The RAGE Team

((Skip me this turn. Not much I can do as it is. :x))

Cairo was amazed as the little snake dragon breathed a strange cloud onto Silver's body, making the burn stop sizzling. Confused, he was about to ask what had just happened when a stifled roar sounded from behind him. He turned, his antennae twitching nervously. The sandstorm was still in full force behind him; he wasn't sure if whatever was back there would be able to actually find its way to them through it.

He gently set Silver to the side and looked to the others. Not any of them, save for Locke, would be able to really function in the whipping sands. "Stay here... Out in the sands, you'll get hurt. If I need you, I'll call." He turned to Locke and patted his crested little head. "You stay here and watch after Silver, ok?" He smiled, then waddled out into the sandstorm.

Seven scowled as the Dratini breathed the cloud from his mouth, still wanting an explanation. Despite the fact that it had helped the other pokemon, something set him on edge. He moved to the entrance of the place, as a distancing technique. The Dratini seemed alive, but he didn't trust it right now. "Hmph."

He couldn't see through the sandstorm out there. It kinda ticked him off that the storm was present. He hadn't seen anything like it. Was it a move? An ability? 'It doesn't matter to me.' he thought as he slipped outside and waited for some sign of the dragon pokemon.

"You stay here and watch after Silver, ok?"
Locke watched with wide, watery eyes, as the Flygons' whipping scarf disappeared into the dust storm.
Locke was torn. He wanted to help the big dragon, but he didn't want to leave Silver.
Looking back at the unconscious Weavile, he sighed and walked back to his side and plopped down with a thud. Gently patting Silvers' shoulder with his claws, he watched the opening carefully, waiting for his friend to come back.

"The bug thing left. I guess he didn't want to be friends," Locke said sadly, without taking his eyes off the raging sandstorm.
"What about you? Do...you want to be friends?" Locke slowly asked the Dratini, hesitant in fear of rejection.

"Thank you, for helping Silver, by the way. I bet his paw feels much better," Locke added, as he shuffled on his rear to where he could see the small dragon better.
He could see the hesitant serpent still hiding in the shadows.
Maybe he's afraid...Locke thought, as he watched it curiously.
I know!
Locke knew how to solve this.
Still shuffling towards the Dratini on his bum, he got within arms reach.
It reflexively pulled back, but Locke did not hesitate. He raised his nubby arm above the black snakes' head and swiftly patted the serpent, like Cairo had done to him...only harder and clumsier.
There! Now he MUST feel better! Locke thought, grinning triumphantly.

"Well? Do you want to be friends?"

Echo watched as the giant lizard flew off into the raging sandstorm with the bug. Why would they march into danger again after what happened here. Echo thought as he turned his gaze back toward the fallen purple animal and the small, grey dragon. The green bug seemed bloodthirsty and itchy for a battle, while the big lizard looked as if it was trying to protect its friends. Echo slowly slithered into the shadows and examined the small dragon to see what its reaction would be. It seemed sad. Echo would not know what sadness felt like since he never really had anybody to feel it for; so, the grey animal’s tears were something that the Dratini did not understand. The dragon turned its attention to Echo and asked hesitantly, “What about you? Do…you want to be friends?” The question seemed to come out of nowhere, and it seemed ridiculous seeing as how all of these life threatening events occurred. Echo did not understand how such a simple question could be answered as simply as it was asked. After all, Echo did not know any of these creatures. He still did not know if these creatures were hostile. They could possibly be playing a trick on him so they could eat him later. Echo tried to think of the most polite and careful answer he could until the dragon started to move closer. It patted Echo on the head quite hard. Ow…What was that? Echo looked at the tiny dragon with confusion. He didn’t know why hitting another one’s head would be a good way to begin a friendship, but he had no choice but to accept the proposal since he had nowhere else to go. Echo could not venture out into the wilderness with no one but himself. He was only out for a couple of days until he was caught and the nightmare started. “Yeah…I guess so,” Echo said hesitantly.

