[RP] Broken Sun - Season of Evil [PG-13]

[synthetica]

Lisa the Roserade
The Jade Alliance, Thorn
Jadewater Forest – En Route to Talacola, Hyand, Kokoro

Ever since the Jade Alliance headed out, there were loads of rumours about their enemies and the strategy of facing them flying around between the members. Some said the opposing army consists thousands of various foul creatures, others claimed that was all the work of a single fiend with almost unlimited power. As for the plan of action, the theories were countless and differed from each other quite a lot. The most popular belief was they are going to join a Liberty’s Crusade division coming from the west and battle alongside them. The uncertainty and the lack of information were causing unrest and tension.

Lisa noticed Allyson, one of the Edens, was walking not far away from her. She probably knows more about the situation than most members. Maybe I could get her to tell me something. Lisa made her way through the crowd and greeted her. “Hi. I was wandering; could you tell me a few things about our battle strategy? I’m sure it would be reassuring to know our approach.” Lisa tried to sound as casual as she could.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything yet. There are still a few options open; Syritina won’t make the final decision until the scouts return,” the Eden replied. “When that happens, you’ll hear about it from Syritina herself.”

Lisa was a bit disappointed with the answer. She tried to get some other information out of Allyson, but before she could open her mouth, she bumped into the Sunflora walking in front of her who suddenly stopped. She wasn’t the only one, the whole group did. The reason for that was a bunch of flying Pokemon who landed in front of them. They looked like experienced warriors. One of them, a Staraptor, who appeared to be their leader, stepped forward.

“I am Ace Crasher, member of ABM and the commander of this group. We’re here to aid you in the battle against the Abyss.” You could hear the sigh of relief that followed the introduction; they won’t be alone in this fight.

“Welcome, Ace Crasher, we’re happy to have your assistance in these dark times. I am Syritina, Queen of the Jade Alliance. We’re still waiting for our scouts to return, but maybe you could tell us more about the enemy’s strength, numbers and movement. I’m sure you learned a lot by flying above the trees and observing from the sky.”

“Indeed, I can. The Abyss are using the old path to Talacola. They seem to be afraid of getting lost in the forest, as they rarely take a step off of it. Their leader is a Fallen of Molters, a formidable opponent who uses the powers of fire and darkness to destroy anything in his path. He is commanding two or maybe three thousand creatures of various strength. At the current pace, they will arrive to Talacola in about two hours.” Ace Crasher gave them more information than Syritina had hoped for. According to it, there was still time and hope. She thanked the Staraptor, and then turned around to face her followers.

“You all heard Ace Crasher; we have two hours to get to Talacola. Using the secret underground pathway beneath the forest we might make it. To be sure, though, we need to slow down the advance of the Abyss. Everyone who is able to summon obstacles or otherwise slow down the enemy, Eden Allyson will lead you. While you do this, we’ll reach Talacola and prepare the town for the assault. And remember, your job is to grant us some time, not to defeat them. Now let’s go.”

Lisa was petrified in horror; she was assigned to Allyson’s group. It meant she will have to face the enemy sooner and in smaller group then she had expected. Luckily she heard Crasher’s words to his unit; they were coming along them to help buy some time, which was a bit reassuring. In a few minutes, the Jade Alliance split into two groups; the bigger one headed northwest, the smaller one, accompanied by some ABM members went north. Hopefully they would see each other again.

 

[Billy Mays]

Alec "Rush" Garadian
Liberty's Crusade, Knight
Bravo Station, Hyand, Kokoro

"Thanks, I did, uh, just joined I mean." The Pikachu shook his hand, although he could easily tell she was nervous. But why shouldn't she be? Alec knew for a fact that there wasn't a damn person in this whole base who wasn't feeling at least a little nervous, himself included. Some Pokemon are just better at hiding their emotions than others.

After saying something to the Jigglypuff, the Pikachu spoke again. "So uh, I heard there was a battle here recently. That and the fact that I may've seen some extra security when I arrived. That must've been interesting, right?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." He was just thinking it over for the past couple hours, and he needed to get his mind off it. "Ask someone else who was here a week ago."

Alec noticed that the Pikachu and the Jigglypuff began to get into a conversation with eachother. Not wanting to interrupt (plus the fact that he really didn't have anything else to say), Alec walked back to Max.

"She seems alright." Alec said, gesturing towards the Pikachu.

"You think I have a shot with her?" A real wonder how Max can focus more on his lust than his survival, even at a time like this.

"Do you? No idea. Should you? Absolutely not." Alec said bluntly.

Before Max could answer though, a deep voice that Alec could recognize as Haraldin spoke over the intercom.

"Attention Crusaders! All soldiers not currently asigned to a task are to report to the main hall immediately!"

"Guess the 'ol bear has something to say. Come on Rush." Max immediately charged off to the main hall.

When Alec arrived, most of the soldiers who weren't doing other duties were already there. Alec took his position in the formation, on the left side, towards the front. Haraldin, the Ursarang in charge of Bravo Station, is a really old Pokemon who's so old he fought against the Scorned 70 years ago, although back then he was a Teddiursa and a simple soldier. He's been a Paladin in the Crusaders for a long time, and has been in charge of Bravo Station for over 15 years.

"Crusaders!" Haraldin spoke out, his booming voice echoing through the hall. "As many of you know, the Abyss demons have already made progress on the mainland of Hyand! However the situation appears to be more dire then we originally thought! We have received a distress signal from members of the Jade Alliance, asking for assisstance against an army of demons making their way as I speak to the town of Talacola! However, due to a recent drop in numbers because of the battle that took place last week..." As Haraldin said those words, a couple of the soldiers looked at Alec, making him cringe a little. "we do not have many troops to spare! I have however, assured them that we shall be sending them a single battaltion of troops, made up of any troops we can afford. Now, I am looking for some volunteers to send as reinforcements to Talacola! Since I am needed here at the Station, I need someone else to take command of our battalion!" Alec saw where this was going, and he didn't like it. "After some evaluation, I have decided that Knight Alec Garadian shall lead the battalion!"

I knew it... Alec thought to himself, his worries assured.

"Now, we need some volunteers! Who is willing to fight the legions of the Abyss?" A few hands were raised immediately, some more reluctantly. Alec could see to his right a scythe raised in the air, which meant that Max was coming too.

Haraldin looked pleased that a suitable amount of people raised their hands. "Good, good...any more volunteers?"

 

[SoulMuse]

Ian the Hydreigon
Liberty Crusade: Paladin
Liberty Station, Karan, Kokoro

Serron Star-Gazer turned out to be a Serperior, who was escorted by a Blastoise and Bisharp. He entered, bowing to me, a gestured that seemed somewhat out of place on my mental list of gestures of respect.

“I am Serron Star-Gazer of Utopia and a member of the Divine Sages; these soldiers behind me are Brigadier General Saraton, a Blastiose, and Lieutenant General Vayron, a Bisharp. We are here to lend our aid in the soon coming fight. A large force is en route to here, we ran to Liberty Station after evading the Abyssal forces at Veragh, and noticed that its force was mobilizing into this direction; the leader was a fearsome looking Nidoking, a Fallen from my scouts’ description, the Fallen of who I do not know.” I frowned as he continued speaking, detailing how the Abyss could summon more soldiers at will, and some of his abilities. He even placed some sort of enchantment over a spare pistol I had sitting out, which didn’t’ really make much sense, but I gathered that it would cause grievous damage to soldiers of the Abyss.

“Another thing you should probably know, the Abyss uses very… evil tools that have insidious effects. The Cohorts of Chaos are one of these, their weapons do not hurt, but instead corrupt; it will change your soul, making it evil, and you will also be the Cohort’s slave for eternity, or its death. Fallen can do the same, but they do not need to puncture a weapon into you, they have other methods that even I do not understand.

“Hopefully, you have viewed this all as important, especially the soon coming attack of the Abyss onto this station, I will take my leave, and you can come find me if you have any further questions.” With these last remarks Serron turned and left the room. I scowled deeply.

An impending attack from the Abyss would not bode well for the Station as it stood, meaning that as suggested, I needed to get word to Capo as soon as possible. However, as Capo lacked a large presence of Liberty Crusade soldiers, meaning that I could not communicate via my brethren. That meant I would be forced to directly send a messenger.

That in mind, I left my office, heading towards the armory, where I might find the engineers. Upon entering, I was immediately confronted by one of my Knights, a Tyranitar would wasn’t that much shorter than my armored form.

“Welcome Sir. What can we do for you?” I closed my eyes, quickly coming up with defenses in my head.

