The Uprising: Fighting the Pokémon Extermination

[Skymin]

Josh quickly turned his head to the side as the PXS burst through the door. His body shook as he raised his hands. He had never killed anyone before; The PXS who had ambushed him was killed by Stone. A flurry of bullets whipped around and Josh was thrown to the ground by Stone, who quickly got into a defensive position so none of his soft spots were able to be hit. His armour was hard enough to deflect bullets, which Josh was thankful for. His leg stung, it still hurt from before and falling onto it didn't make it feel any better although it was better than being dead. He sneaked a peek over Stone, who was firing Water Pulses to whoever he could aim at, and shot a few bullets in the general direction of the PXS. His other Pokémon were all next to him, using Stone for protection. Josh quickly returned Alex, a large Pokémon like her would be of no use, just a large target. Knight, Lee, Bon looked at him with determined eyes and Josh swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Make sure you don't get shot," Josh said. "Don't drift too far from me! And don't get out in the open!" The Pokémon nodded and scattered off, obeying their trainer's orders. Josh bit his lip. They were his Pokémon. He had trusted them for several years. Surely, he could trust them now. He looked back over Stone, who he could see was starting to feel the impact of all the bullets and was getting exhausted from the Water Pulses.

"Let's move over here!" Josh yelled at Stone over the screams and the gunfire. They slowly dragged themselves behind a large crate and Stone breathed a large sigh of relief. "Wait here a little. Make sure you get all your strength back before you -" he was interrupted by a firey pain in his theigh and hip, although the same leg as the one he had injured, the pain was in a different area. He screamed loudly and clutched his leg, to see a hole with blood starting to pour out. He looked up to see a PXS member standing over him with a large, evil grin on his face, with a gun aiming directly at his forehead. Josh froze. He was going to die.

"ROOOAAAAR!" Stone roared and charged, ramming the PXS member to the ground and sliding several feet away. The PXS member took a chance and shot several rounds at Josh, the bullet hitting him in the bicep and shoulder. Josh yelled again and shot as many rounds as he could into the PXS. Most of the bullets missed him, except for the ones hitting him in the stomach, lung and heart area. The PXS member collapsed, dead, but Josh was still screaming. Knight quickly dashed over and created a forcefield of psychic energy around Josh as he doubled over in pain. It was intense, as if his body was on fire, it hurt so much. Stone stood over him protectively with Knight holding up the shield, sending off flurreys of attacks while Josh tried to stop the pain. What else could he do but stop the bleeding, although that itself felt impossible, the blood kept coming and the noise kept coming out of Josh's mouth. It seemed he would die, then and there. And the only thing he could think of, besides the pain, was where in hell was his sister.

 

[dream's-epilogue]

<Move, you idiot!>

Matsu had no idea what Kij was thinking, or even if he'd been thinking at all. Judging by the way he'd absently stumbled down the tunnel and emptily dragged himself back into the center, she didn't bet on it. Either that, or there was something seriously heavy going on in that thick skull of his. When he'd stumbled on the ladder, he'd barely flinched at her retaliatory shock, and had wordlessly resumed his climb.

Once they'd made it up the ladder, she took a moment to catch her breath...

...and felt it fly right back out of her when a sudden gust of force rocked the building and knocked her and various other small objects a fair distance from where they were. After recovering from the momentary daze, she recognized the sounds of gunfire...and it was a lot closer than she would've liked. She hopped up quickly and ran for cover, even though she'd sensed no shots coming her way. She glanced around and with a pang of fear realized Kij was nowhere to be seen. That idiot! Did he want to die again?!

She forced herself to calm down and made her way across the room, tuning out the sounds of combat, focusing only on making it from hiding place to hiding place. After some time, amidst the unexpected assault and the fear of losing Kij, she lost her sense of position and forgot where she'd started. She peeked out from behind a crate and saw the once-peaceful room was riddled with bullet holes and debris. Considering the damage, she was astonished she'd made it across unharmed...until a twitch of her tail sent a sharp wave of pain through her. Flinching, she pulled it in front of her, where she saw a nasty cut along the side of it, causing a trail of red blood to ooze out. She cursed softly, and took another look around, when she suddenly spotted him; Kij was hiding behind a corner, firing a small handgun he'd somehow acquired (though not very accurately).

She waited a moment for an opportunity, then dashed over to him. <KIJ!>

He looked down at her and blinked; she was startled by how flushed he looked. The battle must be doing more to him than she'd thought.

Suddenly, he stumbled, and slumped, She felt her heart sink; had he been hit? No; he righted himself, but his breathing was heavy. He was in no shape to continue the fight; she guided him to a nearby room, where he promptly collapsed. She checked him, and realized with another start that he had a fever. She swore again and made her way back into the main room. Something was happening; it was the Uprising leader and...who was that man? He bore a striking resemblance to her...

She shook herself. No, she had to find help. She scanned the room for someone she recognized, spotted her target, and began to move...

(Seriously late and lame. I know, and sorry...)

 

[Mira]

"To see right and not do it is cowardice." Chris sighed. "Isabel. You didn't force anyone into this, it was all our own choice. You haven't forced us to do anything. If anything you've helped us." He then released her hand and pushed himself up. "The Uprising is the only hope for this region. We can't let it end here."

"But at what cost do we keep fighting?" Isabel murmured, looking at her unconscious brother. "And how much longer until there's nothing left for us to pay with? Until... everything we thought we were fighting for has already faded away?"

Isabel shook her head and knelt beside her brother blinking back silent tears as she set to work. She sliced a rope off a box and cut it in two, using one half to bind his wrists and the other his legs. With a grunt, she pushed him back further behind the boxes, safely out of the line of fire. She paused, feeling his short-cropped black hair beneath her fingers. There was so much that she had looked up to him for for all her life, but that was all over now.

Now, her brother was the enemy.

She gave his arm a squeeze and stood, clearing her throat and facing Chris. He was covered with blood, looking just like the rest of the Uprising at this point.

"I hope you haven't lost too much blood," she said with a dry laugh. "This is going to be a long fight."

