ACC-M and Porygon-Z Present: The Land of Legends

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Victor stared at Julius, shaking his head. "I really don't know," he replied, his hand nervously gripping the hilt of his blade, "I really don't have any idea what the heck we're gonna do. I've never seen Ambrose struggle like this before, but if we go in there now, with Gregarius uninjured like he is, we're going to just be two more statistics. All we can do for now is trust Ambie, and back her up if we can." Suddenly, Victor blinked. Was that a hint of rock-like skin he had glimpsed nearby? He smiled, shaking his head one last time. "Actually," he said, "If that was what I thought it was just now, we might have a chance to help out after all. Listen, if I charge in there, I'm going to duck out quickly. While I draw that punk's attention, you and your buddies get ready to hit him with everything you've got, but wait 'til I'm clear. If what I think is about to happen happens, Greg is down. Got it?" Victor drew his blade half-out from its scabbard and gingerly pressed the tip of one finger against the edge. It was a bit dull, but usable. Good. Now all he had to do was wait for the signal...

Gregarius snarled in disbelief. Not only had the girl's Pokemon somehow survived the attack, the wench herself had destroyed the ring of water he had placed around her neck. "This is getting annoying..." he muttered, concentrating on pulling a spray of water into his hand. Slowly, but with increasing speed, he had pulled together his weapon, a solid orb of concentrated water which he pointed at the incapacitated Ambrose. "Now, now," he hissed, grimacing, "If you had accepted my present, your death might have been relatively painless. Now you're going to have to suffer." Satisfied that the water he had been compressing now had sufficient volume and pressure to punch a hole in Ambrose's flesh, he aimed it. "Say good-"

Just as Gregarius prepared to launch his blast, he was interrupted by a feral roar. A Rhydon, propelled by a wave of water that seemed to have sprung from nowhere, launched himself directly over the head of Ambrose, whirling quickly. Before Gregarius could react, the Pokemon's rocklike tail had made contact with his face, and a sickly snapping was heard as the Avatar of the great spirit Lugia was sent hurtling head over heels into the undergrowth, his head made contact with the wall of Tin Tower. The other two Pokemon, Ares and Salamandre, stared in disbelief. This inferior, ordinary, everyday Pokemon had just done what Gregarius had sworn no being would ever do: strike him in the face. Salamandre, in particular, couldn't help from gaping. For the first time since the guardians of the Avatar had made acquaintance with them, the two spoke, in sync. What in...

Cham grinned, his eyes twinkling, as he dusted off his rocky armor, panting heavily. How's that for Dea Ex Machina? he grinned, cheekily thumbing his horn at the two guardians of the Moonbird Avatar, Bet you didn't see that coming.

"THE HELL!"

Cham's gaze narrowed as he turned to face Gregarius, who had pulled himself to his full height, blood dripping from his nose and debris from where his body had cracked the wall of the tower clinging to his cape, but otherwise unscathed. "How did you do that?" he hissed, drawing his blade, "You're a common Rhydon, since I don't sense the aura of another Spirit, but you used a water attack! How-"

"Interesting question," Victor boomed as he stepped from the undergrowth, sword in hand, "And one that I'll be only too glad to answer. Cham was taken from his homeland years ago by a traveling circus because he is one of the rare Rhydon able to use the ability known as 'Surf', a move that can normally only be taught to water Pokemon and a few select others through special training. Once in every generation is born the Rhydon who knows it from birth. It's not very effective when used by him and quite tiring, I'll grant you, but it is quite surprising, no?" His face cracked in a grin, though his legs shook like jelly. I'm an idiot, I'm playing chicken with a demigod, he thought, and gripped his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Gregarius, thankfully, was too steamed to notice. "And who are you? I don't remember meeting you," he sneered, turning up his nose.

"Glad you asked. We haven't met, because ever since the day you came to our village I've avoided you, because of the impudent pig you are. And to think, I was a devotee of Lugia all this time. I certainly hope there really was some sort of mistake when you were incarnated, because if not, I need to seriously rethink my worldview." Victor spat, allowing his frustration and anger at the Moonbird's Avatar to mask the fear within his own heart. "My name is Victor Antechronos, guardian of Ambrose and protector of this land, and don't you forget about it!"

The thunderbolts leapt to Gregarius's hand. "And I'll engrave it on your marker as well, idiot," He replied, before launching a bolt. Just as the lightning was about to strike Victor, however, it curved away. Gregarius stared at the impudent Rhydon who had foiled his plans not once but twice, as the lightning was channeled from its horn to the ground.

Hey, I can't help it, Cham grinned, I was just lucky enough to be born that way.

Victor quickly removed a small object from his sleeve and tossed it at Gregarius before he could lose his resolve. "Chew on this!" he called.

Gregarius sliced the small object with his sword, which didn't matter in the least as it still exploded, launching a cloud of grey dust into his face. "What the- achoo! Hell-Achoo!' The Avatar coughed, anger growing within him.

"Pepper bomb. Cham came up with them last night. Not exactly too practical, but still useful occasionally. Right, Cham?" Victor remarked jocularly, as he began to relax. Heh, guess these guys do have at least one weakness, he thought to himself, They're just as vulnerable to cold steel and smoke as any human being, godlike powers notwithstanding. Still, can't lower my guard, or-

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" Gregarius roared. Victor was forced to shield his eyes as the equivalent of a mini-tornado gathered around the traitor, and a blast of light shot into the air. Moments later, the dust settled, though the air was now filled with a pressure and energy that seemed almost tangible. Gregarius's back was now clothed with two enormous, silver-blue wings, resembling those of the Spirit he represented. He leered at Victor. "Now, let's try this again, shall we?"

Victor brought up his blade to guard just as Gregarius launched himself forward with a speed that was inhuman. The Lliorian and Fandavalian blades made contact, and with a painful wrench, Victor felt his blade spin out of his hand to land point-down in the dirt as the force of the Avatar's blow hurled him backwards. The Avatar of Lugia smiled as he pointed his katana at Victor. "Game over," he smiled, and a blast of compressed wind launched itself from his wings toward Victor, creating a blast that sent up a dust cloud, obscuring the unfortunate guardian's fate. However, when the dust cleared, Gregarius was left staring at an empty crater.

Victor lay still in the bushes as Arachne, who had secreted herself on his back the whole time, reeled him in, using the silk threads she had attached to him as fishing lines. Victor smiled fondly at the Ariados. "That's another one I owe you," he whispered quickly, before yelling "Ambrose, Julius! NOW!"

Arachne smiled at her master. Don't worry about that one. It was on the house.
 
OOC: Laziest RPer, eh?

IC:

{Explain to me again why we're here?} The Houndour at Jebren's feet growled as he skulked through the quiet forest. He had gone to the Avatar's house; nobody home. He had gone to the Brass Tower; they said she was at her house. The next place on the list of logical places for the Avatar to be was indeed the Tin Tower.

"If she isn't there, I'm going home. The Avatar can go it without me, I'm sure." He grumbled; kicking a rock into a nearby tree. She was the Avatar, she could handle herself. He would just look around Lugia's place, and then go home. The nations could duke it out all over the Sacred Ground if they so pleased, he would just move away. Maybe up to Snowpoint; he had heard that it was a nice place to live, if a bit cold.

{This forest is a bit empty. I don't think I've seen another Pokemon the whole time we've been in here.} Amet shuddered. There was something not-quite-right about such a thriving place being so devoid of life. Not that Jebren seemed to notice; he was angry and blinkered. He really didn't want this whole trip to be a waste of his precious time. He had been searching for the Avatar for one month, four days and about 15 hours. His mind boggled with alternative things he could have done, should have done instead of going on this wild goose chase.

{Could you maybe slow down a bit there, please, Jeb.} Bene was lagging behind in her leather protective coat. Jebren didn't think his pace was that fast; if a tree made of rock could keep up with him, it was perfectly reasonable.

"I'm sorry Bene. It doesn't really matter though; we're almost there." A tiny hint of excitement flickered in his voice; the same one which had been present first at the Avatar's house, and then at the other of these two towers. The woodland was thinning, and Jebren could almost see the tower through the trees.

"GREGARIUS, SHOW YOURSELF!" A feminine voice ricocheted through the trees. Jebren ducked into a crouching position reflexively. He paused for a moment before leaping back to his feet.

