The Crew Continues

[Candroo]

OOC: Finally out of Forlorn. Now we get to Kronic.

With a quick nod, Fangorn latched on to one of the other Drifblim and looked to make sure Wolfy and Rhaenn were also safely secured with their traveling companions for the trip. Not long after they were ready, they began floating downhill, gently swaying around the clouds that were forming around him.

Once they were down quite a distance, he noticed the Drifblim in front of them had picked up speed and zoomed off. Predicting that the same would occur with their group, and knowing how Wolfy was deathly afraid of the ocean, Fangorn turned to the others, finding nothing better to say than “Hang on tight!” before they too zoomed off over the ocean.

After the first initial burst of speed, everything seemed quite calm. The wind blew against them strongly, but consistently, and Fangorn found himself enjoying the flight back. The vastness of the sea and the salty spray that hit them was a welcome change to the stench and gloom that now surrounded Forlorn Tower. The salty air made the cut on his face sting like crazy, but he ignored it.

After what he estimated to be about 30 minutes of flying, they landed at the outskirts of Poketown. Fangorn thanked the Drifblim after getting off and looked at the sight of the city. It was raining, and many buildings were either damaged or in ruins, but this was actually good compared to what he would have imagined with an explosion of that magnitude. He had expected to come back to an empty wasteland.

After checking on Wolfy and Rhaenn to make sure they were okay, Fangorn proceeded into town looking for any signs of those that needed assistance, finding the last person he would suspect to be in need of such services.

“Kronic!” he yelled, rushing over to the fallen Kabutops and examining his injuries, “Jeeze, you look horrible. What the heck happened here? How did you even get here?”

Not waiting for his reply, Fangorn immediately began treating his injuries and noticed the body of a black Charizard nearby, which looked like it was reduced to nothing but bones, and another body covered with Kronic’s red cape. He knew instinctively that it was Amy, and decided not to bring up the subject for the primal Kabutop’s sake. He knew that losing somebody close to you would bring more pain than even the most serious physical injury.

“Come on,” he said finally, “lets get out of the rain.”

[Kronic]

-Kronic heard the call of Fangorn before he could see him, looking over to see all of them calmed him a bit. He had been worried ever since leaving them there at that battle. Fangorn didn’t hesitate to run over to him.

“Jeeze, you look horrible. What the heck happened here? How did you even get here?”

Kronic answered him while he treated his wounds.

“I’ll talk to you about this later…”

Fangorn worked quickly and efficiently. He was one of the best healers Kronic ever knew. Before long a lot of the pain has subsided.

“Come on,” he said finally, “lets get out of the rain.”

Kronic with the help of Fangorn was able to stand, He knew however that Fangorn had to do something else for him. Amy had to be carried, and Rhaenn and Wolfy could not easily accomplish this. Kronic would be able to make it to the base.

“… a lot has been damaged, let’s go to the base.”

Kronic somehow made it to the base, though the tree had been all but destroyed in the dome, the staircase leading downward still remained. He shuffled down the stairs, at the bottom was Blaze. At that point Kronic couldn’t bear to stand anymore, he fell, Blaze was there to catch him as he did. As the others approached blaze simply said.

“There’s a room on the right, it should have some beds. Please fell free to use it.”

As they entered Blaze realised it, under the cape Fangorn was carrying… she did here best not to cry, as she set Kronic down by the wall.

“… Fangorn once you’ve found a place for her, please come back to get Kronic.”

Ooc: I’m sad to say alot of damage has been done to poketown. Again it can be fixed however this may take some time to do. please be aware of that in the begining of our next rp.

[Wolfy]

OOC: Brace yourself, this is a big 'un. Hopefully last post to this arc? But I can’t be sure about that. xD

As Wolfy and the others travelled on the backs of the Drifblim, the ocean came clear into view.

