(ELITE) The ECRUTEAK Team

((I'm sorry but Zoroark's arrival has thrown me off sync a little bit and I can't seem to come up with a decent post. Skip me for now, just say that Arthur was frozen in terror and barely moved a muscle while Zoro was around, just hoping that he wouldn't approach him. When he attacked Vortex and started killing her he managed to shoot a Water Gun, which obviously failed. In tears, he ran away with the others when Plague screamed at them all.))

A horror.
A walking nightmare come straight out of the depths of the hell they lived in to bask in their presence.
Yet despite all of this Tisiphone couldn't bring herself to stop grinning.

All this time she had thought the undead mindless brutes that crossed her path on occasion to be useless fodder meant for scaring out the live food or to give herself a bit of sport. She never thought one could ooze such power and control and still be in retention of its higher functions. Certainly it wasn't what she would call a brilliant creature, no. Not like herself or, much to her regrettable admittance, Kyoya. This Zoroark was still childishly simple but knew what it wanted and that it could get it from one of them.

Slinking from one creature to the next, the stench of decay so heavy one could feel it rest upon their tongue, the dark fox fawned over them. Pressing itself to Kyoya, lovingly petting, eyes raking over the forms surrounding it, and it settled on the new trash. Ty felt an anger boiling in her gut as she watched the Zoroark become utterly entranced by the slut and his attentions go completely off the remaining company. Who the hell was she to attract such wanton displays from every male around? Only Anton had she not seen cooing to the harlot as she made her grand intrusion. Selfish little bitch. The Direyena's expression fell to one of utter hate and disgust as she watched the Undead practically dancing for the Charmeleon, praise and admiration singing from his throat.

Ty wanted her dead.

And strangely, her wish was granted. While it was still the most advanced Undead she had ever encountered it wasn't fully in control of its abilities and couldn't complete his goal without tearing the beating heart from the whore's chest, the organ still offering a few pulses before sputtering out completely, and Ty's mouth split into an almost maniacal grin as she watched the light fade from the fire type's eyes and the corpse crumple to the floor. She couldn't even bring herself to care that it was upset its toy was lost because the surge of power it unleashed nearly sent the female into a frenzy. Was that the power the higher undead had? Their powers increased so dramatically and still able to retain their minds? She wanted that.

She needed that.
And to hell with anyone that wanted to keep it from her.

__________________________________

Zenyt was at a loss in the intrusion, using a small window of distraction the Harbinger created as he fawned over the Ampharos to duck behind the red counterpart of his Tisiphone. The male had been forgotten in the drama, it seemed, which made him the perfect cover. It didn't appear to the human that he was even noticed at all once the fox made itself busy with the newer female that previously had sent his beloved girl into a fit. But as his gaze turned to Tisiphone he saw a look of adoration on her face the like of which he had never seen, and the look turned his blood to ice.

She had never even looked at him that way.

As the Zoroark wailed and howled about the death of his pet Charmeleon Zenyt moved quickly to the Direyena's side only to be met with a cold brush off. "Angel, darling we have to go," he commanded, but the female wouldn't so much as look at him. Her gaze was fixed on the raw power displayed before her, and nothing the mere human said would make her move. The scientist began to panic, the thought of losing his only beloved to the power of an unworthy mind making his chest clench with heartache. Tisiphone was his....she was all he had. He couldn't lose her to some mindless beast! "Tisiphone we have to move now," he growled out desperately, tugging on one of her horns to force her eyes into turning towards him. But to no avail, despite her head turning her eyes shifted to the furthest corners to continue watching all while the feral grin played across her face.

Anxiety gave way to desperation as he reached inside of his trenchcoat and pulled out a small, black ball that fit into the palm of his hand. "Tisiphone..........return...." he whispered pathetically. It had been so many years since she had been forced into a Pokeball the female didn't see it coming. Her smile fell and her eyes went wide in shock as her body shifted and faded into the small capsule, the Rocket Admin wasting no time in quickly pocketing her and taking off after the already fleeing Ampharos and Umbreon. 'My beauty,' he thought sadly, 'Please...forgive me...'

