The RAGE Team

His ‘little’ sneezes cause more problem than he thought it would. He prayed that the icy spikes would prove resilient and remain on the ceiling, but apparently ice was more flimsy than he figured. A lot fell down, and he was not sure if it was by luck, or by their sheer reflexes, but they managed to avoid them all. Well, they almost all managed to avoid them. Due to his dumbstruck-ness from causing this mess, he had been more worried about the others than himself. The ice spike didn’t do much damage, but blood did appear. It had fallen on his right side, being sharp and heavy enough to cut the flesh and a part of one of his leaves, but by sheer luck it had not impaled him, but only cut him before shattering on the iced over floor.

He hissed in pain, it hurt like hell, but the cut looked like just a scratch. Complaining about it would just make him look weak and pathetic. Hell, even if that was not the case, he was still gonna walk it off. It wasn’t that Olle was trying to look tough, but being on a team before hand, it was common for him to ‘suck it up’ as his teammates put it…..

He had been so preoccupied by the sneeze-quakes, the ice spikes, and his ‘small’ cut that the appearance of a new pokemon caught him off guard. If he were to have been talking right now, all that would come out would be random gibberish. This, this….he had no clue what kind of pokemon this even was…but she was magnificent to say the least. Pure white leaves complemented the pink antennas and the beautiful shade of pink eyes. He didn’t know if it was because she was the first living grass type he had seen in ages, or what….but he could not stop staring at the white flower petals. “….Olle” was the only thing he trusted himself to say.

One of the Pokemon were approaching her, a warm smile spread across his face with an amusing gait. "Hello. I'm Cairo, Miss. We're trying to get through this cave-- do you know a way out?" Magnolia dipped her head in greeting. The dragon-type, she had to admit, looked cute with those wriggling antennae and slight tilt of his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Cairo. My name's Magnolia." she introduced herself. "Hello." She turned to the Empoleon, and also dipped her head in greeting.

“….Olle” She bowed to the Ivysaur too. "Nice to meet you, Olle." the Meganium smiled at the group. They seemed nice, and none of them seemed like they were infected or undead. "Getting back to the question... The exit from the Ice Path is pretty hard to get to. There's ladders leading everywhere... It's like a maze." she explained. "The exit isn't too far from the entrance though. It's just that the way you get to the exit is tedious, unless you can fly but... It's too cramped." Magnolia frowned.

"But, I can lead you through the paths." she suggested. The Meganium slid on the ice, as if she were skating. "I'm sure we can all get to the exit if we travel together, quickly."

Lockes' eyes locked on the new Pokemon, his jaw dropping with amazement. He hadn't seen many females, and this one was absolutely gorgeous. Even Locke thought so, despite his young age.
Grinning his usual toothy grin, he waddled up to her after Cairo and waved emphatically.
"H-hi maa'm! Wow, you're really pretty!" He said, blushing as he admired her bubblegum-pink eyes. "I'm Locke!"

As Locke listened to the beautiful plant Pokemons' voice, his powerful nose caught the scent of fresh blood. He froze in place, realizing what the scent was. A dark expression came over his face as his pupils slowly dilated. Though the Gabite could now see through the blood haze, he couldn't control himself. He just knew that blood was what his body wanted.
He slowly sniffed the air, drawing closer and closer to the Ivysaur.
THERE! BLOOD! FOOD!
NO! NO! DON'T HURT HIM! HE'S MY FRIEND! Locke fought with himself as he stared at the plant pokemon, slavering as he snarled.
His claws shaking, he growled in a voice not his own, staring at the Ivysaurs' open wound.
"BLOOD. F-F-FOOOD."
NOOOOO!-
With a bloodthirsty snarl, his lips curled back from his shark-like fangs as he lunged towards Olle with jaws open.

