Pokemon Mystery Dungeon RP

[sailing101]

Leo knew to expect an attack like Wood hammer. A Smeagle's paw print was it's mark of pride, a sign of acceptance. However, this one was different. Leo could tell it had been self applyed, and that's why he chose that spot. By attacking Reed's Pride, he had pushed the smearlge into the exact state Leo wanted. Angry opponenets hit hard, and don't aim. By the time the Wood Hammer had passed through the space Leo had occupied, his own momentum had carried him to safety.

What Leo didn't expect was for Reed to run.

Leo immideatly gave chace. His injured paw protested, but it only hurt; it wasn't broken, and right now, Leo needed to focus on catching His opponent. So he blocked out the pain, and each step hurt a little less. As he ran, Leo took the apple from the small pocket in te mobile scarf, and took a few bites. I hate to eat and run, he thought to himself, but I'll need to focus, and being hungry from using the mobile scarf earlier isn't going to help.

He rounded a corner to see Reed ducking into a crack in the wall. Being smaller, Leo easly followed the smeargle through. When he got to the other side, Leo paused for a moment at the room's scale. He then quickly shook himself out of it when he saw Reed climbing the stairs.

Leo ran after, and leaped into the air with a Faint Attack. He then landed in front of Reed, breathing heavilly from the run.

"Do you know why I am part of Team Shadow Tag?" He asked, "It's because we never let any villian escape, and I don't even need the actual Shadow Tag ability for that."

[TalonCat]

Reed growled, his momentary peace disturbed. This growl, however, was quickly cut off. The Smeargle shifted on his feet, then dismissively waved his tail towards the top of the stairs.

 

"I found a way out."

 

You ought to be glad I didn't run up and destroy the stairs.

 

He slipped around the Meowth, doing his absolute best to avoid pushing him aside (and into the falls on the sides of the stairs) as he did so. After walking a few steps higher, he added,

 

"I know this place. I couldn't recognize it from the cave we woke up in, but I've been here before."

 

He knew that was, in part, a lie. He'd heard stories of the terrifying Magmaworld, the world of punishment. They were nursery stories in his hometown meant to scare the tiny Smeargles into submission, but nonetheless the elders always had seemed filled with some sort of wonder in telling them. Yes, the Magmaworld, the place where even Kyogre could not save you. Achelous, Kyogre's greatest acolyte, was the only Pokemon who had ever escaped the Magmaworld's clutches; the Gyarados summoned his strength, and with the power of Kyogre he swam straight through the cavern's main lava flow, which turned his skin red. Achelous then had to face off with Groudon himself - the staircase led to Groudon's own bedroom - who he swiftly dispatched with a mighty Hydro Pump.

 

Reed could see that the place had really let itself go, but based on those directions it was most definitely the same place. He climbed up a few more steps, affecting a cool and unwary demeanor though he didn't trust the Meowth as far as he could throw him (which he suspected was at least somewhat far, considering his arms' ability). At any other time and circumstance, he would have fought the Meowth willingly; at this time and circumstance, he preferred to get out of the deep cavern (and perhaps face off against Groudon).

 

"If you don't mind dropping that label of criminal, I could help the lot of you out." Reed added with a hint of a laugh, "I was trying to get away from you guys so I could find a way out. I might be a Seadra's spike but I'm not a liar. Although I don't mind if you think I am, Sheriff."

 

He grinned, still not turning around to look at the Meowth as he spoke,

 

"Plenty of Pokemon in the world, a few of them have got to hate me!"

 

--------------------

 

Tiramisu's tail waved as she considered this.

 

"Wouldn't that take a little while? I'm not sure how strong Signal Beam is - but you know the move, so I'll trust you on it." (It was a little bit of a funny thought, imagining little Spinaraks running around the forests, chopping down trees with Signal Beam.)

 

The Meowth moved back a few paces, and surveyed the wall and Bree. Then she nodded.

 

"Yeah, that should work! You sure you don't want me to help out? Or- nah, just go ahead."

[sailing101]

"Yess, well, your problem is that you tend to make most of them hate you." Leo replied. He sat down on the steps, and continued, "I find it hard to belive that you've been here before. You don't look like you can swim through lava."

Leo sighed. Reed's boasting was becoming more exausting than anything else.

"I've heard the stories too. Landorus called this place the worlds center, and I have to admit, the similarities are striking. Perhaps lhe stories were inspired by this place." He turned to reed and continued. "What are you going to do if Groudon really is at the top of these stairs? If you manage to tick him off, He wont even have to battle you. He'd probably just step on you and that would be the end of it."

Leo sighed again. "Tell me, last time you were here, was it in a dream?"

[TalonCat]

"It's pretty obvious the place isn't what it used to be."

