The RAGE Team

Cairo stood as he watched with sad eyes the newly evolved dragon try to explain himself to him. Locke fumbled and stumbled over his words, looking back to the remnants of Jackie as he spoke. "I... I didn't mean to... didn't... want to..." Locke stuttered, turning to Cairo.

"Cairo, she...she was still in there! Jackie! I couldn't just...leave her in there alone..." Locke cried, tears flowing down his face. Falling silent, he turned back to her corpse as Cairo took a step closer. "Sh-she...recognized me..." he whimpered. He quickly embraced and clung to the Flygon, sobbing into the latter's shoulder, unable to tear his eyes from the truly dead cat. "I-I'm sorry Cairo! I'm sorry!"

Cairo hugged Locke firmly and wrapped his diamond-shaped wings around Locke as well, blocking Jackie's corpse from the other's view. "It's ok, Locke... You had to. At least she isn't suffering anymore... She's not one of those monsters anymore. She's at peace now... and that's all she could ask for." His voice trembled as he spoke; it was hard to see Locke so broken-hearted and him unable to do anything... Though, he admired the little dragon for having the courage to go through with killing her; when the same thing had happened to his own team, all he had done was flee...

Guilt panged him for a moment and he gently pushed Locke out of the embrace so he could look the other in the face. "...Maybe we should bury her, hmm? So she's not left out like this? And when we're done, we can go back to the others; they must be worried... I kind of left in a rush..."

((Skip me, not much to do till Lock and Cairo get back to the group.))

((Ditto, skip me, Olle is just nervously on Guard till they come back....))

"...Maybe we should bury her, hmm? So she's not left out like this? And when we're done, we can go back to the others; they must be worried... I kind of left in a rush..." Cairo said gently.
Locke sniffled and looked down as he pondered on it.
After a few moments, he nodded, giving Cairo a half-hearted smile.
"Okay..."
He turned, looking around them for a suitable spot. There was forest all around the small town, with brilliant morning light filtering through the charred trees. Among all the blackened foliage was a half-burnt, but still living evergreen sapling. Without a word, he shuffled to the young tree and began to gently dig a hole next to it with his claws, careful not to cut into its' roots.
"Y-You think it's big enough, Cairo?" Locke stuttered as his watery eyes looked up at the dragon.
The Gabite pulled himself out of the hole and gently placed Jackie in. Taking a cue from Cairo, Locke reluctantly used his long tail to push the soil on top of the dead Liepard.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to the Flygon.
"I guess we should find the others now. They're probably waiting for us." He paused, thinking on how they were going to get there.
"You can fly if you want to. I can follow now." Locke said with a small grin. He had seen others in his clan who had grown into the next form, and they were very fast and were deadly accurate with their blades.

He gazed at the tiny tree and small mound before him.
"Now you won't be alone, Jackie. You have a friend to keep you company." He said smiling, tears running down his face as he gently shook the ash off of the saplings' needles.

Locke slowly turned and followed the Flygon away from the solitary sapling and the town of ash and fire, towards the friends that were waiting for their return.

(OOC: Sorry, I have to skip again. Nothing is happening yet. I still have to wait until Locke and Cairo get back. I'll post next time for sure though.)

Cairo watched sadly as Locke buried Jackie, the now not-so-little blue dragon morosely placing her in the hole he had quickly dug. He swept his tail over the hole, pushing the pile of dirt back where it belonged, leaving a small mound to indicate where she was. After taking in a deep, steadying breath, Locke turned back to Cairo, wiping tears from his eyes.

"I guess we should find the others now. They're probably waiting for us." He paused in thought for a moment. "You can fly if you want to. I can follow now." Locke said with a small grin. Cairo nodded and hugged Locke again, to reassure him that he had done the right thing. Killing an Infected that was once your friend was never easy. As they turned to go, Locke looked back once more to the mound with the small sapling overlooking it. "Now you won't be alone, Jackie. You have a friend to keep you company."

Cairo nodded as he glanced at the beautiful scenery. "You picked a good place, Locke. She'd be happy to rest here for eternity. I'm sure of it." He pushed himself into the air and looked back to Locke. "I have an idea. Why don't we race? Let's run as fast as we can away from here, back where the others are. They're just beyond the mountains over there," he said as he pointed, then looked back. "I'll even stay low to the ground so you won't think I'm cheating when I'm leaving you in the dust," he said with a small grin.

((Like I said before, can't really do anything till Lock and Cairo get back to them. But I will post on my next turn, trust me.))