Silver was awakened by a chilling sensation on his burnt shoulder. Too weary and pained to open his eyes, he simply lay still and allowed the cool feeling to permeate the decimated flesh of his shoulder; it felt good. Inwardly, he smiled. After a while, he became cognizant of other Pokémon talking in hushed tones -- they sounded nervous. He recognized the small voice of Locke and the smoother tone of the Flygon, but couldn't recognize the other two voices. He could also vaguely hear a whipping sandstorm somewhere in the distance.

Unable to piece together the puzzle, the Weavile ventured up from half-sleep to open his eyes. The dim ceiling of the outpost stared back at him; apparently, it was dusk. How long had he been unconscious? He looked first to his left, then to his right, and noticed the Flygon was missing; before he had time to worry about this, he noticed Locke butt-scooting over to a dark corner, where something seemed to be twisting about. Alarmed, Silver attempted to sit up, but his stiff muscles and the twinge of pain in his shoulder made him fall back onto his claws, splayed behind him in ungainly fashion. "L-Locke-!" he choked out as the tiny dragon reached out a nubby arm and thumped the smaller serpent, which Silver now recognized as the Dratini from earlier, on the head. They were talking quietly, so the temporarily-stunned Weavile couldn't make out their words, but assumed by the tone that the battle was outside the outpost, not in.

Cairo listened intently through the whipping winds for any sort of sound like he heard earlier. The roar... was the undead charizard still out there? He shifted his weight, nervous. He hoped not... he wasn't quite sure how they would be able to withstand another attack.

He suddenly heard Silver's voice and his eyes brightened. He flapped more, making the winds sing a little before turning to see the others. He was so happy the little black weasel was ok...! "Silver, you're all right!" he cried, picking up the little animal up and hugging him happily.

He allowed the sounds of the sand and wind to wash over him, his eyes looking for some hint of the enemy. He wasn't in the mood to converse with anyone at the moment, but he could still listen. And right now, his suspicions were still high about the Dratini, despite the fact that it finally spoke. Seven huffed as he saw the dragon pokemon fly by him, not expecting it to see him. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. After a bit of reunion time, he slipped back into the place and sat by the door, thinking of what to do.

On the one hand, he didn't trust any of the other people in the room. They could all be infected with the ability to speak...Somehow. He didn't know whether it was possible or not, but most of the infected he had seen were too far infected to have working voices.

On the other hand, he could benefit from being with him. More pokemon could come, some of which he liked to eat. That meant that they could sorta-kinda benefit from each other, as he wouldn't be eating as many berries as the others. He'd just have to watch his back later.

A growling sound interrupted him from his thoughts. Seven looked down at himself. Yep, that was indeed his stomach. He crossed his scythes over his body with a small huff. He'd have to look for something to eat at some point.

“Yeah…I guess so,”the black dragon said quietly.
Relieved and happy at his acceptance, Locke displayed a very large set of serrated teeth as he grinned.
Before he could speak, he heard a gruff voice behind him.
"L-Locke!"
Silver! He's awake!
The young Gibles' grin got larger as he got to his pudgy feet and waddled to the hurt Weaviles' side.
"Silver! You're okay!" Locke threw his nubby paws in the air and moved behind the Weavile. He pushed on his back to help him sit up, as he seemed to be struggling with his wound.
Suddenly, the big dragon swooped in from the winds.
"Silver, you're all right!" He cried, sweeping the Weavile up in his claws and hugging him.
Locke started to bounce a little, his little claws clasped together, happy that everyone was fine again.

"Hey! Hey Cairo! The black snake is our friend! He's nice! And he helped Silver too!" He said excitedly, tugging on the Flygons' tail.
He glanced to the bug, who had been sitting there quietly, analyzing all of them. He had forgotten about the scythed pokemon.

"Hi bug! What's your name?" Locke chirped, tilting his head.
Without hesitation, he waddled over to the Scyther and examined his deadly scythes.
He has no claws!...nope, nothing under them either...
"What's wrong with your paws? How do you eat?" Locke asked inquisitively, a look of confusion on his face.

