proceed to the protest [mission]

[banter2]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i39.tinypic.com/17vgut.png); background-image: repeat; border-radius: 80px ,btable][style=float: right; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 10px; height: 100px; width: 100px; background-image: url(http://i43.tinypic.com/2wgxh5g.png); -webkit-border-radius: 50px; -moz-border-radius: 50px; border-radius: 50px][/style][style=float: left; margin-left: 30px; height: 70px; width: 240px; background-color: EEE6AB; opacity: 0.9; border-radius: 10px; margin-top: 20px][style=padding: 5px; color: 36393B; font-size: 10px; font-family: georgia]music cold red light by IAMX words 960 tags hector, tika, renae, terran notes roselia continues petal dance, volcarona uses fiery dance on tika[/style][/style][style=float: left; margin-left: 35px; margin-top: -20px; font-size: 20px; font-family: georgia; color: EEE6AB; text-shadow: #000000 0px 0px 4px]tell me... are you free[style=margin-left: 30px]in word, or thought, or deed?[/style][/style][style=float: left; width: 350px; margin-left: 25px; background-color: EEE6AB; opacity: 0.9; border-radius: 10px; margin-bottom: 40px; margin-top: 10px][style=padding: 10px; width: 330px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 10px; color: 36393B; text-align: justify]Cecil was surprised by the arrival of the Manectric - did more pokemon just have to keep on coming? He could handle orderly battles, but this was an absolute mess, and his experience with this sort of combat may as well have been none. He was a medic, he was a speaker, but he was only very rarely a fighter, and he lacked others' expertise with throwing out last-second pokemon commands. It became clear that this would be some sort of riot, and he didn't know how he was going to cope. Then again, hadn't he figured that this was how it'd end up, when he'd signed up to lead this? The Manectric, fortunately, seemed not to be focusing on him or his pokemon, but the Toxic Spikes he had set up. With the Mamoswine blocking the soldiers anyway, those were probably mostly unnecessary. Cecil made sure to keep himself distant from the flames, hoping that they wouldn't spread towards him, not that the rocky ground would be too prone to burn. Oh damnit, Amelia. What the hell was she doing? Cecil scowled, but he knew that he couldn't tell her to stop. Once Petal Dance had begun, the frenzy went on for a while, and it was impossible to snap a pokemon out of it until it had ended. His heart sunk. Sure, his pokemon had the type advantage, but what if she got herself killed? No, no, he couldn't do that to his pokemon. He had to stop this, had to prevent it all from happening. But how? No, he didn't have time for that, because Paul had been hit. Even though he'd been focusing all of his efforts on dodging, as commanded, the Night Slash had struck - not directly, but enough - and he was bleeding from his side. No, no, Cecil couldn't stand to see his pokemon like this. Whipping out a pokeball, he returned the Chimecho. Paul was vulnerable and scared, and sending him out to fight in the first place had been a mistake. Amelia was thrilled, caught in the mindless madness of the Petal Dance. Bladed leaf after bladed leaf flew at the Mamoswine as the Roselia swirled around with the gleam of a maniac in her eyes. Yes, yes, it wasn't trying to dodge, she was doing fine, this was great! Suddenly, however, the snow washed over her, powerful and freezing, but she couldn't stop, wouldn't, needed to make that huge furry thing give in and claim victory as her own! It hurt, everything hurt now, with the ice clinging to her leaves, but she knew what to do. When the creature charged her, she barely managed to stagger out of the way - something so large was, fortunately, not very agile. Blizzard? With the crowd here? Cecil's eyes widened, even though it seemed that the Torterra he had noticed among the crowd had blocked them from its hits. What the hell was Lux thinking? He hoped that the large turtle would be alright, and made a mental note to thank whoever its trainer was. He didn't want to see the crowd hurt. Although then again, he noted, it would ruin Lux's reputation in the city if they wounded the civilians. Perhaps that could work out well for them. After all, reputation was everything. Cecil scoffed at the Lux girl's claim of innocence. "You're not going after the civilians now, because that would destroy your reputation. Now that you know they're Nox sympathizers, you can just go to their homes and drag them off to be executed or, if they're lucky, imprisoned for life. That's what Lux does . Don't think I'm so naive as not to know about it." He heard something faint and musical in the background, but ignored it. If not for the woman's gun pointed at his head, he would've gone after the Manectric already, but fortunately, someone else seemed to have beaten him to the punch, the Seismitoad flinging dirt at it and then extinguishing what remained of the flames. Someone else fighting for the side of Nox. Excellent. Moments later, a harsh sound hit his ears, but it seemed to have hit the Lux woman much more heavily. Taking advantage of the moment, Cecil ducked off to the side, behind a boulder. Should he let out another pokemon, or would it just be risking injuring another member of his team? Charles heard the distant sound of singing, and recognized almost too late that it was Sing. The attack, fortunately, struggled to reach out over such a range and past such noise, however, and he only felt slightly drowsy. Below, several of the civilians dropped to the ground, unconscious. He decided that he had irritated enough of the soldiers with his buzzing, and went to check up on Cecil. Oh hell. This was not good, not at all good. This woman seemed to be threatening his trainer. Nobody threatened Cecil and got away with it, if he had his way. Not waiting for an order, he charged in with a Fiery Dance, body enveloped in flames, feeling the increased speed and power from his previous use of Quiver Dance, hoping to hit the woman herself. Cecil couldn't just sit here, behind a rock. He reached for his megaphone and charged out towards the crowd. "People of Sootopolis, we cannot just stand here and let them stop us! Take your concerns to where Lux will truly hear us. To the gym!" he shouted, hoping that some of the Nox supporters would protect him as he rushed towards the soldiers and, more importantly, the people themselves. He saw them gather to follow him, shoving and pitchfork-stabbing their way through the soldiers, or at least those who could, but didn't look back much. It seemed that half the crowd or so had made it. Even though he didn't have everyone, however, he had a gym to visit.[/style][/style][/style]

[style=font-size: 8px]made by KING of PRE & OTE[/style]

[hector]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true] [style= margin-top: 50px][style= float: left; text-align: left; font-family: impact; font-size: 30px; margin-top: 10px; color: CCCCCC; letter-spacing: 2px; margin-top: -55px; margin-left: 10px]i came, i saw[/style] [style= height: 100; width: 100px; margin-right: 10px; float: right; margin-top: -24px][style= height: 350px; width: 90px; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify; font-size: 8px; padding: 5px; border-top: 10px solid 66CCEE; color: 000000]TAGS tika + cecil + renae + terran NOTES Hector flips shit. Arbok has pulled back, Mamoswine was released but holding back with the crowd with the Skarmory, Hector on Rapidash and Manectric are now at Tika's side trying to defrost the injured soldiers from the Sheer Cold and lucky civilians who are in the heat's path. coded by JIN of PRE & OTE[/style][/style] [style= margin-top: -50px; width: 430px; background-color: DDDDDD; border-top: 10px solid FFFF88; border-right: 10px solid FFFF88; border-radius: 8px 8px 8px 8px][style= width: 280px; height: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; color: 000000; border-right: 10px solid 66CCEE; border-top: 10px solid 66CCEE; overflow: auto]Scylla turned his head and hissed back at Razor with as much hostility in his eyes as the Sandslash, bracing himself for the Fury Cutter. He knew this move well and made mental notice to avoid the Pokémon's long claws. That was where the majority of its attacks would be coming from anyways. He couldn't exactly restrain the Pokémon due to its spiky back, meaning that he had to toss the Wrap attack right out the window. The Arbok slithered in a u-turn, widening his jaws again to spew more toxic gastric acid in Razor's direction. There was plenty more where that had come from. But before the Arbok could unleash the Gunk shot, a cry of "Scylla, pull back!"