Plague hobbled after the Ampharos, his frayed nerves and battered body pushing forward through sheer willpower alone. On the yellow and red figure ahead of him staggered, disoriented and panicked.
"Kyoya!" He yelled out, his voice hoarse through ragged breaths. But the Ampharos didn't turn around, but instead shouted back as his clattering hooves hit soft dirt. "Hurry! Hurry!"
On they pressed into the bordering forest. The Umbreon hit the ground twice, his legs refusing to function properly. The Umbreon gasped wildly, teetering to a halt as he looked back to the others. "Co-...Come on!..." He rasped, before stumbling onward.

___________________

The Ampharos slowed his pace, his wide-eyed gaze staring up at the tower before him. The dirt clearing had opened up suddenly, with a humble and beaten path leading up to the temple steps.
The Bell Tower...! It...it looks untouched!
The ovine turned, just as a thud sounded from the direction he had come from. The Umbreon had collapsed in the gravel, his wounded shoulder slick with blood. Kyoya gritted his teeth, trotting back towards his fallen companion. "Plague." Wrapping his arms around his torso, he pulled him back up to his feet. "Come on, just a bit further." The black fox snarled in pain, but he obliged the ram.
"Urrghh...there?..." He hissed through bared teeth, staring up at the looming tower.
"Yes, inside!" He barked out, pointing towards the door.

(okay, wasn't sure where everyone would be in relation to them, so i had to be a bit vague. so they're headed north through the thin patch of forest and to the tin/bell tower. nightfall, did you want your boy to get the door open? doesn't need to be shattered, but a bit of brute force is in order. i'm thinking the tower can be relatively untouched, since it was pretty off limits to most people. so any undead inside could be like rattata or things like that, if any at all. but uh, once inside i think the plan is to finally rest a bit and catch up. names, swap stories, etc. this is going to be the lull/character development section before a lot of action, so use it to your advantage.~)

Wrong. It was all just so wrong.

Arthur barely had any idea where he was going. All he knew was that Vortex was dead and he hadn't done a damn thing about it. Just like back in the Dreamyard. Coward. He was a stinking, useless, pathetic coward. Always had been and always would be. The shame that smothered his heart was almost too much to bear.

Blinded by his tears, only Kyoya's voice was his source of guidance as he bumbled along, sobs of grief racking from his throat as he held his head in his hands. Just get away; get the hell away from that mad, screaming monster that had killed his friend. Pray to Arceus above that it wasn't following them, waiting to claim another life.

"Urrghh...there?..."
"Yes, inside!"

Arthur's panicked mind failed to register the door at first, and he crashed straight into it. The recoil nearly sent him off his feet, but he quickly recovered and barreled into it again, sending it flying off its hinges. The Feraligatr landed with a thump on his front, burying his head in his shaking hands. Just close the door hurry up just close the damn door--

((Please forgive me. I have not been feeling well and today my allergies have me on so many meds to stave them off that I am a little loopy. I can't concentrate for a decent post and should go back to bed. Skip for this round))

With the powerful She-Bitch glowering down at the pompous ovine, Anton found it hard to not be slightly entertained by the possibility of her ripping him a new one. While it was true that he held no love for either of them, seeing one get what he deserved was good enough for the quiet, roosting dragon. However, he'd forgotten that what got Kyoya this far with Bitchface was his eloquent way of weaving words together, and so, of course the asshole would be able to talk his damn way out of it. “Oh, my queen...there’s no need to be so leery...after all, the great legends themselves couldn’t compete with your power or beauty.” Anton nearly gagged at the beginning of Kyoya's long rant, and thus completely turned his attention away from it to prevent himself from losing his mind. Though he supposed it was a miracle he could hear Kyoya at all-- his head was shoved so far up Ty's ass, he was surprised that he could hear him anyway.

Eyes overlooking what little was left of the city, the strange dragon felt a wave of unease pass through him. They had already fought quite a bit within the city's boundaries, but he felt something different beginning to gnaw at his insides. A pressure, an anxiety. A feeling of horrible dread that only intensified as the seconds wore on, causing Anton's gaze to no longer casually glance over the ruins before him but search for anything that might be responsible for such a feeling.