 

Reed laughed,

 

"That doesn't exactly look like the 'main flow of lava' - it's been that way for a little while."

 

He didn't stop climbing the stairs - he talked over his shoulder. With a shrug, he replied,

 

"I'll fight him. I wish I had the chance to relearn Sketch beforehand, but I'll still fight him, if he's somehow there."

 

The Smeargle paused, looking around,

 

"Like I said, this place isn't what it used to be. I don't think any Legendary Pokemon like Groudon would be hanging around this dump anymore. Legendaries like all the pomp and impressive crap," Reed grumbled, "What would the high and almighty Lord of the Earth be doing above a cave with a few drips of lava? Besides, the Legendaries ran away a long time ago."

 

The dog-like thing continued his ascent, his footsteps confident now. Annoyance blatantly seeped into his voice as he added,

 

"What's with you and dreams? I don't have dreams, I don't do things or go places in dreams; I eat dreams. I make people sleep and I eat dreams." With some pride in his voice, Reed laughed, "Actually, I'm a bit of an insomniac myself - aside from being knocked out or... what the world that thing that got us here was, I need to use Rest to even get to sleep."

 

The end of the stairs was in sight. The Smeargle swiped his tail across the steps below him as he climbed the last of the few stairs, its dark purple gleam melting in perfectly with the surrounding reds and browns. At the top of the stairs, he painted a rounded rectangle, and filled it in. The result was a curving reed.

 

"Can't say I wasn't here next time. And really, I should have done it last time - unfortunately Groudon was missing at the time and I was a little too young to know he'd probably never come back."

[octopi]

((Well, Shadow Ball(an 80 power special attack) is able to destroy part of a bridge in the latest anime opening...Signal beam is 75 power and Bree's Sp.Atk is pretty massive. It should be possible! Gosh, I probably worry too much about this stuff.))

 

Bree frowned and stared at the wall again. "Hmm...I don't know. I've been training for a while, but, well, I've never really tried to blow up a wall. Maybe shadow ball then? Ah, I'll just try it...!" She uncrossed her arms and threw them in front of her. She squinted and adjusted her aim slightly, then fired a rainbow-colored beam toward the wall. It hit straight on, but the wall wasn't giving. She frowned and braced herself, then concentrated all her power into it. For a moment, the beam nearly doubled in size before Bree lost her balance and tumbled over backward, landing on her back. "I'm alright!" She yelled, waving one of her arms in the air. "Did that do it?"

[sailing101]

"It's to do with what Landorus said about Darkrai" Leo replied.

"He said that the other legendaries had been attacked by Darkrai. that's why he hid down here." Leo started Climbing after Reed. "Darkrai is one of two pokemon with power over dreams, His is the power to bring nightmares that never end. I've even heard talk that he can suposedly manipulate his victims, clouding their sense of judgement."

 

Leo stepped in front of Reed once more, and looked the Pokemon in the eye. "That's why I need to know If you've had any nightmares lately. I think our being transported to that cave had something to do with Darkrai."

 

Leo moved to block Reed's path. "I can't let you go on your own," he said, "not yet. If you get into any trouble, I won't be able to save you." Leo then stepped back. "I also can't leave the others behind. If Allen was here, I'd send him to go with you. But I'm just one Pokemon. I can't be everywhere at once."

Leo stood against the wall leaving room for Reed to pass. "I'm going back for the others," he said, "try not to get killed, woud you?"

[TalonCat]

Reed put a paw on his hip and considered what the Meowth had said about Darkrai. He was quiet for a noticeable while, then replied,

 

"Well, like I said, I don't sleep much."

 

The Smeargle grinned,

 

"I don't need any guarding! Honestly, Sheriff, you're making me think you don't hate me as much as you let on in front of the others back there."

 

His back paw stepped towards the doorway. The cream-colored, dog-like thing turned towards the lit hallway, and almost walked through it without so much as a "Bye, Sheriff" when suddenly a screeching roar pierced through the caverns. The roar echoed like there were no walls at all - it passed through everything like a knife would through butter. Reed's paws quickly shot to his ears, but to no avail - the screeching noise still shrieked in his ears. After a few moments, it was cut off. The outburst of sound clearly winded him, but this he tried not to let sink into his demeanor as he motioned and yelled to the Sheriff,

 

"Go chill with the stupid monkey! If he wakes up and doesn't see you there after all that 'never leaving anyone behind' talk he'll probably go Mankey- ."

 

With a magnificent smirk and brandishing of his tail, Reed left the room, shouting back,

 

"Don't bother with me - I can't die!"

