(ELITE) The SNOWPOINT Team

Strix cringed, baring his fangs as he attempted to slow his ragged breathing. He forced the air through his nostrils, clenching his jaws tightly as he blinked repeatedly to force his eyes to focus.
The Nidokings' ears flattened against his head as he listened to the cries and screams from below, his arms clutching the Espeon in his arms closer to him, in an effort to stop the pain throbbing through his body.
"H-Hera...I'm sorry..." He whispered, his dark eyes fixed emptily on the ground before him. The Nidokings' head hung low in defeat and anguish, his thick arm barely holding their weight. Blood trailed down his back and forearm, pooling slowly around the poison types' claw. His wounded gaze lifting to the Houndusk beside him, who was already staring at the Nidoking with a resolute gaze.
Strix bared his teeth weakly, already aware of what was running through the hounds' head.
No, Dante, don't be a dumbass...He thought, shaking his head as he glared up at the canine. The horned-hound sighed before turning to the edge of the broken stairway, his mind made up. Strix grunted as he scrambled after him, but the behemoth was too slow. The canine had already leaped down, landing with a heavy thud far below.

"Dante!" He growled, skidding to the edge in anger.
You dumb fucking bastard! What the hell are you doing!?
He watched anxiously as the hound quickly recovered and bounded after the others, out of their sight. Strix snarled as he lay Hera down and set himself in front of the stairwell.
"Nobody fucking move. Nothing good will come from going back down..." He growled, his voice thick with the threat of force and his eyes set in steely determination. With a last show of force, he lowered his claws to his side, prepared for any sudden moves. His muscular arms were dripping in both his blood and the blood of the Espeon, but the large beast stood ready to protect them...even if it meant protecting them from themselves.
___________________________________

Rune watched, her jaw slack in horror as she listened at the railway to the hideous screaming and growling echoing off of the walls. Her large claws clung to the metal bars tightly, her small frame shivering with fear. Her gaze tore from the floor far below them to the canine that suddenly appeared at her side.
"What the heck was that thing!?" She exclaimed, her blue gaze locking on the snowy white pup. "And where does he think he's going!?"

Rune looked indignantly to the ground floor before shifting her gaze to the Nidoking, who stomped to the entrance.
"Nobody fucking move. Nothing good will come from going back down..." He growled through enormous fangs.

The little Sneasel gaped in incredulity, treading carefully forward.
"What?! They need our help! We can't just leave them down there! That- that...THING is going to kill them!" She shouted, moving her claws to emphasize her words.

The Nidoking glared down at her, making the young weasel shrink back.
"Shut it. Now." He said bluntly, not offering any further reasoning.

(I'm assuming Hera was still in his arms. I also changed up Rune a bit, she's gonna be a little louder than before. If someone could protest a bit or attempt to jump too, just so Strix' show of angry is justified, lol)

Alice's sobbing began to slow, as she rapidly ran out of tears. Yon-co was dead, or about to be, and there was nothing she could do. The voices of the others seemed so distant as she buried her face in her paws. Why did everyone always have to die? Couldn't she once- just once, have someone important in her life stay? She felt guilty for having the thought. Dante and Strix were important. Hera and Ciara. But they let him die... Her mind spat the thought at her harshly. Even worse, was the quieter voice in the back of her head, saying but so did you.

The voice began to pick up in intensity. What was going on? Uncovering one eye, her vision cleared in time for her to see Dante rushing back down the hole where the stairs had been. He was going to fight that thing?! Looking around quickly, she counted the others. They were missing another. The other Electric type that had been with Ciara. Were they both fighting to avenge Yon-co? Her head was clearer now, and she could hear the voices more clear. The little blue girl was trying to convince Strix to have them all go back down.

Anger began to well up in the back of her mind. She didn't lose it, however, until the blue brat suggested that Dante and the other dog would die. She couldn't sit idle anymore.

"Shut up!" She shouted, moving her body shakily, trying to stand up. The first few moments were the hardest, as she tried to will her form to move. After that, however, she stood stronger than she had in a very long time. "If you go down there, that thing will kill you." She was much to small to even cause a scratch, unless Alice missed her guess. Turning her glare to Strix, she tried to keep her voice as flat as she could.

"I'm going with Dante." Intesifying her glare, she flicked her head towards Hera. "I'm not injured, and I'm the only one left who could help them downstairs. You need to stay and protect the others." She was resolute. She may not have been able to save Yon-co, but she sure as hell would avenge him.

Was the world even real anymore?

"H-Hera...I'm sorry..."

The words were all just a blur, syllables strung together with no regaurd for what they did.
Who they hurt
Who they tore apart.

"Nobody fucking move. Nothing good will come from going back down..."

There they were again. Nothing but words.

"What?! They need our help! We can't just leave them down there! That- that...THING is going to kill them!"

But those were not familiar. The words. Or wait... no.... were they...?
I couldn't tell you.

Were they real?
I couldnt awnser that either.

"Shut it. Now."

That voice was definately familiar. Already I knew it better than I seemed to know myself.
How is that possible? There was a flicker of life behind my eyes and I realized I was on the floor.

How long had I been there?

"Shut up!"

No, I definately knew that voice. Those words, though harsh, and the tone, though harsh, was someone I knew.
But how do I know them? Am I losing my mind?

After that, words were no longer being processed. My body was twitching, bleeding onto the cold floor of the warehouse that would forever hold my hell and my most precious memories. But my mind was swirling, moving much too fast. The sounds going around my body, the dangerous tones and frightened voices, were all just that.... noise. My limbs curled up, pulling the stick thin legs close to my body. I was cold, freezing where I lay, but at the same time, I was covered with warmth. ...why.... Why is the heat moving?... It came around my chest, where I should have had a cold pelt was warm. Moving over my forepaws as I curled up over myself. Bowing my head, sticking my chin to the base of my neck and burying my nose in my front paws while all the while pressing against my upper chest.

That was when I knew what the heat was. Why it moved.

Blood...

