(ACE) The SHIPWRECK Team

Aqua nods as Bell explains what she sees on the other side of the door. She tries to remain focused as the glaceon in front of her continues to scramble and claw at the ajar door. The first impact is barely audible over the scratching. However, Aqua sees the poliwag step backward after the kick. She doesn't have time to shout for her to be careful again before the child is off and running. Then, as if by the flip of a switch, the door swings open uninhabited.

"Woah woah woah wooaahh!" Comes the frantic cry from the other side. The floatzel pushes past the glaceon to enter the room and beelines to the source of the voice."Ms.Bell?!" She asks, doing her best to maneuver through the toppled chair and table. "Are you alright?" She presses, anxiety and concern clear as day in her voice and face.

"Oh hun, that was mighty good of you, but you nearly gave me a heart-attack when you kicked it then!" The floatzel adds, moving to try and help the child to her feet. "I guess the humans here were in one heck of a rush when they left. There's a good chance they'll have some things still hidden in their cabinets here then."

Thorn didn't know what to do with the mess that killing the undead sharpedo had left; the decayed body had somewhat sunken into the sand, turning the formerly light colored sand red. The best he could figure was to cover it with some more sand and let decomposition sort out the rest. It did cross his mind that they could use more bait, but this was too messy to even think about trying to scrape up and use. He checked the end of his tail that was still wrapped in kelp, and thankfully, none of yesterday's wounds had reopened during the second scuffle. Sighing, he began the thankless task of burying the dead; he only really bothered because it was always so important to Lynn. It took a while for him to understand why it mattered so much to her, but it was something she ensured. He used his tail to dig a little into the sand and dragged a pile of it over the dead Sharpedo as he thought. It was always a bad idea to leave carrion out if it could attract unwanted scavengers, but that didn't seem to be the reason. He swiped some more sand over the body again, and this time, only some of the blood was seeping through. Another pile should do it. It took until... Kale... for him to get it.

She always sang something too... Afterwards. He never really tried singing her songs, for her high pitched voice could do things his deeper voice couldn't, and he couldn't always remember the exact words. But, part of him felt compelled to at least try. The one that stuck out the most to him was the one involving a tree; She sang that one a lot ever since a friend introduced it to her. He began humming the melody as he gathered up the last bit of sand, and his voice rumbled the first verse. The words didn't come to him other than the parts that repeated through the song. The third verse... was a favorite of Lynn's for some reason, and it ended up foreshadowing the fact that they'd be separated. "Are you, Are you, coming to the tree? Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free. Strange things have happened here, no stranger would it be, if we met at midnight in the Hanging Tree." He wished he knew Johto like Melody did; he might have been able to find his way to where they were planning on meeting Alex. The fact that he had been isolated in the lake for so long was one limiter to his knowledge of the region, and then his size prevented him from travelling alongside the others. He hoped that maybe the end of the verse was true for them; he hoped that they found Alex and maybe that friend of Lynn's. Hell, the landmark was a tree.

((I apologize for the song somewhat. It's 'The Hanging Tree.'))

Suddenly, the weight that had been holding him back vanished. The glaceon tumbles forward through the now open door. The force of how hard he had been pushing great enough to throw Chesire to the floor. His paws scrambling for a hold on the slick, nearly texture-less ground beneath him to no avail. He can feel the pressure of the floor upon impact, the breath being pushed from his lungs, but little to no pain. Sprawled on the floor, he barely hears the other pokemon, his focus solely on the unexplored room before them.

Forcing his dead limbs to cooperate, Chesire fights through the numbness, that more an issue than the pain. It was like his limbs knew they should not be moving, that he should not be alive. If that even what he was considered anymore. Eventually, the ice-type is able to align his paws beneath him and continue forward.

"Alice?" He asks to the empty room, seeming confused as he surveys what is before him and finds it empty. Wasn't she just here? He saw her when he was trying to get through the opening! Where had she gone?? His breathing hitches as he starts to dash forward, his claws slipping on the unnatural surface, making him frustratingly slow. The cabinets! She had to be there, she could not have gotten past the door, Chesire was there!

Once in range, Chesire rears up onto his back legs and claws with determination at the closet of the closed cabinets. Brief memories flood back at the action. A castle, a room filled with dolls and a door to the outside. A door with a handle and Alice walking through. The handle. With sudden inspiration, the glaceon bites into the handle and pulls back best he can. The wood panel concealing Alice from him moving steady open in result.


((ooc: Thought I should mention, Chesire never actually saw Alice, it's all a delusion.))

The Poliwag tumbles across the floor before landing flat on her spiral belly. For a few moments the world is a spinning blur of colors, not unlike when she arrived in this town, and she remains still on the dusty floor. "Woaaaa..." she breathes lightly as her eyes attempt to focus. "Ms.Bell?!" Aqua's voice is a lot closer and shriller then she remembered it being a second ago. That, accompanied with the sound of shifting furniture encouraged the child to ease her way back onto her stubby feet. Slapping her tail against the floor Bell wobbles once standing, her head still spinning from the event. "Are you alright?" There is a wait before she replies as everything in her head settles and Aqua's face comes into view. "Oh my gosh that was so fun, let's do it again!" She beams pushing onto her tiptoes though she stumbles in place.