[/color] interrupted him. The Arbok growled, hissed, and snarled all at once, but could not disobey his trainer's commands. The cobra Pokémon spat in the Sandslash's direction again before returning to Hector's side.

Hector trusted Tika to protect her own platoon, but by the sights of the Mamoswine unleashing a Blizzard and Renae's Lapras sending out a Sheer Cold, the soldiers were bound to be doomed. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see that they'd been swept up in a Thunder Wave. It had to be that Rotom again, and for a moment, Hector was relieved. He didn't want to see any more losses on either side of what had become a battle front. The paralyzing attack revealed that Renae was not out for blood and only aimed to stop the fighting. They would be safe here. From Helios' back, he let out a high-pitched whistle before further ordering the Skarmory and Arbok, then releasing his own Mamoswine. Gaius let out a confused grunt as he saw the fray on the other side of the square and shifted nervously from foot to foot. "All three of you, stay close to the soldiers. Defend them if anything comes their way,"[/color] he commanded, to which the Mamoswine nodded, the Skarmory screeched, and the Arbok hissed to show they understood.

But what was Tika doing anyways? Their orders had not been to attack the crowd. They were meant to break up the protest and control the crowd. Hector wasn't sure about Tika, but he knew that he'd received permission for a certain degree of violence, but no one was supposed to actually die, especially not the civilians. With each man down, their reputation was being knocked down by a few notches. Eventually, those notches would add up. "Tika, what the hell are you doing!?"[/color] Hector shouted, holding back further swears. Had the Mamoswine gone absolutely mad?

He was smart enough to at least know that sometimes it was better to pull back to fight another day. But as long as his platoon was paralyzed, a retreat was not quite possible. He urged Helios to turn back to his soldiers, and from the Pokémon's back, he raised his voice about the screams of civilians in the background. "You are to standby even after the Thunder Wave wears off on you! If you move towards the crowd or do so much as let loose a Pokémon, I will personally sever your head from your neck and stake it in this square for all to see!"[/color] A murmuring rose from the immobile platoon and once satisfied with their response, Helios galloped in Tika's direction, leaping over the Lapras' Sheer Cold.

"Tika, order your troops back. We were commanded to control the crowd, not kill it,"[/color] he hissed, eyes ablaze. Her carelessness made him furious, and what angered him further was that he had his doubts that the sentinel would disobey. And it was even worse that her orders technically ranked a notch higher on the social ladder than his did. He was unsure how close the new sentinel was with Shamees and he had no doubts in his mind that the Lux President would not be happy with the result of this rally. If they were going to hurt people, they'd might as well win, but inside, Hector didn't think it was worth it at all. "Apollo!"[/color] he called, and the Manectric defected from burning the toxic spikes to unleashing another Flame Burst in the direction of the Sheer Cold, a feeble attempt at shielding Tika's platoon.
[/style][/style]
[style= float: right; text-align: right; font-family: impact; font-size: 40px; color: CCCCCC; margin-top: -15px; letter-spacing: 2px; margin-right: 10px]I CONQUERED[/style][/style][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[tika]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][style=width: 500; height: 500; border-radius: 100px; background-image: url(http://watermarked.cutcaster.com/cutcaster-photo-100356602-seamless-curly-fish-pattern.jpg); background-image: repeat][style=float: right; margin-top: 20px; margin-right: 20px; height: 100px; width: 100px; background-image: url(http://oi42.tinypic.com/awdnva.jpg); -webkit-border-radius: 50px; -moz-border-radius: 50px; border-radius: 50px][/style][style=float: left; font-family: georgia; font-size: 21px; color: 000000; text-shadow: AAAAAA 2px 2px 3px; margin-left: 40px; margin-top: 20px]I wish I could sleep and eat all day[/style][style=float: left; height: 55px; width: 330px; background-color: FFFFFF; border-radius: 10px; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 10px; font-size: 10px; font-family: century gothic; color: 014E88]Tag: Hector (Jin), Cecil (Banter), Renae (Katya), Terran (Crash) Words: 767 Notes: This section is still too short...suffice it to say, Tika REALLY flipped out.[/style][style=width: 440px; height: 260px; float: left; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 15px; background-color: FFFFFF; border-radius: 10px; font-family: century gothic; color: 014E88; font-size: 10px; padding: 10px; overflow: auto; text-align: justify]How stupid were these people!? Incredibly stupid, it seemed to Tika; all of them were blaming her for Big Boar letting loose a Blizzard. What else was he supposed to do to counter the Roselia? Especially when the Roselia had involved him in the battle in the first place. Besides that, she hadn't even given him the order to do so; not to mention that stupid fool Hector blaming her for Big Boar's actions too. True, she was the Mamoswine's trainer, which meant she was to be held accountable, but still; if she was held accountable for Big Boar, Cecil had to be held accountable for causing Big Boar to lose control in the first place. Besides, it wasn't as if Big Boar had used Blizzard on the entire crowd; he had focused it on the Roselia, mostly. Plus, hadn't her effort to knock the effort out with Delcatty's Sing counted for something? "You Nox are all idiots! As is the Lux with me. Do you all really think I ORDERED him to use Blizzard? You're at as much a fault as I am in that case, Nox, because your stupid Roselia attacked in the first place. And as for dragging them out of their homes, that would be kind of difficult unless me or the Lux with me have photographic memories, which I assume they do not. And the Nox woman here, a man speaking his mind is tolerable, but a man inciting a rebellion is not tolerable," she lied a bit about that last part, but she didn't care anymore. She was half-tempted to just level the entire damned city with Earthquake and be done with it, but no, she didn't do that; even if she wanted to, she couldn't due to the irritating noise that reached her eyes. For a moment, it distracted her severely, and then that moment was over, as she forced herself to focus her ears entirely on Cecil, drawing away from the effects Metal Sound was having on her. She recovered from it just in time to see Cecil hastily scrambling the crowd towards the gym...while at the same time, something swathed in fire rushed towards her. She, however, didn't have to do much, because the actions were already determined. Sneasel, still nearby, had used her momentum from hitting the Altaria with an Ice Shard to fling herself towards Tika, and once she reached Tika, what did she do? Why, knock the girl out of the way, of course; the momentum she had was more than enough to do that. So she was knocked from where she had been standing before, and watched as the Volcarona hit the Sneasel dead-on. Flames engulfed the Sneasel's body, and all Tika could do? Well, all she could do was watch, at least for a moment; then she realized what had happened. The Volcarona had just put her Sneasel on the brink of death, by the looks of it, and the normally cheery catgirl only saw red as she forced herself up; already, the Volcarona was trying to get away. Then she remembered, she still had the gun in her hand; without a second thought, Tika fired at the Volcarona, again and again. Despite the rage she was feeling, she was positive her shots were accurate; now if only the damn bug would stay still! "Fishgulp, kill the bug, now." she asked of the Pelipper as she also let him out of his pokeball; he didn't question the hard tone of her voice as a Water Pulse rushed towards the retreating Volcarona, if the bullets from before had yet to hit him. If that missed too? The Pelipper would pursue it up into the skies. Meanwhile, the Petal Dance hit Big Boar again, but he countered with a Mud Shot attack this time. The last, most major action to occur was really two actions in one; first, Delcatty stuck close to Tika, who whirled upon Hector. "I don't follow your orders. And I wasn't trying to kill the crowd. In case your inflated ego didn't notice, the man's Roselia flipped out and attacked Mamoswine, causing him to flip out in turn!" she shouted at him, though inwardly, she was defeated; she didn't know what to do. How could she help her Sneasel not...well, die? She wasn't sure. The other action that occurred at the same time was Liepard facing down the Altaria that was still nearby. Said Liepard was leaping towards the Altaria, Night Slash in tow on her tail.[/style][/style]

