show up real soon...))

It had been a very tiring day for George. First, some giant, fire-breathing dog had tried to kill him, then the Quilava had nearly broken his neck after falling out of a tree. All George wanted was some rest, something he hadn't had in nearly four days. He bent his head to drink from this river George had found when something caught his eye. It was a dead, rotting bird caught on a loose branch, darkened because of the rushing water. What idiot had thrown this crow's meat into a perfectly clean river? George relunctantly pulled his head away from the water, fully aware of how dry mouth and throat. With a sigh, the Quilava continued downriver, keeping a sharp eye out for anything moving. Years without his twin had brought a sudden change in George's perception, along with him nearly getting sliced in half by his older brother. George suddenly changed direction, away from the river and into the trees. If Fred set a tree on fire, at least George would notice it. George continued in this manner, thoroughly depressed. If only George had one clue, a single clue, to Fred's whereabouts. It would make everything so much easier. The Quilava was so busy wrapped in his thoughts that when he looked up to see not one, but four Pokemon huddled in a group, George jumped back what seemed like twenty feet. Well, they didn't seem like infected...maybe they had seen Fred.

"Excuse me, um, strangers, have yo-OH, BLOODY HELL!" George's British accent became very pronounced in those last two words. He had just spotted a pile of bloody chunks, and looking over at these strangers, George concluded that it was very unlikely they had done this. None of them were covered in blood, and the...flesh..looked very recent. He was quite embarrassed about his outburst. "Sorry about that...I'm George, have you seen my twin brother, Fred? And what happened here?" he said in a recovering manner, taking in the appearances of these new Pokemon. One was a rather beautiful silver fox, one was a gigantic, gray-black and red fox, a white ape, and lastly, a blue-and-black dog of sorts. Quite the unusual group...

(Hey guys :3)

My thoughts swirled dangerously in my head as I watched the one called Garth slaughter the Quilava. My mouth began to water and I readied myself, my red eyes glowing brightly in the darkness surrounding me and that's when a plan formed in my broken head and immediately I calmed down. Slowly breathing, I allowed my dark and decaying body to blend in with the darkness and I began a slow walk around the group of Pokemon, holding to the darkness and shielding myself from prying eyes. No sound was heard from my steps and I broke the silence that wrapped around me with my cracked and broken voice that signified I was hungry and ready to hunt.

"We wonder how long it will take before another of your puny kind are killed and slaughtered right before your eyes without anyone being able to do one thing about it." My voice rang out eerily in the night air like a broken soul searching for its lost body.

Lalita felt her heart crumble as the proud Vigaroth slumped before her, and she hated herself for making him feel that way. The shiny Ninetales tried to go over to him, but Silver beat her there and she felt like she shouldn't interfere. Her attention went back to Garth, and the look on his face scared her. He had the look of pure evil and a smile to match. But what he did next would haunt the poor girl forever.

She watched, like time had slowed down, as the blades of leaves sliced into Fred, whom they had barely begun to know. Her eyes widened in terror as they severed his head, blood spraying everywhere, including on her fur. The smell made her gag and she backed away in fear. What had just happened? They were all there, together, how did Garth just kill one of them without even a second for one of them to react? The madness on his face spoke volumes. "I believe I am no longer welcome here, so I shall take my leave."

She just stared, unable to move or to speak, as Garth disappeared into the treeline. What were they to do now? "Excuse me, um, strangers, have yo-OH, BLOODY HELL!" She couldn't help it, Lalita screamed as the Fred look-alike just came out of nowhere. Completely lost in her confusion she ran up to him, looking him over, as she truly thought she was hallucinating. "Y-you...Fred...y-y-you can't be...No. You're d-dead. I-I saw you..." Lalita stumbled over her words as she stood in shock before the new Quilava. But she didn't hear his reply to her ramblings, because yet again, a new voice joined her nightmare.

"We wonder how long it will take before another of your puny kind are killed and slaughtered right before your eyes without anyone being able to do one thing about it." Her heart dropped. Now what? What more could they take?

