Stranded (rated M for possible adult themes)

Vincent Phoenix​

Victoria's words made Vincent realize that they were spending too much time just playing around. As sad as it was to say, they had to get back. He sighed quietly and nodded a little, glancing back at where the camp was, dogpedalling on the spot. "Mrrh… yeah, we should. Don't want to worry them, and the food is gonna get cold too."

He decided that he was going to just enjoy this for a little while longer, as rare an occasion as this was. He floated about a little, moving around while glancing to Flare at the shore, raising a hand to wave to her with a smile. Flare's tails gave a little flick as a response and blinked at him. He smiled and shook his head a little before turning back to Victoria, who seemed to be thinking about something.

"Victoria, is som-" And that's as far as he got, as she suddenly hugged his bare torso, and proceeded to pull him under. He spluttered slightly as he was released, grunting quietly while smiling as he swam to the surface again, and then moved to the shoreline, where he stood slightly up, still covered to his shoulders in the water. He raised a brow slightly at her request.

"Leave the water before you? Uh… sure, I suppose?" He seemed about to continue to ask, but decided that wasn't the best of times. She seemed unsure about something, so he did as he was asked and climbed up onto the shore, his jeans dripping wet with water. He went over to pick up his shirt, shrugging a little as he pulled it on as well. At least the water would help him keep cool through the hot day.

He then turned back to Victoria, still sitting in the water. "Hey, Victoria? What's wrong? Do you need help with something…?" He wasn't quite sure what was wrong, and he didn't just want to guess at it.

Victoria Stone​

Oh, Arceus this was going to be embarrassing. It wasn't going to help if he just looked at her the whole time. She looked down into the water, then back at him. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad, maybe the denim was thick enough. "Ok, uhm, just don't laugh when I get out of the water, ok? She decided to just bite the bullet and go for it. She stood in the water and looked down quickly, much to her surprise, nothing was showing. The fabric was apparently thick enough that nothing had shown through. Hallelujah for good quality pants.

"Uh, never mind. I was just messing with you," she lied lamely. Her reputation for being the queen of awkward, now permanently cemented on this island. Her clothes were more like a wetsuit now, clinging uncomfortably too tight for her liking. She tried to to pull her shirt away from her body, the motion was followed by the typical 'suction cup' like noise one hears upon doing so. A little better, hopefully it would dry before she got to be around any of the other guys besides Vincent.

She flashed him a cheesy grin, as she walked up to him where he stood on the shore. She picked up her shoes and slipped them on, her soaking wet body making everything very uncomfortable now that she was on land again. Taking her wet hair and bunching it into a ponytail, she flicked the water at him as one last taunt.

Pixie and Archie converged onto their location, each of them a little hesitant to avoid getting too close and getting wet. They seemed to be ready to go too, happy it seems, just to have avoided getting wet themselves.

"So, we're going to be a sight for the others when we get back, huh?" She laughed a little at the notion and the look on the others' faces when they came back soaking wet. "So shall we? Gentlemen first," she teased with a wink, her arm outstretched towards the forest.

Vincent Phoenix​

Victoria told him that he shouldn't laugh when she got out of the water, which got Vincent even more confused than he already was. Had she lost her pants while underwater? That'd be really odd, considering she was wearing jeans. He shook his head lightly, waving a hand dismissively. "No no, I won't. Promise."

He paused as she rose up from the water, looking down herself. Vincent did as well, trying to spot something that might be off, other than her dripping wet body. She then told him she had just been messing with him, which made him roll his eyes slightly, snickering. "Oh yeah, of course." It wasn't all that hard to figure out that she had been lying, but he still wasn't sure what was supposed to have happened, so he simply shrugged his shoulders, returning her grin with a smile of his own, before heading over to lean down and put his shoes on, both of which caused a "slosh slosh" sound as he walked around in them.

She then flicked her hair at him, causing some water to spray onto him. He snickered and shook his head, smiling to himself and decided to leave that be it. He wasn't exactly intent on having the last word in this 'feud' of theirs. "Come on Flare, let's head back." The Ninetails, who had been watching the two since they got up, slowly came to a stand, shaking herself lightly. She stepped over next to the two and Victoria's Pokémon, not seeming afraid of the water at all.

Vincent grinned a little in response to Victoria, scratching his cheek a little as he looked them both over. "Heh, yeah. I guess we should just say that we fell into the water. I'm sure it'll be fine." As she then offered him to go first, he laughed a little. "Why thank you milady." He said, making a comically deep bow, sweeping his arm to the side before standing up again with a smirk, stepping into the forest, heading towards the camp, with his Ninetails following straight behind him.

They then walked for about ten minutes, Vincent occasionally glancing back at the others to make sure they were alright. However, at one point, when he looked back, he didn't notice something hanging off of a branch in front of him. Victoria called out for him to watch out, and he only just turned his head as he walked right into the furry, white lump, causing both himself and it to fall to the ground. "Gah! What the..?"