After the scream, there had been no other noise penetrating the forest covered route. If it was the doing of an undead, the dragon would have been finished in one blow. Olle shuddered to think about that young dragon pokemon being done in by that leopard pokemon. But he realized that the green larger dragon was not back yet, and it had gone off to find the young dragon, and it must have heard the scream, so if the young purple dragon was dead, the green one should have wanted revenge, so a second scream should have been heard. The only answer would be that both pokemon where alive, that it was the undead cat that screamed. He was relieved to think that the world would have one less infected around to torment the living, but that did not ease his worry about the possibility that one or both of the dragons could have gotten infected….

He had used another synthesis while he waited for the results, that would be the last one he used for the sole purpose of regenerating his vines, he might need the rest later on, he was a cautious one by nature. The vines were growing back faster than expected, while they were still little nubs of vines, you could see that the torn parts has been covered over with new living material, which was already growing outwards, in a few days it would be back to normal. But if the dragons came back as infected, he would need to fight without his vines, he could not think to ask the other two to fight their own friends.

"I have an idea. Why don't we race? Let's run as fast as we can away from here, back where the others are. They're just beyond the mountains over there," he said as he pointed, then looked back. "I'll even stay low to the ground so you won't think I'm cheating when I'm leaving you in the dust," Cairo sneered with a grin.

Locke paused a moment, confused at this new game. He stared blankly at the dragon who had been floating in the air, performing impressive little tricks as he talked. The young dragon caught on and snapped, his face brightening. It was too long since he had actually played; he had almost forgotten what it meant to be a child.
"Show off- I'll show you who'll be left in the dust!" Locke jeered as he sprinted past the dragon in a burst of speed, hoping to have caught him off guard.
"Hahaha!" Lockes' toothy grin grew wider as his new legs propelled him forward at ridiculous speeds through the trees. He was amazed at the length of his stride and the ease at which his long arms and body dodged the trees.
Zipping through the trees, he stayed underneath the Flygon, glancing up and smiling wildly as he closed his eyes and pushed forward with all his newfound strength into a small clearing, where three Pokemon sat in wait.

Cairo grinned as he watched the not-so-little blue dragon race off in front of him along the dirt path and quickly dashed behind, easily catching up with Locke, flying low, just like he had promised.

He glanced down at Locke, amazed at how quickly he had adapted to his new form. For a moment, his mind trailed as his eyes analyzed the fins coming off of Locke's arms. 'Maybe one day, if he evolves again, he can get wings...' He thought for a moment, pondering if he could ever teach Locke to fly... The thought warmed him; maybe, just maybe, with Locke evolving and getting stronger, they could all make it out of this nightmare alive... and maybe be normal?

Cairo's mind shifted again. If they did make it out, Cairo couldn't think of what he would do without having Locke around. The little guy was the only pokemon that bore some semblance of normality in the flygon's chaotic life... and it was nice to have a team again. He smiled as he thought of the others that waited for the--

Cairo's mind snapped out of the reverie when he realized just how far away Locke had pulled away from him in the race. He gave a small chuckle and pushed himself to catch up, bringing him into a close second with Locke to get to the others. He landed, laughing. "Locke, I need to get back into shape if we're going to keep racing!" he exclaimed as he butted heads with him and looked to the others. "We're ok now. Where should we head off?" He looked to the others to take suggestions.

Poseidon had fallen asleep against the tree while he waited for the return of Lock and Cairo. His dreams where filled with darkness and confusion. He was standing in the middle of a pitch black field of tall grass, yet his feet felt like they where submerged in water. But he didn't want to look down in fear of what he mite see. He looked around but could see nothing, but when he looked behind him he thought he saw the back of his trainer, Nick, but it was gone when he tried to look directly on it. He never got passed that point cause it was then that he heard the arrival of the two dragons.

Poseidon opened his eyes and stretched, they electricity completely gone from his system now after his nap. He didn't know how long he had been out, but he hoped he didn't have a dream like this one again, as short as it was. He just didn't want to find out what he saw when he went to the spot that his trainer was at before it disappeared.
"We're ok now. Where should we head off?" Cairo asked. Poseidon would suggest them heading into the ice cave, but since he was with three dragons he was sure none of them would want to wonder around a cave filled with there weakness, but it seemed better then wasting time going back the way they had just come.
"I suggest we go into the the cave, its better then going back the way we had come." He said, pointing to the caves entrance with his wing.

