Pokemon Odyssey: A New Beginning [T] [Best Veteran 4Q '12]

[Xilfer123]

Paladin
Limbo

"You're not dead. You're not awake, but you're not asleep. You're in Limbo. Limbo is a state of mind in which you are not fully conscious, but you can still control your own cerebral activity, instead of letting it fall prey to dreams."

A voice rang out in Paladin's mind. There was darkness, and nothing but. Paladin could not even see himself; only the endless black around him. He tried to activate his eye lights, but it did not work. He knew it was totally pointless to look around and examine his surroundings, for if he tried to, he would only find more darkness waiting for him. There was nothing to see here. The usual display of colors that one may perceive when their eyes are closed were nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by a pool of shadows. Paladin tried to will himself to awaken, but it was of no use. Had he fallen into a coma, perhaps? Paladin shook the thought from his head; if he were in a coma, he would be imagining his own perfect world right now, and this was far from perfect. "You're not in a coma, Saul. You're in Limbo," the voice came again, louder this time, but softer. Paladin tried to say 'Who are you?' but found that he could not do so. "Don't worry, you don't have to talk. I can read your mind," the voice sang. It now dawned on the Golurk that a psychic had entered his mind. The psychic was probably the one keeping him in Limbo. "You are correct, young one. I just wanted to take this opportunity to talk to you," the voice explained. Paladin was doubtful of the psychic's intentions. He knew that psychics were able to mess up a Pokemon's mind to the point of insanity. "I mean you no harm. I just want to talk to one so...intriguing as yourself," the psychic said again. "I would also like to explain myself. I'm sorry that I caused you to harm yourself in the battle earlier. If it had not been for my meddling, perhaps you would not be lying here now."

Paladin wondered what the Pokemon could be talking about. True, he had injured himself, but that was from fighting Jeb, and letting his inner darkness take him over. Just then, a shape materialized in the darkness. It began as a white light shining out, but then formed into the shape of a green, bird-like creature. It took a moment, but Paladin identified it as a Xatu. "If you will allow me to explain," the Xatu began, its voice still as soft but loud as before. "Jeb was a figment of your imagination. I extracted him from your subconscious and made him into an illusion in everyone's minds." Paladin wanted to clobber the miscreant right then and there, but remembered that he could not move in his own mind. "All the other Pokemon around you were illusions created by me and my colleagues. I'm sorry, Paladin, but we had to test the strength of the Gold Tribe. The entire purpose of this 'test' was to pin point some of the more interesting of you. Paladin, you are one of the most interesting Pokemon here," the Xatu said. 'Why did you have to involve me?' Paladin thought. The Xatu quickly replied, "I was the one who sensed your presence in the underground tunnels. You see, Paladin, your dark side, your hidden memories, and the various complexities surrounding these two attributes of yourself is what catches my attention. You are one of the most complex beings I have met in a long time, so I just had to seize the opportunity and bring you in. You being a member of the Gold Tribe also corresponded with Madman's little test, so we decided to bring you in as well. I'm sorry for getting you involved in this, but I just had to know," he said. 'Wait, so you brought me in here and messed with my mind out of curiosity?!" Paladin thought furiously. The Xatu nodded, ashamed.

'So, what exactly were Jeb and those other Pokemon? Were the just illusions?' Paladin asked, trying to put aside his anger for now. "Yes and no. The Pokemon around you were mostly illusions, that is, the ones who never attacked you or the ones you only saw from the corner of your eye. The ones you fought, however, were illusions made from memories or ideas implanted in your head. Jeb, for example, was an illusion based off and created from your ideal image of yourself, though I just added the accent in for fun," Xatu chuckled lightly. "The Electivire, on the other hand, was an illusion manifested from your fear of Dragon-types from when you were a child. This is why it attacked the Salamence you rescued." This stunned Paladin. How had this Xatu known something about Paladin which he didn't? "Ah, yes, I can see into some of your hidden memories. You know, all you have to do is dig deep enough into your subconscious, and you'll find them," Xatu explained. 'Tell me about my past!' Paladin ordered rather with a rather gruff tone. The Xatu simply shook his head. "You need to find these things out for yourself, Saul. If I tell you everything you need to know, your future will be drastically altered," the Xatu said. 'What do you mean?' Paladin asked. "Nothing. Let's change the subject-" Xatu began, but he was cut off 'What do you mean' Paladin though again, a sharp edge to his voice.

"Fine. As a Xatu, I have the power to see glimpses of the future. I am telling you, your future will soon intertwine with that of many others. If you discover your past now, you'll quit your search for yourself, and never meet these Pokemon, thus creating a whole new chain of events that could lead to the destruction of the Alpha Alliance!" the Xatu explained dramatically. Paladin thought on this for a moment. Was he truly so significant? He wanted to ask the Xatu more, but knew that he would get no answer. Xatu's voice softened and weakened a little when he next spoke, "Now, Paladin, it's time for you to go to sleep. You'll need it. The upcoming battles will be harsh and relentless, and you will face many opponents on the way to realization, but never waver, for eventually, you will reach your final destination,"

"And remember...never doubt your importance."

[Garet]

Hanso SharpEye
...Not the sharpest mind in the room, though...
~~~~~
In the moments before Zane reached 'Penance', Hanso wondered why the Golduck didn't answer, and why the Gallade wasn't being attacked from behind. When the Golduck, along with most of the other Pokemon in the room, vanished and the real Penance revealed himself, Hanso felt confused at first. He thought for a moment that some part of his mind might have still been clouded from the sleep gas they'd been hit with.