"That was the Avatar!" He whooped, turning to face Amet and Bene, who did not share his enthusiasm.

{Isn't Gregarius the Avatar of Lugia?} Bene inquired, cocking her head to the right. As soon as she mentioned it, Jebren was back to being annoyed. He kicked out at a shrub near him, a satisfying mound of dirt flying through the air as he did so. {Why are you angry? You didn't just find one Avatar; you found them both. How is that a bad thing?} The Houndour was innocent to the tales of Lugia's spirit betraying the peace. Jebren decided to give her the compact version of events,

"He's evil." She nodded, and he sulked. In the ensuing silence footsteps could clearly be heard coming down from another path. With uncharacteristic speed; Jebren and his Pokemon all dived into the undergrowth in a flimsy attempt to hide from whoever was causing them. As far as he knew; nobody else knew the Avatar of Ho-Oh was here, not least the Avatar of Lugia. This meant that whoever it was that was coming knew one or both Avatar's, or, like Jebren, simply guessed well. He couldn't muse on this further, as at that point there was a shattering of glass and the Avatar of Lugia landed on the ground not 100 yards from where Jebren was hiding. The two immediately started off into battle, with the Avatar of Ho-Oh only pausing to deliver a stirring speech about how she was the better of two, and that he was just a git.

{Should we not help the Avatar of Ho-Oh?} Amet fretted, he hated sitting useless while a fight raged near him.

"It's not our place Amet." Jebren hissed to the Sudowoodo, "if the Avatar of Ho-Oh wanted help, I'm sure she could…" he tapered off as she was slowly strangled by a noose of water. He was on the verge of helping, but the second he reached for his crossbow, the three roaming beasts appeared. Just as quickly as they were there, they were gone again; leaving the two Avatars on a more level pegging. Jebren barely noticed the two men standing near the edge of the fight. They seemed as torn as Jebren was, unsure of when to step in, and indeed if they should interfere with the Avatars' battle.

Just then, out of nowhere, a Rhydon appeared. It was the last thing either him or Gregarius expected, and the Moonbird Avatar was sent hurtling into the base of his tower. Jebren was half gawping, half trying to contain his laughter. From what he had heard from this Gregarius character he was a little arrogant; so to see him humbled like that, by a Rhydon, was hilarious. Unfortunately; Lugia's Avatar didn't seem to think so. In a blinding fury, he sprouted wings and attacked the owner of the Rhydon. The poor man seemed helpless against the wrath of the demigod, but once again, his Pokemon seemed to save the day. This time it was his Ariados, which reeled him into the trees mere feet away from Jebren.

"Ambrose, Julius, NOW!" The man shouted to his companions. Jebren too seemed to take this as an order, drawing out his weapon in a flash. He wasn't going to try and kill the Moonbird incarnate, but he would be damned if he wasn't going to cause it's human body some pain. He aimed for Gregarius' stomach, arms, legs, and most of all his majestic silvery blue wings. Bolts flew from the trees as Jebren fired volley after volley into Lugia's Avatar. He doubted very much that he would do much damage; but he would at least act as an added distraction, allowing the Avatar of Ho-Oh to swoop in and beat down Gregarius.
 
"Victor, my goodness. Watch out!" Ambrose screamed, running towards her fallen comrade. She jumped forward, and suddenly the air in the area increased in temperature ten fold. Ambrose's body was engulfed by sphere of fire, obscuring the other's vision of her. As quickly as the fire appeared, it dissipated, revealing two large, luminous wings emerging from Ambrose's back. When the sun's rays struck her wings, one could spot a rainbow aura surrounding them. They were easily twelve feet, doubling Ambrose's size. The smoke cleared, and Victor was gone. She noticed Arachne nearby, and knew he was alright. Victor ordered that Julius and Ambrose were now to attack. Wait, Julius was here. She told him to stay back. Oh, there would be hell to pay when they got back. If they got back.

Suddenly, a storm of bolts were shot from the woods, going in numerous directions, but appearing to be aimed at Gregarius. At that same moment, Julius emerged from the woods, making a beeline for Ambrose. One bolt managed to nick his ear, causing tiny droplets of blood to trickle down his neck. Julius wasn't phased by the strike. He was intent on reaching Ambrose to make sure she was okay. When he finally reached her, he asked, "Are you alright Madam?"

"I'm fine Julius. I told you to stay behind. Why are you here?" Ambrose said, keeping an eye on Gregarius with her peripheral vision. "I told you this isn't a normal battlefield. I can't risk any harm to you or anyone else."

"I know. I'm sorry Madam. Archibald told me the same thing. If I had realized I would be so useless here, I wouldn't of come..." Julius said, his shoulders drooping slightly.

"Don't worry Julius. Now leave, it's time to finish this battle," Ambrose said, pushing Julius back slightly. "Go! Take everyone and go back to the village! NOW!"


Ambrose turned from Julius and raised her arms. She then began to gather a sphere of fire, much like Gregarius' orb of water. Once it was large enough, she raised it above her head and began to move her arms around in a circular motion. This caused the fire to move into the shape of ring, forming what looked like a large halo of fire above Ambrose's head. Then, Ambrose did something she had never done before: she screamed, but instead of her normal voice, it sounded much like an eagle would screech as it dived. The ring of fire expanded, forming a blazing tornado that consumed her body. The ground nearby was now seared and the temperature in the area was unbearable.

Julius began to sweat immediately, making his way through the trees. He only looked back to make sure Archibald was behind him, who was suffering greatly in this heat. He hoped the others in the area had heard Ambrose and were leaving as well. Now he could see her strength and knew that she could handle herself.

{ Julius, it's so hot... } Archibald said, his voice wavering. His eyes drooped and then he fell to the ground unconscious. Julius stopped and ran back to his Pokemon, calling its name. They needed to leave. Julius wasn't a hundred percent sure Ambrose was capable of handling an attack of that magnitude. He only hoped she wouldn't burn down the tower as well.

"Esteban, where are you!?" Julius yelled, looking for his Haunter.

{ Right here Master. } Esteban said, doing its normal appearance from the shadows.

"Use your psychic abilities and carry Archibald back to the village for me. I'm much too tired to carry something of his weight," Julius ordered.

{ You humans are so frail... As you wish Master. } Esteban said, raising his disconnected hands into the air. A pink energy surrounded his hands, which also engulfed the unconscious Archibald. The Pokemon was lifted into the air and began to move towards Esteban. { Let's go master. It appears that person they call the Witch will be very busy. }

"I guess so Esteban," Julius said, beginning to run once again.

Back at the tower, Ambrose was staring at her Brother. She was using all of her might to control the fire, but in her weakened state, this was an incredibly difficult task. She had to attack soon, or the fire could go awry, and strike the tower or the nearby woods. Then, she spoke to her adversary, "Gregarius, I'd like to see you try to stop THIS with your powers!" The fire shot upwards, engulfing the entire sky in a blazing inferno. The sun was obscured, causing the entire area to be covered in a red light. Then, it moved into one, large sphere, directly above Gregarius. It moved quickly, once again taking the shape of a tornado and looking to engulf the Moonbird in fire.

OOC: You're right chomp. I'm terrible. I've edited this thing three times already in the last half hour. X.x;
 
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OOC: *writes something at random* sorry, I am having a bit of an uncreative brain damage attack. @_@

--

Nome would have guessed that Claw would appreciate a bed, food and water at most. At least, that was something he would appreciate. But, what was happening to Claw was something that could not easily be fixed by any sort of meal. She was as he had thought, dehydrated.

She was put in a tub of water slowly, just to wake her up. It was much like her having finally taken a shower. She was wet over and over again lightly with a cup. The hardest part of the watering down was getting her dried. Her claws could and would easily pierce the towels this Julius person owned.

He had to thank that one woman; though, who was she?

He had that question in his mind, but it was easily overshadowed by his need to also be hydrated. Slash could have lasted a little longer, and did not look as tired as Nome did.

Beside him sat a cup of water and the armor of Claw and Slash. They had by now had their armor removed.

Half an hour at most could have passed; he wasn't sure. It was beginning to get warm in the room; Nome had half the mind to take a quick bathe himself, but alas, it was not his home. He could not take advantage so easily. Once he was done tending to Claw and Slash, more so to Claw, then he could leave and search for a better part of the Sacred Lands. Not so much as a better part to say, but a place where he could live for a short while before he could decide what he was initially going to end up doing.

