The RAGE Team

The hum of the engine could be heard as Oak drove passed the Safari Zone and into Fuchsia City. Oak remembered the life in the city before the infection started to spread. He remembered all of the people he talked to and ate lunch with. He could picture the memories in his mind as if they had only happened yesterday. Oak closed his eyes as he tried to bring the memory of the town back in his mind. He pictured the courtyard full of life and the many tourists who came to see the nature and wildlife of the Safari Zone. As Oak opened his eyes, he saw a devastating sight: the world he once knew with all of the people he remembered was now filled with bloody corpses and remnants of wonderful architecture. Oak slowly stopped the car as he approached the middle of the town. As the car stopped, he stared at the limbs and organs strewn all over the road and sidewalks. Oak stared with his eyes wide open at the faces of the people that were butchered. One sight caught his attention. "No...Marcia..." He stared at what was left of one of his colleagues. Professor Oak knew this woman. She was very intelligent and funny. "She--she must have come to help me escape from the Safari Zone." Oak's shocked face stayed until tears filled his eyes. Oak slammed the steering wheel of the car with his hands and laid his head down on the top of the wheel as he wept for his old friend. "Why...Why did she have to die like that," Oak said as he continued crying. Her eyes were still open with her head severed from the rest of her body. Oak gasped and silenced his weeping. Only Scyther’s blade could make that clean of a cut. Oak knew that Scyther attacked silently and without warning.

Oak heard the clank of a metal bar in the direction of the crushed building next to him. He forced his foot down on the gas pedal and the car took off with amazing speed. Oak ran over all manner of dead pokemon and humans as he drove the car through the town. He heard the buzzing of the Scyther's wings as it pursued the jeep. The pursuer was getting farther and farther behind as Oak maneuvered the jeep around rubble and broken down cars. Oak made it out of the city and crossed the bridge between Route 18 and Route 17 until he finally stopped the car. Oak could no longer here his deadly pursuer; so, he took out his town map with haste and looked for the quickest route to Johto. If only I had a—no a boat would be too dangerous with all of the infested waters around the Kanto region. Oak decided to take the road through Celadon City and make his way to Viridian City.

Great. Now I’m stuck in this cage with no way to escape the Dratini thought as it moved around in the darkness. The pond sounds really good right now. I don’t know why I left just to end up her. I would rather be in the pond than in this cage. I have no idea where I am or where I am going. I just hope this ‘professor’ is something I could trust. I wonder what happened to Toyi and Roann. As thoughts filled the Dratini’s head, the professor pulled the tarp from the cage. Rays of pale moonlight filled the cage along with the smell he was so used to: the smell of the night’s mist in the forest. Oak laid his hand on the top of the cage. The professor leaned himself on the head of the seat as he spoke. “Y’know something…I haven’t given you a name yet,” the professor said as he grinned. “Let’s see what I could name you.” The professor looked up into the sky and closed his eyes. Surprisingly, he could hear the chirping of some of the bug pokemon in the forest. “That is strange. I guess some of the pokemon of the forest are still alive even after the infection.” The professor continued to meditate and listen to the echoing chirps of the forest. “I’ve got it,” the professor said as he turned his head to look at the Dratini. “Echo…that is what you will be called.” The professor removed his hand from the cage and sat back down on the seat. “We’d better get some sleep. We have to travel to Mt. Mortar in the morning.”

Silver twitched one of his long, red-feathered ears as he began to think deeply. Venturing into a man-made structure could guarantee safety; thick concrete walls blocked out both scent and sight, and protected against blindly-thrown weight. But at the same time, they could become easily-trapped in the unnatural place, with few escape routes. By that same token, they couldn't stay at the lake with an infected Gyarados lurking below the surface -- that would be suicude. There was both security and danger in being out in the open, with many escape routes but much exposure. Silver sighed and relented: nowhere was truly safe.

He rested a paw over his stomach, which growled emptily; he hadn't eaten in twenty-four hours. He set his teeth against the hunger gnawing at his gut and hoped the others didn't hear its noises. "I agree. Let's get out of here...it's not safe with that beast prowling the depths." He looked from large dragon to small as he spoke, his sharp magenta gaze lingering on Locke's sooty face. The Gible looked both scared and ravenously hungry, and the Weavile couldn't hide the pang of pity and anxiety that bloomed in his chest. That Gyarados was eating itself... "The water's probably contaminated, too." He added the last statement in a whisper, recalling that he had recently seen the Gible drinking that water...

Light peeked over the horizon, shedding weak pinkish rays over the treetops and staining the waters of the Lake of Rage a bloody red. Silver doubted it was just the light that tainted the slowly-lapping ripples...

