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[PKMN FULL] The Revelations (IC)[T]

(OOC:This post goes before Jegretis' previous post chronologically. Next post will be night-time. Needed a transition post to reduce how long the next one would be without it.)

Twinleaf Town
Izaak Sharpe​

Nieves and Avant quickly shook Izaak's hand before setting off to their own previous destinations. He spun around looking up to the sky. What a day. "Aron!" Iron roared catching Izaak off guard and snapping him out of what seemed to be a day dream. "Oh right. I almost forgot you've barely eaten today. Let's head back." He chuckled as a small grumble emitted from his stomach. "Truth be told, I could go for something to eat as well." He looked down at Iron smiling as they set off back to Izaak's home.

Back at home, Iron immediately darted towards his food bowl plopping down eager to fill his stomach. Ripping open the brand new bag of Pokemon food, Izaak poured a large portion into the hungry Pokemon's bowl. He began to chow down immediately. "Geez, slow down, buddy! You're gonna make yourself sick!" He said laughing as Iron ignored him. Now let's see what I can find for myself. Surveying the empty fridge, he let out a thick sigh. "Looks like it's leftover Ramen for me." Izaak mumbled to himself pulling out a covered bowl. Briefly warming up his food in his makeshift stove that was left by the previous owner. He sat down at the table and began to eat. "You know, Iron, it's still pretty early in the day. What do you say we go relax at the lake? I could use it right about now." He spoke, shoving another fork full of noodles into his mouth. The metal Pokemon had finished eating and was now carefully cuddled up in the large mass of blankets that made up his bed. He yawned and almost immediately fell asleep. Izaak swallowed. "Looks like it'll be just me for the rest of the day." He said taking note that the Pokemon hadn't even been home when he had woken up this morning. After thoroughly washing his dishes, Izaak threw his jacket back on and took off.

The small lake Izaak often wandered to, was just a small walk from his house in a concave of trees. However, in plain site off some of the main trails. It's no Lake Verity but it's therapeutic in it's own way. He was lying on the top part of the surrounding sloped section around the lake. There he gazed up into the clouds taking note of any clouds that looked like familiar Pokemon. Thoughts pertaining to what the young man named Avant had said about the war and soldiers filled his head. I shouldn't let this get to me so much. What IF it did have something to do with my father's death? My curiosity is going to kill me some day. "Yeah, right." Izaak mumbled to himself. Suddenly he heard a recognizable voice behind him. "And who exactly are you talking to?"

Izaak jolted up looking behind him. Standing behind him was the Town Hall desk girl, Katherine. She let out a small laugh and grinned at him. W-w-w-what is SHE doing here?!? He let out an awkward laugh quickly looking away. "O-o-oh... just talking to myself. Habit." He replied quickly. The girl walked up and took a seat next to him. He noticed she must have changed clothes as she was no longer wearing the cleaner buttoned dress she was before. She now wore a small coat over what looked to be a small strapped shirt and brown shorts that fell just above her knees. Her hair was also now pulled back into a pony tail. "You know, I see you quite often but we really have never spoken. You send enough letters anyways." She looked at Izaak and smiled. "I'm.." She began. "K-Katherine, right?" Izaak interrupted letting out an awkward grin back towards her. "I overheard your boss calling to you one day. Sorry if that came off as creepy." He laughed in attempt to make himself feel less awkward. "Well... Correct." She chuckled with him. "That doesn't tell me your name though." "I'm I-Izaak." He collected his breath trying to collect his speech. Come on, man. Keep it together. You already sound like a creep! "Nice to meet you!" He pushed out, holding his composure. "Nice to meet you, Izaak." She looked at him and let out a large smile. "So what are you doing out here by yourself?"

"What am I doing out here? I should be asking you that." Izaak had finally collected himself to hold a conversation with the girl he had secretly admired the past few months. "I'm just out on a walk. It's nice to get out of the house every once in awhile when you're stuck with your know-it-all mother every day." She replied. "I guess you could say the same for me. I come here every so often to relax. It's nice to take a load off." He said back. "Granted, I'm sans one today." She looked at him as he stared forward towards the lake. "Mmm?" She sat puzzled for a second. "Oh. That's right, you have that small metal Pokemon with you a lot, don't you?" Izaak smiled. "Sure do. I'm not sure what I'd do without that little guy to be honest." He finished. The two of them were quiet for a few minutes. "You're awfully lucky, you know." Katherine started to speak again. "I could only dream of becoming friends with a Pokemon." "Maybe next time we bump into each other I'll have Iron with me. I'm sure he'd love to meet you." He said back trying not to blush before noticing Katherine begin to turn red. "I'd love that." She said.
 
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OOC: I'm going to be away for a little while, so I recommend that nobody attempts to engage Nieves at all until I get back.

Nieves Johnson
Twinleaf Town

"... But I am not in heart to describe beauty, for when I had seen the view I explored further; doors, doors, doors everywhere, and all locked and bolted. In no place save from the windows in the castle walls is there an available exit. The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner..." Nieves read aloud, laying down on a small bed stuffed into a tiny spare room at the back of the building. Huojin was curled up beside her, his head resting on her stomach, and brown eyes staring at her, as if he was hanging off every word. She raised an eyebrow, studying him for a moment. She had the oddest feeling that he couldn't understand a word of what she said, but apparently seemed to enjoy listening anyway. The Puppy Pokémon barked at her upon realising that she'd stopped, and the blonde haired girl rolled her eyes before continuing.

The rest of the day had been rather uneventful for Nieves, as she'd simply gone back to the café to work for the rest of the day, telling Justin that Huojin had run off from her while in the market (which was somewhat true). It was late enough at night now she could really relax, without feeling any obligations to go speak to or pay any attention to anyone except Huojin. Through an open window, a gust of wind blew in, bringing with it the distinctive smell of smoke. Frowning, Nieves put the book aside, and ignored Huojin's protests as she went to the window, sticking her head out of it.

She inhaled sharply, certain that there was a large amount of smoke in the air. In cold places, such a thing wouldn't be uncommon, but she did not consider the temperature to be that low tonight. An alleyway ran next to the building, and by turning her head to the right, Nieves could see the main street. There appeared to be some kind of fight going on, between a group wearing blue, and a pair of Bronze Guards, who were quite outnumbered. She pulled her head back in quickly, as she saw them turn to flee down the alleyway, only to be cut down by the group in blue.

The windows were slammed shut, and she quickly stuffed her essential belongings into her bag, before running out into the house to find the rest of the people who lived within it, and warn them of what seemed to be happening. Upon reaching the kitchen, she stopped, as Justin was already awake, sitting on a stool pulling on his boots. A Houndoor stood by his side, and growled at her as she entered the room. Justin's head snapped up, and he visibly relaxed upon seeing her. Finished with the boot, he stood up and smiled at her. Nieves felt her blood run cold - he was wearing the same uniform as the group outside in the blue. Now that she was a lot closer to the uniform, she could see the details of it far better, such as an insignia on the back, which Justin was also wearing on a necklace. Beside him on the floor was what appeared to be armour, which obviously went over the top of this uniform, and a large sword.

"Ah, Nieves!" He greeted her, seeming to be in very good spirits. "I was going to go wake you up, but you did that for me."

"What's going on?" She demanded, eyes hard.

He gave a barking laugh, and his green eyes seemed to be glowing with some kind of burning flame from within. "Why, the rebellion has begun! That's what's going on!"

She froze. A rebellion? Suddenly, everything made a lot of sense. The large number of soldiers that she'd seen around town today had been there because either they were anticipating this, or had had a tip off about it going to happen. The smell of smoke was because something was on fire, and the people in the blue... they had to be the rebels, and it was clear that Justin was one of them. Her stomach clenched, and beside her, Huojin growled, low and deep.

"King Tasmus doesn't deserve his station!" Justin was ranting, laughing as he did. "He doesn't have a clue what's going on, or what really needs to be done - he'll drag us all down to hell with him! And so, we, The Shadow, will rise up to protect our livelihoods from the Mad King!" Nieves thought that name was incredibly ironic, coming from a man who sounded slightly insane. But, just as quickly as the laughter had started, it stopped, and he looked almost like normal. "Well, are you ready?" He asked.

Nieves blinked, confused. "Errr, for what?"