The now dried up Claw was set to sleep, and she did so with ease. Neither Nome nor Slash left her. The two decided to return the favor. Like those many times Claw had stood before the house back at Gazzleton, to take care of the grounds while they were sleeping, Nome and Slash kept guard and made sure that nothing so much as a high corruptness level would come.

Though, there was no sign that anything of that sort would happen. This house seemed to belong to someone a bit important, and from the looks of entering and what was left of it, it would have appeared that a meeting of some sort would suffice as a general current event. Or maybe a party.

He counted the seconds away, waiting for nothing in particular. At the same time, he was waiting for something to happen. It was not worth staying there any longer than needed if he were going to do nothing.

There were people here. He knew this because they had led him there. They were a few, and all seemed likely to come up with interesting information on where he was and if him being there would put him in a safe place, but he did not even think of asking any of them.

Minutes passed. Claw's magenta colored ear twitched, and she shook herself awake to seem to listen to something. Nome tried to listen too, but could not hear what she heard. But she was disturbed of something. She stood, and began to walk.

"Are you all better now?" wondered Nome.

She did not answer back, but kept walking. Nome nodded to Slash, who did the same. He left the armor as they left the house; he would be back, and he was sure he would be allowed back. For now, he needed to know of what was bothering Claw so now. Slash picked up on it, and following closely behind her.

They stopped now, not going any further than the limits of the house. Both looked beyond. Nome looked too, in hopes of catching what they were seeing. He saw nothing. But even though he saw nothing, he strangely felt something. Something a bit farther on was happening that was…wrong.

He wasn't sure where this feeling was coming from; it seared him like nothing before, and he could not understand why.

"Both of you stay here with me," said Nome. He could tell they felt that they needed to be in that beyond where he could not see. But he would not allow this; they should stay just a little longer before moving on again. Taking advantage of what they were given was a good way to spent free time.
 
OOC: Now I'm the lazy one, LOL

IC:

Gregarius stared at the spot where Victor had lain only moments before, his rage mounting. That human had defied him to his face and expected to live? His already potent rage at the inhabitants of the Sacred Land exploded as he gathered together water in his hands. He would show them! The water encased itself around his hand, forming a drill-like spike of ice which he leveled at Cham, who assumed a defensive stance. The Rhydon would be the first to go, followed by his annoying master, and then the useless bug would be trodden underfoot. His sadistic side cackled in glee as what was left of the original, beneficial Gregarius faded even further. He gathered the energy to fire the shot, and would no doubt have impaled Cham, had not a hail of crossbow bolts launched themselves from the undergrowth. Granted, most of the shots were intercepted by the quick thinking of Salamandre, who pulled himself into position in time to intercept the bolts with his thick armor, but the two that leaked through, piercing Gregarius's right hand and wing, were enough to break the concentration of the Avatar and bring silent tears to his eyes. These petty mortals had done the unthinkable! How could anything short of a god dare to hurt him? He was invincible, indestructible! Thunder rumbled within his heart as he reached for his water, allowing it to wrap its tendrils around him and remove the bolts as he grimaced and winced in pain. "This.. this isn't over..." he coughed, staring at the blood leaking slowly from the wounds.

It was then that Ambrose unleashed her column of fire.

Gregarius was ready in an instant. With a roar, he grabbed the nearest available water source-the water in Ares's cannons- and bent it to his will, transforming it into a domed shield that enveloped him and his Pokemon, evaporating into steam on contact with the flames of Ambrose before he dissipated it into the surrounding air. Coughing and spluttering from the strain of his recent injury, compounded by his anger, Gregarius hissed at Ambrose. "Mark my words Sunbird... you may have the advantage now, with your friends beside you," He spat out the word "friends" as if it were a curse, "But one day you will be alone, with no one around to protect you. On that day, you and I will meet in combat for the last time, and I will walk away from your fetid, rotten corpse with a smile. You should have accepted death when I offered it. Now I will personally hunt you down, and kill your friends, starting with those ignorant scraps of trash you call your protectors, and moving down the list in order of importance until all of you are slaughtered, before slowly and mercilessly terminating you. Farewell until then, Ambie," a maniacal grin played along Gregaris's face, "Farewell until then." The Avatar straightened up and then stopped, as though he had just thought of something. "Oh, and Ares, Salamandre? Since you were unable to kill the targets I assigned, consider yourself dumped. It's been real."

What? Master, no! Both Pokemon cried, as a whirlwind of colored light surrounded Gregarius and he lifted himself into the air, before vanishing in an explosion of light.

"Teleportation..." Victor muttered, staring, "Dammit. That swine cashed in on psychic abilities way more heavily then Ambie did. On the other hand, he didn't exactly use it that often, so he must not like it or be able to be use it much." The veteran shook his head. "Please, Moonbird, tell your humble servant that you didn't assign the duties of your earthly Avatar to that krackveldt on purpose..." he prayed, fervently.
 
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OOC: Well, posting would be a lot easier if you two hadn't gone on a two-person spree here. -.- So unless I'm mistaken, the legendary kitties were ordered to bring the wounded pokémon to Silence for treatment, yes? I'll try to do something with that, but...gah, if I missed some important piece of information here I'll just blame it on the fact that there are too many freakin' posts to memorize. xP

IC:

Even though the battle by the tin tower was a spectacle of epic proportions, the town wasn't doing much worse on that front...at least not if the crowd gathering in the streets was anything to go by.

"Please..." Silence requested in as loud as voice as she could muster, which was just barely above the level of what most thought of as casual conversation, her frail voice hopelessly drowning beneath the din, "Please go away, I really need to examine these two in peace." she sighed in forfeit, noting that her request had fallen on deaf ears as usual. The mysterious way in which her two patients had been brought to her had been enough to scare the townspeople into keeping their distance for a while, but now that the initial shock was gone, curiosity had set in at full force, and with curiosity came rumors...the healer tried her best to push the crowd out of her thoughts, even as murmurs about potions and witchcraft spread through the crowd once again. No-one had tried to stop her yet, though; apparently the sunbird's warning was still being taken seriously.

That didn't help with the task at hand, however, Silence conceded...casting a glance at Honey and Kiwi. Fortunately, neither had tried to rend her to pieces thus far, but the conditions were hardly ideal for treatment. They were, after all, still in the middle of a crowded street, and there was no way that someone as frail as Silence could ever budge a foll-grown Ursaring in full armor, and in all honesty she wouldn't have dared to try out of fear that she might accidentally offend the majestic beast. As such, Silence had begun with the Honchkrow, and much to her relief she had found the wounds to be far less severe than they had seemed at first. Granted, there were some nasty bruise marks here and there, and some of the bones felt a bit too frail to her liking, but by Silence's tell nothing had been broken at least, but she wasn't about to take any risks.

"This...might sting a little..." she remarked in her usual soft voice, procuring a handful of finely ground, yellow powder from a pouch at her hip and sprinkling it over the Honchkrow's injured left wing before carefully bandaging the spot, "But it will help your wound to heal, so please don't scratch it no matter how much you want to, okay?" she really, really hoped that the pokémon wasn't taking offense at this; this kind of speech used to work on normal pokémon who were frightened about the whole procedure, but...well, these were the avatar's pokémon, right? They were practically sacred beings themselves. What if she was unintentionally committing sacrilege? The young woman swallowed heavily at the thought, wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow as she turned to Honey. Someone had been thoughtful enough to set up a makeshift shelter from the sun, but the heat was still scorching, even though the Psyduck seemed to be trying to counteract the weather with some peculiar power of its own, rushing back and forth and clutching its head with both hands, a faint aura of psychic energy trailing in his wake. And after such a chilly morning too...something big was going on, Silence knew it, and she wished dearly that she could be there to help Jul-no, the avatar. Yes, she should be helping the avatar, but...she turned her glance back to the task at hand, these were the avatars orders...weren't they? To look after these two? She nodded for herself, willing away the origins of a blush at her own thoughts as she turned her full attention to the Ursaring again, cautiously inspecting her wounds seriously wishing that her senses would stop telling her that she was dealing with a creature that could rip her to shreds with the swipe of a paw and probably didn't take kindly to being poked and prodded. Well, the wounds here didn't look that bad either. It was obvious that the Ursaring had taken a nasty hit head on, but fortunately the armor had soaked up the brunt of the impact. There were some bruises here and there, of course, but all it would take would be some herbs and-Silence paused, her hand grasping nothing. The bandages...she was out of bandages! The healer bit her lip anxiously; this wasn't good, without bandages it would be a practical impossibility to keep the wounds unscratched and protected so they could heal. Now what?

