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[[Ah, I'm done with one midterm, and I come back to many pages to catch up to. So sorry if this post sucks, it's kinda more or less a catch up post....]]

It was long, and hard to say the least, but it all came down to the last blow for a while. It was a day, no, a week! That’s how long they had been stuck down there. It had to be. The rats seemed to keep coming out; they would take up the whole week to beat. But Pita and Taila would keep pushing forward. Even if it took up the whole month, they would get out of this.

Thankfully all of this just seemed to be a state of mind. By the time that the last Rattata had fallen, the Primape was already going at it. But Taila and Pita couldn’t do anything. They were worn out, and Pita was on the floor, tired, weak, and had no energy left. Taila would not push the poor Pikachu any further. Thankfully though, help was on its way.

The Primape was done for when the help arrived, and Pita was happy to see this. She would be able to rest in peace at the sight that her friends would be okay. But her main attention was for Pita. Though, as Taila kneeled down next to the pokemon a voice came out loud and clear. It was the professor Oak to say the least. And not only that, but she was complimenting them on their work. Was this all a test or something? Taila couldn’t help but get a little frustrated at that thought, especially if Pita got hurt from all of this, if it was just a test or something like that. Still, an envelope came out and Taila picked it up along with the others.

A lot seemed to happen in a little time. But all Taila thought about was taking care of her pokemon. Sure, Pita was a bit beat up, but from the looks of it, Pita just seemed to need some rest. She picked up the creature and cradled it in her arms, letting it sleep away. But at the sound of food, well, Taila’s attention was caught to say the least. She followed the rest of the people along to try and find out where this food was that they were talking about.

As she was gathering some food, and even a little for her fellow Pita, she couldn’t help but to feel a little something in the back of her mind. She didn’t know what it was, and she was ready to just brush it off. But she took note. Maybe she was just exhausted or something. Still, she went back to what she was doing in the first place, so try and just satisfy her newest enemy, her growling stomach.

((Awesome points were updated yesterday. Yay, everyone is now at vaguely the same time! There may be slight time distortions, but it's nothing that won't make any sense. Ever onward!))

Afternoon of the second day, in Glenville...

The professors, sweating, had gathered everyone into one place, and Sigmund was holding several pokédexes, none of them larger than a postcard. Grimstrip and Charlesworth had retreated into the professors' office to command the electronically-manned defenses. This was all after the urgent calls to Ulysses, Andrej, and the Howards. Each of those calls had gone similarly to the one to Ulysses. Basically, they had urged the scientists to send their kids and themselves as soon as possible, to protect the kids that were leaving Glenville.

Knowledge of the Exterminant had come in a somewhat disturbing manner. With a similar pop to Elian's delivery, Dr. Terrian had appeared at Edward's console and brought up a live video feed of the area six miles northeast of Glenville's boundaries. Nearly the entire screen had been filled with creatures of all kinds, primarily smaller ones and human beings on motorcycles. Most of the humans were branded on the forehead with X's, and had a tattoo of a horrible, black, vaguely feline creature devouring the earth on their forearms. Dr. Terrian had simply said, "Ladies and gentlemen - the Exterminant." Then he disappeared.

"Kids, we need you to get out of here as soon as possible. I guess the escort we wanted isn't coming, Juno; you should be fine on your own, though. Evie can take care of you."

"Back on track, Ed," Sig said nervously.

"Right. Um. These pokédexes contain information that will communicate with a USB your contacts will have. We're still not fully certain why you have to carry them, but you do. Get out of Glenville. On the road to your target cities, you should encounter the scientists and-or the young ones to whom they have undoubtedly spoken. Juno, find Dr. Andrej Bogdan and Thomas Rikes from Riverdale. Gerard, find the Drs. Howard and Alexis Hale from Woodmount. And Talia, you'll look for Jacob Vahzhiloks and Dr. Ulysses Shonevsky from Cliffshire." Sigmund passed out the pokédexes. "These pokédexes have just basic information about most pokémon - height, weight, habitat, you know. You must keep these safe, at least until you return here, which you will once you've met the scientists. Maybe give it a day, or a few, to make sure the Pack has left us alone."

