(ACE) The STARK Team

Azura stopped when the scent of living was suddenly overwhelmed by... Something. It smelt like an undead, but it also carried the scent of something... Sinister. She looked back towards Crescent, her illusioned facade showing worry. "I don't think we should keep going." She whined, but Crescent walked up in front.

"My disaster sense is going off the charts."  Crescent said, though her voice sounded forced. Gritting her teeth against the uncomfortable tingling that was travelling down her scythe, Crescent pressed forwards.

"Wi͜ll ̡yo͡u ̢s̶a͘y̢ my ͝n̨a͝m̨e..͞.?" The voice was distant but it was there, and it was terrifying. The two dark types shuddered at the hatred and malice in the voice. They shared a hesitant glance towards each other, before Crescent took the lead, cautiously stepping over where she could just see the mutant.

Taking in a sharp breath, Crescent fought the urge to throw up. It was fucking disturbing. Six tentacles with rows of spines writhed and wormed around, testing for their presence. It had a very thin and delicate looking structure, but her time with Azura told Crescent that looks could be deceiving. The duo watched cautiously, ready to spring. Whether to run away or attack, neither of them knew.

The Aggron was the first to speak, his voice rising into a mirthful chuckle. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] The behemoth clapped his steely hands together, a jagged blade of stone forming as they parted again. A brief grunt of effort was released from him, and the shard flew. The air whistled in pained irritation as the rock parted it, only for a resounding shattering crack to fill the cavern as the Stone Edge broke itself upon the Harbinger's Barrier. The undead allowed his eyes to smile as he stared at the dumbfounded beast opposite him. A dry voice of rotten static escaped Alhoon as he regarded the remains of the attack, now scattered across the floor. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] The air shimmered and tore, a horrible unlight filling the room as he disappeared.

[[Events of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] transpire]]

It hadn't been half a minute since the Psion had left before the unformed eternities loosed him again into the cavern, where he had been standing before. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] He hands pistoned forward, left and right. To one side, the Zoroark of the group was lifted into the air, to the other side, a White-scarfed Growlithe. Fists formed, and arms drew inwards, pulling them to the center of the room as a barrier formed anew. His head swiveled, slowly bringing him face to face with the Illusionist. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

He made a vague circular motion with the fingers of his left hand, moving the dark type out of his view, and bringing the dog before him. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] His eyes turned upwards as eldritch appendages twitched, hateful acid bubbling up from the surface as they wrapped around the torso of the pup. A wet sizzle and a symphony of screaming filled the cavern as the appendages began their work, eating into flesh, into meat.

"WHAT?!" Smith bellowed, his loud voice reverberating off the stone walls, furious that his attack had merely bounced off some sort of invisible barrier and hadn't left even a scratch on the Alakazam behind it. The Aggron snarled. "Yer coward. Get out from behind there and fight me proper!"

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] the abomination sneered before promptly disappearing.
"Yer'd better not come back, yer fuckin' ingrate," Smith growled, turning back to the matter at hand. He bent down, moving Sahara's fur to the side to see whether the Potion had done it any good.

"Perhaps I am going insane. Would someone care to explain what just happened?" the Arcanine muttered, clearly more worried than she was letting on. Smith snorted.
"What does it look like? It came in here, saw how outnumbered it was and left."
Jude, who was still on the floor, took a deep breath to try and calm his trembling body. Smith was right ... he had been right about everything that had happened so far. "Yeah ... guess we scared it off!"
"Now we just need to-- oh for fuck's sake!"

The Alakazam had reappeared in the same spot as before. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
"What lesson?" Smith laughed again; this guy was making such the effort to put on a show, it was almost a shame that he was going to die as soon as he let his guard down. "Look, yer can clearly understand me, so I'll only say it once: get the fuck out of my mountain or I'll decorate my walls with yer--"

The Psychic-type raised his hands and motioned them upwards. Both Nikora and Jude were carried into the air towards the centre of the room. Panic like never before gripped the Zoroark as he kicked and squirmed and tried to wriggle out of the Alakazam's psychic grasp, but to no avail. He and Nikora floated side-by-side, and a barrier formed, separating them from the others. He could see Smith charging it, attacking it with Dragon Claw but the powerful attack did nothing. The look of surprise on Smith's face and the slowly surfacing fear in the Aggron's eyes sent Jude's heart on a marathon.

"P-Put me down!" he cried, still writhing even though it did nothing to help him. "Put us down! Pl-Please, don't hurt us!"

The Alakazam turned his head, looking at Jude with his burning, evil eyes. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Jude's blood froze. "How did...?" But the Psychic-type flicked his hand and Jude floated off to the side. "NO!" he screamed, watching in sheer dread as he motioned Nikora towards him. "Don't hurt her!"

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] His squirming appendages sizzled as they wrapped themselves around the Growlithe's body. Immediately, Jude covered his eyes. He wished he could cover his ears, his nose, his everything. As Nikora started to scream, Jude wished he wasn't even born. He curled himself into a ball, his hands clawing into his head, flattening his ears, his eyes shut so tightly white spots were appearing. The screams...

Even through that and the wet sizzle of cooking flesh, he could still hear Smith bellowing from the other side of the barrier. His voice was muffled, as though he was on the other side of a glass wall. His fists were repeatedly pounding at it.

But he wasn't breaking through, and he wasn't saving either of them. The stench of cooking flesh and boiling blood, and those SCREAMS ... Jude could only remain curled up, blocking out as much as he could, and hope that when it was his turn, it would be quicker than this.