(OoC- yes, that is a Portal reference. XD)

The small, gray dragon waddled toward its hurt friend and helped the wounded animal up. It seems to be ok Echo thought as he saw the burnt animal rise. At least the small one seems friendly, but what about the other three? Echo watched the happy reunion between the lizard, the plump dragon, and their hurt comrade. Echo turned his gaze towards the flustered bug as the small dragon greeted it. "Hi bug! What's your name?" the small dragon asked. I believe this dragon doesn't think about what it is going to say before it says anything. "What's wrong with your paws? How do you eat?" the small dragon said as he looked up at the bug's face. Certainly not the best way to begin good relations with another animal, but what do I know about this sort of thing? Echo could deduce from the large bug's face that it was flustered by the flood of questions. That bug seems to be a little frustrated. After all, the bug has been asking everyone about what has been happening for some time without an answer. Echo recalled the large bug asking him what he knew about the current situation with the Charizard. Echo broke into the conversation and said, "Let us hear his questions first. He has been asking plenty of them since this whole thing started." Echo's voice trembled as he said this. All of the group's eyes were staring at him. Echo's body quivered as he told the group about the Charizard. "I don't know how I ended up inside that dragon's leg out there, but I do know it was really angry when it removed me from his limb. I tried to escape, but it was intent on catching me by flame or mouth; so, I ran towards the outskirts of the town in hopes that I may find shelter and cover. I was stuck in a narrow alleyway, and fearing I would be burnt if I stayed inside, I made my way to a small courtyard where I saw a small outpost covered in trees. Since the outpost's back was to the forest, I thought that it would be a good place to shield myself from the flames and escape into the woods. On the way to this outpost, my eye caught the big, green bug buzzing around the building," Echo said as he pointed his nose towards the bug, "and I also saw three figures moving around the outpost from the open doorway. I didn't know anybody else was inside this building until I was a short distance away. The dragon's attack on your friend was what followed." Echo felt relieved as he ended his story. He inhaled deeply and exhaled. Echo looked around at the group of pokemon as they sat in silence. It would be nice if someone would say something instead of stare at me forever Echo thought as he shyly lowered his head.

((Busy moving into my new place! Skip me this turn; I promise I will be back for the next one. :D))

The little round dragon padded about, asking questions to Cairo and the bug thing, and Cairo finally took a good, long hard look at the little snake-like dragon that spoke as he held Silver like a half-unconscious rag doll. He tilted his head and felt bad the little thing was so nervous. He looked outside, the sands darkening with the dimming of the sun. He sighed and placed Silver gently down and plopped down on the broken tile floor.

"I think now is a good time to settle down... we've all had a long day, and we have younger ones with us. Granted, with the excitement and all, we're all a little nervous and jittery, so I think I can help..." With that, he leaned forward slightly and began to gently vibrate his wings, making a hum emerge.

The music, airy, soft and almost ethereal, lifted and began to gently dance about the room, engulfing any who cared to truly listen. The melody was almost of a lullaby, mostly composed for the smaller pokemon, soothing to the ear. An attentive observer would see the wings vibrations variate with the different notes as Cairo continued to hum.

There were no words or lyrics; only the simple song was the sole sound, floating, caressing, and gently laying its audience to a sweet relaxation they had not felt since before the Infection, before all of the madness and carnage.

In that moment, the world was still and harmless, greeting the small mismatched band with the opportunity of the luxury of an undisturbed sleep.

"Hi bug! What's your name?" The question snapped him out of his analyzing, and he looked at the small grey pokemon near him. It seemed like a curious sort of pokemon, one that would end up growing on him at some point. "What's wrong with your paws? How do you eat?" His mouth twitched into something that could either be a frown or a smile, depending on interpretation.

He listened to the Dratini's explanation instead of answering the questions, nodding every once in a while to show that he was indeed listening and not just dozing off. At the end of it's explanation, he gave a final nod and said, "It works, for now." He didn't entirely accept the Dratini's explanation, but it was the only one that was offered.

