Where the Wild things are {Naoko}

[CAINE]

"Fair peace becomes man; ferocious anger belongs to beasts"

The mission was suicide. But it wasn't really like Caine had a choice in the matter. Even he wasn't suicidal but he had a job. A job that had specific demands. No matter how crazy, he just had to follow orders. And so, with a slight pause in which he brushed off his white dress shirt, the man walked into the Burned Tower.

Footsteps creaked on the ancients steps leading to the ruined building and the faint smell of charred wood wafted from the inside of the building. 'This building's on it's last leg. I'll be lucky if it doesn't collapse on me.' Still, Caine peeked his head through the opening that used to have a door. That had long ago fallen off and was no where in sight. But inside of the ravaged building, there was nothing. Just unstable-looking floors with a large hole in the center and a rickety old ladder that led only down. There were pieces of the ceiling piled in random areas off to the side.

Cautiously, Caine took a step inside. Zara, his Espeon, hissed from her perch on his shoulder. It was odd, seeing that the Psychic cat was normally calm in these kinds of situations. Sure, the tower was eerie but it seemed long-since abandoned. Suddently, there was a rustle. Caine leapt back and tossed out a pokeball in front of him. Lucifer the Absol appeared in a flash of light and stood crouched low in a fighting position before his master. A lone Rattatta scurried into the light of the moon that illuminated the center of the tower from a hole in the ceiling.

Despite the fact that there was no imminent threat, the two pokemon continued to look around warily. "Seriously guys, there's nothing here! You can calm down alre-" Caine was cut off by the deepest, most bone-chilling sound he had ever heard. A single howl rose up, followed by two more of different octaves. "What the-" A red creature surged forward and knocked into Lucifer and with a growl and a snarl, the Entei and Absol began to face off. "Lucifer!"

Another blue streak raced towards the Espeon and the boy but this time, Caine was ready. Or rather, Zara was. Using Psychic, she lifted the Suicune up into the air where it struggled feebly. But she didn't take into acount the other beast. Raikou's Thunderbolt came quickly, shocking both Caine and Zara. The Espeon lost control of her Psychic as the bolt struck them and Suicune dropped to the ground where it was joined by Raikou. The Legends stalked forward, cutting Caine off from the enterance with swift movements. Lucifer and Entei still battled in the background but judging by the whimpers, Lucifer was not coming out on top.

A solid wall met Caine's attempt at retreat. He was cornered. In desperation, the boy sent out two more of his pokemon, Tyrone and Raziel, Carracosta and Leavanny. Caine was livid. He would not lose, not even to the Legendaries! "Ty, Raz! Cut them off!" Raziel leaped forward, blades twirling in a dangerous dance of Leaf Blade. Growling, the beasts took a step back and Ty took the opportunity to raise his flippers and cause a Stone Edge to erupt right in front of the two. The tower rumbled as pointed stones jutted out of the floor. The very fondation shook as the battle raged on.

Unfortunately, this caused Caine to lose sight of his opponents. He looked around madly, the attacks hadn't been enough to defeat them. Sure enough, Suicune leaped on top of the new rock formation and began charging up a Hydro Pump. "Raziel, stop it!" The Leavanny raced forward and sliced Suicune with an X-Scissor, causing the Hydro Pump to go wide. It hit one of the beams that obviously supported the tower. Now, the ruined building really shuddered. "No, Ty! Wide Guard!" The ancient turtle spread his flippers but before he could initiate the move, an electric blast hit him. Tyrone sank to his knees. By now, there were large pieces of the building raining down around Caine. And there was nothing he could do to stop them.

A sudden blow to the back of the head and Caine was down, his face slamming into the dusty floor. And then, there was only darkness.

[Naoko]

• • • •

A halcyon frame stood rigidly in front of the burned tower with a vacant expression in her vivid crimson eyes. Centuries ago people had referred to the tower as a dome for the massive god-like Pokémon Lugia, and because of this it had never been bothered. According to the legends, Lugia fled when the tower had burned down and three monster-like Pokémon had perished in the fire. Some say that Ho-Oh returned to the tower and gave the legendary dogs life in exchange for eternal secrecy. However, those were just legends that any curious passerby knew. What Naoko was actually concerned about was the safety of a boy he had seen enter the tower a few moments ago.