{Hey!} exclaimed a highly annoyed voice from the crowd, {Out of the way! Yes, you!} Silence briefly looked up from her dilemma as the people at the back began moving and someone let out a shriek, {Yes, that's right!} the voice continued, {Poisonous spider coming through! Big, scary, poisonous spider that bites people! Out of the way, shoo!}

The ends of Silence's lips curved up ever so slightly as she noticed the familiar figure of the Ariados - make that a very grumpy Ariados - scuttling in from between the hastily parting people.

"You came after me." the young woman remarked softly, dropping down to a crouch to greet the spider.

{What?} Silk inquired, freezing on the spot with a look of defiance on his face, {I did no such thing!} he huffed, folding his front legs defensively, {Absolutely not! That house was stuffy so I came for a walk, that's all!}

"But I thought you hated crowds." Silence remarked calmly, "Why did you come here?"

{I was just curious about what everyone was staring at, that's all!} the Ariados retorted, {And I guess these are your new pokémon then?!} he glared haughtily at Kiwi and Honey.

"No..." the young woman began feebly, "These-these are the avatar's-"

{Oh, so you and the avatar are such good chums that she's letting you borrow her servants too, eh?} Silk interrupted, {Not a thought in the world for poor old Silk, eh?! FINE! I see how it is! Go ahead and play with the avatar all you want; mess with the deities and die like a good little martyr! Just see if I care!} he turned his back demonstratively, but just as he was about to walk off, he suddenly found that his feet had lost contact with the ground, the spindly legs flailing feebly in the air.

{Hey!} Silk protested furiously as her trainer picked him up in a gentle but surprisingly firm manner, {What do you think you're doing, you crazy woman?! Put me down right this instant!}

Silence didn't reply, merely giving the spider the closest thing to a hug that was possible, further enhancing the suspicious muttering among the crowd members, "Whatever the case, I'm glad you came." she whispered.

{Stop that!} Silk fumed, embarrassment now evident in his voice, {I said stop that! That's SO undignified! Alright, so I came after you! Is that what you want to hear?! Well now you've heard it, so put me do-o-o-o-wn!}

Contrary to her usual disposition, Silence let out a small, wispy giggle, placing the Ariados down on the ground again and allowing him to regain some of his lost composure, "So Silk..." she remarked, her voice at its usual nearly inaudible level but still bearing that rare undertone of amusement, "Do you think I could borrow some thread?"

{Thread?!} the poison type retorted indignantly, still clearly flustered about the whole ordeal, {First you humiliate me and then you want my help?!}

"Please?" Silence asked, before adding in an even more hushed voice, "Don't make me hug you again..."

'You wouldn't dare' Silk mouthed back, but out loud his voice was that of a stoic martyr, {Alright then.} he remarked haughtily, {But only because it's amusing to see you beg.}

Silence merely maintained her uncharacteristic little smile for a while longer, wrapping part of a thick-leaved, dark green herb around one of Honey's arms, which was soon wrapped tightly onto its place by a String Shot from the Ariados.
 
OOC: Agh, I apologize for not posting. I'll try and keep up with all thats happened

IC:

Kol listened to Ambrose. She called him strong. Strong... not the first word he would have chosen, but also not the last. He could think of many more men in the village who were stronger then him, which had been proven many a times. So it came as a bit of a shock when he was called strong, especially by the avatar of Ho-Oh.

Kol continued to listen as Ambrose went over all the aspects of this war. He was getting a little impatient, he knew most of this. Just as Kol was about to state that he needed to get back to work, Ambrose mentioned something that he didn't know. Ambrose and the Avatar of Lugia were connected. Well, emotionally connected that is. This transfixed Kol, it sounded like something out of the stories his father would tell him when he was younger. Even if it was hard to believe, Kol did have to admit that it was a good tactical advantage. But then again, the Avatar of Lugia had the same power, so it couldn't be considered an advantage. Maybe... a factor. Yes, factor was a good way to describe this new information. Nothing more then a factor thrown into the war.

It was now that Ambrose mentioned Celebi. Celebi... where had he heard that. Kol raked his mind to remember. Celebi seemed like something important, something he should have remembered, but he couldn't seem to make the memory surface. On any hand, it sounded as if Celebi wouldn't be any help to them. Kol had to admit he was a little disappointed, a time-traveling pokemon sounded like it would be a major advantage. It was a shame that they were so hard to rely on.

Kol was snapped out of his thoughts by Ambrose's sudden exodus from the building, soon followed by everyone else. He found himself the last one there. Slowly, he got up and started after them.

{Wait!! If you're going to fight, you need to fetch Noctowl too!!} Aipom screeched in Kol's ear. Kol looked at the purple monkey. Oh how she surprised him at times, he would have never figured her to be the tactical type. But, she did have a point, if he was going to be any help he would need to go back and get his Noctowl. With that being said, Kol turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him back towards his little shack.

The run back seemed to take much longer then it usually did. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, but it seemed to take hours. Why, at this rate the battle would be over by the time he made it back. But he did need Noctowl, so he raced on through the countryside. Finally, after what could be mistaken for days, his house came into view. A black speck on the horizon.

Now that he had a visible goal, the run seemed to go by much faster. In fact, he had never run this fast before. Everything around him was melded into a steady blur, and he couldn't feel his legs anymore. In no time at all Kol had streaked up the dirt path and arrived on the door step to his house. It was a shame that he couldn't have run that way for longer, it was a very unique sensation.

{What are you waiting for!? WE HAVE TO GET BACK AND HELP!} Aipom sounded upset with him, which was odd.

"Yah, sorry bout that." Kol stroked the purple monkey on her head, in the way she liked to be stroked. "Noctowl! Hey, Noctowl, come here! I need your help!"

The sound of Kol's own voice rebounding off the walls was all that answered. Kol waited for several precious seconds. He understood that Noctowl slept during the day, but now was far from the time to be stubborn and ignore Kol.

"NOCTOWL!! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!!" Kol bellowed into the black shack. This time, it was only a quick amount of time before a large, brown bird sleepily strolled up to Kol.

{Would you stop your yelling? I'm trying to sleep} Noctowl sounded very annoyed at Kol. Any other time Kol would be worried about upsetting his friends feelings, but now wasn't the time for that.

"Sorry, but we have to go! The avatar of Ho-Oh needs our help, and the rest of them are fighting while I'm here wasting time trying to collect you!" Kol had a hard time controlling his anger. He knew he shouldn't be so mad at the pokemon, but he wanted to go help Ambrose and the others.

{Why didn't you say that at first?} Noctowl still sounded annoyed, but it had at least seemed to grasp the magnitude of the situation, and fluttered up to Kol's arm. {If we're in such a hurry lets get on with it then. Sooner we leave, sooner I can come back to sleep}.

Kol hastily left his home, not even bothering to secure the door as he left. He had hoped that he would be able to run as fast as he had the first time, but it wasn't meant to be. Instead, his right leg cramped up on him, and his left knee felt as if it might fall from it's socket at any moment. Regardless, Kol ran on as fast as he could make his body move.

{Why on earth are you running at such a slow pace!? I could fly faster then this} Noctowl was obviously displeased with the current rate at which the shabby group was progressing.

"If you could fly faster, then why don't you? It'd lighten my load some." Kol gasped between breaths. He would have liked to snap some more at his pokemon, but he couldn't find the breath to do so. It already took all his energy to keep running, much less argue with a stubborn bird.

{No thank you, I'm fine right here} Noctowl yawned, and made a point to dig it's claws into Kol's shoulder ans he continued towards the village.

{Would you stop that!? Kol's running as fast as he can!} Aipom decided it was her turn to argue.

{Well that's apparently not fast enough now is it? Otherwise, we'd have been there and won the battle by now.}

{You seem sure of yourself.}

{Why shouldn't I be?}

At this point, Kol didn't think he could take anymore of it. The pain in his legs, the pressure of helping the avatar of Ho-oh, his own pokemon bickering on his back. None of it. In fact, he would have like to heave them both off of him and sleep right there at the guard post. The guard post! That was it, Kol was there! In all his displeasure he hadn't even noticed the village rush up to them.

