@TheIrishJJ@Overlord24"My name's Kale Fields. I live in a trailer park about a mile over there." He pointed to the location of the nearest trailer park. Sure, he had moved out about a week ago so that it'd be harder for them to track him, but his former roommate would cover for him if they were asked. Mostly that's because Kale would pay him to lie, but if it came to that he'd be happy pay up. "Like I said, I'm just taking Eve for a walk. She's not housebroken yet, and woke me up to take her out. Is there a reason I shouldn't be out?"

Kale slowly reached for some dried Berries in his pocket. "Do you mind if I give her a treat? Alex can have one too, if you want."

@TheUnknowable
"Thanks, yeah Alex loves berries. And can I talk to you a moment, alone?" Avary said, hoping to get Male's help to take on Grimm.

Sam nodded to the oddly dressed man, hoping what he said was true and that he had found an unlikely ally in these woods. Indigo's voice began to fade however as instincts took over. He had just offered to come with Sam when Bo let out a low even growl. Sam stole a gaze towards Bo, eyeing his meaty paw as it lightly scratched the ground in the direction of their flank before finally setting it down and grinding his pads into the dirt. Sam could almost read Bo's mind by now, acting as one. The scratching indicated the direction, the grinding meant whatever it was was nearly on top of them. Behind us. Close range. Sam thought to himself. If Bo thought it was a threat he would have told him before now. Whoever it was, surely wasnt Regime. They always carried a particular smell that Bo could usually pick up. Perhaps it was the clothes issued to them. Whatever the case, Sam wrenched his conscious back to the odd man in front of him. "Its a pleasure to meet you Indigo. Youre more than welcome to join us, but know the path ahead isnt safe. I wont tolerate neutrality. I intend to make that very clear in the coming days." Sam said, hoping his crude words struck the appropriate chord with the man. He couldnt afford to be compromised this close to the city. Sam turned on his heel, giving his back to the man and calling to Bo. "That goes for you to, if you plan on tagging along." Sam directed the sentence to a bush some feet away. He started forward, not bothering to exchange pleasantries with yet another stranger. "Both of you should know, if I find out youre Regime, ill kill you." he finished with solidarity. He nodded at Bo, indicating to him that he is on guard from here on out. The sun was rising, outlining the high rise of the city. Whether he found more Rebel forces or not, the trip here would not be a waste. That much, he guaranteed.

@Whimsley
@Bigg Slamm

His breathing still hadnt quite subsided. His leg was mangled from the fight with the first two Regime officers. For patrol officers, they worked surprisingly well as a team with their Absol and Sandslash. Must be because they were in the city. The rest of his wounds received while outrunning Shadow officers. Ghost types, all three of them. If it hadnt been for Houndoom he'd be dead. To be honest he wasnt sure he would live anyway. He had atleast two broken bones that he could tell and was unable to catch his breath. Houndoom faired a little better but was still in pretty rough shape, panting, even though they had been at rest for some minutes now. Sitting now, in the chair in this Doctor's house, he laughed out loud to himself. A safehouse. He wished. He walked into a strangers house declaring himself as a Rebel. Yet another mistake added to the list from the last 24 hours. He almost didnt care at this point. He succeeded in his mission. It wouldnt be long now before all the units chasing after him were called off to address more...pressing matters. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply and smiling. If he died now, he died with honor, fighting for the Rebellion. "Hey Doc, im not feelin too hot. Im not sure why I was told to come here, but the reality is ive now put your life in danger." he wrenched the words out now, prying them from his burning lungs. "Youre gonna have some time to run. Regime's about to have their hands full. Youll know when its time to run. If you want to live I would. After what ive done...theyll kill you just for having spoken to me." he almost gasped the last words out. He was going to explain further but a resounding thud came from the other side of the door. Perhaps they were here for him already. "DOC!" he yelled louder than he probably needed to. Once the man's attention was his, he spoke his last words. A single, solemn tear ran down his cheek as his Houndoom pawed his leg. "When the lights go out, its time to go." With that the man hiccuped one last laugh before slouching over in the chair motionless as the Houndoom let out a horrific whine, mourning his master.

Indigo would immediately stop speaking as Bo took to growling, and Maximillian took point between Indigo's shoes. Each of them covered a different direction. Indigo bent his arms and squinted, eyes darting to every point in his perspective. Even if there were Regime, it was unlikely that he would be able to see in this dim lighting. He'd have to reflex Sam's actions, and precisely at that. Maximillian remained quiet as ever, claws dug into the ground. His battle stance was low to the ground, an instinctual guard against being flipped and knocked. A low center of gravity made it more difficult for opposing pokémon to push Maximillian around. Downward facing spikes gave the Nidoran♂ even more traction in this regard, each one lightly scraping against the dirt, a baseball player rubbing his shoes in the dirt before a hit. Maximillian awaited orders, and Indigo awaited a sign.

Sam continued to speak, and Indigo raised an eyebrow in response. He inferred there weren't any Regime around if the man continued to exchange formalities. Who, or what, was out there then? Indigo's response was quick, practiced, "I've studied this path more times than I can count. If I wasn't okay with the odds being against me, I would've backed down before I started." Sam turned away, speaking to whoever his Growlithe had detected. A handy tool that fire dog was; he'd be an important asset for invading the city and night watches. Maximillian's large ears began moving about as sonar. Where Bo was capable in detecting smells, Maximillian could hear sounds. In more frequencies and farther away than any human could. Nidoran♂ were famous for their hearing abilities, something Indigo drilled into Maximillian's training. Maximillian's ears both faced the same direction as to where Sam was speaking, but he gave no queues as to a dangerous foe. Indigo straightened his arms, allowing them to float at his sides.

Upon the mentioning of being killed, something passed as an act so casual, Indigo bit the inside of his cheek. He rubbed it between his gritting teeth, mouth slightly agape. Indigo was on the Rebellion's side, that was certain, but how was that side defined? It apparently ranged from person to person, whereas Indigo took a non-lethal approach. He had encountered many Regime members and sabotaged their efforts, but never had he killed anyone. And he guessed Sam would, no, that he was going to. Or perhaps he had. And if Sam were to take the same approach to the Regime's pokémon... Indigo shook his head. He'd involuntarily began to hone in on the ground, losing focus of his physical state. An intolerance to neutrality, death to those who opposed the Rebellion, it was a bit much to handle of Sam's personality in one conversation. Sam was extreme, at the least, though some would say he had the qualities of being a strong leader. What kind of leader that was, Indigo would find out shortly, if a leader at all. He nodded. Indigo would go along for now. Maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe he'd tagged Sam for who he truly was in that forest. Indigo had one stipulation to add after scratching his chin for some time.