“I need you to begin establishing defenses around the base. Gun emplacements, barricades, minefields, whatever you can, and as fast as you can.” I informed him. “Get any heavy weaponry we have in raised firing positions, and make sure there is a lot of space between these defenses and the base. Any questions?” The Tyranitar blinked, and then blinked again.

“Um….not right now sir….I will get right on that.” He replied.

“See that you do. There is the potential that the Abyss could attack within hours, and I don’t want to be caught lying down, understand.” That got a salute and nod from the giant Pokémon. With defenses now taken care of, I decided it might be a good idea to inform the person actually in charge of the base of what was going on.

As I was moving through the base trying to find her, it turned out that she found me first.

"Ian, I got horrible news from my on-site researchers that just came back... The Abyss are marching to the base as we speak. All I know is they are in great numbers. I apologies for not giving any more details, my scouts were trained for exploration scouting, not war scanning and estimating..." I turned and found myself staring down at Kassy Joy.

I took a brief second to take in her appearance, which confused me as much now as it did when we first arrive. However, I pushed those thoughts aside, opting to respond the information she had presented me with.

“Thank you for the information Mrs. Joy.” I paused looking around. I could see engineers hurriedly running towards the gates to the base, soldiers where moving towards pre determined points, and I could see two of my Knights conversing in hushed tones. I had a sneaking suspicion that my orders to erect defenses meant that some of the Knights were ordering scout parties out, and were beginning to marshal troops.

“I have been informed of the approaching forces of the Abyss, and we are currently preparing to defend the base.” I considered for a moment. “Do you happen to know how far from the base your scouts were?” I asked her, hoping that she did.



Emily the Glaceon
Circle of Seven: Chosen
Liberty Station, Karan, Kokoro

It took quite a while to finalize how we would be assisting the Liberty Crusade. When we finally did reach an agreement, I sat back, exhausted with the proceedings. Nix had been being unusually stubborn, trying to convince me that aiding the Paladin was unwise. I finally got fed up with him as he starting whining again.

“Nix, enough.” I snapped. “You agreed that I would be the leader, and that the rest of the Circle would be my advisors. I have offered you several chances to speak out against this before now, and you have not.” Nix blinked, and opened his mouth. “I don’t have time to listen to you whine Nix. Either you can grow up and act like an adult, or you can Teleport yourself home right now.”

Nix gaped like a fish for several moments, before bowing his head. I had a sneaking suspicion that I had not heard the end of this, but if I could get a temporary respite that would be enough.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. The Jolteon to my right opened the door, revealing a Flareon.

“Yes?” The Jolteon stared into the Flareon’s eyes, almost daring him to back down. The Flareon ignored the Jolteon however, instead speaking to me.

“Ma’am, the Liberty Crusade people seem to be getting ready for something and whatever that something is, it’s big.” She paused for a breath. “I just saw a Meganium rush past to talk to the Paladin, who seems a little tense. I think we are about to be attacked or something Ma’am.” I sat straight up. “Soldiers have been getting weapons, and a bunch of Pokémon are doing something weird outside.

“I see. Thank you.” I turned to the rest of the circle. “Go and get everyone ready. We will assist the Liberty Crusade if and when fighting begins. Is that clear?” Nods around the table greeted my remark.

Turning away from the others, I took a moment to clear my head. I had no desire to face the denizens of the Abyss while distracted: that would only lead to death.

 

[Cometstarlight]

Kyra Sol the Pikachu
Liberty's Crusade, Initiate
Bravo Station, Hyand, Kokoro

When Melody had finished talking, the Floatzel spoke up again in response to her earlier question.

"I'd rather not talk about it." The voice was surprising to Kyra. "Ask someone else who was here a week ago."

Her ears shot down and now it was easily known that Kyra was embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she put a hand behind one of her lowered ears, "I didn't mean to-

By the time she looked up, both the Floatzel and the Scyther were walking away from her. She slumped her shoulders and sighed.
There goes that. Her thoughts seemed to ever tease her. I didn't even catch their names.

Before she could further dwell in self pity, Melody spoke up,
"Well," she said, "I wouldn't call it interesting...but it definetely was something." she blinked before gathering a look of realization. "Oh yeah," she said, facepalming, "I need to go train now. Care to join me?"

Training? Now? Wow, they tend to just let the rookies have at it! She thought with a twinge of relief. It would be good to get some training since she didn't have a lot of experience battling these...things or with her new weapons.

"What are those?" Melody blurted, canceling Kyra's thoughts. Her ears perked up in surprise at the question. She's never really talked about them before and the question rang true. What exactly are these things that Dad gave me?

I mean, she knew about the abilities and powers these things held, but how did her father stumble upon to making or retrieving these? She shook her head. Some questions just don't have answers it seems, but the subject was tender. Despite this though, Kyra tried to hide her inward pain of memory.

"Oh, these..." she said a little softer. "These were my Dad's. It was his weapon of choice when he went out into the field." that didn't really answer Melody's question. "They have these crystals in them? Does that make sense?" She lifted her cloak's sleeve a little to show her the small white prisms inlaid in the sheen of the black cuffs. "I don't know exactly what kind of gems or stones or whatever they are, but they give some sort of psychic connection to lift things. It'd be much easier to show then to explain, I'm sure."

She paused for a moment, was she talking too much?

"Something else is that the ones around the bases of my ears," she grasped the edge of said cuff, "They sort of make a connection from my mind to manifest the energy, while manifesting other sorts of energy with themselves, the other crystals." It seemed like a mouthful, but that's what the crystals did...well, that's what she guessed. She still didn't know everything about these things and hopefully she would gain some more knowledge (and some tips) about them later on.

Once she was done explaining it seemed like a void was in the air, that is until a shrill noise pierced it. Something about all soldiers to report to the main hall? Did she catch that right?
"Training? I think we might get some right here, right now." Kyra noted some other soldiers come in from outside and into the halls. "We should follow them, see if we can help."

It was then she felt a sharp tug on her cloak before the ground beneath her began to lower out of reach.
"Woah, what's going on?!" she said in surprise only to look around and see the Prinplup again. He had the pride and gall to lift her off the ground like a child? Granted she was eighteen and that may seem young, but still!

"Not so fast, kid, or should I say, Initiate?" He said with sort of a smug attitude. "Technically, you're not really a soldier yet. Just one in training and your first order in priority is to head to your barracks and get situated. Once that is done, which won't take long seeing as how you lack luggage, you are to report to the yard for cleaning duty."

"Cleaning duty?" She said with surprise, and not the good kind. "What happened to training? I thought the Liberty Crusade was about helping others in need? I could be of good use and-

He held up his other wing.
"Save it, you signed the papers and are now under the order of those above you."
And before she could say anything else she was being escorted out of the room. So much for training.

After they went through some double doors he pointed out the way to the barracks.
"And if you go anywhere else, just remember, I'll be watching." He said rather barbarically.
Kyra responded with a typical eye roll and huff.
"Stupid penguin..."

"I heard that!"
Kyra's ears shot down and heat burned in her cheeks. For a moment she felt on top of the world, she felt confident that she was going to make some friends while she was here, but now she felt like a lowly rank in a somewhat prestigious division. She solemnly put her hood back over her head, her ears not showing, and made her march towards the barracks.

 

[Billy Mays]

Alec "Rush" Garadian
Liberty's Crusade, Knight
Bravo Station, Hynad, Kokoro

After the meeting Alec headed over to the barracks to put on his power armor since they were going to be leaving soon, as Talacola didn't have much time to spare. Alec put on his suit piece by piece, until he finally he put his helmet on. He was immediately greeted by an electronic interface built into the suit, currently set to "viewing mode" which basically meant that the suit didn't put much on the vizor so that Alec can see clearly, since he wasn't in combat. Most of the knights, Max included, were given power armor. Alec had been lucky enough however to also get a plasma cannon attached to his suit, most soldiers have to carry their guns. Haraldin had told the volunteers to meet back up at the main hall once they were done getting ready, so after Alec put his armor on he went right away to the hall. A couple of the soldiers were there already, put Alec couldn't see Max yet. Where was he...?
__________________________________________________________________

Max had just finished putting on his armor (which was a hassle since he doesn't have hands) and was on his way back to the great hall. His armor was green, like Max himself, but it was light enough so that he could still fly with his wings, which were the only thing not covered by his armor. The armor also had blades on his scythe hands with wires on it similer to Alec's, so it generated plasma. Because he didn't have arms, he instead had a cannon mounted on his right shoulder.