Then, suddenly, as Kyoya's voice nearby quieted, Anton knew he was too late. He'd been looking in completely the wrong direction, his body going rigid at the strange voice behind him. “...I’m here…” it cooed, whispered even, and yet those words echoed throughout his body like a great, terrifying battle cry. Turning slowly to meet the threat's visage, he saw a giant, decaying fox, its serene, tranquil expression quickly exchanged for one of absolute fury. color=red] “No, no, no...you were all doing so well…”[/color] Its voice didn't match its expression, the sweet coo strange out of such an angry creature. “Don’t you want me here, my lovelies?...”

It brushed against Ty, its stink and sloshy footsteps threatening to overwhelm the senses. Anton knew he had to run, to leave all these assholes to their fate, but he couldn't. His wings, his legs were completely paralyzed, just like everyone else, it seemed. He, the only one who could actually get away from this thing and he was stuck. “Oh, you all are so beautiful…” Its breath formed a visible blanket over Ty as it inspected her, lovingly caressing her muzzle. “And...I just want to be friends…” It seemed she passed whatever test the grotesque thing had in mind, and moved on to the next one in line, Kyoya. “Oh, aren’t you just adorable! Trying so very hard to look brave! Handsome little devil!”

As its wandering knife of a claw traced Kyoya's jawline and trachea, it finally occurred that the horror was actually humming as it checked them for... something. It was obvious that this thing was dead, but to be able to talk? To sing?! What the fuck was this thing and what circle in Hell did it crawl out from?!

But as it chattered to itself and Anton's mind raced, the thing finally turned and locked gazes with him. Anton felt his heart sputter with fear, his mind now paralyzed like the rest of him. “Oooh, you’re also pretty! Maybe you’ll do.” The words echoed in his mind, that terrifying gaze still in his mind's eye as the fox suddenly disappeared and reappeared next to him, like a strange hallucination. His poor shattered mind couldn't keep up with the fox's movements, and was doing well enough to keep track of the haunting sing-song words it spoke. “You know, you have such nice friends here.” It growled, its voice now suddenly behind him. He couldn't even look to face it. “Tell me why you deserve that, and I don’t?...”

Nothing. There were no words for it, nor even for Anton to think within the safety of his own head. He simply stood, eyes fixated to the spot where the creature had first spotted him, frozen. He suddenly found that spot much closer, however, when he fell off of his perch. “Is your heart pretty?...Is it bright?! Is that what they want!?” As soon as he hit the ground, he felt the thing's weight and claws on his back pinning him down. His heart raced, pounded against his ribs in a violent last-ditch effort to escape, but all the adrenaline in the world couldn't make him move now. “There’s only one way to find out!” Claws traced his back, in search of something, and Anton's body was still paralyzed, even facing impalement. He couldn't even manage a scream.

Suddenly, flames burst into his vision, the heat enveloping his back and the claws shrunk away from his defenseless form. Blinking, the fear still over his waking mind like a thick blanket, he failed to understand what had just happened. “You…” the thing whispered from above him. “How did you break from...Oh, how could I have not seen you…” Anton's eyes, as the only part of him that obeyed, searched frantically for whatever shot the fire, his eyes resting on the charmeleon that Ty had nearly killed herself before. The fox was suddenly in his line of sight, perched on top of the poor bastard.

“Yes, yes! You’re perfect! You have the perfect heart here! Will you show me how to love again?...Will you? Please? I-I bet you have the answer in that precious little beating heart of yours…! I bet, I bet!” In mere seconds, the fox flayed her chest open, eagerly looking through the now open cavity like a vat of candy. Blood poured, screams filled the air, and still, he could do nothing, not even save himself. The terror even continued singing, so much was its glee. “I’d be tender! I’d be gentle! And awful sentime-...” The thing's glee stopped abruptly, its eyes fixated on what Anton could only guess was her heart. She was likely dead-- no, she was dead, but... why... Why did that make him stop?

Oh Legends, why couldn't he just get up and run? Why was he forced to watch this?

“No...nonononono…” It whimpered, clutching the charmeleon's body closely to him, its face racked with grief.  “I didn’t mean to...I didn’t mean to do it! Come back! COME BACK!” It cried and shrieked and howled, its apparent despair overcoming the creature. A wave of dark energy shot out from him, hitting Anton in the face. Thankfully, it didn't do much damage. “IT’S GONE! I FOUND IT AND IT’S GONE! YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO LEAVE WITHOUT SHOWING ME! NOOOOOO!”