"I do not appreciate being ignored." Fire spilled from Sahara's clenched teeth, the hotheaded Arcanine growing less weary and more angry by the second. And then it spoke, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Sahara's rumbling growl mixed with Smith's voice as he ceased his laughter. "Look, yer can clearly understand me, so I'll only say it once: get the fuck out of my mountain or I'll decorate my walls with yer--"

It was then that the Alakazam, or rather, this demon of one lifted both his hands and rose Jude and Nikora into the air with some psychic power. Sahara's ears perked up in alarm and suddenly all her fire fizzled out as she drew in a gasp. A barrier divided the duo of floating Pokémon from the others and Smith led an assault against it with a Dragon Claw. Sah jerked her gaze to the Aggron and saw something she doubted she ever would; Smith had a look of fear washing over his features as the move did not a thing.

"P-Put me down!" Jude struggled to free himself from the demon, crying out for he and Nikora, "Put us down! Pl-Please, don't hurt us!"
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] the demon brought Jude forth and stared seemingly into his soul, his simple words chilling Sah's spine.
With a turn of the wrist, Jude was moved aside and Nikora was pulled forward. No, not the she-Growlithe!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Following that, the demon's appendages wrapped around Nikora's body and she released a terrible scream that shook Sahara's mind. The Arcanine did a lot of things that could qualify her as a monster in some's opinions; but she refused to allow this. Not to Nikora.

"I'll kill you!" Sahara roared as an inferno rose from her paws and covered her body. She rushed forward in a Flame Wheel and crashed into the barrier beside Smith, pressing against it as fire stormed around her.
She sprung backward with a pant, eyes darting around frantically - the smell finally got to her then. She could smell Nikora's flesh burning. "Nikora!"

Shaking, he was shaking as Nikora drifted away from him. This cant.. He should be sturdy, strong, be her protector, her savior, her warrior of light. Instead is no more then a bystander as she becomes a play toy for the undead. "Leave her alone!" George growls, steeling his courage despite the fear pulsing through his veins and panic in his heart. The Fire Type dashed forward only to smash against a magical barrier, throwing him back with his own momentum. "No!" Two clawed paws scratch, slash, and slam at that which held him back but the wall holds as though he didn't exist. "Nikora!" The alarmed canine yowls, pounding harder now along with a stream of Embers. It wasn't doing anything..

Blood roared in Nikora's ears, body flailing wildly as she kicked and squirmed to break from the psychic grasp. What did it want, what was it going to do to them? Her brown spheres see Jude doing the same, fear shining bright in his blue eyes as he writhed in the air. "Put us down! Pl-Please, don't hurt us!" "Just leave us be!" The pup cries, her voice shaking violently. As the Zoroark is floated away, however, bringing the Growlithe to the center stage, she sobs uncontrollably as her mind imagines the worst. It can not imagine what is to come though. "NO! Don't hurt her!" Whining, screaming, moaning in sheer terror Nikora peddles and kicks the air futilely in an attempt to move away from the Alakazam. The closer she got the more details she can see of its sickening form.. Tentacle whiskers, devilish nails, a vile stench, and manic, joyful ruby eyes. It can think.. it knows what its doing.... Her heart races like a Rattata on a wheel. She was.. she was going to..

"And you... Your name is Nikora... You were promised Eternity with your companion.... Sh͞alļ ̴I ̶gi͠ve̸ y̧ou̶ ͞jùs̸t҉ ͠t̛h̶a͞t̶?͜" ...How could it know know that? The canine goes still, too afraid to even try to comprehend when it had just said. Her mind doesn't have a chance to react as it reaches to touch her.
Her body instantly comes alive with pain.
A sickening hiss echos through Nikora's ears as the acidic touch burns through her fur, a vile smell of burning hairs filling her nostrils. She screams as it quickly makes it to the skin, her nerves firing off like mad before they are melted away. The burning agony is utterly excruciating, her screams could not be louder or more pain ridden to describe the horror she was feeling. "Stop, please, stop, stop!" Her body wretches, a mix of vomit and blood spilling from her jaws between the pain, wounds, and smell. Nikora can no longer see, her pale brown eyes unfocused from the sheer agony.
The Growlithes world is nothing but a spiral of pain and fear as her body trembles and contorts to flee from its tormentor. The demon before her applies more pressure and she can.. feel herself being eaten away, hearing her muscles dissolve under its touch. Pain shoots throughout her body, all systems on alert. Her wailing continues, out of her control as it is now her only available reaction.

"Stopping touching her you fucking bastard!" George roared. His mates cries sounded as though they were behind glass, underwater, beneath fur. They were muffled but the sound was still the most horrifying, painful thing he had ever heard. "Ill kill you!" George throws his entire weight against the barrier repetitively. His body hurts but he can not feel it with Nikora's pain filling his thoughts, his senses, his sight. "LEAVE HER ALONE." He Roars, the force bouncing off the psychic energy and throwing him back against the stone wall like a ragdoll.
The smell hits him harder then the jagged stones.
Tears cascade from the waterfall colored eyes. "Nikora..!" He wails, banging his head against that which kept him from her. Blood seeped from all parts of his ragged orange fur but he didn't care. He had to help, he had to do something.. The hound watches, helpless, as the acid rips into the one he loved and touches her delicate organs. Blood pours from her wounds, and the smell... he was used to cooking his prey but there was no scent of ash or fire here, just burning meat. Nikora dying before him. He can not stop himself from vomiting. "Please.. please stop.. stop hurting her.." He begs the demon, crying like a child as he watches her inside slowly fall from the new hole in her side.

The cavern erupted in a cacophony of sound. The screaming of the prey in his grasp, the hollow thuds of ineffectual attacks against barrier his mind held in place. And above all of it... "Stopping touching her you fucking bastard!" The shout faded to hopeless begging soon enough. "Please.. please stop.. stop hurting her.." The psion spoke now, for the first time since he had started his assault "You are all meat. Worthless meat, crawling in the dirt..." He lifted a clenched hand, and with an opening of the fist, launched the Zoroark against the far wall, beside his steel companion.  "You are worthless, pitiful creatures, unfit to be saved..."

