|~ Disease Deoxys - [T] ~| [Best Rookie 1Q '12]

[|Equinox|]

Flight - Normal

Outisde the tunnel


(Holy Arceus!!)


Flight sighed a little in relief as Ness hadn't made a fuss about that 'mistake'. As Ness bolted through the tunnel, Flight spread her gliders and created a small gust of wind, gently taking her along the dark corridor. When the Aggron came into sight, she simply flew over it without looking again. The hideous infected Pokemon...they reminded her too much of...herself.


Stairs soon came into view, and the Emolga pulled her gliders upwards, flying out of a building and landing neatly on the ground. Large raindrops bombarded onto the land without mercy, wetting Flight's body in mere seconds. But something didn't feel right; something was missing but she couldn't point out what.


"All right, you lead the way, Flight. I'm terrible with directions, so I have no idea where we're going," Ness said before halting for a while, sensing disturbance as well, "Flight, I'm not really an expert on the subject, but… isn't rain supposed to, you know, make noise…?"


Flight stared into his eyes with confusion before realizing that he had been correct. There was no sound! How could that even happen?


Just then an unfamiliar voice called for Ness from behind her, "Hello, Ness..."


Flight glanced at her friend's expression and found happiness as he turned around to face the stranger. But it was quickly replaced by an expression full of horror and disbelief. With a frown on her face, Flight spun around to look at the feminine creature, only to see an abomination, a shadow of what she had once been standing in front of them.


"Oh… oh no." Ness cried out, "NononononononononoNO! NO!" he shouted. "How could you?!"


The infected ninetales standing before him had pure white glowing eyes. In its chest was a gemstone that shone a dangerous purple. Flight clenched her fist with discomfort.


"I realised the TRUTH!" the Ninetales shouted in return, "The master… that is, my new master, not that washed out, poor little human you call a master…"


"You… you take that back!" Ness repelled, "He was… he…"


"He was a loner, a weakling and a freak. He trained us to battle other loners, weaklings and freaks. Deoxys simply wishes to spread his gift with us. Why don't you join us? I see your friend already has…"


The Ninetales launched her attack, a stream of flame interlaced with a swirling vortex of psychic energy. It streamed through the air, heading straight for Ness…


"Ness!" Flight cried out, launching a beam of electric and psychic energy towards the approaching beam, causing it to explode before it could reach the original target.


Flight then shot the Ninetales a murderous glare, "Deoxys has more important plans for you minions! I don't know what you're up to or why you're here, but don't waste time trying to infect my friend. It won't work when i'm around," she growled, her fists surrounded by a yellow orb of electricity, ready to strike, "You'll have to go through me."

​

 

[Greiger]

Somnus
Unknown Plains​

The rest of the pokemon grabbed hold and after a brief second they appeared back in Master's own cavern. The group kneeled as Deoxys looked them over. His eyes came to rest on Gale. A blue light surrounded Mew as the legendary was lifted up and placed in a machine the sealed the pink cat inside some kind of storage device. Good work my servant, Deoxys said as one of his tentacles brushed against Gale's face. Deoxys floated back to his experiments. Rest. He commanded.

The group rose as Somnus turned to them, "Let's get moving."

The group exited the area quickly and as they moved out Somnus heard a chuckle. A Vileplume walked up to him, "Well... quite the haul I would say... if Master didn't have a more important project at hand."

Somnus glared, "What do you mean? We just captured Mew for him!"

The Vileplume just chuckled, "Keep an eye on Vermilion Somnus, you and your group will find out soon enough." She looked at Gale and winked at him, "I'll be keeping a close eye on you as well Gale." The Vileplume walked off as Somnus frowned. Most of the group was muttering among themselves. Somnus sighed, "Get some rest. We may need to head out soon."

 

[NightOfRemorse]

Felicie "Number" Schäfer

Cerulean City​

"L-listen… we've both been going for a long while without any sleep… it's in the middle of the night, and there are still some intact houses here. I think… I think it'd be best if we took the Charmander and hid away somewhere for the night… your army is probably holding up in Vermillion, and… and if we leave early tomorrow, we should be able to get there before they move on, if they do," Axel said upon spotting the Charmander.

Number's eyes widened and she looked back at the Charmander. Axel climbed onto the debris and moved some rubble away from the small baby Pokémon. It squirmed free and pushed itself against the stones as if shrinking smaller would save it from any potential threat.

"Hey, you should be grateful that he even helped you out," Number said, stepping closer to the Charmander. "Gwah! Bah!" it cried, blowing out a weak flame from its mouth, yet still enough to leave a small black spot on Number's nose. She winced and stepped backward, groaning. "I don't know about this, Axel," Number said, gritting her teeth and obviously trying very hard not to rage and kill the Charmander.

She paused for a moment and watched the Charmander as it suddenly let go of its tail and sneezed. She thought about what Axel said. What he said was true, they hadn't slept in forever. The last time Number had slept was when she was napping outside the human commander's tent earlier that morning.

"I… I suppose you're right. However, if we must take the baby, you're going to carry it. I detest babies," Number said, walking off to the closest house that was at least eighty percent intact. No house had been completely damage-free, but there were some that had done an acceptable job at absorbing the mass of attacks from earlier. Number pushed the door of the small blue house open and squeezed inside through the small crack.

Something inside was blocking the door from opening all the way. Once inside, Number saw that it was a massive pile of Pokémon plushies. Okay, so a child had obviously lived here. Among the plushies were Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur, a Clefairy and Clefable, at least five different Pikachu, and a Nidorina and Nidorino. Number grimaced at the Nidorina plush. I don't even look like that. They made me all wrong.

Number glanced at the door, waiting for Axel to come inside. Then she remembered the little brat they found. Hopefully, it wouldn't take to crying in the middle of the night, otherwise they still wouldn't get any sleep, and that was the entire point of stopping here.

 

[Sir Bastian]

Axel
Cerulean City​

As Number approached the Charmander, it spat out a little flame at her, and she looked rather angry. Axel frowned a little, lifting a paw to give her back a little pat. "Come on, calm down… he's only a baby." The Charmander sneezed and Axel glanced at it as it curled up again.
"I… I suppose you're right. However, if we must take the baby, you're going to carry it. I detest babies."