Blood. My blood. I had vauge memories, something stirred within my mind. THere was... electricity? And an Absol. Splintered wood? And diggining... Yes, numb paws. And diggining... But as I tried, the meaningfullness of both the injury and the bleeding escaped me. Because you may die, my inner self whispered to me, but I ignored it. No. I would not die. I had been through so much. What would be the point in dying? I had Kimmy. I had my family. I had... someone else... The vision of dark violet flashed behind my eyes, but I could not focus on it. My body twitched again, the expression on my face becoming agony despite my eyes both being closed. What was remaining of my ears flatten against my skull, lips pulling back as my breathing was nothing but sharp, fast pants. What is happening to me?

Still, the awnser eluded me.

My long tail dug itself inbetween my forepaws as I arched my back, a silent scream escaping my jaws as I pulled back my jaws to show teeth, bloodied from the numerous fights. Convulsing, I was still awear of the talking around me. But I could not place words to the voices. Names. The one hissing above me. Ciana?.... Or is is Mizua?... Rainfall...? Without realizing it, my mind was pulling faces from long before coming to the snowy mountains. Names from my past. The masulain tone snarling- Jude?... Jerome- F-Father?... I didn't know- I could not focus long enough on the name, the face belonging to the name, or even what was going on around me. I felt vibrations in the ground and flinched, pulling myself in tighter than I had before, completely hiding my face in blood and digging my paws into the wound as I tried to become smaller, to disappear.

Suddenly, without warning, the world changed again. My eye snapped open, jerking my head up and focusing on those around me with pupils slit from shock. Even as blood dripped from my face, my whiskers, I stared at the Nidoking, the Luxray, the Mightyena the Sneasel, and the the Growlithe. My eyes were clouded over, expression blank, but despite my appearance, I had never been so focused in my life. Their words washed over me, all at once. "If you go down there, that thing will kill you." The lioness was hissing at the Sneasel, turning harsh eyes to the Nidoking. The Nidoking.... It too my brain a heartbeat, but his name suddenly came to mind. Strix. The feline was not done. "I'm going with Dante." I was confused when she gestured to me. "I'm not injured, and I'm the only one left who could help them downstairs. You need to stay and protect the others."

I was almost offended. "Injured?" I growled, my expression suddenly sharp as I gave a dangerous glare back at her. Alice. I could remember now. To make my point, I got to my paws, not daring to look down and check to see if they shook. My gaze flickered from Strix to Alice, my eye alight with an inner flame, vicious and full of fury. The emotion felt foreign and wrong on my tounge and on my heart, but it was also the only one I could feel at that time. The only thing that let me stand. Rationally it was the adrenaline, but I was anything but rational at that point. "I am not weak," I spat. That was, until the screming hit my ears.

Face going slack, my eye widened to an almost impossible perfect circle as the thin lined pupil flickered to the direction of the door. I was rigid, my body tense as the dead as my tail whipped straight up behind me. A sick realization came to me - Why have I not noticed the cries before? - but I did not let myself focus on them. I was emotionless, a corpse on animate, not unlike the monsters who thrive outside. I turned my full force on the Nidoking, no longer giving any of the Pokemon around me names. "Move out of my way!!" I screeched, lashing out blindly with claws, not using any real attack, as I aimed a Psy Beam blindly around me.

Yon-co.



It was the last thing that I expected. At one moment, everyone was fleeing into the warehouse -Strix even baracading it off- and the next, it was just flashes and blood. As the monsterous beast emerged from the ground, seemingly out of nowhere, I gasped, eyes widened with terror. As her teeth sunk into my body, I gave a shrill cry of pain. I had been around a while, I had taken my fair share of beatings both before and after the Epidemic due to being a traveling, battling Pokemone. but the feeling of teeth.... of fangs ripping through tendons and skin to reach bone, and in less time than it takes to blink. I was never awear that something could feel so terrible, so sickeningly painful. Screaming out, I was not even awear of the words I was speaking. "Hera! Savanah- Alice, HELP!! Save me!" But by then I was sobbing, not being blessed enough by the gods to be numb of the experiance.

When teeth grinded against my beloved tail, not even all the way at the base, but just on it. Each bite was a knaw, simply chewing. I had a sick vision of a growlithe playing with a teething bone, yipping happily and biting playfully. But this time I am the bone. It was an actual miracle when the Houndoom finally severed it, earning nothing comprehendable on my side. I was sobbing, shaking, and bleeding. I could not even tell where I was bitten, where I was mutilated. The pain was everywhere. I was all too awear of the cold stench of death that came from the Houndoom. Blinking open dark orbs, my body only stiffened in horror as I realized her eyes were not usable. She was blind.

I whimpered out loud, snapping my head to one side in a vein attempt to look away from her. "Hera... Alice.... please..." Then teeth met flesh again. And I felt cold air chill parts of my body that were never meant to feel open air. When the Houndoom sudden vanished, I was only vaugely awear of it. I was making sounds I did not even know I could, gasps and hideous moans escaping my throat. The tears staining my face were already freezing over. I was just praying for someone to kill me.

[ooc: And on that note... I think I finally broke Hera. She is in bad shock right now. Make any attempt to calm her, but it won't do much.
Houndoom, feel free to slowly maul and injure my boy, just save the killing until the very last post. :3 He will not be revived, so the body is fair game. Supprise me.~]

She had never expected Dante to just leap off of the landing to go back to Raiden, and it struck a cord in the wounded Mightyena. As she lay there, broken and bloody, they were fighting for the good of the group. And what were they doing up here? Wasting their sacrifice by standing around like sitting Duckletts. This was the worst idea ever and no one seemed to be doing anything about it. "Nobody fucking move. Nothing good will come from going back down..." The destroyed stairs were testimony to that, but the Mightyena felt an anger growing towards their leader.

Alice had cut of the Alpha with some weak sense of revenge, trying to throw his own words back at him. But more than silence Strix it mostly just pissed Ciara off. "EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!" Ciara cried, tears streaming down her cheeks as she struggled to her feet. Her body was screaming in pain, the burn across her back leg stretching and tearing with the effort it took for her to stand once more. But she was so angry she didn't give a damn about the pain. These Pokemon needed to see just how selfish they were all being. "Don't you see that he is down there for you! He doesn't even know you but he is willing to risk his life for you...and you can't even be bothered to help him!" She had never had the courage to defy and Alpha before, but seeing Raiden brought back memories she had long since forgotten. Those few days of freedom had shown her that life wasn't all about taking orders. Sometimes, orders were meant to be ignored.