Son of a mightye -, she cursed in her head, but gulped, even choking back her thoughts at the sight of the large mass of liquid looming ahead. She heard Fangorn yell to hold on tight, but Wolfy didn’t need him to tell her that because she had already latched onto the ghost/flying-type with all her might after catching sight of the Aquaphobic’s Worst Nightmare. Throughout the entire journey on air, Wolfy thought she was going to be sick and had to hold her mouth and close her eyes as they travelled. Occasionally, she would look back to see if the driftblim with Rhaenn on its back was keeping up alright and if Fangorn’s ride hadn’t travelled too far ahead. But, other than that, it was best to just keep herself occupied by thinking about cheezburgers. Wow, she sure was some kind of strong pokemon - she could dive headfirst into a sludge monster but when it came to water, she’d be peeing herself all over again. It was no wonder that rotom from before was screaming like a madman.

As soon as they reached land, Wolfy tumbled off to regain herself, feeling her gut and bladder come back into her control. Rather than celebrate, however, the growlithe stood there and nodded. “No big deal.” she said, trying to sound tough although her voice was still a bit wobbly. When everyone else was together and looking alright, Fangorn took up the leadership role and headed into town. Wolfy looked back at Rhaenn to urge her on, then continued after him.

Finally, after a while, Fangorn appeared to see something and went rushing to a figure lying on the ground. It was Kronic! Wolfy had never seen him in such a sorry state. She kept back for a minute in case Rhaenn needed any aid (whatever happened to her shoulder must’ve made it harder for her to walk) and walked slowly alongside her to bring themselves to their fallen kubutops friend. By the time she got there, Kronic was getting up - weakly, but surely. Knowing Fangorn, he had probably taken to healing him some and they would be returning him somewhere, most likely his base, for him to get some much needed rest. Wolfy could only wonder…what happened? She had always seen Kronic as a extraordinarily strong pokemon, so to see him knocked up like that really made it worth questioning why.

Wolfy watched as Fangorn picked something up from underneath a blanket. “Wha-what is that, Fang -” she started to ask, but her nose, smelling 20 miles a minute, had already picked up on what it was. The growlithe’s gaze immediately looked horrified as she caught the stench of the recently dead, but unmistakably familiar raichu. “Amy…”

It’s true, so many pokemon are dying… the growlithe thought to herself, as they made way to the base. She watched as Kronic and Fangorn, a distance away, managed to make it inside the base. With all these deaths…could it be possible it’s my fault? I’m too weak…too weak and by now I should be strong enough to help…and I can’t let this happen again. Everybody is in danger, and yet I’m still here, goofing off. I need to stop goofing off. I need to be there to help, so this won’t happen again…so no one will die. Yes, I must protect them, my friends…

The growlithe shook her head of the silly thoughts and looked to Rhaenn, making sure she was still holding up. “How’s that shoulder?” she asked, a bit jokingly. She pointed her nose off to where they were heading - they were almost to the base now. “We’re almost to the Otaku base. You can probably heal up there; Kronic’s team is pretty hospitable. Once everyone’s rested…well, we can decide from there, I guess.”

Wait…what is this…taking CHARGE?! The fire-type sweatdropped. Arceus, I really AM going crazy…

Wolfy spun around again to face Rhaenn. “In no way am I taking charge or anything, so don’t get the wrong idea!” she cried out in assurance - well, mostly assurance to herself, assurance that the thoughts in her head about needing to be strong and tough and everything were just stupid daydreams. “YEAH! We’re going to the Otaku base! To eat and sleep! We’re all gonna be fine here! Yup! All fine and dandy! AHAHAHAH…”

[Candroo]

OOC: As some readers may have noticed, we are godmodding in some of these last few posts. This is alright, however, because we each have permission from eachother to do so. Now for my long post.

Fangorn helped Kronic to his feet, glad the the Kabutops still had the energy to walk; at least for a short distance. He guessed that whatever did this was related to the explosion he had seen, but that was a question he would have to ask later. Right now they had to find shelter.

Abruptly, Kronic said, “… a lot has been damaged, let’s go to the base.”

Nodding and making sure that Kronic could walk on his own, Fangorn wordlessly picked up the bundle of a cape that contained the deceased Richu. Just by feeling it, he determined the cause of her death to be a broken neck, but he didn’t want to examine it any farther. It was all the information he needed. He proceeded to carry her to the base along with Kronic, making sure that Wolfy and Rhaenn were following as well.