At the beginning of the dragon's melody, he blinked, remembering the questions. "I'm Seven, they're blades and not paws, and I eat very carefully." He ended it with a small, slightly dark chuckle. After that, he watched and listened as the dragon made the music that was making him feel...odd. He didn't know what to do right now. Another small stomach growl made him sigh. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep with an empty stomach." He whispered, trying not to disturb anyone who may be sleeping.

Locke was sleeping soundly, his head resting on the large dragons' tail when his senses picked up the scent of fresh blood.
The tiny dragons' brain locked itself into the primal desire for food. His eyes snapped open, his pupils completely dilated, just as he heard a ragged voice howl his name.

"Locke.." He turned quickly, locating the source of the blood.
"Silver..."It was a large purple feline, covered in both its' own blood and the blood of another.
"LOCKE!"
He bared his teeth and let out a terrible screech as the creature leaped towards him.

FOOD!BLOOD!FOOD! The young Gibles' mind was on fire with the bloodlust. He neither recognized the now undead Jackie, nor felt anything other than the need to feed.
He turned onto his back, claws up and jaws open, prepared for the feast.

(OoC- his species has a bloodlust problem. Like real sharks, he goes a bit crazy when he smells a large amount of fresh blood)

Echo awoke several times for fear that another danger lurked in the darkness but saw nothing. After frightfully awakening several more times, Echo knew there was another diseased animal in the building, but he could not put his finger on where or who it was. Echo carefully inspected the room to make sure nothing was inside. He decided to check the rest of the building to make sure there was no danger to be afraid of. Echo slithered quietly from room to room in the nocturnal shade of the outpost. The moonlight, which entered from the window, formed many shapes that were both horrific and ridiculous. These images created from both darkness and light reminded Echo of his pond in the Safari Zone and the blotches of light which danced along the surface of the water. The bugs of the woods chirped, and the limbs of the trees swayed in the wind, Echo could hear the soothing melody of the forest. Although the giant lizard's vibrating wings were nice to listen to, nothing compared to the beauty of this music.

Echo listened as he hopped up the stairs one by one to reach the second floor. His nose caught a smell, which Echo knew very well, to be most putrid. Fear gripped Echo's heart, but he knew he had to search the entire outpost for any infected. He had to be certain that they were all safe from the horrors outside the outpost that may have come in. The smell grew more discomforting as Echo made his way to the opposite end of the outpost. Does this hall go on forever? thought Echo as he slowly and cautiously slithered toward the smell. Echo felt something in the darkness before him. He let out a small yelp due to the sudden surprise. Suddenly, something bright turned on and said something in the human language. Echo did not understand a word of what it said, but he did know where the sound was coming from.

A small red, flat box sat in the corner. The item was leaning against the wall thereby revealing a small bag with its contents sprawled all over the floor. Echo put his nose under the item and directed the light towards the hallway. He gasped as the source of the decay was revealed. Echo knew the dead thing before him was human because it had two legs, two feet, a head, and two hands with five fingers on each. A large hole in the middle of the torso was the cause of death of this unfortunate being. Echo came to his senses and decided to rejoin the group. He took the small, lit machine in his mouth to guide him through the hallway with its light.

When Echo arrived at the stairway, he noticed the bugs of the forest had stopped chirping. Oh no. This is not good. He knew the bugs of the night chirped if the area was safe but quieted themselves when danger was close. Echo quickly threw himself down the stairway, crashing all over as he tried to reach the group. Echo saw a beaten and bloody feline emerge from the shadows. It whispered something as it lunged at the small dragon. To Echo's surprise, the small dragon awoke from its slumber and attacked the feline. Echo dropped the machine he was holding and dashed into the room. He knew the small dragon had no chance against the large feline it was fighting. Echo did not know what to do, but he knew the rest of the group had to be awakened immediately. Echo took a deep breath and let out a loud, high-pitched screech that filled the outpost.

It was a blur.

The night had wound down peacefully; though the day had been filled with Infected and new pokemon, they had managed to take refuge in an old building and even gotten a small meal out of it. He had gotten so comfortable, he had hummed a lullaby for the younger pokemon, as well as himself, reminding him of better days when he was home...

