The NUVEMA Team

"Listen...Panthera. I'm not being forced to help you guys out, you're my friends. Survivors gotta stick together because all we've got is each other." Panthera smiled at the Infernape before turning her azure gaze back to the trees surrounding them. "I'm glad you think that way. Thank you." She gasped as she noticed something small and blue carefully climbing down a large tree to their left. "Buck!" As the Sneasel jumped the last couple of feet and stumbled on his sore knee, she padded over and gently nuzzled him only to receive a good shove.

"Get off me!" The dual-type pushed her away only to give them both a sheepish grin afterwards. "Sorry for running away on you like that. Is anyone else hurt? Where's Saphalom?"

"I don't know; I haven't seen him since the attack." Panthera cast a worried look at their dreary, damp surroundings, curling her tail around one of her back legs. "I think we should stay away from the town for a bit, though. Jacques should still be there and--"

"DO YOU HAVE PELT!" The furious roar was faint in its distance from them, but still made the two Dark-types cower. "Shit, what the fuck was that?" Buck whispered, pulling on the ring in his ear nervously.

"No idea, but it didn't sound too friendly." The shiny Liepard released a weary sigh as she turned her gaze northwards towards the darkening sky. "Let's move deeper into the forest. Maybe we can find a safe place to hide out for a while."

"There's another town a few miles that way," said Buck, pointing his hand past the lake. "Maybe that would be a good place?"

"It's worth a try. Come on, let's move." Panthera limped off into the tall grass beyond with Buck following close behind.

Nuvema Team/ Nightfall(42)

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As I fought the skinless Ursaring who roared with ferocity I heard the others slink off to another town. I could do nothing but listen to them disappear beyond my range of hearing.

With renewed vigor I broke one of the Ursaring's legs with Iron Tail. In return the mad bastard slashed me across the chest with Ion Claw. I leapt into the air to try to obtain space but the peltless creature dragged me back down. Spinning around and releasing his grip back the way he came, I was flung through half a dozen trees.

He landed on top of me and with a loud roar went more my throat. With a grunt of effort I pulsed poison with Venoshock causing this undead creature to fall back and return to it's former carrion state.

I staggered toward Nuvema town as blood poured from the diagonal slash to my chest. I came upon the nearest house where I had found the moonstone and buck had found his claw. I stumbled into the removed doorway and with what was left of my strength, climbed the stairs to the bedroom. Upon arriving I toppled towards the bed but missed it and instead met the floor with a seismic explosion.

As I drifted towards unconsciousness I knew that I was the only one left here. Turning my head I saw that the daylight had dissipated and darkness placed in it's stead. With a chuckle I realized that right now I should be fighting Buck in his newly evolved form not lying here in a pool of blood.

It was silly to promise until nightfall. If I survived the bloodloss I would make sure that whoever I met would never get such a chance. They would play my game and then...they would die. If, no, when I awoke I would pursue the others and crush them.

With a smile on my mouth I blacked out.

((I'm very sorry but I must skip this round. I'll come up with something on my next turn, I promise.))

Nuvema Team/ Night(43)

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The roaring and pulsing in my ears did not recede as I delved into the shadows of my subconscious. If anything, it intensified, becoming a tribal drumbeat.

I was distantly aware that I was lying on moldy, dust covered, wooden floorboards but at the same time i was somewhere else. I felt fear. I was facing something huge. It was a giant Gastly!

Wait no. It wan't huge. I was just small. I was a young Nidorino. A young, weak powerless Nidorino. The Gastly I faced had been enslaved, or as the humans referred to it, 'Captured'. This Gastly looked at me with complete remorse. It's disturbing grin was like a tear in the air.

I don't remember much as it rushed towards me. What I do remember is the pain. The pain of being held against my will and forced to fight. Eventually, slowly but surely, I began to enjoy it. The fighting, the fainting and something that the 'trainers' never expected, the killing.

It was a mercy killing. Or so I told myself the first few times. Eventually, it was just killing.