He smiled bravely. "We'll take them down, for sure. The long-range artillery are already set up. Go home, pack up, and get out of here. We've asked the guards to set up motorcycles with helmets and keys at the respective exits."

((The Glenville map will be updated shortly.))

"HAUNTER!" came a ghastly cry from the offices.

Edward's head whipped around and he sprinted to his console without another word. Sigmund started to back that direction, then said, "You'll be fine, kids. Mom never made bad choices, as far as we learned." As they began to disperse, he made his way back over to Elian. "I'm sorry, Elian," he said quietly, not letting the kids hear. "I don't know what to do for you. The Exterminant is real. They're on their way here. If you want us to protect you, we will. Otherwise..." He looked in her eyes. He didn't want her to go. He had seemed more concerned than was necessary when she told him of the vision. Now, he was more nervous than someone with his level of experience should have been.

"Best of luck," he said in a rush. The doctor made a motion towards her, startled himself, flushed, and ran off to join his brother as the shout, "They're accelerating! What the hell is accelerating them?!" came muffled from the room.

Those who were present had little time to make their decisions.

---

As Lexi drove along the roads to Glenville, her father having cleared her for exit after longer phone calls than even he had the patience for, she was for the most part untroubled. A suspiciously familiar young man with bandages on his jaw was standing quietly and furiously near the post she left, but he made no move to stop her; not with his commanding officer right next to him.

The suburbs long behind her, she was comfortably on cracked pavement for the journey. The day was peaceful around her, the morning sun warm and welcome, and the ambient sounds of the occasional pidgey or spearow soaring above were welcome reminders of home.

And then, right in front of her, a black-hatted figure appeared. He started to sweep himself and his unforgettable, wide-rimmed hat into a low, flourish of a bow, realized he was in her direct path, and dove out of the way with a yelp. Almost immediately behind him was a black-cloaked, much older figure, who similarly had clearly not realized how close he had placed himself, and was forced to throw himself out of her path.

While Lexi recovered, the two behind her stared at one another in disbelief. A noctowl overhead beat its way swiftly from the place. The one in a cloak started to snarl, glanced at the girl (who had not had a chance to register the feral expression), and altered his countenance so it mirrored that of the man in the hat, which was one of over-played surprise and mock-anger.

They faced off as she finally was able to see them. The one in the hat, who in fact was clothed entirely in black, rose up into a crane stance while still several yards away. "Osuuuuuuuu!"

"Tsu!" the other shouted in equally ridiculous tones, adopting a side stance and getting his hands in tiger-style kung-fu orientation. The two engaged in some sort of shadow-boxing that seemed to involve randomly (but in rhythm) "attacking" one another from some distance and hoping they had anticipated where they would strike.

"Tchaooo!"
"Hut!"
"Ai!"
"Chung-fwaayyy!"
"Sut!"

"Arrggh!" The cloaked man clutched his chest, which had been open and taken a heavy fake blow from the other man's foot. As he fell, though, and the other man raised his arms in victory, the fallen yelled, "Hadouken!" and mimed shooting a ball of energy at his over-confident opponent.

Said opponent was "knocked" off his feet and landed sprawled on the pavement, then vanished with a pop. The man in the cloak rather calmly stood, brushed himself off, and ran a finger through his wispy, gray hair. "Miss Hale? My name is Reverend Beati." He approached her and offered his hand in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

---

As Paul attempted to catch the medic, he suddenly found himself airborne. While in the air, he was rather surprised to find Terrian floating about a foot from his face and staying casually in his field of vision. "You know, I really thought the bikers would hold you up just a little longer than they did." It all came out quickly, just before Paul landed in a roll and came up to his feet to find himself among nearly two dozen, foaming-at-the-mouth, incredibly confused creatures: two arboks, four wild dogs, three raticate, a human being hunched over a gun his enfeebled arms could hardly carry, and a mankey that had been crushed by the flying motorcycle.