The Floatzel huffs, clearly not as excited as she was, "Oh hun, that was mighty good of you, but you nearly gave me a heart-attack when you kicked it then!" With an innocent chuckle the Poliwag blinks her large, brown eyes, "Hehe, sorry Ms. Aqua, but it worked and I am okay!" Movement past the weasel catches Bell's attention, drawing her eyes behind the larger Pokemon. Having made it past the door Chesire had already began examining the room. "I guess the humans here were in one heck of a rush when they left. There's a good chance they'll have some things still hidden in their cabinets here then." Aqua's voice draws her attention back in with a nod to follow. "Like food stuffs?" Hopefully she would be able to recognize some cause so far there had been nothing.

Cabinets, had she heard that word before? Cabeh-nets? While she had no idea what a 'cabi' was nets were all too familiar. Stupid kids often poked them in her pond and bothered the fish, sometimes dragging them up in a squealing fit. But I dont see any kids and nothing in here really looks like a net. Working her way past the toppled furniture the youth just tries to ask- "What is a cabi-" before sporadic scratching brought a chill to her spine. Bell's face stiffened with eyes wide open as she rushed past the edge of the table to see Chesire going at one of the wood squares along the wall.
What had happened! Was there a bad guy in it? She had been over there not long ago and nothing seemed out of place. "What's wrong Mr. Chesire?" The Poliwag questions, shrinking back as the Glaceon changes tactics to teeth instead of claws. The door starts to swing open but when something falls and clinks on the floor Bell loses al nerve to watch, rushing behind Aquq as she whimpers, "What is that!"

"Oh my gosh that was so fun, let's do it again!" Aqua gives an exasperated sigh at the younger pokemon's enthusiasm despite the situation. Though, seeing Bell so happy did make her smile. Her eyes on the poliwag as she dances on her tiptoes, eager to explore more. If only they could make things like that last... "Hehe, sorry Ms. Aqua, but it worked and I am okay!" There were no words left to complain with. The big, innocent brown eyes staring back at Aqua melted her. It'd have to be a lecture for another time.

"I know hun and that's the important part. And yes, like food stuffs." She adds looking up to properly survey the room. It's not long before here eyes are drawn to their guest--the glaceon who was currently attempting to open a cabinet door with tooth and nail. The smile ebbs from Aqua's face, pooling into a concerned, then frightened frown. He hadn't been acting like this before...not before the doorway and trying to claw his way through...

Did he smell food? Were they next? "What's wrong Mr. Chesire?" Bell whimpers at her side. "Now don't you worry. Stay close to me." She does her best to conceal an audible gulp. "He must be on the trail of something.." As she continued to watch in silent horror, the canine was actually able to begin to pull the door into an open position. Her hands clench at her sides, eager to open the cabinets, so close to their goal, but not willing to risk being that close to Chesire.

Then, suddenly, something tumbles from the now opened cabinet, clattering to the floor with a sharp metallic sound. Aqua jumps and beside her, she catches Bell dashing to get behind her, away from the foreign object. "I think....I think that might be what we're looking for." She responds, eyeing the cylinder shape from across the room. The human scrawling on it hidden from view at this distance, but the shape, the material of it was unmistakable. "Mr.Chesire found the cans..."

Thankless task finished, Thorn decided that if he was going to get anything to eat today, he needed to get moving. After smelling the rotting undead, just the idea of meat made him feel queasy, so hunting was out of the question for the moment. He mused on some other options he had, but the question was where the heck he could find them. Berries were always a possibility, and he knew from his time as a Magikarp that he could eat a very wide variety of things. At this thought he looked at the large kelp growing, and his stomach growled at the possibility. Eh... worth a shot. He carefully leaned towards one plant in particular and eyed it for a few seconds while he tried to figure out how to go about eating it. He carefully opened his mouth, grabbed a section of the kelp, and twisted his head so that the plant either uprooted or broke. now with the plant floating around his mouth, he took a solid bite out of it. It basically tasted of the sea he was swimming in, and while it wasn't bad, the chewing made it tedious. Since he was starving, however, he soldiered on and finished the plant. It sated his hunger a bit, but he knew he was going to need more. I'm gonna leave eating only this as a last resort.

He raised his head out of the water to better judge how much time had passed, and he decided that he was going to head back to the shore areas near where they had slept for the night. He wanted to see if there were any berries that they might have missed, or if there was anything else he could eat. Even if he didn't find anything, he might could meet back up with Saferi, who had hopefully eaten something by this point and might not be as cranky. He dove back down into the quiet water, and after all of the excitement, the lack of other living things was almost welcome. He finally reached the edge of the kelp beds, and, before moving forward, looked for any more potential attackers. Most undead he dealt with lacked the ability to plan stealth attacks, and simply floated out in the open where he could either avoid or deal with them quickly. He didn't see anything, so he launched himself out of the kelp forest and into open sea.

The pink serpent was spending most of her time airborne, sort of drifting with the air currents miles higher than other of the undead flying types. Looking down only at times to see where she was, was it land or was it water. Amitiel didn't seem to know exactly where she was going then just going.The den still clings to the front of her mind, her world and her everything somewhere behind her. All her friends, the humans, the memories discarded the second she left the den. But still so hard to let go of ones world.

Looking down as she came across the border mountains, leaving Johto and coming into Kanto unknowingly. Taking a deep breath as she lowered herself as clouds started to drift in blocking her view from the terrain below. The morning sun catching her magenta coloring and reflecting small twinkles of golds as she slithers in the sky. The dull browns and greys giving way to what little green she had seen in awhile, at least it was enough to put a little smile on her face. Just maybe it wasn't as bad here, then back home.