"We act and decide as equal members of the Rebellion. No vote usurps another." Indigo extended an open hand to properly greet his new ally, awaiting his response.

Vi's ears perked at the word 'treat' one of the men up ahead spoke and her stance became slouched, almost relaxed. Without hesitation, Vi ducked through the brush and entered into the open, walking down the street towards the two men and young boy. I grit my teeth, trying to keep myself from calling her back to me. Reaching into my vest, I grab both Vi and Grimm's pokeballs out, releasing Grimm from his slumber with my left hand. Pop! Simultaneously, with my right arm, I toss Vi's Cherish ball out at her and with a single bounce, Pop! Vi returns into her ball. Quickly, I jump from out of my hiding place and land smoothly on my feet, calling out to Grimm lowly, "Wrap it up, Grimm." As trained, Grimm flips his club in hand and uses Bonemerang, sending it through the air. The club flies straight a few yards before it flips back around making it's way back towards us and smack! hits Vi's ball up off the ground right into my hand. I secure her ball back in the pocket of my vest and immediately take off in the opposite direction of the group, knowing Grimm will follow closely behind with ease. It's still dark out, and I'd use that to my advantage for the time being. Unless I get sniffed out, I shouldn't be found. Even then, it's easy to manipulate the Regime's hounds, just not so easy to escape the soldiers that gave them the orders. They carried weapons of their own besides their well-trained pokemon slaves.

Putting a good amount of distance between the group I left behind, I stop down a small alleyway to catch my breath, but only for a moment. 'You have to keep moving,' I reminded myself. Grimm pulls himself up into a planter placed outside the back door of an old business, sitting down in the dirt and begins patting himself down with handfuls of it. A smile nearly reaches my ears at the site of it, knowing I'd trained him too well how to hide his scent. I grab fistfuls of my own, padding my clothing down with the dry, dark earth to disguise my scent. "Can't be too careful, can we, Grimm?" Grimm's eyes narrow into slits and acquired crows feet at the corners, which I could always assume was his smile. Taking a look around, it was hard to tell which direction we were heading in. 'Damn those guys,' I glared back in the direction I'd left them in, turning back to face where we were now headed. With no map, there was only hoping I was heading in the right direction. I ease up out of my crouched position and begin heading off with one hand tightly grasping my backpack strap across my chest, the other pressed tightly in a fist against my mouth to muffle a yawn. 'Shelter. We need to find shelter.' I begin looking around while we walk down the empty streets, searching for any sign of life in the windows of the homes and businesses we pass along the way.

The man seemed pale... introspective... his breathing was increasingly ragged. Were there internal injuries Jethro had missed? He uttered out a warning about needing to escape. The way he worded it implied he himself would not be coming. Before Jethro could reply anything to the man's grim warning, his train of thought was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. THe doctor stood up and hesitantly walked to open. Maybe... maybe this guy was just some hobo in need of a high through some convoluted plan...

He opened the door, and the one on the other side quite literally fell in. The telltale uniform of the shadow division was worn by the man. However, he was anything but treathening. Bruised, battered, and slipping out of conciousness. "Hey... stay with me!" The doctor shouted, dragging the man inside. Had he been a less moral man, he would have just left this second stranger there and called the police. But damn it! he was a doctor, and it was obvious this guy wasn't gonna make it unless he did something.

"When the lights go out... It's time to go" A now somewhat familiar voice choked out behind Jethro. He looked behind him to see the stranger... no... his patient, slipping off his seat. By the time Jethro was there, he could only confirm what was already made apparant by the mournful howl of the houndoom. Jethro did not take pause... there was someone he could still help. He closed his front door and quickly examined the man, and the houndour he found besides the man... Two stab wounds with swollen tissue around them... A poisonous bite of some sort most likely. Again, Jethro went to his medicine closet. This time, he just empied the whole closet into a washing tub he took with him on the way. Searching through his equipment, he found himself lacking in sterile needles... that wouldn't do, especially with a poisoned patient. He slowly turned to the houndoom standing over its still friend. "I need sterile needles to help these guys... the quickest way is to heat them... A.C. can't create the amount of heat needed... I need your help."

Jethro gulped for a moment, Pokemon such as houndoom were generally quite temperamental and unpredictable to people 'outside their own pack'. The black hound came closer... and carefully blew a jet of flame on jethro's syringe... The doctor nodded in thanks. He measured out a dosage of general purpose antidote... For the houndour, and then for the man. He might not know exactly what he was doing to help humans, but pokemon he most definitely knew how to help. The medicine would supress the worst of the poison. It was the best he could do for them until he knew what pokemon the poison originated from.

Then, just as things seemed to finally calm down. There was more knocking on the door. "This is the police! we have reason to believe you are harboring dissidents! Open up! We have a warrant to enter by force if necesarry."

Thoughts rushed through Jethro's head... He could open the door and let the police in... let them deal with the home invader and the poisoned stranger... It was more than possibel for him to play the innocent bystander here... So why was he dragging the poisoned man with him towards the fire escape? "A.C., get the houndour!"

As the porygon latched some of its blocky appendages on the small black dog, Jethro was wrestling open the window. Perhaps it was the dead man's words ringing in his head... "They'll kill you just for talking to me." He had warned him... And with how insane things had been these last few moments, he was inclined to believe this warning.

There was also the mather of condemning another man... He might survive, but the regime wouldn't spare what was likely a member of the resistance... As attractive as it sounded to go back to the daily grind after this experience... Jethro just couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.

A makuhita pushed the door off its hinges. Quickly, a squad of police officers in full combat gear rushed in. Their pokemon spearheading for them. They found only a dead man and an open window leading to a fire escape. "Sweep the area! they can't be far!" the largest man of the lot shouted. Jethro could hear the man shouting from where he was, just jumping off the bottom of the fire escape. The houndoom had followed him and helped him support the poisoned man... Still, there was no way he was outrunning these guys, not with the stranger weighing him down like that... But he had to try. He was not going to leave anyone to their deaths if he could help it.

@The Grey Dust

Chris listened to the solider's explanation, "Yes sir I handled them they jumped out at me from nowhere, so I took care of them," he was told. "That's very good," he told the soldier. "By the way, I never got your name," he said, "What is it?" He was annoyed of not knowing this solider's name, even though it was quite obvious that the solider knew his.

"My name's Kale Fields. I live in a trailer park about a mile over there," the boy, Kale, told Chris. This story sounded realistic, some pokemon took a long time to house train. He needn't worry or not he was lying, since he wasn't really a regime medic, and he could also see Duskull out of the corner of his eye. Chris was sure that Duskull would look out for him, and he also knew that anyone would believe he was a rebel if they found out about his shiny pokemon. When the soldier asked Kale to speak alone with him, however, Chris became slightly suspicious.