Buck wasn't aware that he had taken the lead in his eagerness to get as far away from that cursed town as possible. "Yeah, that's it! I bet that place is cursed," he mused aloud as he marched through the grass, which was taller than he was. "A Gengar or whatever must've come along and decided to fuck it up for us. What do you guys think? ...Guys?"

Buck stopped and turned around to face his companions, only to find that neither of them were behind him. "...W-What?" Whirling around in circles and jumping up and down to see over the grass, Buck started to panic. "What?! They were right here! C'mon guys! Panthera? Flame? This isn't funny!" Panting, Buck raced back the way they'd came and eventually arrived back on the outskirts of Nuvema. "They left me." Those three words sent a shot of rage through him like he had not felt in a long time. "They fucking left me!" Screaming in fury and not caring who heard him, Buck flew at a nearby tree and proceeded to slash and hack at its bark furiously. "Fuck them! FUCK - THEM - ALL - TO - HELL!"

He was so stupid. He should've known that they'd betray him at some point. They'd probably been whispering about it behind his back, snickering to one another and planning the right moment to pull their cruel prank. Whether it was a prank or not, those two were going to get a piece of his mind if he ever saw them again. "I'LL FUCKING KILL THEM!"

Nuvema Town/Early Evening(44)

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I awoke not with a start at the memories but without a trace of any emotion in my mind. Serenity was all I felt. Reconnected with a memory I had lost. Already it was slipping through my claws. All I could really make out of it was my purpose. Killing was, and is my purpose.

I got to my feet and stumbled. I was disoriented from blood loss and almost sick with hunger. Hadn't I eaten something just a few hours ago? But I couldn't recall what it was. I...I couldn't recall where I was...It was...the forest. Yes but why was I there. Something about a promise. A promise not to do something until night fell.

I turned my head towards the window. It was night but what had I promised not to do? I tried shaking my head to clear my thoughts but then all I could think about was the promise. I had made it last until..the morning. No that wasn't right.

Maybe some fresh air would help me out. I made my way out of the house...was this my house? No, I had a feeling I would never live somewhere so degraded and filthy. I made my way to the center of town where a destroyed building lay. Soot was everywhere and the metal had been warped as if it had melted. I looked at the sign.

"Hmm, somebody eradicated this Pokemon center. That would've been a bit beneficial for my wound."

How did I get this tear in my chest anyway. All I could remember was a roar. Words were in it but I couldn't remember their meaning.

I went to the epicenter of the remains of the Pokecenter. I sat down and watched the moon rise from the treetops.

Slowly, one by one, I began to forget everything about myself...

((OoC: Probably wise considering Jacques mental instability.))

((I'll have to skip again I'm afraid. I've got to merge Buck's profile with another but can't do that until my laptop stops being an idiot. >.<))

Nuvema Team/ Evening (45)

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My mind was swirling with thoughts and memories. I remembered everything I had just forgot and more. My eyes rolled upwards as if attempting to see the memories for themselves.

I was still a Nidoran even though I should've been a Nidorino already. It was two years before I had even set foot in Nuvema. A year before the Epidemic.

My trainer had gotten unnerved. I had killed the Gastly that had captured me in it's sleep. I had been afraid. So afraid. It had taken me hours to get up the courage to poison it in it's sleep. My trainer had enjoyed watching me murder other Pokemon. When his own were killed...especially by others he owned...

He traded me to a tall, ominous man in a cloak and top hat for a Raticate. I was worth a Raticate. I was enraged but I could do nothing. I was enslaved to the cloaked man now. I can never remember his face. Just the mouth. Thin bloodless lips, pulled over rotting, jagged, yellow teeth.

This is where my memories fractured. I was in a dark damp place. Bodies littered the ground around me. Gouges and bruised covered every inch of my battered body. Blood, some mine, other...not mine, mixed together and were smeared on my epidermis. I remember spotlights shattering the illusion of the cave. Jeering and shouts were heard from all around. I did not look around. Because more were coming. Coming..to kill me. But I survived. I persevered. I ESCAPED.

Or so I assumed. How else could I be here, in the ruins of the Pokemon Center? I staggered to my feet. The wound from the Ursaring had closed but it would take time to truly heal. I had to find something to eat...something meaty.