Next came some buildings in the distance, smoke stacks from a previous attack or a on going, circling high above trying to see if anything was alive down there or just more undead fighting over scraps. Before moving on like a streamer caught in the wind. The gloomy reality set in quickly, this evil was growing everywhere. The green falls away to sickly blues and oily blacks, it looked like water before clearing up. Another human city came up into view. Some sort of coastal city on the water, lowering down a little more to have a look. Maybe she would be lucky and find something or someone here. Drifting over the water by mere inches. Her mouth starting to grow dry being this close to water, circling over the surface before settling down into the water.

The cool fluids quickly engulfing the serpent body within, " Ahh, feels so good " commenting happily her aching form relaxed, keeping her head above the water before pulling herself forward in the water toward what seemed like the harbor of the city ahead. Looking down into the water below her every once in awhile expecting some great shark pokemon to appear. Falling back into thought what could be awaiting her in this city, suddenly jumping as the kelp tops brush across her stomach. Before stopping, looking down coming into some sort of rubbery kelp forest just under the surface. " Good job Ami, jumping at plants now" her tail touching the kelp tops before smiling " Least some plants are still going strong" talking to herself as she did through most of the trip keeping sane.

Turning her head back down " Wonder how far they go dow- ! " cutting herself off seeing something bright red moving in between the deep greens down below her. Weary now as she followed it, trying not to stir the water too much and causing ripples. Following it on the surface before dipping down. The 'wings' pulling tight against her head as she dove down a little more keeping above the other. It was big, and very red, almost striking compared to the green around it. Following it to the kelp edge leading into the open space.

'I'll be safer in the kelp' telling herself sinking into the rubber forest. " Umm, Hello? Sir or ma'am" letting her voice carry out to the other dragon like pokemon. Moving out into the kelp a little, swallowing her breath, her stomach twisting into knots. This pokemon was going to turn and attack and she would dive into the kelps, or it was friendly and maybe help her out. Hoping for the latter. Wrapping herself around a kelp stock to anchor herself slightly waiting for the gyarados to take action.

Finally, his efforts pay off. The door Chesire had been clawing and biting flings open from the abuse. It's wooden frame covered in scars, but firmly ajar. Chesire hesitates before the opening. Inside, he can see no signs of Alice. Only odd metal shapes in uneven piles. But he had seen her. Chesire had seen her crawl into this unusual wooden prison! His eyes search frantically for the lopunny as he lunges his front half into the opening, calling her name. Nothing. Darkness. More metal objects. The smell of mold. The glaceon retracts from the cabinet, his eyes back on the rest of the room. "Where did she go? I just saw her." He protests breathlessly as he darts across the room to search along fallen tables and chairs.

If she did not run to hide behind the wooden door, then surely she must be among the debris. Why was she hiding? Didn't she know Chesire was here to rescue her from this world? From all the scary 'mon...wait...perhaps..he was traveling with some? Were they what were scaring his Alice away? Maybe they were actually monsters. The tall one had shouted at him earlier! Yes. The fox's demeanor changes as he stalk between the furniture, his eyes lingering more and more on the pokemon accompanying him than on his search. If they were gone, would Alice appear?

The Poliwag slowly peaked her eyes around Aqua's legs, flinching back at every sharp sound or strange noise that came from the Glaceon's direction. "Now don't you worry. Stay close to me. He must be on the trail of something.." Aqua soothed but the youth remained unsure. Was there something spooky in the cabinet thing? Nothing seemed out of place in here that deemed such a violent reaction. "I think....I think that might be what we're looking for. Mr. Chesire found the cans..." "Cans" needed this intense of a display? Hadn't Ms. Aqua said they were just things pictures of food on them? I hope we dont have to fight the cans.. Taking a few tentative steps closer she can see the weird metal objects on the floor but in no way did it look like food or an enemy. In fact, it looked like it would be super hard and totally unappetizing if she tried to put it in her mouth.

"Where did she go? I just saw her." Chesire gaped, forgetting to cans as he shifted sporadically around the room. Someone else was here? The Poliwag frowned, letting her eyes trial around the room after the Glaceon. She couldn't remember seeing anyone else in here, plus she had been the first in the room! If anyone would see a new Pokemon it would of been her. "I didn't see anybody." Bell admitted, her voice soft and still weary of the pacing undead.

Despite her nerves Bell's hunger refused to be forgotten as her tummy rumbled fiercely once again. The gnawing was getting worse and worse as the group lolligagged about and her attention could not stay on the Glaceon even though he was acting suspicious. Taking in a deep breath the little Poliwag waddled her away over to the shredded cabinet, carefully avoiding any splintering wood and sharp points. The can on the floor certainly looked nothing like food but it also seemed totally safe. Tapping it with her tail she was surprised by its weight versus its size as well as how easily it moved, revealing a food pictures she had been told about. "It is a food thing!" She squeaked, suddenly much more excited by Chesire's discovery. Looking in the cabinet Bell squeals at the sight of so many cans. "Look Ms. Aqua! Look at all the food things!" Turning back toward the Floatzel a smile has returned to her face. "Can we eat them now?"

Aqua can't hide the sigh of relief that escapes her as Chesire moves himself to the other, farther, side of the room. He was acting strange before, but now it was like a rattlesnake shaking it's rattler. An undead rattlesnake. "I didn't see anybody." Bell says beside her, clearly oblivious to the glaceon's present state. Was that better or worse? She couldn't tell, and honestly, she didn't have time to spend thinking on it. Following after the smaller pokemon as she begins to move, Aqua soon finds herself stepping through splinters and debris.

