The UNION Team

Danny, eyes wide with the innocence of youth, hovered by the door a moment, attention glued to the Ursaring that had turned to regard him. Shifting on the spot, trying to sense the creature’s aura and judge the severity of his error in intruding, the youngster was thankful to find his company were warm, kindly. A small smile creeping onto the Riolu’s face, Danny watched as the bear waved him over, the aromatic pancake flaunted temptingly in his paws. Tony told him it was okay, ushering him onwards as the blue pup took hesitant steps towards the towering creature. He looked a lot like Daddy. But Daddy was bigger, white in colour and surrounded by far darker vibes.

As the canine padded closer, a smile creeping up his face, a sudden chill sapped him of such joyous emotion. His small body rigid with fear, a heavy darkness lingering in the air as the younger creature stood silently trembling, his eyes locked on the window. Something was there.
“Shh, Tony,” He warned quietly, his imaginary friend suddenly screeching in his ear about danger. Danny wanted to run, obey his companion’s every order, but fear found him rooted to the spot. His heart leapt to his throat, the foul emotions in the air ensnaring his delicate being as a monster loomed behind fragile glass.

Expression contorted into a silent scream, the plant broke through the window and caught the shell-encased stranger in its grasp. Feeling sick but physically unable to look away from the gruesome spectacle, the Riolu watched traumatized as the Shuckle was burnt alive, its agonized screams colliding with Tony’s own. Danny just wanted them to be quiet. Soon finding the key to shutting the world out as he tore his gaze away, instinctively running to the Ursaring’s side and burying his head in the bear’s fur, small arms wrapped about his leg.
“Go away,” He pleaded feebly, voice muffled from his position as the sounds around him slowly died into a painful silence. Tony stood obediently at his side, glaring over at the plant, whilst the Riolu trembled against the bear’s leg. Overcome with fear, the negative emotions encircling the Harbinger causing him physical pain, Danny did not cry. He was strong, face contorted with terror but void of tears.

---

Snapped out of his trance-like state, mindless mutterings of how to deal with his unruly son with apparitions of his own damaged psyche, Jack was busying himself with scavenging. The house he currently resided within had been scoured long ago, broken windows, upturned furniture and blood-smeared walls evidence enough that the place had played host to countless weary travellers. There wasn’t a scrap of food in the place.

Snorting as he stalked out of the main room on all fours, heavy, powerful frame lumbering with each heavy footfall, the Beartic nudged the main door open with his nose. Pained bolts gave a shriek of protest and complied to the bear’s wishes, the wood swinging effortlessly aside to reveal a barren town.
“Danny?” Noticing the Riolu’s absence, a frown crept onto the bear’s tired face. Dark eyes scanned the immediate environment, the abandoned, half-collapsed buildings and blood flecked streets of this apocalyptic world. But there was no Danny. Head raised, his coarse fur prickling with unease, the Beartic stalked forward with new purpose, pace increased as panic seeped into his being. “Danny?!” Voice a deep bellow, Jack knew his boy had a tendency to wander off alone, but the stench of blood and burning in the air instilled a greater sense of concern in the bear. He was a smart kid, but his damn curiosity could see him an untimely end. Determined that today was not be that particular day, Jack scouted the town, repeating his son’s name in a tone boasting a mixture of fear and anger.

(( Hope you don’t mind Danny clinging onto Theo – I can edit if there’s a problem. ^^; ))

There was nothing he could do, it all happened so fast.

That was what he kept telling himself, but even he was having trouble believing it. Maybe the truth was that he will be now and forever a scared little bear, running at the first sign of trouble, at the first sign of conflict, away from all possible conflicts…

When it first happened, he was dumbstruck; to think that inside this building something could barge in so fast and take ahold of the situation so fast that no one had a chance to react was unthinkable. Yet there it was, an ungodly being of a grass type, one which Theo had never seen before, grabbing hold of his new friend Tony and just squeezing his shell as if trying to squeeze the juice out of a berry. And by the time he smelled the burning, and the screams of anguish from the elderly shuckle, Theo could think of nothing else other than to flee.

