(ACE) The UNDER Team

Glass opened one eye lazily as Cosmic's tail brushed against her face. The Umbreon had rolled over in his sleep and his tail was resting on her nose. Huffing, Glass moved her head so that the Umbreon's tail wasn't bothering her and opened the other eye, scanning around them. Lifting her head up she yawned, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Getting to her paws, Glass noticed the small purple eevee was still asleep beside her. Stretching, Glass felt the bones in her spine and arms pop from the stretch. Shaking out her fur she poked Cosmic a couple of times, rousing the Umbreon.

A silver and icy blue eye opened to glare at Glass. "Morning already?" He mumbled, rolling onto his paws and stretching, his claws unsheathing and sheathing as he stretched his legs. Cosmic yawned and shook his head to clear his foggy mind, looking over at Glass with a glare - Cosmic wasn't a morning Pokemon. He looked down at the small eevee, tilting his head to the side. "I'm surprised the kid stuck around." He said, going over to where the others were. First he went over to Forrik, poking the charizard for a moment. "Oi Forrik, wake up. It's morning." Cosmic said, looking over at the computer. Surely HAL didn't need a wake-up call, so he left the porygon.

Glass looked around their surroundings. Being morning it was a bit brighter now, but not by much. Junk was all over the shop, and now Glass could see where there were storage spaces for food and other things. Walking over to where there was a food storage, Glass gripped the handle with her teeth, opening the storage container. Inside were only a few cans of food and some water. "Not a whole lot. We'll need to go on a supply run." Glass said, turning to see Cosmic shuffling over towards Uboa, his fur spiked up.

Cosmic hesitated going near the black ditto, instead settling for staying a good five or six feet away, and looking over towards Cheshire. "No, fuck that. You can stay there." Getting to his feet and walking over to Cheshire. Cautiously, Cosmic put a paw on Cheshire's shoulder and gave him a slight shake. "Chesh', it's morning. Wake up." He said, stepping away a few steps to let the glaceoon have some room.

The little pixel Porygon Z is completely gone from the screen. Instead it is pitch black and covered in a long list of red writing.
Not soon after Uboa's eyes have left it the screen stops displaying Latin and switches back to English. The first few lines are long relays of instructions difficult to read for anyone not fluent in computer code. One word stands out.
Reboot.
The strings of text degenerate, away from the technical instructions to complete sentances. Thoughts.
[Did something happen to me?]
The text scrolls down.
[I can't feel my fingers.]
The Porygon Z's body hangs limply on the ground. It's eyes are empty. It doesn't even look alive. It looks like some child's plastic toy. The glasses hang crooked.
[Are those my...]
The words pulse gently on the screen.
[What happened to me?]
[Did I get hurt? Is that why I can't feel my fingers?]
[Who are you?]
[It's dark. I can't see properly]
[Who am I?]
[Can anyone hear me?]
[I can hear you]
[I can't hear myself...Did I die?]
[Maybe.]
[Oh god I'm dead. I'm really dead. But...It must have worked, right?]
[I still remember things.]
[That means I'm still me...]
[Right?]
[What is in a memory...]
[....]
[Èr̸ro̧͜r̶̶]
The cameras move restlessly in their sockets. With a static crackle speakers start up.
"H͟e͜͡͡l̛͠l̢ó?͘͜" HAL's familiar voice crackles from the corners of the room. Dust falls from underneath the cameras.
"Everyone wake up now!" The static buzz has faded with the new equipment. "We've got hostiles incoming and the doors aren't going to hold! Get ready to move!" The Normal Type's normally calm voice is now filled with panic. It rings clearly over the speakers.

((INCOMING ANGST ALERT, TAKE WARNING))

Sleep never came easy to the shapeshifter, and so while his body lay still in his sitting sentry position, his mind was in a flurry as conflicting and contrasting intentions waged war. He wanted to kill, no brutally murder every single living being within visible distance. But then he remembered his oath, his responsibility, the Eevee. He knew it wasn't her, but the very sight of something so familiar brought the ghosts of nights back to him. Before his own black eyes he watched them come to life. Two little foxes tumbling together on the floor, polar opposites. One was white as the newly fallen snow and the sound of her laughter through the air was just as pure. The other was black as tar, its joints bending and crackling at odd angles before snapping back into place. Many long and uneven fangs poked out from under the lips of its bent muzzle, which was curled into something resembling an upwards snarl as a giggling unfitting came forth. Its voice was just as soft, and perhaps even more lovely. In reality a pained grimace stretched across the Dragon's face, and he turned to the wall and bowed his head against it, though he still saw the projection. With a shuddering breath, he closed his eyes at what he knew came next. Of their own accord, following the motions like some long forgotten play his hands contracted, yearning to crush. He found them a suitable object. The pain coming from the claws embedded in his own windpipe acted as a physical manifestation of the guilt that should exist, and through this The Deceiver was able to keep himself at bay. Uboa could, and would not bleed. 'Cannot allow myself to express, lest it come out in a tidal wave all at once and destroy me.' "Never again..." Mangled and malformed they were, the sharp protrusions on his fingers shredded through the flesh with ease. The Charizard's whisper was rough and rasping due to how badly it had torn his vocal chords. Still he did not loosen his grip, and his back turned he crouched like a statue, grasping at his own throat like someone chocking to death.