He sure tore through this door. Crazier than a sack of rabid weasels for sure. She thinks to herself, reaching out a hand to tap the remains of the cabinet door before carefully bending down to examine what remains. "Look Ms. Aqua! Look at all the food things!" Bell squeals with delight beside her. Hope rises in her chest, warm and strong, forgetting the damaged door in paw, she immediately reaches for the closest can. After so long at sea, the cool metal object feels unnatural in her hand. Too smooth, too heavy for it's size, but clearly marked with an image of cube-shaped food.

"Sure is Ms. Bell!" The floatzel declares, dropping to her knees, reaching swiftly for another can to gather before her. Sparing a moment for grabbing them, she pulls down her hat, turning it upside down to uses as a temporary basket. "Can we eat them now?" Aqua glances back at Bell, grinning widely. "Not here sweetheart, we gotta take them back to the others to share. You can help me collect them all though. The more we bring back, the more we have to share." She says, tilting her hat to be more on level with the shorter 'mon. "This is a good discovery here. We should have plenty for breakfast!"

Almost as soon as he was clear from the kelp forest, Thorn was stopped by a questioning voice, "Umm, Hello? Sir or ma'am?" After the last encounter with living creatures in the kelp, he was on edge, so when he paused to turn and address the Pokemon, he kept his eyes on his surroundings. Besides, not many Pokemon had the guts to approach a Gyarados without reason, and most of those reasons were bad for him. Given that many Pokemon could be found in the ocean, he could expect almost any species, but that still didn't prepare him for what this stranger was. Despite her scales being the wrong color, he had to blink to ensure that the Dragonair in front of him wasn't... In? No... she was blue. He hadn't seen many other oddly colored Pokemon other than the other red Gyarados of his home lake and Saferi, and he knew he had seen enough Dragonair to know that blue was normal for them. Pink also did no favors when it came to hiding in deep water, which he knew from personal experience with his bright red scales.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and warily answered her question, "Uh... Sir. I guess, but you don't have to call me that." The formality the other displayed was a little off putting, but that could be nerves talking, or maybe age. The Gyarados wasn't sure how old the Dragonair was, but if she was still saying sir and ma'am then he wouldn't be surprised if she was still a child. Lynn though... She had continued saying it even when she was old enough to be considered an adult. Deciding to table the matter for later, as Kale had called it, he put the matter aside and continued trying to figure out what the Dragonair wanted. He still eyed the swaying kelp behind her; he wouldn't put it behind someone else to try swarming him again. He turned his head to the side in a questioning manner as he asked, "Need something?" Thorn needed to see what he was dealing with before talking too much, and  he settled on the ocean floor as he waited for an answer. Twisting his tail around, he slightly showed off the kelp wrappings near the base of the fin before settling it in front of him. The Gyarados was going to see what her reaction to a potential weakness was.

Amitiel watched as the red dragon like Pokemon stopped turning as she sunk back a little into the green background as best as she could. Why was she feeling, that knot in her stomach jerk tighter, maybe she shouldn't have bothered it. A bubble escapes her as she watched it float up, thinking how to place the next words. By appearance he seemed to have reacted normally to her calling out to him, so maybe okayish . "Uh... Sir. I guess, but you don't have to call me that. " Blinking feeling kinda dumb now making the great introduction. Tightening her coils around the kelp rope a little more before looking up, unraveling herself a little more not to seem a coward now. " Forgive me, I was expecting actions before words as it is with most other Pokemon as of late watching him sink down to the sand bed. Tilting her head to the side, letting herself sink a little more as well down the vegetation, not to be looking down on him.

"Need something?" she thinks again That is a wonderful question what are you looking for. Letting go of the kelp before letting herself drift also to the bed, the tail orbs unknowingly getting caught up in some of the rubbery leaves getting stuck as she looked back wiggling them free. Another bubble, leaving her in a seemingly sigh. " I guess an accurate answer would be for any other living Pokemon that are still fighting, I didn't expect to find any down here if am honest with myself now free of the kelp.Watching his form, each scale plate in that vibrant color of red and off whites. From head to tip before returning to his face, she was clearly impressed, but how she loosely coiled around herself on the bed soil nearby. " I'm sorry if am intruding in some sort of territory I'll leave if that's the case, " staying where she was, letting her eyes drift up to the surface and around them for any other sort of movement.

" I couldn't help but notice the city or was a city above and the overturned ship near by as I was traveling over" her tail tip points up. The orbs catching what little light of the raising sun did reach that depth, reflecting it like a prism on the sand under it. Before returning her watchful eyes on the water type " I hoped to find shelter, rest, survivors, and supply. I've come from Blackthorn in Johto. " Trying to keep some sort of conversation up to explain her intentions. Drifting up a little from the sand, trying not to stir any of it into a cloud under her, " Amitiel, pleasure to have found someone else" trying to give a friendly 'facial expression' that she could.

((ooc: Please skip Chesire this round.))

Bell stared intensely as Aqua flipped over her hat and started to fill it with the shiny cans. "Not here sweetheart, we gotta take them back to the others to share. You can help me collect them all though. The more we bring back, the more we have to share." For a moment the childs face is stiff, disappointment bubbling in the corner of her lips as she realizes it'll be a while yet before she can eat. However, with each additional can Aqua places in her hat the less she can be bothered by that fact. They found enough to share with everyone and even let her stuff her face. Mr. Thorn would be so proud of them for getting so much too!