To flee with the young pokemon, who had managed to burry its face in Theo’s fur during his shocked phase, to grab the kid and just keep running, trying his hardest to drown out the screams that a pokemon he called a friend was now making.

It wasn’t until he got them both outside that the screaming stopped, and then it hit him.

He had let his friend die.

He had done nothing to help, and had even ran while the shuckle was still alive. To him, Theo was something undeserving of any positive experiances anymore. He could do nothing but gently place the young pokemon down before turning away and expel the contents of his almost empty stomach onto the ground. The memory of the smell was what was most present. The smell of the burning flesh of a shuckle he knew and that cared for him, even for a little.

It took a minute to calm himself down, his throat burning from that experience, even if it was all dry heaving towards the end. He wanted to just crawl into a ball against this building and wait until that thing came for him, he felt that he deserved at least that right now.

But the blue pokemon….

He had no clue whether the pokemon could survive on its own or not. It’s possible its group had just recently broken up, like Theo’s. Or it could be that it was all alone since the beginning. Either way, to just leave the riolu right there and only save himself after that experience was something he could just not bring himself to do. There was already too much death today.

“We need to get you out of the open, who knows what else is out here.” Theo held his paw out to the riolu, he wasn’t sure how shaken up the other was, so in case his legs gave out the paw would help prevent a fall in a life or death situation.

To the forest or to the buildings…. He had no clue which, he just knew he didn’t want to go back through Union cave and chance a meeting with his old group. He knew the first thing they would ask was ‘Where’s Tony?’….

The floor had slipped from under his paws before he knew it, the young canine instinctively tensing as he ran on air. The bear he’d sought for comfort, to shield him from those painful emotions and shattering cries of agony, was now saving him. Clutching to the Ursaring, small arms holding tight as his face remained locked in an expression of silent pain, Danny was thankful when the screaming died away.

Set back onto the ground, alert, the silence was proven as uncomfortable as the Shuckle’s terror. Wide eyes, dry, scanned the immediate environment, eventually stopping on his saviour as the emotions radiated from him in powerful waves. Pain. Danny flinched away at the vibes, cursing his acute abilities as his gaze fell to the ground. But it wasn’t like Daddy’s pain. The stranger was sad, a guilt emanating from his core that sought to infect the pup’s heart in its intensity. Daddy’s pain was scary, angry.

“We need to get you out of the open, who knows what else is out here.”

Nodding his head, Danny fearlessly took the bear’s paw. Images of the Shuckle’s death plagued his mind, but his companion’s sorrow was proving an effective distraction to the horrors of the epidemic world. The Riolu wanted to help him. It had been so long since he’d felt any pure emotion, the joy he sensed earlier something precious amongst the hatred, rage and foul vibes that provided the foundation of the undead. A small smile tugged at the canine’s lips, young eyes searching for the bear’s own as he gave his large paw a reassuring squeeze.
“Don’t worry,” His voice, the definition of childlike innocence, was bursting with emotion. But there was no fear. A tinge of sorrow, the bear’s emotions subconsciously seeping in to affect the pup’s mood; but ultimately, hope prevailed. Things would be better.

“Danny!”

Jack lumbered forward, gargantuan frame moving at a surprising speed as his eyes latched mercilessly to his son.
“Damn kid, wandering off as usual,” The Beartic was hardly aware he was muttering aloud, eyes narrowed as an annoyance sought to replace the relief of seeing the Riolu safe and sound. But there was something with him. It was another bear, smaller, and brown in colouration that held the canine’s paw. Nose scrunching in distaste, a low growl rumbled from the depths of his throat as Jack approached. “Danny…” Tone serious, the Beartic made the swift transition to stand on two legs, a blatant act of intimidation as he stared ruthlessly down at the stranger. To his disapproval, his son didn’t move, replying with a shake of his head.
“He helped,” Jack’s eyes narrowed, his attention volleying between the child and this so-called protector. There was no denying, the stench of death was heavy on the air and Danny was never one to lie, but the bear remained sceptical.
“Helped with what?” He demanded, voice cold, his natural aggression seeping into what he’d intended as a level tone. ”Who are you?” The ice-type’s dark eyes looked the stranger over, not sure if he appreciated the creature’s close proximity to his boy. What would his mother say? Dimissing the thought, savagely, Jack reminded himself that he didn’t give a shit about Wendy. Wendy was just out to corrupt the boy, fill his head with lies about him and essentially destroy their relationship. That bitch.