 

----------------------

 

The blast echoed rather disproportionately, through the small space the two Pokemon were in; and for good reason, Tiramisu saw as she tentatively wove her way through the clearing smoke to check for lava. Behind the wall was a dimly lit, extremely blue cavern. Absolutely massive and most certainly not fit for common travel (but still with the possibility of travel via a tiny bridge over the looming edge of the pit in the middle of the cave), the cavern's walls echoed with the tinkling sound of Signal Beam. A few rocks disturbed the full resonance as they cracked upon contact with the sides of the cliffs and slowly... slowly.... slowly fell to the bottom, the sound of their splitting hardly audible. If Tiramisu had jumped at the blast (which, in fact, she did), she decidedly flew away from the edge upon hearing this sound, even if she were separated from the cavern via the remains of the wall.

 

"Y-yeah! Yeah, it worked... Holy crap."

 

The Meowth shakily pointed her tail at the jagged hole,

 

"Never doubting the power of Signal Beam again."

 

She laughed nervously, he previous wondering feeling a bit sinister,

 

"If you're ever with me and we run into a Spinarak, remind me not to piss it off..."

 

It was then that the penetrating roar came to Bree and Tiramisu's part of the cave. Tiramisu curled into a ball, paws and tail covering her ears. She essentially acted in the same way any other Pokemon with sensitive ears would had a loud noise came about in their area. Likewise, it was no surprise (or at least would be no surprise to those who knew her) that she spluttered out,

 

"What the- Crap - What just h-appened!?"

 

---------------

 

In the upper level of the cave, quite a few Pokemon disappeared. At the very least, a Zoroark in the guise of a Mienshao was left. At the moment, there was no known reason for this. Nonetheless, there would be a known reason in the relatively near future - and there could have been a known or implied reason for those who were knowledgeable on the subject of the reason.

 

As it was, many Pokemon ended up around the countryside near the beaches of fine Magikizzle. They likely returned to their normal lives, but in terms of this particular incidence they had left the story and were no longer of great importance.

 

(( @Fractional Pi Day: Yeah, I rarely doubt the power of moves anymore. If Scratch is an amazing attack on PMD and can take down Legendaries, anything can be as powerful as you make it!~ ))

[PureDark006]

"Been through here before."

"Can't even find your way in a cave."

"Go left."

"Really, we're supposed to live in caves."

"Where now?"

"How about, out of here?"

"I wasn't talking to you."

"Keep going forward."

"All right."

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"This could easily take the first place if I had a "Worst Day Ever" list," Zagan thought grumpily, trotting down a rocky hallway.

 

First there was the weird cave the group had woken up in. He still didn't know how they got there.

Second was whatever those Meowths and Smeargle did. Lava had started flowing from a nearby wall, and a giant crack appeared in the ground. He hadn't waited to see what all the other Pokemon were going to do, and had put Question in his mane to run more easily and get out of there.

The third was more bad luck than anything, and he thanked Arceus his friends hadn't been there to see how he had gotten distracted by a sudden scream, turning his head to see who was in danger, forgetting for a second that he was still using Agility and therefore was faster than normal. He had ran straight into a wall, and his head was still hurting from that hit.

So, fourth: he had been momentarily dizzy and had wandered away from all the other Pokemon. At least the cub in his mane hadn't gotten hurt from that.

And last but not least, point number five, which included the blood-chilling roar that had made him nearly jump out of his skin (if that were actually possible), and Question's disappearance. Zagan was pretty sure the cub had Teleported or been Teleported away; he was feeling his weight one second, and nothing the very next one.

 

He groaned and massaged his forehead with a clawed paw. He had been looking for the cub to no avail, had gotten lost, was alone, in a very bad mood, with a headache, and in dire need of a bath or something that could serve to get the soot that had clung to him when he hit the wall out of his fur. How was there so much of it was beyond him.

 

"I hate this place," he grumbled, continuing his attempts to find an exit of some sort.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Requiem landed, wanting to rest for a bit. He had been searching for the Meowth and the Reuniclus, but hadn't found them. Where were they? He had told the others he'd find them and bring them back, and he was following the directions the voice was giving him, but there was no trace of them yet. He really hoped to find them soon, he didn't want to listen to Rhapsody anymore...

 

A sudden roar made him flinch, driving the voices away. And as abruptly as it started, it stopped, as if the owner had been interrupted. What had happened? Had that been the Landorus?

 

"Follow it."

 

He gulped. He really didn't want to, but if the voice said so, then it had to be a good thing. Right? Maybe the female Meowth was there. Yeah, that must be it. They must have found the others, and the Landorus must have gotten angry again. It hadn't sounded like the yells from before, though... maybe a friend of his? Another Landorus? That must be it then.

 

Requiem flew again, making his way towards the source of the roar. The voice had told him to go, so he'd go. And he better hurry, too, before Rhapsody started talking again.

