I thought about it for a minute. On one hand, we could kill it. This would simply free up time and energy that would be spent otherwise training it. But then again, a Touched Pokemon's ability to use virtually any move could be useful. I made my decision.

"Red, please heal it. We left a lot of Pokemon to die back there. We have to make a distinction between us and the ones who did this to the Pokemon. So, I think it's our duty to do this." I walked over to the Dusknoir. I woke it up, and it began staring at the sky again. I addressed it: "Now listen up. Dr. Feor over there is going to break their control, whatever may be left of it, of you. I will then train you, as I would any normal Pokemon. It was either that or die. Do you agree?" The Dusknoir nodded once. "Then let's begin."

"Alright, then let's begin." I walked over to the jeep and grabbed a knife out of the center console. I walked back, knife at my wrist. "You might want to hold him down for this. It will excruciatingly painful for him." I looked at the Dusknoir, "Keep your eyes closed."

The Dusknoir tightly shut its eyes. I ran the blade over my skin quickly, blood pouring out. As some of it dripped off onto the Dusknoir's skin, a soft hiss could be heard where it hit. The Dusknoir wincing in pain.

I sliced my other wrist and began dripping blood onto Dusknoir again. As the blood kept pouring, I coated the Dusknoir's body. It howled in pain as the blood took effect.

I smothered my hands in my blood and started to wipe it on its face. "This is the last place to be covered. Once it's done take Dusknoir to the water and put him in it." I finished coating its face and nodded to Axel. "Hurry before the blood penetrates his skin."

"Witch doctor much?" I muttered as I watched Red cut himself. "Or maybe emo." Kassie stood nearby, ready to attack if Reds method didn't work. I sidled up close to Red. "You still have to check Sable." I hissed to him. "You promised me you would."

I picked up Dusknoir, and ran over to the waterline. I quickly threw him in, making sure to submerge him quickly. I waited for the Infected Pokemon to surface; as soon as he did, I helped him back to the fire. He lay down, away from the other pokemon, and simply dryed out. I addressed the half-cured Pokemon, "Alright, tomorrow, we will start training you for rehabilitation to the wild. Or, if you choose, you may remain with us until such a time as we can fully cure you. But for now at least, consider me as your Trainer. As your Trainer, I want you to get along with the other Pokemon, as well as take orders from anybody else in the group. Understand?" The Dusknoir nodded once. "Good. Now get some rest. We'll probably be starting bright and early tomorrow."

I walked over to check Miten's broken leg. He was still unconscious, but at least none of my Pokemon showed signs of being Infected. I re-dressed the wounds, then walked over to the new guy. It looked like he was severely pissed off. I was guessing it was him that I heard yelling at Red over the communicator. "What's up?? My name's Axel. So, what were you doing in the dome?? I mean, it can't just be coincidence that we ran into each other while running towards Rhapsody, right??"

((The first time I read that post, redt, I felt pretty dizzy. Lol. Red covered the whole Dusknoir with his blood? Doesn't Red need blood to like, you know, live? I know Red's sort of like a zombie himself, but man. ))

While Sparky fainted over the sight of Red's little ritual, Leo walked up beside Massimo as he watched Red inflect this pain over himself just for one pokemon. Leo frowned. Was it right to yell at him earlier? Maybe there was no other choice in the matter, the bombing at Pastoria... maybe it was for the best. It sickened him just thinking about it, but if those pokemon were released into the world, it would had spread the dangerous virus even further... It could've been the outbreak that spread and infected the entire world, and then how were they possibly going to save it? Just seeing Red inflect this kind of punishment onto himself just to save one pokemon... maybe he wasn't as bad as he thought.

Leo was greeted by another person. It was the same guy who's Dusknoir was getting treated and also the same person who ran into him very literally inside the lab. Maybe his disguise wasn't as great as he thought... he recognised Leo right away... damn it. This guy's name was Axel.

