The OUTSKIRT Team

Blaze cringed, "Took their water?" He says, the question directed towards Visiyn.
The small lizard hopped off his seat, landing softly on the ground with a thud. He sighed, it was getting quite boring for him since he was just hiding his real personality away, hoping not to be a nuisance.
He wasn't really special to any other Charmanders, besides the fact that his brother was a Dratini, nothing was fairly different about him. So he had that cocky, easy-to-anger personality all accustomed to his kind, the only thing was that he had more patience than most others, but even then, he was still getting bored.

'Steal their water' huh? That's one way to put it. Crescent thought dryly, stifling another yawn. " Well, I reckon that we're all pretty tired, after all, we did practically stay up the whole night. Then again, who does sleep now in this hellhole of infection?" Crescent said giving a glance at Blaze. She could tell the Charmander was bored, and she couldn't blame him. She was tired and bored too. Crescent walked over to Blaze. "Gets pretty boring around here doesn't it?" She said quietly to Blaze, looking out the door to see the last of the stars disappear in the hazy blue sky as the sun started to rise.

"Water is life. If you die alone the desert will take your water and never give it back...Is it not better to instead share your life with others?" The Cacturne grins eerily, raising his head so that the deep gash Crescent has left through his eye is plainly visible. A silvery stream of silicates, as dry as bone, oozes blood-like from his wound as he tilts his head towards the horizon.
His stubby legs boil and distort as roots drill themselves through the ground and dig questing into the sands, searching for the buried moisture deep enough to escape the boiling eye of the sun.
The sky has lost its beautiful indigo hue, the bright color fading as the time came for him to end.
"Bless the maker and his water, bless the coming and going of him, may his passing cleanse the world." He murmurs as the light of the rising sun breaks the horizon and his entire body stiffens.
Like twin lights the gleam of his yellow eyes are snuffed out and completely still the Cacturne appears just another cactus in the desert.

((OOC: Quoth pokemon Ruby "During the daytime, Cacturne remains unmoving so that it does not lose any moisture to the harsh desert sun. This Pokémon becomes active at night when the temperature drops." Visiyn will unfortunately be immobile/asleep until sunset ^^;))

Blaze turned to Crescent, he didn't think it would be so obvious for her to detect that he was bored. "Yeah...I'm getting quite bored here.
Visiyn mumbles something that he doesn't hear, and the next thing he knows, the Cacturne was frozen. It confused Blaze, he really liked the sun. It made him feel like he was in a volcano or something. He sighed, nothing was really happening.

Crescent sighed when Visiyn froze up. She had heard that Cacturnes become like a statue during the day and only become mobile at night. "While cacti-plant over there is immobile, I reckon we can head out to gather a few supplies." Crescent said quietly to Blaze, scanning the horizon for anything that could be a threat or food. Well Crescent, what did you expect? That a freaking five course banquet would walk out of the ground? Crescent thought sarcastically, looking over her shoulder towards Visiyn and the poffins. We really have to clean that up, We don't want to spoil the food. She thought to herself, sighing.

Frozen statue still the Cacturne bores roots deep underground, the energy that went into foraging for moisture during the day going into converting what he had gathered into an energy source.
Tiny pores in his green skin opened wide, absorbing oxygen from the surrounding air as his long ingrained roots took in water and minerals from the surrounding dirt.
With the bright light of the sun providing energy the inert Grass Type begins to photosynthesis.
With plentiful blue and red wavelengths to work with Visiyn's body draws up the sunlight and uses it for energy as the cholroplasts that colored his skin green began the process of turning water, oxygen and minerals into the sand like substance that ran through his body that was actually an energy rich kind of sugar.
None of the shifts in his body is noticeable at first but slowly his wounded eye starts to heal, the shimmery silver of his 'blood' congealing as the flesh grows back together.