"Stop it, we're here now." Kol huffed as he slowed down to a piddly walk. Kol took his time to walk through the streets, knowing he had another run to the Tin Tower ahead of him.

{Hey, isn't that one of the people from the building?} Aipom gestured towards a forming crowd. In the middle of the crowd was situated a young woman.

"Yes! That Silence! I wonder what she's doing here..." Kol made his way over to the crowd. It had looked smaller from the other side of the street, and it took some effort to shove his way to the center. But as he went, he couldn't help but hear people talk. Talking about how odd Silence was, and the pokemon she was tending too. Kol would have liked to straighten them out right there, but he needed to talk to Silence.

By the time he made it to the middle of the crowd, Silence was already... well, already hugging her Ariados. What the... Kol felt a little confused. This hardly seemed the time to be showing affection to a pokemon. It was only after he waited a second or two that he noticed she was using the thread from the spider pokemon to heal Ambrose's pokemon.

"Silence.." Kol was surprised at how exhausted his voice sounded, "What... what are you doing here?" Kol immediately wished he hadn't asked such a dumb question. It was obvious she was tending to the pokemon.

"I mean, I know what your doing. But will Ambrose be alright without her... companions?" Kol hoped he hadn't made as much of a fool of himself as he thought he had. But now was hardly the time to be thinking about that, what he should really be worrying about is Ambrose, and her fight at the Tin Tower.
 
"Gregarius... no... don't leave... I just wanted to tell yo..." Ambrose muttered, the energy sapped from her frail body. Her limbs went limp, her eyes glazed over, and then she tumbled to the ground, unconscious. Her wings burst into flames and burned away in a cloud of black smoke. The battle was done. Neither had managed to win, but it was obvious that the battle had taken a greater toll on Ambrose than it had on Gregarius.

Meanwhile, Julius had stopped to tend to Archibald, who had also fallen unconscious. He listened for any sound from the Tin Tower. Strangely, he heard nothing. He looked at Esteban, who was using his psychic abilities to levitate the Slowking. The Haunter looked at its master and nodded. Without speaking, they knew that it would be wise to go back and see what had happened. They would either find Ambrose standing triumphant over her brother or to Julius' dismay, a defeated Ambrose. He trudged his way through the brush, pushing aside the branches of any tree that hindered his path.

{ Julius... is the Avatar... is she okay? } Archibald muttered having awakened from his slumber.

"Thank Arceus you're alright Archibald," Julius said, turning to face his Pokemon. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. We're heading back now to see. We can only hope that Ambie is okay..."

Archibald attempted to answer, but he was still tired. Julius smiled and reached out to pat his Pokemon on the head. He turned and started back towards the Tin Tower. After walking another ten to fifteen meters, he saw the tower once again. He couldn't see anyone. A knot formed in his stomach.

Where's Ambrose...? He kept walking forward, and still failed to find anyone, even Victor was missing in action. Gregarius was no where in sight, meaning he had either been defeated or he had run away. Growing increasingly worried, Julius picked up the pace of his walking, wanting to see the results of the battle.

He escaped the grasp of the forest and emerged on the battlefield. Ambrose's fiery tower had created quite a bit of destruction to the land. The grass in the imminent area was scorched and massive amounts of smoke billowed into the sky. Julius then noticed Ambrose laying on the ground, not moving or even appearing to breath. The knot in his stomach grew tighter as he approached her body. Julius leaned forward and placed his hand on her back. There were two large holes in the back of her shirt, apparently in the spots where her two, magnificent wings had emerged. He ran his finger along her bare skin, amazed that there were no signs of what had only been there a few minutes ago. Then to his relief, he saw her back move slightly a result of her slow, steady breathing.

Julius turned to Esteban, preparing to ask his Haunter if he would be able to carry both Ambrose and Archibald back to the village. Then, he heard an unusual giggle. Julius looked in all directions, attempting to spot the origin of the quiet laugh. Again, it sounded, but this time from a different direction.

"What in the world..." Julius said. It didn't sound like anyone he recognized. It was far from Gregarius' insidious laugh and it wasn't Victor's typically hardy chuckle. "Who's there!?"

"Tehehehe..." A green blur darted past Julius' face, and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Then, a low but soothing sound began to waft through the imminent area. At first, Julius was startled, but as he listened to what sounded like a bell, all tension began to leave his body. The pounding migraine that had plagued him for the last hour was gone and the pain from the numerous bruises and scratches that littered his body dissipated. Archibald suddenly sat up, seeming to be filled with renewed energy.

Then, as if by a miracle, Ambrose's body shifted, and let out a slight moan. She shook her head slightly and attempted to sit up. Her eyes were still fastened shut and her arms shook from supporting her weight. "Are you all... alright?"

Julius let out a slight yelp of glee. She was alright. But where was that sound coming from.

"Celebi... is that you?" Ambrose asked, finally opening her orange eyes. "The sound of your Heal Bell is hard to forget to those who have heard it before. Where are you?"

Celebi emerged for a brief second, letting out a slight giggle. Then, with her innate speed, she darted towards the forest, her green body meshing with the plant life.

"She has something to tell us. She wouldn't appear for no reason Julius. Hurry, we must go back to the village and then head south. She won't leave the Sacred Grounds, but she'll be far from the village. We have to hurry. Celebi is an impatient creature..." Ambrose said, attempting to stand. Julius grabbed her hands and pulled Ambrose to her feet. "Thank you Julius."

"You're welcome Madam," Julius said, a large grin on his face. "Victor, are you still here? If you are, please come out. We have to go the village and see how the Avatar's Pokemon are doing. Then, we have to find Celebi and if Ambrose is correct, hear what she has to tell us."
 
Victor ran to Ambrose's side just as the Avatar went down. "Are you-" he began, just as the green flash of light shot by and the heal bell chimed. Immediately, Victor's shoulder, which had been wrenched fairly severely in his little fishing line trick, had its pain relieved. He stared at the injured arm, then at the retreating sprite, in disbelief. His hands involuntarily moved, forming a gesture that symbolized reverence in the Sacred Land. "We've been blessed..." he murmured momentarily, before his brain was jarred back to reality by Ambrose's admonition that they needed to follow the spirit. Victor's eyes snapped, and his old nobleman's air returned to him momentarily. "Absolutely not!" he replied, staring at Ambrose's near-prostrate form. "You were just drained entirely of your strength. You need at least a few hours rest before we go chasing after anything like that. Besides, if this spirit really is a time traveler, whatever it has can wait. After all, it has all the time in the world." He bent closer, eyeing Ambrose's body as he scanned it quickly for bruises or other wounds. Satisfied that any visible injuries were purely superficial, he straightened up and turned to Julius. "Get her to the town, I want you to make sure that she sees our healer immediately. Celebi can wait. In the meantime, I'll check out the damage to Lugia's tower. I am his devotee after all, it falls to me to make sure that prig of an Avatar he chose doesn't wreck everything built to his honor." With that, Victor strode forward, Arachne following in his wake. His intentions, however, were interrupted as he was forced to spring away from an incoming Aggron charging at full speed.

You hurt Master! Master abandoned us! Your Fault! Salamandre cried tearfully, readying himself for another charge.

From the other side, Ares was charging as well, his cannons having been temporarily emptied by Gregarius's shield stunt. Master wouldn't leave us if it weren't for you!

Victor rolled his eyes. "Cham, I think we've got two more problems to deal with!"

The Rhydon leaped into action immediately, and before Salamandre could come anywhere near Victor he was met by a single, rocky hand swung in a downward arc, hammering it into the armored beast's skull like a hammer into an anvil. How do you like my Hammer Arm, eh? Here's another! The Rhydon admonished before swinging again. His blow once again connected, despite taking markedly longer to prepare, and his victim collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Ares, meanwhile, found himself cocooned in a web of threads so thick that they restrained him from taking more then a step. What? was all the tortoise could ask.

Arachne glared at the entrapped Blastoise with all the malice she could muster. Those who try to hurt Victor feel my sting, she entoned, her eyes gleaming, Now taste it!