"And now you've just left a bunch of bait for Beati to work with." Terrian was lying peacefully on the air, ten feet above the mess of creatures. "I mean, come on. You're practically building a pack, leaving those guys there like that. But whatever." He vanished again, leaving Paul to fend for himself. Another clip of ammo for each of his first two guns appeared in his pockets.

Most of the creatures had been running. Only the graveller that had rather effectively impeded his bike's progress was taking its time. The feral dogs nearly immediately turned all their attention to Paul and leapt at him, ugly faces in mad snarls, the whites of their eyes yellow from disease. The raticates got the idea next, and finally one arbok. The other lashed out at a raticate and severed its spinal cord before it could reach Paul, and started to coil around it and choke it with little concern for what else was happening. The man got the idea at the very last and hefted his submachine gun.

Terrian popped back in momentarily. "This is going to be incredibly entertaining, dude. But don't worry! I wouldn't kill you." He frowned. "Probably." And he was gone.

As Terrian disappeared, Paul regained his voice, yelling perhaps a moment too late, "You're not a psychic, Terrian!" Immediately both pokémon were deployed, and Paul raised his rifle to the sickly man. Two rounds would probably be enough for him, and Paul delivered his surprise lead injection. Crack! Crack!

Oddjob spent a very brief moment orienting himself upon his exit from his pokéball. Upon realization of precisely what was occurring, he set himself on the wild dogs. Three came in at a perfect angle, and with a cry of "Char!" he twirled to set his tail at them. With a strong breath, he launched a flamethrower attack at the dogs, effectively disabling them - by the time their rush actually reached him, they would be too badly injured to actually use their claws or teeth against him, or at least badly enough that he could tear them apart. The last dog would have to suffer some charring, but Oddjob was clever enough to realize that that wasn't enough to kill it. With a surprisingly agile sideways roll, Oddjob took himself out of the direct line of the injured dog. Once it was past, he dove towards it, claws and tail prepared to cut or burn it to death as necessary.

Zoidberg's plan, once he had his senses about him, was much easier. Everything but a pair of raticates and an arbok had been dealt with; these three would be a very, very simple challenge. He merely took note of them, their location, and their approximate weight, then decided upon a random location somewhere above a hundred feet over the ground. Once that was done, it was a simple matter to enact a teleport that would leave them as little more than splatters on the dirt, and Zoidberg was quickly prepared to defeat more opponents.

No other creatures seemed immediately interested in them, but they would be very soon. Paul wasn't quite sure if he could reach the bike. He looked to find out if it were possible; if not, he decided to make a run for it.

Gerard nodded, accepting his mission silently. Tapping Justice on the head, he turned to leave, the tiny pokemon trailing behind.

He walked home, a walk of over a mile, in silent thought. The laconic larvitar walked along, equally stoic and equally lost in thought. They entered the Waverley family store, where Gerard calmly detailed how his next week would go.

His parents objected. Strongly. They were opposed to sending their son into possible danger, especially so far away from home. His response about the dangers of staying here, with the Pack coming, combined with the presence of the new larvitar (whose worth he proved by relating the tale of the rattata, raticate, and primape), mostly silenced their protests.

Next were his sisters.The youngest complained mostly about how Gerard got everything cool (his own room, a new pokemon and pokedex, and now a trip), but she was quickly discounted. The older sister was more logically worried about her brother, in such a way that only a kind older sister can be. Gerard appreciated her the most, mostly because she was the most aloof about it. She presented him with a Potion before he headed to the house to pack.

After a half hour of packing and preparing, Gerard threw his pack on his back, then led Justice to wherever their bikes were waiting.

On the road to Glenville...

