pkmn яevolution • • a dystopian adventure (accepting)

Who do you side with?

V	23.8%	[ 5 ]
The Evolution	14.3%	[ 3 ]
Neutral	4.8%	[ 1 ]
I prefer to stick my head in the sand and pretend I'm an ostrich.	57.1%	[ 12 ]
Total Votes:			[ 21 ]

[ToastyTau]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxA U D E N • • •
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t h e . a r c h i t e c t • • •

████▐▌▐▐ Auden's Mood Playlist • Fascination ▐▐▐▌████


"No response from Ms. Jones, sir. Shall I try again?"

But Auden wasn't listening. His legs were racing almost as fast as his mind.

---

He'd trailed him once before.

Years ago, at a conference for pokémon professors from all regions the world over. The brightest on the planet all in one room: nothing but waves washing against Auden as he swam upstream through the crowd, trying to make his way to Dietrich at a cocktail reception before the close of the conference.

Something about his presentation just...spoke to Auden. Untapped potential in humans, unlockable through gene sequences found in pokémon DNA? Now that was the future. Auden felt his inventor's cogs turning in his brain. And his...stomach? What was this churning sensation as Auden approached him? He gave it no mind. He shoved past the common rabble and made his way into Dietrich's circle. Of course it was a circle of buffoons. People who believed themselves revolutionaries in their own right, but desperate to rub shoulders with the clearly superior mind in their midst. Each of them spoke turn by turn on the merits of Dietrich's presentation, making sure to oh-so-subtly slip in a citation or two from his own published works to demonstrate they'd read them.

Auden had to get his attention and he wasn't going to do it by shamelessly fawning. But what to do...

Oh! How unfortunate! Auden's drink had just caaaaasually slipped from his hand! Darn this limp wrist of his. And how much worse that it had spilled all over Dietrich's suit!

"Sir! I am so, so, sorry! Oh no, your suit looks ruined! Worry not, I've got just the thing. I made a pen that administers a highly acidic Jellicent compound that'll strip the stain right off. I think I left it in my jacket...come, let's get grab it at coat check and get you all cleaned up." And with a friendly but firm hand on Dietrich's back Auden had whisked him away.


"I'm Auden, by the way. What's your name?"


--

Auden remembered that even back then, he could feel the chilliest air about the man he admired so much. How early had his self-experimentation begun? Even Auden didn't know.

"Apologies, sir; I'm not detecting any trace of his chill signature anymore."

Auden slowed his pace, gasping the cool air. It was dark, he was tired, and Dietrich was gone. He bent over in a deep stretch, touching his toes, then standing tall, chest still heaving. Decora patiently sat beside him, not appearing even remotely exhausted. Auden smiled and put a hand on Decora's head. "Oh, my friend....is it...that obvious...that endurance running...isn't my...thing...?" he panted.

He loved whenever he got the chance to take Decora out on missions. As an Evo he had no pokemon of his own. While he was certainly a powerful force to be reckoned with in his own right, with Decora at his side, they were a near unstoppable duo. Once, the two of them had single-handedly defended Vermillion City from an Evolution incursion for a whole day and a half until reinforcements arrived. Striking fear into the enemy when outnumbered 60 to 2 was immensely satisfying.

Adi was truly lucky. Of course, Decora was lucky to have her, too. Adore her as he did, Auden would be too scatterbrained to care for another living thing. He barely took care of himself.

His brow furrowed. They'd won the city, but lost Kanto, ultimately. He had to get his home back. Sooner rather than later. He hadn't seen the Floe Islands in so long. He'd have to take Dietrich. He'd love it there. And Icefall Cave! All the ice his frozen heart could desire.

"Let's get back." Making sure to keep a hand on Decora as he initiated a Teleport, Auden focused his mind on Adi's location. When they arrived, he gently patted Decora back toward her owner. "Nothing, absolutely nothing." he reported. Auden's usually bubbly voice had darkened into a flat and hollow sound.

He took in the sight around him. The crowd had gotten bigger. He didn't greet any of them, instead focusing on still catching his breath.

There was Lark, a lovely and lively girl, bless her heart. Boss had arrived, looking harried as ever. The Mayor, whom frankly Auden could not care less about. Kai, whom he was deeply fond of, and considered an equal. Wylde, a more distant teammate for whom he'd agreed to help Adi develop a non-toxic cigarette to battle his nicotine addiction. Naomi...he definitely remembered her from his days back at Dietrich's headquarters...what was she doing here, again? Then again, he could ask himself the same thing. Aaaaand...a naked man lobbing fruit. Also a familiar face! Hadn't he seen him back in the lab before?

He sighed. "Why do I always feel like everyone's hanging out without me?" He shrugged with a forlorn grimace, waiting for a sit-rep.

◄█████████████████████████████████████████

[Golden Eyed Saru]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxKamiinarix♛ 》 ⇣*KAI » ⋮ █ [LASKYN
xxxxxxxxxxxxxKamiinarixRUN BOY, BE A MAN! WITH LEGS TOO WEAK TO MAKE A STAND, WE'RE ALL CRUCIFIED IN THE END. RUN BOY, BE A MAN! WITH LEGS TOO WEAK TO MAKE A STAND, WE'RE ALL CRUCIFIED IN THE END
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXKamiinarixJUMP INTO THE SUN, DEAR BOY WHAT ARE YOU RUNNING FROM? THE ANSWER YOU WILL FIND IN YOUR GRAVE. JUMP INTO THE SUN, DEAR BOY WHAT ARE YOU RUNNING FROM?

xxxxxxxKai could already feel the lack of sleep setting in. With each passing minute he could feel his body’s need for sleep slowly grow until he felt heavy. At least by now, with the amount of time that he had been standing there, he had had the chance to allow his temper to cool down. The rage that once had boiled his blood was now something that only left him sighing as he came to terms with what had happened. He knew he should be keeping his guard up, as whoever had orchestrated the towers destruction still may be around, but his mind began wandering, contemplating the multiple different reasons and paths that their enemy would have taken to pull this off. A lot made sense, at least from what he could rationalize, but it didn’t necessarily mean that it was the same way that the Evolution was going about this. One thing was for certain: this was not just about striking fear or doubt into the people of this city and those surrounding it, this was about something much larger. Was this the distraction, their main goal elsewhere? There were too many possibilities and not enough information. Unless….

Yami suddenly jumped from the shadows and brushed up against the man’s leg, pulling Kai from his thoughts. “Mr. Mayor,” he said politely as he turned to meet the old man. Placing a reassuring hand on his Pokemon’s head as the yellow markings began to shimmer under the moonlight’s presence, he looked down at the companion with soft eyes to let her know that everything was alright. “I admit I wasn’t expecting you until morning.” The man only acknowledged the statement with a grunt as he came to stand in front of the pair, looking rather displeased. “But I’m glad to see that you are addressing this as seriously as it should be, now that the Evolution has shown their true face,” he continued slowly, cautious of his wording. It was closest he was ever going to get to ‘I told you so’ without seeming like a child in front of the most powerful figure of his home town. Kai was fully aware he would have to be careful of how he spoke for the next little while, knowing that the mayor was probably not too fond of him right at the moment. The trainer had warned the old man that something like this would happen, that the Evolution was not going to stop at petty tricks. What probably hurt the mayor the most was the fact that Kai had been so dead on when he had warned the government not a month back that the bell tower, along with a few other highly held monuments, would be the next targets.

