(ELITE) The ECRUTEAK Team

((I've missed... quite a bit, so I'm just gonna glaze over the past couple of rounds so I can catch up easier. D|))



Though the thought hadn't appealed to him, Anton followed the others, as well as the screeching wails within the confines of the dilapidated structure. His lithe form slithered inward, nearly fusing immediately with the shadows. His glowing attributes faded to a dim, not wanting to attract whatever was causing the fuss deeper in. And though he'd thought that this new world of blood, decay and gore had prepared him for any sort of sight, he was proven that there were sometimes things you could never prepare yourself for.

One of those things was the human.

She resembled something from nightmares, a creature Darkrai himself would have dreamt up to haunt mortals. Langly, matted with dried blood, limbs nearly distended. She looked like a corpse that had just risen from a river of blood. Backing away slowly, stricken with terror and horror, he was glad for his camouflage, thanking his lucky stars she hadn't seen him. Slinking slowly more into a corner, hidden from view, he tried scoping a way out. But there was none, not with everyone blocking the way they'd come in. He was trapped.

Logan had followed as well, keeping to the other side of the entrance as the horrific, macabre circus played out. Though he didn't know any of these pokemon, it was easy to tell that the creature before them decorated with her own kind's filth was once a trainer to the masked umbreon darting about. Keeping quiet during the exchanges, as this was niether his place nor fight, he felt that this likely wasn't a great place to be. Even if these were the first living he'd encountered since Orre, it was quickly becoming clear to him that maybe they weren't the best of company. But with the large turtle behind him, effectively blocking any escape, Logan stayed trapped within.

Then, however, things escalated. "HAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! KISS ME YOU DIRTY CUNT!" the terror shrieked, shoving a canine that highly resmebled his own species off the masked umbreon. The thing picked it up, her voice naught but a banshee's scream. "YOU'RE MINE!!! YOU'LL ALWAYS BE MINE!!! MINE TO TEAR AND BITE AND FUCK ANY WAY I WANT! DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU FUCKING MUTT!? YOU'RE MY SLAVE! AND NO ONE ELSES!!!"

“...It is merely an undead Human.” The female of his kin barked harshly back at the rumbling voice of the turtle behind him, her distress and irritation showing clearly. "There is no such thing as Undead humans! If there were don't you think they would be fucking everywhere?! This has to be something else...It has to be..." She then turned to the ampharos nearby, who could only watch helplessly as the human violated the umbreon. "Kyoya, brainstorm with me. Something isn't right here and I damn well want to know what."

He cleared his throat lightly, not wanting his voice to crack at such a time of need. "Perhaps... it's something that's transformed? Or some... sort of manifestation of psychic powers? Perhaps there's a pokemon nearby controlling it?"

"Were not dealing with undead. We're dealing with a ghost." He snarled, holding his paw to his chest in pain. "It knows Plague somehow. It won't stop it's fixation, not even for us...That gives us an edge." He muttered calculatedly, his eyes boring into the canine at his side.

And with that, the ovine pushed himself to his feet, taking a steadying breath. Electricity suddenly surged through his body from tail to head as he dashed forward. His slender frame collided with the female human, just as she turned to him to retaliate, too late. All three of them crashed through the wall, wood and dust exploding everywhere as the house shuddered from the impact.

As the dust cleared, the Ampharos sat up, struggling to see through the debris as he kneeled. They had been thrown clear into the kitchen, demolishing the wooden cabinets and wall. His slate gaze caught sight of the Umbreon, his dark body under a pile of debris. Without a word, Kyoya scrambled towards him, pushing off the heavy wood.
"Aaaghh…" Plague groaned, shaking his head and pushing himself up. But his ears quickly snapped up as he regained his senses, a gasp escaping him as his eyes grew wide.
"Stop it, dammit!" Kyoya growled, shoving him back. The Umbreon fell to his side, his eyes lighting up in rage. "Don't yo-"
"It's not her! It's not Tullie!"
Plague stared at the Ampharos slack-jawed, his eyes filled with astonishment and indignation.
"What!? How could you know that, you heartless bastard!?" He cried in a pained voice, his fur bristling as he got to his feet. "HOW COULD YOU KNOW!?"

Kyoya stood in defiance, blocking Plagues' path. His eyes were steely and determined as he stared down at the Umbreon, despite his wounds.
"Use your head, idiot! Have you seen any undead humans! Would she want to hurt you!" He spat at the fox, pointing an accusational paw behind them.

Plague shuddered and grew silent, his ears falling in confusion and pain.
"I-I…"

"Plague…help me…" A weak voice whimpered pitifully from behind them. Plague and Kyoya turned, their eyes falling on a terrifying mess. There lay the girl, her face normal and intact, blood beginning to pool around her. Her voice was gentle and quiet, her eyes brown and her face tear-stained. "Plague...look at what he did to me…" She whispered, as the Umbreon slowly padded closer. Tears streamed from his crimson eyes as he stared at the shattered wooden pillar impaling her chest, spreading her chest cavity into a macabre bloom of bone and destroyed organs. "Plague...don't leave me alone…Don't let him get away with this..." She gasped, her now completely human appearance beckoning the Umbreon into her arms as blood began to pour from her mouth. "We could have been together again..."

"Tullie…" Plague whispered raggedly, padding closer.
It's her...It's her...oh god, it's her...it's my Tullie...
"We could still be together..."
The human gulped as she reached out to the Umbreon, almost within arms' reach.
"Plague…" Kyoya whispered somberly, leering at the fox. His posture bristled with barely-contained hostility, but the Ampharos stayed his position.
If I move against her now, I'll lose him permanently...
This is his choice...
The Ampharos remained silent, his breath baited.