The small Sneasel who had joined them seemed to be of the same mindset, shouting her own words of encouragement to help the canines down below. But Strix's glare soon quieted her. "Shut it. Now." Ciara took a few steps closer to the massive dino and narrowed her gaze. "No." Hera flipped her shit over Alice's words but still her glare did not falter from the Nidoking. Even when the Espeon launched her Psybeam the dark hound didn't move, letting the attack pass over her harmlessly. But Strix was not so lucky. The attack slammed into him and toppled the great beast over the edge of the very stairs he had destroyed. Seeing him laying there, stunned and injured from Hera's assault, gave Ciara new confidence.

She leapt down, landing atop the purple dino, her fur having absorbed the psychic energy so pink and purple sparks danced across her form as it diffused the power without harming the Mightyena. She feared no psychic pokemon or their power right now but what she did fear was Raiden dying for Pokemon who didn't even care. Leaning down into Strix's face she gave him reason that brooked no argument. "If you can't get over your own fears and self-loathing long enough to help someone who is going to die for you, then maybe you don't know the meaning of the word 'team'." Ignoring any protests of the remaining Pokemon Ciara jumped off of Strix and headed down the hall, intent on serving Raiden the way he had when she was a puppy.

__________________________

The banshee's wail was chilling, causing the Manectric's heart to race with adrenaline as fear began to grip him, but he didn't stop his attack. He couldn't. There were Pokemon in there who needed him to buy them time and he wasn't going to let them down. His attack didn't stop until the moment he felt fangs clamping down on his shoulder, causing him to howl in pain. The devil hound chewed and tore at his flesh, working the muscle beneath until it was damn near useless, and it was only when she was ruthlessly tackled to the ground that her fangs lost their grip and he was able to roll away. Rising to his feet, shifting his weight off of his right front leg since the shoulder refused to support the tension, he looked over to see Dante standing before him. The skeletal hound wore a glare, muttering and calling him a dick, but that didn't stop the smile that broke out on Raiden's face. "You came back."

Dante turned his focus to the Raichu, still alive but struggling. Raiden limped towards the pair but kept a close eye on the demon Houndoom lest she get back up before they could defend themselves. For good measure he stood before them and summoned a Protect, holding the barrier steady in order to keep his companions out of harm's way. "Dante," he began, keeping his eyes to the Undead even as he spoke. "I want to commend you for change of heart. It takes a bigger person to put the lives of others before his own, and you seem ready for that kind of responsibility. They won't survive unless this thing is kept too occupied to know they are here." Little did he know that the very ones he was trying to protect were currently on the way down the stairs to join the fight.

((Sil, please make Dante notice that Raiden didn't apologize for calling him a mongrel, lol.
Houndoom, feel free to make Raiden's Protect 'fail'. As before you can attack and give him a few scars but no loss of limb and nothing life threatening. Happy hunting you sexy hound!
Edited slightly to reflect an error on my part, and worked with Ana for Ciara's scene with Strix. Permission to manipulate Strix's fall in this post and for Ciara to stand on him given by Ana.))

All of the hysteria of the situation felt like drums banging inside of Arianna's ears. She hung her head, listening to the babble very numbly. She perked up only when she started to hear Rune talking.

"What the heck was that thing!? And where does he think he's going!?"

Arianna shook her head in response, too isolated in her own mind to truly comprehend the rampage going on downstairs. How could she though, she was too weak to even try to help. Weak. Young, pampered and stupid. Wouldn't she show them that they were wrong. Some day she'd prove all of them wrong.... She looked up as Rune spoke again.

"What?! They need our help! We can't just leave them down there! That- that...THING is going to kill them!"

"EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP! Don't you see that he is down there for you! He doesn't even know you but he is willing to risk his life for you...and you can't even be bothered to help him!"

"Shut up! If you go down there, that thing will kill you."

Arianna's ears drooped, touching along the back of her head. All of this anger was starting to get to her. These stranger pokemon were mad, and it was very uncomfortable to her. She then suddenly was angered, realizing the tone they were using with the Sneasel. They were being awfully mean to someone who was right in this instance. The small Growlithe's stance widened and she barked as ferociously as she could manage.
"H-Hey! Be nice to her, she's right! We can't just..." she trailed off, her voice being drowned out by the other's babbling.

"Shut it. Now."

"No."

"I'm going with Dante. I'm not injured, and I'm the only one left who could help them downstairs. You need to stay and protect the others."

"Injured? I am not weak. Move out of my way!!"

"If you can't get over your own fears and self-loathing long enough to help someone who is going to die for you, then maybe you don't know the meaning of the word 'team'."

Arianna's ears were pained with the hysteria. She couldn't possibly be so weak. She wanted to help so bad, but she wasn't strong enough. Maybe she didn't know the meaning of "team." But then again, she didn't even know of the word "family." She never was part of something, it was just her all this time. But... why couldn't she redeem herself. She NEEDED to redeem herself. She felt like even her home life was coming back to hurt her. She couldn't let it do that. It couldn't come back to haunt her, that's why she left in the first place. She watched the others leap down the stairs, wishing she could go and help too. Her face hardened, looking down at the floor, her ears still pressed against her head. She felt irrational, crazed. She couldn't possibly hope to defeat this monster when she was only a child. ... No. She had to prove to someone. To herself. That she wasn't a selfish little brat. She stomped her foot, making her way towards the stairs, ready to dash out into battle.

----

(OoC: I was hoping maybe Strix or Rune could stop her, Ana? ^^; She really is too weak to be going out to fight. lol.)

The sudden musk that hit her nose came too late as she soon felt something hard collide with her own skull, the sound of bone against bone echoing over the crisp air. She howled in protest as she careened through the chilled winds, skidding into and through the snow until she came to a soft halt, surrounded by gentle snow. Unable to see where exactly she'd ended up and where was up, she struggled and thrashed until the snow shed itself around her, the Harbinger finally finding her bearings and rising to her feet.