”Rouge, how is the boy faring in the building?” Naoko asked Rouge, a lax Espeon whom stood loyally beside her. She and the purple fox had much in common. Though she was given to Naoko as a parting gift from her father, both human and Pokémon had rather extraordinary abilities. Rouge was just more in tune with hers, and would have to silently tame the energy that would dangerously build up in her master’s mind from ill-use. However, Rouge didn’t have to say a word for Naoko to understand just what was happening. An ear-splitting noise filled the air and the entire tower shook. The black-haired girl’s eyes narrowed as she pulled Rouge up onto her shoulder and braced herself for whatever she was about to face.

”Such a bother.” Naoko murmured as she unfolded her arms and let them rest at her sides. Several people were staring oddly at the building whilst officials were motioning for her to step away. Rather than abiding by their pathetic orders, the young bloodhound stepped into the erect tower and instantly shielded her eyes from any soaring decay. Was what she saw for real? The three legendary dogs were attacking another human? This must have meant that they were provoked, and as upset as Naoko was about this, she couldn’t sit there and let another human die.

”Reiko, Suicune, Entei, I speak to you as a good friend and accomplice of Lugia. Leave the boy alone! I’ll kindly guide him out of here and have your precious tower repaired!” Naoko shouted over the noise. ”Rouge, fix the pillar and stop this place from collapsing! I’ll take care of the boy!” She ordered her Pokémon as she ran near the center of the tower where Entei and the others stood defensively on four paws. Rather than paying them any extreme mind, Naoko edged her way past Raikou as if it were nothing and made her way over towards the dark-haired stranger.

”Focus… focus…” Naoko thought; shutting her eyes tightly as rubble began to fall atop the boy. It took every ounce of her energy, but before the ceiling could cave in entirely Naoko pushed her mind to its limit. The rumble stopped falling in mid-air with a purple aura wavering gently along it and the black-haired sleuth dizzily walked over towards the boy and offered him a hand.

”Hurry, get up…” She hissed; holding a shuddering palm down towards him with a pained expression. One of the dogs had started to roar behind her, and she didn’t dare turn around and check to see what it was growling at. ”Grab my hand and I’ll bring you out of here. “ She demanded.

While all of that was going on on Naoko’s end, Rouge was easily using her psychic abilities to keep the pillar in place as Raikou and the others did their best to stacked debris over the broken part of the pillar. That was until they caught sight of the dark-haired boy. One of the dogs let out an angry howl, whilst Suicune gracefully stepped away. Entei was soon to eventually follow. However, due to Rouge’s outstanding efforts the tower seemed as if it would hold for the time being. The best that she and Naoko could do now was call in someone to assist them in re-building the pillar later.

Acting quickly; Rouge ran up to her trainer’s side and focused on the same rubble she was barely keeping above the dark-haired boy’s body. With another force acting upon the debris, it was bound to be easier for her to carry and she would certainly thank her for it later with affection, although, Rouge certainly wasn’t fond of Naoko’s actions. The boy had disturbed the legendary Pokémon and that was the only reason they were reacting. What right did he even have to do such a thing? Rather than shunning her trainer for it, the Espeon’s ears only folded downwards. Naoko could certainly seem irrational at times.

Word Count: 783
Song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxPNtvATbj0&feature=related
Notes: None

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[CAINE]

"Fair peace becomes man; ferocious anger belongs to beasts"

Suddenly, there was light in Caine's darkness. Light that was a girl with long black hair. The dark haired boy opened his eyes slowly and blinked once or twice. Her voice had sparked conciousness in him once more. Was this a dream? Was he dead? Had the beasts killed him? An angel, a demon? Who was this chick? No, the girl looked as though she was in pain and an Espeon appeared next to her. Zara? No, this Espeon was slightly larger and had an actual red gem as opposed to Zara's dark amethyst one.

In an instant, reality came back to Caine in the form of a loud howl from one of the dogs. 'What?' The debris that had been threatening to crush him was being held in midair by some unseen force. Was this the mysterious girl's doing? Did she have the power or was it her Espeon? The delerious man could not be sure. Caine's vision was horribly blurry and he was still, to his discomfort, very disoriented.