When they arrived at the base there was no more tree, just the stairs that led underground into the main corridors. They proceeded inside, and he nearly dropped his burden to catch Kronic as he fell, but the Ninetails he knew as Blaze caught him and rested him against the wall.

She informed Fangorn that there were beds available in the room on the right, and that once he found a place for Amy he should come back and care for Kronic. He nodded and walked into another room farther down the hall which was empty and unused except for a single bed which nearly touched the wall. He placed Amy here then walked back outside, closing the door behind him.

Quickly returning to Kronic, he took out a bottle and held it to the Kabutops’ lips, pouring just a couple drops of the yellow liquid it contained in his mouth. Afterwords, he lifted Kronic and helped him onto one of the beds Blaze had indicated earlier. He made a couple of last minute checks to make sure Kronic’s bandages were secure and said, “Don’t move too much, you need to give your body some time to heal. Try to get some rest.”

He did everything he could to allow him to heal as quickly as possible, and proceeded back outside to look for Wolfy, who he found yapping about somewhat and laughing nervously.
“What’s this all about?” he said, “You two should get inside and get some rest. I’m going to see if there is anything salvageable in our house.”

That said, he walked down the housing district looking at the damage that had been caused in this area. A few buildings were ruined, others pretty badly damaged. When he got back to his house, he saw that one of the walls had collapsed and his gardens were wilted. He moved over the rubble inside the house, and proceeded to dig up a few things that were buried in the debris. He managed to find most of his medical supplies, which he stuffed into another pack, and he also managed to find his old journal and a pen. At least these weren’t damaged. Slinging all of the salvaged supplies on his back, he made his way back to the Otaku base.

Upon returning, he placed the salvaged supplies in the bedroom and sat down on one of the beds exhausted He touched the large cut on his face which ran diagonally from the top of his head to the tip of his nose and was already beginning to heal, but would certainly leave a scar since he didn’t treat it. Now that he had some time on his hands, he pulled out his newer journal and proceeded to write down the next entry. The events that had occurred that day and the day before would have to be carefully recorded if future generations were to know what had occurred and prevent it from happening again.

[Rhaenn]

[[ooc: Pweh. Long post warning, sorry. ]]

The ride to Pokétown was a rather quaint one.

Rhaenn appreciated the fact that the Driftblim carrying her traveled slightly slower than all the others, as to not agitate her wounded shoulder. Laying as still as possible, she watched as her feet dangled over the azure sea – its polished surface delicately reflecting their journey as they drew closer and closer to Pokétown. Realizing this was the only rest they’d gotten since the feast, Rhaenn happily closed her eyes – opening them up every few minutes to nod towards Wolfy, who kept turning back to check on her.

Within thirty minutes, the entire fleet landed in the outskirts of Pokétown. The sky had darkened clearly - filled with smog and rainclouds – the faint smell of smoke drifting through the air. Almost cautiously, Rhaenn slipped off the Driftblim, feeling the sharp pain in her right shoulder as she landed. Smiling to hide the grimace, she turned to Wolfy who proudly stood and nodded towards both her and Fangorn.

“No big deal.”

Rhaenn couldn’t help but laugh at this rate, as she languidly followed Wolfy and Fangorn towards the square – determined to hide the fact she’d been wounded. Briskly changing her pace each time Wolfy turned towards her – her face full of encouragement – they suddenly made a stop. The air had become noticeably thick with smoke, and a gentle rain had begun to fall – chilling them all to the bone. Wolfy quickly stood by Rhaenn’s side – closing the distance to what Fangorn had stopped at - which made her smile with the fact that the pup was looking out for her as well. Turning her head a little curiously, she gasped as Fangorn pulled out his medical supplies; she continued to limp towards the Sceptile.

He was crouched over a body.
…The body of a Kabutops.