"Come on, Lys. We won't have another chance like this!"
Odette frantically packed some of her belongings, trying to decide what was the most important. She had some prototypes she needed to take, but a few of them were too large to put into her suitcase and she wanted to take more than just those. The only thing she could do was destroy them. Lys was also moving about in a panic. The espeon had her own pack to fill, though it was mostly toys.
It wasn't long before her pack was full of scattered clothes, most of her notes, and a few odds and ends. All that was left was to dispose of the other, much less important devices. Ones that, if left behind, could cause even more pain to pokemon.

All scientists knew that the Regime would always be able to find ways to use their inventions to hurt others, but most were too afraid to do anything about it. That or they didn't care enough. Odette and Lys weren't a special case among the scientists, there were many others that had formed friendships with their pokemon. She just couldn't handle it anymore.
"Give me a hand, would you? We need to get rid of these before we leave." The apartment she rented was very small, but those close to the labs usually were. Lys wasn't usually able to fully utilize her psychic ability in such a small space, but for the task of ripping apart her Lady's tools? It was enough. The pokemon focused, her eyes glowing, and lifted the objects into the air. With only the faint sound of ripping metal, they became indiscernible pieces of scrap metal. She looked up at her owner after her eyes lost their luminescence and mewed. "Good job, Lys. Lets go!" She picked up a few pieces that would be hard to come by outside of the city and exited the building.

Being that is was passed curfew, they would need to be very careful. If Odette was caught, they would certainly take Lys from her. Creeping along alley ways wasn't her favorite idea, but it was the best she could do. Lys acted as lookout, running ahead to make sure it was clear. There was a lot of activity tonight. Something must have happened.

They had gotten real close to an exit, it wouldn't be long now before they got their first taste of freedom. Odette knew one of the guards that was on duty there tonight. She had selected him specifically for her escape. He was dense and didn't ask too many questions, plus he hated pokemon more than half the military put together. He was a man, and all a man wanted was a woman he could conquer. Once she feigned interest in him, it was all too easy to get him to do what she wanted. All she needed to do was tell him she was going out to field test a new invention and he wouldn't stop her. She smiled, he would be punished once the Regime found out he let her go. Two birds with one stone.

Lost in thought, she didn't hear Lys's warning until it was too late. Then again, the figure ahead seemed to be familiar. Lys had gotten very ill not even a year ago and Odette took her to see one of the best vets in the city. She couldn't for the life of her remember his name, but even hunched over with some other person, she could recognize his porygon.
Some other person.
Was the doctor turning into a murderer? She could hear shouts coming from somewhere and from past experience, decided he needed the benefit of the doubt. He did save Lys after all.

Once she was close enough, she placed hand on his back.
"Doctor, please allow us to assist you." Lys sniffed the unconscious man and mewed quietly. So he was alive. Odette took one of his arms and wrapped it around her shoulder. So much for leaving through the gate without trouble. She had no idea why the man went to a veterinarian when he clearly needed to go to a hospital, but he looked very much like a rebel. "What is wrong with him? Can you do anything?"

Sam had kept mostly quiet over the next day, pondering how he handled these strangers. Had be been too harsh? Probably. But if there was one thing he learned since being on his own, it was to take nobody at face value. They very well could still be Regime after all, and he couldnt risk them thinking he was weak. If they planned on betraying him, atleast now they knew they would be in for a fight. The three had long since entered the city and night was upon them now. Lucky enough for them, the side they entered was mostly abandoned save for a few sets of eyes peering through closed blinds. Was the entire city like this? He had heard stories of certain parts of the city being essentially abandoned but he had never seen it himself. As he walked through the empty and dark corridors devoid of life, he debated with himself on whether he should apologize to his party, but ran out of time as he began to hear the hustle and bustle of people.

They were coming to the other side of the Manhattan bridge now and the city was finally showing signs of life, even at this hour. Citizens were out and about, streets were buzzing with noise, and Regime officers were everywhere. Sam began to get nervous for the first time in days. A city this size was not ideal for him and Bo, having spent most of their time outside cities in rural areas their entire lives. He signaled to the others to branch off and separate, hoping they understood what his gesture meant. Sam was slipping through the crowd, seemingly with ease, keeping his head down and eyes up, but the same could not be said for Bo. Sam had never bothered to find a pokeball for Bo, having never really needed one. Now however, he wished more than anything that he had one. Bo was trying his best to stay low and avoid people, but they wouldnt allow it. Bo's powerful physique led the eye right up to a thick and healthy mane. Most common folk had never seen a pokemon like him in person. What made matters worse, was that Sam had never come across a fire stone either. Sure, he and Bo had talked about it at length before (Bo obviously didnt say much) but due to the rarity and difficulty in getting one, he had given up hope. The result was a rather large form of his current state, being large even by Growlithe standards, ultimately forfeiting what would have been an advantage of a young and unevolved pokemon. Sam watched as people gawked and pointed at Bo, making it impossible to keep a low profile. It wasnt long before Regime guards took notice and quickly tailed the duo. Sam swore under his breath. He hadnt made it two blocks into Manhattan and he had already been noticed. His pace quickened as he saw more guards take notice, and ignored the shouts directed at him by the first few. Turning a corner, he began sprinting, Bo next to him and keeping up all too easy, covering four of his strides in one bound. The shouts from the guards were threats now as he put distance between them. Him and Bo were survivors, and rightfully so prided themselves on being in shape to handle anything the Regime may throw at them. He weaved an intricate trail through the alleyways, being aware of the direction he was going. He spilled out onto a sidewalk, and surprisingly enough just feet away were the other two he had traveled here with, pokemon out, and only slightly short of breath. He could hear the guards' shouts not far behind them, getting closer with every passing moment. Sam started up again, but quickly stopped. The city shook. He looked around, looking for a source of the possible explosion. Again the city shook. He looked to his companions, who look just as perplexed as him. Were there bombs going off? Once more the city shook, this time taking the lights with it.

