(ACE) The VIRIDIAN Team

(( I have nothing for Roy to do, he's just packing the supplies I guess. So please skip. Will have him do something next post. ))

He was so focused on the bug-type Wildheart hardly had anytime to brace or prepare. As the prehistoric pokemon slams into the ground the denotation of the ground below his silver hooves sends the zebra sideways. The momentum the striped equine had been building still sends his front half cascading forward, but only to hit another shock wave as the powerful ground attack erupts below. Cracks split the pavement painfully. The new, forced lines of tension swallowing whatever it can.

That is one thing, at least, he avoids. By the times the cracks would threaten to trip and swallow a hoof the second shock wave has already thrown the zebra to the other side of the street. Bloodied and bruised, the zebstrika lays down before a pile of rubble and stone that once was part of a building he had collided with. Thoughts of pain swirl and threaten to drag him down into unconsciousness. Pain stabs through his being as he begins to notice this and struggles to get to his hooves. Whatever the miniature mountain of things that he hit was before the epidemic, he hit it hard.

"N-nice one." Wildheart manages to grunt as the struggle for footing continues. Blood escapes from various cuts and scrapes along his form. However, at the moment the only thing to give any alleviation to the pain is his grinding teeth and adrenline. Determination flares within his chest as strongly as the pain searing through his sides. Electricity begins to flare, pop and sizzle noticeably through his pelt. The surge forcing his hairs to be stock-straight as his temper pitches. This can't be how it ends..

[[I tried spanning this out into a post, but there's just not enough. Skoll could only watch Kenna suffer, and Ari prepared another Earthquake.]]

He thought it was over when the fox broke stride and collapsed, but rather than have a panting loser at his feet he soon had a dozen smirking doubles looking up at him. The Infernape whirled around at the sound of ominous laughter behind him but he acted too late. Keran howled in pain as the dark fox's claws dug deep into his already split side, fresh blood pouring over the half hardened scab and coating his auburn fur until it was stained a dingy rust.  “Know your superiors…” The psycho all but growled, twisting his claws in deeper and making Keran cringe. He heard the fox well enough but struggled to keep the defiant glare in his eyes, if only to piss him off. “Now… Kneel,”

"Make me," he spat out, blood dribbling in a thick, sticky river from the corner of his mouth as he looked back at the Zoroark.
That's when he saw the fangs go for his throat.
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Kenna's mind was repeating the same horrifying vision over and over in increasingly rapid speed, watching helpless as Loki was turned into a heartbroken monster again...and again...and again... Until finally the sequence snapped to a new vision of Loki burying his hand into Keran and lowering his mouth to the ape's throat became the only image, causing Kenna to let out a blood curdling scream.

As her voice echoed her distress the Abra's powers suddenly surged and a brilliant white light filled the Pokemart, scream fading into the distance as the sound of shifted space took its place. When the light faded, Kenna was nowhere to be seen.
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Keran closed his eyes and braced himself for the feeling of flesh meeting fang, the pressure that would come with his throat being closed upon and the sting that would make itself known once his skin peeled away and the blood began to flow. He built of the fires of hate inside him until his entire body burned hot, ready to take out the fox with him if necessary, and anxiously awaited the pain. But it never came. Instead what he got was the sound of a deafening scream piercing his ears and making him scramble away from the claws which entrapped him, opening his wound further but allowing him the room to escape. He turned to see the source of the sound was a small Abra with thin framed glasses and his heart leapt for joy. "...Kenna!" he cried happily, opening his arms to welcome his friend who had so valiantly jumped to his defense. What other reason could there be for her to have sensed his pain and come crying?

"Loki..." came her whimper of a reply. Loki? Who the hell was Loki? Kenna looked at the crazed Zoroark and a strangely soft smile came across her features, one Keran had never seen before but didn't like the look of. Kenna shouldn't be smiling at psychopaths like that. "Loki...you're... I'm so glad you're okay." He's ok? He's ok?! What the hell was going on here? "Kenna! That freak tried to kill me! Why are you coddling him?" he demanded, gripping his dripping wound desperately. But his question went ignored and he was forced to watch with gritted teeth at the duo's interaction.

Kenna had been so scared that her vision would prove true, that in his victory to kill Keran he would be so badly wounded infection would settle in and Loki would turn. Loki's future as an Undead was so miserable and heart wrenching she knew she could allow it to happen. Not even to a power mad ego-maniac like Loki. Gently reaching up Kenna traced the Zoroark's cheek with her paw and her smile brightened as her eyes met his. "I was so worried...." she whispered gently, closing her eyes and leaning towards him before collapsing all together.  The visions and power surge that brought her here had drained the little bit of energy she had regained in her sleep, leaving her helpless before the two males before her. But in her slumber she didn't mind, happy knowing that Loki was safe from such an awful fate.