(Ooc- for those of you who don't know, he has a blood thirst from his species type. His soothe bell helps him snap out of it. Whoever wants to has permission to knock him away from Olle or whatever you want)

The unexpected arrival of this new creature was a surprise to Echo. After all that had happened, he wasn't sure that another member joining the group was the best thing since Locke had to kill one of his own friends with two others being lost to infected. At least we have had enough time to introduce ourselves, Echo thought as he recalled everyone's names. He knew the two plant pokemon's names: Olle and Magnolia. The two dragons were, of course, Locke and Cairo. Echo knew these two for a while, so he felt moderately safe around them. Poseidon was the name of the giant emperor penguin who had accompanied the group since Jackie's attacks. The new member, Magnolia, was simply talking with the rest of the group; since Echo was not accustomed to talking a lot, he chose to stay silent until he was addressed directly. There was a faint smell of drying blood among the group that he hadn't noticed before. Echo's thoughts began to turn black, and his consciousness began to fail. No! This isn't going to happen again! Echo yelled in his mind as he concentrated on staying awake. Suddenly, a bloodthirsty snarl erupted from Locke. It was only a second before Locke thrust himself at Olle who was only a few feet away from where Locke sat. Echo reflexively jumped onto Locke's face, blocking his sight.

It only took Locke's snarling, distorted voice to break Cairo out of his reverie. His antennae stood straight up, and when his head snapped to look at his younger friend, he saw the gray dragon lunge toward Olle, the green thing.

Cairo wasn't even aware that he had launched himself at Locke until he made contact with the gray dragon, an entire side of his bulky green body landing against the other. They flew a few feet before landing on the cold ground, and Cairo opened his own mouth, light from his Dragonbreath illuminating Locke's face. "You get yourself together, Locke," Cairo's voice snarled, his voice low so the others wouldn't hear. It wasn't low with malice, but with fear.

""Please, get yourself together..." he whispered as he held down the other dragon, praying to whatever deity would listen that he wouldn't have to...

...have... to...

All he could think about was how captivating she looked, especially here in this icy terrain. Normally he absolutely hated all aspects of ice and coldness, but for her, it just suited her. Add to the fact that she seemed to know the area and how to get out, she was currently Oleander’s hero. But there was still the problem of his stupid mouth not tempting to ruin everything, he wanted to ask her things like where she came from, why she was in this place, and especially how she could stand this cold temperature. He simply sighed, maybe later these things can be asked.

One minute he was thinking about all the questions he would ask a fellow grass type, and the next thing he knew the entire cavern was filled with this strange blood thirsty yell for blood. When he turned back to see what it was that made that grim cry, he saw the bloodthirsty ravages of Locke, being slightly restrained by the other two dragons. He was going completely crazy, thrashing about yelling for blood. He knew he should have inspected them both after they came back, Locke must have gotten infected somewhere along the way, and this was his mind turning.

They may be holding him back at the moment, but the slightest bite could send them all on a one way path to a life of not having a life. And he doubted that they would be able to do what was necessary with Locke, hell, he would not be able to do that, the dragon may be big now, but you can tell he was still young….Which left only one thing, Olle was the reason he was acting this way. The blood he was ravaging about was obviously his own, and as long as he was inside he could not use synthesis to heal himself, meaning he would continue to go crazy while he was around.

He didn’t know what else to do, it may not be the best answer, but it was all he could think of. Olle ran off deeper into the cave, away from the rest, away from the nose of the dragon who craved his blood, leaving only a “Sorry” behind. It was his fault he had gotten hurt, his sneeze that caused the spikes to fall, his carelessness that made him forget to dodge, and his blood that caused the frenzy….The position of the cut was making it so that his foreleg kept rubbing against the wound, making it hurt with each step and would make it certain that it would keep reopening and continue to bleed if not taken care of, but he kept running till he could not run anymore, till he was sure he could not smell him. Whether this was temporary until Olle can get to sunlight and heal, or if this was the last time he would see them was not certain, what was certain though was that he was lost.


