"Wake up, AJ. Your turn to come with me on morning patrol." The leader's voice said strictly as AJ's eyes fluttered open. "Wha... Why me? I'm the youngest, shouldn't I be allowed the most sleep? Not like I was up at 2 AM..." AJ groaned, flopping back into his bed inside his tent. "Rhodie, get moving." Jax, fully awake, grunted. AJ still didn't understand why Jax called him that, but he didn't mind something other than "AJ". "Fine!" The Riolu quicky got dressed and (HOLD IT! CUT! We interrupt this broadcast of Code of Survival, Chapter 9, to bring you this reminder: Yes, they do wear clothing. I said in the description of the book that everyone's a 2 leg walker, didn't I? We can't have anything "hanging out" now, can we? We now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast of Chapter 9! AAAND ACTION!) followed Jayce. As they were about to leave and pass the wall, Jayce sighed and kept his head forward. "Shane, I know you're there. Why come on patrol? It's risking three lives instead of two." Jayce didn't look off to the right, where the Shady Zoroark was leaning against a nearby tree in the shadow of the rising sun. There were clouds rolling in ahead, but where the sun was rising, it was cloudless. "Might rain today. Be careful, we're just looking for anything we can use to eat or reinforce the barricades or shelters. Our tents will hold up fine, but if it pours, it'd still be good to have an extra layer so we don't have to sleep a night unprotected from the elements.

The three set out, deciding against going to the meadow where some undomestic pokemon, Lost their mind from the weapon's shockwave. Lost ability to think rationally, living off of natural survival instincts alone. Essentially, they've become Wild Pokemon as opposed to the "New Age" pokemon, which could (for non bipedal species with legs) walk on 2 legs and such, but less control of moves. These Wild Pokemon were often aggressive, and used moves they've done for a long time to protect themselves. You didn't want anything wild attacking, so you always took at least one companion when hunting. This time, they headed for some proverbial as well as literal higher ground. "So why up so early?" AJ Asked. Shane stopped and looked at the sunrise, which was now halfway faded behind the rolling clouds. "Obviously. I'm searching for my sister. Ever since she went out on Patrol. I heard her scream, so I scrambled out of bed. The next moment, I ran out there and saw Emily standing near Five lifeless bodies. I'm not dumb. She's looking for whoever saved her from death at the hands of the ambush. And now I'm searching for her." 

AJ and Jayce nodded, understanding. "I've seen bloodshed before. And then there's whatever that guy did. It's next level. Choked out by a what appears to be a Bowstring, Stab wound all the way through the body, and that's just the ones that Didn't pour blood n' guts all over the place." Jayce recalled the scene, which looked like something straight out of a horror film. "I.D's on the bodies?" Shane asked, still watching the fading sun. "I remember them from the Big House. They were guys hungry for power. Always a part of the crew of that Mastermind, Raymond. Heard 20 Prison rats were on the same squad in hopes they'd kill each other off. That, or they're gonna outlast us all cause they fight more often and more brutally. But this... This wasn't a fight. It was an Execution." Jayce deduced. AJ tilted his head. "Prisoners? I thought Jax said they were like Zebra team or something. I don't know greek, sorry." Jayce chuckled. "Zeta, AJ, not Zebra. Tis alright, I'm 31 and don't know greek well." AJ's mouth hung opened. "Wait, you're HOW old?!" Jayce shrugged. "The rebellion was 5 years ago. Been locked up ever since execution of non serial killers was outlawed by Davison. Also, They called me the leader, but They Surfaced this older guy. 40 Year old Umbreon and his wife I think. Rumor has it they funded the whole thing and even had a role in it, which the Council couldn't confirm direct involvement, but funding it was enough to surface them. The Umbreon vowed they were making a mistake and that they didn't know what they were doing, and before long they'd see he was right." Jayce seemed to be lost in the flashback. "Do you remember his name?" AJ asked, grabbing his leader's arm. "Keston. Keston Kross." The very name sent a shiver down AJ's back. "Cross with a C, or Kross with a K?" He asked. "K." AJ shuddered again. "His name even sounds suspicious for rebellion involvement." AJ was a bit nervous, knowing this rebellion funder guy, who was possibly the mastermind behind it, could be wandering the surface too. "Kross probably didn't make it. there weren't many others from Terra Doma up here five years ago. I wouldn't worry... Watch out!" Jayce had been saying as AJ wasn't looking where he was going, causing him to almost walk straight off a ledge and down what looked like at least a 1,000 foot drop. Jayce had grabbed the Riolu's wrist, pulling him back to safety. "You coulda been killed, mate. Try explaining that one to Rico. 'Sorry, I let your little bro walk right off a cliff, my bad'." This caused AJ to laugh, as they examined the canyon.

"So any idea what this is?" AJ asked, tossing a pebble down the canyon. "Used to call this place Destiny Cliffs." Shane told them. AJ sat down and shut his eyes, beginning Meditation. "Ok, you do that, we'll go search for food. Don't get shoved off the edge." Jayce told AJ before disappearing with Shane into the woods.