Leo crossed his arms, looking away in a snort, "Pfft, none of your business... I just thought you guys needed a hand, that's all. And by the look of things, you did," Leo chuckled smugly. He just couldn't help himself with what he was about to say, "Admit it, without Sparky and I you guys would've been goners. Oh, it's okay. You don't have to thank me, it's what I'm here --- ...Wait."

Leo's eyes widened with a thought. He walked up to Red with a new enlightenment.

"Red! You're the cure! Your blood killed Rhapsody and it's changing Dusknoir back! You're the cure!" he exclaimed with a smile. Sparky looked up curiously as Leo went on, "So, are you going to answer my questions or not? What's with the D shaped mark on your arm? How does it make you different? Why is your blood so unique?!"

Leo couldn't help but smile, holding his own left arm secretly. If Red was the cure and they were the same somehow, then Leo could save the pokemon just as well.

((Haha yeah Crunchy Red has an accelerated healing process. So losing that much blood would be restored within a few hours unlike a normal person, who would most likely die haha.))

As I sat down, feeling slightly dizzy from the lose of blood, I watched my cuts seal up. I looked down as Leo made his accusation, "I'm not the actual cure. My blood just nullifies the aggressive traits of the Touch. Trust me when I say that I tried to find the cure in my blood. You see, when my blood makes contact with the virus in the blood stream, the virus kills its host. I haven't been able to find a way around it and now that I know that the Touch is a parasitic virus I just need to find the source."

I started to poke the fire, "This D-mark on my arm has been here since the beginning of my existence, that I am sure of. And since the Touch has some of my DNA then the infected have a purple D-mark, unlike my black one. It shows that they are nothing like me. I don't know everything about myself but I'm sure that Issac does. That's why we'll be heading to Canalave for our insider, plus we do need some weapons to defend ourselves. Of course only I will be able to kill a Touched human since they have a faster healing ability then the infected Pokemon."

Then a thought crossed my mind, "Leo, can I talk to you over at the shoreline? And bring your Pikachu."

The little braggart..... I was about to put this guy in his place, when suddenly he stopped paying attention to me, as he started babbling to Red about some cure. Annoyed, I walked over to Massimo. "Something about this Leo person just really irks me... What do you think?? Personally, I think we need to keep an eye on him."
--------------
I woke up. The last thing I remembered, was the Tentacruel knocking me out. Now we were on a beach, and it was night. What the hell?? Have I been knocked out this long? I saw Axel and Massimo, on the opposite side of the fire from Red and some newbie. I walked over to them. "Hey guys, uh, what happened to me?? And where's Lucario??" ((oh crap, i forgot to put lucario back in his ball earlier.... uh, shina, if you reply, could you just say that lucario is inside his ball?))
((EDIT: btw Crunchy, can you look over my RP application?? it'd be much appreciated))

I noticed Cassie was up. I walked over to her. "Howdy, Sleepin Beauty." I drawled. "Your Lucario is in its ball, safe and unharmed from what we can tell." I sighed. "Close call for some of our pokemon, though. Two of mine seriously hurt, Like they need a pokemon center for their injuries, and I suspect one of mine is infected, Leaving me with one pokemon who I know I can trust." I lowered my voice. "And you got lucky that you missed Red's "healing of the infected." I shuddered. "I had hoped I had seen the last of blood rituals/healings when I left the island."

(Dang you guys, I leave for two weeks and I come back to 5 pages of posts?! *Races to catch up and post to show that she is in fact still alive, albeit three shades darker from Italian sun*)

Cassie let out a sigh of relief, rubbing at her head ruefully as she looked up at Jack. "Thanks for taking care of 'Cari. He was one of my first Pokemon, I really don't know what I'd do if he was hurt..."

She winced a little at the headache, and chuckled softly. "There I go again, forgetting that knock to the head. Thanks for taking care of me, too." Hearing Jack's comment about the infected, the young woman turned slightly green. "I have no wish to know, believe me... Since all of my Pokemon should be okay, I can act as guard. Cari needs a rest, but the others should be up for it."

