The UNDERGROUND Team

Unflinching when the distraught canine wrapped his small arms about his frame, Rodolfo merely smiled weakly down at the youngster – guilty, he couldn’t do more. It broke his heart to see the creature in such a state, but as far as comforting went, Rodolfo was usually on the receiving end. Instead, he remained content to quietly ‘hush’ Felix whilst lightly patting his back.

“I-I'm so sorry, Felix. Marilyn is never like this...You need to be strong now, Felix. I, no, we'll all help you find someone in your family if they mean so much to you. Just stay strong..."

Thankfully, Florence’s soothing abilities surpassed his own as she accepted the teary pup in her own, ghostly arms. Watching the pair’s embrace with a sad smile, the youngest brother strained to catch glimpse of Marilyn and the most recent arrival, though was disappointed to find they’d vanished. Hoping that they would emerge in once piece, he subconsciously began wringing his wrists as the nervousness kicked in.
“It’ll all be okay,” He muttered quietly, too wrapped up in his thoughts to realize he’d spoken aloud. Intent on reuniting the group and dispelling any bad airs amongst those he’d come to consider friends, the Charizard held his ground a moment. Felix was delicate, announcing his acceptance of the Mismagius as a foster-aunt, and Marilyn clearly needed a moment or two to calm herself. People said things they didn’t’ mean in such times of stress – she would be back.

"Sure takes a lot to get moving around here, huh?”

Marco, who had been standing beside Bryant, couldn’t help but crack a smirk at the creature’s sarcastic remark. Never one particularly attentive to the concerns of others, Marco was growing more concerned with the position out in the open. It was dangerous here – the stench of the rotting undead bound to lure their brethren to the scene.
“Tell me about it,” He muttered in response, eying the scene between the Felix and Flo, whilst keeping a look out for the other involved party of Aushan and Marilyn. Flexing his wings, a blatant example of his growing impatience, the elder brother felt the need to intervene. Clearing his throat, he spoke loud, authoritative. “As touching as this is, we need to get moving. Set aside your differences and make your peace before we have anymore company – the bad kind,” His steely stare fell to Florence and Felix, expression serious. “Keep up,”
“Marco,“ Rodolfo hadn’t the time to protest such insensitivity, his elder sibling soon lumbering away on all fours – burning tail acting as a beacon for the group to follow. Although he knew damn well Marco wouldn’t abandon him, the fear of banishment, isolation, crept up to plunge the Charizard into a state of suppressed panic. His stomach flipping, the youth was left crumbling inside as the group made a third division. “Marco, just wait- j-just wait a m-minute?” It was to no avail, his elder turned deaf as Roddy’s fear was exposed in his words. Looking to those remaining, throat tight, he knew that his first loyalties would lie with his brother.
“Come on,” His brother, the only family he had left. The one who had let him face banishment all those years before…

Hesitating a moment, practically winded at the revelation he continued to support the being who shared no such feelings for his own wellbeing, Rodolfo’s sorrow turned into an expression of bitterness.
“No,” The venom in the word shocked even him. Still, his expression faltered only a second, a newfound burst of confidence rushing to fuel a rare anger in the dragon. Marco had noticed, turning his head lazily to regard his sibling. Thinking it some sort of joke, he simply smirked in response. Roodlfo’s glare narrowed.
“Rod-“
“We will wait,” His attention flicked to Bryant and the shiny, nostrils flaring as he ensured they got the message. Marco kept his distance, his expression a curious combination of shock and irritation. Good – Rodolfo wasn’t prepared to follow his commands like a dog. He was beyond that now.

As Florence was comforting the young Riolu, Felix said to her, "... She doesn't want you but I do." The sentence made the ghost smile a little bit. However, she wasn't prepared for the next two words to come out of his mouth. "Auntie Flo." The Mismagius let out a warm smile and hugged him once again, happy that he took her in as a foster aunt. "Thank you, Felix. I'll be sure to be a good aunt."

“As touching as this is, we need to get moving. Set aside your differences and make your peace before we have anymore company – the bad kind,” The moment was wrecked by the older of the Charizard brothers. The younger one prompted to wait for Marilyn and Aushan to come back, but even Florence was beginning to have her doubts if they were coming back or not. At this point, the ghost didn't really care if she came back or not. "I don't know..." she said, "I don't think Marilyn's coming back, and I honestly couldn't care either way." She stayed beside Felix and noticed he didn't have his bag. She picked it up using her "arms" and handed it to him. "I believe you dropped this."