"...I'm so sorry…" He rasped, the Umbreons' eyes suddenly glowing a brilliant blue.
The human screeched with unbridled animosity, her howling suddenly reaching beyond the ability of physical vocal cords, shattering glass as her appearance warped and twisted into a dark void of smoke. Elongated, disembodied claws emerged and whirled through the black substance wildly. The ghostly manifestation lashed out at the Umbreon, a blast of bright light exploding from the dark void.

(alright everyone, free to attack or do whatever. The Haunter just used a confuse ray and blinded the hell out of everyone)

((Sorry guys, I'm running low on time so I'll have to just summarise:

Coltrane snapped out of his disbelief when Leevea skidded to a halt in front of him. He lowered his head to the Eevee and muttered, "Better get out of here, kid. Leave us to deal with this." He looked up to see Kyoya etc go crashing through the wall and quickly tried to follow, struggling to fit into the room and calling out their names. He catches sight of the Haunter and mentally facepalms at not guessing that earlier. He prepares a Sludge Bomb and launches it, only to be temporarily blinded by the Confuse Ray and missing the target - it hits the wall instead and starts melting the concrete. Coltrane then shakes his head to try and clear his vision, desperately trying to catch sight of what is going on so he might prepare another attack.))

"Better get out of here, kid. Leave us to deal with this."

The small Eevee looked up in shocked silence as the dinosaur toad flower thing regaurded her with one eye. His jaws were easily large enough to swollow the kit whole and that little fact stayed inside of her head. But when he opened his mouth, making the Eevee flinch, it was only to speak. Leevea looked up at him with wide, lilac eyes, both releived and cautious. Least it seems he won't harm me... Not like the Direyena. Leeve gave a shaky nod, turning on her heels to flee as best she could. That is, while the entrence was  blocked by the one whom had spoken to her.

Still light headed from fear and adrenaline, Lily had no choice but to really follow his words, but if only she knew where to go. Wide, childlike eyes glanced up to the scene before her, though this time she had a different reaction than the panic before. Narrowing her eyes, she took in how the Human reacted, moved, and screamed in a gorey display. Hmm... Wonder what it is making it act that way... And where is all of the blood coming from within that shriveled, decayed body? The Eevee frowned, morbidly facinated by the display before her. And from what she knew of humans... shouldn't it have just been dead by then?

Her thoughts shattered back into the child's fear as the human seemed to die before suddenly becoming a puff of smoke. Leevea cried out, shooting for shelter behind the one whome spoke to her before. Watching from her pitiful shelter, Leevea watched her protection shoot an acidy attack right at a wall. Her eyes  stared at the hole as it was eaten away by the attack. A way out!

Tisiphone could have smacked herself when Kyoya said it was a ghost. As if she hadn't seen enough of the fuckers since coming to this Arceus-forsaken town. "I am so fucking sick of ghosts," she grumbled angrily. "Fine then, let's reveal this bitch for what it really is." Kyoya wasted no time in taking both Plague and the non-human out, crashing them through a wall and into the kitchen and Ty saw her chance. Going around through the other side of the kitchen the canine leapt onto the counter and witnessed Kyoya struggling to get through to Plauge, the ghost beckoning him and beginning to lose its form.

And then, it finally revealed itself.

A fucked up Haunter with a death wish unleashed a blinding light and tried to hit the whole house with a Confuse Ray. It must have hit a couple of them because a spray of acid went past the Direyena female and into a wall, melting it on the spot. "Watch where you point that shit Flower Boy!" Ty hollered, pupils near slits from the bright light as they tried to readjust. Thankfully the confusion didn't take hold on her but damn those attacks were bright. It still seemed fixated on Plague and that gave the dark hound an idea. Creeping up behind it she built it in her throat before unleashing a harsh Snarl before going for it with her Ice Fang. Its gaseous body didn't stand a chance against the bitter cold and a part of it solidified with her attack.

"Anton! Give me more ice! He can't do anything if he can't move!"

_________________________


Zenyt was forced to move back when a large piece of the wall began to melt in a thick purple ooze. As the liquid trailed towards his shoes he grimaced and stepped up onto a stone in the garden, watching as everything in the slime's path withered and died. Acid. It would figure one of them in there would be stupid enough to fire acid in such a small space. Hopefully his girl was chewing them out for it because it was a really stupid move.

Craning his neck to try and get his view through the window he saw a glimpse of his Tisiphone attacking a Haunter and felt himself smirk. She always seemed to find ghosts, to the point of driving her insane at the sight of them, and would tear into them with great ferocity when given the chance. Chuckling lightly to himself he stood upon his stone perch and reached into his coat, pulling out a .22 and aiming it at the window. Firing one shot he shattered the glass and sent the bullet straight through the living room and into the farthest wall. Using the sheath of his kodachi he broke and pushed away any of the stray shards before stepping into the house full of Pokemon and eyed his Tisiphone.

"Sorry I'm late, I hope I didn't miss the party." Tisiphone eyed the Rocket Admin and a dark chuckle reverberated through her chest. "Took you long enough."

((Ciana just for reference Zenyt is now standing in front of the hole in the wall))

Logan could have slapped himself when the ampharos merely rode over his own words and outright said it was a ghost. Of course it was. Then again, he wasn't at all sure whether or not the two had even paid any mind to him in the first place, but now wasn't the time to consider manners. There was a bit more pressing matter at hand... But as he was about to try and make a move, a blinding light erupted from ghost, shortly after revealing its true form. Grunting in pain as he looked away, he suddenly smelled a sick sort of burning nearby. His eyes wouldn't adjust though; a bright scar on his vision prevented him from making heads or tails of the situation. He backed away, not wanting to hurt any of these pokemon.