"The funny thing? Illusions can be harmful so long as those experiencing them believe them to be real. Though you should probably train those minds a bit more if they can be this easily manipulated. Not good at all for going after the Silver Crystal, right?" Penance asked them. He sighed at that point, "Though too much time has been wasted now. You know there are still a good few plans to be realized, but also a bit more to deconstruct." He scratched at the back of his neck. "I wonder... do you all think this is a dream? I mean those illusions were pretty convincing.... this could all be in your heads, or not. You take your picks." He said with a meager shrug. "The psychics are pretty powerful, but I'm not sure if they would want to take the time to simulate a dream for everyone you know?"

Hanso's eye twitched at that point as he realized that he had been, as the Abra put it so aptly, stupid. I should have checked for something once I saw that Abra. Another might have said that Hanso was being hard on himself, but he didn't feel any better for learning that it had been a test, a setup. Hanso rubbed at his eyes with one hand, not really looking at the Psychics that appeared. In fact, he still felt some of the disbelief from before. Thinking back through the whole thing, Hanso pinpointed a few things that were inconsistent. Or, at least, he thought they were. Penance being called the Madman; Penance snapping his fingers to light the fire under the cauldron; Tired enough of all this to really point everything out.

"So then, I assume questions are in order? Perhaps the fact that the psychics linked up with your minds while you all slumbered can take away a few. The rest are natural of course but we can walk and talk I suppose. The scouts already report that it's getting topsy curvy up there so we should probably get onto that. That is if you all want to of course." Penance said with a shrug. "Or... you all could be holding in inner rage and really really want to kill me. Natural for that to happen as well I suppose, it can't really be helped though. Although death means a harder time trying to get the city freed as well as innocents killed and this whole city within a city turning upon you all. And due to the fact that many here have been trained to kill Goldies... your odds aren't that great with that route, still, I do give you the free will to decide what to do." He stated. "So... what will it be?" The Golduck asked them.

Hanso turned away from the majority of the group, listening as he searched through his mind. The Gallade took time to make sure there were no external mental connections left, cutting any he found without looking at any of them individually. Can't risk having any connections with these guys left...what else could they have done? Now that he knew, or had an idea, what to look for, Hanso didn't actually find anything else in his mental scan of himself, the others, or the room. He focused more on whether there were any more mental manipulations, rather than who was who.

All the same, Hanso felt angry. Angry at Penance and the other Psychics for fooling them, and angry at himself for not realizing it. On impulse, Hanso spun and punched Accatosh in the shoulder; he didn't pour anything into it except a desire to relieve something. "Sorry about that," the Gallade muttered to Accatosh, "but you were the closest thing to punch." Hanso faced Penance and stated, "Far as I can tell, you're not messing with our heads anymore. If you are, though, then stop it. Or we might not see what's happenin' up there anyways."

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

Levina grinned as Snype approached her. "Kehe, of course. She's poisoned at the moment and probobly passed out. I picture she'll be out of her hair either way. Even if she does escape, she'll die beforehand either way." He said. Levina giggled in a menacing way as Snype’s words reached her ears. “I’d love to give her some ‘shock therapy’…..if you know what I mean.” Levina spaced off as she pictured herself shocking the Mismagius into begging for mercy. She was snapped out of her little daydream by Snype who returned to the topic at hand. "Kill all the citizens and that means you'll have a rebellion and the Gold Tribe to face. I'd fear we'd be out numbered if the groups ended up having an alliance. Who knows what they're up to. I still say we do what we can to stop the rebelion though. Scare them enough so that they don't try something like this again. But let’s be smart about it. Kehehe... we'll end it all in one grand battle when the time is right. Feels a bit early for that if you ask me." Snype said.

“It would be one hell of a fight hehe. I’d be up for it.” Levina said with a grin as she watched the Pokemon joining in on the conversation. "I cannot endorse a kill all order," the Tyranitar said. "Killing ruthlessly on the battlefield is one thing, but we can't just kill an entire city. What good is a kingdom if all the citizens are dead? There is no honor to be had in such an action, and many of them wouldn't even be able to defend themselves." Levina let out a quiet groan as she listened. She knew the Tyranitar was correct and it annoyed her. She was ready for bloodshed and was getting impatient. She turned to one of the Ancients, a Cradily who was close by, and sent a small but steady stream of electricity to it shocking it slightly. Levina giggled as the Ancient squirmed under the current. She knew it wasn’t doing much damage but it satisfied her lust for a fight for a little while.

Levina continued to mess with the Cradily as she listened to a female voice talking to the others. "Why not stage an execution?" the Pokemon suggested. "Pick a group of individuals we know are not responsible, and put them under the blade. Whoever is behind this is sure to reveal themselves in the face of losing innocents. Those heroic types love opportunities like that. And it would serve the dual purpose of striking fear into the masses, as Snype suggested." "Yes," said the Tyranitar, "that sounds like an excellent idea..." This attracted Levina’s attention as she left the Cradily alone and faced the group again. “I don’t real care as long as I get to fight.” She said, a smirk returning to her face.

Allora ~ Unknown Battle Room.....Or not? Huh?

Allora looked back to see if the Liligant was still following. What she found was a fierce battle between the Liligant and a Krokorok. Allora stopped and turned to help her new friend but saw the Liligant deliver a finishing blow to the Pokemon. Before returning her attention to helping the group, Allora called to the Liligant. “Over here! This way!” Allora turned back to the group to see Paladin approaching. She let a small smile show through as she was relieved to see he was alright. "We have to get out of here," he said sternly. Paladin was right. They had to find a way to escape or more of them would be injured or, even worse, possibly killed.

