The PALLET Team

The attack had done its job. Khan felt the impact vibrate through his wrists as the bone cracked the skull of the Pikachu and send him flying into a nearby tree. The Lucario tensed as he waited, but howled in frustration as Maxwell staggered back to his feet. Blood poured from the open wound on his head as he staggered to the side after punching himself in the face and beginning to sob.

Khan felt tears welling up in his own eyes as he watched. Never before had he felt so sorry for anyone. Not only did he need to kill Maxwell, but he wanted to. He wanted to end the Pikachu's pain for good. Such a small, innocent Pokemon did not deserve such torments.

"K-Khan? What's wrong with him? What's he doing? Why?" Haze panicked, turning to Khan as if he knew all the answers.

Before he could say anything, however, Ken landed nearby and began talking to Haze himself. Khan stopped listening and let his mind wander. He blinked, allowing the tears to spill down his scarred face.

"You think it's possible Khan?"

He hadn't even been listening. All he could do was turn to Ken and helplessly shake his head, quickly raising one arm to wipe away the tears. He'd already decided. He'd be the one to end it for Maxwell; to end the poor little creature's suffering once and for all. He'd be doing him a favour, yet why was he feeling so guilty about it?

Venonat seemed to be offering his own opinions on the matter, but Khan was barely looking. Now was not the time to debate and offer suggestions. The Pikachu before them was clearly in a great deal of pain and suffering and it needed to end. The world was already keeling over onto its knees and it didn't need to get any worse.

Forgive me.

Without a word of warning, Khan sped straight back at Maxwell. He raised the bone over his head and brought it straight down towards the Pikachu's skull once again, towards the same wound that he had inflicted last time. More tears escaped his eyes as he contemplated the Pikachu's fate. Hopefully it would be quick and painless; the last thing the poor thing needed was more agony.

I'm sorry, little one. Your suffering ends here.

They’re talking about you. Maxwell slugged a punched against himself, the blood on his face leaving a wicked trail of dark red. He knows that already, he wasn’t a deaf fool. Then you wouldn’t have a problem with me taking back the body. His tears had stopped coming by then, but for some reason, it had left him feeling empty and hollow. Maxwell had always taken things for granted, as far as he could remember. And freedom was one of those things; it was only until he didn’t have any freedom at all that Maxwell noticed how much he should cherish it.

The other Voice (he had no other name for its benevolence) seemed to snicker at Maxwell’s despair, lapping up his negative emotions with ecstasy. The Pikachu dropped on the ground, giving up on hurting himself. Allow me to take the reigns, will you? The Voice spoke with something akin to feigned kindness, and despite how much Maxwell wanted to keep the body (when had he began to call his body ‘the’ body...?), he suddenly felt so tired...

Hey! Maxwell’s body suddenly leaped to the treetops, and by reaction he clung onto the bark. Stupid shit! That fucking Lucario almost killed you! The Voice spoke angrily, letting loose a line of swears in exaltation. The mouse almost wished that the Lucario had hit, but before he knew it, he was scaling the tree without moving the muscles to do so himself. How had his world come to this? Where were the friends he supposedly had, the family that was assumed to loved him dearly? As his body crept deeper into the forest and away from the crowd, Maxwell let his thoughts, whether they were coherent or not, to be rendered and processed fully.

He didn’t want this. He didn’t want a life that included running and killing. He didn’t ask for any of this. The one dream, the one goal he swore to live up to, was to evolve, and he had completed it - at the cost of one fatal downfall, his life as a whole. In return for his evolving, Maxwell’s life was thrown into chaos, his mind erased from any and all memory, and his feelings toyed with to the point that he didn’t even feel anymore. Heh. The Pikachu winced as the body was led into the greenery absently. You want to evolve, eh? Fear gripped his non-beating heart, resulting in widened eyes and a quickened breath.

Let’s go find you a Thunderstone, Maxwell. Was anyone out there listening to his silent cry? Why weren’t they answering?