At the spider's command, the blue tortoise cringed in horror as she released a steady wave of darkness into his mind, drawing on her experiences. Given Arachne's age, the Night Shade attack was consequently incredibly powerful. It was then that Victor joined in, slamming the hilt of his blade against the head of Ares twice, knocking the Pokemon unconscious. Stepping away from his fallen foe, he bowed to Ambrose. "No reason for alarm, they're out cold, not dead. Might be a good idea to have the healer take a look at them as well, we might need to pump 'em for information later."
 
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"Well, that was impressive Mr. Know-It-All. Incapacitating the two beasts that took out mine in one strike. Nice. And for your information, I'm fine. Celebi knows what she's doing. These bruises," Ambrose pulled up her sleeve, revealing the once purple bruises that littered her arms were now gone, "are all but healed. Victor, you worry too much. Celebi is far from a patient Pokemon, and you said it yourself: her help would be vital to our cause. She might refrain from battle, but she may be able to help us."

Ambrose ran her fingers through her hair and sighed heavily. "What I do know is that we have to get back to town. I want to check on Kiwi & Honey and see how Silence is doing on her own. I hope the villagers are leaving her alone," Ambrose said.

"Since you told them to leave her alone, the villagers won't even touch the girl. Lest you forget Madam, they revere you above all else. Anything you say, they listen," Julius said as he tended to Archibald. The pink Pokemon was back on its feet and allowing its master to prod at its body.

{ Ahh... the sound of Celebi's bell... I never thought I would be lucky enough to have it grace my ears. } Archibald sighed. { Now that she's taken the time to come our effort, I have to agree with the Avatar. She may help us afterall. }

{ You all forget that Celebi is but one Pokemon. Though powerful, she is far from capable with competing with Gregarius. Her help would be advice at best, if we even manage to find her in this game of hide and seek. It would help... } Esteban trailed off, pausing for a few seconds. { Hmm... did that one man who appeared to be a blacksmith of sorts... did he have a Sneasel with him? }

"Yes Esteban. Why do you ask?" Julius said, looking up from Archibald.

{ Well, they are undoubtedly some of the best tracking Pokemon on this continent. If only we had some sort of relic of Celebi's that could possibly contain a remnant of its scent, we could have an easier time tracking her down.} He looked at the Avatar. { Would you know of anything nearby that may be of help. }

"Back when the two towers were constructed, Celebi was more active in helping the humans. She delivered several bells that would ring whenever the Legendary Dogs were present," Ambrose paused. "Did you all not find it strange that when the spirits were here, the bells didn't ring. You don't think Gregarious would...?"

"I'll check immediately Madam. Archibald, stay here and rest a while longer. Esteban, come with me," Julius said, darting to the tower.

{ Julius, you are too eager to rush into any situation. Rela... humans... } The Haunter followed his master, who was already in the door. Julius darted up the numerous flights of stairs, running past the several stray Rattata that made the tower their home. He had been in the tower enough times to know the exact location of the bells. Julius reached the floor he was looking for, and made his way to a large, metal door with engravings of several Pokemon etched into it. He pushed it open, only to find Esteban waiting for him.

"Damn it Esteban! I HATE that," Julius said, clenching his chest.

{ Sorry. } Esteban said, turning his back from Julius, { If you look, the bells are scattered across the floor. It appears Gregarius or some Rattata had some fun in this room. I must say, I'm appalled with the way those monks have been taking care of the towers lately... }

"Right now, the towers could burn down and they wouldn't care. Ever since the two Avatars were born and it was obvious Gregarius was far from what they expected, many of them have secluded themselves at the peak of Mount Silverius. Only a few remain and even they sit in their quarters, praying for the return of the Moonbird's Avatar," Julius said as he tidied up the bells.

{ Nevertheless, they still have duties to fill. } Esteban said, making a spitting sound. { So fragile and so weak. No matter they fight over the pettiest of issues... }

"I would prefer if you avoided insulting my race Esteban. Not all humans are weak..." Julius placed all the bells back in their appropriate slots and inspected them closely. "Say Esteban. Which one of them looks like it would the easiest to carry." Each bell varied in size and the material they were made from. There were crystal bells, golden bells, and silver bells. When they rang, the entire countryside filled with their song. At least now they knew why they weren't ringing before...

{ Take the smallest golden one. It's the smallest one here. } Esteban said. { I'll see you outside master... } Esteban slunk into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

"What a creepy Pokemon I have," Julius said as he shook his head. He departed from the room and hurried down the stairs as quickly as possible, and ran back to Ambrose, Victor, and the various Pokemon that they were partners with.

"If you two don't object, I think we should hurry. We've wasted enough time. We must go back to the village, grab Silence, Kol, and the man with the Sneasel, and set on our way to find Celebi," Julius said with a growing impatience in his voice.

"I agree Julius. Are you ready Victor?" Ambrose said, turning to her friend.


OOC: That turned out longer than I expected. I HOPE we get posts from Random_Fan, AE, and Aegis soon. ^.^; Heh... I've also had the first post on every page so far. I'm SOOOO cool.
 
OOC: Eh-heh...so sorry, I've been preoccupied with...umm...stuff. x3 Yeah, to make a long story short I was trying to figure out a chapter for my *gasp* fanfic in the making and I didn't want to fall out of the mood by writing for other characters in the mean time. >.< But yeah, enough is enough...don't wanna' hold anyone back. O=

IC:

"Ah!" Silence flinched visibly as Kol addressed her, nearly dropping the needle in her hand out of sheer surprise as she turned around to face him. The question had sounded all too much like an admonition, and self-conscious as she was, Silence was prone to dropping anything and everything she was doing the moment someone remarked that it might be wrong, "K-Kol..." she mumbled, heaving a small sigh in relief as she realized that it wasn't her old mentor there to scold her for a faulty seam again, her face flushed red with embarrassment. Exhausted as he was, the messenger didn't look quite as intimidating as before, but Silence still felt awkward, especially when the question that had been eating away at her own thoughts was voiced, "I-I don't know..." she mumbled, her brief blissful smile replaced with the usual melancholy expression, "I was just told to treat these two, but-if something was wrong, we'd have felt it, right?" she paused, realizing that it probably made absolutely no sense to Kol, "I-I mean...I don't know how to explain this, but...if the sunbird had-had perished, I would know. Ever since I was a little girl, I was taught to..." she trailed off into awkward silence, realizing that too much had already been said and fervently wishing for another subject.

"Um-never mind that." she added hastily, "Are-are you alright? You...seem...a bit tired?" she anxiously bit her lip again, wishing she had not even spoken in the first place. Kol was a messenger, wasn't he? He ran for a living. No doubt he'd take this kind of insinuation as an insult of some sort, still...she had already started it, "There-there are these herbs that help to ease muscle pain. If-if you want to I could-" her blush deepened, the last bit of the sentence addressed to Kol's shoes, "I could help you with that..."
 
OOC: posting for the sake of posting. X_x

IC: Out there, somewhere in the distance, he could make out the form of a crowd. Some curiosity hit him, but he was unwilling to travel onwards to figure who or what the crowd would be around. It was most likely that they were around someone or something that was not of importance at the moment.

Nome was still thinking of his own thoughts though; he had told himself that he should stay and wait, but what would he be waiting for? These people were nice to him, and he granted the fact that he knew so much about them and did in fact admire them. Yes, by now, he had figured that for sure, these people were of the Sacred Lands. For some reason, Nome had always pictured the place to be a little bigger and theatrical than what was shown before him.

He paced at the front of the yard, thoughts clinging. He thought of stopping his pace, as it was clear that his two companions were only following him and getting very annoyed to find that he wasn't moving anywhere. Claw stopped followed and muttered something to herself curtly while folding her arms and turning away. It hit Nome now that this was probably the time to become more in-tune with his companions.

There were many people that he had met that were so in tune with their companions that they clearly were able to have one-on-one basis conversations. It always made Nome chuckle a little to know that so much time would be spent to learn the language of their companions, but it was not something completely stupid to do. In fact, it should be an admired act and should be practiced at all times.

"One of these days, Slash," said Nome. He never quite finished that sentence off; only muttered once more to the puzzled Sandslash, "one of these days…"
 
OOC: I wish I had a good excuse, but the simple fact is that I am a lazy git. I do hope you can forgive me.

IC

"W… what was that?" Jebren span round on the spot; pointing his crossbow at anything moving. "Bene, Amet, did either of you hear that?" His weapon still tracked hopelessly through the trees. There! A movement in the corner of his eye. Without even thinking he fired off three bolts at whatever it was. They whistled off uselessly, impacting into trees with dull thuds.