Cairo nodded and opened his wings more as he prepared to fly. He waited for the two to get on, situating the gible to where the little dragon could grab onto his scarf for balance and grip if he needed. Then, once they were comfortable, he took to the sky.

It was wonderful and freeing being in the crisp morning air again after having so skulk along the ground and canopy for so long. Though, he knew that too much air dancing would cause problems and made a beeline for the broken down building.

There was a hole in the roof large enough to crawl inside and settle in. He took a careful whiff of the air within; stagnant, but not full of decay. The dragon breathed a sigh of relief and assisted his passengers off of him. "We can look for food now."

(Sorry, everyone. My brother was over for the weekend and we were out for most of it.)


A small growl emerged from Seven's mouth as he found himself at the lake, with no clue as to where he was or who the scream came from. Since there was no one was there, it was a cold lead. He frowned as he tried to figure out where to go from here.

He finally decided to head towards where he faintly remembered a town was. If anything, he could find a few weaker pokemon that had managed to find their way up here that only seemed like they wanted to escape.

"This is ridiculous..." He mumbled as he walked towards where he thought it was. Whether he found it or not was a matter of whether he remembered correctly.

Locke did NOT like the idea of flying. He could feel his stomach turning as the big dragon looked at him, expecting him to hop aboard his neck. With a grimace, Locke used the hanging edge of his green scarf to pull himself up. With a mighty leap, they flew into the sky. Locke held his screaming in, knowing that he might attract the undeads’ attention.
“Oh, jeez- land already!” the Gible muttered to the large dragon as he was playing in the sky. He saw their destination not far ahead; the town was billowing smoke.
Landing in the small hole at the top of the building, the large dragon sniffed the air before helping them off.
Gibles’ legs being too stubby to satisfactorily jump down, he fell a short ways to the ground, falling head over tail. A large puff of ash flew up from the floor as the young dragon looked about confused.
I can't see a dang thing!
“Is this the safe place? Is there food?” he said, struggling to get to his stubby feet as he gazed up at the Flygon.

“We have to get to Mt. Mortar by tonight,” Oak said as he nervously wiped his head with his hand. “This smoke is really thick. A large pokemon must be either behind or ahead of me.” Oak could only see a couple of feet in front of him due to the piles of ash that fell from the sky. He had to constantly clean the windshield with the windshield wipers to see the path in front of him. Oak drove slowly and quietly through Route 44. He didn’t want to alert any of the infected on his way to Mt. Mortar. I hope the pokemon is not on the way to Mt. Mortar. That would be a disaster to get all this way and end up dead when we are so close to our destination. Oak glanced back at Echo who was sitting in the cage covered in ash. The small pokemon would often wiggle its head to remove the burnt particles from his eyes. Oak made a faint smile. “I would put you in a pokeball if I had any on me. I left everything back at the Safari Zone including food.” As he said this, it occurred to Professor Oak how hungry as well as thirsty he was. He would not dare to venture into the forests or lakes for fear of running into the diseased. “Well…we are almost there. Just a couple more miles and we should arrive in Mahogany Town near Mt. Mortar,” Oak reassured himself. Professor Oak looked up at the sky and noticed that the burnt particles were getting larger and holding much more familiar shapes. Small darkened leaves, as a result of fire, fell from the treetops. Oak continued to drive through the smoggy route until the car hit a bump. Oak hastily got out of the car to look at what he had run over. The bump was an infected Growlithe that had been nearly burnt away. Its remains had shown that it was recently put out of its misery and pain. That is strange Oak thought as he looked toward the jeep. Why doesn’t the Growlithe’s blood faze Echo? Maybe the reaction to the blood was a primary reaction to the formula. Oak returned from his thoughts and once again looked toward Mahogany Town. “We are getting closer to danger,” Oak said, “but what can we do? Mt. Mortar is the only safe refuge in Johto.” Oak raised his head to look in the direction of Mt. Mortar. “We have to chance it. After all, this is our only chance.” Oak returned to the driver’s seat of the car and continued his drive through the dangerous route. Oak felt uneasy as he made his way to the burning city.