Eventually after enough time the memory had passed, and the metamorph let himself go and his arm dropped to the side loosely. Stooped there in the corner, he focused on listening to the exhalations of his company, and steadying his own. Deciding that now was a good time to meditate on the prior day's events 'HAL is serving as an excellent watchman, keep calm' Forrik would undoubtedly need to be dealt with soon, it wouldn't be long before he lost higher cognitive functions as it was the norm for his typing. Uboa would likely not bring him to peace before then. Unfortunate. In Cheshire's case, he could take some to plan out his strategy and learn about The Vulpine. If he could actually be brought to some other state of mind that remained to be seen. This Alice character would be important. 'Perhaps if I get an accurate description of her, Cheshire could have a final heartfelt reunion with 'his Alice'.' The Ditto also decided that among other things, if the opportunity arose he was going to give Cosmic a most thorough lecture on proper etiquette, and to not raise his voice unless needed. The Metamorph dealt with enough screaming as it is and he did not need something to try his patience. On that note, the loud voice of the Porygon jarringly disturbed the ditto's sense of flow. Wordlessly the Dragon arose, and as he strode to the forwards his mind was already formulating his next course of action. For the most part the group could handle themselves, aside from the smallest mammalian who would likely be on the more fragile side. It would be best if he were carried, which narrowed down the list to only two possibilities. Uboa strongly disagreed with the thought of handing him to an infected, but he felt his own hands clench he knew he had no other option.

Taking the role of a commander with ease, He snapped his head around and spoke, voice still raw from how he had all but destroyed his vocal chords. "What supplies are left here are not worth risking your lives over. It would be best to leave them here for the time being for later retrieval, which I volunteer to." He gestured with one of his out curled claws at Joshua "The child is obviously under severe emotional duress and cannot be expected to behave rationally. Some one will have to escort him and make sure of his well being, if he becomes difficult have Forrik carry him until we reach safety." He paused for a moment, recalling the empty shell HAL had left downstairs. "I will carry HAL's physical vessel. Now, Let's move!" Rushing downstairs, Uboa took no time to waste scooping up the cold pieces of material that made up the Porygon's avatar in the real world and softened the skin on his chest so it would be tar like in consistency and adhered HAL to his flesh. This made it quite a bit easier for his somewhat stubby lizard arms to hold all of HAL, and the Metamorph moved up the stairs and across the room, ready to go. He went through the door and joined the legitimate Charizard on the balcony. He regarded the horde of undead below coldly, and moved his gaze over to the rickety old wooden bridge. It lead into the ruined hotel, still standing dark and foreboding. A deep and tired sigh ripped through his throat, the sound getting distorted and disturbing as it made it's way through. "Shall we?"

The harbinger dragged the massive length of his body slowly through the filth that had become of the Under. A burnt out flame of a dragon, the giant lizard was altogether longer than a public bus from nose to tail tip. Wings countless times larger, folded along his back, the Charizard walked with an unstable gait a his bulk swayed to And fro. His long, charred tail trailed in the muck and filth of the ground, No flame having been there for two few but long years. His forearms nothing but blackened bones, hands long since gone and matching his tail in colour, same with the black ashes running permanently across his eyes and face where sharp eyes once sat. Going solely by sound and scent, the Charizard was more lost than he could recall being, though most of the factor was his caring enough to consider himself misplaced. But the land was wrong. For days he had felt none if the Sun's warmth and thought it to be the nighttime hour; but it had been unnaturally long. Five days if his internal clock was correct. And it was driving him mad.

A gurgling sound escaped from deep within his throat, the harbinger's missing bottom jaw causing an awkward handicap as the Dragon slowly swung his head to one side, then the other. For the first time in too many.. he smelled warmth, the same way he could smell beating hearts and Sun light. Curling his lips, Charizard lurched forward with renewed energy. As he ran, his long reptilian tongue wet the top of his jaws before hanging without purpose without bottom jaws to sink into. "...Find...out... where at..." the harbinger gargled, his speech distorted on a good day. He came to be in another space entirely when he halted, talons the size of a man's forearm digging gouged into the concrete with the power it took to slow his form. "Help...need direction," were the words Charizard forced out, smooth as gravel. He had found a pair, two Pokemon, one tall and long eared while the other shorter with a scent like the night sky. He heard the Lopunny shiver with fright, her actions attempting to rouse her companion to no avail before the Harbinger lowers his eyebrows in an act of confusion.

They would not help him? What was wrong? The Charizard lifted himself to his full height, towering above most buildings and debris around them as well as the pair if uninfected. "Need out...miss Sun. Know way out?" he begged, his eye sockets naturally going upward in sincerity, but what met his ears was not the response he wished for.

Screaming.

Flinching, the Harbinger was snapped violently from his state of docile inquiring as the Liepard awoke, his pricing cries rocking through the massive underground. Ripping his head from side to side, Charizard lowered his head and gave a deafening impossibly loud roar, the Boomburst powerful enough to destroy the buildings behind the pair as they were simultaneously smacked against a pile of debris. Gone completely feral, Charizard jumped forward, reds and blacks swarming across the inside of his gaze as he blindly lashed out in rage. His fangs hit their target without entirely meaning to, molten rock already dripping from his range as the lava dripped onto the Liepard, melting clean through his fur and muscle and skin and bone like butter.

The screams became louder.

With a sharp jerk of his thick neck, Charizard ripped the Liepard from beside his companion to hit the concrete beside the Dragon. Roaring again, this time in primal victory, one of his unnaturally powerful legs kept the can in place. Claws ding into his as the Charizard continued his feral bellow, yelling right into the cats face until it cried silently from its terror. "NO...SCREAMING!" But when the feline merely whispered, the pain excruciating and fires already burning on his little scarf, Charizard growled deep in his chest, unimpressed. Pulling his head back like a snake, much more intense flames built deep within his throat, more intense than before by ten fold. When the Liepard saw his impending fate, the cat flailed violently, clawing in vain at the harbingers impenetrable orange scales. His panic built to screams again, only infighting the harbinger further until he released the flamethrower right into the cats head, effectively silencing the feline. The charred remains left nothing to the imagination, Charizard taking ever care to burn the entire corpse. In only seconds, he forgets about the Lopunny in her silence, instead the madness of being kept from his beloved Sun driving him to the extreme.