At least two hours passed. AJ had been so calm and intensely focused that he lost track of time. Suddenly, he was snapped out of it when he heard a footstep on a tree branch, making a "Crack!" sound. The Riolu bolted to his feet. "Who's there?" A growling noise could be heard nearby. "I'm not scared of you. I may be only 5 foot 6, but that's 5 and a half feet of whoopass I'm gonna dish out to you, whoever you are!" The bushes shook a little. Then the branches of a nearby tree began bobbing up and down. Then something in the ground began to shift. "Alright, One in bushes, one in tree, one underground. I sense all three of you. Surprise is gone. Actually, there's a fourth one of you hidden in a pond somewhere in the woods. you're hiding in your best element for sneaking. So predictable!" AJ, confident as ever, huffed at them. A voice in the tree said "Shit..." A Gabite's head poked out next to the bush. "What now, Ivan?" The voice from the bush groaned. "Idiots! Now it's ruined. Just go!" The gabite climbed out of the ground, A Primeape jumped down from the tree, and an Ursaring emerged from the bush. "Hey, it's the big bear of bitching and moaning. How's your Boss?" AJ asked sarcastically. "You! The brat who dared attempt to show up Boss Raymond! You'll pay dearl... Where'd he go?" The Ursaring asked, looking around for AJ, who was no longer standing there.

AJ had luckily been small enough to slip past them unnoticed. Those were the perks of being smaller and lighter. He had deduced that the Ursaring was at the very least 7 feet tall, the gabite around 5 foot 9, and the Primeape only about 4 foot 9. He managed to run about 50 feet into the brush, before analyzing the situation. "Better find Jayce n' Shane before those guys find me again... Oh, perfect." AJ spotted a small pond. "Lemme guess, there's one of you in there too." He sighed. "Your buds already ratted you out, man." AJ snickered. The water parted and a pokemon jumped to the land. It wasn't a particularly tall one, about AJ's height. When the water settled, the form cleared, and A Dewott stood before him. "Howdy I be Oscar. Care to die?" He drew his shells, with blue blades coming from each one. "Wow, this is more like it. To the point. However, I'll take a hard PASS!" AJ grunted as he stepped into a powerful uppercut that made the Dewott almost do a whole flip, making him land on his stomach. "Good talk!" AJ did a little salute before continuing his running. After a little while, he managed to find Shane and Jayce. "Guys, there's some mons after me. Big Bear, Midget Monkey, Land Shark, and Death Otter." Jayce looked confused. "Come again?" AJ told them exactly what happened, and Shane immediately began going in the other direction, towards the four. "Then let's see what they want."

Accompanied by Jayce and Shane, AJ went back to the clearing where the pond sat. The four enemies were awaiting them there. "So, he brought back up." The biggest one, the Ursaring, grinned maliciously. "He coulda brought bigger ones. This'll be easy!" The gabite readied his claws before Jayce spoke up. "What's the hurry, lads? Why not have fun with this? Have a few 1 on 1 matches here. Winner will be decided by submission or a down for a fair 10 count. If we're gonna fight, let's do this properly. It's only 4 on 3, so one of us would have to go twice." Jayce proposed this idea of fair competition. "After all, what's fun in ganging up and killing a few mons? It gives you no food or any other gain, plus you'd have to brag that you killed a child, which will most certainly put a target on your head."

The four grumbled, then backed up and huddled together to talk it over. After 2 minutes, they decided upon their choice. "We'll take ya. Easy peasey!" The Dewott beamed with confidence. "I'm Oscar. I'm gonna kick someone's ass!" AJ stepped up to him. "You said that already." The Gabite raised an arm. "Ready... Go!" After which the Dewott lunged at AJ. AJ stepped to the side and Oscar fell face first on the ground. AJ quickly knelt on Oscar's back, grabbed his arm, and pulled the arm up towards him, as if trying to rip it right out of its socket. Oscar began yelling and thrashing, but AJ had it locked in. This only lasted for about 3 seconds before Ocsar screamed "I QUIT! I QUIT!", forcing AJ to break the hold. "Wow. 8 Seconds. New record, AJ." Shane smirked. "My turn." Up next was the trash talking Gabite. "So, what's your story?" Shane asked. "The name's Leon, and You ain't even gonna see me comin, you punk-lookin bastard! I'm gonna..." Jayce yelled "Go!" and Shane sighed and turned his back to Leon. "Oi! What's that for? Face me like a real mon, you pansy ass little... OOF!" Leon had tried a dragon claw, but Shane had flipped around fast enough and punched him in the gut. "You had one free shot. Congrats. You wasted it. Nighty night." The Zoroark said calmly, pushing the Gabite back a little, then doing a small almost half spin and thrusting his leg back, catching Leon right on the side of the head, and the trash talker fell to the ground, not as if a huge move knocked him senseless, but as if the move had knocked him out completely and he just fell due to the lack of consciousness. Shane knelt by his enemy's near motionless body. Leon was twitching, but that's probably from the sudden impact. "You're a big talker, I can tell. But lemme tell you something, if you can hear or understand me right now. Never waste your words on a mon who won't listen. When the fight starts, the time has come and gone for words. Big talk but no skill only earns you more painful ass whoopings." He said quietly to the Gabite. "So Don't be mad, but I think it's been more than ten seconds." AJ giggled. "ENOUGH!" The ursaring roared. "YOU, RUNT! YOU'RE MINE!"

AJ stepped forward. "I'm not scared of you." The massive bear scowled. "You should be. I can rip you in half." AJ just smiled. "Oh, don't worry. I won't hold anything back." But Jayce grabbed AJ by the shoulder. "You fought once already. Besides, he's their leader and I'm ours. I should fight him." The Ursaring stamped his large foot, making a footprint in the ground. "I WANT TO FIGHT THE RUNT!!" Jayce glared at him. "Over my dead body." Jayce stepped up to the massive opponent. The sound of Thunder could faintly be heard crashing in the distance.