Allora followed Paladin’s example and started looking around for a way to escape. There were no obvious exits as the room was sealed up tight. They couldn’t risk busting one of the walls or the ceilings out for they didn’t know where they were exactly or what was on the other side. Plus it would run the risk of a cave in and that could kill everyone. The exact opposite of what they wanted to do. As Allora continued to look around she heard a loud grunt come from Paladin. She jerked her head around to see what was wrong with her friend and saw another Golurk had smashed into Paladin, sending him flying a distance.

All Allora could do was stand by and watch as her partner wrestled with the other Golurk. ‘Oh no! This is bad! What can I do to help him? I’m out powered physically and the only attack I know that is affective will hit Paladin also. I don’t know what to do.’ She thought as she paced back and forth watching the battle. The need to help and protect Paladin grew with each passing second. Allora watched in horror as the other Golurk charged Paladin, and again, knocked him back ten feet. “PALADIN!!” Allora screamed as tears started to well in her eyes. She was watching her friend, no, her family member, being killed in front of her eyes.

Before Allora could do anything to help Paladin, something strange happened to him. He stood and let out a powerful scream as his body started to change. A strange, sickly gray color started to envelop his body and his eyes turned black and lifeless. “Paladin?” Allora whispered as she watched her friend transform. This being that stood in front of her wasn’t her friend. She didn’t know who or what this Pokemon was. She watched as Paladin took flight, taking the other Golurk along for the ride. Both Pokemon shot for the ceiling and collided with a very loud bang, leaving a crack behind them. Allora watched in silence as her friend landed with a thud alongside the dead Golurk. All she could do was stare at Paladin’s body, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.

Allora’s gaze left her friends figure, only for a second, when she caught Pokemon disappearing out of the corner of her eye. Hovering above everyone was a group of Pokemon she hadn’t seen in the room before. Three Alakazams, a Hypno, a Gardevoir, two Grumpigs, a Slowbro, a Lunatone, and also a Xatu. The Abra from earlier and the insane Golduck were also with them. "The funny thing? Illusions can be harmful so long as those experiencing them believe them to be real. Though you should probably train those minds a bit more if they can be this easily manipulated. Not good at all for going after the Silver Crystal, right?" The Golduck asked them sighing. "Though too much time has been wasted now. You know there are still a good few plans to be realized, but also a bit more to deconstruct. I wonder... do you all think this is a dream? I mean those illusions were pretty convincing.... this could all be in your heads, or not. You take your picks. The psychics are pretty powerful, but I'm not sure if they would want to take the time to simulate a dream for everyone you know?"

Allora returned her gaze to Paladin as she half way listened to what was going on. The other Golurk that was beside Paladin also disappeared. ‘An illusion? Is that what that was? But it felt so real.’ She thought as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Allora slowly approached Paladin, fear the he could be dead still making her gut wrench. She sat beside his body and watched him for a second waiting for him to take a breath. To her relief, Allora could hear the air whooshing in and out of her friend’s lungs as he breathed.

“Paladin.” Allora whispered to him gently, not wanted to startle him. She received no response. “Paladin?” She said a little louder as she gently bumped him with her paw. Still no response. “Paladin!” Allora halfway yelled as fear started swelling up again. “Paladin wake up!” She shook him a little harder to try and wake him up. Again there was no response from the Golurk. It was almost like he was in a comatose like trance. Oblivious to the outside world. “PALADIN!!” Allora screamed as tears started to well up again in her eyes. The possibility that this could all still be an illusion was hidden by her fear and anxiety.

Allora turned to the Psychics who seemed to be amused by their little test. Especially the Abra who continued to call them all stupid for falling for the illusions. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO PALADIN!!!???” Allora snapped at them, her tails flying straight up and staying there. “IF ALL THIS IS SUPPOSE TO BE AN ILLUSION THEN WHY THE HELL ISN’T HE WAKING UP!?” Tears poured out of her eyes as hundreds of different possibilities flooded her mind. Many of them playing off the fear that she lost her dear friend. “WELL? ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER ME OR JUST FLOAT THERE STARING AT ME?” Allora’s eyes started to glow blue as her anger built. She was ready to beat the crap out of anyone if it meant getting an answer to Paladin’s condition. Slowly her body started to give off the same blue glow, her psychic abilities fueled by her emotions, as she waited for an answer.

[Typh]

Accatosh "Blitzkrieg" Corronis

Within second's of Vigil's Arrival to the Golduck's throne, everything disappeared, eventually there was nothing left but the Gold Tribe, The Golduck and a group of psychics. Accatosh after finding out that this was all a game of mind was rather angered, and the stuck up Abra was about three seconds from becoming an Abra-ka-bob. Accatosh felt a thud on his shoulder, he glanced over where it came from to hear and see Truestriker apologize, Accatosh couldn't help but smile he understood completely why the Galade had punched him, "don't worry about it brother, I think it would be better if we spared to take out our anger, so next time feel free to ask..." before he could continue there was an outburst of anger and tears coming from a white Ninetales that was with a Golurk and a rather tall Liligant, and joined with the rest of the group during the battle. He sensed her anger, fresh and alive, yet it was fueled by something else, sadness, morning, from the sound of it. He turned his head to the group of Psychics, particularly the Abra, "seems like you, yourself are a few berries short of a bushel. don't you know it's unwise to upset a Ninetales, not even a dragon would dare anger one. it might be wise to explain EVERYTHING, before I HAVE to help our sister here, get answers." he smiled menacingly, thinking of over a dozen methods he could use to get the information they want.