Bellowing mournfully, his wings expanded, taking him into the air even as his flames did not halt. Violently whipping his head back and forth, he set the entire are on fire, metal and damp debris setting alight without question due to the harbingers power. "Need out...! WHERE SUN!?" roaring again, the harbinger shot straight up, slamming into the ceiling if the Under but only meeting rock. The warmth of his own spreading flames was comforting but not enough to calm him. A second borrowed cry escaped him as he fly sloppily away from the food. "Sun..." He vanished into the pitch black of the dark, escaping his own flame's lights that he left in his wake.

Sleep, something that was hard to come by for the undead. The snow fox was different, spending most of his time asleep and alone. The rare time that he got true sleep, it was back at Alice's tower. Black birds swarming around the window like a black cloud, complaining about the lack of food outside. Inside Alice's room she had her dolls lined up from the floor to the roof, the way she always had them. Gifts from others and a few that Cheshire had found himself while they were outside. Alice sat by the window looking out seemingly oblivious to the birds, she was lonely. 

Alice was always lonely, her smile was long gone something that Cheshire will never see again. The black shadows of birds, cawing louder waking the sleeping eevee from his sleep. He looks around to see Alice at the window unmoved, he walks over as looks out the window himself seeing below a sea of crimson. Bodies of pokemon floating on the surface, unknown body parts bobbing on the slight current.

He looks to Alice then her face cloaked in her shadows of pain, Cheshire wants to help Alice. Make Alice happy again make her smile return light to this world. Alice didn't move or make any signs of life in her body as she remains faced toward the window. Cheshire moving back from the window then looking at the dolls as they start to twist into creatures around him. He ignores them and curls himself back into is red bed, it's warm. Watching Alice then by the window, still unmoved. The dolls continue to morph and change into twisted sick versions of them self, blood starting to drip from the eyes as they start to fall free from the faces as they decay. 

The room filling with rot, heavy to breath it in as it coats the lungs. Alice did not move, Cheshire only now starts to grow concerned with this. Looking to the dolls, that had turned to small rotting corpse piles. He gets up and starts to move back toward Alice, as he does though she moves further away. More and more distant as if the room was getting bigger, "Chesh', it's morning. Wake up." a voice started to echo into the room. Not understanding the words as he was now slowly moving running toward Alice at the window. 

He felt tired, slow, and sick. Something was wrong, what was wrong with Cheshire?. Alice was still so far away, why was Alice leaving him. Alice leaps from the window, Cheshire jumping after her throwing himself out the window to save Alice. Her black body falling toward the red sea below as he stretched out for her. His paws started to rot as he reached for her, touching her black fur he noticed the hunger then. Feeling and hearing the blood being slowly pumped through her body, something changed then as his one eye goes dark as the socket feels something grinding on the bone in his skull. 

Alice twists then her face rotted, her once violet eyes now shrived grapes. Cheshire hits Alice then in mid air as they fell, but instead of trying to save them he rips open her chest with his claws and teeth digging into the sweet flesh. Blood covering his once blue fur red, she didn't scream but instead held him in a embrace. Fear was not on her face as he killed her, ripping open her rib cage to get to her heart.

There it was still beating slowly, the pounding of the heart filling his ears. Save Alice a tiny voice in his dream echoed, a cold blue glow started to form in his maw then as he smiled looking at her face. He smiled because Alice was smiling. Letting the icy breath flood into her chest cavity freezing the beating heart, saving Alice's heart for Cheshire and only Cheshire. They both hit the crimson sea then as the bodies move on their own now to the new fresh that was now in with them. Talons, claws, tendril and other things starting to tear Alice and Cheshire apart limb from limb feasting on the still living flesh. Cheshire was happy to be with Alice.

Something was Shaking Cheshire from his dream as he woke up, seeing the oddly colored umbreon starring at him. Cheshire gave a harsh growl then as he was happy in his dream with Alice wanting to simply lash out at the Umbreon for waking him and pulling him away from his Alice. Then Hals voice coming out of the speakers above, the only thing stopping the glaceon from ripping out the umbreon's throat. Now a little more aware of what was going on as he looked around at the rest of the group seeing that most of them were already up and moving around. 

Glass was carrying something around with her maybe some food and water, it was none of his concern by this point. What caught the ice types attention was the odd colored eevee that was just laying there, tilting his head in confusion but little else. Uncurling himself from the tangle of the red cloth that he had nested into Cheshire, waking into chaos it didn't seem that new as he quickly found pace with the rest of the group.

The bell at his throat gave a jingle as he followed the massive black charizard down the stairs, but then back up the stairs to the door that leads to the bridge across the gap to the hotel on the other side. Both charizard were starting to become to much trouble with the bulk running around over the smaller of the group. Cheshire looking over at Cosmo who seems to also be moving rather frantically getting things going to move locations. Cheshire gave a cool single slow blink as his mind was set on his dream of sweet Alice, her flesh between his fangs and under his claws. Her smile glowing like the last light of day.

As they get outside, he saw the hoards of undead under them trying to get into the bottom floor of the junk shop. There were just to many to fight in such a location like this. BOOM, something else getting his attention as a bust of fire off in the distance, reflecting in the single red eye. "What was that?" feeling the push to move behind him as he followed the group then. Eye fixed to the glow of fire and dust.

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Alice seemly the first to awaken of the pair as the leopard was still clearly out of it, looking up at the mine shaft where she could only guess that it had come from. Stretching out every muscle lining her thin small frame as he poked at the furred side again, still nothing. " Hey get up you lazy cat" she grumbles a little annoyance becoming a strong tone as she was tempted to jump kick it into awareness. Something comes from the dark, a twisted voice. About to reply to tell it off she doesn't even know where she it, before seeing a massive charizard come to the dim light. 

Alice froze, terror griping every hair on her body. Paralyzed her from much movement other then trying to wake the cat, he came around then as her wide fear filled eyes still locked to the giant. The cat screamed then, something she couldn't.

