The PYRE Team

[OOC: A proper leaving post- since I'm out of SH. ^^]

Drowned could only barely stand, his red eyes searching the ruins of the graves. So much destruction... It was hard, almost too hard, to navigate through this mess, and it only annoyed the large Swampert more and more. He was glad when he finally broke through all the rocks, reaching the damp ground. The undead began it's work, pawing and disheveling the ground to make a small pit.

The behemoth only spent a few minutes on his task, soon deeming the hole large and proper enough for the body that was to be laid into it. His rough, yet surprisingly gentle grasp picked up the Sableye that laid motionless on his shoulder-laying him in the ground. Gently brushing excess dirt on top of the dead ghost, Drowned gave a brief bow before turning away.

Quietly making his way out of the ruins he glanced at the direction the living went, before turning the other way and leaving.

[OOC: And now he's officially a floater. :3]

((please skip ;-; I can't get into character))

Anubis' reaction did not give Suzaku much confidence; what was wrong with him? As if on some horrible inward cue, his hands went numb, dropping the berry. In almost a second, his legs went as well, and the numbness threated to engulf his entire form, tracing up his extremities to his chest and then to his face and neck.

For a horrible minute that seemed hours, he was stuck doubled over on his knees, his shivering, tingling arms the only thing between him and a face full of dirt. There was a pressure, like some donphan leaning against him, and he heard himself panting. He felt sweat bead and run down his face and exposed skin, but felt detached from it all. Like someone else was going through it.

But then, as quickly as it had come, it left, leaving him panting and shaking with effort. What... What had just happened...? A soon as feeling returned to his quivering limbs, he stood on wobbly legs and put a clammy hand to his face. "...What was that...?" he asked aloud, more to himself than anyone else.

Anubis panicked slightly as Suzaku began to freak out, backing away quickly. He wasn't sure what was happening to his friend, and quickly closed his eyes and drew forth his Aura Sense. What he saw made his heart sink. The small patches of swirling red and violet in his friends aura where much larger, and filling quickly with black. Even as he watched the invading colors grew in size, slowly consuming his friends aura. Soon, his would be as dark as the Swamperts, but then it stopped as suddenly as it grew.

"...What was that...?"

The Lucario didn't have the heart to tell him, but the look on his face would have told the bird of the great pain and sorrow he felt. He knew his friend was about to turn, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Did Suzaku even know he was infected? Much less that he was moments away from death? Anubis clutched his chest as his heart felt like it was caught in a vice. First Cathal, and the others, then Mother, now Suzaku. Would all of his friends fall to this terrible illness? Was this always to be his burden in life, to bury his friends? "I'm so sorry, Suzu..."

((GAhhh... I hate skipping on this team. :C Really nothing for PIerce to do, however. Once Cathal comes in there'll be some excitement though. >.<))

(OOC-Interact with him? ouo|| skip please)

Akuma stood outside of his old home, many thoughts rushing through his head at once. What if it was not like it use to be? What if everything was chaotic inside? With a heavy sigh, Akuma stepped inside and as he floated through the darkness, sounds came to him. The most prominent was someone screaming something about infected. Now on high alert, Akuma whisked towards the sound in case someone was in danger. Little did he know of the strange colored Duskull he would encounter.

(OOC: Sorry dears I have a bad headache and I can't think for a long post.)

Cathal huffed as his wing tore even more, bits of flesh still hanging from the exposed bone from where the Krookodile's teeth stripped it. He snarled as his hunger ate at him. He had fed nicely since leaving the darkness in Orre, but as he fed the hunger only grew, not lessened. he reached up to scratch at the scar on his neck, not even noticeing when his claws started tearing at the flesh causing the ancient wound to re-open and ooze a thick, gooey substance that was supposed to pass for blood. The hole in his chest had long since gunked up with the stuff, but the dragon had never noticed.

He heard voices up ahead, and the scent of blood hinted at the air. Someone was nearby, and the Charizard realized he had found his next meal. As he carefully approached the voices, he saw something that made him stop. There was a blue canine talking to a bird, and suddenly strange images began to assault Cathal's mind. Blonde hair again, laughing and taking on a group of trainers with a pokemon that looked just like the bird. At her side, a small blue pup with big round eyes. These two...did he know them?

He roared angrily, tearing at his head to make the images stop. Not caring that they would know he was there by the noise he was making, he charged for them. The first one he wanted, was that damn bird. Cathal opened his mouth wide, and let loose a Flamethrower, not caring that the bird was a fire-type like him. All he wanted was to burn them. Burn everything. These creatures made his head hurt so they needed to be extinguished. "BURN!"

