The Tales of Rippose

[Brendan Savem]

When Treex brought Lupina back to Emplor, he explained the tragic tale of Swift's demise. How he sacrificed everything for what he was fighting for. It didn't take much else to get Emplor to set up a funeral for Swift. Several days later, Treex was standing on a makeshift podium in the nearby 'Spirit Forest', a place that was rumoured to be a place where the real world was strongly connected with the spirit world, it had long been Rippose's graveyard for heroes, and Emplor personally said that Swift was a hero to Rippose. As the members of the train gave their speeches one by one, Treex hardly noticed a small tear slide gently down his cheek. Most of it was for the early loss of one of his students, but part of it was for something else. An old friend who too was a hero like Swift, yet didn't deserve the same funeral. It hung on his cheek for a long time, and only finally dropped when Swift was lowered into the hole and buried, a tombstone with the rescue symbol with the markings, 'to be remembered through snow and oceans', that meant where he came from (snowy lands) and where he died (on the waters). Just below that, there was the symbol Slash choose to be Team Scarz flag. Then the funeral ended.

Treex was about to leave early when Emplor caught and stopped him, "I believe you, Slash, and Kara also are owed thanks for rescuing Lupina." Emplor finally said,

"There is no need, Team Scarz deserves the true credit. It goes to show that it's time to pass the torch." Treex answered,

"Well, can you at least tell me what happened exactly on the mission?" Emplor asked,

"Much of the details are a mystery to me as well, but what I know was that we had taken them by surprise, Swift found Kabu, who wasn't very approving of the family business and insisted on being rescued, and rescued him. Kalben was going insane, and Ironwing and Kalben probably got injured badly. It's going to be a long time before we see them again." Treex explained.

"Thanks for the information, I should see with Team Scarz and see it from their perspective." Emplor finished, then he turned around to find the rest of the group. Feeling tranquil, Treex breathed a peaceful sigh, and returned to the academy.

 

[Aura]

Kara was rather angry at herself. She still believed it was her fault for Swifts death, and thought she should be punished correctly. If she were a part of the pack, the punishment for murder was death, but because of the situation, she was sure banishment would be decided as the appropriate punishment. So, Kara quietly slipped into the Forest, where the Shadows were, and disappeared.

Treex and Slash searched for Kara when they realised that she was missing. Their attempts were in vain, for Kara appeared to have vanished of the face of the earth. With this, the two remaining member's realised that she must still be blaming herself for Swift's death, and had punished herself appropetly.

Treex went back to work at the academy, carefully training his students to make sure they wouldn't have to got though with what Swift went though. Slash, along with Kabu, trained themselves, knowing that they must become stronger.

Rippose was quiet and peaceful again.

 

[Weeds]

(nice ending Aura! Fasten your seatbelts! It's time for a TIME JUMP!)

Five years later...

Night hung over Rippose like... Well, something that hangs. Most of the inhabitants were asleep, and everyone was definitely inside. So it was free for the hooded figure to roam the streets without being noticed. A sigh was heard from inside the hood. At last, the mysterious figure thought, I'm back in Rippose. It's been long since last time. The character stopped in front of Emplor's house. All hail the mayor of Rippose... The figure chuckled. Very funny.

So the figure made its way out of Rippose. It roamed into the woods, into the pitch-black darkness. There, between the gigantic, black trees it felt at home. How I've missed these trees... came a thought again. And the darkness... I've always loved it.

The figure stopped in its tracks. Then it turned around, back towards Rippose, but went on a path that led to the 'Spirit Forest', where the heroes of Rippose had been buried. It's changed since I last saw it... The hooded character went to look at the gravestones, and stopped at one that read:

Swift

To be remembered through snow and oceans.​

The figure snorted. I heard about that Swift. Weak, he was. After that he shot a glance at the other graves, then continued back to the forest, to his original destination.

After a while he arrived at a house built in the root of a giant tree. The windows showed that the inhabitants were awake. I've also heard about this one, long ago. the figure thought. Time to see if what I've heard is true. So the strange figure stepped up to the door which read: "Slash", and banged on it.


Slash was startled as he heard a loud knock on the door. It was late at night, nobody was in the forest this time. It was said that there were ghosts here at night. A common saying in Rippose was : "The only one to dare enter the haunted forest at night must be a ghost himself."

But Slash still went over to the door, and opened it. Outside stood a character in a cape with a hood that covered his/her/its face so nothing could be seen. The cape was beige with black ornaments at the edge.

"You've evolved." said a voice that gave Slash shivers along his back.

"Yes?" he said uncertainly, looking down at his red body. It was true, he had evolved. Inside the shrine that Swift's mother had given him had been a Metal Coat.

Slash regained his confidence. "Who are you? Reveal your face!"

"As you wish." came the answer. The figure slowly pulled it back. As it dropped to the character's shoulders, Slash gaped in astonishment. It was a Weavile. It was Swift.

 

[Brendan Savem]

(you paid good attention to the details I made on the tombstone, A+ ^_^!)

That night was a dark one, a thunderstorm was the only sound to be heard in Treex's study. This storm was not as bad as the one that caused major trouble a week ago, but it was still rough. Treex was writing up a reply to the message Aurax sent him about a mysterious Eevee from where he was. Treex was trying to write up a reply to it, but the storm kept interrupting his trail of thought. There was a small lantern made of rock hanging on a hook just outside his window. That single light illuminated his desk, but cast creepy shadows everywhere else. Suddenly, the room went dark, for a split second. Treex looked up suddenly just to find nothing, had he imagined it. No, something defiantly went wrong with the lighting, but the lantern couldn't have gone out. Then Treex realized the most possible solution; something moving outside casting the shadow, but what could anybody be doing out in this weather? Treex stepped outside into the rain and picked the lantern off the hook.

"Hello?" Treex called, it was all he could think of saying unless he had a clue of whom that shadow was: there was no reply. Treex sighed and was about to go back inside and forget the whole incident, until a crack of lighting momentarily lit the forest. That was enough time for Treex to see a shadow somewhere ahead of him. The shadow was moving quickly through the trees. Intrigued, Treex followed silently, leaving the lantern by the wall.