Meanwhile, Marilyn was still sitting under a tree when Aushan refused to leave. "Not right now. You look like you could use come company." Marilyn looked at him and realized that the Lucario was sitting next to her. "I would hate to leave you on your own out here." She quickly looked away from him, hiding the blush that was on her face. She stayed silent for a few moments before sighing and saying sadly, "I-I don't think any of them would want to see me again after that act." She looked at him and said, "Maybe I should just leave..."

Bryant agreed with Marco- they needed to get moving. Staying still would get them all killed, or worse. Personal affairs getting in the way was just selfishness. Marilyn was putting the whole group at risk, and most of them knew it. He didn't hold it against her, she was his friend, of course, but it still burned at him. Rodolfo seemed determined to wait, and he could respect that as well. However, it was getting more dangerous by the minute.

"Rodolfo..." He spoke up quietly, not wanting to anger him further. "I know she's your friend, she's mine too. But... We can't wait forever. If she doesn't decide soon, we're going to have to leave without her." He didn't want to throw on the next bit, but it needed to be said. "She's putting us all at risk, especially the smaller ones. We can't fight as well as you if something decides to attack us while we're waiting." Normally, Bryant was all for risk-taking. However, between him and Felix, the stakes were too high.

"Thank you, Felix. I'll be sure to be a good aunt."

Felix beamed back at her, but before he could reply, Marco butted in.

“As touching as this is, we need to get moving. Set aside your differences and make your peace before we have anymore company – the bad kind. Keep up.” The pup glared back at the stern look in Marco's eyes as his gaze fell upon him and his new auntie. Being young but also an empath because of his species, others' emotions was not something Felix could brush aside so swiftly.

Meanie...

He smiled gratefully at Rodolfo as the younger spoke up to try to gain more time, but the smile degenerated into a frown; he only half noticed Florence's attempt to give him back his backpack, he was so tuned into the dragon's emotions.

What he did notice was her words. "I don't think Marilyn's coming back, and I honestly couldn't care either way."

An emotion he could not name, but it was an angry, hurt one. It was only there for a few moments before it was buried, and Rodolfo's emotions were being particularly loud in making their presence known to the emotion-detector, sending off alarm bells in the canine's head.

Fear was oozing off of his new friend in waves. More than fear-- panic. Slightly hidden, but panic. That was why his emotions were easier to feel than anyone else's right now; they were the strongest. He glanced back at Marco's large form beginning to lumber off and spoke quietly; though addressed to Rodolfo, he didn't really expect the dragon to hear him.

"... What's hurting you... it's his fault, isn't it...?"

Again, Marco urged Dolfy to come with him. Felix gasped softly as the fear and hurt shifted slightly. Now it was hurt and... was that anger? Something else? Having not experianced bitterness before, the canine could not name the emotion he now felt... but it surprised him, it coming from someone as gentle as Rodolfo.

“No.”

The normally gentle features were hard. It didn't belong on his face, not at all. And the feeling was contagious. Marco was making Dolfy upset. Marco was hurting him, had scared him. Shooting a sharp glare at the elder dragon, Felix growled softly. Markie really was a meanie.

"Rodolfo... I know she's your friend; she's mine too. But... we can't wait forever. If she doesn't decide soon, we're going to have to leave without her." Leave without her...? She was a jerk, yeah, but... leave her by herself? Here? "She's putting us all at risk, especially the smaller ones. We can't fight as well as you if something decides to attack us while we're waiting."

Felix stifled a yawn. "Let's just go look for her... can't be hard... or take long..." His next attempt at stifling his yawn was utterly unsuccessful and he rubbed at his eyes, moving to stand with Rodolfo. Dolfy needed his support right now, and since Florence seemed to like to follow him, if he stood by Rodolfo he could give them both as many hugs as they needed.

And maybe if he was super lucky Rodolfo would let him ride on his back when they decided to start walking. The little one felt like he could fall asleep any minute.

Everyone seemed to be taking there sweet time in starting to move. He would have just left them and gone on himself, but he stayed and waited for them to finish what they where doing.
It seemed everyone was eager to start moving as well as Kothar, but Rodolfo didn't seem as eager.
He said no, and that they would wait, but in all onisty, Kothar had done enough waiting. The longer they stayed here, the longer it would take for him to find his trainer.

Kothar let out a growl before turning away from them. He sat down, figuring they where going to be here for quite some time.

((Sorry for the short post, but not really much for Kothar to do but wait, and I didn't want to skip again.))