The pain was leaving, little by little, but it was not helping the numbness and the dizziness. No matter how long she waited for the world to clear up and take away the blurred vision, it did not want to cooperate with her. Even with the berry that bug had given her, she would not be in fighting for a bit, it would take a truckload of berries to get those results, which was a pain because Norman was thrashing in her pouch, it was past feeding time.

Groaning from discomfort as she got up, Nora sat up and quickly lopped off a chuck of her diminishing tail, her numb hands cutting off a bigger and sloppier chunk than she wanted, but right now she was too tired to care. Handing the piece to the eager child of hers, he mind went back to her other child, Maxwell, who was nowhere to be seen. Not even a body in sight, which worried her, she would go searching for his body as soon as she was fit, but until then she would be a big old heap of worthlessness, and she hated it. Letting out a loud roar of helplessness in an attempt get rid of her tension, Nora went back to staring at nothing and letting her mind wander, not even feeling the few lone tears making their way down her cheeks.

((OTL i got the dates for Pallet and Victory mixed up, so really really sorry for the delay....))

Haze noticed the look in Khan's eyes, and suddenly he charged at the poor Pikachu before Haze can even utter a word. His bone came crashing to the ground but the Infected dodged and jumped into the treetops. Haze let out a sigh of relief after all he still didn't like seeing others in pain.

((OOC: Sorry it's short, I don't know what to say here...))

((Skip me, can't post right now.))

The small bug type frowned as everyone had ignored him. He seemed to be pouting as he sitted on the ground. He looked around sighing, as nothing could be done, jumping onto his feet he walked towards the Kangaskhan and tilted his head. He poked her side and awaited untill she noticed him, and once she did, if she did, he waves smilling.

He crawled ontop of her head and sitted there looking down at her. It seemed he liked Nora, by some reason, even though she was taken as an enemy by most of the others. He slided down to her shoulder and looked at her, with his big red eyes.

The force that traveled into Khan's wrists and up through his arms was phenomenal. He was certain that he had hit his target. His whole body trembled as he lifted the spear upwards, expecting to see the bloodied body of Maxwell beneath it. Instead he saw nothing but the grass and a thin, deep trench in the ground where he had pounded it. With halting disbelief, he looked to the treetops and spotted the Pikachu leaping over the branches and out of sight.

With another howl of frustration, Khan slammed his spear into the ground with enough force to break it in half. As it turned to dust in his fingers, he sighed to try and simmer his bubbling temper. He wasn't sure why he was so angry with himself. All he'd wanted to do was end little Maxwell's pain. It was a good thing; why was it turning out to be so difficult? He became slightly disturbed by the fact that he was so aggravated after failing to kill something ... He tried to convince himself that his recent bout of bloodlust had been for a good cause; not just because he had felt like killing something.

With another sigh he stood back up and turned to face the others. He somehow felt that he should apologise to them. Instead, he rubbed the back of his aching head and took a step towards them.

"We must be wary. Maxwell is still out there and I fear that he can no longer control his lust for flesh. I think that it would be a good idea to follow our original plan and head to Pallet Town. Among the buildings, we'll be more difficult to track there. Is everyone agreed with this?"

He was about to head in the direction of the half-destroyed town when he heard a roar from nearby. Not a roar of aggression, but of helplessness. Khan blinked at the Kangaskhan who still sat on the ground where she had collapsed. His crimson eyes bore no expression as he approached her and stood right in front of her.

"I hope that you are learning from your mistakes," he said, his voice monotone. "This is what will happen if you continue to attack us like this. We already warned you that you were outnumbered. You ignored it and you lost. You cannot keep living the life that you are leading now. You will never be happy, and neither will your child. I understand that you still have a mother's instinct to protect him, but try and understand the pain that you are both in because you are letting him live. Carry on this way and it will never end. Think about that."

A little surprised at the length of his own speech, the Lucario gave the Kangaskhan a small nod before turning back towards Pallet Town. He could see the buildings in the distance. He turned back and looked at the others before beginning to slowly walk that way.

