[PKMN FULL] [IC] [M] Ten Little Days

[Pterosauria]

Ten Little Days
^{Run, hide, fight; survive!}

OOC Thread|IC Thread

10 days to go

A chill wind blew through the streets of Kisara City, probably from the Glaceon and a Delibird putting the finishing touches on their newest set of snow-children, with realistic tortured expressions, at a crossroads. In other areas of the city, the tarmac cracked with heat, or fused in strange new shapes as bolts of electricity struck the surface. But even with all this going on, the cries of human and pokémon alike were strangely silent - those few humans that survived were mostly in hiding, so their slaves-turned-hunters mostly prowled quietly in the weak daylight. But make no mistake; the wilds were out in force - though their corpses littered the streets, some desecrated and others half-eaten, proof of their commitment to their invasion, their numbers had not declined. The more that died, the more that filed into the city through whatever holes in the barrier they were using (although considering the expired pokémon that were piled up on the outside of the barrier, it was certainly still better than nothing, holes or not).

But on the street that a pair of scientists cautiously crept onto, there seemed to be nothing to be fearful of: they had just been hiding from a lone Dewott, but it had turned the corner, and not come back.

The one nearest to the door - a female in a stained white coat with tied-back dark hair - called into the hallway,

"It's clear! Time to get going!"

They had been sheltering those with the last pokémon for a while, but they'd had one close call with the monster looking for them, and another one looked to be on the cards, considering the amount of recent pokémon interest - it had only just died down, in fact. So it was time to move them all on.

The male scientist, who was further out, clutched nervously at a pokéball - he didn't release the creature inside for fear of attracting unwanted attention, but he had to say, he certainly wanted to. His Vulpix's tails were so plushy and soft, and it was quite comforting to stroke them. He could have really used some comfort right then.

With a wavering voice, he called to the female scientist: "Sandra, go back inside - I'll take them to Dr. Glass' place."

He couldn't say he was really looking forward to going - he would have really liked to have stayed inside with Sandra - they'd only been going out for a few days before all this had come to a boil, and the doctor who they were going to be begging help off of was somewhat of a lunatic, to put it mildly, but he couldn't let the ones standing between them and total annihilation go out without some kind of aid. Even if it was just a frightened man and his adorable pokémon.

The door swung close with a click, and for a few minutes, there was the sound of Sandra struggling with bolts. Presumably, though, she eventually did it, because no more sound was heard. Not from the door, anyway.

A sound began to echo around the street, quietly at first, but it soon reached ear-shattering levels: Mightyena and Poochyena appeared of the rooftops, howling their hearts out, and a gathering of doglike pokémon - Manectric and Arcanine, Stoutland and Delphox, all howling and baring their fangs in anticipation of the fight.

Strangely, though there were rooftop pokémon all around, the advance of those on the street, leaving escape, though through a gauntlet of rooftop forces, perfectly possible. Which, perhaps, was something to be suspicious of, but then again, they were only a pack of dogs - formidable, but perhaps not the most tactical bunch.
​

​

 

[Plumbum]

War Wounds​

Zander stumbled through the street. His stomach streaking in his blood as he blundered down the frosty avenue. He'd been lucky. Wilds hadn't turned up to ruin his day any further than that damn experiment had on its own.

He was flanked by his trusted companion, Ietasu. The young Riolu's eyes darted across the street, checking for anything that might be a danger to his master, even the slightest wave of emotion what could signal a threat, but there was nothing. Zander collapsed against one of the buildings; sliding down it until he was seated, trying to catch some breath. Ieyasu pawed at his stricken Trainer's wound, eliciting a sharp breath from the human.

"I'm fine, Ieyasu. Stop worrying." He lied through his teeth. He knew the Riolu could tell he was lying too, but he wasn't going to show weakness in front of his troops. He snatched at the ribbon of bandage somebody had forgotten to loot. Now he was pretty sure he was clear, he had to tend to his wounds. Stop the bleeding and he might live. But by the time he had finished and looked up again Ieyasu was missing. "Sh*t! Where the hell is he?" Zander hauled himself back up from the ground. He knew the Riolu well, it had probably run away to find him some help...

 

[Tixen]

Sam Ferris

The blue haired girl frowned as she studied the field. Her opponent currently seemed weak currently, as so far they'd only managed to summon a handful of creatures, all of which didn't cost much mana. However, she knew that as this was a primarily Green deck, and looking at the amount of land cards they had placed, if they drew something now that cost a lot of mana to call to the field, they wouldn't have trouble doing that. She had to prepare for the eventuality that they would soon start pulling out the big guns – after all, that was how a Green deck worked. Slow to start, but given enough time, they could summon incredibly strong creatures. Sam glanced at her own cards. She had chosen to use a black/white deck, focused on slowly taking down her opponent's life points while increasing her own. She had a 2/4 monster on the field which she could use to defend herself if her opponent attacked with a powerful creature next turn, which she knew they would because…

Sam sighed, and dropped the cards she was holding, looking at the empty chair on the other side of the table. Playing a game of Magic: The Gathering against yourself was providing difficult, as she knew the strategies and the hands of both sides, and could counter them as she saw fit. She felt slightly stupid having attempted trying it, but honestly it was nice to have a break from the chaos going on outside of this little room she'd hidden herself in. Outside, she knew, the streets were covered in corpses, both of Pokemon and humans. While she was used to seeing images of bodies and people having all manner of horrible injuries inflicted upon them in her games, actually being there was a completely different situation. She guessed that all those people who'd run around trumpeting that video games were desensitizing children to violence and turning them evil had probably never actually been in a horrible setting before to understand the difference between fiction and reality. She'd also been one of those people too, thinking that the world's presented in media would be really similar to how reality worked. However, she knew she had been very very wrong.

