The ICIRRUS Team

He felt Kinah nudge him and he squirmed for a bit. "Don't make me come back over here," Paladin woke up, sitting upright. "I'm awake, I'm awake." he murmured as he saw Draol thrashing about. "Hey, Draol, are you alright?" he asked.

"So, s-shall we go... Get food?" Paladin looked at Pure. "Well... Let's wait for Draol to calm down first, then we can." he smiled happily. The sunshine beamed through cracks and windows. "It's so peaceful. Almost like the infection never came." he commented.

Out of the darkness a silhouette walked towards Draol that seemed to be shaped exactly like Draol. "Wh-who are you?"

"You still don't get it don't you. Who was there when you lost you family, the one that came back after you lost your bell, who looks like you?"

"No, how can you be me?"

"Ok I'll explain. You see when you were born, you weren't by yourself. I'm your twin, sharing the same body. But I wanted to be freeto make all the choices, so I needed to get out. Your mind was too powerful to take over before everyone was gone, but once they were the fight you didn't even know was happening started. Neither of us had control over the body so it went free to do whatever. But once the shell bell was introduced the energy shifted towards your favor. The only way that energy would be gone is if it were used for somthing like evolution. And now your weak enough for this body to be mine."

"I won't let you have it."

"You have no choice." The dark figure began to bring his hand towards draol, when a voice came from beyond.

"Draol? Draol wake up, it can't hurt you..."

Draol was suprised to hear somone's voice here especially from outside. A beam of light apeared from behind Draol, blinding his brother. Once dimmed down the light brought about all the Haxorus from the village, from which Draol's mother spoke. "She's right he can't hurt you because we won't let him!"

A beam of light shot out vaporizing the twin."Hmph, oh well." And awkening Draol.

(Gasp)"Whoah, you guys won't belive what happened."

Kinah heard Pure come back inside while she was trying to wake Draol, who was proving to be a very difficult case. At the mention of food her stomach growled, since the few berries she had last night were not really enough for her. She shook her head and went back to her task of trying to nudge the dreaming Haxorus. He wasn't budging, so she tried calling out to him again. "It can't hurt you..."

Her ear twitched when she heard Paladin murmuring to himself. Indeed, it did seem like there was nothing wrong with the world this morning, except for the fact that one of the infected was standing in the Tower with them. But yes, she wished the infection had truly never come. Unfortunately for all of them, it had, and it wasn't over yet...

(Gasp)"Whoah, you guys won't believe what happened."

Kinah jumped back a little as Draol sat up suddenly, his blade ripping out of the floor, leaving a huge gash. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Ok..Just what are you on about?" Maybe now that he was up they could all get the hell out of this town.

[Ooc: Skip my turn ;; Pure's just standin' there e3e]

[Skip, I'm having a big writer's block and I can't think of anything without making it super short.]

After Draol's massive revalation, he began to get up and shake his head to focus himself. Draol grabbed his bell and looked upon it to speak to. "You were all always with me, always." Although it seemed as if the family removed Draol's brther entirely, he was still inside but at least weaker than he was before. I'll find a way to get you out forever I swear, and let them be free from caring for me. Aside from possessions Draol went to go find a rock to sharpen himself while waiting to leave. There were a couple of nice ones sitting in the corner, he grabbed one and began to sharpen his blades.

Kinah huffed, annoyed that her question was ignored. It seemed as though Draol was more interested in shiny things and rocks rather than leaving this place. She turned back to Paladin and Pure. "Can we ditch him and just go?" she whispered. "He's a little off his rocker. Could be dead weight." She crossed her arms and glared across the room. Maybe he would sense her stare and turn around to the rest of the group.

"You know..." she hollered. "Everyone else was looking forward to leaving this morning. Any chance you might join us?" Kinah had been up for hours now and was getting rather antsy. Plus, the sooner they left the sooner she could find a fight and finally evolve. She was so close now, she could practically taste it. When she evolved she would finally have the power to get the hell out of this place and back home to Unova.