[sailing101]

"I honestly don't care anymore," Leo replied. He was already slipping through the crack tha lead into the room. That's when the Roar came. Leo's fur stood on end, and it felt like needles were being driven into his ears. He curled into a ball, and stayed that way untill the scream was over. Anything else Reed might have said went unheard, as Leo's ears were still ringing. Still, once he could move again he was off. I've gotta get back to the others, He thought to himself, Whatever that was, it can not have been good.

Eventually, he returned to where he had left Rennissance, Cobalt, and Landorus. He slid to a halt, briefly confused. "You havn't gone to look for the others yet?" He asked.

"Nevermind," he said withought waiting for an answer. "Did you hear that roar? That can not be a good sign, we need to find the others, and get out of here."

[octopi]

Bree stared up at the blue light spilling in from the newly revealed cavern for a moment, then propped herself back up and levitated into the air again. "Whoa. Why s'it so blue?" She approached the edge as well, clutching one side of the wall and peering down into the pit. "I don't know...it doesn't seem to be a way out. But if we want to go explore we can always - " Suddenly a roar echoed through the cave and Bree nearly fell forward into the huge blue pit. Luckily, she was still clutching the wall, and she carefully swung herself back in front of Tiramisu. " - always use Telekinesis, as a safety thing," she finished, her voice squeaking. "Oh...what was...?"

[Techno_Elf]

Cobalt's ears were still ringing from the Roar, when Leo walked in and said something she couldn't hear. Even Renaissance's nine tails couldn't completely block the sound. Rena poked her head out blearily from under the fur, and shook her head. "I agree. Let's go."

[TalonCat]

Landorus had a nightmare.

 

It was the usual: seeing the other members of his trio being taken away and the like. However, something was ever so slightly off about it this time. The king of fields and mediator of the sky sensed a terrible, dark presence, just at the edge of his mind as he dreamed, as if something horrifying were just within his peripheral vision, but no matter how he turned he would never see it. Shadows were deeper, the dream more defined as if it were a message and not a repetition of past events. Suddenly the figures he'd always thought were whispering about the walls of that terrible, terrible series of caves that he'd caged himself in felt real and tangible. He could hear them. He could hear them, and they resolved themselves into a single voice - if only he could make out the words!

 

Suddenly, an ear-splitting (or in this case, dream-splitting) roar crashed through his mind - and he knew the voice. That cry he had heard before; that cry, though before a solemnly triumphant tone, had sent him down here by his own accord. That cry made all of the years below worthless.

 

To Landorus, the last bastion had fallen. A cry that cut through even the Earth's mighty crust, down to the World's Center? That meant only one option remained: run. Run and never turn back. The Legendary would have verbally abused himself had it not been for his upbringing and his utter hopelessness. The sudden appearance of a group of Pokemon in this place - where Groudon had long ago met his doom like Tornadus and Thundurus had? The cave had long been sealed off. (Or had it? He wondered at the amount of time he'd been trapped below.)

 

Yes, with Palkia under Darkrai's control, Darkrai would be unstoppable.

 

Landorus unwillingly submitted himself to the waking world, his eyes slowly opening to the dull warmth of the lava-filled dungeon. It was only then that a thought caught in his mind. Who had put him to sleep? Was it perhaps... a nightmare that he'd had? But no, the other Pokemon around him seemed bewildered enough to warrant having had a roar slice through their hearing. The grand Legend quietly murmured,

 

"Palkia has fallen."

 

A thought still threatened to send him into a rage - that insolent Pokemon, and him being sent into such a fitful sleep just before this... It had been obvious the Smeargle had used Yawn, but such a dark and vivid nightmare! Surely... Surely Darkrai could not be in two places at once? Or perhaps Darkrai had intended to collect him, and Palkia had interceded! Oh, that crafty Darkrai - he would tear him to pieces until he were the mere stuff of dreams! That Darkrai - that Darkrai!

 

But of course, Landorus had to be very careful now. If that had been Darkrai - if it had been - then he could trust no one. He could leave no trace of suspicion on his face, and betray no anger. A look of resignation covered his face as he continued his murmured, more towards the Meowth he'd trusted before,

 

"I will allow you to gather your friends, then I will show them the way out."

 

The giant orange monkey turned his head about, scoping out the cavern he was in to gain his bearings. Oh yes, he'd show them the way out.

 

"Meowth, I suspect you must only need gather the Smeargle; the others have gone in the direction I will be leading you."

 

(Naturally he did not know that the Hydreigon had gone a completely different way. Nor did he care, because if only that Darkrai would be destroyed in the wreckage he could care less.)

 

-----------------------------------

 

Reed turned the corner flamboyantly, only to find himself face to face with...

 

That same pile of rocks that faced him just a while ago, before they'd fallen down the Fissure he'd made.

 

There goes Groudon then.