The smell of burning flesh soon filled the air as the dogs Oddjob incinerated let out indescribable screams of pain. The first three choked to death inhaling the flames and died pitifully in the dirt; the fourth, scared by the flames, was easily killed by the orange lizard that slashed out its throat. The two raticate that mattered and the arbok that was not engaged in eating its once-"ally" landed not too long after the human fell to Paul's rifle. The crunching sound of muscle and bone meeting dirt was moderately unpleasant, but certainly more pleasant than what anything alive would have seen had they rolled over the corpses.

Terrian reappeared. He looked around, confused. "Now, hold on just a minute," he said to Paul, "Two things - first, you're right. As far as I know, which isn't much. You're also wrong, but we'll get into that later. Second..." He snarled a little bit. Just a little. "This was designed to take more than thirty seconds." Right as the graveller, who was several yards back at the bike, hurled said motorcycle at Paul and his pokémon, a group of a dozen assorted beedrill, butterfree, venomoth, and ledian, along with a few high-flying fearows, hawks, and yanma, substantiated around the group. They were equally disoriented, and it seemed as though the creatures with greater altitude were going to be perfectly happy to eat the bug-types around Paul. They dove before the bugs knew what was going on, and half the bugs were dead before the other half moved in on Paul, firing a barrage of assorted pollens and needles.

Terrian regarded them curiously and this time, sat a few dozen yards away to watch. "I'm kind of bored right now, so don't take the delay too personally. I really need to learn better combinations of things to send at you." He cringed as the head one beedrill-turned-food landed in front of him.

---

The Reverend Beati withdrew his hand understandingly. After all, he had not intended to surprise her. Damn Terrian... That fool was going to send humanity straight to Hell. He chuckled warmly, his thin face lighting up with genuine enthusiasm.

"Oh, yes, I suppose that was confusing. The man who just parted with us was Dr. Alex Terrian - you may have read about him in your studies. He has an odd habit of appearing and disappearing without warning; whenever I discover the mechanism, I will be sure to let you know, if you are accessible. As for the display, well, he and I know one another. That's a game much like rock-paper-scissors. The two of us are currently engaged in a sort of battle of wits, if you will, and we have agreed that approaching someone of whom both of us would like to make the acquaintance and gain the alliance simultaneously would produce more confusion than that either of us would like to handle. I won, and have the opportunity to plead my case with you.

"As you likely already know, Miss Hale, there is a matter of grave importance in the world right now, and you are an important key in ensuring the survival of the human race as we know it. There are those, naturally, who have more interest in chaos. Dr. Terrian is one of those. He has spoken extensively with major researchers of the past two decades, one of whom was Dr. Beatrice Oak, who later passed on the 'information' she was given to her sons, before she died, and to her contemporaries. Something you may not know about her work is that, with the aid of underground kidnapping rings, Dr. Oak was involved in the murders of scores of people, primarily children around you age, all in the name of science.

"I know this is difficult to believe, Miss Hale. Dr. Oak was one of my greatest idols, until I learned the true nature of her work. But her corrupt mindset simply opened her to ideas Terrian was able to plant, and which he and she have had the means to elaborately enact. Your compliance will unlock a program in the computers of the Oak laboratory that will activate an ether beacon for the mew, still lodged in the depths of Pompeii. It will destroy the human species. I beg of you; when you find the one you are to meet, do not allow him or her to return to Glenville. In that way, you can be the savior of us all."

His eyes entreated her understanding as he finally stood silent, clasped his hands together, and awaited her response.

---

The sounds of the Pack could be heard as Elian neared them: screams from dozens of kinds of lungs inundated the aural atmosphere as creatures trampled, beat, and feasted on one another, all the while running, rolling, sliding, flying, and driving swiftly towards Glenville's borders.

To anyone observing, the sight of this one lone rogue fast approaching a force of hundreds and more was simultaneously legendarily fearless and tragically foolhardy. The lines of defenses that were rushing to set themselves up had shouted at her to come back and even threatened to shoot her as she tore out of the city limits, but none dared actually open fire; they needed as much ammo as they could get.