“I cannot stand by and watch these terrorists destroy my city,” the mayor said calmly as he adjusted the collar of his kimono. “Nor can I,” the raven-haired man replied in a stern agreement. Yami shifted under the hand on her head, drawing crystal blue eyes to suddenly turn their attention on Adeline as she made her way towards them. He gave her a quick smile when she winked before turning his attention back to his prior company. "Sir, we are both on the same page, yourself and V. I would hope that you will at least speak with Clarissa once she arrives to see if there's anything further that can be done to assist you and this town as well as any others that should need it." Hesitant for a moment the old man looked between the doctor and the mechanic and sighed with a nod. "Thank you." Kai necessarily didn't want to thank the man, considering this probably could have been prevented had he listened to them before hand, but he was the political figure, and politics demanded that he be civil.

Once the mayor realized that the man was not there to point fingers or pin the blame on anyone else but Evolution, he relaxed slightly and started discussing what it was they had to do next. Even Kai’s tension eased as he was finally able to share his thoughts and suspicions, though he kept a lot of his theories to himself for now considering he had no evidence to support any of them. They discussed the option of rebuilding the tower over time, an option the certainly had its pros and cons. The man was in mid sentence when Yami tugged at his sleeve. Craning his neck, Kai sighed as he caught sight of the blonde riding atop her Arcanine. Figures it wouldn't take the boss lady long to get here with her Pokemon. "Ah, there she is. You'll have to excuse me Sir, it seems I have others that need my attention as well." He didn't necessarily want to deal with all right now. In fact he really want to lie down in his comfy, warm bed and go to sleep and hopefully not dream. But he still had his obligation, and he was sure Adeline would not be too pleased were he to run from it.

Summoning his friendliest smile, Kai moved aside as the boss rushed in on Adeline. There was no need for pleasantries at the moment. He could sense that a lot of them were growing restless and wanted to reassure that their time and efforts were not going to be wasted. "I understand this is something that everyone is on edge about. And I assure you all that we will address your concerns in a timely manner. But we just suffered a great loss and its not going to be easy to pick up all the pieces that easily," the man said calmly as his Umbreon's marking began to shimmer again. "All I ask is for a little more time to allow for us all to be on the same page and then we will gladly answer your questions." A few of the reporters nodded while the others looked overly disappointed or frustrated. The man was in no mood to try and make everyone happy at the moment, he ultimate goal was simply to buy Clarissa enough time to get herself together.

“Auden, it is good of you to finally join us. Your company is more than welcome,” Kai said lightly as the man approached. He was interesting, for lack of a better word, and he wasn’t too sure on how he felt towards the evo. On one hand he truly did admire the guy simply because they were able to stand on par with a lot of things. But mechanics of sorts, and both extremely calculative. However, on the other hand, he wasn't certain about the charisma that the man gave off. It was something that Kai could never agree with. But at the moment the man wasn't his main concern. Kai was still in his political mode, and he was not quite satisfied with only having the mayor and media on his side. There was still one last force to recruit. Coming to stand in front of Lark, he extended a hand with a warm smile. "Ms. Lind, I would like to hope that we have the cooperation of the police force in catching these terrorists?"

[anxiousteacupxo]

Clarissa Jonesxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
⊰⊰THE BOSS⊱⊱

It was like a switch that triggered the moment Clarissa let her eyes linger on the people she trusted. Though she felt the sorrow build inside of her chest, she used it to help her team and show that the V would NOT be pushed around.

A quick nod was given to Adeline, a nod that expressed they would deal with the count later- when they were alone and Clarissa didn't need to keep herself together. It wasn't that her emotions made her a bad boss... In fact she had tactics and hope beyond most, but like anyone in the world, she needed someone to lean on now and then.

"Adeline..." She greeted the woman first, keeping close to Fang while he enjoyed a soft pet from Adi. A low disappointed growl was given at the mention of Decora not being there. "Goldenrod's mayor is scared and flustered with the reporters. While I understand people are trying to help, the ambush of the media needs to be turned around and used to our advantage. They're scared to fight against the evolution." Her voice was low as she whispered to Adi. "We need to move fast."

Boots whisked her away towards Kai and the rest of the reporters, stopping in front of Auden first.

"Something is wrong with my communicator." She held out the device towards him. "I'm unable to answer calls..." She was a little sheepish in that statement, knowing well he tried to get ahold of her. Clary wasn't about to admit she threw it in a small fit of rage at the reluctance of Goldenrod's mayor. "Think you can fix it?" It was a stupid question, really. Clarissa took pride in Auden's work. She knew she needed him in order to keep the whole V updated with current events. Without him, communication would have been harder.

After handing him the device, Clarissa continued on towards Lark.

"Officer Lark, I'm glad you're here." Her team was one thing, but the public eye would NEVER see any form of weakness from the boss. She used her emotions to drive hope into others. "People need to be aware of what's going on, but we shouldn't let others get near the Bell Tower. It could still be dangerous. If you could enforce the other officers to try to keep the media away from there and get others back safely to their homes that would be wonderful."

And she continued right on towards Kai. Though Clarissa wasn't exactly on super close terms with all of her team, she did show everyone respect. Kai was one of those high ranking who she silently thanked more than he or anyone else would know. He was willing to jump in and speak any sign Clarissa seemed hesitant. It wasn't often the boss liked to speak in front of reporters. In fact, she loathed it. Too many people watching her on screen made her a target for the enemy. Kai was like her voice, and though she wasn't sure if he agreed with everything she said; he said it anyways.

A gentle nod was given while she let him speak to Lark and she tackled the mayor.

"Do you know why they're doing this!? What is the meaning of this miss Jones." The mayor was scared, like her.

"Do you honestly need a reason, Mr. Mayor?" A blonde brow arched, keeping that emotion inside of her in check. "They are making a name for themselves. The Evolution isn't going to stop with what they have, anyone who thought otherwise is foolish." She had no fear in speaking the truth. The V had always knew that the Evolution would try to take over everything. They couldn't afford people not listening to them now. "I'm sorry that they chose to strike here, but we cannot sit here and think about why. There is no time for that."

Fang gave a soft growl in agreement, pulling the Mayor's attention towards him for a moment. There was a sparkle to the Arcanine that made him stand out to his brother and sisters. His coat a bright yellow that almost matched Yami's patches of fur.

