(ACE) The UNDER Team

Ah, there's the adversity I remember! IT APPEARS IT LIKES TO FOLLOW ME. Clenching his jaws underneath his mask, and doing his best to restrain his trembling limbs and failing, the ditto bowed his head for a moment because of the heavy weight of indignation. He had always felt the lash of stigma from the day of his creation, and with each added stroke it further fueled the many flames that burned inside of him. The eternal hellfire of hatred grew every greater in it's intensity, but also the blaze of determination was stoked. Taking the venomous words into himself, the ditto's head jerked back up with a new light in it's eyes and leapt straight into the air. I WILL SIMPLY HAVE TO PROVE THEM WRONG YET AGAIN! His small proportions stretched and warped, forming bones and muscles in a matter of seconds. Bones burst from his back and in a near instant were covered in flesh. Discrimination being the new target in his eyes, he took to transforming into a mighty dragon in an instant, the very ground beneath him quaking when he landed. Scales black as night and an inferno attached to the tip of his tail, the Charizard gnashed it's teeth in anticipation for the oncoming rush.  He didn't even look away from the Porygon's onslaught, truly being oblivious to pain in the eye of his storm. Although the black lenses covering his eyes probably helped in that regard as well. I take myself too seriously. Calm yourself before you go on a rampage. Dispelling the Flamethrower building in his newly formed throat, the metamorph let out twin puffs of smoke out of his nostrils and let out a deep sigh.

Moving surprisingly quietly for a creature of his current size he followed along with the group, casually slashing to ribbons a small infected that strayed too close as he passed. Having decided to ignore the Absol's comment for now for the benefit of everyone, Uboa decided to divert his attentions to his environment. His snaking head perking up when he again heard the crackling static of the Porygon's voice, an encouraging line of dialogue came through his sharp teeth, the tone it was spoken in was slightly less empty than before. "Ah, I'm glad your feeling well, HAL. That was quite the impressive display earlier. Like our reptilian acquaintance said you didn't sleep through too much." The Black Charizard tilted his head back and silently regarded the growing group of undead following behind, staring coldly at the darting slits of red in the darkness. Satisfied with their distance, he moved his snaking neck around and gazed at the human ruins they were approaching. They look to be in good condition. I will remember to come scavenging here sometime soon. Might have some interesting scriptures there. "Hmm?" The undead's small outburst of emotion surprised the ditto, and he took note of the name the Glaceon called with such longing. Stopping with Cheshire when the eeveelution addressed the group. Looking around again carefully, Uboa said his input in his emotionless tone. "I might suggest the smaller store as a first visit, it hopefully will house less undead inside. Although I doubt we will find as many food supplies in there as the large inn. I suggest we take a vote." Getting a glance of a shifting figure inside of a window of The Grand Hotel, the Charizard added "Also HAL, perhaps you could predict a risk to reward ratio for us?"

Glass watched with an amused grin as HAL booted up again, blurting out the same thing he said to introduce itself to them. "I̸t s̀eems̵ ̶you h͝àve̡ as͘ke͝d̨ ͞abo̕ut͝ DS'̧s ch͠àt ͝cli͜e҉nt ͘a̛ut̛o̧-r̕es̀po͠nde̛r HAL. Th̸i͠s̶ ͠is̵ ͡a̶n a͝p̴pl̸i͏ça̵tion̶ ̕de̕s͏ig̴n͠ed̷ t̷o ͟s͟i͞mulat̀e̸ DS̡'́s͟ ot́hęr̛wi̛s̨e in̨imi͡t̛a̕blỳ r͏ąd̢ ̡typ͟in͟g͢ ̴s̀t̀yl̵e,̸ t́ơne͘, c̸aḑȩnc̨e, p̶e̡ŗs̨o̸n͞a͞li̴ty,͏ ͜and s̕u͘bs͟ta̡ncę ͞o͘f ret͘o̡r̸t whi͝le ̵h̨e is aw͟a҉y.͘ ̴T͢he ͏algo̸r͝ith̴ms ͟ar̶e g͘u͡a͞ra҉nt҉ee͟d to͝ ͟be ͡9̀8% i͏n̷di̵s̡t̡ingui̡s҉hab̵l̶e ͡fr͢o̴m̕ ̀DS̀'s n͟a̶ti͟ve neu͢r̀ol̀ogi̕ća̡l re̛s̢p̷o͏nse̸s, ba͘séd ͘o҉n͠ s̵o͟me s̛t̶a͘tįst̨ìca̴l ana̛lysis͞ ́I ͠b͟a͝sical̀ļy ̶j͝u͝s͟t ͢p͞ull͠ęd ou̢t̢ ̴o͡f my ̕ass ͢rig͝h҉t ̴noẁ.̡ " Glass grinned a bit before looking around, her dark scarlet eyes amused as she watched the normal type in Forrik's hold.

Glass was about to say something about the undead that were starting to come towards them, but Forrik beat her to it. "Damn, they just don't give up."  Cosmic scoffed at the Charizard's comment, turning around to give the infected a glare. "Well if you only had the basic instinct to eat everything in fucking sight would you give up when there's a meal right in front of you? Let's not mention the fact that you're a ticking time bomb here - Chesh' over here is at least semi-sane, who's to say you won't become a fucking maniac an eat all of us eh?" Cosmic suddenly said, his silver pupils nothing bit slits as he glared at the Fire Type, growling slightly. He then spun back around, his rings and markings glowing a bit brighter in his anger.

Glass frowned at the Umbreon's bitter hate towards the fire type, but she didn't argue - she didn't trust Forrik either. Either way, she followed Cosmic, drawing up beside him. "Cosmic, c'mon give the lizard a break - it's not like it was his fault. What's your deal with him anyway?" She said, wincing as Cosmic turned his icy stare onto her. "Oh, I don't know Glass, maybe the fact that he's a fucking infected and could drop dead, come back and kill us all at any given moment? Your powers of observation really surprise me Glass, they truly do." That was it, Glass growled at Cosmic, hr claws pulsing with a Sucker Punch as she walked towards him, her form rigid with anger.

"Well, maybe if you pull your head out of your fucking ass and stop being a dick Cos' maybe -just maybe, you might be able to see things a little bit clearer instead of trying to see through the castle of bullshit you've piled up all around you." Glass's voice was nothing but a hiss as she spoke, her eyes burning in anger. Cosmic glared back in defiance, his large stature holding him at the same height as the Absol.

"Alice" Cheshire's cold voice brought the two out of their staring contest, with Cosmic turning off and trotting a little distance away, but still within vicinity of the others. Glass however took a few deep breaths to calm herself, before looking over at Cheshire with a confused glance. She calmly walked over, her form now a lot more relaxed. "If you don't mind me asking Chesh', who's Alice?" She said, curious as to who this was that the glaceon was talking about.

"The Under... Group can't stay outside in night, make choice where to go" Cosmic huffed at Cheshire's statement, looking back over their team. "We'll go into The Under - it's too cold to last the night outside." He said, before sitting down and looking over the vast area around them.

Ah, I'm glad your feeling well, HAL. That was quite the impressive display earlier. Like our reptilian acquaintance said you didn't sleep through too much.
HAL's bright red eyes blinked.
"Wow y̕ou ̀d́on̢'t f̷́ú̧c̷̶̕k̡̧̕͡ a̧rou͡nd͠ ̷do͡ y̨o͜u̡?"
"Damn, they just don't give up."
The idea of an Undead that actually gave up after having their eyes burnt out was an appealing one. The only reason they had managed to take over was the fact that little short of decapitation slowed them down.
"Well if you only had the basic instinct to eat everything in fucking sight would you give up when there's a meal right in front of you? Let's not mention the fact that you're a ticking time bomb here - Chesh' over here is at least semi-sane, who's to say you won't become a fucking maniac an eat all of us eh?"
The Umbreon growled with the marks on his dark body aglow with poisonous sweat.
"Cosmic, c'mon give the lizard a break - it's not like it was his fault. What's your deal with him anyway?" The Absol protests.
C̨h̛e̴sh̷i͜re ͘a̴lso͏ ref̡e̢rs̕ ̢to i̢tself ͢in ̀t͝hįrd ̨pe̛rs̶o̴n̷ t̶h͟a̵t's h͝a͟r͏d̢l͡y ̴a̡ si͠gn͝ ͏of͏ ͠f̶̴ù̶̷̡͜c̸͟͜͠k͏̸͜i͏͜n̢͡g̢͏̶ ͝glowíng͟ ͜me̛ntal̵ h̵e͏al̛t̢h.͘" HAL points out. "Ca͘n͘ y̸o͞u j͞us͢t̀ ́calm y̛ou̴r ti̕ts-"
"Oh, I don't know Glass, maybe the fact that he's a fucking infected and could drop dead, come back and kill us all at any given moment? Your powers of observation really surprise me Glass, they truly do."
"Well, maybe if you pull your head out of your fucking ass and stop being a dick Cos' maybe -just maybe, you might be able to see things a little bit clearer instead of trying to see through the castle of bullshit you've piled up all around you."
HAL sighed mechanically. It doesn't look like he'll be able to defuse this argument. It reeks of something personal.