"Well, to join The Shadow of course! You obviously will, I mean, isn't that always how the story goes? The unlikely lovers join forces, and take down the enemy together!" At this point in time, Nieves was quickly re-evaluating Justin's intellect as a lot lower than she'd originally thought. "Because, people arguing and insulting each other, but being capable of being super nice to each other as well, generally means they like each other, right?"

"Look, Justin." Nieves sighed, fighting the mental desire to facepalm. "I don't know whether you've been taking your dating advice off a 12 year old or something, but I honestly do not care about you in the slightest. The whole "nice" thing is just a façade for me. I don't care about you, or the boss, or the randoms down the street. So get that whole stupid idea out of your head, now."

Justin's smile quickly vanished, and his eyes disappeared behind his brown fringe for a moment, seeming slightly shaken. However, he recovered quite quickly and gave her a wry smile. "Why, Nieves, I didn't think you were quite that selfish."

Her anger flared within her - he was calling her selfish? "Selfish I may be, but at least I'm not self centred enough to endanger an entire town because I don't like how the country is being run."

He snarled at that, and clenched his fists. "I see how it is. You oppose The Shadow. All opposition must be eliminated. Houndoor, bite."

The dark type snarled and sprang forwards, only to yelp as Huojin clamped his jaws around its leg, before spitting embers at the Growlithe. As he was also a fire type, this didn't make him let go, however, having the Houndoor's foot slam into his face did. The two snarled at each other, and Huojin opened his mouth, roaring at his opponent so it was sent away from the two humans, and then bounded after it.

Justin watched them go, then shrugged. "I guess if you want something done, you have to do it yourself." He strode forwards towards Nieves, who backed up until she bumped into the counter behind her. Glancing at it, she noticed that the knives often used for carving up meat were sitting within her reach. Moving quickly, the grabbed one, and pointed it directly at her co-worker.

"Don't come near me." She demanded, hands trembling slightly around the handle.

He laughed, ignoring her request. "What are you going to do with that? You're not even holding it correctly - you'll just hurt yourself."

A punch came flying, aimed at her face, and Nieves ducked underneath it, using her legs to push her forwards. The knife sank into his flesh, just under his shoulder, and he howled, throwing another punch. This one caught her in the side of her head, and the force threw her backwards, causing her to lose her grip on the knife, which was ripped out and fell with a clatter onto the floor somewhere to the left. Justin started to curse her, but she didn't give him time to finish, leaping forwards and slamming a kick between his legs. As he sunk to the floor, Nieves swung her leg up again, and stomped on his face, then followed that up with a few more kicks to ensure that he wasn't going to get up anytime soon.

Justin was still on the floor, but she could see his chest rising and falling - he was alive to some degree. Over in the corner, the Houndoor was cowering as Huojin advanced, flames dancing around his mouth. She called out to him, and he paused, then roared again, and his opponent fled. Moving quickly, she grabbed the now bloodstained knife, and another one, and tucked them both safely into her belt. The cupboard was raided as well, and she stuffed her bag with as much as she could. Then, without a backwards glance, she and Huojin bolted out the back door, into the night.
 
Twinleaf Town
Izaak Sharpe​

The two had seemingly talked for hours before the sun had begun to set. "It's getting late, I really ought to get home. Mother worries if I'm out late." Katherine spoke up. "I understand, I'm sure Iron is wondering where I'm at." Izaak replied chuckling. Katherine stood up. "I really enjoyed talking with you today, Izaak. See you soon." She spoke starting to walk away, turning around to face him with a large smile on her face. "See you soon, Katherine." He replied, blushing instantly. Wow, I don't even know what to say.

Izaak stood up and began his walk home. It had turned dark quickly as he approached his little shack. As it came within vision he couldn't help but notice the door had been kicked in. What the hell?!? Sprinting forward, he ran inside to find the inside trashed. One of the soldiers wearing bronze armor was wrestling Iron in attempts to tie him down. "Don't touch him!" Izaak shouted. The guard turned around giving him a evil smirk. "We have suspicion of you being apart of The Shadow Rebellion. I am fully authorized by the King himself to search your house." He started to say in a deep tone. "If you show any resistance whatsoever, I could kill you and not hear a word about it" The guard started to laugh. "So shut up if you know what's good for you." He finished going back to dealing with the short tempered metal Pokemon. Izaak stood in silence unsure of what to do. The Shadow Rebellion? Me? Apart of it? I've never even heard of that name before. Dammit! "I don't care who you are. You don't touch my friend like that." Izaak shouted staring down at the ground in disgust. "If anyone's involved it would be me, not him!"

"Unfortunately for you, any resistance is supposed to be dealt with by force." The guard had started to speak again. "That includes Pokemon." He unsheathed his blade from his belt. Izaak had no choice. He charged the guard whom had his back turned towards the Pokemon with his arm raised high. Tackling him into the wall, the guard threw Izaak back onto the ground in response. "You little bastard." He spoke as he approached Izaak on the floor. He lifted his arm and swung his sword. Izaak rolled as the blade came down, narrowly being able to evade the attack he clenched his fist slamming it into the side of the soldiers head. Sending him plummeting to the floor. Taking the opportunity, he continued, kicking the guard in the ribs and then giving him a swift kick in the temple rendering him unconscious. "****." he said feeling down his arm. The blade had managed to cut through his jacket and make a decent sized wound on his right arm. He looked at Iron "You okay buddy?" "Aron!" The Pokemon roared in reply. "We gotta get out of here, who knows what's going on." He ran to the bathroom, grabbing a cloth and tying it around his wound. Wincing as he poured alcohol over it. Afterwards grabbing a brown sack filling it with supplies and food. "Let's go, Iron." He spoke starting to walk out of the shack before pausing. "One second." He said walking over to the soldier, still knocked out on the floor. He picked up the blade he was using and pulled the sheath off the guards belt. It was a small cruddy katana, however, still sharp enough to do some serious damage if needed. "This could come in handy. Especially if I'm branded as a traitor now." Izaak tied the blade around his side, making sure it was covered by his jacket. He walked out of the shack with his Pokemon looking towards town.

Izaak made his way towards town as the sound of fighting and shouting filled his ears. He began to notice smoke lining from the top of the buildings. He started to run. As he made his way to the main part of town, he was immediately engulfed in the mass amounts of people in panic. He squeezed his way through wary of his surroundings. Before long he noticed a group of men wearing a patch with small, black, dog-like Pokemon at their side hurling fireballs into the shops and at the bronze soldiers. Houndour? Who are these people?Izaak kept running, making his way through alley ways to avoid the combat. They must be The Shadow rebellion that soldier was talking about! Skimming through the alleyways, he eventually emerged back into the market-place he had run into Avant and Nieves in earlier. I need to get somewhere safe, or find someone familiar... anything...
 

Twinleaf Town
Avant Ayers​



Hiding in a nook located in the alley, Avant used the darkness to his advantage to hide from Bronze Soldiers that ran past. Coast is clear... He gestured at Root to follow, and they quickly started to jog through the alley, until it reached a point of intersection. There, he saw a Bronze Soldier standing over the body of a citizen. Avant could see that fallen man was still alive, as he was rolling around in pain. The soldier gave a swift kick to the side, and he stopped moving, presumingly unconscious. "You're just a kid." The Soldier turned his head when he noticed Avant approaching and turned his body towards him. Avant clenched his teeth, and looked at Root, who stepped in front of Avant. The soldier started to walk towards the two, drawing out his sheathed sword.

"W-Wait! I'm not part of this!" Avant tried to reason with the soldier, who didn't seem to stop walking towards them.

"There's more to it than that. Besides, this town was where the formation of The Shadow started. Whether you're telling the truth, I'll never. As for as we know, everyone is a culprit." The man walked closer, as Avant and Root stepped back.

"But that doesn't mean you can just kill everyone!" Avant yelled. The man continued his walk towards the two, raising his sword.

"We only kill if we need to. The rebellion justifies that! It's treason!" He soldier swung his sword vertically at Avant, who narrowly dodged it by stepping to the side. Slipping up, he accidentally stumbled and landed on his bottom.