((he may have over-reacted a bit, but I'm having fun doing it >:D))

The Meganium squeaked with a mixture of fear and surprise as the Gabite began to growl and lust for blood. The other two dragons had to restrain him, and her gaze travelled to the Ivysaur who had a cut. Slowly, she began to connect the dots. 'So blood makes Locke... Crazy? Or maybe he's infected?! Oh no, if he's infected-' Her train of thought was cut off as Olle mumbled a sorry and fled. Magnolia knew healing moves... Maybe she could-

"Wait just a moment please!" she told the others before hurrying to catch up with the other starter Pokemon. "Wait!" she called. The Meganium found it easy to catch up with him, as she knew the caverns well. She slid around on the ice before her sight caught him. Rushing towards the Ivysaur, her flower began to glow a spectrum of colors before releasing a multi-colored scent. Aromatherapy. She hoped it would be enough to heal his wound, she wanted to avoid any violence, especially when they just met.

"Does it feel better now?" Magnolia tipped her head to the side, curious. "I can always do more Aromatherapies if you need it."

Locke was flung back by the strength of the serpentine dragon around his face. He roared in a rage, trying to tear it off. Just as he pried the wriggling dragon from his face, he felt a strong body slam him into the cold ground, jagged scales rubbing against his own.
"BLOO-CAI-OOOOD!" Lockes' childlike voice was struggling to be heard underneath the bloodthirsty raving. The young dragon was conscious of what was happening, but he could do nothing to hold himself back.

"You get yourself together, Locke,"
Tears began to flow down the Gabites' face as he snarled and tried to snap viciously at Cairo.
NO! DON'T HURT CAIRO! DON'T HURT HIM! NO NO!
Suddenly images from the past flashed in his mind- when he first blacked out from the bloodlust. He saw Cairo as he was now, with a fiery ball glowing in his mouth, ready to kill him.
Please Cairo! Don't hurt me! I thought we were friends!
He felt the unbrearable blood rage...but somewhere, he heard the cheery jingle of a bell.
"Please, get yourself together..."
My bell! That's it! That's it! That's why they gave it to me! Locke realized in shock, looking down at the claw with the soothe bell strapped around it.
With his remaining will power, he shook his arm as hard as he could. The bell frantically sounded, reaching Lockes' ears as it froze him in place, his eyes returning to normal. The dragons' chest heaved heavily, his breath raspy and loud as he tried to regain his bearings. He stopped struggling as he looked up at the Flygon, tears streaming from his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry...I did-didn't mean to..." He whimpered through his tears.

Echo was suddenly ripped off of Locke face with one devastating swoop of the dragon's claw. As Echo flew through the air, he could not think of anything except the sharp edges of the walls all around him. Echo crashed into the wall and was knocked out. His sight faded into blackness as lost consciousness. Th-that hurt, was the last thought that entered the small dragon's mind before blacking out.

(OOC: Sorry, there wasn't much to say at this point. The big parts are up to Olle, Magnolia, Locke, and Cairo.)

Cairo's claws and arms shook with fear as he held the other dragon down, praying Locke would come out of his bloodlust. The dragonbreath in his open maw was getting difficult to hold back; his mouth ached with the strain. There was nothing but hunger in Locke's eyes, the same hunger Jackie held as mercilessly hunted them. But there was nothing else wrong with Locke's appearance... And for a moment, Cairo could swear he heard Locke try and say his name...

Locke then, unexpectedly, began to frantically wave his arm about, jingling the bell. Confused, Cairo looked to it, then to Locke. 'What...?' After a moment of ringing the bell, Locke's eyes returned to normal, tearing up in fright and alarm. Just like last time. "I-I'm sorry...I did-didn't mean to..." Locke whimpered through his tears.

Cairo had not felt relief like he felt right then in too long of a time, He swallowed the attack instantly, burning his mouth and throat, and fiercely hugged the younger dragon beneath him. "Never scare me like that again, Locke... Please..." He churred and chirped sadly, his wings subconsciously vibrating a sad, low note. He pulled out of the hug and moved so to help Locke stand. "What happened?"