"We have to bring all the mayors together. Set up barriers and extra security." She lowered her voice, wanting to make sure that none of the reporters had heard her. "I cannot promise you this will make them go again... The evolution hasn't just given a warning; this is war. But I can promise that if everyone joins with the V, we can stand a chance against them." She pulled away, brushing a few loose strands from her face.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have others to see." She turned her back on the mayor, giving him a choice. It was the best she could do. "Your support should go to officer Lark and the rest of the force. They are a good place to start." Not even looking back at him while she walked back to the rest of her team.

"Who is this?" She spoke of the one lacking in clothes. "Someone from the attack?" Empathy already welling up inside of her for him. Her eyes danced around at the crew- ones she trusted with her life and the ones who were trying to prove their worth to the V.


FANG |♂|



OOC; Okay -this- time I think I got everyone. If I made a mistake, let me know.

[smutty cannibal prince]

::Raiden -- Predator::

The dark haired male trampled the flowerbed to the side of a house. Inside the residents were likely still asleep. His heels dug into the dirt alternatively with his toes. Sour that he was stuck in this flowerbed instead of able to go see all the fun. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t. The opinion had been whined several times this far too early morning and again it had escaped the lips of the male.

“You aren’t really stuck there,” His friend said to him tapping his toes energetically on the ground just outside the short fence of the flower bed, “We could go have fun. There so much to this place.”

For a brief minute the male had thought his friend right and sought to venture out to the rest of the playground. It be joyous for certain. A first step, a second, and third. But as he got further and further from the flowerbed the security left and a strange feeling began to fill him. A feeling he did not like at all and he found himself tripping over his own feet to turn and return to the flowerbed.

”RayRay can’t. RayRay doesn’t really wanna anyway.” Again a whine as he stamped his foot into the ground. He did though. He did. To leave the dim light emitting from the window facing the flowerbed. A child afraid of the monsters that lurked in the dark slept just beyond the glass. The stars and moon above failed to produce enough light in comparison. Though, it was enough to cast a dim enough light for him to see the shaking head of his friend.

An argument that the two would be continue in for several more minutes. It was an endless wait made shorter by the little bickering they initiated in. Though, it was likely that the squeal of delight that escaped his lips was loud enough to wake the sleeping child inside as he heard the first explosion. The fun had finally began! The fireworks display was lacking though. Not pretty or anything at this distance. A bit of a disappointment that he expressed.

Within a short time the city was alive and awake and buzzing with life as people began to realize – or rather – begin to piece together what had happened. He didn’t care though. Somewhere and sometime he might have been informed of what had happened. A meeting or something perhaps? He wasn’t sure but he didn’t care either. It had been done. There had been an explosion and lights were being flipped on everywhere. As quick as they could. From the fear and uncertainty that filled people awoken from their slumber.

Thrilled, he could not wait to go play with everyone but first he thought it appropriate to thank the little child that had slept with the light on. Tap. Tap. Tap. Against the window. A quick smile and wave of thanks. Just in time for the child, whom he found to be a little girl’s, parent to come in and flip the main light on. He frowned as he heard the adult yelling at him, ”That isn’t very nice. RayRay didn’t do anything but try to be polite.”

He stuck his tongue out before bounding away towards the rest of the brightening city. Play time had finally come.

A flash of lightning here and some electricity there. As people that weren’t too scared or were required to rush to the streets did the predator of the Evolution finally had playmates. Something he relished. His friend seemed to be enjoying himself as well. “That one looks like it wants to play,” The friend would say and Raiden would initiate the game with a bit of a zap.

A giggle escaped his lips as he put his hands on the shoulder of one dainty female and used it to push himself up and over as he leaped from the ground. Landing on his toes, he spun to face the female nearly tripping in the process. ”C’mon play with RayRay,” he said. The horrified look on her face was enough to tell that she wanted anything but to play with him. ”Jus’a little game of tag!”

Before he could convince her to play he was forced to stumble forward into her by a force at the back of his head. A heavy, blunt object. Though the news that the gruff voice that reached his ears made up for the intensified pounding in his head, “Play with someone your own size you bully!”

While Raiden untangled himself from the woman and turned to the male, his friend delighted in the fact that this husky male wanted to play almost as much as Raiden did himself.

”RayRay’s not a bully. RayRay just wants to play with someone.” Through all of his potential attempt to make those words sound needy or offended it was impossible to mask the giddiness in his voice.

The other male took another swing at Raiden with the bat that he was holding. It missed as Raiden spun on his toes around the man and push his back. The bulkier male stumbled forward but more quickly than Raiden had expected recovered and swung back. It seemed like one foul swift motion. It clocked Raiden in the gut and knocked the wind out of him.

“Careful,” his friend warned though Raiden just shook his head at it.

They played like this for a few more exchanges. The other male stating his determination and will to defeat the bully – the evil! As the defender of the weak and self-proclaimed hero he would be victorious. Simple. But a bit of fun. Though not a very good toy as Raiden quickly found out upon breaking it. Another being had caught the attention of the predator.

A real hero among the trivial wannabes!

Raiden knew it to be true. He’d seen the feats of the male on television so long ago. Always coming out on top. Trampling the opposition. Raiden couldn’t help but allow the grin to cross his face. He was really going to meet his hero~

No.

He wasn’t going to just get to meet him but he was going to get to play with him too. Such a delightful thought! He jumped up and down on his toes clapping briefly. An action that confused the male that had wanted to play. Though now Raiden was not pleased with the pitiful efforts of this mere mortal in the face of such greatness. How could he be? It was impossible. Equally impossible was his efforts to contain his excited squeals. With a certain quickness he finished the game with the person he was playing with, after all it was bad manners to just leave a game without concluding it.

With a new found excitement and approval from his friend he rushed to the red haired male and jumped on his back. Excited that he was finally so close to such greatness. There was simply no containing his enthusiastic excitement.

”Alastor will play with RayRay right?! Yes! Yes of course he will! RayRay and Alastor will play good guys and bad guys!”

-----------
outofcontrol :: a pretty format is probably potentially coming. for now have a wall of text loves.

[embrace the grind]

➘RINGING IN MY HEAD ▰▰ WHEN YOU BROKE MY CHEST♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ ➘COLLECTING NAMES OF ▰▰ THE LOVERS THAT WENT WRONG
➘RINGING IN MY HEAD ▰▰ WHEN YOU BROKE MY CHEST♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ ➘COLLECTING NAMES OF ▰▰ THE LOVERS THAT WENT WRONG
➘RINGING IN MY HEAD ▰▰ WHEN YOU BROKE MY CHEST♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ ➘COLLECTING NAMES OF ▰▰ THE LOVERS THAT WENT WRONG

AND IF YOU'RE STILL BLEEDING, YOU'RE THE LUCKY ONES ✘ )
you are the lucky ones⇡ 'CAUSE MOST OF OUR FEELINGS THEY ARE DEAD & THEY ARE GONE

NADIA'S HP : 100% ↷ NADIA'S STATUS : healthy
MOROS' HP : 100% ↷ MOROS' STATUS : healthy

The Bell Tower became so big that it popped and covered Ecruteak City in smoke, in ash, in blood. And then came the reporters-- the reinforcements. Mewling police officers and revolutionaries, children who did not know the first thing about sacrifice, crawled into the city like Durant. Insects. Easy to crush. But there were just so many of them, and they were resilient also. They returned, day after day, week after week, month after month. An illness that would not die.