[style=font-size: 8px]made by KING of PRE & OTE[/style]

[terran]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,415,bTable]

[atrb=style, background-color: #D0C6A4; border- top: 5px solid #75531E; border-bottom: 5px solid #75531E;] [STYLE=border: 4px solid #75531E; height: 100px; width: 100px; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: -33px; margin-top: 7px;][/style][STYLE=float: right; width: 277px; font-size: 50px; color: #75531E; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 123px; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -45px; letter-spacing: -3px;]LIKE A BOULDER[/style][STYLE=background-color: #EFE9E0; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; margin-right: 15px; font-family: arial narrow; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: -9px; margin-left: 123px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; color: #75531E;]I'M READY TO ROCK. WAIT, WRONG TYPE PUN.[/style] Razor looked aghast as the Arbok totally blew him off. Hello? They were in the middle of a BATTLE over here. Way to be rude! The spiked pangolin Pokemon shook a claw at the retreating Arbok, sidestepping the spit because from such a poisonous Pokemon it couldn't possibly be good news. DJ merely let the Manectric flee without hassling it. He looked at his angered companion, shaking his head. Did they really have to keep fighting? Razor was desperately hoping the answer to this was yes. Terran, meanwhile, turned and noticed the Laparas be sent out. She wouldn't. Nobody is that crazy, Terran thought. However, then he heard the order for attack. At this point, all bets were off. "DJ! Razor! Help Ironsides get the innocents away from that attack!" Frog, pangolin, and trainer ran off to regroup with their giant turtle comrade. A Hyper Voice from DJ alerted the crowd of their presence as the three rushed in, Ironsides already trying to separate them with his massive bulk. "Damnit, everyone, get out of the way!" Terran shouted to the crowd of innocent protesters that were too close to the incoming Sheer Cold for comfort. "I won't have anyone dying on my watch!" Soon the four of them formed a defensive perimeter between the protesters and the Sheer Cold, Razor noticing the Arbok guarding the soldiers on the other side. He pointed angrily, hissing out his name in a dramatic shout of "You!," but before he could do anything Ironsides placed an "arm" in front of him to block him. The Torterra looked at Hector's team, acknowledging their similar goals, and nodded. He made a single request: for no more fighting between the two groups today. There had been enough bloodshed. Razor was not satisfied with this, though, and broke ranks to go check on what Delta was doing after giving one last deathglare to the Arbok. When he found Delta, the mole was watching some crazy chick start shouting at people as a butterfly attacked her. Delta noticed his surrogate big brother, eagerly running up to him and explaining the situation going on. Apparently this guy was a Nox big cheese, and letting him or his seemingly favorite Pokemon get hurt would be a very bad thing. Then the catgirl's Sneasel was hit, and she started looking quite angrily at the Volcarona with a gun in her hand. This would not end well. Quickly the two smaller members of Team Terran improvised a plan for what to do. Delta's superior speed allowed him to get to the scene first, dragging his companion behind him. His large, shovel-like claws were raised to provide a platform for Razor to hop on. Normally a Gyro Ball would do the trick, but in a situation like this Rapid Spin would have to do. The Excadrill leaped into the air to cover for the Volcarona and his Sandslash teammate began a Rapid Spin to try and deflect incoming bullets. Considering the pair's airtime would not be too long, they would only be able to buy the Volcarona a little bit of time. Of course, much to the pair's misfortune, they did hang in the air long enough to take a head-on Water Pulse. While Delta missed the worst of it, Razor was hit hard. The ring of water slammed him to the ground, the Sandslash angrily getting up and glaring at the Pelipper. He grabbed Delta and handed him a rock, commanding him to "do what came natural." Before the mole knew what was happening, Razor had hurled him right at the Pelipper. He quickly boosted his power in midar with a Swords Dance as he tried to slam the pelican down with his rock, a feeble improvised attempt at a Rock Slide. [STYLE=margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 15px; font-size: 10px; font-family: arial; text-align: justify; background-color: #EFE9E0; padding: 17px; color: #3C2E16; margin-top: 8px; opacity: 0.9; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; border-right: 1px dotted #9D6F25; border-left: 1px dotted #75531E;] TAGS! Sootopolis Riots. NOTES! Razor wants to get revenge on that Arbok, but Razor cannot has. First Poke-world problems. [/style]

[STYLE=width: 400px; text-align:center; font-size: 9px; color: #75531E; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: -4px;]made by kiwii at btn![/style]

[renae]

[atrb=border,0,bTable][atrb=width,400,bTable][atrb=cellspacing,8,bTable][style=margin-top:-10px; float:left; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/7iJSW.png); height: 100px; width: 100px; border-radius: 0 50 50 0;][/style][style=text-align:center; color: E8DDCB; font-family: georgia; font-size: 34px;]this is me forever[/style][style=font-family: georgia; letter-spacing: 5px; font-size: 10px; color: cdb380; text-align: right; margin-top: -8px; line-height: 9px;]one of the lost ones the one without a name[/style][style=border-bottom: 5px solid #031634; margin-top: -25px;background-color:033649; height: 40px; border-radius: 0 0 10 10;][/style]