A bullet clipped Isabel's shoulder, re-opening the knife wound that she had attained a few hours ago. She grit her teeth against the pain and slumped to the floor, dragging Chris down with her.

"Come on! We have to get back to the trapdoor!" Isabel hissed.

Isabel began to crawl back at a painfully slow rate, pausing occasionally to fire as Umi made an attack. She soon knelt before the trapdoor, clenching her fists nervously as she felt a faint tremor from below.

"Help me move the machines off this thing," Isabel whispered to Fay.

Fay didn't reply and instead looked back into the fight, a strange gleam in her eyes. Isabel followed her gaze, seeing nothing changed in the fight. But even as she watched, everything was reversed.

"Aaaaaand... FIRE!" One PXS member shouted. But instead of shooting at the Uprising, half of the group turned around and shot their own at point-blank, killing nearly all of them in the first second.

Isabel sat frozen in place. What was going on here?!

"Sabey!!!!" a shrill voice called.

Isabel looked over to see a PXS member running directly toward her, gun flailing aimlessly in hand as the person... pranced over. Before Isabel could do more than give a blank stare, the PXS member tackled her, wrapping its arms firmly around her and swinging her around. The member wasn't attacking her, it was... Hugging her? Wait, there was only one person who had ever once called her Sabey...

"Audrey?!" Isabel gasped, her eyes widening.

Isabel craned her head around and saw the remaining PXS members dropping their weapons and raising their hands in surrender. Then, one by one, they removed their helmets, each revealing a stunningly familiar face.

The missing Uprising members had returned.

(OOC: Oh gosh, not another one... Just don't shoot them all dead, okay? -.-' Oh, and only Chris and Isabel would recognize them and Ashleigh is one of them ;))

 

[Wolf in the Rain]

But at what cost do we keep fighting?" Isabel murmured, looking at her unconscious brother. "And how much longer until there's nothing left for us to pay with? Until... everything we thought we were fighting for has already faded away?"

Chris manage to stand steady during Isabel's response. However, minute his shoulder and ribs throbbed more, and every second was becoming a battle to stay upright. After a moment of silence, Isabel turned away to 'deal' with the man that attacked them. Although he did look a lot like Isabel, he had no doubt she woundn't let that get in her way.

A sharp pain in his side brought his hand up to grab it almost knocking Sakura off the other shoulder as he did so.. As he clutched the wound, he finally responded. "I don't know how much we have to give, but at some point, it's got to add up to something." Chris whispered, coughing a few times as soon as he ended. He wasn't sure if Isabel had heard him or not, but he was glad to say it.

Soon, Isabel stood back across from him. No doubt, she was staring at the blood that now covered most of his left side and the steady stream running down the right side of his face. She clenched his arm tightly, maybe for support, both mentally and physically.

I hope you haven't lost too much blood," she said with a dry laugh. "This is going to be a long fight."

Chris gave a weak laugh in unison. Honestly, a "long fight" was the last thing he was ready for at the moment, but Isabel need him.

Suddenly, a bullet clipped Isabel's shoulder, causing her to collapse onto the floor and dragging Chris along with her. Sakura tumbled to the ground in front of them, before quickly regaining balance and returning to her trainer's side. A sharp pain filled Chris side where he was hit by the Umbreon, followed by the reoccurring one in his shoulder.

He cursed and screamed silently as the battle raged on around them.

"Come on! We have to get back to the trapdoor!" Isabel hissed.

Chris crawled behind her, too weary to get back up. Sakura ran around next to him, edging him on. A familiar feeling of pain filled his body, and he fell back down, clutching his shoulder.

A voice rang out above all others, filling Chris to the core with a sense of dread. "Aaaaaand... FIRE!"

Instinctively, Chris used all of his strength to dive over to Sakura, intent on covering her from the soon to be wave of bullets. If he couldn't save himself, he should at least be able to save his Pokemon.

"Sakura... Dile... Silver... Everyone..." He shut his eyes tightly to hold back the tears. "Sorry". The sound of guns soon filled the air. He laid there, waiting for the waves of pain to strike him. But it never came.

""Sabey!!!!" a shrill but strangely familiar voice called, causing Chris to jolt his head to the noise. As he looked up, he couldn't believe his eyes. The Uprising was back.

As Audrey ran up to Isabel and hugged her, Chris looked from face to face as the solders removed their helmets. Chris sat up and leaned against the wall, relief filling his mind. Sakura jumped into his arms. "Damn, you guys..." Chris said before he let out an absurdly loud laugh, clutching the Pikachu he held tightly. "It took you long enough."

(OOC: There you go Mira. I did the First part During Practice. THAT'S RIGHT! During every break (and on the way home) I WAS TYPING A LITTLE MORE EVERY TIME (on teh iTouch FTW)! :D Itz a gud skil 2 learn.
Anyways, this brings me to the point: Please ignore the mis-spells. :3)

 

[Skymin]

Ashi took off her helmet and shook her hair out, her other hand still firmly grasped on the gun and pointing at the PXS members behind her. The wind felt cool on her face, it had been stuffy as she had been wearing the helmet since the Uprising members had found her. After she had leant Invisi to Josh to get away, she had slowly been walking her way away from enemy lines. She had used up most of her energy and was completely exhausted and thought she would surely die when she was ambushed by a group of PXS. She charged to attack but stopped when they removed their helmets to reveal themselves as her old companions from the Uprising, the ones lost in Shadow Valley. They told her they planned their own ambush on them, disguising themselves as PXS members and attacking them when they least expected it. Ashi joined them and the plan went without a hitch. Ashi turned to Isabel, the gun still pointed at the real PXS members, who was still shocked at their return. She nodded and gave a crooked smile. She looked over the Uprising members and counted them, and noticed someone missing.

"Where is Josh?" she said firmly, dropping her helmet to the ground and pulling another gun off her holster, pointing it at the PXS members. Invisi hopped over Ashi, overjoyed her trainer was alive. Ashi smiled at her and turned back to Isabel. "Where is Joshua?" She repeated.

 

[Zeph.]

The situation was really starting to get to Greg now - he was exhausted, nearly deaf from the gunfire, sweating from the heat, and his arm continued to bleed. Blade seemed to be doing better than him, and even then he looked on the verge of collapsing.