He slowly got up again, staring at the thing laying on the ground. It shivered before rising up, being almost as tall as him and Victoria. It was a Vigoroth, which looked groggy and rather annoyed. Looking around itself for a moment, it suddenly spotted Vincent, Victoria and the Pokémon, huffing quicker and quicker before letting out a roar, beating it's chest. Vincent grit his teeth, snapping his fingers as Flare dashed up in front of him, lowered down, with her fangs bared in a growl.

"Damnit! I should learn to see where I'm walking… be careful, Victoria, Vigoroth's are pretty vicious…" Just as he had said this, the Vigoroth let out a roar into the sky, as if calling for someone. And a moment later, another two Vigoroths landed on the ground, one next to the first, the other behind Victoria, all three of which looked to have murder in their eyes. Vincent bit his lower lip, clenching his fists. Flare had to take the brunt of the attack.

"… Victoria, you have to try and fight it off. But remember, there's –no- Pokémon center here, so unless someone are carrying potions with them, our Pokémon will have to get better over time. So –be careful-." He narrowed his eyes at the Vigoroths, Flare sending out a small flame through her nose with a snort. As one of the Vigoroths roared out, Vincent called out "Flare, use Fire Blast! But don't hit the trees!"
Flare parted its lips slightly, flames building up within her throat before sending a large fireball towards one of the Vigoroths, the ball expanding to envelop the Pokémon, sending it tumbling backwards, singed. It's friend yelled out in anger and dashed forwards, ready to strike.

"Quick, use Attract!" Vincent bit his lower lip, hoping that this particular Vigoroth would be a male. Flare suddenly lowered her ears, whimpering while staring up at the Vigoroth which stumbled to a stop, staring down at the Pokémon, its rage completely dispersed as it simply looked confused. "… Goroth…?"

Victoria Stone​

It had all happened so quickly. One minute Vincent and her were walking through the forest, on their way back to camp, and then she shouted for Vincent to watch out for the white thing hanging from a branch. The white thing was a Pokemon, a Vigoroth. Vincent shouted for her to be careful as two more burst onto the scene. His warning was hardly necessary however, the ferocity and tales of vicious Vigoroth were well documented the world over.

Flare and Vincent seemed to have two of them under control as they launched their attack. The speed of the battle was blinding and hectic, as if the whole forest had erupted. Other nearby pokemon either ran, or hid to watch from a safe distance.

Pixie and Archie raised their ire. Their bodies tensed as they prepared for battle, only one thing on their minds, the protection of Victoria. To them, even watching out for Vincent wasn't a priority.

The third Vigoroth lunged for her, its razor sharp dual clawed hand outstretched ready to slash. Archie came swooping in with a wing attack at the last second, the Vigoroth's initial intention to slash her throat. Archie's attack caused it to miss its intended mark, but it still hit part of her. The claws swept over her flesh, through the thin material of her shirt that protected her left side. What resulted, were two neat slash marks with a faint trickle of blood emanating from just above her left hip.

Victoria let out a muffled scream, the pain was searing. This island hated her. "Ahh! Damnit!" Pixie witnessed what happened, her hair standing up on end as she cast a glare in the Vigoroth's direction. Without Victoria's command, Pixie got low to the ground, flames seemed to issue forth from her body and envelop her. She charged toward the Vigoroth, the opposing pokemon caught unaware by her unexpected speed. Pixie's Flare Blitz hit it dead in the chest, the attack was more than effective as it was thrown back. The Vigoroth hit the ground with a thud. Its breathing was shallow and labored. Pixie was not satisfied, she pounced on top and began to bite its throat. Victoria had never seen her like this before, she had murder in her motives. Her motives succeeded, after a few moments, the Vigoroth ceased its breathing. Any trace of life was completely devoid in it.

Damion started to wonder where Vincent and Victoria had gone off too. Shortly after they left he decided to take another mid morning swim. The water felt great, aside from a salty residue after drying off. The fire had died down some as he tossed his hair and he noticed the warming coals had gone out. Looking around to the near by foliage he went over and grabbed a few of the larger fern leaves, similar to the ones Vincent had used to build the shelter with. He made quick work of the leaves and shaped one of them into a container of sorts. Damion then took the fish that had been cooked and put it into the leaf container. He then took and spread some more coals off to the side and folded another leaf over placing it on the coals. Placing a third leaf on top of the container he then set the whole thing on the folded leaf which was over the coals.

"There we go, a makeshift warming dish." Damion had a quick chuckle to himself. It was then that he realized the other two had been gone for a while. "Hmmm, I wonder.." It was then that he heard the roar from multiple Vigoroth's. He gasped partly from shock. He didn't know much about Vigoroth's since he didn't watch documentaries growing up, but the one thing he did know, a hard lesson learned, was that wild ones were EXTREMELY territorial. He quickly threw on his clothes and took off towards the sound.