Trenton had no idea where he was.

One minute, he had been pursuing movement in the bushes near to New Bark Town in Johto and the next he was here, in the middle of some forest in Arceus knows what region. A blink of an eye; that was all it took for all of his efforts to go to waste in an instant. All the time he had spent fighting through the hordes of undead to see whether Noah was safe and well had been for nothing. The Scizor could've beaten up a rock in frustration.

The Bug-type stomped through the damp, murky forest as twilight slowly started to descend on the area, keeping a very sharp eye out for anything that moved. He wasn't only looking out for undead, but any Pokemon that were living as well, or could, at least, still form proper sentences and didn't want to eat him yet. That time came all too soon when he heard enraged yelling from nearby. Raising both of his huge pincers just in case, Trenton crept forward.

The Sneasel that he spotted seemed to be having a mental breakdown of some sort as he practically slashed the bark of a tree to pieces, screaming out every obscenity under the sun. Trenton's wings fluttered in frustration; by the amount of noise this idiot seemed to be making he wouldn't have been surprised if he attacked a very large amount of undead, and the Scizor was not in the mood to deal with them at the moment. Even though that's one tantrum of epic proportions, he doesn't seemed to contracted the virus at least ... maybe I can get through to him somehow.

Stepping out of the undergrowth, Trenton accidentally trod on a dead leaf. Its sharp crackle caused the Sneasel to whip round at such a speed that he thought he was going to continue spinning and drill his way into the ground. Allowing that amusing thought to ease his nerves, Trenton lowered both of his pincers and offered the traumatised creature a kind nod. "Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

"And how do I know that, huh? How do I know you're not just lying to me, playing a trick, just like the others were?" The Ice-type's chest was heaving, his breath bursting out of him in quick gasps, as he pressed his back firmly against the beaten tree. "That's what they all did! They either fucking stabbed me in the back, tried to kill me or fucking died!"

"Hey! I think you'd better stop." Trenton said sternly as the Sneasel turned round and continued to hack away at the tree in anger. Marching forward, he lifted the thrashing weasel straight off the ground, holding one arm in each pincer.

"Put me down, you shithead!"

"Not until you regain some control!" the Scizor retorted, carefully easing some of the tension off his grip so that he didn't hurt him. "I heard that yelling from a mile off! You keep this up and we'll have the whole forest to deal with soon enough!"

"I don't give a shit! Let them come!"
"Well I would rather get back to Johto in one piece!"
"WELL YOU CAN FUCK OFF BACK TO-- hang on." The Sneasel turned his head to the left to look at him and Trenton noticed with a grimace the nasty scar on his eye, which was bloodshot and leaking pus. "D-Did you say you were going to Johto? H-Hey, what a coincidence! I was going to Johto as well! I've no reason to stay here so why don't we go together, eh? We can help each other out, know what I mean? What do you say?"

The sudden shift in the Sneasel's behaviour startled Trenton, and the way that his voice was rather high-pitched and very rapid hinted that this Ice-type was not completely sane right now. Still, odd company was better than no company, and after confirming with the eccentric weasel that he would not freak out again, he safely placed him back on the ground. "Very well, we can give it a try. The name is Trenton, but you may call me Trent if it's easier for you."

Extending a pincer, Trenton gently clamped it down on the Sneasel's hand and shook it. "Buck."

Nuvema Town/Early Evening (46)

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I heard Buck shout. Perhaps it was my hypersensitive ears, perhaps he was really loud. I tuned into the last tidbits of conversation between Buck and...hmm. And unknown player has entered the field. This could prove to be entertaining.

Still, I didn't know if Buck had evolved yet and the unknown might prove to be too strong for me in my current state. Best to avoid them and wait for them to enter the playing field.

In the meantime, I would have to set up the arena. First things first, let them, or maybe just the one original person remaining, know I was no longer the same Jacques and that this town belonged to me.

I spotted the carcass of the peltless Ursaring. Dashing over, I dragged the body to the sign, colorless and degraded, that spelled out the name, Nuvema Town. I positioned it so it looked as if it was waving, almost as if greeting my opponents, this required driving a stick into it's arm and loosed a spray of blood onto my palms. Using the leftover blood,I covered the sign, removing the faded letters that indicated this was once a civilized town. With my index claw, I went to work, carving a new name to indicate who this town belonged to.