Blaze nearly jumped with excitement. He turned his head towards the Absol, suddenly full of vigor. "You mean, we can o outside? Go do something!?"
He grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "Lets go, lets go, lets go!" He exclaimed, running out of the hole in the metal.
He jumped outside, letting his feet slowly go into the sand. He looked up at the sun and smiled.

Crescent grinned and followed the small charmander out of the stand. Taking one last glance back to Visiyn, she nodded in respect, before walking up next to Blaze, shifting her feet in a sort of hop from one foot to the other. The sand was already getting hot on her paws. "So, we're gonna head out to see if we can find some water to bring back to the stand. The stuff we have right now won't last us as of right now, so we need to restock." Crescent said, scanning the horizon. He eyes locked on a small lump on the flat sand, and she told herself that they'd check it out when they got over there.

With a gooey squelching the flesh of the Grass/Dark Type's gashed eye begins to crawl as the flow of silvery salts that filled his body ceases, the fine grains gumming the wound shut as energy drawn from the earth and the sun repairs the damage.
In a stupor the Cacturne vaguely dreams of the time when this place was alive with laughter and the water flowed...
His long thorns gleaming dully in the light the cactus-like pokemon stays still as the misty figures of his remembrance twirl around him and he was just another 'harmless' trickster of the desert.
Across the table from him the cream shelled egg in its bucket of insulating sand began to rock faintly as the growing baby inside it squirmed.

The small charmander sighed, how in Arceus's name are they going to find food in a desolate desert...
Blaze stayed silent as he eyed Crescent, she was hopping from one place to another, it seemed like she was doing a dance on the hot sand.
Blaze chuckled and eyed the horizon, making sure if there was anything of interest. besides a lump of sand that stood out, nothing was really interesting, nor special.
He turned his head to look up at Crescent and whispered. "Want me to make a smokescreen in case any of the undead want to eat us?"
He thought it was a pretty good plan, it would hide them under the desert sun and it would hide them from any undead's vision.

It was getting brighter already, the sands color growing lighter and lighter with the rising sun. The pair were moving as fast as possible but it was their second day in the desert now and they needed water. The Growlithe was a few steps ahead of his companion and glanced at the sky; the sun would soon be burning down on them and though it wouldn't bother him too too much, the Vaporeon to his side was a different story. She was trudging along as best she could but it was obvious she was not used to the desert climate. A tinge of pain pierces his heart. With a deep breath Phantom made sure to hold his head high. He would be a good solider and protect her, just as Acid had with him. I'll make you proud, I promise!

The Vaporeon let out a grunt from mild exhaustion. They had been traveling all night when it cool and hadn't yet stopped to rest even though the sun was now up. Soon it would be boiling hot again and the water type was desperately thirsty. A small shiver ran down her scales at the thought. Phantom walked only a foot or two in front of her yet he looked so much better and sturdier. With another grunt she tried to stand just as tall, no one was going to show her up! Her voice told the story of her strength though, tired and worn, "Phantom, when will we get to a city?" The Johto native hardly knew a thing about this region except that she was lost in it. They had been walking for two days, there had to be something soon! The Growlithe looked back at her with his orange-brown eyes, "Soon I think, its not really a town but I place Ive heard of." If only she knew he had never been there before.

A loud sigh escaped the Vaporeons dry throat and her fins drooped. Better be sooner then later. What if they weren't even going in the right direction! When the dogs pawsteps stopped Artemis buckled in place for a moment to keep in step. "What is it?" She asked with a hint of irritation. Phantom was locked on a point that wasn't that far away. "I see something over there," He looked at it as firmly as possible, "It looks like a couple of Pokemon. Do you see them too?" It could be a mirage but without the heat of the day bouncing off the sand that was a stretch. Stepping up beside the Growlithe Artemis's light eyes squirt to see. "Yeah, I see them too. Lets go check them out!" Dashing off with new strength the she doesn't to take caution.