"HAL, can you move on your own yet?"
HAL experimentally twitched it tail. The flickering connection seemed to be repaired.
It turned its head to the side, it juddered rapidly at high speed before it straightened up.
"S͏yst͟e҉m͠s ͘are̡ ͡opéràtional̛.͜ ͡B͜att̀e͢rỳ le̡ve҉l̀ ̕lo̕w͢.͘" He crackled.
With a rapid flick of its pale blue wings HAL flies in a tight figure eight.
"F͏u͟ll ́mǫb̴il͠i̧ty B͏r̢om̕a͞lde̕hyd͘e̸.̧ I wou͢l̴d̀ ͏f̧̕͜u̧͢c̸̸͘͞k̸͜í̵̴̛͡n̷̵͠g̶͜͡ ki̧ll̡ ͜f̵o̕r ́a ̶b̀u͜rrito̶ ͜though...I͟f i͞t ̛me̡ans̷ ͡anyt͏h́ing͠ ̴I thi͏nk̨ yo͞u̢'̶re cool̕.I͟f y͝o͞u̶ w͡ere̕ li͞kel̀y ̕t̵o ̀f̵lip ͡o̶ut and kill̛ u̶s ̛y͏o̡u'd̢ be açtíng͘ ͜m͢or̢e ͘l͢ike Se̴nor A͜ńgsty͝pa͢nts ov̶er͞ th̵e͝r̛e.̀" He tells the Charizard.
The mental degradation in Fire Type's was rapid but not THAT rapid. If anything the Charizard seemed to be of a calm, if slightly melancholy, temperament.
"Alice." The Glaceon breathed.
The words did seem to take anything to do with the two dark type's argument.
"If you don't mind me asking Chesh', who's Alice?"
Who indeed? A trainer, another pokemon? Why did the Glaceon chose now to mention it.
The Under... Group can't stay outside in night, make choice where to go."
"Hey͏, y̶o̷u'̛r̶e͢ ̴ǹot just͏ ignor͞in͜g̀ m͟e͠ ̷a̶r͘e ýou?̶ If you͘ u͞n̕der͜s͞tand what I̴'m̀ ̧s̢ayi͠ņg͝ the̡n͞ ͡ju̷mp͜.͠" HAL calls out to the Glaceon surveying the ruins, not really expecting a reply.
Humans sure did build things sturdy, he'll give them that. The structures of what its map was showing as the Hotel and Junk Shop were relatively intact. Shelter was assured, food less so.
"Well, I guess we better get this show rolling then eh? C'mon!"
I might suggest the smaller store as a first visit, it hopefully will house less undead inside. Although I doubt we will find as many food supplies in there as the large inn. I suggest we take a vote.
"My f͡i͜l͘e͟s ͡are ̧sa̵y͝i̧ņg th̡ę s͠ma͘ll̕er b̕ui̕ld͜ing įs̀ dès͢igna̢ted "Ju͡nk͏ S͟ḩop."͘ Loẁe̸r̢ ̨c͏ha͜n̵ce͞ ͟of en͜em̵y ͜e̴nco͢un͠t̕er͢s̛.
This is true but he has another reason for wanting to check out the area. Solar charging his batteries ain't gonna happen.
"Also HAL, perhaps you could predict a risk to reward ratio for us?"
"B̨a̵sè ca̴lcu̸la̶ti̢ons̡ i҉nd̛icate͏ ̢Ju̡n̛k͏ Şhǫp̢ for ini͞tìal r͟econ̛. T͡here͝ co̡ul͟d̷ be v̵ąl̛u̷a̕b̛l̴e̸ in͜f̕o͜r͢m̷a͢t̡ion͡."

"Hmm?" was the first reply that Cheshire came back to, from the massive towering black beast that Uboa had become. Cheshire had missed the transform completely, it was a mimic shape of Forrik in size but was oddly more intimidating. Cheshire looks at the black charizard not completely sure where to look at, the face the the beast or the mask still. Cheshire did neither, as his eye level with neither. Cheshire almost seeming like he was looking through the charizard to the other side. Pausing, " Why did the Uboa take form of the Forrik? " he asked quietly seemingly oblivious to the infighting of the team before looking back to the human buildings. 

"I might suggest the smaller store as a first visit, it hopefully will house less undead inside. Although I doubt we will find as many food supplies in there as the large inn. I suggest we take a vote." Cheshire turning his gazing eye to the junk shop in mention, the smaller of the buildings and looked from outside in worse shape of the two. Cocking his head to one side suddenly, his eyes picking up a flash of movement with in the building. Then it was gone. It looked like a large and wide something, if he could see what ever it was from this distance.

About to mention it to the group and ask if anyone else saw it, he turned back to the group and still seeing them resuming to fighting each other. Then the fight was abruptly stopped suddenly. Before the other eevee evolution walked off a little ways and the absol got closer to him, "If you don't mind me asking Chesh', who's Alice?" she asked then. Cheshire looked up at the white creature then thinking on a answer to the question that he was never asked before. "Alice is why Cheshire came back" his eye showing another hidden emotion, before blinking his crimson eye and it was gone."What is Absols name?" still looking at glass's own red eyes, if she had said the name before Cheshire didn't remember it."We'll go into The Under - it's too cold to last the night outside.", Cheshire getting up from where he had sat down in response to the umbreon. His eye never leaving glass's,as he waited quietly for a answer.

"Hey͏, y̶o̷u'̛r̶e͢ ̴ǹot just͏ ignor͞in͜g̀ m͟e͠ ̷a̶r͘e ýou?̶ If you͘ u͞n̕der͜s͞tand what I̴'m̀ ̧s̢ayi͠ņg͝ the̡n͞ ͡ju̷mp͜.͠", Cheshire broke eye contact with glass then looking at the revived HAL. Cheshire still struggling with the words of the odd avian tilting his ear as his ear droops a little as well, " Why does Cheshire need to jump?" he asked. Cheshire then shifted his attention back to the umbreon who had rejoined the group, the group having voted on going to the junk shop to hide. Cheshire having long forgotten about what he may have seen.

The squabbles of the group of solids nearby Uboa were starting to grate on the metamorphs nerves, and the psudo Charizard let out a tired sigh as he heard more jabs and insults fly. The casual swearing was somewhat repugnant to him, but he knew that he would adapt as it was his nature. The viciousness of the Umbreon was quite distasteful, even though Uboa figured that it was understandable but it didn't make it any less unpleasant. If it were one of his own disciples he would have spirited him away to some dark corner and given him an informative conversation, but he was not and that would be uncalled for something so personal. The question from the Glaceon broke him from his plotting, and Uboa lowered his gaze to properly address the small ice type. Making sure his gaze was evenly split between the undead before him and his surroundings, if it weren't for the mask covering his eyes (which out of convenience were located on midsection) he would have looked  like a Kelceon with how both his eyeballs moved independent of one another. "Well, I decided on this shape for the time being because of Forrik's fire typing which is very useful offensively, and because he has wings. Also I was in the mood for something large, I've been less than 3 feet tall for 7 weeks now and I was up for something different. May I ask you Cheshire, will you explain who this Alice is sometime? She sounds very special. Perhaps when we are more secure...Nice one HAL." Getting the reference that HAL made, Uboa did something unexpected of him, he let out a small laugh which in comparison to his normal speech sounded utterly jubilant. There, a small measure of emotion should make me more relatable. The gesture wasn't fully strategic though, despite the eternally burning hatred and malice that existed in the Ditto he truly did love spending time with others and having simple moments like a joke.