Aushan watched as the distraught psychic type looked away and back again.
"I-I don't think any of them would want to see me again after that act. Maybe I should just leave..."

"I don't think you should. Tensions are high these days. I'm sure they'll understand eventually. As long as you apologize." He looked at her very seriously. "I can understand that you no longer what to be viewed as a child to your friend, but how you acted about it was... Rather extreme. That could have been handled much better."

He sat back a little looking up through the branches of the trees for a moment.
"You two have know each other for a long time, right? Your auras hold the attachment of someone important to each other." He looked back to her. "Why would you try to push her away like that? When there are so many looking for those important to them, or lost them to the infection?"

"I don't know... I don't think Marilyn's coming back, and I honestly couldn't care either way."

Marco’s nostrils flared as a thin trickle of smoke wafted out, the dragon left struggling to contain his growing temper. Renowned for his patience, the Charizard was particularly difficult to anger but as the situation stretched on to endanger the entire group’s health, he found himself growing increasingly indifferent. Shifting his weight, irritation only heightened by Rodolfo’s newfound rebellion against his solid, rational orders, he suppressed a growl.
“Good,” He grumbled, revealing a darker side. “See, Rod? If Florence doesn’t expect her to return then there’s no point waiting any longer,” Marco had caught the younger’s dragon’s glare, mimicking the expression as he turned roughly away. As much as he wanted to fight it, the brother knew that in the end, Rodolfo would always follow.

"Rodolfo... I know she's your friend, she's mine too. But... We can't wait forever. If she doesn't decide soon, we're going to have to leave without her. She's putting us all at risk, especially the smaller ones. We can't fight as well as you if something decides to attack us while we're waiting."

Emitting a slight whine, his feelings a storm of sorrow and anger, Rodolfo couldn’t think clearly. His temples were pulsing with a ferocious headache as he distractedly let his attention wander from his sibling’s retreating form and Bryant’s rational approach. In the end, he gave a huff, flexing his claws as he caught the Cranidos’ eye.
“Okay,” He responded eventually, voice soft now that the fight had been drained from him. He looked away, sparing a glance for Florence to see she had already recovered the worst of the emotional outburst of her ‘daughter’ and was comforted by it. Still, it didn’t’ seem right. He liked Marilyn and the newcomer seemed amiable enough. Was it fair to leave them to die?

"Let's just go look for her... can't be hard... or take long..."

Whilst he wanted to agree, Rodolfo looked away. He’d made an idiot of himself, deluding himself into thinking he could prove a higher authority than Marco who was gradually sauntering out of his vision. It set his heart racing, realizing exactly how close he was to losing his family yet again – this time, perhaps for good.
“N-No, w-we can’t,” He muttered suddenly, fear overwhelming the anger, the hurt, as he shifted around, preparing to leave. “Bryant and Marco are right,” Marco’s always right… Dropping to all fours, he leant down to offer Felix and any other takers position atop his back as he prepared to trot after his brother. As much as his heart protested his decision, his instincts and desperation for company persuaded him otherwise. It was time to go.

Marilyn listened to Aushan lecture her on what she did wrong. She was hurting and really wanted to go back, but she kept thinking they would hate her, even if she apologized. "I-I don't know why I did it..." The Gothitelle said to him, "I-I guess it was just a heat of the moment..." Marilyn, without realizing it, moved closer to him as well as placing her hand on his paw. She let out a rather sad sigh. "Besides, I'm sure even if I apologized, they wouldn't want to see me again..." Marilyn leaned back against the tree. "I'm sure they've forgotten about me by now." She was actually starting to grow a bit tired from all of this activity. It felt like forever since she got some sleep, but she needed to fight it.

Florence listened in on the conversation going on between the two brothers. As the older brother was winning the argument on whether or not they should leave, something made the ghost a little uneasy. As much as she wanted Marilyn gone from her life, she just felt like she couldn't leave her alone. It was a bond that gave her this type of worry. A bond that could only be shared between mother and daughter. "Let's just go..." She said to them as she looked down at the ground. She felt an incredible sadness and was able to fight back tears, but she didn't even realize that she was still carrying Felix's backpack. Florence didn't want to leave Marilyn, but it would be best for the group if they just moved on.

Without her.

"I'm sorry, Marilyn..." She murmured to herself.