It was tough keeping up with the shadow, only the occasional lightning prevented Treex from loosing it. Soon enough, he saw it stop in Spirit Forest's graveyard. It was looking at one of the stones that marked a burial place, and then it was off again. Treex continued to follow it, passing the stone the shadow was observing as lighting struck again. Treex was now able to see the text on the stone. 'Swift, to be remembered through snow and oceans'. That brought back some memories. Ever since that day, Treex had never done any real battling, only mere demonstrations, hopefully he wasn't going to need his skills so soon. The stone also reminded him of Kara. Ever since the Absol disappeared, Treex believed that she had run away and not killed herself; maybe she was with her own kind. Casting all of this aside, Treex continued after the shadow.

(I cut it off there because I don't know much about this sudden Swift appearence, I think it's phantom, Swift wouldn't make fun of his own grave)

 

[Aura]

(That's my thought's on this as well...)


The wind was roaring, as Kara ran. Branches fell, hit by the lightning. She quickly darted around these, but did not stop running and find shelter. Living in the forest for so long had changed her. Here, she was no longer the Hunteress, but the hunted, and even worse, she was hunted by her own kind, which gave her a clear message about her actions which had gotten her banished in the first place, they had not forgiven her.

Kara had only returned to Rippose once, and that was a week ago. The storm that wreaked so much havoc then was her doing. In the confusion, Kara had snuck in and stolen four tms, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Icebeam and Aerial Ace. So far, they'd been a great help.

Up ahead, a tall green figure stepped out of the darkness. It was a Sceptile. It seemed somewhat familiar to Kara, but she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, this was an enemy. And all enemies must die.

With a snarl, Kara lept forward and roared,

"Flamethrower!"

A blast of brillant purple fire soared forwards towards her foe, and Kara raced in for the kill.

 

[Brendan Savem]

(this could hurt...)

Treex had followed the shadow on a relatively simple path; the shadow was almost purposely going slow. Suddenly, as the shadow turned a corner. The forest was illuminated by a purple glow. Treex back-stepped just in time as a flamethrower ripped through the air. Looking in the direction it came from, he saw something launching a second flamethrower. 'It must have been a trap' Treex thought, he dodged the attack again by leaping up and over.

"Slash!" a voice called out, he could just make out an Absol running towards him with its large spike/scythe ready to hit.

"Leaf Blade!" Treex called, making his leaves glow once more. He too began running for his attacker. He parried the slash with one blade, and lashed at the Absol's face with the other, as the Absol reeled in pain, Treex, going back to the basics, punched the Absol under the chin. The Absol fell to the floor and tried to get back up again. Before it had the chance, Treex jumped on its body and pinned down its head; the best way to hold a dangerous pokémon. Treex studied the Absol as it tried to wriggle its way out. He felt like he knew this Absol, he still failed to recognize her. He then thought of Slash, and then realized that the shadow was heading in the same direction as Slash's house. Treex hit the Absol on the back of the head, knocking it out. Then left it there as he ran to find Slash.

(I hope you don't mind me doing all the autoing, I just feel exited about this turn of events and want to take some role in this)

 

[Aura]

Moments later, Kara woke, snarling. How could she, the only one to have escaped Hariti's wrath for 5 long years, be bested by an old one. She would show him... With all the stealth she could muster, she followed the Sceptile, while untangling the old scarf that she'd been wearing for ages, but still couldn't get it off.

"Annoying thing..." Kara muttered.

The old Sceptile was following some kind of Shadow. Kara followed him, as he followed the Shadow towards the odd house. Over to the left, there was a ledge. It seemed unclimable, but not for Kara.

"Perfect..."

She lept up the side of the cliff face, without caring if she fell to her death. She then turned to watch the Sceptile and the shadow.

 

[Brendan Savem]

Treex wasn't really following the shadow at first, but just trying to get to Slash's tree-trunk-house. He soon enough caught up with the shadow, and nearly blew his cover. Keeping his distance he ran after the shadow, unknowing of the Absol still following him not too far behind. Soon enough, a clearing appeared in the forest, to the far side, there was a huge tree with a door, a little light penetrated from underneath it; Slash's house/rescue base. Treex took to the trees and slowly went around so he had a relatively good view. The shadow reached out with a hand, Treex couldn't see it clearly, but it appeared to be claws. Treex, even from his location, could hear the knocks. Three times did the sound echo through the rain. Twenty seconds later, the door opened, Treex could see the glistening, red body of a Scizor. Treex knew that Slash had evolved, but he had only glimpsed at the pincer bug. This was the closest Treex has been to Slash since Swift's funeral. The shadow spoke with Slash for a bit, until Slash demanded for the shadow to say who he was.

"As you wish…" The shadow replied with a voice that was raspy and hollow, as if it came from beyond the grave. Treex watched as the shadow pulled the hood back and showed a black head with a sort of red line of fur running along it. Treex saw Slash step back in shock when he saw the Weavile. Treex could have too, there was no mistaking the voice anymore: it was Swift…

 

[Weeds]

(No, it really is Swift. When I killed him I just couldn't bare the thought, so I made this up to "reincarnate" him. He mocked his own grave because in his opinion he WAS weak back then, since he's been training. Will you two please stop suspecting Phanton is behind everything? )

Slash was speechless, staring at his old dead friend. Swift looked amused, but there was nothing wrong with that. Slash looked very comical, standing as he did.

"Are you going to let me in?" he asked. "It's cold out here, even for me."

Slash stepped aside, still gaping, and let Swift inside the house.

"Your house hasn't changed much since I last saw it." he said, looking around. "Before the Team Ancients incident. Remember?"

Slash had finally found something to say, but it didn't sound too well. "How... How are you..."

Swift sighed. "Of course I'd have to tell you. But not quite yet. Do you have some tea?"

Slash nodded and went over to a cupboard. He stuck in a pincer and took out a small bowl with sweet-smelling Pecha Berry powder. He poured it in a can of hot water, warmed earlier, since was going to have a cup of tea himself anyways. He poured the liquid into two cups, gave one to Swift, then sat down in a chair by the fireplace. Swift took a seat opposite to his friend.

