Area: Cave of Unknown
Culprit: The Black Brothers
These kidnappers have taken poor Beth's daughter! If you don't help her, who will?
Skye
Skye stood at the ridge near the cave entrance, her eyes narrowed as she searched for any signs of the kidnappers. The note had told her to be here, but so far she could see no sign of "The Black Brothers". In truth, little to nothing seemed amiss out here. Her instinct told her that they'd likely hidden themselves away inside somewhere, but she couldn't tell for sure. What was worse was the simple fact of being unable to tell the time of day within the cave itself. It was so dark and musty; even the light of dawn wouldn't be visible, let alone noticeable, from deep within its heart. She would have to just have to rush it. Get in, find Beth's daughter, and get out again.
She headed down the steep rock face, fighting to keep a solid grip on the stones and dirt beneath her paws. The icy, damp mist had softened the ground, leaving a thin layer of cold mud to stand on. The rocks were loose, some of the smaller ones sliding out from the earth as the weight of her body met their surface. After a minute or two of trying to pick her way downward, she gave in, leaping cleanly off the surface of a boulder and launching herself toward the muddy but solid earth below. She slipped as she met the end of the slope, and she tumbled through the mud. Undeterred, she merely shook the worst of it from her coat and stepped onward.
The slight incline leading up toward the cave entrance was much easier to tackle, though the mud here was much more slippery. The wind buffeted her slim body, and she hunched her shoulders as she made her way into the cave, head low and ears flat to try and keep the dust and rain from getting in her face. Finally, the cold damp of the cave seemed to envelop her, the wall of darkness swallowing her mud-coated form as she padded inward.
Now submerged in the icy, damp air of the cave, she twisted to peer back out at the night sky above. By now, she had only a few hours before the sun rose again. At dawn, her time would be up. She hoped that somehow she'd be able to find Beth's daughter before then. The girl's life depended on it. 'If only I could stop time...' she thought sadly, turning back and darting deeper into the narrow tunnel ahead.
Where outside it had certainly been cold, it was even more so, here. There was little to no light in some of the narrower cracks and crevices, but so far she was still able to find her way by sight. She hoped that her sense of smell and hearing would be strong enough to guide her the rest of the way, or at least that the kidnappers had not holed themselves up too deep within the passages here.
Cave of the Unknown.
It wasn't a friendly name, or one that brought any sort of reassurance to her. It just meant that she didn't know what she was getting into. She knew that it supposedly got colder the deeper that one went, and that the lower passages often became flooded in poor weather. The thought sent chills of horror through her spine. She hoped that whoever had taken Beth's daughter would at least have the sense to stay above the flood waters. It was pouring down rain outside, and she could tell from the faint sound of trickling streams that the storm's effect had made its way through at least the main passages. Depending on how long the rain continued, it would likely fill up a good portion of the cave.
She shifted the leather straps that she'd fastened across her chest and ribcage. There was a small series of pouches bound to her side, and she could still feel the subtle weight of the Wonder Orbs within them. She wasn't sure who or what she was up against, and it was dangerous enough to have come here alone. She'd made this with some considerable help from Azra, although neither of them were very good at stitching things together. There was definitely better-made equipment out there.
She wore a thin, metallic-looking choker around her neck. It almost looked like a collar, although she felt it demeaning to think that way. The Kecleon Brothers had called it a Prism Ruff; a fancy enough name, but it suited it well enough. Jewelry didn't matter much to Skye, and she was a little skeptical of its strength, but supposedly it would protect her from poor weather. 'Didn't stop the rain, any, though, did it?' she reminded herself bitterly. The damp chill of the storm outside had soaked in through her fur, leaving her with a sodden fur coat that trailed the icy droplets along the cave floor. No, she'd have to be a lot more careful, if she ran into worse situations than that.
Her ears twitched, the faint chattering of Zubat echoing from an adjacent passageway. Swallowing uneasily, she realized that she didn't even know what sort of Pokemon she was looking for. How was she supposed to tell exactly where she was expected to go, or who to find? She didn't want to go and investigate a whole colony of bat Pokemon; she wasn't foolish enough to think that the Pokemon here would be terribly welcoming, particularly if she was invading their personal space without permission.
Now moving much more swiftly, she did her best to stay absolutely silent. If she did anything but, she feared that the colony she approached would sense her nearby. She knew that they used echolocation to find their way around, and that they were active at night. That made them prime suspects, in her opinion. They'd have a severe advantage inside the cave system, simply because they could find their way around. They'd also prefer to do their work at night, so to have dawn as a deadline seemed oddly fitting for them. She just hoped that she was wrong. Their sheer numbers would make them tricky to deal with, if they were indeed the group she sought after.
There was a resounding screech of anger, and Skye instinctively crouched low. Sharp claws raked open air, just inches from the top of her head. She slashed at the soil beneath her paws, hoping to spray sand into the face of her attacker. The dirt, however, damp with rainwater was much closer to mud than sand, and went barely anywhere. Another set of claws slashed at her hind leg, and she twisted to face the next attacker. The sound of beating wings was almost intolerable, so loud that it echoed in the cramped space around her. She snarled warningly in return, unleashing a Swift attack that sent shimmering stars flying in every direction. The silvery shards of aura struck everything around her, from the enemies she fought to the ground on which she stood. She then twisted, flipping in the air to send a Fire Blast barreling into the musty air around her.
The Zubat colony scattered, many of them heading back out into the cavern from which they'd come. A few clung to the walls of the passage, trembling and scorched. Had they any eyes, she suspected that they'd likely look quite frightened. Or angry. It was rather hard to tell, with Zubat. She knew one thing for certain; these weren't the Pokemon she was after. They wouldn't have run off nearly as easily as they had, if they were the kidnappers of Beth's daughter. At the very least, they’d have demanded a ransom, perhaps threatened the little girl as proof of their power in the situation. The thought made her stomach turn, but it was true.
Approaching the nearest bat, she tilted her head, staring upward with narrowed eyes. "The Black Brothers. Tell me where I can find them," she demanded, her voice forcibly calm. She could see a few of the Zubat twitch and shift. They weren't very at ease about being interrogated. "I've got about zero percent patience right now." The amendment to her statement seemed to loosen a few tongues, and some of them chattered quietly, their voices hurried and high-pitched. They were very nervous, now.