He snapped his head to the side, spiked tendrils bursting through the ruined torso of the growlithe. A hand waved lazily to the side, and this corpse too impacted the stone.  "You cannot fight, it is your fate to be lambs to the slaughter..." Arms raised, then lowered, and the air glimmered as the psychic field dropped from around him.  "I've wasted too much time here, on death fodder.... My reason for being here lies below. Surely you've felt him, yes? Eyes turned upwards, and he uttered one last phrase as he stepped into the warp, "The legend under the mountain grows restless with dogs in his home~
His mind cast out, his flesh heedless of the roasting heat now assaulting it, a product of the molten stone now before him. Eyes closed, he saw the creature with eyes blinded, heard without hearing. A star was before him, a pulse of organic energy, of thought and emotion, and it rested just beneath a roiling surface of stone. And yet... it was not as it should be.... there was corruption in this beast, a dull rage just below the... dulled? The mind of the beast was... dulled, rounded. Held in place, emotions held in check by... Alhoon's mental probe sharpened to a razor focus, and he swiftly, brutally, dissected the psyche of the beast.

A pulse of energy resounded off the walls of the cavern, Magma rippling back in waves from the harbinger. Rage. Rage untold coursed through him. The damnable BÈAS͏T̴ was as him, it's body rife with infection, with disease. All this way, all this TIME and this LEGEND was a mere sham, an exaggerated MYTH told about a mindless brute that was... held in check by a thrice damned ROCK. The knife of his mind twisted, and the cavern shook again as the beast bellowed in agony. He threw himself into the not-here, and emerged moments later before a glowing orb, it's surface shifting with the heat contained within. With a sharp jerk of his head, it rose into the air, and followed him back into the gateway.
A scream rolled out of the portal as Alhoon entered again. His word pulsed out of him, vocally and mentally, "WORTHLESS. ALL WORTHLESS. YOU. THE LEGEND BELOW. ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL WILL BURN HERE." His head jerked downward, and with a boom of displaced air and tortured stone, the Magma Stone shattered against the floor of the room. A roar echoed through the stone from beneath as the beast became unbound. The enraged psychic turned to the group, watching shock flash through their eyes, and-

Something brushed against his mind, and Alhoon's jaw snapped shut, teeth gritting in fury. He rose up, his body expanding, limbs separating from a cracking torso. "AN̶D͠ ͏N̨O̶W̴ ̷H͘ÍM͠!? HI͏M. ̀OH DOĆTO̴R͠,̶ ͞YƠU͘ ̸Damned́ f͟ool.͞...̡" He thrust his hands before him, palms away from one another, and with a gutteral motion ripped the fabric of reality apart, before diving into the gap, not bothering to shut it behind him.

Azura watched the eldrich creature as it surveyed them, her breath ragged. Her mind screamed at her to run, attack, scream - none of which happened. She simply stood there in rigid fear, her legs shaking, through her illusion remained steady - until of course it was shattered when something small and furry rolled into her. "D-do-don’t hurt me…pl-please I’m sorry."

The illusionist only just caught the words before she turned around, forcing back a yelp of surprise. Her violet eyes fell on the small purple eevee at her paws. She nudged Crescent who looked down at the eevee, and her maroon eyes shined with interest. "Hey, it's okay, we're not going to hurt you." She said in a quiet voice, but before she could say any more, her attention was drawn back to the Alakazam and the others.

"Yer lost?" Azura turned her attention back to the demon before her, and her mind immediately went to what her mother had always taught her - evolved pokemon are demons, demons will kill you. "Demon..." She whispered, letting out an involuntary whimper. Then, it disappeared.

"Now we just need to-- oh for fuck's sake!" The peace didn't last long, as it reappeared soon after, and created another barrier, this time with the growlithe and the weird biped thing. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Crescent's blood ran cold as the harbinger's words set in, and she began shaking. "P-Put me down!" Azura involuentarily flinched at the words, and she went to summon up her illusion again, but nothing happened, she was truly, powerless.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Cold dread seeped through Crescent's bones as she listened, taking a few steps backwards as the harbinger moved the zoroark away. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

At the alakazam's words, Azura shuddered, her mind reeling. Demon, demon, demon, demon! Her mind repeated the word over and over, each time it struck new fear into her. "Put us down! Pl-Please, don't hurt us!" She whimpered, but was unable to take her eyes away as the tentacles that were on the abomination's face began dripping Acid. Then, each one draped over the growlithe's form, sizzling as it went. A horrified scream tore itself free of Azura's throat, and she desperately backpedaled, but ended up hiding under Crescent.

"I'll kill you!" The result was instantaneous, as cries for the abomination's blood rang out, and above it all, cries of the growlithe's name. "Nikora!" Crescent backed away, her maroon eyes wide at the sight, the smell assaulting her senses. "Stop, please, stop, stop!" The growlithe pleaded, but the duo could see, the harbinger wasn't stopping any time soon.

"Stop touching her you fucking bastard!" Suddenly the barrier was alive with attacks, as each hit was either absorbed or rebounded, flinging pokemon this way and that. "I'll kill you!" The arcanine got to her feet after the male growlithe's cry and was shrouded in flames, charging at the alakazam. "LEAVE HER ALONE." The wind roared around them as the growithe attacked the barrier, but his Roar was rebounded, throwing the fire type back into the rocks.

"Nikora..!" The cry rang out, piercing Azura's ears and making the Zorua whimper. "Please.. please stop.. stop hurting her.." Azura could say the same as the growlithe stumbled forwards, begging for it's mate to be let free.