"Aaaand... FIRE!"

Greg threw himelf the the ground once more, dragging Blade down with him. He covered his ears in preperation for the bursts of gunfire. But there was nothing. He poked his head up a little over the cover to infact see half of the PXS shoot down their own members. What the heck was all this? One by one, the PXS removed their helmets and caused the remaining enemies to surrender.

It began to make sense - these PXS must have been undercover. But why would they help the Uprising? Greg looked around to see a few people smile with releif - infact, Isabel was hugging someone and even Chris was laughing. Greg's only explanation was that they knew them somehow.

Greg hopped over the wall he was hiding behind with some effort, and slumped down at the other side, letting the cold outside air catch him. He was prett confused right now, "What the hell's going on?" he asked aloud, not sure if anyone had heard him or not.

"Where is Josh?" a firm voice suddenly said. It turned out to be Ashleigh! So she managed to make it after all. But her brother...
"Where is Joshua?" she asked again. It was at this point that Greg could hear Blade. He had dissapeared from his side and had found something. "Gro, vyle!" he called out. Greg groaned as he battled to get to his feet and walk over to where Blade was. That's when he found a Lairon - with Josh underneath in a pool of blood.

"Oh my god... here! Quick!" Greg called out to her, kneeling down beside Josh. He had been hit several times, there was no telling if he was dead or not. "Quickly, someone needs to get help!"

(OOC: Josh has been found :P)

 

[Liacri]

(OOC: I think Audrey needs a disclaimer.... If I epically fail at RPing her, it's because we have polar opposite personalities. I'm also breaking my own rule by using multiple exclamation points, but one just doesn't cut it for Audrey. So.... yeah. ^^')

Audrey was really sick of wearing black.

While they had been sneaking around, David had told them to wear black. While they had been captives, she had worn black. Now she had to wear this stupid PXS uniform, and it was -- what a surprise -- black. Why couldn't tough guys wear pink, or teal, or lime, or something pretty? No, they had to wear black. Stupid color. And now, she was standing here with a gun in her hand, about to pull the greatest sneak attack in the history of sneak attacks, in black. Sneak attacks could easily be pulled in nicer colors. She'd seen it on SpyGirlz. They wore fuchsia and purple and blue and all sorts of lovely colors, and it didn't stop them from being the most amazing spies the world had ever seen. Or not seen. They were spies, after all.

"Aaaaaand... FIRE!" Ooh, that call was her signal. Audrey pivoted, her gun pointing into the startled face of the PXS member nearest her. "Sorry. Bye bye!" Her finger jerked the trigger back, and the gun went off with a loud blast. She remembered stealing the uniforms and guns, back before they had come here. David had passed them out, saying, "Does everyone know how to use one of these?"

"Sure," Audrey had replied. "You point it, pull the trigger, and it goes 'bang!'" The group had managed wry smiles and a few chuckles at that, something that had been all too rare in the past while. Back in the present, she turned away, not able to watch the person slump to the ground, dead. The people in the gym were all standing up from the ground. Oh, they must have thought they were going to be shot. Glancing at her friends for cues, she pulled her helmet off, shaking her head vigorously to free the two long pigtails she wore. It felt good to get that helmet off, and she could see more clearly without it.

Speaking of seeing, the first of the other people in the gym that she saw looked very familiar, and it was someone she had been afraid she might not see again. The helmet clattered to the floor as she vaulted forward toward the girl, almost squealing with joy. "Sabey!!!!" Audrey wrapped Isabel in a tight squeeze of an embrace, practically swinging her around in pure delight. "You're here you're here you're here you're here you're here!!"

"Audrey?!" Her name came from Isabel in a cry of surprise. She hadn't seen through their attack, either, so it had gone well.

Audrey stepped back to hold Isabel at arm's length, beaming at her friend and already jabbering a mile a minute. "We're here, Sabey, all of us! We were so worried that they'd catch you too, but they didn't and you're here! How have you been? Are you all right? I'm so happy to see you again! Is Chris here, too? We already saw Ashi 'cause we met her outside and she came with us. I'm so glad you're all right!"

 

[Sweet Dreams]

((OOC: I can't believe I missed the whole fight. -.-' Just my luck, right?))

Sar heard a faint click! right next to her ear. She had run dry in one of her handguns and was just reaching for another. While she was distracted, one of the PXS members had taken the opportunity to get close and aim his gun right at her temple. He was one of the nasty ones that really just wanted his victims to know that they were going to die. Her leg burned; she wouldn't be able to get away in time. With dread, she saw his finger start to pull back...

A burst of electricity hit the gun and ignited the gunpowder, causing the pistol to explode. Unfortunately, since the gun had been right in her face, she suffered some minor burns because of the spark. She looked back at the source of the electric spark to see the Raichu watching her anxiously. Quickly and ignoring the stinging of her face, she aimed both her guns at the PXS member and shot his legs, making him fall down screaming in pain. In the second that she paused, a bullet pierced her bicep and another ricocheted off the wall a mere inch away from her head. Kill or be killed. All hesitation gone, she aimed for the man's heart and fired.

Her left leg and right shoulder were now burning and her hands started to shake from fatigue. She'd been fighting unconsciousness and dizziness for over half an hour and sheer willpower wasn't going to cut it for much longer. Her arms felt like lead and spots of colour appeared in her vision from the pain. Still, she raised her guns and fired. Another PXS member spotted her and raised their pistol. Her wounds made it impossible to go for cover so another bullet shot through her abdomen. Instinctively, she dropped her guns so that she could clasp at her stomach. The PXS soldier grinned victoriously and aimed again.

"Aaaaaand... FIRE!" Sar squeezed her eyes shut as the sounds of bullets rose to a tremendous level. Her eyes flew open when she realized she felt no new bullet wounds and her head snapped up to see the PXS member who had been aiming at her before, lying dead on the ground, blood pooling from his body. Sar determinedly swallowed the bile that rose up in her throat as she saw almost half of the PXS soldiers that had been gunned down. The floor of the gym was soaked with blood as the remaining PXS members stood with their guns turned on their supposed comrades.