Bryant's shoulders sagged in sadness when Rodolfo agreed with him. It wasn't that he was sad they were moving on, they needed to, after all, but there was something in his voice. Why was he so upset? The poor dragon was exhausted, perhaps that was it. Come to think of it, a wave of tiredness washed over Bryant in the quiet despair. Shaking his body, he looked again at the others. They were getting tired just standing here, inactivity driving their minds to shut down. Most of the others were beginning to look tired as well. Staying was more dangerous than ever. They needed to get moving. He needed to lead them.

Nodding his head sadly, he stood straight, and took a few steps backwards. "Follow me everyone." His voice was soft and sad, but the words were clear. Turning his back on the others, he began walking towards Violet, walking slowly to allow the others to prepare themselves before coming along. As he started walking, however, a shadow washed away from Bryant. They were finally moving, and for the first time in a while, he was glad.

“N-No, w-we can’t.” Felix was surprised that such an easy answer was so quickly shot down... but he could feel the fear bubbling up in the dragon.

Why are you so scared? He frowned sadly, mulling around the possibility that it really was Markie's fault, not hearing Dolfy's urging that Marco and Bryant were right.

But the two were brothers. Brothers didn't do stuff like that to each other...

"Let's just go..."

Startled out of his thoughts, the little canine looked over at Auntie Flo, sensitive ears picking up the muttered phrase she had probably intended only for herself: "I'm sorry, Marilyn..."

"If you're sorry, why not go look? We can meet up with everyone else later." Felix relieved the ghost of his backpack and slung it on, staring at where the psychic type had run off to.

"I'll see you guys in a few minutes." the pup said with a quick nod, making up his mind. "She's the biggest jerk in the world but it's wrong to leave her behind. And the mister who went with her did nothing bad at all."

He puffed out his puny chest and scampered over towards where he'd seen the new mister and the mean psychic.

This wouldn't take long... right?

(Dear lord I am so sorry that this took so long. And that it sucked. OTL)

It seemed everyone was starting to move, willing to leave one of there own behind so that the rest can get going. He hoped that what he sought was in Violet City, if not, then he had no reason to stay with these pokemon. He would go off on his own again if need be.
"Follow me everyone." The one they called Bryant said as he started to lead the way out. The black Charizard didn't like to follow anyone, but it seemed he had no choice if he was to catch up to Dean and Seth.
"Why are we going to Violet City?" Kothar asked as he walked next to the Cranidos. "There is nothing there." Though his question wasn't directed at Bryant in particular, it was better to ask him as he was the one currently leading the way there.

There was nothing at Violet City. The place was deserted, or, devoid of life anyway. The thing's that hunt there now are the undead, but they hunt everywhere. For all he knows, the place could have burned down, or have been reduced to ruble since the last time he had been there.
He looked down at the berries we was carrying, hoping he wouldn't have to carry them all the way there. They had to stop along the way to rest, as any pokemon couldn't go all the way without that, no matter how strong they where.

He looked off in the direction in which the pokemon they where going to leave had gone off. Though he didn't catch the conversation, he noticed that the little Riolu had run off in the same direction.
"Where does he think he's going." The black Charizard growled. This group was getting smaller and smaller by the minute, anymore and it would just be him again.
Placing the berries on the ground he to walked in the direction of the one's that ran off. "Go on ahead, I'll get them, then catch up to you." He said with a look over his shoulder before running after the Riolu.

Aushan watched as the Gothitelle leaned back against the tree, her hand now on his paw. The emotional pain coming off of her was strong, and he could also see how tired she was getting. The lucario hoped she wouldn't doze off at such a bad time. Getting her up and moving was quickly growing more and more important.

"I-I don't know why I did it..." The Gothitelle said to him with a sigh, "I-I guess it was just a heat of the moment... Besides, I'm sure even if I apologized, they wouldn't want to see me again... I'm sure they've forgotten about me by now." What a sound of defeat coming from Marilyn, her aura flickering softly as it gave off waves of sadness. It was almost painful for Aushen as well. The lucario steeled himself against the anguished aura and pressed on.

"But you don't know that for sure. And you won't until you try." He frowned a little. Was she really going to give up so easily, and not even try to fix things? "Besides, I highly doubt they've forgotten you. Especially not your friend."
It seemed that she really believed that she ruined everything with that one outburst, and was not going to head back because she thought it would be useless. It would seem convincing her otherwise would be more difficult than he had thought it would.

"Follow me everyone."