Clearing his deep throat and still feeling somewhat whimsical, he addressed the group with his usual calm seriousness. "I believe that the general preference is to visit the Junk shop. My suggestion is that we send in two or three members of our group to scope it out, while the rest of us keep guard outside to keep too large a horde from gathering at our location. I for one am very curious about what could be inside of there, are there any other volunteers...?" Putting a claw to his chin thoughtfully, he made a small sound of surprise and continued speaking. "I'm being a bit too hasty here, our introductions aren't quite finished are they? Ah, it'd be quite hard to trust someone whom you don't even know the name of...Let us rectify this, shall we? I've already told you of my denotation, so go right ahead." He glanced about to the sides of them and let out a deep, hissing breath and rumbled like the beast he was. "As per usual though, we are pressed for time."

(Blah Blah, I blame Kirby for all the fuzzy feelings since I just started playing it again.)

Cosmic's anger began to rise once more as Forrik started up again, he almost had half the mind to attack the Charizard then and there. "Listen here Umbreon, I didn't ask to become infected! I lost my family to them undead bastards!" Th Umbreon let out a huff, letting a low warning growl resound n his throat. "Well whoop-de-fucking-da. I lost my family to undead too, you see me moping about it?" He shot back, but before he could say anything further Glass stepped in front of him, her dark red eyes meeting his own icy glaze with a glare. Cosmic growled a little, but stepped off.

"Sorry, I've been through hell and lost my family to the undead. I'll tell you guys everything once we get to safety." Glass turned to Forrik, her dark crimson eyes meetin his bright red ones. "It might be easier if you share now - Cosmic won't let it go till you do. We've all lost family to the undead - your nothing new." Despite her harsh words, Glass said it kindly, looking over to where HAL was flying about.

"F͏u͟ll ́mǫb̴il͠i̧ty B͏r̢om̕a͞lde̕hyd͘e̸.̧ I wou͢l̴d̀ ͏f̧̕͜u̧͢c̸̸͘͞k̸͜í̵̴̛͡n̷̵͠g̶͜͡ ki̧ll̡ ͜f̵o̕r ́a ̶b̀u͜rrito̶ ͜though...I͟f i͞t ̛me̡ans̷ ͡anyt͏h́ing͠ ̴I thi͏nk̨ yo͞u̢'̶re cool̕.I͟f y͝o͞u̶ w͡ere̕ li͞kel̀y ̕t̵o ̀f̵lip ͡o̶ut and kill̛ u̶s ̛y͏o̡u'd̢ be açtíng͘ ͜m͢or̢e ͘l͢ike Se̴nor A͜ńgsty͝pa͢nts ov̶er͞ th̵e͝r̛e.̀" Glass frowned as she heard Cosmic give a warning snarl towards HAL, to which the Absol rolled her eyes. "Senor Angstypants indeed..." She muttered, looking over at Cheshire, who said something about Alice being why he came back.

Came back? Came back to life? Came back to The Under? Came back where? She thought absentmindedly, before Cheshire speech broke her thoughts. "What is Absols name?" "Ah - Sorry." She said, looking back over at their little misfit group. "The name's Glass, and my... idiot companion is Cosmic." She said, grinning as she heard Cosmic growl at her.

"B̨a̵sè ca̴lcu̸la̶ti̢ons̡ i҉nd̛icate͏ ̢Ju̡n̛k͏ Şhǫp̢ for ini͞tìal r͟econ̛. T͡here͝ co̡ul͟d̷ be v̵ąl̛u̷a̕b̛l̴e̸ in͜f̕o͜r͢m̷a͢t̡ion͡." Topics if seemed had changed to where they were going to stay. Cosmic was suddenly at Glass's side, seemingly forgetting about their previous argument. "The Junk Shop seems like the easiest option, however the fact that it's completely open on the first floor will be a worry - not to mention if there's an undead up on the second floor. If there isn't however, it'll make a perfect place to bunk down - easily defend-able and very few exits and entrances." He said, his eyes flashing with hostility as he looked over at Forrik.

"A͢h͡ ͠śò ́y̷ou͟'re̢ ̕j́us̵t ҉ig͜ņo̴ring͡ m̵e then. Ḩo͞w cruel̵.̢" HAL theatrically presses his rounded wings to the oval of his body and tosses his head back. "A͠n̕d̕ h͏e͘re I̴ was ͜t͏hink̶ing̡ y͡ou͘ ͏w̕er̨e ͢cute."
Twitching his head to the side he judges the Glaceon's expression.
"W͜el͟l ̧I̵ d̷oub͢t̢ I̡ m͟e͞as͢u̴re̢ ̸u̶p t̛o ̢Aļi͜c̴e.͝
HAL rotates his head without moving his body, his wings vibrating.
"I͜ ͜c̀an̛ ̶r͟e͠ad ̀h̀u͡m͝a͢n an͘d ͝c͝om̧put͢e̕r ͘c̢òde so I͝ ͡h҉a͘ve t͞ó go͟. I̴f t̕here's a̴ te̷ŗmin̛al s̴park͡s͠ w̵i͠ll͝ ̸f̡l͝y. "
In constant motion he circled the larger body of Uboa, the inky goop of the Ditto now a pitch black muscled body. He twitched his head 180 degrees so his head is at the top of his face.
"S͜q͟ùi͡sh͠y̛ ͞bro is̵ in̷ on ̛of̕fe͡ns̸e, t͡h͟oug͢h̸ I͘ ̧s͘u͢g̡ge̸st͞ ͜á ̵s̨h͘ape wit̵h̀ l͝e͞s̵ş fir͝e.
Electronics could be delicate, though its first priority is to find a place he can connect to cyberspace. Right now Uboa is significantly larger than him. Circling in a fluid motion disconnected by the extreme separation of his parts he examines the Charizard forms empty eyes before looping back to the mask.
Uboa was interesting. It talked in a sensible fashion that spoke of amusement with the situation but it's voice was cold, the laugh forced.
It was not here to aid them. It was not driven by fear like Forrik or by desire like Cheshire.
How far could it be trusted?
The last town HAL had passed through had no working terminals. It had not been an issue then, it has enough power to sustain itself but not to defend itself against anything in the building AND a Charizard.
He was hungry-
E̶RŔO̵R͢
It's battery power is running low. Recharging was necessary.
We̸'re p̛͘͠͠í̀͠s̶̴̸͜ś̵̕͠͝ing in̢ t͠h͝e̴ w͘ind r͏i͏g͢h͢t̕ ̕no͜w͘ th͢o͘ugḩ ̧so h̢o̧w͏ ͡abou͠t̡ w͝e co͜n͏ti̸n̕úe̡ t̛h̸is ͞in͟sid̴ȩ. Ąny ̀ḿo̶re̸ v̧o̕l͏u͢nte͜ęr̢s?

"Well, I decided on this shape for the time being because of Forrik's fire typing which is very useful offensively, and because he has wings. Also I was in the mood for something large, I've been less than 3 feet tall for 7 weeks now and I was up for something different. May I ask you Cheshire, will you explain who this Alice is sometime? She sounds very special. Perhaps when we are more secure...Nice one HAL." Cheshire looked at the black charizard still as Uboa was talking, tilting his head once more. " Does Uboa plan on attacking someone? and why the wings, we are under ground." Cheshire still looking at the lower half the the creature, " Small is good here, easy to move around in the ruins and less to be seen. Large will find it's self stuck in the basic of area's here. The light also easy to be seen even by the children" he added in his monotone voice. Cheshire blinked lazily to the next part of Uboa's statement, " Alice is precious to Cheshire. Cheshire will save Alice" before turning his attention back to the group obviously not wanting to say anymore on the topic.