Silver’s words echoed through the vigoroth’s aching head – her vain attempt at rationalizing his actions refused to register in Clyde’s mind but the rest of her speech triggered a violent pang of guilt. She’d healed the ninetales at her own expense. Lalita was fine, healthy but Silver was in just as rough shape as himself now. Their predicament had hardly improved. Clyde’s sad eyes met the lucario’s, an apology passing through in the look that he currently couldn’t voice. His attention was abruptly stolen by a hideous screaming. Eyes widening in horror as the horrific scene came into his line vision, Clyde’s fur bristled in a combination of fear and fury. The lizard was tearing Fred into gory, little chunks. He felt physically sick, his mind struggling to endure the merciless act before him. Fighting the agony coursing through his body, Clyde pushed himself to his feet, driven on by pure hatred as he bellowed a savage roar, pure emotion surfacing in the sound.

"Well, this was fun. I believe I am no longer welcome here, so I shall take my leave,”

The sick bastard had enjoyed it. The sadistic little grin on its face disgusted the vigoroth as he struggled towards the grovyle. His body was heavy, his limbs moving sluggishly from his injuries – but he refused to stop. It was a pitiful attempt at chase; even if he had caught Garth he probably would’ve suffered a similar fate as poor Fred, but the emotion was too strong to deny. He wanted revenge; he wanted to hear Garth scream his final words. As he watched the slim, bloodstained figure disappear into the trees, he broke into a weak sprint, disappearing from the group’s vision to stand small within the looming trees. His body was shaken violently, intense emotions wreaking havoc in the ape’s mind as he helplessly stared up at the treetops. He was breathing hard, eyes wide as the pain came flooding back.
“You bastard,” He snarled quietly, knowing that he’d lost. The monster had escaped with nothing but a measly focus punch having committed such a ruthless murder, no, torture. Everyone must have suffered from that sight – Fred hadn’t been the only victim. Clyde stood there for a moment, trying to balance his erratic thoughts before Lalita’s scream resonanted from the clearing. Clyde growled once more, quickly spinning around to force himself running back to the others.

His eyes immediately fell on Lalita, concern plastered over his face before his attention swept over to another quilava. It looked just like Fred. The vigoroth moved to stand protectively beside Silver – he knew she was in a weak state, but he kept a close eye on both Gormlaith and Lalita as well. He was not going to make another mistake. Although he was sad at Fred’s lost, he was glad it hadn’t been one of his closer companions – he wouldn’t be able to live with himself had the grovyle targeted one of the girls.

"Sorry about that...I'm George, have you seen my twin brother, Fred? And what happened here?"

Clyde’s stance faltered, a combination of both physical and mental pain weakening the intimidating pose he’d attempted to display. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Brothers, twins? There was no denying; this newcomer tragically resembled Fred and Lalita had picked up on it too. He looked over to the ninetales, concerned about her wellbeing from her stuttering speech, before his eyes returned to George. His glare softened, the sibling’s obliviousness was too enduring to provide an honest explanation of what had happened to dear Fred. Clyde sighed, eyes eventually fallen onto the Fred’s blood-soaked hat. He delicately grabbed the item in his claws, his heart thudding loudly as he laid it down gently in front of George. He hoped that the quilava would realize without the need of words. The vigoroth lowered his head solemnly before another voice echoed about the vicinity.

"We wonder how long it will take before another of your puny kind are killed and slaughtered right before your eyes without anyone being able to do one thing about it."

He frowned, doubting reality as he evaluated the possibility that this voice may have sprung from his own, weak mind. He glanced to the others, unsure how to react to the ominous sound – somewhat thankful that it didn’t belong to the grovyle. Moving to hold a paw over his now exposed wound on his side, Clyde looked tentatively around the area, no other beings springing into sight and only intensifying the tension.
“I... I think we should leave,” Clyde finally broke the silence. His voice was hoarse, quiet. The fear was evident, the pain was evident – Clyde was a stranger to his role as the brave but easy-going comedian of the group. He was a fragile time-bomb of pure emotion now.

Gormlaith knew Silver was capable of many things, but her recent display of healing abilities was truly astounding! Lalita had gone from criticaly injured to comepletely stable in just a few moments. The larger fox didn't even have time to react to Lalita's rash reaction to the fight before them. Running directly between two combatants wasn't one of the best ideas, proven when Garth stopped his attack mere inches away from the silver fox's neck.