"You cannot fight, it is your fate to be lambs to the slaughter..." The demon's words chilled Azura as he spoke, and her violet eyes widened. "I've wasted too much time here, on death fodder.... My reason for being here lies below. Surely you've felt him, yes? Azura frowned slightly. Felt who..?"The legend under the mountain grows restless with dogs in his home~ Crescent's eyes widened. Legend? Before she could ponder any more, the Alakazam warped.

No sooner then a few moments later, the abomination returned, a small stone that pulsed with inner fire floating above him. "WORTHLESS. ALL WORTHLESS. YOU. THE LEGEND BELOW. ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL WILL BURN HERE." Azura backpedaled more at the demon's harsh screaming, before it jerked it's head downwards, sending the Magma Stone hurtling into the floor where it shattered, sending a violet tremble through the mountain.

"AN̶D͠ ͏N̨O̶W̴ ̷H͘ÍM͠!? HI͏M. ̀OH DOĆTO̴R͠,̶ ͞YƠU͘ ̸Damned́ f͟ool.͞...̡" Before Crescent could think, her paws were already moving. She turned and ran, back down the corridor, her eyes streaming with tears as a searing pain flooded her scythe - her disaster sense was sending flare after flare of pain across her body, her vision was white as she ran, only faintly remembering the way out. All she knew was that she had to get out of there, and she damn well wasn't going to linger.

Azura watched with a horrified expression as Crescent ran, gathering her paws and dashing after the Absol, her violet eyes wild with fear. "Crescent!" She called, her voice raw and shaky. Her legs were shorter than the Absols, but she kept the Disaster Pokemon in sight, not wanting to imagine what was happening in the mountain behind them.

Voices, speaking he could hear them but not understand. The screams of sheer agony and distress from the female Growlithe rattled him. Joshua could no longer think straight and the words he thought the others may have been saying just became background noise, a low drone of mixing sounds.

Joshua felt the ground beneath him shook, an earthquake? No, something worse. As the monster re-appeared and screamed at them all with rage before smashing something. Once again the ground shook, even more violently than before. Joshua was thrown into a panicked state, and rightly so; he did not even notice the eldritch horror make its exit. Filled with utter terror, the young Eevee put his paws over his ears trying desperately to calm down and block out the danger that approached the group with little success. Someone then spoke to him in a quiet voice.

"Flee little Eevee if you want to live, you will not survive this battle should you stay."

Joshua recognized the voice as his lost friend Lotus, but it was impossible for that Flareon to be here; Lotus had long since left. Yet the voice was clear as day to him, the advice coming from within his own vague memories. Taking a deep breath the very unusual colored Eevee shakily rose to his feet, barely registering anything going on around him. One shouted, someone else ran, Joshua didn't care right now he had to get out of here. The thought of what he was about to do made him shiver with fear, what if he ended up right where the Alakazam had gone? "Don't think about it Joshua. Just GO!" The mental replica of his lost friend urged him. 

Swallowing back nausea and terror, Joshua mechanically put one paw infront of the other and moved towards the twisted gateway. The corrupted pulses of energy coming from the rift almost made the young Eevee sink to the cavern floor and give up on everything. Then he remembered, he remembered the pain he had felt in the past the pain of rejection, abuse and abandonment. A surge of adrenaline shot through Joshua giving him the last little bit of strength he needed. Ignoring any warnings that may have been spoken to him, the desperate young evolution Pokemon rushed forward and lept into the quickly closing gap in space.

Disoriented by the strange place, and exhausted from constantly fleeing Joshua blacked out in the midst of the roiling chaos. He was safe from imminent death at least for now.


(OoC: Sorry guys, Joshua is jumping ship to become a floater. Have fun with Heatran (: Also just letting you all know Alhoon gave me permission to exit via the gateway he left behind. It should be closed now.)

Smith was scared. No, he was not just scared - he was angry, terrified and grief-stricken all rolled into the yelling, rampaging giant he was at that moment. Again and again his fists struck the barrier, each punch harder than the last. Nothing happened, and Smith could only watch as Nikora was reduced to a charred, bloodied mess, twitching as the last traces of life were stolen from her. "No..." Something happened that had not occurred in many years - Smith started to cry.

"You are all meat. Worthless meat, crawling in the dirt..." the Alakazam said, waving his hand and sending Jude flying into the wall beside him. Spluttering with the relief that the psychic had not claimed a second victim, Smith wrapped his hand around the limp Zoroark's torso and held him close. "You are worthless, pitiful creatures, unfit to be saved..."

Smith clutched Jude tightly as Nikora's body was sent hurtling into a wall too. The Aggron spluttered as fresh tears cleansed the dirt from his armour. "You cannot fight, it is your fate to be lambs to the slaughter..." Instantly, as though a light switch had been flipped, Smith's sorrow morphed into a blinded rage.

"CAN'T FIGHT?!" he thundered, letting the unconscious Jude flop to the floor as he prepared a Stone Edge, not even regarding the fact that it had failed last time; he just wanted to attack this thing, even if it did no good. But before he could fire the jagged rocks, the Alakazam spoke again, his words chilling Smith's blood to ice. "I've wasted too much time here, on death fodder.... My reason for being here lies below. Surely you've felt him, yes?"

"...Felt--?" But surely enough, Alhoon disappeared. Smith allowed his attack to fade, his rage blinded by pure, sheer panic. His hand grabbed Jude by the scruff of the neck and he dragged the Dark-type towards the cavern entrance. "We need to get out of here." Smith spoke quickly, his voice trembling as he marched straight past the newcomers without even looking at them. "Right no--"

The psychic had reappeared, and floating in the air above him was-- "No."
"WORTHLESS. ALL WORTHLESS. YOU. THE LEGEND BELOW. ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL WILL BURN HERE." And with a jerk of his head--
"NOOOOO!"
-- the Magma Stone shattered against the stone, its fragments rolling towards them. Smith stared at them, his mouth hanging open at the realisation of what was happening.