[Megaman765]

Snype began to like Levina the more she talked. It seemed the others agreed with him as well. Staging an execution would be a good idea as well to show this Rebellion what they're really sacrificing. Everyone has already scattered of course, possibly hiding in fear of possibly being hunted down by either the Silver Tribe or the Rebellion. If that didn't get them out then the group would have to trek around and hunt down the rebellion.

"Before we do that we should check out the sites of the explosions. There might be some stragglers around there. Survivors or members of the rebellion. Either way we can get some information from them about who we're fighting. I can take the southern part of the city with Levina." Snype said. He was all ready to go. Without even asking, he jumped on top of Levina's back on top of her bag as if she were his noble stead.

"I can keep an eye on the newbie. Kehehe." He joked, expecting to be shook off.

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

Levina let out a huffed sigh as she listened to Snype. "Before we do that we should check out the sites of the explosions. There might be some stragglers around there. Survivors or members of the rebellion. Either way we can get some information from them about who we're fighting. I can take the southern part of the city with Levina." He said. ‘Great, scouting duty.’ She thought as she looked at the scruffy Pokemon with an annoyed look on her face. “I better get to fight someone.” She mumbled in a gruff tone.

To her surprise, the Sableye jumped on top of her back like he was riding a Ponyta. "I can keep an eye on the newbie. Kehehe." He joked. Levina could tell a smirk was forming on the brave Pokemon’s face. “You are one gutsy Pokemon you know that?” She smirked as she turned her head far enough to see him out of the corner of her eye. “I’d respect that……..if I enjoyed being ridden like a horse.” Levina growled the last part as she sent a jolt of electricity coursing through the Sableye’s body. The shock wasn’t strong enough to do much damage but still would smart quite a bit. Once Snype was stunned by the shock, Levina bucked him off to the ground beside her. Levina sat beside the Pokemon and snickered. “Opps…what happened? Did you fall off? Hehe. You know you should really hang on better.” She giggled as she watched him.

[Megaman765]

Snype was quickly hit by several jolts of electricity as he expected. He didn't try to avoid it with the use of Detect though. He needed a good jolt of electricity to keep him up. Snype fell down to the ground, his fut all over the place and more scruffy then it usually was. He was flat on his back not changing his expression at all. He let out a snicker. The girl had spunk. Snype was actually growing to have a bit of respect for her style. Snype got up onto his feet slowly and pet hear head, scratching it a bit.

"Kehehe, your just a tough one to handle. We'll get along just fine you and I." He said with a snicker.

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

Levina started laughing when she noticed Snype’s new hairdo. His fur was sticking up all over the place due to the electricity. She muffled her laughter when he stood to his feet and snickered at her. The brave Pokemon proceeded to pet her head, scratching it like one does to a dog. Levina respected the spikey haired Sableye for daring to treat her like an animal. He had major guts, or be completely brain-dead, to attempt such a thing not once but twice. "Kehehe, you’re just a tough one to handle. We'll get along just fine you and I." He said.

Levina gave him a death glare hoping that would be a good enough warning for him to stop. “You will know the true meaning of tough if you keep treating me like a mutt.” She growled and bumped into him just hard enough to knock him over again. Levina then proceeded to sit on the Sableye’s chest and snickered. “I believe we will get along as well. You make a nice ‘pillow’.”

[Megaman765]

Snype kept his expression the entire way through as Levina bumped him onto the ground. He didn't resist of course. She was a companion and all and right now he was focusing on annoying her to see what it would take to get her to snap. So far she was showing to be a fighter which was good enough for Snype. There were more important things to do. Levina sat down on top of Snype's chest. Her spikes around her rump were just close enough to poking him

"Omph! Kehe... you can show me "tough" another time darling. Don't get too comfy on me though. We got work to do after all." Snype said.

[Claire*]

Genevieve L’esprit

“Enough, children!” Genevieve barked at the Jolteon and Sableye, frustration obvious in her voice. As if Snype wasn’t enough, now another wearisome personality was added into the mix. “The adults are trying to find a solution to our current predicament. So, if you two would rather waste my time with your childish behavior, please, feel free to do so at another time. If, on the other hand, you wish to help us find a real fix to our problem,” she looked down at them with a distasteful glare, “I would be happy to hear it. You two can breed later.” Genevieve gave a dismissive wave with her last comment, one of the few times she could be caught joking.

“Now.” She returned her attention back to Scar. “I do believe we have gone through these actions before with very similar results.” Genevieve began to pace and place a hand to her chin as she weighed the possible outcome of each scenario. Why not go ahead and have the final battle here? The numbers were certainly on their side, there was no element of surprise and they had an army that didn’t fear death. These were all things the Gold Tribe lacked that they didn’t. “I myself have made public displays of executions,” she spoke up again. “I murdered a Pichu’s father before the eyes of the Gold Tribe for all to see, with little affect I might add. I believe our only option is to kill these swine without letup or favor.”

Turning to Sovereign, a slightly disappointed look on her face at his dismissal of her idea, she walked up to him and stroked his chin affectionately. “Dear Sovereign, how could you be so against this idea? You of all Pokemon should appreciate the lengths that we need to go to win this war. This will not end until these Pokemon learn to respect us. They will never learn until we lay them on the ground in prostration and beat it in to them!”

“After all,” she turned to the rest of the Sentinels as a whole. “When you have an infestation, you don’t kill a few bugs as an example. No. You kill them without prejudice and rid them from your home.” Pausing for emphasis, she looked down at her hands as if imagining the blood that stained them. “Friends...this entire kingdom is our home and it is infested with vermin. Let us exterminate them.”