As he walked, he noticed the cute Pikachu from earlier heading back towards the barracks. He wondered why she hadn't been there already, but then remembered that since she just joined, she was an Initiate and was therefore asigned to cleaning up. Max could tell she was upset, but he wasn't to surprised about that, since that Prinplup at the front desk works out his anger on the recruits, probably because he's mad that he still hasn't been promoted to Knight yet...

Wait...Hey, I got an idea! Max walked up to the Pikachu but was a little hesitant to speak.

"Uh...hey. You know that Prinplup at the front desk...?" Glad that the armor prevented her form seeing him blush, he continued. "Well, he's still only a Squire, which means that anyone of higher rank and overrule anything he orders. And since I'm a Knight..." He paused again. "Well, what I'm saying is that Haraldin, the guy in charge here, is sending a battalion to go to Talacola to protect it...so, if you want to go...I can give you permission to tag along."

 

[GalactaKnightisawesome]

Melody the Jigglypuff
Liberty's Crusade, Knight
Bravo Station, Hyand, Kokoro

Melody watched in anxiety as Kyra left. "Oh..." She sighed. Now she was alone again. Well, she didn't think she would meet anyone else out there who was seriously going to at least talk to her. Her ears started drooping, then shot up angrily. Stupid Prinplup...she thought in anger, Oh, and it takes just about one minute for that thing to ruin my life! Grr...

If she had the chance, Melody probably would've given the Prinplup a piece of her mind, but just then the intercom roared to life. "Attention Crusaders! All soldiers not currently asigned to a task are to report to the main hall immediately!" The voice boomed over the intercom, making her ear twitch slightly. Even though she thought she was about to go deaf with all that noise, she sighed and walked towards the main hall. Forgetting her anger for a momment, she felt like she was going to be sick. Why do I feel sick again...? Oh yeah. That mangy penguin. Uh. At that thought, she grew angry again, and poured her anger into reaching the main hall. When she got there, she saw a big bear - an Ursarang? - who was in the middle of talking, apparently.

"Good, good...any more volunteers?" He asked. Melody didn't know exactly what he was talking about, but judging from the looks on the other Pokemons' faces, they were volunteering to go into battle. Without a second thought, and on impulse, she raised her hand high into the air. A split second later, the horror of what she had done finally registered in her mind. Oh no...she thought, feeling nauseous, What was I thinking? Now I'm going to have to leave Kyra, too...At that thought, her ears suddenly perked up. Why don't I come up with an excuse...she thought mischieviously, not helping but getting a glint in her eyes, And say that I want an assistant while going out to battle?

But, actually, Melody realized, that on second thought, that might not work. Who would bring a newbie into battle, anyways? She felt herself getting less and less happy-go-lucky and more angry. "Excuse me," Melody suddenly blurted out on another impulse to the Ursarang, "Sir, is it possible for me to bring Kyra along with me?" She immediately wanted to sew her own mouth up, but it was already too late.

Electra the Ampharos
Followers of Khashan, Razor
Tanrock, Hyand, Kokoro

Electra, extremely bored, finally arrived at the inn where the Followers of Khashan were staying. "Hello?" She asked as she walked inside, "Is anyone here?" As soon as she took one step into the building, a Plusle jumped out at her.

"Hey, hi!" She said cheerfully and she fully buried Electra in a pile of fur, "Whatcha doing?" She had to struggle to push the Plusle off to keep breathing.

"And why should I tell you?" Electra glowered as she finally pushed the Plusle off, "You really shouldn't jump people like that, Plus." The Plusle, who must've been named Plus, glared at her in a cute sort of way. Like a bratty toddler.

"No." Plus said somberly, "I do whatever I want." Electra nearly rolled her eyes. Right there, in front of her eyes....was the ever so annoying member of the Followers of Khashan - Plus, the prima donna of a Plusle. Although she looked cute, she knew not to trust her. She had already learned that a long time ago. That hard way.

EDIT: Darn it, posted it after Billy Mays...

 

[synthetica]

Lisa the Roserade
The Jade Alliance, Thorn
Jadewater Forest – En Route to Talacola, Hyand, Kokoro

Whit the groups separated, Lisa looked around to see how many remained in the one she was in. There were about five hundred members of the Jade Alliance with approximately one hundred members of ABM supporting them from the skies. The pair in charge of the group, Eden Allyson and Ace Crasher, was quietly discussing how to approach the enemy. Everyone else was silent, deep in their thoughts, concentrating on the task at hand. They were moving swiftly through the forest; they knew it like the back of their hand.

They seem scared and why shouldn’t they be. They need a strong leader to inspire them and lead by example. Hopefully the Vileplume and Staraptor can do that.

With every step the air was getting hotter, they were approaching the fire and with it the enemy. Some of the flying Pokemon could already see them in the distance. The first part of the mission was successful; they managed to get to the part of northern path the Abyss army still had to go through. Now to slow them down.

As soon as they arrived to the path and stopped there, Allyson and Crasher explained the plan. “First, we need all of you to create as many obstacles on the path and around it as possible,” said Allyson. Her voice was calm despite the urgency with which they had to act. “Use your plant summoning powers, place boulders, anything will do. Make the structure high so they won’t be able to climb it. Also it should reach at least fifty yards off the path and into the forest.”

“When you are done with it,” continued Crasher “move further down the path and build another one just like the first. The enemy won’t be stopped by any of those walls, but each time they have to destroy one, they will lose time and strength. Also try to avoid battling for now, we can’t afford losses. If the situation gets out of control, we’ll retreat to Talacola, where our ally’s army is getting. That’s all for now, get to work.”

Seconds later the first plants were appearing on the path. The grass Pokemon started creating vines, trees, and bushes; they also added extra thorns on everything. Meanwhile members of ABM were flying into the forest and back, dropping any large object they could find onto the path. Mostly they were bringing rocks and trunks of fallen trees.

This might actually work. It obviously won’t stop the Abyss, but it should slow them down. Even though the barricade is mostly made of wood, it will take some time to burn down. Even better, the new plants we are creating won’t be as dry as the rest of the forest, as they weren’t affected by drought, so it should burn even slower.

Sadly, using Thorn Summon was wearing Lisa down quickly; in conditions like those in the forest plants don’t prosper, so creating them was even harder than usually. Lisa found herself looking east and checking the path for enemies more and more often. She was exhausted and sweating heavily.

Eventually, the first wall was declared complete. Unfortunately, the first Abyss soldiers were already in their sight. “You move on and start building the next barricade!” Crasher shouted towards Allyson. “We’ll try to hold them back for a while! ABM to me!”

Instantly, the Staraptor was surrounded by his flock, while the Jade Alliance ran in the other direction.

 

[Avenger Angel]

Zaiaku, The Overlord of Sin
Fallen of Arceus
The City of Dis, Abyss

Looking into that dark mirror, the Overlord of Sin, Zaiaku, and all his fetid, bloody horror, gazing upon the voracious Viha, marching toward the town of Tepa. The black wolf, surrounded by the unholy insignia, grinned wickedly at the savage butchery. His loyal, deranged minions had eaten their fill at Tokan, damning the city to a new name... Uskot. And he dark the dark temples rise, the ziggurats of infernal containment root up from the ground, and splatter their toxic pestilence upon the already withering ground. Trees curled up in pain and choked, while the earth itself was sundered into powder.

Kokoro would undergo its dark, unholy transformation. And he soon would inherit it as a trophy for his cruelty. He could hardly wait. The endless screams, howls of pain, and cries... we would devour them all and laugh into oblivion's madness.

Armahdus, his loyal minion and the Fallen of Moltres, had offered Jadewater Forest as a burning sacrifice to his name, a destruction and tribute that pleased Zaiaku as he relished the burning holocaust before him. And he knew, once Armahdus reached Talacola, he would bathe in the blood of his victims, and suck the marrow from their bones.

Commander Kalveta's forces had been locked in bloody combat against the Kokoro resistance at Janus Station. The more Zaiaku peered into that dark, unholy mirror that revealed whatever he wanted to see, the more he was pleased. Talandra had been robbed from him, but Kokoro would be his. He would sink his fetid, rotting teeth into the husk of the planet, and suck out its precious vitals while he injected his lethal poison, diseasing the world and forcing it into a state of rot and despair.

And Kokoro... would just be one of many. Just another victim world... just like all the others...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Armahdus Deathwing, Magnus of the Chaotic Holocaust
Fallen of Moltres
Jadewater Forest - En Route to Talacola, Hyand, Kokoro

More miles of treasured forest were brought to a brutal, burning end as Armahdus and his infernal legions of the blackened holocaust showed not even a scrap of mercy. Up ahead, in Talacola, the Pokémon were preparing for what they expected to be a vicious, heartless battle.

