[IC] The Aftermath- Dark (as in genre, not pokemon type) Pokemon RP

[SephietheEvil]

In the far distance, overlooking the nearby forest and a bit of the towns in the surrounding area, there stands a tall and mighty mountain. It is within this mountain that the Revolutioneers stay, having built their whole base within it's cavernous depths. Right now, a speech from the leader, Montainum, is being held in the grand hall on the stage. His booming voice echoes over the crowd of Revolutioneers at his feet without the use of a microphone. Even if his voice weren't so mighty, you'd still be able to hear him, as none of the Revolutioneers dare talk out of turn in front of the great Terrakion onstage. Coming in a bit late, a Lucario enters in from a side passage, while tightening the knot for her cape, and straightening it over her shoulders to try and cover up a large wound on her right arm. She's come just in time to catch some of Montainum's final words, though it doesn't matter much to her. She's heard all the same before. "...It is for this reason, my fellow Revolutioneers, that we must fight against them! We must not falter in our resolve! These humans know not what power they've been treating so lesser this whole time! They call us 'Pokemon', short for 'Pocket Monsters'. Their views of us as a whole couldn't get more demeaning. In this light, we've never been the monsters. No, it is the humans, or, as I think we should start saying...the 'Humons'. 'Human Monsters'. Let us go on, comrades, and continue our noble fight, whatever the cost!" Montainum ends his speech with a triumphant tone, and the hall erupts into cheers. The Lucario that just walked in watches for a bit, then turns to leave again, until she's suddenly caught by the arm with sharp claws. "Going somewhere, Aruba?" The Lucario turns to see her only slightly-superior teammate, a snide-looking Zoroark with special leather gloves that come with metal claw extensions. She scowls a bit. "What do you want now, Darkclaw? I was just on my way to see what new tasks I needed to do. Thought I'd try and catch the speech, but it seems I came in a little late." Aruba replies. Darkclaw smirks at her, and pulls back her cape to show off the wound on her arm. "Oh? So where were you before? You must've been doing something pretty serious to get a wound like that." Darkclaw grins. "I was doing what everyone else has been doing. Assisting in our daily battle against air-headed, egotistic humans." Aruba jerks her cape away from the Zoroark, putting it back over her shoulders and starting to walk off. "...I'm not that dumb, Aruba." Darkclaw murmurs under the din of the Pokemon-filled hall, just loud enough for Aruba's ears. "Your scent has been recently mixed with metal, anguish,...and Tatakumei." Aruba stops dead in her tracks, and finds herself clenching her fists to keep herself from lashing out at Darkclaw. "...I won't say anything this time, but honestly, you should stop trying to break your little daughter out." Darkclaw, knowing how hard Aruba is trying not to attack him, gets right up to her back, talking right into her ear. "We'll let her out to you when we feel you deserve it. For now, focus on your work, and maybe it'll happen soon. Okay?" ".....Fine." Aruba finds it almost painful to force out that one word, and quickly walks away from Darkclaw before she can hear him laugh. She makes her way through winding passageways in the mountain base, trying to stop her own bitter tears. Meanwhile, In the field route outside of the nearby forest, a sort of odd-looking trainer girl sits on a stray tree stump, surrounded by her own pokemon. She never keeps them in pokeballs, unless she has a reason to restrain them. Sometimes they do get too into their battles...especially the Sylveon at her left, Euphoria. "I haven't seen anyone out here yet...no Revolutioneers, no criminals, no anything..." The girl sighs disappointedly. "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing, Sephie...?" Raven, the sharp figure nested on the ground behind the tree stump, glances back at her. "Good? Yeah, sure. Completely boring? Absolutely without a doubt." Sephie yawns. "She's right. I want to go plaaaayyyyy...." Euphoria whines helplessly, rolling around on the ground. "Your version of play always involves so much unnecessary fright and bloodshed, Euphoria...I honestly prefer you in this kind of state." Pipley, the Delphox standing above all of them, shakes his head with a faint smile while he twirls his wooden magic staff in one paw. "Why do you have to be so meeean, Pipley?" Euphoria huffs at him with a frown. All Pipley does is chuckle. "Hey, Ai-yu, have you gotten any weird feelings?" Sephie looks up at the tiny, shimmering pink Celebi floating idly above her head. "I know you have those psychic visions and all that jazz every now and then, being a time-traveler or whatever..." "You make it sound so very casual..." The pale, misty figure of a shiny Meowstic to Sephie's direct right finally speaks up to join in on the conversation. "Well, I'm pretty used to it. Seems normal to me." Sephie shrugs. "I mean, honestly, Sachiko, I'm not sure how much can really phase me at this point. I've got a murderous death machine dressed up in pink fur and adorable ribbons to my left, a shiny ghost Pokemon to my right, and a shiny Celebi with weird powers floating over my head. And they all speak English." "...Good point..." Sachiko purrs lightly. "OI! What do you think you're doin'?!" "W-wait! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! NO! NOOOOOO!" "Ugh..." In the middle of the forest, a shiny Zoroark is just waking up to the sounds of squabbling just north of his resting place. It's not too uncommon for him, but it certainly is rather annoying. He gets up, and walks towards the noises. He stops to watch the source of the noise, a Pichu in a top hat and cape, fighting against a Meowth with one blue eye and one green eye. What are they fighting over? 3 berries. "THOSE ARE MY PECHA BERRIES! YOU KNOW I FOUND THEM SPECIAL, ELECTRICIA! WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE THIEVING ONE HERE ANYWAY, EH?!" The Meowth cries as she tries to claw the berries away from the sprinting Pichu. "JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE A MEOWTH, THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE THE ONLY THIEF AROUND, MYSTARII! AND I WASN'T EVEN TRYING TO STEAL THEM ALL! I ONLY WANTED ONE!" Electricia shouts back. "THEN WHY DID YOU GRAB HALF THE PILE?!" "BECAUSE I WANTED SOME FOR LATER!" "WITHOUT ASKING ME?!" "A PECHA BERRY A DAY GIVES GOOD POKEMON THE ENERGY TO PLAY~!" "OHHHH, YOU LITTLE-" "What in Arceus's name do you think you're doing, fighting over something as simple as berries?" The shiny Zoroark. interrupts them with an unamused look. "I seriously passed about 2 bushes of the things on my way here, and it was a 10-foot walk." "Oh! Awake from your nap already, Rythian?" Electricia grins at the Zoroark. "As if I could continue sleeping with all of the ridiculous noise..." Rythian sighs. "Awh, sorry Ry!" Mystarii frowns at him before turning and hitting Electricia upside the head. "See?! Look what you did!" With a magician's grace, Electricia catches the hat at the last second, and places it gently back atop her head as she replies, "As if it was only me. I wasn't the one who started making a huge outcry over berries! Rythian's right, you know! THEY'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE!" "Then why did you choose to steal MINE?" Mystarii growls. "...Stolen food always tastes better. You know that." Electricia states simply. Rythian sighs once more, putting his face in his paws.