Anton, thankfully, had had the sense of looking away in time when the Confuse Ray shot out. His head snapped back, body in a tight coil as he tried to figure out what the hell to do.
"Anton!" he heard, his feathered ears flicking over to Ty, who looked a little worse for wear. "Give me more ice! He can't do anything if he can't move!" He gave a silent curt nod and slithered to a better vantage point, settling on a refrigerator. Summoning up his ice and hoping that it actually froze the freakish specter, he shot out a bright beam of frozen vapor. As he hit it, it let out a screech that made him flinch slightly, but the attack continued. He wasn't letting this bastard out.

Kyoya staggered back half-blinded, narrowly dodging the deadly acid attack as it smacked against the wall behind him and began to eat at the wall with a terrifying sizzling. But before the wounded Ampharos could regain his bearings, Tysiphone loosed a snarl before launching herself at the Haunter and freezing the creature as it howled in rage and pain. 
"Anton! Give me more ice! He can't do anything if he can't move!"
The ovine steadied himself, quickly analyzing the situation, his gray eyes darting to each of the pokemon in the room as the dragon slithered onto the fridge and obeyed the canine. 
We have it! It's not going anywhere now!

A sudden shot and crashing of glass rang out through the screeching of the solidifying ghost, making Kyoya spin around in shock. 
A gun!? 
A human!?

________________________________


Plague stared emptily as the Psychic faded in his eyes and mind. The chaos and deadly attacks that bombarded the air around him was explosive, yet the Umbreon remained unphased as he stood stiffly, staring at the ground with a terrible blank expression. 

As the shot cut through the air, the masked fox leaped forward with a howl, his claws latching onto the freezing Haunter as it struggled to stay afloat. The Umbreon screeched madly as his face contorted into a terrifying visage under the bird skull, an enormous Shadow Ball growing in his throat. 
"YOU FUCKING LOSE!!!!" He roared in its' face, the ghosts' eyes growing wide in shock. 
A dark explosion erupted, dark clouds filling the room as the very air buzzed with the phantasmal energy. As the darkness slowly cleared, the Umbreon lurched slowly to his feet, being thrown by the explosion back into the bedroom behind them. Plague gazed hazily about, and sneered bitterly, the ghost nowhere to be heard or seen.

(Characters can speculate whether the ghost was killed or not. I left it open on purpose. Plague thinks he killed it though.)

Every instinct in Coltrane's head told him that what he was seeing was impossible - if there were undead humans around here he was certain he'd have found one before now. The terrible state she was in made him wonder just how she was even managing to stand at all. Every sign warned him of a trick of some sort - an illusion, but at that moment his top priority was helping Plague. Even if the Umbreon was a bit of a dick, he didn't deserve to die by the hands of a human-skeleton ... thing.

A small, fast-moving brown blur suddenly skidded to a halt in front of him, and Coltrane was surprised to see a small Eevee looking up at his shocked face. Closing his gaping mouth, he lowered his head towards the little Pokemon and muttered, "Better get out of here, kid. Leave us to deal with this." An almighty crash immediately alerted him, and he practically stepped right over the Eevee as he struggled to fit his bulk inside the room, coughing and squinting through the dust. "K-kuh! Kyoya?" he called, poking his head through the hole in the wall and gasping at the sight before him (and inhaling a lungful of dust while he was at it).

A Haunter. The damn thing had been a Haunter the entire time. Coltrane could've slapped himself. After living in Kanto for his entire life, how could he have not guessed that? He'd had more than one run-in with those little bastards in his lifetime. He wanted payback - not only for all the times those things had harassed him but for all the trouble and grief this one had caused.

He knew that none of his offensive moves would be very effective, and he daren't try a Sleep Powder in case he missed and it hit someone else. Seeing little other option, Coltrane prepared a Sludge Bomb and fired it ... only for the Haunter to blind him with a Confuse Ray. "Shit!" Terrified that he was now fully blind, Coltrane shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his vision. Red spots danced in front of his face as the left side of his sight returned, and he immediately noticed the beam of sunlight filtering through the wall in front of him. "Crap..." The acidic gunge was burning a hole through the wall, melting the concrete and leaving behind an unpleasant smell, like burning rubber.

The bright sunlight and persistent red dots in front of him weren't exactly helping him to pinpoint the Haunter's position. Coltrane squeezed his eye shut and shook his head again, hoping that the mischievous little shit would be within range of a Sludge Bomb to the face when he opened it.

The small Charmeleon suddenly appeared on the other side of the city, a bright flash of light making her appear there. She groaned, the light suddenly putting a heavy strain on her eyes. What.... she questioned hazily. The last thing she remembered was that Benton and Osmund had left her alone in that dark cave. Her heart sunk to her feet. What happened to them? Would they still be alone? Would they be safe? Why did she remember being so afraid with voices behind her? Was she hallucinating? Vortex's head spun, and she almost lost her footing in surprise. "What... What happened?!" She felt her body start to ache from the confusion. Her mind raced in thoughts and scenarios. She finally put her mind to rest. Who cares about those other two? They didn't care about her much, anyway. It's apparent because they left her alone.... She covered her face with a hand, her eyes still in stabbing pain as they adjusted to the morning sun. Who needs 'em, anyway. she walked off, ignoring the feelings of anger and slight betrayal, only confused on where she was now. She ignored the dead bodies and blood, trying to keep the sad, grief stricken mother out of her mind. She suddenly heard the explosions and crashing far off on the other side of the city.

"YOU FUCKING LOSE!!!!"

Her throat constricted. More pokemon?.... More survivors who can betray her?! She really didn't want to try to encounter them. She'd move along quietly so she wouldn't get spotted. After the large boom, everything was silent. Vortex couldn't even hear mumbling. She made her way, quietly, through the debris that was left of the city, the Sprout Tower clearly visible but ruinous. She was afraid of these strangers that she hadn't even seen yet, but if they proved alright, then she supposed she'd try to make friends with them.... She was dreadfully anti-social, but she wanted to change her views deep down. Even if it caused her extreme fear.