It was admirable.

Nadia pulled down the hood of the sweatshirt as she scanned the crowd inside of the Pokemon Center. Nurses bustled, civilians gawped, doctors shouted, Pokemon cried, children mumbled. In a tragedy, the people always gravitated toward public facilities. Perhaps they subconsciously sought reassurance from their shattered governments.

A nurse with flyaway hair hastened past her, stopped, turned around, and hurried back. "I'm sorry, miss! I didn't see you-- do you need help-- are you injured?"

"I'm fine." Nadia nodded at a bloody man huddled in the corner. "That guy could use your help."

The nurse smiled at her, then left to help the man. Nadia gave the PokeCenter one last look and exited. As the doors hissed shut behind her, she slipped her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. She had already visited the site of the wreckage, had already paid her respects, her moment of silence to the victims of the blast.

She padded past a group of people surrounded by camerapeople and reporters. Through the gaps, Nadia glimpsed the mayor, V's spokesman, a police officer, a red-haired man, a wheelchair-bound woman, V's architect, Clarissa...

Hm.

She could execute her right here. In front of all the cameras. But she had not brought her gun.

Moreover, a martyred enemy would be awful for publicity, and a dead enforcer-- the officers would pump her full of lead two seconds later-- would be useless. Ranigan wouldn't be very happy. Nor would Dietrich. Nadia pulled her hood low over her eyes as she continued to walk. Her PokeNav buzzed, and she ducked into the shadow of the treeline to check it.


REG-A13: sry for delay. ran into V reinf. 14 V CAS: 14 dead. 2 CAS: 1 inj, 1 dead here.


Another buzz.


REG-A13: grnd+air teams in pstn @ rt 37. awaiting sign. ovr.


She smiled as she texted Ranigan.


Everyone's ready. Now would be nice.

AND IF YOU'RE IN LOVE, THEN YOU ARE THE LUCKY ONE ✘ )
you are the lucky ones⇡ 'CAUSE MOST OF US ARE BITTER OVER SOMEONE

[Luxim]

♬ ♫ ♩ ♪


▀▀▀▀▀xxxＨＥＲＥ Ｉ ＡＭ xxx▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀


ＲＯＣＫ ＹＯＵ ＬＩＫＥ Ａ Ｈ Ｕ Ｒ Ｒ Ｉ Ｃ Ａ Ｎ Ｅ



more days to comexxxxnew places to goxxxxi've got to leavexxxxit's time for a show
more days to comexxxxnew places to goxxxxi've got to leavexxxxit's time for a show

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx♬ ♫ ♩ ♪

Damn, but was Adeline faster than he always expected her to be. He had barely even recognized her presence there before she said her piece, handed him a thing and was gone. Something something blah blah chicken wings. The good ol' doc was trying to get him to stop smoking like a man who didn't give half a s**t about his lungs (even though lungs happened to be a very good thing to give a s**t about, because if you can't breathe then you certainly can't ******** smoke can you). She and Auden had given him a nifty little invention called something that he liked to refer to as an "e-peen", even though he knew that wasn't the technical term. (There was something excessively amusing about telling people he was smoking from his peen.) Wylde, being a classic cig kinda dude, didn't like the damned pen at first. It didn't taste the same; in fact, it didn't taste like anything, and his addiction to nicotine was so severe by this point in his life that he'd consumed the whole damn thing of oil in a day. So back to cigarettes he went, then to the e-peen, then cigs, then e-peen.

For now, he pocketed what she handed over to him and waved over at her as she left. Things were hectic enough as it was here; she was busy, and if she wanted a verbal thanks he'd give her one later.

Besides, he had more important things to worry about, thusly the naked a*****e sitting up in the tree like a goddamned crazy a** featherless and ugly as sin bird-monkey-human hybrid.

Thunk.

Something hard struck him, hard, in the center of the forehead, despite a nearby woman's cries to watch out for that exact thing.

Wylde looked down at the offending object that had rolled to a halt at his feet. An... acorn. A ******** acorn. He picked it up, clenched it between his fingers with an otherwise passive sort of fury that threatened to bubble and boil and explode at any given moment.

"You wily little s**t," he growled through clenched teeth, smiling in that sort of way he did when he was planning on pulling someone's spleen out through their nose. That "I am SO going to murder you right now" sort of creepy horror movie smile, like that one guy in that one movie that busted through a door and said "HERE'S JOHNNY BITCHES", without the bitches. "Hey." s**t. What the hell was this girl's name? He didn't even recognize her, really; must be a super new recruit. "I'm bringin' that whole tree down, so you might wanna stand somewhere that's not right there."

Wylde rolled his right shoulder, then the left, and stepped forward to hit the tree with the furious force of not-quite-a-train-but-maybe-a-semi-truck-instead. The tree shook, but didn't give. Leaves fell down in dizzy flurries. He looked up. No dice. So he kept hitting the tree, again and again, until he'd made enough of a dent in the trunk to be able to hit it in the juicy inner bits (with an exuberant and angry yell, naturally). The poor, innocent tree wiggled and wobbled and creaked in protest. One last kick and it began the shaky descent to the ground. During this time, Wylde grabbed on to a low branch and scurried up as it went down, balancing himself like some sort of tree surfer as it fell with a great cracking and rustling and thumping.

"All right, you nudie son of a b***h, gonna teach you to throw acorns at people what aren't ********' Chip and Dale Rescue ********' Rangers."

He didn't get to finish his search, nor enact fiery vengeance on their new squirrely friend. Something jumped on him from behind, forcing him to lose his footing and fall over. Damn near broke his face on the tree's busted trunk on the way down, but thankfully landed in a heap of broken branches and slightly wet leaves.

Play? RayRay? Alastor? There was a name he hadn't heard for a while... that show's finale had aired long ago, and they weren't coming back for a second season what with the world going to s**t and all. That'd been his first ever role as a villain, some a*****e named Alastor. The end of the first and only season ended with the lead female dying during a fight with Yours Truly, against the better judgment of the character's brother. The details were sketchy, but he recalled it being a grim show about death and destruction and demons and the end of the world. Didn't seem so far-fetched now, what with the Evolution apparently being led by something of a demon itself.

Wylde spat out leaves, and a small plume of flame with it. Well, the guy said he just wanted to play with "Alastor", right? What the hell would Alastor say at a time like this? Oh, right. "So. You want to play." Was he getting the voice right? He remembered the voice being hell on his throat the first few times; they wanted it to be gruffer than Wylde's voice naturally was, and without a lot of vocal inflection. Neutral, they'd said, and unamused. Hard to act unamused when literally anything could make you break out in a fit of raucous laughter. "... s**t, I just can't keep that up, man. Makes me feel like a ********' cornball. Cornbread. Ball a' cornbread." He patted at the flames that threatened to flare up. The fire wasn't the immediate threat, however; rather, his temper was just about at the danger point, and where there was his temper there was an excess of fire. Right now he didn't think that it'd be a good idea to set the trees on fire. They had enough of a mess to clean up right now.