Something far below roared, and the ground shivered.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" By the time Smith had looked back up to the Alakazam, it had disappeared. Literally panting with panic, Smith shoved his way past everyone out into the corridor. "Need to -- get out -- hurry up..."

There was another rumble, and a massive crash from somewhere ahead. Smith squinted to see that a rockfall had blocked the way that they'd used to come in. The Aggron clutched his head, gritting his teeth as he hauled himself around and carried on through the tunnels just as Jude started to stir in his grasp.

"Into the chamber," he croaked, taking the lead and hoping that everyone would see sense and follow. "Come on, now..."
"Nikora..." Jude whimpered from below him, allowing himself to be dragged.
"Nowt we can do." Harsh as it was, that was the truth. Smith was more concerned about the ones who were still breathing than the corpse in his 'safe area', and what would happen to them if they didn't move. The entire mountain groaned around them as the corridor started to broaden, and below them, the legendary Pokemon of Stark Mountain roared again.
"Heatran's awake. We need to get out or we're all dead."

Madness. This was utter madness.

Sahara's Flame Wheel faded down to a small dance of fire across her pelt as she quickly lost hope for the pup. Her eyes stared on in disbelief. This wasn't actually happening, right? Right? It was like Vale all over again; an innocent life taken on the whim of a demon surely spawned from Hell below. She hadn't been able to save Vale. And now Nikora was meeting her end as Sahara could only watch.

It disturbed the Arcanine.

With a powerful kick, she launched herself at the barrier one last time. Meeting the psychic wall head-on, she was stopped on a dime and fell to the floor, dizzied from the impact. "You... you can't do this...!" Sahara murmured, hopelessness in her broken voice. Nikora's life was over. And yet again, I was unable to do anything...
Jude was thrown against the stone wall by the Psychic, unconscious but seemingly okay. The key word here is 'seemingly' as Sahara was unsure of anything at this point.

As Smith picked the Zoroark up and held him near, apparently for the Alakazam, killing Nikora wasn't enough. He tossed her against the wall as if to mock her death. "How dare you!?" Sahara snarled, rising to her paws and a vicious Flamethrower prepared for her to attack again, even if it were in vain. She bit back the fire as the demon disappeared once again. Sahara let out a sigh of defeat, unable to bring her eyes to see what was left of Nikora.

Smith's voice shook as he stomped past, hauling Jude beside him, "We need to get out of here. Right no--"

A screech of sorts pierced Sahara's hearing and she heard the demon speak, both in her ears and mind, "WORTHLESS. ALL WORTHLESS. YOU. THE LEGEND BELOW. ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL WILL BURN HERE." The next thing that happened absolutely boggled Sahara's mind. The demon shattered a fiery stone against the cave floor but not before Smith gave a protest. Not that it mattered anyway, as the stone was now a mess of pieces. What exactly was that and why did it matter? Sah wouldn't even lie, she was so confused it was almost sad.

Wouldn't, you know, surviving be a bigger priority than some random stone getting broken? That was Sahara's thought until something gave a rattling roar and the earth below them quaked. The Arcanine jumped up in alarm, quickly looking to Smith as this was his home and he should have known just what the heck made that noise and if it were connected to that stone. "Need to -- get out -- hurry up..." Smith managed, forcing his way out of the room. Sahara barked at him, "Smith! What is--?!" Before she could finish, the disheartening sound of rocks collapsing in the tunnel they had entered from stopped her. She drew in a gasp. Whatever was happening, it was bad, and she knew it now.

"Heatran's awake. We need to get out or we're all dead." Sahara couldn't believe what was being said by the Aggron. Wasn't this supposed to be a 'safe' place?! He could've mentioned, 'Hey there's a monster capable of killing us all sleeping under the mountain' or something! "Smith, what the heck is going on? It was supposed to be safe here!" Sahara tried to keep her voice calm, but worry and anger were welling up quicker than she could stop it.

Her entire world was nothing but pain. It was simply unimaginable. Nothing else mattered now as the torment to her body continued and worsened. Any words she tried to speak turned to no more then animalistic noises that mixed into her terrified screams. Suddenly the contact fades, the tentacles becoming farther away as she is flung against the the stone wall. What little air was left in in the canines body is forced out along with a spurt of blood as she slides to the ground, landing with a rough, wet thud.
Black splotches from the edges of her vision creep inward, her eyes refusing to focus. They are locked on the floor and her body curled in a loose ball. It hurts.. so much.. Red mingles into the black as blood and other fluids seep across the floor. She has not the strength to move but Nikora's body shudders in agony.

"Nikora, oh gods oh gods Nikora!" Georges form is no more then a blur beside her. While his cries boom around them to her its no more then a whisper. "Nikora, Nikora love, please.. say something!" The male canine wails, tentatively placing a shaky paw on her orange fur. She parts her jaws but is refused words as blood starts to well up and pour from deep in her throat.
No no no no no. Panic shines brightly in his sky colored eyes. She.. they.. His mate lay dying before his eyes and he can do nothing to help her. He is useless.. "Nikora.. it'll.. it'll.." The lie refuses to even touch his tongue. The putrid scent of burnt meat, fur, and organ fluid mix with the fresh smell of split blood. Its utterly sickening but he can not, will not move from his mates side. "Im here.. Im here love.." He whispers gently in her ear. Ignoring all his screaming instincts the canine moves in closer until he can rest his head against hers, laying in the foul waters beneath him.