[TheGodofTacos]

"Umm..." A kid states seeing the two fighting Pokemon as he entered the part of the forest from a nearby river followed by a Bisharp that was holding rocks quite pleased with himself. With his fishing poll he snags a berry from the two frighting Pokemon and pops it into his mouth enjoying the taste like he haven't had food in a while. He then snags another one for his friend the same way after that he went back to the river followed by his Bisharp.

[Snarfulblast]

"Well hey now that a nice turn of events. New people near my part of this forest." A guy walks out of the woods and onto the path where the girl sits. On his shoulder is a Lugia, but not an ordinary Lugia but one that radiates shadows, it's scales are black, his spines are a light blueish gray, and his eyes are a blood red. "Well at lest they aren't with the Revo's you know." The Lugia states, hearing his voice you know that he is most definitively an male. "That is true Zarkju but are they safe?"The guy replies to the Shadow Lugia. "We'll just have to find out know won't we Lucas?" Zarkju says. "Yes we will." He walks up to the girl and her Pokemon. "Hello the names Lucas ShadowSnow Leader of Team ShadowSnow, and this," he points at his Lugia,"Is Zarkju."

[ShadowVentus]

Unlike everyone else, Ventus and the rest of his team were simply taking a break in a nearby clearing from a long day's trek. As Ven sat down on a tree stump, pulled out his Poké-Flute and began playing, Sera and Aqua danced to the joyful tune alongside a small group of other Scattered Pokémon nearby. Serph, vigilant as ever, was leaning on a nearby tree, checking the surrounding perimeter for any interesting auras. The closest he found would be Sephie's group, their auras very...new to the veteran. Utilizing Sera's capability of a telepathic connection for himself, he now spoke with his long-time partner. "Ven...can you sense the girl's aura?" The hooded boy smiled as his eyes gleamed red, tracking down the aura in question. "Yes..however, the aura given off by that Sylveon of hers...it's rather unnerving. Be wary of any possible attacks..." He responded, not letting the slightly disturbing discovery throw off his playing.

[Snarfulblast]

"I smell trouble." Sha lifts his head and stands up. "That way." He points himself towards where Ventus is his acute sense of smell picking up the new scents. "I've got to find Lucas so Poof and Ming you to go.", "No I'll go." Jean stands up and walks off to where Sha had pointed. He makes it to the clearing quickly seeing the boy and the Pokemon he assumes are the boy's Jean stays just on the outskirts waiting and watching.

[SephietheEvil]