I'm not exactly the best at handling them either, Axel though as he approached the Charmander while Number made for a nearby house. He smiled a little and sat down a meter or two away from it. "Hey, it… it's okay, we're not going to harm you." He reached out with a paw, and the Charmander stared at him warily. After a few moments it got to it's feet, still hugging its tail while moving closer, sniffing Axel's paw.
"… Brreh, gnah…"
It took another few moments before the Charmander moved closer to Axel, shielding his tail with the use of his body. Axel smiled a little uncertainly, not quite sure if this was a good idea. He gave the baby a little nudge towards the house. "Come on, let's get inside."

As they followed Number inside of the house, Axel blinked a few times at the different plushies scattered all around. The Charmander stuck close to Axel while he moved over to the pile, peering down at a Pikachu. He lifted a paw and pressed it against its nose. "Huh… I never quite got why they made these…"
Spotting the Nidorina plushie after a moment, he snickered quietly and moved over to pick it up and sit on the floor in front of him. "Heh, look Number, it's you! Even… if it looks kind of, uhm…" he trailed off, peering at the Nidorinas eyes, looking towards each other through it's skull, making it look rather retarded. "… Yeah."

He turned to Number again, the Charmander preoccupied with sniffing a Charmander doll, having let go of its tail by now. "Well… at least we can get warm thanks to the toys, I guess… but, uhm… I hope you won't mind that I don't go into Vermillion with you tomorrow. You know, with the army and all…" he smiled a little sheepishly, lifting a paw to rub the back of his neck.
"I.. never really got the chance to thank you for what you did. It means a lot to me, Number… and I owe you. Whatever you need, just… say it, and I'll do my best to take care of it."

He smiled warmly at her before turning back to the plushies, moving over to a spot where there were a C-shaped hole in the toys, he laid down with his back against them, curling slightly up. The Charmander, still not entirely sure about the two, did the same, though a little further away and with his tail tucked away from the burnable toys.
"Sleep well Number. And thank you."

Splash
Vermillion City​

After having walked around for a while, Splash had finally found out what had happened to Misty after she had arrived. Another Pokémon had told him that Lt. Surge was still taking care of this town, but that Misty had gone off to Pewter City via a tunnel called "Diglett Tunnel" or something like that, to get help from the Rock-type master, since Rock Pokémon were unable to be infected. They would make the perfect front line fighters.

This, however, dropped Splash's mood considerably, and he ended up on the harbor where he sat on the docks, staring out into the raging sea, rain still whipping down on him, making faint "Plink, plonk" noises as they hit his thin, metallic helmet.
He lifted a hand to rub his eye, a little yawn escaping him as a frown set itself on his lips. He had hoped that he could meet up with Misty again… if only for a little while. For now though, she was entrusting him to keep the Army safe, and that was damn well what he was going to do. For now though… he needed rest. Saving the world would come later on, he thought with a wry smile, pushing himself to his feet.

He moved over towards where the army was camped as the Humans had taken shelter in one of the houses, and the Pokémon from the army had generally been holding up next to said house. Splash moved to the back of said house, to avoid being interrupted and crawled inside of his shell, starting to snooze off.

 

[aceattorneyweirdgirl]

So this is how it ends… Ness thought. Murdered by someone I trusted…

Ness closed his eyes and braced himself for the attack - but it never came. He opened his eyes again to see Flight standing in front of him, staring down Summer.

"Deoxys has more important plans for you minions! I don't know what you're up to or why you're here, but don't waste time trying to infect my friend. It won't work when I'm around," she growled, fists glowing with electricity, ready to attack. "You'll have to go through me."

The infected ninetales laughed. "Who said I was going to share my gift with him? Did you see him when you countered my attack? He cowered with fear, the poor little weakling. Such a kindness would be wasted on him."

She leapt in closer to the pair, and fired another flamethrower at Ness. He nimbly dodged it and attempted a counterattack. It landed successfully, but Summer barely flinched.

"He wouldn't hurt a fly, much less his old best friend. Would you, Ness?" She said, voice laced with menace. "It's the only real reason you could have survived. I mean, honestly… what possible reason could he have for staying near you? It's simple. He is terrified of anything and everything. You're not dead yet because he doesn't have the guts to kill you. He probably fears you, no, hates you for what you are."

"That's not true," Ness said firmly as he launched an explosive Psyshock.

The infected Ninetales ignored him, light-heartedly bouncing away from his attack. "Aw, you thought he was your friend? You're nothing to him. I have battled alongside him for years. He thinks of you as an ally in battle, nothing more. I recognise the way he treats you."

"Shut it, Summer." Ness said, with an edge to his voice that hadn't been there before.

"Anyway," Summer resumed, "I never planned to infect him. Sure, I could've… if the flamethrower I fired off wasn't intended as a lethal blow."

"Then why aren't you attacking if you want to kill me?"

"Oh, that's simple. I'm hoping your… partner sees the truth and kills you herself. It's much for satisfying for one to guide another towards justice, don't you think?"

 

[|Equinox|]

Flight - Normal


Flight stood there, frowning with frustrated as she listened close to their conversation.


"He wouldn't hurt a fly, much less his old best friend. Would you, Ness?" laughed the Ninetales, voice laced with menace. "It's the only real reason you could have survived. I mean, honestly… what possible reason could he have for staying near you? It's simple. He is terrified of anything and everything. You're not dead yet because he doesn't have the guts to kill you. He probably fears you, no, hates you for what you are."


Upon hearing her reply, Flight turned to Ness and looked at him with disbelief. For a second there she didn't know who to believe. Fortunate for both of them, Ness stood up and defended himself, "That's not true," Ness said firmly as he launched an explosive Psyshock at his enemy. Flight waited for the Ninetales to faint or to at least flinch due to the powerful attack, but nothing happened. At all. Blood boiling inside her, Flight clenched her fists. Deoxys' magic had definitely increased her sturdiness while the infection had increased Flight's speed and power.


The infected Ninetales ignored him, light-heartedly bouncing away from his attack. "Aw, you thought he was your friend? You're nothing to him. I have battled alongside him for years. He thinks of you as an ally in battle, nothing more. I recognise the way he treats you."


"Shut it, Summer." Ness said, with an edge to his voice that hadn't been there before.