"Root, do something!" Avant closed his eyes as he yelled at Root for help, who responded with a full-body tackle to the soldier. Falling backwards, the soldier was caught off guard, giving Avant a chance to get up. The soldier quickly stood up and ran at Avant with a swing of his sword, this time with the tip grazing his forearm, creating a small cut. Although it wasn't painful, the exposed cut stung a little, but was a bearable. Avant locked his eyes with the soldier, and just as he was about to swing once more, Root gave another tackle to distract the soldier, leaving him open to an attack. Avant threw up his fists and landed a direct hit to the soldier's face, knocking the sword out of his grip, and him on the ground. He grabbed his face out of pain, and Avant took advantage of the situation by grabbing the disarmed sword for himself. "Root, let's go, quick!" They started to run again, this time reaching the marketplace. He saw several people running away in the opposite direction, which Avant assumed was the centre of chaos. Half the people have already fled town, and I'm still here...He looked around to see if he could find his sisters or mother, but came across an unlikely 'friend'. From the alley on the other side of the street, he saw the young man he had met earlier. Izaak, as his memory recalled. "Hey! Izaak! We need to get out of town, quick!" Avant shouted. At this point, he didn't really care that he barely knew Izaak, but he was just relieved that he was able to run into someone he recognized. He ran towards the young man, with his newly retrieved sword still in his hand. "Everyone's already leaving, if we don't hurry we'll be left behind!" Avant spoke in a sort of panicked voice, but was able to keep his body calm, as he stood in front Izaak. He's not wearing that uniform...I don't think he's one of them.
 
[S-HIGHLIGHT] (OOC): * denotes thoughts expressed, this is part one of my 2 part post... Clara's post is next.[/S-HIGHLIGHT]
2-1 Unexpected Trouble
Location: Twinleaf town, Town square
Time: Night
Grant Hawkins​

Gear:
Spoiler:


People met:
Spoiler:


Friends:
Spoiler:



"Mis mis mis!" Sam frantically called out to him.

Grant had passed out due to exhaustion a few a hours before, in a small secluded grove near the town square. He had slept through the havoc and turmoil going on around him. The town hall stood only 100 meters away consumed in flames as the streets in other parts of town were being flooded with chaos and despair. Sam had noticed a young woman who was being attacked by soldiers in the distance and urged Grant to awaken from his slumber.

She quickly looked about for an object she could drop in order to awake grant, noticing his satchel Sam quickly rummaged through. Near the bottom of the satchel lay a rather large monkey wrench from his workplace. Sam quickly removed the wrench and dropped it on Grants face.

Grant awoke almost immediately shouting, "Oh god! Ow! Why did you do that?" He stopped for a moment, smelling an odd smell of smoke in the air, he looked around.

Then the situation hit him like a bag of bricks, Grant stared face to face with senseless destruction; the town hall lay in ruins just in front of him, fires rose above rooftops nearby. The screams and cries of people far off could be heard but, most of all, the stench of death lingered in the air.

"Mis misdreavus!" Sam screeched, Snapping Grant back to the situation at hand.

"W… what is the matter?" He stammered, unable to full comprehend the situation.

"Mis mis!" Sam echoed, motioning towards a small bush and the scene unfolding a small distance away.

Grant rolled over, grabbing the wrench on the ground; who knows maybe he could throw it at someone if he needed to? He crawled over to the bush and laid eyes upon a disturbing sight. Two soldiers were dragging a young woman from town, she seemed to have a pack filled with enough supplies to leave town. The men, continued to drag her, and one of them shouted to the other,

"Hey I think we should take this rebel somewhere a little more secluded and Interrogate her, what do you think?"

The other agreed, and they began to take the woman away as she screamed for help. Grant's body acted before his mind could think of a plan. He emerged from the Bushes, running towards the men as he shouted, "Hey Leave that poor woman alone!"

One of the men looked up, and stopped moving. He drew a short sword and turned towards his partner shouting, "It looks like I'll have to put an end to this Rebel Sympathizer first! Hold her still, this shouldn't take long!"

Grant closed in, until he was maybe 3 meters from the soldier. * Now what*, he thought, looking down at wrench. Suddenly he had an idea. If he could stun and disarm the soldiers, It may be enough to discourage the two men from staying. It was reckless and naive, but it would have to work.

"Sam use Psybeam!" Grant hollered, preparing to pitch his wrench at the man.

Sam obliged, hitting the man hard in the chest with a psychic blast. The blast knocked the man off of his feet, dropping his weapon in the process. Grant hurled his wrench at the second soldier, luckily connecting with the man's face. He dropped to the ground, releasing the woman. She took the opportunity to flee, leaving Grant to deal with the two men.

Grant, now disarmed, ran towards the sword that lay on the ground. In one swift motion he picked the weapon up and held it out in front of him. The soldier who had dropped the sword lay motionless on the ground; Sam had knocked him unconscious with one blow. The second soldier however, had recovered, and looked pissed.

"Bastard! You made us lose our toy, you brat! I'm going to kill you for that!" He began to charge Grant head on, lifting his blade above his head.

Grant 's mind stood still, as the event unfolded in slow motion in front of him. His mind quietly watched as his body took control for itself. He commanded Sam to use astonish, which hit the man in the face, while he advanced, thrusting his blade forward into the soldier connecting fatally just underneath his armor. They stood there as a few minutes passed, the now lifeless body of the soldier slumped onto Grant's shoulder.

*W…w… what?... W… What have I done?* He thought, as a few more moments passed.

Grant regained control over his movement, letting go of the blade, and pushing the body off of him; he began to inch backwards, tripping over the wrench on the ground. Still moving backwards he crawled about a meter. Sam hovered near, staring at her friend intently. Grant stared at the body, trying desperately to justify the situation.

*H… he came at me… intending to kill me… Yeah… I w… was only defending myself…*

A few minutes passed by, Grant Looked around once more, the town square was completely devoid of life. Only the smoldering town hall and commotion from other parts of town could be heard. There was smoke and debris, but nothing to tip him off as to what happened.

"What the Hell is going on!" He screamed, at the top of his lungs, Sam moved back a few centimeters surprised by the cry.

"A rebellion, that's what's going on." The voice emanated from just behind Grant.

Grant snapped his head towards the voice, looking at the young woman whom he had saved from the soldiers' grip mere moments ago.

"A rebellion? But why?" he inquired, hoping she would have some answers.

"I don't truly know, but some people in blue uniforms have taken to the streets destroying everything they can get near. While, the soldiers have gone completely insane with bloodlust as you have witnessed. The town isn't safe anymore. Anyone who can, is escaping to the forest around the town… you should do the same." The young woman informed.

"Thanks for the info, I'll get out as soon as I get what I need from my house…" Grant stated, and he stood back up.

"Here take these… as a reward for helping me…" the young woman handed him a few rations, and then she turned and began heading away. "Try to get out of town as soon as you can!" she yelled as she took off in a direction leading out of the square.

Grant, watched the woman until she disappeared from sight, he jammed the rations into his satchel and walked over to his wrench. He picked it up; figuring that he could be stopped is someone saw him with a sword. He began to run through the streets, allowing Sam to check around corners as they went.


------------------------------ Outskirts of town

The rest of his escape from town had been luckily uneventful, while grant had been sneaking out; he witnessed large groups of people and soldiers fighting in different areas through the town. He saw Countless war-crimes be committed, by both sides of the fight. That was all behind him now, He was near his house, and once he got some clothes and food together he could leave.

As grant turned the corner to his house a sight of horror greeted him. His house looked like it have been in a fight with a Tauros and lost badly. The front door was no longer connected to the house and lay a few feet from its sill. The windows had been broken and furniture had been thrown out.

Grant fell to his knees…

*Why?.... Why did this have to happen? All of the work I've done to pay for this house… all of the memories… Dad… Mom… Why?* A single tear rolled down his cheek as his mind was racing.

"Why!" He bellowed, unable to control himself.

"I don't know why…" A familiar voice rang out from behind, "But we should really get whatever you need and get moving"

Just then a staff fell onto the ground next to him, "I don't normally do overnight deliveries, But tonight is an exception."

Grant looked over his shoulder, staring directly into the eyes of Clara…
​
 
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Twinleaf Town
Izaak Sharpe​

"Hey! Izaak! We need to get out of town, quick!" He heard a voice arose amongst the chaos that was ensuing. Izaak looked around trying to find the voice before looking forward. There was the young man he had met earlier that day, Avant. He was running towards Izaak. "Everyone's already leaving, if we don't hurry we'll be left behind!" He stopped in front of him speaking in a panicked voice. Izaak hesitated. He knew way too much about this for it to be a coincidence, or am I just paranoid? "Right!" Izaak began to speak before looking down at Avant's arm to notice a small cut bleeding. He's hurt... Did he manage to get in a fight with a guard as well? He's not wearing either side's uniform... "Where are we going to go? How do we know other towns aren't in a mass panic and will be just like this?" Izaak questioned Avant. What am I doing? We don't have time to ponder over these things.