Then, a screech. An Infected purple cat lunged out of the shadows, screaming Locke's and Silver's names. And if that wasn't strange enough, Locke lunged back at her. Out of pure instinct, Cairo brought up his massive tail, hitting the Infected in the middle of her body and at the apex of her lunge, making her careen over them and into a wall. His wings flapped and he created another sandstorm to confuse the Infected's sense of smell so they could escape.

Without hesitation, Cairo grabbed Locke and flew out of the room and deeper into the outpost, speeding through an empty hallway. He looked down at Locke and frowned. Why had he attacked back? It didn't seem like the timid little thing to be so... ravenous... Maybe... he was Infected? The thought alone sent pangs through his chest. Locke, though he had only known the little guy for a day or so, felt like family...

Like a little brother...

Once he was in a different room, he pushed Locke down to the floor and pinned him with a strong foot. "Locke! Answer me! Are you Infected?" His maw opened and revealed a dragonbreath building. He knew it was important to kill off a turning Infected while he had the chance...

Even if it was a little brother...

Just as his meal was about to fall right into his jaws, a high pitched screech tore at his ears, and the giant dragons' tail swooped around and knocked the feline into a wall. Sand flew everywhere, and Locke was jolted away from his prey before he had the chance to feast.
He frantically clawed at the powerful arms holding him as they bolted from room to room. Cairos' scales were thick and closely knit to his skin, rendering the young dragons' attack worthless.

"LET GO! LET GO! FOOD!" The enraged Gible screamed in a throaty voice as he squirmed to get away. The bell on his wrist jingled too softly for him to hear through all his screaming. The Flygon effortlessly tossed the Gible to the ground and pinned him with an echoing thud.

"Locke! Answer me! Are you Infected?" The dragon loomed over the bloodthirsty Gible, pain in his eyes and a fiery glow forming in the darkness of his jaws. Locke narrowed his eyes and let out a snarl, clawing frantically at the heavy paw. The bell around his wrist let out a happy tune as it was quickly tossed about.
The cheery voice of the bell was finally able to be heard. The small dragon looked like he had been hit in the face with a brick.
Locke ceased his rabid attack, his nostrils flaring as he breathed heavily. He blinked repeatedly, his scleras visible again, and his pupils returning to normal.
"Wha...what..." He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. Large, innocent eyes, free of hunger and malice, looked up at the powerful dragon that was ready to fire.

He felt a heavy weight on his chest, and it really hurt.
He looked down at what was holding him, and it was Cairos' big foot...but that wasn't what scared Locke.
It was the glowing fireball he saw in the darkness above him.
"Cai-Cairo..? What...what's wrong?" He started to panic, and he clung to the dragons' paw, frightened.
"Please Cairo! Don't hurt me! I thought we were friends!" he whimpered pitifully. He tried to hide his large head under his nubby paws in terror and confusion.
He did not understand why the big dragon wanted to hurt him.
Tears started to run down his face as he crunched up as best he could to prepare for the blast, his tiny paws covering his eyes tightly.

Oh gosh--Oh gosh--Oh gosh Echo thought as he saw the tackling, clawing, kicking, and hurling of the pokemon. "Liepard, the cruel pokemon-Gible, the--Flygon, the--," something continued to blatter as the raucous continued. Quickly turning his head all around to find the source of the noise, Echo realized the babbling was coming from the red box he found upstairs a few moments earlier. Echo hastily approached the rambling object to see what it was doing. Pictures of pokemon would appear then disappear one after the other due to the screams of the various species heard in the room. A picture of the tiny dragon appeared but flashed away quickly; however, the object talked long enough to tell the name of the small dragon, a Gible. Although Echo didn't understand the human language, he was able to memorize the names of the species in his group as well as himself: Flygon was the name of the large, flying lizard; Scyther was the name of the giant bug; Weavile was the name of the twiggy, purple thing with the big head; and Echo was, what the humans called, a Dratini.