"Anyway," Summer resumed, "I never planned to infect him. Sure, I could've… if the flamethrower I fired off wasn't intended as a lethal blow."


"Then why aren't you attacking if you want to kill me?"


"Oh, that's simple. I'm hoping your… partner sees the truth and kills you herself. It's much for satisfying for one to guide another towards justice, don't you think?"


"Look...Summer," said Flight, staring at the Ninetales right in the eyes, "I don't know what happened back then. I don't want to know either. I don't care. I need to find a friend of mine, and Ness has been great company, not to mention a wonderful friend to me. What matters now is the dark future ahead of us. The past is history and I don't care about that crap. All I know is that Ness has been by my side long enough for me to trust him. And to be honest, I don't trust you at all."


Taking a deep breath, Flight stepped forwards, his fists surrounded by a bright orb of energy, "Now, do you want to let us go? Or do you want to take a beating?"


​

 

[-Grayscale-]

Gale Witt
Mt. Moon

His vision flashed white once more, and they appeared in the large cavern that was master's lair. The Scizor immediately knelt down in presence of Deoxys along with the group, and placed the Mew on the ground before him. Gale saw it begin to shine blue just as it was levitated out of his view. Good work my servant, his master said directly to him, brushing one of his tentacles across his cheek. It was cold, and yet had a hidden sense of warmth. Rest, was his next command, and they would do so.

The group rose as the Hypno turned to them, "Let's get moving." Getting up from his position along with the rest of the infected, they left master Deoxys to himself and exited with haste as to not disturb him any longer. Gale was feeling proud as ever, even if he felt he didn't deserve such recognition. His headache wasn't leaving this time, however, and it was beginning to ruin his perfect day.

The infected had begun talking to themselves after leaving, not sure exactly whether to break apart or stay together. All of them were a little confused, and it took a while for Gale to notice a Vileplume talking with their Hypno 'leader'. It was chucking with a small smirk, "Keep an eye on Vermilion Somnus, you and your group will find out soon enough." She looked at the Scizor and winked cutely, "I'll be keeping a close eye on you as well Gale." He didn't reply, and watched the grass type leave.

What could be happening at Vermillion? His eyes narrowed slightly. His hyperbeam had sucked most of the energy from his body, he couldn't leave for Vermillion any time soon. The Hypno, Somnus apparently, had a very more clear frown on his face. Whatever they were needed for, it was going to be long and tiring. "Get some rest. We may need to head out soon."

Holding his head with one of his claws, Gale left the scene as soon as the group broke apart. He was done being surrounded by other pokemon. Immediately heading out of the mountain, the Scizor sat down on the grass, crossing his legs and spreading out his wings. The atmosphere was dark and gloomy all around him, and the small storm in the sky appeared as if it intended to stay for a while. It was around 2 AM now, and there wouldn't be any sunlight whatsoever to keep him regenerated or warm, but he could probably fall asleep like this if he stood still long enough. Or if his head would stop throbbing.

"What a twisted world we live in. I wonder what kind of heaven Deoxys came from before he traveled here..."

 

[Rowigrath]

Raiou: Mt Moon​

'Keep an eye on Vermillion...' What is that supposed to mean? We're going to attack Vermillion? Or has something there gone wrong? Raiou, sitting down in a small cave, reviews all the possiblities again and again, trying to figure out what the plan is.
Wait a minute... why do I care? I really shouldn't be concerned about that at all... Or am I worried about who is in Vermillion? A tough Pokemon that guards the area? Small children and Pokemon, old ones, people that cannot defend themselves... like my family...
Raiou shakes his head violently. Come on, man! Ignore that, that's history now! Focus on saving Marie!! He gets up and walks around Mt Moon, impatient to get going; impatient to finish what he needs to do so he can enjoy the remainder of life with his sister... and without both the Infected and the memories of those he has killed haunting him.​

 

[Greiger]

Survivor's Group
Bill's House
​

The humans and pokemon had been scouting the whole area. The two escapees were truly gone. Sebastian grumbled to himself as he walked back to the house, "Oh, great! Two infiltrators and we didn't even know! He didn't get you infected, did he?" Sebastian asked Snype with a raised eyebrow.

Benny Larson
Vermilion City​

Benny moved with Carol and had a backpack they managed to pick up wide open as she dumped food and other supplies into it. Batteries, flashlights, pocket knifes, and other essential items were dumped in. Benny looked over everything, "Uh, Carol, how are we going to pay for this?"

Carol just grunted, "I have a big bank account Benny. The military pays well. Now, let's pay for this and get everyone rounded up."

The two walked up to the cashier and just as Carol took out her wallet, it happened. At first they heard loud cries erupt outside. Carol looked outside, "Excuse me sir, is something scheduled for today?"

The cashier shook his head, "Not that I am aware ma'am."

The shouting grew louder and soon they realized that the shouts were screams. Crowds of people and pokemon were running down the street past the store. Suddenly the glass from the store windows shattered into the store and blew away most of the cash register and threw Carol and Benny back. Another explosion of psychic energy hit another building and crumbled it to the ground.

A figure slowly floated right by the store and Benny gasped, "What is that!?"

Carol gulped, "Mesprit...." She whispered.

Mesprit had lost is gray and pink coloring, instead its body now a shade of green and red. Mesprit looked right into the store and charged another wave of psychic energy and sent a wave right into the building. Carol grabbed Benny and dragged him to the side as the psychic wave slammed right through where they had been sitting and smashed everything through the brick wall on the other side of the store.

Mesprit floated up out of the two's view but more explosions and screams could be heard as other buildings were reduced to rubble. "We need to get out of here now!" Carol shouted as she grabbed Benny and tossed the backpack at him and ran right for the opening on the other side of the store.

Carol looked around before signaling Benny to follow her and led the way down the street. A group of humans were running down the alleyway and Mesprit appeared right before them. Carol quickly broke down a door and pushed Benny inside and jumped in after him. A psychic wave barely missed them but the force of the impact forced the humans into the air to land in other parts of the city. Carol pulled Benny back up and led the way through the office building. Most of it was already destroyed and there were dead people in business suits scattered around the rubble. Carol found another hole and walked back into the streets.

Mesprit was on a rampage and they needed to get out now! Carol turned on her radio, "Bith, Saul, get out of the city! Find the army and get them out now! We can't stay here! Retreat to Bill's House ASAP! We'll meet you there!"