((OOC: sorry for the short post...I didn't have much to go on. ^_^))

He watched Draol sharpen his blades. "Can we ditch him and just go? He's a little off his rocker. Could be dead weight." Paladin frowned, considering the idea. "No, that would be rude. Besides, he's the only final evolution with us and that makes him strong. We need as much strength as we can get." he replied.

"Everyone else was looking forward to leaving this morning. Any chance you might join us?" Paladin smiled and nodded. "We can go if Draol feels ready. Are you done sharpening your blades yet?" he asked. "We should get out of the city as soon as possible," he paused. "I want to head for the island off of Olivine. Cianwood, was it? Since it's an island, there's a good chance not many Pokemon are there and I bet there's good resources." he stopped. "But I'm still trying to figure out how to cross the sea..."

Draol looked at everyone in utter confusion as to why everyone was going down on him. His heart dropped like a rock when he heard them considering to ditch him and felt the need to explain. "Jeez, I was just doing somthing while waiting for somthing to happen. I mean he is the one in command, you know, the one giving orders. I know he said in the morning but I was just preparing for the next zombie attack." Draol got up and went to the door to hold it for himself or them. "And if my only use is a powerful slayer and not a person, then choose if we all leave together not as good knowing friends, or me to go off alone to handle myself! Because I'm sorry to say this but all you have is a half evolved dragon, an undead deer that can snap at any moment, and a fighter thats having a tough time with evolution herself. You all seemed nice at first but if your in a rush to leave and evolve to just ditch someone, then you decide."

Kinah sighed as Paladin mentioned keeping Draol for his strength. She knew he was right, of course, she just didn't appreciate people being rude. Draol ignoring her question earlier after she had tried to help him really ticked her off. She knew she had a tendency to over-react but sometimes she couldn't help it. She gave a small smile and a nod, until the Haxorus' comments reached her ears.

Kinah whirled on Draol. How dare he?! she seethed. Stalking up to the great beast she pointed a paw at his face. "Look you..." she growled. "The only reason I even MENTIONED leaving you is because you were being a complete GIT! What kind of pokemon, no matter how powerful, doesn't offer a THANK YOU to someone who was trying to help them. You know, I didn't have to risk my own safety to try and wake you up from a dream that was obviously causing you pain. I didn't have to almost get side-swiped while you thrashed around." Kinah was getting very emotional by this point, her voice getting higher and cracking like she was about to cry. She turned her head to the side, put her arm down and balled her fists. "And you know, waking up screaming "You won't believe it!" then ignoring everyone else in the room, is RUDE! So don't you DARE pick on my size or little Pure who can't help what she is just because YOU feel like the victim. You were the one being rude and I reacted, maybe over-reacted, in kind. Maybe you would get an apology from me, but...I deserve one from you first..." She trailed off at the end of her long tirade and sighed. Damn these emotional outbursts...she thought to herself.

She turned away from Draol, putting her paw to her head. A single tear went down her cheek as she tried to calm herself, feeling a major headache coming on. She heard Paladin mention heading for Cianwood. "If we go to Olivine," she sniffled, forcing a calm she didn't feel into her tone, "then we can find a boat. I can probably get it going. If you want to make it to the island, that is..." she turned away from her group and walked over to the crumbled staircase, arms wrapped around herself. She hadn't felt this bad since she was traded...

((OOC: poor Kinah, she is really high strung...expect more emotional outbursts in the future ^_^))

Paladin grimaced as he watched the two bicker. As Kinah balled up her fists and looked away, he let one of his 'wings' pat her back. "then we can find a boat. I can probably get it going. If you want to make it to the island, that is..." he nodded. "Thanks." he smiled, as he craned his neck a bit.

"Arguing now during bad time, make life bad... Embrace life?" Angry Paladin's head snapped towards her. "She's right." he said, agreeing. "I hear heartbeat..." Angry Paladin looked at her. "From where?"