"Pyre, Cryo!" That's all Damion said as he ran towards the sound. Both his flareon and his Vaporeon got up from the fire and bolted after him. As he ran along the trail, he heard another Vigoroth roar, followed by a girls scream.

"They're close, really close..." He thought to himself. Damion finally arrived just as Victoria went down and her Vulpix started gnawing on one of the Vigoroth's throats. His heightened senses took over immediately. Seeing the vulpix on the creature's throat he deemed it a non threat and moved on quickly picking up on the two Vigoroth's in front of Vincent and the one in the tree's behind him.

"Quick Cryo, Ice Beam! Full power!" Pointing to the Vigoroth in the tree. Not even saying anything Cryo opened it's mouth and unleashed a powerful Ice beam that froze the air around it. Just as the Vigoroth was about to leap at Vincent the beam smacked into the Pokémon at full force. Seeing the Vigoroth was falling towards Vincent he commanded his Flareon to knock it clear of him. "Pyre, Extreme Speed and then Flare Blitz!" Pyre started glowing orange and red being engulfed by flames emanating from its body and then in an instant, it was a blurred line heading straight for the falling chunk of ice. Simultaneously Damion had started heading towards Victoria. He couldn't tell how bad she was injured but he could see red on her side where she was hit.

The Vigoroth had maybe fallen a foot between the time he issued the command and less than a second later, Pyre's attack impacted it. The combination of Cryo's full power Ice Beam had frozen the Vigoroth to it's core. Followed up by the sheer force of Pyre's attack, the poor creature was shattered into several dozen pieces in an instant, showering the near by area with ice 'chunks'. While shocked at the out come of the combination attacks he was more concerned about Victoria's injury. Some of the pieces of ice were actually on fire from Pyre's Flare Blitz. As he Arrived next to Victoria, her Vulpix was still chewing on an obviously dead Vigoroth.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Instantly regretting saying that, knowing she wasn't alright he rephrased his question. "How bad is it?" He brought his hand closer to the side Victoria was grabbing in pain trying to assess how bad it was. Even gently placing his hand over her clasped side he could feel a dampness. Pulling back a little he could see his hand had a decent amount of blood on it. Waiting for Victoria to respond a midst her cries of pain, Damion called out to Vincent, who was currently out numbered. "Vince, help's coming!" He then turned quickly and shouted out to his Pokémon "Pyre, Cryo, do what ever Vincent says!" He then turned his attention back to Victoria trying to help apply pressure to her wound. Looking at her wound, Damion started to remember back to his 'lesson' he learned against a Vigoroth. A phantom pain started to spike where he had a nice set of scars, a brief interlude as he was snapped back to reality by Victoria's cries of pain.

Vincent Phoenix​

Vincent grit his teeth, Flare only barely holding her own against the two Vigoroth's, but he had earned himself a moment of respite, as the one Vigoroth tried to debate wether to attack or back off. Just then, he heard Victoria cry out in pain and he spun around, believing that Flare could hold her own. Just then, a lot of things happened at once. He saw a Vigoroth leaping from a tree towards him, just to be frozen the next moment. He saw Damion running towards the two and his Pokémon aiding them in the fight.

And lastly, he saw his Flareon completely wreck the frozen Pokémon, raising his arms to cover his face as bits of ice rained down over him. Thankfully, no large chunks hit him, and he quickly resumed to his battle, as he saw that Damion was taking care of Victoria. As the boy sent him his Pokémon to help out, Vincent breathed out a sigh of relief, calling out over his shoulder. "Thanks a bunch!"

The downside of having the Vaporeon and Flareon run up on each side of Flare, all at the ready to attack the two Vigoroth's who seemed to have gotten over their small setback, was that he had no clue what attacks Damion's Pokémon had. He'd have to make do with what he knew.

The Vigoroths roared out and charged once again, Vincent clenching his fists, his eyes darting around until he got an idea. "Pyre, Extremespeed on that tree!" he said, raising an arm to point to his right, the Vigoroth's quickly closing in. "Cryo, Ice beam, Flare, Fire Blast!"
All three Pokémon growled out as they set to work, the Flareon slicing the bottom of the tree with it's incredible speed, causing the tree to fall towards the battlers. Then, the Vaporeon froze the tree and just as the Vigoroths were nearing the four, the tree slammed down in front of them, causing them to startle and back off. This was when Flare lowered herself down, building up flames, and then let out the large fireball, which collided with the frozen tree, causing it to explode, sending flames and large ice chunks scattering over the battlefield.

The Vigoroths yelped and roared out both in pain, fear and anger as they were knocked around while trying to back away from the devastating attack. As the ice and fire died away, they were bruised all over, parts of their fur on fire, as they ran for dear life, deeper into the jungle. Vincent, Flare, Pyre and Cryo stood, ready for them to make a return, but as nothing happened for a few moments, he relaxed again, breathing out heavily.

