Pokémon: Aftermath #3a - In the Thin Ice [IC]

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"S-sorry...I am Lupus." he said still kinda reeling in shock and confusion. "You just reminded me of someone....I once knew. Anyway, that is Lobo. He is kinda a showboat, so be careful around the bastard, he might burn you on accident. He means well though, I think he just forgets Fire Burns others that aren't him." Lupus didn't even seem to notice the others right now. The shock of this girl was the only thing in his mind right now....it felt strange, like he was talking directly to his little sister. She had been dead for years...but it felt like she was standing right in front of him. He knew she was still gone, the scar on his eye was still there, and he still couldn't see out of it either. The only one in the room that knew his left eye was blind was Jory though. It was impossible for the others to tell trough his thick sunglasses.

[Jory]

Jory felt the anger bubbling again, but this time managed to rein it in much more effectively. "You're right. I shouldn't have jumped all over you about that. But telling us what happened as though we don't already know isn't going to change anything. My grandfather once told me, 'This too shall pass.' It's an old Hebrew saying. All we can do is learn from our mistakes, move on, and try to do better in the future. Now do you understand what I meant? None of us want that to be our legacy. That being said, I'd rather live in a world where people hate me for the way I brought down a mad god than live in this one." He then turned his attention fully to Lupus, done trying to justify himself to someone who had yet to see firsthand the true horrors of the war on the ground. He's like I was. An idealist in a world where only the strong or the criminally insane survive. I can only hope he realizes that idealism only has its place in an ideal world. As Jory watched Lupus, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. He's been through so much already. People like him are why we fight.

[krim]

Nemir watched these outbursts and conversations go on. When it finally fell silent he said "Death is all a part of life, and we are going to have to get used to it while we are a team, because I can tell by this point that its definitely going to occur. I've faced death before, and it isn't pleasant. Vis and I have killed. Not intentionally but it's happened. Vis here has learned heal pulse to try and prevent as many deaths as possible, and I intend to keep the toll at a minimum, no matter what any of you think." With his one remaining red eye flashing with anger he fell silent. "Yes..."

[Rielly987]

Pine relaxes on the floor. It's been 2 weeks since the ruin incident and only yesterday was he able to join the resistance. It was a mater of luck running into the right person at the right time. He was anxious for Snowpoint, once a site to amazing ruins its a wonder what it might of become under Dawn's rule. With the gym leader there being Ice type hopefully Skarm could be of use. As he got up Pine went to talk to one of the others in this "Team Dusk".

[Chevaleresse]

Sarcus nodded. "I get it. Do what you have to do, right?" He didn't think the other Trainer was the type to do that sort of thing unless he had to, but he also didn't think he was willing to treat him as an equal, which irked him. He took a few steps away from the little group that had formed and idly petted Absolution, wondering who else was going to decide to treat him like some sort of ignorant child.

[DarkLight]

"Oh, I see..." Miki said quietly as Sarcus and Jory went about discussing their ideologies. There was something about the way Lupus had explained his state of shock. Although she couldn't see his eyes, there seems to be a hint of sadness in his voice before Lupus changed the subject. However, Miki couldn't help but pry a little further. Maybe, by letting him talk about it, she could help him out in some way. "S-Sorry if I am intruding, Lupus, but... This someone t-that you m-mentioned... She was really important to you, wasn't she?"

[SilverJakler]

"Welp guess now is good a time as any." said Seth to himself. "C'mon Giga, let's make ourselves known." he said as he called Gigawatt out. The yellow yeti burst out of the Ultra Ball in the standard flash of white light and stretched his arms and legs when he materialized.

Seth had scanned the area and decided the argument crowd was a bit too loud right now, so he made his way over to the Milotic Girl and Lucario Guy pair with Giga in tow. As he approached them he introduced himself curtly.

"Hey, Vis and Carissa, right? Name's Seth and this is my partner Gigawatt. Say "hi" ya big lug."

Gigawatt made his presence known by flashing his dumb smile accompanied by a few crackles of electricity along his shoulders.

"So, you guys been part of the Covert Ops or newbies just like us?"

[Felicity]

Adam was walking out when he saw the bigass electric guy appear. This caught adams attetion. That thing could be dangerous to Lockhart, he had to know the owner was in control. He walked over and introduced himself as well. "Adam."

[SilverJakler]

"Name's Seth, nice to meet ya, Adam." he said with a grin. "Oh, and don't mind Giga here. He's just excited to meet new people that aren't brainwashed by some bitch with a God in her pocket."

Gigawatt made a respectful cry, still wearing it's dumb but overall innocent smile.

Edited November 30, 2014 by SilverJakler

[krim]

Noticing he was being addressed, Nemir said "The name's Nemir, Vis is my partner here. And yeah, I'm new, although I've had some....run ins....with the Church and Dawn's other agents before joining up. " He closed his eye before adding "It's almost close to the appointed time. We should probably start heading towards the meeting place." loud enough for everyone to hear.