"I believe that the general preference is to visit the Junk shop. My suggestion is that we send in two or three members of our group to scope it out, while the rest of us keep guard outside to keep too large a horde from gathering at our location. I for one am very curious about what could be inside of there, are there any other volunteers...?". Cheshire gave a heavy sigh then, his annoyance becoming plainly clear. " They want to get out of the open, Cheshire says they go to the under. They get to under and fight among themselves, while the children be on their heels and gaining. Not need to guard outside if everyone keep moving, Uboa and Forrik to big and brutish to scout. Cheshire will go see if others will not." He said already moving a little closer to the junk shop. Walking by Glass and Cosmic with a cool veil aura forming around him, before being stopped then.

"A͢h͡ ͠śò ́y̷ou͟'re̢ ̕j́us̵t ҉ig͜ņo̴ring͡ m̵e then. Ḩo͞w cruel̵.̢", Cheshire turned around then as he glared at the avian, his expression changing once more. "A͠n̕d̕ h͏e͘re I̴ was ͜t͏hink̶ing̡ y͡ou͘ ͏w̕er̨e ͢cute." Cheshire's lips pull back a little flashing the bottom of his pointed fangs, his single eye focused on the porygon. "W͜el͟l ̧I̵ d̷oub͢t̢ I̡ m͟e͞as͢u̴re̢ ̸u̶p t̛o ̢Aļi͜c̴e.͝" The Glaceon letting out a low growl in his chest then, Cheshire's cold aura growing again. He held his glare more firmly now as his eye gave off a soft glow of blood red crimson. Claws digging into the stone slightly, "HAL will NOT spew and soil Alice's name with it's slander" Cheshire growled closing in the space between him and the avian who was near the black charizard with a quick attack. The bell jingled as he came to a sudden halt only inches away from the floating avian. Focusing the icy wind into his maw, giving it a ice blue glow. As the cold aura spews from the corners of his partly opened mouth rolling out between his fangs. "HAL..." he growled before turning away, and walked by the rest of the group to where he started and kept going.

Cheshire didn't care about the charizard's story nor did he want to listen to it, many have died in this event. Cheshire was no different, he died protecting his Alice. Cheshire looked at the building, as he got closer he could see some shards of glass outside the building where it would have been glass around the lower level. Looking around the building a little more for a door or something to get in that way, but finding none. He looked up at the wall then and hop up and over, landing on his paw pads inside the building hitting more glass shards. Looking around it was dark, the inside of the building giving off weird shapes from it's stocks. The air was stale in the building like it was outside, but no clear sign of any decay scent so far. Some mechanical bit's were scattered around the floor blocking some of the path ways from easy enter. Before coming up to the stair well, Cheshire looked up first and scented the air again. Still nothing. As he stepped onto the first stair it gave a little sound making the glaceon freeze before it went quiet again.

Climbing the stairs to the top, Cheshire pokes his head out and over the rim and saw very little of anything but another desk of some sort and more mach scattered around. All in all it was clear of any threat. Looking to his left he saw a door that was closed still that would lead out onto the bridge that connected the junk shop to the hotel on the other side. The only other way this building would have been accessed in the human times. Hopping over the stairwell rim to the floor he walked around trying to see if anything was alive or undead. Still nothing, nothing was a good sign that no undead had found their way up here, and would be easy to defend if they could block the stairs. Cheshire moving back to the stairs and climbed back down and gave one last check around the lower level, before remembering that odd shape that moved before. What ever it was it was gone now. Cheshire hopped back over the wall and saw the group having yet to move," It's clear" he said then back in a monotone voice as he stood there and waited for the others to come to him.

As the Metamorph listened to the plights of Forrik, he felt a rare moment of serenity fall over him. It was another peculiar facet of his fractured psyche, it seemed the the misery of others would satisfy the blood lust of the screams inside of his mind. It was in these moments of serenity however that his altruism was able to blossom unhindered by the maelstrom of hatred. He realized how much he needed to help others, the happiness of others taking priority. A completely unnatural notion for a creature that should be fixated on self-preservation. But Uboa was an idealist first above all else, and insane, in the purest sense of the word. The irony of it was never lost on him. Wordlessly, he allowed his bestial form crumble away to that of a lithe and more elegant creature. Having only a side-view of the Umbreon and due to the distortion the lenses had on his vision, the metamorph's creativity filled in the blanks for the structure of his imitation. The exceptionally emaciated limbs of the creature were utterly unearthly, and the rings that encircled them glowed with a silver light like that of the pale moon in the sky. It stood tall as the svelte reynard observed with intent the thoughts and actions of the group around him.

Against the imposter's hopes, each member of the group seemed to be intent on going through the relatively tight quarters en mass. The undead seemed to have gotten tired of the bickering and banter between the lot of them, and went off and checked out the shop by his lonesome. Cheshire seemed to have been that way more than just literally for a long, long time. A quiet pity for the creature then started to take root in Uboa's heart of hearts, adding to the already quite expansive grove that existed there. The metamorph knew the gnawing desolation of loneliness very well. It was pushed out of mind when the Charizard's request for his own name and that of the others was already voiced, and Uboa found himself mildly annoyed by Forrik's ignorance. The voice for this new shape was light and distant. It literally sounded like he was talking to you from a distance, the metamorph possibly doing this effect through unusual harmonics in his lungs, which were arachnid like in structure. "I believe that I am right in saying that the rest of your acquaintances have just told you the very thing you are asking for. And, the very first thing of note that I have said to you is my name. But if you have forgotten already, I will remind you. I, am Uboa. A shapeshifter. The celestial Umbreon over there is called Cosmic, appropriately named. His lady Absol friend goes by Glass. I do hope you remember the Porygon's denotation. Now that's over with, shall we?" The Umbreon trotted almost silently, now that his points of contact with the ground were nearly are as small as physically possible. He stopped momentarily next to Forrik as he was passing by him, and lowering his head discreetly, he spoke in a soft murmur to the Charizard. "If you need anything, please feel free to ask..." After that small offer, Uboa lifted his head and trotted off into the building as if nothing had happened.

Cosmic let out a groan as Forrik began talking of his sad sob story - frankly he couldn't give two fucks about who Forrik was and why he was infected - he just hated him anyway. "You may think I mope about it true I do, but here's what I have to say. I was out gathering food for my family and when I got back the undead ate my family. I killed the undead that ate them." Yet another groan came from Cosmic. "Oh boy, here we go."

"I couldn't grip what was going on nor could I let my family's death be unanswered. So I swore vengeance against the undead." Even Glass raised an eyebrow at the Charizard, her dark red eyes shining with skepticism. She narrowed her eyes, but said nothing as Forrik continued on. "I went from town to town killing undead that got in my way and I made sure they stayed dead."

"It was a night like this one on that very night I walked into a town, but it was to silent something wasn't right about this one." Cosmic huffed in mock disbelievement. "Oh gee, and you didn't, I don't know - get the fuck out of there?" Cosmic hissed, but held any further comments when he recieved a glare from Glass. "I walked right into an ambush and I didn't stand a chance I was lucky enough to walk away with this injury on my right eye. I can never close it again, luckily I learned to sleep with it open." Cosmic huffed and looked away, rolling his eyes. "Oh look at me - I'm a bitchy, whiny infected who feels sorry for himself and vows revenge on all undead because shit happens and my family was killed" Cosmic said, his voice mocking as he said it, before sending a devilish grin towards Forrik.

Glass gave Cosmic a warning growl, but before she could say anything, HAL spoke up. "I͜ ͜c̀an̛ ̶r͟e͠ad ̀h̀u͡m͝a͢n an͘d ͝c͝om̧put͢e̕r ͘c̢òde so I͝ ͡h҉a͘ve t͞ó go͟. I̴f t̕here's a̴ te̷ŗmin̛al s̴park͡s͠ w̵i͠ll͝ ̸f̡l͝y." Terminal? Glass frowned at the unknown word, and she thought about what HAL might mean - nothing came to mind. "Terminal?" She questioned, tilting her head to the left in a confused fashion.

"I'll go with ya HAL besides I want to see this junk shop for myself." At the mention of the Junk Shop Cosmic perked up, his ears on alert. "Heh, the temperamental sook of a lizard and the glitching circuit board go on a scouting trip - be my guest, try not to get all bromancy on us though." Cosmic said, chuckling slightly at his witty remark - only to earn yet another glare. "Just because someone can't take a joke..." He muttered, glaring over at Glass who ignored him and turned away.

