(ELITE) The MAHOGANY Team

The sneezing fit finally ended and left the small woman feeling exhausted; stopping apparently allowed the weariness to finally catch up. It had been a really long day, and the time when Max would have stopped to rest for the night had been taken up with this bullshit. Didn't these dumbasses know that running their tools into the ground was terrible for long term upkeep? The anger burned out quickly as she realized that she was running out of energy to care; the manual labor, walking, and feeling like her lungs were going to rebel had sapped most of her energy. She flinched when Mini-Ariana spoke up, "Look, how about, as a personal favor to the person you admitted might be your daughter, and probably is because just look at our hair, that you don't touch anyone with that thing.  If you're gonna make us do this, at least don't torture anyone, all right?" Oh, so Ariana owned up to the possibility? Interesting, but Max was worried about the crazy redhead's reaction. Though the worry wasn't as strong as it had been earlier. At this point, she just wanted Ariana to get over herself so that they could move the fuck on.

As she paused to catch her breath, she looked up and noticed the doctor lady was staring at her. Shit, did she see that? In an attempt to hopefully make sure the other didn't call out Max's moment of weakness, she gave the other a tired smile and a thumbs up. She was painfully aware that the red eyes and tear tracks running through the dirt on her face probably ruined the effect, however. The earlier conversation and game did give decent insight to her fellow hostage's thoughts, but that was a game. Despite what many people claimed, the way they acted in a game was not indicative to what they would actually do in situations. While she liked to think that the other wouldn't sell her out, she didn't know. Then there was always the good intentions pave the road to Hell issue. The doctor lady could honestly think that bringing up her issues would be good, but Max didn't share that optimism. No point in taking a risk. She would not beg or try using her health as leverage.

Max had thought that she had reached her emotional limit for the day; her anger had burnt itself out for a quiet bitterness that could be ignored. Then Ariana responded,  "Oh, Sweetie, you just haven't seen how much fun it can be." That sadistic glee rekindled her anger with an intense ferocity as she internally bemoaned her weakness in getting caught. Oh hell no. The sheer narcissism in the next demand made her grit her teeth and viciously claw her hands into the wall she was digging into. "Tell you what, girls, Beg me, and I might consider not using my whip. Get on the ground, Fenix, and beg me. I want you to whimper. Plead for my mercy. Kiss my fucking feet. Worship the filth underneath my boots. That might just change my mind." The dirt she moved flew behind her as she attacked the wall vehemently and didn't care where the dirt landed. Usually when she got this angry, she simply sat and clenched her hands until it burned out, but she had something she might as well be doing. Besides, imagining the wall as the redhead gave her a way to physically vent. Wonder if this is how Melody felt... She was so deep in her thoughts that she missed exactly what Ariana said next, though she did take notice that the smaller redhead was no longer digging with them.

Misty had tried to approach Max when she had paused; the Ponyta had been around the human long enough to know that, despite the attempts to hide it, her allergies were acting up fiercely. Unlike her human, she noticed the concern in the gaze of the doctor lady, and Max's attempt at appeasing the other human's curiosity fell horribly flat in Misty's eyes. What she didn't expect was the ferocity with which she continued her task. The Ponyta looked back at the power play going on behind them; something about this had rekindled her trainer's ire, and she was taking it out on the nearest thing she could. However, when the dirt started flying a little too close to the other humans, Misty nudged her human. The unexpected touch caused her to flinch backwards and almost land on her rear end as she sent her arm flying in the direction of Misty. The Ponyta jumped out of the way, having expected the reflex, and gave her a pleading look. Please calm down.

When Max realized that the one who had touched her was Misty, she visibly calmed down, and gave the Ponyta a questioning look. Misty then nodded towards the dirt that she had kicked up, and Max then noticed that she had almost thrown dirt at some of the other humans. Oh... That... could have caused another incident... Thoroughly chastised, she took a deep breath as she righted herself and began digging again. Unfortunately, the second flare of anger had burnt through a lot of energy, and the digging was pitifully slow.

[Skip. Daisy's just sticking to her own task and not getting in the way of the conflict.]

Mars clenches her teeth as Ariana walks right up to her and lays a hand on her head. Oh. Wow. Fuck you.  

"Oh, Sweetie, you just haven't seen how much fun it can be." Oh fuck, her hand is going back to her whip. "Tell you what, girls. Beg me, and I might consider not using my whip."