Her frenzied mind searched for her assailant, for the prey she'd been so cruelly taken from. His screams were now gone, the silence threatening to once more settle its deafening blanket over her. She shrieked, baying at her invisible, intangible enemy. She was not done yet. She sniffed the air, her still-sharp sense of smell finding her targets easily. Blood lingered in the air like a taunting meal hanging over her, the carrot that bid her on. She darted forward, lithe, lean legs carrying her quickly over the dunes of snow that tried in vain to slow her assault. Forward, forward, ever forward. Away from the silence, toward the blood. Forward, forward...

She soon collided with another wall, this one lacking a sound other than her own empty body smashing into it. Bones dislocated, but without pain, she did not care. She let out a frustrated howl and tried biting and clawing at the wall, furious that she was once again blocked from her targets. She reared back only to come crashing down on it again, but still it held. Only with the third attempt she broke through, crashing through and landing on warm fur.

Her blind skull sought the flesh beneath her, the many shrieks and cries of terror a beautiful symphony of ecstasy. Her rotten teeth snapped down, catching the taut muscle of her second victim, the one that had been so valiant in distracting her from the first. She snapped greedily at him, scoring small chunks from his ear, shoulder and arm. She would have her prey. She would have them drive the silence away, have them bring the only joy she'd ever known back to her.

She bit down, not allowing escape this time.

It didn't reassure Dante that Yon-co didn't respond, his wounds already bleeding out a frightening amount. The thought of carterizing the wounds came to him, and as he was about to do so, the sound of snow crunching caused him to turn to see the manectric limping toward him, his face alight with gratitude. The electric's brightness met Dante's own anger and irritation; his icy eyes narrowing into a firm glare. That wouldn't have happened if you'd just listened to me, asshole... he growled in his thoughts, fur bristling. If the banshee wasn't a threat, he'd pin him down himself and gnaw on his shoulder a while to better prove his point.

"Dante," he began, his focus on the houndoom in the distance, struggling to regain her bearings. "I want to commend you for change of heart. It takes a bigger person to put the lives of others before his own, and you seem ready for that kind of responsibility. They won't survive unless this thing is kept too occupied to know they are here." He gave an angry snort and shot the manectric a nasty, furious snarl, teeth bared ferociously against the other.

"Fuck you, pal," he snapped, throwing a quick tongue of flame against Yon-co's haunch, sealing it. At least he wouldn't bleed out yet. "You have no fucking idea what I've already done for these people, to protect them and keep them safe. I was keeping the majority of my pack safe, up and away from harm, and then you had to go off on a fucking crusade for someone that probably won't survive his wounds!" His eyes latched onto the oncoming hound, his stance widening to anticipate the blow. You're the one that abandoned her there, buddy. Try not to think about that when you're lying on the snow, dying." He took in a steadying breath, and then she collided with the Protect.

Once. Twice. The barrier held, and Dante could only swallow before she shattered through the wall, collapsing onto them. For a few terrible moments, all that was there were flashes of teeth, bone and claws. He had managed to not fall directly onto the little wounded rat, but he soon discovered that the houndoom had found flesh to clamp onto once more, picking away at the electric's body. Snarling, Dante sent out a Dark Pulse, hoping that it would effectively push the houndoom away once more.

((Let me know if I need to edit, Ciana, since I couldn't have Dante not help Yonny XD))

Strix looked anxiously at all of them, a snarl growing in his throat as they, one by one, began to turn on him.
"Shut up!"
"If you go down there, that thing will kill you."
"H-Hey! Be nice to her, she's right! We can't just..."
"I'm going with Dante."
"I'm not injured, and I'm the only one left who could help them downstairs. You need to stay and protect the others."
"I am not weak!"
"EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!"
"Don't you see that he is down there for you! He doesn't even know you but he is willing to risk his life for you...and you can't even be bothered to help him!"
The Nidoking shook his head in frustration and rage before letting a great bellow loose from his enormous jaws. Silence fell on the group as he bristled with anger.
"Nobody. Is. Fucking. Moving." He growled, each word emphasized as he looked at each of them with a ferocious glare. "...I'm not asking," the Nidoking snarled, raising to his full-height. "...I'm telling."

"...No." Strix bared his fangs instinctively as he watched the barely-in-one-piece canine stalk forward, her stance weak but rebellious. The Nidoking stomped a heavy foot forward in a show of intimidation when a sudden screech and blurred body made him twist around in shock.
"Move out of my way!!" Strix' eyes flew open wide as he saw a flash of the Espeon leaping at him in attack. Before he could react, a blast of Psychic energy blasted him.
"Raaaaarrrgh!" The poison-type threw his claws up to his head in pain, his whole body arching backward and careening over the jagged edge. A heavy and loud crunch sounded as the Nidoking made contact with the concrete three stories below, echoing throughout the building.


Laying against the shattered concrete in a small crater the size of his body, the Nidoking lay bleeding and unable to move. Every bit of his shattered body screamed with pain. All that was there of the behemoth was his slow and broken thoughts.
Hera...why did you betray me...?
Just...wanted to...protect...
Protect them...
All...dead now...
Just like...
I've failed...
That thing...eat them all...

A sudden jolting pain rippled through his body as something landed on him, making the armored beast shriek weakly. The oxygen from his lungs was stolen away from the sudden jolt, his eyes blind with the brilliant red of shock and physical pain. But not far from his large ear, he heard a cold, feminine voice.
"If you can't get over your own fears and self-loathing long enough to help someone who is going to die for you, then maybe you don't know the meaning of the word 'team'."

The Nidoking was taken aback by the words. The venom they held could be felt coursing throughout his entire body, all forcing its' deadly weight onto his heart. Too weak and hurt to fight the pain any longer, the Nidoking slowly closed his eyes and retreated from the horrors and pain of the waking world and into the deep dark of nothingness.

_________________________________



Rune watched in horror as the Nidoking flew off of the edge, his body contorting mid-air from the attack. Her heart stopped momentarily when an echoing thud came from below as she stared at the now empty space where Strix was. The young Sneasel bounded forward, shaking herself out of her stupor. The weasel slid to her knees and perked her head over, to only be greeted with a macabre site. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth hung agape as she stared down, watching the blood slowly pool around the large beast.
"...What have you done..." She whispered in disgust and dread, her large claws clinging tightly to the edge.