 

He huffed a somewhat disappointed sigh, readied a fist, and got to punching. He'd bragged about finding a way out of the cave; by the code of honor, he felt it meant finding a way out of the cave for everybody. Not that he followed that code terribly strictly. It was just that above his quarreling with the Ninetales he'd heard a baby Pokemon talking about how it couldn't find its mom, and, well... Sheriff could probably actually arrest him for leaving a child behind to starve and all that. As he thought all of this, rocks were crunching at the contact with his fist, but not quite as satisfyingly as he'd wanted. His good arm - his left arm, which he'd been clutching - hurt like, well, the Magmaworld, and his right arm was more of the arm he used for absolutely nothing at all. Not to mention the strain on his back wasn't doing kind things to those wonderful scratches Sheriff had kindly left on it. Finding an appropriate place to scale to the top of the rock pile (not a large pile, but a difficult pile for acoustics), Reed attempted to yell into the main cavern,

 

"Hey! Anyone in there want to stop lying on their Mareep cushions and help out here? I found a way out but I'm a bit torn up at the moment so get up if you want to get out!"

 

----------------------------

 

Tiramisu shook her head vigorously,

 

"I have no freaking clue. Let's, um..."

 

The Meowth shuffled her paws as she glanced into the blue cavern. (Blue was her absolute favorite color, and the cavern seemed much cooler than the stupid magma world around her.) Her shone as if she'd found a jewel, but her feet seemed as if they'd recently stepped on glass and didn't particularly want to attempt this "walking" thing again any time soon.

 

"Should we...?"

 

She made an annoyed noise, and lashed her tail back and forth as her eyes fought with ambivalence. Her voice sped up very gradually as she mumbled,

 

"Rrrgh, I don't know... I don't think we should leave the others and the gangway - crossing - thing! - looks really dangerous but it's really coolandIreallyhavenoideawhatI'mdoing-!"

 

Tiramisu settled herself down into an uncomfortable pile of fur, pressing herself down to as close to her paws as was possible.

 

"Sorry. Sorry... I'm, um, getting kind of uncomfortable or... something? This is a terrible day, a terrible, terrible, crappy day."

[sailing101]

That same pile of rocks that faced him just a while ago, before they'd fallen down the Fissure he'd made.

((So, by that do you mean the room where we sterted, and where Zagan still is?))

 

Leo shook his head sadly. "The Smeargle is beyond any means of seeing reason." He explained. "He has convinsed himself that he can find the way out withought any help, to the point where he has fooled himself into thinking he'd been here before." Leo sighed, and proseeded to walk in the direction that Landorus had indicated. "At least I was able to learn that there was no chance of him being manipulated by Darkrai. He never sleeps unless he is knocked unconscious." Leo paused for a moment to consider what he had just said. "Sleep depravation, I guess that would explain his irrational behavior." He resumed walking.

 

"Tornadus, Thundurus, and now Palkia." Leo repeated to himself.

"Landorus, do you know the fates of the other legendaries? Cressilia, for one; She's the only pokemon that Darkrai is said to fear, because she can free pokemon from his nightmares."

[Techno_Elf]

Renaissance got up and shook the soot off her fur. "Palkia's fallen? That's three already...yes, let's gather the rest of our group and get out of here." She turned to Landorus. "Are you sure you won't be coming with us? If we leave you down here alone, then you'll be helpless if Darkrai comes."

[octopi]

"Yeah." Bree looked across the shaky bridge, trying to see what was on the other side. "We, could, just try it," she muttered. "I can pull us up if anything happens! And maybe it's just, anyway, we don't know where the exit is so maybe it's over there." She floated to the edge of the pit again and looked down. She couldn't see anything, but she wasn't sure if that was a good thing. "I mean...! You seem to want to explore."

[TalonCat]

(( Yup, same room. ))

 

Tiramisu curled up tighter in her ball,

 

"Nnnnnng...."

 

In her mind, she tried brushing away images of her falling down that pit she'd seen, or slipping on the bridge, clinging to it in fear - of someone scolding her for what a coward she was for not going, or just staring at her as if to say they were disappointed. After what felt like a few minutes, she finally shakily stood up.

 

"O-okay, yeah we should try it."

 

The anxious Meowth pawed at her face.

 

"S-sorry - I'm fine, seriously."

 

She simply stared at the pit through the hole in the wall. It was all her eyes could focus on; the rest of the room was a blur.

 

She stared.

 

She just... stared, her legs shaking slightly.

 

Couldn't she at least do this? Tiramisu shook her head, then tentatively put a paw onto the first part of the bridge, half-closing her eyes so she couldn't see the rest of the room - only the bridge. A second paw. Next step. Again.

 

I'm doing pretty well, I guess - don't think about it, don't think about it-!