Though the action was highly unfavorable to Gormlaith, she was releived to see that it had worked. The battle had stopped.

The calm was only momentary, however. Confirming everyone's worse fears, Garth revealed his true nature. In an instant, their true new ally was butchered. Gormlaith didn't move, she couldn't. What had just happened came completely out of the blue, or so it seemed. Nonetheless, the Zoroark could feel guilt swelling up inside of her. Back when Garth had first appeared, it was she that Lalita looked to for advice. She had made the final decision. She had let the monster stay.

'Damn it, damn it all!' Thoughts of regret flowed through Gormlaith's mind. 'This could have been prevented...!' She shook her head, clearly visably defeated.
"Excuse me, um, strangers, have yo-OH, BLOODY HELL!" The new voice startled Gormlaith out of her mental belittling. She looked up to see the owner of the voice, only to veiw something comepletely unexpected. Before her stood another Quilava, who bore more than a passing resemblance to Fred. She couldn't help but let out a startled cry.
"Sorry about that...I'm George, have you seen my twin brother, Fred? And what happened here?" Those words made Gormlaith's heart sink even more. Was this the gods mocking them? Some sort of cruel, twisted punishment to them all? The thought of telling George that that pile of gore near him was his brother was unbearable. Gormlaith lowered her head, looking in the direction of what had been Fred. Thankfully, Clyde had taken the task upon himself, and in a truely gentle way. Just as Gormlaith was about to offer her apology, a chilling voice called out from the shadows.
"We wonder how long it will take before another of your puny kind are killed and slaughtered right before your eyes without anyone being able to do one thing about it."
Was this real, or were the gods truely mocking them? Perhaps the Zoroark's sanity was finally starting to slip... Clyde's suggestion of leaving, and the fear and pain in his voice, showed that the voice was real, along with the impeding sence of doom it brought with it.
Gormlaith spoke, her voice a hushed, weak whisper. "Yes...but were to?" No matter where they went, trouble and tragedy always found them.

Silver saw the apology in Clyde's eyes but before she could give him an assuring smile she heard the horrible screaming and quickly turned her head, making herself dizzy for a moment since she was weak. She really hope this is only temporary because it wouldn't be wise to leave her friends without extra protection. But before she could think of anything else she watched, with horrified eyes, when she saw their new comrade, Fred, killed by the evil grass reptile. She went down to one knew once more and bowed her head in sadness, trying to prevent tears from falling. She had to be strong for the others. She noticed that Clyde was going after the reptile but soon he returned, thankfully.

"Excuse me, um, strangers, have yo-OH, BLOODY HELL!" she heard someone say and lifted her head long enough to see another Quilava that had a striking resemblance to their now fallen friend. Before she could get her hopes up that their eyes played tricks on them she heard the Quilava say, "Sorry about that...I'm George, have you seen my twin brother, Fred? And what happened here?" When she heard Fred's name and that George was his twin brother she lowered her head once more filled with sadness her ears seeming to droop, the best that they could. She was glad that Clyde was able to give his message in as gentle a way as possible.

Before they could relax she heard, ~"We wonder how long it will take before another of your puny kind are killed and slaughtered right before your eyes without anyone being able to do one thing about it."~ which caused her to growl and force her to raise her head to glare around them. "Get lost, whatever and whoever you are, before I blast you to Sinnoh and back," she knew this was so out of character for her but she was hurting at the lost of a new friend wishing she had reacted quickly, and wasn't weak, to stop Fred from being killed. She had broken her vow to herself and she deeply regrets it. She should have been more verbal in denying that reptile entry to their group. She had known from the start that he was bad news and even had voiced them but she didn't and that will be her greatest regret, beside not being able to stop the death of her trainer, Mizuki.

Everything was quiet, then again, everything was always quiet as Shiro walked along the human path that lead out of Goldenrod. The moon reflecting off his silver fur as he moved, not a care that the world was falling apart, he wouldn't even care if it was put back together. For him, his world fell apart along time ago, and it would never be fixed, never again would he feel the emotions he once felt as a young Vulpix, new to the world, and hoping to be loved. Love, something he would never know, something he would never feel, and yet, he longed to feel again, but he can't, never again would he feel joy, sorrow, love, pain. Everything was gone, and he would never get it back.