[style=font-size: 10px; font-family: tahoma; text-align: justify; padding: 0 10;]She ignored the sentinel's words--they were false, but Renae didn't have the time to dispute them. She approved of the officer's attempt to stop the fighting, but quite frankly, it was too little too late. If the people needed to resort to the threat of violence just to safely congregate on a square, Lux's power had already gotten out of hand. "Montesquieu, to me! Leave the soldiers be unless they try to move!" With a cheerful, sparking tumble through the air, the rotom bounced through the air. There wasn't a single soldier that defied Hector's orders, so it mellowed out to a sulky sidle when it made it to Renae's side, deprived of its chance to go on a hexing spree. It buzzed its complaints at Renae until she interrupted. "Don't whine. There are more soldiers to thunderwave, get to it." The rioters were on the move, and so was Renae, running for her altaria. The ice attack made the dragon pokemon's breath come unsteadily now, but Renae didn't take her out of the battle. Instead, she whispered in her ear, soothing and calming. "Diderot, stay with me, just stay with me a little while longer. Use hyper voice." The altaria arched her neck back, her voice a tragic song. It took its effect, but it was short-lived. The liepard swept in, its night slash cleaving into Diderot's chest. Blood splattered at Renae's feet, and she pulled back a leg to aim a sharp punt the liepard. "Murderer!" she yelled, her own voice rising in a righteous fury proper for an audience. Softer, through a clenched jaw, Renae repeated it in a low growl beside her fallen pokemon, the reality of the corpse just beginning to settle in. "Murderer." She threw caution to the wind, releasing the rest of her pokemon then and there. Rousseau appeared first, the serperior's nose held up high in all its usual arrogance. "The mamoswine--the right mamoswine, the one attacking the roselia. Wring him out," Renae commanded, and Rousseau unfurled its snakelike body, rushing to wrap itself around Tika's mamoswine. An arbok and a mawile appeared too, and for them, Renae had a simpler task. "Attack the liepard. Descartes, iron head. Locke, acid spray." Taking a deep breath of air, she raised her voice. "Lux soldiers! If you wish to follow your leader to your deaths, be my guest, but if you still want to silence us, then be warned: we will not suffer it lightly. Kant, if any of them give chase, if its even one soldier, use brine."[/style] [style=padding: 0 10; color: E8DDCB; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 1px; font-size: 10px; font-family: georgia; line-height: 10px;]tag

[/color] cecil notes[/color] altaria used hyper voice and died. renae kicked the liepard. arbok used acid spray on liepard. mawile used iron head on liepard. serperior used wring out on tika's mamoswine. montesquieu used thunderwave on tika's soldiers. lapras used brine IF tika's soldiers try to follow the crowd.[/style][style=height: 30px; border-radius: 0 0 5 5; background-color: 033649; margin-top:-15px; border-bottom: #031634 solid 5px][/style][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[banter2]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i39.tinypic.com/17vgut.png); background-image: repeat; border-radius: 80px ,btable][style=float: right; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 10px; height: 100px; width: 100px; background-image: url(http://i43.tinypic.com/2wgxh5g.png); -webkit-border-radius: 50px; -moz-border-radius: 50px; border-radius: 50px][/style][style=float: left; margin-left: 30px; height: 70px; width: 240px; background-color: EEE6AB; opacity: 0.9; border-radius: 10px; margin-top: 20px][style=padding: 5px; color: 36393B; font-size: 10px; font-family: georgia]music no you girls by franz ferdinand words 662 tags hector, tika, renae, terran, xander, juan, wallace (?) notes alright, dex, your turn[/style][/style][style=float: left; margin-left: 35px; margin-top: -20px; font-size: 20px; font-family: georgia; color: EEE6AB; text-shadow: #000000 0px 0px 4px]tell me... are you free[style=margin-left: 30px]in word, or thought, or deed?[/style][/style][style=float: left; width: 350px; margin-left: 25px; background-color: EEE6AB; opacity: 0.9; border-radius: 10px; margin-bottom: 40px; margin-top: 10px][style=padding: 10px; width: 330px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 10px; color: 36393B; text-align: justify]Charles knew that he had weaknesses. Physical hits absolutely destroyed him, and when his fire or his buzzing wouldn't work, he was incapable of hitting anyone. The use of Quiver Dance, however, had made him feel invincible. The flames enveloping him seemed effortless, and he was certain that the Lux girl was going to be hit. Nobody could just threaten Cecil and get away with it, after all. Protecting his trainer was his duty as a pokemon. He was surprised, then, to find that the Sneasel, of all pokemon, had gotten in the way. It was hardly a more difficult target, and he almost felt somewhat concerned - he didn't like killing, after all. Hurrying to fly off - he didn't need to hit the woman, because where the hell had Cecil gone? - he was surprised by the sound of gunshots. No, maybe he should go back and get her, then. The bullets hadn't hit him, but the fact that she'd tried made him upset. Still, it seemed that only the sudden arrival of the ground-types had saved him, and he didn't want them to hurt themselves trying to keep him safe anymore. Damnit, he was following Cecil, wherever his trainer might be going. The girl and her gun couldn't fly, so he was going to just get out of there for now. As he headed towards Cecil, he was interrupted by the horrifying, burning sensation of water, struggling to stay in the sky as he turned around. A Pelipper. He couldn't stand birds, as he supposed was only natural for a bug. Everything stung now, and even though he was probably well out of range for the woman with the gun, he couldn't just follow Cecil when this bird was trying to drown him. Fire didn't work on water things, he knew, and he wasn't sure about the buzzing. What he was sure of, however, was that he felt fast, and that anything except ghosts tended to get hurt if you smashed into it. Preparing to dodge any future water hits, he flung himself at the bird, hoping that his larger size would provide a small advantage. As the mud collided with her petal blades, deflecting them harmlessly away, Amelia felt the frenzy of the petal dance dying down. Oh Arceus, oh Arceus, what was going on? She felt dizzy and disoriented and had she messed up? Where was Cecil? There, there he was. Struggling and staggering, she hurried to follow him, even if she was cold and confused and just wanted to get back into her pokeball for a nap of some sort. Cecil was exhilarated now, half the crowd following him. They could do this, they could accomplish something. Though some had stayed back for fear of the soldiers, they at least hadn't been pursued actively enough to be stopped. The lagoon was close now, and once again he reached for the megaphone. "Let's make sure that Lux knows our concerns! They can silence one citizen, they can silence a printing press, but they cannot silence all of us in cold blood before we are heard!" Finally, the people had become active, the people understood. There were two kinds of evil people - people who did evil things, and people who saw evil things being done and didn't try to stop it - and he had feared that Lux had corrupted Sootopolis into the latter. It was then that he noticed two things, stepping up to the side of the lagoon, people behind him. First, Amelia stepped up next to him, and he was horrified to see the Roselia distressed, confused, and clearly struggling to stand. She seemed as if she would collapse at any minute, and his first thought was to return her to her pokeball. Then, however, he noticed the people Lux had placed at the gym, waiting for them. One person in particular. "...You again."[/style][/style][/style]

[style=font-size: 8px]made by KING of PRE & OTE[/style]

[sea]

[style=width: 300px; font-size: 11px; padding: 5px; font-family: tahoma; text-align: justify; float:left; margin-left: 45px; border-left: 5px solid #616b36;]“Well, that’s not a nice greeting.”