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

Levina laughed, as she sat on him for a few more seconds, before finally removing herself from his chest. She sat beside him again and grinned. “That’s right. How can I forget a chance to battle? I must be losing it. This constant lull between fights is starting to make me soft.” Levina huffed a little before stretching and running some electricity through her fur to make it spike even more. “Let’s get going! I can’t sit around anymore!” An evil smirk appeared on her face as she thought of all the Pokemon she was going to get to fight and/or kill. “Hurry and get up! We need to go!” Levina addressed Snype as she started pacing in an antsy way.

Levina stopped when the Gardevoir addressed them in a rude matter. “Enough, children!” She barked frustrated. “The adults are trying to find a solution to our current predicament. So, if you two would rather waste my time with your childish behavior, please, feel free to do so at another time. If, on the other hand, you wish to help us find a real fix to our problem,” she looked down at them with a distasteful glare, “I would be happy to hear it. You two can breed later.” The Gardevoir gave a dismissive wave with her last comment.

Levina rolled her eyes and walked behind the annoyed Gardevoir, sitting down behind her. As the Gardevoir finished her speech, Levina mimicked her speech pattern throwing in some funny gestures of her own. Making sure her new Sableye friend had full view of her actions. “Dear Sovereign, how could you be so against this idea? You of all Pokemon should appreciate the lengths that we need to go to win this war. This will not end until these Pokemon learn to respect us. They will never learn until we lay them on the ground in prostration and beat it in to them!” The Gardevoir said, addressing the Tyranitar. “After all,” she turned to the rest of the Sentinels as a whole. “When you have an infestation, you don’t kill a few bugs as an example. No. You kill them without prejudice and rid them from your home.” Pausing, she looked down at her hands. “Friends...this entire kingdom is our home and it is infested with vermin. Let us exterminate them.”

Once the Gardevior was done, Levina returned to Snype’s side. “Just point me in a direction and I will leave a trail of blood for you to follow.” She smirked in a menacing way as she joined in the conversation. “Oh and Snype……if you’re going to follow me. Don’t get in my way. You don’t want to become barbequed do you?” Levina giggled and smirked at the scruffy Pokemon in a kidding way.

[Megaman765]

Snype chuckled as Genevieve lectured them and criticized the two. It was a shame he couldn't appreciate him after his performance earlier, but he was happy to still be anoying her! But she was far too easy. Levina was proving to be much more fun to play with! He snickered at Genevieve's comment on breeding.

"Breed later? Oh please... you'd really want miniature versions of me running around? Hehehe...." Snype joked, winking at Levina to mess with her a bit more. Snype smirked as Levina seemed to be mimicking Genevieve. Snype kept a neutral look on his face, trying not to laugh while at the same time listening to Genevieve and taking her thoughts into consideration. He also noted how she was acting around Sovereign and made a mental note of it.

Exterminating everyone and ending it here seemed like a potential idea... but it wasn't up to Snype to make the final order. Whatever was to be done would be done. Levina approached Snype once more.

"Kehehe, sure. As long as I get a chance to ride you one of these days! Could use a bit of speed! Kehehe." Snype joked again.

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

Levina immediately burst out laughing, at Snype’s joke about breeding, and walked away from the group a bit to get out the laughter. Once she was able to catch her breath, Levina rejoined the group sitting next to Snype again. She leaned towards him and whispered, “That would be the ultimate joke! ‘Make’ a group of mini us and send them to annoy everyone. Hehe.” She straightened back up and acted serious to give off the appearance that she was listening to everything that was going on.

"Kehehe, sure. As long as I get a chance to ride you one of these days! Could use a bit of speed! Kehehe." Snype joked again. Levina gave the Sableye a curious look. “Ride me? Are you serious? You want me to give you a ride on my back? Why? Hehe.” It was an odd request that no one had ever asked the Jolteon before.

[Megaman765]

Snype snickered and bravely leaned on Levina in a friendly fashion, avoiding her spikes and such. She burst out laughing from his breeding joke so Snype proceeded to add to that.

"Kehehehe. It'd be a heck of a joke to look into when we got the time... kehe." He flirted, throwing another wink at her, mostly to annoy her further. She then questioned Snype about wanting to ride her.

"Why not? Sableye aren't exactly the fastest Pokemon around and having a buddy to carry me around the place quickly would be helpful. What? Think I'd be too heavy for you? Kehehe. Just imagine, with me riding on your back we could do a little hit and run around the city if we end up having to kill everyone. A little shooting gallery. Plus it'd look cool! Commooonn. I can handle those spikes on you! We'd be like partners in crime, with you as my noble steed! It'd be cool!" Snype whispered, acting extremely childish.

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

Levina grinned at Snype and let him lean against her. “I don’t think you could handle me. I tend to be a little……wild. Hehehe.” She winked at him. She could tell that she wasn’t immune to the Sableye’s teasing fun. Levina decided it would be best to throw it right back at him.

“You have a point there. I could easily beat you in a race. Hehe. Hmmm….” Levina whispered back as she spaced off, picturing the two running through town and slaughtering everyone they came across. “I think I could carry you. You are very petite. As long as you can handle the electric contact from me shocking my targets. You won’t get to have all the fun now. Hehehe.”

[Megaman765]

She seemed to be throwing his teasing right back at him. Well well, she was an interesting case that was for sure. Snype decided to keep playing her game. "Kehe. I'm a little psycho myself. I'm more worried about you myself... kehehe. You wouldn't last a second." He flirted again. She seemed to be getting onto the idea of carrying Snype around. Well that was easy. She wasn't so hard to crack after all!