The pity and sorrow in Anubis' face did not comfort Suzaku at all, making a strange weight in his chest and stomach very real. Worry crossed the blaziken's face as he tried to silently procure a real answer from the canid. "...What? What's wrong with me...?" he asked softly, dread descending upon in him in a terrible blanket.

Before he could get an answer, there was a strange shout, a curse of some sort that Suzaku only just realized he'd heard. "What was...?" the small distraction wasn't enough to part his mind from the subject, but at least it was enough to deter the conversation. He only managed to get a glimpse of black and purple before the stink of death and decay overrided his senses and his hand clasped over his nose and mouth. It was only a moment before an obviously dead and broken charizard emerged from the thicket, charging straight at them.

No... straight at him.

Suzaku only managed a cry of surprise as the fire washed over him, making the horrible sensation begin again. 'No!' his mind screamed as the fire subsided, leaving Suzaku panting. He would not succumb to another weird siege with another crazy monster on the loose. "Get out of here, you two!" he shouted at Peirce and Anubis, keeping his eye on the dragon.

"BURN!" the charizard roared, and Suzaku charged himself, preparing a quick attack. If he got this damn battle over with quickly, he'd be able to get his body through the oncoming siege in peace... His legs were wobbling, his body aching. What the hell was happening to him...?

"...What? What's wrong with me...?" Anubis's eyes began to glisten with unshed tears. So, his fears were true...Suzaku had no idea. He felt sorrow griping at his heart like a vice, dreading losing the only friend he had made since Mother had died. But what could he do to stop the raging virus within his feathered companion? Anubis dropped his head and a few tears began glistening their way down to the ground as he admitted defeat.

There was nothing he could do.

A loud, angry, and strangely familiar, roar echoed from the side of the mountain, startling the blue canine. He turned in time to see a hulk of a Charizard charging right at Suzaku, and couldn't step in the way in time to prevent the attack. "BURN!" The jet of flame that was unleashed was enough to even make him back off, and it wasn't even aiming for the Lucario. Suzaku called for him and Pierce to flee, but Anubis couldn't leave his only friend to die like that. Not again.

A flash of black caught the Aura Pokemon's attention and his eyes immeidiately drew to the cloth tied around the beast's upper arm. That material...that pattern. It was the very same that he had tied around Mother's grave marker, it was her scarf! The missing piece of her scarf was tied around this things arm?! It was only then Anubis realized why that roar sounded so familiar. As he took in the battle scarred form of the Undead attacking Suzaku, he realized he could name each battle in which that scar was earned. And the one gracing the side of the Charizard's neck...Dear Legends no...

"Cathal..."

Fuck! Not again! The Swampert had dissappeared, and good riddance to it. However, now something else had come along. A dragon flying against the sun, sending flames directly at Suzaku. What. The. Fuck. Couldn't they ever rest? First the Swampert, then Suzaku... Anubis's obvious concern, coupled with with Suzaku's strange behavior and coloring, led Pierce to the obvious conclusion. It sank his heart. The Fire-type had saved them several times, of course. But now, a new fire type was attacking.

Pierce was surprised hen Anubis spoke, after Suzaku yelled for them to run. He knows this dragon... Pierce knew then that Anubis wouldn't leave. Fighting the Swampert alone hadn't gone well for Pierce, but maybe in a team they could stand a chance against this 'Cathal'. "Let's fight." He said, turning to face the menace.

The new fake felt his fire wash over it, but it didn't seem to faze the creature. It was only then that he recognized it as a Blaziken, and realized that his fire would have no effect on it. It charged an attack, but seemed to be struggling to move, which Cathal would take full advantage of. Ignoring whatever the bird would throw his way he let loose a Dragon Pulse, hoping to throw it to the ground where it would be easier to get at.

"Cathal..."

The whispered word shot straight into the lizard's mind as he suddenly realized he knew that name. It was...it was his name. He had a name, he had a...a past. The random bits and pieces that had been haunting him suddenly created a full picture in his mind. It was Fenix, his trainer, the beloved woman who had raised him from a child. She was surrounded by her Pokemon, her eyes sparkling with her wild nature and desire for adventure. The young one at her side, Anubis. The Fire Lizard turned to face the one who had spoken his name, and the mental image of the tiny Riolu fuzed with the living image of the Lucario before him. "Anubis..." he choked out, still somewhat lost in his recovery.

((OOC: BAW! Too bad this won't be a happy reunion...))

The siege of his body had left an opening, and even the dead dragon noticed its opportunity. Before Suzaku could defend himself, the monster unleashed a pulse attack, which hit Suzaku in the chest, thrusting him backward into a tree. He hit the trunk hard, crying out in pain with the force of the contact. He was on his ass, panting, leaned against the tree that he'd hit. Even with the battle about to begin, he found himself so weak, his limbs so wibbly he couldn't force himself up. Pressure pushed down on his chest, making it hard to breathe. He was hot... so hot, that he felt like his own skin was sizzling. All he could do was place a hand on his chest to feel his erratic pulse.