With a cocky smile and condescending tone, the man being addressed stood at ease, slouching slightly as he stood in front of his personal squad of soldiers behind him. He had taken refuge at the gym in case his officers couldn’t handle the mob down at the city’s square. Obviously, they hadn’t been able to by the sounds that were heard from his position. The battling had started a short while before this moment, and Xander waited patiently with vain hope that Hector would be able to pull through for him. If not the sane, sensible one, Tika was there – she was almost as crazy as Xander could get. He blinked slowly, taking two steps forward, and silence fell around them. Something had happened in the square, but Xander’s focus was on the man and mob in front of him. Those he sent to dispatch this troublesome mob in the first place had failed; in fact, it was now his problem, and he didn’t take kindly to having to clean up after people.

His soldiers at attention, Xander’s voice amplified itself. Amongst the disciplined soldiers behind him, the mob stood restlessly behind Cecil, their obvious leader. Xander wasn’t afraid of him, and thus wasn’t afraid of the mob behind him. What was the saying? Take out the leader, and the follows will crumble. It was always the same in history, and it would be similar here. He didn’t even need a firearm to dispatch of the healer. His Volcarona wasn’t even beside him – it was an extremely exhausted looking Roselia.

Perfect.

Having been sitting up on the gym’s roof, one of Xander’s older partners spread his wings silently, swooping off gracefully. The ground rushed up towards the yellow beak but turned level with the shifting of midnight blue wings, and then the caw echoed across the area as Xander’s suit flapped around his body with the air billowing off the bird as he advanced forward. His body started spinning a second later and he charged forward at the dizzy grass-type. He didn’t care that people were behind the flower Malum wanted it dead. He remembered, all too clearly, the pain this trainer’s Pokémon had cause him. He was just now starting to reach normal condition. He hoped that his unannounced Drill Peck would even the score.

Xander ignored the bird and watched Cecil, unblinking, “I thought by now we’d be considered old friends, medic. You might want to head home, though. Before you get in over your head.” Xander said, calmly, as his first attempt at peace. This would be the second time he offered this man a way out. If he didn’t accept this time, though, the ending would be far different. Alexander Cromwell only gave so much mercy before snapping, and Cecil had just used up his last reserves.
[/style][style= float: right; width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a285/Kyo-Sun/18.png); border: 5px solid #616b36; margin-right: 48px; margin-top: 8px;] [/style]
[style= width: 100px; background: #616b36; text-align: center; float: right; padding: 5px; margin-right: 48px; margin-top: 10px;]

[/style][style= width: 100px; background: #616b36; text-align: left;font-size: 11px; padding: 5px; font-family: tahoma; float: right; padding: 5px; margin-right: 48px; margin-top: 10px;]tagged: soot skirmish
words: 476
muse: cough syrup - glee cast
notes: i am supposed to kill the roselia, right? i guess i can cut off terran's arm when he posts next V: lol [/style]

[lurker5]

[style=width: 350px; font: 10.5px tahoma; text-align: justify;]
It was noisy outside, restless. The ebb and flow of the tide was tilted once more. It shook, bringing about chaos and disorder. He stopped talking, seeing as those around him worry about the incoming tide. The old man expected had hoped whatever was out there would calm with the moon taking it back to sea.

He stood as a soldier came towards him letter in hand. Their hands shook with fear, and the gym leader stared at him curiously. Whatever this was, it was related to the storm. Plans of reconstruction would have to wait. A hand gripped the paper tightly. They had decided to show themselves. He looked up. The messenger was still there, wondering his next actions.

“Has Xander been informed?”

The messenger answered him swiftly, professionally. His earlier nervousness was gone. The gym leader cleared his throat, jostling those around him, standing from the nonverbal command. He picked up a pen, jotting down a quick note before handing it back to the messenger.

“Please escort them to safety.”

He warned the local businessmen he was discussing future plans with to leave the other way and to trust the soldiers. They weren't battlers and needed to be kept safe in case they were to storm the "castle." From there, he made his way to the top of the gym.

This was far enough. Once already Sootopolis had suffered the loss of life, one more than it needed. Arceus above might has well pitied them and their need to fight.

He pressed onward, tossing two pokeballs into the air with an elegant flair. "Confuse ray, Juliane." Like lavender fireworks, the ray flew into the sky, snapping loudly, not all at once, but in several bursts attempting to gain their attention rather than its usual purpose. He turned to his milotic, a hand outstretched to the air. "Sophie, rain dance." Stretching her body towards the sky, Sophie cried out echoing her trainer's sorrow.

The rain was unsurprisingly quick to fall.

[style=border-top: 1px dashed;] [/style]
notes: my apologies for the delay. mostly filler. figured that if the citizens were rather complacent earlier, something must be going right. so, plans of reconstruction. yeah. but, important stuff? confuse ray is now more like fireworks without the fire and confusion then rain dance to cool everyone off? flip. if my posts sucks just tell me to edit. "OTZ
[/style]

[hector]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true] [style= margin-top: 50px][style= float: left; text-align: left; font-family: impact; font-size: 30px; margin-top: 10px; color: CCCCCC; letter-spacing: 2px; margin-top: -55px; margin-left: 10px]i came, i saw[/style] [style= height: 100; width: 100px; margin-right: 10px; float: right; margin-top: -24px][style= height: 350px; width: 90px; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify; font-size: 8px; padding: 5px; border-top: 10px solid 66CCEE; color: 000000]TAGS tika + cecil + renae + terran NOTES Troops have retreated, as in both Hector's and Tika's. He doesn't gaf if they're technically hers to command. Sticking around a little longer if you guys still need me. coded by JIN of PRE & OTE[/style][/style] [style= margin-top: -50px; width: 430px; background-color: DDDDDD; border-top: 10px solid FFFF88; border-right: 10px solid FFFF88; border-radius: 8px 8px 8px 8px][style= width: 280px; height: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; color: 000000; border-right: 10px solid 66CCEE; border-top: 10px solid 66CCEE; overflow: auto]Hector's eyes burned at Tika's retorted words. It didn't make sense to trace the blame all the way back to the Roselia, but he was not about to argue with someone who he thought was set in their own ways. So he nudged Helios with his right foot and the Rapidash defected from the area. There was no use in staying in the plaza. This was a battle that Lux, in his opinion, had already lost. But before he could call a retreat, Hector realized that his troops had been Thunder Wave'd, ergo, unable to move. One soldier let out a frustrated groan as his limbs twitched in futility as he tried to push himself off the floor. Clearly this was a problem. Insubordinate or not, Hector's foremost concern was Lux's soldiers' safety. They had to get the living back home. "Towards Tika's troops,"

[/color] he commanded his Rapidash, and the Pokémon lurched forwards, hooves hitting the ground as the fire horse made his way towards the second platoon. Hector raised his voice into a yell. "Soldiers! We're issuing a retreat! Grab your fallen comrades and evacuate the area!"[/color] There were a few baffled murmurs that arose within the crowds, but for the most part, the men appeared quite thankful to be given the okay to return home to their families. They did not need a second warning. Each soldier grabbed two other, some of them injured, others just paralyzed from Renae's Rotom's earlier Thunder Wave.