Olle had been starting to get both bored and anxious waiting on alert to see what would come up the route to them, so when a dark purple beast came rushing down toward their location, he was caught off guard. He immediately prepared an energy ball to be thrown at the beast, the green dragon was rushing down right behind the new comer giving chase, one or both of them where most likely hostile , but when they both halted right in the clearing, showing signs of exertion, yet no hostility, Olle dissipated the ball of energy. The green one had no wounds, no markings, no signs of a fight, and upon closer inspection, the dark purple one had vastly similar characteristics of the round purple dragon who had run off, leaving evolution the only answer.

Evolution, the mere thought of it sent shudders through his back. Sufficed to, Olle was scared to evolve. He had seen teammates go through magnificent evolutions before, even went through one himself, but almost in all cases, the third evolution seemed to change one’s behavior. He didn’t know if it was the power coursing through them, or what, but they tend to act differently, and that was what he was afraid of. He didn’t know what would happen to Olle once he turned into an ivysaur, that is why he constantly wore his everstone, even took care of it better than any other possession, making sure that the necklace part would not tear. It looked to be the dragon’s second evolutionary stage, so it seemed alright, and he may never go through a evident behavioral change, but that slight chance was enough to instill fear and paranoia in him.

The large blue bird mentioned going to the ice caves, something neither of the dragons or him being plant type would find calming…. He did not know how he stood within the group, for all he knew, they could view him as solely a straggler, so him voicing his objection to the icy cold area would not help him. “It would be best to get away from this area I guess….”

"Hahaaaa! I win! I win, I win Cairo!" Locke shouted between heavy breaths. He twisted his torso around and made a jabbing motion with his talons, dancing in victory.
Locke looked around with a wild expression on his face as he tried to catch his breath.
"Hey! Um, we had to catch up with you. Sorry it took so long." He said loudly, plopping down in front of the others. A large cloud rose from the ground as his now larger rump made contact with the dry dirt.

"We're ok now. Where should we head off?" Cairo asked the group. Locke looked up at the sky, thinking about all the places he's been. I don't think any of them were really safe....
"Well...does anyone know anyplace that doesn't have monsters...?" Locke wondered out loud.

"I suggest we go into the the cave, its better then going back the way we had come." Poseidon suggested, pointing to a large cavern entrance with his fin.
"Cave?" Locke said hopefully, following the direction of the birds' fin. The entrance was lined with large ice crystals that glimmered brilliantly in the sun. Despite its beauty and the warmth of the day, Locke shivered.

"Uhh...I don't...really like the cold..." He muttered under his breath as he curled his tail closer to him for comfort. "It makes me really sleepy..."
Locke held back a whimper as he thought of the harsh snow storms his dwindling clan had endured on Mt. Coronet. Most of them died in the freezing temperatures, being reptiles, unable to stay warm enough to make it down the mountain.
He remembered he had passed out a few times, and one of the Gabites had to carry him.

Cairo sighed as he looked to the cave entrance. Going back into the city was completely out of the question, and being surrounded by large peaks and mountains, the cave was really the only way forward. He looked to the rest of their team and knew that the cave would be a bad idea without some sort of warmth...

Sighing again, he scratched his head. "...I guess... this is the only way we can go..." He perked, trying not to let his fear show. After all, someone had to be fearless. "Welp, let's go then. Time's wasting, and there's no real way through the mountains except through that cave." He began heading there, waddling awkwardly on the ground.

Poseidon felt bad for making the dragon types go through a cave that was nothing but Ice, especially Cairo who morso relied on flying to get where he needed to go, but the cave was to narrow that it was impossible for him to fly. He was used to cold weather, maybe it was because he was a water type, he never really knew. So letting Cairo take the lead he went followed into the cave, giving a look at the newly evolved Lock first. "If you feel tired or need to sleep just let me know and I'll give you a lift." He said before entering the cave behind Cairo.

"If you feel tired or need to sleep just let me know and I'll give you a lift." the large bird said, trying to comfort him. Locke replied with a large, toothy grin.
"Really? Thanks!"

Lockes' grin faded as he fell into a line formation behind Cairo. He went to hold onto the end of his tail, but found that he couldn't any longer. Shuffling along, he looked in annoyance at his single talons.
How am I supposed to use these???
Inside the cave, there was alot of snow, and ice covered the walls completely. He glanced at the green thing next to him, wondering what kind of pokemon he was.
"So you're Olle? I'm Locke. What were you doing in that place? Was it your home?" He asked, poking the bulb on the Ivysaurs' back lightly.
"What's this thing on your back? Does it hold stuff in it?"