Armahdus realized his contingent had been spotted by scouts of the Jade Alliance. One of his own, a skeletal Wretched Fearow, had reported that the Jade Alliance was busy constructing a barricade. He realized that this would take time to burn it through, but he had his aspirations set on his black flames striking so much fear into their anxious souls that the demoralization would pacify them completely.

Kex, the sickly black Colcarona also known as "Flameretcher," approached his master.

"ThEIR BArriCaDe WIll CoST Us TImE," Kex spoke begrudgingly in his deranged, feverish voice. "AlL ThEY WiSH iS tO DElAY tHE InEVITaBLE."

But Armahdus simply laughed, a shrieking chortle of madness that could cause any mortal to tremble.

"ThEY shALl SuFFeR lONGer, THen!" Armahdus replied with a wicked giggle. "AnD FEaR loNGeR. AnD RUe thE dAY theIR wREtCH oF a MOtHER bROUghT thEM scREaMInG iNto ThIS DOoMeD WorlD... LOnGer..."

Smothering another patch of trees in flames, Armahdus was confident he would devour his victories... one soul at a time...

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Kirvesta Shadowblade, Patriarch of the Screaming Damned
Fallen Nidokng - Fallen of the Dark General Tlak
Liberty Station, Karan, Kokoro

Kirvesta and his dark, unholy contingent had arrived before the one-human establishment of Liberty Station, now inhabited and maintained by Kokoro's Pokémon. Screaming in laughter, Kirvesta looked upon the defenses, and truly felt they were hopeless. They were just out of range of the sentry turrets, but that was no matter. In only moments, he would send out his hordes to decent upon the base like feverish carrion eaters out to devour the most succulent of carcasses.

"CaLL FoRWArD thE DEaTH-WrEtCHeR!!" Kirvesta screamed out.

Soon enough, the Dark Engine, the three story grinder siege engine, wheeled forward, intent on devouring the walls of the base to allow his hordes to spill through and eradicate all traces of life.

"CHARGE!!!" Kirvesta screamed.

And like a flood of angry, hellish insects, the armies of the Abyss charged forward as the Dark Engine rolled forward like infernal thunder, rocking the earth as it charged toward the base, with its massive, grinding teeth spinning, slashing, and lacerating all that was in front of them. The Wretched screamed as they raised their weapons, savoring the death and massacre that was to come. And behind the deranged horde was none other than Kirvesta himself, letting his frontline scarifices take the bulk of the reprisal fire, while he searched for someone worthy to fight him.

He was looking for a worthy opponent, but looking more forward to slaughtering them and laughing over their mangled corpse.

 

[OkikuMew]

((Agent T, feel free to join Kassy in the operations room, even in the situation. Since FS's an old friend of hers, he's known in her faction and the JVC will let you in there just the same.))


Kassy Joy the Meganium
Joy Vitality Committee, President and Founder
Liberty Station, Karan, Kokoro

"Thank you for the information Mrs. Joy," Ian answered me with the calmness worth his position, looking around at the commotion slowly building up inside the base. "I have been informed of the approaching forces of the Abyss, and we are currently preparing to defend the base. Do you happen to know how far from the base your scouts were?"

"That... is a good question Ian. Claudia," I loudly exclaimed behind me, hoping the sharp-eyed and smart Swablu from my team could hear me, "How much time you estimate we have before the Abyss forces you guys saw arrives?"

I heard a light flutter going towards me, in the direction which the cotton bird landed near my feet: "W-we saw them not long ago, t-they could arrive any minute now!"

I gasped and held my teeth tight together, surprised how the emergency was higher than I expected. "We don't have time then! JVC, at your emergency and defence stations! This is a Code Grey!" I quickly glanced over the Serperior: "I apologies for not introducing myself properly: I'm Kassy Joy, president of the Joy Vitality Commitee. This is our base, and as you might have guessed we're temporarely housing part of the Liberty's Crusade. I would've asked to 'make yourself at home', but you might have guessed we both do not have time to chit-chat... If you need medical assistance, immediately approach any of our members, all wearing a pink crystal similar to mine," I presented the light pink Max Revive at the end of my necklace.

As I shuffled towards the room where they brought the now-corruped Mark to the table, I crossed the path of some of the Circle of Seven's members, which just walked out of the room that had some rukus.

"Oh hello, Circle of the Seven," I politely nodded. "I'm sorry I haven't welcomed you to our base earlier. I'm Kassy Joy, president of the JVC. I am sure you are here for the Abyss... and it seems the time has come. Please don't be shy asking my cohorts for help they can lend to you. If you please excuse me, I have an important operation to attend to..."

I then bursted into the operations room, grabbed some sanitizer gel then some rubber gloves. The Houndour was still screaching like a madman.

"So what's his status so far?" I asked the group of operators.

"We can't put him to sleep," the Wigglytuff answered, "neither the anesthesia and Sleep Powder are powerful enough, and we've used such a quantity it would've turned a Wailord into a Wind Fish. And he is not topping convulsing, making any kind of operation on him impossible."

"My, quite persistent," I held myself to laugh at the reference. "I seems we are due to use our latest experiment in anesthetics." I place a mask in front of my mouth. "Please pass me a 500ml of Inoxia."

The Ambipom nurse placed the seringue in my left vine, then I tried to use the syringe, but Mark's rapid movements made it impossible to inject him properly.

"Down boy, down!" I slapped my other vine directly on his nose. He stopped moving for a slight moment, surprised of the attack on his weak spot, but it was enough for my to inject the improved but still experimental anesthesia. Thankfully, the dose was strong enough to finally knock him out. I sighed.

"That's done," I proudly proclaimed, "and now let's see what the Scorned is inside of him... Liana, please continue the operation."

I moved out of the way, letting room to the Tangrowth surgeon. She looked at me with worried eyes, but I returned reassuring ones.

"Do not worry, I will be supervising, and I truly believe your skills are incredible enough to handle him."

She nodded, with more courage in her mind, and started opening the patient up with ease, speed and precision, thanks to her hard training of using all her vines at the same time, each using a different surgical tool. And I watched over, hoping the operation would be a sucess not only because of Mark's state, but the state of Kokoro as well... We all hear a horrible scream at a distance, knowing the presence of the Scorned, but everyone kept control of the situation like all doctors would've inspire of becoming. And I am proud of them; like a teacher with their students, a mother with their children.

 

[Agent Tectonic]

It was my desire to draw out some of the conversation with Kraxel, Tas, but due to recent events, I needed to speed up my characters. But, I am caught up now which is good!

Zix Dawnbringer
Brig. Gen. of Stalwart
Aramas, West Hyand

“I couldn't put up with that anymore. And I was wondering why Talandra was given up on. All they do is bicker over what strategies to use. Just adapt.”

“In their defense, Zix, they haven't really defended against the Abyss in ages. They're a little rusty.”

“I know Blitz. But, now to business. Gather my commanders, we've got a city to defend and a fire to put out.”

The Arcanine bustled off without a complaint, and in a matter of minutes, my four commanders were gathered: Eyrie the Archeops, Vectra the Parasect, Blitz, and Sparts the Zebstrika. The city of Aramas was rather generous in allowing us to set-up headquarters here though that wasn't a surprise considering their history of being open to newcomers.

“Alright, Blitz, I need you to take a fire team of 600 and stop the fire in the forest. Take as many sandstorm and rain teams as you need to reach that number. Also, I'd recommend some fire types in case you need to control scorch areas to set a perimeter around it. Try to hit it from the south side up, and by Arceus, do not give yourself away to the Abyss. The quieter our presence, the better. Any scouts or troops that see you, kill them with no mercy, but do not give yourself away if you don't have to. Lastly, let the area around Mortis as it is and let it burn. We can't get to close. Report to me here when the job is done or something goes wrong. Clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. You're dismissed to ready what you need,” and with that Blitz was up and out as quick as his name. I could trust him to manage that and beyond, but we needed to be precise. The Abyss has been trampling over this world while our army sat idly debating our plan of attack. We needed results.

“Now, Sparts, you'll be coordinating with the town of Talacola, but you are to act as a reserve and rescue team. As much as I would like our army to ride in on a golden chariot, Kokoro still needs to learn how to fight the Abyss which means that they need to find ways to defend themselves. As such, you are to act decisively if and when the battle turns unfavorable for the citizens. Rescue as many as you can, but again, do not engage unless forced to. Obviously, you'll be exposed if the battle goes awry, but do not charge them. Eyrie, you'll accompany them and escort the remnants through the forest and keep them from the fire. You shouldn't need you're entire army, so a few scout teams will suffice. Vectrra and myself will keep our armies here in case the Abyss changes course or another army is brought out form the depths beneath us. Clear?”