Aruba stops traversing the ant tunnel-like passageways in the Revolutioneer base when she gets to a certain door. She looks through the grated window to see if anyone else is inside, but the coast is clear. She slips into the room, lined with rusty cages with different insignias on them, some broken, others warped and rusted as well. They're all recognizable team symbols from the past, Team Rocket, Team Galactic, ect. The Revolutioneers stole them for jailing purposes, but as of now, only two Pokemon are jailed within the cages. No humans now. The last one left just yesterday, and the large bloody handprint on the floor near a cage with its door ajar is evidence. Aruba moves to the second cage from the left side. The creature inside stirs. "Tatakumei..." Aruba whispers. She produces a ball of glowing blue aura in one of her paws to light up a small surrounding area, like a candle. From the cage, a frail-looking Riolu steps forward, clutching at her dirtied, slightly torn red scarf. Despite her shabby appearance, her face is graced with a hopeful smile. "Mom?" The female Riolu grips a rusty metal bar at the from of the cage. "Tatakumei, I have a bit of time now, so I'm going to try again." Aruba steps back a bit, and holds her aura sphere with two paws. She starts charging it up. "Mom, w-wait, you hurt yourself last time!" Tatakumei reminds her mother, looking at the wound on her shoulder. "It'll be fine. I can dodge this time, if my aura isn't strong enough." Aruba insists. She uses almost all the energy she can muster, creating a huge aura blast, and fires it at Tatakumei's cage. the aura attack is blocked just an inch from the cage's bars by a suddenly-visible purple magic barrier. The sphere stretches the barrier, looking as if it might actually break through and destroy the bars this time, but it is then sent back at Aruba with a slingshot effect. She dives out of the way, and it hits the thick stone wall behind her hard enough to leave cracks. "Damn it...!" Aruba growls furiously. "That stupid Mismagius's power...!" "Mom, it's okay..." Tatakumei tries to assure her mother. "I'll be fine for now. Just don't hurt yourself, please." "....Well....at least you have a friend here, right? That little Growlithe-" Aruba starts, looking at the other cage with something inside. "-He's gone." Tatakumei cuts her mother off with a murmur. "...He hasn't moved since last evening...at least, that's what time I think it was..." Aruba is hit in the stomach with a wave of despair and dread. She gets back up to the bars of her daughter's prison and squeezes her paw in to hold her daughter's paw. "Tatakumei, I'm not going to let that happen to you. No mater what I do, I'm not going to leave you here and let you disappear." "I know..." Tatakumei grins softly. "Just keep going, Mom. Remember that you're the best to me, no matter what happens!" Sephie and her Pokemon turn to observe the presence of the strange boy walking around with a tiny Shadow Lugia. Euphoria is the first one to have much of a reaction, suddenly sporting a large, almost frightening grin. "Ooh, new people to play with! Are you a dark type...?" Euphoria takes a step towards Lucas, staring at Zarkju. "Fairies just LOVE dark types~!" "Euphoria, no. Not yet, at least." Sephie scolds, then turns her attention back to Lucas. "Hello there, Lucas. I'm Sephie. This is Pipley, Raven, Sachiko, Euphoria, and Ai-yu." She points to each Pokemon respectively as she says their names. "Team ShadowSnow..." Pipley narrows his eyes at Lucas. "...Sounds almost like Team Flare, or one of those groups. If you're here to try and steal Pokemon, then I suggest you go somewhere else. Preferably 100 miles away or more. Depends." "If he turns out to be bad, can I play then? Huh?!" Euphoria begs Sephie, hopping around with excitement. "Tch, c'mon guys, give this one a chance." Sephie chuckles a bit. "I mean, if he really was here to try and steal a Pokemon, why wouldn't he just do it? Why would someone introduce themselves as part of a criminal team, and then try to steal a Pokemon? That's illogical." "Good point..." Sachiko nods slowly. The trainer girl and her Pokemon are suddenly hit with the sound of a pokeflute from just a little ways away. "Sounds like someone else is in the forest...you think it's a Pokemon?" Raven asks Sephie. "I'm not sure. It's someone, but maybe not a Pokemon. Not sure where a Pokemon would get a pokeflute, or where they'd learn to play it, either..." Sephie shrugs, standing up from her tree stump and stretching. "Wanna check it out, then?" "Wouldn't hurt." Pipley agrees with a faint smile. "Or would it~?" Euphoria giggles, still eyeing Zarkju in an intimidating way... Mystarii and Electricia are still arguing, when suddenly, a berry is snagged from Electricia's paws with a fishing rod. Both pokemon pause for a moment, shocked. They're even more so when another one is suddenly stolen the same way. They both wwhip around to spot the culprit and his Bisharp. "OI! WHY IS THIS FOREST FILLED WITH THIEVES THAT AREN'T ME?!" Mystarii cries aloud. "WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE THE ONLY THEIF?!" Electricia shouts at her friend. "Ugh...I swear, they'd both die if I wasn't here..." Rythian shakes his head at the two squabbling pokemon, then perks up his hears at the sound of a pokeflute nearby. Mystarii and Electricia seem to stop and listen as well. "Someone nearby?" Mystarii purrs curiously. "I wonder if they've got any loot on 'em..." "You should be ashamed! Someone out there is making this beautiful music, and your first thought is to steal from them..." Rythian turns to scold the Meowth. "I'm soooorrrrryyyy, Ry! It's just in my nature!" Mystarii whines. "Same old excuse..." Electricia snickers, earning a glare from Mystarii.

[Snarfulblast]

Zarkju returns the stare. "No, I'm not a dark type, well not exactly.I'm a psychic and dark type. But I was made into a dark type." He lifts his head to the sound of music. "Pretty, reminds me of when you used to sing with Sha at night." "Yeah good times. And no I don't steal Pokemon I help them. I am also the only human on Team ShadowSnow. The rest are my Pokemon.", He turns to where the music is coming from. "Wonderful even more people." Thinking to himself 'Why are so many people passing through here?' "Boss." A Houndoom comes running out of the woods, "Hey boss more...", hearing the music he looks at Lucas, "Oh you can hear music out here. Oh hey are those the others I smelled earlier?" "Yeah." "Cool. My name is Sha." He bows his head to Sephie's group.

