Living Qualities [IC]

Eve listened in silence. Her gaze unresponsive as he boasted, his puffery seemingly masked by sincere confidence in his abilities. She locked her gaze with him again. Within that gaze, the looks of two people who refused to bend. A pertinacious spirit resonated between the two of them. Oh how Eve enjoyed this, there should only be more people like this in the world. Then again, maybe there shouldn't.

"Aww, your concern is touching. Truly it is. Hits me right here," Eve whispered, tapping the index finger of her hand against the location of her heart. "Don't worry about me being careful, I never forget my mortality. It motivates me, pushes me to strive for things I desire." She took a few steps back, this conversation was over. This could go on forever and Eve had more important things to do than get in a philosophical debate with the likes of him. "Besides, nobody would miss me, except maybe people like you and I."

The wet haired girl barged through the door, a most unwelcome distraction. Eve rolled her eyes in derision. If these were the people that they had to rely on to catch this thing, they were in for a world of hurt. This was her cue however, it was time to go.

Walking up to the girl, Eve placed a hand on her shoulder. "Oh we most certainly have our clothes on," she said turning to face the man one last time. "I'm not his type, he needs something....a little extra. Besides, second rate minds don't appeal to me." This time a genuine chuckle escaped her, oh she did hope they had a chance to talk again.

"What have the others decided in there while Snowflake and I were chatting?" Eve turned to the girl inquisitively.

After staring at Brianna for a while, a girl placed a hand on her shoulder. "Oh we most certainly have our clothes on," she said turning to face the man she was talking to.

"I'm sorry," Brianna said, ignoring the fact that the girl was still talking, "I just seem to assume the worst of the simplest of things."

Fortunately, she hadn't heard, or so she thought, because the girl kept talking. At least Brianna wouldn't have to worry about being considered rude for interrupting her.

"What have the others decided in there while Snowflake and I were chatting?" The girl said inquisitively.

"They're like toys," Brianna said, "They do nothing unless you wind them up!". Brianna let a little laugh go, but quickly stopped upon realizing the girl wasn't laughing, "I'm Brianna, but everyone seems to call me Brielle..., apparently it's easier to remember."

The girl didn't answered. Perhaps I'm interrupting something she thought, "I'm sorry if I interrupted something," Brianna said after a while, "I should go."

Brianna turned around, and grabbed Rigbone with her arms before it ran away. And she prepared to leave. Oh, lord, why do I have to do such awkward things?.

Ingrid sighed, tapping her fingers on the table. This was supposed to be a serious conference, not the clownhouse it was coming out to be now. With an awkward silence plaguing the room after Brielle, Eve, and Nikolai left, there wasn't much else to bring up; what was the League thinking with this conference? Talking about it would make it better? Idiots.

Trying to occupy herself, since no one else seemed to be talking, she hummed a song to herself, petting Maximus tiredly. Ne me quitte pas mon chere... she let the lyrics ring through her mind for a moment, remembering how she would lovingly sing it to Gilligan after his accident. She still felt guilt for letting him battle that Houndoom, as the pain from their fire was said never to fade...

Her thoughts were only interrupted by Maximus' frantic sqwaking. She noticed a slight rumble in the ground, and a sound of explosions in the distance. What the hell is that?

Ingrid stood up, hugging her timid bird to her chest. "What's going on in Viridian?!" She asked, more to herself than anyone else. More explosions and rumbling followed. Maximus tried to relax in her arms, and she petted him comfortingly as the sounds slowly began to stop.

I wonder what that was... I guess I'll just have to check it out after the conference. Ingrid took her seat again, humming another melody under her breath.

The peace was shortlasting. Another long string of strong earthquakes followed, and dust fell from the ceiling. Ingrid closed her eyes, covering her ears while Maximus began to fly around blindly in terror. She barely noticed the absence of her bird, instead focusing on what could be the cause of the earthquakes and explosions.

As the tremors slowly faded, she lifted her hands from her ears cautiously, blinking open her eyes and squinting from the dust on her eyelashes. Ingrid was not prepared for what she saw.

Towering above them was a horryfyingly large black and white block. Her heart caught in her throat as she saw the being slowly shift into a different form... A form in the shape of a Kabutops' skeleton, a ghostly aura surrounding it. That ranger... He wasn't... She swallowed, unable to recognize water forming around her eyes out of fear. He wasn't lying... This is...

"FinNaLY... I hAve fOUnD YoU..."

A girl suddenly replied back to Eric. She mentioned that Arceus was merely a legend and that she wasn't even thinking of going on a wild goose chase for Arceus. Eric didn't want to reply her back for she looked quite ridiculous when she imposed that "opinion" down.