Marco, pleased to finally be moving, albeit lacking a good portion of the group, was first to follow the Cranidos. Whilst he hadn’t wanted to alarm the creatures around him, the Charizard had caught the scent of decay in the air. It had been growing stronger as the minutes passed, but with the hope this mess would sort itself before the threat arrived kept him silent. Looking over his shoulder, masking the unease as a chill cascaded up his spine, the eldest sibling quickened his pace, pleased Rodolfo was sulkily following. Saddened at the sight of his moping brother, spotting the tears lining his eyes, he gave a huff of defeat.
“Rod, we-“

"I'll see you guys in a few minutes. She's the biggest jerk in the world but it's wrong to leave her behind. And the mister who went with her did nothing bad at all."

What? Rodolfo’s head snapped around as Felix spoke, watching the pup and ghost-type disappear away in search of the missing individuals. Oh, that hurt. His chest constricting with the guilt of letting the group divide, helpless to do anything to prevent it, Rodolfo’s stare lingered on where his friends had left to. He wanted to join them, dispel the quarrels within the group and bring everyone back together, but he found himself rooted to the spot. Marco was still walking. He couldn’t afford to lose him again.

"Where does he think he's going. Go on ahead, I'll get them, then catch up to you."

Marco’s nostrils flared as even Kothar fell into the trap of locating the others. He looked uneasily around him, tense as he reached out to the shiny dragon. It was too late to warn him, he was gone. Annoyed, the Charizard emitted a bitter growl, knowing that at this rate another battle was inevitable. Snapping his head around to face Bryant and Rodolfo, he thought it the time to come clean with his suspicions.
“I don’t know what, but there are undead here, close,” He stated bluntly, watching his sibling’s face fall in terror. “I was hoping we could avoid them, but that looks doubtful now. We ne-“
“What!?” Rodolfo snapped, angry. “You knew and didn’t tell us?!” Marco had been unprepared for the rage that overwhelmed the smaller Charizard’s features. He’d never seen Roddy in such a state, almost alarmed that he had to capacity to hold such a fearsome glare. Marco opened his mouth to speak, but a furious roaring interrupted him.

Turning in unison, the two brothers looked upon a pair of three-headed, enormous monsters. Hydreigon. Of course, neither sibling knew the species, but the sight alone of these foreign behemoths was enough to alert them that this would not be a fight won easily. The beasts rose sluggishly in the sky before descending at an alarming rate a short distance away.

Rodolfo’s eyes widened in realisation.

That was where the others had run to.

(( Throwing in some actions, guys. We have a mated pair of undead Hydreigon which are probably going to be a real pain in the ass to fight, lol. It’s open for interpretation of where exactly they land, but they’re much closer to Marilyn, Aushan and those choosing to search for them. :3 ))

The Black Dragon's question caught Bryant a little off guard. Why? Why not? There was no where else to go. Goldenrod was destroyed, and Ecruteak was dangerous. "Maybe..." He began, trying to organize his thoughts. "Maybe it's because there isn't anything there, that it's where we need to be. There's no where else to go." Bryant stopped and whipped around when he realized the others were going back. Now, once again, the group had split into factions. Bryant found himself with Florence, Marco, and Rodolfo, while Kothar was with Felix, and Aushan was with Marilyn. What a mess.

When Bryant heard Marco and Rodolfo's conversation, however, his eyes widened. Undead? His thoughts flared in panic. Why didn't Marco say anything?! Bryant's knees shook when he heard the roaring, nearly falling to the ground. Looking up, he saw the cause, two enomours, three-headed dragons. Bryant had seen dragons like that before, when he traveled around before meeting this group. "Hyrdreigon..." He muttered under his breath. These beasts were brutal, and undeath would make them even worse. Hoping to his feet, knees still shaking, he ran a few feet in front of the two dragons. "They're heading for the others! C'mon!" He called out, turning on his heels and running after his friends. He would be useful this time. He would fight.

Kothar had no idea what he was doing. Why did he care what happened to those little pokemon, why should he care, he didn't care about anything, only finding his trainer and friend. He shouldn't be wasting his time with such trivial things like this, it was beneath him.
Stopping in his tracks he let out a growl. He gave a glance back to the others. They weren't going anywhere fast, that was for sure. The more time he waisted here, the less chance he had at finding Dean, and he couldn't let in anymore distractions, though all was lost when the Hydreigon showed up.