A slight sound coming from her left caused the small girl to jump into the air, reaching for the pocketknife she kept on her person at all time, only to realise that it was only Link. Sam relaxed, and crouched on the ground so she could hug the Furret. She didn't dare say anything to him however – this little room she'd been hiding in since her parents place had caught fire wasn't exactly the most secure place. Most of its effectiveness as a hiding place came from the fact that the place looked collapsed from the outside, that the smell of charcoaled remains still lingered in the air here, and also from her remaining quiet.

Almost as if the thoughts of the potential threats from outside had suddenly summoned the very thing she feared, a howl rose up from outside. More voices quickly joined in the chorus, and Sam felt a chill realising how many Pokemon were outside. She grabbed her makeshift spear – a broomstick with a large kitchen knife duct taped to the end – and crept over to what remained of a window. There wasn't much movement on the streets, but a quick glance up to the rooftops told her what she needed to know. The infected pack of various Pokemon had a good position up there – they could easily pounce on anything moving below and take them out. It definitely wouldn't be safe to be moving through the streets right now. And yet, as she glanced around, there was something out there. A lone Riolu scurried along the road, and she squinted at it, wondering if it had been infected. However, the small creature glanced her way, and Sam could have sworn that brown eyes and red eyes connected. She ducked down, hiding herself from sight, and prayed that the creature wasn't a member of the pack.

 

[Ricochett]

Nona Vernadnt

---

All was quiet, save for the cries from the infected. They prolonged to the streets and they were on the roof as well, others in packs. There were corpses both human and pokemon, few of the half were lucky enough to have a painless death, some; not so much. Pokemon can be rather vicious creatures, even the little ones. The situation looked hopeless, a no end to suffering.

Hiding inside the broken house was an lady clad with a black dress shirt, white shorts hidden inside the dress, thigh-high dark grey socks and white flat knee-high boots, a simple ribbon choker wrap around her neck. She sat on the floor, back pressed against the wall, legs curled against her chest, trying to be as small as physically possible to hide behind the mess. Her name is Nona and she didn't want to be noticed.

To the north is were the scientists that would attempt to go to their destination along with the trainers that had the last pokemon that the dangerous creature wanted. Nona didn't want to come, not when there were so many predators having their eyes on them. Maybe it was more safe with them though, they could use their pokemon and defeat them one by one together or just distract them enough to make a path and run for it.

So many scenarios, good or maybe, anything might be happen to their plan of theirs. Should she go with them? They were close, she could catch up, however, there is a tiny doubt inside her heart that she shook off. Nona couldn't decide, would joining them would make her pokemon safe? Because she knew it was not safe to stay in one place, more so being alone no matter how skillful you may be, you could get tired when the infected keeps coming and you keep battling, it was not good, all of them had seen the experience of caught pokemon 'betraying' their trainers, the infection that had spread as they battled for so long. It was not a good sign.

She hated this situation, it destroyed her life, everything was going great, she became a battle frontier, one of the respected position a trainer could get with their hard work and then after months came this. Feeling frustrated, Nona brushed her fingers against her pokeballs, stopping at her partner's. She could feel Gladius gazing at her, giving her comfort that she needed; when she needed. He gave her confidence, that he was at her side, still there.

She was utterly thankful.

 

[Pterosauria]

A Ninetails strode purposefully down the street, a collar about its neck, with a piece of rolled paper trapped between the leather and the silver-blue fur. It stopped every now and then, sometimes to inspect the ground, and the splatters of blood spilt on it, sometimes to prick it's ears, and listen to the howling racket in the distance. Eventually, it arrived at its apparent goal: a boy laying injured in the street - one Zander Plankk. It stood, silently in the middle of the street for a few moments, likely imagining how majestic it looked in the slight wind as its shiny fur rippled and its tails waved. Or perhaps it was just wondering why the human hadn't hidden away somewhere yet. In any case, it approached Zander, slowly, turning carefully to present the note attached to it.

Elsewhere, the dog pack continued to advance, and had split up a little, as groups headed down side roads and investigated buildings. One of these groups had caught up to the scientist who had been wanting to run back inside with Sandra, and dragged him back down the street, and unknowingly, in front of the ruin where Sam and Link were hiding. Paralysed with fear, the man had merely been whimpering, and clutching at a pokéball, but as the dogs sank their fangs into his flesh, and tore out bloody mouthfuls of meat and cloth, his tortured screaming sang out in a twisted harmony with the chorus of howling. There was a crunch, like broken glass grinding underfoot, followed by the wet squelch of tearing flesh. Then a dull thump, as something meaty hit the building.

There was a gentle sobbing in the air, and the shuffle of tiny feet. A wavering, quiet voice called out:

"I-Is anyone in h-here?"

It was a small child, dressed in a grubby blue hoodie, with a white pokeball design on the chest, red shorts, and little black sandals. On his exposed ankle, he was sporting a nasty bite, which was starting to turn black around the edges, and there was definitely a splatter of something crusted and red in his mousey-brown hair, and his tear-streaked face. He held a Spearow to his chest, which seemed to be unconscious, as its feet dangled limply, and it's eyes rolled glassily in its sockets.

"S-somebody help me... Please? M-my Spearow i-is really... Really hurt..."

He sunk to his knees in the doorway, Spearow still held tightly, sniffed, and stared, wide-eyed, into the house.
​

 

[Tixen]

Sam Ferris

A few moments later, strange sounds started coming from outside of the building - deep growls, a high pitched whimper, and the sound of something being dragged along the ground. Taking a deep breath, Sam dared to peek out the window again, only to duck down into hiding a moment later upon seeing the three Pokemon approaching her hiding place. Between them, she'd seen a human figure, being dragged along the ground with the creature's teeth.