After hearing what everybody had to say and looked down sadly recollecting the bad things he said. "Look Pure I didn't really mean that you were infected, in fact you're more living than any of those things out there. And Kinah, I'm sorry for my rudeness but no one asked about what happened so I thought no one cared." He went up to her and patted her on the back. "We'll get to that boat with or without me. But first." Draol walked some distance away and entered in a fighting stance. "In order to protect those who are my friends, I must ensure that they can be safe when I am not near. But only if you choose. And you're close to evolving right? So fight me!"

"I'm sorry for my rudeness but no one asked about what happened so I thought no one cared."

Kinah tensed when she felt the Haxorus touch her, flinching off to the side. After all the awful things he said she just didn't want to be near him right now. He walked away but after a moment she could hear him calling out to her. "In order to protect those who are my friends, I must ensure that they can be safe when I am not near. But only if you choose. And you're close to evolving right? So fight me!"

She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at Draol with a dead stare, any trace of light in her eyes gone. "I did ask..." she muttered softly. "Call me whatever you want...I'm not going to fight you..." She turned back around and walked dejectedly over to Paladin and Pure, her head hung low with an occasional sniffle. It hadn't been that long since she felt this depressed, only a few months since she was traded and fell into a dark depression that left her angry and bitter as she slowly recovered. Now, thanks to the harsh words of the large Axe Jaw Pokemon at other end of the room, she once again heard, clear as ever, everything her trainer had said that fateful day.

"Small. Weak. Useless...Pathetic." She kept muttering those words, over and over, until the tears once again trailed fresh down her cheeks. She looked up at Paladin and Pure, seeming to reach out for them before changing her mind and drawing her paw back, shaking her head sadly. No. How could they want her? No one wanted her, she was no good to anyone. "What's left for me?" she whispered painfully. "Where do I belong now?"

((OOC: I know from personal experience that the road out of depression is filled with a lot of backtracking before finally recovering. This is just one of those moments. Poor thing...I'm so mean to her..))

"Where do I belong now?" Paladin looked worried. "Hey, cheer up. You're not alone, you still have us. Just like Pure said- we're friends... Right?" he gave a nervous chuckle. "... Under us... Hiding, very scared of the noise perhaps." Paladin thought. "Hey, Pure, what do you think the heartbeat is? Like, what Pokemon?" he asked.

Paladin jerked up, hearing something in the distance.


He looked outside a shattered window, spotting a monkey-like figure with fire on her tail. He brightened. Another survivor?! He opened his mouth and called out. "Hey! Hey! Up here! What's your name?"

Draol saw everyone gathered around Kinah to comfort her. Draol wanted to clear his name. "It was when the outbreak started, they came and invaded our village. Massacre. I was left behind, hiding, watching." Draol started to tear at these thoughts. "I was unable to control myself after another force was introduced. At first I thought it was me freaking out after losing everyone. But no, I aparently have a brother in my head with me since birth wanting to take control. In the mind we were both evenly matched." He grabbed his bell to show them. "I found this off a little boy, I think, which gave me the extra power to fight back. I only question who I got it from because I think my family is in here. Anyway, if I lose it we fight again leaving the body to do as it pleases, like resently." He put the bell down. "After evolve a load of energy was released from me, leaving me unconscious and weak for the body to take. But I was saved by you and them." Looking at his bell for a few seconds and smiling. Dropping the smile and crying. "Do any of you know what its like to kill someone you love. Save them from suffering or becoming one of those beasts!" He looked at Pure. "At least it seems like your losing it."

"But now you know. I won't say that it's why the way I acted but it's what has been happenning to me so far. I didn't want to hurt you when asking for a fight, I wanted you trained, to go as far as letting you kill me just so I knew you would be safe.So I don't have to kill another loved one. That's how much I care for you." Draol heard Paladin trying to gain the attention of what sounded like a new friend and started wiping his tears. "Come on now, seems as though we have someone else who'll join us."