The dilude silence annoyed mostly, well some of, the trainers that was present in the room. A boy, followed by a girl that was present, took off and went outside both of them mentioning something that was dull to Eric's ears. Eric kept on leaning by the wall and thought of how many young Pokemon trainer's dream he would have broken up by now if he was in Sinnoh. This really amused Eric though. In a way, he recognize that he also was a young Pokemon trainer with a dream, well not exactly a precise aspects on what he wanted, but he also had an idea encircling him. Eric placed both his hands into his jacket pockets and tried to improvise his time in the most silent conference he had ever been to.

With the seconds clocking forward, none of them could kept the silence, so the wet headed girl tried to break the tension with an idea of introduction. Of all such things, didn't she realise that we were in a conference room with "nameplates" near everyone, which she might just use to identify us all.

Furthermore we were Champions of very different states but for every League that comes up, it's always up-to-date and so meaning that nearly everybody knows each other. She might as well just ask a mammal if it layed eggs. Eric just signed when he heard such thing and couldn't help but smirk a little smile on his face. Now, since Eric was near the door he could hear some very intriging going on on the other side, but it didn't quite resound too well, so Eric rest assured to keep his concentration inside the room.

Suddenly, as the wet headed girl also decisively left off, a sequence of earthquake tremble through the room, well from Eric's point of view it must have covered a huge amount of landmass which could be determined by the extensive force the earthquake produced. Eric grabbed hold of the opened door handle and waited until the vibration stopped. Small dust particles fell from above, the ceiling, which blinded the eye nearly completely. Though Eric wasn't ready for what he was about to see...from the dust particles descended a figure that would mostly shock all the trainers in the room.

A dark shadowy character was floating in mid-air that had the appearance of one of the most ancient Pokemon. A Kabutops, and he was being encircled by what it seemed like a ghost that keep on swirling and swirling around the seemingly floating Kabutops.

"What th--....." Eric exclaimed as he tried to acknowledge what type of being such thing would be. Eric rapidly reached for his jean's pocket to get out his blue Pokedex. He targetted the creature in the air waiting for a response from his Pokedex.

"I'vE fiNAlLy FoUNd yoU" It said with a voice that would surely make you tremble in fear.

What was that thing? But mostly, what did it want?

Nikolai Darius

Nikolai couldn't help but give Eve and Brianna the same soft smile he tended to give women. Then he laughed. "Think what you will Miss Eve," he implored with a small chuckle. "Think what you will." Slowly he pulled out Fia's ball, releasing the cub, who let out a soft, bothered mew. Her stillness unnerved him. "What is it darling?" He asked fondly, worriedly. She simply mewled again, unable to vocalize her problem. The Leafeon merely leaped onto his shoulders.

Then the ground began to tremble and shake distantly. Nikolai frowned softly as it abruptly stopped. "Uh-oh," he acknowledged before more trembling shook the building. Dust fell into his hair and he gently wrapped his arms around his partnr, hoping to shield her from what may. Foolish the urge may have been, it wasn't as though he intended to live long and prosper. The tremors slowly ended. Nikolai straightened slowly and looked around. No injuries so... A grim smile rose to his face. Perhaps...

"Excuse me," he commented lightly, moving past the two females toward the room. Inside was a towering monster. It was shaped like a ghostly Kabutops. It floated over them and seemed to fill the room.with dread. I was right, Nikolai mused. Strong bait we are. He should have been filled with fear and dread. However, his lack of sense only allowed him to laugh. "What fun," he murmured.

The behavior of the boy's Leafeon was unusual, almost skittish. Something was wrong, very wrong. Hiro was cowering in the hall, his body shaking violently. Eve ran to his side, and placed a hand on him consolingly. Explosions rang out from a distance, drawing nearer and nearer. The headquarters building gave a mighty shudder, as if a Snorlax waking from slumber.

Eve wasn't exactly sure what had happened next. Blackness overcame her, temporary though it proved to be. She woke with Hiro lying on top of her, a guttural hiss emanating from his being. Dust and pieces of the ceiling were scattered about upon the floor. Hiro must have thrown himself upon her as a protection.

The last thing she remembered was the boy saying "excuse me," as he went to open the door into the conference room. Trying to piece it all together, she estimated she couldn't have been out for more than a minute. What she couldn't understand, was that the debris falling from the ceiling had stopped before he went to the door. So what was Hiro protecting her from?

Unable to move her body freely, Eve turned her head to look into the room. Looking past the boy, a most remarkable and terrifying sight presented itself. An ethereal, incorporeal being floated there. It was hard to tell, but she could have sworn it looked like a Kabutops. "Damn that ranger for being right," Eve said without thought.