Danny, feeling his parent’s anger, shied away, moving closer to the Ursaring. He hated to think what the bears thought of one another, part of him growingly increasingly concerned that a fight may break out. Whilst the youngster couldn’t boast a loving relationship with his father, he didn’t want to see him dead either. He was just going through a difficult time without Mommy; but then again, when they’d been together, they’d always argued more.

It all went south …..fast.

Just not the way that Theo would have expected. If anything he would have predicted another undead to come crashing in and snatch him or the blue pokemon up, which would have been horrible, but still something reasonable. But a bigger, bulkier white bear to come charging in and to have an instant grudge against Theo just for being with the riolu? That was unexpected.

He really didn’t know what to say as he stood around as the third wheel while the other two had their little bout. If there was anything he could have taken from their back and forth, it was that this little guy’s name was Danny. As for the bear, Theo would have to brave that question later on. As for what else he took from that….Danny and this bear obviously knew each other, and the white bear was very wary of Theo, so obviously he was being protective. But….the way Danny kept scooting closer to Theo, and grabbing on to his fur tighter told him that there was something not right with their relationship. Maybe a recurring violent attitude?

It was scary, especially since this bear was bigger than his mother, the only other large bear he had ever seen, but still he stepped forward, even if a little nervously. “I-I’m Theo.” Yes, names, it was usually the best to be told first, he had learned before that sometimes others can be more trustful when they learn your name, because then you just weren’t some random pokemon. Because as soon as someone learned you name, they could no longer think of you as some unknown figure, they were forced to think of you as another living being.

“And we really should move, there’s this…..giant plant type undead in there….” Trying to convey the sheer fear he had witnessed despite his lack of proper description.

Theo chanced looking away from the white bear to glance back at the ‘hotel’ he had pulled Danny out of. He wasn’t dumb, he knew that the larger bear could attack in its aggravated state, and it wasn’t as if he didn’t fear him. But whatever it was in there, that was what he feared the most. At least if he was mauled by this bear, that would be the end of it, just death. But with that thing….Theo shuddered just thinking about it.

The faster they got out of here the better. But despite his fear, Theo did not move away yet. Danny was still hanging close to him, for some strange reason that Theo still had no clue of. And even though he didn’t understand the situation, Theo didn’t feel right making the first move, which would give the other bear an opening to swoop in and drag Danny away against his will. He would only move away from the riolu when Danny decided to do it himself, that or when Theo could see that this great white bear really meant no harm to Danny.

He just hoped this other bear was reasonable enough to take his warning and let them all get to some shelter before starting up this whole mess of a discussion again.

((WHOOT! Half asleep while writing this, gonna check back in the morning and fix my grammar mistakes |D))

“I-I’m Theo.”

Jack merely snorted in response, a firm scowl plastered over his haggard features as he restlessly scanned the feeble duo before him. Danny had an excuse. Danny was just a kid. But this bear, although young, had no reason to stutter so pathetically. The Beartic, however, quickly ruled the title of threat of his opinions of the stranger. Relaxing, returning to stand more comfortably on all fours, the bear moved forward, eyes tearing away from the Ursaring and to his son staring up with those wide eyes. Although endearing to most, the sight, so common, sickened Jack.
“Jack,” He responded curtly, dark eyes finding the stranger’s once more. “And that happens to be my son,” The bear gestured with a bulky head to the silent canine, voice stern to alert the newcomer of a certain distaste for their close proximity. Danny seemed to have finally got the message though, the Riolu releasing his grip on the Ursaring’s paw to stand a little closer to his unstable parent. A weak smile hitting his face, Jack gave a good-natured chuckle. “Never can be too sure who to trust these days, eh? No hard feelings, Theo,”

“And we really should move, there’s this…..giant plant type undead in there….”