She couldn't quite comprehend the situation, her feverish mind unable to focus at all. When several of the members removed their helmets and greeted Isabel. Sar focused on the one person she did recognize; Josh's sister. She demanded to know where Josh was and somebody else called out, panicking, that he needed help. Not again, she thought faintly. She tried to push herself up but the wounds in her arm, stomach and leg flared in pain and she slumped back, barely managing not to cry out. She barely registered the stinging on her face as she absent-mindedly looked at her hands. They were red with the blood from clutching at her stomach.

The battle seemed to be over. With no strength left and the effects of adrenalin fading, she couldn't keep herself sitting and slipped onto her side, her head landing in the pool of blood that the PXS officer she'd killed had leaked. This aggravated her wounds even more, but all she could manage was a faint moan of pain.

This is disgusting, a faraway voice in her mind noted. I really need a shower. My hair's soaked in blood. Then, thankfully, she finally lost the war with the fog that had surrounded her mind and surrendered to unconsciousness where pain could not follow her.

*

Burr scampered among the bodies, his feet making little splashing noises in the blood surrounding the fallen bodies. His search was becoming more and more frantic as he couldn't smell Sar through the stench of blood. He couldn't find her. Tock was searching from above as well, actually looking faintly worried as well.

The Raichu, looked for her near the place that he had seen her last, wondering how they could miss the dark blue colour of Sar's hair. He almost passed her by when he did a double-take and recognized Sar's features covered in blood and burns. No wonder they couldn't find blue - her hair looked brown from the blood surrounding her.

<Hey! Hey!> He called out in shock. <Quick! Burr! Tock! Someone! I found Sar!> When he laid a paw against her forehead, he found that she was burning up. But that meant that she was still alive at least. For now. <Please? Help!>

 

[Skymin]

"Oh my god... here! Quick!" Ashi heard a voice call out to her. She flicked her head in the general direction to see some other Uprising member standing over a large lump of steel. Wait, that wasn't steel. "Quickly, someone needs to get help!"

Ashi nodded to one of the others and handed them a gun, which they used to keep the PXS members Ashi was looking after in line. She quickly ran over to the boy and looked at the Lairon. Stone's okay, but what about- Ashi stopped midthought as her eyes laid on her brother lying in a pool of blood. It wasn't Stone's, he hadn't actually been hit, so it all had to be his. Ashi felt a lump rise in her throat and her eyesight started to blur and tears started to fall down her cheek for the second time today. She flipped her head around to her Pokémon and hastily motioned them over.

"Sola, use your telekenesis to get the bullets out, compact them as much as you can so they get out easier. Knight, help her. Twili, help Stone out. Haste, get Josh's backpack, I need all his supplies. Invisi, Lone, I need help to clot the blood once Sola and Knight get the bullets out," Ashi worked furiously trying to help Josh. He opened his eyes a little and smiled before passing out. Ashi bit her lip and snatched the bag off Haste. She found a needle and thread and once the bullet was safetly out of Josh, she began to stich it up then proceeded onto the next wound. Haste used the potions in his bag to help the process and some on Stone to help him recover.

<Hey! Hey!> Amber looked up as the Raichu called out. <Quick! Burr! Tock! Someone! I found Sar! Please? Help!> She dashed over, with Haste and Bon behind her and looked at Sar, she was as much as worse condition as Josh was.

<... Let's bring her over to Ashi. They might not like eachother much but I think Ashi knows that she's Josh's friend.> Amber said to Tock, Raichu and Burr. Amber and Haste motioned to Burr, Raichu and Bon help Sar onto their back. Bon looked at her with sad eyes. She knew she hated to be helped, she had made that clear when Josh had tried his best, but she was unconcious so at the moment her opinon was out of the question.

 

[The warden]

After having the bandages on his arms and picking his dads Pokemon up form on of the nurses, Paul was ready to set off again. The tunnel that Uprising had hoped would act as an escape route was unsafe, so the rest of the Uprising must still be at the gym, something about Dugtrio. Outside the Pokemon center Slash and Graham were waiting for Paul. Fire fights were still breaking out all over the town but it was a lot less intense that it had been earlier and the area around the Pokemon center was heavily guarded by Guardians so it was at least safe to stand out side the Pokemon center. Paul handed Graham his Pokeballs, Isabel might not like it but it made Paul feel much safer now his dad had Pokemon, straight away Graham released Blitz and Breeze. For a moment Slash and Blitz stared at each other then they both nodded, both being stubborn and competitive they had come to respect one another it still puzzled Paul how they both got along yet didn't with much friendlier Pokemon. Paul released Bolt and the six of them set off across town.


Breeze flew just below the tops of the houses, keeping a vigilant eye out for any signs of movement, not to far away Bolt walked along window ledges and climbed brick work to help Breeze keep watch. Graham, Paul, Slash and Blitz walked together in silence, all of them ready to react at the first sight of the PXS.


As they were walking along the road towards the gym there was a slight thud and a small explosion of snow not too far away from where Paul was walking. Paul turned and bending down investigated the crater in the snow, nestled in its center was a small silver object, he picked it up to have a closer look, it was warm.


Graham noticed the thud as well, at first he ignored it but, something niggled away inside he, then he realized what was happening. His instincts as a farther kicked in, he moved as quickly as he could to where Paul was crouching and half lifted, half dragged him behind a wall.


Paul yelled in protest and almost dropped the object in his hands, as an unseen hand grabbed the back of his winter coat and pulled him behind a low brick wall. He looked round to see that it was his dad that brought him her.


"What's up dad? Why have we came her?" Paul said looking at Graham who wore a rather serious look. Graham snatched the object from Paul's hand and held it between a finger and thumb so they could both see what it was.


"Sniper." Was all Graham said the object in his hand said the rest, it was a long, caliber large bullet, that had been damaged with the impact with the floor.


Slash saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, he had been leading the group as while he was weaker that Blitz he was faster and was much better at avoidance. Graham had grabbed Paul and was pulling him away, something must be wrong. Straight away Slash turned to Blitz who was towards the back of the group.