The girl's extended hand was like a lifesaver. With a slight groan, Caine grabbed onto her hand and pulled himself up. He hated being helpless, that was for sure, especially in front of someone of the opposite gender. He felt a slow blush creeping into his features but quickly shook that feeling off. No. Not now. Escape now. Embarassment later.

Still a bit unsteady on his feet, Caine released the girl's hand nonetheless and looked around for his pokemon. Zara walked calmly over to them, gem glowing with psychic energy as she helped the other two hold up the debris. Tyrone got to his feet painfully and Raziel danced over to his master with a large and surprising smile, not unusual for the Leavanny. He pulled out both Ty's and Lucifer's pokeballs, quickly returning his Carracosta. Raz seemed perfectly fine to stay out for the moment but Lucifer the Absol was nowhere to be found. Hoping with all of his heart that Lucifer was alive and at least breathing, Caine scanned the area quickly, searching for any sign of his lost pokemon. He saw nothing, not even the vicious Legends that had ruthlessly attacked him.

It only took a glance from Zara's master to get her up and running, she too searched for her lost comrade Absol. The mysterious girl seemed pretty insistant on leaving right then. Caine struggled to understand, his mind had grown fuzzy. He must have been hit on the head, this wasn't right... The world was spinning even if the tower no longer shook. Something was definitely wrong here. The dark-haired man forced himself to stay on his feet though. Lucifer needed him. "Thank you but... Can't leave... Without... My Absol..." Surely Caine appeared drunk with his slurred words and staggering. But Caine rarely touched a drink, even at the wild Ultimatum parties much to his friend's dismay. No, Caine had been hit on the back of the head with a piece of fallen timber even before this mysterious savior had arrived. Concussions were quite painful he soon realized and the man's consciousness faded in and out.

Raz steadied his trainer with a blade and looked at the Espeon and girl, trying to apologize with his eyes. The Leavanny directed the man towards the exit but cast a wary glance in the direction that he had last seen the Legendary dogs. The beasts were nowhere in sight thankfully and Raziel pushed Caine roughly towards the entrance, beckoning the saviors with his free blade. It didn't take long for Zara to join him, dragging a knocked out Lucifer behind her with great difficulty. Finally, the Espeon huffed and used Telepathy to lift the body of her team mate from the floor. Now was time to make their escape, the Team Ultimatum agent could not be caught here even unconscious. This was getting bad. All the two pokemon could do was drag their comrades behind them, hope they would wake up soon, and pray that this mysterious girl and her Espeon would not follow them as they attempted (and failed at) a speedy getaway into the forest at the outskirts of the town. Maybe they wouldn't attract too much attention... but even that was up in the air as the loyal pokemon dragged their beloved friends roughly down the stairs.

[Naoko]

• • • •

Naoko let out a sigh of relief as the rather handsome man reached upwards and took her hand with a pained expression. However, as Caine grabbed her hand an uncomfortable feeling shot up her spine and made her entire body shudder. Whomever this ebony-haired man was, Naoko could only assume he meant trouble and had come to the burned tower for selfish purposes. That aside, he wasn’t looking too great and it didn’t take a specialist to see it. ”I’ve never seen him around here either.” The dancer thought as she examined the boy’s facial features; pulling him away from the debris as she did such.

After safely guiding Caine out of the way of danger she breathed a sigh of relief and let her mind release its focus on the falling refuse. As if a trigger had been pulled, the fragments fell out of their place in the air and shattered harshly against the damaged tower’s floorboards. ”A-alright. Hurry.” The young sleuth murmured as her hands grasped firmly around her skull. Stopping something like the tower’s pillar or a few debris took a lot of willpower. Naoko had done it a few times before, but in the end it always made her head feel as if someone had just hit her upside the head with the edge of a bat.

”Espeon, speon! Espeon!” {Naoko, they’re getting away! We have to go after them!} Rouge, Naoko’s Espeon cried out through the tower; lashing her tail like a split whip as two of Caine’s Pokémon started to drag him out of the tower as quickly as they could. Unfortunately, the dark-haired girl could barely hear her partner, so it took her a little while to recover let alone respond to Rouge.

”What?! Naoko thought furiously as she got a grip on reality. ”We’re going after them.” The young damsel announced, although she didn’t really need to tell Rouge. The purple fox was already padding after Naoko as she ran out of the building, her head pulsing with bone-shattering pain. ”The things I do for people…" Naoko thought as she struggled to look forward.