"You, belong... Us~"
"Hey, cheer up. You're not alone, you still have us. Just like Pure said- we're friends... Right?"

Kinah sniffled a little, taking a small comfort in the words of the two beside her. It really helped that Paladin was so like her old friend Tarik, it made it so much easier to believe that they really considered her a friend. She bit back more tears, chewing on her lip until it bled, it was bad enough that she had broken down but in front of those she had fought alongside...to continue this weakness in their presence was unthinkable. Setting her face in a stern look she looked back at the Haxorus, who had apparently been speaking though she hadn't heard him.

"I didn't want to hurt you when asking for a fight, I wanted you trained, to go as far as letting you kill me just so I knew you would be safe.So I don't have to kill another loved one. That's how much I care for you."

Kinah scoffed, depression giving way to a new anger, much like the last time. "You dare to think I am weak just because I have not yet evolved?" she growled out. "You are just like him..." she turned away from Draol, not wanting to start another fight with him. She was not going to show any more weakness before these people if she could help it. Noticing Paladin had gone over to the window she looked at him in confusion, her right ear twitching with agitation. How many things was she not noticing since this episode? First the behemoth halfway through a speech then the twin-headed walking away and she didn't catch either of them? Unheard of for her keen senses! Putting a paw to her forehead she felt another headache coming on, and it was about to get worse.

"Hey! Hey! Up here! What's your name?" Why the Hell was he yelling out the window?! He was going to get them all killed if any infected heard him! And who was to say the thing he was yelling at wasn't one anyway? What was going on?! Did she miss something else? The headache came full on and, frustrated, she plopped down on the floor and crossed her arms and legs. Might as well wait for whatever was coming then.

"Hey! Hey! Up here! What's your name?" Flame looked up the Burned Tower and didn't see anyone. She looked a little further, past the tower. There was another one. This one was in better condition then it's counterpart. Flame looked up and down the tower till she saw what was calling to her. Is that another living pokemon? It had been awhile since she had seen or better yet, talked to another living. She slowly made her way to the other tower. On further inspection, the pokemon that called to her seemed to have two heads!? Flame was curios about this new pokemon. Flame being a monkey and all, started to climb the tower.

When she got to the window where the new pokemon waited, she used ThunderPunch on the glass. She jumped through the window, being careful not to land on the now broken glass. She looked all around at the new faces. She could not help but grin alittle. Um...Hello. My name is Flame. Where you the one's calling to me? Flame then turned her attention on the deer that stayed in the back of the group. Th.....This Pokemon is an infected!? Flame with out thinking attacks the deer with a ThunderPunch. I wont let you kill these pokemon, you infected scum!

"Um...Hello. My name is Flame. Where you the one's calling to me?" He nodded. "Yes! Nice to meet you, I'm Paladi-" he noticed her staring at Pure. "I wont let you kill these pokemon, you infected scum!" He jerked up, snarling, as she was about to hit Pure with a thunderpunch. He threw himself in the middle of the attack, being hit instead. He felt the electricity crackle on his body.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he half-roared half-growled. "That's my FRIEND you just tried to attack there." he growled, attempting to stand. He looked to Pure. "You alright?" he murmured.

Draol went from careing to frustrated after what Kinah said. "Wow I told you everything about my personal tragic life, and all you got out of that message was you thinking that I thought you were weak. No, there will be things stronger than you out there and when no one is there what then! Consider you and me done. I didn't want you hurt since you saved me, but now I see that anything you think is an offense makes you go from zero to one hundred. If you kill a Machamp with such ease, does that make anyone weak. But if up against a strong Whalelord that you can't beat, would you have wanted to get stronger when you had the chance, or complain about how someone says your a weakling that they didn't even mean? What then?" Draol saw the Chimchar come inside almost hiting Pure and wanted to talk to someone else. "Whoah slow down there, you don't see us fighting her do you?"