"If the crowds are heading towards the gym, it is no longer any of our concern,"[/color] he said to Tika as he returned to her side. "The gym is patrolled 24/7. There will be Lux troops to round them away. I'm leaving as soon as all our men have left the area safely."[/color] And with that, he spoke no more to the sentinel, returning to the lines of retreating men, taking up a paralyzed comrade and handing him off to Gaius. The Mamoswine was able to balance one soldier per tusk and additional men on his back. He was a handy Pokémon to have, though Hector had learned today that he really should have a healer on his party.

As if to mourn both the fallen protestors and soldiers, rain began to fall from the skies. It was an unusually quick downpour and surely it must have been caused by a Rain Dance. He could feel Helios shifting from hoof to hoof, growing edgy from the falling water. "All right, Helios,"[/color] he said soothingly, stroking the Rapidash's neck as he slid off his back. Hector glanced over his shoulder and watched as Gaius carried away the remaining fallen soldiers. Chloris and Scylla had been standing guard as the soldiers retreated, but after a curt nod from Hector, they continued with the platoons to the Lux headquarters should they be attacked on the way.

"This day was a disaster,"[/color] he muttered as Apollo padded back to his trainer. Left with his Manectric and Rapidash and with the plaza empty, Hector could see that the rain was already washing away blood that had been left behind. Helios seemed to whinny in agreement while Apollo let out a chilling, mournful howl.
[/style][/style]
[style= float: right; text-align: right; font-family: impact; font-size: 40px; color: CCCCCC; margin-top: -15px; letter-spacing: 2px; margin-right: 10px]I CONQUERED[/style][/style][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[tika]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][style=width: 500; height: 500; border-radius: 100px; background-image: url(http://watermarked.cutcaster.com/cutcaster-photo-100356602-seamless-curly-fish-pattern.jpg); background-image: repeat][style=float: right; margin-top: 20px; margin-right: 20px; height: 100px; width: 100px; background-image: url(http://oi42.tinypic.com/awdnva.jpg); -webkit-border-radius: 50px; -moz-border-radius: 50px; border-radius: 50px][/style][style=float: left; font-family: georgia; font-size: 21px; color: 000000; text-shadow: AAAAAA 2px 2px 3px; margin-left: 40px; margin-top: 20px]I wish I could sleep and eat all day[/style][style=float: left; height: 55px; width: 330px; background-color: FFFFFF; border-radius: 10px; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 10px; font-size: 10px; font-family: century gothic; color: 014E88]Tag: A LOT OF EGG HATCHING PEOPLE. Words: 636 Notes: Poor Tika still.[/style][style=width: 440px; height: 260px; float: left; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 15px; background-color: FFFFFF; border-radius: 10px; font-family: century gothic; color: 014E88; font-size: 10px; padding: 10px; overflow: auto; text-align: justify]The flying water type stared at the oncoming Excadrill with a blank stare on his face, because really, how in the world would it ever reach him, at all? Of course, his calculations proved to be incorrect, for the other pokemon was now nearly level with him, but all he had to do was fly up some more and then watch as the Excadrill soared underneath him, probably on his way back to the ground. Fishgulp, afterwards, looked for the Volcarona...and saw it rushing right towards him. The pelican-like pokemon barely had any time to get a Protect up before he was slammed into, but get it up he did, and so, he was saved from being seriously damaged by the Volcarona's weight. What would he do once the Protect wore off and the Volcarona wasn't so close so as to slam into him again? Why, he would fire off yet more Water Pulses at the poor bug/fire pokemon. Meanwhile, Tika was not paying attention to...well, anything else, mostly. That also extended to her poor Liepard. Renae's kick somehow found home, but being just an ordinary kick instead of, say, a jet of flame, it didn't hurt that much at all. The Iron Head that slammed into her, however, did hurt a lot, but thankfully, she saw the spray of acid coming and leaped nimbly to the side, though her right hind leg managed to get burned badly by the acid. With a pace that put large strain on her leg, the Liepard raced back to Tika before she could be ganged up on. As for her other pokemon...well, by now, Tika had chosen to return the Sneasel to her pokeball, and the other two pokemon, her Delcatty and Mamoswine, were not doing much now. Once the Roselia had run off after her trainer, Big Boar had not bothered to chase after it, and instead had turned his attention to the Serperior that was rushing towards him. He let out a bellow, so as to inform Tika's other pokemon, and then rushed to meet the grass pokemon; he would prefer not to fight, but all these people and pokemon seemed to want to! A Blizzard roared to life as soon as Mamoswine was close to the Serperior, this time it had no chance of negatively affecting anyone save his opponent, due to both the Lux soldiers departing and the Nox supporters rushing to the gym. Tika had managed to get her bearings back, both thanks to Hector snapping her out of what she was going through, and the reality of the situation. She could not break down, not right then in the middle of a fight; true, Hector seemed to think it was over, but it wasn't. Not until she saw the owner of the Volcarona punished somehow for what he had nearly done. She pushed down the sad thoughts and instead let her heart harden as she stood back up, a frown clear on her face, even underneath the hood. "Nom, use Heavy Slam. Fluffles, Zen Headbutt. And Alpha Nya, Sucker Punch," Tika directed her pokemon, the first being sent out before his orders were given. The Snorlax rushed towards the Serperior, intending to strike it down with a Heavy Slam. In addition, the Delcatty followed soon after with a Zen Headbutt, and the Liepard struck first with an incredibly fast Sucker Punch. This battle was over, Tika realized that, but the woman, Renae, still didn't seem to think that, despite the fact that one of her pokemon had already died. "Hector..." she spoke before the man left to attend to the soldiers that were leaving. "Sorry, for making a complete mess of this all."[/style][/style]

[style=font-size: 8px]made by KING of PRE & OTE[/style]

[terran]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,415,bTable]