I stepped back and gave a quick grin at my handiwork. I made my way deeper into town and chuckled as I left the sign. As the sign indicated, this town no longer belonged to whatever bastard wanted to waltz right in and claim it. No it belonged to who it was named after. That's right, Jacques Town belonged to me. And it was damn time I made sure all who entered knew it.

((OoC: Eh, don't worry about the long posts, they're better to read then short clipped posts with not to much in the way of detail.))

((I'm sorry, skip me for now. >.< I'll think of something for them next round.))

Nuvema Team/ Early Evening(46)

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After making my welcome sign, I went to find something to eat. I went towards the ocean. Peering into the murky abyss, I strained my ears and listened to the orchestra of the unrelenting crash of the waves.

I heard a splash that didn't measure with the rest of the waves. Like lightning my hand shot out and pierced a wriggling Magikarp. Peering closely, I looked for signs of infection. It's rip cage had been torn open previously. And even though my claw had pierced it, it still wriggled. I flexed my claws and tore it in half. I repeated this process several times before eventually catching another Magikarp, which was dying even as I held it. It wasn't infected and definitely not undead.

I tore into it, savagely stripping bits and pieces away, until nothing but a skeleton and strands of meat remained. I burped almost satiated, at least stomach wise.

I went a few paces away from the sea, should something decide to extend out and devour me. Now all I had to do was listen for Buck and his new, unknown ally, to enter my town. Then the game would be afoot.

((Sorry, please skip me again. They have no other reason to enter Nuvema unless they're lured there somehow [and Buck's determined not to set foot there again, lol]. Any chance you can get them in somehow? Trenton's likely to want to confront him, and Buck will likely follow him wherever he goes...))

Nuvema Town/ Evening (47)

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I listened but they made no signs of returning to my town. I grew restless and worried. What if they decided not to come back here? I would be playing a game with no opponents.

"Damn it." I stood up and stalked towards the opening. I could hear them breathing just beyond. I edged forward and remained just beyond the curve of the hedge. They couldn't see me but I could hear them.

My voice boomed although I didn't shout,"Why Buck, it seems you have lost both Panthera and the fiery monkey. Although it appears you've found a suitable replacement. The replacement will be fun to break I'm sure. It will be quite interesting to see what noises he will make as I peel away his carapace. As for your former colleagues, I wonder, did they leave you to your own devices, abandoning you after deducing just how pitifully weak you are? Or maybe...somebody took them. Snatched them up and broke their legs so they couldn't move and then hid them around my town..."

I waited, pausing and let the wheels turn in his head. It was a risky gambit, seeing as I didn't know if they had agreed upon just going their separate ways but I needed something to pull them back into my arena. As I bunched my legs and before I sprang backwards into my town I said almost inaudibly but still decipherable.

"Why don't you come visit my town and find out, eh?"

This guy was ... perfect! Tough body made out of steel, huge pincers that could crush bones, a badass look ... who better to be a bodyguard? After promptly being stabbed in the back by Panthera and Flame, Buck had lost whatever feeling of belonging and friendship that he had briefly earned while with his 'friends'. Why bother to try so hard to make friends, to be accepted, when the only thing that they did in return was to abandon you within proximity of a crazed murderer? In fact, Buck was not interested in making friends with this Trenton fellow at all - as long as he could keep him and his Razor Claw safe, he didn't care. Only one thing mattered now: keeping himself self from further harm...

A booming voice echoed over the trees and Trenton raised his head in alarm. "What was that?"
"Oh, probably just Jacques," Buck replied casually, kicking a stone on the ground into the nearby lake. "That's the guy who's been causing most of the chaos. Tried to kill us, y'know."
"Is he an infected?"
"No, just downright crazy. You wouldn't believe the mayhem he's caused just by existing. More than all the undead put together! Suddenly getting an idea, Buck tried to hide a nasty smirk as he pouted out his bottom lip slightly and pointed up to his messy eye. "He did this. And this," he held out his injured knee, "and now I can't see or walk properly. I can't run from him like I used to. That's why I want to get away from here; before he kills me ... just like he killed my friends..." Feigning a sob, he wiped his nose and looked up at Trenton woefully just as the second half of Jacques's speech reached them.

