(ACE) The LAVERRE Team

Being so close to the other ghost meant that it was harder to dodge attacks. Kaneki knew this, but still he knew this thing had to be taken down. Kaneki snarled, his tails lashing as he lunged at the marowak to try and get his damned claws on the fucker. As soon as he could make contact, then this fight would be over. He needed his fangs in this bastards throat, to watch the life drain out of those eyes and to feel the struggle as their body slowly weakened under the spectreon's body. Kaneki's eyes widened and pupils thinend to slits, spurred on by the thrill of the kill.

His reckless approach however meant he was prime for being hit. Kaneki let out a feral yowl as a shaow ball impacted into his side, sending the ghost sprawling across the ground. He rolled once, twice, three times before he could get his feet under him, claws scraping across the ground as he launched himself forward again, not wanting to leave himself on the ground for long. This motherfucker would not be the end of him, Kaneki would make sure of that. Adrenaline surged through his system to shove away the pain of the attack, though later he knew he would be hurting from that shadow ball.

The damned fucking laugh of this marowak was quickly getting on Kaneki's nerves. He didn't like anyone who felt so self important in themselves that they could laugh when fighting someone, but this bastard just rubbed him raw anyway with his stupid way of talking. ”That Charizard’s hesitation might have kept him from being killed upon initiation. Regardless of that hesitation, he’s after all a freak and his purple scales makes him unfit for life.” Kaneki snorted and lunged himself at the marowak again,determined to feel the damned things blood underneath his paws.

He could see those other shadow balls being formed, and this time he was being more wary. He wasn't a fool, that attack that'd hit him earlier had hurt, and he wasn't in any hurry to get hit again. Still, had to attack, if he didn't, if he failed to protect Hide and the others, then this thing would get to them too. The image of Alirah and Plant slided apart by this thing's scythe filtered through his mind and Kaneki's stomach dropped. No. I refuse to let that happen. He thought, lips pulled back in a snarl as he lunged for the other ghost again with a shadow ball of his own to counter the ones he was charging up.

The other ghost was focused on Shadow now, something that Kaneki took full advantage of once he saw the distraction. He lunged for the marowak and fired off his shadow ball to cover his approach, his long tails and white smoke whipping about like wildfire. ”Come then purple demon, let me harvest your soul for its power.” God, did this guy ever shut up? It was like he loved the sound of his own damned voice! Kaneki hissed, ready to lunge for the ghost when he was forced to skid to a hald when Shadow's hulking ass suddenly charged in front of him with a roar of anger.

"You have no honor in your heart or soul. Resorting to calling me something of my color..... YOU WILL PAY!" Planting his feet hard into the mud and the dirt, Kaneki skidded to a halt, snorting out a growl as he watched Shadow attack the marowak with reckless abandon. That dumb fool, he'd end up getting himself injured doing that! Kaneki watched Shadow attack as he tried to find an opening to get in and attack without getting in the way of the hulking fire type's attacks.

Damn it... this was much harder than he expected. Kaneki growled, before stalking around to try and attack the other ghost from the back. With Shadow keeping him distracted on dodging his attacks, that meant Kaneki would have an easier time attacking from the back. He charged up a shadow ball of his own and shot it at the marowak's back, before charging forwards to lunge himself at the other ghost. He was determined to get his fucking claws into this guy.

---

Hide's mind was spiralling, and his brows were furrowed as he thought. He shouldn't have left Kaneki there alone, he knew how he got when he was in a fight. What if he acted too rashly? What if he got hurt, what if Shadow got him hurt? Kaneki wasn't used to fighting with other people around, and sure the spectreon was smart, but he didn't know how to work around someone who was impulsive as Shadow seemed to be. Hide frowned, his ears twisting back to show his nervousness. Damn it... I should've gone with him. He thought to himself, though a brief glance at Alirah made him sigh softly.

No, he had to stay with these guys. He wouldn't leave Alirah with the kids alone. Kaneki needed to have the peace of mind that he was safe to fight properly, and Hide knew that. He knew that if he was worried about his beau, Kaneki wouldn't be able to fight at 100%.

But he still didn't like it.

“I’m so glad I haven’t had a chance to see it, I probably would’ve fainted,” an ear twitched at Alirah's voice and he was pulled from his thoughts at her comment, stifling a little chuckle as he smiled at her joke. “Thank you, Hide.” He put on his brave face for her sake, pushing his thoughts to the side for now. He didn't have the time to be worried about Kaneki, he had to be cheery for Alirah and the others! They needed some sense of normalcy here, especially after that nightmare of a sprint from their old shelter.

If that meant his own concerns had to be put to the wayside, so be it. Hide wouldn't let himself be the reason their already low morale got lower. He had to keep boosting the others up! He was the sunshine of the group after all, someone had to conteract Kaneki's gloomy nature, and Hide knew how to do that better than anyone considering how long he'd lived with the spectreon. He could deal with his own worsening thoughts later, once they were out of the fire and were settled further.

"Those Pokemon- that Pokemon wasn't a friend!" Plant's stressed voice pulled Hide's chocolate eyes over to the poor kid, and he couldn't help the nagging thought in he back of his mind that returned with a vengeance. He's right. There's no guarantee that these newcomers are friendly. They could be just as dangerous as the psycho Kaneki is fighting right now. He frowned, ears tiwtching as Plant continued his stressed protests, "these ones could be bad too!" Hide shook his head, paws coming up to tap a few times at his orange furred cheeks, eyes closing. He opened them after a moment and flashed Plant a winning smile.