Maxie, boy. The Pikachu’s body was rummaging through the forest floor, his nose peeking under tree trunks and through the spindly roots of the greenery. Once we evolve, we’ll become one and a whole. Unstoppable. Maxwell forced the body to be still, considering only now what it would be like to witness the world around him but not be able to interact with it. Don’t just consider Max, EMBRACE it. The mouse shivered at the Voice, and his body lurked forward without another word. Could it really happen? Would he truly lose his hold on his body?

Maxwell was tired of asking questions. Yes, he still had questions at the back of his mind, but the little yellow Pokemon no longer had the stamina to continue the inner battle within him. So you’ve gracefully accepted the loss, eh? The body seemed to stiffen as it found something underneath, and after a bit more scurrying, came upon a mound of dirt. The yellow body then began to dig, pushing away the earth and going deeper into the trench. Maxwell wondered what the others were doing at the moment. In the lapse of his defeat, the broken Pikachu finally had reached a reprieve, a chance to gather his senses.

The others were most likely plotting a way to end his life (No way in hell, Maxie), or probably fleeing to Pallet Town. Wincing as a sharp memory pierced his null mind, Maxwell remembered the Jynx, how its eyes were so full of pain and suffering also, and her screech was filled with agony and loss. How she ended up dying and he knew not what the cause was - just another blackout in his life like all the rest. The original owner of the body, Maxwell, attempted once again to fight against invader, the Voice. We’ve almost gotten it, Max. Once this Thunderstone is in our possession, you won't prefer rebelling so much. You won’t prefer much of anything at all. Maxwell closed his eyes as he noticed the bright green and yellow colors of the infamous stone unearth itself from the brown dirt it was surrounded by.


That’s more like it, huh? The Voice... it resonated this time, not a whisper in his mind. His newly evolved form stretched easily, his fur bristling at an unknown enemy. What happened? Why does he feel so free, as if nothing in the world could stop him? Because our combined minds have formed us. Maxwell didn’t understand, a puzzle piece that was an enigma to the rest of the puzzle. A sigh escapes the body, but a smirk soon forms too.

I’ll be glad to explain while we get used to this. For some odd reason, Maxwell no longer tried to push the Voice away, and as he padded on all fours, his tail lashed with great guile. You see, Maxwell, I am an infection. When the genetic makeup within you changed during your evolution... I got mixed up in the transformation. The Raichu nodded with understanding this time - they were like a chemical reaction; once you mix them together, they create something new entirely. Let’s try something out, Maxwell. The Voice was soft, but had a sense of authority in them. The Raichu did not hesitate to comply.

A Hoothoot was resting within a tree ahead of them. In one fluid motion Maxwell had set up an Agility and sprung from the ground and upon the Hoothoot’s nest. And without even checking if the bird were alive or infected, the Raichu dug into its stomach, ripping apart the skin as if it were paper and reveling in the red liquid that ran through his paws. The glory, Maxwell! Don’t you enjoy it! The Raichu howled in great agreement, licking the blood with great hunger. The intestines were hanging from the Hoothoot, dangling from the tree’s limb, but Maxwell didn’t crave for that. He was out for blood.

Now, now Maxwell, handle yourself. Like a machine, the Raichu immediately stopped licking his paws, his stoic face revealing no emotion whatsoever. Someone did this to you. The electric type tilted his head in confusion, not sure what the Voice meant. What did it mean? He was just as he was a few moments before, lost, but this time around he was more accepting of the fact. No, before all this you were happier. You couldn’t have been more happier than during those times. But someone stole that from you. Maxwell widened his eyes, pushed the Hoothoot from its nest as he stared through the forestry.

That Lucario from before? He fucked up your life. And you want revenge. The Raichu’s cheeks sparked with blue electricity, negative voltage that Maxwell easily controlled now. His friends plotted against you also. I only want the best for you, Maxwell. But they’ve done you wrong. ”I... hate them...” Maxwell unleashed a Thunder upon himself, feeling his anger grow as his fur bristled with ferocity. ”I hate them!”