It howled once more, and then chucked the body at the others, shrieking still. “GET AWAY FROM ME! GET! AWAAAAAAAAAY!”

Get away.
Get away.

GET AWAY, ANTON.

Struggling, his limbs twitching uncontrollably from whatever toxin had paralyzed him in the first place, his mind was a blurred barrage of senses and visions, too chopped and disoriented to place together. Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his back once more, causing his body to flip over and attack what had tried to grab him like the fox had, only to find Ty's red counterpart pinning him back down.

"Get a hold of yourself, boy," the crimson canine growled, his anxiety and fear apparent in his golden eyes, "We need to get out of here."

Logan had been able to hide himself from the monstrosity, unable to decide whether to save himself by running or aiding the others in snapping out of a mass paralysis. But he had been beaten to the punch by the charmeleon, who really only asked for her own death. Logan knew that hiding and watching that thing kill her was a disgusting display of cowardice on his part, but at this point, he doubted any kind of interference from him would have resulted in anything different. Pulling the dragon up by his thick hide, he turned and saw the ampharos and umbreon already high-tailing it away. Making sure the dragon followed, he went after them as well.

The feraligatr was ahead of them, too, the dirt path they ran along opening up into a wooden bridge, and then a tall, looming tower. "Yes, inside!" was the only think Logan had to hear before he ran forward as well, Anton now hot on his heels. The dragon flew forward, his body finally under his own control, and he frantically looked behind them. "Get it open, asshole!"

[[Long post is long 8|]]

"Get it open, asshole!"The dragon shouted in a panic, his gaze on the path behind them. Kyoya cringed as he slammed his slender form into the formidable door, only succeeding in bruising his shoulder. A flash of blue and red barreled past him, stunning the Ampharos as he teetered away from the doorway. The reptile bounced back with a loud thud, the door stubbornly holding onto its hinges. But the hysterical Feraligatr slammed his massive weight into the door once more, and was rewarded with a splintering crack as he fell through the doorway.

The Ampharos staggered over the fallen gator, peering wildly through the disturbed dust.
"Come on!" He snapped, turning to search for his companion. His slate gaze fell on the black fox, who had collapsed once more at the foot of the steps. Kyoya shoved through the others, crouching at the Umbreons' side.
"Urgh, go on already, I'll be right there." He snarled, trying to get to his feet. Kyoya glared at him, clenching his jaw. "Stop being ridiculous." He snapped, glancing at his wounded shoulder before tugging him to his feet. The fox cried out in protest, his masked face contorted with pain. "Arrrgh! Dammit!!!" Pulling his weakened limb close to his chest, Plague stumbled up the steps and through the door.

"Is...Is it following?..." He rasped, his thin legs shaking underneath him and his chest heaving in exhaustion.

Arthur's head remained in his hands as the others stepped over or around where he lay sprawled on his front. Never - never in his life would he be able to get the images of that Zoroark out of his head. He'd be there every time he closed his eyes, invading his nightmares like the demon he was. And Vortex ... his first 'friend' since the incident in Unova, had died ... in such an unimaginably cruel way ... while he did nothing.

Nothing.

"Is...Is it following?..." The Umbreon's voice was distant, like he was calling from the other side of a field. Arthur's body moved on its own; his strong arms lifting his top half off the dusty wooden floor. One side of him did hope that the Zoroark had followed, just so he could give that monster the thrashing of its life for killing Vortex. The other side, the one that spoke the truth, knew that there was no way in hell he'd dare to do that, and that he'd run away like the coward he was.

One thing he did know, though, was that he wasn't about to let that beast kill anyone else. He'd had enough. He was sick of being the coward; the underdog; tired of cowering in the corner while some undead fiend murdered his friends. He was going to change. He was! He'd be brave and strong, just like how his species was depicted.

All he needed now was the guts to try.

"L-L-Let's cover our tr-tracks," he muttered, getting to his feet, his legs quaking underneath him. That was another thing that needed to go: his stutter. No brave, fearless beast spoke like that.

