The HARBINGER Team

Houndoom paused as the rumbling beast mentioned home. Besides the man and sirens, she could only remember the cages and white walls. Home... It was a foreign word to her, and the ambiguous image of a dimly lit room did not fit with what she remembered the word to mean. However, the beast before her was right; Master might have gone... back.

"How... will we get back? It's so far away... I can't smell the sand anymore. There was always sand there..." She sniffed again and only found rich, damp earth and trees. No sand... no heat... none of it. "There's nothing like... there... here..."

Mandibuzz was thrilled with the prospect of hunting an intruder, and with Master by her side she could show him just what worth she could be. They took off in a flurry of feathers heading straight for the accursed laboratory where they all began. Something was there, a shadow of some kind, and Mandibuzz didn't like him at all. The creature was wispy and irritating, and she chattered at him in disgust. However, Master had a different tactic.

He offered a very civil greeting to the intruder and she was flabbergasted at the suggestion that this creature could help her Master. Perhaps he thought that she would be of no use any longer? No! She would not have that. She would show Master and this...creature just who belonged at the side of her beloved. Fascinating...an infected that kept his intellect intact. You wish for my aid? What is it that will guarantee me that you won't attempt to kill or infect me after I have helped you? Mandibuzz seethed at the implication of her inferiority. "Not much...you useless...thing..." she uttered angrily. "What help...could he possibly be...Master?"

She didn't want to incur the wrath of her cherished Master but this creature was beneath his magnificent glory. What right did this supposed Legend think he had to demand anything of her lord? The sheer arrogance of it all made Mandibuzz see red and at that moment, all she wanted was blood.

Honchkrow studied the Legend carefully, red eyes never leaving his wispy form. Fascinating...an infected that kept his intellect intact, the creature Darkrai began. You wish for my aid? What is it that will guarantee me that you won't attempt to kill or infect me after I have helped you?

Mandibuzz clacked her beak angrily and her feathers ruffled. "Not much...you useless...thing... What help...could he possibly be...Master?" Honchkrow would smile at his dear Harbinger if his beak would allow it, but the facial expression reached his cruel eyes as he turned to look at her.

"No need for jealousy, dear Mandibuzz. It was a simple question." He turned back to her, then to the Legend. "...If you can't help me, I would appreciate it if you would kindly move; I have business in this building that needs to be addressed. My regards to your... brethren..." he chuckled as he gently took a trophy from Mandibuzz and stared at Darkrai. "If you would kindly leave us to our privacy..."

It seems the Honchkrow wished something from him...but it either it decided something else or lost interest on the Pitch Black pokemon. Darkrai moved out of the way leaving the two undead to their business. Before he lifted from the ground he glanced one final time at the two beings..."Even undead monsters can have the Desire of having someone at their side be fullfilled." his thoughts floated and mixed...

His claws curled at his head as whispers, cries and screams digged into his head...The Nightmares were increasing with Cresselia's death, will there Cresselia be reborn? Will an egg await to be hatched? Or will Nightmares grow out of control? Darkrai couldn't think straight...He started to float up in the sky...He needed to find a way to move out, to isolate himself.

Home...I want to go home... He looked up in the sky...up at the bright moon shinning the sky like a great Jack'O Lantern in one of the humans' old festivities. As he started to fly away he decided he needed some time alone at his home, Newmoon Island...his powers and abilities are ringing out of control.

As he reached his old hide out, Darkrai curled in a fetal position, shivering and clutching his claws at his own skull. All those screams, all those whispers, all those cries...He heard them time and time again...when ever he tried to be close to someone...It was all his fault? Was it Arceus for giving him this ability? Should he re-try to be with his Legendary Brothers? Should he go attempt to comunicate with that Honchkrow? Darkrai didn't know...Darkrai couldn't know...Darkrai lost his conscious...He fell in a deep sleep in which he won't wake up any sooner...The World is dead for now. All it matters...Darkrai is alive and in the safety of his home.

The Tyranitar grew furious with the hounds' questions.
With a deep roar he whipped around and slammed his fists down on each side of the harbinger, rubble flying up into the air.
I DO NOT KNOW! I don't know how to find master! I just know that we have to!
He snarled, the muscles in his throat visibly vibrating as he stared into the face of the undead Houndoom, point blank.

Huffing heavily, he straightened, trying to keep his temper with all these questions.
I...I remember sand. Master is across the sands...and after the sand, a mountain....home.
Tyranitar held his head tightly in his bloodied claws, trying to recall where he had come from.
Images flashed before his undead eyes- unspeakable atrocities that had been forced upon him. Uncontrollable rage, pain, terror. The monsters...the monsters...the hairless things. They were monsters.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!" the beast roared as the blood and pain drove his heavy claws forward towards Olivine.
Master! Master!