"Hey, hey, easy bud. Even if it turns out they aren't friendly, we'll figure something out, okay? Just take a breath, Plant, it'll be okay." He said soothingly, tail wagging slowly as he looked back over at Alirah after a moment, turning to follow after her as the umbreon led them further into the building. Hide's hackles prickled up a little as they wandered in, a shock rolling up his spine that made him shudder and shake his head quickly to chase away the feeling. Ugh. This place gave him the creeps...

It seemed Plant shared his sentiments. "I don't like this place." He hummed his agreement to Plant's soft whine, dropping back a little so that he could walk beside the little grass type. His short claws tapped on the floor as he walked, huffing out a low breath. "Its... unwelcoming." Well, he sure as hell wasn't wrong. The stone walls, and creept looking carts everywhere were... unsettling to say the least. Still... he'd seen far more decrepit places in his travels with Kaneki.

"Lets hope that the creepy factor keeps everyone else away from here, huh?" Hide joked with a chuckle, shaking his body out again and rubbing behind his neck under the blue metal around his neck. Still, he kept an eye out as they walked further in, keeping his eyes on the bright form of Alirah ahead of them. At least it'd be near impossible to miss her in the dark here.

“Maybe they were humans, or even the Factory employees,” her pondering brought Hide's attention to the cots and other various beds around them, humming himself at the thought. Possibly... the flicking of pages got his attention and he looked over as Alirah flicked through the pages of a magazine, tripping over a piece of metal once he realized what he was looking at. Hide barked out a sharp laugh and then immediately covered his muzzle with a hand to stifle the rest of his immature giggling.

Kicking at the nude magazine with his foot to close it again, Hide tried and failed horribly to stifle his giggling, looking away from where he'd kicked the magazine underneath a cot. "Snrk-- Well, I'm sure no pokemon would be looking at stuff like that. So--" he paused to snicker again-- "I think that worker idea isn't too far off, Alirah."

The air was undeniably heavy—

A thick must clung to the damp air within the factory, but it was the uneasy energy shared by all the explorers that really bothered her. There was probably holes in the ceiling, which was why the air was so wet… mosture from the storm seeped in perhaps? So on top of being super creepy, it was also a fixer-upper…

"I don't like this place." Plant commented with a soft mewl. "Its... unwelcoming."
Alirah spoke softly, a soft trace of guilt on her voice for even suggesting this spooky place. “I agree. We won’t be here forever though, maybe we can find some place more fun soon. Maybe it’ll even have electricity,” she offered in a desperate bid to ease the child’s mind.
"Lets hope that the creepy factor keeps everyone else away from here, huh?"

Alirah smiled at Hide’s playful offering, sharing in the much needed laugh at such an uncomfortable moment. “For sure. Maybe we can spread rumors that it’s haunted to really deter guests.”

The yucky human magazine caught the mischievous Riolu’s attention, to her dismay. She really hoped Hide didn’t think she was into— "Snrk-- Well, I'm sure no pokemon would be looking at stuff like that. So--" His speech came to an abrupt halt as he barked out another laugh. "I think that worker idea isn't too far off, Alirah."

She smiled sagely at Hide’s praise. “I’m always surprised when I find humans. You’d never expect them to make it this far without any special powers,” she said with a flat tone that suggested her mind was elsewhere. “I hope Grimsley is okay…”

Her eyes wandered blankly around the spooky dark factory until her eyes fell on a distant shadow. Absent-mindedly she moved on past the shape and— wait. Wait, wait.

“Hide!” She whispered urgently.
Her eyes traced the area the shadow resided in moments before only to find it missing. Her breath quickened nervously as she searched for the small, large eared shape. “Something was just th-there…”

Conan walked over to Alirah as he was worried that Shadow and Kaneki would get hurt or worse. When he walked over to her, his legs was shaking a bit from being scared still. “Something was just th-there…” The eevee looked to where Alirah was looking. Was it a spooky ghost that she seen? Whatever she seen, it sounded like the factory wasn't empty entirely. Maybe someone had hid inside from the bad guys who attacked the boutique. Hopefully they're friendly. For the mean time, Conan would stay close to Alirah and try to be safe and close enough to follow behind if they had to run away.

(Skip; Plant is stressed, remains close to the others, and does as told.)

As Shadow continued to attack, he noticed the marowak dodging his attacks but he didn’t notice Kaneki moving into a position that would give him the advantage. A charizard like Shadow would never let a fiend like this Marowak go without feeling pain. Calling him a purple demon? It was enough to make Shadow break the rule he once held onto. Once the attack from Kaneki connected with Death, Shadow’s attacks connected dealing two hits as well. They had Death now in a pincer attack formation. What was close by was the scythe, they can’t allow Death to get ahold of it again otherwise it might cut off Shadow from going on the attack. ”Fiend…. no, you’re a demon. You won’t be leaving unscathed!” The charizard nods to Kaneki. It was time to show this Marowak what they’re both capable of.

The marowak's first mistake was not paying attention to Kaneki. The spectreon watched and waited for his chance to jump in and attack, stepping back and making sure to jump away from the chance of getting hit by friendly fire. "Hahahahaha!" Kaneki's lip curled into a snarl as the other ghost laughed at them, his twin tails lashing as he got ready to spring into action. Eventually he'd slip up, and Kaneki would get his chance to attack.

His shadow ball that he'd thrown before to get Death's attack off Shadow connected and Kaneki felt a sick satisfaction as the other ghost finally seemed to realize that he'd made an error. "Damn you!" With the marowak distracted, Kaneki watched and waited for his chance to strike, stalking around the two of them as Shadow whaled on the other ghost, keeping him in a retreat away from his weapon and further into their clutches.