[atrb=style, background-color: #D0C6A4; border- top: 5px solid #75531E; border-bottom: 5px solid #75531E;] [STYLE=border: 4px solid #75531E; height: 100px; width: 100px; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: -33px; margin-top: 7px;][/style][STYLE=float: right; width: 277px; font-size: 50px; color: #75531E; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 123px; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -45px; letter-spacing: -3px;]LIKE A BOULDER[/style][STYLE=background-color: #EFE9E0; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; margin-right: 15px; font-family: arial narrow; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: -9px; margin-left: 123px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; color: #75531E;]I'M READY TO ROCK. WAIT, WRONG TYPE PUN.[/style] Delta hit the floor in a comedic faceplant, as Razor looked up at the Pelipper and flipped it off with a long, sharp claw. This was the SECOND time his pride had been shattered today, even if it was technically Delta who took a floor to the face. One day, he swore to himself, he would get that Arbok AND that Pelipper and teach them a lesson they would never forget! But for now he was stuck with just waiting down here with Delta, ignored as two people they could barely care about made dramatic entrances. The Sandslash noticed Seperior's fight and desperately wanted to get involved, but Delta held him back. He shook his head, not wanting the Sandslash to do anything he'd regret. Besides, the sand rat didn't even know who was on who's side! Terran saw the conflict was going down and realized this was his chance. He recalled DJ and sent out another Pokemon of his, a Claydol emerging. "Guru," he declared, looking at the Claydol. "If anything escalates further, or the sound to retreat his given, try to Teleport everyone out of here, okay?" He looked toward Cecil and Renae so the Claydol would understand his intent. It nodded in response, hovering in the background of events currently going on. Terran and Ironsides, meanwhile, noticed the Honchcrow heading after Cecil's Roselia. At this point the poor thing was so weak it'd probably die from the attack. "Ironsides, you know what to do. Wood Hammer!" Terran commented, looking at his Torterra. Ironsides nodded and dashed forward, hopefully making it to the Honchcrow in time. Whether he arrived in time or not he slammed into it with a powerful Wood Hammer, giving a glare. Preying on the weak was the lowest of the low in Ironside's book. The trainer stepped forward to join his Pokemon, noticing Xander. He had heard this guy was Hoenn's new Champion, a position that he felt rightfully belonged to someone who earned it like Wallace or Steven. This was the man responsible for the problems Hoenn was going through right now. And while it was too subtle to see for now, a cold fury was burning up in Terran's heart. [STYLE=margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 15px; font-size: 10px; font-family: arial; text-align: justify; background-color: #EFE9E0; padding: 17px; color: #3C2E16; margin-top: 8px; opacity: 0.9; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; border-right: 1px dotted #9D6F25; border-left: 1px dotted #75531E;] TAGS! Sootopolis Riots. NOTES! "Oh my god, they killed Razor's pride!" "You bastards!" [/style]

[STYLE=width: 400px; text-align:center; font-size: 9px; color: #75531E; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: -4px;]made by kiwii at btn![/style]

[renae]

The serperior screeched, writhing in the blizzard, and Renae muttered her curses. When the heavy slam struck, Rousseau wilted, coiling onto the ground, and Renae could hardly blame him. She saw two more attacks incoming, and she put her plans on hold. "Descartes, move, iron defense."

Descartes leapt, moving faster than Renae had ever seen, and the mawile gleamed like iron, her body shielding the fallen serperior. The zen headbutt clanged as it struck, and Renae had good reason to hope that the liepard broke its teeth on the steel pokemon's skin.

Renae recalled the serperior back to his pokeball, a better, safer place for him to be, it seemed. She did the same with the mawile and lapras, but the arbok slithered behind her even as she ran to catch up with the crowd. Somewhere in the background, Montesquieu dashed through the shadows as well, still looking for a good chance to drop thunderwaves and hexes.

She stopped short, still a distance from the rioters, when she saw Xander and Juan. Damn. This wouldn't end well then. In so many ways, Renae considered that for the best, but only if she lived to tell of it (loudly and at length). She knew a thing or two about Xander--perhaps some of her writing could be blamed for a thing or two about Xander--and it didn't give her hope for a clean retreat.

"Montesquieu, discharge on the bird," she commanded, trusting that the rotom was near enough to hear her. Sure enough, a surge of electricity shot out of the shadows, sparking as it made its way to the honchkrow.

"You with the cape!" she yelled, finally worrying over the other trainer in this battle. When she closed the distance to Terran, her voice dropped down to an urgent hiss. "We need to go. That includes you and your pokemon. Lux will not forgive your involvement here. That man especially will give you no quarter."

notes serperior KO'd and recalled. lapras and mawile also recalled. Renae's in RETREAT mode. arbok and rotom still on the field. rotom used discharge on honchkrow.