Tisiphone could have smacked herself when Kyoya said it was a ghost. As if she hadn't seen enough of the fuckers since coming to this Arceus-forsaken town. "I am so fucking sick of ghosts," she grumbled angrily. "Fine then, let's reveal this bitch for what it really is." Kyoya wasted no time in taking both Plague and the non-human out, crashing them through a wall and into the kitchen and Ty saw her chance. Going around through the other side of the kitchen the canine leapt onto the counter and witnessed Kyoya struggling to get through to Plauge, the ghost beckoning him and beginning to lose its form.

And then, it finally revealed itself.

A fucked up Haunter with a death wish unleashed a blinding light and tried to hit the whole house with a Confuse Ray. It must have hit a couple of them because a spray of acid went past the Direyena female and into a wall, melting it on the spot. "Watch where you point that shit Flower Boy!" Ty hollered, pupils near slits from the bright light as they tried to readjust. Thankfully the confusion didn't take hold on her but damn those attacks were bright. It still seemed fixated on Plague and that gave the dark hound an idea. Creeping up behind it she built it in her throat before realizing this shit seemed way too familiar.

Didn't it?

A sudden sense of deja vu overwhelmed the hound as she lunged for the gaseous form, her Snarl not even making it out as a gluteral growl. She passed through it and shook her head violently, suddenly very pissed off and very aware that something wasn't right. "Okay, fuck this!" Going for it with her Ice Fang Tisiphone latched on to one of its hypnotic hands and grinned as the ice slowly began to solidify its way up the beasts form. Letting go she let out a triumphant howl before turning to the rest of the group, her eyes shooting to the window as though knowing something was about to occur.

"Anton! Give me more ice! He can't do anything if he can't move!"

_________________________


Zenyt was forced to move back when a large piece of the wall began to melt in a thick purple ooze. As the liquid trailed towards his shoes he grimaced and stepped up onto a stone in the garden, watching as everything in the slime's path withered and died. Acid. It would figure one of them in there would be stupid enough to fire acid in such a small space. Hopefully his girl was chewing them out for it because it was a really stupid move.

Wait...something was off. He could swear he had already had that thought before. Looking through the window he began too see a familiar pattern of events. Tisiphone attacking a Haunter. The Ampharos and the Umbreon moving to advance, the Eevee trying to escape. Chuckling lightly to himself he stood upon his stone perch and reached into his coat, pulling out a his kodachi. This time he wasn't wasting a bullet. Breaking the window he pushed his way into the house full of Pokemon and eyed his Tisiphone.

"Sorry I'm late, I hope I didn't miss the party." Tisiphone eyed the Rocket Admin and a dark chuckle reverberated through her chest. "Took you long enough."

((Edited to reflect that both Ty and Zenyt noticed the time repetition, edited Zenyt's due to him changing tactics due to knowing what was to come.))

"Watch where you point that shit Flower Boy!" Coltrane growled, having just about the right mind to aim another blob of poison straight into that bitch's face. It seemed that no matter what he did he was never going to be accepted into this group. The Venusaur stood back from the others a bit, trying to figure out what he should do - was it better to stay in a group and have safety in numbers but be ridiculed, or travel by himself, overall more content, but be more at risk from attack?

"Sorry I'm late, I hope I didn't miss the party." The second that the human stepped into view, Coltrane's mind was made up. "Stuff this," he grunted, turning himself back round towards the door. "I know when I'm not wanted." He took a step towards the door but then stopped, feeling guilty for leaving in such a rude manner - after all, not everybody there had treated him like shit. He turned back, his eye lingering on all of them, but especially Anton and Hudor. "I wish you all the best of luck."

And without another word, Coltrane was back outside, following the sun to wherever it would take him.

A mere ghost, all those illusions, all the temper from the small group, all that fear over a single ghost. He still didn’t understand how the vision of an undead human could have started all of this. The purple canine umbreon was the worst rattled, and as every sort of attack hit the offending pokemon, the vision within the house was left sightless due to the varies attacks. But none from Hudor.

Other than launching a confuse ray and haunting the umbreon with visions of a human he must have known before. It posed little threat in Hudor’s eyes. Merely an illusionist playing on the emotions of the group, causing mischief and asking to be attacked. As if it had a death wish. One that was graciously granted by the group as it was attacked relentlessly. He had no orders to attack, and his life was not in immediate threat from the offender. If anything the only one in danger was the ghost with the volley of attacks, no, this was not his fight, at not his mission. So he watched instead.

But nothing the ghost did bothered Hudor more than the sight of the human. Bursting through a window and confidently walking up to the Bitch Leader.  A confident tone to his voice that seemed to hold authority The human’s mere presence shook Hudor. His glasses and long coat instantly reminding him of something similar to that the humans at the agency would wear. And instinctively Hudor stood straight with his feat together and his arms at his sides, in a ready position for any orders. He knew this one would not hold any allegiance to that place, but a life of training was not something that he could ignore, it was ingrained into his very being.

He was so busy being at attention that the final blow to the ghost was missed, he did not even look away from the human to see that the foe vanished from trace. Or to notice that the giant grass type had separated from the group. No, Hudor’s entire focus was on the human right now, his body tense and rigid, waiting for something or someone to  release him from that spell.