"Artemis wait!" He tries to stop her but its too late and soon Phantom is running after his companion. Hopefully whatever they were they dangerous or violent, and wouldn't be frightened by two unknown Pokemon charging toward them. As her blue paws speed across the rough sand Artemis's only thought is maybe these Pokemon know of somewhere to rest before the heat of the day.

Crescent was just about to answer Blaze when she heard something nearby. She looked over to see something blue running towards them. Crescent tensed, she looked to Blaze and back to the blue thing "I think now is a good time to use smokescreen." Crescent said to Blaze, not wanting to attack in case it was living. But then again, who knows what is living and what is not? Crescent kept her eyes fixed on the blue thing and she just registered the faint sound of shifting sand, over where that small lump of sand was. She risked a glance to see... Oh no. An Undead Sandslash dig its way out, before coming towards them. Well crap. An undead sandslash and an unknown pokemon coming towards us. Not good. Crescent thought, her eyes now flicking between the two creatures, not sure whether or not to attack.

The frozen shape of the Cacturne waits still against the cold metal walls as the sun warms his body and the lone egg.
With a soft squelching noise his golden eye repairs itself and a dark black eyelid slides to cover it. A deep gash of scar tissue covers the lid, trailing down the Grass Type's face as the thorns that cover his body slowly begin to extend and harden, repairing the battle damage done before.
Visiyn drifts into the faint foggy state of half-dreaming and half-mediation that was his sleep.
All around him the metal walls fell to expose the churning heart of the desert around him as the sands were lifted up around him to block out the glaring eye of the sun but the air around him remained completely calm.
In his mind Visiyn was the eye of the storm and as he strode forth across the desert the wind shaped itself around him.
"Shai-Hulud!" He calls into the expanse of nothingness.

((OOC: Visiyn's going to be boring for a while, being asleep and all. Italics is his dreaming))

Blaze tensed up as a Undead Sandslash popped out of the ground and ran towards him and Crescent, then, to even show that Arceus truly hated them, another pokemon came out from the distance, running at them.
"I think now is a good time to use smokescreen." Crescent said, peering down at Blaze, then looking back up. Blaze nodded, his face cringed into concentration as he generated gas from his stomach and then unleashed it, making a large cloud around the area.
Blaze felt around the area, he had no idea where Crescent had gone. Now that Crescent was gone and that he was practically blinded, who knew if the two pokemon would find him. So Blaze stayed there, getting into his defensive position and readied a ember, letting smoke fly out of his snout.

Artemis couldn't stop her paws as the sands began to shift and shake. They flailed and buckled until she finally she skid to a halt with her tail flying across her face. The foul faced creature had come erupting from the sand and was heading straight for the other Pokemon. They must be alive. Thrashing her thick finned tail it was a choice to help them or protect herself. As Phantom sped past though the decision had already been made for her. "We have to help them!" He calls back, making her blue paws start running once more. A cloud of black smoke comes from no where and the Growlithe speeds up. Hold on!

The pair run right up to the edge of the foul smelling Smokescreen and Artemis is the first to dive in after a moment of hesitation. I am not a pansy! The Sandslash makes a horrid screech, livid that it had lost sight of its prey, causing the Vaporeons fins to vibrate fiercely. It was impossible to see more then a few paws lengths in front of her and the black air stings her eyes. Each sound or shift of the sand would send a knew bout of fear through her muscles. The ground type shrieked again its shadow visible in the smoke for a moment before vanishing again. Flipping around Artemis kicked the sand up with her hind paws. "Die you!" She cries continuing her Sand Attack blindly even though the Sandslash is not there.

Phantom stumbles around in the thickness worried that he has lost sight of his companion. The multiple sounds are confusing is ears and its impossible to tell whos being attacked. His inner fire is fluttering like mad wanting to defend him but the Growlithe keeps it held down. A darker spot in the smoke tells him of a presence and the masked canine dashes toward it. Easily he could be walking into danger but he must be brave. At first he thinks the quadruped form is Artemis but when he is a few steps away and can see is clearly he find an Absol instead. He stares at her for a few moments unsure of what to say before the Undead screeches again and its silhouette can be seen lunging toward them.