"As I said before; you've evolved." he began. "How did it happen? Metal Coats aren't very common."

"Your mother..." Slash began. "On... your funeral, your mother gave me a shrine. She told me not to open it before I felt ready. She said I would be too surprised to understand the gift. I trained myself, both physically and mentally, and when I felt I had evolved inside, I opened the shrine. Inside was a Metal Coat."

"Aah, good old mother..." Swift said. "I remember seeing that Metal Coat as a kid. I always wondered what we were supposed to do with it. It seems as if it finally came to a good use..."

Swift sipped some tea, then it was silent. It was Slash who broke it.

"How can you be here when you're supposed to be dead!?" he suddenly shouted, as if high voice would change the fact. "I was by your side when your heart stopped beating!"

Swift sighed again. "I understand that you're confused, maybe angry, with me." he said. "But I'll explain. When my body was sinking into the clutches of death, my mind was totally clear. I was painfully aware of my surroundings through everything. When I fired the last Ice Beam, I had planned everything. I knew that I was close to death, so I could manage an attack like that. Then I fainted again. But while you brought me to the other Lapras, I was preparing my body for a deep trance that my father learned me. It took a long time for it to begin working. During the trance the body seems to be completely lifeless. When my heart stopped beating I actually stepped over into the state of trance. Luckily you didn't bury my coffin..." That was true, Swift's coffin hadn't been buried, it had been placed up in a tree. Swift paused, then continued his explanation. "A while after my funeral I stepped out of trance. I regained consciousness long enough to tell a Beedrill passing by to get a Chansey for me, and not to tell anyone anything about my survival. After a while the Chansey came, and after a few weeks, I was restored.
But I felt guilty, for some reason, and couldn't bare the thought of facing you again, not so soon. So I travelled around, training, as you did, both mentally and physically. During one of my travels I found a Razor Claw, which led to evolution. Only now, after five years, did I feel strong enough to visit you, and here I am."

Silence consumed the friends once more. Again, Slash broke it.

"Well, it's good to have you back."

Swift smiled, then sipped some more of his tea, letting silence have its way, again.

 

[Brendan Savem]

(Pity, that would have been interesting... Oh yeah, I'm going to tweak the story to make it more realistic, somebody would notice if Swift's coffin was empty. And Sneasel doesn't evolve through the reaper cloth, it's through the razor claw)

Treex barely believed what he was seeing as Slash let the Weavile in and shut the door. How was that possible? He saw Swift in the box in the hole, which was before they buried it. He tried to recall what had happened in the days after the funeral. It was late that day, so they weren't able to bury him on that same day. The next day, the coffin was already buried; maybe by Slash himself late that night. Then the answer hit Treex, Swift must have been in a coma, not death. If he recovered after the funeral, then buried his empty coffin, everyone would forget about him and think he was still in Spirit Forest. It almost made sense, except a few questions to the reasons behind it. Why did Swift pretend he was dead? Where did he go? Why would he return now? Only Swift would know the answers. Before he knew it, Treex was already knocking on Slash's door.

 

[Weeds]

(Thanx Brendan, mixed em up)

Suddenly there was another knock on the door. Surprised, Slash went over and opened it. This was the second visitor this night. How was there suddenly so many pokemon in the forest in the dark?

Slash opened the door, and to his surprise, he found Treex standing outside.

"Treex!" Slash exclaimed happily. "How nice to see you! We haven't met in ages!"

Treex smiled and nodded at Slash. He seemed a little anxious to get inside. He probably saw Swift come Slash guessed. Treex stepped inside, and stopped to look at Swift.

"Hello Swift." he said without revealing his feelings.

"Hello master Treex." Swift said, very courteously, still using the word "master" about his old teacher, even though it had been years since his days at the academy.

"You have a lot to explain." Treex said, crossing his arms.

Swift sighed. There had been too many sighs this night. "So I do." he said.

Slash brought Treex a cup and poured some tea in it. Then Swift told his story for the second time. He didn't look his old teacher in the eyes even once during his speech. When he was finished, he looked Treex in the eyes. Swift's gaze was full of sorrow, and it was begging of forgiveness.

 

[Brendan Savem]

After Swift explained his story. Treex wasn't sure what to make of it. He understood why Swift would feel guilty. That still didn't explain much.

"That doesn't make much sense to why you're here now. It's been five years since your funeral, are you just going to join Team Scarz again? This isn't going to be easy for anyone to take in. Such as Kabu-" Treex explained, and then remembered a certain someone. "And Kara, we haven't seen her since that day; she probably blamed herself for what happened." Treex was rather quiet at first, but his voice dipped up a notch when he explained the Kara incident, and then went quiet as he finished. He was fighting the urge to believe that he was just dreaming and he was still at the academy, even though he knew this was all really happening. Treex then brought himself to his question, "What are you going to do now?"

 

[Weeds]

(Sorry I haven't posted, I've been unable to be on the computer for a long time. I won't post nearly at all next weak, gone skiing, we have spring break.)

Swift looked at his feet in guilt. "I never expected you to take me back just like that." he said. "But I felt guilty, and thought you should know. I just couldn't make myself come here earlier. I was too ashamed..."

Suddenly something snapped inside Swift and he looked up at Treex. "You haven't seen Kara?" he asked, different feelings bubbling like in a hot cauldron inside. "What happened? Did she run away or something? I don't know how well she'd survive like that... I happen to know that you two had some... Less bright ideas by the time we met." The last was sent towards Slash, who turned away. Swift sighed inside. He's changed so much. Before he would've laughed. Evolution changes ones personality. I should know...

Swift looked back at Treex. "I have no idea of what to do. The only thing I had in mind was returning here to apologize. After that I was going to make up something."

 

[Brendan Savem]

Treex studied the Weavile that had appeared so suddenly that night. In his mind, he could see a silhouette of Swift as the Sneasel he once was. They were both one and the same all right. The question was, would others believe it?