But the canine didn't seem to care about her presumed ally falling to their death, but rather encouraged as she bounced down and landed on the purple beast, earning a cry of pain from him and a gasp of shock from Rune.
"What is wrong with you!?" She cried after her before spinning around to the others with her. "You just killed him! You killed him!" She let out a feline shriek at them, her eyes wide with revulsion as she slowly backed away from them all with a confounded shake of her head. "He was trying to help! He was just TRYING TO HELP!" She screamed, tears flowing from her eyes. Her small head turned to them all, astonished at them. But her gaze locked on the small Growlithe, who moved to the broken stairway in an attempt to get down.
"NO!" She hissed, using an Aerial Ace to leap and pin the little canine. "You can't!" Her large claws clamped tightly on the hounds' shoulders, keeping her from turning or moving. The Sneasel bared her small fangs and hissed, hoping the dog wouldn't fight back.

(Omg, this was such a hard post)

Alice's head whipped around when Hera spoke, trying to stand. Judging by the way she looked, it had to be painful to simply stand. Weak, no. Alice would never say this feline was weak. Alice respected Hera for trying to fight, even if it was a losing battle. She was obviously too injured to help without getting in the way, and none of them wanted to lose another friend. She was about to say so, when Strix began talking again. The look on the Nidoking's face was dangerous, a mix of fury and fear she was growing all to used to. She had no doubt he would stop them if they tried to make a run for it. She wouldn't just leave the others, however. She had to find a way around him...

Hera provided the perfect distraction.

Alice saw her jump at him, and took her chance. She didn't turn around to see what had happened, she only knew she had broken through to the front lines. Moving fast as she was, she was able to soften the impact of dropping through the hole, managing to keep her momentum moving forward. Dashing outside, she quickly tried to locate Dante and the Manetric.

There.

Not far away, Alice could see Dante and the other one standing over something on the ground. No... Alice couldn't force herself to move forward, to see what it was. She knew what it was. She didn't think she would ever be able to force herself to look at it, though. She couldn't see another corpse, especially not his.

[skip, skipskipskip. i am done with today. cant post. dont have anything for them to do. just skip]

Raiden howled in pain as his barrier protecting them fell and the Houndoom started taking chunks of his flesh. He scratched and bit, trying to get the bitch off, but he couldn't get her teeth to let go. Dante tried letting loose another Dark Pulse but he couldn't tell if it worked or not, so he let loose his own Discharge. "Get off of me you devil!" He was serving his purpose, distracting the demon while they fled, but if he died now it wouldn't matter. They needed more time.

Ciara had other plans however and Raiden was shocked to find her charging outside and going for the Houndoom with a Thunder Fang. She was so heavily injured Ciara knew she likely wouldn't survive this encounter but she wasn't going to sit back and do nothing. Raiden deserved so much more than that. She owed him her life, a debt that had never been repaid, and she was going to see it through. Even if she died she knew right now she was the most alive she had ever been in her life because this life was finally hers. Looking at the Houndoom she let out a snarl and bared her fangs menacingly. "If you want him you have to go through me!"

((Houndoom, Ciara is really badly injured and I have changed my plans for her. Is there any way you can deal a fatal blow after her 44th post? I will have her die from the wound on her 45th most likely from blood loss. Raiden is to remain alive however so no life threatening damage to him.))

Arianna stiffly walked, not sure if she was doing the right thing or not. She stopped, hearing the Nidoking cry out in anger and hurt.

"Raaaaarrrgh!"

Arianna glanced back, seeing the Espeon just barely dash by her. But in that same moment, she saw the Nidoking who had been trying to protect everyone, step back and fall off the ledge of the stairs. The pale Growlithe stared in horror, seeing him fall with a roar. Her form physically cowered hearing the huge beast crash to the floor. She sighed, holding her breath since she had heard him yell. She stared to hyperventilate, worried about the dinosaurs well being at this point. The Sneasel who had stayed behind with her was freaking out at this point, keening and shrieking with fear. All Arianna could do was stare down at the violet pokemon, the dust starting to clear.

"...What have you done... What is wrong with you!? You just killed him! You killed him! He was trying to help! He was just TRYING TO HELP!"

The pup looked away for a moment, the fear physically visible on her face. She had to do something. Never mind that she wanted to prove her worth to herself, this was more important. She was being selfish with trying to increase her confidence while others were dying. She was going to go down there and help him. She had to. She started to walk again, very shakily towards the stairs. Suddenly, her ears were blasted with another loud yell.

"NO! You can't!"

Arianna yelped, feeling weight slamming her onto the ground. The Sneasel pinned her. The pup yipped, not fighting back but tried to negotiate.
"We gotta help him! I was gonna go out to the fight... but it's meaningless now! We gotta help that Nidoking!"
She wriggled, hoping the Sneasel would see her point as well.

-----
(OoC: I am so out of it today |D;; I hope the post is ok. Been having panic and anxiety attacks.)

The silence was gone, but her prey... her prey would not submit. She wasn't quite sure whether that was a good thing or not, since she enjoyed their screams and cries and blood... but they attacked and flung her every which way. They tried abusing her broken, painless body, the shell that no longer felt or saw-- only heard and smelled. Even the taste of their blood was a mere memory, fueled by instinct and the malice the Virus had implemented in her dying brain. But as she tore at a tingling shoulder, she was hit and then hit again, the second attack tearing her from her prey. Her light body flew several yards back into the snow, leaving her only a chunk of flesh for her bored and hungry fangs to chew.

She regained her footing, standing once more on her stilted legs. Her horned skull of a head jerkily "looked" around, her olfactory sense still trying to pick up her prey's whereabouts. But a voice in the dark illuminated her path. "If you want him you have to go through me!"


Him? Him, him, him. Him... The houndoom tilted her head only slightly, clicking her jaws together in thought as her prey's flesh still hung from her teeth. "Him, him him. Through you? Through, through, through, through the you for him." She sounded near parrot-like, her legs slowly bringing her closer to the voice that had called to her. Her voice nearly played with the words, their meaning nearly lost on the skeleton hound. "Through the you for him. Want him, through you... Through the you for him, through the you for him!" She sprang, lunging for the creature foolish enough to call.

Warm flesh met her teeth, her jaws latching onto the creature's very furry scruff. No, fluff wouldn't do. Fluff wasn't meat, it wasn't meat. Fluff was fluff, fluff had no blood, meat had blood. Frustrated, she started shaking her head, trying to rid the fluff from both her prey and her jaws much like a predator would do to break its prey's neck. She twisted and flung her neck, hoping to rip the very skin from her prey's meat.