By the time they’d made it to Fangorn and the Kabutops, the Kabutops had already rose – covered in all sorts of scrapes and cuts… Noticeably the three large gashes that graced his back in a painful manner. A few strides away, there lay another body… this one, of a Charizard. Rhaenn turned her head away, slightly sickened as she felt a knot tighten up in her throat.

“… a lot has been damaged, let’s go to the base.” She heard the Kabutops murmur, the strain in his voice evident.
As the Kabutops moved – she noticed the cape he’d worn before was on the ground, covering a rather mangled shape. Fangorn approached to pick it up; delicately making sure the cape covered whatever it was, as it slightly rolled to one side in his arms.

“Wha-what is that, Fang -” Wolfy stammered, her nose lifted in the air as she sniffed for a scent.
Subconsciously – Rhaenn’s vision turned on, revealing what had been under the blanket – along with its mangled skeletal structure. Bones protruded at what seemed an impossible angle. Whomever Fangorn was carrying was dead… departed from this world. Rhaenn jerked her head quickly to the side, coughing violently as her stomach churned with revolt. She heard Wolfy speak the poor soul’s name –Amy – no doubt a close friend of Kronic’s.

As they started to walk – Rhaenn did her best to not keep the group behind as she endured the throbbing from her shoulder. She sighed several times – almost not noticing the state Pokétown was in. The buildings were charred, most of them still ablaze – the rain doing its best to put them out. The shops from before had crumbled to the ground, and the life from Pokétown seemed to have been torn out by the roots. The place looked like a graveyard. Trying her best to focus as they walked, Rhaenn concentrated on a few of the more serious blazes – causing the rain to become more concentrated above them as she used her Rain Dance to put them out.

At least this would keep her mind off things.

Nearly bumping into Wolfy as she drew her attention back to their walking, she was surprised that the Growlithe could manage to talk at a time like this.

“How’s that shoulder?” she asked, a bit jokingly. Rhaenn nodded, her throat a little hoarse as she tried to find an answer.

“I’m holding up – don’t worry about me,” she tried to ease the pup’s worry, picking up the slack and hastily walking faster towards her so that they could walk side by side – but this proved a little difficult.

“We’re almost to the Otaku base. You can probably heal up there; Kronic’s team is pretty hospitable. Once everyone’s rested…well, we can decide from there, I guess.” Wolfy grinned – almost as if she was trying to calm everyone down. Rhaenn nodded – her gaze still blank as the area begun to look less and less charred – but still damaged nonetheless.

Will there … Be anything to decide for? Rhaenn’s mind echoed, as she looked from the corner of her eye once more to the destroyed Pokétown. Look at this place. Will anyone have anything left here? …

Wolfy spun around again to face Rhaenn. “In no way am I taking charge or anything, so don’t get the wrong idea!” she cried out in assurance, although she didn’t sound quite convincing, “YEAH! We’re going to the Otaku base! To eat and sleep! We’re all gonna be fine here! Yup! All fine and dandy! AHAHAHAH…” she yelled.

Rhaenn smirked.

Seems the pup was bonked a little too hard on the noggin after all.
She was tough. Probably the toughest little thing out there, that Wolfy.

“What’s this all about?” Fangorn yelled, smiling as he stepped out from the base. “You two should get inside and get some rest. I’m going to see if there is anything salvageable in our house.”

Deciding that today would not be a good day to disobey the Sceptile, Rhaenn nodded – motioning for Wolfy to follow her inside. The inside of the base was still warm – a complete miracle that it hadn’t burned in whatever had happened while the group was gone. Smiling towards Blaze, she nodded an apologetic greeting, as she’d noticed the Ninetales had been crying – no doubt – over Amy.

Exhaustedly – Rhaenn slumped to the floor of the nearest corner, her body aching in several places. She decided she wouldn’t be able to sleep – so she didn’t close her eyes. Rhaenn simply stared at the ancient looking walls, her eyes repeatedly tracing their patterns over and over again.

What shall await them now?