”Fiend…. no, you’re a demon. You won’t be leaving unscathed!” Shadow's call brieflly got Kaneki's attention, and when the ditraction was offered, then spectreon took it immediately. With Death distracted, this was his only window of opportunity that he'd get for now, and the ghost was not about to pass that up. He braced his paws against the ground and then charged forwards with a feral snarl. He wnated to sink his fucking teeth into this damned ashsole's flesh and he wanted to see him bleed.

With a dangerous hiss, Kaneki lept at Death, originally intending to sink his fangs into the other ghost's throat. His teeth however instead sank deep into the ghost's arm as they blocked his inital attack. Still, the iron taste of blood splashed on his tongue and across his face, pupils contracting into slits that made the ghost look almost crazed. Finally. He thought, biting down hard so that he wouldn't be shaken off the marowak's arm.

Snaking his body around to dig all four clawed paws into the ghost he'd latched onto, Kaneki started to kick his feet and dip his claws through flesh, all the while ripping his head side to side to savage the limb he'd clung to. Even if the fucker didn't die, there was no way he would get out of this encounter unscathed. He's not going to get out. I'll kill him, I'll kill him-- Kaneki's eyes widened further in unhinged glee as he let go of the ghost's arm with his teeth, only to latch on again, further up this time to sink his fangs in deeper.

At that moment, the only thing that Kaneki was interested in was making sure that this fucker ended up a corpse once hew as done with him. If he was dead, he'd never be a threat ever again. He would make it his personal mission to make this foolish mistake the last one this marowak would ever make. He chose the wrong group to attack, and Kaneki would make sure he learned that the hard way.

---

It was incredibly must in this factory, the air was damp and the place smelled mostly unused. Still, there was an underlying sent that had Hide on edge, his nose lifted a little as he looked around. He couldn't tell where it was coming from... he didn't have the time to search for auras right now either. He had to focus on keeping Alirah and the others safe, searching for auras would leave him defenseless while he looked. Hide's muzzle pursed in a tight frown, chocolate eyes looking around the old cots and discarded magazines on the ground.

“For sure. Maybe we can spread rumors that it’s haunted to really deter guests.” He snorted softly, letting out a gentle chuckle at the idea. Considering he beau, perhaps the haunted status wouldn't be too far off. Kaneki was viciously protective of people he cared for after all, and he was a ghost. The riolu hummed, reaching his hand up to his neck, to the broken headphones that he always wore. The everstones embedded in the band were a constant source of contention with Hide, something he always thought about.

If I was evolved, would we have had more chance against those attackers? He thought, taking the headphones off from around his neck to look down at the bright orange plastic and ran his thumbs over the rough stones embedded into the headband. His eyes lidded a little, tail falling down a little as he let himself fall into his thoughts. I could have helped more people if I was stronger, right? But... these headphones were a gift. If I got rid of them long enough to evolve, what would Kaneki think? What if I just dug the stones out? He thought to himself, reaching a paw to tap at one of the stones, trying to see if it would wiggle about or budge.

There was a bit of give to it, something that Hide was sure if he messed with it enough, he could probably dislodge the little stones that were stuck in the headband. He sighed, resigning to mess with that more when they all had a chance to really settle down and stop moving. He didn't have time to mess with it right now. Hide placed the headset back around his neck, before tapping his furry cheeks with his palms a few times, blinking rapidly and plastering a cheery grin back onto his face.

No use thinking about that now! They needed him to be the comedic, cheery goof to help this tense situation!

“I’m always surprised when I find humans. You’d never expect them to make it this far without any special powers,” he hummed as he tuned back into what Alirah was saying, trotting up to catch up with her, walking by her side. “I hope Grimsley is okay…” His ear twitched as he thought about the eccentric trainer that'd spent some time with them. Hide then thought about his powerful cat that'd been with him, gently nudging Alirah's side.

"Don't worry too much about him, Ali. He had that cute liepard with him, remember? I think he'll be just fine out there." He said, giving her a reassuring smile. He was also worried about the eclectic human, but he was sure that he would be fine; he didn't seem stupid after all.

“Hide!” The riolu froze at the hushed, stressed tone in Alirah's voice, his goofy smile dropping and ears perked high on alert. He planted his feet solidly on the ground, keeping himself between the kids and whatever Alirah had spotted. He followed her gaze to a shadowed area, peering around with a slightly narrowed gaze. “Something was just th-there…”

Something? He nodded tensely, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. The aura sensors on his head lifted a little, and he threw his senses out to see what was around them. It couldn't have gone that far, right? He could sense their little group, and Hide's brows furrowed, placing one paw out in the air, while the other crossed over to grip at his forearm. With a deep breath that he slowly let out to calm his mind, he threw his senses out further. He could sense the whole factory this way...

"There's... another aura here," he murmured back, though his eyes didn't open, "small, I don't think it's a threat. Maybe something young? It's alive, at least. Not infected or undead." He said, finally letting his senses drop, opening his eyes. He reached his paw up to rub at his temples, shaking his head to chase away the throbbing headache that was forming. "I believe you that there was something there. It could be someone else using this place as sanctuary... their aura was young though, a child..?" He thought aloud, glancing down at Alirah after a moment, watching what her reaction would be to what he found.

Alirah swallowed hard with tense energy flooding through her veins.

Hide responded with genuine concern at the Umbreon’s statement and while ‘oh, you’re just seeing things,’ wouldn’t have been necessarily flattering, she would’ve definitely preferred that instead of her friend’s anxieties fueling her own.