"Get off of me you devil!" The manectric hadn't had time to reply to Dante's rather scathing words with the She-Devil bursting through the beaten and battered Protect. She managed to stay on through his Dark Pulse, but the Discharge sent her flying, as well as Dante. The electricity hit him square in the chest, flinging him into a large dune of snow. It would be his luck to get hit with that damn attack twice in one fucking day. I really hate that goddamned attack...

Once he collected himself and reemerged out into the battle, so had the Houndoom. But a voice attracted both of their attention, the voice of a badly wounded and battered mightyena. Ciara...?

"If you want him you have to go through me!"

No... "Dammit, Ciara, get the fuck out of here!" he cried, his voice laden with fear and distress. With a monster like that on the prowl, there was no way she'd be able to survive this fight. And he knew exactly why she was out here too-- that dumbass fucking manectric. But the Houndoom had only heard her, and she clicked her naked jaws in excitement.

"Through the you for him. Want him, through you... Through the you for him, through the you for him!" She lunged and effortlessly caught the poor girl on the scruff, shaking and flinging her around like a rag doll. Dante flinched and lurched forward, both Raiden and Yon-Co forgotten. His periphery even told him that Alice was nearby, but it was all cast aside. He'd tried so hard to save Ciara not hours prior from that damned camerupt. Through his and Strix's perseverence, they'd gotten her through the blizzard and blood back to consciousness and life. Now, because of the calvalry, she was back on the battlefield where she didn't even belong in the first place! His legs carried him quickly, the fastest he'd ever run, and still it was far too slow.

He rammed into the Houndoom once more, just as he had as she had tried to kill the manectric. I should have let her have him... he snarled in his mind as his heavier body flung the skeletal hound away once more, back into the deep snow. He stood over her, panting, snarl still on full as his eyes were locked onto where the demon had fallen. "You need to listen to me, Ciara," he growled, his voice low. "I didn't bring you back from the brink of death just for you to fucking die here for him! Get your ass back up there with the others! NOW!"

((Permission given to fling Houndoom again.))

"We gotta help him! I was gonna go out to the fight... but it's meaningless now! We gotta help that Nidoking!" The small canine whimpered, her brilliant blue eyes wide as she struggled against Runes' claws.

"I-! I-I know!" Rune hissed frantically, her mind racing. "But...what can we do!? He's dead for all we know!" She whimpered, her voice cracking as she shoved herself off the pup. "...He- he said we needed to stay up here..." The Sneasel swallowed hard, her breath coming out shallow and quick. Her large ears picked up all the sounds coming from outside of the warehouse, and they were only a herald for impending death.

"If you want him you have to go through me!"
"Dammit, Ciara, get the fuck out of here!"
"Through the you for him. Want him, through you... Through the you for him, through the you for him!"

Runes' ears flattened as her large claws flew to the top of her head, her eyes shutting tightly.
I don't know what to do! We're all going to die!

(Brilliant post, Houndoom. So utterly creepy.
Strix is being skipped, since he's unconscious. And Tails dear, if you manage to get out of SH before your turn- you can convince Rune to stop flipping out and help Strix next turn around, lol)

Alice watched with wide eyes, breathless, as the Houndoom pounded on the barrier that the electric dog had created. By the looks of it, it wouldn't hold long. Once... Twice... Finally, the barrier fell.

Alice watched with wide eyes, breathless, as the Houndoom attacked. Dante and the other tried to fight back, but she kept hitting hard, attacking the blue dog relentlessly.

Alice watched with wide eyes, breathless, as Ciara burst outside, prepared to fight for her life and the lives of her friends.

Alice watched with wide eyes breathless, as the Houndoom made the first attempt to take that life. And likelye succeeded.

A small voice in the back of Alice's head mocked her. Is this all I can do? It teased. Stand around and watch as everyone dies? In an attempt to fight it, she argued. No, before, when we fought the Absol, and the Zoroark, I- again, the thought interrupted her. Stood around. Useless. Her friends were dying. They would die. They would all die. But she could fight anyway. She would fight anyway. The others deserved that much. She owed them all.

Dashing forward, she moved to join the Dog and Dante. She stood at the side, but said nothing. For her, there were no words to say. Thinking quickly of strategy, however, she found herself at a sudden loss. She had no ranged attacks except Discharge. She couldn't use that though. Not with Dante and Ciara here. A shame. She would have to wait for an opening, then run in and use one of her close ranged attacks. It was her only option however, and she would take it.

Ciara howled as the devil hound sank her fangs into he scruff on the back of her shoulders, wincing as she shook her head violently in an attempt to rip the fur and flesh from her body. It was only Dante slamming into the Houndoom that finally freed her fangs from Ciara's fur, trickles of blood pooling up from underneath where the follicles had been ripped clean away despite still being matted together by old blood. "You need to listen to me, Ciara," Dante's voice growled out to her, causing the Mightyena to turn. "I didn't bring you back from the brink of death just for you to fucking die here for him! Get your ass back up there with the others! NOW!"

Ciara's eyes leveled with Dante's for the first time and she didn't even blink as she uttered just one word. "No." Turning her gaze from the skeletal hound before her she focused on the decaying skeleton in the snow, sparks of electricity once again dancing across her fangs. "I owe him more than my life Dante, for times so long ago I had almost forgotten. But there is one thing we both already know and that is the fact that I am as good as dead already. At least this way...this way I can die with a clear conscience." Feeling no more need to speak the female launched herself at the downed hellhound and aimed her Thunder Fang for the bitch's neck.

((Two more posts and you are free to kill my girl Houndoom. You can mess her up a little bit more just no loss of limb, I want her to die still somewhat whole.))

"I-! I-I know! But...what can we do!? He's dead for all we know! ...He- he said we needed to stay up here..."