Alright!" With a nod Bell carefully picks her way past the splintering wood and creeps into the back of the cabinet. Relishing her small size the Poliwag starts pushing the tins forward, gripping them with her tail to get them out of the stacks before nudging them forward with her cheek. Some are heavier then others, and fall to the floor when she tries to move them, but the Poliwag moves as many as she can from the back anyway. Why were they different weights? Why did some have different pictures on them but only some even resembled something edible?
As Aqua's hat fills up a thought worms its way into her head. Would the weasel have to carry them all back by herself? Bell could carry one maybe two cans at most while Aqua would have to hold the majority. Pursing her lips she pushes the thought away and climbs out of the cabinet. Maybe there was something in the Mart that could help her carry more but she wasn't about to walk past Chesire without Aqua by her side.

Looking at their haul Bell beams with delight, her tail thumping against the ground with each beat of her heart. "Mr. Thorn is going to be so excited!" She chuckles, popping up and down on each foot. The sooner they headed back the sooner she could see the surprise on his big face. "Do you think he would know these things are food?" Would a water-being like him ever have a chance to be exposed to such things? Heck, she was on land a lot these days and didn't even know! Another rumble passes through her stomach, settling her movements. Glancing longingly at the door Bell mumbles, "I wanna go back." They had been gone a lot longer then she expected.

Aqua watches Bell from the corner of her eye, ready as she sees the child tense after being told they would need to wait. Although her own stomach was groaning in protest the thought of letting their guard down and having anything related to eating coming up around an undead...it twisted her stomach strong enough to fight down her own hunger. Thankfully, she sees the poliwag straighten, visibly resigning herself to Aqua's plan before beginning to help. Aqua straightens too, turning back fully to the task at hand, determined to finish as soon as possible.

The floatzel grabs with both hands at the cans Bell is able to push forward from the back of the cabinet. Her eyes only giving each can a cursory glance. Some of the cans she recognized, some she did not, but she told herself, they all had to be food. Humans always stocked similar items together from what she's seen. Several minutes later, her hat is packed with the metal cylinders, overflowing even. Shifting her weigh, Aqua adjusts to pick up her hat from below and wrap one arm around it best she can.

With her free hand, Aqua continues to gather up what is left within arms reach to a manageable stack she wraps her other arm around. The weight off-balancing her initially, causing her the teeter forward, cans swaying ominously from their unstable holdings. Just before flopping forward, Aqua stabilizes and lets out a sigh of relief. Her body stretched forward and arms held at different heights, she carefully tries to straighten herself again without losing her balance.

"Mr. Thorn is going to be so excited!" She hears Bell say beside her excitedly, already thinking of their trip back. "Do you think he would know these things are food?" Aqua chuckles lightly, "I reckon we'll find out sweetie! We did real good today." Another grumbling noise, but not one from her own stomach this time. She shifts her gaze down to Bell, whose excitement seems to wane. "I wanna go back." She nods, fur prickling along her spine.

This would be the tricky part. "Me too, let's get heading back and have ourselves breakfast, okay?"[/color] She adds, hoping her nerves don't spread to Bell. The prickling at the back of her neck was getting worse. Chesire was watching them. She could feel his eyes on them without looking at him directly. It was time to go...

The Dragonair blinked as if not expecting his response before apologizing, "Forgive me, I was expecting actions before words as it is with most other Pokemon as of late." He couldn't deny that she had an excellent point; most other beings at this point had either attacked him or fled in fear. She mimicked his sinking to the ocean floor, as if to prevent her head from being higher than his, and the tail orbs and... rings? got caught up in some of the leaves of the kelp. She shook them loose and then answered his question accompanied by a sigh, "I guess an accurate answer would be for any other living Pokemon that are still fighting, I didn't expect to find any down here if am honest with myself."

He ceased his glancing around to focus on the other shiny as she spoke to see if her body language spoke of any falsehoods. It was appearing less and less likely that she had a group or was planning on raiding other survivors, however. It wasn't hard to notice how she eyed his scales from head to tail, but he didn't think much on the matter. Being a shiny meant that many humans and Pokemon couldn't help but stare at him if they didn't simply flee in terror. While she was preoccupied with her inspection, he sized her up as he tried to figure out how tough she was, just in case this was a better ruse than he expected. She had a lot of jewelry, which spoke of being owned by humans somehow, and she was a Dragonair. He couldn't tell if that meant she was actively trained, unfortunately. However... she had not made any indication that she had noticed the kelp wrapped around his tail, and that furthered his suspicions that she wasn't the most wild savvy.

His upper body bunched a little as he emulated a shrug as best he could; he picked the gesture up from his human, but it was definitely harder to pull off without arms and shoulders. "Fair enough. Though the ocean definitely can hide a lot from what I've seen. Living and undead." Now that he was fairly certain the dragonair wasn't a threat, he could focus more on his surroundings, and magenta eyes rarely stayed in one place. They lingered on the Dragonair as she spoke, but that was simply the old habit of looking at someone as they spoke rather than anything else.

Sensing that he wasn't aggressive, she coiled up on the seafloor and apologized... for something else, "I'm sorry if am intruding in some sort of territory I'll leave if that's the case." He raised an eyeridge at the apology, but then it occurred to him that many beings, especially Gyarados, could be territorial as hell. Just because he wasn't on a hair trigger didn't mean others weren't. His thoughts went back to Saferi, the strangely colored Huntail, and he knew exactly why the stranger was nervous about that. Then again, he had a feeling that if someone like Saferi had found her, then there wouldn't have been a conversation.