"This may sound wierd to you guys, but I was wandering around looking for a place to relax. Suddenly this light surrounded me and when I came to I was here in this strange desert." Glass nodded at Forrik's comment. "Same thing happened to us - I was teleported into this insane asylum, then out here. Fucking trippy." Glass said, remembering Mathias back at the asylum. I wonder what happened after he left. And Taph - the poor kid. Glass thought, but shook her head - now was not the time to be remorsing.

"A͢h͡ ͠śò ́y̷ou͟'re̢ ̕j́us̵t ҉ig͜ņo̴ring͡ m̵e then. Ḩo͞w cruel̵.̢" Cosmic directed his attention over to HAL and Cheshire, his silver and blue eyes narrowing at the tone in the automatron's voice. "A͠n̕d̕ h͏e͘re I̴ was ͜t͏hink̶ing̡ y͡ou͘ ͏w̕er̨e ͢cute." Cute? In what way is Chesh' cute? Cosmic thought, moving over so that he could hear the conversation better. "W͜el͟l ̧I̵ d̷oub͢t̢ I̡ m͟e͞as͢u̴re̢ ̸u̶p t̛o ̢Aļi͜c̴e.͝" Cosmic stiffened at the comment, stopping as his icy gaze sliding over to Cheshire who seemed to be rather rustled by the comment. The temperature dropped to a lower temperature than the Moonlight Pokemon would of liked, but he stood firm.

"HAL will NOT spew and soil Alice's name with it's slander" Before Cosmic could say anything, Cheshire had suddenly closed the gap between them and HAL by using Quick Attack. Cosmic reacted instantly, and in less than a hearbeat he had sprung, dashing over to the two, stopping right next to Uboa. His fur spiked up as his rings and markings blazed, casting an eerie silver glow that was adorned with magenta, cerulean and gold flecks here and there. Cheshire advanced towards HAL, frost building in the air as mist started clouding the area around the Glaceon.

"HAL..." Cosmic braved the frost and pushed his way in between them, his markings illuminating the area around them like a streetlight. "Hold it there Chesh'. I'm sure HAL didn't mean to bastardise Alice's name - I doubt it'll happen again." Cosmic said, his voice a low and warning growl, but Cheshire was done it seemed, storming off to check on the Junk Shop himself.

"My name's Forrik and you are?" Cosmic allowed his gaze to turn to Forrik. "Are you really that thick?" Was is immediate reply, his voice dumbfounded at the idiocy of the charizard. "I believe that I am right in saying that the rest of your acquaintances have just told you the very thing you are asking for. And, the very first thing of note that I have said to you is my name. But if you have forgotten already, I will remind you. I, am Uboa. A shapeshifter. The celestial Umbreon over there is called Cosmic, appropriately named. His lady Absol friend goes by Glass. I do hope you remember the Porygon's denotation. Now that's over with, shall we?" Glass nodded, not really taking too much notice that Uboa had just transformed into a really weird Umbreon. "At least someone here pays attention. Cheshire should be back soon - It doesn't take that long to scout out a Junk Shop." She said, and almost as if on cue, the Glaceon in question rejoined their group.

"It's clear" Cosmic nodded, sending a glare over his shoulder at Uboa as he walked past, looking over at the ruined store. "The more time we spend out here means the more chance we have of getting found by Undead - let's go." Cosmic said, trotting off to the Junk Shop, with Glass staying back to the others, waiting for them so that she could make sure they didn't have a tail.

"You may think I mope about it true I do, but here's what I have to say. I was out gathering food for my family and when I got back the undead ate my family. I killed the undead that ate them."
In a clear slow voice Forrik starts to tell his story.
"I couldn't grip what was going on nor could I let my family's death be unanswered. So I swore vengeance against the undead.I went from town to town killing undead that got in my way and I made sure they stayed dead."
"N̕án͞ąna̧nanan̸àn͟an̨a͟ ̵Ba̴t͏m̢án!" HAL chirps in.
It was so blatant obvious that Forrik was going to be the altruistic type, killing undead to try and suppress his feelings of helplessness at his failure. They fooled themselves into thinking they were heroes, avenging the wrongs of the world and they died just like everyone else. Another drop of rain during a thunderstorm.
At this point that kind of naive hope, that there was some way to win, was what got you killed.
They were easy enough to manipulate into doing whatever they were told, provided the infection didn't scramble their brains first.
"To҉ be ͏h̶ơnest at̵ ́this̢ ̡pơin͟t̷ I t́hin̡k ev͜er̢y-b͢o̸dies ̕ha̢d̀ a̧l͝mo͡st ev͡eryone͞ ͡t͞ḩey c͟a̶re ̀ábou͘t k̢i͘l̕lęd͏ b̢y̕ u̶ņd̷ea̛d.̨ Ýo̕u ҉ain'̨t̨ ̛alone ̨h̀e̸r̛e.̧" HAL says with what would pass for sincerity if his crackled voice was capable of showing that kind of depth.
"Terminal?" The pretty Absol asks.
"S̕om͏et̡h̶in̢g̴ ́t̨hat͡'s̕ ͝harḑ t̡o̴ ex̢ṕla͢in͘ L̢a͡d͞y͠b͟ro.͠" Hal replies with a flick of his wings. "I ju͝s̸t ͡ne͘e̵d͝ ͡s͝o̷m̢et̷hín͏g͏ ̴w̷ith a sc͢r͘ee͘n a̷nd ̨a sock̕e̸t̡ o͞r̸ ͜i̡f y͠o̢u ̀don̶'t ̸k̵n͢o̡w ̀w̴hat ̸th͟o͏se a͟r͟e i̸t͟'ş a box ẁith̶ ͜a h̕o͠l̛e͢ iń iţ.͞"
He scratches his head with a wing, trying to figure out a way to explain electronics to someone who likely didn't know the meaning of the word electronics.
He does manage to catch the Umbreon's sarcastic reaction to the Charizard's earnest suggestion.
"Heh, the temperamental sook of a lizard and the glitching circuit board go on a scouting trip - be my guest, try not to get all bromancy on us though."
"Jus̀t̕ b̷e̵c̕a͟us̴e̷ ̕you c̵ąn̨'t͝ ͜g͡et͡ laid͠ I͞ ͘don̡'t ̵see ̧why̕ I͏ s̴ho͜ul͟d̕ ha͘v͞e̷ ́to͞ s͘uff̨er." HAL jokes, interjecting his opinion into Forrik's story once again as a cover for his filing away of information on random teleportation. Did it have some link with whatever had attacked Keldeo? Maybe.

"HAL will NOT spew and soil Alice's name with it's slander"
Suddenly the air turns cold and in front of his is bared fangs and a chill mist. An eye as bright a red as his own glares past his pointed shades. The cold mist curls over its wings. The processor comes up with a blank.
Blindly returning the stare for a few moments the Porygon Z waits motionless as electrical charge builds up inside it.
The bells tied to the end of the scarf chime softly as they settle back into position.
"Hold it there Chesh'. I'm sure HAL didn't mean to bastardise Alice's name - I doubt it'll happen again." Surprisingly it's the Umbreon that comes to defend it.
Hal..." The Glaceon growled, closing its mouth as it walked past the Virtual Pokemon into the shop.
Slowly HAL's head turned to watch it, body still frozen in position. Once the Glaceon was out of sight the rest of his body followed it.
Apologies would be in order but at a more auspicious time.
As in if Cheshire came out of the building again.
It didn't take long before Cheshire reemerged with no new cuts of burns to suggest there was anything dangerous in the shop.
"It's clear" The Glaceon declares.
Making sure to keep enough space between it and a potential threat HAL ducks its bird-like head.
"I ͟apolo̶gįze. I͏ns̸u͞lt wás ͏no͠t i̸n̸t̶e̸nded̢.̡"
He waited, hoping that would be enough.