Feeling critical eyes burning into the back of his head, Arthur shuffled back over to the entrance, picking up the unhinged door from the floor. He leaned it against the opening, blocking out the light and revealing just how run-down this place was. Little beams of sunlight from cracks in the rafters above illuminated the clouds of dust floating in the air. In the centre of the room was a massive, wooden pillar. Looking up, Arthur noted that it appeared to extend to the upper floors. A metal statue of a great bird Pokemon sat on either side of the pillar.

"I don't th-think that it f-followed us," said Arthur, nervously scratching his sore hands. Somehow he disliked this place even more now that it was darker. "H-Hopefully no one wi-will notice the broken d-door..."

"Is ... everyone OK?"

Zenyt wasted no time in trailing after the others, their mad rush to escape slightly delayed by a struggle to open a doorway into one of the city's towers, slightly dilapidated from no maintenance but in overall good condition compared to the rest of the town. It had been spared much of the worst the Epidemic had to offer but once inside it would prove another story. The others began to settle as they began to figure out how to buff their defenses but Zenyt took another mind to survey their environment. On first glance the place seemed merely run down but as he made his way around the center pillar a grisly sight met the Rocket Admin. The body of what he believed was once an Altaria, years decayed and torn to shreds, lay scattered across the floor. Her body illuminated by the gaping hole in the tower a floor or two above her, the impact directly through the wall and gauging from the rubble it had come from outside in.

And if the blood trailing the wall up and out of the hole was any indication it had bust in to get the Altaria. Shuddering at the thought of something that massive still roaming the city the Admin started his search once again, agilely stepping over the rotted remains to get to the staircase that led up. He had only made it halfway up, determined to keep his sights set on the group he was with in case assistance was needed, but he could already tell that something had happened here as well. Walls were smashed in, claw marks raked the floors and wood, the pillar cracked in more than one place. They were lucky the balancer of this building even still stood. Very easily the whole top floors could come crashing down on their heads if that beam split. Not willing to keep this information quiet he moved quickly to the only one he knew would take the information and use it to direct the group properly, the Ampharos.

Clicking the side of his translator Zenyt approached the gathering and cleared his throat. "A quick scout has revealed more than once Undead have invaded this place as well. There are multiple battle scars and dead bodies littering the back of this floor and at least the level above. I did not venture further alone but needless to say we should keep our guard up even while in here." Looking straight at the Ampharos he waited for eye contact before continuing, wanting the ovine to know that this part was mostly for his information. "There is also damage to the center column upstairs that could upset the balance of this structure. If at all possible fighting with any powerful move should be avoided to prevent a collapse which would kill all of us." Without another word the executive perched himself on one of the rails creating a path for the worshipers and used it as a seat, waiting for the others to begin their discussions with this new information.

((I was on the old Ecruteak team in the early days and felt that a few of the tragic events, including the harb on the Altaria where Hydreigon burst through the wall, would be a lovely touch to give our universe some consistency. Much as our map section wanted us to do. If anyone else has questions about what happened inside the tower two years ago when the epidemic first started to give reference to our new hideout pm me!
PS, still not revealed that Zenyt can understand the pokemon yet, I will make that reveal next round so blab away lol.))

[[Skip, please...]]

(skip too, i'm sorry guys. i got a bit of writers block. er, if needed just say that kyoya payed attention to what Zenyt said. i'll have him respond more next round. dont wanna hold up the team any longer)

Arthur sank into the shadows as everybody caught their breath, watching as the human wandered off towards the back of the room. At first he considered following him, just in case something was hiding ready to jump out at the defenseless man, but then he remembered that he had Ty in her Poke Ball at close hand. He frowned at the man as he surveyed their new hideout; he had absolutely no reason to trust him, seeing as he and Ty were partners, and look how she was. There were no bad Pokemon, only bad Trainers, at least according to a saying that he had once heard.

But surely that wasn't always true. Elijah had been a bad Trainer - to him at least - but he wasn't bad. A coward, yes, but not bad.

Give him time, the Feraligatr told himself as the human wandered back over. You met him, like, five minutes ago. He blinked as the man held a strange device up to his mouth and spoke into it. "A quick scout has revealed more than once Undead have invaded this place as well, he said. Arthur gulped down his nerves and stepped forward out of the dark, scratching his hands. "There are multiple battle scars and dead bodies littering the back of this floor and at least the level above. I did not venture further alone but needless to say we should keep our guard up even while in here." He nodded, watching as the human focus his attention solely on Kyoya and continued, "There is also damage to the center column upstairs that could upset the balance of this structure. If at all possible fighting with any powerful move should be avoided to prevent a collapse which would kill all of us."