Carol saw they were close to the forest and dragged Benny with her into the trees. "Carol we can't leave them!"

"We have to. Have faith that they are smart enough to leave the city and head back." She dragged Benny after her as the two disappeared deeper into the city.

Somnus
Mt. Moon​

The Hypno clutched his hands into fists as he watched the smoke billow out from Vermilion. He had felt a strong presence there, one that was loyal to Master as well. Whoever he had sent there was doing a pretty good job at destroying one of the last refuges of humanity.

He crossed his arms, he would have to find that Vileplume later today. She knew what was happening and was in the loop. But, what had attacked Vermilion?

 

[Rowigrath]

Raiou: Mt. Moon​

Raiou walks outside, and finds the Somnus standing outside, watching the lands beyond. However, Raiou notices that Somnus did not look pleased, with his hands curled into tight fists.
"What are you ticked off about?" Raiou asks, standing next to him.
Somnus nods forward. Raiou looks and sees billowing smoke coming from a city. An explosion is heard, very faintly to him, but it was quite visible despite the distance.
"So... that's what the Vileplume meant... Do you know who is attacking Vermillion right now?"
Somnus shakes his head. Raiou frowns. But Vileplume does... and whoever it is has Somnus very concerned... This could turn out very badl-
Suddenly, Raiou feels a psychic force from Vermillion, one like Mew's in strength. Actually, looks like things are already bad in Vermillion. Glad I'm not going to get assigned there... Oh wait, I might be...
Raiou turns away. "Somnus... what do you think of family? Is family worth dying for... twice? If you have a sense of any emotion in your body, tell me: Would you risk going down to that city if you felt you would die, just to see your sister safe?
"Would you kill or infect innocent people and Pokemon, just to see if your family is alive, even though they may hate you for what you are and what you have done?
"Actually, don't answer me. I don't want your opinions. You are a Stage-Two Infected Pokemon. Your answers will never be of help to me..." Raiou walks away, strangely enraged.
Why did I ask him that? Have I gotten desparate, insane maybe? Raiou sighs. I don't know why I am here... I just want to see my sister again. Then... only then will I know if I can still be the same old Raiou she knew... or if I am an uncurable monster that has ruined the lives of everyone for a purpose that can never be fulfilled...
Raiou looks up to the full moon that was so close to him as he stands on Mt. Moon. If I could escape to the moon with Marie, I would never have any fear of anyone or anything... not even they who haunt my thoughts day and night.
Then, out of the blue, Raiou sees a vision of Marie, singing a song. It calms him totally...
Then his parents walk up and take her away, saying "Monsters are undeserving of family... and you are a MONSTER!!!"
Raiou shakes his head, ridding himself of the dream. But if I am a monster, why did Marie sing to me?
As Raiou walks away, the words of Marie's song ring in his ears: I am the shadow of the moon at night, but I shall rid your dreams of fright... I am forever, your guardian angel.​

 

[Silver Rogue]

Blaze - Vermillion

The army stopped as Carol and Benny talked with a guard standing at the entrance to the city. Taking the opportunity to look around at the rest of the army, he searched for those that he knew. Splash and Sirva were easy enough to see, Splash standing a closer to him, and Sirva being particularly large. He couldn't find Number though, although being as small as she was, she might just standing behind someone else. But then again, Blaze hadn't seen Number for a while. He remembered her saying something about catching up while she was back at Bill's house, but he hadn't seen her since. Had she gotten lost on the way back? Or infected? Blaze ridiculed himself for automatically thinking the worst. Number was a very capable pokemon, and fierce for her size. Wherever she was, she would be fine.

The group moved into the city after a moment, and then Benny addressed the group, "Well, everyone go and relax!" It seemed like a bit of an odd order, understanding the circumstances, how the infected might be in the area and everything, but the army did need it. After being on the move for so long, it would be good to have some down time. The rest of the army started to wander off alone or in pairs, and Blaze went to fulfill at least one of his two favorite past times; eating and sleeping. As he wandered through the city, he realized how crowded it was. Refugees were coming in, and along with the other people and pokemon in the area, it was quickly becoming increasingly populated, fast. Blaze couldn't get the feeling out of his head that everyone here was just sitting on a ticking time bomb, waiting for it to explode and the infected to attack. From what he had seen, the infected mostly attacked at night or just before, and it had been light for a few hours now, but Blaze had a feeling that they should get out of the city, soon.

Shrugging the feeling off for now, he wandered the city in search of food. Not having any money himself, he probably wouldn't be able to get anything, but it would still be good to check. As he walked, he saw another Arcanine, one that he recognized from when he was still in the police force, Abel. Before Blaze got the chance to say hello, Abel saw him first, and ran over to him. "Sup Blaze! Man, been a while since I seen you dawg! How you been doin?"

Blaze smiled, he and Abel had been trained together when going into the force, and although he hadn't seen him in some time, they had still remained good friends. "Pretty good Abel, pretty good. Some crazy stuff has been happening though. How has Vermillion been holding up against the infected?"

"Yeah, some crazy sh** been going down for sure. I aint seen none of those infected things, brutha, but I been hearing stories. I heard one guy say something about a six foot jigglypuff. A six foot mother effer. Can you believe that man?"

Blaze was about to reply when a large boom reverberated through the city streets, and things suddenly got eerily quite, followed quickly by screaming people. "Come on Abel, lets see what that was. Maybe you'll get to see your first infected today." The two arcanines weaved between people as they made their way towards the explosion, and a mesprit suddenly flew above their heads and launched a psychic attack at a group of humans in front of them. Bodies went flying, and Blaze and Abel skidded to a halt. Abel got a scared look in his eyes. 'We have to fight that thing?" Blaze grunted, "Afraid so. Come on, lets attack before it moves on."

The Mesprit was hovering over another group of screaming civilians, about to unleash another attack when Blaze hit in the head with a flame thrower. The infected pokemon immediately spun around, focusing on Blaze and Abel, then quickly launched its attack, psychic power emanating from it. Both the arcanines dodged out of the main brunt of the attack, only being pushed back slightly, while the main force of the attack slammed into the ground and formed a twenty foot trench in the pavement. Both the arcanines, and now other pokemon as well, some that Blaze remembered from the army, others just civilian pokemon trying to help out, started launching attacks at the Mesprit, in a vain attempt to damage the thing. The Mesprit curled itself into a ball, purple energy forming around it causing the pokemon to glow. Blaze realized what it was doing a moment before the pokemon launched the attack, and yelled, "Get behind cover!" then leaping behind a low brick wall.