It was an odd thing to ponder really, knowing that someone was about to die. What did you do in these situations? The heroic thing was to jump out from cover, guns blazing, screaming to high hell, and take down all of the enemies around you in some badass display of power. That's what happened in fiction-land, and it always worked out well. Sam however, was now perfectly aware that doing that would be the worst thing she could do right now. There was a large pack of infected Pokemon outside - taking down these three would only attract more, and she would eventually be overwhelmed by their numbers. It would be suicide to try to help the man. This knowledge didn't prevent her from flinching in horror as his screams started to pierce the air, and also Sam's heart, filling her with an immense sense of guilt. What kind of person willfully let someone else die? She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of such thoughts, and allowing a feeling of surreal calm to flow through her. She and her Pokemon came first, and that was it. She'd deal with any potential moral ramifications later.

The first thing for her to consider was the threat of the infected Pokemon. They were far too close by for her to continue to stay where she was - they'd certainly smell her once they finished with the man. However, they would also hear her if she moved. Or, in a more normal situation, they would. The screams of the slowly dying man combined with the howls from the pack would certainly drown out any sounds she might make. With this in mind, she gestured towards Link, and the two started slowly creeping towards the back of the room, Sam still in a state of detached calm. Upon reaching the exit - a hole in the far wall which she could climb through into the house behind it - she glanced back at the room. Hopefully she'd be able to come back here soon and gather all of her things. Maybe even a Pokeball or two floating around on the soon-to-be-dead man's corpse.

"Okay, now I really know I'm flipping out." Sam thought to herself, in slight shock at the sheer lack of emotion in her thoughts. "This is so weird - shouldn't I be like crying right now? Wouldn't that be the normal thing to do, rather than coldly consider looting a corpse? What the hell is wrong with m-"

Her inner monologue was abruptly caught off by a sickening wet thump as the body of the man was hurled at the wall. Blood splattered all over the window, and near an opening in the wall, Sam could see the half torn off face of the Pokemon's victim, still conscious. He stared at her, and opened his mouth to say something, only to begin to scream again as one of the Pokemon (presumably) took another chunk out of him.

Sam bolted. Heart pumping, head empty of thought. Instinct screamed at her to run. The cold calm had been broken. She darted into the next house, then jumped out a broken window, hardly noticing how badly she cut up her hands in the process. She hit the ground in a crouch, and ran across the street to another building, jumping fences and just trying to get herself as far away as she could. The adrenaline pumping through her veins only made her faster. Eventually, she ducked into another broken house, and curled up under an abandoned bed, hyperventilating. Link had kept up with her in her frenzy, and gave her a gentle nudge, before going to keep watch out for anything approaching, and to give Sam the time she needed to calm down.

 

[Ricochett]

Nona Vernadnt

---

Nona started relax, little by little, breathing steadily, heart calming down, half-slumping. They weren't here, they were at the distant, she went by unnoticed, thank Arceus.

And then-

a sob-

"I-Is anyone in h-here?"

It all shattered. Her eyes that had close yet still fully alert, snapped open, her body tensing. No, no, please no. A child's voice, pained, lost. Nona didn't move, she didn't made a sound. She tried to stop her heart from beating so loud and fast, she curled into a tight ball, ignoring her surroundings, the sounds, the boy.

"S-somebody help me... Please? M-my Spearow i-is really... Really hurt..."

She made no step to help.

Nona wasn't the Nona before this situation; before she would have helped with open arms but now, with her Pokemon safety in mind nearly everyday was her biggest priority and to extension: her life, the feeling of not wanting to lose them forever teared her heart into two just by thinking about it. No, losing them would lose her will to live, it was drastic and she shouldn't be like this, however... Nona loved them too much. And so, she chose to stay here for as long as possible.

How cowardly. How selfish. How cruel.

'Please...'

She was a human with faults that made decisions they would regret, someday or later. She built up her wall back again, ignoring the clenching of her heart, the urge to cry of the terrible guilt she felt, and the feeling of breaking down.

'No, no, it's not the time to break down, Nona, hold it up, it's too early. You're a strong girl, Nona, so please.' She thought to herself, chanting over and over the words to destroy this horrible emotion. The only thing she could do was to hold on and pray that everything would be over and then there was- ah yes, in her state, she couldn't do the thing that would calm her the most.

And another one, her fingers ghosted to her pokeballs on her shorts hidden behind the black dress shirt. Getting washed over by the presence of her pokemon, she could sense them, and once again, her hand rested on Gladius.

They weren't judging her for not helping, they kept calm and comforted her, soothing her flurry of high-peaked emotions. Yes, it was absurd for that to happen, but they could communicate, Pokemon and people can who shares a strong bond or maybe it was just her and she made an excuse just to get ease. Or maybe she could.

And then she realized, in the moment of finding comfort from her pokemon's pokeballs, there were no sounds from the boy. Inching to the shattered window, she took a small peek and resisted to jump. He was gone from the spot and then there was this dreadful thought.

'What if he wasn't real?' No, she wasn't hallucinating, she was not that near to going insane. 'What if... it was all an illusion created by a ghost pokemon?' Was it possible? She hoped not, Nona did not want a fight, it would only lead to attention from the wrong party. Maybe he went somewhere else and met a terrible fate...?

...

...It was no time to ponder. For there was a sound, another sound, it was faint but it was enough to make someone cautious tense up. In her case, she tense up yet again. The frontier brain didn't know what possessed her to stand up and walk over to the other side where the second floor caved in, soundless as possible and peeked to a small opening.

Nona saw a girl curled up under the bed that had fallen from the upper floor and a Furret on stand-by. She decided to show herself, just a bit, her head to her torso poking out. "Hey." She whispered, soft enough and quiet enough, hoped to that they wouldn't react strongly for the infected to sense. The older woman still didn't know what came over but maybe it was the way she was shivering, pale and scared or maybe it was because she could not contain the guilt of not helping the little boy. (If he was real...)