Oh. Wow. Fuck you.

She moves closer to Fenix and Mars tenses as she removes the whip. "Get on the ground, Fenix, and beg me. I want you to whimper. Plead for my mercy. Kiss my fucking feet. Worship the filth underneath my boots. That might just change my mind."

A hand places itself on her shoulder; too large to be Saturn's, and she can hear his soft noise of protest, so it definitely can't be him. The hand is gentle, though, and when its owner tries to slowly pull her back, she moves with it.  

But of course Ariana is not quite so busy that she doesn't notice. "No, no, Archer... Let her stay there. Baby girl needs to know who's in charge."

Wait, Archer? She turns her head a bit, eyes widening a fraction. 

It is him.

Duh, of course it is; Ariana wouldn't lie when there's no point to it. But it's still startling.

What's even more startling is that Fenix does kneel in front of her, and without protest. Mars feels her stomach heave a bit.

That's not going to be enough, is it? Psycho was pretty specific and that's like, a fifth of what she demanded. There's no way she'll accept that, fuck.

While Mars stares at the not-really-a-showdown between the two women, Saturn's eyes are not on Fenix, but rather on Misty and Max-- the fire pony is moving, and not subtly, either, despite her attempts.

Oh no oh christ be careful.

But his worrying is unneeded-- she safely gets to her human's side and calms her, the enraged young woman steadying herself with a deep breath and resuming digging. That went better than he hoped, and he can only continue to hope that Ariana didn't somehow notice it despite what was going on in front of her and do something about it.

The battle of wills between Ariana and Fenix was enough to make absolutely everyone but themselves completely on edge, despite Max's attempt to abstain from the spectacle by continuing her digging. Of course, with Ariana's earlier order, Archer was forced to do nothing, only capable of watching with the rest of their audience. His eyes watched Fenix's expression carefully with Sin on standby, but it seemed his nervousness proved unfounded. The proud blonde was livid but proved obedient. She knelt down onto one knee, clearly violating some inner personal dogma. Archer chanced an exhale. Knowing Ariana... that wouldn't be enough.

"Is that it?" she laughed, shifting her weight to the other leg as she glared hatefully down at Fenix. "That's your begging? That's fucking pitiful, isn't it Garmr?" The dog gave a short strange sound -Ariana labeled it as him "talking", though Sin had confirmed it was little more than nonsense- and Ariana chuckled at her prisoner's inferiority. She basked in the moment, her sneer becoming more and more cruel. "Yeah, I agree. I think you can do better than that, Blondie."

Without hesitation or warning, Ariana lifted one of her booted feet to rest on Fenix's shoulder and pushed down, hard. With a quick application of her strength, she forced the other woman down fully onto the ground, face inches from the filthy floor. "That looks a little better. Now. Beg. Plead me to not hurt these prisoners. I want the words coming from your mouth, Miss Martyr. If you don't, I'll just think you're insincere and whip one of them anyway."

Her eyes roamed over the prisoners and the one with the random coughing fit caught her eye, a cackle escaping her as she decided on her potential victim. "Miss Allergies over there. I'll whip her. I'll whip her until she can't scream anymore. You understand, sweetie? I'll bleed her dry with this thing and then let Garmr use her and her pony's bloody fucking corpses as toys. So the choice is yours. Beg me or I'll do what I fucking want."

Archer made no move against Ariana or anything else; instead he watched Fenix's crumpled form and Garmr's barely controlled glee. Just swallow your fucking pride and move on, he inwardly willed to the woman. Just humor her.

"Is that it?" Ariana's laughter echoed in Fenix's skull as she watched the woman shift slowly. "That's your begging? That's fucking pitiful, isn't it Garmr?" Oh right, like kneeling down in front of some potato sack she could rip in half wasn't humiliating enough? Fucking hell. The Houndoom at her side gargled in response, probably choking on it's own spit as it humped the air in anticipation for the kill. The mutt was little more than an overused, under-trained pit fighter at this point and there would be no saving it later down the line. Once Ariana was done with it the thing would either go mad or die.

"Yeah, I agree. I think you can do better than that, Blondie."