He gave a small whimper as his eyes rolled back into his head for a moment, his extremeties shivering with effort. Legends... was this what it felt like to die? That look Anubis had given him... What had it meant? Could Anubis see something Suzaku couldn't? Smell something? He looked canid, so that was possible... He soon heard himself whimper with each breath as his pulse continued to fritz, unable to do anything about it. He opened his eyes for a moment, only to see his vision blurred and dim. 'No...'

His breathing calmed as his erratic pulse slowed and weakened, giving out. A cough produced blood; thick, sticky, reeking bad blood, spilling it over his lower jaw and chest. Even with his impaired vision, he could see what he'd produced. 'No...' A silent, strangled sob escaped him before his head rolled back against the trunk, his neck too weak to support it anymore. His limbs slackened, his breath shallowed. The calm came as Death's hand reached for him from the abyss.

For a moment, time stood still. Suzaku's heart hesitated, unsure if it could keep going. His muscles twitched, pleading for air, then succumbing to the Fate every living creature's body was prepared for. His mind clawed for life as the rest of him accepted death, knowing he had to do something. Something... He had to... do something...

His eyes dimmed, focusing on something unseen, as faces appeared before him, his last thoughts. A nidorino. A monster. A canine. A pidgeot...

'...no...'


((Not leaving the team yet. :3 Just officially becoming undead.))

The undead form of one of his dearest friends erupted with a Dragon Pulse, hitting Suzaku dead on. Anubis couldn't stop it, so he threw himself in front of Cathal with his arms spread wide. "Stop!" he pleaded, praying to whatever Legend would listen that he could get through to Cathal, that he wouldn't be just another mindless monster. They had seen with the Swampert that they had the chance to keep some of their mind, maybe he wouldn't be too far gone...

"Anubis..."

His heart soared as his dear friend and mentor recognized him. He nearly wept for joy, until he heard Suzu coughing. He whirled around to see thick blood pouring down the fire bird's chest and knew that it was time. He did shed his tears for Suzaku, and could only watch helplessly as his friend fell into the grips of the virus inside him and perished. First Cathal, now Suzaku. Cathal regained some of his consciousness but who knew what the Blaziken would know when he awoke. Anubis looked back to Cathal with tears in his eyes and stepped towards the Charizard. Without a thought, without a word, he embraced his dear friend and wept for the loss of his family and loved ones.

Pierce's head spun. Everything was happening so fast... Perhaps the Swampert had hit him harder than he thought, and he was still unconscious. Or better yet, maybe he was still in Lilycove with his beloved trainer, having dreamed the passed few weeks entirely. And yet... The fighting around him, the disaster... It was all too real. All too dangerous.

All while this "Cathal" and Anubis were having their heart to heart, Pierce watched as Suzaku, the pokemon who had saved him countless times, put himself in mortal danger to protect him, and had not left him when his memory failed, died. He had begun to think of the bird as a patriarch, if not an older friend. And now... In one attack, he had been killed. And not quickly either. He seemed to twitch and he coughed up blood. He was not going peacefully. Pierce's eyes filled with tears as Suzaku finally stopped moving. Goodbye... He thought. At least he wouldn't have to feel the pain anymore.

((JESUS CHRIST. Silver, that post was flipping beautiful. :u))

((OoC- Well im gonna have to skip for this team. Unfortunately because anyone has yet to interact with him. If this continues I may switch teams. Not that this team is bad in anyway I just feel like NME and I don't really fit in here.))

Cathal's head was spinning. As the memories flooded his mind, the one he knew as Anubis came and embraced him. On instinct he reached up and wrapped his small arms around the shivering frame. The Lucario's body shook from the force of his sobs, and the Charizard wasn't sure what to do. The boy was much larger than he remembered...he had evolved. Something in his mind shimmered, a sparkle that shone from Anubis in every memory of the Riolu he once was.

"A...a collar..." he choked out.

Anubis's everstone collar, it had always been around his neck, so where was it now? He wasn't sure that his words even reached the canine in his arms as the sobbing continued. Why was he weeping? For the bird? His gaze turned to the body of the one who had just stood before him, for the one who took his attack full on and didn't seem fazed by it. So why...ah. So he had been given the gift as well. Then Anubis should be happy! His friend was joining the immortals! In fact, the Lucario should be one of them, by his side...

...like old times.

His grip around the smaller frame tightened almost unbearably, and he felt the struggle begin. Anubis was afraid of him, but soon he wouldn't be. Soon, his dear friend could be just like him. He would give the gift the Seductress gave him to the Aura Pokemon. To never again feel pain, to never be hurt or afraid. To live forever...it was the only way to ensure that his family stayed with him this time. So with a happy smile he opened his jaws and his fangs began to descend towards the delicate neck before him.

