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"Ok Eris, time to get to work." Nodding to herself, she began to pick through the berries, and, using some leaves she had picked while Floria was away, turn the chosen ones into either mush for Linii to consume or paste to rub on Linii's body. She then summoned more vines from the slowly sprouting rosebuds on her head. Unlike the other vines that held back the grunts, these were lined with small black roses in place of thorns. She wrapped the vines around the fallen Pokemon's abdomen and tail, beginning to use Aromatherapy on poor Linii, hoping that she could truly help her.

Skorch sighed, seemingly irritated. He stood by a tree, not too close as to burn it, but still close enough that he could lean on it. His face dawned an unpleased expression. “Those humans... who did this to me...” He thought aloud, clearly disturbed by the human crimes to these poor pokemon, including himself, “they won’t get away with this! All they’ve done for just the benefit of themselves, while our homes are destroyed; our families torn apart... They say they care for us... but if they did, why would they use us as guinea pings to test their substances? Why would they mass murder us just for one of our unique friends? I say they should be wiped off of the face of the earth! Obliterated! Extinct! For Arceus’ sake, when are they going to give us rest while they are gone? Ripping us from our homes for us to battle other Pokémon for fun! What gain will they earn from giving us pain? No matter what they try to do to “help” us... IT WILL NEVER PAY FOR THEIR SI-“

The Spinda cut Skorch off; “Woah, woah, calm down there buddy! I’m sure everybody isn’t like those who enslaved us!” But Skorch stayed silent, kicking a pebble seemingly into the distance with his rage.

---

Zaru woke up to Linii's body in front of him and another tear ran down his already stained cheek. He summoned a giant ball of light and pressed it gently to Linii's forehead and waited. He turned away from her and when he came back to face her, black veins were creeping along his face and near his eyes. His milky-white eyes stared at the Mega Stone and waited, for something to happen, anything! Her medical tag fluttered in the wind and hatred grew in Zaru, hatred for TR, hatred for the people who experimented on us. And then, after what seemed a century, but really a few minutes....Linii gave a quiet cough and sat up....

As Linii sat up, Eris retracted her vines from the Luxray's body. Had it worked? Had she done well? "As if! It was all the Zeraora's doing, you worthless little-" she banished the toxic thought away. Focusing on her patient, she mentally filed away how the Zeraora's black veins were crawling up to his face. "Linii now, him after." "Linii? How do you feel?" she asked, ready with the four berry mushes and pasted and ready to call to Floria if needed.

Linii looked around nervously, *Where am I....who are you?* she looked for someone she knew and saw Zaru next to her, his face stained with tears. *What happened?* She pawed the ground, confused. She didn't know what was going on...

"You are currently in a jungle, with a lot of the escaped Pokemon. We made it out, but something happened to you. Can you tell me how you feel? Does anything hurt?" Eris told Linii, checking over her to make sure she hadn't missed something crucial.

Linii shook her tail, the Mega Stone was slowly regaining its colour, but too slowly. Whatever was in that water had damaged Linii somehow. *I...I just have a headache,* she mumbled.

Nodding, Eris grabbed the leaf with Lum berry mushed onto it, offering it to Linni. "Try eating this. We don't have any potions, but we at least have berries." she said, glancing at the megastone in Linii's tail, thankful that it was regaining color.

Linii ate the berries thankfuly, but upon noticing Zaru's vein-streaked face she gasped. *Zaru, are you ok?* Zaru shrugged, *I'm fine, I'm fine, what matters most is your health right now.* He thought for a moment and handed her a ball of lighting. *Here, take this and press it against your Mega Stone, it will help you regain health and your powers.* She took the ball of lightning curiously and pressed it against her tail. Warmth spread along her body and she smiled a little. *Thank you both!* she said. She looked around, *Where's Floria?* she asked.

Floria walked among the low-hanging branches of some willow trees deep within the forest, and yet she could still hear the rustle of voices from the clearing. She sighed and ducked under one of the canopies, flicking her ears. Maybe she shouldn't have run off, but she needed space to think. She knew that with the knowledge that Linii has not been confirmed OK, her thoughts would be pretty restless, but she just needed to get away.
Under the pretty branches and seemingly curtains from the willow tree, she saw tiny pink flowers beginning to fall to the ground. That's right, she told herself, it's just the beginning of fall. We'll need to stock up on food and find a place to stay for the winter. The leaves are already changing color. She sighed whilst a gentle, cool breeze ruffled the fur behind her ears, bringing with it a soft yet sinister whisper. She shivered, despite the beautiful day, and decided to go back. She could "think" somewhere else- this place was creepy.