<Somethings wrong.> Slash said gently nudging Blitz and pointing towards the wall with one scythe. Slash moved first joining Paul and Graham behind the wall, Blitz followed quickly looking round for any signs of danger.


From the air Breeze saw the events that had just taken place, in less than a second the whole group on the ground had gone from being in the open to crouching behind the wall. Although she was normally relaxed something about what had just happened unsettled her, she hadn't see any sign of danger and with her eyes she expected to be able to see it long before they could. What could have caused such a commotion yet gone unnoticed to her, well what ever it was there was no point waiting around for something to happen. A loud bang awoke breeze from her thoughts, what on earth was going on.


Bolt stood on the widow ledge looking out over the gap to the adjacent house, the gap must have been about six feet, a long distance for a small Pokemon like her and the floor was even further away. With a slight run up Blot leapt into the air, sailing across the divide to the other window ledge, she wasn't going to make it, she was falling too fast. Panic gripped her as she began to descend, reaching out as far as she could, she some how managed to get her claws to reach the ledge. For a moment she hung there just getting her breath back, then slowly she began to walk her claws forwards and pull herself up. As she finally got onto the ledge she saw a flash of light from the next window along. There in the next window was a man dressed in a PXS uniform holding a large black gun, he was aiming it at Paul and the others on the ground. Anger against the man who was trying to attack her master propelled Bolt across the gap, she landed on the ledge and unleashed a Thunder Shock. She was shocked by the fact that she had actually managed to launch her electricity rather than just use it at short range but it didn't have time to sink in. The Thunder Shock ignited the gun powder of the bullet in the barrel of the gun, forcing the gun to explode, the man holding the gun was already dead. The gun had acted as a lightning rod and conducted, once it was in the gun it went to ground via the most direct route which unfortunately for the man holding it included passing through his heart, needless to say he died instantly. On the other end of the gun the resulting explosion threw Bolt from the window sill to the floor below. There in the snow she lay motionless as she slipped in and out of consciousness.


The explosion made Graham and Paul both look up.


"Well it looks like Bolt sorted out that sniper." Graham said with a laugh as he stood up. Paul go up as well and seeing Bolt got up and ran over to her. He crouched down next to her, to examine her for injuries. Under her left eye were a few droplets of silver liquid, Paul tried to wipe them away with his finger but burnt himself in the process, otherwise she was unhurt. Graham peered over Pals shoulder taking a look at Bolts eye.


"Liquid metal. I wouldn't try to wipe that off if I were you." Graham said looking at Paul who was sucking his finger from burning it earlier. "Ah it looks like you've already tried. Leave it put her back in her ball and we will get here checked out later. Right now lets forget caution and get to that gym as fast as we can, return your Pokemon and jump on." Graham said pulling Blitz back into his ball and climbing on the back of Breeze.


Five minutes late Paul and Graham arrived at the gym to find the PXS that had quite clearly been trying to get in had been defeated. The two of them entered the gym, Paul glanced around the room to see where everybody was, most of the Uprising was injured in one way or another. Some had knife wounds, others had been shot and a large number were unlucky enough to have both. Paul spotted Chirs, he was slouched against the wall holding his shoulder, seeing him made Paul feel a slight pang of guilt for the way he had treated him earlier. He wandered over and Graham followed him, but decided to hang back by about five meters as Paul approached Chris. Crouching down slightly, to look Chris in the face, but not too much because he was shorter than Chris, Paul made his self comfortable.

"Look Chris, about earlier, I shouldn't have been like that, got angry with you and it wasn't really your fault. What I mean to say is that I was a jerk and over reacted, so I was wondering if we could just forget about that and well I'm sorry." Paul said to Chris keeping eye contact until he had finished speaking and then looking at the floor.

 

[Wolf in the Rain]

(OOC: WOLFSRAIN AND WARDEN TO THE RESCUE (with a super short post!)! *Cue SuperHero theme Song*)


Chris sat propped against the wall of the gym, one hand clutching his wound on his shoulder and the other petting Sakura's relatively clean fur. The Pikachu was now facing away from the gruesome scene and pushing into him. His ribs still throbbed from the battle and he had to guess that they were bruised or broken. Chris tilted his head back and stared at the roof, trying his best to ignore the pain and stay conscious. All he could do was think about what had happened over the past few days. Despite the lack of sleep and troubles they faced, they ended up here, fighting the PXS. Most of them were lucky to be alive. Still, he couldn't help but think of all of the people they lost, but he had a feeling it could've been worse.

"Look Chris,"

Chris snapped out of his stupor, looking for the person who was talking to him. Paul, was crouched down next to him. He took his hand off of Sakura, reaching up ad wiping some of the blood off of his forehead with his sleeve. He probably still looked like a sorry mess, not like it would've changed in the last battle anyway.

"About earlier, I shouldn't have been like that, got angry with you and it wasn't really your fault. What I mean to say is that I was a jerk and over reacted, so I was wondering if we could just forget about that and well I'm sorry." Paul said to Chris keeping eye contact until he had finished speaking and then looking at the floor.

Chris sat there for a moment before responding in the complete opposite tone of what he was feeling. "To be honest, I already completely forgot about that. Don't worry about it." He laughed before putting his non-bloodied hand out to Paul. "Now help me up so we can get out of here."

 

[Zeph.]

Deciding not to get too involved on personal matters, Greg left Ashi to her devices and hoped that Josh would make it. He wearily managed to walk across to where he had originally sat, close to where some of the Uprising and the undercover PXS were busy conversing. He remembered how painful his right arm was and groaned uncomfortably. He slouched to the icy floor, not too far from where the body of the PXS man he'd shot was lying. Greg just stared at him, reflecting on the brisk action he had taken, only to be interupted by a slight nudge on his arm. Looking round, Greg saw Blade - also looking drained of energy. The Grovyle gave a concerned look, inspecting the cut from the bullet.