Or maybe she really just wanted to help. If only to be a comforting presence, a camaraderie of being in the same position in the same situation.

 

[Tixen]

Sam Ferris

The blue haired girl barely noticed the stranger who poked her head into view and spoke. Her mind was in full freak out mode, completely blank except for the image of the man's eyes in that half torn off face. She'd seen corpses before yes, but never someone who was still alive in that state. What had he been thinking when he saw her? Those eyes were pleading, begging. But in her mind they were accusing. She'd let him die. What kind of person was she? At these thoughts, Sam's hyperventilating increased, along with the sharp pain in chest, and the feeling of being unable to breathe.

Link gently nudged her head, bringing Sam back into reality a little. At this point, she jumped a little, seeing the pretty girl looking at her, seeming a little hesitant about approaching. It was a complete relief for the small girl to see that her face wasn't half ripped off. Seeing another not dead human was comforting, and enough for her to crawl out from under the bed.

Sam stared at her, head tilted slightly to the side, eyes wide, and started to ramble, almost to herself. "I-I couldn't have helped him! I would have died as well if I'd helped him. They tore his face off. He was looking at me. I should have helped. But I couldn't! You have to believe me, I couldn't have saved him. Please... you have to believe me... They'd do the same thing to me." The realization hit her, and her speech became even faster. "They're going to do that. They're going to rip my face off. They're coming." At this, she curled back into a ball on the floor, and stared at the wall, whimpering. Link scurried towards the blonde haired stranger, and looked at her, seeming to have a pleading look in his eyes, begging her to help his trainer out, before going and curling up next to Sam, trying to convince her that everything was okay.

 

[Ricochett]

Nona Vernadnt

---

It was Nona's turn to stare, she could see the wide dark chocolate eyes from the openings of her bangs, just seeing the other girl's state made her mute, would that happen to her as well? Would she be able to be mentally strong? She hoped so, she didn't want to be like that, it was a terrible sight, something she didn't want to see that happening to her and to another person, like right now.

Nona did not understand what she was rambling about, it was fast and a bit gibberish but she could understand the bits and pieces, that she had been traumatize about something. The older woman wanted to look away from the Furret's pleading gaze, there was a chance that if they were surrounded by many infected Pokemon she'd leave them behind if they lag or become a burden to her. Would she be able to do it?

The boy came to her mind, his sobbing whimpers echoed through her ears, real boy or not, it didn't made her feel better, She shook it off, still hesitant and then she hardened herself, quietly without making loud sounds, she went to sit in front of the curled human ball, cutting her stare to the wall, slowly and tenderly taking her hands (injured, was she desperate to get away?) with hers. "Hey." Her voice was hush, trying to inject the message of reassurance. "It's alright now." Nona licked her lips nervously, she wanted to chuck out the hollow words of comfort but she was trying and hoped it was enough. "My name is Nona," Better try to calm her down by talking, "Is Furrett your only pokemon?" She did not see any pokeball in her person. The possibility of feeding her to the wolves just to save her own became higher, Nona still didn't if she can do it.

Maybe she can't... the younger girl's trembling figure and the Furrett's worried concern made the frontier brain to shelter her, Nona hoped to the Legendaries that it wouldn't come to that, she hoped she was strong enough to defeat the infected to get a long escape without them having more reinforcements. At the back of her mind, the little boy's voice didn't disappear.

 

[Pterosauria]

With a limp Spearow hanging from its teeth, a little Zorua trotted away from the house. He let out a little growl; there was definitely somebody in that house - he could smell her there. He could have gone and found her...mouth that wasn't going to happen all the time he was a Zorua - even for a human, he wouldn't be much of a match. But what choice did he have? The pack was coming, and if that happened, well, there wouldn't be much left for him.

Suddenly, the little fox pokémon found himself flattened to the ground by something particularly heavy - a black set of talons connected to a red-gold bird. But that was bad. That could only mean...

The Zorua's thoughts were cut off, as the claws lifted and a golden beak came down. He screwed his eyes shut. This was it. He was dead. But death didn't come - just a pinching sensation at the scruff of his neck, and words in his head:

"Come on now, you really upset that human - it's time to go and apologise."

Dangling meters off of the ground, and in the jaws of the monster that would probably end his life, the Zorua dropped its Spearow, and flailed wildly, though this achieved nothing, and despite the actions of the frightened little fox, the 'Ho-Oh' neared the house with steps that left impressions in the ground, even though it wasn't exactly soft.

There was a tearing sound, which distracted even the Zorua - the Ho-Oh's ribs poked through the flesh, and swung open like a pair of doors, grating feathery meat into bloody ribbons. And, from all that, a man emerged, with bizarrely white hair and pink eyes, which though they were clearly pinky, seemed to have a distinct lack of colour. He wore a suit - black, with a white shirt underneath, and even a tie. From his back, there were a set of creamy-white spikes - a spine, perhaps, and on either side, long, thick cords, transferring some mysterious pink goo between the Ho-Oh and the man. And over the whole lot, there was a kind of petrochemical sheen - a rainbow hued film, which stuck to the ground with every step.

Said Ho-Oh dropped the Zorua, which had been staring in a mixture of revulsion and fear, straight into the arms of the man below. Then, carrying the creature cradled in his arms, as trainers might have done before everything went bad, he approached the house.

"I know you're in there, humans; I'd like to have a little chat with you - Before the pack get here and... Well, eat you all alive."​

 

[ANARCHit3cht]

Reinhold had been attempting to use his charm to woo Sandra, and just when he thought he had begun to make ground the male scientist--he had forgot his name--declared that they were to all leave. Thinking about it for naught but a moment he said, "We can't just leave this lady here all alone, she needs someone to protect her and come to her aid!" He struck a heroic pose. "If she is going back inside, then so am I!" Resolutely he turned to follow her.