Tilting his head, that familiar frown re-emerging to stain what had been a mainly amiable expression, Jack’s nostrils flared as he followed the bear’s stare to a building.
“A giant plant?” The Beartic repeated slowly, a mocking disbelief to his tone as his gaze volleyed between his company and the place that had unhinged them so. Admittedly, they looked pretty scared. It’d explain the stuttering, Danny’s clinginess – but a plant. How scary could a plant be? Shaking his head, he took a step towards the building before his son’s small form darted concernedly in front of him. “Danny,” He stretched out the name, exasperated. “I’ll get rid of it,”
“No!” The blue canine shook his head vigorously, though remained curt, not wanting to provoke his father by doubting his strength. He stood awkwardly in front of the towering Beartic, David against Goliath, as the fighting-type suddenly darted away. Jack, unable to respond in time, fell right into his offspring’s trap. Distracted by the rebellious pup, the undead was forgotten as he turned in a vain bid to grab the fleeing youngster.
“Danny!” He snapped, annoyed. “Damn it Danny…” Muttering quietly as the troublesome child returned to the building they’d occupied earlier, the Beartic gave a defeated huff. Left alone with the Ursaring, his nature soon forced him to pick up conversation. It had been months since he’d met another survivor. Even though Theo seemed a little pathetic for his immediate liking, he was in no position to be fussy. “Come on then,” Beginning to lumber away, he gestured for the newcomer to follow. ”You fancy a couple of berries? Danny found a bunch the other day. He seems to have taken a liking to you,”

Danny hovered at the entrance to his temporary home, wide eyes on the two bears in the distance, thankful when his father, at least, started following. As much as he scared him, the canine simply couldn’t allow his parent to face that monstrous grass-type. Shuddering at the thought of the Shuckle’s brutal disposal, Danny shuffled impatiently on the spot, smiling apologetically as he caught his father’s disapproving shake of the head as he neared with heavy footfalls. But then, Tony was speaking. Turning his head, facing a non-existent Lucario, the child’s expression was one of quiet consideration.
“Daddy couldn’t kill that, Tony,” He muttered essentially to himself, in fact responding to his friend’s suggestion of seeing a fight between the Harbinger and Beartic. Tony had turned away, huffing almost disappointedly at his inability to behold a most gruesome spectacle. But what he went on to speak of, a whispered warning about the result of Theo’s presence alarmed him. “No,” He whimpered, a determination lacing the overwhelming concern. “Daddy won’t get worse,”

Theo silently followed the white bear and the Riolu, not wanting to comment about the little heated discussion they had both had only a second ago. He had learned a lot just from that, mainly that the white bear had a history of jumping into violence, which the riolu would normally protest against, almost as if it was the son trying to take care of the father. It was easy to see there where a few…trust issues, but it was hard for Theo to tell, not having a father meant he had nothing to compare this relationship to.

”You fancy a couple of berries? Danny found a bunch the other day. He seems to have taken a liking to you,”

The swiftly shook his head, thinking of food right now, after just a few minutes ago he had been just about to eat when that….thing killed Tony right in front of him. Theo wouldn’t be able to stomach any food right now, not without thinking about his dead friend again, and not without the taste of bile rising up in his mouth again.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything for a while….”

Yeah, it made him sound weak, like he had led a sheltered life of seeing little to no blood. But he didn’t really care about that right now, trying to look tough was something he just didn’t do. Sure, maybe confident, but not tough.

“So, how long have you two been in this area?”

He had a few reasons for that specific question, first was because he remembered Luke wanted to come to this town for a specific reason, so he was hoping to find that out. The second to find out something about these two, who right now were mostly mysterious figures. But the last and final one was to know if they had any sense of the land, because right now he didn’t, and if these two did, then sticking around might sound better for Theo.