The nearest one stammered out a quiet apology, but the one just behind it seemed to be of more assistance. "Deeper. Not here. J-just much further. Maybe an hour."
Skye seemed to hesitate, narrowing her eyes at the Zubat as if to judge his intentions from appearance. Finally, she nodded, muttering her quiet thanks and disappearing back to where she'd come. The sound of retreating Zubat filled the passage, many of them hurriedly getting as far away from the Eevee as possible. She reached the main tunnel again, and she shifted with unease. It felt as though the cave had become lighter, and even if it were only her imagination playing tricks, it was unnerving to be reminded of her rather severe time limit.
The Zubat had told her that the kidnappers were deeper into the cave. Having decided that the Zubat weren't involved in the matter, it made sense. There hadn't been anything other signs of life in the cave so far, so it would only make sense to find what she was looking for a little further down. They'd said an hour's travel, but that was by flight. For her, it might take as long as two hours, depending on what the cave floor was like, and how much trouble she ran into. Her stomach twisted uneasily, but she had little choice in the matter.
She headed down the passage, fighting the urge to shiver as the cold of the mud between her toes began to seep through her fur. She felt like a Mudkip. Not that she had anything against Kaiyou's kin, but... she'd still rather have dry paws, at the moment.
The air seemed to thicken, the deeper that she went into the cave. At some points, she was coughing and choking on the smell of it. It smelled thickly of tar and garbage, and the thought of that seemed only to discourage her ability to breathe. It smelled almost toxic, and in fact, the moment the thought came to mind, she realized that it was. She was becoming more and more light-headed with every step, and she could feel her limbs shaking with the effort to stay upright. Thinking quickly, she twisted, whipping one of the Wonder Orbs from her carry bag and holding it out to the thick smog that was steadily choking the life from her body. It shone like the sun, blasting the area with a flash of light. The smog dispelled almost as quickly as it had come, the orb seeming to absorb all of it into its own, glassy surface. The orb glowed a moment more, and shattered, leaving only the clear air and an unwanted guest behind it.
Skye hissed, flattening her ears at the giant Weezing before her. With the thick, gaseous poison clouding her vision and clogging up her sense of smell, she hadn't even realized him to be there. But he certainly was now, and it was strongly evident that he seemed to be a little more than aggressive. It inhaled sharply, spitting out a series of Sludge Bombs at the Eevee before it.
Skye darted backward, trying to escape the exploding balls of poison that erupted at her heels. She kicked backward at the Weezing, sending a fluffy of shimmering stars back in his direction. They struck his rough, violet skin, but did little more than irritate him. He inhaled again, this time drawing more air with every passing moment. She could sense that he was preparing a much stronger attack, only angered by her retaliation. She had to do something, if she wanted to avoid becoming poisoned by whatever he had planned for her.
Lifting herself onto her hind paws, she inhaled sharply and slammed her forepaws into the earth. The deadly mixture of smog and smoke that spilled from the Weezing's throat was quickly shot back into its face, washed away by the powerful Hydro Pump that Skye forced upon it. The torrent of water seemed to do some damage, unlike the Swift attack before it.
The Weezing rushed forward as the water fell away, tackling Skye roughly to the muddy cave floor. His huge body was just small enough to fit into the tight passages, but he was considerably heavier than she'd expected of a Pokemon made from gas. It was probably due to all of the heavy, sludge-like toxins inside of it. She scrambled to her paws, struggling to get a grip on the thick mixture of mud and slime that now clung to everything around them. She lashed her tail, sending droplets of poison flying in every direction. "Stay back!" she hissed, her dark eyes narrowed threateningly as she lunged forward with a rough Take Down. The Weezing bounced back a little, and she kept up the barrage of attacks, switching to Tackle to preserve her energy. Using its heavy body, it slammed back into her, knocking her easily aside once more.
Sharp leaves materialized, formed of glowing aura and whipping around them like a whirlwind. The miniature storm was fairly strong, and she could barely hear past the sound of the rushing gale.
The Weezing only roared in response, splattering her face and fur with sludge. She gagged on the stench of it, disgusted. If he wouldn't listen, she'd just have to make him. She didn't have time to mess around with a windbag like this! Streams of brilliant flames spilled from her throat, leaking out around her sharp little teeth and letting the burning, sparkling embers to fall to the mud below. Her eyes glowed a brilliant gold in the reflection o the flames, and her markings shone bright along with it. The Weezing seemed nervous now, backing away from the sight of the fire that grew before it. Then, without warning, Skye stepped forward, snarling and unleashing little tongues of flame as she did so. The Weezing roared once more, and Skye didn't hesitate to take the advantage. She engulfed the narrow tunnel in a sea of flames, burying the pair of them both in the severe heat of it all. Within moments, she heard something explode. The sound was literally deafening, for she heard nothing after that. The tunnel gave way around them, and she remembered nothing else about it, until she found herself lying in total darkness.
She coughed, the dust and smoke still clearing from the air around her. Her body ached, and she knew she'd end up with some severe bruising, at the very least. Her front paw was twisted a little, and the swelling made it difficult to stand on. The thick sludge had dried into her fur, painting her almost as black as the darkness that surrounded her. Her ears were ringing, but she realized that she could hear again. It was more likely than not due to hitting her head, but she didn't really have the time to worry about it.
Focusing her strength, she drew a little more flame to her advantage, holding it more securely between her jaws. After all, she'd already blown up any toxic fumes left standing, so there was little point in using caution, now. The glow of the flames gave her a little light to see by, and from what she could tell, she'd blown a hole straight through the floor of the tunnel above. She was in the deepest part of the caves, now, so far down that she couldn't even tell where the hole above really ended. It was just so dark...
Her ears twitched the sound of a low growl catching her ears. She growled back in response, narrowing her eyes as she searched for the owner of the voice. When a Poochyena stepped forward, she found herself rather surprised. She hadn't expected to find his kind anywhere near this far into the cave system; generally Poochyena were surface-dwelling Pokemon. The canine, too, stopped growling, and both Pokemon stared rather blankly at each other.