She observed the Riolu shift into what she could only describe as a focused stance as he raised a single paw in front of him and the aura detectors lifting a bit. His eyes were tightly shut and only then did she realize what her friend was doing.
"There's... another aura here," Hide confirmed to her dismay. "small, I don't think it's a threat. Maybe something young? It's alive, at least. Not infected or undead."
Her friend opened his eyes once more and painfully rubbed at his temples following what Alirah found to be an incredible feat.
"I believe you that there was something there. It could be someone else using this place as sanctuary... their aura was young though, a child..?"

“Another child?” She parroted, confused. What a horrible place for so many children to end up… “We’ve got to help them.” Alirah said urgently. What if they got outside and ran into that thing Kaneki and Shadow were fighting?! Or worse!

Her instincts were telling her to dart off immediately in search of the youngster but every logical part of her screamed louder that she needed to be careful. She took in a steady breath and steeled her nerves. “Let’s see there they went.”

Silence filled her ears and deafened her at the same time. The factory stirred a profound unease in the Umbreon and before she knew it, she’d begun humming quietly to herself so at least there was some kind of sound.
The location the shadow had previously occupied carried a light but familiar scent to the female. It felt… off. Like a song with the pitch changed. She knew this scent somehow but yet also didn’t and it intrigued her.

Out of nowhere the intense silence was again broken but this time by the loud, metallic clanking of something falling from one of the elevated walkways. It clunk once, twice, three times before finally hitting the floor and settling there. “Don’t run!” Alirah called. “We’re here to help you!” Again, silence.

Alirah sighed loudly and turned to Hide. “Maybe chasing is a bad idea. If they’re scared, of course they’ll run…” She brought a paw up to her chin in thought. “Maybe… maybe if we played a game, they’d join in? Hide and seek?”

"Lets hope that the creepy factor keeps everyone else away from here, huh?" Hide encouraged him, his cheeky smile reassuring though it did little to soothe the child's misgivings. Even though nothing had immediately jumped out at them the tingle along his spine certainly felt like something should. The others walked forward, investigating the more familiar looking human objects before snickering at one and kicking it away. Tipping his nose to the floor and looking up toward the others the Snivy did not see or understand what was funny in the magazine, but the snark was a welcome distraction for a few moments.

But only a few moments did it last. With his eyes angled up Plant cautiously looked around. The cold metal factory was no more friendly, but with a brave face he settled himself to take it in. The silvery grey color vaguely reminded him of his abandoned home, though the hue was wrong and rust starkly replaced the missing pewter color. Was this really a place living creatures frequented at one point? Nothing about it seemed right for an extended stay, but before he could even let out a heavy sigh his body stiffened at a fervent whisper, “Hide!”

He didn't need to be told twice, and with darting steps ran back to the others sides and behind cover. Whatever it was, he did not see or hear it, and he never considered questioning the warning. “Something was just th-there…” Ali says quickly, the tension fast to choke her voice. With his mind running wild the small child could only picture a monster, something big, frightening, with large claws, spikes.. flames... The shakes came back, bad memories of past monsters and killers creeping in. Was something like that here, in their last place of refuge? "There's... another aura here, small, I don't think it's a threat. Maybe something young? It's alive, at least. Not infected or undead." Hide's focused but calm voice broke through his rising panic, the difference between thought and reality enough to overwhelm him as his tiny mouth parted. Someone else... living in a solemn grey world?

“Another child? We’ve got to help them.” Ali was quick to take charge, the fear of a looming monster seemingly no longer a possibility. Plant was in a daze, like the world was spinning at the thought of a kid living here. Where they.. raised by metal where he was raised by trees...? Feet moving on their own he stumbled after Alirah, wanting to find this Pokemon just as much as her as they started a search.

With careful steps the Pokemon listened and scanned. Plant's senses were primed, spreading to the space around him in a faux memory of how he moved back home. This place.. it had to have natural paths and routes a Pokemon would take if they lived here. Staying relatively close to Ali he peaked and looked around, for something they were missing, for some place he would travel in here, but the cold factory refused to give up its secrets just yet. The clattering sound of something falling made his body cease, but hope fluttered knowing they had a direction to work with. Yet as he looked at Ali and heard her call the child realized they were not making progress at befriending this unknown being. “Don’t run! We’re here to help you!”

Rubbing his hands together the child looked to the ground. Would he have believed that? Probably. It felt like a lifetime ago that he was living carefree in Pewter.. and his ignorance would have sent him barrelling toward any new Pokemon. If this one was more cautious, more like he was now.. no, he would remain hidden as well. "Friends!" He called out as well, heart on his sleeve with the earnest word. “Maybe… maybe if we played a game, they’d join in? Hide and seek?” The Umbreon suggests, and again Plant thought of himself first. The idea of such a game in this place was unnerving, but for someone living here [and a game in general] perhaps it was the key they needed. "I can find a good hiding spot!" The Snivy squeals, purposefully raising his voice a touch.

Shadow stopped from attacking once he seen Kaneki latch onto Death’s arm. This wasn’t exactly what he meant by unscathed. Seeing that look in Kaneki’s eyes had screamed anger and this had to stop. Without second thought, Shadow grabs ahold of Kaneki and starts pulling him away slowly to not agitate him further. Mostly, because he didn’t want the kids seeing Kaneki covered with blood. It would likely make them afraid but even then, Shadow was no stranger to seeing blood and gore. Its a battlefield after all and it was either life, death or being a walking corpse. The Charizard hated the idea of letting their potential killer go but it was for the kids’ sake. “Kaneki, Its not worth it! Despite him being a demon, he’s mortal like the rest of us.” Mortal, a word that had meaning once. A meaning back when there wasn't any undead or crazed pokemon. Now though, things wasn't so bright anymore. Each day was a fight for life. Everyone had a target on their back when it came to the undead. Now it was a fight between living pokemon except one had murderous vibes. Still, he wasn't going to kill Death but that wound would be a reminder that they'll defend themselves.