"Hiro, get off of me you big oaf!" She shouted, her voice slightly hoarse. Without realizing it, she must have ingested some of the ceiling dust as it fell. Hiro begrudgingly moved off of her. Eve knew he would be no good in this fight, he would be alternating between his own fear and the safety of her. In one smooth motion she climbed to her feet, pulled his ball from the harness and recalled him before he could voice any protest.

Pokemon league guards came streaming from the end of the hall. The worry evident on their faces. "No! No!" Eve tried to wave them off. "Evacuate the building, we'll be fine," she pleaded with them. They didn't listen. "This is Evelyn Magnolia, Champion of the Unova region. Authorization code, 'A'rbok, 'W'ailmer, 'M'agby, 'D'ratini. Evacuate this building immediately!"

The guards slowed, worry still evident in their aura. "Do it!" She shouted, a cough escaped her lungs mixed with a small cloud of sediment. At her insistence, the guards turned and ran back from where they had come.

Eve turned her attention back to the conference room. She comforted herself by knowing at least the others in this building would now be safe. The creature wanted something. Whatever it was, this was not an elaborate ruse. Sirens began to sound, panic was tangible in the air. Eve couldn't believe it, but she was indeed incorrect.

"What is that thing?" Eve whispered under her breath. The sound of her statement completely inaudible and inseparable from the deafening cacophony. Eve hadn't expected to respond the way she did, ever confident in her abilities, at this exact moment she froze. The sweat of her brow rolling into her eyes, the salty sting and taste of tears reached the corners of her mouth. Was it fear of death, the unknown, maybe it was just an unquantifiable reason she couldn't even process. All she knew, for the first time in a long while, Eve was feeling fear. Pure, unadulterated fear.

The odd man stood in the door way, partially obstructing her view. His body and lungs seemed to be heaving. Was he crying, convulsing? Eve looked closer, he appeared to be...laughing? At a time like this? Eve found the very idea of laughter at this time to be repugnant.

A few more seconds had passed, the old Eve resurfaced gradually. Composure, calmness and soundness of mind returned. She could think again, she studied the situation and the people around her. As much as she hated to admit, this was not the time for this battle. It was not the location, nor the time of their choosing. Nobody was ready, it was an ambush and if something didn't happen soon, it was going to be successful.

"Hey snowball!" She yelled for the man running up to him, the sound of her steps muffled by the sirens overhead. Hopefully the evacuation was successful and people were as far away from here as possible. His laughter continued, almost like he was compelled to do so. What kind of sick pleasure did he derive from this? "Snap out of it!" She screamed at him, her face flushing red with blood. The usually moderated temper of her's losing control. She reached back with her right hand, hesitated for a second and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. A desperate attempt to break his maniacal behavior. Thinking she had finally gotten his attention, she placed her hands on his shoulders, her face close to his to be heard over the noise. "Come on Jester, it's time we put on a show," she told him with a wink.

She left him where he stood, hoping he had finally snapped out of it. Reached for one of the balls on her belt and cast it in the direction of the apparition. "Coco, go!" The ball sailed through the air, breaking open at its climax and retuning to her hand. The large Volcarona emerged with a flash of radiant flames licking her tattered wings. Seeming largely unfazed by the creature that floated before her, partly the reason why Eve had chosen this particular Pokemon. Coco had never shown a tendency for fear or hesitancy.

"Coco," Eve's tone grew serious and contemplative. "Use Hurricane!"

Brianna had closed her eyes in the moment the wall of dust and the noises took over the HQ. She was only hearing a lot s screaming, her voice saying please be Zubat over and over again and... a slap in someone's face? No, that couldn't be, but, who knows what the people in the conference room can do.

As she opened her eyes, horror itself was standing over the table in the conference room, and that girl with whom Brianna spoke earlier was putting her hand back in place, was she the slapper? No matter how much curiosity that act had generated, that was definitively not the time to think about that.

That thing, what was it? It's like a Pewter City failed-to-be-successfully-revived fossil, a Kabutops skeleton with a creepy aura surrounding it. What could that thing be?

And then she realized it... that thing was the creature that consumed people and Pokemon alike...

Not knowing what to do, Brianna stared at the creature, paralysed by her fear. Why did that thing feed on humans and Pokemon? Why was it staring at Ingrid?

She couldn't help but lately realize that Rigbone was no longer in her arms, she let a small shriek out as she thought that Rigbone might had been smashed by the chunks that once belonged to the roof. She calmed down as she saw her Pokemon standing in front of her, with all of its paws extended, as if it was about to perform an attack... What was Rigby going to do? Smell that thing to the death? Certainly not...