"You know... it's a good thing you're coming with me. I really need someone to organize all my supplies and files..." She paused, tapping her finger on her chin to demonstrate thought. "And then after that I guess you could sweep and mop... then you could scrub the walls..." she continued on with her list. The duo had not been inside for the five minutes before Reinhold had already began clawing out the door to make his escape. After managing the locks he sprinted off the

Noticing they had stopped, Reinhold looked around. A pack of dog Pokemon had slowly begun to descend upon the group. While he was certain he would have no difficulty dispatching the ravenous group, he did not survive in the harsh conditions he labeled training by simply rushing into every fight headfirst. Maybe a Pokemon battle sure. But if it was a potentially life threatening situation he took a bit more caution. With his hand on a Pokeball he stood at the ready. Then suddenly, all hell broke loose. As the dog pack had begun to attack the group split in the chaos. Some ran into the houses to to the left and others to the right. Some continued down the street determined to fight their way through. Those fools. If they are going to fight they at least need to stick together. The pack of dogs had luckily been focusing on the much larger group, but it didn't take long for a few of them to notice the "easy prey." From nowhere a Mightyena lunged at him and quicker than lightning he had released his Electivire from his Pokeball with a single command: "Thunderpunch!" The mighty behemoth landed a punch square on the creatures face with so much force that it's neck made a popping sound before going limp.

But that was the least of his worries. A much larger group of Poochyena and Herdier began to approach him. "Shit. This is bad. Electivire, you know what to do. We're making an escape." And with that, the Electivire charged the ground with electricity. The dogs began to yowl in pain and buckle over. The stronger ones managed to trudge on despite the impulses--it certainly wouldn't stop them but it was enough to slow them down. He'd have to reach cover. "Keep it up just a little longer." Once he had gotten a fair enough distance away he returned Electivire to his Pokeball, it was far too early to make such sacrifices. Leaping through the shattered window of an abandoned house he noticed others were already inside. He had recognized them from the group that was sheltered earlier but had not really spoke to them--after all, his focus was on Sandra.

Moving to introduce himself, Reinhold had paused when a voice boomed through the area. ""I know you're in there, humans; I'd like to have a little chat with you - Before the pack get here and... Well, eat you all alive." Sneaking around he got a look at the man clad in a suit. Shit. Just what I need. Some crazy jack ass. Who the hell does this guy even think he is? He could tell by the extra "appendages" emerging from his back that he was no mere human. Looking towards the other in the house he motioned for them to be quiet.

"I swear if you guys get me killed I'm going to make you pay for it for the rest of eternity." He whispered quietly to them.

 

[Tixen]

Sam Ferris

Having Link laying close by was a definitely calming Sam down. She could feel that the tightness in her chest has lifted a little, which was helping slow her breathing down. This was a bit of a relief for her - having the chest pain had made the experience even more confusing for her, which in turn raised how panicked she felt. She felt someone gently take her hands, which caused Sam's dark eyes to snap open, and she found herself staring at the stranger again. She noticed her own hands then, and felt a flicker of surprise. When exactly had she gotten them so badly cut up? And why hadn't she noticed the pain? Even now, staring at the blood running down her hands, she couldn't feel anything more than a dull ache. A memory surfaced, something her mother had told her once. Often, people surging with adrenaline as a response to a threat won't notice if they have a small amount of pain inflicted on them, as they're so focused on escaping or fighting the threat. Perhaps that was what she'd experienced.

The stranger was speaking now, trying to sound reassuring, but Sam could clearly see that she was nervous. Although whether it was from the potential of the pack tearing after them right at this second, or something else going through her mind, she wasn't sure. She introduced herself as Nona, which was an unusual name to Sam, and asked if Link was the only Pokemon she had. She shook her head slightly, and pulled herself out of her curled formation. Still, her breathing was rather ragged, and she could feel her whole body shaking, but she was better than she had been before.

"No..." She said slowly, trying to keep her breathing from spiking again. "I've got another Pokemon... Have to be careful with him though. Ummm... my name is Sam."

She'd barely gotten the words out when there was a loud thump behind them, along with the tinkling of glass hitting the floor, and she barely managed to stop herself from screaming. The pack had found them. They were going to di- Oh. It wasn't an infected Pokemon at all, just a guy who looked closer to Nona's age. Who may or may not be slightly dangerous to be around - since when was jumping through a half broken window, an action that had the potential to make a lot of noise, a good idea when there was a pack of infected around? Sam then recalled that she'd probably done a very similar thing recently, judging by the cuts on her hands, and decided to cut him some slack. Maybe he was just scared like she was? He didn't seem scared though.

The man moved over to them, seeming to want to speak, only for him to be cut off by a voice from outside. It sounded calm, almost bored, but something about it sent chills down Sam's spine. Perhaps it was the way that it addressed them as being humans - implying that it wasn't. Or the fact that it suggested that the incoming pack was no threat to it at all. She decided that she really didn't want to go out and talk to this guy. Actually seeing the "man" speaking to them only further solidified this. He seemed to be attached to a Ho-oh via some kind of strange appendages, and she could see that he clearly had a spine growing out of his back. What the hell? Then her mind clicked into gear. The region's Ho-oh had been absorbed by CRV-ENO3, so why was it here, attached to this man? Her eyes widened. Would it not be in the realms of possibility that this was CRV-EN03? It seemed a more likely explanation that this guy happened to have another Ho-oh and had been genetically infused with it in some freak accident. She touched the Pokeball hidden on her belt. Cobalt was exceptionally strong, however if her suspicions were correct, she couldn't risk bringing him out to fight against this thing. Sam hoped that Nona and the stranger had less risky Pokemon to fight with if necessary.