He missed this feeling, the power trip that came with knowing that whoever he had his fangs into was breaking their last. Kaneki let out a muffled cackle around the flesh in his mouth, his eyes wide and pupils thinned slits. If this marowak thought that he was the top dog here, that he was the thing to be scaed for, Kaneki would show him how fucking wrong he was. Kaneki was not going to let go until this fucker was dead on the ground. He threatened his found family, and Kaneki would not be letting him go.

No one fucked with his family, no one threatened Kaneki's friends. He would protect them until he dropped, no amount of injury would stop him.

I'll kill him, I'll kill him, I'll kill him, he's dead-- Kaneki's thoughts were spiralling, his tails starting to crackle like a wildfire. His red eye blazed in anger, red veins apparent againt the black sclera like it was a bloodied arm. His muzzle was caked with the other ghost's blood, matching the deep red that covered his paws and claws. It was a gruesome scene, one that Kaneki was not a stranger to.

"Release me at once!" He was joking right? There was no way that Kaneki was going to be letting go. Instead all he did was sink his fangs in further, until he felt bone against teeth. He ripepd his head back and forth, claws keeping him velcro'd to the other ghost's body. His tails lashed and flared like live flames, pulling back finally to gasp out an unhinged cackle, tongue swiping over his lips.

"You think I'm letting you leave alive? You picked the wrong person to fuck with, I'm going to kill you." He snarled out, his voice pitched with how he was gasping through his laughter. This fool really thought that Kaneki gave people mercy, the thought was hilarious. "You aren't the demon here, you are nothing. I'm the one you should be scared of." He said, snapping his teeth at the marowak's face, blood and spittle getting on the other ghost's face from the force of his teeth snapping together.

Just as he was about to dnap his teeth back into the other ghost's body, Kaneki was being pulled off. His claws came free with a sick ripping of flesh and he flailed, letting out a feral screech that was akin to a wildcat. Kaneki whirled around in Shadow's grip to fix his livid gaze on the dragon, eyes blazing in unhinged anger and bloodlust.

“Kaneki, Its not worth it! Despite him being a demon, he’s mortal like the rest of us.” What the fuck did that have to do with anything? Kaneki's lip only curled further, twisting and trying to sink his claws into Shadow this time to get him to unhand him. He snarled out and spat at the purple scaled starter, before locking his eyes back on the other ghost, that wild ferocity still shining in his dual colored eyes.

"Let me go, Shadow! That fucker isn't leaving here alive-- you saw what he did, you suggest we leave that alive? Fucking let me go before I gut you as well!" He snarled out, fixing his anger on Shadow now, his lip curled and bloodied teeth on show. "Being mortal doesn't mean shit, it never has. Anyone like that doesn't deserve to breath another fucking breath. If you're too chicken shit to take a life that's your business, but I don't work that way. Now let me go so I can rip his fucking throat out."

Kaneki twisted in Shadow's grip, trying to rip himself free to lunge at the other ghost again. He was so close, and it was just ripped from him! He was so close to feeling that high, feeling the euphoria is gave him when he was the cause for something's death throes. And now he was being denied that. it was maddening.

---

Man, he could already feel his head starting to pound. Hide let out a soft sigh through his nose, rubbing at his temples before shaking his head. He coudl focus on that later. “Another child?” there was a nod from Hide as she parroted what he said, looking back over to where she'd spotted whatever it was. If it was a child, maybe they could coax them out somehow? It had to have been around here for a while, right? Hide frowned, his ear twitching as he thought of a way they could maybe coax them out from wherever they seemed to be hiding.

“We’ve got to help them.” Alirah was right, though. If they were stuck here without anyone, they clearly needed some form of help, right? A child on their own was not a sight Hide wanted to see, especially with how hostile things were outside of the factory here. What if they went out for ood and got caught by whatever those creeps were? He shuddered at the thought of a small child's head on one of those stakes that he and Kaneki had seen coming back.

The thoguht of Kaneki brought his mind back to the topic he'd been hoping to avoid, too. He was worriwed about his beau. it'd been a long time since they'd heard anything from them; were they doing okay? What was going on with them? Was Kaneki injured? Did he go too far and hurt himself? These were all questions that started to fester in Hide's mind, biting his lip and gnawing slightly as he fretted. Of course, he knew that Kaneki was strong, Kaneki was smart. But Kaneki also had a bloodlust that made him react in... unexpected ways sometimes. He acted in a way that was for lack of a better word; scary.

He never used to be like that, of course... but they'd both been through so much. And even now, there were some things that Kaneki hadn't told Hide about yet.

He raised his paws and smacked his cheeks a few times, blinking the thoughts away. No, he had to focus on the now. He had to have faith in Kaneki. He would be fine. “Let’s see there they went.” Hide nodded, moving to follow after Alirah as she started to search through the factory. His footfalls were silent, carefully placed so that he didn't disturb anything around them, his tail held stiff and ears perked high.

It was now that Hide noticed how oddly silent it was here. it'd been so long since he'd heard anything but noise, the silence was almost smothering. Hide's hackles raised a little at the suffocating feeling, and he felt hi throat close up a little, jaw setting firmly. He didn't like silence, it meant something wasn't right. Silence always meant that things were watching, and Hide hated that feeling.