"What're you doing down here?" she questioned rather rudely, her voice giving away her surprise. Skye supposed that they didn't get a lot of visitors this far into the cave.
"Standing, what's it look like?" Skye replied rather dryly, keeping her ears flat against her head. The other Pokemon didn't seem terribly impressed by the response, merely arching an eyebrow at her.
"What's that supposed to mean? Can't you stay on your side of the border, you freak?!" the Poochyena snapped back, glaring at Skye. That was a little confusing. It was clear that Skye was being mistaken for someone else, but she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to correct the Dark-type. Depending on who the Poochyena thought she was, she might be able to use this to her advantage.
"I don't remember this being yours. After all, what good is a border if you can't defend it?" the Eevee pressed smoothly, trying to engage her new companion in conversation. She needed to know more.
"You and your brothers think you own everything, don't you?! she snarled back. Skye could already see the aura beginning to swirl around the Poochyena's jaws. A well-placed Bite or Crunch attack would do a lot of damage, if she didn't backtrack a little bit. The Poochyena thought she was with The Black Brothers, if that was any indication. Regardless, she certainly wasn't friends with them. This was good; she could use it to her advantage.
"I'm not one of The Black Brothers. I'm sorry to have played that card, but I'm not sure who's who, down here." amended the Eevee calmly, hoping to come across as a mixture of apologetic and soothing. "I'm Skye. The Brothers kidnapped a friend of mine," she continued, explaining a little more as to why she'd tricked the Poochyena. She pricked her long ears forward, and she caught the expression of surprise on the Poochyena's face, the Pokemon's gaze trailing across what she now recognized to be anything but the features of another Poochyena.
The canine, however, seemed only to be more confused by the explanation. "Black Brothers? I don't know who they are, but I thought you were a part of the Sharpfangs. They're a rival pack to mine. It's pretty clear that you're not one of them, Little Fox. You're still on our land, though, so you'd best have a better explanation for what's going on," warned the older female, flattening her notched ears. Thin bite scars traced a lot of her pelt, as though she'd been through a lot of fights before.
Skye wasn't terribly sure how she'd match up against someone with that much experience, if it came right down to fighting, but she knew that she'd fought through worse before. All the same, she couldn't help but cringe at the nickname. She'd given her name, why did the Poochyena have to bother with "Little Fox?" "A group called The Black Brothers passed along a ransom note. I need to meet them before dawn, or they'll murder my friend. I ran into a Weezing in the upper tunnels, and the battle caused an explosion. The next thing I knew, I was down here.... I didn't expect to find Poochyena packs this far underground, so I figured that it might be best to play along and see if you knew anything about the Pokemon that took her."
The Poochyena frowned. "That would explain the cave-in earlier. You'll have to amend for that, at some point, but your story checks out," she decided roughly. "As for depth, we're in the deeper part of the canyons; there's a lot of ways out to the open air, from here. You blocked off one of them with your little explosion, but there's still plenty of ways for us to get out. I just hope that we won't deal with more flooding, thanks to you. The storm's just been getting worse and worse all night."
Skye nodded, her mouth twisted into a frustrated grimace. "I'll do my best to help, later. I need to get my friend back, first, before it's too late," she reasoned, her words becoming more hurried as she realized that she didn't know how much time she had left. Up until the explosion, she'd been keeping at least a decent sense of time. She didn't know for how long she'd been unconscious, though... She just hoped she wasn't too late already. "You said you've never heard of The Black Brothers? Have you at least noticed anything unusual, lately?"
The Poochyena paused, and waited a moment before nodding in response. "The lower tunnels. There were some odd scent markings around the entrance. Normally they flood with such heavy rainfall, but they've been dry as a bone so far. Even more so than right here. The elders think it might be because of a cave-in, blocking out the water flow, but they've forbidden us to go down there. It might be unstable. These... Black Brothers wouldn't know about the danger, so they might have gone looking for a place dry and out of the way. If you're going there, though, I hope you've got a set of gills on you."
The sleek Eevee frowned a little, shifting to try and get rid of the sticky, heavy feeling that she felt from her mud-caked fur. "That sounds like my best bet. How do I get there?" Her companion simply gestured down the tunnel ahead. "It's like five minutes away, isn't it?" A nod. "Thanks...?"
"Call me Sev. Good luck finding your friend." There was a certain dryness in her voice, as though she wasn't entirely sincere in her wishes. Skye didn't mind, terribly. It was better than being bitten.
Smiling awkwardly, she dipped her head politely and tore off down the path toward the lower tunnels. She was at a dead sprint, focusing on moving as quickly as possible. The sooner she could find Beth's daughter, the better. She hoped that the girl wasn't too frightened. She wasn't that great with kids. Dealing with children was probably the least of her problems, at the moment, though.
Despite how fast she actually was, it seemed to take forever before she finally caught wind of the strange scents that Sev had mentioned. She recognized it, though only vaguely. Ghost-types. In this case, she was pretty sure it was Banette. Maybe two or three of them, though she couldn't say for sure. She was surprised that Sev hadn't known what they were, but it was hard to say whether or not she ever really ventured into the same parts of the caves as them... or even if these particular Banette were from the area. Clearly they weren't, if they were choosing to hang about in here. She remembered Sev's warning about flash floods and swallowed nervously. The creaking sounds from within the rock were rather... ominous. There was a lot of strain on these tunnels.
She moved on, trying to force the thoughts of floods and cave-ins from her mind. It wouldn't do anyone any good for her to die down here, but... Beth's daughter was in just as much danger. If she didn't try, the Happiny was guaranteed not to last the coming morning. 'But even if I do, she might still be in for trouble...'
The violet-furred Eevee sighed quietly, her breath appearing in a puff of steam. The temperature was steadily dropping, and for once she felt glad for the thick layer of mud and tar that clung to her fur. It had dried and hardened into a thick shell, scorched by the heat of the fire in the explosion. It wasn't that nice to have, but at least it helped to keep the chill away. A miniature set of warm, muddy armor.