The heavy, low whine of transformers shutting down in mass numbers filled the air. Streetlights above exploded in a cascade of glass. Lights in buildings everywhere were blowing out, causing widespread panic amongst citizens who now frantically ran for the safety of their homes or the nearest bomb shelter. The guards who had been following had seemingly disappeared. Sam took off up the street towards the sound of the explosions. He heard a voice behind mutter something about running towards what was likely Regime soldiers, but he ignored it, choosing instead to follow his gut. Turning the corner into a nearby alley, he collided with a group of people. From his back Sam looked up to see what appeared to be a doctor and two others, one being in pretty rough shape. The trio had multiple pokemon with them, and as Sam jumped up and retreated back a few feet, he realized he now found himself between a wall of people and pokemon alike. Behind him, his two companions and their pokemon along with Bo. In front of him was a Hondour, Houndoom, Espeon, and Porygon. The man who looked to be a doctor helped the lady with him support the last man, clad in Regime Shadow Division garb. Moments of silence passed between the two groups. Was this a Regime doctor helping an injured soldier? He could have asked any number of questions that would have better served to explain who they were, and thus help determine whether or not he should be worried. He refrained from asking them however, finally breaking the awkward scene with what they probably viewed as a weird question. Sam looked to the doctor now, "Do you know why the lights are out?" As the last words left his mouth, a piercing shriek could be heard throughout the sky. The entirety of the group looked to the sky as a giant and majestic golden bird soared through the night. Electricity following in its wake, along with what seemed to be dozens of pokemon, all chasing the enormous beast.

Delete

Collab between Overlord24 and TheUnknowable

@Overlord24 Kale gave Eve a berry, then held one out in his palm for Alex. "Ah, I get it," he said, pretending to be a normal person who had no idea what was going on. "You think if we can breed then, we could make a bit of money. I'm listening." He walked over to the probably-fake uniform-clad man so that they could discuss "business" privately.

"What? No, I don't want to breed them, I need to tell you," now dropping his voice down to a whisper, "I'm not Regime, at least not anymore. I need your help to take down the other guy, he's a high-up in the Regime. If you help me, I can help you."

"The "breeding" thing's a cover," Kale said quietly, "and I think we should maintain it for now, as a greedy agent's treated much better that a turncoat, especially if you aren't above bribing your CO." He scratched his chin, acting as if he was thinking about it. "Not sure if I can help you, though. I've never killed anyone before and I'd rather not start."

He still wasn't sure it wasn't a trap, but if this guy really was with the rebellion, he didn't want to make himself seem too dedicated to the Regime.

"I'm not trying to trick if that's what you think, and I'm not asking you to kill him, I'm just needing you to help me incapacitate him, and the breeding idea is good. But please, I really need help, I'm on the run from the Regime, but I can do this with just me and Alex if need help, but you and your Eevee could help quite a lot. And I know the way to a Resistance base, I'm heading that way, so if you want I can bring you there."

"Ok, then, as long as we let him live. You think they'd reward us if we brought them a prisoner?" Kale glanced over at Eve and motioned for her to come over.

"Probably, I like the way you think. OK, I say we come out talking about Pokemon breeding, then when he doesn't expect anything, I send Alex at him, you can send Eve, and when we get him off guard, we call them back and launch ourselves at him. I have some rope, I know he's a strong soldier, but it's really strong rope." Avary says this with hope and fierce determination in his eyes.

"Or, we could just have them use Swift or Quick attack, keep him off balance. Besides, there's a problem," Kale bent down to pick Eve up, then stood up again. "We don't know what his pokemon is or even where it is. The fact that it's hidden could mean it's a ghost, which would make moves like tackle and bite useless."

@A Tattooed Girl Kale heard a noise in the woods. "Pokeballs." he said. "Regime?" Civilians rarely had them. Sure, he did, but his was a special case.

"I heard that to, but I think you're right, he is very famous among the Regime, when I was- I mean, I heard rumors that he had a ghost type, he's very powerful, so is Hawkins, but if we surprise them, and I ask Alex to use Shadowball, then we might be able to take them down."

"Ok, then, you deal with the pokemon, I'll deal with him. If the Regime really is out there, though, we'll need to run. You want to start the attack?" He set Eve down and motioned for her to scurry over to the Regime officer, looking up at him with the same Baby Doll Eyes she used earlier.

"Let's do this," at this Avary sent Umbreon out to go with Eve and use baby doll eyes as well. After they did that, Avary launched out from where he and Kale were talking with the his staff raised at Hawkins.
"Eat this Regime scumbag!"

In the haze of the dream world. Leaping from endless cloud to endless cloud. A place between our world, where darkness rules and visitors pay the toll for passing. Was this death? with the lights out, it's less dangerous. Here we are now, entertain us. I feel stupid, and contagious, here we are now, entertain us. Hello hello hello...

"Hello, Conrad." A voice without image. A projection of himself floating in his own consciousness as the needle pierced his skin. A prisoner of his own mind, trapped in a state between life and death, so was this limbo? An image appeared, the dark clouds parting to reveal a strange sight, it was a creature of fantasy, a wyrm-like monster with six shadowy tendrils emerging like wings from its back. A head capped like a centipede, with golden rings around its neck and spikes across its body and tail. What was this thing? A pokemon?

"Am I dead?" the question asked, unsure of where he was, nor what experience was this. But his answer never came as he suddenly found himself gasping for air as water filled his lungs. And the creature disappeared. He was naked, bathed in the fluids which had formed a hydrosphere around him. In panic for his life, his arms flailing about, eyes widened in shock as the last of his breath was fading with the bubbles. His subconscious consciousness fading as his eyes grew heavy. That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.

The needle had burst his aqueous prison, released from the womb and falling into the void with the gush of water. Born once more into the world. Waking slowly, breathing once more as he was lifted by invisible hands and carried into the world. The antidote running its course through his plumbing, venom neutralized by a cocktail of whatever it was they made these with. Those pokebiologists were usually good at surpassing the biologists in their study of pokemon. As such most poisons produced by pokemon were neutralized by one administration of an antidote through the circulatory system. Critical organ failure however, took more than an injection of antidote. Fortunately Conrad would recover, soon enough, despite the woozy feeling in his stomach.

But now as his eyes cracked open with a groan, he questioned if his dream had truly ended. For now there was an entourage of people among him, a houndoom, a porygon, and espeon, a guy in white coat and a girl. Was he captured? Why was the city dark? What was that? A screeching cry that split the sky, a peal of thunder, dark clouds like those of his dream casting their storms to strikes the tall buildings. A golden bird, no, a shinnying one, with wings jagged like the streaks of lighting across the sky. Behind it all types of Pokémon in pursuit.

"The Grid... Zapdos" Weakley uttered to the doc, "is houndour okay?" Consciousness faded once more. He felt his eyes grow heavy, his stomach churning its contents. And with the vomiting of his acids, Conrad returned to his dream world.