He admittedly jumped when Alirah started to hum, his fur bristling a moment as he fixed his eyes on the sound, only to take a soft breath when he realised who it was. Hide smiled at her, trotting up to walk beside her now, his ear twisted to listen to her tune. After a few moments to figure it out, he started to gently hum along, his soft and lower tone complimenting Alirah's own nicely.

That quickly died down when there was a clatter of pipes and Hide jumped again, this time biting back a curse as he turned to the fallen metal with a scrunched up nose. Jeez, when did he get so jumpy? This wasn't like him... was it because he was still worried about a certain ghost of his? Probably.

“Don’t run! We’re here to help you!” Hide peered up at the catwalk above them where the noise had come from, but unfortunately his eyesight in the dark was nowhere near as good as his dark furred companion's was. He hummed softly, tail giving a thoughtful wag.

At least Plant was also trying to help, calling up at the catwalk, "friends!" Hopefully having someone else so young with them would also encourage them down? Hide kept his fingers crossed, hoping that it did work like that. “Maybe… maybe if we played a game, they’d join in? Hide and seek?” Hide and seek... could work, maybe. Hide hummed, tapping his paw a little. it could certainly work, yeah! If they were as curious as some other kids were, maybe this could be a great way to gert them to relax.

"I can find a good hiding spot!" The riolu grinned at Plant's eagerness to help, looking around. "That could be a good idea. Never hurts to try, right? And even if it doesn't work right away, getting some fun in never hurts, right? We need it after the day we've had." He joked softly, nodding to Alirah and then to Plant. "So hide and seek it is!"

OoC)) Skip, Death is backing away holding his arm.

Alirah cast her eyes over the dark and dreary Factory, once again seeking out where their mystery guest might be taking up residence… if she could spot even where their shadow was, at least that would give her an idea of what this stranger could be. Well… I guess WE are the guests this time… Very rude of them to intrude, she lamented, but at least the resident or residents hadn’t gone on the offensive yet. Did they not have a guardian to protect them?

"I can find a good hiding spot!" Plant cried enthusiastically.
Alirah pumped her paw into the air playfully and smiled widely. “That’s the spirit!”
"That could be a good idea. Never hurts to try, right? And even if it doesn't work right away, getting some fun in never hurts, right? We need it after the day we've had." Hide concurred with a quick nod. "So hide and seek it is!"

“Hey there!” Alirah called out to the ominous darkness. She felt a bit silly truth be told, but games needed rules didn’t they? “We will all hide and wait a few minutes! If you don’t come looking for us, I’ll play the Seeker and you can try next time!”

She turned to Hide and lowered her tone. “I hope we aren’t scaring the poor dear…”
With a flick of her fluffy tail she padded off briskly but calmly to assess her hiding situation. Hide made sure there weren’t any undead in here so she was pretty much good to hide anywhere, right?
Wait, Alirah you dummy. You don’t want to hide so well that the kiddo can’t find you.

Her rings dimmed to a soft glow, a hint perhaps, as she crawled on her belly into an overturned drum. It seemed to hold some kind of liquid at some point - maybe water reserves? - but had long since been emptied. She jostled softly in the drum until she reached a comfortable spot, quickly then hushing her panting at the small but tiring jaunt around the ground floor of the factory. “I’m ready!” She called. Here we go.

Plant tried his best to get into the right headspace to play the game, forcing a nervous smile and adding a little more energy into his steps. Despite his prior enthusiasm at the idea he wasn't sure about it; they had just barely escaped with their lives from some creeps who were still at large. Worse, their friends hadn't returned yet, and saying not to worry really wasn't helping. Regardless, he still welcomed the distraction, and perked up a little more as Alirah cheered, “That’s the spirit!” She felt the same way, right? If she could push through the pain so could he.

After a quick run down of the rules they were off, with the participating Pokemon quickly heading in different directions. Plant had only played hide-and-seek a few times, and it had been a good while since the last. That, and that game turned out... he pushed the thought away as he started off in a random direction, instead remembering the hint he had given the other Pokemon at the time. Great Oaks, that felt like so long ago. This place was nothing like his old home, and even with the cheer it did not dispel the spooky factor. Still a but unnerved Plant didn't want to stray too far from his friends in this foreign factory and made a quick turn to stay close by.

There were plenty of hiding spots and things to explore, toppled items and boxes, broken or open machinery, but the Snivy was not comfortable with it. He wanted a safety net so to speak, some sort of.. well, not in something that could crush him. Though it was already dim the factory had a bunch of dark corners and shadows, some of which were only narrow. Above him, Plant could see beams or perhaps walkways made of grate that looks solid but open. Clambering up some metal supports he reached out with his vines to crawl on top of it. Each bit of metal was uncomfortably cold, but it felt stable, and while he wasn't really hidden being above the floor made him feel out of sight. Curling into a ball, and pulling his hoodie more over his body he obscured his form, though his shadow or a glance up would give him away.

"Being mortaldoesn't mean shit, it never has. Anyone like that doesn't deserve to breath another fuckingbreath. If you're too chicken shit to take a life that's your business, but I don't work that way. Now let me go so I can rip his fucking throat out." Shadow heard Kaneki's argument but he wasn't doing it for the Marowak's sake, he was doing it for the children's sake. The Charizard still holding Kaneki while feeling the scratches that the Spectreon was inflicting. He'll put up with it later. Even then, Shadow knew Kaneki was right but maybe they can repair this later. It wasn't because Shadow was denying Kaneki a kill, it was because the damage was enough to draw undead towards the Marowak. That would be his fate.