Floria followed the sound of restless chatter and eventually found her way back to the campsite. As she entered the clearing, her gaze fell upon Eris and Zaru talking to... Linii! They had helped her! She was alive! Floria cried with joy and ran forwards, jumping through other Pokemon as she got to her friend, falling over and giving her the biggest hug (I suppose it would be like a neck-hug since they're Pokemon). She was crying with relief. "Linii!" she cried. "You're ok!"

---

Ribbon watched the commotion quietly, silently taking it all in. He couldn't imagine himself going through that much for someone... well, he wouldn't have been able to, had it not already happened. But he didn't allow himself to think about that. He had learned how to push those thoughts out before they got anywhere near his train of thought, throwing them off the rails and banishing them. Maybe pushing away his problems, and other Pokemon who just wanted to help, wasn't necessarily healthy, but he didn't care. It saved him from having to relive that in the worst way possible, so it must be working. At least for now.

---

Linii smiled when Floria hugged her. *Yeah...I'm ok* She sighed. *So, everyone got out?* she asked, still unable to get up, her limbs still weak. Linii glanced nervously at Zaru's vein-covered face and winced. He said it was nothing but was it really?

Floria nodded. "All the Pokemon escaped, but lots of them just ran off on their own after the exit opened, so this is just the group that stayed together after we beat Team Rocket and got away."
She glanced over at Zaru and noticed his black veins, sending a shiver down her spine. She had started to realize that most of these Pokemon weren't as OK as they let on.
She then looked up at Eris, who was standing beside them. She looked at her sincerely and said, "Thank you."

Floria stayed by Linii's side for the rest of that day, making sure her friend was still OK and would recover safely. She talked with Zaru more, though he was very closed-off and refused to talk about the black veins growing on his face and along his body. Things seemed to have settled down, but Floria knew they couldn't stay here for much longer. They needed to make a plan and find a new place, a permanent place where they can set up a base and live without the danger of humans or trainers.

---

Shock filled Eris at Floria's sincerity. "N...no problem." she said, before glancing at the Zeraora. She had seen how the veins had traveled to his face and was worried about what they were and what they could do to him. Sure they didn't immobilize him, but they could cause damage in other ways. She hesitantly went up to him, cautious of how he may react to her and her prying about the veins. "Excuse me, um- Zaru was it?"

*Yes?* he asked, still tense about earlier's events.

"I know you probably don't trust me, what with what happened with Linii and all, but I feel I should ask...if... You are alright?" Eris said hesitantly, gesturing to the gray veins and the rest of his body as well, trying hard not to make him uncomfortable. If it was something he didn't want to talk about, she wouldn't pry, but she still wanted to be of assistance to someone.

*The truth is....I don't know,* he began, *Team Rocket put this weird chemical in me and now...* he sighed. *It made me go partially blind and made go...to be honest, *sigh* a bit crazy.* He stared sadly at his arm. *One day the chemical will take over and, well I won't be the same. Every day the darkness just creeps up on me and takes over my senses. I'll permanently be angry and aggressive, no doubt about that.* Zaru turned away. *Anyway, I don't want to talk about it...* he walked away.

Eris watched helplessly as Zaru walked away. She was horrified at what the monsters had done to him. She wished she could help him, HEAL this darkness from him, but she couldn't. She was still weak and her powers were barely enough to help Linii. In fact if Zaru hadn't used his own powers, they may have lost Linii... Shaking her head, she decided to head over to Margo, the appointed leader of the group, alongside the Flareon who had led them out of the horrid place.

*Oh and,* he called out, *You can't...you can't cure it...* more tears started to run down his face and he ran into the forest to calm down. His vision started to turn red and his body started to sway. *No...not now...* he mumbled. He walked deeper into the forest. He leaned against a tree and it crumbled due to the power in his back. He slumped down.

Eris' heart felt numb as Zaru ran off. She wanted to follow, but understood that he may need some space. She would check on him in a little while. For now, she focused on Margo and the Flareon, the former looking tired yet sad while the latter looked lost yet concerned.

Ribbon flicked his ears, overhearing Zaru's troubles. His thoughts darkened as he listened, that problem coming dangerously close to his own. The only difference was Ribbon's didn't show up physically, unless you counted his eye. It was a mental struggle that nobody ever noticed, and nobody would ever notice unless he spoke about it. But nobody needed to know. Eventually it would corrupt him, and he would either die or go completely berserk. There was no known cure to this Virus, and they didn't even know if the A-Virus was the only one. But that didn't matter. He couldn't help this 'Zaru'. He couldn't even help himself. He watched as Eris approached him and Margo, skeptical but willing to work with her, seeing as how she did help Linii. Eventually.

---

Floria listened to Eris and Zaru's conversation sadly. She felt bad for Zaru, and she wished she could help, but even with her floral healing in the summer there was little she could do. She watched as the both of them walked away and sighed. She would stay with Linii and help where she was needed. She couldn't risk another one.

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