((I took a small liberty with the end since I wanted Kenna to start showing a unconscious affection towards Loki so let me know if you want me to change anything Snitch <3
It was just too cute not to write and Keran is sooooo pissed lol.))

Roy had almost finished packing up the supplies, though he didn't know how they where going to travel with all this stuff. He glanced over to where Skoll and Kenna were. Letting out a sigh in the process, his tail and wings drooping along with his low hanging head. He felt so useless right now, unneeded. All he was good for right now was packing stuff and whatnot. He wished he was more of a fighter, like Ari, or all the other pokemon on Ryans team or in this group.
Maybe I should leave.
He thought, grabbing one of the empty boxes that had been found with nothing in it and pulled it over himself, as though he was trying to hide. Would anyone miss me if I left? He asked himself as he looked down at the floor. Ari mite miss him though, she seemed to like the little archen, and Roy was starting to think of her as a big sister, she could maybe even teach him a few good fighting moves, maybe help him evolve. Maybe he should stick around a little longer, wouldn't hurt, and he could always take care of the food or fort when the others went out to hunt or fight. He lifted up the box a little and peaked out. He closed his eyes at the sudden light that filled the mart before it dispersed. He opened his eyes again, blinking as they adjusted before noticing that Kenna was gone.
Where did she go? Roy asked himself as he looked around, though couldn't see the abra anywhere anymore. He shuffled his way out from under the box, feeling the cardboard brush against his feathers and skin before he was finally out, shaking a little before he ran over to Skoll.
His eyes darted all over the place but no sign of her. "Where did she go?" He asked, looking up at the scyther in confusion.

(( Sorry for the short post, couldn't think of Roy doing anything else. ))

((ooc: Skip, there is nothing to build upon.))

Ari snarled at the battlefield, namely the weird eeveelutions in particular. She didn't like how Mandibles was quickly becoming a rabid freak, and the steel one she didn't know how to predict. Looking at all the players in the field, an Earthquake itching at her talons, she tried taking another approach. Skoll was the diplomatic one, not her. She didn't know how to talk to people; she was the one leaders pointed toward danger and said "Have at". Still, she had somewhat succeeded in "leading" at Celadon... Maybe she had some of that still in her. If this fight continued, that bug might go on a rampage... and though she knew if she hit him, he'd be down, catching him was the problem... and Skoll was the first priority for his menu.

"All right, all right," she began, flaring her wings to grab the others' attentions. "Let's just chill our tits, huh? You especially, Mandibles." She glanced warily at him, unsure if he was still with the whole "thinking with words" bit. "I think we all just got off on the wrong foot, yeah? Maybe trying to eat you wasn't the best of ideas. Sorry for that-- really hungry. All we got is dried pellets and shit. But let's talk this out, yeah? You guys lookin' to settle in a group?"


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Skoll stared down at the poor abra, unable to help in any way possible. It was all he could do to just stare at her, writhing and moaning and in more pain than he could imagine. He'd already asked her what he could do, and she'd answered with the impossible. His skills weren't in telekinesis or telepathy. There was nothing he could do to aid in her mental war. It seemed to hit some sort of pinnacle when her body tensed and she let out an ear-piercing scream, one of those that physically hurt the eardrums. A blinding white light accompanied it, causing him to turn from it, shielding his eyes. Upon looking back to her, however, she was completely and utterly vanished.

"Where did she go?" Ari's "Mini Me" asked as Skoll glanced around frantically for any sign of the psychic fox.

"Does it really look like I know?!" he snapped back, taking a few steps outside to try and see anything. He had no minute sense of hearing or smell-- no. He was blind in this; she could have been anywhere. Hissing with frustration, he turned back to the little archen, and growled, "Stay here if you want, follow me if you can keep up." Opening his wings, he leapt out, landing on a rooftop and began running, hoping he'd find her before something else did.

((With lulu in sh go ahead and skip me since both my chars rely on Snitch <3))

The scream came from nowhere. So sudden in both its intensity and volume, the heart-wrenching cry thoroughly distracted Loki as his fangs snapped shut around the air just left to the chimp’s throat. The growing heat – something that had gone previously unnoticed – was soon fading as the fox’s victim took the opportunity to scramble away. But Loki made no attempt to pursue. His blood-slicked claws instead rushed to clamp over his ears in a bid to numb the terrible noise, eyes shut as the cry warped into something far too familiar.