As the first line of attackers came into sight, Aislin blinked and fired an image at Elian -

A hundred-yard thick, four hundred-yard long swath of earth detonates and collapses in front of the oncoming Pack and swallows their front line. Highly trained underground crews set to work systematically eliminating those who fall in who have not been impaled on metal spikes.

The veteran brought the bike to a screeching halt barely controlled by Aislin's returning consciousness. Moments later, the vision came to pass, with Elian a safe fifty yards from the close edge of the pit. The Pack began to part around it, then converge directly in front of Elian, and then, incredibly, slow down.

It did not stop. However, at the sight of her, every last human being in the force - scores of them - dismounted or stopped walking, and wordlessly fell to their knees. The non-humans scattered around the growing group of ugly, branded men and women, then continued their attack. One human, his brand deeper than the others' stood, shaking in fear and awe, and kept his eyes trained on her feet as he said, "Oracle. We, the Exterminant, have come to retrieve you. Our greatest and most sincere apologies are that we cannot stop the Pack now it is in motion; besides, we have more goals - hardly even noticeable next to your eminence." His voice grated like gravel rushing over a precipice and into a depthless canyon, but it wavered like a child before a king. "Please, accept our invitation to come with us; our greatest desire is that no harm come to you by ours or any others' hands."

Around them, the sounds of the Pack still roared. Adding to the cacophony was the heavy artillery: more than just rockets were the immense boulders that were being rolled out by teams of golem to crush the smaller, faster creatures, all safely behind Elian as she faced the people in front of her. Pods of venomous powder were launched from the backs of the venusaur who produced them while blastoise loaded missiles into the cannons on their back, guided by kadabra and jinx on the smaller buildings. A team of ditto that had morphed into chunks of asphalt suddenly shifted shape and sent spears made of their own bodies through the creatures passing over them. This was a less successful endeavor, as a small herd of rapidash left them smoldering in the wake of the charge.

These and more maneuvers put the death toll well into the hundreds, but there was more Pack to come, and come they did. While klaxons sounded and Gerard casually packed for the trip, he could hear the pulse of artillery from the north of the city. As useful as the potion would be, he would need more than that if the creatures breaking past Glenville's outer defenses reached his vaguely southern home. As it was, a starvation-crazed ponyta soon charged through his front yard, neighing wildly and quickly beginning to set the place ablaze. He needed to leave soon.

Similarly, Juno was brought face-to-face with the reality of the situation when a pair of doduo appeared in her front yard. They screeched horribly and began walking towards the building, their heads darting forward spastically and their beaks hanging open in anticipation of getting any sort of kill. Just as she was about to go out to defend against it, Juno heard possibly the most frightening and most reassuring sound she had yet heard in her life - "LIKE HELL YOU GONNA COME IN HERE AND MESS WITH MY CHILLEN!"

Two shotgun blasts sounded, and the thin-necked birds collapsed, blood and feathers spraying from them. Their body shapes were not exactly conducive to dodging buckshot. "JUNO!! YOU GET YO' SKINNY LITTLE WHITE GIRL a** OUTTA THIS HOUSE! I love ya hon, but I swear ta GOD, if I gotta kick you out with my own foot, I will do it!"

Elian could feel her heart beating faster and faster, the glimpses she had seen and the sounds she heard were terrifying, the Pack roaring and snarling as she neared them. Her hands unwillingly tightened around the handles of the bike, her knuckles white from the amount of pressure her grasp was exerting. Would this even work? Would her attempts at stopping, or at the very least, slowing the pack, work to help Glenville?

Would she live past the next few minutes?

Just as the very thought crossed her mind, a horrible vision sent her grabbing the brakes, the bike screeching to a halt as Aislin worked to keep them upright (the sudden brake being rather dangerous without the Pokemon's help). Breathing heavily, Elian let out a cry and turned away from the explosion as debris flew high into the air, the front lines of the pack tumbling to their deaths.