"Don't worry," Greg managed to say, "It's not too serious. I'll be okay eventually..."
"Vile!" Blade responed. The pokemon outstretched both its arms to Greg, holding both Krow and King's pokeballs. Greg let out a sudden sigh of relief, glad that his other pokemon were okay.
"Thanks Blade," he said taking the pokeballs. Again, he struggled to his feet and fought to maintain his balance. He turned to Blade again, "I can manage, it's fine..." Greg was half panting now - he was far from fine. But the last thing he needed was his pokemon worrying too much, "You stay out for now just incase."

Greg walked over a little to where the main group of people were situated,
"Look, I hate to rush everyone here, but do we have any sort of escape plan? I don't wanna end up hiding in here any longer than we already have..."

(OOC: Thank you for your patience with this meaningless, quick filler :P)

 

[The warden]

Chris sat there for a moment before responding. "To be honest, I already completely forgot about that. Don't worry about it." He laughed before putting his non-bloodied hand out to Paul. "Now help me up so we can get out of here." Paul took Chris's hand and helped pull him to his feet. Near by a boy walked over to the group, do I know his name Paul thought.

"Look, I hate to rush everyone here, but do we have any sort of escape plan? I don't wanna end up hiding in here any longer than we already have..." The boy said, to the rest of the crowd. It was a good point, although the PXS at the gym were beaten there were other PXS running round Frosty George.


Paul turned to where his dad was stood and began to speak. "What do..." Graham wasn't there, when did he leave Paul thought to himself. Paul turned back to Chris. "What do you think we should do then?"


______________________________________________________________


Spotting Isabel talking with a girl in a PXS uniform, much like the one he was wearing, Graham though it would be best to talk to her and try to explain that he wasn't here to cause any trouble to the Uprising. As he approached, Graham cleared his throat so that the girls would know he was there. He paused for a second to think what to say but couldn't really think of a way to say "I'm not here to drag you off to the PXS HQ and force you to join them. I got my son back and that's what I wanted." so instead he said "Hi." Intimidately after saying it he cringed now he sounded like a parent, who was trying to sound cool, when his kids friends were round, he quickly decided that there were better ways he could have started the conversation.


(OOC: Liacri feel free to jump straight in to this conversation.)

 

[Skymin]

Ashi was halfway through Josh's second hole in his leg when Amber, Haste, Burr and Bon carried Sar on their backs and placed her on the ground, next to Josh. She was hurt, probably worse than Josh. A bullet in her bicep, her abdomen, burns on her face, not to mention a wild fever, probably from exhaustion, much like everyone else.

"Lone, I need some ice," she said to her Glaceon. Lone quickly made up a few blocks of ice and Ashi placed two on Sar's forehead and one on the burn on her temple. Sola and Knight, having sucessfully removing all the bullets from Josh's body, moved onto Sar and worked on removing hers. Once she had finished stitching up Josh, she moved onto Sar, in the same pattern as she had on her brother.

"Look, I hate to rush everyone here, but do we have any sort of escape plan? I don't wanna end up hiding in here any longer than we already have," Ashi heard someone say, not even looking up. She recognised the voice as the one who had pointed out Josh's limp body before and she sighed, stitching up the last of Sar's wounds.

"Plan? The best plan we have is get to the Pokémon Centre," Ashi got to her feet. "That place should be full of supplies for everyone to heal up and prepare. If I know the PXS, there should be another wave coming and they'll find us one way or another."

"But the tunnel is full of Diglett and Dugtrio!" A member called out to her. "We can't go back through the tunnel! The only way to get there is go outside, and we all know what will happen if we do that!"

Ashi walked over to the trapdoor that she had seen everyone come out as she walked came into the gym, as a PXS member. It was true, she could just see at the bottom of the shaft movement of restless Diglett and Dugtrio. She looked at Lone and smiled.

"Use your heads, you have Pokémon with you," she motioned Lone over to her and ordered her to use an ice attack at the Diglett and Dugtrios. A few of them ran away to avoid the attack but the majority of them weren't that lucky. The mole Pokémon were frozen to the ground, and Lone topped it off with a smooth sheet overtop.

"If you can be skilled, we can get to the Centre much faster than walking," she walked over to Josh and Sar, putting Sar on Invisi's back and Josh on Alex's back, returning all of Josh's Pokémon (except Alex) and most of her own, save for Lone, Invisi, Twili and Sola. "Let's go."

(OOC: see look. some progress. now everyone can post about getting down the hole and iceskating to the centre. d: ashi has to stay at front unless you have an ice pokemon to help make the path.)

 

[Zeph.]

"If you can be skilled, we can get to the Centre much faster than walking," Ashi said, dissapearing back into the underground path. Greg walked over and looked down - she had made a path of ice, freezing the Dugtrio over. Clever - kinda.

He decided to follow suit, hobbling down the steps and onto the ice, careful not to loose his footing. Blade too joined him, but got a shock from his feet touching the ice,

"Oh, right, grass type and whatnot," Greg raised the pokeball to Blade, "better stay in here for now."

Carefully sliding his feet across the ice he continued moving - having lived in Frosty Gorge his whole life, walking on ice was no problem at all. He also felt a lot cooler down here, which was a relief...

(OOC: Short and crappy. Would we have it any other way? :P)

 

[Liacri]

(OOC: And now, it's time for a lame, short post! I think my creativity short-circuited. o.0)

"Hi."

The syllable startled Audrey from the train of speech that had been forced upon Isabel in the past few minutes, since she had entirely missed the man's throat clearing. She plowed on anyway, going straight into a greeting on the end of her breath. "...and I'm so sick of wearing all this stupid black. It's such an ugly color all by itself, don't you think, Sabey? It needs something else pretty to go with it and oh hi I'm Audrey, what's your name? Did you need something?"

She smiled cheerfully up at the newcomer, one of the few adults in the building. He was wearing a uniform similar to hers, but she didn't take the time to wonder about anything beyond the boring color. He was probably here to see Sabey, but that wasn't going to stop her from asking anyway.

 

[Mira]

(OOC: If I accidently use the name "Sylvia" instead of Isabel, it's just because I've been writing with that character through all the month of November... And sorry this is so short, I'm working up to the next plot twist ;))

Isabel breathed a sigh of relief as her friend let her go. As much as she loved Audrey, Isabel now remembered why exactly she had decided to set out her sleeping bag as far away from hers at night as possible, often to no avail as she tended to move and talk Isabel's ear off anyway. David was still talking with the original Uprising member, who were eagerly hanging on his every word. He seemed to always have a way to make people listen to whatever he said, and even more importantly to make them believe everything he believed. Isabel returned her attention to Audrey, who was still chattering away about one thing or another, not even mentioning anything significantly negative as was her habit.