 

[Ricochett]

Nona Vernadnt

---

"I see." That was what she only said, adding 'nice to meet you' or any of that words would be foolish with the state they are in, murmuring quietly with a faraway look on her eyes. Probably thinking of their situation, the mess they would be in. Or maybe her ruthless thoughts a moment ago? Praying to the Legendaries doesn't solve anything. Would she abandon this girl?

Her thoughts were jutted out by a sound. Thump, her eyes flickered to the window, narrowed and alert, the sight of another human didn't ease her at all, lips pursed she stared, almost disapprovingly. What was he doing? Trying to lead the pack here with that noise? Now he would be the one Nona would willingly sacrifice. But then she slapped that thought away. No, she wouldn't be able to do it without breaking down. But the thought of her Pokemon were enough for her to consider.

And then she tense, holding a shiver as a voice with those words were carried to them. 'Humans', he? said. She looked at the direction at the speaker and stared, an Ho-oh and a man, attached together, it was horrifying and yet strangely fascinating. Nona, still clutching the injured hands, squeezed them, just a small squeeze. Was she scared? No, she wasn't, why wasn't she? It was so odd, surreal with what was happening.

She looked at the other man, who is definitely more human and for some reason, he irritates her. Oh yes, with those words, Nona could see the basics of what attitude he has. If the situation wasn't this serious, she would have coldly replied but right now...

Nona could not care, there were things that needed to be prioritize and talking to him in which it might lead to an argument, would put them in a much higher risk with the odd factor (the man) and the pack looming over them. She hoped his pokemon were strong then she won't be able to use hers, she didn't want to risk her precious family.

There was no choice.

"What will you do, if we do not comply?" In a louder voice, she simply questioned in response towards the... experiment. He? (What gender? Genderless? Did it prefer being male?) It? knew they were here, the pack were coming, it was only a matter of time. There were no use dilly-dallying. "You know they are coming, are you joining them in attacking us? Or are you going to watch?"

 

[Pterosauria]

The man had looked mildly surprised when Reinhold had come flying through the window - he supposed fear did strange people to people, but he didn't really see why he didn't just use the door - wasn't like he'd been blocking it all that much. Although perhaps this new human hadn't noticed him? Or perhaps he was frightened, like the others? It didn't really matter, either way, so he quit thinking about that, and listened politely to Nona, making eye-contact in a way that suggested that he might actually be trying to peer into her soul through them.

"If you don't comply?" The man smiled, though there was little in the way of any real emotion behind it, as he walked further into the building - at some point, the Ho-Oh outside became stuck in the doorway, seeing as how it and the man were connected. He looked back, with a somewhat annoyed expression (perhaps because his dramatic entrance had been delegated to comic relief), and the Ho-Oh melted slowly into a large puddle of pink goo, which travelled snakelike up along the cords sprouting from the man's back, and vanished without much trace.

"Where was I...?" He put a hand to his head, in an expression of strained thought, "Oh yes - non-compliance. Well, that's quite simple; I'll return to being a Ho-Oh, and fly off to find some more friendly company." He let out a quick laugh at that, "Though all things considered, that might be out of the question."

Rather suddenly, a quiet howl broke the relative quiet - though there was nothing on the horizon just yet. The pack was drawing nearer.

"In any case, I really don't have any quarrel with you - I, unlike those chasing you out there, felt little comradeship with the pokémon you eradicated. I simply wish to continue to exist, so I don't intend to harm you, unless you make it necessary, of course. I simply came to organise a little deal." Apparently, he had forgotten he had been holding a Zorua, because when it sneezed, he jumped slightly, "Oh yes, and I assumed you might want an apology for the unpleasantness this creature seems to have caused you." He worked his fingers through the tousle of fur on its head, and began a repetitious motion of stroking it. The little pokémon growled, but otherwise had very little reaction to it, though it did look like it was thinking that it would rather be anywhere but here.

"But the ball is on your court, so to speak - you can talk with me, or not. But if I were you, I'd probably take a chance."​

 

[Logical Cabbage]

Hazella Savich

Blue

Buddy

Booth

Grace

Fuzz​

The Alpha Pack​

The wind howled behind her, but Hazella didn't even noticed it. Instead, she was busy studying the corpse scattered across her, and she bent down to study the dead body. She didn't let the stench bother her much, but she briskly scanned the body. She's gotten lucky so far, she hasn't come across a pack. Yet, she thought to herself. She looked up for a second to check on her Altaria, and she was also keeping watch.

"Too many postmortem injuries in the ribs, probably eaten..."

She looked and scanned for some clues. Cries of the pokemon echoed throughout the city, but she wasn't sure who she was dealing with just yet. They're definitely dogs, her mind told her. Amount, not exact. Species, not exact either, but they do have teeth.

"And hungry," she mumbled under her breath.

She knows she'll have to find cover soon, but that's exactly what the pokemon want for her: to be the prey. She took a breath in, and tried to find something she was missing. She had no idea what she was dealing with, and Hazella wanted to be ready to fight back. Confronting with the mad pokemon was unavoidable after all; hiding and waiting to be eaten won't help the odds out either. She kept watching for something odd when she found a dark, greyish fur sticking out from the hollow body. No doubt about it, this is definitely a Mightyena.

"Okay Blue," she whispered to her pokemon. "Some good Moonblasts-"

Hazella was rudely interrupted by a piercing howl that cut through the air, and she wasn't able to hide how much that sent goosebumps in her. She eyed her pokemon, and then she could hear sniffing and more howling. There's no doubt that they're onto Hazella now. She got up from her bent position, and she tried her best to not tremble as her heart pounded in fear. For now, she'd walk on foot. Flying in the air is a very poor choice: she'll just attract unwanted attention to her and her pokemon. She returned her Altaria to her pokeball, and she walked away quietly as she could. Running would save her time, but it would also attract too much. For now, she'd keep calm and focused ahead, and walking cautiously. The breeze pushed her more, the cool air settling in this town. She kept her eyes peeled for anywhere to go when she heard the noise of glass shattering. She whipped her head around to the noise. What the **** was that? Her heart pounded faster, but she walked along, curious to the noise.