"My name's Forrik and you are?" The Charizard asks the now spindly vaguely Umbreon-like shape of Uboa. The new form would attract less Undead but certainly didn't attract less attention.
"Are you really that thick?" Cosmic asks in disbelief and HAL is rather inclined to agree with him. The infection must have messed with Forrik's head, though the dragon's vocabulary was probably nowhere near as sophisticated as Uboa's in the first place.
"I believe that I am right in saying that the rest of your acquaintances have just told you the very thing you are asking for. And, the very first thing of note that I have said to you is my name. But if you have forgotten already, I will remind you. I, am Uboa. A shapeshifter. The celestial Umbreon over there is called Cosmic, appropriately named. His lady Absol friend goes by Glass. I do hope you remember the Porygon's denotation.
"I̸t s̀eems̵ ̶you h͝àve̡ as͘ke͝d̨ ͞abo̕ut͝ DS'̧s ch͠àt ͝cli͜e҉nt ͘a̛ut̛o̧-r̕es̀po͠nde̛r HAL. Th̸i͠s̶ ͠is̵ ͡a̶n a͝p̴pl̸i͏ça̵tion̶ ̕de̕s͏ig̴n͠ed̷ t̷o ͟s͟i͞mulat̀e̸ DS̡'́s͟ ot́hęr̛wi̛s̨e in̨imi͡t̛a̕blỳ r͏ąd̢ ̡typ͟in͟g͢ ̴s̀t̀yl̵e,̸ t́ơne͘, c̸aḑȩnc̨e, p̶e̡ŗs̨o̸n͞a͞li̴ty,͏ ͜and s̕u͘bs͟ta̡ncę ͞o͘f ret͘o̡r̸t whi͝le ̵h̨e is aw͟a҉y.͘ ̴T͢he ͏algo̸r͝ith̴ms ͟ar̶e g͘u͡a͞ra҉nt҉ee͟d to͝ ͟be ͡9̀8% i͏n̷di̵s̡t̡ingui̡s҉hab̵l̶e ͡fr͢o̴m̕ ̀DS̀'s n͟a̶ti͟ve neu͢r̀ol̀ogi̕ća̡l re̛s̢p̷o͏nse̸s, ba͘séd ͘o҉n͠ s̵o͟me s̛t̶a͘tįst̨ìca̴l ana̛lysis͞ ́I ͠b͟a͝sical̀ļy ̶j͝u͝s͟t ͢p͞ull͠ęd ou̢t̢ ̴o͡f my ̕ass ͢rig͝h҉t ̴noẁ.̡" HAL repeats, partly out of the programming that requires he identify himself if asked, partly to just be annoying.
"Now that's over with, shall we?" Uboa had the right idea. As much fun as he was having he wanted to play with mechanics again.
He ducks into the shop, blinking to adjust optical settings to the relevant light level. He was hungry...
It catalogs the images being sent through the optic cable, matching them to the closest file images with 98% probability to the files already in his memory. Junk Shop was right. If he was going to do anything he needed to find more useful materials.
With a convulsive tremble of disjointed limbs HAL buzzed around the first floor in search of a place where he could plug in.

Cheshire looked at Cosmic then as he walked by him again, he wasn't bitter toward the umbreon for stepping between him and HAL. If anything he was glad that the umbreon stepped in, Cheshire watched turning his head so his good eye could watch. Cheshire seemed to respect the umbreon greatly by this point, standing up for nearly everyone in the team so far and reminding them of the undead threat that now loam over the under. As the umbreon walked out of view, Cheshire glanced over at the absol Glass. She was watching their backs to make sure the other children didn't catch up in once again another fight. The light show would have gave them away to everything down here, maybe it did. Cheshire single mind thought was once more returned to that undead shape he saw in the building, about to say something then. Cosmo wasn't around anymore, Cheshire got back up to his paws and followed the other back into the shop.

"I ͟apolo̶gįze. I͏ns̸u͞lt wás ͏no͠t i̸n̸t̶e̸nded̢.̡", Cheshire stopped in mid step to look back at HAL who though kept his distance from the undead. The bell sounding again as he moved his head, his eye looked at the avian floating there. Cheshire didn't understand at first why HAL was suddenly weary of him, Cheshire turns his head away and keep following cosmo. "Cheshire, loves Alice" with his back turned toward HAL as he left the area hall was in hearing Uboa and Forrick talking about his story again and once more reminding him about everyone's names. Would Cheshire's mind be even more rotten, would Cheshire not be Cheshire anymore if he didn't have Alice. HAl then flew in front and ahead of Cheshire into the lower floor of the shop, Cheshire watched for a few moments as it flew around. Cheshire watched in wonderment as he flew from junk pile to junk pile, "What is the HAL looking for ?" Cheshire asked calm and carefully

Next was the Charizard who walked by,"I'll check out the rest of the place, HAL I'm sorry if I sounded angry, I don't understand why Cosmic is such a fool.", Cheshire made a soft blink. Turning to watch the Forrik now, interested on what it was saying about umbreon. Before it went upstairs. "I'll kill you if you move, I'm not kidding around!", Cheshire tilted it's head then as he heard the voice from up stairs before walking up the stairs himself. Poking his head over the edge half expecting a flamethrower to the face or something, by how up tight Forrik was about something.  "Its clear up here HAL, how are you doing down there with your search?" , Cheshire steps up to the floor then carefully and quietly as he watched the fire lizard talking to HAL down stairs."I'll go tell the others its all clear, not that I cherish the idea especially towards that asshole of an umbreon." The Charizard walked by Cheshire like he was never seen, Cheshire was fine with that.

Cheshire looking around the upstairs then and found a clear spot that wasn't cluttered with junk as much as the rest of the area. Cheshire walks over and kicks the smaller bits away clearing a bigger spot with his paws. Cheshire looked around the and cleaned out more space for the rest of the party, pushing some bigger parts with his shoulder for the charizard to have more space in the smaller room. Before coming across a flat  wide board laying on the floor, it was maybe big enough to cover the stair well and he would suggest it. Cheshire then looked around at his little big of work partly pleased with himself. Looking over the stairwell then seeing the glow of the other party members already with in the building moving around on the lower floor. Tilting his head once more, the bell jingling once more. Moving from the stair well not to get attacked by any surprised team members.

((Eh, brain fart post))

Once Uboa had entered the wrecked shop, he set off to inspect his companions much more closely. Letting the silver glow around him fade, the imitator slipped into the shadows with ease. His little pin legs were utterly silent as he scampered around in the dark. A dark blur was only fleetingly visible when he darted past the overturned counters and hunks of metal lying in the dust. If he had a visible face, the ditto would be having to resist smirking while he was lurking about. It was quite a lot of fun to him to be sneaking about, he was utterly home at the darkness. He had spent years honing his ability, years creeping about staying just out of sight, leaving only apprehension and paranoia in his wake. Oh...hahaha. They'll probably be wondering if there's yet an infected lurking inside. I can imagine it now, they'll figure that little corpse has lured them in to a trap, and that any moment now the monster will stri- Slapping himself across the face, Uboa let out a tired sigh and hung his head in shame. No. I cannot allow myself to act like a creep, it will ruin any chance of them accepting me into the group...Well I could just have them not see me.Then I can slit their throats an- He beat the side of his head repeatedly against his tail to get the point across in his fractured mind. "No. No. NO. Silence your putrid thoughts YOU INSOLENT CUR." Letting out a snarl as he checked made sure no one had heard his hissing outburst, he set off to do anything productive as a means to distract his darker attentions.

He walking out into full view from behind the cabinet he had hid himself behind, strolling nonchalantly while idly looking around. Dust covered every surface of the old garage, and a small current of outside air flowed in through a crack in the wall, bringing with it the acrid stench of old decay and the smell of dirt, reminding him very much of a tomb he once visited. Shaking away a memory of his darker days, biting his tongue underneath the mask he walked to the other side of the floor. "Oh what's this...?" Reaching down and wrapping his tail around a small rectangular object, he lifted it up and held it up to his face with his peculiar appendage. Noticing the thick layer of dust on it, he created an orifice on his neck and blew off the coating of soil. Closing the hole, he regarded the old book. On the cover in bold and colorful letters it read "T-t-thuh Hun-gerie Cat-err-pie. The Hungry Caterpie." On it there was a charming picture of a paper Caterpillar with a puzzled look on it's face. Uboa tried the words of it's title, cocking his head slightly at the odd pieces of cardboard consisting of it's pages. Looks like a child's book, possibly a folktale of some kind? It'd probably be very useful for literary practice. Curling his tail above his head, he walked forward carrying the basic tome over him. He walked over with his find to HAL, looking up at the Porygon-Z as he passed, never breaking eye contact. After making it up the stairs, he glanced at the Charizard and commented on his dialogue. "If you think cursing makes you sound mature, your incorrect. Such ambitious dreams are admirable, but if you put them the wrong way others will take it as your being childish. The ability to keep one's composure is a sign of strength." He trotted on past and set himself up in the corner, opening his children's book and gazing upon the illustrations and simple story about the voracious bug type.