"Well, I would suggest making your return to Rippose gradual and careful. If you rush into it, it will be too difficult for anybody to believe. Even now, this is something I'm finding difficult to take in." Treex suggested, then fell silent, remembering the single tear he shed back at the funeral. "Just don't forget, with Slash, you have the power to go beyond saving people caught in disaster aftermath, you have the strength to walk to the disaster's door and face it head on. One day, you might be able to best even the greatest of heroes at their own game. It all starts with a single step…" Treex explained, a flash of lightning from outside accompanied him on the moment.

(It's a bit cut off, I think it's time for Aura to get back into the RP at this time...)

 

[Aura]

(*sigh* I was going to wait until you came outside, then start with the Irony, but anyway...)

The lightning lit up the sky, and somewhere in Kara's mind, something told her that this was ironic. Although she didn't have a clue why.

The old Sceptile hadn't come out of the house yet, and she was getting impaient. She told herself that a hunteress shouldn't be inpaient. A hunteress had to wait for the right moment to strike for days and days and days on end. And so she waited. It was silent inside the house, a silence had fallen. The thunder seemed to have the same idea, not making a sound. If there had been noise, Kara wouldn't have had a warning.

She spun around at the same time a red and white blur hit her at the speed of a bullet. The two absols toppled off the cliff and fell to the ground with a crack. Kara hissed at the Shiny Absol who was pinning her to the ground.

"Hello Kara..." he purred in a voice like velvet, "How nice to see you again..."

Kara didn't reply to this, she just kept on stuggling.

"Tut tut tut." the Absol said in a taunting voice, "That's not polite. So I will say again, Hello Kara."

Kara sighed. Maybe she could talk her way out.

"Alpha Nigel."

"There's no need to get formal Kara, you know that."

"Whatever... Now what do you want?"

Nigel smiled, showing his fangs, "You know what I want Kara! The same thing I wanted since I set my eyes on you!"

"Slave for live and all that other **** right?"

He pretended to be shocked that Kara could have come to this conclusion. "Of course not! Now why would I want that?"

But there was an edge to his voice, which Kara knew he always had when he lied.

"Liar!" Kara snarled, and quickly slashed her sythe at his face.

"Kara!" Nigel snarled in a furious, double voice, which was ment to render Kara to silence, "You stop that now!" He commanded in the Alpha voice.

Even though Kara wasn't part of his pack, it did have an effect. Kara stopped stuggling... and shouted

"Thunderbolt!!!"

The lightning stuck down on the earth, right on top of Nigel. Of course, he jumped off Kara before it struck, but Kara wasn't so lucky. She was hit with her own attack. She howled as the electicity corsed through her body, pain ejected in her blood with a single flash of light. When it stopped, Kara was completly black, her fur standing on edge.

"You never did fight fair did you?" she panted.

Nigel grinned his fanged grin, "Never." he confirmed.

A bang made both Absol's heads turn towards the sound. The door to the house had openned.

 

[Weeds]

(Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted lately, but now I'm back to terrorize 'Charms once more! )

Treex's words meant much to Swift. But he was right. The Weavile's reappearance in Rippose was a bit sudden.

"Actually," Swift started, "I never planned revealing my survival. I was going to come here and then plan the future, but I always thought my visit would be shrouded by secrecy. I don't know why, I just feel that way."

Slash turned back to Swift. "So you didn't want to reveal that your alive? Then why did you come here!?" The tone in Slash's voice was annoyed.

Angered, Swift stood up. "Didn't you listen to a word I said!? I felt guilty! I wanted to apologize for leaving you without telling any plans!"

"Apologize all you want, it still wont take away the pain I felt!" Slash countered. "And Kara! She blamed herself and ran off! An apology wont just heal all that!"

Swift was going to fight back, but suddenly collapsed onto the floor, his head in his claws. "I shouldn't be arguing. I come back here to tell you that all the pain you felt was in vain, and then I fight you. I am miserable."

Slash's face changed and he was just going to say something when he was disturbed by a noise outside. He went to the door and opened it.

"What the heck is going on here!?" he shouted.

Swift looked up. Outside he saw two Absols, apparently they were in a fight. The more damaged one looked familiar.

"Wait a second... You look familiar." Slash said.

It struck Swift. Could it be?... Swift stood up and went over to the door. "She should look familiar." he said. "It's Kara."

 

[Brendan Savem]

(I held this up quite a bit, haven't I? :-[)

Treex was hardly able to keep up with the whirlpool of events, the lighting of a battle going on outside made sudden illuminations into the house, Slash and Swift dashed past him, and Swift successfully identified Kara as one of the fighting Absol. Looking closely, Treex could see that this was the Absol that attacked him earlier, but also as Kara. The other one was shiny, so that would have to be Nigel; the 'tyrant' leader of the Absol pack in the mountains. What would he be doing down here? Probably looking for Kara. Treex wanted to go in and intervene, but if Kara was to attack him again, then he won't be able to watch both of them at the same time. Keeping a distance, he began to charge up a solar beam from the house. Since it was almost pitch black outside, it was tough to get the energy necessary to use it. At this point, it was Swift and Slash's call.

 

[Aura]

(Yes, yes you have)

Nigel looked at the group of Pokemon which had burst out of the house with a snarl. Looked like his plans had been interupted. He glared at the other Pokemon with his... pure gold eyes? That was very very bad. But there no time to worry about Nigels ablities over disasters.

"Catch you later baby!" he called to Kara as he ran through the forest, like an arrow from a bow. Kara was about to chase after him, because she was faster, a bullet from a gun, but she quickly remembered that he was much stronger than she was. Besides, she had more pressing problems.

Slowly, Kara turned to face the trio of Pokemon. Weavile, Sceptile and Scisor. All weak to fire... hmm... She looked them all in the eye, and let out a feral snarl.

 

[Weeds]

(Hey guys! I haven't been able to log on for a long time either, so it doesn't really matter that much to me.)

Slash was confused. Kara? Is that... But as he looked closer, he could clearly see that Swift's statement was true. It really was Kara... But why was she so offensive?

Kara roared at them, and in that instant, Slash knew she was going to attack.

Swift was the first to react. "Split." he said and dashed off to his right. Slash followed his example, going to his left, Kara's right. Clever. he thought. This way we won't all get hit.