Barely a second later, energy blasted out from Mesprit throwing both pokemon and people away. Blaze could only hope that most of the pokemon had taken his advice and gotten behind something before the attack struck. As the psychic energy continued, the brick wall Blaze was hiding behind slowly began to crumble, and after just a few split seconds, the wall split apart and Blaze was thrown ten feet away into another wall, this one more solid than the last. As Blaze fell to the ground, the attack now ending, bits and pieces of debris bounced of his body, causing many scratches and bruises.

As he got up, the Mesprit had apparently lost interest in them, and was now terrorizing some more civilians. Blaze's joints creaked as he got to his feet, sore from the impact, his head dizzy as he looked around. Numerous bodies were on the ground or thrown against walls or other things, laying limp and broken on the ground. There was another boom as Mesprit launched another attack, finding another victim. Blaze walked forward a few steps, regaining his footing, then stopping as he saw his friend Abel on the ground, his head at an odd angle, lying broken on the concrete. There are always casualties in war, but to loose a friend like Abel was a hard blow to Blaze. Shaking the loss out of his voice, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Army, fall back and regroup!" Then running out of Vermillion back in the direction they came from, back towards Cerulean. Vermillion was a ticking time bomb, and it had just blown.

 

[Megaman765]

Snype shook his head, clearly stressed by the whole situation. He followed Sebastian back into bills house, sitting by the pods with his hand clenched over his head.

"I'm not infected. Don't you worry about that. I'd sooner kill myself before I turn into one of those things. What's worse is that Axel got himself into a hell of a situation. He could have just stayed put and everything would have been fine. Shouldn't have let my fatigue get the best of me..." Snype said.

 

[NightOfRemorse]

Felicie "Number" Schäfer

Cerulean City​

Axel and the Charmander walked in after Number and looked at the plushies. "Huh… I never quite got why they made these…" Axel said. Number couldn't agree more. Why would humans want plushies of Pokémon if they already go around stealing real ones from their families anyway? Axel noticed the Nidorina plush, picked it up and then sat it down in front of him. "Heh, look Number, it's you! Even… if it looks kind of, uhm… Yeah," he said. Number peered over at him with an annoyed glare. She tried to not get mad at the fact that not only was the plush stupid looking, it was larger than she was.

"Don't even finish that sentence," she said, even though she knew he wasn't going to. Number walked over to the other side of the room and pushed wood and cement chunks off of a torn up couch. She listened to Axel as he spoke about the warmth of the plushies and his plans to set off elsewhere when the sun rose. He also said he wanted to thank her for basically helping him escape and then kicking his face. She stopped moving the debris and turned to look at him, clearly confused.

"What, you're not mad at me for kicking your face earlier? I didn't want to do it, but I needed the full truth from you. If I were you, I'd still be pissed," Number laughed for the first time in a while, but then her face became serious again right after. She looked back down at the couch and eyed a hole in it where the spring was popping out. "I understand why you're not coming with me. Even if you tried to follow me, I wouldn't let you. Don't want my army to think I'm a traitor or anything." She thought for a moment and then walked back over to the pile of plushies, looking Axel in the eye.

"I think I do have a request. You and I, we're gonna help each other get what we want. If you help me kill most of the Infected Pokémon…" She paused for a moment. "Then I vow to help find your friend. As hard as it is for me, I won't kill her. If I break the promise, you're allowed to kill me as brutally as you want. Torture me if you'd like. Have fun with it," Number said it as simply as if she had just told Axel she was baking him a chocolate cake. She knew that she was completely bloodthirsty when it came to killing Infected, but Axel had helped her learn where Deoxys was and he was a valuable resource for the future.

But... there was still that weird thing about him that made Number respect him. She had almost lost that respect when she had first seen how cowardly he could be, but when he showed his braver side, that only brought back the respect and it made Number try even harder to hide it. She needed to remind herself that she was the best and she respected no one but herself. Only she mattered and she had to do her best to save herself, no matter what the circumstance. Only I matter. "But you can't tell anyone. I don't care if it's your father or your mother or your sister or your uncle. Nobody will know." Number glanced at the baby as it chewed the Nidorina plushie's ear. Oh heck no. Chew your own plushie.

 

[Sir Bastian]

Splash
Vermillion City​

The ground shook, tossing Splash's shell off to the side, landing upside down. He quickly woke from his slumber and pushed his limbs out of his shell, quickly looking around as he rolled over and got to his feet. A moment later, another explosion followed, along with terrified and dying screams. Splash grit his teeth and dashed around the corner of the house, moving towards the smoke billowing up over the houses.

As he was about to move around another house, the wall at the back of it was blasted out, the shockwave sending Splash tumbling to the side, but rolling around to landon his feet, sliding a little back. That's when he saw the Mespirit blasting energywaves into houses, people and Pokémon alike. It was clearly infected.

"… Sh*t." He narrowed his eyes for a moment before dashing forwards again, not content with simply letting the legendary destroy a town on its own. He wasn't going tol et yet another town fall if he could help it. Misty trusted him with keeping the neighbouring towns safe while she was gone, and he couldn't abandon her hope in him.

As he neared the legendary, he opened his mouth and shot a water pulse at it before leaping into the air where it was floating, pulling his head back as he prepared to slam his metal-plated skull against the infected.

This, however, proved to be very inefficient as the Pokémon swiftly turned and got hit by the water pulse, though it looked like it was more mildly annoyed rather than hurt. It raised an arm to stop Splash dead in his tracks, mid-air. He flailed around, gritting his teeth while staring down the legendary. "… Stop it! T'hell do you think you're doing?! Stop destroying everything!"

The Pokémon regarded him with a bored look before moving to the side, flinging its arm from right to left, causing Splash to fly forwards, straight into a wall, causing him to yell out in pain at the powerful attack.

Before managing to get to his feet, another blast knocked him back against the wall again, and he felt something heavy fall down next to him. Opening his eyes and slowly getting to his feet, he noticed it was Blaze, Splash's eyes lighting up with anger, especially as Blaze noticed his deceased friend. This only served to piss Splash off, and despite his injuries, he was ready to attack again.