She tossed two Pokeballs to the ground, revealing the green form of Terra and a new Pokemon-- a white Ghost-type that looked rather like a haunted kimono, hovering in midair beside her trainer. Terra crooned, nuzzling the woman to make sure she was alright.

"Froslass, cover the river, Terra, take the woods. See anything funny, call me at once."

((Sorry for posting so late. I went to the pub with my mate a couple of days ago and I forgot my keys. So I was locked out, and by the time I came home yesterday and mum turned up with the keys, I didn't have time to post.))

"I'm not the actual cure. My blood just nullifies the aggressive traits of the Touch. Trust me when I say that I tried to find the cure in my blood. You see, when my blood makes contact with the virus in the blood stream, the virus kills its host. I haven't been able to find a way around it and now that I know that the Touch is a parasitic virus I just need to find the source."

Leo sighed deeply, miserably. And here Leo thought the search for the cure was THAT simple. He guessed he was wrong. Although, if they found the source of the virus, perhaps a cure could be found then? That was Leo’s guess. All this scientific nonsense was making Leo’s head hurt. Why were things so difficult to understand?

"This D-mark on my arm has been here since the beginning of my existence, that I am sure of. And since the Touch has some of my DNA then the infected have a purple D-mark, unlike my black one. It shows that they are nothing like me. I don't know everything about myself but I'm sure that Issac does. That's why we'll be heading to Canalave for our insider, plus we do need some weapons to defend ourselves. Of course only I will be able to kill a Touched human since they have a faster healing ability then the infected Pokemon."

The beginning... of his existence? What did that mean? Leo clutched at his arm mysteriously, as if feeling what Red felt... It was good to know Red wasn’t as bad off as the infected pokemon. Still, he felt bad, and he felt sorry for them. Leo wanted to save all the pokemon. That was his life’s mission and goal.

Isaac...? Wait, it couldn’t have been... the same Isaac, right? Leo stayed completely silent.

"Leo, can I talk to you over at the shoreline? And bring your Pikachu."

Sparky’s head lifted at the height of curiosity. Leo looked back to his Pikachu in question. Why did he want with Sparky? Oh, that’s right... Sparky was able to hurt those infected pokemon and Rhapsody who carried the virus... Red’s Vaporeon was able to do the same thing. Actually, ever since Leo started this new quest following Red, Sparky was far stronger with keener senses than ever before... Nevertheless, Leo was interested in what Red had to say.

“Come on Sparky,” Leo waved to her as they followed Red to the shoreline to be alone. The waves were sweeping in so quietly tonight over the small beach they resided. The stars were sparking in the water, giving them all the light they needed as the fire where the others were talking lay in the distance. Although the world was in this terrible crisis, the night sky couldn’t have been anymore beautiful to behold. Leo clutched at his arm, almost like a hidden quirk that he just couldn’t help but do.

Leo stepped forward as he approached Red with his question. Sparky was standing with them in the sand, “...Red, what did you want to talk about?”

"What the hell is this world coming to if we are hiding more from each other?" I muttered as I saw Leo leaving with Red. "Can we really be a team for much longer if we carry on like this?" I sighed and pulled out a knife and looked around for a stick I could whittle. A nice sturdy one was laying nearby. I grabbed it, and started to whittle, my blade flashing in the light.

I looked at the bright reflection the crescent moon left in the water. It was very soothing, given the recent events.

I folded my hands behind my back and looked out towards the sea. "Leo, have you ever noticed anything different about your Pikachu?"

I sighed a little, "Because your Pikachu managed to kill a Touched creature just by biting it. Do you know anything about your past? Do you remember a gap in time or anything like that? Waking up in a random place, anything like that?"

I needed to know for sure who I was dealing with. I needed to make sure that nothing horrid could happen and endanger the innocent people I have with me.

Cassie stood up take watch. Leo and Red were discussing something further down the beach. Jack was whittling. All in all, it was a pretty peaceful night, but I was still uneasy. Bidding Massimo a good night, I went over to check on Miten. He was sleeping, although rather fitfully. The Dusknoir was also sleeping, but it seemed as though he were still aware of everything going on around him. A little disturbed, I found a clear spot near Miten, and set up my tent. I crawled inside and went to sleep. ((if you want me to stand watch, just wake me up. otherwise, whenever it's morning, I'll post again))

Leo cringed at each question, one in particular.