"Gosh." Arthur looked up at the rickety upper floors, not wanting to imagine the chaos if it collapsed on them. "Th-Then are we sure that th-this is a good place to h-hide?" he asked, looking at everyone in turn, his hands itchier than ever. "If it might co-collapse ... I'm not s-sure it's a good idea..."

((Sorry guys, I think I need to have Kyoya's response to write a post. Everything I try to think up is only a couple of sentences long since it is just Zenyt answering Arthur. Skip this time and next round we can play catch up))

Though Anton had been relatively relieved to be away from that singing, giggling, sobbing nightmare they'd left behind, looking at his surroundings now gave him the impression that they had not run nearly far enough. As far as he could tell, the others had all made it in -discounting that rather unlucky charmeleon- and were now depending on this place to hide and shelter them. This dilapidated... abused... crumbling building, whose center beam wavered precariously before them, almost mockingly. The dark dragon swallowed a hard, dry lump in his throat-- it was very likely they had just run into their tomb.

"I don't th-think that it f-followed us," the blue reptile stuttered, earning Anton's brief attention. "H-Hopefully no one wi-will notice the broken d-door..." He scoffed, earning a slight glance of distaste from his canid "savior". Yeah. Hoping that the crazed lunatic outside wouldn't notice a bunch of pokemon twiddling their thumbs was about as useful as sticking your head up your own ass and pretending no one could see you, either. "Is ... everyone OK?"

"More or less..." he grumbled, slowly slinking along the filthy floor. Dust and old blood had made its place here, just like every other building, it seemed. But the centerpiece of the place was definitely the rotted Altaria, who had been there so long, it didn't even smell anymore. At least, it was more of a lingering smell instead of a stench that punched you right in the face.

The human seemed more interested in scouting the building out than waiting to die, which was the first redeeming value Anton had yet seen from the otherwise useless creature. Daintily making his way up a rather dangerous-looking stairwell, he came back down, satisfied enough to make a progress report. Seemed the Bitch had him trained pretty well. As the human spoke, Anton's brow furrowed. Where had she gone, anyway? She couldn't possibly have been captured by that thing... could she?

Logan on the other hand watched everyone with a concerned eye. More than one of their party was injured, making running a moot option. Staying seemed to be out of the question as well, but... "A quick scout has revealed more than once Undead have invaded this place as well. There are multiple battle scars and dead bodies littering the back of this floor and at least the level above. I did not venture further alone but needless to say we should keep our guard up even while in here." Logan drew closer to the human, mind working through the provided details when he reliazed that the human's gaze was directed at the ovine. No matter; none of these pokemon -or the human- knew him; why would they think he capable of advanced rational thought? So far, he'd seen that the Ampharos was the go-to man for a plan anyway. Still, Logan was more than happy to draw his own conclusions. After all, he was stuck too. "There is also damage to the center column upstairs that could upset the balance of this structure. If at all possible fighting with any powerful move should be avoided to prevent a collapse which would kill all of us."

"Gosh." Logan turned to the feraligatr, who was looking up at the upper floor, eyes filling with uncertainty. "Th-Then are we sure that th-this is a good place to h-hide?" The crimson hound's eyes flicked downward to the gator's itching, scratching hands, which grew more fervent by the moment. A nervous tick? "If it might co-collapse ... I'm not s-sure it's a good idea..."

Logan frowned, then cleared his own throat before speaking. "We can't leave. Beyond here is nothing but forest, yes? How far does it reach? What pokemon are there? We'd be walking into a death trap no matter which way we go. Staying here is our best option, at least until the injured parties can recover some."

Anton scoffed as he inspected a bit of wall, studying the deep claw marks, half-heartedly wondering if they'd been the altaria's. Didn't really look like it. "Yeah, and just wait till this place falls on us or that crazy fox sniffs us out. Or hears us. But you never know, it could just be politely waiting for us to finish our conversation."

[[Pisspisspisspiss. And Anton didn't see Ty returned into the ball.]]