((This post is very...Blah. Since I had no inspiration for it. So instead have irony.))

Cosmic raised an eyebrow at the charizard's words, a grin trying to force it's way up. He squashed it down, and instead huffed in mild annoyance. "Fucking undead I'll kill them all, as for you Umbreon, I don't like you, I'll never understand you!" "Good. Don't want you to hurt yourself thinking too hard - you are on a limited lifespan after all." He couldn't help it - the reply was instantaneous.

"To҉ be ͏h̶ơnest at̵ ́this̢ ̡pơin͟t̷ I t́hin̡k ev͜er̢y-b͢o̸dies ̕ha̢d̀ a̧l͝mo͡st ev͡eryone͞ ͡t͞ḩey c͟a̶re ̀ábou͘t k̢i͘l̕lęd͏ b̢y̕ u̶ņd̷ea̛d.̨ Ýo̕u ҉ain'̨t̨ ̛alone ̨h̀e̸r̛e.̧" Glass nodded, looking back at the two. "I myself had a friend who died, hell, I had multiple." She said, but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears. "That Umbreon's pissing me off HAL, I don't know how much more of his smartass remarks I can take!" Cosmic dropped back walking just out of Forrik's reach. "Well, there are always ways to test that." He shot back, flashing a troll face grin at the charizard before dashing ahead and into the Junk Shop, his rings dimming as he climbed the stairs, eyes adjusting quickly to the gloom.

"I'll check out the rest of the place, HAL I'm sorry if I sounded angry, I don't understand why Cosmic is such a fool." He heard the charizard's angry remark and grinned. "Well I don't understand why you're such a bitch about it." He called back, stopping his rings from glowing as Forrik came up to the second floor, and looked over at a machine.

"I'll kill you if you move, I'm not kidding around!" Suppressing a smirk, Cosmic let his rings glow again, before walking past the infected fire type. "It's a machine retard." He muttered, before turning and walking back down to the ground level. Forrik followed soon after.

"No. No. NO. Silence your putrid thoughts YOU INSOLENT CUR." The metamorph's faint hiss caught his attention, his heightened hearing picking it up only faintly. He milled about the words for a bit, trying to get what they meant. Before he could get too far however, Uboa came down, a book in his tail. He faintly saw the image on the front and fought the urge to laugh as Uboa sat down and started reading it. "Are you... Are you reading a children's book?"

"Fucking undead I'll kill them all, as for you Umbreon, I don't like you, I'll never understand you!" Forrik shouted, the flame at the end of his tail clearly showing his anger.
HAL pats him on the shoulder as the fire lizard walks off towards the Junk Shop but his wings are so tiny and light he isn't sure if the Fire Type even noticed.
"I'll check out the rest of the place, HAL I'm sorry if I sounded angry, I don't understand why Cosmic is such a fool." The dragon snorts.
No wonder, the Charizard was well aware he was infected and wanted to make his final acts of lucidity revenge. The idea of that strong ideal being challenged naturally put him up in arms. Without the idea of revenge to sustain him there was only despair in the Charizard's future.
"Co̕pi̷ņg̨ ͠me͠ch͘an͠is͡m͡.͜" HAL buzzes in reply. "He'̸s̡ an a͜҉̴s̀͢s҉̶̡h̶͜o̸̴̵̡͜l̡̧̛͞͏è̴̛͏̡,͡ I'̨m ̧an a͜҉̴s̀͢s҉̶̡h̶͜o̸̴̵̡͜l̡̧̛͞͏è̴̛͏̡, yo̷u̧'r̸e͢ n͡ot ̛an a͜҉̴s̀͢s҉̶̡h̶͜o̸̴̵̡͜l̡̧̛͞͏è̴̛͏̡ bu͟t you'̵ve͜ got̴ big͢ger ṕr̢obl͏e̶m͘s to d͞ea̢l ͠wi̡t̷h."
HAL attempts to shrug without shoulders.
"T̛ha̕t͠'s̶ ̷li̸f͢e."
Hoping the pep talk was enough to cheer him up HAL watches the Charizard ascend the stairs, immediately getting into trouble on the floor above him. Deciding Forrik can handle himself HAL resumes his search. Cheshire is on the same floor as him.

Cheshire does not attempt to attack HAL again, the violent anger of the heated moment soon dissipating and being replaced by the usual cool demeanor.
The Porygon Z makes a mental note that, while Cheshire seemed to be the most logical of the group, mentioning 'Alice' triggered a negative response.
Feeling it is no longer at risk of immediate danger from the Ice Type HAL resumes its search for a source of reliable cyberspace access.
"Cheshire, loves Alice." It hears the Glaceon quietly state.
"L͠ov͡e͟...͘wh̀a̢t is ̷i͡t́ ͜go͜od for̷?҉" HAL says bitterly.
With what little expression can be shown on a face with only with a pair of over-sized glasses and a pointed beak HAL looks resentful.
"A͢bsolute̢ĺy͢ nothįn͢g͜" He says to himself, so quiet the crackle is nearly entirely gone.
For a moment he floats in his melancholy before realizing Cheshire has not entirely left and has instead followed it to the first floor.
"What is the HAL looking for?"
"A̛ m͝e̡ch͞ani͜c̨al͢ box̡." He rubs his head with one rubbery wing.
This would be easier if he knew which of his new companions had been previously bonded with a human.
"I̶ ͢ca͏n ͞e͘a̸t t͢he͜ ̧eǹergy f͡ŗǫm mac͠h́i͞nes͜ bưţ I͝ ͏ha̛v͏e̸ ͟tǫ ̨have a ͏w̸a̧y ҉in̢ first."
The disconnected parts of his body twitched in mid-air.
"A̡ PC is̡ a̕n̴ ̀u͘p͢ri͞g̕h̢t re҉c̨t̢angu̸la͝r̷ box ͡ab̨ou͟ţ hum͠an hei͢ght ͠w̸i̡t͘h ̢a͏ smaller̴ r̛ecta̧ņgl̀e̛ ͝bòx on̸ ͘t͜ơp͠. Th̨e͜ s̡pa͢c͝e bet͞ween͘ ͜both bòxes ͠ḩa͜s̨ a͢ fl͡at̕ pa͠d̶ o͏f ̴squar̀es͜ ͟wi͟t̶h̷ hu͡m̶an͢ ļet͝t͞érs͜ ͞o̢n͞ i͠t́." HAL eventually decides on as a definition. It didn't help that there was more than one model of PC but if this dingy little garage had anything it would likely be the basic equipment.

HAL blinks as it hovers around the room in a grid pattern, the bright red glow of his eyes flicking off then back on as it accesses the contents and usefulness of each pile from file. It moves away from the Glaceon as it expands its search radius.
T-t-thuh Hun-gerie Cat-err-pie. The Hungry Caterpie.
HAL turns its head to observe.
The strange not-quite Umbreon shaped Ditto has found itself a child's book.
Err̸or̴.
E̡̧͢͞͏r͜͏͢r̨̛̕o͏́r̨͢͏̧͟.
É̢̕͝r̀͜r̶o҉̧͝ŕ̡̛͝.̴̷͜͟͠
The violently familiar sight of the colorful cover The Hungry Caterpie has a response in the Porygon Z akin to physical pain. His body twitches violent and for a moment forgets how to fly. It crashes into the nearest junk pile, convulsing wildly as its eyes flash. Sparks fly from its joints and earth themselves in the old metal.
For a moment its eyes flare twice as brightly then turn off as its system is forced to reboot.
In the gloom a pale blue light starts to shine as something else begins to reboot.