It didn’t take long for the pair to find Caine and his Pokémon. Naoko wasn’t an expert when it came to medication or anything of that sort. However, she did know that being dragged down a small flight of stairs wasn’t healthy for anyone. Especially not someone whom had just had just passed out from a concussion.

”Wait!” Naoko called out to the two Pokémon with Rouge running alongside her. At this point in time a few strangers had stopped what they were doing to look at the Pokémon with an odd look in their eyes. ”I don’t care who your trainer is or what he has done.” Naoko began her voice a little above a whisper to keep the civilians around the small group from hearing. ”He needs medical attention, or at least a nice place to rest. I live right around here, and I promise I’ll keep the identity of your master safe. Come with me.” The young girl ordered with a compassionate look in her deep, scarlet eyes.

Rather than letting Caine and Lucifer remain on the ground, Rouge assisted the two Pokémon and their attempts in dragging the two. After combining her psychic abilities with Caine’s Espeon, both trainer and Pokémon were a safe ways away from the pavement.

”Peon, espeon, espeon!” {Naoko lives right over there, and you are all welcome to stay for as long as you need. I trust you’ll know what’s best for your trainer.} The Espeon spoke as she raised a paw towards an average-sized building near the dance hall of the city. The house had a blue brick exterior, so it was rather hard to confuse with any of the other buildings around the area.

Word Count: 638
Song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxDfiZyAo_0
Notes: None

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[CAINE]

"Fair peace becomes man; ferocious anger belongs to beasts"

"Wait!" Both Raziel and Zara stopped in their tracks. That girl... What did she want? Couldn't she sense that they were trouble? But then again... It didn't seem as though Zara and Raz were taking good care of their wounded friends. Though Lucifer floated a few feet above the ground, his head lolled to one side and his hind legs trailed behind him. And Raziel was doing his best but there was only so much a Leavanny can do. Caine was very much out of it, he was unresponsive even when Raz accidently dropped him down the last couple of stairs. Oops. The Leavanny leaned down and picked up his trainer again, dragging him by looping his blade's under the boy's armpits. It was rather awkward but the almost-four-foot bug didn't really have a choice in the matter. Raz was just too short. But now, they had to move or face the wrath of this strange chick.

"Leav, Leava, Vanny... Leavanny," {Come on Zara, move youur paws before... Too late}. That girl and her Espeon had caught up. So much for great escape. Zara and Raz braced themself for a barrage of insults, or even attacks, from this girl. She had seemed so suspicious. But instead, she was offering to let them stay at her house. The Espeon and Leavanny stared at the girl, dumbfounded. They did a double take, then looked at each other. Zara bowed her head in defeat. Caine and Lucifer did need medical attention, that was for sure. It was something that a Leavanny and Espeon just couldn't provide. Raziel nodded at the girl, then looked at the Espeon. Kind words, not something Raz was used to from other pokemon.

Zara regarded the other Espeon and cocked her head curiously. It was the first time that she had seen another of her kind."Es, Espeon, Es. Peon, Espeon, Es, Es, Espe." {You are very kind, I thank you. But we should be gone by morning because believe me, you and your human do not want to get caught up with this} Zara prodded Caine with her forked tail. "Espeon, Espe, Es, Eon." {I'm Zara and this is Raziel, by the way. I guess we should head over to the house...} With that, Caine's pokemon stood up and began to make their way over to the strange blue building, completely ignoring the gawking civilians.

----------------

Pink. Why the hell was everything pink? And fluffy. Where...? Caine rolled over. Strange room. For some reason, everything was spinning and Caine couldn't see anything. But the aching in his head brought back painful memories. Something about a cave in? No, the Burned Tower had collapsed. Some girl had saved him. The Legendary dogs, Lucifer... It was all coming back. But of course, his memories led him up to the point that Raziel dragged him to the entrance of the tower. Somehow he had ended up here... "Where? Wha-" Caine looked around for answers. Because after he found out where he was, the young man knew that he was going to have to find a way out of here.


{I assumed that we were still doing the thing where Caine wakes up very disoriented in Naoko's house? If not, I'll change it :3 And I ran out of colors for Zara's speech}