[ooc: 8U Maxwell is now hungry for blood. Just sayin’.]

You would think that after beating someone down to the ground and killing off their reason to fight you would either leave them to sulk or finish them off. But these pokemon did neither. Nora wanted to go into that town that she had seen before and go on a violent rampage to help ease her pain, but she was still too tired and weak, and having these pokemon so close didn’t help her.

The purple bug kept poking her on the side, she ignored him for a bit but he was persistent, and when she finally did the thing only waved at her! It was bothering her for no reason other than to smile and wave, and in her defeated state she only saw that gesture as mocking. She had no clue what to make of the venonat, it kept bothering her, climbing on her head, rolling down to her shoulder and staring at her with those big red eyes. She knew if it was one of her sons doing that she would laugh and play along, but with this strange pokemon she didn’t know what to do, after the pain she went through of losing Maxwell, she was not looking for a new son. She merely left it for now, too tired to do anything about it.

Nora Bates would have gone to sleep right there and then, still kneeling down, but the pokemon would not stop bothering her at all. The one who had beaten her went right up to Nora and spoke down to her. It was hard to catch everything with her ears still ringing from that attack, but she caught most of it. He was talking down to her, telling her that it was best to put Norman down, that she got what she reaped and other stuff, But he didn’t know what she had gone through, how many dead babies she had held in her arms till Norman came into her life, how lonely her entire life has been, she would never cast her child aside like her parents and the Bate’s, the caretakers, had done to her. He had never been a mother, he probably never even had a child, he could never know, he was surrounded by loved ones in his little tribe where he made himself leader so he didn’t know the cold desolate loneliness she had walked since she was a baby like Norman. "You don’t know, you could never know…”

Forcing herself to get up, but not before bending down low enough to make sure the purple bug jumped off, if it didn’t she would shrug it off, she wanted to be alone right now. Nora hobbled off her destination was anywhere but with them.

((OOC: Sorry can't think of what to say. Just say that Haze asked Khan why he was being so hard on Ms. Bates...))

Nora had bended down to help the Venonat to the ground, he jumped off and looked at the Kangaskhan, it seemed to be sad and wanted to walk away, although Venonat looked at her sad, he saw how her pain was...It was similar to his own. A Mother nearly with no son...Like he is a son with no mother.

Even against her will, Venonat kept close to the Kangaskhan to keep her company, he seemed to like Nora, even though they were enemies, but he was seeing her with new eyes.

"You don’t know, you could never know..."

Khan closed his eyes tightly as he walked away. The tears were threatening to make a comeback. He blinked and looked up at the bright morning sky to try and tilt them back into his eyes. He hated having this ... attitude. Deadly serious about everything ... he couldn't even smile anymore. He already felt bad for lecturing the Kangaskhan instead of helping her like he would've done before all this. Before Eva died.

It was too late now though; he was already some way away and getting closer to Pallet Town. Haze asked him why he had been so hard on the Kangaskhan. The Lucario quickly looked away and pretended to examine a tree as the tears returned.

"Because ... because I, you see ... I don't know."

He said no more. He was telling the truth; he truly didn't know where this seriousness had come from. Back before the Epidemic he had always been so happy and carefree. But since Eva's death he had changed so dramatically it almost scared him. He didn't know how to relax; how to put mistakes behind him; how to forgive. He hated these parts of himself and vowed to get rid of them. He just didn't know how. He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled or laughed out of joy.

"Let's ... just try and get to Pallet Town in one piece," he said as he turned his head back towards the road. He blinked and a tear rolled slowly down his scarred cheek. He didn't attempt to hide it; he had to show Haze that he did have emotions.

(ooc: skip for this turn. :U I bring him back next cycle, so be prepaaared~)

Nora stumbled off away from the town nearby, the others would go immediately to the town and she did not want to deal with them right now. At first she had no destination, but as her feet moved on their own she saw that they were leading her to the spot where she and her two children had slept the night. She wasn’t exactly sure why, but that was her current destination, and she wanted to be alone with her remaining son Norman.

