[ESCAPE ROUTE] The Main Gate

"Enough with the sentimental shit, I see that enough in movies," Shawl said from behind them. Safe to say he wasn't in a good mood at the time, and wasn't particularly patient considering all the events that had just transpired.
"So where we heading? What should we be prepared for?" he asked. He definitely would not be taking interviews about what happened here for a couple months at least...

Sol steeled himself to ignore the students that needed help. it was utterly painful, but it had to be done if they wanted to escape. He tried his best to stay close to everyone, even if... they were an annoyance, to say the least. He hoped everyone else was alright, even though he knew it likely wouldn't be the case. His thoughts momentarily drifted to those that had helped them, namely Camilla and the young blackhaired boy with the Metang. He felt tempted to ask Vander about them, but this wasn't the time.

Especially her. Why had she helped them? Why had she helped him? He didn't understand. And for the moment, there was no time to think of it. He came back to reality, nodding in agreement with Red. He was ready. He had to be- he had to protect his new friends. He stayed alert, having more awareness of his surroundings now that the pain on his leg subsided and he wasn't limping, but he stayed in the back nonetheless. Someone had to be there in case Vander lost consciousness or worse, and Red was leading. He was strong- he could carry him with ease, even injured. So he was the best bet.

Sol jolted. Another voice joined the group, and judging by how she had a camera, he guessed she wasn't with Galactic. Either way, he wasn't gonna be too trusting. He looked ahead to see Leon sending his litwick, frowning.

"I ain't so sure about that, Leon..."

Soleil turned to Frankie, nodding.

"The name's Soleil, ma'am. This is Vander, Leon, Leonard n'.... this. Guy. Now, we're gonna have to be quiet most of the time, unless we wanna get caught... So be careful." He signaled which one was who, going back to look to the gate.

The night grew dimmer with each passing minute, and Leonard was awfully aware of it. His anxiety rose the more time he passed inside the Academy, he had to get his little crew out, he had to. It was becoming utter torture for his own sake, he had never been in such a situation before, he never had to worry about terrorists attacking somewhere when he was around, sure, he had helped beat a couple of outlaws and thugs in the past during his travels, but that was nothing compared to this.

Frankie’s sudden appearance made him and Vander jolt in fear, almost letting out a a scream to finally alert everyone where they were, before the little blonde could say anything though, he leaned forward and looked stern at the news reporter. “Shhh!! Keep quiet! We’ve got to get out of here undetected if we want to… Make it. So please, just… Do as I say. I’m Leonard Blues by the way, I’m sure there will be time for proper presentations but please just… Keep your voice low…” He shook his head and sighed almost in a tone of defeat, but kept his head high and tried his best to look like a beacon of hope to these kids, as Champion, he had to make sure he was at least something akin to a symbol of peace to the youth.

They kept sneaking in as best as they could, barely avoiding detection from the guards and Pokemon that actively were hunting them down. The main gate was looking as imposing as ever, perhaps eerie now given the circumstances, but the closer they got, the more anxious the group felt, it was right there after all! Now was the time, Leonard gave a nod in reassurance to himself and looked back at the kids behind him, smiling to hide his actual fear. “We are almost done, we should run for it as fast as we can, once we are out… Well, we can keep running to the nearest town, I doubt that they would try to chase us that far.”

He had a point, Vander thought, as much as he hated to admit it, the sneaking was going flawlessly and they were just very close of escaping. He felt terrible for the rest of the people who were captured, what happened to Champion Cynthia? And the rest of his teachers? What was this feeling he had? Empathy for them? That was a first, perhaps he wasn’t as tough as he thought he was. After some consideration the group started to dash after the gate, it was barely there, they were almost out of this nightmare, freedom was on their grasp…

It was right there that, on the very corner of his eye, Leonard saw a sparkle, just a small glow that blinked once, and it caught all his attention. His face turned pale when he saw an Air Slash being sent right towards Vander, and without even considering the consequences, he leapt towards him in total despair, pushing everything and everyone aside as he reached his little brother.

Vander felt arms enveloping him as his vision was somewhat darkened in black, he heard his brother’s voice calling his name, both were falling to the ground, when suddenly, a scream flooded his ears and his line of sight was stained in crimson. The asphalt was being doused in blood, with some plants being sprinkled with drops of red, and Vander felt a heavy object over him, finally regaining his senses back after a while. He saw Leonard on top of him, immobile.

“R-Red…?”

Creed looked over from the sound of his trainer screaming, realizing that he was too late in stopping the attack from reaching him. Anger filled the Machamp and he moved to rush towards the brothers before a powerful Psychic attack hit Leonard’s Pokemon from the side, causing him to fly backwards and land against some trees with a hard crash. Creed cried out as gashes appeared on his body and caused a pool of red to splurt out of him before falling to the ground, going just as limp as Leonard.

“Brother?!?! LEONARD?! LEONARD, WAKE UP!! LEONARD!!!”

But no matter how loud his screams were, Vander’s yells reached deaf ears as the Champion’s eyes remained shut.

Everything happened so fast. A glow, a scream, and then blood.

Too much blood.

Soleil didn't even bother to stay for Saturn's speech. The had been gas, and Vander being thrown to the floor, and... It was too much. No. Not again. Not. Here. He picked up the Kanto champion, carrying him on his back. He coughed a couple times from the effort and wiped his mouth with his own shoulder. Crimson red stained his shirt, but it didn't matter.

They had to get out.

"Leon, the wall! Grab Vander, anything! We hafta RUN!" A flash of red light materialized into a Whirlipede and the farmer panted, managing to bark out an order with a lot of effort.

"Ragnarok, Rollout!"

Ragna complied, gaining speed to crash against the debris, hopefully moving it out of the way, but it probably wouldn't be enough. The bug pokemon needed backup, fast if they wanted to escape.

Sol felt the blood start to run down his back. It was warm. He loathed it.

Don't do this. Don't you dare. What kinda older brother are you?! You can't die here! You're not allowed to! You prick! This isn't what we're supposed ta do!