"Comon I already look like a bedroom monster! I can handle a couple shocks of electricity. Hehehe, it's worth a shot don't you think? You and I would be planting an image among the citizens! They'd fear quite a pair! Probobly what they need to bring some order around here. Another image of fear. Kehehe..." Snype added.

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

“Cocky are we? Hehehe,” She smirked. “You don’t know what I am capable of. Don’t count me out yet just because I am a girl. I might knock that sly smirk right off your face.” Levina flirted with confidence. She wasn’t going to let Snype beat her in this teasing and flirting game.

“You do. Especially with that ruffled hair of yours.” Levina put a paw on his head and ruffled his fur even more, using a slight static charge to make it stand up. “So why would you need me to help you project that image?” She smirked as she spoke. Levina knew she had a good point and it would be hard for Snype to make a comeback. “Besides, before I agree to anything I want you to prove that you can handle my shocks. This won’t be a walk in the park.” She giggled and smirked menacingly at the Sableye. “The last thing I would need is to be dragging you along, unconscious, as I try to have some fun. I might just end up ditching you in a back alley somewhere. Hehehe.”

[Megaman765]

Snype continued to play her game, starting to enjoy it now. This girl was something else... he could do this all day but there was no doubt they would be yelled at again for this. He was getting too distracted... Snype scratched Levina under her chin. "Is that a challenge?" He replied with a snicker. "I'm sure I can prove myself once we're on the field..." Snype said with a confident smirk.

"I'll keep your little challange in mind... heh. For now we should consider a final decision. Kill everyone, or wait and see. Everyone needs to come up with a final decision before we go out to do our buisness. Once we do, the game begins. So whats it gonna be everyone? We don't have much time." Snype said. He turned back to Levina, continuing their conversation.

"So how do you propose I prove myself? Actually go off and ride you like that? Kehehe..." He said.

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

“It is a challenge and we’ll see what you are made of. I don’t think you have a chance against my electric personality. Hehe.” Levina let the Sableye scratch her chin to get him to think that she was falling for him. He wanted to play this game and Levina was going to be his toughest opponent to date.

Levina also addressed the others once Snype brought the decision back up. “Like I said before, I don’t really care as long as I get to kill someone. Hehe.” She smirked and turned her attention back to Snype, only halfway paying attention to the other’s comments on the subject.

“Oh well let us see…..hmmm…..I could use you as target practice and if you survive then I might let you ride on my back. But I doubt you could survive my electric attacks. I would leave you lying as a smoldering pile of ash. If you somehow managed to survive, then we would have to test your strength. I will be running at full speed and if you can’t hold on….well too bad. You’re on your own.” Levina acted confident as she rattled off the different requirements to the Sableye. She was going to see just how much he was going to go through in order to ride her. Levina giggled at the thought of breaking Snype, half way through, and making him give up on riding her.

[Supervegeta]

Lair of the Madman(?)

It was over in an instant. It seemed as though all it took was a blink, and then all of the madness that was happening around them instantly disappeared. Instead, Penance was there, and surrounding him was a team of other psychic Pokemon, who seemed to have been holding the illusion in place. It took Zane a few moments to figure out everything that had happened. He still didn't understand why he had done it. He didn't understand a lot of things that involved Penance now. But the same fact that remained in the illusion seemed to be the same here: Penance was the Madman. He recalled a conversation he had with him, one which seemed so long ago now, just before the failed ambush that ended in Dark Lightning's death. He remembered how he told him that he used to sneak out of his house after his mother died, and hang out with other Pokemon. The way he described it made it sound a bit criminal in nature. But...this? This was on an entirely different level.

As Defender leaped down, he commented on the need for action. For plans to be constructed. Yet with everything that had just occurred, he wasn't sure if he could trust him. He looked around the room to get an idea of what the others were thinking. Gallant held an expression of pure disdain for Penance, the likes of which Zane had never seen his old teacher show before. He probably held this because of the actions that the Madman did to the Gold Tribe before the invasion. Others, like Guardia, Speculum, and Sword and Shield were more surprised than anything else, and perhaps didn't quite get over the shock at everything that had just happened. TrueStriker seemed to be angry at the entire situation too, throwing a punch upon Blitzkrieg's shoulder to relieve some of the stress that was no doubt building. Then he noticed the Golurk, who still seemed to be on the ground even after his event in the illusion, and the Ninetales who stood above him, beckoning him to wake up. Zane watched the Gold Tribe Ninetales begin to panic as her friend did not come to like the others did. But what took him most off guard was the title she used.

Paladin. He knew a Paladin! Before the war, he was a member of the Gold Tribe, same as Zane. The two of them were friends once, but the war had separated them, and he had assumed that the Golurk had not survived. Apparently, he was wrong. Zane strutted over to the Ninetales, placing an arm on her shoulder as he attempted to calm her down. "It's alright, sister," He began. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a tough one. Believe me, I know." Zane smiled at her, just as the Healer rushed over to check up on Paladin. "How is he?" Zane asked. The Gold Tribe medic to a moment to check over him, before looking up and answering.

"He should be fine. He's just unconscious, but I don't see any permanent damage. Although this odd color on him is unusual..." Zane nodded in agreement. It was something new on Paladin. But it didn't seem like it was something that Penance had caused, as he recalled seeing it on him before the illusion began. But he took the diagnosis as good news, once again smiling at the Ninetales to comfort her.