Mahogany Town should be just ahead. Oak’s face turned to absolute fear as the shroud of smoke was lifted; a Charizard was crazily roaring with flames continuously bursting out of its mouth. Oak gaped at the sight of the immense destruction of this writhing beast. Professor Oak noticed, however, that the pokemon was not a victim of the infected. He would know what an infected looked like as well as how one acted more than anyone else. “What would cause a Charizard to act so?” Oak said quietly as he stared at the crazed pokemon. Oak saw burnt trees and buildings as far as he could see; however, the only unburnt structures were those that sat near the outpost which led to the Lake of Rage. “There is no way to get around this. We have to go straight through.” He pushed on the gas pedal and quickly accelerated the speed of the car at a tremendous rate. The Charizard will undoubtedly spot us if it has not heard us. I must— the Charizard’s roar interrupted Oak’s thoughts. Oak continued to race down the road toward a small alley between two scorched buildings. Based on what he observed from the view on Route 44 on the outskirts of Mahogany Town, the Charizard was at the end of the alleyway. The Charizard curved its head around the corner of the building to see the car zooming through the alley. The insane beast blew large flames toward the speeding car. Oak ducked below the windshield just in time for the flames to pass over him. Oak lifted his head once more and continued to push the gas pedal down with all his might. The Charizard was standing at the end of the alleyway leaving Oak with only one solution. It won’t move eh? We are going to make it move then. Oak stared at the mad Charizard's face, and it stared back at Oak with eyes full of rage. The Charzard opened its mouth in preparation for another fiery blast. Oak was only five feet away from the Charizard when he jumped out of the car. He flew onto the ground and was thrown against a wall. The Charizard roared with flames spurting out of its mouth as it crashed to the ground. Oak pushed himself up with his unbroken arm and walked cautiously toward the fallen Charizard. The car didn’t have as great an impact as Oak thought it had. The Charizard’s leg was the only thing that held great injury. He climbed on top of the Charizard and put his ear to its chest. “It isn't dead but unconscious.” Oak felt relieved at the fact that he was no longer in danger. “This Charizard probably burned every diseased pokemon within a ten-mile radius. They all probably mindlessly attacked it.” As Oak stepped off of the Charizard’s torso, he said, “Drat, if I only had some pokeballs I would take this pokemon with me for protection at Mt. Mortar. Clearly its madness is a result of some traumatizing event.” Oak walked slowly towards the car. It was in shambles. He limped toward the jeep as fast as he could. A loud screech erupted from the car as he was about to open the door. Echo was thrashing wildly inside the cage again. Oak noticed that his jewel was once again red. This must be a reaction to the Charizard’s blood! Oak heard yet another cry that was separate from Echo’s. That is a Fearow’s cry! I have to get out of here. Oak could not carry both the cage as well as the notes due to his wounded arm. The pokemon is useless to me if I don’t have the formula. Oak reached for his notes and snatched them from what was left of the front seat. Oak limped away from the car as fast as he could in the direction of Mt. Mortar.

Echo violently screamed as if his mind had left him. His consciousness and reason were gone. All he desired was to have a taste of the Charizard’s blood. Although his sanity was broken, his basic instincts for survival were still intact. Echo heard a loud piercing cry above him. They had heard each other, and both of them knew it. The loud bird slowly came into view as it soared through the ash-filled sky. Echo could see the red eyes of the flying monster as it dove straight toward the jeep. Echo suddenly felt an intense build-up of power in his body. It rushed from his stomach and through his throat until the sensation finally reached his mouth. The icy frigid sensation grew as the monster came closer. Echo released the energy from his mouth and hit the flying monster's stomach. The impact caused it to fall to the ground and break in half. The ice seemed to have weakened the strength of the weak muscle that was holding the monster together. Echo slowly lost consciousness shortly thereafter.

Silver leaped nimbly from the branch to the Flygon's back, where he settled himself just in front of the great dragon's wing-joints. He was unconcerned about flying, having done it frequently with his old Trainer and his Honchkrow, but Locke looked very apprehensive about the idea. The smaller dragon clambered, with some difficulty, up onto the Flygon's neck, and in a matter of seconds, the large desert creature was airborn, flying over the treetops.

The Weavile could tell that Locke disliked flying greatly, and saw him lean up to mutter to the Flygon breathlessly. His stomach lurched as the great dragon began to descend toward a small outpost a bit farther north of the ruined town of Mahogany. Silver took a moment to observe the town; danger doubtlessly lurked there amid the billowing smoke and smoldering buildings. The undead were drawn to towns...

The Flygon landed with a great thud and crawled nimbly through a hole in the roof of the outpost, and Silver ducked his ornamented head to avoid scraping his mantle on the crumbling concrete. Once on the ground in the building, he dismounted the Flygon's shoulders and took a long, thoughtful whiff of the air. It was dry and heavy, but not putrid; they were safe, for now.

"We can look for food now." the Flygon said, much to Silver's relief; the Weavile dropped onto all fours without a word and put his nose to the ground, sniffing for any hint of Berries...or even prey. It was not above the Dual-type to consume flesh when given the opportunity. After a few sniffs, he picked up the scent of meat and followed it doggedly into the unlit depths of the building, where he used his keen night-sight to pick out the outlines of fallen chairs and broken-down bicycles. It was in the basket of one of these bikes that he found a Trainer's abandoned Bag -- and the wealth of food (albeit slightly spoiled) inside. He carried the bag back to his new-found comrades, and deposited it before them.