Fenix grunted lowly as Ariana's heeled boot came crashing down on her shoulder, fighting every instinct that told her to sweep the unprotected leg while she was off balance and instead forcing herself to let her knees buckle until she hit the ground with a thud. It seemed that wasn't enough though as Ariana's foot kept increasing the pressure until her chest was flat to the ground and she was practically laying down at the bitch's feet. Huge tits were her advantage here as they kept her chin from knocking into the metal floor. "That looks a little better. Now. Beg. Plead me to not hurt these prisoners. I want the words coming from your mouth, Miss Martyr. If you don't, I'll just think you're insincere and whip one of them anyway."

Flynn began to move towards Fenix instinctively to try and help the situation but one look from Tyranny had him stop in his tracks. His questioning eyes met hers and she shook her head slowly, warning him not to interfere, and the Sylveon went still. He could sense Fenix's frustration and anger through her mask of indifference and just wanted to do something to help. But what could he do?

"Miss Allergies over there. I'll whip her. I'll whip her until she can't scream anymore. You understand, sweetie? I'll bleed her dry with this thing and then let Garmr use her and her pony's bloody fucking corpses as toys. So the choice is yours. Beg me or I'll do what I fucking want." Fenix's teeth were clenched so hard her jaw was hurting. She couldn't kill Ariana yet, not yet, it was too early. Too many risks. If it were just her and the two Rockets then she would have snapped Ariana's neck already and fucked off but there were innocent bystanders now. Kids even...

"P-please," she finally managed to grind out, squeezing her eyes shut against the embarrassment as though it could hide her. "Leave them alone. I can take whatever you want to dish out in their place if you want. They didn't do anything... I did. Just let them be. I'm the one to punish not them. Please...." Flynn had never heard her voice shake like that and it scared him. He wasn't sure if it was from anger or from wounded pride but either way it sounded like the woman was about to cry.

((Sil let me know if I need to edit the part with Tyranny. I ran out of time and needed to post before I lost internet.))

Max couldn't bring herself to stop and observe Ariana's disgusting display, but she could still hear the crazy redhead's crowing. "Is that it? That's your begging? That's fucking pitiful, isn't it Garmr?" The sound the Houndoom made didn't sound like proper language, and for a second, she worried that her translator had broken or something. She sent Misty a questioning glance, but the Ponyta looked just as confused. God, was that dog even sane? She had thought that he was at least coherent, but that sound was practically feral.

Ariana continued on as if he had agreed, "Yeah, I agree. I think you can do better than that, Blondie. That looks a little better. Now. Beg. Plead me to not hurt these prisoners. I want the words coming from your mouth, Miss Martyr. If you don't, I'll just think you're insincere and whip one of them anyway." The sick, sadistic tone made Max's stomach churn, and she wasn't sure if she was more angry or disgusted.

Unfortunately, her lungs protested right at that moment, and the coughing fit drew Ariana's attention to her. "Miss Allergies over there. I'll whip her. I'll whip her until she can't scream anymore. You understand, sweetie? I'll bleed her dry with this thing and then let Garmr use her andher pony's bloody fucking corpses as toys. So the choice is yours. Beg me or I'll do what I fucking want." Misty started shaking again as she peered in the direction that she heard the insane hound's growls. She looked like she was ready to bolt in fear, but Max's hand drew her attention back to the human. Max laid her hand on the pony's face and made Misty look at her. Two sets of blue eyes met, and Misty could see the grim determination in her human's eyes. They had to get through this alive, and attempting to run now would make that impossible.

Max was too tired to be properly angry, but the bitterness was still there. If you do, I hope my bones choke your idiot dog. She finally decided to see how bad it was and looked over her shoulder at Ariana and Fenix. The power mad redhead had a boot on Fenix's shoulder, and the blonde lady was facedown on the floor. Fenix's voice wavered as she finally complied with Ariana's demand, "P-please. Leave them alone. I can take whatever you want to dish out in their place if you want. They didn't do anything... I did. Just let them be. I'm the one to punish not them. Please...." Max internally prayed that Ariana would finally accept Fenix's grovelling and move the fuck on. This was getting ridiculous.

For a moment, Daisy's focus on the wellbeing of the girl in the hoodie is lost as one of the last ones to be taken hostage-the redheaded girl-speaks up. "Admitted might be your daughter?" Stealing a glance at the two of them, Daisy can't deny the striking similarities between the two women; in fact, she's half-surprised she didn't think of it that much before. Quickly returning to her task as to not draw the ire of Ariana, Daisy can again look over at hoodie girl to see if she's okay. Though the other woman gives her both a smile and a thumbs-up as signs of reassurance, Daisy isn't convinced. There's nothing she can do about it, however. Ariana wouldn't care about her health, and it might just make things worse. As much as it goes against her instincts to help, Daisy keeps silent. God, she can only hope the girl doesn't get worse...