He heard his own scream.

It was brief, only a momentary hallucination, but it had more effect on the slender fox than anyone could imagine. He was trembling even as the cry returned to its effeminate tone before finally silencing all together. Eyes wide, pupils dilated as fear saturated his form, Loki calmed only at the soft call of his name.

"Loki..."

He lifted his head, blood still dribbling down his chin as he turned to look upon the speaker. Kenna? Never before had he heard her utter his name with such tenderness, such care. It caught the canine off guard, confusion overcoming and distracting the panic of his earlier instability. She approached with a curious little smile, her expression captivating the Zoroark until she was close enough to touch him. Even as the fire-ape shouted out his disgust from afar, Loki found himself rooted to the spot, trapped in a moment of peace as his icy eyes melted within the violet.

Loki instinctively flinched as she reached for him, rigid as her paw lightly stroked his face. It was almost comical, the quiet awkwardness that washed over his demeanour at the sudden shift of power. He didn’t know how to respond, utterly stunted as he found himself experiencing the same discomfort he had been so eager to bestow upon her.

"I was so worried...."

…You were… worried?

The fox hardly understood the concept, but it only served to immobilize him further. She cared for him. Why? What reason could she possibly have to care? He couldn’t snap at her, couldn’t bark out his typically cruel dismissal – don’t waste your breath, I can take care of myself –rather his paw moved to cover her own.
“I… I’m fine,” Loki managed a small smile to match the soft tone, gently guiding her paw away as he watched her eyelids fall to rest once more. It was a calming sight, soothing the fox’s erratic mind as for a moment he felt… happy. Loki was happy, truly content; a feeling he found so foreign and yet so right all at once to temporarily distinguish the darkness within.

Catching Kenna as she collapsed into his arms, Loki shamelessly basked in the embrace. What had begun as a simple curiosity of the female was reborn into a whole new kind of admiration. She cared for him. It was too rare a quality to lose and his younger self screamed to protect her, to preserve this unique bond and see it blossom in time. But he was still confused. This – was it love? – had no origin. Could he trust it?

As cynicism seeped to forefront of his mind, years of trauma reminding him of the consequences of naivety and trust, the kindness within Loki’s eyes began to vanish. His expression hardened, the fox seemingly gathering himself as his attention shifted to the monkey he had failed to kill.
“You know Kenna?” The dark canine asked bluntly, a brow quirked as he soon tapped into the delightful envy radiating from the stranger. A wolfish smirk touched his bloody mouth, the fox warping into the image of menace as he further taunted the chimp by caressing the female’s side with a single claw, begging for a reaction. “Regardless, I think maybe you should leave while there’s still chance… I’ve got some awfully hungry friends,” He used the term loosely. Banishing the tranquility that Kenna's concern had temporarily evoked, Loki's malicious grin widened just for Keran. “Consider this an act of mercy,”

"Does it really look like I know?!" Skoll snapped, causing Roy to shrink his head into his neck feathers. He took a step back from the bug type as he watched him go outside. Roy was hesitant for a moment, but he eventually followed, not really wanting to be left alone in the empty mart in case something else came along. He felt a bit of his back feathers stand up from the thought. He had been left alone for what felt like months in that forest, only to finally find his way out and to this group, even meeting one of his own kind, proving that he wasn't the last one. "Stay here if you want, follow me if you can keep up."
The archen was snapped out of his thoughts by Skolls next words. Roy watched as the scyther opened his wings and lept onto the rooftops before beginning to run. Roy stood there for a few moments before running after, his small legs darting over the ground as he tried to keep pace with the bug type, even flapping his little wings as though he expected that to help, or to get him airborne. "Slow down, I'm not as fast as you!" He called out, though not sure if Skoll had heard him or not.

(( Sorry the short post, not much I could think of for Roy to do. ))

Finally on all four hooves again Wildheart glares at the opposing pokemon. Though the electric type appears determined to continue if needed, his pelt sparking with electricity, the damage of the previous attack is evident. The striped equine's mouth is parted to allow his bruised form to pant.
"All right, all right," A sudden movement from the prehistoric pokemon instantly snaps the zebstrika's attention to her. Her wings are flared--it in itself not wholly an offensive move, but it is enough to make the zebra tense further.
"Let's just chill our tits, huh? You especially, Mandibles."