He turned and hurried over to the others, the three Pokémon circling around their trainers to protect them further, Vincent panting for air as he stopped next to the two, looking from Victoria to Damion. "Is she okay?" Looking her over, he saw the gash on her side, letting out a small huff, nodding. "We need to get back to the camp, in case they come back. You help her up and support her, I'll hurry back to the camp and see if anyone brought some bandages… and hopefully some disinfectant as well."

He waited for a moment to make sure that Damion had heard him before glancing to Flare. "Keep them safe. Do as they say, okay?" As she let out a confirmed little growl, though looking a little unhappy at her trainer running off again, Vincent smiled lightly to her, before dashing through the small bit of jungle left and erupted onto the beach, dashing over to the shelter once more, where he started going through whatever packs the others had brought, trying to find some bandages. "Come on, come on…"

Victoria Stone​

Victoria wasn't really sure what was happening around her. One second Pixie lunged with murderous intent at the Vigoroth, the next Damion had come out of nowhere to her aid. She had never been so happy to see the strange man before. His voice and mannerisms were soothing as he placed his hand on her side, his attempt at trying to apply pressure. Any prejudgment she had against him the night prior, had completely melted away.

The pain was horrendous, the wound deeper than she had previously thought. She tried to act tough and wave Damion off, her hand coated in her own blood as she did so. "I'm...I'm okay," she lied to him. It wasn't just the initial rupture of the wound, but the lingering burn. Like somebody had a hot knife and jammed it into her side. Each flare up brought a new muffled scream as she tried to clench her teeth. So much for her Pokemon needing a potion. Cursing herself silently, she tried to walk toward the beach where Vincent had run off to.

She reached for her side as the searing pain roared back again. "Damnit!" She screamed, Pixie rushed to her side, licking her with her Vigoroth blood stained muzzle. The beach wasn't that far away, hopefully Vincent would be back soon. He left Flare to watch over them, her steely gaze surveying the area for any new threats. Flare had looked sad at her trainer's leaving, just like any good Pokemon. It was evident however, that she took her assignment very seriously. Victoria was comforted by the great fox's presence. All this fuss over her, she wondered if the others were okay. Damion looked ok, but she couldn't tell about Vincent before he ran off. She worried about him running through the forest alone, Pokemonless. Ace was at the beach and Flare with them. At least, those were the only Pokemon she ever saw with him.

She made her way back to Damion and leaned against him. Normally, she would never have done such a thing, she wasn't overly fond of strange people touching her. Vincent had done so on occasion, but never had she truly had to lean on someone. Gritting her teeth, she looked to Damion. "I guess we should try to get to the beach?"

The sound of some pokémon roaring roused Devin from the nap he hadn't known he'd been taking. He briefly considered trying to sort out what happened but decided that the current situation required just a bit more attention. Unsteadily getting to his feet he barked "Frix, Celia, Prowler, to me." Two of the pokémon appear at his side from where they'd been lounging on the beach but Prowler was nowhere in sight. Silently he cursed to himself but knew that if there was a serious situation he couldn't wait and that Prowler was likely safe; the little pokémon had demonstrated a number of times that he could be a fearsome foe if he had to be.

Ahead of him he saw the guy he last recalled attempting to introduce himself to running headlong toward the noise. Sighing he hurried after him at his half-paced limping walk with his pokémon keeping an easy lead.


Prowler had heard the sound of vigoroths' roar but this wasn't his territory yet, so he decided to leave them be. Continuing on his way he skirted the territory of some larger pokémon, the same as the trail did. The smell of the larger pokémon was enough to make him somewhat skittish, especially since he didn't know them all. One of said pokémon lumbered out of the forest ahead of him, at first ignoring him and continuing past. However, the large purple pokémon caught sight of him and began making a deep grumbling growl deep in its throat.

Prowler's first response was to stand his ground and start growling back, a somewhat pitiful gesture next to this spiked monstrosity before him. However hearing his trainer's call the growlithe settled for a defiant bark and turned and sprinted through the underbrush back to the beach, reluctantly leaving the trail and battle, a deep, satisfied, grumble echoing behind him.


Devin made it into the woods just in time to witness a vigoroth bounding away from some commotion. Somewhat worried he headed toward its source and crashed out of the thick growth and almost headlong into two people, one supporting the other. Frix and Celia had stopped just outside the foliage and were looking at the scene with apprehension. Surveying the situation in a second, Devin saw the red of blood and said the first thing to come to mind, "Saltwater."

Ever since she had woken up after her eventful first day on this scary island, Kelsey had remained very distanced from the others. She saw them, and ate when food was being offered, but actually interacting with them was too much for her. It made her wish she was able to socialize with others with ease. Seeing the others talking with each other made her feel rather envious, and reminded her of just as lonely she was.