[Felicity]

Adam eyed the giant with no small amount of scepticism. "Sure, just making sure he's not likely to go nuts. My partner, Lockhart, doesn't appreciate electric attacks. Make sure his aim is alright." Adam sure as hell was not working with this guy. He seemed like a happy go lucky idiot who was all too happy to see his monster go rampaging unchecked. He was gonna kill, and Adam didn't want to be around for it. Adam looked at the others present, wondering if anyone else would be that daft.

[SilverJakler]

"Oh, don't worry, this ain't his first rodeo against the church." said Seth to Adam. He turned to Nemir to continue their conversation.

"Yeah, you're right. Gotta prepare for the long trek ahead." He turned his attention to Gigawatt. "Okay, you've had your fun, time to go back." Seth said as he recalled his yellow friend. He promptly secured the Ultra Ball to his belt and gave the three of them a last look and said, "Be seein' you on the trail." as he started walking out of the Gym.

[Tacos]

Carissa watched as Seth began talking to a boy and left before Carissa even spat out a word. Just my luck, being quiet makes you an easy target for being ignored. She turned to the other boy, twirling her hair once again, out of nervousness. "Hi, I'm Carissa and... um... this is Lila." Carissa rubbed underneath her Milotic's neck, a gesture she had come to realize was one of Lila's favorites. "You're Adam, right? And you said Lockhart would not appreciate Giga missing. Is Lockhart perhaps a water type? If so, I'd love to see her." Carissa pulled at her necklace a little bit, enjoying the feeling of the friction between the chain and her skin. In fact, it eased her nervousness just as much as twirling her hair.

[grasssnake485]

Alina leaned on a bookcase in the corner, deliberately not trying to be noticed. Small spaces were fine, but being in the middle of a mingling, chatting crowd could easily make her claustrophobic. When she was sure she wasnt being watched, the girl swung off her heavy coat, slipped her sword out from the folds of her dress, and quickly checked it for any defects that would prove fatal in battle. Not even a minute later, she was back in her leaning position, coat on, and back to eavesdropping on the nearby conversations as if noting happened. Chewing on a strand of hair, Alina quickly lost herself in thought however. Side path or not, it'll be cold going up to Snowpoint. Maple may not be able to handle the cold, so I'll pretty much be on my own. According to Lucas, there should be forestry, so I should be fine. The snow can possibly be used as a diversion. Given there's forestry, there should be wood and icicles. If it is not snowing heavily, it should be at least warm enough for Maple to charge up Solarbeam. The white snow reflects light, so charing should be faster. If the weather is really clear, Maple may be able to pull off some leaf storms. If there's pine trees, I can use leaf storm to cut leaves loose and form them into deadly projectiles with magical leaf. If the acolytes use pokemon native to the area, iron tail can destroy them all. Poison types are the only threat, but I have a few pecha berries and kebia berries. If the situation really calls for it, I have one engima berry and one full heal. If the snow is too soft, it may slow Maple down. If it is too soft, she may be able to tunnel under and ambush the attacker. I will not survive if I have to use snowshoes.

[Jory]

Jory sighed heavily as Sarcus walked away from him. Unfortunately, the way the world is it won't be long before he sees something that changes his tune. He then turned back to Lupus and Miki, interested in what the girl had to say. However, true to form she didn't give much away and instead asked after Lupus. Fortunately for her, Jory was just as interested in hearing more about his comrade-in-arms than the Covert Ops girl. Something in his gaze, though. I recognize that look. Family, he thought to himself, the pain of his own losses still throbbing after all this time.

[Azeria]

"This place is quite tense it seems,but it's the church of Dawn we're dealing with."Micheal thought to himself as he watched the conversation between Lupus and Miki continue."It's kinda hot in here,Nappy would you mind using a bit of icy wind to cool it down?"He asked the everpresent Snorlax beside him.His answer was given to him by the temperature dropping a bit,it made Micheal feel comfortable and reminded him of his walks through Eterna Forest."Hmm,if i may interupt,i'd like to ask how far North Snow Point City actually is?"Micheal asked the other people around him.

[Chevaleresse]

Sarcus heard Michael's question. "I can't remember the distance off the top of my head, but it's one of the longest routes in Sinnoh." He felt the chill generated by the Snorlax and hugged his jacket closer to him, even though the room wasn't anywhere near what one would call cold. "Would you mind stopping that?"

[Notus]

Jon stood in the back of the group quiet and observating. He sighed. Damn, even more people? For him, people were failures in potential, betrails in potential, and a danger for him and Kyte... Not to mention he wasn't much fond of making another introduction. It would be better if they had kept only the Covert Ops. He was way more confortable around that team now that their mission was over. Not that he trusted them completely, but at least everyone's made their jobs that time.

The boy looked around and saw Miki, suddenly being assaulted by the will of talking to her. After a few moments looking to his own feet and thinking if it would be worth it, he decided to go and took some steps that way, but only to see she walking into a group with Sarcus and two other guys. That left him standing in the middle of the room, unsure of where to go or what to do.