Kothar let out a growl. He though about staying just a little longer to help them fend them off, or even kill them, but he couldn't rick dying or becoming infected. As much as he would have liked to stay, they where these pokemon's problem. But the two dragons where blocking his exit.
"I don't have time for this." He growled before taking up a stance and opened his jaws. A purple orb with lighter purple rings began to form at his mouth. "Get out of my way!" He shouted before he launched his Dragon Pulse between the dual dragons.
His attack managed to graze there side's, causing them to shout out in anger, though the attack had also left them dazed for a few moments, letting Kothar fly as fast as he could right past the dragons.

Kothar could feel that one of them had reached out with one of it's mouths to try and grab the Charizard by the tail, but the fire type was two fast, and they missed him by the flame of his tail.
"Sorry I can't stay and help, but I have someone I need to find." Kothar stated with a look over his shoulder before he disappeared into the distance.
Kothar didn't even know if Dean was still in Johto, what if he was sent someplace else by that strange shock wave that had happened awhile ago. Perhaps he would have better luck in another region. Anything was possible in time's as drastic as these.

((It's been fun, but Kothar has left for Sinnoh. Perhaps we could Rp again sometime in the future.))

A roar interrupted his thoughts as he tried to convince Marilyn to head back. His head snapped up and he stared in the direction of the sound.

No.. Not right now..

Quickly, he scanned the area for auras.
And was shocked at what he saw.

Two three-headed undead dragons. Heading in their direction.
Saying 'this is bad' would be a huge understatement. How did he miss these things coming their way in the first place? He should have been paying more attention! Now they were in danger.

Running would not be an option. Not with the chance of moving further from the rest of the group. Not with Marilyn to protect.
But fighting two undead of that size?
This was going to be very difficult.

He jumped to his feet, watching the aura draw closer.
"Marilyn, I hope you're prepared for an attack." Whether she was or not, he would defend her. It was obvious that a hard battle was coming their way.

(OOC; I'm so sorry! DX I'm going to have to skip my turn, as Im rather busy today... :C)

"They're heading for the others! C'mon!"

Rodolfo didn’t need telling. His legs were moving as soon as the reality of the situation dawned on him, his cowardice lost as instinct to protect his friends drove him onwards. Marco, surprised at his sibling’s newfound heroism, was hot on his sibling’s heels. Thank Arcues they’d feasted on those berries!

On arrival at the hectic scene, the two monstrous beasts glowering down at the group, the Charizard brothers stood aside one another sharing an expression of awe. Both knew to bury their fear, though Rodolfo’s charade was slowly cracking beneath the pressure. Seeking out the missing parties, Felix, Marilyn, Florence and Aushan all safe for now, Rodolfo knew that a group effort was in order to take these behemoths down. Unfortunately, Kothar had other plans.

"I don't have time for this. Get out of my way!"

Marco, stunned at the sudden impatience of what he’d considered the group’s most powerful asset, watched horrified as the shiny proceeded to daze and fly into the distance. Deaf to Kothar’s apology, an infuriated roar escaping him instead, the dragon’s cowardly departure only fuelled Marco’s determination to bring the threats down alone. That was irrational though, which he soon reminded himself of. But still, the anger bubbling beneath the surface was soon translated into a monstrous flamethrower, bursting from his throat to set the larger of the Hydreigon alight. The fire crawled hungrily up the thrashing dragon’s neck, eating away fur, skin and flesh as Marco leapt into action.

Rodolfo wasn’t quite as reckless. His cowardice had caught up with him, his heart leaping to his throat as he helplessly stared at Kothar’s retreating form. Don’t have time? His saddened ponderings would have to wait. Quickly analyzing the state of his friends, seeing that Aushan was standing protectively aside Marilyn, the younger Charizard moved to Felix and Florence’s aid – Marco could take care of himself.
“A-Are you okay?” He blurted out mindlessly, instinctively, as his attention volleyed between the duo and the small Hydreigon advancing. Marco had the other firmly distracted; flying about the undead and gradually alighting its entire, rotting form.

Florence followed after Felix, not wanting him to get hurt. As she followed him silently, she found Marilyn and Aushan's location. Marilyn saw that Florence was there, a look of pure worry visible on her face. The Gothitelle stood up and approached the Mismagius. Before either one of them could say anything, Marilyn wrapped her arms around her adoptive mother in a hug. "Flo... I... I..."

But before she could finished her sentence, a roar erupted in the sky. The two of them looked up and saw undead Hydreigon. "Shit!" Marilyn said. She ran back to the Lucario's side, not in a way of saying "protect me", but more in a manner of "let me help you". Florence floated over to Felix, not wanting the young Riolu to get hurt. "Stay back, Felix." She said to him in a voice that was sterner than normal.