A tower. Tower with light. Must destroy the light. He seethed telepathically, his eyes glowing a deep red.
Memories of the lighthouse seeped into his rotting brain, tainted by flashes of shattered thoughts and emotions. He relived the moments he had attacked the tower with the light at the top. The Pokemon that was responsible had gone down to the bottom to protect their territory from him...but they were pathetic.
Nothing can stand in my way.
Nothing.
It wanted to give the humans hope- that is what it spoke of. Hope for the humans, like they deserved such a thing.
The monsters deserve to stay lost.
They don't deserve HOPE!
He relished the soft flesh of the yellow Pokemon as he tore it to pieces effortlessly with his mighty claws. It had walked up to him fearlessly, like a lamb to the slaughter. After its body had been shredded into liquid confetti, he rummaged through the gore to find the tail of the unfortunate Ampharos...to find it completely untouched. The foolish lamb thought she could stop him from extinguishing the light...the light that the humans needed...how very, very wrong the little lamb was.
With an enraged and triumphant roar, the Tyranitar shattered the orb on the end of its' severed and bloody tail with one bone-obliterating crunch of his jaws.
No more hope.
No more light.

The houndoom did not flich at the rumble near her feet, nor the debris hitting her or the beast shouting at her in fury. She did not care. He made the silence leave.

Still, they were no closer to finding Master, to home. "...I remember... crossing water. Master might be over the water... Where the sands are... Do you think Master will remember us...?" She did not take heed to the beast's anger for questions, but her mind was too far gone to really take notice of his warning. "The monsters would know... but Master killed them all...

"No need for jealousy, dear Mandibuzz. It was a simple question....If you can't help me, I would appreciate it if you would kindly move; I have business in this building that needs to be addressed. My regards to your... brethren..." Mandibuzz gave a pleased trill as her Master all but told the offending shadow off. Master had wanted her help first, she should be all he needed! She fluffed her feathers proudly as one of her trophies was plucked carefully form her skirt, held firmly by Master's beak. "If you would kindly leave us to our privacy..."

The Legend didn't seem to take kindly to Master's words and with a curt response he fled into the night, and Mandibuzz was happy to see him go. Now she and Master could be alone, just as she wanted. "What is it you need...Master?" She was intrigued as to what one of her beauties could do for him, how a simple arm could be of use to the great bird. But she was not one to question his motives, oh no, she was simply...curious.

Honchkrow could only smile internally as Mandibuzz handed him an arm with fingers adept enough, even dead, to press the small irritating little buttons. He took it gingerly, not wanting to snap it in half for many reasons, and carefully aimed the hand to activate the panel.

As he struggled for a moment with the panel, Mandibuzz could see he was typing the keys on the panel, and the result of his typings were displayed on the monitor, though most of it was dead or too blurry. What was visible was "D... E... I... H" His eyes brightened at his apparent success, and he pressed a large green button at the bottom. He then gave back the arm and stood back a small ways to watch his triumph.

"What do you need?" the Mandibuzz had asked. There was no change in his dark expression, his crimson eyes holding the same ruthless glare they always held, his beak a permanent static state. Revenge... his mind growled, the word saturated with not only anger and hate, but also bloodlust and manic joy.

There was a pause and then a strange mechanical whirring sounded. It was loud and harsh, but Honchkrow did not flinch. There was an automated voice interrupted by bouts of static, cracks in the stereos, and high-pitched feedback. DOOR MANT--NCE B--K ONLINE. COM--TER BOOTING. PASSWO-- RECOGNI...D. ENTRY --ERMITT...D

More whirring, more screams from straining metal. It was an orchestra to him, and for a moment, the Honchkrow closed his eyes to the sounds, nay, music that heralded the doom for the entire planet. True, he did not need the Shadow Pokemon Lab to spread the disease any farther; that was already being accomplished better than he could have ever hoped. But this was where the true serum lay, the untainted strain of power the humans had bestowed upon the planet. It was with this he could make more Harbingers, ones that could travel the distances he would need to truly cripple and destroy the human race.

Only then, would he be able to find that despicable group of men... The very ones that gave him his power...

...The ones that tortured him...

With a final groan, the door opened, dust and cobweb emptying out of the stagnant air within. The dark emptiness spanned before him, and somewhere within it was his prize. "Come, my dear. There's something here I seek..." With that, he began to make his way inside.

The Tyranitar growled at the annoying hounds' questions.
The memories had faded slowly as he tromped through the evergreen forest. He half-listened to the raspy hound as they walked.

"...I remember... crossing water. Master might be over the water... Where the sands are... Do you think Master will remember us...?"
He growled.
Of course he'll remember us. He's the master. Do you remember how to get there? To master?

"The monsters would know... but Master killed them all...
A dark grin passed across his face as he recalled how master tore them all to pieces, and how he helped.