It briefly occurred to her it could be the pokemon, but she shook her head. They don't do much chasing, just eating. She finally found her building, and a clear shattered window was there. Based on the size, it didn't look like it came from a pokemon, but by a human.

"Odd enough as is," she mumbled to herself as she entered the building. She could hear snipits of words as she approached to the place.

"... Don't have any quarrel... Continue to exist... Harm you, unless you make it necessary..."

It was a male voice as far as she was concerned, and she has a feeling this wasn't a monologue. Who exactly is in here? The wind and the howlers outside made it hard to eavesdrop without feeling too close to the conversation. As she continued her way in slowly, she could hear more talking from the same man, and Hazella managed to hear a full sentence this time.

"But the ball is on your court, so to speak - you can talk with me, or not. But if I were you, I'd probably take a chance."

Talk?! What is going on in here? For now, Hazella decided to stay hidden in the shadows, and listen more to this before proceeding more.

 

[ANARCHit3cht]

Reinhold watched intently, noting every characteristic of the creature--for he was far more than just a man--as he made his advance. The most notable of which was that he could change form. At least to some degree. If he could change form entirely that'd spell some pretty bad news. Regardless, in this simple form of a man without a fearsome Ho-Oh growing out of his back... he somehow seemed approachable; this was especially true when he offered up the sentiment that he actually wished to be reasoned with. To some extent, at least.

"But if I were you, I'd probably take a chance." The being spoke softly, but with a great purpose. His voice was soothing yet also at the same time threatening. Or perhaps it was threatening BECAUSE it was so soothing. Regardless, it put Reinhold on edge; the man's candor towards his apparent disregard for human life however infuriated Reinhold. While he didn't give a rat's ass what happened to anyone himself he didn't outright condone the slaughter of people as this creature apparently did. With a swift jerk of his head, he popped his neck, approaching the creature.

"Look here jack ass." Reinhold pressed one fist into his palm to pop his knuckles. "I don't know who you think you are, but I'm no push over, you got that?" He pressed the other first into his other palm. "I don't know if you know me but I'm Reinhold Klemens--the world's strongest Pokemon trainer to ever live. If you're looking for a fight, you got one jackass!" Raising his middle finger as a sign of his distaste for the creature he was taken aback by its quick response.

The creature had placed a hand on him, ever so casually and gently. And with not but a small push such as one would use to a open a door, he sent Reinhold reeling backwards, causing him to trip over his legs and land on the ground. He quickly hopped to his feet in time to hear the creature speak. "You know not the forces that you trifle with. You're lucky I'm in a good mood--I won't take such transgressions lightly in the future." All the time it seemed to speak without anger, it was in total control of every aspect of itself, far beyond the capabilities of even the most disciplined of humans. Whatever it was Reinhold presumed that it had power beyond power and that if it wanted to kill them it simply would have already--and with a flick of its wrist no less.

Gritting his teeth Reinhold tried to hold back his anger. No one humiliated him like this. Not even this disgusting creature of a man. "Damn you. I don't really care who you are." His eyes narrowed. "Or what you are." As much as he wanted to challenge the creature now he knew that he was in no shape to fight it, at least not until he found some sort of weaknesses and definitely not alone. "But I'll tell you this: I want out of this city and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you--or any of those cocksucking, panzied ass government officials who are sitting in the safety of their homes commenting on how "tragic" this is--get in my way. The anger in him was rising, as evidenced by the tone of his voice. "So which one is it? Are you here to make sure we stay neatly tucked away until our dying days or are you just some freakjob trapped in here like the rest of us?"

 

[Tixen]

Sam Ferris

The blue haired girl listened to the creature speak, the little cogs in her mind ticking over as he spoke. Calm was flowing through her, now that the shock of seeing that man, and with the pack no longer an instant threat, Sam could start thinking again. Link jumped upon to her shoulder, and she stroked his head, her eyes never leaving the pink eyed man. She was grateful for her Pokemon's assistance, and hopefully she'd find the time to thank him properly a little later on, but right now, she had to think her way through this.

So, to go with the creature or not? The ramifications of not going with him were obvious. Despite Cobalt's power, he would probably be overwhelmed by sheer numbers given enough time. And even if he did use earthquake to deal with multiple opponents quickly, Sam herself would still be in the area, so she and all the other living beings in the area that were just trying to survive would be in the firing line. Nona and the human male were unknowns in this - they potentially could have the ability to escape the pack, but Sam didn't like taking action based on assumptions. So, it was unlikely that she would survive if she stayed here.

On the other hand, this deal the creature mentioned... she had a feeling that it wasn't something that would be easy to accept. Perhaps it was just the odd nature of this man that made her think that, or perhaps it was the situation itself in which he had decided to present himself. It felt like he was trying to make whatever he wanted the better option, compared to getting mauled. Clever move, Sam supposed. Or perhaps it was in the way he was speaking - so calm, such a contrast the the chaos around them, as if he had control over the situation. If this was all intentional, then he was playing his cards well. What exactly would he want from this deal though? Her hand brushed Cobalt's Pokeball. She had her suspicions, but again, that was all guesswork. Either way, it honestly did seem like a better idea to at least talk to this creature, to see what he wanted. She could potentially get her priorities across.

Sam refocused, pulling herself off the ground, and prepared to speak. However, the strange man got in first. He cracked his knuckles, and promptly started to beef his own ego and try to act in an intimidating manner. It failed miserably when the creature demonstrated exactly what it thought of the man's threat. Sam yelped as the man was thrown backwards, and stared at the creature with new found fear. Clearly, it had the power to back up its calm and uncaring behavior. She highly doubted that the man would try to rile the creature up any further now.