"You know what? Nevermind, you're right." He added swiftly. "Let's get the hell out of here. I can bandage up that wound for you once we get somewhere safe." Izaak finished. I feel like I can trust this guy. I don't have much of a choice right now though.
 

Twinleaf Town
Avant Ayers & Izaak Sharpe​


Izaak hesitated in replying to Avant, but was able to quickly confirm that he was indeed coming with Avant. "Right!" He shouted. He then saw Izaak's gaze focus on Avant's forearm, noticing the small cut. "Where are we going to go? How do we know other towns aren't in a mass panic and will be just like this?" Avant stood quiet for a moment. Actually, I'm not sure... As far as he was concerned, they should at least just escape. "You know what? Never mind, you're right." He added swiftly. "Let's get the hell out of here. I can bandage up that wound for you once we get somewhere safe." Avant nodded, and then looked at Izaak's arm, which was bandaged up quite nicely. He assumed he must've also gotten into some sort of altercation.

"Alright then, let's go. We should probably head north to the forest on the outskirts. I think it'll be safe there." Avant started to jog while talking to Izaak at the same time. He quickly used his free hand to wipe away some of the blood trickling down his forearm, which Avant knew would begin to cake. Heading up the street, Avant didn't think getting out of town would take too long, however, it was avoiding the mercenaries that would be the problem. "Hey Izaak -" Avant was suddenly cut off by the growling of a certain Pokemon that crossed their path. Avant stopped, and saw two small, black, canine-like Pokemon standing in front of them, ready to sink their teeth. Behind them stood two men, wearing a light-blue uniform. The Shadow...these fools are completely blinded by their false ideals.

"And that's as far as you go." One of them spoke, as he approached his own Pokemon, petting him on the head. "Houndour, bite!" Both of the Houndour started to run towards Izaak and Avant, as The Shadow Grunts both pulled out their respective weapons. Before Avant could even say anything, Root jumped in front of him, and suddenly growled. Saur! This was the first time Avant had ever seen Root acting this aggressive. His red eyes started to glow, and a stream of green light shot out his bulb, hitting one of the opposing Houndour, knocking it backwards to the ground. Ha! Giga Drain! I forgot he knew that! Avant readied his sword and looked at the Houndour who was slowly getting back up. Root can handle him. We need to get rid of these guys first. Avant's hand trembled has raised his sword and got ready for a fight, observing the Grunts. One had a sword, and the other wielded a spear.

"I-Izaak. If you got a weapon, now would be a good time to use it." Avant nervously said. He looked at Izaak, and then back at the Grunt who had started to run towards Avant. "Y-You take the other one!" Avant shouted, as he swung his sword, clashing with the Grunt who also wielded a blade. The sound clinking metal gave Avant chills everytime he swung his steel sword. I don't think I'm capable of killing...but I need to somehow disarm him or knock him out.
 
Twinleaf Town
Izaak Sharpe and Avant Ayers​

"Alright then, let's go. We should probably head north to the forest on the outskirts. I think it'll be safe there." Avant stated. Izaak nodded his head in agreement and began to jog next to Avant with Iron short behind. Avant began to talk, "Hey Izaak -" he suddenly stopped. In front of them stood two guards accompanied by two smaller, black canine Pokemon. [They were ready to attack. Even The Shadow Rebellion is going to attack us? What exactly are we getting ourselves into here? "And that's as far as you go." One of the grunts stated approaching his Pokemon. "Houndour, Bite!" He shouted as both grunts revealed their weapon. One holding a spear, and one holding a sword. Izaak watched as Avant's Bulbasaur engaged with one of the Houndour striking it with a Giga Drain attack.

"I-Izaak. If you got a weapon, now would be a good time to use it." Avant shouted to Izaak, readying himself for the fight ahead. Looks like I was smart enough to grab this sword. He pulled the katana he had looted off the previous guard out of it's sheath and held out towards the grunt. Izaak had never used a weapon before, let alone kill a human-being. The other grunt commanded his Pokemon. "Burn him alive, Houndour." The Pokemon put itself in a readied stance before opening it's mouth and unleashing a small fireball towards Izaak. Iron jumped in the way, coating itself with a layer of metal to deflect the blast. Haha, Iron knows what he's doing in these situations! Izaak had participated in only a handful of Pokemon battles for fun, not for the sake or life or death. "Hopefully all that training paid off, Iron! Use Head Smash" The metal Pokemon charged forth with unbelievable force. The Houndour began to leap out of the way, however, Iron was strong enough to just narrowly make contact with the Pokemon knocking it over.

It's now or never for me, I guess. "Iron take care of that Houndour!" Izaak shouted to his Pokemon, whom was now panting after exhausting a chunk of his energy and taking an Ember attack. Izaak lunged forward towards the grunt. As he drew closer he raised the small katana and swung at his enemy. Swiftly side-stepping his attempt, the grunt threw a fist into Izaak's ribcage. The force instantly caused Izaak to collapse. On his knees, with one hand holding his side and the other still gripping his sword. The grunt began to lift his leg, in motion to deliver a quick kick. Izaak just narrowly able to avoid the kick stumbled back. First blow and he manages to pretty much destroy my entire ribcage. Standing back up, Izaak winced in pain. I have to fight through this pain or I'm done for. Gripping the blade Izaak charged forward once again, this time swinging wildly towards the Shadow Grunt. Blow for blow the grunt matched his attacks as the sound of Izaak's blade bouncing off the handle of the spear burst through the air. The grunt jumped back. Immediately making a charge towards Izaak jabbing the tip of the spear in his direction. Izaak motioned sideways in vain as the spear cut a new wound just under his neck on his shoulder. Ignoring the new wound, he slashed towards the grunts legs cutting a wound in his calf causing him to stumble over dropping his spear.
Now's my chance... but I don't know if I can kill him...​
 
Nieves Johnson
Twinleaf Town

The night air was cold and sweet, just the way Nieves liked it. However, it was ruined for her, as the smoke and the screams it carried destroyed what would have been a serene ambience. She glanced to the side as she ran, noticing that the flames that were consuming several buildings seemed to be intensifying. Chances were, she didn't have long to get out of the town, as she had a feeling that no one would be able to stop them now. She turned around a corner, and realised that she was a few houses away from where the road to Sandgem Town started. However, from where she was, she could see a large number of Bronze Soldiers standing across the road in a line, seeming to be guarding the outside world from those within the town. It seemed a little odd to Nieves - she would have thought that they would have been trying to get the townspeople to safety, or fighting The Shadow soldiers.

Despite this apparent strangeness, she went to take a step out into the open, only to find that Huojin had grabbed onto the end of her dress, and was pulling her back with all of his might. She glanced at him for a moment, then stepped back to make sure she was completely hidden in the shadows, only poking her head around the corner to see what happened. She'd been with Huojin for long enough to figure that when he seemed to want to stop her from doing something, there was a very good reason.

She didn't have to wait long to figure out what was wrong. A man, holding the hand of a young child, sprinted along the road, towards the soldiers. They appeared to ready their weapons as the two people approached, and the man fell to his knees in front of them, raising his hands as if to beg for their help. From the distance they were at, she couldn't make out the conversation at all, but the real reason for the soldiers being there became quickly apparent when one of the soldiers swung his sword, cutting off the man's head. Nieves pulled herself back behind the corner as quickly as she could, hearing the child scream, only for it to be cut off abruptly. Nieves shivered - she had a very good idea of what had stopped the child from finishing its cry.

Perhaps those soldiers had gone rogue, she mused. After all, it was completely impossible that they were under orders to slaughter the townspeople here, rather than assist them to flee the rebels, right? She shook her head - there would be time to think about what was going on here later. It was more important that she get out of Twinleaf as quickly as possible, as she had no desire to be caught in the flames. Or by those rogue soldiers. Her blue eyes wandered to focus upon the dark shadowy foliage of the trees which surrounded the town. She could try and go bush, and make her way to Sandgem that way. However, it was something she was rather reluctant to do. She didn't know the area well - she could very easily get lost out in there, if she wasn't careful. But she couldn't stick to the main path - she'd be cut down.