Just then, however, a lot of things happened at once. Suddenly, a beam of electricity was shot out from behind a house, hitting the Mespirit dead on, followed by another, which seemed to hold the legendary in place, if only paining it a little. An Electabuzz then jumped from a nearby rooftop, electricity coursing through it's fist before slamming it against the infected, causing it to yell out inpain and fly towards the ground, but just as it hit the ground, an Electrode darted through the streets at high speed, slamming against the Pokémon, knocking it clear through a wall and into a house.

Stepping around a corner, Lt. Surge placed his sunglasses on his forehead, glaring ahead of him, followed by his Raichu and a Megaton, which were the Pokémon that had released the electricity earlier. He stood for a moment before calling out to those who were looking on.

"What're you waiting for?! It's not going to be knocked down by that, get out of here! I'll keep it busy, get to safety, everyone!"
Just then, the house's walls the Mespirit had been knocked into cracked in a thump, and in another thump of psychic energy, the walls scattered into stones, falling everywhere. The legendary seemed ready to take up battle with Lt. Surge and his electric Pokémon, the gym leader placing his glasses in front of his eyes again, grinning as him and his Pokémon readied for another attack. "I ain't just gonna let you come and destroy my town! You bring the thunder, then you best be ready to take the lightning!"

Splash stood for a moment, unsure what to do, but then he realized that this wasn't his battle. He was even more at risk now, what with the electric attacks flying everywhere, and so he turned around and dashed towards the exit of the city, heading towards the underground path while making sure that he was running the same way as Blaze, though clearly not as fast as him, even on all four. "C'mon ,y'heard 'im! Get out 'f here!" he shouted to those around him, the Pokémon and people quickly beginning to rush out of the city wherever they could.

Axel​

Cerulean City​

As Axel had laid down to rest, Number looked confused. "What, you're not mad at me for kicking your face earlier? I didn't want to do it, but I needed the full truth from you. If I were you, I'd still be pissed."

Axel gave it a little thought while sitting up, but shrugged his shoulders faintly,shaking his head a little. "No… I'm not. You might call me a pushover, but… I understand why you did it. I… should've come clean from the start, but I don't want people to think I'm infected. I just… Flight –can- and –did- resist the infection. If it weren't for her, I'd be dead several times now."

As Number walked back over to him and looked him in the eyes, he blinked a few times before doing his best to stand up to her, without seeming like he was challenging her. It was more of a way to try and prevent himself from looking weak.

"You and I, we're gonna help each other get what we want. If you help me kill most of the Infected Pokémon… then I vow to help find your friend. As hard as it is for me, I won't kill her. If I break the promise, you're allowed to kill me as brutally as you want. Torture me if you'd like. Have fun with it."

Axel winced a little. He couldn't even imagine himself kill someone, much less –torture-. Especially not someone like Number, whom he had a lot of respect for… and actually quite liked. She seemed cold and uncaring, but she had helped him, and she –had- shown signs of worry for him.

"But you can't tell anyone. I don't care if it's your father or your mother or your sister or your uncle. Nobody will know."
"W-well, I'm not sure how we're going to go about killing "Most" of the infected, but… I…" he paused, thinking about his situation, brows furrowed. "… I guess there's not much to do for them right now… it's… pretty much kill or be killed, isn't it?"

He frowned a little, but eventually gave a nod, looking back up at Number. "Alright, you've got a deal. I… we would all have been better off without the infected, and we can't afford to be… merciful. And I'll keep it to myself."

 

[aceattorneyweirdgirl]

Ness had to be honest with himself - Summer wasn't putting up much of a fight. Sure, she had a nasty way with words, but she hadn't actually done anything that threatening yet. Still, Ness had a plan if things went awry. Not the safest option, admittedly, but it was only a backup.

Meanwhile, Flight stared the malicious Ninetales in the eyes and said, "Look...Summer," said Flight, staring at the Ninetales right in the eyes, "I don't know what happened back then. I don't want to know either. I don't care. I need to find a friend of mine, and Ness has been great company, not to mention a wonderful friend to me. What matters now is the dark future ahead of us. The past is history and I don't care about that crap. All I know is that Ness has been by my side long enough for me to trust him. And to be honest, I don't trust you at all."

Her fists once again glowed with energy. "Now, do you want to let us go? Or do you want to take a beating?"

Summer laughed. "Aw, you're no fun! Surely those aren't the only options! But, I digress. No matter how much you trust him, remember that old saying: 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. Which one are you to him, really? You cannot truly know, not until he chooses to strike. Keep that in mind."

Then something was audible in the distance, back the way they had come. Had it been a human listening, it would sound like dead silence. But there were 3 pokémon here with exceptional hearing, and it was clear what the sound was.

People screaming.

"Oh, dear," the Ninetales said. "Sounds like I'm missing out on all the fun! I'm sorry to bring this excellent conversation to a close, but I think I'll be joining in all the bloodshed. Bye now!"

"Oh, no you won't," Ness said. "A single extra infected pokémon could mean hundreds more lives lost. I can't let you leave."

"Oh yeah? You and whose army, weakling?"

"I don't need an army to defeat you. Do you know why I've been so quiet for the past few minutes?"

"Catastrophic depression after finding out your former partner is infected and wants you dead?"

"No."

"Ah."

"Flight, I have to tell you something. What I'm about to do will be dangerous. Very dangerous. I don't know what'll happen. Run; run as far as you can. Find Axel. And if I'm not here and you return…" he didn't want to finish that sentence.

"Now, Summer. As I said, there's a reason I was so quiet before. I was abusing Calm Mind. For you to understand, let me explain how a psychic type's powers work."

He cleared his throat.

"Each and every psychic type has a… a lake of mental energy, that's exclusively theirs. But for their own safety, this lake is dammed. And this dam has small accesses. Each time a psychic type uses an attack, he uses this access to obtain a small amount of energy. Boosting moves like Calm Mind stabilize your thought processes enough to keep it open for a little longer. Now, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure there's a reason using Calm Mind for the seventh time in a row is an illegal move in official battles. Say your prayers, Summer, because you aren't leaving."