Grabbing the bone with his other hand, Shadow looked at it closely. the scythe part reminded him of a Kabutop that was causing trouble on the island he trained on. The Charizard threw it at Death before telling the Marowak in an angry voice. "Crawl back into whichever hell you came from demon! Next time you show up, we'll show you no mercy! Now get out of my sight before I decide to unleash this Spectreon and let him kill you!" Shadow's tail flame was incredibly strong and intense heat was radiating off of it. Not only was this a sign that the Charizard was extremely angry, his eyes glowed heavily.

It was maddening that he couldn't finish the job of killing this stupid fucking ghost. Kaneki growled and struggled against Shadow's grip, spittle starting to foam at his jaws as he snapped at the air, trying to break free and finish what he'd started. His tails lashed and he curled himself in to try gripping at Shadow, trying to get his claws into the damn dragon's skin to make him let go without hurting him. For all he was stopping him from killing the Marowak, he was still a teammate, and he couldn't go killing him too.

Right?

Who fucking cares, a nasty thought came through his mind, and Kaneki started to growl louder, his thrashing growing stronger, he stopping you from doing your fucking job, gut him too. Waste of breath cant even follow through with his threats. Kaneki twisted in Shadow's grip to sink his claws into Shadow's wrist, back feet starting to kick at the charizard's flesh to get free. He was right-- if Shadow was stopping him from finishing his job, then he was just as much of a threat as the other ghost was.

If they weren't able to step up when the time came to it, they didn't deserve to be breathing either. Weakness was a plague the same as the epidemic was, and they were to be taken care of the same way, culled the moment it became a danger. Shadow's weakness to take another's life was a danger, so Kaneki would be the one to liberate them from thoise shackles. His eyes locked onto Shadow's hand as the charizard threw the bone scythe back to the Marowak, and the spectreon let out a rabid screech, fighting to get free with renewed vigor.

That fucking fool! He just handed the weapon back?! He thought, turning to try and bite at Shadow's hand to get himself free. There was no way he was going to let that fucking thing get away, what if it came back and attacked them again? This was a stupid idea!

"Crawl back into whichever hell you came from demon! Next time you show up, we'll show you no mercy! Now get out of my sight before I decide to unleash this Spectreon and let him kill you!" What was he, some fucking attack dog he thought he had control over? Kaneki's eyes widened and his pupils thinned too paper slits, opening his mouth to give Shadow a feral hiss that melted into unhinged laughter.

"You think you control me, Shadow? You shouldn't show that scum mercy now, you fuckwit!" He cackled out, twisting himself around in Shadow's grip until he felt the slightest ease in pressure. With a feline grace and the swift moves only a ghost could pull off, Kaneki melted out of Shadow's grip with a feral screech that melted into gleeful laughter as he ripped himself free of the charizard's grip to lunge at the Marowak again.

He wasn't getting away if Kaneki got his claws on him again, the spectreon promised himself that. As soon as his claws were in flesh again, he wouldn't stop until the body ceased twitching.

Not to be rude but…

How long was this going to take?

The Umbreon was never the impatient sort but the nature of her situation had her nerves burning up with anticipation of what was to come, and every moment that ticked by with the deafening silence unobstructed drove her a little bit crazier.
Her ivory markings brightened ever so slightly in order to better make herself stand out. If a child saw an easy victory, surely they’d be more inclined to leap into action, she supposed.

I wonder what you’ve seen. Alirah sighed heavily, shifting around once more.
Her ears were on high alert to such an extent that they slightly began to ring after a significant amount of time.

She could feel the exhaustion really setting in the longer she lay. Her tiny legs ached and despite the early hour, she felt as though she could nap for a century.

Quickly, a small pitter-patter snapped her out of her stooper and she was alert once more. They seemed to be making a hasty retreat but they were closer than the sounds initially were.
They considered it. Something spooked them.

She heaved herself onto her feet and padded out into the open. “Alrighty, hon, I’m gonna be the seeker!”
Alirah’s markings dimmed to a soft glow, just enough that her pals could recognize her in the shadowy factory and differentiate her from threats.


((OoC; manipulate Alirah as necessary to find the hiders. It doesn’t feel fair to do it myself~))

OoC)) Skip, will edit this tomorrow since I'm celebrating my birthday today.

((I was trying to think of something for Plant, but at least for this round he has the attention span to remain quiet and still.))

Watching the Marowak run off, Shadow lost his grip on Kaneki as he finally twisted enough to slip free. "You think you control me, Shadow? You shouldn't show that scum mercy now, you fuckwit!" Maybe so but he isn't able to finish off others. It isn't weakness but perhaps its a fear he has. What he fears he'd become if he kills others. "You're right Kaneki, I shouldn't but it's likely that I'm afraid of what I might become if I killed another." That fear would make him weak. Undesirable if it came to that and he didn't want to burden them if he's soft like that. Before he could move anywhere else, his anger vanished and he fell backwards. Shadow was exhausted from that anger spurt and he needed time to catch his breath again. Looking up at the stars, he thought of the others though, are they safe from those crazy pokemon?

He was too late. Kaneki knew this from the moment his paws hit the ground as he stared chasing after the marowak. But even still, he would die before he admitted that. He wouldn't lay down and accept that he'd lost his bounty so easily, especailly when they were right there. The scent of blood was filling his senses, and another cackled laugh tore free from the spectreon's throat, his mouth open in a gleeful, unhinged grin.