[Kronic]

-Kronic awoke not that much later. He was in one of the beds at the base; he had passed out earlier on the stairs. Although his back still hurt he felt a lot better. Most of the major pain had subsided, although his body was still weak. He also tasted that medicine, at this point he didn’t care on how it tasted. The only thing he thought about is how it numbed the pain. He looked at Fangorn, who appeared to be writing in his journal. He didn’t seem to notice him at first, until he spoke up.-

“Once I left you all, I found this Eggman guy at forlorn… He said he had a plan to control poketown. When I rushed over there I… I saw him die. Soul killed him and then he…”

-Kronic went quiet. He almost couldn’t believe it. A person he really cared for… was gone. Although he had lost people in the past he had managed to deal with it. However this one was different. It was painful, almost worse then the wounds themselves. As he lay in the bed he couldn’t help to think what he could have done differently. He had regrets, however the biggest thing that bugged him was that he couldn’t have stopped it. He knew that, No matter what. At that point it was too late… there was no saving her. It was impossible. That blood curling scream. And that sound… They would haunt him for the rest of his life.-

“He killed her…”

-The room fell quiet… as Kronic continued.-

“Soul had obtained a power unlike no other. I… was lucky I could even stop him. In that short time I had used everything I had… If he would have been able to think about what he was doing… I would be dead right now. Along with everyone else…”

-Kronic paused again looking downwards. As he did Blaze walked into the room.-

“We have a burial scheduled soon… Kronic what do you want to do?”

“Prepare the arrangements, could you also get me my cloak please?”

-Blaze was puzzled, even though it was raining there was no need for something like the cloak. As she looked to Kronic she noticed something. His eyes had changed. His face had a different expression now. And his necklace… She didn’t question him, she merely nodded and left the room.-

“You all are welcomed to stay here until your houses are repaired. We have many rooms. Feel free to use anyone of them.”

-As he said this blaze returned with the cloak. Kronic stood and put it on. It draped down to his feet. He then looked over the cape; he reached from under it and on his scythe lay a small gold pendant. He put it into his cloak as he began towards the door.”

“It’s in poketown square, please follow me.”

Ooc: things are slowly coming to a close.

[Candroo]

Fangorn had finished his entry when Kronic woke up. He listened as he spoke about what had occurred and wrote down the whole account in his journal. He could hardly believe it, but he took Kronic’s word on it and knew that he wasn’t exaggerating The skeletal body he had seen near Kronic in the square was definitely Soul. He wanted to ask more about this Egg-man person, but Blaze walked into the room.

After asking for his cloak, Kronic turned to Fangorn and said, “You all are welcomed to stay here until your houses are repaired. We have many rooms. Feel free to use anyone of them.”

“Thanks, Kronic,” replied the Sceptile, “A lot of pokemon are homeless now, so I would suspect that a lot of them might come here for shelter.”

By the time he had finished speaking, Kronic already had the coat on and was headed towards the door.
“Take it easy,” warned Fangorn, “You haven’t fully recovered yet.”

As he followed them outside, he saw Wolfy and Rhaenn in the hall and walked over to them. “Are you two doing okay? You don’t have to come, but…” He stopped, not knowing how to word this correctly and turned to follow Blaze.

[Rhaenn]

The headquarters had been quiet for the most part; the crackle of fire from a nearby fireplace and the delicate scratching of Fangorn’s pen was all that could be heard. When it seemed Fangorn had finished his entry, there were a few moments of conversation between himself and the Kabutops – which Rhaenn figured would be best if Wolfy and she simply stayed in the hallway.

After hearing the Kabutops stumble from the bed and ask for his cloak, there were a few more words for Fangorn before Kronic stepped into the room. He stood near the doorway for a moment before adjusting a pendant to his cloak and making it slowly towards the entrance.

“It’s in poketown square, please follow me.”

“Take it easy,” Rhaenn heard Fangorn warn, “You haven’t fully recovered yet.” The Sceptile had gotten up from his seat and was now briskly trying to catch up with the wounded Kabutops. He turned to both her and Wolfy for a moment.

“Are you two doing okay? You don’t have to come, but…” Fangorn paused for a moment, and turned to follow after Blaze without another word.