An affirmative “Yes, sir” was followed as expected. For now, Vectra and myself needed to gauge how much the city was defended and coordinate with any militia here with optimum defenses. Our work was cut out, but I was feeling optimistic about the results.

Forest Shadow
Roaring Thunder Leader
Sunmar, East Hyand

“Aim. Fire. Quicker. The Abyss will not wait for you to center your aim recruits. You've got to be both accurate, swift, and deadly. Who are we?”

“Roaring Thunder, Forest.”

“What?”

“ROARING THUNDER, FOREST.”

“Give me your battle cry.”

“RAAAAAAAAHHH.”

I got a tap on the shoulder shortly after motivating my recruits continued target practiced, human weapons were a good starting position for under-evolved as their powers were not as honed quite yet.

“Forest, a group of non-flying type Pokemon with feathery wings have holed up in an abandoned food warehouse. There as been talk though that they're looking for various members of Roaring Thunder to aid them in attacking the growing Abyss settlements south of us.”

“I'll go find out what this is about. Sounds like we are getting divine help now. Where were they when the Scorned were here. And they had better weapons back then like my trusty sniper. Stay here and watch over the recruits. Let them fire until their ammo is gone. Anyone who misses the target goes without dinner.”

“On it.”

I needed to keep this brief. I was planning on leaving for Liberty Station later today to meet up with Kassy and request war nurses. It also had been a while since he talked with anyone from that era; after all, he still owed her for her discoveries that aided him in his recovery those seventy years ago. By pure happenstance, I found a Bisharp with those wings wandering the market. He looked formidable enough to possibly be the leader, so I approached him. I intended to make myself brief and clear, I don't appreciate others stealing my men without consent.

“You, Bisharp. Look, I don't know why the heavens above are stepping into this war, but I will tell you this. I don't appreciate others, alive or dead, trying to recruit my men without my permission. I didn't rebuild Roaring Thunder to have it take orders from anyone but me or my successors. If the word is that Utopia is stepping in and helping, then you will answer to me if you want my men. I expect results, and I can trust my 'mon to give me those results. You, I don't know. If you want Roaring Thunder's help, you prove your mettle to me before I decide to lend aid. I hope you take that into account before you continue.”

And with that I turned and made my way to our HQ. Like I had planned, I needed to get to Liberty Station, but an Abyss city was in the way. In a short walk around a few blocks, the Iron Raptors Squadron HQ was in front on me. While I was leader of Roaring Thunder, there were divisional branches within that were led by others. Only in times like this was when I led all of the branches as we didn't bickering on what would be done. As such, I walked in and requested Alpha and bravo team air strike teams to be my escort. I also requested to have two transports along as well just in case. In my time leading the clan, I had smarter Pokemon than myself teach some of the commonplace to learn the various, but basic, commands needed for the technology that was within Echo Base. The base still stood out in the desert, but most of the equipment was reversed engineered and rebuilt to be used in Sunmar, Rasama, and Tanrock. There were still a few hidden secrets out there, but in order to conserve power, a move needed to happen. So, with a full squad of 47 birds all together, we took to the skies and made our way to Liberty.

 

[Cometstarlight]

OCC: Galatca, thanks for your gesture, but I'll see you on the battlefield anyways it seems ; D lol

Kyra Sol the Pikachu
Liberty's Crusade, Initiate
Bravo Station, Hyand, Kokoro

Kyra's chin went down into her chest as she hung her head. Her hood easily blocking out most of the light.

Was this what I signed up for? How am I going to get promoted like this?
She put her head back up. What am I doing? I shouldn't be moaping; I'm here aren't I?

"Ugh," she shook her head. "I don't know what to think anymore." she said out loud.

Suddenly a clinking of metal caught her attention.
"What's that?" She turned her head to see a near full clad pokemon in armor coming towards her. He looked...familiar?

"Uh...hey. You know that Prinplup at the front desk...?"

What was he doing? Why was he talking as if he knew her? Unless-
A lightbulb went off in Kyra's mind: it was that Scyther from before! And he was asking about that guy at the front desk.

"Yeah, I remember him far too clearly." she crossed her arms, her hood still up.

"Well, he's still only a Squire, which means that anyone of higher rank and overrule anything he orders. And since I'm a Knight..." He paused again.

Kyra's eyes widened and she unfolded her arms.
"Are you serious?"

"Well, what I'm saying is that Haraldin, the guy in charge here, is sending a battalion to go to Talacola to protect it...so, if you want to go...I can give you permission to tag along."

"Really? I can go-
She gasped. "Oh, no...Oh, no, no, no, no!" She pulled the edges of her hood.

"What's wrong?" She could hear the Scyther's voice grow worried. "I thought you wanted to go."

"I do, but," she clenched her teeth together. "Talacola is my hometown! Actually my family's been moved to a different, more safe city for the time being, but this is my home! I can't let it get attacked!"

"Well, what are we waiting around for? Haraldin is giving a speech right now!"

"Yeah, let's go." They were about to run off when Kyra realized something. "Hey, what's your name?" He seemed to be still for a moment, was he nervous?

"Max," he finally said.

"Ok, then, Max, let's go." They both ran off down the main hallway towards two large double doors before pushing through them.

"So, who's leading this operation anyway?" she whispered as they gathered into the crowd.

"Alec, that Floatzel you met earlier. He's an awesome fighter, and Haraldin knows it."

It wasn't until Kyra looked past the crowd of soldiers that she could see the large Ursaring in the back, but that was all she could see because after that, the soldiers began to gather towards the center, blocking her view because of her very short stature, being a Pikachu had it's advantages, but height was usually not one of them.

"Do you think they'll let me go? Kyra asked a little worried.

"Yeah, I think...uh oh,"

Kyra didn't like the sound of that.
"Uh, oh, what?"

"You see I'm not sure that Alec would feel the same way about my decision, so, yeah." Max said rubbing his scythes together.

"Oh, boy," Kyra face-palmed.

 

[SoulMuse]

Ian the Hydreigon
Liberty Crusade: Paladin
Liberty Station, Karan, Kokoro.

I had been hoping that Kassy’s scouts would tell me that the Abyss was not far away, but it seemed as we mistaken, as a small Swablu fluttered over stuttering about how the Abyss could be here any moment. I took a brief second to indulge in a few choice words, while Kassy started giving orders.

"We don't have time then! JVC, at your emergency and defense stations! This is a Code Grey!" She ordered before rushing off. I swiftly pulled on my helmet, and set the visor to display a tactical map with a thought.

“All Liberty Crusade members, report to your commander for active duty! The map suddenly filled with red dots on the far side. I swore again, they were already here. “Squads One and Two, with me at the gates NOW!” I took off at a dead sprint as warning Klaxons started to blare. The command channels of the communicators filled with chatter as Knights barked orders, directing troops to various places.

I slid up the gate just as Squads One and Two arrived. Both Squads had been me for quite a while, and were extremely capable. Each Pokémon was pulling out weapons, ranging from laser carbines, pistols, and energy weapons. The gates slid open, and I was greeted by the hordes of the Abyss. However what truly got my attention was the sight of a massive siege engine, three storied high, and charging right towards the base. I had no clue what that thing was capable of, but I couldn’t help but think that it would end badly if that monstrosity hit the walls.

“Squads One and Two, with me. All airborne squads, engineers, and heavy weapons, I want that siege engine gone.” I snapped. My visor changed again, this time, showing my communications feed in the upper right corner of my vision, and nothing else.

“Sir, what are we doing?” Someone from Squad One asked me. I smiled ferally underneath my helmet.

“We, soldier, as buying time for everyone else.” I replied. “Our job is to hold the cannon fodder off long enough for the rest of our soldiers to take the field. Now enough talk, lets get moving.” I faced the hordes of Abyssal soldiers, defined as the Wretched, a description that fit quite well.

I my left hand, I drew my pistol, settling the weapon into a comfortable grip. My right hand grasped the hilt of my energy blade which hummed to life as I thumbed the activation stud. To either side of me, turrets began to open fire as the Wretched came into targeting range.

Behind me, more soldiers began to file out of the base, while engineers frantically raced to assemble heavy weapons. I started to walk forwards, then jog, and before I knew it I was charging right at our foes, a wordless roar of fury escaping me. I absently took note of all three of our airborne squads taking flight, racing up overhead, the soldiers running behind me, and the whine of the sentry turrets firing pointlessly.

