The PYRE Team

There was little sound around the strange mountain, Suzaku found, to rely on. Generally, he had to go by what little he could glean from his surroundings, instead of rising above like the rest of his brethren and simply see what was around. He could normally find noises of creatures eating, of shuffling in the grass, but... near the hazy mountain, there was almost nothing.

Maybe this place is somewhere even the creatures won't touch... is it that bad? he asked himself as he searched the odd moat-like lake surrounding the peak. He didn't mind swimming, and while he would rather not encounter the creatures again, they didn't seem to bother him. He wasn't going to question why and sighed, taking a dive into the water.

He swam easily to the shore, shaking himself off as he stared into the open doors of the mountain. He frowned and cocked his head as he studied the entrance more. "Is this..." he began as he spotted gravestones inside, "...a tomb?"

The Jolteon didn't really understand why she was here.

It wasn't that Thorn was sick of traveling - on the contrary. The new sights and sounds were sometimes the only things that kept her going. But...it did have its consequences. Even she had to admit that the only reason she'd survived this long was through pure luck. She needed to find a place that was safe from the infected. Where better than a graveyard? Mt. Pyre was isolated, with its only inhabitants being ghosts with no blood to be tainted. She'd stay here for a little while. To rest. Then she'd move on.

She'd had to call in a favor to get to the mountain - being an Electric type, she couldn't handle water. Besides, the oceans weren't safe any more, not with all of the infected Tentacruel and Pelipper that patrolled the waters. The Ralts in her debt had agreed to Teleport her to the base of the mountain and nothing else, and she'd readily agreed. Company certainly wasn't the reason she'd come, anyways.

Once the Ralts Teleported back to wherever he'd come from, she took a moment to study the deathly (haha) silence. Then she headed further into the mountain, nails clicking audibly on the tile in a way that would have worried her if she'd been anywhere else. But there was nothing to worry about in here.

Right?

[OOC: Hello, new teammate! 8D]

Suzaku took a steadying breath and swallowed nervously as he stepped inside, the musky stale air making him taste the dust that floated around him. While there was no stench of death -which was refreshing- the eerie silence kept him on his toes. The only sounds were the awfully loud footsteps he produced, his talons clicking against the cool tile of the floor.

He paused in the middle of the room, his nerves proving too much for him to move any more. The dark seemed to be never-ending, and his heart raced with anxiety. What waited in his graveyard...? Surely Taiv wouldn't be here, where he couldn't fly freely. But something compelled him in... he just didn't know what.

As he stood, he heard soft clicking above him. His head jerked up and the flames on his wrists burst out, signaling he was ready to fight. Though he couldn't fly, he knew how to kick something to Kingdom Come.

"...Who's there?!" he shouted above him, his ill-adjusted eyes letting him see a glimpse of... something... up there.

((OOC: Hey there! Just remember to put your location and time frame of your post for your character when you post. :) It's the Mt.Pyre| Dusk at the beginning of every post :D))

Arceus damn it. Not this. Not now. She'd only gotten here, and she certainly wasn't ready for a fight. And why would the native Pokemon want to fight anyways? This was supposed to be a resting place! None of this made any sense.

Not that she wasn't ready to fight - she had been moving for days without a single battle, and to be honest she was itching for a fight. It just felt...disrespectful. There had been so much death lately. Why did there need to be more, in the house of the dead? Who would be bloodthirsty enough to start a fight here?

Thorn's rage made her fur stood on end and begin to crackle with static electricity. The golden light flickered eerily off of the tombstones surrounding her. She padded deliberately to the top of the stairs, her light barely illuminating a tall figure standing on the other side of the room. Wait. A tall figure...couldn't be a native Pokemon then. Who could have made it to this island?

"Who I am is none of your business!" she hissed loudly. "Who are you, and why are you here?!"

[OOC: Whoops! Hey, it's only my first post. Cut me some slack. ;P]

Elsewhere, high up on the mountain, a little goblin shoveled the last bit of a pile of dirt into a small hole. Grief dulled the brilliant gems that were his eyes as he stomped the broken ground flat. Letting loose a sad sigh, the little Sableye turned towards the mountain and wandered to one of the doors leading back into the tombs.

Crawling inside, he immediately set to scouring the place for other survivors. After all.. Where's the fun in intangibility if you can't use it to scare the hell out of some poor unfortunate souls?

The goblin's laugh echoed through the tomb.