Something she did notice was that Victoria gave her Coal back, wrapped in the hoodie she placed on her to keep her warm, and she since returned him to his Pokeball. Victoria did seem quite nice, maybe. The others seemed okay too, but she figured it may have been a little too quick to make that judgment.

It suddenly dawned on her that she hasn't seen the others in a while. She heard cries off in the distance, and it made her nervous.

"Wh... what was..." Her voice trailed off. She was essentially talking to herself. "Should I... should I check it out?" Kelsey was a coward, but the idea of these people being in danger made her terrified, much more than it should have. She ran off in the direction of the cries.

___

She eventually found the others, and noticed that Victoria was badly hurt. Kelsey couldn't help but gasp at her bleeding from her side.

"Oh... oh no..." She froze in place. "Victoria!" Her eyes darted around. "Can anyone tell me if she's gonna be okay? Please!" Her voice sounded oddly desperate given the fact that she was so worried over someone she had only met the other day.

Vincent Phoenix​

As Vincent had reached the camp, the others had completely disappeared. Even Ace was gone from his spot at the campfire, which would explain why he didn't come to their rescue when he felt their presences. Vincent frowned a little, unhappy with his Pokémon simply up and leaving, against his orders, but right now, he had more important things to take care of. He groaned in frustration as he could find neither bandages, nor disinfectant in any of the bags and packs found in the tent.

He hurried outside again, looking around for some sort of miracle, starting to get a little desperate. He was ready to rush back to the others to help Victoria to the beach, but almost tripped over himself as he found, right next to the shelter, a small medical box with a large, red cross at the front. At first, he thought he was seeing things, but he quickly got to his knees next to it and opened it, widening his eyes as it was at least half full of first-aid for both humans and Pokémon.

He quickly grabbed a bottle of disinfectant, a rag, a little bit of water, and some bandages before getting up with a bit of a stumble, and then dashing off towards the jungle again, going straight towards where the others had been last he saw them.

After a short while of running, he came to a halt and was happy to find both the new guy who hadn't introduced himself yet, and Kelsey. "I've got it! Hold on, don't move her!" He hurried over and leaned down next to her and Damion, reaching out for Victoria's shirt, where the wound had gotten to be. "I'm… going to have to rip your shirt a little, Victoria. Sorry." He glanced up at Damion and gave him a little nod. "Keep her steady."

He gave the shirt a little rip, making it easier for him to get to the wound, making sure not to tear it up too much, as he poured the disinfectant on the rag he was carrying, glancing up at Victoria again. "This is going to sting…" He lowered the small bottle of water he'd found and poured it onto the wound, washing away the blood. It was quite a deep gash. He then lowered the cloth and very gently dabbed it against the wound, doing so another few times.

After being satisfied, he lowered the rag and took the roll of bandage, placing it against her side before unfurling it, letting it trail around her stomach and back, wrapping up the wound one wind at a time. He sighed softly, closing his eyes, trying to get his rapidly thumping heart under control. He was worried for Victoria, and for the others who were now crowded around them. While wrapping her up, he spoke out to the others, but didn't remove his eyes from his work.

"We found water. There's a large lake with a little waterfall about ten minutes of walk back there." He nodded backwards with his head. "If you want anything to drink, you're going to need to take at –least- two Pokémon with you, in case the Vigoroths attack again." He finally finished the roll of bandage, her wound now neatly covered in white strips, as he tied it off with a knot and sat back on his haunches, breathing out heavily, looking up at her. "Can you stand? We need to get you back to the shelter." He glanced to Damion, as if to silently ask him to support her, though he knew from what he'd seen that Damion wouldn't need to be asked to help her out.

As Vincent took off towards the beach Damion was starting to say, "Hey you should take your..." but he was already out of hearing range, "... Pokémon with you. Or not." His attention was drawn back to Victoria who was still in pain. After she said Damion replied,

"You know, you're a bad liar." He said teasingly with a smile. "Hopefully Vincent will be back shortly, we have to get you all patched up before we try and move you." Just then he felt her lean into him. He was slightly dumbfounded at the act since he never really had anyone do something like that before. Instinctively he reaffirmed his grip on her in a hugging notion, hoping it would help her relax/comfort her in her pain. "Seems I'm playing superman yet again, You don't happen to have any rocks do you?" Damion tried to make light of the situation with a bad joke referencing the previous night.

Just as things seemed they would be okay he heard some rustling in the bushes. His Pokémon obviously heard it before him since they were already alerted and ready for anything. Damion let out a sigh of relief as he saw the girl he rescued from last night.
"She'll be just fine once Vincent gets back from the beach and we get her patched up." He said in response.

A few more minutes had passed as Vincent came running back down. He was rather surprised to see the quality of the medical items he had in his possession. He held Victoria steady as he cleaned and dressed the wound. He felt her grip tighten as poured the disinfectant on the wound. As Vincent finished, Damion heard him speaking about water and traversing back and forth. At the same time he was trying to help Victoria stand.