'...no...'

From somewhere deep within that sacred abyss, the darkness all life is brought to at its end, something stirred. His body limp, nothing but a colorful sack of meat, eyes glazed and unfocused, he looked dead to the world. But the virus that tainted him, coagulated his blood and discolored his feathers was stronger than life, stronger than death. It still coursed through him even after his heart stopped pumping blood.

'...No...'

A twitch here, a small spasm there. As the dragon and Anubis reunited, the corpse next to the tree slowly reanimated itself, becoming more and more of a sin against the natural order, the virus shuffling the hands of Death away from the afflicted bird. There would be no peace for this one. No rest for the monstrosity. No sweet slumber.

'NO!'

Suzaku's eyes shot open, blank of emotion or realization. For just a moment, there was no one behind those eyes as they slowly remembered themselves and began to dialate, to function once more. It was as if an ancient machine was being brought back, muscles remembering their purpose, coiling and uncoiling. Suzaku soon found himself upright, standing, leaning against the tree, looking at the scene with confusion. It took a moment for him to remember where he was, and that he'd seen those faces before. But as the virus gave him another chance from Death, it took away his memories, his persona, himself.

Then, the faces that had faded from his mind's eye were brought up, and the lucario was amongst them, as well as the dragon. He was supposed to do something with them. But as the hunger for blood and meat settled in; all he wanted was the living, the struggling canid in the dragon's grasp. He snarled, then charged, a fist clenched ready to send a Sky Uppercut right into the dragon's bleeding face. "MINE!" he shouted, face wrought with fury.

"A...a collar..." Anubis closed his eyes and nuzzled into his former mentor, happy that he was starting to remember. Perhaps...perhaps the virus didn't have to be a just a death sentence. Maybe he could still have his family, even if it meant living with a few corpses. If the very idea that the dead could come back to live was real then why couldn't his theory also prove true?

The arms clenching tightly around his middle started to alert the Lucario that something was wrong. Worried that the small grip on Cathal's memory was slipping he started to try and get out of the Charizard's arms, but they only gripped tighter. When the hot breath of his friend began heating his neck to almost burning he heard a loud scream behind him followed by a rush of air. "MINE!"

The attack hit Cathal square in the jaw and sent the Charizard flying backwards, his grip on Anubis totally abandoned. Anubis turned in wide-eyed fear to Suzaku, not sure what to do now. Mine? Why would Suzu say he belonged to him? Did he even mean him, or was his mind as lost as Cathal's? He backed away slowly but refused to turn his back on either fire-type. "Suzu...? Is...is that you?"

((OOC: controlling my undead as well for this post just to get the fight started. Nice hit Suzaku, lol))

Well fuck.

Suzaku had died. Pierce had watched him die. Then, mere moments afterwards, he had watched him stand back up and attack the new monster. Thorn had been right about the infection. It didn't only cause a living pokemon to go mad, then eventually die. It killed them, then caused them to go mad. Pierce found himself suddenly longing for the lonliness he had felt before meeting this group. At least that had made sense.

Pierce watched from a safer distance as the Undead seemed to fight over Anubis. Why did the canine stay there, right in the middle? It was a death sentance? He should get away while he can... He'll never survive. Not alone... But maybe...

No. Don't do it.

Pierce's mind fought him the whole way. The others seemed to not even notice him. However, if he made a move, they would finish the work that the Swampert had begun. Pierce's fractured horn throbed in rememberance. And yet... Anubis had been there with Suzaku to save him. He had been unable to help the bird, but perhaps...

No. Run away. Save yourself.

Pierce shifted those thoughts to the back of his mind. He had to help. But he would be careful. Pierce's eyes narrowed, keeping his focus directly on the monsters in front of him. His body began to take on a dull bluish glow, barely visible in the sunlight, as his Focus Energy boosted his strength. He no longer heard the thoughts to escape. He was determined. However, focus would not do much alone. Taking a deep breath, Pierce focused all his power into the fractured tip of his horn. Out of the hole bounced four purple bubbles, which proceeded to orbit around him like ghosts. He had never used Venoshock this close to himself, and it frightened him to think what might happen if he managed to hit himself. Regardless, he couldn't stay put. He took a step forward. He took a step towards his friends. He took a step away from safety. He was prepared to fight.

(I have to skip, for similar reasons to last time. I will be requesting a team change before my next post)

((I am so sorry guys, but I will not have time for a proper post today. I will have to skip. Vapor will appear next post cycle. Once more, I am really sorry guys. :c))

((Without Cathal or Anu, it's a little difficult to post. Please skip.))