The other Pokemon are squabbling about something but it falls upon deaf ears. Right now his attention was completely devoted to his love. "We're supposed to be together forever.." Nuzzling her cheek the tears pour freely from the males eyes. "You just gonna leave me like this?" The words come as a choking joke but actual receive a labored answer. Using what little strength she had Nikora turned her head and shifted her blank gaze. "You stayed.. with.. me.." Blood falls from her fangs with each word. "I.. I'd stay forever.. Forever loving my Nikora.." The females head falls back down. "Love.. you.."

"Nowt we can do." George's gaze doesn't leave the female but fills with a mix of pain and anger. "Heatran's awake. We need to get out or we're all dead." Then he turns to see Smith lumbering around with Jude in his grasp. "I wont leave her. You cant leave her here!" Another gurgling sound bubbles from behind him. "N-now.. ..I-I'll.."
Nikora gave one last shudder.

"...Nikora?"

((OOC: I really hate to do this, but I literally have no clue what to post - Crescent and Azura are just running shitscared.))

((OOC: Shit I'm sorry, I've been wicked busy and my post quality would be shit. Archimedes is just following Smith and being Traumatized and shit so sorry))

Jude barely registered the fact that he was still alive as he happily allowed himself to be dragged along. The Zoroark's mind had been clouded by a dense fog, obscuring any memory of what had just taken place. He liked it that way; he'd be content for the rest of his life if he  never had to think about that Alakazam and Nikora's death ever again. His limbs were slowly coming back to life; as Smith pushed aside another boulder and entered a new area, Jude placed his feet on the warm stone floor and stood up, albeit a little shakily. At least he was even standing at all.

"A'right, here we are, said Smith, his voice thick with worry. Wherever they were, they were clearly not out of trouble yet. Jude stood rigidly on all four of his wobbly limbs and looked up. He gasped.

They were in an enormous circular chamber. High stone walls surrounded them on all sides, narrowing the further up they went towards a ceiling that Jude couldn't even see. On either side of them was a perilous drop; the walkway they were standing on was only wide enough to accommodate them in single file. Smith's bulky form seemed to fit on it just fine; it was the idea of the ground crumbling and sending them all tumbling at least a hundred metres onto solid, jagged rocks that made Jude feel sick. He leapt behind the Aggron, clutching his tail as the whole room started to spin.

"This is the mountain's main chamber," the Steel-type explained, wasting no time in traversing the platform. He didn't even do it carefully; walking just feet away from a deadly drop as though it wasn't even there. Jude was glad that Smith didn't seem to have any objections to him holding on to his tail. It was either that or stand on his head. "Walk in single file along 'ere - it's stable enough not to crumble, but yer don't want to fall off. Just watch yer step and yer'd be fine."

Jude had many questions, but was afraid to open his mouth in case he threw up. Smith, however, managed to answer one of them on his own. "There's another tunnel I built, down at the bottom along the right-hand side. It's a bit of a climb, but if we get there quick enough, I reckon we'll be a'right."

"Oh legends..." Jude whimpered. They had to go down?!
"If yer don't like it," Smith snapped, apparently hearing him, "then yer can stay here and say hello to Heatran for me."
"N-N-No, I'll come," the Zoroark quickly stammered, besides knowing that Smith would never do such a thing. Swallowing the bile in his throat, he asked, "Who is Heatran?"
"Heatran is a legendary Pokemon who is goin' ter be really pissed off now that that ... thing has destroyed its Magma Stone. We don't want to be around when that happens, so get a move on!"

((OoC - Skip me, too. D: Cinder, if you want Sahara to carry Nikora, that's fine. If not, that's cool too haha. With or without Nikora, Sah follows along with Smith and looks a bit shocked and angry at the Heatran bit. Regardless, starting an argument will get them nowhere; and as such, Sahara doesn't say anything, simply walking along with her fluffy tail dragging the ground.))

((OOC: Skip ;w; I haven't got much to reply to. Crescent and Azura are just running. I'm sorry for holding everyone up!))

"Fuck this mountain." Frank raises an arm and an arc of violet light deflects several small pebbles falling from the cave wall.
They tumble to the ground where the Gothitelle casually hovers over them. His eyes are gleaming a particularly eerie shade of blue as he does so.
The ground wobbles again, a twitching shiver of a small earthquake.
"We really should leave." Marco squeaks, keeping close to the psychic type's black 'skirt'.
Frank swiftly turns his head to look down at the Audino. His eyes are solid glowing blue with no pupils.
"Do you want to lead the way?!" He snarls.
"No Frank." The fluffy furred normal type backs away. His sensitive ear bend backwards as his tiny cream-colored paws clutch at each other defensively.
"Just keep close behind me." Frank turns back to the crumbling passageway.
The volcanic orange rock has started to crumble, the softer porous stone crumbling as easily as plaster to whatever was causing the shaking in the earth. The cavern was getting hotter as well.
Frank could feel it in his ribbon-like feelers. The sensitive organs were curling themselves into even tighter bows to avoid dehydration.
Cracks started to run across the floor, what little pooled water there had been on the upper levels had evaporated.
Frank gritted his teeth.
Stupid fucking rocks. Stupid fucking mountain.
Now he just had to hope that this passage lead out, or at least to a wall that wasn't harder than a Rhyhorn's ass.
With a crack a stalactite the size of a sapling breaks loose from the ceiling and spears towards them.
Frank shears it in half, the strength of his psychic anger actually melting the rock as it falls.
With a crunch it hits the ground and the cracks spread spider-like with a certain sense of inevitability until they meet up and half the passageway drops into the chamber below.