"Do you know anything about your past? Do you remember a gap in time or anything like that?"

Leo looked away sadly. Sparky frowned as well. It took Leo awhile before he could utter a word. But when he started, it all just spilled out of him.

"...Five years ago.... I remember leaving the Sevii Islands, home, and getting off at Vermillion City, in Kanto. Sparky and I got our first badge, the Thunder Badge. I wanted to be the best trainer there ever was, to become Champion... We headed to Diglett's Cave, a shortcut the Pewter City... Then, I remember a little girl..."

"Help me!"

"Wh-Who's there?!"

"Help me, please! I've fallen down a hole! My leg's broken!"

"All right! Just hold on, we're going to get some help! Damn it all, I don't have a pokemon that can reach her..."

"Whoa, Sparky!"

"PIKACHUUUUU~~!!"

"SPARKYYYYYYY~~!!"

"...I fell down a hole myself. It felt like I was falling forever... Down a Dugtrio's hole or something... After that, I woke up somewhere. I don't remember where, my head was fuzzy at the time... But when I woke up, I was older. When I walked around, it seemed like I had fallen into a black hole or time jumped or something... Most of my pokemon had changed, been evolved... Sparky on the other hand, well, she led me to you... Her abilities were nothing like ordinary Pikachu, ever since I woke up... Her sense of smell, her hearing... at first I tried to ignore it, but she is definitely different. Heh. No offence, Sparky."

She grumbled with her arms crossed, pouting with her chin up high in the air.

Leo again looked down, his eyes spaced out, "We ended up on a boat to Sinnoh... I was given a pokegear and a number... It rang... And... he called himself Isaac. He told me your name, and to follow you, that you would give me the answers I need about the period in my life that I lost, and... the strange mark on my arm..." Leo clutched at it again, shutting his eyes tight painfully, "...So I did it, I followed you guys into Pastoria City and I kept tabs on you like I was instructed. It was then that I saw your mark, that night... it pushed me to go as far as to sneak into that lab with you. I would've done anything to find out what happened to me, and you were the key. But I just couldn't watch as you guys were in trouble... I had to help you. When I did that, the mission Isaac gave me... I failed, and now he won't help me like he said he would, if I would have just followed you instead..."

Leo sighed, "...None of that matters anymore. Just tell it to me straight, Red... My past means nothing to me, that five years of nothing... not if pokemon have to die for the answers I want... I'd rather be kept in the dark for all eternity."

Leo took off his jacket, pushing up his black sleave to reveal to Red the shocking truth. The D-mark that Red also has was on Leo's arm as well, "So, tell me, Red... Tell me everything. Nothing else really matters anymore..." Leo said as sad as he felt inside.

My thoughts were verified as Leo lifted his sleeve, revealing the black D vein. I sighed, "You're like me. I don't know if you are capable of having all my abilities but you have the mark."

I looked down at the Pikachu, "And your Pikachu is like my Vaporeon. It's smarter, faster, and stronger than any normal Pokemon. Consider yourself lucky it wasn't a Gyarados. But back to you."

"You won't age as fast as a normal human, so it'll take years for you just to appear a year older. Your blood can kill any Touched creature but you have to make contact with its blood as well. You may be able to have faster reflexes and healing process, but like I said I have no idea what abilities you have."

I stopped talking and pondered for a moment. "If it was Issac that created the new you and sent you after me then he must be aware of our location. If you have anything he gave you, now would be the best time to throw it into the ocean. In case he's tracking you. I'm sure my "parents" are also keeping him aware of what is happening. I'm positive the entire lab is bugged at least."

I touched his shoulder, "I want to say thanks for saving us back there though. I promise we'll find Issac and have him find us the cure then give both of us the answers we need." I turned more towards the shore, "I just want to know what I am and where I came from."