 "A quick scout has revealed more than once Undead have invaded this place as well. There are multiple battle scars and dead bodies littering the back of this floor and at least the level above. I did not venture further alone but needless to say we should keep our guard up even while in here." Kyoya glanced at the human up and down, his slate gaze critical as he listened intently.
"There is also damage to the center column upstairs that could upset the balance of this structure. If at all possible fighting with any powerful move should be avoided to prevent a collapse which would kill all of us." His sharp gaze turned to the central column, shifting with an almost forlorn purpose.

"Gosh. Th-Then are we sure that th-this is a good place to h-hide? If it might co-collapse ... I'm not s-sure it's a good idea..." The gator stuttered out, his dry scales audibly annoying as he scratched at them with his claws. Kyoya clenched his jaw at the reptiles’ question, his gaze flickering over the human once more.

He’s watching us...it’s unsettling, how much information he’s giving out. A personality of his sort demands some form of control, and to just be offering it without knowing where it could lead...No, he must have gotten his translator to work then. A human wouldn’t put his life in the hands of other species so blindly. They are quick to command and assume leadership. And if his profile matches reality, then I would also assume that the queens’ absence suggests only one thing…we’ve found her alpha. But the red canine interrupted his thoughts, surprising the Ampharos as he spoke with a sign of intelligence.

"We can't leave. Beyond here is nothing but forest, yes? How far does it reach? What pokemon are there? We'd be walking into a death trap no matter which way we go. Staying here is our best option, at least until the injured parties can recover some."

"Yeah, and just wait till this place falls on us or that crazy fox sniffs us out. Or hears us. But you never know, it could just be politely waiting for us to finish our conversation." Anton sneered, his usual charm always hitting its’ mark.

“...He won’t follow.” Came the ragged but resigned voice from behind the crocodile. “Didn’t you see what happened? He doesn’t want us anymore.” Kyoyas’ ears perked, his face lighting up with surprise and curiosity. While it’s true that the creature had warned us away, he may change his mind and come looking…

“What makes you say that, Plague?” He asked the Umbreon, glancing at the others as he offered his companion a chance to be heard. The black fox looked around the room nervously, his red eyes shifting from one to another beneath the mask. “W-well, I just saw what he was feeling. That kind of emotion...it doesn’t really change.” He said, his voice saturated with a knowing sadness as he spoke. “I don’t know exactly what he wanted, I just know that he wouldn’t have let us go if he still wanted us around.”

Kyoyas’ gaze softened as he pondered on the Umbreons’ words.
He has such an insight into the emotions’ of others...even that thing- which is still an enigma, even to me…

“Indeed…” Kyoya said with a hint of warmth, before reclaiming the floor with his usual chill. “I believe he has a point. The creature obviously had some sort of capacity for logical comprehension. We can only assume at this point that it had more complex motives than to just feed.” The ovines’ gaze remained on the fox as he continued, a silent but friendly affirmation. “As for the safety of our surroundings...we should consider ourselves lucky. This tower is a small distance from the town and the hordes that are present in large cities. And it’s much more structurally sound than anything we’ve found elsewhere. Besides…” He sighed, his sharp hooves clacking against the floorboards as he moved to glare at the looming decrepit pillar. “Safety is relative now.”

The red hound was first to respond to Arthur's concerns. "We can't leave," he said with a soft clear of his throat. "Beyond here is nothing but forest, yes? How far does it reach? What pokemon are there?" Arthur felt his blood run cold at the thought of anything barely resembling that Zoroark. "We'd be walking into a death trap no matter which way we go. Staying here is our best option, at least until the injured parties can recover some."

The Feraligatr nodded, seeing some sense in the canine's words. While this place had certainly seen better days, it was better than whatever lay out there. These thoughts calmed Arthur's anxiety, until the dead Altaria a short distance away caught his eye. He quickly averted his gaze, concentrating on a particularly interesting lump of rubble nearby.

"But you never know," the dragon then scoffed, "it could just be politely waiting for us to finish our conversation." If this group were doing anything for him, it was certainly not helping to ease his nerves. Arthur gulped sharply, not caring that his hands were close to bleeding after all the scratching he was doing. The unpleasant sting was becoming a distraction from his sweating forehead and hammering heart, so it was all fine by him.