The scent of the Banette grew stronger, though still cloaked by the smell of the musty, stale air. What she wasn't expecting was to be snatched from the ground, and held aloft several feet above the ground. She twisted and squirmed, staring up at the invisible hand that had grasped her by the tail. It hurt a little, and she could feel her eyes watering instinctively, but she ignored it, fire still sparking around the edges of her mouth. A feeling of immobility fell over her, her limbs stiffening. The fire died in her throat, and she realized that she'd just been Cursed.
"Yoooou are not Beth," hissed the voice angrily, a pair of crimson eyes glowing from the shadows. At least she'd found The Black Brothers.
After a few minutes, she was trussed up in ropes, though the Curse still remained, occasionally restricting her movement and breathing. The two brothers surrounded her, casually discussing exactly what to do with her. Her gear lay discarded on the ground, the two brothers already having decided that she carried nothing of great value. The mud kept her collar from view, thankfully. That would have been a pain to get back.
Their voices were scratchy and irritating on her ears, and all the more annoying as they seemed to be happily discussing the details of her imminent demise. The Eevee was more focused on the little Happiny, anyway. She looked very confused, and even more frightened. Skye offered a comforting smile, but the child seemed not to really notice.
The time was drawing closer; she could tell from the way that the Banette were talking. They'd switched languages, now. It was probably some sort of code; she didn't recognize it from any of her studies. Even so, it wasn't worth the time to listen. She had to figure out a way of escaping. With The Black Brothers having turned their backs, she focused instead on breathing faint tongues of fire and ice on the ropes that bound her to the boulder behind her. The constant burning and freezing was weakening them quickly, and she could feel them loosen a little as she struggled against their fraying surface.
The eldest Banette turned, staring long and hard at Skye, who had hurriedly stopped her efforts to break free. "Alright, pet. Your fate's been chosen. You will die with the child you came to rescue." His voice was icy cold, but the thick accent from whatever language he'd spoken seemed to remain. It made his words almost comical to listen to. She flicked an ear boredly. "Don't scoff at me, unless... yes, I think so. Brother, it's time we gave our guest the proper welcome." There was something very cruel about the way that they smiled, each in unison with the other, and each very much malicious in their intent.
She struggled a little, not yet able to break free of the ropes and the Curse combined. Her dark eyes went wide as the Banette raised his arms to his throat, pressing slightly. Within a moment, she was showered in a ghostly, searing flame. While there wasn't much of it, it was definitely of an intensity that was hard to match. The whole purpose of it was to burn, and burn it did. She screamed, thrashing against her bonds until she suddenly felt them snap around her.
The lithe Eevee leaped free, springing directly into the face of the nearest Banette with a Bite, latching onto his shoulder with a set of small, sharp teeth. He screeched, slashing up at her with his ghostly arm, but she'd already leaped free of his grasp.
A burst of flames erupted from Skye's jaws, the Fire Blast attack filling the room with swirls of heat and smoke. The nearest Banette was knocked easily aside, but the older one remained almost entirely intact. He'd not wasted his energy with the Curse or the Will-O-Wisp, still fresh into the battle.
Skye knew that her strength would fail her pretty quickly, considering how long she'd been cursed for, and all of the attacks she'd suffered through so far. She had to make this fight as short as possible, and get the Happiny out of there just moments after. She shot off a Hydro Pump, the attack narrowly missing the agile Ghost-type and hitting the wall behind him, instead. She kept it up, continuing to chase the Banette with a torrent of streaming water. The once dry room was quickly soaked through, the mud and slime seeming to build up around her paws.
She ignored it, using Quick Attack to keep up with the speedy opponent. She made use of an Air Slash, trying to knock the Banette out of the air. In return, she was met with a Faint Attack, shoving her roughly into the rocky surface of the wall beside her. She was surprised to see water spurt out from the wall, leaving faint trickles of liquid falling down the surface of the rock. It was then that she remembered the warning about floods. She didn't have to beat The Brothers; she could let the cave do the fighting for her!
Twisting around, she darted toward her discarded gear, snatching up the fallen satchel and tearing out one of the orbs. There was a flash of light, and both Banette ( as well as a the Happiny in the corner ) were quickly immobilized. She took advantage of the situation, running toward the child and leaping straight over her head. A Last Resort hit the wall hard, the glowing aura around Skye's small frame erupting into bursts of brilliant light.
The wall gave way under pressure, caught between the force of her attack and the water behind it. Water surged around them, and Skye scrambled to get a grip on the Happiny child behind her. She felt her slip slightly, only to be forced roughly into her by another eruption of water. The flash flood was powerful, and Skye found herself caught underwater by it more than once. It wasn't until the current slowed that she was finally able to reach the surface, shoving the Happiny upward ahead of her. She was gasping for breath, tears and water streaming down her face. Luckily, she didn't seem to be hurt any. The Brothers were nowhere in sight, but unfortunately her gear had gone with it, only one little orb remaining as it floated downstream toward them.
She touched it with a dark, soggy paw, and the final burst of light seemed to draw all the moisture from the air. A Drought Orb. The floodwater receded from around them, leaving both Skye and Beth's daughter sitting alone in the darkness. A familiar face stood nearby, her fur dark and spiky from having been caught in the flood. The glare was unmistakeable.
Oops.
It was long past noon by the time that Sev and her pack escorted them out of the cave systems, Beth's daughter clinging tight to Skye's shoulders as she slept. She'd had to help them get rid of the blockages she'd caused, and help repair some of the flood damage, but it hadn't taken too long. Still, she was pretty tired, and the pack didn't have much in the way of healers. She'd only been granted enough berries to deal with the worst of her burns, and the pads of her paws were still raw from trying to keep her grip on the rocky cave floor during the worst of the flood.
The Black Brothers had been found unconscious, and the pack had been most displeased to find them in their own territory. While they could deal with Skye's presence for a short time, the pair of Banette had been most unwelcome around the young Poochyena puppies that the pack had produced. They were very quickly escorted out along with Skye herself.
She'd never been happier to be greeted by a rainstorm. The faint light of dawn barely visible through the pouring downfall, she dug underneath her Prism Ruff for the team badge that she'd borrowed from her mother's room. The reflection of her own face was soft and blurry from the poor light, and it seemed coated in a faint layer of dirt. She smiled a little, letting the energy of it flash and steal away their whole group. The Poochyena pack hovered around the cave entrance, a little confused as to how their charges had vanished into thin air.