Ness closed his eyes, and the gem on his forehead flashed brightly. A dark, purple cloud of matter materialized around him, blocking vision to and from the inside it. A pair of pure white lights opened within the vortex. They glared accusingly at the infected ninetales.

The voice that spoke next wasn't really audible to anyone as such. It resounded within the minds of those present, everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

<YOU WILL MURDER NOONE>

The cloud expanded slowly at first, vomiting forth tendrils that licked hungrily at the land around them. But then it sped up. Faster, faster, faster… it stopped only when the cloud was a storm, bellowing forth psychic energy at an alarming rate.
Summer was distraught. "NESS! What the hell are you doing?! You'll kill the both of us!"

<I WILL MAKE NO SUCH MISTAKE>

In the middle of the storm was Ness' silhouette. It was struggling.
The matter solidified, and flew towards the ground. It detonated instantly, filling the air with an unbelievable noise, causing incredible destruction… yet never being wider than at most 10 meters.
Somewhere in the middle of the purple smoke that remained, Ness staggered.

"Help…" he moaned weakly.

Then everything went black.

 

[NightOfRemorse]

Felicie "Number" Schäfer

Cerulean City​

"W-well, I'm not sure how we're going to go about killing "Most" of the infected, but… I…" he paused, seemingly thinking hard about what Number said. "… I guess there's not much to do for them right now… it's… pretty much kill or be killed, isn't it?" Axel frowned a bit, then nodded and looked back up at Number. "Alright, you've got a deal. I… we would all have been better off without the infected, and we can't afford to be… merciful. And I'll keep it to myself."

"Don't forget we aren't the only two fighting. Eventually we'll be able to kill them all," Number said, staring blankly at a back wall as if in deep thought about something. "Good night," she added, walking back to the destroyed couch. She would have slept in the much warmer pile of plushies, but she thought she would look childish sleeping with stuffed Pokémon. Number always tried to seem more mature than she was, but she tried too hard to the point where she appeared even more childish. Moving the last of the debris, she curled up on one side of the couch, the side that had been less damaged.

Number was so tired, she was overtired and now she couldn't fall asleep. She shut her eyes, but that wouldn't help. Thoughts flowed through her mind. What would she do, exactly, when she woke up later that morning? Would she go straight to Vermillion, or would she stay nearby just to check if the army was headed back this way? It wasn't likely that they would come back, but Number could not disregard the fact that the Infected were still out and about. If they destroyed one city, that only meant they were out to destroy five more. Vermillion was a popular city, and the Infected would be attracted to it, no doubt.

That would probably send the army back, especially if they thought Number was still at Bill's house. It would be problematic to try and find them there. What would Number say when she was confronted for helping Axel run away? What if they accused her of being Infected herself and then locked her up in that pod? Number wasn't a huge fan of being trapped in small enclosed spaces. She also was not a fan of anyone touching her, so she wouldn't lead herself into that predicament and would instead go straight to Vermillion once the sun was shining. She could easily picture the Golduck snatching her up and forcing her into that unpleasant pod.

Ten minutes passed and Number still couldn't fall asleep. It was frustrating to have to deal with being overtired when this was one of the few times she would be able to sleep at all. Chance wasted. Number shifted a bit and then said, "But what will happen to that baby?" She asked this completely unaware of the fact that just because she couldn't sleep didn't mean Axel couldn't sleep either. He probably was asleep and didn't hear her, for all she knew. "Not that I care what happens to it or anything. You seem to care about it, so I'm curious about what you're going to do."

 

[Sir Bastian]

Axel
Cerulean City​

"Don't forget we aren't the only two fighting. Eventually we'll be able to kill them all."

"… Hopefully, yeah, if we can stop the infection from spreading…" Axel sighed a little, dark clouds of fear and uncertainty shrouding his mind as he looked off into the distance himself. Maybe they wouldn't be able to kill the infected. Maybe they could only delay the inevitable. Even if they –did- get help from another region at some point.

"Good night." Number added as she headed towards the ruined couch, causing Axel to snap out of his train of thought. He nodded a little, moving back to the plushies, replying. "Good night, Number."

As he lay down against the plushies, he curled up and shut his eyes, sighing heavily. Hopefully, Number could get back to her friends soon, so Axel could go and save Flight. With every passing moment, the chance of her reverting to the purely infected mindset grew. He wasn't worried about the infected killing her, because he knew that Deoxys would… probably, not kill his own soldiers.

He tried to push the images that was starting to form in his mind away and get himself some rest, for the first time in a long while. Just then, Number spoke again, causing Axel to open his eyes, looking over at her. "But what will happen to that baby? Not that I care what happens to it or anything. You seem to care about it, so I'm curious about what you're going to do."

He kept laying as he did, but shifted his gaze to look towards the Charmander which had curled up against the Nidorina plushie, snoozing away calmly. Axel stayed quiet a while before looking back up at Number.

"We can't just leave him behind. What if he was killed, or infected? It would've been our fault… once we get to Vermillion, we'll leave it in the care of a human, or one of his kind. I don't… particularly care for him, but it's not fair to just leave him be to fend for itself." He paused, lowering his gaze a little. "… I know I wouldn't want it to happen to me."

Having said what he wanted, with unpleasant memories of his childhood accompanying him, Axel closed his eyes again, breathing out softly, as he slowly began drifting off to sleep, his exhaustion taking over and putting him in a deep sleep.

 

[|Equinox|]

Flight - Normal

"Flight, I have to tell you something. What I'm about to do will be dangerous. Very dangerous. I don't know what'll happen. Run; run as far as you can. Find Axel. And if I'm not here and you return…" Ness spoke, but stopped before he could actually finish it. Upon hearing that, Flight couldn't help getting even more worried than before. What was he planning to do? She didn't want to find out; but on the other hand, she had to.


"Now, Summer. As I said, there's a reason I was so quiet before. I was abusing Calm Mind. For you to understand, let me explain how a psychic type's powers work," he said while clearing his throat, with Flight standing at a side nervously, "Each and every psychic type has a… a lake of mental energy, that's exclusively theirs. But for their own safety, this lake is dammed. And this dam has small accesses. Each time a psychic type uses an attack, he uses this access to obtain a small amount of energy. Boosting moves like Calm Mind stabilize your thought processes enough to keep it open for a little longer. Now, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure there's a reason using Calm Mind for the seventh time in a row is an illegal move in official battles. Say your prayers, Summer, because you aren't leaving."