It took a moment for the words to fully register within his mind. All the thoughts of battle, moves, escape plans if needed...none of them involved talking at least, nothing above a curse or two. The sounds reaches his ears, but his comprehension of them lags behind. Warily, Wildheart glances to the two canines to gauge their reactions before his blue eyes settle on Ari again.
"I think we all just got off on the wrong foot, yeah? Maybe trying to eat you wasn't the best of ideas. Sorry for that-- really hungry. All we got is dried pellets and shit. But let's talk this out, yeah? You guys lookin' to settle in a group?"

Caught off guard, all he can do initially is blink and stare. That now, he did hear, unless his ears aren't working as they should. His lips started to move before his voice came as if they were testing out the feeling of what he's saying before it's said.
"A group of living pokemon? There are enough left for that?" He has traveled far and seen quite a few live pokemon along the way, many don't last long and never had he observed more than pairs roaming together. Maybe three, unless his memory is betraying him. However tempting, the offer makes him instantly suspicious. Surely someone who just threw him off his hooves with an earthquake wouldn't waste their breath to pull him into a further trap. This situation here was already suitable enough a chance to take a stab at him if that's what they wanted. And however much he didn't trust the rock and bug type the steel canine appeared to be on his side. Two against two were decent enough odds should things go sour..
"And your roach is going to stop trying to rip out my throat as well?" Sure, the flying one appears to have called of her attack, but whether or not the infuriated insect would as well was left to be seen.

"Slow down, I'm not as fast as you!"

Skoll's taloned feet paid no mind to the poor flightless bird behind him, the urgency of his destination too important to heed the pleas of a near stranger. While it was true that the little abra was only a little less of a stranger than the archen trailing behind him by a few hours at most, Skoll felt the need to help. That look she'd given him, the intense pain she was in... though he'd rather keep his nose out of others' business, something compelled him to help her. Nearly flying from roof to roof, he finally found the little fox's form, already sleeping against her green-painted cousin. Blinking, Skoll paused as he took the scene in: Loki and Kenna opposing what looked to be a very infected infernape. Glancing between the two parties, Skoll flared his wings as he analyzed the best spot to land and join the festivities when a strange chill overcame the air.

His head whipped around, the winds betraying the source of the chill to the path they'd taken coming into the city. From his vantage point, it was difficult to see through the trees, but whatever was beyond those trees was already making his perch tremble. His eyes went back to Kenna and the others, his decision solidifying. Loki had a disadvantage with the infernape, but something on the way could endanger them all. With a powerful push of his legs, he raced off toward the path.

Ari had already begun her way back to the others as the zebra kept talking behind her. "A group of living pokemon? There are enough left for that?" Ari glanced back, confused. What, had he not run into any other survivors? She wasn't sure whether or not to call him lucky, but she shrugged off his question. "Yeah. If we get back fast enough, you might live long enough to see them!" Jumping upward and on, she perched herself atop a street lamp, trying to regain her bearings. "And your roach is going to stop trying to rip out my throat as well?"

She barked a laugh, glancing back to the zebra. "You're shitting me, right? I can't control him any more than I can control the fucking weather. I'd suggest you keep your juicy assmeats out of his face and try not to sleep around sauce." She turned back toward the inner city, spotting a darting green blotch in the distance. Her eyes narrowed, concern suddenly beginning to sprout. Just what had Skoll in such a rush...? Opening her wings, she readied to launch herself into the air, pausing as the thought of giving the stranger directions came across her mind. Oh yeah. "Continue this direction and you'll find the rest of our group. I gotta do something." Without waiting for a reply, she flew off, speeding toward the fleeing scyther.

She caught up with him easily, dropping from the sky and running in stride with him. She applauded his focus as he didn't seem phased that she just nearly crashed right next to him. She cleared her throat, waiting for some words. "Aaaaaaaaaand what exactly are we running toward, bro?"

Skoll's eyes remained firm on what was ahead, his expression, like always, nearly impossible to read. "There's something wrong. You didn't feel the chill in the air, did you? Something's making the ground shake, making the air colder. I need to find out what it is." He pushed further ahead, speeding up once they were out of rooftops and jumped to the ground, still running. Ari followed, easily catching back up to him, but had to fall in line behind him to avoid the trees as they made their way into the protective vegetation.

"And I assume we're going to kick the shit out of whatever's there, right?" she called ahead of her, scanning their surroundings for anything else that would make for a nasty surprise. She didn't get an answer, though, as Skoll skidded to a halt as the trees disappeared, cleared away. He stood beneath the boundary to a frozen wasteland as a roar cut through the air. Ari stopped just behind the scyther, eyes wide with awe, drinking in the scene before them.