Something clicked in her mind - Justin had mentioned that there were several trails that led to Lake Verity that were on the outskirts of the town. If she could follow one of them to the lake, she'd probably be in a much better position. Number one being that from the lake, she'd pass by those soldiers, and number two being that if the fire got out of hand, being on that little island in the middle of the lake was probably one of the better places to be. Nieves gestured at Huojin to follow, and quickly ran off, ducking down a street which was closest to the trees. She watched those buildings closely, looking to see if there was anything that looked distinctively like a trail leading off into the bush. Eventually, she spotted one, and ran along it, only to nearly crash into a Bronze Soldier who was guarding the path.

The man drew his sword, and she backed up, Huojin snarling from her side. "Where are you going, little miss?" He asked, the sword glinting orange from the light of the fires.

"Thought it would have been pretty obvious - I'm getting out of here before the whole place goes up in flames." Nieves told him, heart pounding, and her eyes never leaving the sword by his side.

He laughed at that. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that. See, this whole town is in on it. The rebellion started here, and we can't waste time trying to figure out who is innocent and who is guilty. So, we're under orders to kill the lot of you."

The sword was swung in her direction, and Nieves just managed to throw herself out of its path. She moved into a crouched position, pulling both of the knives out of her belt. The Bronze Soldier noticed them, and pointed his sword accusingly at the one which she'd used to stab Justin.

"See? There's blood on your knife, little miss. One can only imagine the acts that you committed to have stained that."

He moved in, the sword flashing, as if he intended to run her through with it. Nieves knew better than to try and counter the sword with knives, and darted to the side, her weapons up in a guard. She bit her lip, studying the soldier, who seemed to enjoy seeing her panic. How exactly she could defeat this guy, she wasn't sure, not when she needed to get close up to him to attack. Plus, he was still in the way of the path. The man's bare hands tightened around the hilt, and an idea flickered through her head.

"Huojin!" She called, jumping back behind the Growlithe to avoid getting caught in the attack, as the soldier sprung forwards to attack. "Heat Wave!"

The fire type took a deep breath, and then exhaled, flames dancing out of jaws. While she couldn't see the attack that much, Nieves could witness the effects of that kind of heat upon the environment. The plants wilted around them, a puddle lying to her left evaporated close to instantly, and the ground beneath her feet seemed to lose its muddy feel. But most importantly, the sword the man held glowed a brilliant orange, and he howled in pain, dropping it, as his skin burned. Seeing this as her chance, Nieves sprung forwards, clutching the knives in each hand, and stabbed the man in the throat and belly respectively. She felt him stiffen, and gasp as she ripped the knives out of him, slashing his body open.

The body hit the ground with a thud, leaving Nieves standing over it, shell shocked. She'd... she'd killed somebody. The thoughts made her legs feel as if they were filled with lead, and she dimly heard the shout from somewhere to her left, calling out a man's name. Time felt oddly disjointed as she saw a pair of other soldiers sprinting towards her, swords raised. She had to move, but the thought was hazy and blurred. Her legs wouldn't obey her mind, which screamed to run.

Pain lanced through her leg as teeth sunk into the skin, and she glanced down in shock, seeing Huojin's jaws locked around her leg. It broke the hazy feeling, and Nieves mind came into sharp focus. She had to run.

Not wasting another second, she turned and bolted, Huojin sprinting besides her, along the path that led to the lake.
 

Twinleaf Town
Avant Ayers & Izaak Sharpe​


The battle heated up, as time was nearly running out. If they didn't finish this battle quick, other Grunts would surely make their way to the site. The opposing Grunt shouted a battle cry, swinging his sword overhead trying to forcefully end the skirmish. Avant stumbled to the side, avoiding it and took one look at Izaak to see how he was doing. He's down?! He saw Izaak on the ground, with one hand holding his blade and the other holding the side of his body near the ribcage. It was obvious he just took a blow. Directing his attention back at his own opponent, Avant swung his sword trying to keep the Grunt on away from him. He kept a straight face, trying to psyche Avant out, and truth be told it was working. Suddenly, the Grunt jumped towards Avant, starting another barrage of sword swinging. He just doesn't stop! Avant grunted, trying to maneuver around the swings whilst blocking them with his own sword. I'm playing too defensive... He thought, jumping back trying to get some distance between him and his enemy. And on top of that, it's obvious he has more sword training than I...

Avant looked behind the soldier, and saw that his Houndour was limping away from Root, who was viciously growling at it. "Root, Giga Drain, quick!" The green Pokemon quickly turned to the Grunt, who gave a confused expression, but quickly realized what was about to happen. Root lit up and shot a stream of green light towards the Grunt, knocking him forwards a few feet towards Avant. The Grunt fell to the ground, releasing his grip on the sword, dropping it.

"What the..." The Grunt tried to get up, putting a hand on his knee for support. Now's my chance... Avant dropped his own sword, and got a running start at the Grunt. His face became lit up with worry as he tried to yell for reason. "Wait! I -" His sentence was interrupted with a quick and forceful blow to the face dealt by Avant's fist. The man jolted backwards and lay there unconsciously with his head turned to the side. Mission accomplished... Avant looked at his own arm, and noticed he was bleeding once again, on the same arm, but a different wound had formed. He shook it off, wiping away the blood, hissing at the stinging sensation. He then looked at the man, but quickly remembered about Izaak. He turned and saw Izaak looking down at the other Grunt, who was groaning in pain while clutching his leg, rolling around on the ground. "Izaak!" Avant shouted as he ran over. "Leave him, there's no way he can catch up to us!" He looked around, before pointing up the street that led out of the marketplace down to the more rural areas by the lake. "We should go before anyone else shows up." He said, as he jogged over to the sword he dropped earlier, picking it up. He then looked at Izaak, and noticed he was bleeding. Avant knew if they didn't hurry, the injuries may end up getting worse.

((OOC: My next post should lead Izaak and Avant to the outskirts/lake area where everyone else is, so once that is up, you guys can just meet everyone up there in your next post))
 
2-0 counting bodies Like Sheep
Location: Twinleaf town
Time: Night
Clara Warde​

Clink! Clang!

The sound of swords meeting each other clouded the air around the storefront. Buildings burned nearby, and every few minutes another went up. A thick haze of smoke clouded the market, and the pungent odor of burning flesh overtook that of burning wood. A large crowd of people were amidst the chaos; civilians ran for their lives, soldiers attacked anything that moved while looting anything they could, and people clad in blue were wreaking havoc by burning the town to the ground. Clara and her brother were defending their storefront and the surrounding buildings from being looted and torched.

"Clara! Grab some supplies from inside and run, My Blastoise and I will protect the Shop!" Her Brother shouted, as he parried yet another lunging attacker.

Clara quickly made her way into the shop with Rex, she dropped her short sword and began to grab what she needed. This was not how she had expected this night to go.

----------------------------- Earlier

Clara hadn't so much as laid down when the first scream echoed through the air. She and her brother came tearing out of the shop to find a scene of dismay; People fighting soldiers, civilians being slaughtered, things they knew they couldn't help.

"We need to protect the Shop!" Clara commanded, as her brother tossed her a short sword.

There were men in blue everywhere, and they seemed to be clashing with the soldiers, their Pokémon were laying waste to anything they could with their flamethrowers.

"Blastoise, use hydropump!", Her brother began to deal with fiery buildings that were too close to the shop.

Clara decided the best thing she and Rex could do would be to support and defend her little brother as they put out the fires. As soon as her brother's Blaistoise went to work, it attracted unruly attention. Two men in blue advanced, but the duo stopped advancing as soon as she made it clear they would not interrupt.

They drew their blades, Rex assumed a defensive stance and Clara found her center of balance. Thoughts began to race through her head, many were concerns, while others were strategies, and working through what was about to happen. Finally a single thought passed through her head…


*Protect my brother, protect our shop, find a peaceful state of mind*

She closed her eyes, placing both hands on the hilt of her short sword and pointing it forward. She began to focus her energy into one single area, the blade. Slowly but surely the world began to melt away, as if everything had immediately frozen in time; all of the chaos became but a whisper in the darkness. Clara opened her eyes, all of her training came down to this night, this moment she would start down the path of a true swordswoman. The two men and Rex were the only things she could see; everything happening around had been successfully tuned out, perfect battle meditation.