"Frank!" Marco screams as the ground collapses under his paws.
One moment he is keeping as close to the Gothitelle's back as he can, the next he is looking up at the Psychic Type's skirt as he tumbles backwards towards the molten lava heat and jagged rocks below.
With a jolt his fall is halted and, with the warmth of the lava below on the fur of his back, he is carefully lifted back up to Frank's eye level. Suspended in a cloud of psychic energy he paddles with his front paws in an attempt to stay upright. All at once the lengthy tunnel they had been sheltering in has become a narrow corridor of ground and a fatal drop.
Carefully Frank levitates him back onto solid ground. The moment Marco's paws touch dirt he clings tightly to Frank's back.
For once the Gothitelle doesn't protests. Instead he picks up the Audino and, with Marco clinging to his shoulders, glides out over the void.
Marco squeezes his eyes tightly shut. He's never gotten used to how casually Frank could carry his own weight by power of thought alone.
Only once the Gothitelle has touched down on solid ground again does Marco open his eyes. They were in a roughly circular chamber with smooth walls of molten stone. Not too far above was movement, what looked like an aggron, a zoroark, a tranquil and another pokemon Marco had trouble identifying behind them.
Marco's wing-like ears flutter.
"Frank, look!" He points.

((OOC: They should be in sight of Smith and the others right now.))

"I... Just... Wanted out of the rain..." The Tranquill's voice was barely more than a mutter, but Smith heard it. With a growl he turned his head round to the bird, ignoring the fact that Jude's legs were skittering across the ground as he tried to hold onto his swaying tail.

"We all did, lad. Did yer not think that I'd brought us in here for exactly that reason? How was I ter know that some psycho would come along an' smash the Magma Stone?" He rubbed the back of his aching head and groaned. "I dunnae even know how he knew where it was - I live here and I didn't know that!"

"What is the Magma Stone, exactly?" Jude asked, giving up on the tail and simply creeping on all fours, his nervous gaze fixed firmly on the colossal drop on either side of him.

"I'm not sure exactly," said Smith. "It's got somethin' ter do with keeping Heatran in control. Now it's broken, he's been let loose, and I'll bet yer anythin' that he's thinkin' about rampaging. If that happens, Stark Mountain will erupt."

"It'll what?!" Jude nearly slipped off the ledge in shock.

"Yer heard me. Which is why we need ter get out before that happens."

"We're going to die here, aren't we?"

"No we are not." Smith lashed his tail in frustration, and Jude had to quickly duck. "Just stay close and do as I say and yer'd be all right."

The path in front of them was broadening, much to Jude's relief, and when it was wide enough he trotted to walk beside the steel giant. He looked up and gasped; two figures were standing on the path in front of them. Squinting, he recognised them as Gothitelle and Audino, two fellow Unovans.

"Frank, look!" the pink Normal-type said, pointing at them.

Jude's words mirrored the Aggron's thoughts: "How did they get in here?"

"No idea." Smith clenched his teeth as he stomped towards the newcomers, hoping like hell that there was no one else in here that he had to try and save. "Both of yer need ter come with us," he growled, marching straight past them. "This place ain't safe."

The earth growled beneath them, vibrating with every one of Heatran's pounding footsteps. A deep roar echoed through the cavern.

"C'mon," Smith said, pointing left towards a slope leading down to the bottom level. "This way."

Drip.
Drip.

Sahara sauntered along with a distant mind. Some new guy was talking about the rain and Smith was rambling along about his wonderful plan to enter Stark Mountain. She tried to ignore the mixed taste of metal and some other foul taste she deemed must've been acid residue. The smaller female of the same evolutionary family hung from the Arcanine's jaws, the latter holding her carefully as to not damage her skin.

"What is the Magma Stone, exactly?" Sahara kept her gaze forward but listened intently as Jude asked the question she too had been wondering, herself. "I'm not sure exactly, It's got somethin' ter do with keeping Heatran in control. Now it's broken, he's been let loose, and I'll bet yer anythin' that he's thinkin' about rampaging. If that happens, Stark Mountain will erupt." Well then... Good to know now, Smith. Sah wondered just how much she'd be effected by the eruption, but even as a Fire-type, she doubted it'd be pretty.

Drip.
Drip.

"We're going to die here, aren't we?" the new guy, a bird Sah didn't recognize, asked. She would've scoffed had Nikora not been nestled between her teeth, Sahara's icy heart thawing not. She really was a cold Corphish, but something about Nikora and George, maybe because they reminded her of her pups, brought back the canid's urge to protect.

But she couldn't.

Drip.
Drip.

Sahara couldn't block out the sounds of Nikora's blood sploshing onto the cave floor beneath her. It kept drumming into her head, drip, drip, drip. Make it stop. she let out a barely audible whine. Sahara was a hunter; she was no stranger to blood. But when it's... Everyone around me continues to be hurt... Why? Why is she always unable to defend when someone needs her? Sorry... sorry...

Sahara's feet stopped moving but she didn't look up from the floor. "Both of yer need ter come with us," What? What was Smith doing? The last thing they needed were two weird as heck strangers tagging along. She shot a venomous glare towards the duo of newcomers.

Smith gestured to an incline apparently where they needed to go, "This way." Sah mechanically moved forward, the sound of Nikora's blood still haunting her thoughts.

Drip.
Drip.

((OoC - I had permission for Sah to carry Nikora~ :3))

"Ni.. kora?" The male hound mutters, voice quiet and low. He wasn't all there... his mind was but a thick fog in a forest of slimy pine trees. No, this couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. Not to her, not to his love. He hardly noticed that he following after the other Pokemon, only seeing the fuzzy end of his mates tail that daggled from Sahara's jaws. The sweet yellow fur is slowly being overtaken red blood as his drips down through her fur.. The thick, heavy scents that wafted back at him from her body weren't even registering. They couldn't be real...