Days after her trek from the Goldenrod Port, River found herself staring at the entrance to a cave. The feeling she got from the inside chilled her as it felt like the cool silence of death. Not the kind of death to be worried about but the kind where ghosts lurk. Ghost types had always given the Vaporeon chills but she wasn't going to let this stop her. For the first time, River felt like she belonged at this place and, without more hesitation, she trekked into the mountain, her cells turning back into a solid form. Her sleek pelt looked as if it was made of water a few seconds before it shimmered and changed.

Inside smells hit her of other Pokemon. Other living Pokemon. River immediately made her way to them, her curiosity sparking. A Pokemon she didn't know of stood near her facing a Jolteon. The only thing River had going through her mind was how these two would look at her. She knew she looked different with the patch over her eye but her stubborn attitude told her not to care as she stepped forward towards the two Pokemon to greet them.

"My name is River." River's voice reverberated around the tombstones as she watched them with her one eye.

(OOC: Hello everyone. I'm excited about roleplaying with you all.)

Swamp had been inside the water the whole time, watching debris and dead bodies float past as his own figure was invisible against the deep blue. He had recently watched a Blaziken swim past, and he couldn't help but wonder why the fire-type was heading towards the mountain in the first place. Even if he had a good reason, why bother going through the trouble of swimming? Surely Blaziken had strong enough legs to jump across easily, not to mention there were rocks around to land on.

He felt the faintest of motion in the water. Another Vaporeon? he squinted his eyes to look closely. Surely it was a Vaporeon, only his kind could ever disguise themselves like this, almost completely undetectable within the cool liquid. He watched as the figure got out of the water, heading inside. He could hear her voice. "My name is River." Swamp smiled. She has a pretty voice.

Without another thought he lept out of the water, his body cells immediately turning him into a solid being again as he landed on the soft grass. He shook the excess water off his fur and strolled inside, head held high with pride. "Greeting, my name is Swamp." he sounded as civil as he can.

[OOC: Hi everyone! I also look forward to RPing with you all, looks like we have 3 eeveelutions here! <3]

The setting sun glinted off of the Everstone collar where it hung, creating dazzling lights to dance across the wall of the makeshift tomb. Anubis watched as the lights flitted over the rocks as the sun sank in the horizon, the cracks in the walls leaving just enough light to hit the grave he sat peacefully beside. It was why he had picked this spot in the first place. It was the only place in the entire mountain that the sun managed to get in, and since his trainer love Fire so much, he knew she would want to always be with it. He was sitting up against the marker, the scarf he tied around it brushing over his shoulder, watching the entrance to the tomb he had created. There were noises outside these walls that concerned him, Auras that seemed to be drawing closer to him and his 'mother'. He could tell they didn't mean him any harm but there was an underlying darkness to several of the Auras, and that is what had him on edge.

Closing his eyes he felt out these new creatures, the first was powerful, another angry, one seemed lost, a fourth was cunning, and the last seemed to be out for mischief. His eye twitched at the last one, because he was never very fond of practical jokes. Bonfire, Fenix's Flareon, made sure he was terrified of them in fact. That little monster did everything he could to prank Anubis when he was a little Riolu, and he was always scared of the malicious eevolution. Only Cathal kept the pranks tame, protecting him when Bonfire got out of hand. Sorrow filled him as he thought of his fallen brother, so he turned back to the grave of his 'mother' to remind him of his purpose. He was her guardian here, so if any of these creatures thought to make trouble and disturb her rest then he would make them regret that choice. With his mission in mind he waited patiently, for he knew at least two of them were nearby.

It was suddenly very crowded in the entrance of the tomb, and Suzaku felt that it would be a good time to leave... He swallowed the anxiety the two rough-looking water dogs and backed his way into the shadows, finding a door and went through it.

Though the angry one above him sounded like she would eventually be friendly, something compelled him to venture further into the grave. He eventually found himself lost in the labyrinth of tombstones and wound up near a bulky mass sitting near another grave. "Uh..." he began intelligently, "...Uhm... Hi... there?"

She hadn't noticed it before, but now that there were three Pokemon, all standing together, the smell of infection filled the room like the tide. Ironic, really, since two of them were the tide. And they were all infected.

And she was alone with them.

This was a situation she couldn't escape from. Sure, she could head out across the water, but what sort of chance did she stand when two of them were Vaporeons? The Jolteon could hit them with electricity, but that was presuming that she even could carry herself over the water. She'd never tried. Her only chance was to take them down now, but the Blaziken could cause a problem...

Oh, he was gone. That meant more to clean up later, but made the job right now easier. Thorn's fur crackled with static as she cultivated electricity, the sound drowning out the murmurs coming from the two Vaporeons. Without a word, it engulfed her and the Volt Switch carried her at unimaginable speed towards the Vaporeon with the eye patch. After this the force of the electricity would likely carry her backwards, after which she'd have to come up with a new plan of attack. But Jolteons were good at hitting fast and hard, and her Razor Fang would make sure it hit even harder. Hey, if she was lucky, maybe the Vaporeons would die. Again. Smirking to herself slightly, Thorn rocketed towards River...