Arianna nodded, but then felt the cat get off of her. Arianna stood up, looking at the stairs.
"Nevermind that! We gotta help him, because he tried to help us! He could be dying, but he may still be alive! I'm going down there, you can come if you want." she said hurriedly, but not harshly. She bolted down the stairs, feeling the icy stone steps touch her pads. She looked down to the bleeding Nidoking, hoping that he was still alive like she hoped. She jumped down the last two stairs, scurrying over to the large dinosaur pokemon. She sniffed around him, smelling the blood on his rough body. She sat next to him, and gently poked his face with a paw. Would he move? She glanced around, gnashing her teeth and cowering as she heard the screaming outside.

"If you want him you have to go through me!"

"Dammit, Ciara, get the fuck out of here!"

"Through the you for him. Want him, through you... Through the you for him, through the you for him!"

Arianna whimpered quietly, tapping her tail against the ground impatiently. Oh jiminy krikitune, we gotta get this guy up. The light blue pup put her front paws on the Nidoking, shaking him back and forth and hoping he'd get up.
"C'mon Mr. Nidoking, we gotta get going! Things are getting looney!" The young dog continued to shake at the bulky purple pokemon, glancing over her shoulder to try to look at the fight that was going on outside.

-----
(OoC: |D I hope that was acceptable enough, Ana. But yeah, here we go. owo)

Another hit. More tumbling. More cold.
Where was the flesh her rotting teeth sought? The screams of agony were muted, distant...
Houndoom fought her way through the cold, thick blanket of snow she was caught in again, this time far more furiously than the last.
She would not be deafened again.
Her thin limbs flailed and pumped desperately, her nearly skeletal frame writhing beneath the snow as her fire built within her bare maw. Her fury getting the better of her as the snow quickly acquiesced to her heat, she allowed the fire burning in her throat to flicker and travel about her bone head, the small, curious tongues of flame licking, caressing her skinless, muscless form.

With the fire's quiet hunger and the snow quickly bowing to it, the voices returned more and more, more and more and more until they were once again crystal clear. The one she'd grabbed, the dark female, was speaking, but words didn't matter anymore. They were chittering sounds, syllables to parrot and cry out. She clicked her jaws together, enjoying the soft clack of bone on bone snapping together. But the moment she was completely out of the snow again, she heard movement.

Movement toward her.
Sloppy movement.
Crackly movement.
Had she lips to grin, it would have spread across her face. Even as the attack tickled her remaining fur, she did little to avoid it; rather, she lunged straight forward, meeting the prey head on. The attack danced across her fur, but it did nothing. Her fangs broke through it easily, and while her prey's measely fangs grabbed the Houndoom's flesh, her own sank into the fresh meat as well.

Houndoom's momentum and force brought the prey down, her teeth releasing as the prey flailed during the fall. But the prey did not run; Houndoom's feet caught the prey before it could. Placing herself over the panting fallen, clicking her teeth over her, she leaned in close.
The words from earlier draped carelessly into her mind, barely in the order she'd heard them in.
"Way can you the die... Die, die-die, die, with good the conscious?
Dead, good.
Good dead.
Good as the dead you are."

Her voice trailed as her bared teeth gently poked her prey's skin, her feet still holding her hostage down.
"Through the you for dead the him..."
Once she reached her prey's flank, she prodded it once, feeling the tough muscle beneath and, without warning, bit down. But her front teeth were the only ones to sink in, Houndoom's fangs carefully breaching only skin. But as she did, a rare occurrence emerged.
She hummed.
"Singing, singing with you, just singing in rain the, what glorious day feeling again happy through you for him." Her sing-song muttering continued as her teeth expertly peeled back the skin, exposing raw muscle to the cold. Hot blood poured from the wound as she pulled more and more, wanting the screams, the proper melody for the symphony she craved.

"No." Dante turned to look at Ciara, seeing for once since he'd met her, a defiance in her eyes he hadn't known was there. His eyes stayed on her, his mind knowing and dreading what she would say next. "I owe him more than my life Dante, for times so long ago I had almost forgotten. But there is one thing we both already know and that is the fact that I am as good as dead already. At least this way...this way I can die with a clear conscience."

"But that doesn't mean you have to--" But before he could even get his complete sentence out, she bolted out after the Houndoom, and a feeling of uselessness, of helplessness washed over him. She would become another casualty, another number on his count of pokemon he just couldn't save. Infuriated that his endeavors at keeping her alive, his own sacrifices made completely in vain and for naught because of one goddamned pokemon, he turned, livid, to the manectric. Tail high, fur bristing and teeth bared in a hateful, malicious snarl, it didn't take a psychic to know what he was telling the other, This is all your goddamn fault.

He leapt after her, his first instinct to protect her when her words echoed in his mind. She already saw herself as dead. She threw herself at the demon hound so to give them another chance at escape. Another. Fucking. Martyr. He watched as the Houndoom wasted no time in pinning her down; there was precious little medicine, if any, left in that box, and they'd have to pry her out from the Houndoom's jaws... Whether he liked it or not, she... she was a lost cause. Guilt stabbed him, clawed deeper into his chest than any of that dog's fangs ever could. He took a step back, leaning more toward the others as he painfully resolved to do what he had to do. Protect the pack. "I'm so sorry, Ciara..." His apology was little more than a whisper, drowned out in an ocean of screams.

He turned back, facing the others with a stern resolve. "Everyone, get back in the fucking warehouse. If you don't, I will personally drag and throw you in there myself!" His eyes went immediately to Raiden, his posture and demeanor daring the other canine to object. "You need to help be get everyone inside. Thanks to your heroics, Ciara's a lost cause. Get. In. Side. NOW, before you kill anybody else." His tone was nearing dangerous, his fangs bore to reveal tongues of fire licking at their backs. He picked up Yon-Co by the scruff, then ran toward the hole. Alice was standing guard at the entrance, and...

Dante nearly dropped the Raichu in his mouth when he saw Strix on the floor, unconsious-- or worse. The sneasel and growlithe were on him, trying to assist him in any way possible. Tossing Yon-Co somewhat gently to a darkened corner to hide, he wen to Strix, putting his paws on the bloodied armor and frantically shaking the beast. "Not you too, buddy," he pleaded. "Not you too!" He headbutted and pushed on Strix's limp form with as much strength as he could, desperately trying to rouse the only other pokemon there with reason. "Come back, you goddamned asshole-- GET UP!"