Something seemed to zip past him, though moving to fast for him to see, not even under the moons light. It was there, then gone. He looked to where it vanished, then to where it came from. What was it running from? He didn't really care, but he wanted to find out none the less. He walked in a strait line into the trees, not even flinching as the twigs pulled at his fur, he just kept going forward, wondering what he would find at the end of the trail. Would it be death? He would find out once he got there.

he placed another paw down just as he exited the forest and into a small clearing where he felt something wet under his paw. He looked down, like perhaps he had stepped into a puddle, but he didn't, instead he stepped into a pool of blood, though it would have made any normal pokemon freak, he didn't, he just looked down at the fresh blood that lay in front of him before looking up. There was a small group of pokemon, living pokemon. He should feel joy now, but nothing. He just gave them a blank stare, his paw still in the blood, it soaking into his fur. They could see him, but he didn't bother to say a word.

((I told you this wasn't goodbye 8D))

George nearly shot out of his skin at the Ninetales' words; she seemed absolutely freaked out at his appearance. "Y-you...Fred...y-y-you can't be...No. You're d-dead. I-I saw you..." No....Fred couldn't be dead. George had come so close to finding the brother who'd been missing for years. But it was all confirmed when the Vigoroth came up to George and placed a bloody hat at his paws. This hat...it must've been Fred, he would've done something that unusual. Tears began to well up inside George's eyes, his heart broken from this newfound grief. What else would he lose? Fred, Bill, his family.....George didn't even hear that evil voice speaking as he became lost in sorrow, but the words of the Vigoroth who had confirmed this tragedy. “I... I think we should leave,” At these words, George lifted his head. "You guys can go, if you'd like," he said, voice shaking, "I want to bury my brother first." The Quilava inclined his head to the bloody remains of Fred. His brother, his twin, his best friend. "Yes...but were to?" The Zoroark spoke. George had no answer, he'd never have another answer. His search for Fred in vain, there was no place for the lonely twin. "I don't want to leave him here...and I don't want to see any of you hurt..." George whispered rather quietly.

"Get lost, whatever and whoever you are, before I blast you to Sinnoh and back," the Lucario was the last to speak, and George was temporarily taken aback. What had he done? But perhaps she was only speaking to whoever had killed Fred....insane, if that was the case. That murderer was already gone, it seemed. When the shiny Quilava looked up again, a silver Ninetales not different from the oen that had freaked out about George was standing in Fred's blood pool. "Who the hell are you?" he growled, angry that this newcomer had stepped in his brother's blood. But then George immediately felt guilty about his rudeness. "Um...sorry. I've received quite a traumatic shock...."

Lalita was still in shock, and didn't hear any of the conversations going on. She just stared at the Fred look-a-like and felt herself crying. She didn't even notice the newcomer until George whirled on it. "Who the hell are you?"

She looked up only to see...a fellow shiny Ninetales? How...impossible. And what was he standing in...oh Arceus! That blood! It was Fred! She curled back in on herself and covered her form with her tails, sobbing a little. She just couldn't take anymore death. It was suffocating her, clawing at her with endless grief and sorrow. How much more could she suffer before it finally let her go?

"Please..." she begged. "Please...just stop. I can't take it anymore..."

((OOC: Blitz went into the safehouse now, so I went ahead and posted.))

"Yes...but were to?”

The doubt in Gormlaith’s words was evident from the weak, fragile tone in which she’d uttered them. She was right to doubt the presence of any safety in this world; Clyde hardly believed the idea himself. He looked apologetically to the zoroark, about to speak before Silver’s infuriated outburst caused him to jump slightly. He hadn’t seen the lucario so frustrated before, it was strange, almost painful to see her in such a way. The entire group was suffering from the cruel reptile’s repulsive actions and Clyde had begun to blame himself. If he had just killed the damn grovyle when he’d had the chance, if he’d managed to scare it off before it could even introduce itself, maybe poor Fred would still be alive. He sighed, defeated. His eyes found George when the quilava finally spoke, uttering his desires to bury the remains of his brother. The vigoroth felt a sharp pang of pain in his chest. They couldn’t just leave him there. Even with the threat from the ominous voice lingering in the ape’s mind, Clyde felt inclined to help this stranger. They had only just met him, but nobody deserved to face the death of a loved one in solitude. It could lead to all sorts of horrors. Clyde’s personal experience prevented him from moving – he refused to permit this pokémon the opportunity of suicide.