Ahead of me, the soldiery of the Abyss howled, charging towards us, all the while brandishing a variety of weapons. Perhaps seven hundred yards separated us and them and I paused in my charge, to simply stand and wait, seven hundred yards from our enemy, and maybe a hundred yards from my own soldiers. I took a brief second to view the tactical map again, before I started to advance once more.



Emily the Glaceon
Circle of Seven, Chosen
Liberty Station, Karan, Kokoro

I was shaken from my thoughts when alarms started to blare. I whipped around, racing out the door. The base was consumed by organized chaos. Soldier where grabbing weapons, running towards the gates, and screaming for noncombatants to get the heck inside. Genius I was not, but I could tell that some kind of attack was coming. Weaving through the mass of bodies, I made my way to the gates.

Soldiers were gathering in squads, while the various Knights barked orders. With a roar a group of heavily armored and armed dragons took off, circling while others joined them. I found the other members of the Circle standing off to the side, our people already standing behind them.

“It seems that the Abyss has found us first.” Abigale observed. I spared a moment to look at the Umbreon. She seemed calm and relatively collected, which was more than I could say for many of the faces I could see. “Hopefully the Liberty Crusade is ready for them.” I nodded.

“Is everyone ready?” Nods. “Alright then, let’s get going.” I lead the group out the gates, and off to the left a little bit, where a Knight was standing, and screaming orders. “What can we do to help?” I asked him

The Knight, a Haxorus, looked down at me for a long moment, then at some of my people. He considered, before replying. “Well, if enough of you know how to use Dig, we need to make a whole bunch of tunnels in front of that siege engine, and then saturate the ground underneath it to bog it down. At least according to the engineers.” He looked at me critically. “Can you do that?” I looked over at what he was pointing at, and for an instant my heart stopped.

The siege engine he was pointing at would not doubt do untold damage if it reached the base. I nodded slightly. “We can do that.” The Haxorus nodded.

“I would get started then.” I nodded again. All around us soldiers were gathering. A large group was moving forwards, and among them I could see the Paladin. More soldiers were gathering just outside the gate. The Abyss however simply charged right at them, unconcerned about things like casualties.

“Circle of Seven, we need to stop that siege engine.” I shouted. “You all heard the Knight, so let’s get started!” Shouts of approval greeted my statement. I smiled grimly. We had a job to do, and it was something that would likely end up being rather important later on, meaning it had to be done right the first time. “Vaporeons, Hydro Pump the back side of that siege engine, and the ground around it, Jolteons, hit the thing with all manner of attacks, everyone else; we need to Dig tunnels underneath the front side to sink it. Any questions?”

“When do we start?” the question came from Abigale. I glared at her. Abigale giggled slightly. “Well you heard the Lady let’s get going!”

 

[synthetica]

OOC: You can use the Jade Alliance located in Talacola however you like.

Lisa the Roserade
The Jade Alliance, Thorn
Jadewater Forest, Hyand, Kokoro

Allyson decided they are at an adequate distance from the first barrier and gave the signal to stop. Lisa was glad they finally stopped running. She turned around to see how far they made it, to her surprise they were only about five hundred yards from the barricade. It felt like they were running for ages, that’s how tired she was. Making the barricade drained her more than she expected. And she wasn’t the only one, everyone was tired, some had trouble even standing on their feet. Judging by the looks of things, they had strength only for one more barrier, and even that could be a stretch.

Sadly, they had no time to rest. Sounds of a starting battle could be heard coming from behind the first wall. Lisa wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm. The proximity of the fire was making the air around them hotter, on top of that the grass Pokemon were starting to freak out because of it. Lisa looked up into the sky. She couldn’t be sure because of all the smoke, but the sky appeared to be clear.

What I wouldn’t give for a rainfall right now. But I’ve already taken too long; most of my comrades have already begun with the second barricade.

With that Lisa got to work as well. She knelt on one knee and put both bouquets on the ground. After concentrating hard, she could feel the energy flowing through the soil. By using her powers she directed that energy towards the surface and turned it into thick thorny vines the moment it surfaced. She could feel those vines were weaker and more fragile than the ones she created for the first barricade. On top of that they drained even more of her strength than the first ones.

We need help and fast. I just hope it comes in time.

 

[Charizardfan900]

jack Ciron the Charizard, Followers of Khashan, Blade

Junateur

Jack slowly crept along the streets of Junateur, looking for goods to steal.

He was hungry and still felt like an outsider in this city. He hadn't eaten in three days and wanted food. Then he saw it... a simple fruit stand, with an old looking Slaking shouting out.

"But fresh fruit, here and now." he said in a rough voice.

'Perfect' Jack thought as he crept closer and closer, being very silent for a charizard. He was about 10 feet away when three Zangoose came out of an alleyway, attacking the Slaking.

"Please no." he wailed. "I've fought the abyss! Give an injured soldier some rest!" He spun around, revealing awfully scareed arms and a missing right eye. Jack saw a look of Arnold, his old commander, in his eye. feeling guilt and anger, Jack threw himself at the Zangoose. he threw the first one against the wall. The other two leapt back, knives drawn.

"We're being invaded by demonic forces and you try to kill an old pokemon?" Jack asked as he drew his longsword, pressing a button allowing energy to flow through it. The Zangoose leapt, snarling. jack quickly deflected the attacks and disarmed his opponents in a quick flurry of moves. He headbutted one and it crumpled to the floor.

Jack turned to the last one. "Run before I run you through." He said. The last Zangoose ran. Jack helped the old Slaking to his feet. "You ok?"

" I'll live" The Slaking said. "But thank you. Here have some apples. They're fresh and delicious. Actually you know what, why don't I treat you to a drink. Come, lets go to the inn."

"Sure." jack said, smiling, hiding his guilt. A few months ago, he would of lef the Zangoose do their thing and take what they left. But the invasion of the Abyss changed all that. All he had time for was revenged. Jack longed to get out and fight again, but he knows he must bide his time unlike Mark, who ran straight off.

Mark... poor fool is probably dead now. The thought made Jack sad. His last true friends was now probably gone. Jack picked up the pace and asked the Slaking "Whats your name?"

"Johnny. I used to be a grunt in the followers of Khashan but my injuries made me come back here. Whats yours?"

"Jack. Jack Ciron"

OOC: I know this wasn't to interesting but it did this to show I'm here and ready. i also wante to get a feel of my character.

 

[GalactaKnightisawesome]

((@Cometstarlight OK then. ^^))

Melody the Jigglypuff
Liberty's Crusade, Knight
Bravo Station, Hyand, Kokoro

Melody grinned in excitment as she packed all the things she needed for her trip to Talacola. "Lets see..." she commented, rifling through the items in her pouch, "There's my weapon, some berries...and that's it?!" She looked through it again. Well, it seemed that she didn't need to pack any extra luggage for this particular mission, so she just brought along her measley possesions along with her. Nothing else. Well, she figured that they wouldn't need anything else other than...Melody facepalmed herself. How could she forget? She rushed back to her room and grabbed some bottles filled with liquid.

"That should be enough," she smiled smugly, "These definetely will come in handy." As she stuffed them into her bag, she glanced around her room to see if there was anything else of importance. Apparently not. Grabbing her pouch, she walked out of the door and into the hallway. She hefted her pouch over her shoulder (if Jigglypuffs even have one, anyways) and walked towards the main hall. By looking, Melody could tell that most of the volunteers hadn't arrived yet. She considered introducing herself to some of them, but noted that she was shaking with stress. Cut it out, she thought to herself. It's just your nerves again. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake off that feeling that made her feel like she was just an akward, annoying Jigglypuff trying to strike up a conversation with someone.

After a while, she finally found the courage to walk over to a Pokemon and talk to them. "Um...hi..." Melody muttered absentmindedly, "My name's Melody...Have I seen you around here before?" She looked closer at the Pokemon, and realized that it was a Floatzel. He didn't look to mean or anything, so she didn't...well, start acting like a brat. She kept on looking at him, then realized something. She HAD seen him somewhere before!

"Oh yeah," she blurted out, "Didn't I see you before, when I met Kyra...? You were with a Scyther, right?" Melody felt a little better and smiled a bit.

Electra the Ampharos
Followers of Khashan, Razor
Tanrock, Hyand, Kokoro

Electra quickly pushed the Plusle off and walked up the stairs as fast as she could. The inn wasn't too bad, really - a three story building that wasn't in that bad of a condition. She grasped the railing of the stairs (Electra didn't like heights, and yes, that included walking up stairs. Well, actually, walking down stairs made her feel even worse.). She took the three last steps and felt reliefed to be on solid ground again. Walking into a hallway, she kept on walking until she came to a door at the end. Grasping the doorknob, she shoved the door open.