 

The Meowth winced, trying to avoid even the notion that she was anywhere other than safe ground. She knew if she let herself know that, everything would go to crap. Everything. A stumble - but this was followed by another cautious paw.

 

She was less than a fourth of the way there.

 

-------------------------

 

There is no way to convince him without making him suspicious... Confound it!

 

Landorus scraped the ground in front of himself in agitation - that Darkrai was most certainly good! And the Meowth - certainly he could tell a lie from a truth? Even if the truth had been said, how could any Pokemon such as Darkrai sleep at night knowing the wrath of Landorus would be upon him at any moment? Yes, yes - but he would sleep soon! For the moment, though, at least his servants would meet the void. Landorus shook his head, as if clearing it of an unwanted memory.

 

"No. You forget I have been in hiding for years, Meowth. Come, there is a portion of the wall that is breakable over this way - I believe it is the only way to escape this place."

 

He could hear voices from the direction they were headed. One absolutely terrified - another had an odd psychic quality. To both he figured the same thing: more casualties to Darkrai's forces.

 

"Your friend the Smeargle will have to find his own way out."

[sailing101]

Leo shook his head. "Once everyone here is safe, I'm going back in." he replied. "It's my duty as a rescue team member to put the safety of others above my own. I have to return, and not just for the Smeargle. I need to get the other Pokemon that were with us before we were separated by that idiot's fissure out of here too."

 

Eventually Leo saw a blue glow in the tunnel ahead. He quickened his pace untill he saw the source of the glow. A gaping hole in the wall that lead into the immense cavern. He stopped in awe at the sight. His mind kept saying no cave this big could exist, but his eyes said otherwise. It also took him a moment to recognize the Pokemon making her way across the bridge. The other Meowth seemed to be almost frozen with acrophobia. Leo looked to the side of the hole and saw the Reniciuls, but...

 

"Hey, wait? Where is the Hydreigon?" he asked the Reniciuls, "he was supposed to find you two."

[PureDark006]

Zagan's ears perked up; was that a voice he had heard? "It may be Question," he thought, running in that direction in all fours. His illusion was still activated, so to anyone looking, the Pokemon swiftly making his way down the sooty passages was a Mienshao.

 

He recognized the way now; turns out he had been walking in a big circle (or at least, a path resembling one), and now he was heading back towards the room where the group of Pokemon had woken up. "Q!" he called, turning the corner so fast he bounced off the wall, getting even more soot on his paws. And, as he suspected, there was someone there; but whoever it was, it was twice the size of the cub.

 

Upon realizing this, Zagan skidded to a stop, claws dragging on the ground and body leaning back as he put a halt to his momentum. Thee one standing there wasn't Question, but the Smeargle that had been with the two Meowths at the center of the incident a few minutes ago. Well, either that or another Smeargle, Zagan hadn't been that familiar with the Painter Pokemon to distinguish him from other members of his species yet.

 

"Sorry, thought you were someone else," he apologized, standing up and brushing some dirt off his fur, his Mienshao counterpart doing the same movements. A quick look around confirmed that no, Q wasn't there. "Where is he?" he thought, tch'ing.

[octopi]

When Tiramisu stepped onto the bridge, Bree flinched, then hurried forward and floated after the meowth. She wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to attempt carrying her across using Telekinesis, so she settled for staying behind her.

 

A voice floated into the blue cavern from the direction they came in. Bree turned and the group of other pokemon filed into the cave, the other meowth at the lead.

 

"Hey, wait? Where is the Hydreigon? He was supposed to find you two."

 

"Tiramisu?" She whimpered, before composing herself and addressing the other meowth. "He's...we haven't seen him. Isn't he still there with you guys?" She glimpsed Landorus in the group behind the meowth and was slightly disappointed that her legendary-free time was cut short, even if it was safer travelling with the group.

[TalonCat]

Reed tapped his foot, sighing dramatically.

 

"I have no idea who this Q dude is, but if you don't mind-" Here the Smeargle swept his tail pointed through the small hole in the pile of rock through which he assumed the Mienshao could see him, "- Actually doing what I said and helping out a little, then that really would be absolutely wonderful. You really have no clue how much I need a nap right now - whatever you're doing can wait for later."

 

------------------

 

One over the pit! Oh, how convenient - but now another floated easily over to the one on the narrow bridge! Darkrai's minions, how stupid they were to fall into such a trap... It almost seemed unlikely that they were. After all, what right-minded evil mastermind would choose such naive Pokemon to serve him? Landorus' plans were brought to a pause at this, before his mind lashed out at him, screaming: No, that is exactly what would be expected!

 

With a lash of his mighty tail, Landorus addressed the group loudly:

 

"The path those two are on is the correct one. On the other side of this pit is an escape from this cavern - however, it must be obvious to you all we must pass extremely carefully... If any one were to fall, it would be extremely unpleasant, as there is a near-bottomless-"

 

The Legendary was cut off abruptly by a yell from a little ways down the bridge.