But apparently she was followed. She would have not noticed it if it were not for the grumbles and growls of her child. The purple bug had continued following her. The same bug who had poisoned her, but had also given her a berry after she was down….He did not know what to make of that strange creature. She wanted him for food for Norman, but at the moment he was still sated from the clump of her own tail she had given him, which would only last an hour or two. So now she was perplexed on what to do about the bug….

Norman would eat anything, but he seemed to prefer fresh meat over meat that was left dead for a while, so killing the venonat now was out of the question, plus seeing as she still tired and the young thing attacked from afar, she doubt she could actually do the deed.

“What do you want, why do you keep following me?” It was looking sad, but it seemed as if not sad for itself, but sad for her. She was confused on how to react to that, if she should be angry at the fact that it thought she needed pity, or comforted by the fact that something was actually empathetic with her.

It was young, and with what she had seem, most likely lacking a family. She had already put herself out there to take in a child, and Maxwell ended up dying because of that, she didn’t want to go through that again, she already had Norman to take care of still. But she just couldn’t work up the nerve to tell the kid off, to tell it that she was not his mother, that he had no more parents, because she knew how painful those words are, she had heard them twice.

((OOC: Once again, please skip me because I've been busy with school work. Just say that Haze understood what Khan was trying to say and comforts him with a soothing grass-flute song.))

Ahh, what a fine day to go for a walk. A fine day indeed. My long thin tail swirved to and fro, keeping in perfect rhythem with my strides as I walked and I heald my arms up, paws bent at the wrists, to let my long fur cover my upper arms. The sun seemed to be getting higher and higher into the air ever so slowly, as if taking it's sweet time, but I didn't mind as the golden rays warmed my lavander fur. There were trees and bushes all around, waving happily in the light breeze and a purr vibrated in my throat. I just loved how even in that day and age the world never stopped living and breathing.

I flicked my ears back as I suddenly heard a voice. My posture changed and my back straightened as I snapped up to attention. It was a lower voice, but still distinctivly female. I tilted my head to one side, a curious glint coming to my dark eyes. It sounded uninfected, but you could never be sure. Just as quickly I dropped my defensive stance with a lazy shrug of my shoulders. I could handle an infected or two, the things weren't very bright, not that I was conseited or anything. It's just true.

I swung one arm to a side, flicking out my whiplike fur to male a sharp snapping sound. It was not loud but it would let whoever was there know of my presense. The tall grass was still high enough to cover my eyes so I could not see who I heard speaking until several strides later.The green stalks were shoved to one side with a small paw as I stuck my nose out of the grass. Out on the path I finally saw who it was- a massive dinosaur, that I knew from experiance was a Kangkaskhan, and a small purple fur ball. They appeared sane but the larger of the two had a massive wound to her tail- most of it was nearly gone- and the common child that her kind was known for..well, it had the scent of death. A foul scent came to me and I scrunched my nose unhappily at the smell, but I took in the ovious look of clean intelligence in her eyes. So she was healthy. Huh, weird. But the bug thing beside her was a vivid violet with wide red eyes. My brown gaze narrowed at it, but there was no sinister scent from it. Overall, they seemed okay in my book. A goofy grin split my facial features, my famous trademark, as I flicked one paw in the air and intentionally showing the fur flap in a wave at the three. 

"Hey there! How goes it fellow survivors?" I called in a relaxed tone. I strode happily over to them, flashing a one sided smile at the two. However, as I came within a few yards of them, the bug thing paniced. It squeaked with fear and shot into the grass, out of sight. I stopped in my tracks, looking at where he went with wide eyes. "Was it something I said?" I asked no one in particular.

((Ooc; Hai guys! 8D))

((Sup Hera. Please skip me while I try to catch up with whats happening.))