After digging through the bag a bit, he came across a tin of pulverized meat -- what his old Trainer would call Spam. Silver, knowing much about the human world, knew that canned food would last much longer than bagged food, and was probably in prime condition for eating. He carefully hooked his long claws into the pull-tab on the top of the can and prized it apart neatly, carefully inspecting the meat inside. It looked and smelled unspoiled, so he sat down with the tin in his lap and began to scoop out the mush with his curved claws. The taste was salty and the texture complex, a much-needed alternative to simple water-and-skin Berries.

For a moment, Silver was happy and unguarded, and let a content sigh escape his mouth when it wasn't preoccupied with chewing.

Cairo watched as the little gray and red thing scurried off to find food, and was more than a little relieved when he brought back a backpack full of rations. While some of it was spoiled, there were some canned goods that, after the gray thing opened it, showed that they contained good, consumable food.

Cairo dipped his head into the backpack and rummaged around until he found a nice can of "soup" and pulled the tab, revealing a sweet fragrance of vegetables and beef. He turned to his new little dragon friend and nudged it to him, spilling the contents a little so the little one could have an easier time rummaging.

After taking a few sips of the soup, he settled on his haunches and sighed, relaxed, but obviously excited. "So..." he began, bouncing a little, "who and what are you guys? Where are you from? Why were you at the lakeside?" He paused, then his antennae drooped a little. "Sorry... it's been a long time since I've seen uninfected... I don't mean to pry... or be rude or a chatterbox. My trainer always called me a chatterbox and I tend to talk a lot when I get a little nerv--" He stopped mid-sentenced and sipped on his soup sheepishly. "...I did it again."

Seven yawned slightly as he walked. This was starting to get really nerve-racking. He was certain he had heard something earlier, although it was possible that he had misheard it and it was an infected that had done it. It didn't matter anyways, seeing as he seemed to be lost again.

Another yawn emerged from his mouth as he looked at a tree. If only he didn't have the scythe-like blades on his hand, he could climb up and see where exactly he was. After a moment of silent swearing, he remembered the fact that he had wings. Wings that he didn't really like using.

With a heavy sigh, he continued walking. The tree didn't look that stable, anyways. Besides, it would draw too much attention if he flew up there. Another moment of silent swearing as he manuevered himself behind a tree. He had seen something close by. With a small smirk, he started to stalk the thing, trying to figure out what it was.

Locke stared up into the hole they had just come in from. Ash was falling heavier now, and even embers were falling from the sky. The growling in his belly wasn't quieting down as Silver disappeared into another dark area in the building. The young dragon sniffed the air inquisitively, but smelled nothing but soot, as he coughed and sneezed, trying to get the ashes out of his nostrils.
Locke was rubbing his nose, annoyed at all the gray stuff, when Silver came back with a bag full of what smelled like food. The Gibles' face brightened as he tossed it on the ground for them to rummage through.
Cairo carefully stuck his head in the bag and pulled out a small can with his mouth and nudged the bag in Lockes' direction. He waddled over excitedly and grabbed a can of beans that was sitting right on top.
Plopping down with a quiet thud, he put the whole can in his mouth and bit down.
The aluminum can screeched and crunched in his jaws as he chewed happily when the Flygon started shooting out questions.

The young Gible listened with a smile on his large face as he chewed. He liked his new friends alot.
He swallowed, took a deep breath and grabbed two more cans.
"I'm Locke. I'm a Gible. I come from what the humans call Mt.Coronet....it's pretty far from here."
Locke looked down quietly at his cans of…he didn’t know what- nor did he care. He bit off half of the second can, and swallowed quickly.
"Since the dead ones overran my home, I've been running. I found the lake, thinking that it didn't have any of those dead ones..."
Lockes' face darkened with sadness as he thought of Jackie and the monster in the lake.
His small claws played with the sharp, jagged edges of the can as his mind wandered.
Somewhere in the distance, he heard faint roaring and other strange noises that sounded a lot like screeching metal.

Echo awoke from his slumber; however, he still was not himself. His mind remained broken and insane due to his lust for blood. A bitter smell filled his nostrils thereby giving him a fiery sensation. Echo could not control himself and so began to thrash all over the cage. Due to the crash, his prison was in a very poor condition causing the cage's door to fly open as the Dratini threw himself at it. The real Echo was not aware of what had happened or of what he was doing. His mind continued to repeat Blood! Kill! Consume! As the half-diseased pokemon slithered silently towards the unconscious dragon before him, the Dratini's thirst grew as he came closer to the bleeding limb. Echo was now at the gushing wound of the mighty dragon. Echo opened his mouth as if he was about to dig into a meal after months of starvation. The Dratini had lost any fragments of sanity that he may have had left; he lunged his head into the wound of the dragon. The Dratini continued to feast on the helpless Charizard until his thirst was finally quenched. The diamond on Echo's head, although it could hardly be determined due to the amount of blood that covered the small worm's head, turned white again thereby returning his sanity.