[banter2]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-image: url(http://i39.tinypic.com/17vgut.png); background-image: repeat; border-radius: 80px ,btable][style=float: right; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 10px; height: 100px; width: 100px; background-image: url(http://i43.tinypic.com/2wgxh5g.png); -webkit-border-radius: 50px; -moz-border-radius: 50px; border-radius: 50px][/style][style=float: left; margin-left: 30px; height: 70px; width: 240px; background-color: EEE6AB; opacity: 0.9; border-radius: 10px; margin-top: 20px][style=padding: 5px; color: 36393B; font-size: 10px; font-family: georgia]music discipline by throbbing gristle words 864 tags hector, tika, renae, terran, xander, juan, wallace notes probably my last post in this thread[/style][/style][style=float: left; margin-left: 35px; margin-top: -20px; font-size: 20px; font-family: georgia; color: EEE6AB; text-shadow: #000000 0px 0px 4px]tell me... are you free[style=margin-left: 30px]in word, or thought, or deed?[/style][/style][style=float: left; width: 350px; margin-left: 25px; background-color: EEE6AB; opacity: 0.9; border-radius: 10px; margin-bottom: 40px; margin-top: 10px][style=padding: 10px; width: 330px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 10px; color: 36393B; text-align: justify]Alexander Cromwell. Cecil hadn't known the man's name when they'd first met on the frigid battlefield, but now it was as fixed in his mind as if it had been branded there. Presumably just a general then, but now the Hoenn champion of Lux. The one man in charge of defiling his home, the region for which he cared the most. The man who had attempted to show him mercy once, for some misaimed, pathetic sense of pity. The man who had finally gained the bravery to shoot him in the side, who had disgustingly enough defeated him there in the snow. Simply put, Cecil was extraordinarily displeased to see him here. This time, perhaps he would get his chance to kill him, do what he should've done back at Snowpoint. To reach for his gun now would be foolish, however, he told himself. That would mean that he had taken the first violent action. Instead, he stood stiffly, ready to shoot the instant that the champion might move for his own gun, waiting for him to take action first. Self-defense was acceptable. He stood here as a civil protestor, and any violent action by Lux would be difficult to cast in their favor. Deflected by the Protect, Charles pulled back, not wanting to fall victim to another Water Pulse. He felt uneasy now, being so far from Cecil, without knowing whether his trainer was okay. After all, the situation had seemed rather dangerous. What other pokemon had been out? The Roselia? Charles admired Amelia's spirit, but he worried about her ability to keep Cecil safe. Uneasy, he flew as quickly in the direction of his trainer as possible, knowing that he was probably quick enough to evade the bird's attacks. Cecil heard the buzzing of Charles approaching behind him, and although he couldn't turn to look, was silently relieved that the bug was okay. Last he had seen, Charles had been hideously outnumbered, after all, and he hadn't had time to watch the ensuing fight. His joy, however, was short-lived. He only saw the Honchkrow as a blur of black feathers, breaking his eye contact with the Lux member only to watch in horror what unfolded. Amelia was dizzy, battered, and exhausted, and her feeble attempt at dodging did nothing to prevent the beak from stabbing deep into her breast, flinging her back almost into the crowd. He saw the Torterra from earlier heading towards the bird, but he knew it was too late. Amelia's previous wounds had already seemed near-fatal, and the Drill Peck had killed her at once. He forced his gaze from the corpse, back towards the arrogant, grinning pig who had brought this upon him. The Roselia had made no offensive move. She had been the most innocent of his team, the one he seldom brought into battle and kept safe. He shouldn't have brought her out in the first place, but it was this man's fault for destroying her. Did he find it pleasing, taking the lives of innocents? Cecil pulled the scarf down from over his face. Not even the slightest muffling of his words was acceptable here. Lifting up his megaphone to his mouth, he gave a shout that rapidly cracked into a scream. "Murderer! I made no offense on you, champion, and you killed my pokemon! Does a life mean nothing to you? People of Sootopolis, this is the man who controls your region. This is Lux, and this is the regard they have for innocent life. Are these truly the people we want leading the city?" The faint buzz of Charles' wings behind him was reassuring. If needed, he could still defend himself. Cecil might've shot the man right there if not for the distraction of sudden lights in the sky. His eyes hunted the source. Of course, the gym leader himself. The city's symbol of Lux's domination and control. What was his intention here? To attack the peaceful protestors just as his champion had? Cecil heard the irritated hiss of Charles as the rain began. Still, no offense. What was he trying to do? Cecil kept himself wary, but he had bigger priorities on which to focus for the moment. The other woman's voice rung out despite the noise of the crowd, apparently directed at the man whose Torterra he had seen earlier. She was considering a retreat, it seemed. Cecil personally loathed the idea, feeling sick to his stomach, but it would be best for Nox's reputation, he told himself. A peaceful protest forced to end by the unneeded cruelty of Lux. Best for them to remain mostly pacifistic to the end. He narrowed his eyes, gaze still fixed on Xander. "This isn't over, champion. Don't dare to think that you've eliminated us." He picked up the megaphone again, now. "Nox, retreat! We have tried to show them peaceful rebellion, but Lux insists on brutality! Let them not use our slaughter as an example. Now that they have shown Sootopolis their true colors, we may rise against them another day!"[/style][/style][/style]

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[style=width: 300px; font-size: 11px; padding: 5px; font-family: tahoma; text-align: justify; float:left; margin-left: 45px; border-left: 5px solid #616b36;]Blood and green flesh tore around the point of his beak. The blood tasted of metal but the night avian was well acquainted with the taste, and his beak twisted upwards at the end as if in a sadistic smile. He powered through, leaving the body on the ground as he spun in the air upwards, flying away from predators. Well, he thought he was flying away, but then a giant tree was there in his flight path out of nowhere. Literally nowhere. The tree was moving, and Malum only realized too late. It struck home, slamming him into the side of the gym building but out of the way of the otherwise well-aimed discharge that went crazy after hitting the wet ground; however, it died off without having a grounding station before it reached anyone.

The splash of water was heard before it was seen. The monster that had been lying in camouflage, hidden beneath the water’s surface broke free from the natural illusion, spraying those closest to the water’s bank with a cool mist. With a cry of warning, it crashed through the crowd, behind the man with the Torterra, pulling with it a singular wave of muddy water. It crashed into the man, whom the Swampert attempted to save by grabbing onto him, crushing him against the almost stone-hard chest of pure muscle as he came up in front of the blonde champion in front of the gym. The rain poured forth, casting everyone in a darker hue.

Green eyes broke from Cecil’s glancing down to the man below his feet. He stooped down, bending his knees as he got close to the man’s face, which had but moments before set his massive turtle on Malum. He grabbed the drenched cloth on the man’s shoulder, yanking him up. He turned to those retreating, made his voice louder than it had been before, “Confused citizens!” His voice carried across to them, silence enveloping his ears as the chaos raged.

“If you follow these men, there is nothing but pain for you! They cause this chaos. Can you not see that?” His voice holds true pain and remorse for those already gone, teleported away by this man’s Claydol. How could they be fooled by Nox’s idiotic schemes? He couldn’t fathom it, “But all of you be warned!” His voice broke slightly. Maybe it was sincere emotion that broke Xander’s voice, yet perhaps it was all an act, a show for the people, “Those who side against Lux, and with this band of rebels…this is what the end holds for you!”

As he said these words, slowly and precisely, he pulled out his knife from the sheath on his hip. The blade glinted ominously and he easily sliced through the man’s rotator cuff, severing ligaments and muscle until the blade sickeningly scraped against bone. It was as easy as a hot knife sliding through butter. Blood splattered across the grass at his feet, lingered on the blade before dripping off slowly, mixing with the rain and cascading in swirls of scarlet life evaporating from the source.

Xander’s grip on the man’s clothes slackened, dropping him and his arm that will be forever useless to him to the mud. He turned his back to those retreating in front of him, ignoring them. The soldiers closed around him, and the automated doors of the gym slide open as if nothing happened.
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words: 569
muse: take the heartland - glen hansard
notes: ugh super late OTL. tl;dr: malum kills roselia, whacked by woodhammer. commence overly wordy account of xan cutting terran's arm to the bone~ [/style]

[lurker5]

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Juan did not mind the rain falling. Why couldn’t they see? He was fine with protests against them, but to go on the offense, bringing out their pokemon to assert their beliefs ... it was not better than the things they were accusing them of doing.

He closed his eyes. Things would not get better. The city stirred. While there was unnecessary violence – on both sides – these rebels had achieved what they had called for. They got people to protest along their side.

And, while he didn’t personally know Xander, he had heard rumors. From where he stood, there was nothing he could do to stop what had happened next. Their champion (something of which he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about) had just made an example of one of the rebels by lopping off their arm.

The gym leader pulled both Juliane and Sophie back into their pokeballs. There was nothing more to be done. Each leader had given their speech. Both citizens and soldiers were retreating. The blood was left to drip off into the sea.

He waited, and would wait for everyone to leave before heading back into the gym.
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