His entire life was full of love at one point, a trainer to take care of him, a home and love. Now, he's forced to fight for his own life and it was fading away from him. The Charizard let out a tear of grief, but he couldn't just let it go. Forrik looked at Cheshire and let out a low growl, as if he wanted to kill him. The charizard didn't realize if it wasn't for the undead glaceon, they would of been still stuck out there and possibly dead. He turned his head towards HAL but something wasn't right with him. "HAL....HAL, are you okay?" Forrik watched HAL fall to the ground full of junk parts. The Charizard went to help HAL however, when he seen HAL's eyes it was a diffent color than his normal ones. "Guys, something's wrong with HAL come quickly!"

Forrik stayed by HAL until the others arrived, keeping an eye on HAL so that nothing would happen to him. "HAL, if you can hear me, you'll be okay." The charizard tilted his head sideways a bit and seen the screen light up on the pc. "Huh, I can't read this if there was someone able to read." He seen Uboa reading a book, a children's book no less and asked Uboa. "Hey Uboa, can you read human language?" The Charizard asked.

((Sadly I'll have to pass I don't have my pc and Chesh is upstairs getting ready for sleep.))

Glass looked around, her blood red eyes scanning the gloom, her steps careful as she walked. "Glass, was there a special pokemon in your life once?" Forrik's question caught her off guard and she stumbled, her paw meeting with a sharp shard of metal. "Son of a bitch." She muttered, lifting her paw up and looking at it. Blood flowed freely from the gash in her paw, making the Absol grimace.  Turning back around to Forrik, Glass watched him cautiously. "Not... Quite. They were more a friend than anything." She said, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. She turned and went back to looking around, limping now from her hurt paw.

"L͠ov͡e͟...͘wh̀a̢t is ̷i͡t́ ͜go͜od for̷?҉"Cosmic let out a huff at HAL's words, his ice blue eyes looking at the porygon. "Love is nothing but a cruel fucking joke." He muttered, his silver pupils meeting with the strange shades that hid HAL's eyes. He searched over the porygon's face for a moment, before turning away, his silver rings pulsing as he walked, giving him an ethereal glow.

"What is the HAL looking for?" Cosmic looked over at the glaceon, his ears perking up slightly. "He's probably looking for a Computer." He said, however HAL answered his own questions as well.

"A̛ m͝e̡ch͞ani͜c̨al͢ box̡." Cosmic thought about the types of machines that HAL might need. Humans had Computers, Televisions and a few other things... He thought, his muzzle forming into a perplexed frown. "I̶ ͢ca͏n ͞e͘a̸t t͢he͜ ̧eǹergy f͡ŗǫm mac͠h́i͞nes͜ bưţ I͝ ͏ha̛v͏e̸ ͟tǫ ̨have a ͏w̸a̧y ҉in̢ first." Cosmic blinked, breaking free of this thoughts. "Like a power plug or something?" He said, more to himself than anything.

"A̡ PC is̡ a̕n̴ ̀u͘p͢ri͞g̕h̢t re҉c̨t̢angu̸la͝r̷ box ͡ab̨ou͟ţ hum͠an hei͢ght ͠w̸i̡t͘h ̢a͏ smaller̴ r̛ecta̧ņgl̀e̛ ͝bòx on̸ ͘t͜ơp͠. Th̨e͜ s̡pa͢c͝e bet͞ween͘ ͜both bòxes ͠ḩa͜s̨ a͢ fl͡at̕ pa͠d̶ o͏f ̴squar̀es͜ ͟wi͟t̶h̷ hu͡m̶an͢ ļet͝t͞érs͜ ͞o̢n͞ i͠t́." Cosmic nodded, blinking s few types to adjust his vision to better suit the dark area. "I'm not sure how it's done, but Humans used them to store pokemon they couldn't take with them. I'm not sure what happened after the Taint hit though. Something malfunctioned, and all the 'mons in boxes... Disappeared." he said, looking over at HAL to see the porygon spark and begin flying in erratic lines.

Then, the porygon started trailing off, landing in a large pile of trash. Forrik was the first to get there, and his frantic cries seemed to knock something in Cosmic's mind.
"HAL....HAL, are you okay?"

Glass dashed over, skidding to a halt. She looked back to see Cosmic looking at HAL and over to a strange blue light a little ways off. He growled slightly, and dashed over. Shouldering past Glass, Cosmic wasted no time in gauging how far he had to go to get to the PC. "Out of the way, I got this." He said, carefully grabbing one of the wing-like arms and picking it up, thankful that the rest of the body came with it. He then dashed over to the PC, skidding to a halt in front of the mechanical box. He then placed the porygon down carefully, and began circling the box, looking for where HAL could plug in.

The Porygon's eyes flicker through a rainbow of colors. Its body lies limb and unmoving, only loosely connected by a few sparks of magnetic force. It is no longer enough to keep his parts fully held together and they loll like a puppet with cut strings.
Under the plasticy blue and pink skin sparks of electricity crawl as his system goes into spasms. The carefully maintained mental block between memory and programming is shattered by the one simple sight of a cardboard caterpie.
With each flash of memory comes a jolt of what his systems simulate as pain.
He is a toddler on his fathers lap pawing at the colorful pictures with stubby infants fingers. He can smell the pages of the book, the gloss of the page, the sunshine on his back.
E͠RROR̢
He is a child being given his first pokemon and the joy is overwhelming. He is smiling more than he ever has before.
E͠RROR̢
The Porygon Z's body twitched. Even its basic programming is failing to kick in and rescue the situation.
Every system is shut down except those that are necessary to its function. It cannot see or hear or feel the hands picking it up to carry it over to the terminal.
A flash of light.
The memories are PAINFUL.
The sensations of eating and sleeping and moving a body so fundamentally different from its own physically hurt. There was no way to contain the feelings, no way to process or understand these sensations so vivid it was like being stabbed over and over.
The Porygon Z vibrates at high speed as its body tries to shake itself to pieces.
E͠RROR̢
It hadn't existed until a few years ago, a completely manmade pokemon built to very basic protocols but it remembered things it had never seen.
It remembers the smell of the sea-spray and the high call of Wingull.
ER̷̡̀Ŗ̸́O̸҉̸R̀̀͝
It remembers the feeling of the summer sun on his back, holding a pen in his hand as he struggled through an english essay. It remembered catching the eye of a cute boy in glasses in the library and him smiling back. It remembered the high of falling in love and the biting pain when the boy hadn't liked him back. It remembered the feeling of being in love with someone he hadn't even been alive to meet because what it remembered wasn't it's memories.
E̴̴̕͡Ŕ̢͞Ŕ̵̛̛͏O̡̕͠R̵̷̷̸͠
The round red eyes spark as the Porygon Z tries to cry. It twitches one final time then its flickering broken system recognizes an access point.
HAL gratefully takes the path away from the pain, wirelessly connecting to the port on the PC. Its body falls entirely motionless, even the lights of its eyes extinguishing. Only a faint green light shows he is charging and not dead.
The screen on the PC flickers, resolving itself into a digitalized pixel image of the Porygon Z, complete with a pair of pointed shades.
[Booting....]
The screen displays an image below the pixel slowly flapping its wings. Shortly the message changes.
[Please select Eject from the main menu before disconnecting] it now reads. A clearer mechanical approximation of HAL's voice reads the message aloud as it appear on the screen.
Soon the messages changes again.
[This is an application designed to simulate DS's otherwise inimitably rad typing style, tone, cadence, personality and substance of retort while he is away. The algorithms are guaranteed to be 98% indistinguishable from DS's native neurological responses, based on some statistical analysis I basically just pulled from my ass right now.]
[...]
[Fuck, this is better. I finally got room to move! Hey, I can swear again!]
A small happy face appears above the Porygon icon's head.
[What can I do for you?]

Forrik laid down across from Cheshire, but the floor made it a bit hard to sleep well. "It's been to long since I slept on a hard floor like this. Oh well, at least its better than out there right now." The Charizard put his tail right close to his right eye, concealing it from view. He let out a yawn again, but this time he started to fall asleep. From that day he got into that fight with the undead, he had no choice but to keep his right eye covered at night. Forrik feared that he could scare someone with it uncovered, so he knew this was to happen. The Charizard snuggled his arms around his head and fell asleep.