He decided to go ahead and relieve any anxiety on the matter and explained, "Not my turf. I ended up here on accident, actually." If the Dragonair was going to try sticking around, it would be best that she knew about Saferi sooner than later. Considering just how delighted the Huntail was with just him, Aqua, and Bell, he was mildly concerned about her reaction to another tresppasser. Though considering their plans for later in the day, having an extra body might be useful... Well, better not get ahead of himself there; depending on what the Dragonair wanted or needed, she might not want anything to do with their plans.

The Dragonair pointed the end of her tail up, the orbs catching a few rays of light and turning into prisms, and she spoke, "I couldn't help but notice the city or was a city above and the overturned ship near by as I was traveling over. I hoped to find shelter, rest, survivors, and supply. I've come from Blackthorn in Johto." Thorn could tell she was fishing for some information, but his eyes lit up in recognition at the town name. The place was bittersweet for many reasons, but he also couldn't help but remember the fear his small trainer had experienced there. The fear wasn't because of the large dragon Pokemon, but because of a human. He snapped back to attention as the Dragonair floated up a little so that she was eye level with him and smiled as she greeted,  "Amitiel, pleasure to have found someone else."

Oh boy, there was a lot of stuff to go through, where to start... Well, names were never bad, and she did finally introduce herself. "I'm Thorn," he began and smiled back to hopefully ease her nerves. "I'm from the Lake of Rage, it's near... some town named after a tree... M... Ma... Mahogany!" He fumbled with his words for a moment, and suddenly announced the name of the town when he finally remembered it. "My trainer took me through Blackthorn, but we didn't really stay there for too long." He didn't think it was necessary to mention why, and he wasn't sure how proud the dragon was and mentioning how they got the badge there might be a sore spot or something. Though, if he was being honest with himself, if she asked, he probably would not hide it. The badge was hard to earn, but it had been an exciting fight.

Now... it was time to get down to business since it seemed the Dragonair might be desperate for company, and he wanted to make sure she knew what she was getting into. "Anyway... I'm not exactly alone... There is a Huntail that claims part of the waters around here, but I'm not sure how far out her territory reaches. She's putting up with me and a few others at the moment, and it's mostly because we can do something for her. If you want to stick around, it'd be best if you... offer to help. Otherwise, she might chase you off." Realizing how bad that could sound, he tried to explain, "Some infected... Phione? Weird little water fairy things, have taken over the sunken ship where Saferi was living, and she wants them out. I can take you to her if you want to help, but if you don't want to get involved, I wouldn't blame you."

"I'm Thorn," he had given a name though a rather strange name of a red rose Thorn. Her face lucky was already pink as the pinkish smear running across her nose, he sure looked like a wild red rose. Falling into a poor excuse of imaginary fantasy, before pulling herself out with s shake of her head. Best not to make him angry with such a silly thought. "I'm from the Lake of Rage, it's near... some town named after a tree... M... Ma... Mahogany!" he names a town, she's not exactly familiar with not being local. Though Lake of rage didn't really sound all that friendly, but neither did the Dragon Den. Maybe he would understand her plight of trying to protect home. "My trainer took me through Blackthorn, but we didn't really stay there for too long." She tilts her head at that comment then, " Sorry if prodding, again but would I guess be accurate at the gym battle at the gym. Did you ever get to see the Dragon Den behind the gym, that's my home" as her words seem to float at the word home. Lifting her head then.

"Anyway... I'm not exactly alone... There is a Huntail that claims part of the waters around here, but I'm not sure how far out her territory reaches. She's putting up with me and a few others at the moment, and it's mostly because we can do something for her. If you want to stick around, it'd be best if you... offer to help. Otherwise, she might chase you off." Going a little stiff at the additional information of what was going on, how to make herself useful to these Pokemon she hasn't met. Looking back up at the ripple above them both. "Some infected... Phione? Weird little water fairy things, have taken over the sunken ship where Saferi was living, and she wants them out. I can take you to her if you want to help, but if you don't want to get involved, I wouldn't blame you." He seemed truthful enough as didn't seem to push her away himself, her gaze fell back down to meet his eyes for a second. " I can't really say I know what a Phione is but if it's a water type I think I know what I can do to help" following a small snapping crackle of her thunderwave in a small area around her tail as the jewels light up just like small orbs of lightning.

Before she looked over, calmly a little more collected and sure of herself as she started out. " So the huntail Saferi is chasing something out of her home. I can empathize with that on a personal means" her thoughts drift a little before pulling back. " I would like to stay and help with this cause as much as I can" letting herself drifting on the tiny currents before looking up, raising up a little. " Maybe I can help save another home" before making her way to the surface. Tipping her head just barely over the water surface and looked around as much as she could before bringing the rest of her head up taking a breath. Thinking quietly to herself, looking over to the docks or what was left of docks as she flicked her ear. Sending a spray of some water to the size, they would take a little time to dry now. Before letting the rest of her serpent body come to the surface and float, the tail coming into view as she looked at the etchings. Before looking down to see if Thorn was going to follow her up or not.

Chesire watched. Watched as they moved about the room, crashing metal cans into one another to create loud, startling noises. They were doing this on purpose. They never wanted him to find Alice. The deceitful pair seem oblivious as he continues to stalk them. His bony frame weaving through and around fallen chairs and tables closer to them with Alice no longer in sight. "Why did you scare her? Scare Alice away?" He growls, her thoughts bubbling forth as spoken words.

The faces of the floatzel and the poliwag were no longer kind nor innocent. They were wrapped, twisted as if from a dream. Their smiles stretched too far, fake over their muzzles and their eyes seemed entirely too small from their heads. Like soulless beads stitched into place. "Chesire sees now! See what you are." His purpled lips slip away from sharp, decaying teeth, his pupils pinning in anger. "Where have you taken Alice?! Tell Chesire! Patchy fur lifts along his spine as he advances slowly on the pair. Out-numbered, but determined.