Echo jumped as he heard a large crash and the cries of the small Gible. This triggered the box to turn on again; with a few seconds of silence, a full explanation of the Gible was given. "Gible, the land shark pokemon, often hides in small caves; it may also attack a source of blood due to its shark-like instincts." Echo didn't understand the entire thing; he did understand, however, the 'blood' word, which the professor said at the laboratory before Echo blacked out. "Blood...blood...blood," Echo repeated to himself. He was trying to understand what that word meant: he knew he heard and saw this thing many times before. Other words started to repeat in his head. Kill! Consume! "AAAAAGH!" Echo roared in pain as his memories returned. "That is it! That is what I was doing in that dragon! I was--," Echo caught himself before he said anything further that the others could hear. Echo could see the battle between the Scyther, Weavile, and Liepard from the doorway. Echo could not see where his other two comrades were. He poked his head out the doorway to the see opposite side of the room where the crash came from. He saw the Gibble pinned down by the Flygon's foot. "Locke! Answer me! Are you infected?" the Flygon yelled at the Gible. I guess Locke is the name of the one I spoke to Echo thought as he heard the name, but why is he pinning Locke down if he is his friend? The Gible clawed at the Flygon's feet, but Echo knew Locke was not an infected. Echo knew how an infected sounded, acted, and attacked because… he was one. He remembered what he did when insanity overtook him; the Gible's rage was nothing like that.

Echo gasped as he saw a large ball of fire forming in the Flygon's mouth. "Nooooooooo!" Echo shouted. He dashed from the doorway and slithered towards the Flygon with all the speed he could muster. Echo's adrenaline was pumping so fast he did not know what he was going to do to stop a thing so big. He followed his instincts and threw himself onto the back of the Flygon. Echo only meant to stop him from shooting the ball of fire at Locke long enough to explain, but-instead of screaming in the Flygon's ear to ruin the path of the fireball-a small jolt of electricity erupted from Echo's mouth and shot out at the Flygon's head. The Flygon's head jerked to the right and blew the wall open with his fireball. With his head paralyzed, the Flygon fell forward onto the Gible. "Oh no, I didn't mean to--," Echo said, baffled at the sight of the paralyzed Flygon. "Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead." Echo repeated. To Echo's relief, the Flygon began to push himself back up.

Cairo didn't understand why he was facing the ground. Though, when he looked down into Locke's very scared face, relief washed over him. Thankfully, he had caught himself before he squished the poor thing.

He picked Locke up and hugged him as he teared up in happiness. "LOCKE! Thank goodness you're ok! I thought after you went all blood-crazy, you were Infected and I thought I'd have to-- but you're not and it's okandnoweverything'sgonnabeokbecauseyou'renotdeadorinfectedandit'sallgonnabeok!" Though, in his happiness, he forgot about the little dratini and stepped on his tail.

"Oh, my-- sorry!" Cairo said as he balanced on one foot to not step on the little dragon again. "You ok?" He then realized it was the little dragon that had knocked him down.

Locke shivered in the big dragons' arms. Cairo was smothering him as he frantically explained himself. He didn't hear all of what he said, on account of his voice being muted and him talking so quickly...but Locke didn't care.
He was alive, and Cairo was happy that he was too.
The big dragon has said something about him thinking he was infected, but Locke just didn't understand.
"Blood crazy?.." Locke said in a muffled tone, confused. He was speaking into the big dragons' chest.
Cairo seemed to become off-balanced, and he threw his arms (and Locke) out to balance himself. The young Gible gasped for air and looked quickly around, as he tried to gain his bearings.

"You ok?" Cairo was asking the little black dragon at his feet. Locke was dangling, but tried to get a better look at the Dratini.
After squirming a bit, Locke finally was able to see him in full, and gave him a weak but happy smile.
He had seen the serpent pokemon help stop the giant fireball from getting released into his face. He knew that he was a friend. Why else would he do that?
"Thank you!" Locke piped up.
"What's your name?" He asked, his big and innocent eyes glittering in the failing light.