"A-Are you okay?" Florence looked to see that the younger dragon was checking on them. "We're fine." The ghost type replied. She began to charge up a Thunderbolt attack, and Marilyn began to charge up a Charge Beam attack. When both attacks were powerful enough, they both released their attacks at the same time. On almost any other pokemon, this combination was guaranteed to hurt. This time, however, it didn't do much damage. Marilyn couldn't use any psychic type attacks on it due to the fact that it was part dark type.

Florence tried charging up Shadow Ball attacks and releasing them at the dragons. All Marilyn could do was use Charge Beam. As she used it more and more, she was starting to get out of breath. And soon, the dragons took advantage of it. One Hydreigon used Hyper Voice, causing both the Gothitelle and the Mismagius to cover their ears. The second one fired Dragon Pulse attacks. One of them connected and hit Marilyn in the stomach, throwing her back against a tree, knocking her out.

"Mary!" Florence cried out. She quickly floated over to her daughter. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at her. She floated down beside her and tapped her face. "Marilyn, please. Wake up, come on." Florence set her down and had an angry look on her face, one that was seeking vengeance.

"You... You hurt my daughter. You will pay for this." She had an evil look on her face and fired a powerful Shadow Ball attack. The Mismagius floated in front of her daughter protectively and kept firing attacks at the undead dragons.

(Added the last paragraph because it just felt incomplete.)

Anger flowed through Bryant for a moment, when Kothar left at such critical a time. We need him! He thought to himself, as he raced towards the others. Anger melted into fear very quickly, however, as he realized he arrived almost too late. The dragons were already attacking, already knocking out Marilyn and damaging some of the others. Marco managed to keep one of them distracted, but the second was already advancing on his friends. Judgin the distance between the floating beast and the ground, he made a risky decision.


And yet, someone of his size and strength... What could he possibly do? Die. That was it. Regardless, he began running. He ran faster than he ever had before, picking up speed as he went. With a few yards to go, he lowered his head as if to ram, and his body began to glow. He made his decision. If he was too small to help his friends...


The light exploded as Bryant jumped, his new, powerful legs pushing him much harder than he had expected, peaking just above where he was expecting. The miscalculation caused him to miss the headbutt, but still land on the dragon's back. His increased weight caused the beast to sink even more, getting closer and closer to the ground. "Rodolfo!" He called, his voice strained from attempting to hold the beast still with his legs. "Do something!" He only had moments he could stay on. After that, he shuddered to think what might happen.

((One word. FINALLY.))

So being lost wasn't fun.

Felix frowned to himself as he ran, trees ripping past as he used all the natural Riolu energy in his tiny little body. Maybe walking would have been a better idea. Good grief, he really shoulda thought that through.

Focus Felix! Now try to feel 'em... they gotta be around here somewhere... right?

He skidded to a stop, the weight of the backpack resting on his back nearly carrying him forward anyway. Thankfully he regained his balance before he could fall face first to the ground.

... Yeah... there was something here... two somethings in fact! Yes! He was on the right track!

He beamed and trotted forward, feeling it intensify. A few minutes later it vanished completely and he groaned. Stupid Aura powers that refused to work right...

... Oh look. Voices. Okay, so at least he'd be able to find them through their-- WHAT IN ARECUS WAS THAT!?

The tiny canine shrank against a tree, watching with huge eyes as two enormous, undead, three headed dragons started to decent not far away...

... Where the voices had been coming from...

Felix ran. There was no thought behind the action. He just ran. His friends were in danger! Maybe he could help!

Comining onto the scene it was clear he was sort of late to the party. Auntie Flo, Dolfy, and Markie had all beaten him there. He gaped as the larger of the two brothers blasted the behemoth with the biggest Flamethrower he had ever seen. Dolfy appeared to have not noticed him yet. Made sense; he'd approached from behind. Auntie Flo did notice however, and with strict instructions not to interfere she joined the others in fighting. In fact, it was only him and Dolfy now fighting...

Felix shivered deeply and moved closer to Dolfy. Those dragons were huge and... oh man...

Besides being clearly undead, he could feel them... feel their auras... and oh, did he not like the way they felt.

Aushan charged into the fray with a Quick Attack, aiming for the one that wasn't alight with flames that slowly consumed it, in favor of not ending up being roasted past crispy.
Then the Cranidos suddenly evolved, leaping onto his target and bringing the great hydra down into a lower range.

Perfect.