"Don't lie!" He all but spits out at an imagined slight, his eyes glossy with a different reality. Louder snarls escape the canine at every movement the pair make. "Chesure will make you tell the truth."

The Poliwag gives her spine a stretch and readies herself for the long walk ahead of them. "Me too, let's get heading back and have ourselves breakfast, okay?" With a small acknowledging nod Bell cringes at the sight of Aqua struggling under the weight of the cans. Guiltily she suggests, "Do you want me to carry some, Miss Aqua?" It would be wrong to make her do all the work.. even if she didn't have arms. She didn't ask for help though. Did that make it right? "Why did you scare her? Scare Alice away?" A cold feeling seeps through her body at the Glaceon's words. "I didn't scare her! M-miss Alice wasn't here." She admits with a hint of fear in her voice. Why was he so angry..? They hadn't found Alice yet but they would. They would so he didn't have to be mad!

The Glaceon shows his teeth, growling loudly as he slowly approaches. "Chesire sees now! See what you are. Where have you taken Alice?! Tell Chesire! With an audible whimper the child scoots close behind Aqua's leg, her flat tail wrapping tightly around her body. What was wrong with him? He was acting like.. like.. The monsters.. All the mean Pokemon that would lash out at her did this. But he's a friend! Nausea crawls in the pit of her stomach. Mr. Chesire wasn't like that. He wouldn't hurt them.. Her lips shake as she snivels, "We didn't do anything!!" With a hick her pulse quickens and her eyes gloss over as sobs break into her breath.

"Don't lie!" He barks harshly, a crazed look in his red eye, "Chesire will make you tell the truth." Make? Bell's eyes are wide and shimmer with fear. "Miss Aqua Im scared.." she whines, tears creeping from the corners of her eyes as she presses closer behind the Floatzel. "M-make him sto-op.."

Aqua jolts upright as the growl erupts from behind her. The cans in her grasp jostling about at the sudden motion. Even before the glaceon speaks, Aqua can tell they are in trouble. This is how it always happened. Why had she trusted him?? It was suppose to be quick, grab food and run back to the ocean, to safety. Now they were trapped. She can feel Bell moving to stand behind her, whimpering as she does. "Come on now. Mr. Chesire. We searched this whole room your lady friend isn't here. She might be--" "Don't lie!" He screams, cutting off any further attempt to reason her way out of this.

The closer he advances, the better look she gets of his eyes. Bleak, gone. What was he even seeing? Was he once a nice 'mon? A caring loyal friend? At this moment, it didn't matter. Summoning up the pieces of her courage, she inhales. Power rising within her, a heat in her stomach that erupts forth from her mouth straight at the undead. The jet of water shimmering with heat, leaving a thin veil of steam in its trajectory. "Run!" She screams, praying she bought them enough time she sprints towards the door, making sure to usher Bell on ahead of her before making an exit of her own.

"Quickly! The ice might still be intact, or look for anything you can fit out of! I will be right behind you!"

"Sorry if prodding, again but would I guess be accurate at the gym battle at the gym. Did you ever get to see the Dragon Den behind the gym, that's my home," Amitiel informed. He tried to remember which parts of Blackthorn he had actually seen other than the gym, and he seemed to recall a cave that was blocked off from non dragon tamers. Since Lynn wasn't a dragon specialist, she didn't bother trying to get in, but apparently she had managed to impress one of the local Dratini when she earned her badge. That Dratini was Integra. She hadn't immediately joined the team, but when she finally did, Lynn had relied on him to help train the Dratini. They were so proud when she evolved, and if he remembered correctly, she was close to evolving again before the Epidemic.

He couldn't help a note of pride as he nodded as he affirmed, "Yeah... We went and took the gym challenge there. It was a tough fight, but we pulled through in the end." He added, "That's also where my trainer caught a Dratini. Not the Den itself, but in the town. Integra never mentioned if she came from the Den or if she was simply a wild one that stayed around town...' He drifted off in thought and his eyes looked distant as he reminisced. Wow... things had been so different before that town... They had just been training near the edge of town at first.. It was one of the first times he had seen someone he counted as a friend die, and was also the first time he had seen the depths of his trainer's emotions. He also remembered how she pulled together so that she could take the gym on regardless of her feelings. He shook his head to pull his thoughts back to the present as the shiny Dragonair spoke.

In response to his run down of the situation, Amitiel said, "I can't really say I know what a Phione is but if it's a water type I think I know what I can do to help. So the huntail Saferi is chasing something out of her home. I can empathize with that on a personal means. I would like to stay and help with this cause as much as I can. Maybe I can help save another home." She lifted up her tail, and the gems on the end glowed a bright yellow as they discharged an electrical current. At the sight of the electrical attack, the Gyarados flinched instinctively and used his tail to shove the rest of him away from the Dragonair. He wasn't going to take a chance that the current could carry towards him. He had gotten in the way of Omar's attacks before, and he knew better than to get close to electricity. Several trainers had also brought their electric types to catch Pokemon at his lake, and there had been many Pokemon caught in the crossfire of electric attacks thrown willy nilly. This was the final confirmation for what he needed to know about her. This was definitely someone not used to being in the wild.