(Sorry, hate to do this but please skip me, there isn't much I can do at the moment. Just say that Khan thanked Haze for his comfort and they have now reached Pallet Town.

Also ... HERA! :D Might've known you'd make your way here eventually! XD)

That way. The Voice spoke with dark intentions evident, but in his hollow rage Maxwell listened without question. They were going to the source of his agony, the ones who took all that he stood for. The Raichu flicked his long tail at a nearby tree, sparks flying from the tip of his tail causing the bark to turn black with char. You'll hear it soon enough... The Mouse Pokemon gave a stiff nod, padding on all fours as he kept his ears perked for any sign of life. Soon enough... It was only when the Venonat ran past him in ignorant surprise that Maxwell knew he was near his first target.

The Raichu didn't know why his blind anger shook when he looked at his mother. She's not your mother, Max. The Voice spoke with menace, yet looking at her broken figure made the electric type feel as if he were still just a lost Pichu, yearning for love. She's innocent. He decided; it was the others that he wanted to take revenge upon. The Voice roared in defiance, and Maxwell's head burned with hurt and tiredness, a red haze flitting in his eyes. "Graaaah!" Maxwell roared as the pain seared his entire body, but suddenly it was gone, leaving the Raichu gasping for air. ... She's hurt, Maxy. And there's only one other being here that could have caused it. The Voice was smooth and void of emotion, comforting and haunting at the same time.

Maxwell's head had never snapped up faster than it had then, and his eyes zoned in on the newcomer. This was his mother, and it dared hurt her? "Mother, I'm back..." He strode up on all four feet, padding until he was between the Mienshao and the Kangaskhan, growling the entire time. Maxwell allowed his tail to rest on the foot of Nora Bates, before lashing it like a whip and glaring at the fighting type. He was trying to take someone precious away from you. Looking at the Mienshao's smiling face, it only angered the Raichu even further. Maxwell, he wanted her dead!

That had done it; all hell broke loose in Maxwell's mind, another roar blanking out all thoughts as his eyes glowed a blood red. The Raichu stood up on his hind legs and stood at the same height as the Mienshao, negative, blue electricity cultivating in his cheeks. "Rai..." It doesn't deserve to live. End its life. "chu!" A big bolt of Thunder lashed down from the sky and onto Maxwell, and with a devilish grin he unleashed it towards the Martial Arts Pokemon.

[ooc: welcome to the team, Cianaaa <3]

The measly looking bug never answered her, a too-happy and goofy pokemon came out of nowhere and scared it away. She was rather glad about it running off, she may feel some pity for it, she didn’t feel enough to want it to keep following it. The new pokemon though…. Just by looking at the way it walked she could tell she did not like him, he was too happy for his own good. It just reminded her of how horrible her life was right now since Maxwell died compared to this guy.

She had planned on ignoring him and continuing to her destination, the spot where she had spent the night as a family, but today was filled with interruptions.

Norman was acting up again, trying to get out of the pouch and everything. He saw it before she did; a large orange mouse, a raichou. If it wasn’t for the missing ear and the bite mark on his stomach, she would not have recognized the one she thought was dead. Nora thought his body had been destroyed and desecrated after she came out of her hazy stupor, so she was slightly in disbelief that Maxwell was walking right towards her. Even him calling her ‘Mother’ didn’t bring her out of it.

Nora refused to blink, she didn’t want to close her eyes for even a millisecond only to find out that her mind was playing a cruel joke on her. So when she felt his tail rest against her feet, her legs gave away in relief and she was on her knees, witnessing her son call down a fierce thunder attack.

“I thought I’d never see you again….” He was back, it was all she could think about, and part of her kept expecting this illusion to disperse any moment to reveal her going crazy, but it didn’t. His eyes may resemble Norman’s more than before, but he was truly back, and she would be by his side no matter how he acted.

She was tired, bruised, and sore beyond anything she had experienced before, but seeing Maxwell made her motherly instincts take priority over everything else. Which left meant only one thing. “Are you hungry?”