[OOC: Hello, new friends! I love you all! I am pretty bummed that most of you will want to kill Thorn by the end of this, though. WHY ARE THERE ONLY TWO SEMI-SANE UNINFECTED HERE?! And why did mine decide the best plan of action was to kill the others now?!

Eeveelutions are the best. B)]

Xadian's teeth clicked together rapidly as the goblin giggled madly at the sounds of conflict on the floors below. Whoever else was in here seemed to like a good party!
He scurried down the interior walls.. Lots of holes in the floor here, quite odd...

However, on his way down, he got a whiff of.. something. Glancing about with his large eyes, he saw a.. strange, canid pokemon standing over a grave, an intense look on its face. Quickly silencing its mad giggle, the Sableye crawled among the graves, creeping towards its new friend..

His whiskers twitched, he could smell something nearby, something...tasty. There was something on this island that could satisfy his hunger and it was close.

So hungry...

He came to a cavern where three Pokemon were joined, a small Jolteon on the attack on two unsuspecting Vaporeon. He moved in quickly, taking the brunt of the little yellow Jolteon's attack without even a flinch. A powerful psychic attack had his prize squirming and shrieking in terror as he raised it into the air. It was the female Vaporeon, and her cries were like the sweetest music. Alakazam gave a wicked smirk as his Psychic slowly closed in on his victim, her bones crunching like dried sticks in winter, protruding out of her skin. Blood poured down these open wounds and he opened his mouth to catch it, but it quickly turned to ash in his mouth.

NO!

His fury at this revelation sent him into a fit. This creature was an infected, and its blood would do nothing to satisfy his hunger! He tossed the offending water fox into the wall, her scream of pain indicated that she was still very much alive though suffering terribly. A sadistic smirk crossed over his features as he thought of a fitting punishment.

Suffer...Suffer...

Carefully choosing the most gruesome deaths of Pokemon he had personally executed, he fed the images into the mind of the Vaporeon, savoring every scream, every tear. He sent forth a Psycho Cut, rending the helpless creature in half, her still eyes wide in terror. When he was finished, he carved out those eyes with his spoons and crunched them beneath his feet, not even bothering to eat them as he would normally have done. Feeling justified, he left the body to rot where it lay, and made his way back out of the cavern, intent on finding a proper meal.

This was it, something, he didn't know what, was coming. He felt the aura of the mischievous one nearby, watching him. Rather than let the creature know he knew it was there, Anubis focused on the powerful one coming closer and closer to mother's makeshift tomb. If it thought it was going to do any damage here it was in for a big surprise. He set himself into a defensive stance, waiting almost impatiently for the creature to arrive. His muscles tensed and his energy flared, it care around the corner and...and...

"Uh...Uhm... Hi... there?"

Anubis was floored. His muscles quickly relaxed and he felt himself stumble at the sudden change in atmosphere. Was this creature...kidding? He could feel the dark spots in it's aura, a sure sign of infection, but it was so...shy wasn't really the right word, awkward maybe? Anubis shook his head and stood up straight. "Greetings?" he couldn't help that it came out in the form of a question. Naturally so shy himself it was really strange to just suddenly start chatting with a stranger.

Pierce felt cold.

It had only been days since his trainer had released him. Or had it been weeks? Was it just yesterday? He had lost all sense of time. He was no longer used to being alone, and was forced to survive off whatever berries he could find growing wild. He passed the water a lot. He could see the mountain jutting up on the other side... But no. There was something strange about the water here. It didn't feel safe. That thought had kept him away from it for as long as he'd been alone. Now, however, he didn't care. It had been so long since he had heard another voice, seen another sign of life. He just didn't care anymore.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he eased his heavy body into the water.Kick... Kick...He did't realize that he payed no attention to his surroundings until he stood up on the opposite shore. Above him the mountain towered. And what was that? He listened intently... Voices!

Spending so much time alone will do something to you, however. You want to find the source of those voices, but you're cautious. Pierce walked forward slowly, carefully surveying the scene. He saw two others there, one lying on the floor, it's yellow spikes radiating electricity. The other one, standing up, seemed... off. And.... what was that?! A bloody mess of a body sat in the floor not far from the pair. His eyes darted back to the two on the verge of a fight, as it seemed to him. He didn't say anything, he just stood and watched what would play out. He didn't want to get in the middle of what was happening.