[[PM me if I need to change anything]]

All was darkness.
Sweet, all-engulfing, silent darkness.
No flesh-eating monsters. No friends to leave behind or kill, no pain of betrayal, no lungs to even breathe...

"C'mon Mr. Nidoking, we gotta get going! Things are getting looney!"

No. No more. Just let me die.

"Come back, you goddamned asshole-- GET UP!"

Nonononono...

The silence was soon getting filled with screams, but the more immediate shock to the Nidoking was the sudden, agonizing pain. He could feel his body getting shoved, and with the movement, dozens of knives digging into his chest. Strix' eyes shot open, his breath stolen from his lungs as he tried to scream. Blood spewed from his mouth, making his cries come out in gurgling bursts through his large teeth. The Nidoking struggled in desperation for air, his body convulsing as he clutched wildly at the horned hound at his side.

_____________________________

"Nevermind that! We gotta help him, because he tried to help us! He could be dying, but he may still be alive! I'm going down there, you can come if you want."

The Sneasel cringed in uncertainty, her claws held closely to her chest. She's right...we gotta help him!

"But-but how are we-?" Before she could finish her question, the small canine was already down the broken stairs. Rune took a deep breath, her large feathered ear falling against her skull as she quickly followed. She leaped across, using her large claws to clamp into the walls to slow her descent. Feeling her feet touch the concrete, she bounded over to the giant bloodied beast, unsure of what to do.

Her eyes looked over his body, her mouth agape. Along the Nidokings' back was a large, dark gash, running under his blood-stained armor. The Sneasel cautiously moved closer, her brilliant blue eyes narrowing.
These...these were done by...She clenched her jaws, instantly recognizing the wounds that a Sneasels' claws could make.
...So he's the one that killed them...
"I-is he okay...?" She hissed at the canine, who was near his face.
Not getting an answer, the Sneasel carefully stuck her claw between the giant beasts' armor, wrapping her talons around the large shards of ice protruding from the exposed flesh and pulling them out quickly. The Nidoking didn't respond. Dropping the bloodied shards to the ground, she proceeded to carefully pull more out.

"He has a bunch of ice shards in his back!" she cried out frantically to the Growlithe, just as the large canine bounded in with a tattered Raichu in his jaws.

(So Strix got a lung-full of broken ribs, lol. I figured ground/poison types like him don't do too well at falling from high places. Who knows where the med box is now, but he'll need something. Permission to do stuff that's reasonable)

The world seemed to go still when the Houndoom's teeth connected with Ciara. That moment hung in Alice's mind, and her ears were deaf to all else. Not another one... Her mind reeled. She'd been useless to help. Again. Maybe if she went now, she could- No. She didn't allow that thought to continue. The others didn't need another body to bury, if there was going to be anyone left after this, anyway. Slowly, sound began to return, and she became aware of her surroundings again. She hadn't felt the tears began to fall, but she could see her vision blurring. Dante was in front of her. What was he saying? Get inside? She could hear the harshness of his voice. Of course... Poor Dante... It had to hurt, being such a strong leader, and yet having everything crumble apart underneath him. She tried not to look at Yon-co, who was being carried by the scruff. If Dante brought him in, then maybe that meant he was still alive. But then again, maybe not. She was too afraid to find out. Turning around, she started to follow Dante back inside. No point in arguing. What she saw shocked her even more than Ciara's brave assault.

Strix?! How had he gotten down here- The crater around him told the story. Hera... Wha.... What did you do?! She had rushed out so fast after the attack that she had dismissed it as a distraction, not worrying about what may have happened. She didn't think anything could have happened. Had Hera gone insane? After all those two had been through, she nearly killed him! Head twisting around, she tried to find the med-kit. Shit! She couldn't find it just by looking. "You two!" She yelled at the white dog and Sneasel standing behind Strix. "Help me find the med-kit! We need it if we're going to save him!" Quickly, she began to forage, incredibly aware of how little time they had.

[Skip. No fucking time.]

Ciara ignored Dante's words as she plowed headlong into battle, sinking her Thunder Fang into the raging Undead whose sole purpose it was to destroy them. But it was like a child trying to hit a giant. Her attack was pointless and only served as an opportunity for the Houndoom to lock her jaws around the Mightyena's only good back leg. Teeth sank into flesh and soon the protective layers were peeled away. She screamed in pain as her muscle was exposed and what did she hear under her own screams?

The bitch was singing.

Angry and in pain she kicked with her back leg to try and hit the hound in the jaw, hoping to silence the selfish creature. All she had ever wanted was to be normal, to be just like any other Pokemon, but the only thing she had ever known was pain and her orders. The blood running from her freshly opened hide was nothing new but she knew that on top of her other injuries it was another step towards oblivion. But she couldn't die yet, not when the others still had a fighting chance to escape. When Raiden was still hurt and needed her help... No. She would fight.

So fight she did.

((Raiden is just looking guilty so he skipped again, as he can't go after Ciara due to his shoulder. Dante's words didn't help, lol.
Houndoom, you may now deliver the fatal blow and feel free to be creative. Only do try to keep her in one piece. I will write Ciara's death post in the next cycle))

Arianna wildly looked around, suddenly seeing the weird dog pokemon that had gone outside earlier come back in. He started shoving against the Nidoking as well.

"Not you too, buddy, not you too! Come back, you goddamned asshole-- GET UP!"

The Nidoking was stirring, but then suddenly gasped and screamed bloody murder, his own fluids making him gargle. Arianna quickly pulled away from nudging him, her fur spiking in fright. Her Sneasel friend called to her then after he roared in pain.

"He has a bunch of ice shards in his back!"

Arianna gasped slightly. Ice shards?! Oh no, he fell on his back, the ice may have pierced something important. She ran over, looking at the gushing blood coming from his open wounds. The Growlithe winced from the injuries, and tried to pull out an ice shard with her mouth. She yelped a bit as blood squirted onto her nose, making her muzzle bloody. she managed to rip out the ice shard as someone else addressed her within the mass of panic.

"You two! Help me find the med-kit! We need it if we're going to save him!"

"Ok!" Arianna looked around, searching for anything that looked like medical equipment. She searched frantically, but then it occurred to her that it may be upstairs. "I'm gonna look upstairs for the med-kit!" She suddenly made a feverish dash, climbing the stairs as fast as she possibly could.