((I imagine a sudden Dun Dun Duuuunnnnn popping up when she says that last bit |D))

After comforting him, Khan had thanked Haze for his soothing words and song and the their little team then headed off for the tiny village off in the distance. It was a quaint little place...was being the keyword. What was once lush green fields and well-built houses, is now grayish hills and wooden walls with no roofs or doors, broken windows, and blood-covered floors. The stench of rot and blood was everywhere and it was intoxicating. In fact, the sight of this once prosperous town was so horrifying to Haze, that he didn't even notice Venonat wander off.

While looking around for any signs of life, Haze noticed another Pokemon off in the distance that called to them. "Hey there! How goes it fellow survivors?" Haze thought that the Pokemon looked kind of goofy and off-balance. He doesn't seem dangerous, Haze thought. Or stealthy for that matter. He shrugged and went over to meet the Pokemon. "Hello...uh fellow survivor. I am Haze. Do you happen to know where we are?"

((OOC: Hello and welcome Hera. I hope you enjoy your stay here in PALLET Team with the rest of us. ^^))

Today was just not my day apparently. The normal type openly ignored my try at a greeting and I quickly changed my veiws on her. Maybe she was not the kind stereotype of her species. However I was distracted from my thinking when a small orange pokemon suddenly emerged out of nowhere. My dark eyes immediately assesed it. It's posture was terribly agressive and there was electricity coming off of it in sparks. I frowned. An electric tyoe? Must not be too rare as I had never seen one at the dammed HPAA. But then it's eyes snapped to me and one of my whiskers flicked under it's scrutiny. It sure didn't seem all that friendly. It was confirmed when the small pokemon growled, callin out to the normal type, "Mother, I'm back..." It sounded like a male from the voice but I did not think much on that either. He padded forward until he stood directly between the Kangaskhan and me, flicking out it's tail to touch her foot. She responded almost dreamily, “I thought I’d never see you again….” But then the orange mouse flicked his tail with such force you could hear it crack through the air. My eyes widened. I was quickly learning that I may have chosen the wrong crowd. I sighed silently within my head. Why was it always me...?

The Kangaskhan then said something that just utterly cought me off gaurd: “Are you hungry?” 

Well, it was then that things really clicked together. My eyes snapped back to the rat, narrowing dangerously as I took in his features once more. The missing ear, the strange scars on his underside... But the dead give away were the eyes. They heald no emotion besides cold hard hateed. Damn. How had I completely missed it? The scent was so ovious now. The mothering pokemon had not been harboring one undead pokemon but two. But of course that was when the thing decided to attack. It no longer had a gender in my mind, no more history or even a name. Those that were riddled with whatever parasite was spreading through the world deserved to die with it. It was the sad and hard fact of life."Rai..." I watched as it rose to it's full height, savage bolts of neon blue electricity dancing from it. But I was not going down without a fight. I tensed, awaiting the attack. It didn't keep me waiting. "chu!" A wicked thunderbolt came out of the sky, crashing into the rat. Then it sent the same savage energy in my direction with a smirk. But I was ready. 

I bunched my legs beneath me and sprung into the air, managing to barely dodge the attack. I watched with curiosity as the ground singed and burned, leaving a very distinct patch of blackened earth. Huh. Could have been me. Weird that fact did not bother me in the slightest. Regaurdless I was not going to stick around long enough to get fried by the thing. Have fun being infected, parasite, I silently called salutations to it. I was still in the air and twisted as I came back to the ground, touching my forepaws on the earth. With a massive shove, I was propelled back into the air, effectively twirling gracefully before landing on my feet. I grinned at the three pokemon, no more friendliness in my cold grin. With the high leaps, I was easily twenty or thirty feet away from them. Can't get me that easily.