Culprit: The Black Brothers
These kidnappers have taken poor Beth's daughter! If you don't help her, who will?
Skye
Skye stood at the ridge near the cave entrance, her eyes narrowed as she searched for any signs of the kidnappers. The note had told her to be here, but so far she could see no sign of "The Black Brothers". In truth, little to nothing seemed amiss out here. Her instinct told her that they'd likely hidden themselves away inside somewhere, but she couldn't tell for sure. What was worse was the simple fact of being unable to tell the time of day within the cave itself. It was so dark and musty; even the light of dawn wouldn't be visible, let alone noticeable, from deep within its heart. She would have to just have to rush it. Get in, find Beth's daughter, and get out again.
She headed down the steep rock face, fighting to keep a solid grip on the stones and dirt beneath her paws. The icy, damp mist had softened the ground, leaving a thin layer of cold mud to stand on. The rocks were loose, some of the smaller ones sliding out from the earth as the weight of her body met their surface. After a minute or two of trying to pick her way downward, she gave in, leaping cleanly off the surface of a boulder and launching herself toward the muddy but solid earth below. She slipped as she met the end of the slope, and she tumbled through the mud. Undeterred, she merely shook the worst of it from her coat and stepped onward.
The slight incline leading up toward the cave entrance was much easier to tackle, though the mud here was much more slippery. The wind buffeted her slim body, and she hunched her shoulders as she made her way into the cave, head low and ears flat to try and keep the dust and rain from getting in her face. Finally, the cold damp of the cave seemed to envelop her, the wall of darkness swallowing her mud-coated form as she padded inward.
Now submerged in the icy, damp air of the cave, she twisted to peer back out at the night sky above. By now, she had only a few hours before the sun rose again. At dawn, her time would be up. She hoped that somehow she'd be able to find Beth's daughter before then. The girl's life depended on it. 'If only I could stop time...' she thought sadly, turning back and darting deeper into the narrow tunnel ahead.
Where outside it had certainly been cold, it was even more so, here. There was little to no light in some of the narrower cracks and crevices, but so far she was still able to find her way by sight. She hoped that her sense of smell and hearing would be strong enough to guide her the rest of the way, or at least that the kidnappers had not holed themselves up too deep within the passages here.
Cave of the Unknown.
It wasn't a friendly name, or one that brought any sort of reassurance to her. It just meant that she didn't know what she was getting into. She knew that it supposedly got colder the deeper that one went, and that the lower passages often became flooded in poor weather. The thought sent chills of horror through her spine. She hoped that whoever had taken Beth's daughter would at least have the sense to stay above the flood waters. It was pouring down rain outside, and she could tell from the faint sound of trickling streams that the storm's effect had made its way through at least the main passages. Depending on how long the rain continued, it would likely fill up a good portion of the cave.
She shifted the leather straps that she'd fastened across her chest and ribcage. There was a small series of pouches bound to her side, and she could still feel the subtle weight of the Wonder Orbs within them. She wasn't sure who or what she was up against, and it was dangerous enough to have come here alone. She'd made this with some considerable help from Azra, although neither of them were very good at stitching things together. There was definitely better-made equipment out there.
She wore a thin, metallic-looking choker around her neck. It almost looked like a collar, although she felt it demeaning to think that way. The Kecleon Brothers had called it a Prism Ruff; a fancy enough name, but it suited it well enough. Jewelry didn't matter much to Skye, and she was a little skeptical of its strength, but supposedly it would protect her from poor weather. 'Didn't stop the rain, any, though, did it?' she reminded herself bitterly. The damp chill of the storm outside had soaked in through her fur, leaving her with a sodden fur coat that trailed the icy droplets along the cave floor. No, she'd have to be a lot more careful, if she ran into worse situations than that.
Her ears twitched, the faint chattering of Zubat echoing from an adjacent passageway. Swallowing uneasily, she realized that she didn't even know what sort of Pokemon she was looking for. How was she supposed to tell exactly where she was expected to go, or who to find? She didn't want to go and investigate a whole colony of bat Pokemon; she wasn't foolish enough to think that the Pokemon here would be terribly welcoming, particularly if she was invading their personal space without permission.
Now moving much more swiftly, she did her best to stay absolutely silent. If she did anything but, she feared that the colony she approached would sense her nearby. She knew that they used echolocation to find their way around, and that they were active at night. That made them prime suspects, in her opinion. They'd have a severe advantage inside the cave system, simply because they could find their way around. They'd also prefer to do their work at night, so to have dawn as a deadline seemed oddly fitting for them. She just hoped that she was wrong. Their sheer numbers would make them tricky to deal with, if they were indeed the group she sought after.
There was a resounding screech of anger, and Skye instinctively crouched low. Sharp claws raked open air, just inches from the top of her head. She slashed at the soil beneath her paws, hoping to spray sand into the face of her attacker. The dirt, however, damp with rainwater was much closer to mud than sand, and went barely anywhere. Another set of claws slashed at her hind leg, and she twisted to face the next attacker. The sound of beating wings was almost intolerable, so loud that it echoed in the cramped space around her. She snarled warningly in return, unleashing a Swift attack that sent shimmering stars flying in every direction. The silvery shards of aura struck everything around her, from the enemies she fought to the ground on which she stood. She then twisted, flipping in the air to send a Fire Blast barreling into the musty air around her.
The Zubat colony scattered, many of them heading back out into the cavern from which they'd come. A few clung to the walls of the passage, trembling and scorched. Had they any eyes, she suspected that they'd likely look quite frightened. Or angry. It was rather hard to tell, with Zubat. She knew one thing for certain; these weren't the Pokemon she was after. They wouldn't have run off nearly as easily as they had, if they were the kidnappers of Beth's daughter. At the very least, they’d have demanded a ransom, perhaps threatened the little girl as proof of their power in the situation. The thought made her stomach turn, but it was true.
Approaching the nearest bat, she tilted her head, staring upward with narrowed eyes. "The Black Brothers. Tell me where I can find them," she demanded, her voice forcibly calm. She could see a few of the Zubat twitch and shift. They weren't very at ease about being interrogated. "I've got about zero percent patience right now." The amendment to her statement seemed to loosen a few tongues, and some of them chattered quietly, their voices hurried and high-pitched. They were very nervous, now.