His sensitive nose managed to catch a whiff of that heavenly aroma, blocking out all the other senses as he embraced the sweet smell. It completely enveloped him, but he did not mind, it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Somewhere along the way he had closed his eyes to fully enjoy the smell, so when the voice broke through, he was completely dumbstruck. The grass pokemon with the pure white petals looked worriedly at him as soon as he opened his eyes. Olle immediately looked away in embarrassment, he had planned on staying away from the group for the dragon’s own good until he could go outside and heal, and here she comes finding him instantly, and she was even worried about him.

It took him a moment to realize that she was asking about his wound specifically, and not him in general, it must have been her who had produced that heavenly scent. Apparently he was not so good at hiding his wounds as he thought he was…

The scent had done more than freshen up the cave and get rid of the smell of ice, it had caused the cut to stopped bleeding, and showed good signs by starting to scab over. As long as he did not sprint, it looked like it would not tear open and start to bleed again. He even stretched it a bit just to make sure, but for some strange reason pain was still present, not on his wound though…

“Um…..yeah….it’s, well…….I was….well, the sun, it wasn’t….i couldn’t……….Thanks” That last part was mumbled out, he wasn’t used to being helped like this unless told to by a trainer, that and the fact that it was from her caused his entire face to turn red, from embarrassment of course, or at least that’s what Olle told himself.

“I guess we should go find the others huh?” It was easier to talk when looking away. “Umm…..youwouldn’thappentoknowwherethatiswouldyou?” Though not so much when you had to ask a complete stranger on directions when it was your fault they were lost….

“I guess we should go find the others huh?” Magnolia nodded, looking around. Wait, this area didn't seem familiar- “Umm…..youwouldn’thappentoknowwherethatiswouldyou?” The Meganium winced. In her chase to catch up with Olle, she hadn't taken notice of her surroundings... She hadn't explored these areas before, and she didn't exactly remember how far they had gone.

"Um..." she murmured. How should she say this? Magnolia was lost. How would she break this news to the Ivysaur? She didn't want to make him worried. 'But... The truth is better than a lie...'

With a deep breath, she sighed. "I... I don't know where we are." the Meganium mumbles. "I'm sorry." she squeaks. Her antennae drooped. She felt like she just failed something. A few minutes ago she had said she knew her way around these tunnels, but now, both she and a Pokemon she had just met were lost.

From a distance away, scratching and grunting noises were heard. They began to grow into growls, then high-pitched shrieks. Magnolia was pretty sure she heard a few icicles fall. These sounds sounded... "I-I... I think there's infected..."

"Never scare me like that again, Locke... Please..." Cairo chirped sadly, hugging him tight. The Gabite quietly cried, whimpering into Cairos' shoulder. As he got to his feet, he wiped at his face with his claw, unsuccessfully wiping away his tears.

"What happened?" Cairo asked, looking at at him with wide eyes.
"I-I don't know..." Locke stammered, looking down at his talons. "I saw Ollles' cut and...it felt like...someone else inside. Th-they wanted to eat Olle..." Lockes' eyes grew wider as he realized the Ivysaur wasn't there.
"Oh no, Olle...I gotta find hi-" He stopped short as his eyes fell on the unconscious body of the black Dratini, laying limply against the cold ground. He turned to Cairo in alarm, then ran to the little dragons' side, tears starting to fall down his face again.
"Echo! Echo are you okay?!" He cried hysterically, nudging the little dragons body gently with his talons. The little dragon didn't move.
"No, be okay!" he whimpered through his tears, shaking the unconscious Dratini harder. "I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Wake up! Wake up!"

The harbinger attack on Nova is lifted due to a misunderstanding. Skip his turn, as he was supposed to be in the safehouse.