Swift stopped. He started storing his energy for a Dark Pulse. "Go for an Iron Head!" he yelled at Slash, hoping that Kara wouldn't overhear. As he loaded his energy one thought went through his head. Why did she attack us?

 

[Aura]

(Don't worry, she heard you)

The younger two were ready first, the elder only seconds behind. Kara growled. She had as much chance of defeating all three of them as she did of beating Nigel. But if she didn't have to battle them all at once... hmmmm...

"Go for an Iron Head!" The Weavile cried to the Scisor.

There was no way Kara was going to let that attack hit...

"Ice beam..." Kara whispered.

Yelling alerted your enemies to your attack, and while it was more heroic, it was better to be alive than dead. A ball of liquid ice and snow formed in front of Kara. The Scisor lauched forwards, and Kara released the ice beam when the Scisor was going to fast to stop. He froze on the spot.

"Leaf Storm!" The elder cried, raising his glowing claws.

Kara yelped as wind lifted her up off her feet, and into the air. Razor sharp leaves flew through the air, cutting her skin. Too slowly, the wind stopped, the leaves subsided, and Kara was sent hurling to the ground. She quickly Ice Beamed the Sceptile, freezing him, before crashing to the ground. A Dark pulse was let off as soon as Kara looked up, sending her backwards. Kara got back up again, on shaking limbs, wishing dearly that Ice types could be frozen. She growled again at the Weavile, a clear warning. He just looked confused, torn between something.

Oh well, whatever it is, it doesn't concern me... does it?

 

[Brendan Savem]

(bear with me that I made half of this post before I saw Aura's reply, so there might be a conflict or two)

"Split!" Swift yelled, as Kara charged up an attack. Treex looked both ways to see Swift and Slash running in opposite directions. Looking ahead, Treex could see that Kara hadn't budged to try and aim at the other two. Because she didn't need to: It was him she was after. Treex made his own direction of escape by jumping up into the very tree behind him.

"Go for an Iron head!" Swift called, Treex looked through the branches to see Slash running for Kara with his head reared. Slash could have used better moves like steel wing or even bug buzz. The fact that this was Kara they were fighting put those out of the question. The objective here was restraining Kara, not chasing her off. He charged up a Leaf Storm, intent on trapping Kara in it to give Swift a chance to freeze her limbs. Instead, it was him that got frozen. Treex fell from the trees in a block of ice that landed with a thud. Fortunately for Treex, his head wasn't frozen, so he had some visibility of his surroundings. Slash was frozen in the same way he was ten meters ahead of him. If only one of them knew a fire move, then they could easily be defrosted and back into the fight. Treex knew solar beam, so that would have to do. He began charging it up, but it was almost pitch black this far away from the lights of the house, so Treex wouldn't be able to send Slash back into the fight for a while, this fight was on Swift for now.

 

[Weeds]

"Slash!" Swift roared as Kara froze his friend in a huge lump of ice. "No!" he continued as Treex was put in the same situation. "Dark Pulse!" he yelled, firing off his energy at the Absol, and to his satisfaction, it was a perfect hit. But Kara didn't seem to affected.

Type disadvantages! he thought. How could I forget something as important as that?! Swift didn't know what to do. Kara was clearly unaffected by weaker blows, yet Swift didn't want to damage her to much. Well, since nothing is helping... "Ice Beam!" he roared and fired off the very same beam at Kara that she had frozen his friends with. "Eat that!" he chuckled as the beam raced towards its goal. Comments like that had been slipping out of Swift pretty much lately.

 

[Aura]

Eat it? Eat an ice beam? Fat chance! Kara lept out of the way of the Ice beam, using her almost unmatched speed, the summonded the fire. It didn't come as easily as some other attacks, the ones she learned naturally, but it came all the same. She felt it burning her throat, and knew she had to release it.

"Flamethrower!" Kara cried, and the deadly purple flames burst out of her mouth, towards the Weavile.

(Shut up, I know it's short...)

 

[Weeds]

"Uh oh." was Swift's comment on the approaching Flamethrower. For a moment he considered standing still to see if he could take the heat, as his master Magmor had taught him, but Slash's and Treex's lives could be at stake. So instead he used all that speed a Weavile has and at the same put himself into the safety of the shadows.

The attack had been extremely powerful. Where Swift had stood was only a big, black, burnt hole. He wouldn't have been strong enough to take that one. But now Swift was in his own element, darkness. Unfortunately, this was also Kara's element. He would have to trick her, confuse her, and then strike while she didn't know which direction was up.

The Weavile had an idea. Using Double Team he created lots of phantom copies of himself and then spread out. Now, Swift thought, and all the Weaviles fired off Ice Beams simultaneously. Let's see if she can dodge this!

OOC: Of course only one of the Ice Beams is real, but it is a neat way to foll your opponent, right?

 

[Aura]

(Hell yeah!!!)

Kara quickly let out a colourful oath. She reacted instinctivly. 3... 2... 1... JUMP! Kara lept into the air backwards, and quickly fired her own Icebeam at the ground, which sent her flying into the air. The Icebeams created a ice podium which Kara landed on, snarling.

"You'll have to do better than that!" she hissed.

Kara felt some heat being given off from the north, from the sea.

What the hell?

She spun around quickly, to face the ocean, when there was a light from behind her. Pain... energy... ripping... Damn... Elder... Blackness...

(In other words, Ocean heats up. Treex gains enough light to launch a Solarbeam. Kara is knocked out.)

 

[Brendan Savem]

(Ocean? What ocean? We're at Slash's house; in the forest)

Treex's patience finally paid off as he succeeded to gather enough light to launch the move. Although it was intended to defrost Slash, Kara got in the way at the last second and got hit in the front legs by the solar energy. The rest of the beam went on the intended path and cut through chunks of the ice encasing Slash. When Treex was done, Slash was still partially frozen, but his mobility was restored and he was able to break the small chunks left off his red body with his giant pincers. Treex looked around and saw that Kara was knocked out, whether it was due to solar beam or an attack Swift used, it didn't matter. What mattered was what to do with Kara, wait for her to wake up and explain everything, or leave her somewhere distant?