[ShadowVentus]

Sensing many different auras nearby and on the move towards his location, the boy chuckles, grinning underneath his hood. "Let's give them a show to remember, everyone." He telepathically says to his whole party, causing Sera to regroup with Ven and Serph while Aqua simply continues to have fun with the other Scattered Pokémon. He then begins playing this song. Once the song begins, Sera Utilizes both Lucky Chant and Double Team, creating a rather solid defense around Ven. Next, Serph, sensing the nearby Jean, uses Extremespeed to sneak up on him, now standing atop a tree branch as he then switches to using Swords Dance and Bone Rush, now holding a light blue bone in his right hand. "Who are you and what do you want with us?" Serph asks the Zangoose, seeming as if he'll show no mercy if he receives an answer he doesn't like.

[SephietheEvil]

Aruba now stands atop the mountain that holds the base of the Revolutioneers within it. She ended up making her way to the top to ponder her next move, after staying with her imprisoned daughter for a bit longer. Aruba stared out into the distance, arms folded across her chest and cape fluttering in the wind. She closes her eyes with a long, drawn-out sigh. "They want me to go down there and fight again..." Aruba murmurs to herself. "...But, really...is it worth it...?" she pauses on the thought, then shakes her head quickly. "No, no. I can't think that way...not yet. I have to focus on getting Tatakumei out first. Then I can have my freedom of thought." Aruba glares down at the land before her, and begins racing down towards the bottom, and into the depths of the forest. "Heh..." In the background, peeking out from the rocks, a familiar Zoroark grins. "Right behind you, Aruba..." Darkclaw snickers, and starts silently racing down after the Lucario. "Ah, good to here. Guess I might be able to throw a bit of trust your way, then." Sephie snickers at Lucas. She nods towards Sha. "Nice to meet you as well. I'm Sephie, and I'm too lazy to say all of these guys' names over again, so they can introduce themselves if they feel like it. That being said, onward, team, towards that lovely tune~..." Sephie starts following the music, and her band of Pokemon follows her closely. They get closer to the music, up until they start hearing other noises. Noises like pokemon moves being used, and someone asking a possible intruder questions. "Hmm...a battle?" Sephie murmurs. She turns back to her group of Pokemon. "Alright guys, go scout the-huh?....Um...guys, where's Euphoria?" Each pokemon in Sephie's group goes a bit pale, and starts looking around frantically. "Hiiii guys~! I fouuuund you~!" Further ahead, Euphoria has already made her way onto the scene, tracking down the sounds of interrogation, which lead her straight to Serph. At the recognition of a fighting-type pokemon, her already-disconcerting grin grows wider. "Are you evil? Do I need to...play with you...?" Euphoria asks with a giggle, which slowly builds up to a crazed laugh. A glow starts surrounding her body, and it looks as if she's about to unleash a super-powered Moonblast. The large pink orb of light forms above her head, and is ready to crash straight into Serph- "Nope." Suddenly, everything is put to a halt as Euphoria is surrounded by a new light energy, this one being purple-ish pink. It floats her in the air, and cancels out her Moonblast in seconds. "AWWW!" Euphoria whines. "I WAS JUST ABOUT TO-" "Euphoria, we don't know if they deserve such a fate." The owner of the psychic energy, the ghost of a shiny Meowstic, steps forward. "Sephie told us to scout. Not kill. Yet." "I knoooowwww..." Euphoria groans, her ears and ribbon-feelers drooping with disappointment. "Here, Euphie. Why don't you go back and tell Sephie what is going on? I shall stay and watch...after all, I'm already dead. Not much else can happen to me, should things grow coarse..." Sachiko smiles lightly, a rare sight. Euphoria nods sadly in agreement. Sachiko releases the Sylveon from her telekinetic hold, and Euphoria runs back to report to Sephie. Sachiko stands where she is, turning silently back to Serph and Jean to watch them with a keen eye. Mystarii, Electricia, and Rythian pick up on the increasing noise near them in the forest. "We should go see what all the fuss is about..." Electricia murmurs. "Yeah! And see what we can steal!" Mystarii grins. "Ugh..." Rythian shakes his head again, and starts moving cautiously towards the music and pseudo-battle noises. "Follow me, then. At the very least, don't get yourselves into unnecessary trouble. I know how much you seem to love doing that, but-" "WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' HERE, BANDITS?!" Electricia runs off ahead with a determined grin, holding her top hat so it doesn't fly off. "What did I just-?!" Rythian can't continue before Mystarii climbs a tree and start's pursuing her friend, jumping from branch to branch. "Sorry Ry! That's just too boring!" Mystarii teases from a distance." Rythian lets out a heaving sigh, trudging after the two rambunctious Scattered pokemon. On his way closer to the scene, he notices Aqua, and smiles lightly. "Hello there."