As the smokescreen went up, Crescent side stepped towards Blaze so that he could find her if needed. She searched the black smoke for any sign of the blue thing or the sandslash, when she notices something coming towards her. She hesitates for a moment, and a growlithe with a masked face comes out of the smoke and into her field of vision. Oh thank arceus! Another living! She thought, just about to talk to the growlithe to make sure, when the Sandslash jumped at them. With no warning whatsoever, Crescent released a hurried Quick Attack to get away, the sandslash landing right where she was before. "That was too close for comfort." Crescent said, Charging up Razor Wind. She went through her moves and came up with a good tactic. Okay, so Razor Wind, Then Foul Play, then Pursuit and finish it off with Quick attack. She thought, releasing the Razor Wind as the Sandslash lunged at her. The white wind scythe flew over the Growlithe's head and hit the Sandslash front on.

((Hoping that's okay with the Razor Wind going over Phantom's Head.))

Blaze held his ground, he had no idea what was happening. He heard growls and screams that seemed to be coming from everywhere, but Blaze didn't know what to do. He was useless, he didn't even mean to make the cloud of smoke that big!
Blaze stumbled forward, putting his hands in front of him, waving them around for anything that he could touch. As he stepped forward, he bumped into a blue Pokemon, for a second Blaze thought it was Crescent, but when his eyes cleared, he saw that it was a Vaporeon, slashing around blindly.

(( OC: Permission for Artemis to accidentally slash Blaze? ))

Within moments the image of the Absol is replaced with that of a grotesque face of a Sandslash. "That was too close for comfort." The dark type can stil be heard as it lets out a shrill hiss and pushes its stubby arms back to slash his face. Fear makes him crouch a bit with flames bubbling dangerously in his mouth when a white slash of light whizzes through the air just barely missing the canine and strikes the undead square in chest. The Sandslash is tossed back and stunned for moment allowing him to call back, "Your telling me!" With a quick breath in he ignores the foul flavor of the smoke and spits Embers toward the Sandslash. Typing is not on his side and the irritated Sandslash quickly recovers with only the scent of burnt, rotten flesh to show for the attack.

Quickly pivoting he runs away from the creature. This smoke could be helpful but right now its only being a hindrance as he can no longer see Artemis. The Vaporeon is watching every wisp of the smoke nervously. Each time she saw a spot that was especially dark she would lunge with blunt claws flying. She would end up hitting nothing before jumping to the next spot to find the same. Her cyan eyes narrowed at what looked like a Pokemons shape and forming a Shadow Ball Artemis launched it straight at the puff of smoke. For a moment there is a clear hole in the air revealing nothing but sand. Her muscles are tense and a deep growl rumbles in her throat when something bumps into her hunch.

Turning with a hop back she throws her claws in defense. You can't sneak up on me! This time they meet something firm and settling with a spin she arches her back to appear more dangerous. The Charmander has a thin trail of blood dripping from his scales and looks as bewildered as she is. Despite appearances she knows it can still be dangerous and keeps her lips drawn back in a snarl. "Identify yourself!" She growls threateningly, unsure of what side he was on and ready to use another Shadow Ball if needed.

At the sound of her voice Phantom tries to make his way back to the Vaporeon. "Where are you?" He calls but she does not respond. Instead the Sandslash does, slamming into his side and looming over the now downed pup. Staring it straight in its gross face it is hard to breathe. Swallowing his fear the Growlithe holds a strong Leer with his teeth bared before sinking them into its foul tasting arm. Be brave..