"You see? He'll be alright. My name is Zane Tyrael by the way. Known as Vigil. We should talk later some more when we get the chance." Zane turned away from her, and back to the one now called the Madman. "Penance...you've got a lot to answer for, and a much explaining that needs to be done. I'm sure you know that. But you also know, like almost everyone else here, how pressed for time we are. We came to you for help, and although we didn't know who exactly it was that we came to, we still need that help. If you're still our ally, prove it and help us. Help us free this city from the Silver Tribe's control. Help us put a stop to the death that goes on here. Help us find a way to plan an attack here with the Alpha Alliance without risking the lives of the citizens. But before that, help us find what you and I both know is down here, somewhere deep in the sewers: the Gold Crystal."

He eyed the Golduck, seeing his reaction to see what he will do. "You were there in the Golden Catacombs. You know we need it. Guardia says she knows where it is down here."

Guardia, who was still recovering from the shock of everything that had occurred, snapped out of her trance at the sound of her name. "Y-yes. I can probably lead us there, but it takes us far too close to Old Cape City, which we all know is filled to the brim with Ancients. I wouldn't know a path there where we won't get caught..."

"But," Zane interjected. "I'm betting that you do."

Cape City

It was another Sentinel. Scar read over the note from Auron, recognizing his seal to confirm it. He passed it around the other Sentinels so they too could see. It was a strange thing, about that entire situation with these new Sentinels. For almost two years, Auron added no outsiders to their force. Then all of a sudden, something had changed, and he began choosing those he found exemplary, and giving them the titles of Sentinels. It began with Sovereign, and then after was Snype, and now this new Jolteon, known as Levina. The new additions were strange to him. He didn't know how to react. It just didn't seem typical of Auron. Yes, they had lost a few Sentinels in Ignitus, Frost, Beserker, and Noxious. But the remaining Sentinels were more than enough to combat the Alpha Alliance, and the Gold Tribe. They didn't need them. So, Scar concluded instead that Auron wanted them. The question that he was wondered was: exactly what?

To Scar, the three of them were a bit like outsiders. They didn't go through the same experiences the others did. They weren't formerly of the Gold Tribe. They didn't come from...where did they come from? Scar's head began to hurt as he attempted to recall, as if to pull a memory that was so far inside, he had to navigate his own head. He could feel a headache beginning to form, but tried anyway to push through and reach that memory. Then, as if something switched in his brain, a voice echoed through his head. It was one he did not recognize, but he knew to obey. Without any hesitation, the Mienshao let go of his thoughts, and instantly stopped probing himself.

“Enough, children!” Scar heard Genevieve shout, snapping back to reality. He noticed Levina and Snype apparently getting comfy with each other, and shook off the thoughts he previously had, placing his mind back in the current situation. Sovereign protested against the extermination, while Genevieve wanted it to happen. The two newest Sentinels, Snype and Levina, seemed content with whatever were to occur, though Snype seemed to be a bit more hesitant with the kill all order as well, figuring it would be too early for such a grand battle. Yet Scar new the other Sentinels, especially those that had been in this war for long, would protest. Surely Genevieve would, as she endorsed the kill all order. The new Sentinels had yet to be apart of the conflict for very long, a conflict in which the last few battles had resulted in them losing, even if they had the superior numbers. Scar pondered the options in his head as Deluge floated around, silently observing the two new Sentinels joking with each other. Something had to be done.

"My lord Sentinel?" A Kabuto spoke to Scar, bowing before him as he held a paper (or rather paper) within his hands. Scar stopped his thinking as he looked down upon the lesser creature below. The Ancient held up the papers to Scar. "This was found on the front of the Stoneguard. We...believe it is from the perpetrators of the attacks." Scar hastily grabbed the papers from the ancient, not bothering to glance over the Kabuto as he began reading it over. It was a list of demands. Scar did not bother to read through the most of it, only to see who it came from. And so he was able to decipher the origin.

"So the Madman is behind the attacks...I had assumed the Gold Tribe had killed him years ago..." He said, glancing briefly over parts of the rather lengthy demands before scoffing at them and ripping them up. The bulk of the demands were so ridiculous, Scar did not even bother the other Sentinels with reading them. He thought that doing so would invoke laughter at perhaps not the best time. He spoke to the Sentinels around him. "The Madman. I assume most of you have heard of him from before this war. If you have not, know he could potentially be quite a nuisance. But nothing we shouldn't be able to handle. Now, with this new information at hand, how shall we proce-" A sharp pain. A sharp, intense pain inside of his head interrupted him. He held his head with his hands as the pain washed over his body. He felt a chill travel across his back, as if an ice Pokemon dragged their finger upon his spine, all the way up to the stem of his skull. He kept his eyes shuts, as if to do so would somehow remove the pain, but no such luck was brought to him. He opened them for mere moments to witness Genevieve and Deluge going through a similar pain. A similar reaction.

Then they heard it, the voice he had heard earlier. The voice traveled through his skull with the discomfort of a knife pressed against his back, like a pair of large arms, squeezing his skull together tightly, as if to crush it in half. The voice seemed out of place, as if it were not supposed to be there, as if it traveled far to reach his skull, and then began picking at his brain until it found the path to reach his thoughts, and display them in sounds he could comprehend. The voice spoke words, and Scar felt drawn to these, as if these words were his life, and as if he could not deny them neither his fully attention nor his rejection. "Yes...yes, I understand. It shall be done." He said finally, as he felt himself be lifted of the voice in his head, at the same time so too were Genevieve and Deluge. He composed himself, taking in a deep breath, before he faced the Sentinels. He gave them all a quick look, before gazing upon the marble ground, and pacing back and forth.