((OOC: Ohai! Well, I'm hoping I did everything right, first post and all... If I did something wrong, please tell me. I'll be happy to edit it. >.<))

The blue mound had jumped up and became a pokemon, right before Suzaku's eyes. He seemed prepared to fight, and at Suzaku's salutations, his demeanor became... somewhat awkward.

"...Greetings?" the other pokemon replied, his fighting stance falling a little. The two stared at each other for a moment when Suzaku, being the good fire/fighting type that he was, decided to go ahead and break the ice. (Forgive the pun)

"Uh, hi. My name's Suzaku," he began as he offered a taloned hand to the other. He studied the other for a moment before giving a small, awkward smile. "It's good to see a fellow fighting pokemon here... All that's downstairs are little water dogs running around..." He turned to look back at the way he came when he heard screams, then to the other pokemon.

"...I'm not sure what's going on down there, but it doesn't sound too good..."

Thorn was rocketing towards the Vaporeon when she found herself crashing into a different Pokemon instead. It smelled even more strongly of decay. With a flick of its wrist, she went skidding across the floor (ripping off several more tufts of fur, honestly, it was bad enough looking presentable in an epidemic) and slid to a halt with a whimper.

The Jolteon was forced to watch as River, who she had considered an enemy, was easily ripped to shreds by the vicious Alakazam before it slunk off into the darkness. The other Vaporeon had seemingly left, but she didn't care. Taking stock of her injuries, Thorn was relieved to see that she wasn't injured too badly. A couple scrapes here and there, but she would heal as long as she didn't get into too many fights in the next couple days. Thank Arceus. Not that it was really right to thank the God Pokemon, she thought darkly. Not like Arceus was even watching...

Wait. What was that? Damn it, she wasn't facing the right way and she certainly couldn't move right now. Thorn cocked her ears as she heard a newcomer enter. The Pokemon didn't smell infected, but it never hurt to be careful. "Who are you?" she snarled, annoyed to find her voice sounded weak and quavery. "You'd better not be infected, or I'll take you down!"

Not that she could. But she had to scare the newcomer off; she was in no condition to fight.

Something else entered his fractured field of vision. A Blaziken, he recognized, and it smelled of fear! Xadian resisted the urge to giggle as he crept towards the two between the graves, his near-weightless body making no sound..

He crouched behind the gravestone the canid had been sitting by, just out of sight, gathering himself.. and then he leapt over, straight towards the Blaziken, with a manic giggle.

"Uh, hi. My name's Suzaku," Anubis was a little confused by the introduction. He had never had to introduce himself before, what should he do? What should he say? The large bird-like creature didn't give him much time to answer before continuing. "It's good to see a fellow fighting pokemon here... All that's downstairs are little water dogs running around...I'm not sure what's going on down there, but it doesn't sound too good..." Anubis sighed heavily in agreement.

"One of the auras in this place has vanished..." he told Suzaku, closing his eyes in sympathy. "I am Anubis, stranger, and I must ask why you are here. I',m sorry but I cannot allow trespassers in this tomb I have created." It was then that he heard a shuffling behind the bird, followed by a loud laughter as a shadow lunged for it. Anubis quickly got into a defensive position, crouching low by Fenix's grave in order to defend her. "So you finally show yourself, mischievous one..."

Pierce cursed himself silently for being so heavy-footed. His personality came back slowly at being addressed, and it slowly donned on him that he had not answered. What the one in front of him had said slowly registered, and he stepped into the light. This one's words were hard, but she didn't seem to be willing to attack. "What do you mean... 'infected?'" He asked, carefully. The word was unfamiliar on his tounge, though he thought he remembered it being tossed around in the days before he was released. "My name's Pierce. I'm not sure what you're talking about, but what were you fighting here fore?" He shuddered. He wasn't sure, but he thought he remembered this mountain being a holy place. Bits and pieces of himself was pushing through the holes in his mind from depression and lonelyness. "If I may ask, who are you?"

"One of the auras in this place has vanished..." the blue fighting pokemon remarked before continuing. "I am Anubis, stranger, and I must ask why you are here. I'm sorry, but I cannot allow trespassers in this tomb I have created."

Suzaku was about to ask why he was a trespasser when he flinched as he heard the maniacal laughter behind them. He turned suddenly to see a sableye lunge toward him, fangs revealed in a delighted, manic grin. Thankfully, Suzaku's Acrobatics attack allowed him to gracefully get out of the way, even though the move missed the imp.