"What's your name?" Locke asked Echo. Echo was still recovering from the shock he had at the thought of killing one of his comrades. Stunned, he was able to mumble, "I have two names." Crash! Forgetting the Weavile and Scyther were still struggling with the Liepard, the sudden sound of smashed glass was a surprise to the three pokemon sitting at the end of the hall. Echo darted his head in the direction of the crash. Shattered glass was all that remained of a small window large enough for the infected Liepard to escape through. The Scyther hovered to the window with his scythes held up, ready for an attack. After a few moments of scanning the window, the Scyther slowly returned to the main room to converse with the Weavile. Echo stared at the broken window where the Liepard escaped as he continued in broken sentences. "I...A human called me Echo, but the red box--," Echo interrupted his sentence as he turned his head to look at the two dragons, “Doesn’t something seem strange about that creature that came in?" He paused a moment, waiting for an answer.

"If I recall, the word it bellowed before it attacked sounded much like your name," Echo said as he squinted at Locke. The two dragons seemed to be confused. Realizing the two were just as confused as he was, Echo said, “Come over here” as he motioned his head toward the doorway, "I found something that may help." The Flygon was a little dazed from the paralysis but managed to pick himself up and walk to the staircase where Echo left the red box. The Scyther and Weavile followed Echo and the two dragons. "Look at this," Echo said as he pointed at the red box with his nose. "I don't know what it is, but--," Echo said before the Weavile broke in, “It is called a pokedex; my old trainer used to carry one." "Well, it called everyone a different name," Echo said, perplexed by the pokedex. "It tells you the name that most humans will call you by. Watch," the Weavile said as he picked the pokedex up with his sharp hands. The Weavile spoke something into the red box; it turned on and gave a description of the Weavile and its name. "Yeah! Yeah! That is exactly what it was doing during your fight with the...Liepard I believe it was called!" Echo uttered. He turned around to meet the eyes of the Gible and asked, "Did you know, or have you ever met, the Liepard that attacked you tonight? It seemed intent on eating you when it could have easily eaten anybody else who was asleep. I would think the Liepard would have quietly killed your larger friends first, and then eat you. "

Cairo followed the little dragon, keeping Locke close to him. The little dragon introduced himself as "Echo" and nodded. 'Well, at least I know his name now too...' When the pokedex arose, his antennae quirked with interest. He knew that little red box...

The thought of his own, old trainer made him reminisce over life beforehand, before all of this chaos... He hugged Locke closer to him as the image of his dead teammates and trainer flashed before him, the silhouette of the cacturne standing maliciously over them, red eyes glowing...

He shook his head free of the thought, bringing himself back to the conversation at hand and placed Locke back down on the ground. When Echo mentioned the purple cat yelling Locke's name, he looked down at him inquisitively. "...You know her? Wait..." His mind traced back to the awful lake scene, where the gyarados erupted out and chewed on the little kitty... "Was... was that the little kitty that..." He looked down at Locke, a little horrified that she had come back and even evolved after such a terrible incident...

Jackie was not surprised when Locke responded to her attack with such bloodlust, but then the green dragon slammed into her with its huge tail, causing the slender feline to fly backwards and over her prey, crashing into a hard wall. She was even bloodier than before, and thoroughly stunned. When the Liepard managed to regain her senses and stand up, the Gible and the others were gone, and a sandstorm was blowing. Even as if got into her eyes and ears, Jackie didn't care. Her prey had escaped.....that was unacceptable. Now all of them were going to fall prey to Jackie's malicious fangs.....she'd make those two remember what they'd done. Jackie would never stop, not now, not ever.

The hunt had begun again. The undead Liepard stalked back over to where her prey had been, but this sandstorm was muddling her sense of smell and her sight, though that was going to fail eventually anyways. But even with the roaring sandstorm, Jackie had impeccable hearing. There was no escape. She went silently and slower than before into the deeper parts of the outpost, searching for the living ones, searching for Silver, for Locke.

"I'm coming for you," Jackie whispered in a dreadful, broken voice; even if it was barely understandable, it echoed through the outpost. They would hear it.

The living ones would know Jackie was coming for them all.