What! What is this! Echo panicked as he realized that blood surrounded him. He did not understand what was happening or where he was. All Echo understood was the fear he felt. Echo wriggled his body to remove his head from the wound of the dragon; however, his struggling only woke the Charizard. The dragon shook its leg in pain as it tried to remove the Dratini from its stinging wound. The Charizard flung its shredded limb to and fro, but the Dratini's head was stuck. Echo's fear doubled as he realized that whatever he was in began to move. His head was smothered in the torn muscle and blood of the dragon as it continued to jerk its limb back and forth. The suffering Charizard reached for the small worm within its leg. Echo felt a tight squeeze exerted on his body. The pressure was unbearable. Echo's pain grew. He could not bear the pain any longer and so he began to shriek. The sounds were muffled by the muscle that surrounded his head. Echo suddenly was removed from the leg and thrown through a window and into a wall.

The impact knocked Echo's air out of his lungs. As he struggled to regain his breath, the enraged Charizard lifted itself from the ground with its unwounded leg. The ferocious dragon continuously roared as it spewed fire from its mouth. After much struggle, oxygen returned to Echo's lungs. His body was hurt all over from the impact. Echo knew that he needed to rest, but he also knew that he must hide from the large dragon searching for him. Echo found a small dresser with some drawers missing. That place should be safe to stay until that fire monster goes away Echo thought as he turned his head toward the writhing dragon. Echo quickly moved towards one of the open drawers hanging out. He hopped into the drawer and hoped the Charizard would not find him.

Silver continued spooning the mushy meat into his mouth as he listened intently to Cairo and Locke interact. As the small dragon recounted his journey to the lake, a pang of regret struck the Weavile; Jackie and that monster at the lake-...Apparently, Locke, too, was thinking of the Purrloin; his face darkened noticeably after mention of the lake.

He then thought of answering the Flygon's questions, but decided to withhold bits and pieces. "I'm Silver. I'm a Weavile. I was born here in Johto, and I wandered upon that lake in my journey to escape-...the infected." Not wise to tell them about his old Trainer, and his Pokémon that could be lurking in New Bark Town. He traced the edge of the can with his claws, averting his gaze from the two dragons. They seemed pleasant enough, but Silver had been taught to withhold his trust.

Cairo frowned and looked to his two new companions, who had both very quickly gotten sour-faced. He finished his soup and chittered happily, pleased to have good food in his stomach.

"I was born in Hoenn. I came here to get away from the dead things too, but... obviously, it didn't work. But it's ok, because I found you two. Now, let's not dwell on the past-- it's really bumming. Let's see what else is in this building, huh? Maybe there's other real pokemon or even people. Or more food?"

He carefully made his way through the open space, which was bordered with wires and dry wall, and tried to get through the hole the nimble weavile had used. It was a tight fit, though, since he was so bulky. "Come on. It'd be better to get away from the top anyhow. The dead things might hear." He gave them both a bright smile before delving through the hole.

Seven growled, frustrated by the turn of event. It ended up being a splash of older blood on a tree. He had quickly looked around for something that would have caused it, but found nothing. So he continued on travelling, trying to find some sign of life.

Until he found a building in front of him.

It looked to be a better place to find people than in other places. He just had to find a way in... With a nod to himself, he started examining the building. If all else failed, he could break hole in the wall.

"Come on. It'd be better to get away from the top anyhow. The dead things might hear."
The Flygon quickly grinned and disappeared into the dark hole.
Locke stared up at the gaping hole in the ceiling, searching the skies for anything…not living. He held a claw up to his mouth unconsciously, frightening himself as he thought of the terrible things he had seen the dead things do.
With a shudder, he decided it was best to listen to the large dragon and follow. Once below, the young Gible followed closely behind Cairos’ massive tail, holding the splayed tip with a claw for both guidance and comfort. It was dark and really dusty, perhaps from when the ceiling had collapsed. Of course, Locke didn’t mind the darkness, but it was a strange place. There was a bunch of broken pieces of strangely shaped wood lying around that Locke had never seen before. He wondered how they had grown to be so square and where the leaves had gone.
And where were the roots?
Locke puzzled over this as they both wandered through the wreckage, trying to find the entrance to this humans’ lair.
Suddenly, Locke heard another roar, closer than the last one.
It sounded like it was in pain, whatever it was, Locke reasoned as the whole team paused to listen carefully.
“M-maybe it’s another one? One of us?...”
He glanced between the two silhouettes of the larger pokemon above him, now both cautiously moving through the rubble.