__________


As they continued deeper into the caverns, Lockes' mind started to wander.
"Hey Cairo, how does all this snow not melt? It was hot outside, how come it doesn't get hot in here?" He asked inquisitively, his voice echoing through the tunnels. He poked at the large icicles hanging from the ceiling, making them wiggle. He shuddered as a thought crossed his mind.
"Y-you guys don't think there's any...ice pokemon in here...do you?..." Locke gulped. "Maybe...they're the ones keeping this place cold?...?" He looked around with eyes wide and his head low.
He had a few encounters with ice pokemon, and their attacks REALLY hurt. Most of the time, he just dug himself into a hole and escaped from them, but he didn't think that would work now...especially since he wasn't alone anymore.
"Maybe...if we don't wake them up...it will be okay." he whispered loudly.

(OoC- Nova asked me to pass his turn; he's my bro)

Cairo could feel Locke's anxiety and couldn't help but agree... Ice attacks were always the worst, and his trainer always got him out of battle with them as soon as possible... He looked back to his teammates and realized only one of them would be able to withstand Ice attacks. But this was the only way forward, and really the only way away from the city and the lake without having to go back through them...

"Yeah, if we stay quiet, we might not wake them, Locke..." Cairo said with a soft smile as he turned to look at the gray dragon. "Let's be as quiet as possible."

Poseidon walked silently at the back of the group, eyeing the ice around him. This place was rather amazing, it was like they took Snowpoint City and stuffed it inside a cave in another region. The cool air felt nice on his feathers, not bothering him a bit since he was made for weather like this. He didn't pay much attention to what Cairo and Lock where talking about, only to the Ice hanging from the top of the cave. If they made any laud sounds they would probably rattle and fall, and that could end with someone dying or getting badly injured. And they couldn't have that, not in this time.

Trying to suppress the onslaught of sneezes was taking a lot out of Olle. Being in this freezing cold cave was torture for him specifically. He was cold blooded, and he was part plant, both of which were very anti-coldness, and add the fact that he had always had a low immune system was all bubbling up into a cold. He did not care for looking around; he just wanted to get through this place as soon as possible. He was so busy suppressing the urge to run like crazy out of the cave that he almost missed the dragon’s question.

It was the first that any of them had introduced themselves, he had heard the dratini asking for a Cairo and Locke, but he didn’t know which name went to which dragon. “Huh? Oh….yeah, Olle. I don’t live there, or anywhere near here. I was looking for some friends, and, well, just kinda got……lost….” Talking was hard enough as it was in this subzero atmosphere, the more he talked the more powerful the urge to sneeze or cough. But he was the new one, how would it look if he ignored one of the younger of the group, they’d think he was being rude, or that he was a complete jerk…most people didn’t believe that someone can get sick so easily, and he usually proved them wrong sadly.

The nudging on the back of his bulb brought him out of his musing, the dragon was curious about his bulb. It wasn’t the first time he had been asked about it, but he always found it hard to explain. “Uh…no, it, it doesn’t hold anything….well, no….i guess you could say it holds stuff, I can store energy in it to do attacks, or to help heal myself. It’s a bulb, my flower which hasn’t bloomed yet. When it blooms it means I’d evolve….though not with this baby.” he said motioning his everstone. After that he went back to focusing on not sneezing.



That awful feeling when you can see something horrible happening, especially if you are the one causing it and you can’t do anything to stop it, that was what Olle was experiencing at the moment. He wasn’t listening to what the others said, just focusing on not breathing too hard, and putting one step after the other when that fuzzy feeling came out of nowhere. It was too late to suppress it, it had snuck up on him, so Olle did the only thing he could think of, he resorted to using his vines to close his nose to force it from coming out, but he had forgotten he had cut them down to use for carrying the dragon. In the silence of the cave, the three consecutive sneezes sounded nearly as loud as an explosion. The look of guilt and despair on Olle’s face was only broken by the wobbling of a few of the overhead ice spikes.

Magnolia had been sliding around within the farther areas of the cave. She couldn't care less about how cold it was, because the ice was so much fun! It was unlike her old home, where she would travel around in thick forests with her trainer and never stopped to rest. She enjoyed the snow and ice, she had never experienced something so pure and entertaining as this.