George stumbles on blindly, one paw catching on a large stone. It tears at his skin, ripping the fur atop the foot and letting specks of blood free. It doesn't even hurt. "Nikora..." The others were speaking, voices were around him. It was probably important but none of it mattered. None of it mattered... Blue eyes drift along with the swaying of yellow and orange fur. Thats what mattered. The fuzzy edges of his vision see the darkness that is the sudden drops to their sides but fail to registrar the danger. New sounds hiss behind the sheet of glass, new Pokemon? Who cared when his life was dangling in anothers teeth.. "Nikora..."
He wanders a bit too close to the edge and one hindpaw slips on the lip, a few pebbles are set free and go clattering down. George takes in a sharp inward gasp and freezes for a moment. The canine freezes. One paw, two, he steps away from edge and more to the center. Follow.. He was no more then a lamb..


She is not herself. She is not anything. Its so hot here, magma hot yet.. she is so cold. Cold as ice. The torn Growlithes eyes are locked in position, mere slits to allow her sight. She can not see. It is all darkness with single note humming around her. It is annoying.
Mmmmm...
Though she can not feel her body she is crackling with aches. Everything was so numb yet it felt as though she was coated in stickers and thorns.
She is nothing.
Mmmmmm...
Fiery heat radiates from above. The ice of her presence is not fazed but discomforted by it. Her fire, her love, her passion and being was burning. Everything was burning from the icy cold.
The note hums in the black air.

It was only Crescent's paws on the ground that kept her mind in the game at that moment. The Dark type's maroon gaze flickered back behind her, seeing her companion struggling to keep up. Slowing down, Crescent's chest heaved as she fought to catch her breath. Azura finally caught up to her, the Zorua flopping over onto her side, glaring up at Crescent. "Please... Don't... Ever do that... Again..." She panted rolling over onto her stomach, her breathing steadily smoothing out.

Crescent nodded glumly, muttering a quiet aplogy. She looked back at the mountain, wincing as another pulse of pins and needles traveled down the sickle-like horn on her head. She shook her head to try and disappate the feeling, but it just got worse. Her legs trembled and tears sprung from the corners of her eyes as she was forced to endure the painful feeling the disaster sense was putting upon her. Whimpering quietly, she sat down, her eyes spilling over as the pain slowly became worse. Sinking to the ground, Crescent let out a sob, shutting her eyes tight as her muzzle formed into a silent snarl, trying to block out the pain with no success.

Azura scrambled to her feet, giving her friend a hesitant shake, the illusionist stammered quietly to herself. "C-Crescent? Is... Is everything okay? Crescent?" She stuttered, her only reply was Crescent's pained whimper as the Absol curled up, her front paws moving to cover her head. Crescent's whole form was shuddering with pain as she took in shaky breaths, but each one came out as a choked sob. "A-Azura... Make... Make it st-top... P-please!" The Absol begged, her eyes shut tight as she sobbed, the pain from her head scythe was unbearable as she cried, and she wished it would just go away.

"Crescent! Crescent hang in there! I... I'll find some way to help..." Azura said frantically, looking around. There was no one there to help, and so the Zorua settled for crouching down next to her friend, shaking her slighty with a single paw. "Just... Hang in there..."

Frank cracked his knuckles as the Aggron stomped up to him. The Iron Armour Pokemon loomed, all tough muscle and metal plating. A blow from its tail could easily sweep the platform clear. The Gothitelle meets its gaze clearly, blue eyes to blue eyes. The massive rock/steel type was a good few feet taller than him but he'd bet it wouldn't survive the fall into the lava below.
"Both of yer need ter come with us," it growled, ignoring the Gothitelle entirely as it stomped along the ledge. "This place ain't safe."
"No shit sherlock." Frank counters, prepared to psychically toss aside everyone on this strip of dirt if need be. "Unless your steel ass can fly there's no point in us going back the way we came. The whole fucking floor fell in."
With a grandiose sweep of his muscled arms he gestures to the tunnel they had just come from, now nothing more than a hole in the wall.
"But if you know another way outta this pit then lead on."
The Gothitelle looks around. Any ledge wide enough for an Aggron leaves room for more than a few pokemon to follow behind him. All canine-like, some he recognizes but none worth fighting.
A few faint blue tendrils of psychic power make sure the rabbit-like normal type is still close at his side.
"Marco!" He snaps."Don't go wandering off."
He has no idea who these fuckers were or why they were wandering around in this Arceus forsaken cave but he wasn't going to let his healer out of sight.
"C'mon," The Aggron points with one sharp claw. "This way."

The Audino looks up at him with wide blue eyes trying to glare.
"There are injured, Francis, let me help them." He tries to sound stern but ends up squeaking like a kitten with his panic.
Frank smirks and waves him off. The thin tendrils of energy curl back inwards and Marco is free to move.
The ground quivers under him and the pink-furred pokemon holds his breath. That moment when the solid ground had turned to rubble was terrifying. If Frank hadn't caught him...
A shiver runs down his spine. They couldn't afford to stay here for long. His wing-like ears flutter and the sensitive whorl on the end unfurls. With the most sensitive part of his ears he can pick up heartbeats and any internal damage.
"I'm a Healer, I'll do what I can to help." He says soothingly.
A pale violet glow starts to shimmer around his paws as he goes to assess his patients. The Growlithes are very badly beat up, poor things. Ignoring the slow drip of blood he carefully goes to press the cream furred curl to the canine's side. It is faint but there is still a heartbeat.
his paws. The violet glow flares and flickers, becoming a steadily growing sphere of light between his paws.
The light builds them compresses and explodes in a shockwave of soft light that stimulates health and well-being.