Ness closed his eyes, and the gem on his forehead flashed brightly. A dark, purple cloud of matter materialized around him, blocking vision to and from the inside it. A pair of pure white lights opened within the vortex. They glared accusingly at the infected ninetales.


Strange voices, too muffled or too complicated to be comprehended boomed across the air. The cloud of purple expanded slowly at first, vomiting forth tendrils that licked hungrily at the land around them. But then it sped up. Faster, faster, faster… it stopped only when the cloud was a storm, bellowing forth psychic energy at an alarming rate.
Summer was distraught. "NESS! What the hell are you doing?! You'll kill the both of us!"


Flight then realized that it was too dangerous to stand there anymore. As the energy built up around the Espeon, the Emolga wanted to approach him, to stop Ness from continuing. The gigantic blast could backfire, killing him instead. Why was he doing this?! In her mind, Ness' words reminded her as if waking her up from a long slumber, "Run; run as far as you can!"


With a flap of her gliders, she glanced at the glowing Espeon for one last time, saying a silent farewell before spinning around, darting out of the air as fast as she could. She didn't dare to look back, not even a single second. Was Ness doing this not only for himself, but for her too? A teardrop streamed down her right cheek as she bolted even faster into the forest, guilt and grief washing over her.


Then it came. The air was filled with a gigantic explosion, followed by a bright purple glow coming from behind her. Yet the radius of the attack hadn't been lengthy enough to hit the fleeing Emolga. Knowing that her friend had left this world, Flight let out a cry of pain and misery as she flew towards Cerulean, the closest city in her view.


"Why Ness...WHY!" She screamed, shaking her head, "Why do I have to lose one friend after the other?!"


It was a bit too late when she opened his eyes again. With a loud grunt, she slammed against a large tree trunk and plopped onto the grass. The purple light slowly faded in the skies, and the Emolga curled into a little ball, the amount of depression largely overwhelming.


"...I've lost him. Forever..."​

 

[-Grayscale-]

Gale Witt
Outside Mt. Moon

"...There's a legendary in Vermillion."

The Scizor sensed psychic energy waves radiating out from the city the moment his mind decided to wake him up, which was pretty fast considering he only got about a half an hour or less of sleep. They were identical to Mew's own powers, and yet stronger. Perhaps Deoxys had decided to let it out to do some early damage. He had remembered the Vileplume from earlier talking about a job in the same city; were they supposed to be helping it? Gale had no idea. For once, he had no urge to go in and fight. It was dark, he was tired and cold... but he had to do something, and battling was the least he could do to help.

Pulling himself up, there was no wind to carry the steel type across the plains. The gem between his wings flickered with slight frustration, his exoskeleton seeming heavier than usual. His walk was going to be a long and tiring one. It didn't get any better after the first few minutes of travel. "I wonder if this was how I passed out last time, with that Emolga..." Gale wondered to himself. He wished to meet that pokemon sometime and apologize for whatever had happened. He also wanted to see that Raichu again...

At least his headache had stopped. Wind picking up, Gale spread out his bug-like wings and caught onto the first breeze available. Just ahead was a rather large forest, but as long as the wind kept up, he could travel through fairly easily. Keeping himself balanced, the Scizor glided right above each treetop. "Not too far from he-," he said to himself before getting cut off. The aura of another infected was very close, an aura that was very familiar. Immediately closing his wings, Gale fell through the leaves and grabbed onto a large branch to stop his fall. If he had squeezed any harder, it probably would've snapped clean off.

He climbed down carefully, looking around and pin-pointing where the infected pokemon was. As Gale walked closer in the direction, he began to hear a small whimpering, and although it meant nothing he began to feel a little cautious. Peering through the bushes, however, he saw just who he hoped he'd find; the Emolga from earlier. A smile crept across his face. The pokemon was perfectly fine after all. He walked to her from behind, "Well, we meet again, I suppose. Are you alright? There's some...water in your eyes." His voice sounded concerned and kind, and yet he felt something screaming at him inside. Something telling him that something else was wrong...

 

[|Equinox|]

Flight - Normal

"Look, calm down, Flight," the Emolga told herself, sitting against a tree trunk, "Everything is alright. I'll find Axel and then we'll be together as a team again. Then I'll have a higher chance of resisting Deoxys, and hopefully I'll be able to find a cure for the infection with help from the humans. Yeah. Everything is alright and I don't have to worry about it."


Then her face darkened, knowing that her future would be undesirable, "Ness is dead and his friend Summer is missing. Axel is infected and might turn any time. I might turn any time. Time is running out for me, and I'm walking closer and closer to the edge of sanity-"


Her little rant was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind, followed by an overwhelming psychic aura emitted from none other than an infected Pokemon. A slightly familiar masculine voice sounded from behind her, "Well, we meet again, I suppose. Are you alright? There's some...water in your eyes," said the infected Pokemon in a gentle, soothing tone. Strange. A kind Infected hadn't been very common. Curious, Flight turned her head around, only to see a oddly-colored Scizor standing before her.


"Nothing much," Flight replied after a moment of hesitation; she didn't want be weak and useless in front of others. With that thought in mind, she sniffled and held in a few teardrops, "My ally has died, and my best friend has been infected a while back. I have to find him before it's too lat-"


Right when she was about to finish, the Emolga let out a struggled cry with her eyes opened wide. She stood up gingerly like a robot, then wriggled a bit in attempt to fight a mysterious force invisible to others. Purple sparks emitted from her body and she fell, kneeling on the ground on her hands and knees.


D-Deoxys...n-no...!!


"N-Not now!!! Not yet!!" Flight cried out, releasing a growing yellow EMP wave which shorted out whatever had been bothering her, "...a-almost...lost it..." she groaned before collapsing onto the ground, panting as she looked at the skies about. Deoxys' power had increased at least ten fold, judging by his willpower attack. He must had wanted her to obey him like his other attempts a week ago. But Flight knew deep inside that she couldn't resist for long, and neither could Axel.


"I'm sorry...about that," Flight murmured, looking at the Scizor while tilting her head back, making everything in her sight upside-down, "Deoxys has been trying so hard to make me give in..."
​