Cairo quickly went to Locke's side as the other frantically attempted to wake up the silent small dragon. "Locke, calm down," Cairo churred as he gingerly took the other's frantic claws from Echo. He lowered his head to the limp body and heard muffled sounds-- a pulse. The flygon sighed in relief. Echo was still alive.

"Don't worry, Locke, he's just unconscious," Cairo said calmly. "He'll be ok. He just needs a little time to wake up, all right?" He looked around, trying to find a trace of the pretty lady and Olle. "We need to find the others for now, though. Pick him up and we'll take him with us. Make sure he doesn't get too cold."

Sniffing and wishing he were more dog-like, he waddled awkwardly along the trail, hoping his senses weren't failing him. While he had excellent eyesight and hearing, his sense of smell was... lacking, and the other senses were starting to fool him; he heard strange echos off the rocks and the darkness played tricks on his mind. He hoped to find the others soon...

Poseidon watched as Olle and Magnolia ran off, but not really understanding what had just happened he stayed where he was with Lock, Cairo, and the Dratini. He didn't say anything as he looked as Lock, upset and holding the little dragon. Cairo tried to comfort him while he looked around for the two grass types. He looked in the direction they had gone, but who knows how many twist and turns there where. This Ice Path was like a maze, and there where bound to be ice type infected around every corner.

Great, Olle had done gotten himself hurt, caused the dragon to go on a rampage, and has gotten himself and this fellow grass pokemon lost by running off, and they had no clue what direction to even go in, and to top it all off, obvious undead growls and screams could be heard. This enclosed cave made sound bounce off everywhere, it was hard for Olle to tell how far away the things were, only that the way he was running before, if he had kept going, he would eventually have to run into those things, he would have run right into a nest of them if it were not for Magnolia.

“Come on, we shouldn’t stay here too long.” He said trying to not sound worried, but failing miserably as he started a fast walk down the opposite side of were the infected were coming from. He would normally try to sniff his way back, but he did not have as strong of a nose as he would wish, and in this icy atmosphere, his nose was only useful for random bursts of noise and mucus.

This place was a maze, that was for sure, and if they went about it willy-nilly they would get even more lost. He wanted to use his sludge bombs at a low caliber to leave a trail so they wouldn’t go in a circle, but it always left his throat hurting and a bit raw, which would make him cough, which would alert the undead to them…..


Eventually Olle made it to an area where the floor looked clearer than the rest of the cave, he didn’t give much attention to it though, it was ice, and he figured it was all the same. Though immediately upon stepping on it his foot slipped making him slam to his stomach with an ‘UMPH’ and him continuing to slide forward on him stomach. He tried to get up, and he did for a little bit, but then he moved again and the same thing happened again. He was starting to hurt again, though oddly not on his stomach, that just felt cold and raw, but more on his side. It felt like that was happening more often, but Olle just passed it off as the cold playing tricks on him.

“I hate ice more than ever now…” Olle said trying to get up, but too fearful to move from that spot in the middle of the reflective ice floors. “How are we supposed to get past this?”

The growls came again, and it sounded closer, he didn't know how much time they had to either find the others or get out of here...

“Come on, we shouldn’t stay here too long.” Magnolia gave a swift nod, following the Ivysaur as he sped along the cold floor. She kept a close eye out for any familiar formations or areas, if she could find one then she could locate through the tunnels like it was the back of her foot. The Meganium felt nervousness claw at her stomach, what if the undead were stalking them? She couldn't fight, having only defensive and support moves. it was a mere miracle that she was able to survive this long.

They arrived at an icy clearing, and as Olle stepped on the solid water he slipped and fell, sliding on his stomach. Magnolia hopped onto the ice, sliding towards the grass-type worriedly. "Are you alright?" she asked. “I hate ice more than ever now… How are we supposed to get past this?” The Meganium thought for a moment, before smiling. "Do you know Vine Whip? If so, you can use your vines to grab onto me while I skate, and then I can get us both off the ice." she suggested.