I was prepared to continue on my way, to forget the irritating encounter, but was soon interrupted. A small, uhh, brown and green leafy pokemon... Thing came up to me. It had a stone around it's neck and other odd features, but I found my gaze landing upon the leaf that protruded from the top of it's head. It bounced up and down as the pokemon walked right over to me and, oh dear Arceus, I really wanted to touch it. It was just so fasinating, growing on a PKEMON. Wow. This guy I liked before even speaking."Hello...uh fellow survivor. I am Haze. Do you happen to know where we are?"

I blinked down at the little guy as he spoke. He didn't really seem all that worried about the thing that tried to roast me. Weird kid. But I allowed my carefree grin o appear back on my face. "Sorry, Haze, but I have just kinda been walking. Not really been paying much attention as to where," I awnsered truthfully with a nonchelaunt shrug. "Oh, and you can call me Hannon."

((Ooc; Magical Dancing Attack Power ACTIVATE!))

((Writers block, please skip...))

Khan sighed woefully as once again they were surrounded by desolate buildings. He wriggled his nose as the familiar stench of death and decay hit him. Pallet Town was certainly not as nice as he had once heard it to be. Still, the buildings provided shelter and cover from the undead and Khan was sure that there was some spare supplies laying around somewhere. The humans wouldn't have been able to take everything with them.

The Lucario was figuring out where to start looking when a flash of light from behind startled him. Wheeling round, he spotted a strange-looking Pokemon that he had never seen before dodging a powerful Electric-type attack delivered from a Raichu with one ear-- What?! Khan recognised the rodent with an annoyed growl. Why wouldn't the little beast just fall down and die? Khan marveled how he was still alive after receiving such a fatal head injury. But it appeared that he had shrugged it off as if it was a mere scratch.

The new Pokemon appeared to be a Fighting-type judging by its movements. It leaped through the air and landed near to them. Khan glanced over at Ken while Haze went to introduce himself, giving the Honchkrow a silent warning to attack this Pokemon if he was hostile. However, he seemed to be friendly as he spoke to the Nuzleaf. Still, Khan clenched his fist as he approached. He heard the new Pokemon say that his name was Hannon.

"It's good to meet you," Khan said, nodding his head to the fellow Fighting-type. "I am Khan." He glanced over Hannon's shoulder towards Nora and Maxwell and felt uncomfortable that he could not see Venonat. "You should come with us," he told Hannon. "We plan to hide out here while we figure out what to do. It would be good to have another ally."

"Are you hungry?" The Raichu growled at the fleeing figure of the Mienshao, dropping down to all fours once again. You've scared him off, Maxwell. Good job. The Voice was satisfied, the constrictions around the electric type's mind just slightly relaxing. Now have your sweet reunion with your mother while you still can. Maxwell heeded the warning, turning on his hind feet to look up at his mother's face. It had probably been only a few minutes, or maybe even an hour or so, but for him, it had been too long.

And with that, Maxwell didn't know what to do. What would he say? What could he do? Too much has happened in so short a time. Wasn't it just a few hours ago that he was a small Pichu, innocent and scared? Wasn't it just a few minutes ago that he was a suicidal Pikachu, not wanting to hurt others and lost about his uncertain future? When did he become a blinded fool, led by a voice that directed his anger towards strangers? Too much questions, Maxwell, and no answers given. The Raichu's eyes teared up as he looked at his hardy mother's eyes. She had suffered emotional turmoil because of him, and even now he was lost to her.

"Mother...?" His voice, once filled with anger and hate, was now empty and unsure. Maxwell padded at the Kangaskhan's leg, hugging it tenderly, finding her warmth a reminder that not all was lost. Aren't you hungry for some blood, Max? She'd love to give you her entire body if you asked. The Voice tempted him, but he didn't relent - this was his mother, the one being that didn't desert him when all others did. "Thank you." His voice had become a deadpan tone once again, and his fore paws immediately came up to his face to wipe away meaningless tears. The Mouse Pokemon stepped away from Nora, his face downcast but with no remorse.

The others are just ahead, Maxwell. So very close. Giving one last glance at his family - Nora and Norman - the Raichu began to charge towards the others, his eyes with blood lust evident. ... I'm sorry.