[Snarfulblast]

"Quite speedy there aren't you? My name Jean and pretty soon you'll know what I do." Jean himself uses Extremespeed, placing himself right next to the boy in the middle. Lucas,Sha, and Zarkju show a few moments later. "Jean out here now.","Yes boss." again using Extremespeed Jean goes to stand next to Lucas. "I think it's about time for my other friends to make an appearance.",Lucas pulls out a whistle a blows on it. "Looks like the boss needs us Ming.", "Alright. But what about Zera?", "I'll be fine little ones now go.","Ok bye don't burn the house down." Arriving on the scene Ming and Poof, make their way over to Lucas. "Ah the gangs all here. Now before the hostilities can get out of hand I'm not here to fight or steal your Pokemon. Now Zarkju tell'm who we are.", "Right we are Team Shadowsnow protecters of Pokemon and people. We use our talents to stop evil and injustice and we have a secret base.", "Perfect now the Lugia on my shoulder his name is Zarkju, the Houndoom is calle Sha, the Lucario just now showing up is called Carl.", Carl walks up from behind Lucas,"The Pangoro is Ming and the Dragonair is called Poof.","And as you know I'm Jean."

[Snarfulblast]

"Darkclaw report. The boss needs to know what is happing." A small cloaked figure with his hand to his head talks to Darkclaw via mental connection. A Gengar appears behind the cloaked figure, "Want me to find him Serran?",the voice if heard sounds very feminine. The cloaked figure shakes his head no,"Alright I'll wait."

[ShadowVentus]

Luckily for Jean, he was able to get away before the Poke-Flute could put him to sleep. Although, the close encounter with the song left him feeling rather groggy. Ventus stops his playing and begins chuckling, overhearing the strange group's glorious announcement. "Team Shadowsnow...protectors? Well, you're doing a fine job! Also, I don't quite think a secret base is so secret if you tell people about it." He states, smirking underneath his hood. Sera called off her clones, each of them dissipating as the real one moved to stand by the boy's side. "Give them a chance. If they were here to cause trouble, they would've done so by now.." She chides to the boy. "I'm not worried about them in the slightest...it's that Sylveon that's getting on my nerves.." He responds, seeming to share his partner's distaste for fairies, save for Sera, of course. Watching Jean leave only to be called back by his trainer, Serph sighs in annoyance. "I suppose I should be thankful..fairy types and normal types tend to get on my nerves..if you don't mind my asking, just who are you and what do you want from us?" Serph says to Sachiko, turning to face the Meowstic. He had always had a form of respect for psychic types, for their foresight was unmatched to any other Pokémon. In fact, the smartest psychic-type the Lucario had ever met was Xatu, always staring out from the highest point of a canyon at the sunset, sharing words of wisdom... Aqua, hearing the music stop and a voice behind her, turns around to face the towering Rythian, seeming not afraid in the slightest. "Hi there! Hmm...you don't seem all that bad for a being a dark type..I used to be friends with a Zorua...he never gave me his name though. Hehe, who knows, you might be that same Zorua, except you're stronger than before!" She theorizes, happy at the thought of the possibility of Rythian being a long lost friend that she's meeting once again.

[SephietheEvil]

"Hah. Please, no need to thank me...you might've survived the merciless Moonblast you were about to receive, only because of your additional steel typing...but, I digress." Sachiko smiles ever so faintly. "I am...the ghost of a Meowstic who never got to be. Though, I'm called Sachiko. I'm here with a group. We heard the music, assuming it was played by another person, not a Pokemon. Thus, we made our way here, and upon hearing the noises of what sounded like battle, my trainer and her other Pokemon, along with myself, came only to investigate. We were supposed to simply scout, but Euphoria, the Sylveon you just saw...she tends to get a little too excited in these situations. I hope you'll forgive her....this time, at least." A few moments after finishing her explanation of the situation, Sephie and the rest of her Pokemon make there way over to Sachiko and Serph. "I heard everything was fine, no thanks to Euphie over here." Sephie snickers a bit. She looks at Serph, and a sense of nostalgia washes over her. "Ah, a Lucario, huh? I used to have one of those...but...she split from my side awhile ago...anyway, that's a story for...possibly never, depending on who you are, and your intentions. We heard a flute around here. I assume that's a human's work, or at least something close to one?" "Well, I don't see a pokeflute anywhere on this Lucario..." Pipley offers his observations. "Should this situation turn volatile, and this Lucario decides to attack, can we all agree on me taking Sephie and scouring the rest of the forest, while you all stay behind and fight?" Raven is already coming up with a plan in case things take a bad turn. "I suppose that's a good plan of action, should it truly come to such a thing..." Sachiko murmurs in response. "I still want to play with someone..." Euphoria sighs sadly from the back of Sephie's group. Ai-yu says nothing, only hanging onto Sephie's shoulder and looking at Serph with curiosity. Rythian perks his ears after hearing what Aqua has to say to him. He grins a bit with a soft chuckle. "Well...it depends. Can you remember if it was a red or blue Zorua? I'd think you might remember the difference...but, it doesn't matter much. No, I'm not as bad or as scary as most dark type Pokemon are made out to be, stereotypically. I can be...but I honestly prefer not to be. That's my brother's job, it would seem. A Revolutioneer fool...ah, but, you must excuse me. I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Rythian. May I have yours, miss?" Meanwhile, Electricia and Mystarii continue to race through the forest in pursuit of the strange battling noises. However, as soon as the music stops, they skid to a halt. "Eh? It stopped?" Mystarii jumps down from the trees to stand beside her friend. "Yeah...but, that's no problem! We can just...sniff 'em out or something, right?" Electricia replies. "Um...Ellie, have we ever been in this part of the forest?" Mystarii looks around, noticing with unease how unfamiliar it seems to her all of a sudden. "W-what? Oh, come on! There's no way we can possibly be lost!" Electricia laughs as if this statement were ridiculous...but there's a heavy hint of nervousness in that laugh as well. Aruba has raced down into the forest at this point, slowly making her way through, using her aura perception abilities to seek out any nearby targets. Her assigned job was only to patrol the forest, looking for new Revolutioneer recruits, or finding and orchestrating attacks on the Trained. on her way through, she picks up a couple of nearby presences. Two Pokemon with a heavy air of fear and unease, it seems. She narrows her eyes, and creeps closer to the two auras as quietly as possible. Darkclaw stands at the entrance to the forest that Aruba used, about to follow her in, until he receives a message from his own mind. Of course, he knows it's not his own mind's words. It's someone he knows at least a little, back at the Revolutioneer base. He glances back in the direction Aruba went, then reluctantly turns back to go back up the mountain and into the Revoluioneers' base once more. As much as he'd love to follow Aruba and surprise her once more...orders are orders.