She shifted her footing preparing to dash, as she did, Clara looked over at Rex, who was just as prepared for this fight as she.

"You take the one on the right!" She hollered, as she watched Rex nod in silent approval.

With an earsplitting "Hyaaa!", Clara began her battle charge. The two men in blue were not expecting this move and were caught on the wrong side of a losing battle as soon as it had begun. Clara wasn't going to let up, and as soon as their swords met, she began to strike heavy blow after heavy blow against the assailant. The young man had extreme trouble blocking, but not nearly as much trouble as his comrade was having with Rex.

As soon as Rex had come within range of his blade, the second man swung haphazardly; Rex answered by using the metal studs on his hands to strip the blade from the man. Now they were stuck in a grueling hand to hand brawl in which Rex was guaranteed a win. With every punch the man threw, Rex would counter with 2 successful jabs, and after a few moments, the man lost his balance. As soon as he was open Rex delivered a High Jump kick, breaking the man's neck on impact. He then shifted his focus back to Clara's situation.

The Blue clad man She had been facing had received several nasty blows by the time Rex had joined the fray, He was just about ready to collapse as it was. Rex quickly caught the man's sword in mid swing opening him up for one final lunge, which Clara happily obliged, killing the man and turning her attention elsewhere.

Others had become interested in stopping the Blastoise, Clara and Rex Were about to find their hands full for several more hours.

----------------------------- Present inside the Shop

She was unsure what she would need, or how long they would be away So she grabbed enough food for a week and packed it into a satchel, she turned to her wardrobe which she then stood in front of, hands on the doors. A few moments went by, she seemed to wonder if she needed the items in the wardrobe.

*Well I guess if there ever where a time to use this, now would be it…*

The thought solidified her decision, and she threw open the doors. There stood a Mannequin with medium weight plated armor, Blued to reduce Glare; this armor had been her father's, but it had been passed on to her long ago as an heirloom. Clara hurriedly put on the undergarments and the chainmail under armor, and as She fit herself into the plated metal, Rex secured the straps. As the armor was fitted, she couldn't help but look into the mirror located in the rear or the wardrobe, and wondered how her father felt when he was being fitted for battle.

Just then Rex finished tightening the last strap, and hurried off down into the shop. Clara followed, knowing she should at least grab her Flameberge from the table. As she approached the table, a Spear with the blade covered, lay across the surface next to her sword, A note sat next to the weapon, It read:

Grant Hawkins
1260 woodsbury lane
Please leave the weapon at the door if Grant is not home.​

*I wonder if he's ok… that kid chose the wrong day to buy a weapon… I wonder…*

Clara sheathed her Sword and made a makeshift sling for the spear. She looked at the weapon, deciding if this was even a good idea to begin with. A silent argument raged on in her head.

*this is so stupid, you're not even sure if he's still in town… He could be long gone by now… But what if he isn't? What if he needs this weapon… I'm going to need a fighting Partner as it is anyhow… even if there's a chance… I need to take it…*

She quickly slung the spear onto her back and exited her Shop, in the street; it certainly looked like her brother was taking care of business. He had just about cleared out most of the soldiers whom had been previously surrounding him and his Blastoise had been dealing it's deal of damage as well.

"Run Clara! Get out of here! I'll Keep the shop safe, don't you worry!" He shouted as the remaining soldiers encircled both him and his Blastoise.

Clara took off for a side street next to a burning building. She stopped at the entrance to the street, and turned to her brother.

"Don't you get reckless! I don't need you to get killed!" She shouted, several tears rolling down her face.

Clara quickly turned around and ran down the street, as she did, the sight of her brother slowly faded into a shadow in the flames. Now she had a new objective, Get out of town and find Grant. Rex ran beside her, sporting a small helmet he had found in the shop, The duo headed for the city limits together.


----------------------------- Near the town limits

Clara and Rex stood near the entrance to an alleyway, surveying a rather large hurdle. Soldiers had gathered in a stance near the entrance to the town and were killing anyone whom got to close. She had been watching for several minutes, but just then another group of people approached the line of men. A man and his daughter hurried up to the line and pleaded to be let through, Only to find the same fate as several others before them.

The soldier who killed them seemed to be just the type of sadistic bastard to take pleasure in this line of work, but that was beyond the point. She needed a way through the blockade, for it was the fastest way to Grant's home. Clara looked around for anything useful, and then she laid eyes on the motherload. A freedom fighter's body lay a few feet away, and strewn across the ground near him were several unbroken Molotov Cocktails.

*I may be able to kill two birds with one stone with these…* She thought grabbing 2 fire bottles.

She stared at the Line of men as she lit the bottles on a nearby torch and handed one to Rex.

"I want you to throw this at one of the soldiers, when I throw mine ok?" , Rex looked at the lit bottle, and after a few seconds of examination, looked up and nodded in agreement.

Clara gripped the bottle in her hand, Grasping her hilt in the other. She was prepared for the ensuing battle, and she knew that it would be for the good of all of the innocents the soldiers could potentially kill later on. She counted down and when she reach zero, they Bolted out from the alley way.

Clara knew which person she was going to aim for, only heartless bastards deserve to be consumed in fire anyhow. As they closed in on the soldiers, She threw the cocktail as hard as she could, Hitting the Surprised soldier in the face with the bottle. Rex's bottle connected with a soldier as well; when the bottles broke, they caught anyone who was standing too close on fire as well. The line of soldiers quickly dissipated as the vast majority was currently enjoying a slow and fiery death. Only one soldier stood unharmed by the flames, and as he looked around at his dying comrades, He froze with fear.

Clara and Rex briskly walked past him as they moved towards their final destination.

----------------------------- Grant's house

When they rounded the bend in Grant's street, Clara saw two figures in the front of the house. As she approached, she could clearly see one was Grant, whom had himself a little mental breakdown at the sight of his house. The other was his ghost friend Sam whom was trying to cheer him up. Clara unslung Grant's spear and threw it on the ground near him. He looked up at her, as she wore a bloodied armor, none of which was her own.

They then began to converse about the situation and how they were going to go about getting out of there. By the sound of things they Knew they needed to keep moving and get out of town, but to where?​
 

Twinleaf Town
Avant Ayers & Izaak Sharpe

​

The moonlight now peered through smoke and debris that thinly cloaked the town. Hastily jogging up the dirt path, Avant and Izaak were nearing their destination of the outskirts of town. Avant gave a quick look besides him to make sure that Root was still following, who, surprisingly, was running rather fast. "I think we're here, Izaak." He said to his friend, trying to catch his breath from running around all night. They approached the end of the dirt path leading uphill, which disappeared into a grass path. Avant turned around, and the town was in clear view from the hill they were standing on. Smoke rose from the town, with the flames slowly dying. To think…we just came from there.

"So…are you here to join us?" A clear, strong voice spoke from a little ways away from Avant and Izaak. Avant turned to see who it was, noticing a group of probably around 20 people. Some were sitting, some were leaning on a boulder situated near the group, and some were standing. Avant arched an eyebrow looking at the group. It was obvious they were townsfolk from Twinleaf. "Obviously you two had the same idea as the rest of us. Escaping to the forest." A man from the group spoke in a powerful voice, as he pointed behind him, at a dark forest. Avant knew the forest would eventually lead to Sandgem, however he himself had never been there. "And I see you have Pokemon with you." The man looked at Root and Iron. "I have my own as well." A small figure appeared out of the group of people and walked next to the man. "This is Kirlia, my Pokemon. And I'm Mavis." The man said, waving his hand at Izaak and Avant. The man was average weight, but he had a scruffy brown beard, and short brown hair. His most noticeable feature was his height, standing to what Avant guessed to be around 6'5". He honestly had no clue what to say to Mavis, and didn't exactly find it the appropriate time to be introducing himself so quickly.

"...Why aren't we going then?" Avant asked Mavis, in a somewhat sad tone. The man cleared his throat before responding.

"We're tired. We're restless. We just need a break before getting out of this place. Anyone is welcome to join us." The man scratched his beard as he looked behind Avant and Izaak to view the town.

"I guess we should just stick with them, right?" Avant turned to Izaak. There was obviously no other villages or towns near Twinleaf, so he figured sticking with a large group would be safer than sticking around here.
 