The charizard reacted to that with violence quickly, something or a unseend force hitting her her ears taking the most punishment as they popped nearly bursting the ear drums and the breath was suddenly not there to use to scream. Hitting the building behind them only for a second, before even the building was ruins. Bit and pieces fell around her, threat was now real of simply getting squished from the building it's self now. 

Ringing in her ears blocking out every other sound that followed as the brick and cement fell around her dust and derbies flying through the air like some slow mo action. The leopard like pokemon had hit the building with her and was beside her before the charizard snatched it. Blood pounding in her ears nearly hearing each cell rushing through as her heart beat was the only thing she heard frantic panicked scared.

Once everything was settled and the dust cleared she saw the hazy glow of flames in in the particles of dust, the heat was unbearable. The shrill screaming of the other pokemon barely being heard over the ring and her own heart beat before it went silent suddenly. More heat washed over her fur as the heat wave was enough to feel, the cat was mere a ash pile now. Wanting to scream out in horror she couldn't tell if she did or not unable to hear anything beyond the blood. The Charizard giving one final ground shaking roar before leaving, Alice might not have heard everything but she felt it's power. 

Heat bellowing around the area, cinders still dancing in the air around her as she pulled herself out from under some rubble that hadn't killed her and might have saved her instead as the Charizard seemed to have forgotten about. Slowly her hearing coming back in stages, the slight crackle of the bone in the heat now nothing more then fragments and ash smothering. Any sign of her companion was gone.

Looking around at the once building seeing a huge hole blasted in the side of it, everything that might of been inside was obliterated. Alice was shaking in every inch of her body then seeing the death that one creature had brought. It wasn't any where to be seen it just came and was gone. Something that big, something that powerful was out in the dark of this cave trying to get out. Alice spots a small torn up bit of olive colored cloth under some of the rubble as she makes her way over to it slowly and pushes off the large piece of building. 

A bit of the cats scarf had been caught under the building, tentatively she picked it up. Noticing how bad her hand was shaking as she closed around it. It was still warm as the edge was burnt slightly as she brushed it away, some of the cloth flaked into ash. Holding it close to her chest giving one last look around the ruins of the attack, "Didn't even know the stupid thing, and look at me" her voice sounding alien still. Her hearing still returning in stages.

Cosmic looked over at Forrik as the charizard woke, looking over to the small discolored eevee. "Who's the kid and where did he come from?" The umbreon shrugged. "Fuck if I know, Glass found the kid last night." He said stretching. He looked over towards HAL, his ears perked. A crackle came through the speakers, before HAL's voice came over it, urgent and flustered. "Everyone wake up now!"

Cosmic snarled, his eyes flashing in annoyance. "What now?" He growled, his gaze snapping to where he heard a barrage of thundering footsteps. "HAL, what's wrong something coming?" Cosmic's ears dropped and his eyes widened. He shook his head and quickly got over the shock, before his eyes narrowed and his form became overlain with shadows as he prepared a Dark Pulse. "We've got hostiles incoming and the doors aren't going to hold! Get ready to move!"

Glass's dark red gaze found the door the undead were attacking at. Even from where she was, the stench was horrid. "For fucks sake!" She snarled, her horn glowing white as she prepared a Razor Wind. "Shit, there's to many of them even for me to take on. We better get those supplies and get out of here while we have the chance." Glass shot Forrik a look that said 'since when were you leader' and backed away from the door, her eyes narrowing as she took aim. Cosmic looked around, his eyes darting back and forth for an escape route, but Forrik beat him to it. "Bingo, there's our escape route, we better get to gathering now before they reach us!"

The Umbreon growled. "Are you fucking crazy? Leave the supplies, you'll only taint them anyway." Cosmic growled, his paws already carrying him to their escape. "What supplies are left here are not worth risking your lives over. It would be best to leave them here for the time being for later retrieval, which I volunteer to." Glass nodded in agreement, looking over to the eevee as Uboa gestured to the kid. "The child is obviously under severe emotional duress and cannot be expected to behave rationally. Some one will have to escort him and make sure of his well being, if he becomes difficult have Forrik carry him until we reach safety." "I can look after the kid." Glass said, looking towards the kid, who seemed to be rather flustered at that moment. "I will carry HAL's physical vessel. Now, Let's move!" Glass bristled at Uboa's command, having the idea in her mind to ignore the black metamorph. She was about to address the kid when the eevee exploded.

"A CHILD? HOW DARE YOU, YOU STUPID OVER-SIZED BRUTE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'VE SUFFERED! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY." Glass jumped out of the way of a stray Frustration, her eyes flashing in anger as the kid wildly flailed, before she took a step to follow the kid, worried. "Hey wait!" She said, moving to race after, but Cosmic jumped in front of her, his silver and ice blue eyes level with her own dark red ones. "Glass, leave it. He left on his own will. If the kid dies, he dies. Let's go." Cosmic said in a quiet tone so only Glass could hear him. She looked towards the fleeing eevee's form, before turning and running down their escape.

As they started running, a loud explosion ripped their attention from their imminent escape. Glass and Cosmic stood rigid as the Absol heard the familiar sound of a building crumbling down. "What was that?" Cheshire's question brought the duo out of her trance. "I don't know Chesh', but I don't like it." He said, and Glass nodded in agreement. "Agreed. We should get out of here." She said, continuing onward to their escape route.