Nodding towards Wolfy, Rhaenn got up – rocking back and forth on her feet. She sighed, slowly walking towards the entrance to follow the others. She stopped to turn back to Wolfy,

“Come on Wolfy, let’s go… After all – it’s the least we could do…”

[Kronic]

-Kronic walked into Poketown, they already had the graves dug, as Kronic leaned over one of them… he saw something that troubled him. Soul’s bone’s lay at the bottom of the pit. Yet, they bore no dark aura. As he walked up to the next grave, and looked down into it. He say Amy laying there… Blaze turned to him, and said,

“Do you… Want it back?”

“No, I won’t need it any longer…”

-The service to follow was sorrowful, as Kronic merley stood without much of a thought on his mind. After the service was over he merley turned around and walked away. Blaze stopped him.

“Kronic, where are you going?”

“They no longer need me here now, as the leader of the organization - I hearby disband it. My final wish is for Poketown to be restored to it’s former state, and that the organization’s profits be distributed amongst it’s members. I want the headquarters used as a housing for those who no longer have shelter,”

“but Kronic,”

-Blaze Was about to argue, but she realized that this was for the best. Kronic had his own path to follow now. No matter what it may be.

“… As you wish”

-As Kronic walked into Winden, his cloak billowing in the wind.
He looked towards his scythe, looking at his reflection.

“I swear… If it’s the last thing I do … I’ll find out what it is,”

Ooc I’ll give candroo a post, wolfy a post, and rhaenn a post. After that lock the topic…

[Wolfy]

Wolfy sat in the hallway with Rhaenn. She was just glad they had all managed to make it there all in one piece, and although she was worried to about Kronic, she knew Fangorn would be able to handle it. Besides, she had Rhaenn to watch over anyway…

The growlithe still wasn’t sure why she was thinking this way. For some reason, she felt better to know the others were alright - oddly enough, she could feel indifferent about her own state of being. Which seemed quite strange, seeing as three years before, she was pretty much a selfish damsel in distress who thought of nothing but her own safety. She had learned a little about the growlithe species while living with Fangorn, however, and had remembered reading that most growlithe - who, upon reaching a state of young pokemonhood, apparently become extremely loyal of anyone it had developed a kinship with and would lovingly sacrifice its life to protect those who are close to it. She didn’t understand it so much before, but she was beginning to ponder it to a larger extent now. Well, she still wasn’t so sure about the whole sacrifice gig, but everything else did seem understandable by how strange she had been acting lately.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Rhaenn, who had gotten up and walked to the door, mentioning the growlithe’s name to follow. “Oh! Yes, yes, of course. We shall go.” she stated, pretending to actually have a clue to what was going on or where, exactly, they were going. She followed the luxray, sceptile, kubutops and ninetales outside but she still wasn’t sure what was going on. She wanted to know, but it only seemed rude to butt in. It wasn’t until they truely arrived at the scene when Wolfy began to understand what it was they had come for.

As the pokemon gathered around to give respects to the two dead pokemon - the raichu and, who she had learned by picking up a little conversation, was the black charizard Soul - Wolfy too sat down and attended the service to give in her own grief and sorrow for the ones who had passed. As she stared at the bodies of both pokemon, she wondered what could have happened to cause their demise. She remembered Soul clearly from the Reverse World, but could no longer recognise anything about him in the pile of bones aside from the smell she used to identify him…one which was already nearly being overpowered by the terrible stench of death and burnt ash. Amy’s body was more distinct, and still looked like a raichu despite the fact that the body had begun to rot. She couldn’t tell how she had died either, although she had horrible marks or a bruise of some sort on her neck. The point was, however death had found them…it didn’t matter. What matters was, they died, and there was nothing they could do about it. You couldn’t come back from death…right?

Didn’t Soul die before…back in the Reverse World?, she tried to remember. She had never really thought about it much before, but it DID look as though he died back there. Perhaps I was wrong…, the growlithe thought, shaking her head. Somehow, he must’ve survived the Reverse World. It’s impossible to come back from death…and now that he’s gone…well, he’s gone forever. And so is Amy.