He was even going to ask a follow up question, but then Theo’s ears literally twitched. Not for the usual reasons, like when his ears itched, or when something was bugging him. No, this was because he had heard something, something familiar and unexpected. He heard a name. A name that had just barely lost its owner.

“Tony? You, You know Tony?”

It would make sense, why Tony was in this area, and why he knew there was a hotel in this town. If tony knew Danny, then he had traveled with these two before heading to the cave and finding Theo. Maybe, these two where his last connection to his dearly departed friend.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything for a while….”

Jack snorted at the bear’s response, secretly thankful Theo wasn’t intent on raiding their stash of food. Muttering a quick ‘suit yourself’ as he trudged onwards, he listened, half-distracted, as the newcomer enquired of how long they’d sought refuge in the quieted town. Giving a hissing inhale as he mentally counted back the days since they’d ‘lost’ Wendy on the outskirts, it took Jack a couple of moments before he finally answered.
“Couple weeks,” He estimated, voice naturally gruff as he kept his attention on the building and Danny stood outside it. Whilst a certain curiosity ate away at his mind telling him to find this dreaded killer plant, Jack knew he possessed at least some manners. He’d get the frightened Usaring settled then go and slaughter the beast that had succeeded to dispel his appetite.

“Tony? You, You know Tony?”

Danny jumped a little realizing the close proximity of his father and Theo, wide eyes latching onto the Ursaring following his sudden question. A tiny frown loomed over his eyes, the canine shuffling on the spot as he gestured to a non-existent companion at his side.
“Yeah, sure,” He responded shyly, looking down as he spoke. “He’s real clever,”
“Why don’t you and Tony go and play, hm?” Jack interrupted with a rare kindness, nudging the door open as the child obediently trotted into the building. With the Riolu out of the way, the Beartic leaned closer to the confused Ursaring. “Tony’s his imaginary friend. Kid’s got some problems. It’s easier if you play along,” He managed an awkward smile, ashamed of what he considered a most severe problem in the child. But he could sympathise. Isolation did strange things to people, it was only natural a child invent such a companion to deal with the loneliness. Then again, Danny had spoken of Tony for years…

“He’s real clever,”

Clever wasn’t really the word that Theo would have used to describe Tony, Wise maybe, but clever? The shuckle always seemed more scatterbrained to be clever. But what lacked in that, he more than made up for it in wisdom, and unpredictability. He was just about to offer his condolences to the two when the older bear stopped him, making sure Danny was well out before even muttering his next lines.

Imaginary Friend?

He never had one, well, more like never had the need for one, he always had Lexi, his twin sister to keep him company. He had heard of them before, but to actually find someone who had one? That was a new experience. He really didn’t know how he would even play along in that situation….Should he try talking to his imaginary friend as if Theo could see it? Or maybe just direct all questions through Danny…he didn’t know.

“Oh, just that….Tony was the name of the shuckle I was with. Before the…..the plant thing came.”

Theo didn’t even bother to hide the look of sadness and guilt that passed through him at that moment. It was still eating at him.

“I thought that maybe, you two knew him, but I guess not.”

Them not knowing would mean ti would save others the pain of losing a loved one, which should have made him feel better. But it didn’t. In a weird way he kinda hoped these two had known Tony, the none imaginary Tony. Because in the end he didn’t even know anything about Tony, just that he liked to cook and sleep a lot. Now he’ll never know anything, and the shuckle would have died as a sleepy cook,


((short post is short :\))

“Oh, just that….Tony was the name of the shuckle I was with. Before the…..the plant thing came. I thought that maybe, you two knew him, but I guess not.”