Over his shoulder, he scrabbled and grabbed at whomever happened to be sitting on top of him right now until he gripped something that felt like an arm, if he had to fathom a guess. He'd already tried pushing himself up, but his left leg wouldn't move. After wiggling it around some more, he discovered that it was probably caught in between some branches or something. Damn. Stuck real good.

"Yeah, okay, I'll play. But you gotta get off first; I ain't too good at wrestlin'. Always cheat." He pushed the dude over a little to get a clear shot at the branches his foot was tangled in. With a short prayer to Jesus that he wouldn't miss, he took as deep a breath as his lungs would allow and blew out an impressive jet of flame in the hopes that it'd char the branches enough to make a nice bit of charcoal he could break through. As the fire ate away at the tree, he made attempts to get the guy off of him one more time. "So lemme guess: I'm the bad guy, yeah?"

Where was that girl? Would she help him if he asked? Didn't quite know why, but he was getting a reaaal bad feeling about this RayRay fella. Ruh-roh.

_______________________________________________________________________________

[Chaotic Buttons]

Maude caught a glimpse of her dirty hands, eerie eyes glancing over at the bathtub next to her. 'Would he mind?' with a dip of her head, she sniffled at herself and decided that it didn't matter. After finding Clary and the V, she didn't really have anywhere to go; showers and such things were rare for her, the girl bouncing around from place to place, at the same time as trying to hide who she was, her usual attire consisting of an over-sized hoodie she stole from someone she stayed with and a pair of violet tights, that had holes all over them. After finding a towel, Maude decided a shower was what she needed before bed.

After showering and dressing, she curled up at the end of his bed and while staring up at the starry sky, she fell asleep and started dreaming about Raiden. Looking back she noticed his creepy grin that caused the little hairs on the back of her neck to stand up, but there was something good in him wasn't there? Memories of him flitted through her mind as she slept, her heart aching as she missed him - unbelieving that he would take an order to have her killed - and if he was a killer...what did that mean? The young girl forced herself to stay in the dark. He wasn't really a killer. Nope. He saved her from whoever OR whatever killed both sets of her parents! There was some good...there had to be.

time skippyskip

A dainty thumb was being chewed on nervously, golden violet shimmered eyes stared at her hair in the mirror as her free hand rose, tugged and attempted to make her hair look presentable. Cheeks flushed with embarrassment, all she wanted to do was run away. Everything in her mind causing a confusion that she wasn't sure was safe to understand. An eyebrow rose as she looked at her piggy tails, noticing that they weren't even, her thumb fell away from her mouth and a fist was made. Maude grumbled, tapping her foot against the cool tile before ripping out the old and worn elastics; one broke in the process, the girl throwing it out in a dramatic motion.

Unfortunately she had slept in, waking to an empty bed and her fingers clinging to a blanket she faintly remembered him using. The left side of her hair crimped funnily because of how she slept with wet hair and even after spending fifteen minutes trying to make even piggy-tails, it didn't work; so Maude wriggled her nose in distaste, pulled the last elastic from her hoody's pocket and braided her hair. It turned out messy but at least it wasn't in her face and she could conceal her hair in the hood better.

As she stood there, gazing at herself with foreign eyes, she remembered a faint vision of seeing her reflection in the window as her parents left; dull, brown eyes and a sour, curious face. Why were you leaving me? What happened to her? It was like she was only a figment of Maude's imagination, instead of the girl she was before...she was this golden violet eyed freak. Upon feeling the familiar sting in her eyes, Maude lifted her chin and took in a deep breath. It wasn't going to ruin this day, she had made a new friend here and wasn't going to bring him into her life. Ignoring everything was the best thing she could do right? It all disappeared. At least for the moment.

Maude washed her face, used whoever's toothbrush was there (after rinsing her mouth out with mouth wash and rinsing the bristles in warm water) to brush her teeth and when it was all finished, she felt a little better. It was difficult hiding her face from people, even meeting Jr. was difficult and awkward, she hoped he had bought the whole running away story so she wouldn't have to explain later why she was hiding, if she ever had to.

The young girl was thankful for Clary and knew that she was a busy person, a smile formed on her face as she left the bathroom mirror and walked back into Jr.'s bedroom, thinking about Fang and how he was really the first to find her. It was easy to see that he was working for...someone better than the Evolutionists, it was scary there. The evil seeped into everyone who joined that alliance, even with her being there for the few years, she felt it hovering around her; waiting for an opening but she refused to leave her space, so until that day she was forced to move, she had barely seen anything of that world. Maude remembered being dragged around and strapped down. It wasn't the greatest times she ever had; the lights were so bright and the people who surrounded her had a hunger in their eyes for power. After that she spent more time out and about, sometimes following Raiden quietly; one time, learning that she was the failure because nothing had started happening. Something did though, slowly her dull brown eyes turned light violet, gold specs showing through and every few weeks it was evident that the gold was going to be the prominent colour, leaving the violet only as a sheer, shimmering layer. It scared her because she knew something was happening, even if they couldn't see - why did it have to happen so fast? What was the rush? They already ruined her life.

Maude whimpered, lifting an arm to scratch behind her ear. "I wonder where he isss" she sing-songed, leaning forward and trying to peek outside Jr.'s door. Her toes wriggled around before she took a step forward, another and more until she was leaning against his door-frame.

The raven haired female began walking down the hallway toward his kitchen; her stomach growled rather loudly as she walked down the hall and through the house until she found him. Quietly and rather sneakily, she crept up behind Jr. and jumped onto his back. Not caring if he was at a hot stove or anything, luckily his...butler guy was there to stop the hot pan from being knocked to the floor. "It smells good, I didn't know fourteen year old's cooked" she said, unsure if he was actually fourteen or not. Maude grinned playfully though, dropping from his back so he could continue cooking.

After helping herself to some juice she sat by the window, waiting patiently and it wasn't long until the both of them were chowing down. Maude, a little messier than usual, brought up the promise he made to her the night before. "You promised me the best ice cream ever last night", big eyes looked at him expectantly, her short legs swaying back and forth. When Jr. suggested they get ready to go find the best ice cream in the world, Maude clapped her hands together once and went to find her socks and shoes. As they left she jumped back onto him, arms wrapping around his neck. "I hope you don't mind, Jr., I'm still tired" she yawned loud, a little more dramatic than it needed to be.

[Reprendre]

Ｃａｉｎ❖ＣｒｏｉｘxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxLocation: Treeline beside the Bell Tower Wreckage Status: Hungry, Jealous, Irritated
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCompany: Raiden & Wylde & (Naomi) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxＦＥＲＡＬ❖ＥＶＯ

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Everything from back then was a mess.
He didn't like thinking about it. When the memories came up, he fell back on instinct. Trusted how he felt to lead how he acted. Cain wasn't stupid, he wasn't mindless. Most of the time he had very clear understanding and trains of thought.