The others were speaking, Plague and Kyoya saying something about motives and feeding or something like that, but Arthur wasn't listening. He stared at the wall, his throat rumbling as he let out a continuous, monotone hum. Block it out, block it all out and then it couldn't hurt him. The words would not increase his heart rate to a point where he thought it would jump out of his chest. He'd be all right; he'd calm down and then start being 'normal' again. Who knew; maybe he'd actually come up with something useful to say.

((Sui gave me permission to make posts without images and colour codes since I'm away and don't have enough SH days. I tried with the codes but may give up since it took forever to write this, lol. Once I'm home I'll come back and put everything missing in.))

Zenyt was impressed with how calmly everyone took this situation without making it trivial. Even the nervous Faraligatr, whom he was near certain would make a scene, merely voiced his concerns and asked if they should move. Even as the dragon bitched and moaned yet still did nothing, all eyes went to the Ampharos. It was a tense moment but even then the electric type kept his cool demeanor. “As for the safety of our surroundings...we should consider ourselves lucky. This tower is a small distance from the town and the hordes that are present in large cities. And it’s much more structurally sound than anything we’ve found elsewhere. Besides…”

“Safety is relative now.”

A sound judgement, Zenyt acknowledged. They were safer here than outside for the moment but if danger followed them inside then they would likely have to move rather than fight. Otherwise they would all be dead. His thoughts drifted to the female dwelling within the small orb in his pocket, her ire likely growing by the minute. Pulling out the pokeball he looked at it contemplatively, wondering if he should let her out just yet, but as he looked around he knew that the safest they would get was right now and she had no reason to still rest inside the machine while the others roamed free. "Tisiphone," he spoke gently, "come." Enlarging the orb he tossed it in front of him, letting the red lights form his beloved girl before falling back to his hand.

There she was, and she was pissed.

Shifting his gaze around the group, he waited for any opposition to staying. If there was any, none of them were voicing it. 
Good, at least they can follow a lead. 

"Very well," He spoke up, his paw moving to his chin in thought. "We will need to clear a small area for ourselves, if we intend to spend the night. I'd suggest avoiding the pillar room altogether." The Ampharos said, his dark eyes on the long-dead avian in the other room. His brows furrowed at the unsettling close proximity of a corpse, but dismissed it as he turned his attention to the relatively unwounded of the group. "Any bandages or supplies should be given to those most in need. I doubt there is anything left in this wreck, but in the off-chance that there is, we should scour for anything worthwhile." And with that, he nodded at the group before crouching next to the resting fox. A quick sigh escaped him, the only sign of fear and anxiety left in the ovine from the previous attack. 

"How is your shoulder?" He asked in a quiet tone, tentatively pushing the bloodied fur back from the wound to assess the damage. 
"Could be better," Plague growled as he shook his head in frustration. "Damned thing...I should have killed it right off. I knew it was all wrong." The fox seethed, staring at Kyoyas' paws as he tested the skin around the wound. Kyoya frowned at the mention of the defeated ghost type. He's still unstable. I can't have him lose his wits now, especially in front of the others. If they see him as a liability, things can get ugly very quickly.

Kyoya interrupted, leaning back. "Well, it's a clean cut at least. No permanent damage, no excessive bleeding. Stitches would be ideal, but..." He got to his feet, wiping his paws together. "Don't concern yourself with what happened. Your focus should be on recovering your strength." He peered down at the fox, frowning. "You wouldn't want to hold up the entire group again." Plagues' ears dropped at the cold accusation, his crimson eyes falling in guilt before nodding reluctantly. The ovine clenched his jaws, trying to ignore the foxes' pained reaction. 

"Tisiphone, come." 

Kyoyas' tail twitched as he heard the queens' name, followed by the now almost alien sound of a poke ball, releasing its' captive. For a moment, he marveled at how long it had been since the symbol of his enslavement had been crushed all those years ago, by his own hoof. And now Tysiphone, wild beastie that she was, has been shown to be nothing more than an indentured servant. If there was one thing that could make him feel better right now, it was the look on her face after being sat on the bench. As the white light swiftly revealed her canid form, he made small effort to conceal his smirk. 

"Welcome back, your highness."

((Eh ... you may as well skip me. There's not a lot for Arthur to do at the moment.))