"Hi," a familiar man's voice said nervously.

Isabel's smile faded as she turned around, eyes flashing toward Fay, who was silently making her way over to her distressed Trainer's side.

"What are you doing here?" Isabel snapped, eyes narrowing. "How did you get here? If you were thinking of trying anything slick, you should probably forget all about it before you get blasted through the wall, regardless of who your son is."

 

[Wolf in the Rain]

As he got up, Chris swayed uneasily back and forth, all the blood rushing from his head. It honestly felt as though he had been spinning in a circle for the last 2-3 minutes. Slowly, he reached up and grabbed his hair, hoping it would quell the uneasiness, but immediately regretted the act. Although he hadn't remembered it, his hair was coated in the atrociousness caused by the Raticate. "Damn Rat…" Chris cursed. Disgusted, he quickly recoiled his hand, flicking it at the ground and removing the grossness with it.

Paul turned to where his dad was stood and began to speak. "What do..." Graham wasn't there, when did he leave Paul thought to himself. Paul turned back to Chris. "What do you think we should do then?"

As a veteran, he probably should've taken charge, or at least placed his opinion in, however, the daze Chris was currently in rendered that fantasy irrelevant. He gazed uncertainly around the room, fading fast. It was only then that he noticed the nurse from the Pokémon Center. Currently, she was treating a Snover whose "Branch" had been broken. He only stared as the nurse expertly applied potion and secured the limb using a makeshift split. Another pain suddenly shot thought Chris body, again originating from his shoulder, but giving him all the motivation he needed to go and talk to the nurse.

"I'll be back in a moment…" Chris muttered to Paul before walking over to the nurse. Sakura marched alongside him; probably deciding now was not the best time to clamber onto Chris' shoulder. "Hey…" Chris said once he got there, however, the nurse ignored him, instead placing final touches on the Snover.

After a few moments, she released the Pokémon and turned to Chris. "Oh! You poor thing!" For a brief, and yes, very brief moment, Chris thought she was addressing him. However, this was nullified when the nurse rapidly grasped Sakura in her arms. "Covered in blood! We'll clean you right up!" The Pikachu look just as annoyed and bewildered as her trainer, and soon began to struggle against her grip.

"Uh… Actually, I was hoping you could take a look at me." Chris spoke up, cautiously removing the Pokémon from the nurse's grip.

As he did so, the nurse's expression suddenly turned sour. "You before your Pokémon, right?"

"No." Chris hissed back at the nurse, insulted by the comment. "Right now, my Pokémon, even the ones who were injured, are safe for now in their Pokeballs. Personally, I'd rather have them treated in a PokeCenter where they would be safe then out here. But they can't get there if their trainer collapses on the way."

"Hmm…" The nurse pondered, staring at Chris and the Pikachu he held in his arms. After a few seconds, she gestured for him to sit down. "Just to let you know, I'm only certified to treat Pokémon."

"I'm not too different." Chris muttered, trying to push a smile through the pain as he sat down. "A lot of people say I look like a Machoke. But I like to think I'm more muscular than that."

While the nurse, much to Chris' dismay, cut off his favorite sweatshirt (Although at this point, it didn't matter as much because it was so covered in blood.) Sakura leaned onto Chris, perhaps trying to comfort him.

"You ever hear the rumor that Pokémon rub off on their trainer?" The nurse asked, obviously attempting to make conversation in an attempt to take Chris' mind off the treatment.

"No, why?"

"Well, A few weeks ago, some young boy came into the center with a Furret, and I swear, those two looked exactly alike. And then you and that Pikachu there are-"

Chris tuned out of the nurses rant about halfway through, instead wondering if his Pokémon had done so to him. Personal reflection wasn't really something he did, but looking back, he shared a lot of qualities with his Pokémon, although, the thought of being as spacious as Psy gave him chills. A sharp pain in his shoulder brought him back to reality. He winced, closing his eyes. "

Whoops!" The nurse exclaimed, but only receiving a scowl from Chris. "Really, humans aren't that much different from some Pokémon. Now… Should we give you some painkillers?" She searched through the medical bag besides her. "Hm… All I have are some for Tauros-strength, and low strength" Groaning, Chris snatched the low strength anesthetic out of her hand and swallowed it. "God. This better not screw me up."

------

"Almost… done!" Chris cringed as the nurse finished up, waking up the Pikachu he was cradling in his lap. The nurse had given him the complete treatment, cleaning out the wound and wrapping up his shoulder as well as bandaging his ribs.

"You know it's freezing out there… right?" Chris asked, holding up the remains of his once favorite sweatshirt.

"Oh yeah!" Frantically looking around, her eyes ultimately fell onto a large collared jacket. "Here you go!"She threw the jacket at Chris.

Holding it up in front of him, Chris inspected the clothing. Even though it seemed to be a size to big, it was rather nice. The jacket was a royal blue with a gold embroidered collar. Black buttons laced the inside of the coat and it was fitted with two large pockets on each side. Although Chris did not question where it had come from, he did notice two bullet holes on the right side, square on the chest. However, there was strangely no blood.

"Thanks a million." Chris got up and swung the jacket on, not bothering to button it up. He honestly felt a ton better. For once in this battle, things were looking up. "I really appreciate it, that is, if that medicine you gave me doesn't mess me up at all."

"It shouldn't." She smiled and shrugged. "But no problem." With a friendly wave, Chris walked away from the nurse as the Pikachu climbed onto his good shoulder.

"Sorry 'bout that." Chris apologized as he returned to Paul. "Now, let's think of-"

Chris was stopped when he saw Ashi and a few other members of the Uprising jumping back into the hole they used to enter the building.