(Please skip)

He didn't answer her question. Master just stood and watched the door as a strange crackling came out of the small box beside it. DOOR MANT--NCE B--K ONLINE. COM--TER BOOTING. PASSWO-- RECOGNI...D. ENTRY --ERMITT...D. Humans and their odd techno crap. Mandibuzz hated the humans technology, after all, it was what caused her all that pain, the pain Master freed her from. The blood and carnage was glorious as she and her brethren were freed from this accursed place. So what could they be doing back here?

The smell of old death hit her in the face hard, and she relished in the memories the scent triggered. The evidence of their rampage as they escaped was still clinging to the walls, creating a lovely decor. "Come, my dear. There's something here I seek..." Mandibuzz nodded, picking up her discarded trophy as they stepped through the door. She almost hissed at it as the door shifted slightly when she passed through, as though it threatened to close on her. Her feathers ruffled at the offense and she followed her Master deeper into the Lab, talons clicking the floor ominously in the deathly silent halls.

Honchkrow paused as he entered the lab, taking a moment to let the old ripe stench fill his nostrils once more. He reveled in it, soaked it in. With a satisfied sigh, he began to move forward when something in the back of his mind made him pause. It felt as if there was something behind him... besides his Mandibuzz...

He turned to see a silhouette, softly lit by the pale moon near the entrance. He could only see that it was avian and blue, but it was enough to know just what it could have been. He did not know of the other regions' legends, or at least very much about them, but he had seen murals of one like the figure that stood in his doorway. This was another Legend, another "deity" to come to stop him.

Grinning, or at least as much as he could, he turned to the figure and cleared his throat. "This is the second time a Legend has come knocking upon my door. It can't be coincidence. Could I ask just what you're here for, and why I shouldn't kill you?" His tone was calm and collected, not really threatening or vicious.

Mandibuzz has asked me to post to skip her. Her Internet is down for the moment.

The Blue Legend seemed curious, albeit a bit frightened of Honchkrow as he stared at her. He wasn't sure what she was doing here, exactly, but it was obviously done with purpose and without malice... otherwise, she would have attacked already. ."I apologize for the lack of introductions," she began as she seemed to collect her courage. "I am Articuno; you must be the one in charge of the infection am I correct?"

Honchkrow thought that an... odd... question. But before he had a chance to respond, she spoke again. "I have come to see you in hopes of joining the ranks of the undead as your ally."

Never in his life had he been so... flabberghasted. Join? Willingly? A Legend? The implications and logic swirled in his mind as he tried to make sense of it. He was so used to being fought against, other than his Harbingers, he had never been approached to seek becoming an ally... The thought of not having to fight her was odd, and he couldn't help but allow himself a chuckle.

"...If becoming infected is truly what you seek, then, I suppose you have come to the right place... While I am not 'in charge' of the disease, I am the paragon of its success. No one can be 'in charge' of a plague, Lady, for that would be like trying to control life itself... and that is reserved for the hand of Death. However, I can... 'safely' Infect you, to where you would feel the least amount of pain instead of having scores of brainless zombies destroy your... pretty form.

"However, your question intruigues me. You have... no want to defend your brethren, nor to fight for your beating heart? I can't help but pry; your question, while flattering, is a little... suspicious. Please, indulge me. Why would you want to die?"

Oh, Mandibuzz was not happy. At all. First this...this...THING shows up out of the blue, claims to want to help, and had the audacity to think that she had some right to demand things of her Master. But what was really irritating her? Master had AGREED! Her greasy, tattered feathers fluffed out at her distress. What was he thinking? She was the only one he needed, not this flapping blue pidgeon. The bird was a contradiction of itself, what use could it possible have?

Wait...did Master just call her PRETTY?! Mandibuzz screeched in anger, beating her wings harshly and stirring up the dust and debris settled on the ground. How dare she! How dare someone nobody Legend come in and think they can tear her Master away from her! She was not going to stand for this. She didn't wait for the blue Legend to answer her Master's question before suddenly attacking Articuno in a blind fury.

"MINE!" she screeched angrily, slashing at the other bird with her talons. "GET AWAY!" She could only see red, attacking Articuno over and over, her anger boiling out of control. Master was hers! No one could take him from her because she would DIE before she let that happen. Mandibuzz had only just found him again and she couldn't let this Legend steal her place at his side. It was her right to be there. All the people she killed, all the Pokemon she slaughtered to his glory. What had this 'pretty' bird ever done? Run like a coward. She was not worthy of the Master and even IF she became one of them, she would still never be as good as Mandibuzz.

Honchkrow was alarmed at Mandibuzz's sudden anger, and without him being able to react in time, the vulture lashed out at the blue Legend, wounding her. The Legend fired two ice beams in return, to which, he took himself, the two beams hitting his left wing. He had braced himself against the hit with his wing, and when the attacks were over, he simply brushed off the chilled remains, the ice falling to the floor with a thunk.