The nearest one stammered out a quiet apology, but the one just behind it seemed to be of more assistance. "Deeper. Not here. J-just much further. Maybe an hour."
Skye seemed to hesitate, narrowing her eyes at the Zubat as if to judge his intentions from appearance. Finally, she nodded, muttering her quiet thanks and disappearing back to where she'd come. The sound of retreating Zubat filled the passage, many of them hurriedly getting as far away from the Eevee as possible. She reached the main tunnel again, and she shifted with unease. It felt as though the cave had become lighter, and even if it were only her imagination playing tricks, it was unnerving to be reminded of her rather severe time limit.
The Zubat had told her that the kidnappers were deeper into the cave. Having decided that the Zubat weren't involved in the matter, it made sense. There hadn't been anything other signs of life in the cave so far, so it would only make sense to find what she was looking for a little further down. They'd said an hour's travel, but that was by flight. For her, it might take as long as two hours, depending on what the cave floor was like, and how much trouble she ran into. Her stomach twisted uneasily, but she had little choice in the matter.
She headed down the passage, fighting the urge to shiver as the cold of the mud between her toes began to seep through her fur. She felt like a Mudkip. Not that she had anything against Kaiyou's kin, but... she'd still rather have dry paws, at the moment.
The air seemed to thicken, the deeper that she went into the cave. At some points, she was coughing and choking on the smell of it. It smelled thickly of tar and garbage, and the thought of that seemed only to discourage her ability to breathe. It smelled almost toxic, and in fact, the moment the thought came to mind, she realized that it was. She was becoming more and more light-headed with every step, and she could feel her limbs shaking with the effort to stay upright. Thinking quickly, she twisted, whipping one of the Wonder Orbs from her carry bag and holding it out to the thick smog that was steadily choking the life from her body. It shone like the sun, blasting the area with a flash of light. The smog dispelled almost as quickly as it had come, the orb seeming to absorb all of it into its own, glassy surface. The orb glowed a moment more, and shattered, leaving only the clear air and an unwanted guest behind it.
Skye hissed, flattening her ears at the giant Weezing before her. With the thick, gaseous poison clouding her vision and clogging up her sense of smell, she hadn't even realized him to be there. But he certainly was now, and it was strongly evident that he seemed to be a little more than aggressive. It inhaled sharply, spitting out a series of Sludge Bombs at the Eevee before it.
Skye darted backward, trying to escape the exploding balls of poison that erupted at her heels. She kicked backward at the Weezing, sending a fluffy of shimmering stars back in his direction. They struck his rough, violet skin, but did little more than irritate him. He inhaled again, this time drawing more air with every passing moment. She could sense that he was preparing a much stronger attack, only angered by her retaliation. She had to do something, if she wanted to avoid becoming poisoned by whatever he had planned for her.
Lifting herself onto her hind paws, she inhaled sharply and slammed her forepaws into the earth. The deadly mixture of smog and smoke that spilled from the Weezing's throat was quickly shot back into its face, washed away by the powerful Hydro Pump that Skye forced upon it. The torrent of water seemed to do some damage, unlike the Swift attack before it.
The Weezing rushed forward as the water fell away, tackling Skye roughly to the muddy cave floor. His huge body was just small enough to fit into the tight passages, but he was considerably heavier than she'd expected of a Pokemon made from gas. It was probably due to all of the heavy, sludge-like toxins inside of it. She scrambled to her paws, struggling to get a grip on the thick mixture of mud and slime that now clung to everything around them. She lashed her tail, sending droplets of poison flying in every direction. "Stay back!" she hissed, her dark eyes narrowed threateningly as she lunged forward with a rough Take Down. The Weezing bounced back a little, and she kept up the barrage of attacks, switching to Tackle to preserve her energy. Using its heavy body, it slammed back into her, knocking her easily aside once more.
Sharp leaves materialized, formed of glowing aura and whipping around them like a whirlwind. The miniature storm was fairly strong, and she could barely hear past the sound of the rushing gale.
The Weezing only roared in response, splattering her face and fur with sludge. She gagged on the stench of it, disgusted. If he wouldn't listen, she'd just have to make him. She didn't have time to mess around with a windbag like this! Streams of brilliant flames spilled from her throat, leaking out around her sharp little teeth and letting the burning, sparkling embers to fall to the mud below. Her eyes glowed a brilliant gold in the reflection o the flames, and her markings shone bright along with it. The Weezing seemed nervous now, backing away from the sight of the fire that grew before it. Then, without warning, Skye stepped forward, snarling and unleashing little tongues of flame as she did so. The Weezing roared once more, and Skye didn't hesitate to take the advantage. She engulfed the narrow tunnel in a sea of flames, burying the pair of them both in the severe heat of it all. Within moments, she heard something explode. The sound was literally deafening, for she heard nothing after that. The tunnel gave way around them, and she remembered nothing else about it, until she found herself lying in total darkness.
She coughed, the dust and smoke still clearing from the air around her. Her body ached, and she knew she'd end up with some severe bruising, at the very least. Her front paw was twisted a little, and the swelling made it difficult to stand on. The thick sludge had dried into her fur, painting her almost as black as the darkness that surrounded her. Her ears were ringing, but she realized that she could hear again. It was more likely than not due to hitting her head, but she didn't really have the time to worry about it.
Focusing her strength, she drew a little more flame to her advantage, holding it more securely between her jaws. After all, she'd already blown up any toxic fumes left standing, so there was little point in using caution, now. The glow of the flames gave her a little light to see by, and from what she could tell, she'd blown a hole straight through the floor of the tunnel above. She was in the deepest part of the caves, now, so far down that she couldn't even tell where the hole above really ended. It was just so dark...
Her ears twitched the sound of a low growl catching her ears. She growled back in response, narrowing her eyes as she searched for the owner of the voice. When a Poochyena stepped forward, she found herself rather surprised. She hadn't expected to find his kind anywhere near this far into the cave system; generally Poochyena were surface-dwelling Pokemon. The canine, too, stopped growling, and both Pokemon stared rather blankly at each other.