"What the..." he muttered to himself as he looked the gem-clad imp over. It had odd colored gems, and seemed a little more... crazy... than other sableye he had met. He looked to the other fighting pokemon, Anubis, and frowned. "...Sorry to bother your tomb, but with the commotion downstairs and this thing in front of us, I don't think you're going to be able to keep anything away from the grave..."

He turned to the sableye. "Who are you and what do you want?!" he demanded a little more forcefully than the first time he had asked the silhouette when he first entered. To emphasize he was ready to fight, he stomped the ground, flames erupting from his wrists and ankles. "I don't want to fight you, but I'd rather you die than me!"

She lay on the ground in silence and listened. He didn't know what the infection was? That was utterly ridiculous. That was like not knowing about Arceus' existence or that there were humans with Pokeballs. She would almost feel sorry for the Pokemon if she believed his story. But since she didn't...

Oh well. Didn't hurt to answer his questions. "I'm calling that a big sack of Tauros dung," she said with a sneer. "If you knew what the infection was, which you must, you'd know that nowhere is safe now. You always have to fight."

Thorn paused. Her strength was returning, but there was no need to let her friend back there know. She'd keep it a surprise until he got close enough. Then...well, he'd better be friendly or he was in for a world of hurt.

"Who are you?" The Jolteon asked. "Come over where I can see you and maybe I'll tell you more."

Xadian fell on his back, cackling like a maniac. "Just a good laugh, friends, eheheheheh!" The goblin seemed to mean no harm, indeed.. Rather, he cackled endlessly as he sank into the floor of the tomb, forming a wide shadow in the ground before fading away just as quickly, his mad laughter endlessly echoing between the stones..

Elsewhere...

A shadow spread through the ceiling on a lower level.. roughly directly above a certain Jolteon. Manic giggling echoed down from the floors above..

"...Sorry to bother your tomb, but with the commotion downstairs and this thing in front of us, I don't think you're going to be able to keep anything away from the grave..." Anubis frowned. He knew of the others in the mountain but had hoped they wouldn't stray near here, that they would just move on. But the cackling ghost was having a little too much fun with the Blaziken and it seemed to delight in irritating him before Anubis could ask what he meant.

"Who are you and what do you want?!" The fire-bird cried. He seemed a little disturbed about the ghost Pokemon, Anubis didn't know if it was because he didn't like to be crept up on or if he just didn't like ghosts. The Sableye was strange looking, he'd never seen one quite like it before. It was cackling madly as though Suzaku's display of power was a fun game. "Just a good laugh, friends, eheheheheh!"

And just as quickly as he came, the mischievous aura disappeared...through the floor? How odd. Anubis turned his attention back to the feathered flame before him and pulled himself upright. He didn't sense any malice from this creature so he didn't see the need to keep himself in a defensive position. "Forgive me Suzaku, but I again must ask you why you have come to this place. If not to cause trouble...then why?" He cocked his head to the side, his curiosity getting the better of his normally shy nature. This Blaziken was nothing like the one Fenix kept back home and it fascinated him.

Pierce didn't like the way this one talked to him. Old memories of being picked on flooded back, and his anger took hold. He stepped forward out of the doorway proudly, the Focus Sash on his ear seeming to glow in what little lite was left in the room. Only then did the rest of his senses return, and he realized his foolishness.

If this one was more aggressive than angry, I'd be stepping straight into a fight. Inwardly he cursed. Outwardly, however, he studied the one before him. It was a Jolteon, as he could now make out. A tired, scratched up Jolteon, but a Jolteon no less.

"I've been alone for a long time." He started. "It's been so long since I've seen so much as a single creature since I was released." The feelings of sadness he had smothered in loneliness began to surface, and his voice became more shaken. "Now tell me, who are yo-"

A noise above him startled him, a soft chuckling- no, more a quiet laugh. This laugh didn't sound joyful, though, it sounded mad. It was a taunt. The area around him and the Jolteon seemed to him to darken even more, and Pierce felt surrounded. His eyes narrowed. What in the name of Arceus was that?!

The sableye had vanished with his display of power and left Suzaku and Anubis alone at the tomb once more. The blaziken felt a little unnerved... the little bastards had always freaked him out... but Anubis' calm words broke him out of his reverie. "Forgive me Suzaku, but I again must ask you why you have come to this place. If not to cause trouble...then why?"

Suzaku turned at his name and sighed, scratching the back of his crested head. "...I'm looking for a friend. I've... been looking for a long time, but... I saw this and decided that it'd be as good as any place to search. He's a pidgeot, and enjoys high perches. You... haven't seen any, I imagine?" he asked with a strange frown. He didn't expect any sort of good news since it sounded like this guy had been cooped up within the mountain for... a while.