"If you want my honest opinion, we should move camp to the lake, rather than going back and forth every time we need a drink. Obviously this section of the trail is part of the Vigoroth's territory. So they Will be back eventually." Damion could still feel Victoria leaning into him as she wearily tried to get her footing and stand.

Victoria Stone​

Victoria felt so silly and embarrassed by the attention and fuss being cast in her direction. She kept trying to insist that she was ok, to no avail. That other boy, the one who didn't look like he was so healthy himself had reappeared, along with....Kelsey. She was so happy to see her, it was comforting not to be the only girl around.

Kelsey herself sounded worried when she saw the wound that had opened up on Victoria. The desperate tone in her voice was wholly evident to anyone who had been paying attention. Victoria held up a reassuring arm in her direction, a false thumbs up to try and reassure the stressed girl. "I'll be ok, tis but a scratch," she joked. An attempt to try and calm not only Kelsey, but herself.

It wasn't much longer until Vincent had come bounding back from his foray. Much needed medical supplies in hand. He said something about ripping her shirt to get to the wound. "No..." She tried to stop him, but it was too late. He had already enlarged the rip, just enough to get his hand in and access the wound. What a sight she must have been, soaking wet, in the middle of the woods, her shirt half ripped and blood covering her left side. All these negative thoughts were replaced by a sudden blinding pain when Vincent applied the disinfectant. Even though she knew it was going to help her, she had a struggling urge to curse profusely at him. If the wind wasn't knocked out of her, she probably would have, as her grip tightened on Damion for stability.

She could hear the sigh issued forth from Vincent's lips as he tended to her bandage. He was probably so sick of having to patch her up by now, she felt bad knowing how much bandage had been exhausted on her. The bandages were tight, but reassuring. He really did a tremendous job wrapping them, she could still feel the blood soaking it from inside however. Hopefully the flow would stop completely soon enough.

Now that the immediate danger had passed, all the pent up adrenaline in her system rushed from her body. The same adrenaline that had been masking her already dreadful pain to some extent. She desperately tried to stand with the assistance of Damion, her footing like that of a newborn Deerling.

"You know, if you wanted my shirt off so badly, you probably could have rolled it up," she teased weakly, hoping Vincent would appreciate the joke as a sign she was going to be ok. Taking a few steps past him and towards Kelsey, she walked slowly and wobbly. "I really appreciate it, I owe you guys so much," her voice grew appreciative and distant. "Thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks," she said, as she collapsed in front of her, grabbing at Kelsey's arm on the way down.

Victoria tried to reassure Kelsey that it was "just a scratch". She wanted to believe that, but it was obvious the injury was much worse than just a scratch. Victoria must have not wanted the others to worry, but she was doing a bad job of it. Also, another thing she noticed was the way Victoria's eyes lit up upon seeing her. It made Kelsey's heart leap. Maybe she was just imagining it?

Kelsey couldn't help but feel silly at the fact that she cared so much about a girl that she had met so recently. Maybe she just wanted to feel close to someone, but Kelsey couldn't help but wonder if she truly just wanted a friendship out of Victoria. It was unfortunate, really, because Kelsey knew that the chances of someone who was bisexual like her, or perhaps a lesbian, washing up on this island with her was slim to none. Crush or not, perhaps it was best to keep her feelings to herself. However, was it really a crush, or was she just extremely lonely?

Everything that happened next happened so fast. It was like time sped up right before Kelsey's eyes. First, Victoria joked around with Vincent, with a thin, translucent smile on her face. She then walked a bit closer to her, making Kelsey's cheeks turn just a bit pink. Before she knew it, Victoria's voice became weaker as she thanked everyone, followed by her collapse.

As she fell, she grabbed onto Kelsey's arm, perhaps out of desperation. It caused her to quickly fall to her knees as the girl next to her dropped. Soon, all the color drained from her cheeks, that were just rosy moments prior.

"Oh... oh no..." Kelsey's voice was strained and shaky. "Victoria! No!" She had no clue what to do. With panic in her eyes, she hoped that someone else would help.

Vincent Phoenix​

Vincent glanced to Damion and nodded slightly, frowning a little worriedly while Victoria tried to push herself to a stand, the Pokémon around them ever vigilant and protective of their trainers. "I thought about that as well… but there may be more dangerous Pokémon at the lake, due to it being a watering hole, maybe even a feeding ground for Ursaring or worse. I do agree that we can't run back and forth all the time, though. Let's talk about it later."

He appreciated Damion's quick thinking, happy to know that he, if anything, could handle himself. Not that he doubted whether or not that the other girls and the other boy could handle themselves, it was just good with a bit of proof.