But every now and then..

Seeing Wylde was.. bothersome.
Smelling certain things in the area, certain people, threw him off.
He felt like he knew things. Remembered them. But nothing clicked and he didn't want it to. Like a dozen tvs all set to play the same movie but started a minute apart. Things overlapped and echoed chaotically until nothing made sense, even if it was all the same sensory routine.

Start with what you know. That was what they always said to do.
To take deep breaths, and start with what you knew.

..He knew his name was Cain. He knew he'd been taken by people. Hurt.
Changed.

He knew Wylde had been a part of that. And he knew he could smell things from then.
People he recognized, by scent or sound alone. A voice. A perfume. A concept- like a hair color or particular set to a nose, jawline. A part of his mind was caught up in that. Fighting to not think about it, not remember. So he relied on instincts, impulses. Like throwing fruit at the red haired man, to see what he'd do. To gauge if he was in fact edible or not.

Verdict: not.
Definitely not.

His eyes snapped around just once as Wylde turned his energy onto the trunk of the tree.
People he recognized in some form. Others he didn't. It was all chaotic, made his head spin. He hated it. Wanted it to stop. The pull of curiosity and the pull of fear ripped at him in opposite directions. Stay or go- stay or go?

The decision was made in one definable instant. A half-second between the tree groaning, tipping over, and a familiar sound. A voice. Cain's heart jerked, missing a beat. His hands instinctively tightened into the tree. Not, of course, the one Wylde had abused to a point of destruction. No, the second it started shaking and quaking he'd sought higher branches. Just to jump ship as soon as it was cracking and tumbling down. He was used to stubborn, strong creatures trying to take him to the ground by destroying his perches. Wylde was no different than any other furious rhyhorn or pangoro.

What mattered wasn't his noise, his rage. Wasn't really him at all.
It was the thing on his back. That was why Cain stayed. Why he froze, latched on to another tree, staring with eyes so wide it looked half-crazed.

He knew Raiden. He would always know Raiden.
His name was Cain. He had been taken by strangers. Hurt by them.
And he knew who Ray-Ray was.

The time in which the creatures moved seemed slow.
Raiden spoke. Wanted to play. The redhead took it all seemingly in stride. And the division started there. Because a part of Cain understood what he said. Understood the words. But he was not precisely consciously aware of it. A part of him digested the meaning. The rest of him worked off the impulses that understanding created. A hard to explain process. Something that fired over the line between the ego and the id.

Cain was on the ground in an instant. Dropped, almost fell. Landed, hands and toes. Crouched, wild and seemingly furious. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, pupils shrank down to finite points. He was growling and it did not sound like a noise a human could make. Should make.

Maybe it could be assumed he was furious with Wylde, for taking down his tree. But that was wrong. No, his focus was locked onto the thing on top of Wylde. It felt.. like cheating. Betrayal. The idea of Raiden 'playing' with something (someone) else. Cain didn't like it. And he didn't think about or understand why. He just knew the sight of it, hearing the words a different part of him understood, made him mad. He wanted to rip the young man right off the redhead.

But he didn't move. Not at first.
Cain just glared. Growled. And slowly, despite the smoldering pieces of the tower still littering the air with heat, his breath collected in visible puffs. Cold. Frigid. It was hard to notice. But there was a chill in his mouth. Teeth, specifically. All bared and sharp.
Icy fangs put on display as he stared Raiden down.

Cain didn't like sharing. He was spoiled like that.

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“I closed my mouth and spoke to you in a hundred silent ways.”
― Rumi

[Luxim]

Arthur didn't need to look at the phone clipped to his belt to know who had made it chirp, but upon deciding that it was best not to ignore her, he plucked it off and took a brief glimpse at the screen.


Everyone's ready. Now would be nice.


He smiled. Was she actually asking him? No, of course not; just another demand, albeit a sight more polite than some of the things he'd seen her ask of others. In return, his reply was curt.


Moving into position.


The group of soldiers around him had been waiting, patiently, since early that morning when Dietrich had given the order to move into Ecruteak. Some were made to camp in the dense outlying forest, others to come to the city in small, manufactured family units seeking aid. The people on the inside were likely helping to clean up the debris from the morning's explosion. No doubt V and the media were having a grand time with laying the blame on the Evolution. True as it may have been, from what he'd seen, people were quick to assume the worst.

They may not have believed in Dietrich's designs, but Arthur held firm in his own beliefs that everything their leader did, violent or not, was for everyone's benefit. For the benefit of their world, before they tore one another apart.

When he walked the short distance back to the Evolution's encampment, where a few sat around quietly waiting for the next set of orders, it was with the uneven gait of a man who has yet to fully adjust to a prosthetic leg. Since the loss of his left leg in the war, Arthur had blatantly refused anything other than crutches. Perhaps he'd been too proud to admit that he was crippled, and would never serve as a soldier ever again. It'd been that pride that had almost driven him to take his own life at the very depths of his own stupid, selfish despair, as if he'd been the only person in the whole world to have suffered. It was Dietrich that had pulled him out with the promises of a new world, in which people could forge their own path.

"This will not be something people will accept," he'd said. "War will come again, Arthur. Are you prepared?"

What else could he say but yes? Yes to war, yes to the prosthetic leg, yes to having the very fabric of his being toyed with until he'd become more than human. Yes to joining a family made up of broken people, unified under one man's singular vision.

"It's time."

A diminutive boy, no more than fourteen years old, nodded and closed his eyes. Arthur heard the familiar, gentle buzzing of him tapping into the minds of every Evolution soldier in the area, sending a widespread message to the ones posing as civilians. Be ready, it said, and the buzzing fell silent. The small unit stood and, without needing to be told, vanished into the woods as Arthur took to the skies.

He hated dramatic entrances, but getting people's attention was a crucial part of the plan. Even though it was common knowledge that, nowadays, there were people in the Evolution that could actually fly, people still gasped and stared as if it was an impossibility of nature.

Indeed, there were still some amongst the crowd that startled at the sight of a man dropping down out of the sky as gently as a leaf falling onto the grass. They spoke in hushed tones, whispering both nice and not so nice things. In the middle of the clean up effort, for that brief moment, Arthur had their attention.

"Good morning." He spoke with the commanding voice of one accustomed to speaking with the masses, with the confidence of a ranking soldier. "I assume no introductions are necessary."

One man, older, with a hairline just beginning to recede, pointed at him and shouted, "Ranigan, you ******** traitorous scum, get out of here before I put a bullet between your eyes!" This was met with several loud cries of agreement, and soon the sound of people shouting obscenities at him was deafening. Arthur took it in stride, chuckling as he held up his hand, indicating for silence.

"Allow me a moment of your time."