Crescent's fur turned a hazy black of the Foul Play attack and searched the black smoke for the silhouette of the sandslash. She spotted a dark shape that looked like the sandslash in the haze that surrounded her, when an idea hit her. What was that saying in a fire? 'Get down low and go, go, go'? Aha! That's it! Crescent thought, dropping down to the sand, her hunch was right, the smoke was clearer here and she could breath properly, as well as see a lot better. She saw the fur of the growlithe with the sandslash attacking it. she looked around quickly to get her bearings, and saw the blue thing's feet slashing wildly as well as Blaze's small form nearby. She focused her attention to the sandslash and crept towards it. When she cot close enough, she shouted a warning to the growlithe before lunging back into the smoke and at the sandslash.

Blaze stepped back as he felt sharp claws pierce his snout, making him bleed. His eyes were dilated, he was afraid that he was going to die. He had no idea what to do, everything felt like it was going in slow motion. Blood was pouring from his snout, he could feel it. Blood puddled under his feet.
Then, he snapped out of it.
"GRAGH! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" He ran to the beast, the thing spoke, but all he ignored it, he didn't care if it was alive or a Arceus-damn undead, he just wanted to kill it. Murder it. Grind it into pieces.
"I'M TIRED OF YOU FREAKIN' MONSTERS, JUST DIE!"
He readied a ember as big as he could get, his eyes pouring with tears and his snout bleeding, letting it fly past him.
He unleashed the ember, hoping to burn the thing to a crisp.

(( OOC: Perm to hit Artemis with Ember? Lol. This is also a different side of Blaze. He's not infected or anything, he's just really really pissed off.))

Crunching harder with short fangs into the undeads arm the creature jerked the limb hard to try to free it. The foul taste was making him gag until Phantom had to let go to breathe clean, yet smog slathered air. Giving a strong kick with his hind paws the Growlithe tossed the Sandlash off with a massive effort. His lungs were screaming for proper air making his head fuzzy. Someone was shouting yet the words were too jumbled for him to make out at that moment. The sight of a dark patch told him of someone approaching and all he could do was stumble away as fast as possible as to not get hit.

There was more yelling from another direction though he couldn't tell which. Was it Artemis or the other Pokemon he had seen earlier? The undead maybe? He whined in confusion until the disorientation finally faded but now the Growlithe was completely lost in the smog. Unable to see any other Pokemon or even their shadows Phantom swallowed. I can't help her if I dont even know where she is.

Artemis flared up her fins to full length and let out a loud snarling hiss for intimidation. It had the opposite effect as the bloody faced lizards expression turned to rage. "GRAGH! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" Monster? Monster? The sudden change in the Charmander made her take a step back. "Who are you calling a monster you monster!" It charged her with eyes of dark intentions, "I'M TIRED OF YOU FREAKIN' MONSTERS, JUST DIE!" Panic was starting to overtake fear and any confidence she had. The Vaporeon moved as fast as her tired paws would allow her to get away. "You couldn't kill me!" She scoffed though unable to back herself up.

Opening his mouth the Charmander bubbled up flames. It shot them teary eyed and the fiery flecks went everywhere. Tears? You pansy! The fire was unavoidable. The bits of flames filled the air and were alive for a few moments even on the ground. Bobbing and weaving only did so much as the burning chunks still seared her scales and paws. Flailing and hopping about the Vaporeon forced herself to stay still and kicked up gushes of ember filled sand with her hind paws. "How do you like it!" She growls with a whine to her voice.

"You couldn't kill me!" Blaze scoffed at the blue things remark. He held in the ember then blew the charged ember onto the now-visible Vaporeon. The Vaporeon stepped back as the Charmander breathed the fire onto the Vaporeon, searing some of its scales.
"What were you saying about that I can't kill you-- Argh!"
Blaze stepped back, the Vaporeon was kicking burning sand into his eyes and face, it singed when it landed on his face. But it burned and stung when the sand fell into his newly-cut open wound on his snout. He covered his eyes, putting his paws to his face, whining.
"How do you like it!" Blaze was blinded by tears, so the sand landing in his eyes weren't doing much to help.
"W-Why are you doing this to me!?" He screamed, his voice squeaking.
"I'm only a kid, why are you doing this to me!"