"What're you doing down here?" she questioned rather rudely, her voice giving away her surprise. Skye supposed that they didn't get a lot of visitors this far into the cave.
"Standing, what's it look like?" Skye replied rather dryly, keeping her ears flat against her head. The other Pokemon didn't seem terribly impressed by the response, merely arching an eyebrow at her.
"What's that supposed to mean? Can't you stay on your side of the border, you freak?!" the Poochyena snapped back, glaring at Skye. That was a little confusing. It was clear that Skye was being mistaken for someone else, but she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to correct the Dark-type. Depending on who the Poochyena thought she was, she might be able to use this to her advantage.
"I don't remember this being yours. After all, what good is a border if you can't defend it?" the Eevee pressed smoothly, trying to engage her new companion in conversation. She needed to know more.
"You and your brothers think you own everything, don't you?! she snarled back. Skye could already see the aura beginning to swirl around the Poochyena's jaws. A well-placed Bite or Crunch attack would do a lot of damage, if she didn't backtrack a little bit. The Poochyena thought she was with The Black Brothers, if that was any indication. Regardless, she certainly wasn't friends with them. This was good; she could use it to her advantage.
"I'm not one of The Black Brothers. I'm sorry to have played that card, but I'm not sure who's who, down here." amended the Eevee calmly, hoping to come across as a mixture of apologetic and soothing. "I'm Skye. The Brothers kidnapped a friend of mine," she continued, explaining a little more as to why she'd tricked the Poochyena. She pricked her long ears forward, and she caught the expression of surprise on the Poochyena's face, the Pokemon's gaze trailing across what she now recognized to be anything but the features of another Poochyena.
The canine, however, seemed only to be more confused by the explanation. "Black Brothers? I don't know who they are, but I thought you were a part of the Sharpfangs. They're a rival pack to mine. It's pretty clear that you're not one of them, Little Fox. You're still on our land, though, so you'd best have a better explanation for what's going on," warned the older female, flattening her notched ears. Thin bite scars traced a lot of her pelt, as though she'd been through a lot of fights before.
Skye wasn't terribly sure how she'd match up against someone with that much experience, if it came right down to fighting, but she knew that she'd fought through worse before. All the same, she couldn't help but cringe at the nickname. She'd given her name, why did the Poochyena have to bother with "Little Fox?" "A group called The Black Brothers passed along a ransom note. I need to meet them before dawn, or they'll murder my friend. I ran into a Weezing in the upper tunnels, and the battle caused an explosion. The next thing I knew, I was down here.... I didn't expect to find Poochyena packs this far underground, so I figured that it might be best to play along and see if you knew anything about the Pokemon that took her."
The Poochyena frowned. "That would explain the cave-in earlier. You'll have to amend for that, at some point, but your story checks out," she decided roughly. "As for depth, we're in the deeper part of the canyons; there's a lot of ways out to the open air, from here. You blocked off one of them with your little explosion, but there's still plenty of ways for us to get out. I just hope that we won't deal with more flooding, thanks to you. The storm's just been getting worse and worse all night."
Skye nodded, her mouth twisted into a frustrated grimace. "I'll do my best to help, later. I need to get my friend back, first, before it's too late," she reasoned, her words becoming more hurried as she realized that she didn't know how much time she had left. Up until the explosion, she'd been keeping at least a decent sense of time. She didn't know for how long she'd been unconscious, though... She just hoped she wasn't too late already. "You said you've never heard of The Black Brothers? Have you at least noticed anything unusual, lately?"
The Poochyena paused, and waited a moment before nodding in response. "The lower tunnels. There were some odd scent markings around the entrance. Normally they flood with such heavy rainfall, but they've been dry as a bone so far. Even more so than right here. The elders think it might be because of a cave-in, blocking out the water flow, but they've forbidden us to go down there. It might be unstable. These... Black Brothers wouldn't know about the danger, so they might have gone looking for a place dry and out of the way. If you're going there, though, I hope you've got a set of gills on you."
The sleek Eevee frowned a little, shifting to try and get rid of the sticky, heavy feeling that she felt from her mud-caked fur. "That sounds like my best bet. How do I get there?" Her companion simply gestured down the tunnel ahead. "It's like five minutes away, isn't it?" A nod. "Thanks...?"
"Call me Sev. Good luck finding your friend." There was a certain dryness in her voice, as though she wasn't entirely sincere in her wishes. Skye didn't mind, terribly. It was better than being bitten.
Smiling awkwardly, she dipped her head politely and tore off down the path toward the lower tunnels. She was at a dead sprint, focusing on moving as quickly as possible. The sooner she could find Beth's daughter, the better. She hoped that the girl wasn't too frightened. She wasn't that great with kids. Dealing with children was probably the least of her problems, at the moment, though.
Despite how fast she actually was, it seemed to take forever before she finally caught wind of the strange scents that Sev had mentioned. She recognized it, though only vaguely. Ghost-types. In this case, she was pretty sure it was Banette. Maybe two or three of them, though she couldn't say for sure. She was surprised that Sev hadn't known what they were, but it was hard to say whether or not she ever really ventured into the same parts of the caves as them... or even if these particular Banette were from the area. Clearly they weren't, if they were choosing to hang about in here. She remembered Sev's warning about flash floods and swallowed nervously. The creaking sounds from within the rock were rather... ominous. There was a lot of strain on these tunnels.
She moved on, trying to force the thoughts of floods and cave-ins from her mind. It wouldn't do anyone any good for her to die down here, but... Beth's daughter was in just as much danger. If she didn't try, the Happiny was guaranteed not to last the coming morning. 'But even if I do, she might still be in for trouble...'
The violet-furred Eevee sighed quietly, her breath appearing in a puff of steam. The temperature was steadily dropping, and for once she felt glad for the thick layer of mud and tar that clung to her fur. It had dried and hardened into a thick shell, scorched by the heat of the fire in the explosion. It wasn't that nice to have, but at least it helped to keep the chill away. A miniature set of warm, muddy armor.
The scent of the Banette grew stronger, though still cloaked by the smell of the musty, stale air. What she wasn't expecting was to be snatched from the ground, and held aloft several feet above the ground. She twisted and squirmed, staring up at the invisible hand that had grasped her by the tail. It hurt a little, and she could feel her eyes watering instinctively, but she ignored it, fire still sparking around the edges of her mouth. A feeling of immobility fell over her, her limbs stiffening. The fire died in her throat, and she realized that she'd just been Cursed.