Echo heard the constant ferocious roars of the angry Charizard outside. Its flames shot inside the room Echo was hiding in. The furniture and rugs burned brightly as smoke filled the room. The puffs of smoke would continuously rise to the ceiling and fill the room as it exited the shattered window like a group of kids leaving their classroom at the end of the day. The amount of smoke in the room continued to increase as time went on until the entire room was robbed of all of its oxygen. Echo choked as he struggled to breathe. He had no other choice but to jump out of the drawer in which he was hiding and escape the room. Echo searched the room for any exits or cracks he could escape through; however, the only passage that allowed the smoke to be released was the broken window. That was my entrance into the room. Echo knew the large dragon was waiting on the other side of the wall because its flames continued to burst through the window. Echo also knew that if he were to stay inside the building he would certainly die from suffocation. This is my only chance. I--I must do this. Echo scrunched his body together and closed his eyes. The window was high and small so he could not make a mistake with his jump. Echo had only enough oxygen to make this one final leap. If he failed, he would certainly die from the smoke. He made a strong push against the floor and flew through the broken window. Echo's face was the first thing to hit the ground, and the rest of his body followed. He slowly lifted his head to see the dragon roaring in pain.

The Charizard was facing away from Echo. Okay, it doesn't know where I am yet; but if it hears me, it will either chew me up or burn me to cinders. Echo slowly slithered toward the alleyway to his left. Suddenly, there was an explosion from the room he escaped from due to the fire. Frightened by the explosion, Echo's startled body could not move. The Charizard quickly turned its head around to see the Dratini. The Charizard ceased roaring and stared at the Dratini. Both stared at each other for several seconds until the surprised Charizard opened its mouth. Echo dashed down the alleyway barely dodging the flames of the dragon. Echo did not look back to see the Charizard slamming its body against the buildings that formed the alleyway. Echo felt a strong gust of which lifted him from the ground. He traveled a couple of feet in the air before stumbling back onto the floor. Echo raised his head to look in the direction of the raging dragon but saw nothing. Echo slithered towards the end of the alleyway opposite of where he had seen the dragon last but continued to search for the large thing that he feared would surprise him.

The gusts of wind returned; however, the force was coming from above Echo instead of behind him. It is flying! I have to hurry and get out of this alleyway. I will easily be caught by its flames in here, but if I run into the open roads he could snatch me up just like that bird did with my brother. Echo could see a clearing in the smoke. The clearing showed a two-story building with a broken door in the front. Maybe I would be safe in there. He thought as he rushed toward the isolated building surrounded by burnt trees. Echo could see a strange green thing with wings hovering around the building. It seemed to have arms like blades and large eyes. In the distance he could see three silhouettes: one was hopping down the stairs and seemed to be a small chubby looking thing; the second was a little larger than the first one but was much thinner; the final form was a large monster with wings like the large orange dragon. Great...Now there is more trouble Echo thought as he swiftly crawled toward the outpost.

Cairo poked his head out from the ceiling of the abandoned building, peering into the dim hallway. After affirming that the coast was clear, he dropped down and helped the others down as well. He chirped a little as he tried to see down the two way hall, pondering on which way to go.

He decided to go the clearer path and found a few other backpacks, along with some very dead trainers. He frowned; whatever food that could be in the backpacks might be too spoiled around the dead bodies to eat... but it was still worth looking.

As he carefully opened up a first backpack, he heard some racket in the far distance, but could tell it was still within the confines of the building. Pausing, he turned to the others to see if they heard it too. "...Should we run?" he asked quietly, not wanting to attract whatever was making the noise.

((OOC: Sorry I'm so lame! I forgot I was after Nova... @_@))

Seven hissed as he heard the roar, a bit irritated at the loudness of it. Despite this, adrenaline rushed through him. Deciding to abandon the quest to find a way in, he turned towards the direction he heard the roar.

He took a few steps away from the building, quickly noticing something in the not-so-grass. A foul stench quickly reached his nose as he rerouted his attention to this thing. It was closer, more vunerable in a way.

With a small grin, he stuck one of his scythe-like arms in front of the creature. Now that he had a closer look, he cculd see that it was a Dratini, and the stench was indeed coming from it. "Hello." He said simply, allowing hiself to be put in the danger that this pokemon could bring. "How are we today?"

“Should we run?” Cairo whispered, looking at them.
Before either of them could reply, he heard a voice outside.
“Hey! Someones’ outside! They talk!” Locke shouted.
Without waiting for a reply, he let go of the dragons’ tail and hopped over to a nearby wall.
He noticed a part of it was crumbling and weak, so he used a dragon claw to smash it open.
Chunks of concrete flew and dust filled the air.
The young Gible forgot about his fear and stumbled through the rubble with a triumphant grin.
Another friend!
Locke waddled towards the voice, anxious to meet someone else, oblivious to any danger that he may be heading into.
Ahead, he saw a green bug with long arms looking down at something.
Maybe he lost something! He thought, as he cheerfully approached.