After being threatened Forrest had long since left the two known as Sam and Indigo to their own devices. If he was going to join them he needed to pack his stuff. Returning to their camp Forrest and Mika deconstructed camp and packed up. Half an hour later he approached the others and introduced himself as Woods. A cover name he gave until he trusted people. Listening to Sam's plan to enter the city, Forrest honestly couldn't think of a better plan. It had taken the better part of the day to enter the city. The last of the sun had finally crested over the horizon leaving the city to light itself. Once in the city Forrest noticed something. It was eerily quiet. No one walked the streets and the only signs of life was the fresh garbage lining the alleys. That was until they finally crossed the Mahattan bridge. Forrest hadn't seen that many people in one place in months. The nervous aura coming off Sam didn't help his own. Seeing a cluster of Regime agents Sam signaled to split up.

Taking the left flank Forrest and Mika dissapeared into a crowd of Hat ladies. Keeping an eye on Sam, Forrest kept a safe distance. Lucky enough for him fighting-type pokemon are pretty common in the city. Used by blue collar folk like construction workers and such. Unfortunately Bo was another story. The Growlithe seemed to be causing quite the stir. Attracting the attentions of nearby Regime agents. They spat out warnings which Sam ignored. when they ordered him to halt and Sam bolted into an alleyway, Forrest cursed under his breathe. He hated running, but he did it anyway. Doing his best to follow, anticipate, and track Forrest trailed along. Meeting up with Indigo after taking an alleyway they followed a street they believed Sam could possibly turn on. Fortunately for them they were right. Seeing Sam pullout onto the sidewalk the trio stopped and acknowledged each other a moment. They then started off again, but not before five steps later the ground shook.

Twice more the ground shook and Forrest looked with Sam for a possible explosion. They locked eyes and Sam looked as confused as Forrest. Sam then just bolted towards where the sounds had came from. Forrest had no other choice but to follow. There could be hurt people and Pokemon. "I know what you're thinking, but you know it'll be crawlling with Regime agents." Muttered Forrest as he followed Sam. The man just ignored him and sprinted down an alley. He sighed deeply and followed. Forrest was met by the sound of bodies colliding. When he caught up he saw Sam on the ground looking up at two people, a woman and man, helping another man walk. Along with the new folks were a houndoom, espeon, and aconclomeration of pink and blue shapes carrying a houndour. An odd sight to behold, but what made it worse was the passed out man was dressed as a Regime agent. Forrest and Mika both growled their distain and the trainer was about to start throwing accusations when Sam beat him to the punch, albeit with a much different question.

"Who gives a shit about the ligh..." Began Forrest when he was interuppted by the screech from hell. It was accompanied by a huge flying creature with wings of lightning and flaps of roaring thunder. It was beeing chased by a huge flock of pokemon. Was that thing a pokemon? He had heard of legenary class pokemon, but never seen one before. Forrest could feel it's power from here. He wasn't one for puns but the only word to explain the power he felt was: Electrifying.

"Shall we leave, Sabi? We wouldn't want to keep our new friends waiting."

Dr. Nicholas Jenner sat with his legs crossed and his back pressed up against the padding of a comfortable high-backed chair as he stared out into the dark skyline of New York city from the window of his hotel room. It was past curfew, but a man in his position didn't need more than proof of identification and the right attire to convince most Regime enforcers that he was on business far above their clearance level. Technically, such unplanned breaches of conduct were supposed to be reported regardless of who committed them; in practice, however, the threat of the former head of a major Regime research division complaining to his superiors about an overzealous officer's rough treatment and dedication to wasting his time was enough to convince most reasonable men to keep their mouths shut. In truth, he had far more to worry about from the rebels themselves - considering his reputation, it was possible they would take him hostage or kill him outright rather than make an attempt to see the reason in his proposal. Attempting to predict the behavior of a disorganized group of anti-government extremists was a troublesome thing, although those qualities did have their own advantages, he had to admit. For one, it made them desperate enough to need his help.

The familiar sound of heavy scales sliding across the carpet prompted him to straighten out his tie and push himself onto his feet. One of Sabi's expressionless, slitted red eyes glimmered in the darkly lit room as she loomed over the side of his chair, her tongue tasting the air curiously.

"Remember, do not kill without instructions tonight," he said to her sternly, meeting her gaze and making sure that his words were spoken as clearly as possible. "No venom."

The seviper pulled her head back and nodded, prompting a faint, satisfied smile from Dr. Jenner. One slight benefit to his otherwise degrading "vacation" had been the abundance of free time it gave him to pursue his hobbies away from the scrutiny of his colleagues in the Regime. He had spent a great deal of that time teaching Sabi to understand English, as well as the meaning of a few basic gestures she could use to communicate back with him. Her progress had been encouraging, even if he was quickly running out of excuses to continue teaching her beyond pure academic curiosity.

"...Good girl," he said, struggling to reach up and stroke the massive reptile's head until she cooperatively lowered it for his convenience, even going so far as to press herself into the weight of his hand like an over-affectionate cat.

She was, perhaps, enjoying the attention from his lessons even more than he was enjoying recording their results.

Letting his arm fall back to his side after a brief moment of thought, the doctor strode forwards to collect his suitcase from the foot of the coffee table in front of him, his seviper dutifully slithering behind despite some difficulties in navigating the furniture. Inside the case was his personal computer, loaded with as much sensitive data about the Regime as he could acquire without overstepping his authority, in addition to personal copies of his own research that likely dated back almost twenty years - although he suspected the names, locations, and purposes of several high-value production and research facilities were likely to interest his prospective rebel allies more. He hadn't bothered to travel with much else, other than a few changes of clothes that would not be coming with him on this excursion, some other light essentials, his security badge, and his labcoat, which he pulled off a rack at the door and shrugged over his shoulders on his way into the hall, stopping only briefly to fish a pokeball out of his pocket and recall Sabi into it before she frightened someone into starting a panic.

The night was still young as he took to the streets, with nothing more than a vague hint that he was supposed to find people sympathetic to the rebels' cause somewhere in Manhattan. His hope had been that in wandering the island, he might have been approached - or more likely, ambushed - by someone with a greater understanding of the situation, but as he drew closer to Queensboro Bridge, it became apparent that even such a simple plan had been quite hopelessly optimistic. For reasons he wasn't quite aware of, it was choked with foot traffic, leaving the checkpoint guards too understaffed to do much more than maintain order amongst the crowd as it gradually flowed one way into the island. If it were a rebel scheme to conceal their members inside a group too large to undergo proper identification, he had to admit that it was a very clever one - even though it made his own part more difficult than he would have liked. He had few alternatives other than to simply fall in line and enter the slow procession leading into the relatively crowded section of the city.