"Who the hell are you?"

Clyde was shocked to see another newcomer stroll into their line of vision, a spitting image of Lalita who’d slipped into the scene in silence. The vigoroth instinctively tensed. He was not going to make another mistake. Eyes locked onto the strange ninetales, Clyde’s fur began to bristle, even more so when he noticed where the creature was standing. The mutt was stood nonchalantly in Fred’s blood, aware of the crimson liquid about his paws but uncaring of his current position. What angered him most was George’s apology for snapping out.
“Don’t apologize,” Clyde’s words were abrupt, a growl threatening to erupt in the back of his throat. This canine obviously had no respect for the dead, and it pained him that the deceased’s own brother felt enough guilt to skim over the fact the stranger currently stood in Fred’s remains. He took a step forward, his body still aching from his injuries, an expression of loathing on his bloodstained face. He didn’t want to resort to violence – he was tired, physically and mentally from the afternoon’s happenings and was most reluctant to pick a fight with the newcomer. However, if this ninetales was going to prove a problem, he’d soldier on for the group’s sake. “Would you kindly step out of the remains of our friend?” It was difficult to hold back his anger, but his words emerged in a bitter tone, tinged with traces of his previous hostility.

"Please... Please...just stop. I can't take it anymore..."

Although Lalita’s outcry hadn’t been personally directed at him, Clyde automatically halted in his slow advance towards the stranger. He was frozen, standing obediently at George’s side. There was that guilt again. He hated to hear, to see Lalita hurt. He took a deep breath, steadying his emotions for the sake of his friends. He wasn’t going to lose himself again, especially when everybody was so emotionally fragile – there was no need to trigger more pain through unnecessary violence. His claws dug into the ground slightly, his eyes softening as he looked down to the bloody mess of Fred. He couldn’t look at Lalita; not now. He was afraid of the wreck she might be crumbling into. He was scared to see the ninetales broken at the hands of the epidemic. Diverting his attention from the stranger, he glanced down to the living quilava beside him, ushering a pained smile.
“Where do you want to bury Fred?” Clyde’s voice was calmer now, almost gentle as he readdressed the topic of putting the fire-type’s brother to rest. His fore claws made decent shovels and he was eager to assist. Pushing the appearance of the shiny ninetales and the disembodied voice to the back of his mind, Clyde was ready to pour his efforts into providing Fred with the burial he deserved.

Gormlaith saw Clyde look to her apologetically, as if saying he didn't belive there was anywhere to go either. She wanted to believe there was, that if they just went on a bit farther it'd be there before them, but she knew there wasn't. This whole world was a battlefeild now.

Turning her attention to George, her heart ached. The one whom he had been searching for, a small beacon of hope, had been lost. His distress was clear, the pain obvious on his face. No one should have to see their loved ones like that, not even the vilest of beings... she thought to herself. If the monsters of the Epidemic didn't kill them, their impact on the rest of the world would.

Even Silver, who had been very calm under their circumstances, was starting to break. If this hell went on for much longer, they would all break. Wet footsteps brought Gormlaith out of her depressing thoughts. Too mentally drained to react stongly, Gormlaith looked up slowly. Another fox (who looked very similar to Lalita) stood there. She grimaced when she realized why the steps were wet. He stood, unflinching, in the blood of their fallen ally. Before the Zoroark could comment on his insensitivity, Clyde took the initiative. His insticts were right last time, so Gormlaith left him to deal with the situation.

"Please..." Lalita begged. "Please...just stop. I can't take it anymore..."

Feeling for the younger fox, Gormlaith sat next to her. She wanted to say something, anything, to comfort her friend, but she couldn't. What could she say? Lie and say it's alright? That it'll get better? She didn't beieve these things herself. So instead, she simply sat there, offering her presence as support.