[Snarfulblast]

"I smell fear around here, from something small a..., Pichu if I'm not mistaken. Boss?" Sha looks at Lucas waiting for an answer,"Yes find them and bring it back here I think it might be a friend of the Zoroark over there." Sha quickly heads in the direction of the Pichu he smelled quickly followed by Carl silent as ever.

[ShadowVentus]

@SephietheEvil Serph smirks, amused by how cautious they are around him. "My name is Serph..it's an honor to be considered a threat in front of a group of your prestige..considering I'm currently outnumbered, I'd rather not fight right now. More importantly, I would be putting my friends in danger if I were to battle you here...one stray attack and it would be lights out for just about anyone. Anyhow, in regards to the music you speak of, my partner is indeed in possession of the remaining Poké-flutes in existence. They're rather hard to come by. Luckily, during our time in the Kanto region, he received one as a gift." He explains, going into a bit of detail regarding the flute. However, as soon as he noticed Ai-yu, he briefly took on a look of surprise before bowing before the Celebi. "My apologies, milady..I was not aware of your presence. You're quite welcome to join us here, if you'd like.." Then, Serph switches back to his telepathic link with Ven. "I have good news. The group of Pokémon I've encountered are not only traveling with a human, but Celebi is also among their ranks!" The boy freezes slightly at this revelation before a joyous grin displays itself on his face, preparing to play his flute once more. "I see...well, let's give her a warm welcome!" With that being said, he begins playing this song. This song seems to lift the spirits of those nearby, causing the assortment of Scattered Pokémon from nearby to dance happily, as if this were a grand celebration. "This song..that can only mean one thing.." Sera says, deciding on the reasoning behind the sudden change of tune with a simple nod, now as cheery as ever. Aside from the current effects of the song being played, Aqua is rather happy once she hears Rythian introduce himself. "Rythian! It's me, Aqua! It's been so long!" She then proceeds to dance in a circle around him, perfectly in sync with the song. At the mention of Darkclaw, her smile temporarily becomes a sad one. "He's a Revolutioneer..? Oh man..what made him decide to work for them?" She asks, rather curious about the subject now.

[Snarfulblast]

Zarkju hearing the tune fly's over to sit next to the boy on the stump. "You know what, I know for a fact that Lucas can make poke flute's. It's what he and his family did before..., well before everything happened." He gives and almost sad expression. Lucas walks himself over to where Zarkju is sitting,"And I know from Carl that your hiding your aura. Let it go man. And before you ask yes I can actually make poke flutes and poke balls, I was trained by Kirk or Kurt? I can't remember his name but it was one of those." After begin told to stop repressing his aura Zarkju sighs slightly and to all aura sensitive Pokemon a wave of doubt and anger flows through/past them.

[SephietheEvil]