{It sounded like a little bell…} Bene mused, sniffing at the air for a hint of the noise's cause. Nothing: all she could smell was smoke. There it was again, further off towards the other of the metal towers. Now that she thought about it, it wasn't really a bell, it sounded like a young child laughing, but so faint that only the highest parts could be heard. In the undergrowth ahead a Ratatta scurried by; and the noise it created destroyed both Bene and Jebren's concentration. Amet looked to be asleep, but it was in fact a kind of deep trance he had perfected to help him appear more like a tree. It slowed his breathing and heart rate down so that it was harder to find him physically, and cleared his mind so seeking him out psychically was also hindered. Its only real drawback was the time it took him to phase in and out of it. It was like a kind of deep meditation; the ascension to the highest tree-impersonating plane.

"I'm getting sick of hiding, and that Gregarius character seems to have run away, so I think now may be a good time to introduce ourselves, eh Bene?" Jebren smiled down at the Houndour. He had, in effect, been eavesdropping on them ever since Gregarius disappeared into thin air to avoid fighting. One of them; the big man who was clearly (even from where Jebren was crouching in a muddy shrub) trying to mask some deeper feelings for the Avatar, ran off into the tower, followed by his Haunter. Jebren had never really been a fan of ghost Pokemon (they just seemed unnatural. Had they been born like that, ghosts? Or were they once different living Pokemon that had died? Maybe he could ask the Haunter…)

{Did I miss the fight?} Amet yawned, slowly waking out of his comatose state. He glanced around, realized that whatever he missed was clearly quite big, and looked a little disappointed.

"Brilliant. The gang's all here." Jebren muttered as he pushed his way through a branch to get into the clearing. Realizing he was leaving, Bene and Amet followed behind him. As he stumbled up to the tower, the three people seemed to be on the verge of leaving. Not wanting to slow them down, he decided to get straight to the point. "Hello. I'm Jebren." He waved as he announced this, "you do not need to introduce yourselves; I have quite a good idea who you are. Madam Avatar, I must say, it is a great honor to finally meet you. You look like you are about to set off somewhere, so I wont hold you up with a big lengthy introduction: lets just say that something told me to come and find the avatar, and me (being the gullible fool that I am) decided to do just that. If there is any way I could be of assistance, it would make me feel like I haven't wasted my time in seeking you out." That should about cover everything. He thought, still smiling at the Avatar and her companions.

"Oh, and sorry about scratching your ear back there. I do tend to get a bit jumpy with the crossbow." He smirked at the one-who-was-clearly-not-in-love-with-the-Avatar; noticing the nick on his earlobe and the track of dried blood down the side of his neck.
 
OOC: *savesRPfromdeath*

IC:

Yes; this was all fine and dandy. It was great to know that Nome had a place to stay, and for awhile, he was gladly taking this place as his own so as to smooch off of whoever was giving him free shelter. But it was time for him to go; he couldn't stay much longer than this. He was of no importance here; he needed to leave. But there was a question; were his companions ready for moving again? He should give a proper resting time before moving on, that was for sure. So, the outskirts is all he, Claw, and Slash reached. Beyond where they stood was the forested area of where he had come from. He knew for a fact that there was no way he was going to turn back and go to the place where he was being hunted. But he couldn't stay either.

Once they were far enough, they would rest. Nome would give his companions the right amount of rest needed before they would go on with their journey to nowhere. That was the plan, but plans never do seem to work out the way they were supposed to. It started when Nome felt a heat on his chest, and he couldn't tell why.

Maybe he was finally cracking under the heat; maybe it was a sign that he needed to lie down. So only a short distance away from the Sacred Lands, he rested with his companions. Something wasn't right though; Claw couldn't stop looking at him. She looked at him with determined eyes, as if expecting something else from him. She was ready for something; it was evident in her eyes and stride.

The answer couldn't have been any more obvious than when she broke from her trance and ran, leaving her armor behind.

"wha—Claw! Come back here!"

But she did not.

"Slash; go after her underground; I'll chase on foot!"

They both made a run for it. The armor, Nome could care less. At the time, he wanted more his companion. He never thought of her to be one to run away from him, and there was no explanation for it. He chased through the forests, the sun being blocked out by the trees. The chase continued, and Nome was getting tired.

But then he realized something with this chase; as it went on, she slowed down. As he caught up, she sped up. It wasn't until she started looking back, as if to make sure he was still there, that something finally clicked in his mind. She wanted him to follow her, for a reason still unknown.

He couldn't just jump to this conclusion, but it seemed to be the only answer. He held onto this while the chase lasted. And then it all stopped; she stopped running, and Nome was left to stand before her as Slash popped out of his underground highway. Before them, was a large tower. And with the atmosphere, it was possible that something had just happened.
 
Victor groaned. Why did the Avatar have to be so tomfool stubborn? It was like she had no idea what he was talking about. Rolling his eyes, he nodded in agreement. "Alright, but don't come crying to me if it turns out you've got a cracked rib or something that didn't heal right," he groused, "And don't compliment me on taking those two out. I'm with the royal guard, remember? Those punks in Lliore never really took time to train their Pokemon with the rest of the guard." He smirked slightly, allowing a bit of his former love of Fandavale leak through, before he remembered where he was and why he was there. His face darkened. "Ambie, be careful. I know that Celebi can help us, but it could just as easily choose to assist Lliore if they find some way to tempt it or trick it. You put too much faith in your own powers and 'divinity'. Ambie, you and Greg are Avatars, mighty but not all-powerful. Don't count on your power to bring you through safely each-" Victor caught himself, chuckling. "I sound like my Mom now."

Just as Victor finished his statement, he was knocked to the ground by the arrival of a large, red, armored dragon whose tail was capped with a small flame. Alright, where's that son of a feather-duster who I work for? The beast growled, I have a message for him.

"Char! Get the Krakveldt off my back and I'll tell you, you overgrown gecko!" Victor roared from his position below the Charizard's left foot.

The dragon stepped back, leering evilly. So sorry, stinking human. I apologize for inflicting any sort of pain on you, oh exalted-

"Can the sarcasm Char, just cut to the chase," Victor interrupted angrily. "What are you reporting?"

Not much, just that a green spirit was just seen floating towards the exit to the area. The Charizard replied, his face still cracked in a leering grin. And now if you'll excuse me, I have to find a suitable place to wash off the human stink on me. With that elegant parting remark, the beast took off.
 
Nome pushed back the doors before him, revealing the darkness within the tower. There was something in the air that smelt of a bad odor, much like one that was of either a burning rotting corpse meat or a bad turd. Disregarding the smell, Nome continued onwards with both his companions leading the way. Strange how he didn't find anything to appear wowing to him; the art of something old and worn out was barely amusing, if anything.

Claw made her way to the stairs, looking up and waiting for Nome at the same time. Slash made it there first before his master. The second Nome had entered the stairwell, Claw made her run on fours towards the top at a fast pace. Nome couldn't believe it, and cursed to himself that he would have to follow her. Why he could not just yell at her to come back to him was a mystery even to him; he would definitely do it given the chance, and he had perfect chances all around him. Yet he made no move but the one to follow.

Claw had not made him reach the top; she entered one of the floors before that. Nome stopped along with Slash to inspect the room before he entered. The doors were metallic and definitely made for a strong fortification, and the designs upon it were slightly intriguing. In fact, the designs were the only thing that stopped him from going any further. He felt now that he may have been forgetting something. Something vital, and not physical, but he was not sure what it was.

He made his way into the room, inspecting his surroundings. He found Claw way ahead of him, beside some wall with more designs and artistry with embeddings, sunk deeper in other places. They most likely meant something more, but didn't quite know what nor did he care to know. To him, it was just a wall.

The room felt a lot more humid now. It was time to leave. Nome didn't want to stay longer than needed; he didn't even need to be in there in the first place. There was a heat in his chest again, and felt quite annoying. He reached for his heart and felt where the heat belonged. It was a metal.

And then he remembered.

He pulled it out from under his shirt, looking it over. It was his pendant. And in this dark room where he stood, Claw and Slash surrounding him, it glowed with orange. It was something else now; Nome didn't view it as a family pendant anymore. He did not let go; he was too entranced into the glow.