"Or she can think of one for us." He sighed, a little disappointed in missing his chance, and walking to the hole. Taking one last look around the room, Chris noticed Isabel and Audrey were still there. However, a strange man stood across from them. "Is! Audrey! Let's go!" he shouted waving his hurt arm, only to retract it back moments later. Obviously, things were not looking as up as he thought.

(OOC: Gah... Long post... You're welcome Mira.)

 

[Sweet Dreams]

((OOC: This is a pretty long filler. Hi, yes, I seem to have finally lived up my promise of posting something... It's basically all nothing much really.))

Under any other circumstance, Burr would have taken the chance to experiment with scuttling and sliding on ice. But Sar was unconscious and really badly wounded, so he disregarded even the chill of the surface beneath him. Besides, the blood and grime acted as an insulator of sorts, strangely enough. His nose was so desensitized to his smell that he didn't notice how much other people and Pokemon were avoiding him due to it. Or, in fact, that he left a trail of the gruesome stuff behind as he tried to keep up with Sar's body.

Tock, undersized wings tiring, sought rest on the shoulder of the person with a familiar air as Sar. Ashi. She gave a worried hoot and didn't even consider the possibility that some people might not welcome a strange, blood-spattered Hoothoot suddenly using them as a roosting place. This person was different to Sar, but she was close enough. Tock needed some reassurance, and somehow she took it in the fact that the person taking charge was in some ways like Sar.

The Raichu, nameless and despondent, kept near the front as well. Gloomily, he wondered where Matsu and Kiji were. They were the only ones that he'd really come in contact with apart from Josh, Sar and their Pokemon. Due to exhaustion and weariness, the other Pokemon snapped at him and everybody else ignored him. He wondered what would have happened to him if Matsu had never rescued him from PXS. Would he have been beaten? Killed? Or would he still be plodding along, following their orders and outside looking for the remaining members of the Uprising? Either way, he was still 'the Raichu'. He was still... just him.

Burr looked up worriedly as Sar started to toss in her fever-induced sleep.

*

"Look, Rosa," the woman said softly, pointing to a garland of roses. "That's what you're name means. Isn't it beautiful, Rosa?"

The woman's long blonde hair flowed down her back and hid her face from view. For some reason, Sar felt she had to see her face. With her six-year-old hands, she reached up and tried to brush the woman's hair behind her ear. It passed through. The woman made a tutting noise and started to walk away, fading with every step.

"Mama?" she called. Where was she going? Why was she leaving her?

"Nobody loves you. Your mother hates you! That's why she left! She never wants to see you again! It's all your fault!" It was her father, standing over her. "You good-for-nothing child! She left you, not me!"

Sar was in her room, crying. It was fine. He was gone again. He wouldn't yell at her for making a noise if he was gone. A small, purple rat-like creature placed a paw on her arm and looked up worriedly. She smiled and wiped her tears away.

School was the most idiotic invention in the world. She saw a girl start walking towards her when another student grabbed her arm. "Don't talk to her. She's a freak. A loser." None of the students cared that she heard their comments. She was good at pretending she didn't care, either.

She'd been stupid again. While he was gone, she'd rashly decided to dye her hair vivid blue just to annoy him. Of course he'd yell at her; that was the whole point. Why then, did she still feel so hurt? This man was only related to her by blood. If she could choose, she'd never set eyes on him again. But... he was her father.

"What will the neighbours say? You failure! You can't do anything right!"

What will the neighbours say? At least she wasn't the one selling illegal arms. What would the neighbours say if he got arrested?

She couldn't believe what she'd read on the signs. They were... exterminating Pokemon? The government was actively trying to get rid of the only thing that kept her sane instead of arresting the bastard that was slowly poisoning the lives of everybody around them? Idiots!

She was packing. She had to leave before he found her and the Pokemon. There was a loud bang as the door to their house was flung open. She tried to pack faster as he rushed up the stairs and did the same to her bedroom door. He entered wildly, waving one of his guns around.

"Where are they? We get a reward for turning them in, you know!" he boomed. She protested that she didn't know what he was talking about. He shot a warning shot out the window. "Where?" he repeated.

She couldn't help but let her eyes flicker in the direction of their cellar. He grinned triumphantly.

"Don't move or I'll hand them in dead," he threatened before disappearing downstairs. She let out a breath and quickly finished off her packing. Her father, like everybody else, was an idiot. She checked the Pokeballs in her bag and quickly climbed out her window onto a branch of a tree next to her house. She'd sneaked out plenty of times like this.

Then she heard the angry roar. Her father had found out. She ran. Luckily for her, his bullets completely missed their marks. The bastard shot at her! Maybe one of their neighbours would ring the police about the gunshots and he would be found out. But she doubted it. He could weasel his way out of anything. But at least Tock and Burr were still alive. That was all that mattered.

 

[Skymin]

Ashi felt the cold brush against her skin; it felt soothing on her grazes and cuts. She had always liked the cold. When she had left the remnants of the gym, Mount Coronet had blown away her rage and left her heart as cold as the snow on the mountain and now she preferred the cold. It reminded her of the old days, the ones she hated to look back on now, the ones that had forced her to start extensively training on the cold mountains in Sinnoh. It all seemed so long ago. She hated those days, but she missed them at the same time.

Her trail of thought was broken when a pair of talons squeezed into her shoulder. She looked to her left and saw the small Hoothoot that had followed that girl that Josh was hanging around with. Was it Sarah? No... Sar? She attempted a smile at the Hoothoot but could only get some kind of strange smirky scowl. The Hoothoot smelled a little, in fact, everybody did, but Ashi didn't mind. A small whimper forced Ashi to turn her head around and she saw Sar shake in her sleep. There wasn't much Ashi could do but try to keep her fever under control. Her Raticate followed behind with a worried look on it's face, covered in blood itself. She reached into Josh's bag and pulled out two potions.

"Lone, get me some more ice for the girl," She said to her Glaceon, who was still constructing the path of ice. She turned back to the Raticate and the Hoothoot, feeling a little bad she had completely forgotten to heal them. Lone threw her a block of ice and Ashi held it at Sar's head, switching her worried gaze between Sar and Josh.

"Do you need this?" She shook the potions in her hand at the Hoothoot and the Raticate.