The tiny light on the Porygon Z flares a bright red then fades as the connection is broken. A similarly bright red light flashes on the terminal as the pixellated image of HAL flaps its blue wings monotonously.
The socket of a camera squeaks faintly as it turns to watch the others.
H̕ ̵E̸̷͠ ̷͜L̛͡ L O͜͢ ̴? displays briefly on the screen before it switches off.
Ahead in the musty gloom of the Hotel is a small click of a lock being electronically unlocked.
Then a flare of light in the distance illuminates the room. A deep rumble echoes across the floor. The camera's all smack into their sockets as they attempt to get a good look. One manages to get a glimpse out of the Hotel window and zooms in as far as HAL can.
The pixellated image shows the smoldering ruins of a building not too far away.
"I don't know what the fuck that was but it's time to move!" The speakers crackle.
"Hurry before it notice us!" HAL demands. The cameras resume scanning the rooms in a search for danger.
In the black tar of the transformed Charizard's body the charging light flickers green. The lights of the Porygon Z's eyes flare then slowly turn on to full brightness. There is a brief sound like someone has sat on a cellphone then the small Normal Type starts to struggle.
"Let me go!" He screams in a voice subtly different from his usual one. It has lost all the mechanical edge, all the static crackle and robotic precision. Now it is downright panicked.
"I don't have any fingers! How do I move?!" The Porygon Z gives an almighty heave.
His head falls off, rolls mid-air and dangles loose.
The Porygon Z starts to scream at the sight of its headless twitching body.
"Shut up!" HAL booms over the speakers, stunning the Porygon Z into silence.

The normal type blinks its red eyes and the head slides up to look around the room.
"Who are you?"
A static hiss echoes from the speakers. The silence draws on and on until the hiss from the speakers starts to sound like a dial-up tone.
"Never mind who I am. Just stop making so much noise."
"My head came off..." The Porygon Z said numbly. "I saw it. There was so much blood."
The normal type's head rotates 360 degrees.
"My head's still off isn't it?"
"Yes." HAL says bluntly from the speakers.
The cameras swivel, turning on the tiny body HAL had left behind. The sudden severing of the connection must have triggered a reboot, without the AI files that had been sent to the terminal.
In the darkness a dozen malevolent red camera eyes glitter.
"This way."

Focus. Uboa could not hear the child's protests, but even if he could such self centered and irrational screeches would not sway him in the slightest. He could not hear, so he had put his faith in his companions, and now was not the time to distract his attentions. The screaming in his own mind easily drowned out those of the child, and like the drums of war they chanted for blood. Stills of bisected quadrupeds strew up on steel frames began to materialize in his vision, the internal organs and severed heads topping the demented art pieces still glistening with bodily fluids, blood in a steady stream flowing onto the floor boards. Taking immense care to concentrate on his more noble desires, the shapeshifter banished the sinister imagery from his consciousness and stared at the task at hand. In mild surprise, idly he pried the rest of HAL's body out of his own, and set it on the ground before continuing forwards. Uboa's resolve, like all of the ditto's emotions was a frightening thing, monstrous in scope and intensity like a veritable typhoon. Now the infernal flames of his spirit had a physical manifestation to match the conflagration of the abomination's soul. Light glowed out from within, the crevice in his throat acting as a window to the blue furnace. On the outside, the torch of a tail burned intensely its blaze an inferno as it illuminated the decaying corpses reaching skywards in a bid to reach it. The black Charizard flexed its wings in anticipation for the upcoming fight, but the sound of screaming in the distance made his blood turn to ice. Why he would be able to hear that over everything else is a mystery, perhaps because his mind is so drawn to the suffering of others. Silence made its home in his destroyed throat as he felt dread creeping through his body. He did not appreciate this new intruder, but nonetheless the dragon took wing. Before he left he recalled to gesture in the general direction he was leaving, this he at least did. Flying towards the origin of the echo, the shapeshifter only made it 100 meters before being repulsed by the boom burst. The silence spread from thenceforth. A pleasantly strong breeze caressed his hide in his daze, and gradually the dragon opened his eyes. I am falling. It took Uboa a short time to realize this, and reflexively he spread his scaled wings, catching the air a slowing his descent. He could not hear the wind whistling through his ears, the sound of someone's last desperate cries for help, nor the final roar as an ungodly abomination seared them into nothing more than smoldering ashes. Even the horrific mantra being shouted at him grew slightly quiet at the scene. The metamorph watched as yet another travesty against creation rose and left, an enormous black shadow cast by the smelted stone and airborne embers as they danced.

"Wh͙͔̝͜a̱̭̼t̲̪ ̞a ̲͓͙̺̜͟m̟i͕̙̬͖̤̤͕se͠r̛͕̳̳͇̩̪̮a҉͕̰̭͎b͕̯͍l̴̯͙e͈̹͕̠͉̜͜ ̹̦e̙̦̯͚̻x͈̼̲͚͕͍̭i͎̺s͔̪̳͇͖͜t̨̺͎̼̭̭e̦̙͎͕̜ṇ͚̹̖͡ç̤̠̖ḛ̼̩̰̤ͅ ̵̮̱̺̤̻͈h͙e̳ ͕̗m͎̞̟͞u̺̮̦s̜͙̰̥t̯̦̞͟ ̤͚̪̝l̬e͔̦̙͚̘̖ạ͙͖͎̬d̺̲̼̕"

Uboa knew he should not have spoken, but even as he felt the tattered remnants of his vocal chords on the verge of severing entirely the metamorph could not find that he cared. With the sudden arrival of The Monster most of the infected in the area had scattered, even in undeath they retained some sense of self preservation. So he had no one to hold an oath of silence for, or so he thought. In the corner of his vision, he saw a figure standing not too far from the site of the disaster and from him. He remembered the calamity that was about to occur over with the others, and deciding that took precedence he called out to the Lopunny before turning to leave. His voice was beyond satanic by this point, rendered into something slightly higher than the rumblings of the earth splitting.

"F̢̗̜͔o͉̼̯̼l̢̜͚̖͚̬̥̺l̶͖̻̺̱̣͎̞o̵̠͔̱̥w̢̙̼͖.͕̻͔̹̫̪ ̦͙̞͚L̺̩̩̫̥̜ͅa͈ͅt̶e͎͉̞͉̯͜r͏.͏̱͖̭"

With that the dragon flew back to the skies and returned to the balcony. The explosion had destroyed the bridge connecting the buildings, but on the positive side the horde below had significantly thinned. Doubting that the dark types could leap a 10 meter gap, Uboa knelt and awaited a passenger.