 

"SHUT-UP-SHUT-UP-SHUT-UP!"

 

The female Meowth there before was now clinging to the bridge almost like a Liepard would do a tree it was resting in, only with her claws digging as deeply into the rock as possible. She'd clamped her eyes shut, and she was trembling. All of this again gave Landorus pause; however, this concern was soon wiped from his mind as he amended his sentence,

 

"- A near-bottomless pit beneath it. Again, we must be careful in crossing. As for your Hydreigon friend, he will find his way; he can fly."

[sailing101]

Landorus' outburst startled Leo. His fur bristled with aprehension. Untill now, Landorus had been much calmer, Leo thought to himself, I thought it was because he had finally begun to trust me, but what if?

Leo had that sinking feeling once more. Landorus' change in behavior had happened AFTER the legendary had fallen asleap.

 

One lone Pokemon would definetly be suspicious, but not a group. Leo mused. Darkrai wouldn't even need any controll over anyone if the one was likely to challange any pokemon he'd come across, Arceus knows that smeargle fits that description. Add to that a Meowth who can't controll his own hypnosis, and that's just extra assurance.

 

But I have to be sure.

 

Leo turnes to face Landorus once more.

"Landorus?" he asked, "When you fell asleep from the Smeargle's Yawn, Did you have a nightmare?"

[PureDark006]

"Wow, that was really polite," Zagan thought, rolling his eyes. Well, the Smeargle couldn't have known what he was looking for, so he decided to try just in case. "Q is a bear cub. I don't know his species' name, but he's brown, with a crescent moon on his forehead, and about half your size. I was going to help him look for his mother, but just before that roar from earlier he just..." He made a small pause, looking for the right word, "...vanished. He was in- I mean, I was carrying him, and I suddenly didn't feel his weight," he explained, hoping the Smeargle knew something about that.

 

"Also, what exactly do you need help with?" he asked, curiously looking at the other, since he hadn't really made out the words being yelled in his hurry to find the source. The opening the other Pokemon was talking through was small, and again Zagan was faced with the inconvenience of using an illusion - a real Mienshao's slender body could pass through in seconds, but Zagan's bushy mane would present complications. He could squeeze through with some effort (he wasn't fat, just fluffy, thank you very much), but it'd take time and he couldn't think of how to cover it up.

 

Well, that just meant he had to play the prissy card. No problem with that, his lineage wasn't known as the Tricky and Illusion Foxes for poor acting. "Because if you want me to go through that filthy hole to help you, I'm widening it first. I am not getting soot on my fur," he said, voice adopting a slight tone of disgust as he disdainfully examined the hole in question, snout held up high. Thank Arceus he forgot to add the soot in his actual fur to his illusion; now he could play that to his little ruse's advantage.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"This is a complete and utter waste of time."

 

Requiem ignored him, concentrating on his current goal. He hadn't quite gotten where that roar had come from (thinking about it, had it really come from somewhere near? It had sounded weird), but he was starting to recognize the way. Maybe the roar had been like the voices? Something only some could hear?

 

"How can you be so blind?"

 

"What are you talking about?" Requiem snapped, growling at his right head. He was trying his hardest to be useful, to get the group back together, and Rhapsody wouldn't even-

 

"Look around, you Slowpoke!"

 

Requiem did and, as expected, saw nothing. Just the hallway. He still didn't get what the other was talking about.

 

"There's no one here, you idiot."

 

Precisely. That was why he had to-

 

He froze.

 

"No..." he thought, finally getting what his twin had been talking about. No one. Except him. He was alone. Easy prey.

 

He started breathing faster, trying to look everywhere at once. How could he have been so stupid? He had completely forgotten the main reason why he wanted the group to be together, and now he was going to pay for it. The passages looked and seemed quiet, but how could he know? Maybe he couldn't see them, maybe They had been hiding and were now going to strike, and he'd never return, never get out...

 

He had started flying backwards now. He didn't notice how one of his wings softly grazed the wall, making a small, already loosened rock fall from its place in the wall. The pebble hit the ground with a soft noise. Requiem heard it as a footstep of something right behind him.

 

He screeched, using his Thunder Wave attack while darting forward as fast as he could. The electricity hit the wall, making some more rocks fall - Requiem didn't even register that there had been no target, turning at the first intersection he saw and fleeing for his life.

[Techno_Elf]

Renaissance's tails bristled again at Landorus' outburst. She wished the Legendary would just calm the heck down already... ((Sorry, writer's block. And I'm kinda confused as to just where everyone is and what they're doing.))