((sorry, writing all of this from my phone, i assumed i;d be back by now to write this on my computer....apparently not, shall fix the typos if any when i do >.<))

The small Charmeleon suddenly appeared on the other side of the city, a bright flash of light making her appear there. She groaned, the light suddenly putting a heavy strain on her eyes. What.... she questioned hazily. The last thing she remembered was that Benton and Osmund had left her alone in that dark cave. Her heart sunk to her feet. What happened to them? Would they still be alone? Would they be safe? Why did she remember being so afraid with voices behind her? Was she hallucinating? Vortex's head spun, and she almost lost her footing in surprise. "What... What happened?!" She felt her body start to ache from the confusion. Her mind raced in thoughts and scenarios. She finally put her mind to rest. Who cares about those other two? They didn't care about her much, anyway. It's apparent because they left her alone.... She covered her face with a hand, her eyes still in stabbing pain as they adjusted to the morning sun. Who needs 'em, anyway. she walked off, ignoring the feelings of anger and slight betrayal, only confused on where she was now. She ignored the dead bodies and blood, trying to keep the sad, grief stricken mother out of her mind. She suddenly heard the explosions and crashing far off on the other side of the city.

"YOU FUCKING LOSE!!!!"

Her throat constricted. More pokemon?.... More survivors who can betray her?! She really didn't want to try to encounter them. She'd move along quietly so she wouldn't get spotted. After the large boom, everything was silent. Vortex couldn't even hear mumbling. She made her way, quietly, through the debris that was left of the city, the Sprout Tower clearly visible but ruinous. She was afraid of these strangers that she hadn't even seen yet, but if they proved alright, then she supposed she'd try to make friends with them.... She was dreadfully anti-social, but she wanted to change her views deep down. Even if it caused her extreme fear.

(OoC: Complete repost.)

"Oof! Urgh ... wha...?" Arthur's amber eyes slowly flickered open as his limbs pushed him up off his belly and onto all fours. His great mouth opened into a loud yawn. The Feraligatr was prone to rolling over a lot in his restless sleep, but could've sworn that he'd just hit the ground. Rubbing his dusty eyes, Arthur tried to remember whether he'd fallen asleep on top of a rock or something similar and had simply rolled off it as he slept. But as his vision cleared and the area around him came into focus, he was certain that he had not settled down to sleep here the previous night.

Where ... am I? Arthur stood up tall and surveyed his surroundings. Tall, oriental-style buildings populated the desolate city, many beginning to fall into ruin. A city? But ... wait, I fell asleep in that forest by the river! How did I...? The Water-type was fairly certain that he wasn't a sleepwalker, and doubted that he could've made it this far even if he was. Arthur felt himself becoming more and more spooked out as he dropped onto all fours and cautiously crawled down the small road directly in front of him. As he reached the first corner to his left, he spotted the remains of what looked like a huge battle - the bodies of many species of undead littered the ground, their foul stench forcing Arthur to cover his nostrils with his finger. Not only that, but a huge trench several feet deep rendered the road almost completely destroyed. Goodness ... I hope whoever did that has gone by now...

Arthur's mind raced to try and figure out what might have happened to him. He remembered it clearly now - he had settled down in a small woodland in Unova after taking a swim in the nearby river. He had traveled at least half of that region in his time there, and had never seen a city like this there. He ruled out the sleepwalking theory since there was no way he could've gotten away with that without being killed. The only other theory he had was that he had somehow been teleported in his sleep. But that's silly ... who would want to do that?

He needed to find out somehow, and knew that he wouldn't be able to rest until he had some answers. Arthur began to scramble along on all four limbs, covering a fair amount of ground in just a couple of minutes. He turned a corner to his right and froze - a small Pokemon with flames coming out of the end of its tail was walking just a few metres in front of him. He didn't recognise the species, but his eyes squinted to try and take in its details without having to get closer. Its flame was bright and vivid - healthy - and its skin was free from blood, mold or blemishes. Gulping down his nerves, Arthur crawled after the Pokemon at a quick but gentle pace - the last thing he wanted to do was to scare it.

"Um ... ex-excuse me?" He spoke softly as he approached from behind, staying on all fours so that he could get a good eye contact and that his size did not intimidate her. "S-Sorry to b-bother you, but ... wh-what is this place? Where a-am I? I-I've never been here b-before..."

"YOU FUCKING LOSE!!!!"

Tisiphone couldn't help but be pleased as Plague took out the irritating ghost. Despite still wanting to contain the infected Umbreon he had done her quite a favor by killing the stupid bitch that bit her. Wait..."Fuck!" she cried, causing Zenyt to kneel down to her in concern. "What's wrong my beauty?" The Direyena's only response was to start viciously tearing at her skin with her claws before feeling Zenyt's hands gripping the top of her backside to still her hind legs. "Stop! You'll rip your face off girl." Shaking her head violently she turned to glare at Plague and bared her fangs angrily. "If I get that shit in my system I will kill you. Make no mistake about that."

Suddenly a loud pitch filled the air and caused the canine to duck her head and whimper in pain, the noise too high for her sensitive ears. Zenyt himself seemed to reel in pain and tore a black device from his head to hold at a fair distance from his ear. "Well that's unfortunate," he commented after the noise faded into hissing. Fiddling with it for a moment he managed to pop the device open and a deep frown took over his face. Letting out a heavy sigh he looked around at the Pokemon before him and realized there wasn't much to work with in this group as far as intelligence went, other than maybe the Ampharos since Tisiphone seemed to trust him. But a sight did catch him as his gaze fell upon the Carracosta, stiff and eying him as though expecting some kind of command. A grin quickly replaced the frown as a plan formulated in his mind.

"You there, water type. Have you much experience with human electronics? Specifically audio equipment. Signal yes or no by nodding your head." This chap could be just what he needed if he was willing to follow orders. Ty noticed the wheels turning in her partner's mind and rolled her eyes, choosing to instead keep her focus on Kyoya and Plague. "Well while he plays charades with Hudor why don't you boys answer some questions for me, eh?" Despite the grin and easy tone the gleam in her eyes told volumes of how close to becoming truly violent she was if she didn't get the answers she sought.