Every few meters, an officer waited with a datapad in hand, searching the crowd for faces that matched what was in all likelihood those on a database of the Regime's most wanted. Most of them were content to overlook Dr. Jenner, being much too busy to do anything other than write him off as one of a hundred other civilians passing through to the island, but one seemed to focus on him and held up a hand as he passed by.

"Hold it right there," the officer sternly ordered, earning an amused look from Jenner as he performed a quick look-up on his computer. His eyes lit up in surprise as it read back the results to him.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, officer," Dr. Jenner uttered from behind a somewhat threatening smile, "I take it introductions will not be necessary?"

"N-no, sir," the man stammered back, looking briefly over his shoulder towards the end of the bridge. "But... if you have business in Manhattan, please be careful. We've been receiving several reports of insurgent activity these past few days, and now this..."

Jenner gestured at the people around him. "Yes, this. What is the cause of this trouble, hm?"

"Evacuation order, sir," the officer responded tersely. "From a bomb threat in Long Island. Until the investigation is complete, these people are being moved to temporary residences on the island and other adjacent neighborhoods. Do you require an escort?"

The doctor looked down at the ragged poochyena standing at attention behind his interrogator's feet and couldn't help but sneer. "It is very kind of you to offer, but you shouldn't reach so far beyond your grasp, officer. Don't let me keep you any longer from your, ah, important duties here."

Without waiting to even acknowledge the man's offense, Jenner slipped past and rejoined the crowd of civilians making their way across the bridge. He was fortunate enough to have reached the other side just before the first tremor shook the island, bringing himself and a great many of the people around him to their knees.

A low, deafening rumble sounded from somewhere to the east, dying out only to be replaced by the pervasive murmur of several hundred concerned voices all speaking out in unison. When the second blast struck - this one far closer - the people began to scream instead. Dr. Jenner barely had the time to recover his footing and take hold of a nearby signpost as a mob of terrified citizens stampeded down the roads leading back towards Queensboro Bridge, effortlessly overpowering the waiting Regime officers in their desperation. The third and final explosion went virtually ignored by those still in the immediate area, who were well beyond caring that their city had gone dark throughout the chaos.

Dr. Jenner didn't hesitate to release Sabi from her ball, the gigantic serpent quickly splitting the fleeing crowd into two halves like a boulder shoved into the midst of a flowing river. As she coiled protectively into a wide circle around him, he took advantage of his relative safety to consider the situation. Despite how it looked, the rebels had nothing to gain from bombing civilians; shepherding them into a trap would do nothing but garner even more support for their enemies, which meant that there must have been another objective. If not the residential sector, what was the target? Were they trying to disrupt the power grid? That didn't make sense - Manhattan had no active power plants, except...

The realization struck him mere moments before Zapdos's screech pierced the sounds of panic from the streets below, and he looked towards the sky in time to see the furious creature darting upwards through the clouds, leaving the makings of a tremendous lightning storm in its wake. For a moment, it was all he could do to simply stand there in awe of the Pokemon's unbelievable power, but slowly, quietly at first, he found himself chuckling. As the civilians ran for safety and Regime peacekeepers struggled to organize themselves, Dr. Jenner threw his head back and laughed triumphantly at the sight of his own peoples' ruin.

"Marvelous!" he shouted in his excitement to no-one in particular. "Brilliant! What do you make of your precious failsafes now, Hessemer!? Haa ha ha ha ha!"

Though he felt quite foolish for not considering the possibility of an attack on the legendary Pokemon's prison, the doctor was too impressed and outright excited to pay the thought much attention. Overtaken by curiosity, he ran up to his seviper's side, adjusting his glasses with one hand as the other gestured her wildly forwards.

"Come, Sabi, we've no time to admire my rival's great humiliation! Clear a path through these fools and let us see what remains of Central Park, shall we!? Perhaps the culprits are even still alive!"

Sabi, less excited than her master by several orders of magnitude, nonetheless did as she was told and began to press against the tide of humans and small Pokemon fleeing from the center of Manhattan, forcing them to part to either side for fear of provoking the great snake's anger. The crowd quickly thinned out as they drew closer, allowing the two to sustain a swift jogging pace through the increasingly empty streets of the island.

"Ah, I get it," Kale said to the soldier, "You think if we can breed then, we could make a bit of money. I'm listening." Chris was interested in pokemon breeding, especially a pokemon like Eevee and Umbreon, but he assumed that the solider wouldn't want someone superior helping with the breeding, and a civilian wouldn't want a member of the Regime helping out, even if he was a medic. Chris didn't mind though, he had his own pokemon to deal with, and it wasn't like he had an Eevee or an evolution that could be bred.

Since Chris had been walking for so long, his legs were starting to get tired, and he decided to lean against a tree. Even when leaning against the tree, he was still considerably taller than both of the boys. Whilst the boys went to their talk, the pokemon came over, and started using baby doll eyes. Even though he would usually be smarter, he fell for it. He stared at the pokemon, not listening to Kale or the soldier talking to each other. He didn't even notice when the Eevee went and came back - he was too busy admiring Umbreon.

Suddenly, Chris heard the soldier shout out, "Eat this Regime scumbag!" and he looked at him. He noticed that he was holding up the staff that he was holding, and he got ready for an attack. "What!?" he shouted out, "I'm not Regime! Duksull, help me out here!"

"Skull!" Duskull said whilst flying out of the tree that he was in, becoming visible now.

@TheIrishJJ"Wait, you too?" said Kale, pausing. There's no way he'd meet two ex-regime members at the same time in a place known for its sting operations. Then there was the pokeball he heard. "It was a trap (said Admiral Magikarp). Eve, run."

With that he took off towards the city, as he at least had a few places to hide there if he needed to. A few minutes later, after realizing he had gotten away safely, he stopped to catch his breath. After he could breathe again, he looked at the city and noticed that the lights were off. What's going on there? he thought, Power outage? That's when he saw the answer to his question flying away from the city. Huh, so the rumor was true. They were using Zapdos as a power plant. He then remembered reading something about legendaries in his father's journal.

Pulling it out of his backpack he flipped through it until he got to the right page.

May 17:
I got a call from a Professor Willow today, trying to raise money to test a theory he has. He thinks that it may be possible to manufacture new Stones using the power of legendary pokemon. Of course, if he went to any of the major companies the Regime would learn of it and he'd rather not get bogged down in bureaucracy, so he's raising the money himself.

I'll have to keep an eye on his research. It could prove useful for Eevee line I'm breeding.

Kale smiled. "Come on, Eve." he motioned to the pokemon to follow him more closely. "I think I found out where to get you a Thunder Stone." With that, he headed to the power plant.