Izaak Sharpe & Avant Ayers
Twinleaf Town

"Izaak!" Avant shouted running closer to Izaak, as he stood over the guard he had narrowly managed to injure. "Leave him, there's no way he can catch up to us!" He finished while pointing to a pathway leading out of town. He ran over and picked up his sword. "Right, lead the way." Izaak replied as they began to jog towards the path.

Running up the dirt path, following his new friends in Avant and Root. Izaak looked back onto the town as smoke and debris formed a thin veil covering the place he came to find peace. Iron waddled close behind. "I think we're here, Izaak." Avant stated struggling for breath. Izaak was in moderately good shape so the run didn't affect him much aside from some un-avoidable fatigue. They had stopped atop a hill, both of them now looking at the town filled with smoke and flames.

"So...are you here to join us?" A voice had arisen from behind the two young men. Izaak turned around slowly with Avant. A large group of people, some sitting, some standing were resting close by. Izaak had seen most of them around town, however, could not identify all of them. "Obviously you two had the same idea as the rest of us. Escaping the forest, and I see you have Pokemon with you." The man had taken his attention to Izaak and Avant's Pokemon, Iron and Root. "I have my own as well. This is Kirlia, my Pokemon. And I'm Mavis." He stated as the Pokemon emerged quietly next to him. Izaak couldn't notice how tall the man was. I sure hope these guys mean well. He worried and could tell Avant seemed nervous as well. "...Why aren't we going then?" Avant began to reply to Mathis.

"We're tired. We're restless. We just need a break before getting out of this place. Anyone is welcome to join us." He spoke averting his gaze towards the smoke rising from the town. "I guess we should just stick with them, right?" Avant had turned to Izaak, asking him a question. Izaak looked towards the town once more. "I guess we don't ha-" He cut off his sentence beginning to grip the wound on his neck as a searing pain came through. How could I have forgotten about that, dang-it that hurts. Covering the wound with his hand Izaak finished. "I guess we don't have much of a choice...do we?"
 
Nieves Johnson
Lake Verity

Shoulders heaving, Nieves rested her hands on her knees, standing at the edge of a large lake, which seemed quiet and serene in comparison to the chaos engulfing Twinleaf Town. She took a deep breath, noticing that the air was a lot clearer here, although the could still smell ashes that were drifting on the winds lazily. Pushing some of her hair out her face, she glanced towards the trail where she'd come out of. Nothing moved within it, which she hoped was a good sign, and not an indication that they were waiting for her to turn around so they could stab her in the back or something. She was pretty confident that she could move faster than they could, as they were wearing armour, but she wasn't totally certain.

Out in the centre of the lake, she could faintly see in the gloom the dark silhouette of the island of Lake Verity. She'd heard that nothing seemed to live out there, and the only structure was a lone cave. Of course, rumours had stated that those who walked on the island would suddenly find their emotions run wild. Mere rumours though - nobody seemed to have any explanation for why such a thing would happen in the first place. And besides, that wasn't really her priority right now. Nieves was more concerned about the fire, and considered trying to get on the island in case it got out of hand. She took a step towards it, trying to gauge the distance, and then frowned. No, this wouldn't do. It was far out to the island, but not far enough. Embers could travel a very long distance in the right conditions. Besides, she couldn't just leave Huojin here. It would be better to try and make it to Sandgem.

She glanced down at the water for a moment, catching sight of her reflection. Half of her face, mainly around her jaw, was swollen from being struck there, and it wasn't exactly an appealing look. Nieves reached up to touch the swelling, leaving bloody streaks on her face from all of the red gore covering her hands. But the thing that bothered her the most was the slightly, half crazed look she had in her eyes. Was it simply from the adrenaline that was coursing through her veins, or was it because something had woken inside of her when she'd first stabbed Justin? She wasn't sure. Either way though, she looked the part of a murderer.

A branch cracked behind her, and Nieves spun around, knives raised. Huojin growled, deep and low, and the two of them froze, ready for any incoming soldiers. She peered into the darkness of the woods, seeing nothing, but her mind began to trick her and begin to form figures out of the deep shadows. The two of them were frozen in time, waiting for their foe to reveal itself. Another twig cracked on the ground, and the spell was broken. The white-blonde haired girl spun around and bolted, her Growlithe following just behind her, as she quickly chose a trail at random, and disappeared into the bush again.

Nieves ran along that for ages, her heart beats fluttering through her chest, and only stopped once she realised that the smell of smoke had gotten stronger. She swore aloud, and then quickly ducked behind a tree, hearing someone suddenly cry out.

"Why!"

Curiously, Nieves poked her head out from behind the tree. She appeared to be on the edges of Twinleaf once more, probably having taken the wrong trail. The ruins of someone's destroyed house was close by, and she could see a figure crouched before it, with short light brown hair, and clothes that appeared to be covered in grease stains. She deduced that he was the one to have shouted out just previously, and one could assume that this wreck of a house had once been his. Another person, a woman with a strong build, approached him, seeming more calm about the whole situation than he was. Neither of them appeared to be either a Bronze Solider, or a member of The Shadow.

She glanced to her side, to see where Huojin was, and promptly freaked out upon realising that he wasn't by her side, and instead was walking out to the two people. Upon arrival, then proceeded to start licking the boy wherever he could reach, preferably the face. Nieves figured that he was probably just trying to make the boy feel slightly better, but she could have throttled the Growlithe for revealing himself so quickly, regardless of how well he meant. But, it seemed like she had a decision to make now - did she reveal herself to the strangers, or keep hidden, and risk them taking Huojin away from her. Such an outcome would be completely unacceptable to her - she needed the Growlithe with her. And maybe if the strangers proved themselves to not wish to kill her, she could stay with them. In all honesty, she preferred the idea of having company other than her Pokémon, rather than being alone out here.

Nieves stepped out from behind the tree, slowly walking towards the group. It quickly occurred to her that she probably looked slightly threatening, being coated in blood and holding knives, so she put her weapons back in her belt, and raised her hands in a surrendering gesture.

"The Growlithe is mine." She stated, feeling to mentally worn out to bother with her usual polite façade. "He's just trying to cheer you up, I think. I don't mean you any harm - I can just take him and go, if you wish."
 

Twinleaf Town
Avant Ayers & Izaak Sharpe

​

"I guess we don't ha-" Izaak was beginning to speak, until he clutched his wound on his neck. Okay, that looks like worse now. Avant thought, taking notice to Izaak's pain. "I guess we don't have much of a choice...do we?" Izaak responded. Mavis immediately took notice of Izaak's wound and then gestured at his Kirlia.

"Kirlia, use Heal Pulse." Mavis commanded. Kirlia nodded and purred, walking over to Izaak. Avant arched an eyebrow, observing what the humanoid Pokemon was up to. Kirl… Kirlia closed its eyes, and spread out his arms, before bringing them close together creating a small orb of purple light. She then faced her arms at Izaak, releasing a wave of light that started to radiate beautifully outwards in the form of ripples. Whoa! His wound…it's closing! Avant opened his mouth out of shock, watching as the wound Izaak's wound started to close leaving only a scar.

"Don't worry. That scar should go away in a few days." Mavis approached Izaak, looking at the closed wound. "It's usually that last bit that the human body is only able heal." He gave a warm smile to Izaak, before quickly turning to Avant. "And you? You have any cuts we should tend to?" Avant stood for a few seconds, until he shook his head sideways.

"Oh no, I'm good." He showed Mavis the cuts on his arm. "I think these should heal on their own, it's nothing fatal." Mavis silently nodded in agreement. Avant stood for a few moments, turning behind to look back at the town that seemed like a totally different place. He then proceeded to look down at the sword in his hand, thinking back to the earlier fight between the Shadow members. I didn't want to think about it at first….but I guess this is the start of the war. He then just looked at Izaak and smiled. "You know, that was some pretty good effort you put out there against the Shadow member. You have any background in this sort of thing?"
 
Izaak Sharpe & Avant Ayers
Twinleaf Town

"Kirlia, use Heal Pulse." Mavis' voice arose. The Pokemon began to move towards Izaak. Immediately closing it's eyes and opening it's arms facing him. A small orb of purple light began to form. Kirlia then relased it's energy, sending a beautiful wave of light over the wound. The wound almost instantaneously began to close. Izaak stood speechless. The power of this Pokemon is impressive...Wow. Only a scar remained where the fresh wound stood a mere moments ago. "Don't worry. That scar should go away in a few days." Mavis began to speak once again approaching Izaak, looking at the wound. "It's usually that last bit that the human body is only able to heal." He smiled at Izaak before averting his attention towards Avant. "And you? You have any cuts we should tend to?" he asked.