When she walked into the room, Electra realized immediately that Plus had followed her (completely obvious because of the candy smell on her). "Spy!" Electra hissed as she pushed her off again, "What do you want now?"

Plus seemed to be enjoying the new found attention and grinned at her. "Meeting in ten minutes," She said, then skipping away.

 

[Avenger Angel]

Viha the Profane (Defiler Execadrill of Azen, the Onyx Murderer)
Emissary Warlord of Meiun, Fallen of Lugia
En Route to Tepa, Lasa, Kokoro

The death march toward Tepa had begun. Already, his scout, Xeven, had reported that Tepa's defenses were moderate, at best. There would be a fight, but the tactical assessment was in his favor. The town itself had been in the territory of the Followers of Khashan, the guild of legendary assassins, rogues, and pillagers. While skilled in covert operations, it was a question as to whether the guild cared enough about the town of Tepa to find it worthy enough to defend and risk considerable losses.

Viha was convinced they wouldn't.

The army of death continued their march across the land, every one of their steps spreading black pestilence across the land. Around them, the trees withered, the grass coiled and blackened, and the earth itself became blighted and toxic.

For miles, their dark war cry rung out in the forms of hideous, booming thunder. twenty-seven hundred pairs of feet marched toward Tepa, spreading their plague across the land.

Jukan the Carracosta, Lieutenant of Viha, conducted the infernal war cries, leading on their rolling thunder of horrid, twisted voices. Tepa would hear it from afar, he was certain.

Hear it from afar... and rightfully despair...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Armahdus Deathwing, Magnus of the Chaotic Holocaust
Fallen of Moltres
Jadewater Forest - Talacola Outskirts, Hyand, Kokoro

Armahdus and his cohorts were faced with a difficult decision. Destroying the barricade would allow his forces to attack Talacola as one brutal, cohesive unit, but it would take time to dismantle it to allow the ground units to pass without obstruction. The other option was to direct his fliers to soar over the barricade and attack the forces at Talacola, but his forces would be cut down in size by two-thirds if they left behind the ones that couldn't fly.

Meanwhile, around them, they burned whatever they could, shrouding their advance with black flames and fire that their opposition would be hard-pressed to see through to evaluate their current position. He could not let them know that they were being halted by the barricade.

The dark phoenix knew the barricade wasn't just there to delay the inevitable. It was to buy Talacola enough time to send reinforcements. A move that could potentially change the outcome of the conflict. However, confident, he saw no reason to even think about fearing what may become of it. In his dark eyes, they were simply sending more lambs to the slaughter.

He made his choice. He ordered his fliers to sail over the barricade itself, and assault the town like a swarm of unholy marauders despite the drop in forces. His dark lieutenant, Jav the "Bonechewer," spread his two draconic wings and ordered the flying contingent to strip the town of all life. The Chaotic Cohort Charizard, slathered with black pestilence, led the forces as the others attempted to break the defense of the barricade. Armahdus knew the defense on the other side could not reinforce the defensive wall if they were under constant assault from Jav and his battalion.

As the swarm flew over the barricade, flames of black and soul-devouring thunder were directed at the wall, shattering the rocks and briars that wrapped around the wall. They were cutting through, but it would still take time. Armahdus, however, watched with wicked admiration as Jav and his followers disregarded the barricade and began attacking the Talacola defense. Though the defense had used the land and environment to their advantage, it was a mere delay, to Armahdus.

It was only a mere, trivial matter, for they would simply just suffer more for their insolence...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kirvesta Shadowblade, Patriarch of the Screaming Damned
Fallen Nidokng - Fallen of the Dark General Tlak
Liberty Station, Karan, Kokoro

Kirvesta relished at the slaughter. The defense's sentry turrets and their heavy cannons blasted their massive salvo rounds at the incoming, undead horde, often shredding them into utter obliteration and causing their mangy, withered bodies to be thrown high into the air. He saw with his own eyes as a group of Wretched skeletal Pokémon were blown to bits as a shell burrowed through the front line and then exploded among the second and third, sending pieces of his armies among the others. Even one of his Scourge, an zombie Ursaring, had a massive shard of a Wretched's femur bone plunge into his skull. Still, even Kirvesta showed no sympathy, even as the rest of the horde continued and trampled the dead Ursarina's corpse underfoot.

"BRRAAAGGGHHH!!!" One of the Cohorts of Chaos screamed a feverish war cry, deranged with the anticipation of slaughter. "SWallOW tHE LighT fROm THeiR EyES! FoR ZaIaKU!!"

Meanwhile, the frontline was cut down like hay against the fury of the defense's heavy weaponry and their stalwart infantry. Kirvesta, it seemed, had not expected the Kokoro defense to be using once-human weaponry, and that ignorance had not served him and his forces well. A mortar round had exploded among the charging unit, sending bone and carcass pieces in all directions. Still, Kirvesta sneered. They were expendable slaves. After all, it wasn't much of a war if the defense didn't resist. There was not much glory in eviscerating the weak and cowardly. But this... yes, he wanted to see the Kokoro defense scramble to try and save their desperate, dying planet. He wanted to watch them squirm and try to fight. Let them cling onto that shred of hope... because it was so much more interesting when they tried to resist the dark influence...

...only to FAIL.

Meanwhile, the Death-Wretcher siege engine moved along like rolling thunder, rocking the ground under its massive, crushing weight. But then, something happened that Kirvesta did not anticipate. The ground under the massive machine gave way as the weight of the massive engine collapsed the tunnels that were dug out from underneath it. The spiked wheels soon plunged into the trench, forcing the massive engine to tilt forward and proceed no further. Two of the Mechanists that were sitting on the top even fell off from the sudden lurch, screaming on the way down before they plunged into the trampling horde of undead, who did not seem to notice them in their charge to assault the base.

Then, from behind his own unit, a group of Vaporeons attacked by striking the back of the siege engine with Hydro Pump attacks, heavily saturating the earth around it with water, quickly turning it into mud that caused the heavy engine to sink even further. Pulling the engine out of the trench, even for his heavy and strong fighting type Pokémon, would become impossible if the ground became too soft to do so. Meanwhile, a group of Jolteons attacked the Death-Wretcher itself by blasting it with Thunder attacks, often striking the undead Pokémon that were trying to wrestle the heavy machine out of the pit. A Cohort of Chaos Hariyama that was vital to pushing the siege engine was struck by a Thunderbolt's attack, paralyzing him to the ground. Others were also assaulted by the hidden attack, and Kirvesta could not afford, nor would tolerate, such an assault on his precious machine.

"KILL THEM!" Kirvesta ordered his rear unit.

Immediately, the rear guard turned and lunged at the Circle of Seven's contingent. Kirvesta knew he would make these maggots pay for spoiling his grand plan... make them pay with not only their lives, but their souls as well. His bitter scowl was a bit relieved when he saw one Vaporeon's head cleaved in two down the center as a Wretched Beartic's bone axe plunged into the infiltrator's skull. Meanwhile, a Jolteon had tried to fight back when a group of Scourge overwhelmed him and then pounced on his body, immediately using their fetid, jagged teeth to devour his vitals. The nightmare battle was half struggle, half feast for the Scourge, combining the horrors of their killing methods with their dark, insatiable appetites.

"SSSssSSLaUGHtER!!!" One of the Cohorts, a sickly black Scyther covered in unholy armor, cried in feverish cruelty.

All the while, more gunshots and laser blasts claimed more of the hopeless dead. However, his unholy swarm of dark warriors continued their mad dash toward the base, fully intent on ripping it apart with or without the siege engine's assistance. They drew closer, just itching for the breach. Just waiting for the main doors to be torn asunder, and for them to spill in like wildfire consuming the brush.

Meanwhile, Kirvesta searched for the defense's commanding officer, hoping to bring back their head as a gift to Zaiaku. Weapons in his hands, Underskull and Mindcrush, had not been saturated with the blood of the enemy as of yet, and for Kirvesta...

...that was simply unacceptable.

 

[Billy Mays]

OoC: I assume helicopters would be something that the Liberty's Crusade would have. If you aren't ok with that Avenger Angel, let me know.

Alec "Rush" Garadian the Floatzel
Liberty's Crusade, Knight
Bravo Station, Hyand, Kokoro

As Alec waited around for Max, the Jigglypuff from earlier came up to him. "Um...hi...My name's Melody...Have I seen you around here before?" Some Pokemon who weren't used to seeing other Pokemon wear armor that covered their whole body sometimes had trouble recognizing him when he wore the power armor, so Alec wasn't surprised.