Indigo scratched his palms, watching the few people around as closely as the people he was with. They’d made an agreement before entering the city. At an impasse each person had one vote, and no vote was greater than another. Though, a word only went so far these days. Indigo’s pupils shivered. His breath was shallow and rapid. Sam’s shoulders were poised. Bo’s stride was swift. Indigo knew, though, they were afraid as him. Being a rat in a maze did that to a man. Even if they were a group of three rats, they were still rats. The passages were narrow and there was only one exit.

Indigo took the rear and allowed the other two an advance position. His eyes shifted to the side, looking to the back of Woods’ head. They hadn’t spent enough time together for Indigo to really gauge any sort of his character. On top of that he seemed quiet, or perhaps wary. Maybe both. His Pokémon, a Makuhita, was a strong addition to their current roster. A fighting Pokémon was difficult to defeat in physical combat. With supporting attacks from Growlithe and Nidoran♂, her punches would become nigh unblockable for a single Pokémon. For that to work, though, they needed security in each other. They and their Pokémon, each of them needed to know what the other was to do as it occurred. Such as a trainer has a relationship with their Pokémon, so it must be in a team battle. There is no talking, no mistakes, simply execution. Three stranger rats in unknown territory had to work in absolute coordination. And there was that last part of that bond, the most important thing to consider: trust. They shared about two days of travel and a loose coalition they followed. Indigo pulled on his collar and cleared his throat. If somebody had noticed, they hadn’t said anything.

Eyes between blinds shot glares at the trio as they walked through the rougher parts of the city. Their gazes pierced Indigo’s own. Trash rolled across gutters. Mangy animals hid in dark alleyways. They knocked over cardboard boxes and hissed from yellow, glowing eyes. Maximillian maneuvered between Indigo’s shoes, taking three steps for every one Indigo made. The Nidoran’s♂ ears turned and twisted in unheard of directions. Maximillian looked up to Indigo, who returned his glance with a faint smile. His eyes arched upward beneath his black, square frames, and his heart could be heard thumping against his chest. Maximillian nodded, and continued to adjust his antennae ears. Indigo didn’t like the idea of Maximillian being outside of his pokéball in such a dangerous area, but it was necessary. Indigo needed to hide the technology from the Regime, but he also needed Maximillian’s hearing capabilities. It might be the difference between an ambush and an escape. Indigo still traced the outline of the sphere in his pants pocket, but he didn’t dare grasp it.

Indigo’s mouth began to dry as they approached Manhattan bridge. Some invisible force pushed down on his chest, and he was visibly paler. Indigo’s palms shuffled against his purple suit coat. He felt a scrape against his pant leg. Indigo looked down to meet Maximillian’s stare. His pupils vibrated and his neck swiveled, motioning forward. Sam and Woods continued to walk farther forward, but they hadn’t noticed Indigo’s pause yet. Maximillian stomped on the ground twice with his front two legs, and swung his head from side to side, unleashing a flux of air from his nostrils. He revealed his neck and stood high upon his front legs, vibrating pupils boring holes into Indigo’s face. Indigo swiveled his head, looking at the crossroads sign toward Sam and Woods and back the way he came. Indigo made hours out of moments. His lips tucked inward and he nodded at Maximillian, rushing to catch up to the now distant Rebels.

Civilians and Regime alike contained the trio. Indigo did not mind the feel of a city, but this was worse, much worse. It was like the boot of an officer permanently stuck digging into your stomach. People knocked against Indigo, sending him into others, into others. Indigo saw Regime in every citizen. He profusely apologized in-between knockings and goings. Indigo felt another scrape against his pant leg, and he took a deep breath. There were no more apologies. Sam gave a sort of signal, and as he merged with another tide Indigo figured the trio were to split up. Indigo and Maximillian ducked and weaved within the heavier rapids of the crowd. Even if they were spotted by the Regime as outsiders, they would need to traverse difficult terrain. Despite their efforts of blending in with numbers, scarce amounts of Regime became visibly suspicious. Maximillian noticed before they acted. His superb hearing was able to differentiate the different voices in the sea of sound, and he picked up on Regime conversation. They’d been detected. There was a light push against his inner, left ankle. They were to the west, far enough but still approaching. Indigo’s tall form ducked beneath the waves of heads and began maneuvering toward an alleyway on the same side of the street. Leaping from the crowd, the two sprinted into the alleyway as they heard a shout, again to their left. They rounded a sharp corner. Spikes shot from Maximillian’s body and covered the floor and walls of the turn, glowing purple even in the dim light. The two navigated through narrow passages and avoided dead ends. Indigo had studied this route. No, that was a dead end, take a left instead. That led back to the street. Right, left, straight, hold, okay keep going. They leapt over trashcan hurdles, murky puddles, and climbed over chain-link fences. Eventually, their breath in unison merged with an exit, just as Woods came careening from another path, and Sam from the opposite way.

The three fell silent to collect themselves. The world held it’s breath, and then it screamed. The sound and the fury of a golden storm erupted from the sky. Glass erupted from street lights as Indigo crouched over Maximillian and covered his own face with bent arms. Maximillian’s ears turned every direction, head swiveling, front legs pacing in place. A shadowy fist clenched the city as almost all light ceased to be. The only remaining illumination came in intervals, lightning striking down from furling clouds. “What’s happening?” Indigo said, still in his hunched position. His eyes widened as his neck arched upward. The sky became bright with another strike. No, it couldn’t be. But this storm was so sudden. The sky challenged the earth in a battle to the death. Or perhaps something challenged them all. Indigo’s thoughts became interrupted by the world screaming once again. Thunder surrounded them, deafening, on all sides. Sam sprinted off down the street randomly, and Woods soon after. Indigo exhaled incomprehensible babblings before following soon after, Maximillian leaping as lightning may between each stride.

Indigo travelled by the storm’s strobe. “Wait, wait, stop running!” Indigo said, unable to scream over crashing thunder. A flash of light revealed Sam was turning into an alley way, and Indigo was close behind. He nearly crashed into Sam and Woods as the brightening of the sky revealed others, one of them in Regime uniform. Indigo hunched over, hands on his knees, and his chest heaved repeatedly. His neck craned forward and his eyes bobbed up and down. Three people, four Pokémon, two evolved. Maximillian remained silent but his spikes vibrated against the leather of Indigo’s shoes. The encounter was too tense for words, not yet. Any wrong action could lead to an all-out brawl that they could very well lose in this enclosed space. And just as Sam ventured into the silence, Indigo’s raven hair stood on end all about his body. A static charged permeated his skin and navigated around goosebumps.

The sky came down. It was true. Nobody could catch a storm, even if they wanted to.