He smiled a little sheepishly down at Victoria's joke, thankfully not having ripped more than a small hole up to around her midriff. If it got more torn, he'd probably offer her his own shirt and make a makeshift one out of… something. He'd figure it out. "Heh. Maybe, yeah. Sorry Victoria." He smiled faintly, lifting a hand to rub the back of his head, feeling it a bit of an odd time for jokes.

Watching her quietly as she stumbled over to Kelsey, Vincent let out a small, relieved sigh, as she seemed to be alright, but as soon as she collapsed against Kelsey, his eyes shot wide. "Victoria!" Gritting his teeth he ran over to the girls, Damion hot on his heels as they both leaned down to make sure she was alright. "No matter what we're gonna do with the camp later, we need to get back there –now-, so she can get some rest." He lifted one of her arms and placed it around her shoulders, his right arm across her back to support her, glancing over at Damion to do the same.

"Stand up on three. One… two… three." As he counted down, they both stood up, carrying Victoria between them, Vincent being careful not to push on the bandaged area of her side. He glanced to Kelsey and the other boy to make sure they were alright, sending them a small, reassuring smile as if to say "It'll be okay.". Him and Damion slowly turned around and began making their trek through the jungle, despite Victoria's mumbled, pained protests, both his, Damion's and Victoria's Pokémon following right behind (And in front of), to keep them safe.

Kelsey felt really guilty that she didn't know what to do. Whether or not the boys were as calm as their act appeared to show, they at least had a grasp on how to handle the situation. As much as it relieved her to know someone could deal with the dilemma, it made her feel really pathetic at the same time.

After all, she wasn't a very independent person. She wanted to be, particularly given how difficult it was for her to become close to someone, but she wasn't. She did bad on her, more than ever when given a difficult situation to handle. She has a habit to break under pressure.

Damion and Vincent carried Victoria back to camp. If she remembered rightly, they did the same for her when she passed out due to a thunderbolt, right? Now, they're helping Victoria when she's in danger. With a weak smile, she decided to thank them.

"Hey... guys." Her voice was raspy as she said it. "Damion. Vincent. I just..." Kelsey cleared her throat, and stared at the ground with a sheepish look on her face. She bit her lip. "Well..." Inhaling deeply, she decided to continue on. "First, you saved me from that Pikachu that knocked me out with its thunderbolt. N-now, you're helping Victoria. I don't know..." Her voice trailed off. She continued to gnaw on her lip, and it bled a little. "I-I know might just be helping us because it's a good idea to stick together, but you could just as easily have abandoned us when we needed help the most."

That heartfelt speech legitimately brought out emotions in Kelsey. She quivered a bit, unable to look at anything but the forest's floor. Just for a moment, there were tears in her eyes, but she blinked quickly a few times, trying to not make that obvious. After a deep breath to get herself together, she summed up her ramble in a short two words.

"Thank you."

After catching Victoria and steadying her on her feet, he turned to Kelsey. "Hey, it's no problem. I'm starting to get good at playing superman I guess." He said smiling at Kelsey. Seeing as she was starting to tear up he walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about Victoria, after some rest, she'll be back on her feet in no time!"

Looking around at everyone standing there Damion said "As for the rest of us, I think we could all use a good breakfast! I'm pretty sure the fish I made is still warm on the coals. Then we can talk about what to do with the finding of a fresh water source, and the outcome of the situation we just finished with."

Victoria Stone​

Victoria stirred as something wet and rough buffeted her cheek. Somewhat like the feeling of sandpaper, only moist and warm. "Pix! Pix!" The sound penetrated her pained delusional state. An echoing beckon of soundness of mind. Pixie paced around her owner, Archie sitting a small distance away. The safe confines of the camp was both reassuring and restful for both Victoria and her Pokemon.

Without conscious thought, Victoria swatted at the source of the noise. Her self defense mechanisms pushing Pixie away, a left over remnant of the heightened tension during the Vigoroth fight. "Vuli Vul!" Pixie let out a startled bay. Stepping away as Victoria came to her senses, her green eyes shooting open at the distressed noise.

"Oh, no! Pixie, are you ok?" She asked worriedly, her expression going from neutral to worried and guilty at a hundred miles per minute. Pixie curled up against her, a reassuring sign that everything was ok on her end. The faint bits of crusty Vigoroth blood still visible on her muzzle.

Victoria recognized the camp, the others must have carried her back. Embarrassment crossed her complexion, her ears turning a bright crimson color at the recollection. "Oh sweet Arceus. They're going to thing I'm such a baby," she sighed to herself and Pixie. "Now I'm the girl who repeats stuff, counts stuff, and faints." She looked at Pixie for comfort and support, burying her head into her hands.

With a strained groan, she hoisted herself up. Her tight bandages resulting in labored shallow breaths with each exertion. Her side still pained her tremendously, she couldn't have been out too long. The fainting merely a side effect of the surprising pain. Still on her knees, she looked out for the others, her head dizzy and vision slightly distorted. "Damn."