"First...hey! Where the hell did Flower Boy go?"

((As a note Zenyt's Translator is actually broken, he can speak into it fine and it translate but the speaker/earbud in his ear comes back with high pitched screeching and static rather than translating the responding Pokemon's words.))

 
 
Anton heaved a small sigh of relief as the ghost was taken down by its original victim, the masked umbreon having enough bullshit and finally deciding that enough was enough. Uncurling himself only slightly, he looked around for anything useful. Food, water, anything-- but of course spotted nothing. He flinched when Ty cursed loudly, his head turning towards her in time to catch her angrily chewing and clawing at a wound. "If I get that shit in my system I will kill you. Make no mistake about that." Oh... she must have gotten hurt by one of them...
 
Logan watched from his spot near the door, happy to stay right out of the madness within. And while it seemed that the immediate threat was now gone, it still mattered to him that the only suitable shelter was either far too crowded or possibly already occupied. His eyes staying on the city around them, his form sitted at the house's threashold, he only moved when a loud screech pierced his ears, causing him to flinch downward in pain. "Gah-- the hell?!"
 
"Well that's unfortunate," the human inside stated nonchalantly, while Logan glared at him for being so casual. If only human ears were as sensitive as his, that noise would stop a lot sooner. Fur fluffed from pain and anger, Logan shook himself, wanting to free his inner ear of the lingering pitch that still rang. The human ordered something of the turtle within, while his pet -the female of his own kind- ordered the others about.
 
"Well while he plays charades with Hudor why don't you boys answer some questions for me, eh?" Her voice, while somewhat upbeat, had a small hint of malice. Seems she was going to get her answers one way or another. "First...hey! Where the hell did Flower Boy go?"
 
"He left," Logan growled from his spot in the doorway, eyes narrowing. "Muttered something about not being wanted. Though judging from how you handle your own, I'm not all surprised. Are you always so gentle with your subjects or is it just on days that end in 'Y'?" Standing, looking to her with a defiant eye, it was obvious he wasn't willing to be submissive.

(skip me please. OTL Sudden and terrible migraine level headache)

To be finally free of the agency and be out in the world, only to still be seeking the mission he was trained to do and still looking to be dominated by a human. The other pokemon would have laughed at Hudor, mocked him for being the lost little soldier. But despite the fact that the company ended up killing so many innocent pokemon….it was so easy for Hudor to fall into old habits. It wasn’t an enjoyable life, but it was all he knew, and being commanded made him feel comfortable, something he didn’t know he missed in a hectic world.

The human was no instructor, nor was he official personnel. The man didn’t even dress like one of them, and the habit of always being preoccupied was missing. Yet the one thing that wasn’t missing was that look he got, if one where to look close enough they might even be able to see all the thoughts whizzing back and forth in those eyes.

"You there, water type. Have you much experience do you have with human electronics? Specifically audio equipment. Signal yes or no by nodding your head."

And he certainly spoke like someone with authority.

He wanted to explain to the man that he knew nothing of the inner workings of technological equipment. He knew how to work simple radio devices, they were used during field exercises, to prepare them for the inevitably of being separated from their handler during an expedition. The devices were already set to the right frequency and set for easy use though. If anything, any pokemon caught tampering with the devices would be reprimanded.

He wanted to explain all of that….but the command of the human required silence and only silent responses. Even if it was implied, he knew enough to still follow it.

So he shook his head in what he assumed was a yes. Vertical motions of the head right? He did technically have experience with that kind of equipment...

As the orange reptile continued to walk, her thoughts kept her mind very occupied. She could barely focus on her surroundings, and didn't even consider this mental distraction dangerous. Memories of a small Shieldon and the Cacturne and Luxray.... The Luxray.... Her blood went cold, remembering how violently he had been killed. Red blood was spurting everywhere as his corodid artery and jugular were ripped in half, his head exploding. Her stomach flipped and tied in knots, and she stopped before she lost balance. The thin female panted, trying to fight off the images of her other friends being murdered.... No, never again. Never again will she try to become attached to a group. The lizard trudged forward, visibly discouraged. She wouldn't get near others, all they ever did was be mean and exclude her anyway. Except Benton....

... Were they real? Tex stopped in her tracks again, wondering this. What if what happened wasn't real?... What if it was her imagination?... A dream?... Her skin prickled, and her scaled skin became wet from sweat. She surely went through that.... Her memories couldn't be fake, could they?... She was freaking out so bad, that she barely noticed the shifting of grass and cobblestone and the presence behind her.

"Um ... ex-excuse me?"

Vortex sucked in a breath out of fear, her thoughts scattering. Shit, someone is trying to talk to her? Why her?? She turned around, seeing a reptilian pokemon such as she was, but he was much, much bigger. She held her breath for a moment, then released it calmly.

"S-Sorry to b-bother you, but ... wh-what is this place? Where a-am I? I-I've never been here b-before..."