Magnolia was a patient Pokemon, she could wait days just for Olle's answer but when she heard the growls and screams coming closer she couldn't wait. It felt as if they had only a few minutes to get off the ice and start running before the infected would catch them and eat them alive.

[OOC: My stupid mistake was stupid. OTL]

(OOC: I don't think I should post yet. Just say that Echo is still unconscious. I'll post next round though.)

"Don't worry, Locke, he's just unconscious," Cairo said calmly. "He'll be ok. He just needs a little time to wake up, all right?"
Locke sniffled loudly as he listened to Cairo, nodding soberly.
"We need to find the others for now, though. Pick him up and we'll take him with us. Make sure he doesn't get too cold." The Gabite whimpered a little as he picked up the Dratini in his talons, and carefully, albeit awkwardly, held him close to his chest.

Locke sighed as he meekly followed Cairo, clinging to the small Dratini tightly.
What...was that?...why did that happen?...I could have...really hurt them...is that why father gave the bell to me?...because he knew?...Why didn't he wear one...?
I don't...
Lockes' thoughts were interrupted by screeching somewhere deeper in the cave. With a shudder, he pulled the little dragon closer and gulped loudly.
"C-Cairo...is that?...."

(OoC-You skipped me Nova, but it's okay)

Cairo sighed as he continued down, his mind pondering on Locke's strange mental issues. Was he always going to be like this? A constant threat in the back of his mind, haunting him? He wanted Locke and he, at least, to make it through this terrible plague together...

He stopped when he heard the screeches and turned to Locke, who was also obviously nervous. "C-Cairo? Is that...?" Cairo looked back to the tunnel, his face set to determined.

"That might be them, Locke!" he said as he dropped to all fours and started running. "Let's go! Keep Echo safe!"

Olle looked shamefully down at the vines he extended, apparently they had regrown a little bit due to that wonderful smell that the grass pokemon protruded, but it was barely any difference. His vines were still pitifully small and would continue to be for a lot longer, though there were just barely long enough to wrap around her leg or tail. “Sorry…they’re kinda short at the moment…” He felt pitiful about showing these nubs of a vine whips to another grass type, because in comparison they were laughably small, and he was forced to wrap it around her tail with another quiet “Sorry” for wrapping it around her leg would cause her to fall on the run.

He was honestly beginning to think that this flowery Magnolia was part ice type by the way she glided so easily on this ice.

The screeching growls and roars that have been tormenting the cave had been getting louder and louder, but now the thundering of footsteps was also heard. The area they were in was expanded and larger than the rest of the cave they had been in so far, so at the narrower part the shadows of being with red eyes could be seen rounding the corner. The undead were catching up to them increasingly fast, and he would not be able to fight them on this floor, so instead he figured he would slow them down. Using an energy ball he fired it at the roof of the narrower part were the undead were going through, ice chuncks fell down on a few crushing their bodies, some still moving and growling despite of that. The chunks were not enough to block off the whole entrance, but it would require them to either force their way through or tediously climb over it. The only problem was he was not able to enclose them all, for 3 had made it through before the ice chunks fell….


((Left it open in case Luteshi comes back...))

(Ooc- sorry skip me. I didn't know Lute wasn't here. Locke is following Cairo.)

There were only a couple of Infected within the confines of the tunnel as he ran to where Olle's and Magnolia's scents led. Or at least, the blood scent. He dispatched of them quickly and found himself at a partially collapsed tunnel, where he could see more than a few Infected had been obliterated. When he looked to the cavern, he spotted the two grass types and the group of dead flanking them.

He growled and sprang free of the ice, using the small amounts of drafting air to lunge into the heights of the cavern, and dropped down in between them and his friends. Without a word, he caught two in the faces with a dragonbreath, but the third escaped him, rushing past to get to Olle and Magnolia. "Guys! Behind you!" he called.

((Just skip me, I lost my motivation to post...))