"You guys mind giving me a hand, leaving me would be pretty cold of you" Treex asked, he would have smiled at the pun he made, but more pressing matters were wiping his face clean.

 

[Weeds]

(The ocean part confused me too, would you please explain Aura?)

At first Swift was disappointed, as Kara had evaded his attack with an elegant leap. Then he was cheered up, as his attack had put Kara right in the way of Treex's Solarbeam. Now he was only confused. Sure, Treex's attack was powerful, but it was in the middle of the night. The beam shouldn't have had enough strength to knock her out; something else must've caught her mind just as the attack landed.

Swift could see Slash breaking free from the ice, going over to help Treex. Swift stood looking at Kara's unconcious body. The two others arrived at his side.

"What do you reckon we should do?" Slash said.

Swift didn't answer directly. "We ought to carry her inside. No use leaving her here, she'd just run away when she wakes up, probably keen on revenge. Let's carry her inside and make sure she gets all right, maybe she'll be calmed down long enough for us to explain things."

So the Weavile and the Scizor grabbed Kara by her front and hind legs and carried her inside, Treex right behind them. As they got inside Kabu was sitting in an armchair. "Slash?" he said to the Scizor. "I'm scared."

 

[Brendan Savem]

(is Kabu still a Kabuto?)

Treex watched Slash and Swift carry Kara towards the house. It was unlikely that Kara would wake up again so soon, she would probably be up before noon. It was clear that Treex was done here, whether Swift was to stay or go was his choice. And there was no telling if Kara's appearance would influence his decision in any way. Treex waited for Slash and Swift to take their old friend into the house, then turned around and walked into the shadows.

(short, and almost worthless, I know. I feel a little brain-dead at the moment to be honest)

 

[Aura]

Nigel flew (ok, ok, ran) through the forest, towards the sea*. His gold eyes flashed. There was no point in staying with Kara's 'friends' there and all. If he'd tried to subdue Kara then, they would have attacked. Nigel was sure he could take them down, but not without paying a terrible price. And then he wouldn't be in a fit state to make her part of the pack. He growled, annoyed. Why oh why had his father banished her? It just wasn't fair. If Kara was in the pack, she'd have no choice but to obey.

"Why did she have to disobey orders!?!" Nigel cried aloud.

There was no responce, wind execpted. Nigel stopped, overlooking the ocean from a large rock. There was claw marks on the top, where a Pokemon had taken off. The ocean was calm... Too calm... Nigel grinned savagly, his gold eyes flashing. They began to glow, and he was surronded by a golden aura, which got stronger and stronger. When it became unbearable, Nigel felt it. The ocean was heating up.

"Lets see them take down a cyclone!!!" He roared with laughter, before racing back to the pack, who were waiting in the pass, the only way out past the mountains.

***

The first thing Kara noticed was the light. It was golden, and very beautiful. She sighed. It was nice and warm here... she didn't want to move...

"Kara!" A voice exclaimed.

Kara growled, telling the voice to leave her alone. She ached all over...

"Kara!" The voice cried again.

Against her will, Kara opened her eyes. The Weavile, Sceptile and Scizor had crowded 'round her, looking worried. This confused Kara. Why hadn't they killed her when the had the chance? Then it occured to her that these may be kind Pokemon... but she dissmissed the idea instantly. There was no such thing. Kara stood up shakily and growled.

"What do you want?"

(* = the sea is past Rippose, a few kilometres away. Kara's sense of danger warns her when there might be a disaster in a ten mile radius. That's the referal to the sea.

And I think Kabu should still be a Kabuto.)

 

[Weeds]

(Kabu's still a Kabuto, but he's avery strong Kabuto.)

Kabu was climbing on Swift's back to see Kara return to consciousness. The Kabuto had accepted Swift's return very quickly, it hadn't surprised him at all. Somewhere deep down he knew that the Sneasel, well, now the Weavile, couldn't have disappeared, not forever. Maybe he was just too young to understand something as deep as death. Kara was moving, and mumbling. Nothing interesting seemed to be happening, so Kabu let his concentration wander, drifting form this to that. Suddenly he noticed something strange going on. He climbed off Swift's back and went over to the window which pointed to the sea. Something was coming at them, and it wasn't good. And Kabu's instincts hadn't failed him. He ran over to Slash.

Slash was following Swift's attempts to awaken Kara. Apparently yelling her name was effective, as the Absol had woken up and asked them what they wanted.

"Kara! You're all right!" Swift shouted, relieved. Before the Absol could respond, the Weavile was sitting by her side. "Let me tell you a story about a Sneasel, a Scyther and an Absol, who, with the help of a Sceptile..."

The Scizor was pulled away from Swift's story by Kabu pulling at his leg. "What is it?" he asked, but he had barely said the words when he realized something was wrong. He ran over to the window, looking out in the direction of the sea. "You sense it too?" Kabu asked, nervousness seeping into his voice. Slash nodded. "We've got to get out of here. It's not safe anymore."

***

Further off, a Medicham was sitting in his own cottage, sipping some tea. His house was at the edge of a cave sealed with a giant boulder. He had been assigned to live here, to guard the cave. But nothing never happened around there. "And nothing ever will," the pokemon thought.

He was to be proven dead wrong. Literally.

 

[Brendan Savem]

(ooh I love this part...)

Treex walked slowly, unaware of the events that were happening behind or in front of him. However, when he passed the hero's graveyard, a sudden strike of lighting illuminated the area and alerted Treex, hadn't it stopped earlier? He scrambled up a nearby tree and saw a sight he was not expecting. On the horizon, there was the sea, with sharp, swirling waters and winds that spun at whip-lashing speeds. And it was heading towards Rippose! The cyclone wasn't what made Treex worry the most, it was how close in time intervals it was to the recent thunderstorms. This was a bad omen, of treacharous things to come.

The cyclone itself already looked like it could do some massive damage if it hits, how much stronger could it go? Was there a way to stop it hitting the town? Treex knew Kara has been able to conjure up storms, but none of this scale. However, she was stronger than she used to be, could she stop this one? There was no telling until they tried. Treex immediatly turned back to find Swift, Kara and the others.