Golden undulations of energy radiated out of its brilliant form. It was jagged as its power, wings piercing the dark veil around it. Each flap of its wings caused the sky to scream and the clouds to furl. God gave man fire, and now it was to give them lightning. Meek dots trailed in its wake, ants trailing conveniently amongst a king. Indigo looked up as the entirety of a city did. “Why here? Why now?” Indigo managed to stand and arch his neck, but kept his torso facing the opposite party. His chest contracted slowly, breath travelling slowly out of his mouth. “We can’t stay here,” said the speck of dust.

Jethro kept his head down... He didn't quite know what to do at the moment, then, he felt a hand on his shoulder, followed by a familiar voice. Jethro turned around to see one of his off-time customers... The people that came to him when he was at home to get their pokemon healed. He quite remembered the woman by the state of her pokemon. Apart from the sickness the espeon had been suffering from at the time, it had been in exceptional physical condition. Jethro didn't know much about the woman herself, but he always remembered people that still trie to take care of their pokemon.

"Oh... please, just go. I don't want to get you involved." As if to mock his intent to keep the woman out of this. Before he could elaborate, the ground beneath him started shaking. This quite confused and worried Jethro. New York wasn't very seismically active. The ground died down for a moment, then started shaking. He saw lights going out everwhere around him. Streetlights shattered as if by an extreme power surge. Lights went out in the homes around him. The city was thrown into darkness.

"Gah! first people fall into my home asking for painkillers, now this? did the big apple suddenly turn insane or something?!" He checked the man's pulse. He seemed stable... even ready to wake up. then suddendly, the man jolted upright, blabbering about creatures of legend... and his own pokemon, before vomiting all over the ground and falling back into unconciousness.

Luckily for the man, Jethro had been monitoring the Houndour... or at least A.C. was. The porygon's encyclopedic medical knowledge made it quite a good asisstant for just a situation such as this. The porygon hadn't made a single alarm sound. Just to make sure, Jethro checked the pulse of the houndour as well. It was stabilized, much like its owner. "Alright...can one of you stop standing around and help me carry him? this guy is in no condition to walk and I need to get him to a medical facility... a hospital... anything!"

Then Jethro realized. No medical equipment would do him any good, not with the current power outage... The hospitals must be in utter pandemonium right now. He rapidly thought through the possible location that had backup power... The only place close by he could think of was quite a gamble. A regime compound in central park. The place was quite likely to have medicines, portable equipment. The place was usually quite guarded, but maybe he could slip in and out without being noticed with all the chaos the power outage brought with it.

As he decided, he saw something in the sky that reminded him of what he had believed to just be wild rumors up until now. An enormous bird, radiant like a lightning bolt and wreathed in arcing electricity. Behind it, a flock of all sorts of other pokemon followed. Jethro had heard things about the wardenclyffe compound in central park. About the things that went on inside. A snippet overheard in passing here, a security pokemon zapped with electricity; with an attached incident report that seemed just a little too open and close to have actually taken place. Yet here he stood, watching a creature of urban legend soaring through the sky... Judging by its angle... it indeed came from central park.

"We need to get him to the wardenclyffe compound in central park! It's the only place I can think of right now that has acces to medical equipment in the middle of this pandemonium!" A chittering beeping was heard seemingly in response to Jethro's orders. A.C. stared at its owner in a look that was unmistakenly disapproving, even for its robotic eyes. Despite the awkward bond the pokemon had with its master, there was still quite a bit of loyalty to the regime hardcoded into its very being. Still, Jethro's commands had first priority... at least for now.

Grimm struggled slightly to keep up with my walking pace, practically having to run every so often when he'd fall a little too far behind. It made me laugh a little, but I wouldn't let the laughter slip past my lips. One, didn't know who was watching me from the shadows, and two, Grimm got his feelings hurt quite easily. That's a cubone, for you. I unclip Grimm's ball from inside my vest and stop, turning back to him. "Come on, Grimm. Take a rest, huh?" At my offer, Grimm seemed to force a smile and reluctantly stop in his tracks, grunting softly. "Bone." I half smile back at him and click the button and withdraw him, safely tucking him away in his rightful place.

Turning back the way I'd been traveling with the only light guiding my way was the moon, when not covered by the dark clouds above. Suddenly, a loud, ear-piercing screech filled the skies, as well as a bright glowing mass of a pokemon soaring over the city. Zapdos. 'Holy hell,' I mused in thought, watching as the gigantic bird disappeared and the streets came to life with light. Before I could make a move, a good dozen pokemon, or two, ran through the city street past me, seeming to be chasing the beasty in the skies. From a distance, I could hear voices. Some shouting, and others just simply talking.

Curiosity took its hold of me, and I couldn't help myself. Running to the corner of the street, I stopped and peaked around the building. People! Where the hell were they five minutes ago? I slowly step out into view, walking down the street among them until suddenly I spot a Regime soldier. Not one, but at least half a dozen in plain sight. My stomach suddenly dropped down to my toes. 'Fuck me,' I thought as I averted my eyes to the ground and kept walking, glad I'd put Grimm away before making my way through the lot.

My feet were aching from walking throughout the night, and my stomach hurt something awful but I wasn't ready to give up yet, especially not here. I rub my eyes gently and look back around. Most of the regime had disappeared, some still sticking around checking up on the few people standing around their doorways, and others walking among the few who now walked the streets. Talk of the legendary beast seemed to be what, literally every single person that passed was stuck on. Through the discussions, I heard a voice speaking of New York itself turning insane, 'or something'. Moments passed as I tried pinpointing the very conversation, attempting to locate it's source.

"-One of you stop standing around and help me carry him? This guy is in no condition to walk and I need to get him to a medical facility. A hospital, anything!" There it was again, but closer! I look around and lock eyes with a group of soldiers heading directly towards me. An alleyway just to my left seemed to be my quickest route of escape. I took it, keeping the soldiers in sight and suddenly, smack! I stumble back a step and quickly apologize, looking over the back of the person I'd run into. @Whimsley Tall, definitely over 6'0" with jet black hair, so black it seemed to have a hint of blue to it. Peeking around the man, I found myself stumbling into much more than just a single man. 6 people. 7 pokemon.

I spot the Regime soldier, and step back a bit more, taking a look at the others surrounding him. They didn't look Regime, not even sympathizers. "Is this all your doing? What happened to him?" Not that I particularly cared for the Regime scum, but I was curious as to what the hell was going on. With soldiers on their way soon to pass the alleyway's entrance, I couldn't help but be slightly panicked at the thought of them seeing me amongst these people and a soldier of theirs lying unconscious on the ground.

@natsucooldude @DarthSeverus394 @The Grey Dust @SnowLeopard @Bigg Slamm