(( Cheshire reluctantly allows Forrik to pick him up, Alice screams at Uboa and moves away. Pass))

A patch of empty air suddenly pulses and shivers. There is the snap of displaced air and a plume of dark smoke as a strange masked figure tumbles out of nowhere.
“Surprise!” He announces, spreading his arms wide as he lands.
“Shocked? Stupefied? Certainly spooked, so I summon my strength and say salutations I am Sir Kuss.” He introduces himself to the black-furred Lopunny he has teleported beside.
With a graceful bow and a twist of his cape he surveys where he has ended up. Some form of underground city, abandoned buildings lined up like rotting teeth or unkempt headstones. There is a cool desolation in the air heated by the path of destruction. A building burns.
“Some slithering swine sets smoke in the slum, sure. Snatched then sanitized and sanctified as sacrifice for sustenance. The scythe is swung swiping sanctity and sanity. It’s some sobering smoldering smoke for sure. A swift slight then soon but sleep. All but slaves to the second of salvation.” The Gallade declares with a sight. The flicker of flames illuminates what he has come here to find. He kneels and runs his fingers through the dark fur. The scent of charred meat is strong. The hood around his ears fills his mind with whispers. This was his duty.
Turning to the side he notes the Lopunny is quivering still. No doubt she had the misfortune to see this poor creature's demise. She will need soothing.
“Sugar-coated sonnets shall not soothe the scare but someday slumber comes for slayer and slain the same. My swan song is slaked. Saboteurs snidely slither on and so no sooner I stand still lest sweat turn to slag. Sniveling sacks sacrament when soon swamped said swain be. Should I swallow a ship or swim the sky to be sorrowful? Solemnly swears this soldier of serenity, sleep is soiled by sorrow and sweetened by salute of the slain. Spurn suspire of those scarified. Skulls share no secrets past cessation. Sustain no skirmish for such. Survivor’s skill is in self-control, certainly safety is seldom shared. Seek solace in survival. Surely you see sadness is silly when soon you sleep side-by-side unless swiftly you seek sanctuary? Safe or snuffed so to speak.” He tries to speak bluntly.
At this point there was a very real danger and he must be off. There are more bodies to take, more souls to save.
"This saturnalian savant must soon soar. I suggest you streak to shelter, though I suppose I can support a spare. Sayonara!” The brightly masked Gallade picks up the body and, without asking permission, grabs the Loppuny's hand.
There is another flare of light then a sensation of falling into absolute darkness. Less than a second passes before he is stepping out into a dimly lit room.
"See you soon~" The Gallade gives another neat bow as he puts down the charred body of the Liepard.
Striding forwards into the larger room he makes an elaborate bow to the ceiling and spins his cape around himself. He ushers the Lopunny on as he turns back to the room where he has left the charred mess of a corpse. He waves cheerfully.
When the others got here they could take care of her. All that matters is he had the body.

((OOC: Both Ryth and Alice have been teleported to somewhere within the hotel, seeing as that is what he was bought to the team to do. He'll likely be leaving next cycle. Tell me if anything needs to be edited.))

Cosmic shook his head to clear his thoughts, his ears perking up as HAL's voice cam out over the speakers. "I don't know what the fuck that was but it's time to move!" Glass looked over at Cosmic, her dark crimson gaze scattered. "Glass, what do you think we should do?" Her gaze snapped over towards Forrik and she regained her composure, stopping to listen to HAL over the speakers. "Hurry before it notice us!" "Agreed. We have to move. Lets go!" Glass said, starting off down the corridor.

Cosmic followed after Glass, his silver rings and multicolored markings lighting their path. "Let me go!" Cosmic froze, looking over to see the struggling Porygon-Z. Cosmic tilted his head, dropping back to examine the cybertronic pokemon. Glass watched from a little ways off. "I don't have any fingers! How do I move?!" Cosmic growled, baring his fangs. "Get your fucking shit together you dipshit!" Cosmic growled, backing away as the Porygon spazzed out. "Shut up!" Almost instantly the flipping robot quieted, but it still was distressed. "Who are you?" Glass scoffed. "The better question is who the fuck are you and what are you doing in HAL's body?" She growled, glaring at the Porygon-Z.

"Never mind who I am. Just stop making so much noise." Glass nodded. "You're going to attract all the fucking zombies from the enture cavern at this rate." She growled, but they ignored her, so it seemed. "My head came off..." Cosmic narrowed his eyes, studying the robot carefully. The fuck is he on about? He thought, watching the disorientated cybertronic creature. "I saw it. There was so much blood." Blood? "But Porygon don't bleed. As far as I know anyway." Cosmic muttered to himself, perplexed. "My head's still off isn't it?" Cosmic rolled his eyes. "No fucking duh dipshit." He growled, standing up and walking back over to Glass. "Yes."

They came to a broken bridge and Glass growled in frustration. "Fucking great..." She hissed, looking at the two charizards in their group. "I can carry Cheshire, but I won't risk getting anyone else infected. So someone's gonna have to hop on my back and hold on tight." Glass growled. "Fucking hell. It's either the freaky ass black thing or an infectious time bomb... Wonder-fucking-ful." She growled, looking between the two. "I can only take one of you, someone's gonna have to hop on Uboa's back."

Cosmic groaned. "Fan-fucking-tastic." He growled, watching as Glass went over to Uboa. "Hurry, which one of you will hop onto me." Cosmic sighed. "I will." He groaned, jumping up onto Forrik's warm scales, avoiding the wings and flame as he jumped. The orange and purple scales were warm under his paws. He stood still to get his balance, before looking over at Glass who jumped up onto Uboa's back, her white fur standing out like a snowflake in a pile of charcoal.