Vortex raised her eyebrows, surprised by this. What did he mean? He was hopelessly lost. He was visibly afraid, and his demeanor surely wasn't a mean one. 'Where am I?...' It became obvious to her that maybe this pokemon may be delusional, but then again... she wasn't incredibly stable either. She figured she'd help him out, then be on her way. She did not want to be around others.
"... To be completely honest with you, I have no idea where I am either...." she said cooly, making eye contact. She didn't know if she would mention that she appeared here randomly, but it was some stranger she probably would never see again. But then it occurred to her.... Didn't she want to try to be less anti-social?... This would make her look weird. She internally disagreed, she was set on running away; every damn group she encountered left or died. No.
"I actually just appeared here." she said bluntly, her arms swinging into a shrug. The lizard almost loosed a laugh from her immense confusion. She didn't know in great detail what happened to her, but she may as well tell him. Maybe it'd repel this pokemon to hear her insanity.
"Just about five minutes ago, I was in Coronet." a quiet, unsure chuckle slipped out of her. Jeez, she was loosing her damn mind. She stood and looked to the Ferligatr to see his response, expecting and almost hoping for him to make his way away from her.
-----
(OoC: Sorry this is so late, been signing up for school and night school and was kinda rushed for time, but here. lol)

"... To be completely honest with you, I have no idea where I am either...." the fire-lizard replied somewhat nonchalantly, turning round to face him. Arthur blinked and leaned in closer, eager to hear more. "I actually just appeared here. Just about five minutes ago, I was in Coronet." The crocodile nodded slowly, taking this information on board. By the sounds of it, exactly the same thing had happened to this Pokemon too. "Th-That's good," he blurted out before quickly clearing his throat and actually thinking about what to say. "I-I mean, at l-least I know I'm not g-going crazy. Y-You see, I think th-the same thing happened to me! I was in Un-Unova just a few m-minutes ago."

Arthur's mouth trembled into a timid smile as he reared up and sat on his haunches, scratching the back of his head and looking round at his surroundings. This city would have to do for now - maybe he and his new companion could look for food together. She seemed friendly enough, but Arthur would be sure not to venture too close to that blazing tail of hers - just looking at those flames made his scars tingle.

"So, er..." Still holding his head, Arthur chuckled nervously as he looked down at the small Fire-type. "W-We going to stick together f-for a bit? Mi-Might be a good idea since n-neither of us know this place." Lowering his arm and holding out his large clawed hand for the Charmeleon to shake, his usual anxious smile quivered back onto his face. "I-I'm Arthur ... nice to meet you."

"If I get that shit in my system I will kill you. Make no mistake about that."
Kyoya leered at the human that was coddling the large horned canine, his gentle voice only causing the ovine to become even more alarmed.
This must be her human! How is he even alive still!? The probability of human survival is painfully low. His calculating gaze stayed on the human as he tore the black device from his head. And he has a translator, military grade. A broken translator. Which means he either looted a soldiers' corpse, or he already had one before the outbreak. I find the latter to be more likely, especially with the mans' information I gleaned from the female…

"Well while he plays charades with Hudor why don't you boys answer some questions for me, eh?"
His attention turned back to Tysiphone as the male stood up and barked out an order at the large turtle, leaving them to converse alone. 
She's going to ask about Plague and his behavior. It's going to be really difficult to conceal now...
Kyoya composed himself, standing straight and taking a long, subtle breath before answering.
"First...hey! Where the hell did Flower Boy go?"
"He left. Muttered something about not being wanted. Though judging from how you handle your own, I'm not all surprised. Are you always so gentle with your subjects or is it just on days that end in 'Y'?" 
Kyoya ignored their conversation and the new horned hound, crossing his arms behind his back as he glared at her. "There's nothing you have to worry about, concerning viral contagion." He said coldly, his voice only just above a whisper. "You're not infected...Just make sure to properly clean your wound, and you'll be fine...which of course, your human will be able to help you with, I'm sure..." He growled, his jaw clenching as he glared at her behind the thin glass lenses.

_________________________


Plague breathed in painful gasps, his lungs struggling to fill with air. His throat clenched tightly, fighting his bodies' need for oxygen.
"If I get that shit in my system I will kill you. Make no mistake about that."
The Umbreons' aloof and bitter demeanor slowly began to melt, even as he stared with a blank expression at the female canine, her claws tearing at her face.

His mind spun in dangerous circles as he struggled to keep himself composed. His whole body shuddered violently as he fought to keep on his feet.
Oh Darkrai...Tullie…
She's dead. You killed her.
No!  She's not!  That wasn't my Tullie! That was-!
...How do you know…?
It was that bastard ghost from the gym! He knew her! He knew me!
Are you sure?...
Kyo. He saw it all! He knows...he said it wasn't!
You really think that Ampharos wouldn't lie to you?
Ha..He abandoned you before. Abandoned you when you were falling apart…
No, he didn't! He fucking didn't! He just…-
-...He left. He left you alone.
…
You can't trust him.
Just like you couldn't trust the girl...
Or Akira. Or Alpha. Even Rei betrayed you in the end…
Stop...Not Rei...Don't bring him into this...
Ha! Come on, you're pathetic! Do you really think you even deserve trust? Don't be a fucking idiot!  After all you've done?
After what you did to your own mother…? The only one who really loved you…? Who stood up for you?...
No don't…
They'll leave you alone. They'll always...leave you alone.

(Phoe dear, you're girl is free to push Kyoya hard on what he means about contagions. He's trying to deflect, lol.)

"Th-That's good,"

Vortex's veins ran cold for a half moment, wondering the implications of that sentence. It was a good thing she was going absolutely out of her mind?! Before she could be angered from it, he spoke up again.

"I-I mean, at l-least I know I'm not g-going crazy. Y-You see, I think th-the same thing happened to me! I was in Un-Unova just a few m-minutes ago."

The lizard had a hard time keeping awe off of her face. So it wasn't just her...? She wassn't going crazy?... She trembled slightly, and she looked to him smile. Shyly, she tried to manage a smile back, but still wary of this stranger. She didn't just yet want to go, but right now she felt so... weak....

"So, er... W-We going to stick together f-for a bit? Mi-Might be a good idea since n-neither of us know this place."

Vortex took this in for a moment, and considered it an ok idea. This Feraligatr wasn't going to get killed; if he didn't fight vigorously, he'd run. She didn't think he would get injured... he seemed like a worthy companion. She may need someone to wtch her back... she figured she was still vunerable; their ecounter proved she wasn't aware of her surroundings. And what harm could he do to her? He seemed to be timid of even her. She nodded simply, but trying to encourage herself that this indeed was a good idea. The blue croc spoke again.