"Go to hell!"
"Haven't we given you enough already?"
[******** off!"

"You misunderstand." Arthur slowly scanned the crowd. "I am not asking. I will talk, you will listen."

"You're outnumbered here, Ranigan," the same balding man said as he stepped forward with one hand clutching the handle of the poorly disguised pistol at his side. "And since you're outnumbered, we don't feel the need to do anything you say, much less listen to the bullshit you're about to spout."

"Oh? Is that right?"

The pistol clicked as it cocked. So it seemed that there was now a gun shoved in his face, rather rudely. "That's exactly right."

"Come now, George, you wouldn't honestly shoot a cripple, would you?"

"For you, I'll make an exception."

"Please. For your own sake, put the gun down."

"For the sake of my son, whom you killed, the only thing I'll be putting down today is you, Sergeant."

The man pulled the trigger. There came a loud, sharp sound, atypical of the normal, resounding "bang" of a bullet flying out of the chamber, and something small fell to the ground. While the man stared at his gun, cleanly cut in half by something he hadn't even seen, Arthur put his hand down and moved around him, the telltale shimmer of sharp winds yet to disperse distorting the air around his left hand.

"Now then. I've something to say, and it's vital that the lot of you hear it." He snapped his fingers, just once, over the murmurings of the crowd. Several people, some from the clean up crew, some from various other relief efforts, moved to the front of the crowd to stand beside him. Then, from all around them in unseen locations, two dozen more appeared. Evolution legionnaires, from out of the woodwork, all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life. All altered. People chattered, confused, and silenced only when he raised his voice above theirs.

"I coming bearing a message from the man you would all pin as a villain. It is simply this." Arthur pointed at the remains of the Bell Tower. "This tragedy is not our fault, but yours."

[Scriptwriter Mika]

The Medic

"The Art of Healing involves the Mind, Body, and Soul."

Every single plan that had been put into place had thoroughly been dashed in a matter of moments. Adeline’s head spun from everything that was happening. Her mind went on overdrive, processing exactly what was going on. A mental list was already going on at rapid speed.

1. The core group of V was gathered. The mayor of Ecruteak City had just been convinced to throw his weight behind V after what happened. Whether that was still the case was now up for debate.

2. Officer Lark had been addressed by Kai, the police force could potentially aid with their cause soon.

3. Auden was nearby at the ready along with Kai who was trying to wrangle everyone into a organization set up.

4. Clary had just left to address a few of the others, including Wylde and the naked man from before. A scuffle had broken out there…and everything was about to fall about.

It didn’t matter what had just been set up, because as the scene unfolded in front of Adeline, she knew the situation was about to explode. Arthur Ranigan…was a man she knew from the last war. Veterans, the both of them, with battle injuries that had never fully healed. He with his leg and eye…she with her chair. Both of them had chosen different pathways, but she knew he was not someone they could simply ignore, dismiss, or provoke. Which looked like it was about to happen.

“We’re surrounded,” Adeline whispered quietly as Decora came close to her side after getting back from accompanying Auden. The fox gave a slight growl, her head darting back and forth, her tails up in anticipation.

“The battlefield isn’t your place, Kai,” Adeline said quietly to her friend. If anything, this would be his chance to slip away and see what else he could do. Propaganda, deals, those were Kai’s calling card. Or if paired up with Auden, the two could be a fearsome duo. “Do what you can, consult Auden if needed,” Dr. Ross said with a concerned voice as she looked to the distance.

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

“Our fault?!” a young man shouted. Wilkens Blythe was barely out of his teenage years and into his twenties. He was youthful, with a head of dark green hair and amber eyes, he stomped forward into the crowd.

“You come into our city and do this, and you have the ******** audacity to tell us it was our fault?!” the youth all but screamed at the man. The crowd’s eyes were drawn to him and his boldness or stupidity depending on the perspective.

“All you do is destroy. All you do is cause suffering! How can you stand the man who made all of you into this?!” Wilkens continued with his tirade. This jeers rippled within the crowd and soon they all began to become reckless. Despite the soldiers around them, several took out their pokeballs. In moments, flashes of light erupted around the area as various trainers and their pokemon, all with a grim look in their eyes faced those around them. The tensions were brewing, the powder keg just about to be lit.

Even though V had recruited Evolution fighters, not everyone welcomed them. Change never sat well with the masses. Humans often looked upon them with fear, and some with spite. After all, what was human about someone who could fly in the air like that, or cut through a bullet with ease? Some had lost family due to experimentations, but more feared what they simply did not understand. Some were afraid of being eradicated. Such were the thoughts that ran through the minds of the rowdy crowd, all gearing for a battle.

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

“No!” came a cry of Adeline. This was not the way to go up against Evolution. If they responded that way…it would not end well. She sped off from the group, going straight to Clarissa with Decora right by her. Her chair hummed with speed and she pressed forward.

“Auden, things are about to more or less get out of hand. See what you can do with Kai and the police force for crowd control. If you see any other interesting things, let me know and see if we can relay messages to our Boss,” Adi said pressing the side of her glasses to activate her own intercom with the inventor extraordinaire of the group.

“Decora,” Adeline called, and the fox needed no further prompting.

“Tales, Nine,” Decora said softly as her eyes glowed red. Clarissa and Fang were both picked up and psychically pulled out of range of Raiden and the others. She needed her leader here for other matters. As Decora gently placed them down, the fox all but sauntered up to the Arcanine, giving him a gentle link in greeting, and almost smirking it seemed like.

“Clarissa, you must take control, and soon. V needs organized ranks, not unruly mobs. I have to go back to the medical tents, I have a feeling we’re about to get busy very soon,” Adeline said in a somber voice.

Location: A bit away from Wylde, Raiden, and that little party, also close by the crowd with Ranigan.
Company: Decora, Fang, and Clarissa

[anxiousteacupxo]

Clarissa Jonesxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
⊰⊰THE BOSS⊱⊱

Wide eyes stared at everything going on around her, feeling the chaos swarm not only through the people, but her own mind as well. This was how war started... and the people were walking right into it.

"Wylde---" Clary was about to shout a command- to tell him this situation wasn't as important as the one going on in the distance. But she was swept away before she could even say anything. Fang gave a gentle n** of thanks to Decora before looking to Clary and waiting for her command.

"I know," She told Adeline with a tight jaw. This wasn't how she wanted things to go down, but the truth was... There was so much chaos Clary didn't know where to start. Fang stood in front of his trainer, a low growl escaping him. He was ready to attack as long as Clary gave the word, but the pokemon knew what his master was like. She would only fight if backed against the wall. How many times had she waited for the right moment to fight back and it helped her win? This time, however, she wanted to win not just a battle, but the war.

"Stop!" Clarissa went bounding through the crowd. "Officer Lark, we need men here to stop this! A fight is not what this city needs right now." She needed the officers to pull the crowd back and away from Arthur. Dispell the crowd and she might be able to get Arthur and the soldiers to back down. This was what they wanted... And Clary couldn't let things get out of control.