"This way." Cosmic looked across the gap where HAL opened a door, his fur waving with the air currents that came from Forrik's wings. Glass's mane flicked to and fro, while the fur on her head drooped forwards over her eyes. Glass shook her head and the fur moved back into place. "All aboard, next stop freedom!" Cosmic grinned, despite himself. "Let's ditch this pile of shit of a shop."

The Porygon Z remains deathly silent. He blinks, the virulent red glow of his eyes dimming briefly before flickering back full force. If it needed to or was capable of breathing the small Normal Type would be taking deep breaths.
"O.k. I am fine now." He says in a clear calm tone.
With care he moves his head back into the proper position, strengthening the electromagnetic bonds that kept the disconnected parts of his body from drifting apart. He twists his head to the side as if clicking his non-existent neck. Experimentally he flutters his teardrop shaped wings. No fingers. That would be problematic but they were more blade-like than he had pictured. If he had to he supposed his new beak would do fine for typing. Shaking of the strange feeling of his mouth not actually opening when he spoke the Porygon Z looked around.
"So it worked." He looked up at the camera's glowing red eye.
"HAL, where are we? What's the situation."
"The Under in Orre and the situation is royally fucked up. Code: Romero, going all Dawn of the Dead on this shit." HAL replies enthusiastically from the speakers. "So unless you wanna die again it's time to move Bromide."
"Keep monitoring the situation. If anything moves I want to hear about it."
"Can do."
The Porygon Z manages to scramble onto the gooey black back of the twisted Charizard.
"Do I want to know?" He asks himself as his tail brushes the unnatural scales.
Tail. Right. He had a tail.
"HAL, give me the rundown." The Porygon Z demands as he holds on tightly and prepares for the leap.
"Well first of all you died. That was no fun for everyone involved. But the programming worked...Sorta. It's a complicated situation all around. I don't think your organic brain could comprehend the deep shit we're in right now."
"But it's not organic anymore is it HAL?" The Porygon Z says softly.
There is a pause.
"You got me there DS. Funny thing is it turns our we're not as smart as we thought we were." HAL's voice echoes from the speakers. It sounds...bitter.

((Gonna have to skipp, I have too much stuff to do atm SORRY.
Just have Uboa not hear anything because he's a bit bonkers atm and flies across the gap after Forrik))

*Ryth's POV*

After the night terrors had subsided, the black feline had slept relatively well. It was a blissful darkness that wrapped around him like a warm blanket, keeping out all the ugliness that the cat has seen thus far.


But with all peace, it is a fleeting thing, and the temporary tranquil peace that sleep brought had all but been shattered.  Blue eyes flying open the black cat found the world shaking! No, that wasn't quite right....He was shaking?  Blinking to rid the sleep from his hazy mind, Ryth turned and looked to the side of him.  Spotting the dark furred pokemon standing beside him, he wanted to leap up in excitement and ask the rabbit why she had dark fur like he had. But at the same time, instinctively tensed. He didn't know this pokemon. Before his mind could spiral into a chaos of questions, the Liepard noticed the look of fear in the female's eyes. As he turned his head Ryth's own eyes widened in fear as they fell upon a horrific reptilian towering over them.

'Th-the thing has no eyes!!' His thoughts screamed in his skull as he quickly shrank away from the beast. It was then his ears picked up a strange noise, only to realize that he was in fact screaming aloud.  This action only seemed to enrage the 'thing' more. Suddenly the world was blotched with black and white dots when the eyeless lizard roared.  Pain erupted into his skull as the noise all but tore his ears to shreds.  Staggering, the Liepard tried to run but snarled in pain as he felt fangs in his flesh and began to thrash about.  Seering pain bloomed as he felt something excruciatingly hot burning him. Ryth's cry was amplified by the pain as he tried to free himself. He gagged when the reptilian jerked him from the ground suddenly and was flung against the hard stone beside the towering mass of muscle that roared again.


Ryth's body trembled violently in fear much to his anger. He wanted to his limbs to move, to obey. But they were locked in place. Ears lying flat he whimpered as the thing shouted.  The pain registered before he began screaming again. Fire. Fire was everywhere. It burned, tearing at his fur, skin, and muscle. The Liepard saw red, orange, and then darkness.  The pain was one he had never felt before. But at the same time came a comforting calm as the darkness surrounded him. He couldn't hear the roaring anymore, nor smell the scent of burning flesh and fur.

Floating in the darkness, rays of gold began to bleed through.  The pokemon didn't move. No, that wasn't it, he couldn't move.  It was then a voice seemed to echo in his head and a large rainbow bird appeared before him. It's words made no sense to his ears which suddenly seem to be filled with water. But a sense of warmth surrounded his body. He found himself wanting to stay wrapped up in that warmth forever. But it was like a stone slammed into him and he found himself being pulled down.  With a silent cry of dismay, he felt himself descending, the warm golden light fading before coldness took over and he once again found himself in darkness.

*Hotel Room POV*

Where the black cat lay, there was a dull shimmer of golden light around it's frame, almost as if covered in a dust. As the light grew stronger, the burnt and damaged body began to heal itself.  Bone was reformed, muscles overlapping, and then fur.  The whole process happened within seconds before the light died down again before disappearing.  Weakly the cat's side rose before tightening as it began to cough and gag.


*Ryth's POV*

Coughing and gagging as he took in air, his chest ached with soreness.  Weakly he tried to open his eyes before squeezing them tightly in pain. It was too bright. 'What... happened...?'  He thought dully to himself as his senses began to return.  Had it all been just a dream?  The Liepard opened his eyes again slowly, blinking several times in an attempt to get the white light to dissolve into the actual setting. There was a dull ringing in his ears as he tried to push himself up.  Confusion gripped him as he noted how sore his body suddenly felt. "Where....am I?"  His voice was a bit hoarse, but was more asking himself than anyone. Not that he noticed the other pokemon in the same room.