"Oh no, I'm good." He replied pointing to the handful of cuts and scratches he had acquired on his arms. "I think these should heal on their own, it's nothing fatal." Mavis nodded in agreement as Avant took a moment to look back on the town to reflect, before looking down to his sword. Izaak stood quietly staring towards the ground. Thinking to himself. This guy is pretty tough, I'm glad I bumped into him. Even so...I never thought something like this could ever happen in my wildest dreams. I'm torn...I don't want to be drug into this but at the same time...

Avant looked towards Izaak and smiled, "You know, that was some pretty good effort you put out there against the Shadow member. You have any background in this sort of thing?" He asked. Izaak looked up at Avant smiling back. "Nah, not in a traditional sense. I've done a few Pokemon battles for fun with Iron, hell, we even train every so often." He began to reply. "But... fighting with a weapon...causing someone harm...that's all new to me." A certain shakiness began to form in Izaak's voice. "Death isn't an uncommon occurrence for me, but...taking a life will be."
 

The Edge of Twinleaf Town
Avant Ayers & Izaak Sharpe

​

"Nah, not in a traditional sense. I've done a few Pokemon battles for fun with Iron, hell, we even train every so often." Izaak said. "But... fighting with a weapon...causing someone harm...that's all new to me." Avant noticed Izaak's voice getting slightly shaky. "Death isn't an uncommon occurrence for me, but...taking a life will be."

"That can be said for almost everyone." Mavis spoke, approaching the two boys. Avant didn't really say anything, but he agreed with him. Taking a life s not something the average person can do. Many could even say it takes courage, or a certain darkness and level insanity depending on how someone would perceive it. "But I think that's a conversation meant for another time. You two are not mercenaries nor soldiers." Mavis spoke with a harsh tone, looking at both Izaak and Avant. He stood quiet for an unusually long time, before speaking once more. "We need to get going." He said, looking at the two boys once more, before turning to the group. "Everyone, proceed to the entrance of the forest! We leave, now!" Mavis shouted in a husky voice, signalling both Avant and Izaak to start following.

"Uhhh...right!" Avant replied to Mavis, as he jogged up to the group who were starting to walk towards the forest entrance. "C'mon Izaak, let's go!" He gestured Izaak. Root followed Avant, blending in with the crowd, approaching the dark opening between several trees, which led into the forest.


Caper Forest
Avant Ayers & Izaak Sharpe​


The darkness of the night made the forest seem like a much more sinister place than Avant would have thought. Although he had never ventured this far before, the only light came from a wavering blue sphere of light, hovering above Kirlia. The light bent around branches cast eerie shadows, capable of making anyone uneasy. The forest was also deadly silent. The kind of silent that makes you feel something is wrong.

"There's no need to be scared. We have Mavis with us." A woman touched Avant by the arm, causing him to nearly jump. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you, sorry." He couldn't tell if she was smiling or not, but Avant just tried to envision the expression on her face.

"It's fine...besides, I wasn't even that scared. You just caught me off guard." Avant tried to play it off, with the woman just giggling. Truth be told, Avant was a little uneasy in the darkness. It was different at home, sleeping in the dark. He knew nothing would jump out at him in his bedroom, but here, he wasn't so sure. "So Izaak, tell me. You scared of the dark? Obviously I'm not, but I'm just asking in case you were." Avant quickly tried to fire off a question to spark a conversation that would have hopefully kept his mind off this 'expedition'.
 
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2-1 Three of a Kind
Location: Twinleaf outskirts
Time: Night
Grant, Clara, and Nieves

Gear:
Spoiler:


People met:
Spoiler:


Friends:
Spoiler:




The nearby bushes rustled, Clara began to draw her Flameberge. Rex placed his paw on her hand almost as if he was reassuring her that the guest was friendly. Moments later, A Growlithe came trotting up; The pokemon seemed interested in Cheering up Grant, attacking him with a barrage of friendliness. She wasn't used to this, so she stayed quiet, and watched the treeline.

Grant was pleasantly surprised, although Sam didn't seem too enthused by the fact that her attempt to cheer him up was usurped by a mere Growlithe. He came to a realization that very moment; the realization that he no longer needed all of the things he had worked so hard to keep: the house his parents had left him with, His inventions, and even his life's savings. He realized what he needed to work towards was his friends, knowing that they would be the key to what was to come.

Then to everyone's surprise a voice rang out from the forest's edge.

"The Growlithe is mine", echoed a woman emerging from the forest. She looked like the night had stolen all but exhaustion from her. She had her hands up, and Clara could see the blood that drenched her clothing.

"He's just trying to cheer you up, I think. I don't mean you any harm - I can just take him and go, if you wish", she finished.

Grant looked toward Clara, unsure how to answer. She stood taking in the girl's previous dialogue, looking at the gear she had and her condition. She knew that it would be much more beneficial if they travelled together, because three people are always better that two.

"Do you have anyone else with you? I mean you can't be wandering about the woods alone can you?" Clara asked, hoping for a positive response.

"I'm not wandering alone." Nieves pointed out, gesturing to Huojin. "He's with me. But, if you meant in terms of human company, then I am wandering alone in here." Personally, she wouldn't have refered to it as wandering - that implied that she had no purpose to her movement, which was wrong. The blonde haired woman desired to get as far away from Twinleaf Town as possible, currently. And in regards to the alone part of things, well, considering the behaviour of her previous company, she really didn't mind at the moment.

Clara continued to look the young woman over, finally after what seemed to her like ages, she decided to ask that which had been floating in her mind the whole time.

"Well if you want to travel with us, you can", she said introducing the idea into the conversation. The group of four awkwardly stood by, awaiting the stranger's answer.

Nieves weighed up the options. Sure, being in a group would give you an advantage if you got into a fight - obviously, the more people you had, the more you could hit someone. But at the same time, having a larger group sneaking around trying to get away could prove to be slightly difficult. So, was going with these people worth the extra effort or not? She could kind of sense what she really wanted to do though - even for someone like her, in a situation where there was danger, she too craved companions.

"I see no reason not to." Nieves said slowly, to which Huojin's ears pricked up, and he wagged his tail happily. The Growlithe always loved having new people around, that was just his nature really. "Provided that the two of you do intend upon leaving Twinleaf yes?" It was an obvious question, with an obvious answer, but she felt like marking sure.

Clara's thoughts immediately floated back to the fate of her brother for a short moment. She soon recovered, knowing that there were more important things at hand to deal with.

"Yeah, we intend on moving as far away as we can from the choas happening in town" Grant cut in, beating Clara to the punch.

She'd been wondering when the boy was going to actually talk - part of her had just assumed that he was in a deep state of shock from the destruction of his home, and most likely, his entire life. It was good to see he was still somewhat functioning.

"Well, if that's your plan then, shall we move on? I suggest you lead, if you have a more sound knowledge of this area than I do, which I'm willing to bet you do." Nieves said, slightly impatient, as the smoke on the air made her slightly nervous. At this, Huojin bounded to his feet, and stood next to his friend, excitedly waiting for the group to move.

Clara glared at Grant, knowing full well he had the best knowledge of the area. Needless to say, he took the hint and began to think about where was the best place to go. Looking at everyone's supplies, He figured that the closer the better.

Suddenly it came to him, "Ok, we should head to Sandgem town!" He gleefully announced.

"Fine by me, as long as it puts distance between Twinleaf and our group" Clara agreed, hoping to find her brother along the way.

Nieves nodded as well, it really was the most logical thing to do after all. "Lead the way then um...." She trailed off, realizing that she had no idea exactly what these people were called, and decided to prompt them to introduce themselves. "I'm Nieves by the way, and the Growlithe is Huojin."

"I'm Clara, and this is Rex. Nice to meet you", she answered, picking up all of her gear and getting ready to leave.

Grant had hopped up and with his spear in hand, And began heading down the Path. He paused and turned, Sam appearing by his side.

"I'm grant and this is Sam, my childhood friend" He cheered exuberantly. He seemed to have gained a bit of the skip in his step that he had previously lost.

The trio began their journey towards Sandgem Town, none of them knew what lay ahead. They did know however, that it was better to face with comrades, instead of being alone.​
 
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