"Well, I'm typically not one to dive into fights with strangers anyway. My name's Sephie, and it's a pleasure to meet you." Sephie introduces herself with a small bow, which ends up unraveling her scarf a bit. While she hurries to put it back on, she listens to Serph's words concerning the pokeflute, and she grins. "Ah, so your friend is a human, then. I was wondering just how many people dared to be out adventuring anymore. Those Revolutioneers...they've done some considerable damage, it would seem...even to me." Her tone grows darker as she unconsciously reaches a hand up back to her scarf and grips it. Ai-yu blinks at the Lucario, and the little shiny Celebi is flooded with glee at having the Lucario so pleased to see her. For the first time in awhile, she speaks up, "T-thank you..." "Ah, so the little one speaks! I was beginning to wonder if you'd lost your voice for real this time, Ai." Sephie laughs, seeming to have forgotten all about whatever dark moment she'd had just a moment ago. Sephie turns to Serph again, gesturing to the Celebi clinging to her shoulder. "This is Ai-yu. She was a gift from the future. Another Celebi, dying, entrusted her to me..." When the music from the flute starts up, Sephie's group of Pokemon are caught by the joyous feeling, and start dancing amongst each other. Ai-yu does loops and whirls in the air, Sephie dances with both Pipley and Euphoria, and even Raven and Sachiko are caught moving to the beat a little, however much they try to hide it. In the middle of the dance, however, Ai-yu slows to a bit of a stop. Her eyes glow bright green, and lose their pupils for a minute while she stares off into space. Sephie catches this almost immediately, and, moves closer to the odd little Celebi. "Hey, Ai, everything okay?" Sephie asks. "...Someone.....is over there...they're hostile towards us..." Ai-yu murmurs quietly. "Hm...is that so?" Pipley mutters. "Well...Ai-yu's never been wrong before. Tch, and we were having such a good time. A pity, it is..." Instead of any of her Pokemon picking it up, Sephie picks up the doubtful, angry aura from somewhere close. It only adds to her concerns about what is to come... "Aqua...?" Rythian echoes, staring down at the Eevee. The name does ring faint bells in his head. He grins. "Well, well. How nice to see you again! Glad you're still well. Just as cheery as ever." He's partially unaware of the fact that he's also moving a bit to the beat of the song all the while. He thinks for a moment on Darkclaw's motives. "Well...I believe he's just a power-junkie. I used to be with him, as a Revolutioneer. But...as soon as the real carnage started, I decided to bow out. I pretended to be dead to get out of it, and I've been here ever since. I've got two other friends I look out for...a rather odd Pichu, and a rather odd Meowth. I wonder where those girls could be..." "Hey, do you hear that?" In their part of the forest, Mystarii can just faintly pick up the sound of Ven's flute. Electricia perks up her ears. "Y-yeah, I think I do! The song changed, but there's surely can't be two pokeflute users here, can there?!" Electricia's eyes light up with a bit of relief. "Sweet! Now all we have to do is follow the sound, and-EEEEEP!" Mystarii suddenly lets out a cry of surprise when a tall, powerful figure rushes out in front of them, bringing the two Pokemon to a complete and terrified halt. "Stop right there." The female Lucario in the cape narrows her eyes at the two trembling pokemon before her. Her mind is protesting, pointing out how cruel it is for her to terrorize such small pokemon, but she pushes those back. 'Think about Tatakumei, Aruba. Think about Tatakumei...' "Are you two of the Trained?" Aruba growls. "N-no, miss! We're just Scattered..." Electricia whimpers. ""Y...You're a Revolutioneer, aren't ya?!" Mystarii's fur spikes up with fear. "P-please! Don't kidnap and torture us! W-we're just lost!" In the middle of the ongoing please from the two smaller Pokemon, Aruba picks up auras coming towards her, as well as the sound of a flute in the distance. Only a human could play it that well. She has to be quick about this if she wants to get something done. Aruba turns back to the two smaller Pokemon in front of her. "I won't kidnap you if you point me in the direction of that flute. There must be those of the Trained variety there." Aruba tells them. "Y-yes ma'am! They've got to be that way! Down there, I-I think! We're lost, so..." Electricia points her in the direction that they came from. "Very well. Speak of me to no one, or else." Aruba turns and rushes off in a hurry, under the cover of the tree's shadows. She grows ever closer to the flute, having the slight urge to dance...but finding the strength to overpower it through thinking strictly about her work and her daughter's fate.

[Snarfulblast]

Sha appears before the Meowth and Pichu, "Hello little ones get on my back I can take you to where your friend the shiny Zoroark is." Carl walks up behind him and whispers something in his ear, "Yes follow the aura if you can Carl just don't get hurt." Sha tells Carl who heads off in the direction of Aruba's aura. "Sir Mountain, Darkclaw is making his way back to report. Shall I have Spookton go meet him?" The small cloaked figure ask's the leader of the Revo's.

[ShadowVentus]

Having heard this song on multiple occasions, it doesn't seem to have the same effect on Serph. However, he does feel a bit happier than he normally would, a small smile displayed on his face as proof of such feelings being harbored within him. However, the smile soon fades at the mention of a possible enemy approaching their location. The safety of his friends being the first thing to come to mind, he takes off without a word, utilizing his own aura reading abilities to locate the unknown being nearing the clearing. Luckily, he locates the other Lucario right away. Two, in fact, for he senses Carl heading the same direction he is. "Two enemies? Wait...her aura seems familiar..." Serph thinks to himself as he senses Aruba's aura drawing nearer, trying to figure out just where he has felt her aura before. He then forces himself to focus on his main priority, deciding if he's given the chance, he would question the female Lucario later. Michael, luckily well-versed enough in auras, is able to distinctly tell the difference between Aruba's aura and Zarkju's negative aura. "Serph, be careful...if this is who I believe it to be, you and her will be evenly matched..." He says to his partner, becoming a bit anxious as he alters the song to where the side effect of having the urge to dance fades, simply keeping the overall feeling of happiness going, perhaps meant to keep the other Scattered Pokémon from panicking. Sera, catching on rather quickly, decides to aide Serph by sending a Double Team clone in her stead, it appearing right by his side. "I'll be acting as your support for this fight...it might be best to try and reason with her first, before we have to use force..." She suggests to her friend. "I see..well, maybe one day, we can change his mind and have him be on our side!" Aqua states, seeming rather optimistic about the possibility of her being reunited with two of her closest friends prior to meeting Ventus and the other members of his party oh so long ago. "You've made friends too, huh? I can't wait to meet them! Well, maybe if they're lost, we should go look for them." She suggests, the possibility of that just now crossing her mind.