Elian continued looking away as the screams of pain and terror faded into the spiked abyss, the sound of death and dispair ringing in her ears in a horrible chorus. She couldn't help but tremble, thinking she must have stumbled into some sort of horrible nightmare. Tears fell from her eyes as the anxiety and terror rushed to meet her reality, and all Aislin could do was growl, warning her of the footsteps that surrounded her.

Slowly, Elian lowered her arm, shaking as her blurred and scrambled vision beheld hundreds of shapes, all of them suddenly lowering to the ground. Were they... Bowing? Elian couldn't believe what she was seeing, but was even more alarmed as the pounding, rumbling sensation of the charging Pokemon continued around her. Wouldn't they stop them? Glancing around at the chaos, Elian could suddenly feel her heart sinking, unsure if her plan would even succeed with the Pokemon continuing their charge. What about her vision? Would anything be different now that she stopped the humans?

Hearing someone move rather close, Elian whipped her tear filled gaze to the man in front of her, her vision blurring in and out of focus as she noticed his deeply branded markings, his trembling; like a kicked puppy to an angry master, the man approached her.

Elian now realized that she had little time to collect herself. The hundreds and hundreds of bowing and possibly insane people around her waited for her to speak, and speak as if she happily expected their arrival. Elian wasn't known for her acting, but how hard was it to be a leader? Just speak loud, and with authority, right?

The tears were dried from the sun, Elian's breathing calming as she slowly closed her eyes, Aislin keeping her watchful gaze on the people in front of her. Carefully, the pair stood from the bike and got off, Elian closing the distance between herself and the man who had presented himself before her. Visibly, she continued to shake, but Elian had to be strong.

"Help me with my voice..." She thought to the Pokemon, who simply blinked as the gem on its forehead glowed. Opening her eyes, Elian's expression turned stoic, her blind, pale gaze casting over the bowing and devoted group who called themselves the Exterminant.

"Remember... You're their Oracle... Sent to help with the destruction of humanity... Dad would be proud."

Elian almost scoffed at the thought, but her tongue remained silent, and after about a minute of gathering her bearings, she took a long breath and addressed the Exterminant.

"My children!" Elian started, her voice projecting deep into each of their minds. It was an exhausting task that would only last for a short speech, luckily, Elian only had a few words to say as Aislin kept the psychic link open.

"Glenville will take the deaths you give them today, but for now, we leave to prepare!" She continued, her mind reeling to figure out how to finish things up. There really was no easy way to say "let's all just go home now", but maybe that's just what needed to be said.

In a more cryptic way.

"Take your losses, and your victories, and turn towards home! I have much to show you, as you have much to show me."

Finished speaking, Aislin turned off the psychic link, visibly sinking in her stance as the Pokemon drooped. Elian also felt the incredibly heavy weight of the mental strain, and struggled to keep herself upright, but, she knew that if she collapsed now, it could potentially unravel everything she had and Aislin had just managed to do. Now, it was up to the Exterminant to decide her fate, and up to Glenville to take the attack Elian couldn't fully stop. Glancing over the large crowd, Elian took a quiet moment to pray, for all of them, for all of Glenville and the people she had only known a short time, but showed her much kindness and love.

Yes, even love. Perhaps she would never see them again, and perhaps the last they would ever see if Elian was her fleeing on a motorcycle, but in this moment of complete chaos, every single person she had, had the opportunity to meet became her brothers, her sisters, her family. Andrej... She hoped he would understand. If Terrian had been telling the truth, as he had done so far, then Elian needed to figure out how to stop the Exterminant from the core, even if that meant her life.

"Andrej...Sigmund...Edward... Terrian... Children... Pray for me."

Justice wanted to engage the fiery horse pokemon in combat, but Gerard palmed the pokemon's head and lifted him onto the seat of the motorcycle. Orienting himself quickly, he revved the engine and began to fly down the road towards Woodmount.

Whether or not he made it out of town was the question, but he was observant, at the least.