"Oh yeah," she blurted out, "Didn't I see you before, when I met Kyra...? You were with a Scyther, right?" Ok, they didn't often mistake him for a Pokemon of a completele diffrent size and shape though.

"Do you know what a scythe looks like? I'll give you a hint: it doesn't look like this," Alec said as he held up one of his paws. Just then he looked behind her to see Max standing with the Pikachu from earlier.

What's he doing now... Alec walked up to Max, who at least was in his power armor so it meant that he was ready for battle. "What are you doing?"

Max scarched the back of his head (or rather, his helmet) with his scythe (or rather, the blade like armor covering his scythe), and said, "Well, uh...well she is from Talacola, and I didn't want her to not be able to go so..."

"Ok I get it. She can come." If she wanted to risk her life, she was welcome to. It wasn't Alec's job to make her decisions, although if Haraldin hadn't made him the leader of the battalion he would have probably not gone himself.

"Ahem..." Everyone looked up to Haraldin, who was clearing his throat so he could speak in his trademark loud but deep voice.

"Is everyone here?" Haraldin looked around to see if anyone was missing. "Ok, seems like everyone's here."

"Soldiers, as you know after the battle a week ago I gave the order to have some transport helicopters and pilots at the base, so we have an escape plan in the case that an Abyss army attacks with a force too large for us to handle. However, we can also use these helicopters to send you straight into the battle. We already have some choppers prepped and ready to go on the helipad. Are you all ready?"

"YEAH!" several of the troops shouted in excitment, ready for some action.

"Good! Then get going!"

All the soldiers shuffled out the door and towards the helipad. They'd all been given numbers that corresponded to what helicopter and what seat in the helicopter they were supposed to be in. Alec, being the Commander, got the first seat on the first helicopter. From what he could see since Max and the Jigglypuff were both Knights they got a spot in the first helicopter too. There happened to be a spare seat left, and after Max talked to the pilot he let the Pikachu take the last seat, despite the fact that to Alec's knowledge there weren't any Initiates in the battalion besides her.

To Alec's surprise, the person who sat next to him was the Prinplup at the front desk. "Why are you here? aren't you on desk duty?"

The Prinplup, who was giving an odd stare at the Pikachu, looked to Alec. "Was, but I got someone to cover for me. After a week of doing nothing but manning that desk I needed to do something besides hand sign up papers to Initiates and take calls." Alec didn't really see a problem with that. Once again, if he wanted to risk his life, he could. The Prinplup sure looked diffrent though, wearing some light armor (but not power armor that completely covered him) and blades attached to his fins. Alec just hoped that Talacola wasn't doomed from the start, and that the battalion was going into a battle was impossible to win from the beginning...

OoC: I also figure it's ok to have everyone get on the same helicopter. Just felt the need to hurry up and get going out of Bravo Station so the battalion can arrive at Talacola in time to help.

 

[GalactaKnightisawesome]

Melody the Jigglypuff
Liberty's Crusade, Knight
Bravo Station, Hyand, Kokoro

Melody blinked as she squirmed around in her seat and saw Kyra. "Hey," she called out, "Whatcha doing here?" She grinned, feeling slightly better having someone she actually knew (sort of) around, anyways. Glancing around some more, she decided that maybe she should've taken her motion sickness pills along...but never mind that. Squirming around some more, she spotted the Prinplup from the front desk, the Floatzel, the Scyther and Kyra. That was about it for the people she actually knew in the slightest. Grabbing her pouch, she started to look through it again, just out of nervousness.

"Packed the berries," Melody said absentmindedly to herself, "Got the weapon, the medicine...darn it." Unfortunately, she didn't pack her motion sickness pills (which would've helped a lot). So, she probably had to just feel sick and vomit for the whole trip. At that thought, she started feeling nervous again. Ok, she thought to herself, Try not to barf, unless you absolutely can't hold it...and that is, I'd better find a bag now. Melody looked around for motion sickness bags, and found a few. That was probably enough to last the whole trip, so she started feeling better.

She wished she had brought along a book, too - she was going to get awfully bored without one. "Stupid...could've brought a book..." Melody noticed that she was starting to fall asleep - was that a good sign or a bad one? But before she even had a second chance to think about it, she had fallen asleep.

((I'll post Electra's later...And I apologize for the short post. I'll definetely make a longer one next time.))

 

[Cometstarlight]

Kyra Sol the Pikachu
Liberty's Crusade, Initiate
In route to Talacola, Hyand, Kokoro

It wasn't long before Kyra found herself on a helicopter heading back to her native town. The irony. She had traveled all the way from Talacola, only stopping in Aramas to make sure her family was getting settled in with the new changes, only to come back to the place she and her family had left.

Thoughts of her father welled up in her mind, but she quickly pushed them away. She would see him again...one day, hopefully not today.
She looked out the side of the flying device and saw that something was alit on the ground.
That's strange, she thought, Usually the Jade Alliance doesn't have that many candles out to light their way. Her mind stopped dead in its tracks when she realized they weren't vigils or candle lights, it was fire. Fire, like the fire, the kind that the Abyss has likely set.

"That's the Jadewater Forest!" Kyra said aghast.

"Yeah, and it's not looking good." A voice beside her almost made her jump until she realized it was Max.

"I'll take your word for that one, the Jade Alliance must be having a time and a half trying to put that stuff out." She grimaced.

"Well, that's what part of them are doing." He tilted his head. "Did you catch what Haraldin said earlier in the meeting?"

Kyra remained still for a moment before slowly shaking her head in embarassment.

"Well, you live and you learn, right?" He sat up a bit more. "Our mission isn't to help out with the forest, at least not yet. Right now we are to head to Talacola and aid the resistance. Once we get rid of them, we set sights on fixing that forest, got it?"

"Got it." Kyra nodded and it was only then that she realized just who else was on the flight. Yes, there was Alec, who had somehow allowed Kyra to go on the trip and for that she was very grateful. There was Melody who, poor thing, seemed to be getting air sick of all things, there was Max obviously and the pilot, but the one she had failed to notice before was...that Prinplup from the front desk.
"Oh, Trubbish," she shot under breath.
He gave her a nasty glare as if he had heard what she had said, but she knew he didn't. Why was he even here? Oh, Trubbish!

She tried to avoid letting their gazes meet, but she could tell that he was in some pretty cool armor, not as cool as Max's or Alec's; even Melody had some sort of armor on her, but the penguin's armor consisted of wing blades and just a few other things for defensive maneuvers.

"You gonna be ok?" Max's voice helped keep her mind off of the Prinplup's malicious glare.

"What do you mean?" Kyra's voice lifted over the engine.

"I mean, you don't have any armor." Max lifted a scythe over her.

She looked over herself and thought the same thing. I don't have any armor. Her cloak flapped erratically in the wind that flew through the chopper. But I do have my cloak!

"My cloak is fire proof, so at least I have that, right?" She winked. "That and my cuffs should be able to provide shields and give me ways to fight, so I think I'll be ok, but just in case-

"Don't do anything stupid."

The seriousness in Max's voice caught her off guard. He wasn't saying in maliciously, he was being serious. Don't do anything stupid or that could lead to some serious "hazardous to your health."

 

[synthetica]

OOC: Sorry for the short post, I had a bit of a block.

Lisa the Roserade
The Jade Alliance, Thorn
Jadewater Forest, Hyand, Kokoro

I can’t do it anymore, I need a break. The adrenaline rush is wearing off and the lack of sleep is taking its toll. To make things even worse, each vine I create drains more of my energy than the previous one. She was shivering with exhaustion, feeling dizzy and soaked with sweat. She wasn’t the only one; everyone was breathing heavily and moving slowly. The pace of creating the barrier had dropped significantly, hopefully it would be built before the first one falls.

Lisa sat down on a rock just off the path. Based on what she could hear, the majority of the Abyss army had already reached the first barricade and was attacking it furiously. Ace Crasher and his flock will soon have to let the enemy destroy it, otherwise they will get overrun. She looked the other way, towards Talacola, to see if anyone’s coming to help them. She couldn’t see any sign of movement, except the swaying of the trees. She was already pretty impatient. What’s taking so long, don’t they know we can’t hold them back forever?

Lisa sighed and slowly got back up; she had already lost too much time. As she was returning to her working position a group of shadows flew across the first wall and above them. Lisa could just about make out a shape of a Charizard leading the flock, before they turned the sky completely black. It was clear they were heading for Talacola. This unpredicted aerial assault could change the flow and the outcome of this battle.

With it we also lose the place to retreat when the barriers are demolished. We’ll be at the mercy of our enemies and judging by the way they took down the town of Misha, they don’t know the meaning o the word.