You're dead, you're so fucking dead! The spectreon's thoughts were focused only on getting his teeth and claws back into flesh, chasing after the other ghost as they started to flee the battlefield. "You may have bested me, but next time it won't be so easy. We will meet again!" Kaneki chased after the marowak until he was forced to skid to a stop, panting hard with a wild, feral gleam in his eyes.

Goddamn it! He fucking lost them. Kaneki's lips curled back in a snarl, slamming his paws down against the ground in frustration. His tails lashed and the spectreon's mane crackled wildly like a raging fire. Turning his head back to look at Shadow, Kaneki whirled around, fury in his gaze. This fool was the reason he got away. His stupid, soft views could very well have doomed us. He growled and bared his teeth at Shadow, crouching low and stalking up to the Charizard.

"You're right Kaneki, I shouldn't but it's likely that I'm afraid of what I might become if I killed another." What-- what horseshit was that? Kaneki's growling reached a higher pitch into a snarl, and his lip curled to bare sharp fangs at the charizard, snapping at the air in front of him with a soild click of his teeth.

"What absolute bullshit is that?!" Kaneki snarled, his voice raising in tone and volume. "Scared about what you'll become? You're soft, and weak if you can't bring yourself to cull what needs to be fucking culled you absolute idiot!" He yowled, stalking up to Shadow's side and slamming his paws into the dirt beside the charizard's head, claws raking at the dust.

This fucking fool ruined his chances to kill that fucker because of his own hangups? That was such bullshit. Kaneki was livid, his tails crackling with rage and his eyes blown, pupils paper thin slits. "I don't care what stupid hangups you have with killing someone, but if you ever lay your fucking hands on me again when I'm picking up on your own goddamn failings, I will tear your goddamn throat out." He snarled, before whirling around and starting to head the path up to the factory.

"Unlike you, I'm not a pathetic fool who won't take a life. If someone is a danger to anyone I protect, I will kill them. That will also include you if you obstruct my goddamn target." He warned the charizard with a hiss, before turning to head back up the path, leaving Shadow there to catch up later.

---

Hide and seek seemed like a good way to get the other kid out here, but if they were like Kaneki was when Hide had first met him, and even now... well... Hide hummed, looking around the area with a frown, before shaking his head and slapping at his cheeks a little. No need to focus on that! They had a game to play right now, he had to figure out a good hiding place! “Hey there!” Hide's ears perked up as Alirah called out to the ominous darkness of the factory, and Hide had to stifle a giggle at the absurdity of it.

Well, there are worse things to talk to at least. Yelling into the void to play hide and seek certainly is up there though. Hide thought jovially, looking around for a possible place to hide. “We will all hide and wait a few minutes! If you don’t come looking for us, I’ll play the Seeker and you can try next time!” That was a good idea, though. Maybe they would be too scared to approach a stranger, but working to hide and get found by a seeker could be a better way to get them out, that way it was a part of the game.

“I hope we aren’t scaring the poor dear…” Hide reached over to gently pat Alirah's shoulder at her worried musing, flashing the umbreon a winning smile and a thumbs up. "With your charm? I'm sure they'll warm right up to you in no time." He reassured her, before watching as everyon scampered off to get their spots.

Hide took a long breath in to steel himself, before looking around. Quickly, he found a spot that would be good to hide and still somewhere the young kid could climb up to as well. Hoisting himself up onto a pile of boxes, Hide carefully shuffled the lid off a box, before hopping in, putting his paws up over his ear to fold them down from peeking out the top of the box. Hide hummed, one ear slipping out from under his paws as he heard Alirah call from her spot, “I’m ready!”

Hide listened quietly as a hush fell over the factory. Dimly, Hide wondered how long it might take for any of them to get found. Would they even look? Hide closed his eyes and focused his attention on his ears, listening to the sounds of the factory, the groan of the building in the air, how things shifted at the sound of little footfalls-- oh, they were moving? Hide's ears perked high at the sound, but it was quickly disappearing.

Ah... they got spooked. That was a shame.

Hide couldn't blame them though, it wasn't as though ost kids these days were as innocent as Conan. Even Plant was awfully jaded, and Kaneki... He was jaded from the start... Hide thought, his eyes opening as he looked up at the high ceilings, a frown on his face. Try as he might, he couldn't help but worry about Kaneki. Was he okay out there? Did he get injured? What about the enemy that he and Shadow were fighting?

His frown deepened, curling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them to hug himself closer. Kaneki was the sort where he wouldn't stop until the threat was dealt with. Would Shadow understand that? What if something went wrong? ... I should have been the one to stay back. He thought with a sigh, looking arounnd the ceiling above him with searching eyes. How long until they came back? It shouldn't have taken this long...

“Alrighty, hon, I’m gonna be the seeker!” Alirah's voice cut through the dead silence of the factory, startling Hide and making the riolu jump. He clamped a hand over his muzzle to make sure he didn't yelp, before blinking rapidly to come back to his senses. How long had he been lost in thought for? Hide perked his ears up high, listening to the sound of Alirah wandering about the factory to find the other hiders.

Considering his hiding spot, Hide could tell when Alirah was on her way up, listening to the scrabble of claws on wood as she came up to find the riolu in his hiding box. He stood with a hum and a stretch, tail wagging happily. "Well, it was nice to at least have a moment of rest, even if they didn't come look for us. I'm sure they'll come out eventually." He murmured softly to Alirah, carefully hopping out of the box to help her look around for the others.

(Skip. Was going to edit but my wedding is drawing closer and some… complications have arisen that have demanded a lot of my time.)