"I-I'm Arthur ... nice to meet you."

It was a nice name... Arthur. She managed a small smile at the large croc. Pondering for a moment, she tried to decide if she should tell him her name. It always embarrassed her so deeply.
"... I'm Vortex," she softly spoke, "Nice to meet you." she paused a moment, then turned sideways as to gesture she was going forward. "We can go look for some... food, or shelter or something." She stopped to see if he was following, then she continued on."I'm... I'm glad that I may not have been the only one who got this weird warp. What happened to you? Was it a flash of light, then you were suddenly here?" she tried to subdue the dark parts of her mind and her throat constricted. If he was pulling her leg with this, she would kill him.

-----
(OoC: Sorry for taking so long. Have had a lot of business to take care of, and sickness. ^^;)

"... I'm Vortex," the Charmeleon replied quietly, almost awkwardly. "Nice to meet you." Arthur nodded lightly and kept his hand held out for Vortex to shake, but when she turned away he quickly withdrew it, both embarrassed and a little offended. "We can go look for some... food, or shelter or something," said Vortex, briefly turning to see whether he was following. Snapping out of his thoughts, Arthur scrambled to catch up.

"I'm... I'm glad that I may not have been the only one who got this weird warp. What happened to you? Was it a flash of light, then you were suddenly here?" Reaching her side, Arthur eagerly nodded. "Yes! W-Well, I think so. I-I was asleep at the time, y-you see. I was dreaming, and th-then there was a blinding light a-and I felt as thought I-I was falling. I b-bumped into the ground, woke up and ... I-I was here." Grinning broadly, the Feraligatr chucked to himself. "I-I don't think my kind c-can travel through their d-dreams, haha!"

"I w-wonder if it was o-one of the legendary P-Pokemon that did it?" he mused aloud after a few moments of quiet between the pair. "I-I heard that they have m-many special powers, and i-if it happened to y-you and me, it c-can't have been just an A-Abra or anything that got t-too close."

Realising that his mouth was gaining a mind of its own, Arthur firmly closed it. He'd never get anywhere with his new friend by rambling. Even though the events of the last few minutes had been daunting and confusing, he was glad to have met Vortex. Since leaving his last group of friends after receiving his scars, he had distanced himself from everyone, convinced that he was just some lumbering idiot who got in the way all the time. Now, he realised, that had been a mistake on his part. He had been so crushingly lonely that now, in meeting his first friend in several months, he felt more elated than ever. He was determined that the events of Striaton City would never repeat themselves.

A few minutes past until Arthur abruptly came to a stop. Raising his head high, he strained his ears for the faint voice that had floated to him on the breeze. "I think ... th-there are others around," he said, standing up tall and scanning their surroundings. "I c-could've sworn that I j-just heard a voice coming from..." he pointed northwards, "that way ... I-I think." Knotting his fingers together anxiously, Arthur looked down at Vortex questioningly. "Sh-Should we check it out?"

Zenyt smiled at the nod of the tortoise's head, immediately beginning to piece together a list in his mind of what would serve as suitable spare parts. Looking around he made a few mental notes and turned to Hudor once again.
"Okay then, I need you to find any kind of stereo equipment. Radio's, mp3 players, and any kind of headphones you can find. Especially Headphones. And if all else fails computer speakers may hold a few things I can use." Not really bothering to see how much of his list Hudor understood Zenyt began moving around on his own search, knowing that everything he needed probably wouldn't translate into Pokemon very well. Humans had this insane need to make complicated words for their inventions.

Casting a few sideways glances to his precious Tisiphone the Admin made sure she was still well and settled before going back to his hunt. He needed to speak with her and that very well wasn't going to happen if he couldn't get the receiver fixed for his translator.

____________________________

"He left," Came a grumbled reply to her question about Coltrane, leaving Ty to turn and grin at the red version of herself. "Muttered something about not being wanted. Though judging from how you handle your own, I'm not all surprised. Are you always so gentle with your subjects or is it just on days that end in 'Y'?" Her grin turned almost feral as she shifted her forelegs closer to her body, puffing out her chest and tilting her head back with an air of superiority. "Gentle would imply that I think them weak. I would not task them if I did not think they could handle the job. And if someone proved unable to handle a simple duty assigned to them then obviously they aren't worth my time."

"There's nothing you have to worry about, concerning viral contagion."

Kyoya's words made the female stiffen, anger suddenly making her body tense as her eyes narrowed. She was still turned towards the red Direyena but it was obvious by the way her gaze shifted to her peripheral that her ire was with the ovine.  His words had been so soft, as though he were holding on to some slight hope Ty wouldn't hear him, but she had. She waited patiently for him to continue but once he did her anger didn't lessen, it only grew. "You're not infected...Just make sure to properly clean your wound, and you'll be fine...which of course, your human will be able to help you with, I'm sure..." Her human. Her human? That was what Kyoya had a problem with?

Letting out a huff Ty turned around gracefully, stepping up to Kyoya and giving him a toothy smile. The blood running down her cheek and across her muzzle gave the gesture a sinister tone while her eyes spoke volumes on what would happen if Kyoya said or did the wrong thing from this point forward. Even as she cleared her throat her fur began to glow, ebbing and flowing with power as she allowed an Assurance to wait patiently for her to move. "So how about starting over on that little explanation," she began. "Tell me, from the beginning, how exactly I won't get infected? How you can guarantee that fucking sick bastards blood won't course through my own veins? Because I would really like to hear it."

"Oh and as for 'my human', believe me when I say Zenyt is just as deadly, if not more so, than I am. See, unlike me, Zenyt was born without a conscience."