[TalonCat]

"Great tidal-waving Kyogre... I-" Reed waved his tail in front of himself - "Need you-" He stuck his tail through the hole, leaving a splotchy purple mark on the rocks - "To help clear these rocks. There's no way you can fit through that hole if you're going to be a prissy wuss, yeah, but I need you to clear the rocks from your side. I need to go over there and take a nap or I'll have some scratch marks burning like the Magmaworld we're currently standing over."

 

The Smeargle huffed,

 

"If you enjoy being in that nice little cavern, you can keep talking and complaining and doing everything other than what I said; I'm going to sleep."

 

With an annoyed flick of his tail Reed, clambered down the rock pile back to the side from which he'd come. With a quick survey of the area, he located a small cranny a little ways down the hall, and made himself as comfortable as he could get (meaning somewhat scrunched into the space, half-leaning on the wall it what would seem like a severely uncomfortable position but was to him a genuinely enjoyable position). Then, he laid his tail out in front of him, and a dim, dark purple light glowed. Rest, when he wasn't in battle, was a slow process- his eyes slowly grew tired and began to droop, his paws unclenched, and in the end his tail slowly, gently lowered down to the floor.

 

Falling as quickly to sleep as he would down a Fissure, Reed soon began to snore softly.

 

------------------------------------

 

Tiramisu, meanwhile, was undergoing the opposite of relaxation. In fact, the Meowth had become so very un-relaxed that if one were to enter values into an equation measuring the amount of relaxed she was, it would require dividing by zero. This was the source of her crying out, "SHUT-UP-SHUT-UP-SHUT-UP," as Landorus' speech made her unable to focus on some sort of distraction rather than the problem at hand. Her thoughts had nearly calmed her, and had gone somewhat like this:

 

Crap, I tripped - I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die - well actually. I mean I could just... crawl. Yeah, like a Persian up a tree or something, use my claws to sort of clamber forward...

Yeah, think about that. Just that - Arceus, the drop is far - PERSIANS.

 

Like Richard II of Eles Forest - right, he... He, um... Oh! He was the one who created the colony in the trees. I wonder if anyone dropped - how about not?

 

But still, the great palaces among the trees, that all were burned down when the town refused to pay tribute to Thundurus... He struck them down with lightning and the whole forest burnt down! What an-

 

"On the other side of this pit is an escape from this cavern - however, it must be obvious to you all we must pass extremely carefully..."

 

...He's here. Ugh. Great, more people to vent at. I bet he's trying to make fun of me with that- I must look like an idiot clinging to this -

 

"If any one were to fall, it would be extremely unpleasant, as there is a near-bottomless-"

 

...[kipz]."

 

And following that expletive, the line of "shut-ups" came on. Landorus' taunting had brought her back to a rather unpleasant reality in which she wasn't one of Richard II's subjects watching the ruin of their tree kingdom but a helpless Meowth above a seemingly-endless pit. For the second time that day. It sucked.

 

--------------------------

 

Landorus turned somewhat quickly to the Meowth beside him. His eyes narrowed.

 

"Yes. Yes, I did have a nightmare; this is the cause of my haste. If nightmares may occur around this area, Darkrai may be the cause of them - as such, we must hurry across."

[PureDark006]

"I am not prissy," he called after the retreating Smeargle, even though his little charade had been the very definition of it. Awesome, the other had completely eaten the act. Zagan wished he had at least replied to his inquiries about the cub, too, but he guessed that meant he knew nothing. Well, didn't hurt to ask.

 

Silently, Zagan peeked through the hole after the Painter Pokemon was out of sight, careful not to touch the fresh paint that had been left on it. From his position, he could only see a pile of rocks; no sign of the other anywhere. Good, since all the attacks he knew were impossible for a Mienshao to have learned, and he didn't know if the other knew enough about the Martial Arts Pokemon to be able to tell. He waited a few more seconds just in case the Smeargle came back, and when he didn't, Zagan retreated a bit to examine the hole.

 

Widening it... Piece of cake. If he did it fast enough, no one would be the wiser as to the kind of move he used, and he could claim it had been Aura Sphere - something Mienshaos could learn. With a smirk fitting of a Dark-type Pokemon, Zagan stood in his hind legs, his eyes glowing light blue as his body became surrounded by a crimson aura. He raised his arms above his head, crossing them by the wrist, the aura around his forearms getting thicker. With a growl, Zagan slammed his fists against the ground right below the hole, activating his Night Daze attack. A crimson glowing force-field of energy appeared from the aura around his arms and quickly grew larger, spreading around him and taking down the section of the wall already weakened by the hole on it. His ears filled with the noises of falling rocks and debris, smoke clouding his vision for three seconds before clearing to reveal a bigger version of the hole from before, wide enough for him to jump through without even ruffling his mane.

 

Arceus, he loved using that attack. It made the day a whole lot less crappier.