"Hey! Be careful with that," He reprimanded sharply as he felt the need to make sure she knew how dangerous that could be. Then, feeling bad that he had let his fear and anger take over, he inhaled deeply before explaining more calmly, "I'm sure that will be useful, but you have to be careful about that stuff underwater. Electricity sometimes just goes everywhere instead of doing what you want it to. When humans came to my lake, a lot of them had electric types, and you wouldn't believe how much extra damage there was. The attacks would go and hit more than what they were aiming for. It was kinda funny when they accidentally hit themselves or their friends though, not gonna lie." He ended the story with a laugh.

When Amitiel floated up to the surface of the water, she looked down at him, as if waiting for him to show her the way. Looks like they had some more help. He then mentally debated about where he wanted to take her. Should they go to the cave where they're supposed to meet with everyone else or directly to Saferi? The Huntail had seemed agitated about something in the river, but she hadn't asked Thorn for any assistance in whatever she did. He wasn't even sure if she was still there, now that he thought about it, so he decided to head to the meeting place. He wondered if Bell and Aqua were there yet, and he hoped their trip to the surface had been successful. Using his tail to lever himself off the ground, he floated under the water. "You do what you want, but I'm gonna stay under the water. I kinda stick out too much for my liking on the surface." The shiny Gyarados then began swimming, and after looking around, he explained, "We're looking for a coral trench that's in this direction. Once we find it, we can get a little closer to the mainland, and find an underwater cave. That's where I'm supposed to meet back up with my group. If you look hard enough while we're passing by the trench, you might be able to find where I crashed after getting the hell away from the Phione." His friendly nature was shining through in his tone, and he hoped she hadn't been too put off by his earlier admonishment.

"Hey! Be careful with that," Looking down at him as she seemly startled him, not seeing what she had done wrong before thinking about it harder. Feeling stupid having not thought ahead she coiled up on the water surface a little tighter."I'm sure that will be useful, but you have to be careful about that stuff underwater. Electricity sometimes just goes everywhere instead of doing what you want it to. When humans came to my lake, a lot of them had electric types, and you wouldn't believe how much extra damage there was. The attacks would go and hit more than what they were aiming for. It was kinda funny when they accidentally hit themselves or their friends though, not gonna lie." He was right she wasn't thinking she would have to tell him sorryif he came up.

As he drifts up the red becoming more clear in the water, "You do what you want, but I'm gonna stay under the water. I kinda stick out too much for my liking on the surface." Again a far point that she once again had a dits second not thinking. It was proving hard to think when such a marvalus creature was around now."We're looking for a coral trench that's in this direction. Once we find it, we can get a little closer to the mainland, and find an underwater cave. That's where I'm supposed to meet back up with my group. If you look hard enough while we're passing by the trench, you might be able to find where I crashed after getting the hell away from the Phione." She smiles as she dipped back under the water surface and followed behind him causing little to no water ripple. Catching up with a serpent gliding, smaller and more light in the water. Her lack of fins or spikes making her much smoother. Nodding her head as she followed suit just behind him to his statements.

(( Can't think of anything so just following the lovely Thron. ))

As he advances on the pair, he registers the lips of the weasel moving. The smaller child moving behind the older for protection, they frantic way they spoke. None of it mattered. Desperate lies of a pokemon who's been caught! Looking between them with wild eyes, he sizes them up as they attempt to talk him down. Chesire opens his mouth, inhaling, filling his lungs with an icy breath and as he is about to exhale something catches his eye. A flash of movement and light--more accurately, a reflection hazy with steam then the world is on fire. More accurately, his head is.

The glaceon rears back on hind legs, letting loose a bloodcurdling scream as delicate flesh is burned, melted away from his face and shoulders. His vision blurs from smoke as he loses his balance and topples sideways, rolling onto the ground in an attempt to rid his coat of whatever it is that is burning him. He tosses his way and that, gets back to his paws and shakes out what remains of his fur, his chest heaving with ragged, pained breaths. "Chesire will kill you!!" He screams hoarsely, charging half-blind in the direction of the door.

His form connects with the wooden frame, the sudden impact causing a jolt of pain to rocket through him. A foreign sensation that causes him to let loose another screech. Behind him, several human objects fall from their respective places on top of counters and cabinets alike and a dark smear is left where he connected with the door frame. "Cannot run!" Chesire howls, taking several staggering steps backs as his vision finally begins to clear. "Alice! Where is Alice?!"

Aqua's breathing hitches. From behind her and Bell, she can hear Chesire hitting the door frame, having charged them in a blind rage. "Keep going!" She encourages while mustering her courage to take a step backward towards the undead to close the door they just stepped out of. Arceus, please let it hold! From the other side, she can hear further howls and screams. "Cannot run!" She hears clearly from the glaceon as she takes off the way they entered. "Alice! Where is Alice?!"

Racing down the nearest aisle, Aqua can see the still-standing silhouette of the ice slide they used to get inside. However, the closer she comes, the further her heart sinks. The icy slide is dripping terribly. The warm weather clearly having worked away much of the structural integrity. The slide now stood in a puddle of its melted self. Desperate, Aqua climbs onto it, using the boxes she originally fell onto coming in as step stools. The ice is slick, a thick layer of water threatens to throw the floatzel from the structure the second she steps onto it. It was never made to last... she confirms to herself. And it shows.

As if to affirm her point, small cracking noises sound from below her. Cautiously moving her feet to the side to observe reveal hairline cracks forming under her claws. Another second passes before the cracks splinter again, expanding and growing. "The slide is brittler than glass! We gotta find another way!" She calls out, leaping off of the icy slide just as the edge collapses from the pressure.