Whoa. That green thing is faster and stranger than it looks from farther away. Echo stared up at the Scyther's face as he tried to understand why it would ask such a question unless it was unaware of the incoming danger. It also seemed quite calm for seeing Echo covered in blood and oil. Echo opened his mouth to say something, but his lungs would not allow his panting to stop. As soon as some of his breath returned, he heard another voice coming from the house. Echo turned his head towards the plump grey thing in surprise but noticed that its gaze was set on the strange bug in front of him. These two don't seem hostile. They act a lot like Toyi and Roann. Echo heard the roar of the dragon once again, but it was much closer than before. A burst of flames shot through the clouds of smoke and landed in the middle of the three pokemon. Echo flew through the air and landed a few feet from the blast. He managed to pick himself back up in seconds and quickly shout to the others. "Run! It is right above us!" Echo continued to hastily slither towards the outpost's building. At least there was cover from the flames inside.

Silver's keen hearing picked up the sounds of distress in the trees a small distance away; a loud roar set his teeth on edge, but he swallowed his apprehension and began sifting through the contents of a backpack close to Cairo's tail. He liked the comfort of the large sand beast; it comforted him to have a massive Pokémon to compensate for him and Locke's small sizes.

Suddenly, Cairo jerked his head up and looked back at them, pausing in his rummaging through a backpack. The sounds outside had intensified. "Should we run?" the great dragon asked them in a whisper. Suddenly, Locke's small voice seemed to boom in the confined space: "Hey! Someone's outside! They talk!" Before either Silver or Cairo could stop him, he was breaking through the weak wall with a Dragon Claw and waddling out into the open.

The Weavile's danger senses were suddenly engaged as the smells of the outside flooded his brain. There was something very dangerous outside, a gigantic thing, and he couldn't let it get to Locke. He dropped onto all fours and dashed out into the clearing, his Amulet Coin thumping against his back as he ran. "LOCKE!" he bellowed as he caught sight of the little dragon headed straight for a Scyther. Though the Bug did not look Infected, the monstrous Charizard in the sky could have been. As the great Fire-type shot flames at the three in the clearing, the Dratini in the grass broke cover and began to slither for the outpost; Silver took a quick glance at it as he practically flew over the grass -- it did not look infected, though it did have an odd color.

His claws wound around Locke's shoulder and he pulled him back towards the outpost and away from the orange beast's fireballs. "Run! Run if you want to save your skin!" he yelled frantically at the small dragon. The Charizard bore down on them, flames practically consuming its own lips as it shot Flamethrower after Flamethrower at the survivors; Silver attempted to dodge and run, but knew if the great creature was not dispatched, it would destroy the Outpost and its security in an attempt to kill them all. Who knew why? The beast was obviously not infected. Setting his teeth as adrenaline surged through him, he rounded on the flying beast and dashed towards it, his left claw covering itself in ice as he ran. The beast's aim was off -- but not by much -- as it shot a fireball at the small target, and it glanced off of Silver's right shoulder as he lunged, his thrown Ice Punch striking the Charizard in the right eye. The flames seared through his thin fur and began eating away at his skin, and he winced at the pain the burn brought; fortunately, the great beast's eye was completely destroyed by his Ice Punch, and it fell to earth with a loud thud, ice encrusting the left side of its face. As it was taken over by the Frozen status condition, its wings stopped flapping in its futile attempt to take to the skies once more, and the partial Flying-type's fate was sealed as it was trapped, immobile, in a block of ice.

Silver attempted to get to his feet, but the intense burn on his right shoulder was sapping his strength; he turned and staggered towards the Outpost, but only managed to take a few steps before falling onto his side, unable to move further. His eyes rolled back in his head as he succumbed to the exhaustion brought on by the Burn condition, and his world went black as he fell unconscious.

Cairo seemed to be in a slight state of shock as Locke not only tore through the wall of the outpost, but cried out that there were not one, but two uninfected. While that was a good thing, the giant infected Charizard was not. Silver zipped by him in a blur of black, knocking him off balance. By the time he got out, all he could do was watch as Silver fought off the Charizard.

He flapped his wings and, like a bullet, took off toward Silver, grabbing him with gentle claws. 'All of this noise will attract more dead things...' Cairo thought as he hovered in the air above the now very frozen Charizard. "Everyone, back in the outpost!" When they were all behind him, he flapped his wings as quickly and hard as he could muster, kicking up the dirt around him.