As the white Meganium slid around, she had caught quiet murmurs coming from a different chamber within the caves, and before she knew it, three loud consecutive sneezes emitted from someone, and the cavern rattled. The icicles above her head shook dangerously. She frowned and immediately duck her head down as she awaited the piercing pain of ice falling on top of her to come, however, when she opened her eyes she had found that she was lucky enough to not get hit.

Curious as to what was the source of such sneezes, she slid over onto the snow where she began padding towards where the sound had come from. "Hello?" she called out, cautious. She could see figures a few ways away from her. She recognized a few- there was a Dratini, Empoleon, and Ivysaur, but that was all she could name. The 2 other Pokemon were species she had never met, but she hoped they weren't infected.

[OOC: Hello everyone! Very eager to RP with all of you. >w<]

“Uh…no, it, it doesn’t hold anything….well, no….i guess you could say it holds stuff, I can store energy in it to do attacks, or to help heal myself. It’s a bulb, my flower which hasn’t bloomed yet. When it blooms it means I’d evolve….though not with this baby.”

Locke was confused for a moment, not knowing how any of that could be held in something like that. But when Olle said it was a flower bulb, Locke brightened up, understanding.
"Ohhhhh, it's a baby flower!" He whispered loudly, marveling at the bulb on his back. "That's really neat!"
As the Ivysaur motioned to the necklace he wore, the Gabite couldn't help but get curious.
What did he mean, he's not going to evolve with that? He was about to ask, but Olle seemed preoccupied. As he waddled a little less awkwardly on his new legs, he wondered how long it would take for him to evolve again.
Suddenly, he heard sniffling and a loud, echoing explosion of sound.
ACHOOO!ACHOOO!ACHOOO!
Locke shuddered as he listened to the blast of sound echo throughout the entire cave and bounce back at them. His mouth hung open in horror as he looked at the others' faces. Before he could say anything, he heard the faint tinkle and crack of something high above him.
Locke sidestepped just as a large icicle fell and impaled the frozen ground where he had just been.
"Whoooaaaa..." He whispered as he stared at the gigantic ice spear.

"Hello?" a voice echoed, not far from them.
The Gabites' head popped up in surprise.
Someone else is in here?...

(Ooc-Hi Lute!)

OOC: Just skip my turn. There isn't much he can do at this point.

Cairo jumped at the sound of the sneezing and turned to try and protect Locke when he saw that the gray dragon had already sidestepped a large icicle, which now stood in the dragon's shadow, an ominous reminder of the dangers of the cave. Cairo looked to Olle and sighed, wondering how they were going to get through such a delicate situation when one of their members was allergic to the very walls, it seemed...

The flygon's anntennae twitched not at the sound of ice cracking, but the smooth shifting of something else. Curious, he tottered closer to the source of the sound, or at least, what he thought was the source of the sound. "I can't figure out where anything's coming from..." he whispered to himself as he continued to try and grasp his bearings. "...This is an awful place to go through..."

He then picked up a small voice echoing through the cavern. "Hello?" The voice was feminine, and Cairo was glad for it... He hadn't seen a proper female in... He shook his head free of the thought and searched for her, soon to find a long-necked pokemon, with a pure white flower wreathed around her neck. She was beautiful...!

With a smile, Cairo quickly tottered up her her, his strange walk somewhat amusing to any onlooker. "Hello," he chittered softly, his antennae wriggling in excitement. "I'm Cairo, Miss. We're trying to get through this cave-- do you know a way out?" He tilted his head, antennae still twitching. Impossibly cute.

((OOC: LUUUUUUUUUUUTE :D <333))

Poseidon silently walked behind the group, keeping watch that nothing was following them. The last thing they needed was a fight in such a narrow area. And he was probably the only one suited for a fight in this sort of environment anyway, though he could do with a little more room, and without the constant threat of the handing shards just waiting to fall and skewer the him and his new friends.
A sudden sneeze sent one of the icicle above Lock crashing down. He was about to yell at him to lookout but the dragon managed to sidestep and escape the sudden danger, but it just went to show that one had to truly be carful in a place like this.

A sudden 'hello' brought him back to his senses when he saw a Maganium with a stunning white flower around her neck. He had only seen that pokemon to have a pink flower.
"Hello." He said in return, Cairo seemed in more aww by her looks even more then he was. But instead of hearing what they where saying, he was more interested in where that sneeze came from. There had to be someone else around here other then them to do that, unless it was one of them and he just missed it. But until he knows that for sure he's going to keep an eye out for another pokemon in these caves.