A sharp look was given to the group of people who looked ready to fight.

"Please, all of you listen." She wasn't begging them, her tone was only that of command. "A battle like this is what your enemy wants. In times of war you need to pick your battles wisely. Remind yourself who the enemy is..." She knew tension was high when it came to evos. However Clarissa came to trust two with her life, and she also knew that they were victims as much as the rest of the world.

Despite her desire not to fight, Clary looked for Wylde, who was someone on her team who could put up a fight. The rest, however, would have jobs to do. Calming down the citizens was one, and helping Lark organize the police force was another. Clarissa could feel it inside of her, the tension in the city.... All hell was about to break lose.

Eyes darted towards Arthur, Fang standing with pride by her side. The next move all depending on how well the people would listen to her.


FANG |♂|



OOC; N/A

[ToastyTau]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxA U D E N • • •
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t h e . a r c h i t e c t • • •

████▐▌▐▐ Auden's Mood Playlist • Bad Dreams ▐▐▐▌████


In his dreams—in the fleeting few hours of sleep upon which he somehow subsisted daily—Auden still saw it from time to time: an Espeon standing on a table, staring pointedly at him. Its forked tail swaying as if it were an upside-down pendulum. Not any Espeon, but a shiny green one. The greenest green, so green it made his eyes hurt. It looked positively radioactive. Just looking at it made him nauseous.

"Again, please." Auden demanded, sitting up straighter in his chair, eyes squeezed shut and ready to open when instructed. At his wrists and ankles lay open silver clamps attached to the chair (meant to restrain most test subjects, but useless for eager volunteers such as he). Behind a mirrored glass wall, a faceless scientist pushed some button or the other, he imagined.

Three loud beeps sounded out in the room, each a second longer than the one before it, and then a fourth, higher-pitched tone. Time to start. He opened his eyes again. The green Espeon burned him with its singular, hypnotic presence. The gem between its eyes peered straight through him to something far behind his physical brain. It knew his most intimate fears, secrets, and insecurities. His brain felt like mush, psychically plied by the pokémon before him: Slowly at first, then with the ready, steady sureness of a molder with well-broken clay.

This was how Auden remembered gaining the psychic power of pokémon. It was a regimen of brutal psychological exercises meant to tease out the most vulnerable parts of his mind, until they could attach to the psyche of a pokémon. In time, he would learn to drop these walls himself, and unlock his mind at will. It made him vulnerable to attack, but also tapped into power no human had ever dreamed of unleashing, let alone fathomed having had it in the first place.

It defied all science. At least, any science Auden knew of until that point. It was purely in the realm of science fiction. Had anyone other than Dietrich told him this, he'd have laughed them away. But this world-breaking approach to science, this world-breaking power...Dietrich's promises did not fail to deliver.

The trouble with this memory, however, was that it might not have happened at all.

Auden remembered it vividly, those grueling sessions which made his head feel like a hot knife had been run through the top of his eye sockets. To him it was an irrefutable fact of the past. How else could he have gained such power? How else had he trained himself to take down his mental barriers and release his power?

But he'd been troubled by some people's suggestions that it hadn't happened. For example, just before leaving the Evolution, he'd asked a friend to say goodbye to the green Espeon for him. "What's it up to these days, anyway?"

"Uh...we don't have a shiny Espeon, I don't think...There was a normal purple one that hung out with Dietrich's Glalie, but, uh..."

"Just the one? What happened to it?"

"Well...uh...you know. We had to use it for...you, after all."

Auden wouldn't think of it. He knew what had to be done to pokémon for other Evo's to get their powers, but they were different. Fire, ice, rock...those were all tangible things that Evo's needed to be in contact with to absorb their power. Of course DNA alteration was necessary. But psychic power? It was power on a wholly different plane. Surely his DNA hadn't been touched in any way.

But there was the question of why he'd need to look at the Espeon at all. Wasn't it psychic? Did he really need to open his eyes, sitting in that chair, to connect with it? These questions suddenly seemed to take on a heavier weight.

But if all those staring sessions with that green Espeon hadn't happened, what had he actually been doing all that time? He didn't know. But he knew what must have happened to the regular purple Espeon. He could hear it in the scientist's voice. Something terrible. Auden didn't block out the thought so much as step back from it entirely.

Like a hand recoiling from hot metal.

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"Something wrong with the communicator? Somehow I doubt that," he scoffed arrogantly as he took the communicator from the Boss. But then he paused, and sighed. "Sorry, Boss..." Of course he meant her no disrespect—it was just the notion that his invention could fundamentally fail at the one thing it was built for which irked him. Still, she was genuine in her feedback. If she said it wasn't working, surely some personal setting on the device or another had interfered with her ability to communicate. Not necessarily something wrong so much as used incorrectly. Wasn't that the same thing? Wasn't it his responsibility as the architect to ensure these problems didn't arise? Wasn't it on him to ensure that his technology was the most intuitive to use? Auden didn't linger too long on the thought.

His eyes glanced back to the rapidly expanding crowd around him. What the hell was Wylde doing? Was it even worth asking? As a fellow teammate he cared for him deeply, but could people who refused to help themselves truly be cared for? Auden pondered this as he thought back to the two days he spent designing Wylde's "e-peen." Ugh.

Something didn't feel right. Well, of course, there was the Bell Tower having just been burned to the ground, but...

A moment later that creeping suspicion was confirmed. He immediately intercepted the message the boy sent out to the Evolution "civilians." So the Evolution was grooming another psychic now...

...He had to talk to him. Auden needed to know if he remembered anything about how he'd gained his power. Did he remember the green Espeon? He called out psychically to the boy to not run too far away. He had to talk to him. Whether the boy would answer, he could not say.

And now Arthur was here! Woah, buddy. "Hey handsome!" He chirped as Arthur made his grand entrance. Auden frowned as his speech began, though. Always a chip on his shoulder, that one. "Good luck convincing everyone they killed themselves. I've got a little Bell Tower behind me to argue that point. What kind of horsehit is that, Art? Uuuuuuugggghhhh." he whined as if he were an exasperated teenager. He could've even stamped his foot if he wanted. It was immature, to be sure. But it was a calculated endeavor all the same. Auden leveraged his bubbly, childlike impatience as a way of ridiculing the austerity with which Arthur spoke, while vocalizing the frustrations of the crowd.

He could sway people to like him, to look up to him, to be inexplicably drawn to him by this aura. But he was no master of mass communication the way Kai was. In the realm of relationships, Auden ruled. But in the realm of politics, Kai was king. "Kai, I cannot with this guy right now. Take point and I'll follow." He one hundred percent deferred to Kai when it came to matters like this.

"Adi, I know you and Decora gotta get outta here, and I'd hate a fight too, but...I don't know we can avoid one. Can you stay close just for a hot minute?" He wanted to ask her if she could help him dissect that...memory. The one that had been nagging him lately. That, too. But not right at this moment. "We could use you in case things get...dicey."


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