[SephietheEvil]

"Hmph. Alright then." Sephie watches Serph rush off, then turns to Ai-yu. "Ai, we're going to see just what this is all about." Ai-yu nods in reply. Sephie then glances back at the rest of her Pokemon. "I want all of you guys to stay here and guard everyone else here, okay?" "Whaaaaat?" Euphoria looks heartbroken. "No! I might finally have a chance to plaaaay! PLEEEEEASE, SEPHIE, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEE-" "Ack! Okay, okay. Euphie, you can come too. But seriously, the rest of you stay here and help out, unless I call for you." Sephie chuckles a bit as Euphoria prances happily up to her side. "Will do, Sephie." Pipley agrees with a polite nod. "Should I need to, I won't hold back." He winks. "I'm counting on that." Sephie grins before turning her back and following Serph. Meanwhile, Aruba has nearly reached the clearing where mostly everyone has gathered together, when she runs into new auras heading right in her direction. One is another Lucario...and the other two are a pair of closely-resonating ones, which she recognizes all to well. In the shadows, she stops right on top of the auras, and then jumps down at them with a weak attempt at an attack. She means for the pair to dodge, as they do. "Well, well...I had my doubts...but, the cape seals it." Sephie smirks. "Long time, no see..." "...Despite what you say, I don't know you. Not anymore, at least." Aruba growls back, though she con only look at Sephie while saying this, and not Ai-yu. The little pink Celebi is making a dreadfully saddened face, with big green eyes that would tug at anyone's heartstrings. "Ruru! Ruru, it's us! You...you have to remember me, right? We were best friends! You saved me!" Ai-yu tries to plead with the Lucario, but she's cold and unresponsive towards Ai-yu altogether. "Well then, I have to ask, what are you doing tracking down strangers?" Sephie crosses her arms, raising a brow. "My job." Aruba's reply is brisk as she rushes forward to try and attack Sephie. Sephie doesn't move an inch. "HI, GUYS!" Euphoria dives in front of her trainer with a frightening grin stretched across her face. Aruba is caught off guard by this expression, and even more so by the Pixilated Hyper Voice that Euphoria lets loose. Aruba is flung back, but she lands on her feet again, gritting her teeth. "Ugh..." Aruba glares at Euphoria, then at Sephie. "Tch...Kalos Pokemon...who do you even have left from your roots, then? From Sinnoh?" "How does someone who's supposed to not know who I am anymore know that I originally started out there?" Sephie counters, wagging a finger and looking very amused. Aruba only growls again in frustration, which causes Sephie to laugh. "Alright, I'll give you a break here. I've still got many of my Sinnoh friends...Raven's here right now. If you'd be so kind as to quit trying to beat me up, I'm sure she'd love to chat with you again." "Heh...nice try...but I can't." Aruba huffs back. "I'd hope so. It would simply be a shame if he went on being an idiot forever more, wouldn't it?" Rythian nods at Aqua with a small chuckle. He glances around the area after mention of his two friends, "Hm...perhaps. It's not like those two to get lost...but, they're so energetic sometimes that they both have a bad habit of 'leaping without looking', so to speak...but, they aren't bad. True, one of them likes to steal, but we're doing our best to fix that." "S-should we even try going back now? I'm a little scared, Electricia..." Mystarii doesn't move from her spot, where just a minute ago she was cowering in front of a Revolutioneer Lucario. Electricia is next to her, not moving either, unless you count her shaking. "I don't know...I mean, Rythian isn't a Trained Pokemon...but, didn't he say he used to be a Revolutioneer? What if that one just now recognizes him, and now there's trouble up there?" Before the two friends can come up with a decisive plan of action, they're confronted by Sha, which only frightens them anew. "G-GAH! NO, NOT AGAIN! Please, Revolutioneers, don't hurt us, w-we're Scattered!" Mystarii cries. "W-wait...shiny Zoroark? You know where Rythian is?" Electricia's ears perk up, and she grab's her friend's arm. "Mystarii! Hey, this guy's offering to take us back to Ry!" "R...R-really?!" Mystarii brightens up. "Oh, thank goodness! Let's go!" Mystarii helps Electricia onto Sha's back first, since she's smaller, and then climbs on as well. Montainum, in his study, glances at the small cloaked figure. He pauses with thought for a moment, then nods. "Yes...go ahead. Perhaps that is best..." Darkclaw, meanwhile, has made his way back to the base by now. "I certainly hope Aruba's adhering to the rules down there....she knows what'll happen it she doesn't..." Darkclaw chuckles evilly to himself. In the recesses of the base, back in the room with the cages, Tatakumei is undergoing her own battle. She's practicing against the bars of her cage, attempting both to weaken the metal, and to make herself stronger. She can only become a Lucario when she's strong, and can see the sun. She can see the sun, and she'll be strong enough, when she can break out of her own cage. Tatakumei holds these beliefs tight in her heart, hoping to make her mother proud...