((Note: When you want to move on just leave the gym to grab your clothes))

[Felicity]

Adam shook his head. He adamantly looked at the girls nose rather than her eyes, or anywhere else for that matter. "Sorry, Lockhart is a Honchkrow. You can still meet him, but I want him to rest, we're going somewhere likely to be rife with Ice types, this won't be fun for him." Adam as still thinking furiously of ways to make damn sure Lockhart could avoid any and all ice type attacks, but he supposed a trainer with a Milotic could help out and take some hits. Another reason to stay with the pretty girl.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"S-s-sorry, It isn't something I want to talk about. At least not yet. Maybe some other time, but definitely not here." Lupus said. He got down on his haunches as he petted Lobo's head, the houndoom panting and lolling his tongue out in response. "It would reopen a lot of wounds, and this is not a place for that, too many people. It wouldn't be good for the new people around here to see one of the few survivors of the first battle be that cracked. They might lose the last of the hope they have in this team."

[DarkLight]

Miki was disappointed, but held her tongue. It was clear to her now that she touched a nerve and she wouldn't want to go and make enemies. After all, this is all she has left. When Lobo stuck out his tongue with pleasure, she giggled at the sight and decided to change to a more lighter topic. "Oh, s-so you're one of the main team to battle Gardenia? That's really cool! I-I wish I was there to see it, but I was placed in the Covert Ops team..."

As the conversations continue to take place, Raito began to wander off to see if he could find more similar faces. Finally, his eyes happened to land in the middle of the room, where Jon was standing awkwardly. Raito bounded off towards him and gave a joyful cry as his greeting, bouncing up and down like a dog that was glad to see his owner.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"It might have been better that way, a lot of the fighting down there was ugly. We lost a lot of good people, and some that should have never been allowed here. The fight with Gardenia was no easy task though, and if it weren't for you in the Covert Ops team we would have been destroyed 1 by 1. Luckily right in the knick of time you guys broke the power source of the barriers in that room, and we could turn the tides of that battle. We had to use some rather strange tactics, in fact Lobo had to poison Shredder to make sure he had the strength to rip through some of Gardenia's more powerful pokemon. Toxic Boost is a powerful ability for that Zangoose to have, but it doesn't stop the poison from harming him, so it is rather reckless strategy. We can fall back on it though." Lupus said. He had cheered up quite considerably. He must have been over his shock of seeing Miki. It was as if Serah was right there in front of him. Maybe, it was the universe way of saying it wasn't your fault. However, Lupus didn't believe that himself yet. Perhaps one day we would see it but for now he was still the Festering Wolf, the Beast that killed those it cared about, whether or not it wanted to. "You need not worry though Miki, I will make sure you are safe. You and Raito deserve to see a world that isn't racked with violence or ruled by a tyrant. And I will make sure you get to see that day no matter what." he took his glasses off now. revealing that nasty scar over his left eye. it went right through the center of it. The Center of his eye a fog of white. It was quite clear he was blind in his left eye to anybody who saw it. He placed them in his coat pocket. "I have been through a lot already, so you will have to excuse me if am not all that forthcoming. Some of the only people I called friends died out there in that battle. My life has been one of loss and sorrow. It runs with full of things I would never wish on another person. You are a good person, at least as far as I can tell. You remind me of why I am here, why any of us are here. So that lives no longer need to be filled with this much sorrow." he smiled. Lobo howled in approval, and then spit a flamethrower into the ceiling scorching it quite a bit. Lupus pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, before laughing. "Lobo, you are a danger to ceilings everywhere, you really need to stop doing that." he seemed a bit flustered. Lobo hung his head a bit low, like a dog being scolded. However, his tongue still lolled out of his mouth, he didn't look sorry in the slightest.

[krim]

Letting out a laugh about Lobo burning the ceiling Nemir said "We've all been through hardships inflicted by Dawn and her new cruel world. They've been after me ever since they learned that I was in Sinnoh....I still can't tell why though. Anyways Vis and I are heading off to the meeting place." as he pulled his jacket on tighter. "I'm sure we can all get to know each other better on the way to Snowpoint....it's a long walk after all, and the snow doesn't help."

[Jory]

Jory nodded, looking down at Shredder. "Toxic Boost is one of our favorite tactics, though. It's one of the few things that the Acolytes rarely see coming, so when Shredder runs at them with a Facade attack after using Swords Dance and with Toxic Boost active they get the hurt put on them pretty badly. Hell, we even managed to bring down Gardenia's Shaymin like that," he said thoughtfully, a grin coming over his face. There's nothing I like more than seeing a bitch like Gardenia getting her comeuppance, that's for sure, he said inwardly. Jory sighed, a frown coming over his face. "People like Gardenia and Dawn are why my brother is dead. They're why my parents went missing three years ago and they're why I fight. So, Lupus," he continued, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "Whatever it is that's been troubling you, whatever it is that's festering within your soul... Just know that all of us have demons." He then looked toward the door.

"I'm going to head off and see about scrounging up some warmer clothing. What I have on isn't going to help that much once we hit Snowpoint," he said, indicating his black leather bomber jacket, jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers. "Anyone want to come with?"

[Notus]

Jon was pulled back from his thoughts, a bit startled, by the excited greeting by Raito. He stood quiet for a moment, a bit unsure of what to do, but in the end veery carefully extended his hand to caress the electric eevelution's fur... Though he wasn't sure exactly why he was doing that, it was more of an impulse.