An orange phantom-like arm reached out slowly from the center, seeming to feel about the room. Still, Nome did not drop the pendant. He watched. And it pointed in a random direction, away from Claw, away from Slash, and away from Nome. It was pointing somewhere important; Nome could feel it.

He let go of the small, average pendant with the small and thin arm pointing. He was surprised to find it floating. What he meant, he was unsure. He made his way towards the wall it pointed upon, and he only wondered where it could be pointing. He made his way to a window to see behind the wall. And he found the rest of the Sacred Lands. It was pointing to the place he had just left. Something there was of importance.

And now, an urge to go back was imminent. He pulled the floating pendant and placed it back where it belonged; along his chest and tucked under his clothing.

"We've got to go back," he said.
 
Full Given Name:Shiko Yuji Hinamoro
Nicknames:Sheik,Shiko
Age:17
Gender:Male
Homeland:Lliore
Title (If any):
Appearance:Shiko is about 5'6",with medium length dirty blonde hair and silver glasses.He wears a navy blue T-Shirt and fading jeans under his armor,which is dark blue gilded with gold.
Personality:Fierce,but calm at some times.He has a very short temper and a love for adventure.
History:Ever since his parents died,he has been wandering the land with his Sneasel.
Other:
RP Sample (REQUIRED):"Weavile,lend me your ice powers!Darkrai won't be here for long!"Shiko slashed at Darkrai with icy punches and kicks.Imitating him,Elise's Machoke gave her its power,and she started beating at Darkrai with all she had."Deoxys,help us!You to,Shaymin!Let's beat Darkrai!"Soon Darkrai began weakening."LET'S GO!!"


Pokemon:Sneasel
Nickname (If Any):
Pokemon's Personality:Just like his trainer;fierce.
History:Shiko found him in the wild badly hurt,and they've been friends ever since.
 
OOC:

Pandaboy- No.

IC:

Ambrose focus left Victor and his Charizard when she noticed a Sneasel running to the Tin Tower. The Pokemon was soon followed by a Sandslash and a man who seemed familiar to Ambrose. She watched as the three of them disappeared into the tower. Ambrose placed her hand on her chin and sighed. In the background she could hear Victor's Charizard flying away while leaving its master with one final comment. However, a strange energy was emanating from the man. Something familiar...

"Anyway, from what Char said, Celebi is on the move and going at an incredible pace. We must hurry if we want to catch her. Julius, you hurry to town and gather Silence & Kol and prepare their departure. Also, make sure Honey and Ambrose are alright," Ambrose said with the last few words of her sentence trailing off into a quiet whisper. "I just--just hope they're okay. If they're hurt, I don't know if I could ever forgive myself..."

"Don't worry Ambrose. I'll do my best. Esteban, Archibald, let's go! The Avatar has given us a command and we must..." Julius said in an unusually haughty tone.

[ Enough Julius. No need to impress the Avatar with your sudden devotion. She knows you would jump off a cliff for her. Let's get going... ] Archibald said with a sneer. [ With the amount of walking you've put me through today, I deserve a medal of some sort... ] Archibald snorted once more and began walking towards the woods.

[Julius, I'll meet you at the entrance nearest the town. See you soon. ] Esteban said, disappearing into the shadows once again.

Ambrose looked at Victor, who appeared to be still disheveled from the appearance of his "lovely" Charizard companion.

Then, her breath cut out and she almost lost all consciousness. A searing feeling of rage overtook her. Evidently, the Avatar of Lugia was far from happy. Undoubtedly, several Lliorians had just perished at his hands.

"Victor, we must hurry. I wish I had time to go back into the tower," Ambrose said as she looked back at the tower, "But we don't." Ambrose began to walk back towards the woods. Julius had already disappeared into the brush, and was out of sight.

Julius, in eagerness, had lifted his pink partner onto his back and was bounding through the woods at an astounding speed. Hearing the Time Traveler's Bell had given him a new source of energy. Several Pokemon had appeared once again in the woods, giving it too a new source of energy with Gregarius absent. Archibald heaved with every step, jarred by the pace of his master. "Almost there Archibald."

[I see that Julius. Must you take such heavy steps though. You're giving me quiet the headache.]

"What are you? A Psyduck!" Julius said with a laugh, looking back at the Slowking, who's face should no signs of joy.

[You're humor is lost on me Julius. In fact, some might say you lack a funny bone in your body.]

"Wow, someone's grumpy. I thought hearing Celebi was supposed to bring joy and vigor to one's body. Slowking's must be immune," Julius said with a quiet snicker. Archibald only sighed.

[Finally, you're here.] Esteban said, emerging from the shadows. [It appears Silence has managed to take care of the Avatar's Pokemon with much ease. Alas, it appears quite the crowd has formed around here. Poor girl...

"Oh good, good... Esteban, you take care of the crowd. I'll get Kol and Silence prepared to depart. Archibald," Julius said as he placed the Slowking on the ground. "You go back to the house and gather some food, water, and other rations. Put them in my knapsack and wait for me by the door. I'll be there as soon as possible."

[As you wish Julius.] The two Pokemon said in unison as they departed for their duties. Esteban merged into the crowd and managed to do his best cackle, which managed to frighten most of the crowd. Some whispered of a witchcraft, saying that the demons who protected her wished for the crowd to disappear so she could perform darker spells without watching eyes. Archibald disappeared into the crowd, making his way to Julius' home.

"Silence! Kol! I have something to ask of you. It seems that the great Time Traveler, Celebi, has spoken to Ambrose," Julius said, slightly embellishing the truth. In fact, Celebi had not spoken to Ambrose, but rather it was a hunch of the Avatar that the two of them were to be present. But, if he retold the story in that manner, they may not agree to accompany them. "And Celebi expressed her wish that a healer and a messenger accompany her. So, I'm guessing that meant the two of you."

Julius inspected the Avatar's Pokemon, who were resting nearby. "You did a fine job Silence. I hope you agree to accompany us. Who knows what the Time Traveler holds in store for you." Julius said with a huge, goofy smile...
 
"I-" the moment Julius complimented her work, Silence's face turned a particularly deep shade of crimson. He...he was talking to her? Not just to a group including her, but her, specifically; and he was saying that she had done a good job, and that he hoped that she would come along. What little communication skills Silence possessed abandoned her, rendering the young woman incapable of uttering a single syllable. She felt like screaming at herself. Julius was finally talking to her and now all the intelligent and interesting things she had planned on saying in the unlikely scenario that something like this would ever happen were gone with the wind. All the words that came to mind seemed so clumsy and plain, so...so unworthy. Even her legs were being mutinous, refusing to budge from the spot they were rooted on, and Silence was amazed that the thunderous drumming of heartbeat didn't seem to bother anyone else. She quickly turned her eyes to the ground to avoid the smile that was rapidly draining what little sense she had left in her head.

"It-it really isn't anything that great..." she mumbled to her feet, inwardly cursing herself for talking like an idiot, "I-I just..."

{'not anything that great', my arse!} Silk interrupted indignantly, sharing neither his trainer's modesty nor her high opinion of Julius, {You're free to call yourself a fumbling buffoon as healers go, but there's nothing not great about my silk or my aim!} the spider folded his front-legs defensively, {And in case it slipped your mind; you didn't do a good job. We did a good job and you had better not forget that!}

Silence couldn't help a tiny wisp of a chuckle at the Ariados' complaints. The spider might not have intended it as such, but this had been precisely the kind of thing she needed to pull her mind down from cloud nine for a moment, and the young woman finally began finding her wayward words again, "I-I'll come, of course." she replied to Julius, still not daring to make eye contact as she gave a hasty little curtsy, "I promised to give my assistance to the avatar so that is what I'll do."

{One could think that there are other reasons behind that decision as well.}

Silence blinked as Eclaire addressed her, the Absol rising up from a shaded spot by the side of a building where she had been lying for the duration of Silence's little operation and sauntering over to the two with a knowing little smile on her face.

"Eclaire, that's not what I-!" the healer protested, her face tending towards crimson once more.

{After all...} Eclaire continued casually, {...it is not every day that one gets to meet a legendary being in its true form.} she gave Silence a sly wink.

"I guess not." the young woman shot back, still slightly upset about the dark type's latest ploy, "I-" she turned back to Julius, "I'm ready to go."
 
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