 

[Aura]

Kara lept forwards to slash the Weavile on the face with her scythe (an equivilate of a slap).

"We haven't got time for this!" Kara exclaimed.

She pointed one paw in the direction of the ocean.

"Do you know what's out there?"

The Pokemon looked at her blankly before the Kabutos said, "There's something going on, we're just not sure what it is..."

"Then let me cure your arrogence," Kara snarled, "The thing out there is a cyclone, about 100km off the coast. But," She said grimly, "It's traveling in this direction. And it will be about an hour before the first part hits, the sea surge. The Cyclones winds will made the water's rise by up to 5 metres above sea level, depending on the strength of the storm. Then the winds will come, battering down everything, along with the waves. Luckily, the cyclone will only stay in one area for up to 30 minutes, and so the death rate isn't very high. But... sometimes a cyclone will stop in a certain spot for days on end. This, if it happens, could destroy all of Rippose, the surronding area, and everyone within it. This is most likely to happen, as the sea is very close, so the cyclone can keep up it's strength."

Kara turned and raced out the door, which resulted in her bumping into the elder. In any other time (and if she hadn't been beaten by him 2 times), she would have battled him then and there. But this wasn't the place.

"Kara!" he cried, "There's a cyclone coming! Did yo-"

Kara cut him off, "I know. It will hit in about one hour. The hit will be direct. You could try and flee through the mountain pass. Or you could tell the Pokemon in Rippose. But if you did, you wouldn't get through the pass in time." She paused, wondering what he would do, "It's your own choice."

Kara herself didn't know what she would do. She told herself that fleeing would be best. What had the others ever done for her? But if no one knew... how many would die? And if she did, how many would escape death? Kara didn't have the power to move the cyclone. But maybe... Kara grinned, and ran towards Rippose.

 

[Weeds]

Kabu was completely lost from all the confusion around him. A cyclone? That was what he'd sensed? Swift was getting up, and as soon as he was on his feet he was out of the house, following Kara down to Rippose.

Slash grabbed the Kabuto and pulled him aside. "We're going down to Rippose to warn the inhabitants about the approaching storm," he said. "If you come along your chances of survival will decrease drastically. There is a mountain pass nearby, you could try to get there before the cyclone, but we might not make it. I'm not forcing you to go. Will you follow us, or will you head for safety?"

Kabu looked up at Slash. "Of course I'm coming with you guys."

The Scizor grinned. "Little soldier." He extended his arm to let Kabu jump onto it, then rushed out through the door, leaving the house empty; Treex had left as well. "Little soldier..." Slash thought. "I hope I get to call him little survivor too...

***

The Medicham quickly awoke from his half-asleep state and rushed out. Something was wrong, he could sense it. He glanced over at the cave, but it was calm. The trouble was somewhere else. With a single leap the Medicham jumped up on the cave, spying out in all directions, hoping to find the cause of this mess.

Beneath his feet, two yellow, gleaming eyes opened. "It is time."

And suddenly, a whole lot of energy was released at once; the cave was blown to molecules. The poor Medicham shared the same fate as the rock he'd been standing on. A lone figure made its way through the heaps of rubbish. "It is time. Fear me, for I have returned."

 

[Brendan Savem]

Treex was nearly wheezing by the time he was back at the house. His body wasn't in enough shape to run for so fast for so long. He stopped to catch his breath outside the house, so he could be a little more presentable. However, when he was about to open the door, Kara burst out and pounced on him. If he had more energy, he would have defended himself, thinking that Kara was still out to get him. Instead, he could only try to explain the cyclone.

"Kara… there's a cyclone… coming… Did yo-" he tried to explain, but he was still gasping for air, so he had to pause every few words.

"I know. It will hit in about one hour. The hit will be direct. You could try and flee through the mountain pass. Or you could tell the Pokemon in Rippose. But if you did, you wouldn't get through the pass in time. It's your own choice." Kara said, then ran off. Treex got back on his feet as Swift, Slash, and Kabu chased after Kara. Treex began to follow, when something touched his foot. He bent down and picked up a rock. It was small enough for him to wrap in his palm, it had sharp edges all around as if it was freshly broken off a larger rock. Treex looked around, there wasn't any rock this one could have come from nearby. Did it fall from the sky or something? Keeping the rock in his hand, he followed the group to Rippose.

 

[Aura]

Kara moved as fast as her legs could take her. Soon, the other pokemon were far behind her, and Rippose was in sight. Pokemon exclaimed as she tore down the road, heading towards a old Empoleon who was being followed around by a glamrous Primplup. Kara knew this was the mayor and his daughter.

"You!" Kara exclaimed, not bothering with formalties, "There's a cyclone coming! You need to decide if you will defend Rippose or flee."

The mayor didn't look that happy about being addressed as 'you' but he didn't follow it up. There were more pressing problems.

"Listen to me!" He cried in a deep voice, "Rippose is under threat! We need to decide if we should flee or defend Rippose!"

Kara could see Pokemon already fleeing for the mountain pass. Several bird Pokemon flew in different directions, chirping the news to everyone they saw.

"We should leave!" A Mismagius cried out. "We'll all die!"

"We won't all be able to get out in time! The mountain pass is too far away!" A deep gravely voice called.

"We could teleport Pokemon out!" An Abra whipsered.

"We wouldn't be able to teleport everyone in time!" A Seel argued.

"Quiet Pokemon Quiet!" Empor yelled.

No one listened.

"I have an idea! We could defend Rippose while Psy (the abra) teleports as many Pokemon as he can out. Fast Pokemon should head for the mountain pass." The Primplup said calmly.

Kara spotted the Sceptile, Weavile, Scizor and Kabutos enter the crowd. The old one was gasping for air. Kara walked up to them.

"They're arguing about what we should do. I think the idea that the Primplup came up with is a good idea, but everyone keeps on yelling. And I think it's a bad idea to run/fly to the mountain pass. I have a hunch about who is to blame."

 

[Weeds]

"You know who did this?! Is it another Absol? Could you two maybe, if not stop the cyclone completely, move it out of track? But then again, the other Absol might not want to... Damn!" was Swift's reply to Kara's words. "Teleporting via that Abra could be a good idea, but something could go wrong there too. This whole situation is to sudden and messy to be taken care of right now."