"Damn you. I don't really care who you are. But I'll tell you this: I want out of this city and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you--or any of those cocksucking, panzied ass government officials who are sitting in the safety of their homes commenting on how "tragic" this is--get in my way." Sam stared at the man incredulously. She'd been very, very wrong. Just how aggressive was this guy anyway? "So which one is it? Are you here to make sure we stay neatly tucked away until our dying days or are you just some freakjob trapped in here like the rest of us?" The man demanded. The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife. Sam felt Link quiver on her shoulder, then tense, probably in preparation to defend his trainer. However, the blue haired girl, lacking social tack, figured that now was the best time to speak.

"Soooo um... I'd be willing to listen to this deal TBH." Sam said, shattering the tension with her interruption. She paused, taking a deep breath, and decided to see how she could push this. "It should at least be worth considering. Although," She paused, a slight gleam appearing in her eyes. "I would imagine that such a proposal would take a bit of time to mull over - time that, well, we might not have." At this, another howl, seeming closer, ran through the air, highlighting her point. "So I suggest we head somewhere where we can talk undisturbed ASAP, Mister... er..." She paused, unsure of what to call this creature.

 

[Pterosauria]

The howling outside grew to a crescendo, and doglike creatures could be seen unsettlingly close to the house. But something was wrong - instead of converging on the building which contained the humans that they so desperately desired to consume, they were more preoccupied with an orange creature forcing its way through their numbers, swinging its flaming tail fiercely and dealing heavy damage with its claws - blows that were so heavy, in fact, that when a Mightyena leapt up to bite at the Charizard's throat, the claws pierced its belly, and exited its back with a crack of breaking bone. The two pieces of the dark-type went flying, one landing on the ground, with a squelch of an eyeball flying form its socket masking the thump of the impact, and the other knocking a bleeding Lillipup off of its paws. A jet of flame issued from the maw of the dragon-like monster, incinerating a few more of the pack members. The charizard, it seemed, was determined to reach the house, even with its wings in shreds, even with dogs hanging off its body. It stopped its advance a few meters in front of the house, and roared, almost as if it was issuing a challenge to the occupants of the house - or, given the tattered blue bandana tied around its neck, and the pair of bracers around its wrists, which were likely the source of its physical prowess, perhaps it's quarrel was just with one of them.

The man smiled indifferently to Reinhold's accusatory questioning, and made a gesture with his hand, "To paraphrase your question, I'm just another freakjob, trapped in here with everybody else."

He continued to stare at Reinhold for a while, in an almost predatory fashion, before he was distracted by Sam, and he resumed his calm, and somewhat disinterested demeanour.

"Well, at least one of you is being reasonable," he turned rather pointedly to Sam, in a way that rather exaggerated his lack of concern about the human that had just tried attacking him - he was aware that this would likely make him angrier, but that was rather the point, "And where would you have us go? I would imagine most of the city have feral pokémon looking to devour you..."

He glanced outside, slightly distracted by the charizard, and the pack that were relentlessly brawling with it - apparently they were not getting the message that it wanted nothing to do with them.

"And as for my name... Well, I simply don't have one; scientists are not ones to form attachments. My serial number has been all over the news, though - experiment CRV-ENO3, so I suppose you could use that, if you really require a name to call be by."

Outside, and unknown to those in the building (although Hazella had an unimpeded view), a silver-furred fox pokémon walked, eyes swirling with pink and purple and white, followed by a bloodstained boy with eyes that matched - whilst the Ninetales moved perfectly lucidly, the boy moved as if sleepwalking. Noticing Hazella, the silver creature paused in its march, flicking its ears forwards, and sniffing the air, as if that might ascertain friend or foe. Whatever it could smell and hear was apparently not to its liking, though, as it skittered in apparent shock, and headed, somewhat quicker than before, in the opposite direction to the house.

 

[Pterosauria]

The Charizard roared, apparently annoyed with the lack of response to its challenge. It beat its wings, throwing up dust and dirt from the ground into the air, and blew a jet of flame into the air. Though it wasn't directed at the house, the wind still whipped the embers onto the broken roof, where they caught onto an exposed beam. The Charizard, having seen this, stopped its show of aggression - it knew that it's quarry wouldn't stay in a burning building, even over fighting it. For now, as the little flames on the roof grew and spread downwards through the building, slowly at first, but with increasing speed, it was content to watch, and wait.

 

[Ricochett]

Nona Vernadnt

---

She was annoyed, not because of the situation but because of this person who dared to hiss out they'd paid if they gotten him killed only to do the opposite, oh wow, hypocrite much? If he died then good riddance, Nona would choose to take his Pokemon if he died and use them as bait rather than hers. Scoff. Has she mentioned that she hated this so goddamn much? Nona could still feel (its?) his penetrating gaze, even when he was looking at someone else, it made her shiver. But. She didn't want to show weakness, never.

"There is no time." She hissed, narrowing her eyes. Not when a sudden fire started growing. "Negotiate later at a different place," she glanced outside for a second, "they have no patience to wait." Ugh, annoying and troublesome, still hesitant to use her Pokemon. No, no, she couldn't, as much as possible.

The Frontier Brain paused, taking a look at the Zorua in the experiment's arms, "I don't want an apology." Her voice was cold as ice, unforgiving. The fire started to spread at an speed that alarmed her, her first instinct was to use Viking, however, she refrained to, she really couldn't.

"If you don't want to be fried, I suggest it is time to step out of this house." That is on fire. There was no knowing who she was talking to, they were discovered, there was no sense of hiding, is there? Nona run away, grabbing Sam's hand in the process and pulled the younger girl (and her Furrett) out the house on fire with her.

I hate this.