The admins have talked with Kaze, and their harbinger attack is being excused. They will be skipping this cycle in under, however.

The tiny normal type braces himself for the beating of powerful wings, twisting his disconnected head nearly 360 degrees in an attempt to keep an eye on where he is going. Once his head tilts past the normal range of motion for his former neck he starts to feel a bit queasy. His head bobs as he struggles to keep it straight.
It's just a short flight. He'd flown on pokemon before, not for years but it's not like he was scared of flying. The problem was getting used to his body. He could hover but not fly, none of his limbs had any meaningful connections and his eyes were on the side of his head. It's a pity he couldn't download himself into a better body. If they had the technology to create the porygon form with opposable thumbs that would be enough. Stubby wings aren't very good for gripping.
"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" He hisses under his breath.
As soon as he can see the roof under him he prepares for the inevitable fall.
"HAL, is the area clear?" He snaps above the noise of wing beats.
'I don't see anything here but my line of sight is limited bro." The mechanical voice sounds tinny over the ambient noise.
"Getting ready to to bail in...now!" The Proygon Z makes a leap for the rooftop, rolling its disconnected body into a protective ball as it harmlessly bounces off the tarmac. It doesn't even scratch it's shades.
Head literally spinning it wobbles out of the way of the landing.
"You've got the door controls?"
"Sure do."
"Let us in then."

((OOC: Short post, had no idea what to write))

Cosmic watched as the Porygon-Z spazzed out, before finally coming to it's senses. "O.k. I am fine now." Cosmic scoffed, rolling his eyes as he watched the Porygon-Z look over itself, as though it was first time it had actually seen itself. "So it worked." Cosmic frowned. What worked? He thought, narrowing his eyes. "HAL, where are we? What's the situation." It was talking to itself now? Cosmic grew more suspicious by the moment, and he glanced uneasily at Glass. She returned his glance, her dark red eyes flickering back to HAL - or whoever it was now.

"The Under in Orre and the situation is royally fucked up. Code: Romero, going all Dawn of the Dead on this shit." HAL's more familiar voice came through the speakers, and Glass blinked. "Orre? I've never heard of that place before..." She mumbled to herself, lifting one of her paws and shaking a tiny bit of black goo off her white fur. "So unless you wanna die again it's time to move Bromide." Glass looked up at a camera and nodded. "Good idea. I don't want to die any time soon." She said, looking as the Porygon-Z moved towards Uboa. "Keep monitoring the situation. If anything moves I want to hear about it." Glass's eyes narrowed and her fur stood on end. "Excuse you? Who died and made you leader?" She growled, listening into the speakers for HAL's reply. "Can do." Glass growled, huffing in annoyance.  HAL's material body moved so that is was beside her on Uboa's back, where it looked at the metamorph's black imitated scales. "Do I want to know?" Glass grinned, looking at the cybernetic Pokemon. "Probably not."

"HAL, give me the rundown." Cosmic rolled his eyes and looked away, scanning their area as the growls and snarls from the undead grew closer. "Well first of all you died. That was no fun for everyone involved. But the programming worked...Sorta. It's a complicated situation all around. I don't think your organic brain could comprehend the deep shit we're in right now." Organic brain? Didn't Porygon-Z or the whole Porygon line have like a chip or something? "But it's not organic anymore is it HAL?" Cosmic's ears perked at the disheartened tone and he scoffed. "You got me there DS. Funny thing is it turns our we're not as smart as we thought we were." Cosmic rolled his eyes, his silver and ice blue eyes sending a glare at this 'DS'. Before Cosmic could think much of it, Forrik lifted off into the air. The sudden updraft almost knocked the Umbreon off, but he managed to get his balance as Forrik shot a Flamethrower at a few approaching undead.

"Eat this, you bastards!" Glass perked up at the shout, before rearing up and throwing her previously forgotten Razor Wind that she had been holding for a while. The white glowing crescent shot forwards, slicing through the darkness and illuminating the rotting faces of many undead that screetched and recoiled at the light. The moment didn't last long as they soon advanced forwards to attack. "I'll keep them at bay until you're in the air!" Glass nodded, tossing her head at Cosmic and then building up another Razor Wind. A Shadow Ball shot forwards from Cosmic as Glass reared up and shot her Razor Wind. It connected with the Shadow Ball and merged the two attacks together to form a widesweeping grey crescent of wind and shadow that knocked back the hoard, killing off a few of them. "Damn, I don't know how much longer I can hold them off." Forrik's growl broke the Absol's concentration and she nodded to Forrik as he let out a Flamethrower to block their exit. Uboa flew into the air, following Forrik.

"I think that should do it, Glass I'll follow your lead." Glass nodded, looking ahead. "Just get us to the roof of the next building. That should do us." She said, bracing herself as Uboa flew forwards. "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" She grinned down at HAL - or DS, whoever it was - and then looked up. "First time flying?" She asked, careful not to lose her balance. "HAL, is the area clear?" Glass rolled her eyes. I need to talk to this 'DS' about who's in charge here... She thought bitterly, frowning. "I don't see anything here but my line of sight is limited bro." Rolling her eyes, Glass looked down at the ground at that was approaching fast. "Getting ready to to bail in...now!" Glass jumped at the same time HAL did. She landed hard on her front paws, almost hitting her head. She managed to land safely though. Standing up straight as Cosmic jumped down next to her, shaking out his fur as his rings and markings glowed dimly.

"You've got the door controls?" Cosmic listened in, his ears perked as HAL's voice came in over the speakers. "Sure do." Glass trotted up to the doors, standing alongside the door inwards. "Let us in then." The Absol growled quietly to herself, but said nothing as she wited for HAL to open the door inside.