Fueled by his Quick Attack, he leaped up at the large dragon type as it's height lessened, and tore into it's chest with a swift Metal Claw.
And then quickly dodged away as the beast roared in pain and fell to the ground. Hopefully the recently evolved dinosaur could recover from falling quickly enough.

Marilyn was already down, the darker fire type left, and the child cannot fight. Not the best beginning to a battle. But they would have to continue fighting to the best of their abilities.
This fight was going to be hard, and there are those that needed protection.

"We're fine."

Rodolfo nodded his head firmly in response, body trembling a fraction as his gaze fearfully volleyed between the giant dragons and his companions. Marco was fine. Marco was always fine; flying circles around one of the dragons as fire attacks wore away its peeling flesh. Marilyn and Florence, differences now aside, were fighting ferociously in unison. Whilst the attacks did some damage, the beast’s retaliation was painful. Flinching, thankful he was just out of range of the Hyper Voice, Rodolfo was rooted to the spot, helpless as an attack saw Marilyn lying unconscious. No, not again… No more… Rodolfo was unsure whether he could stomach another battle, especially one of this intensity. Even Marco had taken a tumble whilst Florence stood protectively over her fallen daughter.

Rodolfo did nothing.

Suddenly aware of a presence behind him, the dragon spun around, alarmed as his eyes eventually fell onto Felix. Guilty, fearing he might’ve startled the concerned pup, the Charizard raised his arms apologetically, almost in defence.
“It’ll be okay,” Rodolfo blurted out, unsure how to react to the situation. He didn’t want the young Riolu involved with such bloodshed, detesting the grotesque spectacle behind him. Still, forcing a weak, panicked smile, the dragon ushered the canine back. “J-Just stay in the trees! I-I don’t want to see you hurt,”

"Rodolfo! Do something!"

Tensing at the sudden call of his name, the dragon feverishly worked to locate the source to find a strange creature latched onto the back of one of the Hydreigon. Eyes widening as the realization of who it was hit, the dragon hesitated a moment, ashamed of his own cowardice. No! Be brave! Giving a snarl and dispelling the crippling fear of the moment, the young Charizard ran forward, driven on by adrenaline and a need to help his friend. Unfortunately, he was too slow. Aushan came to Bryant’s rescue, brutally attacking the snarling beast as Rodolfo skidded to a halt before the action. Clueless on what to do, his determination suddenly sapped upon realization he wasn’t cut out for this, Rodolfo shrank back.

“MOVE!”

Marco bellowed, seeing his sibling frozen and in the direct line of fire for the second Hydreigon. Whilst he had succeeded in burning its face beyond recognition, beneath the charred pulp, it still possessed an incredible determination to kill even with unseeing eyes. Exhausted, his voice failing him now that the intensity of his fire attacks had stripped the skin of his throat, Marco was helpless as the Dragon Pulse made direct contact with his fragile sibling.

Wincing at the terrible cry of pain that escaped the younger Charizard, his body knocked backwards from on impact, Marco’s face was locked in a loathsome scowl. This would end. Now. Tripling his efforts, his attention solely on the undead with the audacity to attack his brother, Marco was ruthless. When fire wasn’t exploding from his jaws, his claws were tearing furiously at the beast’s neck, slashing at its gory faces in an attempt to bring the bastard down for good.

(Skip me, please. There isn't much for Marilyn to do, and Florence is just fighting the undead.)

Bryant had called for Rodolfo, but he didn't mind when Aushan attacked first, bringing the Hydreigon to the ground. Not one bit. The beast landed on top him, still thrashing around. Curling his small arms around the beasts's wings, he pushed up with his tail, rightening himself and the best. Throwing his head back, the blue point began to glow a harsh white, glossing over like metal. Slamming his Iron Head forward, he crashed himself against the Undead's skull, shattering the bone completely. Pushing the thing off of him, he backed up as quickly as he could. Nodding his thanks to Aushan, he scanned the others quickly. Marco seemed to be handling the other dragon, the thing still trying to fight. Then it shot at Rodolfo.

"No!" Bryant cried when the attack hit, knocking his friend skyward. Eyes locked in anger, he turned to the assailant, only to find Marco already destroying it. Anger turning to fear, he ran to the younger dragon, keeping a large distance around the fallen Hydreigon. "Rodolfo!" That bastard better not have killed him. They'd defeated much stronger opponents than him. Bryant did not evolve just to have his friends die! Rodolfo had to be okay.


((OOC: Kinda left it open for whether the Hydreigon was stunned or killed, up to the rest of you how you wanna play that. XD))