When the service came to a close, Wolfy sighed and looked up at both Rhaenn and Fangorn nearby. “Well, now what do we do…?” she asked, her voice almost on the verge of hopelessness. “Almost all of PokeTown has been blown to smithereens, hasn’t it? That means, Fangorn…your house, I don’t know if it might still be standing. Plus…” she turned back to look at the burnt town. “It seems dangerous here now…not like it used to be. This isn’t home, this place is death. Innocent pokemon have died here in this town and there’s nowhere to go anymore…”

OOC: OK, so I just watched three or so comedies over this weekend, so writing up a funeral scene without any humour or sarcasm was really hard for me at the mo. But anyway, here it is, my last post to CC…or hopefully, will be my last post to CC…the last three posts I wrote, I thought were the last posts to CC, but they weren’t, so I have high hopes that this one, will in fact, be my last post to CC.
Yeeeaaahhh…give Candro and Rhaenn a post and let’s hightail this place. ^^;

[Candroo]

OOC: Final post for my character in this RP… which isn’t anything that neat. I’d have to say this has been very satisfying.

Fangorn followed Blaze and Kronic to the funeral service, paying his respects for the recently departed. He didn’t knew either of them very well other than in the short time he spent with them, but it was always sorrowful knowing that their lives were at an end. Whatever was going through Kronic’s head during that time, he would never know. Once the two bodies were buried, the he had simply begun to walk away.

Blaze stopped him and Fangorn caught a little of their conversation. Disband the organization? He thought, He must be taking this pretty hard… I guess it’ll be best if he goes on his own for now. This is something only time can heal.

His thoughts were interrupted when Wolfy spoke up about her worries. “We’ll rebuild,” Fangorn replied, “And the injured need to be cared for. Right now we need to do what we can to help get the town back into shape.” He kneeled down, gently stroking her fur, “And no matter what happens, we’re at home with each-other. We’re family.”

Getting back up, he signaled for the Pelipper messenger. “Could you deliver this message to Big Mama in Archford?” he said, handing the messenger a letter, “We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

With a quick nod and a flap of the wings, the Pelipper flew off with its task at hand.

[Rhaenn]

The walk back to Pokétown was just as bad as the walk to the headquarters – cold, depressing and quiet. There was no longer any life breathed into the surroundings, and not a single soul seemed to venture the streets after such a horrible event. The flames had begun to die down – but the destruction was evident - Irreversible.

The town would have to be rebuilt.

Rhaenn walked directly behind Fangorn, Wolfy in toll as they slowly wound their way through the rubble towards the Pokétown square. They approached their destination silently – neither of them uttering as much as a whisper.

The sermon itself didn’t take long – Rhaenn didn’t even feel the need [nor had the strength in stomach] to approach the graves and give the two her final farewell. She hardly knew the duo anyways; all she wished was for them to find peace in some sort of afterlife. Slowly, the bodies were buried – and that signalled the end.

Kronic began to move towards Winden – the Ninetales in hot pursuit, a multitude of questions on her mind. Kronic turned back towards her, whispering some solemn words. The Kabutops worked quickly - almost as if writing his last will – before turning once more and walking until the road itself seemed to swallow him up.

Then he too – was gone.

“We’ll rebuild,” Rhaenn heard Fangorn mention, “And the injured need to be cared for. Right now we need to do what we can to help get the town back into shape.” Fangorn took a moment to kneel down and stroke Wolfy’s fur. “And no matter what happens, we’re at home with each-other. We’re family.”

Family.

A pang of guilt hit Rhaenn in the stomach – after all, she never had learned what had happened to Tang and Galder back in Archford. It was all thanks to those two that she’d been brought out this far. Hopefully they were safe. Rhaenn sighed a little enviously before turning tail and heading towards Tanren; the Pelipper Fangorn had sent easing upwards on a warm draft with the letter in its bill. When she was at a safe distance, she turned towards Fangorn and Wolfy one more time,

“I’ll let the people in Tanren know what’s happened here; they’ll send help…” Rhaenn yelled, turning her back towards the two before walking towards Tanren once more. She nodded her head once - convinced.

I’m sure of it.

---

• The End -