"Whatever you're planning to do Rigby..." she began, waving her finger at her Pokemon, almost as if nagging him, "Don't do it."

Despite her warning, Rigbone didn't stop being in the same position. Brianna was about to yell at her Pokemon, when more noise began to be heard in the outside.

"Coco, use Hurricane!" said Eve, the girl with whom Brianna spoke earlier.

Suddenly, the wind began blowing, no, hitting Brianna's face, and while the wind began blowing faster, the noises from earlier began to grow.

What was Rigbone up to? If he would have wanted to use Crunch, he would have already done so... And that when a small bit of Brianna's memories arose. Was she about to die? Why would she suddenly remember stuff all of a sudden when she's in front of a deadly creature?

This memory was showing a Zigzaggon drinking of a lake in front of Sprout Tower in Violet City, and Brianna was staring at that Zigzagoon. That memory in particular was from the time Rigbone was caught, when she had to chase that Zigzagoon all around the city. But, something peculiar about that chase was that Zigzagoon was swimming arounf the lake, no, not swimming, surfing.

"Of course!" Brianna yelled, feeling as she had made a big discovery, "Rigby! Use Surf!"

Rigbone nodded, as if he had been waiting all along for that command, and raised his head, the noises grew bigger, and they finally ceased. A small puddle of water slowly came inside the romm.

"What?! That's it?!" Brianna yelled, enraged.

Almost as if correcting her, a huge wave came from the door, hitting her in the back of her hair, throwing her to the floor. The wave dissipated in the puddle, and the noise of more water coming could be heard, and the wind grew progressively stronger as well...

Nikolai Darius

He was probably supposed to be panicking.

Rune realized as the giggling poured dementedly out of his mouth that by all appearances he was near hysteria and prone to babbling random misery and despondency. On the outside, he had lost his mind. A smoker, trash talker, albino, masochistic kiddo had been sent to fight some evil and in the process had lost his mind. Somehow that made a lot of sense.

Whatever.

As he was laughing however, Nikolai was deep in thought. They were not going to be able to beat this monster, especially not together. They had no reason to work together, no reason to even like each other or share a common goal. Survival, at this point in their meager lives, was not enough of an excuse. What would be the best way to... not divert its attention, but obtain information because of course instantly attacking it was like saying: here, watch me and find my weaknesses.

But of course, that is what Miss Eve did not understand.

After slapping him, which frankly was just so rude, she and that girl decided blow up the building and attack the creature as a diversion. Ah... this was why these people were just so...

Boring.

They weren't even going to attempt to speak with it. It had spoken, he had heard it. The dialect was meager and unrefined but it was an unknown species so it wasn't quite a flaw. Instead of simply killing themselves at opportunity one (because even he knew that attacking foolishly wouldn't just be the end of one but the end of all and he really didn't want to die because of the foolishness of the world. He'd rather to be honest, get cancer or kidney failure and commit harakiri. Not that these people knew what that meant either, lost in their own worlds of self-indulgement.) they could have waited and prolonged it by speaking, figuring out how it ticked through words and body movements and when it eventually had attacked been all the wiser for it.

But of course that hadn't been done. Those that weren't throwing their Pokemon were gaping like children at a candy store who had just tasted black licorice for the first time and hated it. Nikolai did stop laughing at last, barring a few incessant giggles toward humanity as a whole. "Oh Miss Eve," he demurred. "You certainly do not disappoint. Such a instinctual, human, meager reaction." He returned Fia, who gave him her mewling cry of stop-terrifying-people-you-need-to-get-better, which he ignored, pulling out a Luxury Ball with a small, sad sort of a smile.

Nikolai had stopped laughing now. If these people were willing to waste his time with such a farce than far be it from him to back out. The opportunity would come... but with all of these people here it would be wasted. As he thought, being alone was much more for the best. He kissed the ball softly, knowing the creature inside would understand. "Alma," he murmured. "Watch and see dear one, watch and see." He released her simply, no fanfare or struggle. His eyes focused all over the room before glancing sideways toward Eve and her attacking Pokemon. A small, lost half-smile crossed his face and he turned away, watching the air and water flow dispassionately.

"Alma," he repeated as the Absol padded to stand in front of him. "Watch for it dear. When the right time comes..." She nodded at him, focusing red eyes through the storm at the monstrous creature. It chilled her, this strange creature. It seemed so determined... it almost seemed a shame to do this... however. She would protect Nikolai, even from a creature so young and unfortunate.

That was her pride.