"Yoooou are not Beth," hissed the voice angrily, a pair of crimson eyes glowing from the shadows. At least she'd found The Black Brothers.
After a few minutes, she was trussed up in ropes, though the Curse still remained, occasionally restricting her movement and breathing. The two brothers surrounded her, casually discussing exactly what to do with her. Her gear lay discarded on the ground, the two brothers already having decided that she carried nothing of great value. The mud kept her collar from view, thankfully. That would have been a pain to get back.
Their voices were scratchy and irritating on her ears, and all the more annoying as they seemed to be happily discussing the details of her imminent demise. The Eevee was more focused on the little Happiny, anyway. She looked very confused, and even more frightened. Skye offered a comforting smile, but the child seemed not to really notice.
The time was drawing closer; she could tell from the way that the Banette were talking. They'd switched languages, now. It was probably some sort of code; she didn't recognize it from any of her studies. Even so, it wasn't worth the time to listen. She had to figure out a way of escaping. With The Black Brothers having turned their backs, she focused instead on breathing faint tongues of fire and ice on the ropes that bound her to the boulder behind her. The constant burning and freezing was weakening them quickly, and she could feel them loosen a little as she struggled against their fraying surface.
The eldest Banette turned, staring long and hard at Skye, who had hurriedly stopped her efforts to break free. "Alright, pet. Your fate's been chosen. You will die with the child you came to rescue." His voice was icy cold, but the thick accent from whatever language he'd spoken seemed to remain. It made his words almost comical to listen to. She flicked an ear boredly. "Don't scoff at me, unless... yes, I think so. Brother, it's time we gave our guest the proper welcome." There was something very cruel about the way that they smiled, each in unison with the other, and each very much malicious in their intent.
She struggled a little, not yet able to break free of the ropes and the Curse combined. Her dark eyes went wide as the Banette raised his arms to his throat, pressing slightly. Within a moment, she was showered in a ghostly, searing flame. While there wasn't much of it, it was definitely of an intensity that was hard to match. The whole purpose of it was to burn, and burn it did. She screamed, thrashing against her bonds until she suddenly felt them snap around her.
The lithe Eevee leaped free, springing directly into the face of the nearest Banette with a Bite, latching onto his shoulder with a set of small, sharp teeth. He screeched, slashing up at her with his ghostly arm, but she'd already leaped free of his grasp.
A burst of flames erupted from Skye's jaws, the Fire Blast attack filling the room with swirls of heat and smoke. The nearest Banette was knocked easily aside, but the older one remained almost entirely intact. He'd not wasted his energy with the Curse or the Will-O-Wisp, still fresh into the battle.
Skye knew that her strength would fail her pretty quickly, considering how long she'd been cursed for, and all of the attacks she'd suffered through so far. She had to make this fight as short as possible, and get the Happiny out of there just moments after. She shot off a Hydro Pump, the attack narrowly missing the agile Ghost-type and hitting the wall behind him, instead. She kept it up, continuing to chase the Banette with a torrent of streaming water. The once dry room was quickly soaked through, the mud and slime seeming to build up around her paws.
She ignored it, using Quick Attack to keep up with the speedy opponent. She made use of an Air Slash, trying to knock the Banette out of the air. In return, she was met with a Faint Attack, shoving her roughly into the rocky surface of the wall beside her. She was surprised to see water spurt out from the wall, leaving faint trickles of liquid falling down the surface of the rock. It was then that she remembered the warning about floods. She didn't have to beat The Brothers; she could let the cave do the fighting for her!
Twisting around, she darted toward her discarded gear, snatching up the fallen satchel and tearing out one of the orbs. There was a flash of light, and both Banette ( as well as a the Happiny in the corner ) were quickly immobilized. She took advantage of the situation, running toward the child and leaping straight over her head. A Last Resort hit the wall hard, the glowing aura around Skye's small frame erupting into bursts of brilliant light.
The wall gave way under pressure, caught between the force of her attack and the water behind it. Water surged around them, and Skye scrambled to get a grip on the Happiny child behind her. She felt her slip slightly, only to be forced roughly into her by another eruption of water. The flash flood was powerful, and Skye found herself caught underwater by it more than once. It wasn't until the current slowed that she was finally able to reach the surface, shoving the Happiny upward ahead of her. She was gasping for breath, tears and water streaming down her face. Luckily, she didn't seem to be hurt any. The Brothers were nowhere in sight, but unfortunately her gear had gone with it, only one little orb remaining as it floated downstream toward them.
She touched it with a dark, soggy paw, and the final burst of light seemed to draw all the moisture from the air. A Drought Orb. The floodwater receded from around them, leaving both Skye and Beth's daughter sitting alone in the darkness. A familiar face stood nearby, her fur dark and spiky from having been caught in the flood. The glare was unmistakeable.
Oops.
It was long past noon by the time that Sev and her pack escorted them out of the cave systems, Beth's daughter clinging tight to Skye's shoulders as she slept. She'd had to help them get rid of the blockages she'd caused, and help repair some of the flood damage, but it hadn't taken too long. Still, she was pretty tired, and the pack didn't have much in the way of healers. She'd only been granted enough berries to deal with the worst of her burns, and the pads of her paws were still raw from trying to keep her grip on the rocky cave floor during the worst of the flood.
The Black Brothers had been found unconscious, and the pack had been most displeased to find them in their own territory. While they could deal with Skye's presence for a short time, the pair of Banette had been most unwelcome around the young Poochyena puppies that the pack had produced. They were very quickly escorted out along with Skye herself.
She'd never been happier to be greeted by a rainstorm. The faint light of dawn barely visible through the pouring downfall, she dug underneath her Prism Ruff for the team badge that she'd borrowed from her mother's room. The reflection of her own face was soft and blurry from the poor light, and it seemed coated in a faint layer of dirt. She smiled a little, letting the energy of it flash and steal away their whole group. The Poochyena pack hovered around the cave entrance, a little confused as to how their charges had vanished into thin air.
