Dean followed the Skarmory's glittering form all the way to the edge of town where the famed Pyrite Coliseum still stood. ...barely. He was confused when he saw the bird descend into an open space through the rooftop and paused for a moment to see if the dragon was still following. Seeing the ebony scales gave him a momentary relief and with a relieved sigh he entered the dilapidated entrance. For a moment the human remarked at how poorly it had held up with only a couple of years unmaintained but then he had to remember it was rather slapdash when it was put together the first time. He couldn't really blame the rusty scrap for aching and groaning when it received visitors since who knew how long ago.
As Dean made his way through the combatant tunnel into the arena itself he was relieved to see not only Rukh but Phoenix and Asche as well. They seemed to be surrounding something and as he began to make his way over to them to see what the commotion was about a loud 'snap' had him jerking his head upwards just as a large beam came loose from the canopied piers to descend right between him and the Pokemon. Crying out in alarm he did he best to avoid the crumbling earth as it gave way beneath his feet but the font that rose suddenly from the gaping maw of mother nature was not something he had expected. Dean was quickly swept up into the current and was left screaming for help.
Phoenix barely even had time to react. By the time the beam fell the other two scattered, the purple feline she had been about to question getting swallowed into the abyss leaving her to run from the gushing torrents that exploded from the underground reservoir. She called for Asche, thinking the Absol would follow her like before, and made a beeline for the exit. But when she heard Dean screaming for help the vulpine paused and scanned for her trainer only to see him clinging to a small piece of wood trying not to get dragged into the whirlpool forming from where the geyser had been only moments ago, the trapped water once again receding into the caverns below. She ignored the pain and plunged into the flowing pool, determined to reach the man before he was dragged under.
Dean kicked as hard as he could to fight the pull of the current, clasping onto Phoenix gratefully as she reached him and allowing her to swim him away from the swirling vortex and onto a small risers of bleachers placed above the entrance. She looked around and couldn't see any of the others which worried her. Where was Asche? She looked at Dean desperately, who only nodded and gave a sad smile, before hopping down to the exit to see if he already made it back. She would come back for Dean, she knew it. But as she blinded herself with the afternoon sun she realized the only blue out there was the sky. Asche wasn't there which meant he still had to be inside. Bolting back in she could only watch in horror as her eyes locked onto a blue pelt sinking into the unknown as the stands on the opposite side.
Asche........Asche was...."NOOOOOOOOO!" The female screamed, eyes burning with tears and body heating up with angry flames. Dean was still struggling to get down the wall to her when the archway she was under began to crack and give way, the fox completely unaware in her grief. It was Dean who saw it and used every bit of his strength to push himself off of the wall and into her, knocking her back just as the entry came down. On top of him. The Ninetales was in shock. It took her several minutes before she could even move, the disbelief that all of this could be happening to unreal to comprehend. But as reality sunk in the yellow Ninetales grew ferociously angry, jumping up and clawing at the fallen entrance.
Phoenix began scratching and biting to try and get through the meatal wood to her lost companions but it was to no avail. She tried burning through it but the collapse was three times thicker than her own body and damp from the water so it wouldn't even lite. Any flame she tried just hissed and sizzled on the useless support until her own choking sobs forced her to stop. She wasn't...she wasn't supposed to lose him. Not again. He had already come back from the dead once for her so the thought of losing him again....she couldn't stand it.
The defeated female banged her head into the wood over and over, repeating to herself that there had to be a way. Dean had to be alive in there. He couldn't have been crushed or she would smell it, right? Blood was heavier than water in its obvious stench. And Asche...he hadn't been taken by the water, but even if he had she would brave the painful sting it would bring to fish him out too, so there had to be some way underneath. Under the arena....under all... Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she jumped back, eyes wild with desperation as her mind clung to the one hope of where she might find Asche. The Under. It was right below her feet and if there was any way that her bad luck charm might still be alive then it was going to be there. She might even be able to find a way back up from the bottom of the arena to get Dean. "Don't worry you two!" she called frantically, desperation making her voice higher and crack slightly. "I'm gonna find a way to get you!"
With her mind firmly set the Ninetales began descending the steep cliffs surrounding the Arena in the vain belief that she would be able to rescue her friends.
Just hang on guys.
I'm coming for you.
I'm coming....
((Leaving post, Phoe is going to be switching to Under now and I haven't actually decided whether Dean is dead or not so for now he is just going inactive. Been fun! XD))