As for your former colleagues, I wonder, did they leave you to your own devices, abandoning you after deducing just how pitifully weak you are? Or maybe...somebody took them. Snatched them up and broke their legs so they couldn't move and then hid them around my town..."

"All right, I've heard enough," Trenton growled as he began to march forward with Buck scrambling along behind. "I think this guy needs to be taught a lesson. To cause so much trouble and then mock you like this is just ... sick. There's no other word for it, it's sick."
"I know, right?" Buck almost felt like skipping in glee but managed to fake a decent expression of pain and heavily started to emphasise the limp on his injured leg. "But ... are you sure you can--"
"I'll damn well try. Nobody should be allowed to bully others like this," Trenton replied, pushing aside a clump of overgrown bushes.
"W-Well, OK ... guess I can't stop you, can I?"

Buck couldn't help but wonder whether there was any truth in what Jacques had said; it would certainly have been a logical explanation for Panthera and Flame's sudden disappearance. This Trenton guy, on the other hand, just looked like he wanted to kick the overgrown lizard's backside, which was fine by him, but Buck couldn't help but wonder ... why was he helping him? They'd only just met...

"Hey, you heard what he said! He has my friends!" Impatient for the fight to begin, Buck gave Trenton a quick shove to get him to move quicker. "Get a move on!"

Nuvema Town/ Evening (48)

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Time to assess the situation. Buck had a scar over his left eye. He definitely wasn't blind but there might be a drop in quality as it was fairly recent. So I went to a house to the left of where Buck and Trenton would be entering. Coupled with the dark purple color of my skin and Buck's injured eye, I might have a chance of remaining hidden. His companion was what I had to worry about. An unknown factor. A variable that could go either way.

Luckily my ears were capable of hearing lengthy distances. I caught snippets of the conversation. The variable was named Trenton...He was either naive, had a good sense of justice or was just plain pugnacious. He could be easy to lure into traps if any were the case. It was almost to easy.

As they approached the cusp of the town entrance I recognized what Trenton was.

"SHIT. Of all the--A damned SCIZOR?!"

I quickly added the variable and did the math. Buck couldn't have gotten a better ally. With his metallic carapace, my most powerful attack, Venoshock, would be less then worthless. My Iron Tail and Take Down would be halved in power too. I had to think fast...I looked around in the darkened area. Dirt, weeds, wall, hose--Hm...And an idea formulated, time to see if Trenton was as pugnacious or gullible as I guessed.

I opened the back window of the house, grabbing the hose and pulling it through. I dragged a chair from the living room into the kitchen, setting it so it was facing away from the front door. I tore my cloak from my shoulders and placed it around. Next I took a bowl from the cabinets and several sharp knives from the drawers. I cracked the door open, placed the knives in side the bowl and placed them on top, sort of like a childish human prank of placing a bucket of water atop a door in hopes of an entering human being doused. Next I grabbed an empty jug from the fridge, tore it in half and poked one end of the hose into the hole. I placed the makeshift speaker beside the chair. Next I moved towards the stove, carefully pulling it back. Taking my index claw, I tore through the pipe that connected the stove to the gas. I listened intently...And the telltale whistle emerged! Gas was leaking from the pipe!

Grinning like a madman, which according to some people, I was, but I preferred the term of misunderstood genius, I made my way out of the house carrying the end of the hose not connected to the jug behind me.

I grinned at the brilliance of my plan. If the Scizor was taking the intitative he would walk into the house first spilling the knives onto him, causng a spark and coupled with the gas, THE HOUSE WOULD EXPLODE! And if Buck entered first, well, he would be impaled seveal times over with a variety of sharp knives. To lure them in I would speak through the hose, and my voice would be amplified thanks to the jug and I used the chairs to create the allusion I was inside the house. Thanks to the darkness, it was a perfect dummy. The fire would be the perfect way to deal with the Scizor.