Archie gave a reassuring chirp, his way of trying to encourage her to get up. With a monumental effort, she willed herself to her feet, stumbling as she did so. The hut spun around her, the effect like that of an at sea...ship...

Leaning her body at the edge of the entrance of the hut, she looked out. Her composure still coming to her slowly. The fire was still a fair distance away, she didn't know if she could make the walk alone. She didn't want to call for the others, that would seem too much like pleading for her. Maybe if one of the others happened to be nearby, she could casually hang on to one of them. But for now, the entrance was her friend, her weight supported securely on the structure.

Vincent Phoenix​

Vincent glanced over his shoulder, Damion leaving him to hold up Victoria while he answered Kelsey's soft, slightly embarrassed 'thank you'. Normally, he would've been annoyed at Damion leaving him to hold up an unconscious girl on his own, but he had gotten some more respect for him, after the fight. Plus, he didn't mind helping out Victoria, being one of his extremely few true friends, or so he felt.

He shifted around a little, Victoria's arm still around his shoulder as he smiled warmly to Kelsey, shaking his head. "It's alright, Kelsey. We're in this together. Even if we didn't have to, it'd only make sense to help each other out. If we didn't, we'd be monsters, leaving other people to die, or at least get seriously injured. That's just not something you do." He shook his head a little and sent a reassuring smile to her, his left arm wrapping around Victoria's side to steady her against his side. "So, you're welcome."

Nodding to Damion after his comment about Victoria being just fine, they quickly made the rest of their way to the camp. "Yeah, she'll be fine, hopefully. Just needs a bit of rest, I feel." They finally reached the camp, where Vincent slowly pulled the unconscious girl into the makeshift tent and gently lowered her down on some of the bedding, her Pokémon following her, clearly wanting to guard her. He looked over her to make sure she had no other wounds before looking to Pixie. "You're in charge of keeping her safe, alright?" The Vulpix peered up at him for a few moments before yipping out. "Vul!"

He grinned softly and nodded before turning and going back to the fireplace, where the others had sat down. "Right! Let's get some fish. Just need to save some for Victoria when she wakes up." Flare trailed over and rested down next to Vincent, who heartily began chewing on a fish on a stick, sharing with his Pokémon.

After a few minutes, he turned his head at some rustling and groaning, to see Victoria standing in the 'doorway' of the shelter, looking rather groggy. "Hey, it's okay! Hold on, I'm coming." He got up and dusted himself off before walking over to Victoria, placing a hand on her back and offering his shoulder for support. He slowly guided her over to the side and helped her sit down as he moved back into his spot, smiling faintly.

"Good to see you up again, Victoria. How're you feeling? You took a pretty nasty shot from that Vigoroth bastard." He reached out and asked Damion for a fish for her, which he reached out to her, looking equally concerned for the girl's well being, which calmed Vincent down a little, actually finding himself rather worried for Victoria.

He picked out another fish himself and dug into it, sighing deeply as he enjoyed the soft, luke-warm fish-flesh. He then slowly peered around the camp, furrowing his brows a little. "… Has anyone seen Ace? My Kadabra?" He asked, peering over at Kelsey with raised brows.

Victoria Stone​

Giving an unconvincing weak smile as Vincent came over to assist her, she gratefully accepted his assistance. He placed a hand on her back, her arm draped over his shoulder for support as they made their way to the fire. Once she was seated, Vincent looked over and asked her how she was feeling. Quite honestly, she wasn't sure how to answer that.

Accepting the outstretched fish, she looked at it with a mild look of distaste. Fish already not being her favorite thing, and in her weakened state it looked even more unappetizing. Pixie came bounding up behind her, Archie in tow. She quickly remembered Bubba still locked away in his pokeball, along with her new friend. She thought it cruel to try and feed a fish fish, so she only released Bubba to snack on the luke-warm meal. The Pokemon attacked it vigorously, seemingly not caring about temperature or taste.

"I'm okay," she lied in response to Vincent's question. "I'm feeling much better, just some soreness," lying again. "Thank you guys. I don't even want to think about what might have happened if I was alone out there." She shuddered. "I'd hug all of you, but I think I'd fall down in the process," her small joke a big deal for her, considering she wasn't a big hugger and toucher.

"Now that you mention it, the last time I saw Ace was here by the fire. Right before we walked off in fact. Did you guys notice anything while Vincent and I were gone?" She cast an appraising eye at the others, hoping they might have a semblance of an idea of what happened to Ace. Looking at Kelsey, less so for an answer but more for an unspoken question. All this fuss about her, did anyone even check to make sure she was okay from her night being unconscious in the forest? Kelsey and her Cyndaquil both looked pretty beat up the last time she had seen them.

Leaning over painfully to whisper to Kelsey, her voice inaudible to the others, she said, "Hey Kelsey, are you okay? Last time I saw you, before all this of course, you were out like a light." Her voice took on a hushed, weak worried tone.