"Sparky...? Smarter...?" Leo looked to Sparky in question who held her chest high proudly in a smug looking smile. A lot of the things Red said made some sense to him, no wonder Leo hadn't grown much in five years... Still, something didn't add up. Why was Leo like this, why were he and Red the same?

Leo pulled his sleeve back, pulling the pokegear from his pocket and looking over it. Was it true Isaac was tracking them using this? Leo threw it into the water and watched it sink to the bottom. He suddenly realised in a glare, this was all Isaac's fault to begin with, wasn't it?

When Red touched his shoulder and he expressed his thanks, Leo waited until he was finished to answer.

"I hope you find the answers you're searching for, Red, I really do. I'll help you. But, Red... sorry, but I don't understand... What did you mean by new me? How could Isaac create me?" Leo looked down to Sparky, who turned away almost immediately in a frown. She didn't want to bring it up, but why? What really happened in Diglett's Cave...?

Leo was totally oblivious to the fact that he had died, and Sparky was afraid of telling him ever since they were together again. She nervously pushed her paws together again and again, afraid of his reaction.

I just looked at the ground, then noticed dawn breaking. My thoughts about the past ceased their flow through my mind. "Enough pondering, it's time to leave if we want to get to Canalave before dark."

I walked into camp and woke everyone up. "We need to go to Canalave. We can stay at one of the Inns, I know someone who can pull some strings for me. There's also some things that we need to pick up."

I hopped into the jeep, waiting for the others. Vaporeon sat patiently next to me.

"Ugh, Red do you know how bad I slept?" I grumbled as I packed up my tent and mounted Coco. "I need my friggen beauty sleep, you know." Sable jumped up to sit in front of me, and we took off into the air. "This gets weirder and weirder, huh Sable?" I muttered to him, and he nodded, chirping once. Coco roared and did a barrel roll, forcing us to hang on tight. "YEE-HAW." I yelled, my fatigue forgotten. "Thanks Coco, you knocked the sleep out of me." I laughed, exhilarated.

Red woke me up. Stretching, I checked Miten's leg; it was healing, but I couldn't put him back in his ball. Carrying him over to Red, I asked, "Hey, in the fight against the Infected Tentacruel, Miten's leg was broken; would you mind carrying him in the back of your Jeep? Oh, and one other thing; I found a report in Rhaposdy's lab, something about the weaponization of the Touch; might be good reading material later." I walked away, packed my tent up, and hopped on Pitto, ready to get to Canalave.

Things seemed tense in the camp, almost as though the team had split into opposing factions. On one side were Leo and Red. On the other, the rest of us. I wasn't sure if I exactly liked this. Jack for sure seemed to have noticed this as well. Massimo had agreed with my suspicions regarding Leo last night, but to be honest, there was no certainty of his motives. Anyone could turn on each other, it seemed. And if there was a power struggle, I knew one thing; I needed to be on the winning side. Pitto and I soared into the sky.

Cassie yawned slightly as Terra nudged her, indicating Red's return. "Okay, I'm up. Thanks, girl."

The Flygon cooed as she and the Froslass disappeared inside their Pokeballs, and Cassie's jet-black Charizard took their place, sniffing the morning air as he growled and stretched out his wings, before crouching to let his Trainer climb on. Cassie glanced over at Red and tossed him a two-fingered salute as she held on with the other hand while her Charizard reared onto his hind legs.

"I'll follow you from the air."

"I don't know how this will turn out, but whatever is, I won't get dragged into this god damn faction war. I hope atleast some of the others feel like me. Cassie would feel the same I bet, and maybe Axel." I thought, and I decided to see if Cassie saw what I saw happening to our group. I opened a private channel to Cassie. "Cas, I am wondering...... Do you see our group has split into two factions? Red and Leo on one, and rest of us on the other side. I don't like it. We share our goal, so why don't put aside our differences and work together for the better. I believe we don't have time to fight, since two of my Pokemon are hurt so bad I can't bring them out of their pokeballs without them bleeding to death, and I have not been sleeping well recently."