A clash of ice titans had arose, a beartic father protecting his brood from an abomasnow. The blizzard engulfed the scene and what was left of the forest, decimating flora and fauna alike. The cub lay limp not too far off from the fighting pair, head barely tethered to its shoulders by some still clinging tendons and bone. It wasn't difficult to see that the bear father would soon lose-- his wounds stained his white pelt crimson, and it looked like he'd already lost the use of an eye. Captivated by the fight, the siblings merely watched as the abomasnow swung a colossal arm a final time, snapping the bear's back. It was done.

Ari seemed to be more enthralled with the fight than Skoll, nudging the bird to move. "We have to get out of here. Once that abomasnow's done with the bears, it'll be after us. We can't take on something like that-- we're both weak to it."

Ari scoffed, cracking her knuckles as a cruel grin spread across her face. "Don't be such a chickenshit, Skoll," she grouwled, her eyes staying firm on the feasting tree. "It's wounded. It's weak. We can take him." As she moved to run forward, Skoll's scythe blocked her, his eyes wide with incredulity and fear. But before he could sneer another warning to her, she was off, already slashing at the beast's back.

"Goddammit, Ari!" Skoll snapped, following her out of the protective treeline and into the fray. The blizzard pelted him with hail, obscuring his vision, causing him to lose where his sister and the behemoth had already gone off to. But his concern was soon answered with a painful cry that could have only belonged to the reckless bird, and he vaulted himself toward it. Ari was holding a wing awkwardly, her teeth bared in a painful snarl. "Go!" he snapped, running toward her, the abomasnow too close for comfort. "FUCKING GO!" For once, she nodded, and they escaped back into the trees, hoping that the abomasnow wouldn't be able to follow.


[[Leaving post.

Sorry for the delay and the fact that I'm leaving the team, but I have to. It's been so fun, guys, and I wish I could stay longer. Maybe I'll be able to bring them back one day.]]

((Skip for now, until I discuss some things with Snitchers XD, we may have to change our previous plan))

(( Please skip. Things have come up once again and I am unable to post. Being without internet at home is starting to take it's toll. Roy is still making his way to the others. ))

"Yeah. If we get back fast enough, you might live long enough to see them!" The striped equine snorts at the prehistoric pokemon's brash tone. However, Wildheart certainly had no where better to go than after this dangerous rock-type through the middle of the rotting city. With a grunt he hauls himself after Ari. Although he doesn't want to show weakness or fall behind he finds himself struggling to keep up. "You're shitting me, right? I can't control him any more than I can control the fucking weather. I'd suggest you keep your juicy assmeats out of his face and try not to sleep around sauce." Clearly, this roach was going to be an ongoing threat...Wildheart directs a glare over his shoulder to the bug evolution.

The zebstrika opens his mouth to speak, but notices then that Ari isn't focused on him nor the path ahead. Something interesting in another direction entirely has arisen. However, from his vantage point he can't see Skoll racing through the city. So when she speaks again he hesitates. "Continue this direction and you'll find the rest of our group. I gotta do something." This would be an excellent set-up for a trap...The eletric-type shakes this thought from his head and sets off in the direction she indicated. Before getting very far he pauses and glances over his shoulder again to see if the canines are following him as well or have abandoned him to follow the rock-type.

"All right, all right," the bug-type paused. His round, bulbous eyes stared up at the prehistoric Pokemon in mild surprise at the Archeops. He didn't expect words, rather, he expected flashes of excruciating pain and the ground crumbling beneath him. "Let's just chill our tits, huh? You especially, Mandibles." his brow furrowed, tipping his head to the side as he tried to comprehend what exactly the raptor was trying to do. Was this a trick? Some kind of joke? His muscles tensed in anticipation of some kind attack--but it never came. "I think we all just got off on the wrong foot, yeah? Maybe trying to eat you wasn't the best of ideas. Sorry for that-- really hungry. All we got is dried pellets and shit. But let's talk this out, yeah? You guys lookin' to settle in a group?"
"What?" he fumbled for words, obviously caught off guard by Ari's approach to the situation. Blanking on what he should do, he watched with a distant expression as the Archeops ran off, barely noticing the glare the Zebstrika threw at him. When the equine began to canter forward, Luzige followed absentmindedly.

[OOC: didnt have a lot of time to write, skipping Rico this round, she's also following the Zebstrika but a little more closely and warily looking at Luzige.]