The sandstorm whipped up so quickly, one would think it had been blowing for days. However, with the stinging sand everywhere, a sweet melody drifted on the air, light and comforting. Any listener would think that there was some angel singing, hidden within the brutal sands.

He quickly retreated back into the outpost, the sandstorm still brewing, and blocked most of the entryway with his bulk as he gently set Silver down. He shook himself off and stared at the two new members.

"So..." he started slowly, unsure of how to really break the ice, "...is uh... everyone ok?"

Seven was startled by the sudden appearance of the Charizard. He had known one before, but this one was definitely different from that one. Seemed more agressive than Gigin. He jumped back quickly as the flame from the creature came, the flesh on his left blade getting caught in the flames. A small hiss emerged from his mouth as he looked at the blade. Still usable, but it hurt like hell.

Hearing the creature that looked like a Sneasel and the other dragon - he wasn't quite sure what it was - say to fall back, he frowned. It wasn't his style to back away from a fight. However, the calmer dragon seemed to know what he was doing. With a small grimace and a look of battle lust in his eyes, he hesitantly raced to the building.

The Mantis pokemon watched as the 'friendly' dragon set the Sneasel-like pokemon down, absently hearing snippets of his question. "I'm alive," He stated, as if that would solve anything, "And in these days, it's all you really have to rely on." He looked at the unconcious pokemon. "Right now, this one's health is worrying."

A glance around the room set his attention on the Dratini. "Now, as I'm pretty sure I found this place from near the lake, I have a feeling you, and not them, know what is going on." He said to the Dratini. "Any reason why that Charizard is atta - " The end of his question was drowned out by a roar.

Locke was confused as he possibly could be.
So much had happened in the last minute that his head was still whirling. He was scared that he might have done something wrong, as he crouched in the corner with his claws over his mouth.
The big bug said Silver looks sick, Locke thought sadly, as he waddled over to the unconscious Weavile.
He looked up to the Flygon, with tears in his eyes.
"Is he gonna be ok? He's not really sick, is he?" Locke whimpered, his jaw trembling slightly.
He plopped down near the dark pokemons' head and patted the large tufts clumsily. His mother used to do the same for him when he wasn't feeling good.
He barely noticed the Dratini, who had been very quiet up to this point.
Suddenly, the large bug stalked over to it.
"Now, as I'm pretty sure I found this place from near the lake, I have a feeling you, and not them, know what is going on."
Locke was surprised at how angry the new bug sounded.
Why is he so mad?...he thought, blinking in confusion as it continued.
"Any reason why that Charizard is atta - "
A loud roar shattered the silence outside.
Locke jumped up with a squeak and ran behind the Flygon, hiding behind its' massive hindquarters in terror.

Echo was some feet away when he saw the strange, purple creature attack the giant dragon. Surprisingly, the skinny, small creature had won the fight. Echo had never seen such bravery before, but he never saw much acts of anything in the first place. He was cautious of these new creatures that were now standing around their fallen comrade. Echo knew too well that caution was far better than curiosity. The last time he was curious of things, he was attacked by his dead brother, thrown into a cage, poked with some weird pointy thing, knocked unconscious more than once, attacked by weird creatures, and almost burnt to ashes by a large dragon. He had more than enough experience to know that he couldn't trust anything. Echo pondered his situation thoroughly. If I leave, I might not be as safe without these things around; but if I stay here, I take the chance of being in more danger. Echo looked at the small animal sitting next to the fallen creature. I'll just see how this plays out and see how they treat their fallen...friend. If they even take a nibble at it or so much as motion to make it a meal, I'm going to get out of here as fast as I can. He looked at, what he thought, was the group's friend on the ground and noticed its arm was burnt from the dragon's attack. Echo had a sudden jolt of pain in his head. He had a vague memory of himself shooting a blue-colored beam at something flying towards him. He didn't remember what happened to the bird that attacked him, but he did remember that he had some kind of power. The memory was like a strange force that pulled underneath his skin, a cold sensation. Maybe... Echo slithered towards the purple creature. The large lizard with wings looked at Echo suspiciously while the large bug was talking to the grey, small beast. The pudgy animal turned its head toward the big lizard and said, "Is he gonna be ok? He's not really sick, is he?" Maybe if I help their friend they will help me. I cannot do this on my own. This is my only shot. The icy sensation, once again, flowed through his stomach and up his neck. Echo slowly opened his mouth as the power surged through his body. An icy light erupted from his mouth and evaporated as it made contact with the burn on the unconscious beast's hand thereby causing the boiling of the burn to cease. "Roaaaaaargh," their injured friend roared in pain. Echo's heart nearly flew out of his mouth when he heard this harsh, loud screech. He noticed the others were also frightened and alert for fear that the shrill cry was from yet another vicious monster.