"We...we have our orders. We can begin investigating the city in search of the Madman and the Gold Tribe, if they are here. I'm betting they may be somewhere in these houses. Or maybe underground. I've sent Ancients down there, but we can turn our attention to the fear of the citizenry if you like as well. Do whatever we must to get control of the situation now. But...," He stopped pacing, and faced the other Sentinels.

"...by day's end, no matter what, we issue the kill-all order."

[Megaman765]

Snype was about to continue flirting with the Jolteon, still feeling he could win against the girl. Snype held onto her chin and leaned close to her. "Kehehe... Challange accepted then." He ended off, winking once more and getting back to business once Scar began to give his thoughts. He began to mention someone by the name of "The Madman". Snype of course had heard the stories of him... it turned out he was behind most of the attacks. Wherever he was, he was now the main target. It didn't change the fact that they didn't have direct orders yet. Suddenly something was going on with Scar, Deluge, and Genevieve... strange. Snype wasn't feeling anything and Levina was bound to not feel a thing either.

Finally, Scar snapped out of it and at last, they had their orders. Investigate the city in search of the Madman and question whoever they can. But in the end, a Kill-all order would be in place. Snype smiled with glee.

"Kehehe! Oh am I happy to hear that! Orders are order then! Lets get moving! Snype said. He pushed Levina's bag off of her back and put it on his so that he could jump onto her back.

"Kehehe, I'm ready to prove myself. How about we have some fun?" Snype said.

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

Levina’s attention was drawn away from Snype by an approaching Kabutops. The Ancient had a letter for the one she believed was the so called leader of the group. She sat, watching curiously, as the Mienshao read the letter and tore it up in disgust. "So the Madman is behind the attacks...I had assumed the Gold Tribe had killed him years ago..." He said. "The Madman. I assume most of you have heard of him from before this war. If you have not, know he could potentially be quite a nuisance. But nothing we shouldn't be able to handle. Now, with this new information at hand, how shall we proce-“ The Mienshao grabbed his head in obvious pain.

Levina watched as a few of the Sentinels also grabbed their head in discomfort before becoming silent. This was an odd event considering that one of the ones who was now silent was the Gardevior who lectured them about their actions. After a few brief moments, the Mienshao spoke as if he was having a conversation with someone. "Yes...yes, I understand. It shall be done." He said before recomposing himself. The Mienshao began to pace as he gave orders to the group. "We...we have our orders. We can begin investigating the city in search of the Madman and the Gold Tribe, if they are here. I'm betting they may be somewhere in these houses. Or maybe underground. I've sent Ancients down there, but we can turn our attention to the fear of the citizenry if you like as well. Do whatever we must to get control of the situation now. But...," He stopped then pacing and faced the Sentinels. "...by day's end, no matter what, we issue the kill-all order."

Levina couldn’t help but give out a cheer when she heard the last the part. She was finally going to get to fight like she always wanted. “Ooohhhh yeah!!! I finally get set free to do what I want! You guys better watch out because I won’t be responsible if you get caught in my cross fire.” She grinned menacingly as she flared her fur and sent another dose of electricity through it. Levina smirked at Snype as he addressed her, saying exactly what she was thinking. "Kehehe! Oh am I happy to hear that! Orders are order then! Let’s get moving! Snype said. Levina watched Snype curiously as he pushed her bag off of her back and put it on his. “And what do you expect to do with my bag munchkin? Hehehe.” She giggled at the new nickname she had given to her short companion. "Kehehe, I'm ready to prove myself. How about we have some fun?" Snype said. “You want to just jump right on in and try to ride on my back? Is that it?” Levina chuckled and continued the flow of electricity over her entire body as she waited for Snype’s smartass comeback.

[Megaman765]

Snype chuckled at Levina's response and pet her again. His fur was already sticking up just being in contact with Levina. It got him all riled up! He couldn't wait to start going off and killing folks after getting the information they needed! He expected them to fight back of course. Snype chuckled as he adjusted himself on top of Levina.

"Don't worry, just had to get it out of the way so I had a proper seat! Hehehe. I won't take anything from it. But at least now you have two things to worry about leaving behind if you are too much for me... kehehe." Snype said. "And yes. I figured the best way to get good at this is to just go off and try it. Not a bad idea don't you think?" He added, getting a tight grip on her back, ready to get moving.

[Kawaii Pikachu :3]

Levina ~ Cape City

Levina opened her mouth to protest but realized she didn’t have a comeback. If Snype did fall off she would have to go get him if she wanted to keep her bag. Levina let a low growl emanate from her throat as the thought of defeat by this short, cocky Pokemon stung her thoughts. She sat down, expecting the Sableye to slide off her back. There she sat in silence for a bit before turning her head just enough to see Snype. “And who says I want to keep that bag? I can always steal another one and once we kill all the citizens I can go through their things and probably find a better one then that one.” Levina smirked to make her words seem real. Truth is she could find a better backpack in the city but it wasn’t the backpack she was worried about losing. It was one of the items the backpack held that worried her. She watched Snype closely, hoping he would fall for her bluff.

[Megaman765]

Snype smirked and held on tighter to her back with a smirk. They were still playing their game even with their orders upon them. He was getting so much enjoyment out of it. "Kehehe, please the bag? I figured you'd be more worried about what's in the bag. No valuables in it at all? I can just keep it if its not that important to you.Or throw it away. You keep it around for a reason." Snype remarked.

"Comon now, lets get moving. I'll hold on tight and I'll watch your possessions while we do so. Kehehe..." He said.