"Now, now..." he said calmly, looking to Mandibuzz with glowing crimson eyes. "No need for the violence, Love. This Legend is here to help us, and I am not one to leave guests without assistance." He gaze narrowed. "Do not attack her, Mandibuzz. You have no need for concern. Do not attack unless I order you, Mandibuzz." To smooth her feathers, he plucked out a small piece of debris from her pelt. He did not want these two fighting at whatever cost; Mandibuzz was one of his most trustworthy -albeit possessive- Harbingers, and the thought of a Legend joining them made him almost giddy.

He then turned back to Articuno and looked to her bleeding wing. "...Forgive my Harbinger. She, along with a few others, are close to me and... have an instinct to protect me. Come with me, and we can speak without any further violence. Please, tell me what you were about to say."

A sick pleasure coursed through her at the feel of the blue harlot's wing tearing beneath her talons. But then the sorry bitch had the nerve to attack back? She was the intruder here, not Mandibuzz. Before the beam could reach her, however, Master stepped in front and took the icy blow for her. He then turned to gaze at Mandibuzz with a serious expression. What was she hearing? Master was actually defending that whore instead of her? Why? What had she done? What had she not done? A rage began slowly building inside of her at the idea of being replaced by the blue trespasser.

To try and soothe her, Master preened her feathers gently which did indeed help to calm her. A rush of possession and lust replaced the one of anger and betrayal. He made some excuse to the blue bitch but Manidbuzz didn't care. Master wouldn't replace her. He was hers. She had HER Master and that was enough. For now.

A storm had struck Orre.

Torrential downpours and vicious wind tore at the landscape, forcing all in its path into hiding.

And at the eye of this great and terrible storm.. a... whale? flew, slowly, surely towards the center of the desert.

Kyogre sighed as he passed the Realgam Tower. Slated for demolition, it was. An obvious sign of the human stain. But.. this was why he was here. An ally, one who really knew what was important. The humans were dying out, and the evolution of pokemon had been advanced further. Honchkrow, hmm?

The leviathan continued on towards the Shadow Lab.

Honchkrow's eyes did not fail in the dim light, the moonlight disappearing as angry clouds loomed overhead. He knew the lab, and could make out in the dark the shapes of desks, cages and corpses, human and pokemon alike. He stepped over guns and papers, frivilous things that no longer had any use. There was one thing, however... and he knew where it would be hiding.

He listened to the blue Legend's quick, perhaps nervous response. If she were nervous, he wouldn't balem her; Mandibuzz had already proven she was lethally protective of him. Her answer, however, was intriguing. Right, well I have personal reasons, however the biggest one is that I have seen unlike the other Legends that the infection is progress so to speak." He paused in a hallway to look back at her.

"You mean to tell me that you acknowledge Infected as evolution? Ha, wonderful. It seems some Legends still have their brains intact..." Honchkrow mumbled to himself as his eyes wandered around the debris. "The scientists that used to work and thrive here thought the same thing, Articuno. They wished to make a technology that would enhance a pokemon's fighting skills so much, they became a mindless killing machine. Obviously, they succeeded. But the leader wanted more progress-- he wanted an invincible Pokemon Army, one of which to rule the world with. It was then they failed."

He knocked open a door, leading to the large laboratory. His glowing crimson gaze searched for the item he sought, his head quickly turning from one spot to another. He paused as his eye caught a strange collection of vials, with an odd-colored liquid within. Untouched. Finally, his prize.

His talons clicking on the bloodstained floor, he then looked back to Articuno. "If you wish, then, to join the winning team, come here. It won't take long."

"Right, well I have personal reasons, however the biggest one is that I have seen unlike the other Legends that the infection is progress so to speak." Mandibuzz scoffed. What did this creature know of progress? Of Master's vision? Nothing. Master surely wouldn't be taken in by the temptresses' pretty words...damn it.

He carried on about the works of her tormentors, the men and women who performed such savage tests and experiments. The ones she gleefully slaughtered when her Master freed her. And this harlot was to be given their gift without ever suffering as they suffered? He couldn't..."If you wish, then, to join the winning team, come here. It won't take long."

Mandibuzz felt her trust in Master waver at those words. She had followed him into the room, but after that simple sentence her eyes fell to the floor in confusion. She didn't even notice herself backing away from him. Her mind was thrown into confusion, nothing about this made any sense. Why? Why would he trust her? Why would her want her? Why? Why?

"WHY?!" she screeched, voice filled with rage and pain. Her wings opened wide and she accidentally knocked over one of the tables, sending vials and equipment sailing to the floor, smashing them. She paused and looked around the broken table at the mess, and turned back to her Master, unsure what to do.