Jack gave a limp nod of his head in understanding, naturally aloof to the sadness infecting the bear’s demeanour. Still, the idea of a demonic plant creature seemed pretty hilarious to the hardened battler – the desire to bring it back to the house without its roots was becoming a greater temptation with each passing moment. Heaving a sigh as he trudged into the building, the Beartic thought it best to give the guy at least some kind of response.
“He’s better off dead,” It came out a good deal darker than Jack had intended, the bear not used to providing a shoulder to cry on. He was blunt in his nature, even with little Danny to care for, and nothing could avert such an unappealing quality. Looking over his shoulder to the Ursaring, a feeble attempt at a smile on his face, Jack led the way into the living room.

However, it was Danny’s absence that soon evoked an exasperated groan from the giant bear. Scanning the room, he gestured for the newcomer to make himself comfortable as he went off in search of the young canine. Peering around doorways and down halls, Jack found manoeuvring about the building fairly difficult, this only heightening his growing anger at his son’s childish games.
“Danny?” He called up the stairs, naught but silence answering his cry. Frowning to himself as he returned to where he’d left Theo, Jack only then noticed the back door swinging open, creaking on old hinges.

Trudging up towards the door, the Beartic sniffed the air, catching the scent of the canine on the wind as he noticed marks in the wood indicating the door had been wrenched open. The claw marks weren’t deep and there was no sign of blood. There had been no noise – he and Theo would have heard it. As he stared out in the open, Jack caught reflection of himself in a broken mirror hanging limply aside the door. Grady said it was Wendy.
“Wendy…” Jack repeated to himself, the word coming out in a growl. The illusory gentleman soon explained that Danny had been snatched away by his overbearing mother, the female whisking her son away from his dangerous father. The Beartic’s fur bristled, furious at hearing such news. Grady was rarely wrong. “That bitch…”

Storming out of the building, running on all fours, Theo was forgotten as Jack’s mind was engulfed by the fear of losing his son. His hallucinations told him of Wendy’s wicked plans to steal Danny away and Jack had every intention of stopping it. Stampeding into the distance, the Beartic soon disappeared in search of his son and scheming mate.

(( I’m so sorry to be leaving but I need life to calm down a bit before I can handle all my characters. It’s been lovely , Try, and I hope to return as soon as I can! <3 ))

“He’s better off dead.”

Was he? Normally it would be something that Theo would be appalled by, and immediately reject in his heart, but…..he had seen so much death lately, and most of which by undead pokemon. He could remember the fear, and pain, and the pure horror in each of those events. Maybe it was better that someone die early off, least then they wouldn’t have to put up with this deadly world. To have to live every day looking over one’s shoulder. Maybe it was just a form of freedom, an act of mercy as to keep them from suffering…

Theo was too busy brooding that he barely noticed the white bear’s fright. The riolu who was just outside playing with….something named Tony, was now missing. That white bear was a scary fellow, made Theo sort of weary, but there was no denying the protectiveness that radiated off the bear for his son, even if it seemed a bit possessive at times. So no matter how much he wanted to run off after the giant scary bear, to make sure he found his son okay. Theo knew, no matter what, that polar bear was going to make sure Danny came out okay, no matter what. So in the end Theo would only slow him down.

It was just best to let them be, because he knew that he would somehow manage to make things worse for the two, it was just what happened to those around him. And although he wished it wasn’t so, it was just better for everyone that he remains alone.

So that’s what he did.

The new “family” that he wished for since this plague had started was now just a pipe dream, he knew this now. Just the wishful thinking of an innocent child who still believed that things would someday return to normal. But it wasn’t going to, and he wasn’t going to change back to normal also. The world had changed, and he had changed, there was nothing anyone could do about that. To even try would be useless. The best move he could make was to take what had happened and accept it.

The only thing he could do was continue on, continue to survive and to continue to use what everyone he had ever met had taught him; how to find food, how to defend himself, and how to just get by.

Basically, just live, live so that the deaths he has seen didn’t go down in vain. Live so that someone was still around to remember all of them. Live so that the memory of his friends wouldn’t die like they have.


((I really love Theo, and i loved the UNION team, and really wished it didn't have to be taken off. But i guess that's what happens after a while, things change and people move on. But it was fun while it lasted, and hope things ended on a good note.~))