I jumped out the window, making sure to try to land quietly. I crouched behind the house listening. Then I took a deep breath and,

"BWAAAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA!! WHAT IS TAKING YOU SO LONG BUCK THE SNEASEL AND TRENTON THE SCIZOR?! COME AND GET YOUR FRIENDS!! I'M PRETTY SURE THAT PANTHERA IS ALMOST OUT OF BLOOD AND YOU LITTLE FIERY SIMIAN FRIEND IS UNCONSCIOUS. BETTER HURRY UP!"

Just as he was setting foot back inside Nuvema, Trenton suddenly stopped in his tracks. Bumping into the Scizor's rear, Buck huffed in frustration and tried to push the large Bug-type forward, but he wouldn't move. "What's your problem? Move it!"
"Buck ... I'm sorry but I don't think that this is a good idea."
"What are you talking about?"
"This whole thing with Jacques ... I mean, I barely know you, and that doesn't mean that I don't want to help you or anything, but ... I really need to get back to Johto. I need to find my human, and I don't want to get myself killed before I can do that."
"WHAT?!" Buck screeched, clinging to his ears in terror. "Y-You're gonna just leave me here with that maniac?!"
"No, you didn't let me finish. I was going to say: come with me," said Trenton, stepping towards the panicked Sneasel. "Like you said, we'll go together."
"But my friends--"
"Buck, it's a trick," Trenton said vehemently, fluttering his wings as his frustration began to grow. "Of course it's a trick. It's the oldest one in the book. He's just trying to lure us. I ... I don't think your friends are going to come back."

Buck paused for a moment as these words sunk in, his chest heaving itself in and out with each deep breath. When Trenton reached out one of his pincers towards him, he jumped back and fired an Ice Beam at the Bug-type, which was barely dodged. "FUCK OFF! I don't need you. You say you'll help me and then wimp the fuck out and leave me!"
"But I wasn't--"
"Are you deaf? I said fuck off!" Buck fired another Ice Beam, but it froze the trunk of a nearby tree after it was dodged yet again. "I can handle myself. Always have done. I don't need you. I don't need anyone! FUCK - OFF!"

Trenton heaved a heavy sigh as he turned away; clearly Buck had been hurt far too many times for him to change his mind now. "If that's what you want, then I'll go." Casting one last look at the furious Sneasel, Trenton muttered, "Good luck," before disappearing into the undergrowth.

Buck was surprised at the smirk that crossed his face as he happily tossed his Razor Claw into the air and caught it again. He didn't need 'friends' - he'd managed perfectly fine without them stabbing him in the back and/or attempting to murder him before now. He hadn't told Trenton, but he was going back to Johto as well. He was sure that his family weren't around anymore, but in all honesty he just wanted to go home now. He'd had a huge journey to get here, and now he'd gotten what he wanted there was no reason to stay. No more friends to protect.

It hurt him to know he was leaving Norma Jean behind, but he was sure that she would be able to look after herself, especially with infected blood now flowing through her veins. "You see this, NJ?" Buck looked up towards the sky and held his Razor Claw aloft. "Just two more hours. Then I'll have fulfilled my promise."

With a skip in his step, Buck hopped off into the wilderness, the mountains of Johto clearly etched into his mind as his destination. Now that he had his Claw, he could do anything. After sunset he would be faster, stronger and sturdier than ever before. He would get through this. He would survive this.

Just two more hours to go.

Nuvema Town/ Evening

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Trenton and Buck had left. Panthera and the Infernape had disappeared. Woe was dead.

I was left alone and abandoned in a town that I had stolen and a trap that was now useless. During the course of my stay here I hadn't killed a single person that was really important enough to kill.

"..."

I got to my feet. I looked inside the house. My cloak was still in there...But I'd find a new cloak. Where I was going there would be plenty of people to kill, alive and dead. I meandered off, heading opposite Buck's direction.

I would not follow him or the Scizor. They had abandoned my hatred. For that reason, they weren't worth killing. I would find others to hate. Others to kill.

I walked into the wilderness.