Swift took a few steps aside and cursed. What to do? Some help, any help, could be very useful now.

***

The figure was approaching Rippose. He stopped close enough to hear what the other pokemon were saying, yet out of sight. "A cyclone, eh? Perfect!" An evil chuckle followed, and the creature stepped out.

 

[Aura]

"The other Absol caused it." Kara said, watching the crowd argue. "He wouldn't move it in a million years. And I won't be able to do a thing to it. His power over disaster's is much more powerful than mine..."

She didn't say another word, just continued watching the growing mass of swirling air and the rising waves.

***

Nigel saw the Gengar head towards the centre of Rippose.

"Stop!" he exclaimed.

Normally, everyone would have heard this, but with the Pokemon yelling as much as they were, only the Gengar heard.

"What do you want?" It whispered.

"To help. You no-longer have your army. And although you are powerfuler than anyone else in Rippose, you would be defeated with sheer numbers. Let me and my pack help you. Together, we can take Rippose. Then, you can help me make Kara part of my pack."

The Gengar watched silently for a moment, before replying...

 

[Brendan Savem]

(since I have no idea what's truely happening with Phantom, I'll ignore him for this post. And sorry for not getting this up sooner. That is why I shall make up for it with a free science class! )

Treex watched the panic silently, Kara was booming off ideas and theories like a bullet seed. Pokemon everywhere were evacuating the city like crazy, it seemed like only he, Swift, Emplor, and Lupina were quiet and thoughtful. Treex stood away from the main group and watched the slowly approaching cyclone.

A cyclone, as he knew, was a swirling mass of wind and water, created by rising air swirling in a usually counterclockwise direction, same principles as a typhoon or hurricane, just different danger scales. The rising air itself, like many forces of nature, worked like a escalator or conveyor belt. If it was to be interrupted at any point, the entire thing could break down. But what could destroy the pattern of rising air in a cyclone? … It was reverse psychology. To smash a rock, you need another rock, to catch a pokémon you need another pokémon, and to stop a cyclone, you had to create another cyclone.

It was extremely risky, since if neither cyclone was to come near one another, then there would be two cyclones to worry about. What's more, the second cyclone would have hot air rising in a clockwise direction, otherwise the two would simply merge together instead of cancelling each other out. Then there would be a whole new problem. The risk was high, but things were already dangerous the way they were. It was worth a shot.

"Kara" Treex asked, he approached the Absol and put one hand on her shoulder, and bent down slightly so he was exactly level with her face. "I know it has always been tough to stop a storm once it has started, but is it possible to create another one?" Treex continued. What Kara would say next might seal the fate of the entire town of Rippose.

 

[Aura]

(Yay for the free science class!)

Kara blinked in suprise.

"Create... another... Cyclone?" She managed to stutter.

The Sceptile nodded, watching her. Kara's thought's raced, trying to find the logic in creating another cyclone.

Stupid! There's no way I could do that! And even if I could, Nigel would just push it off course like a gale blowing a Pidgey out of a tree. Easy. And why would you create another cyclone? That I just have to know.

"Why... why would you create another? We already have enough of a problem here!" Kara asked.

The Sceptile surveyed her with his old wise eyes before answering. "The two cyclones may cancel each other out. That's what I'm hoping will happen anyway."

Kara blinked, looked into those deep eyes... which she had sworn she'd seen somewhere before... but where?

Oh well, there's more important things at the moment to worry about... Okay, first thing... Why? has been answered. Next... how?
...
I have no idea how I'd be able to create something so strong... a storm, yes, I might be able to do that. But not a cyclone...
What do I mean, I wouldn't be able to do it?! I'm strong, I'm powerful, much stronger than when I dared to play with the weather just for fun! And if I didn't, what would Dad say? 'Kara...' he'd say, looking down with his pure gold eyes, 'You had nothing to lose! Why didn't you try?'
But there's now way I could do it! Nill! None! Impossible! And if I did by some miracle manage, Nigel would just send it elsewhere!
So stop Nigel from doing that!
How the hell am I going to do that?!
Distract him! Have some Pokemon attack at the same time as I create a cyclone!
BUT I CAN'T CREATE A CYCLONE!!!
YES I CAN!!!
NO I CAN'T!!!
YES! I! CAN!
NO! I! CAN'T!
FINE I WILL!!!
Good...


Kara zoned back in, and scanned the area for the elder. He still had his claw on Kara's shoulder.

"I... I think I might be able to... actually, I probably couldn't, but it's worth a try right? But if I do, Nigel would probably just send it off course, or stop it or something like that. So there would have to be a distraction when I tried."

The Sceptile seemed satified with that, saying that she'd try.

 

[Weeds]

(All right, forget Phanton entering Rippose, it'll be much more epic )

Swift was still wondering about what to do, when he overheard Kara's and Treex's discussion.

Cancel out the cyclone with another one? Good idea, but what if it fails? We'll have two cyclones, or one enormous. But then again we'll all die even if it doesn't grow, so we won't lose on it. But the other Absol, it was strong enough to create a cyclone, it could esily move Kara's... Unless someone distracts it... Swift grinned.

The Weavile raced off towards the outskirts of Rippose, dragging Slash with him. "Don't worry about the other Absol, we'll take care of it! (As Swift doesn't know Nigel's name or gender)" he yelled over his shoulder at Kara.

"The other Absol? What're you talking about? Where are we going?" Slash was trying to keep up with the faster Wevile.

Swift smirked. "We're going to kick some Absol ass."

***
"You and your pack? Of Absols? Perfect!" Phanton's voice said, even though he didn't move his mouth. As he spoke a few leaves fell dead to the ground. "You created the cyclone, Nigel? Excellent work." The Absol hadn't told Phanton his name, and showed this with a shocked expression.

"All of those years I mended fate to be on my side this night. So great is my power." Phanton said, looking out over Rippose. "You'd better prepare yourself for battle."

"How come?" Nigel asked.

"Two powerful enemies are searching for you."

(Sorry for autoing with Nigel, hope you don't mind, Aura)