Oh, Sweetie, you just haven't seen how much fun it can be." Ariana's sickeningly sweet voice is an unwelcome sound, no doubt heralding even worse things to come. "Tell you what, girls,"she cooed, "Beg me, and I might consider not using my whip. Get on the ground, Fenix, and beg me. I want you to whimper. Plead for my mercy. Kiss my fucking feet. Worship the filth underneath my boots. That might just change my mind."

Daisy feels one of her fists clench involuntarily, the action bringing a tiny shock of surprise. In that moment, she'd wanted nothing more than to slam her fist against the wall, or better yet, Ariana herself. For a moment, the woman can only stare a bit ahead of her as her fingers uncurl, the skin on her palm now a bright red. When was the last time she'd felt such unadulterated anger? Being from Kanto meant her hatred for Rocket ran deep, but this is something more. Ariana represented everything Daisy found to be an insult against humanity-cruelty, manipulation, the desire to inflict pain just for the sake of inflicting pain. She wouldn't stop, no, this could only be the beginning.

But what could Daisy do, with the lives of her Pokemon and other people at stake? Nothing, that's what. She couldn't do anything but fall in line like a good little dog, and dig.

Daisy didn't dare risk looking back again, but she could infer from Ariana's words that Fenix had played along...somewhat. Whatever she'd done, it wasn't enough to satisfy the redhead's abhorrent demands. "Is that it? That's your begging? That's fucking pitiful, isn't it Garmr?" Her Houndoom made a strange gurgling sound in response, something that couldn't be coherent in any language, verbal or otherwise. The poor thing...despite its obvious vicious nature, Daisy could not help but pity what being "raised" by a woman like Ariana had done to the creature. As much as she despises the thought, there's barely more than a marginal chance that Garmr would be able to return from the damage done to him. That only hardens the fury in Daisy's heart, turning it cold. She wants to see this woman pay for her crimes to both humanity and Pokemon alike.

But nothing Ariana continued to say was as both infuriating and terrifying as when she directed her attention to the hooded girl, no doubt drawn by her coughing. "Miss Allergies over there. I'll whip her. I'll whip her until she can't scream anymore. You understand, sweetie? I'll bleed her dry with this thing and then let Garmr use her and her pony's bloody fucking corpses as toys. So the choice is yours. Beg me or I'll do what I fucking want." Daisy froze, the horrible image already flashing in her mind. No...no, that could not happen. She didn't care that in this world, people dying is as mundane as coffee in the morning used to be, or that she'd seen deaths that were just as awful several times over. At least then, Daisy had been able to try and stop it. At least then, it wasn't at the hands of a sadistic Rocket admin. This girl has done nothing to deserve such a fate; none of them have. The unfairness of the world could be damned to hell for all Daisy cared; all of them are getting out of here.

"P-please. Leave them alone. I can take whatever you want to dish out in their place if you want. They didn't do anything... I did. Just let them be. I'm the one to punish not them. Please...."

The only thing that they can hope for is that Ariana will finally accept Fenix's pleading; begging the redhead for mercy must be devastating to the woman. Daisy wasn't naïve enough to think they could even try to overpower the Rocket duo, not when the hostages were all exhausted and lacking proper weapons, with guns and powerful hounds leering over them. They'd have to wait...and hope Ariana's "patience" didn't wear out until then.

"Is that it? That's your begging? That's fucking pitiful, isn't it Garmr?"

Called it.  The Houndoom at her side made... honestly, a noise that sounded far more like it came from an undead than a sentient being.  She can see Saturn shudder out of the corner of her eye and wills him to stay fucking quiet.  

"Yeah, I agree. I think you can do better than that, Blondie."

What a creative insult.

Still keeping his eyes on Mars, Saturn could feel her scorn even from over where he was, and it was definitely a scorn they shared.  if they'd been standing together they might've made a soft remark about the dumbass insult to one another; be that as it may, they weren't.  In helpless situations like these, usually the only comfort to be found would be in the agressor's own incompentance, and if Ariana didn't literally force Fenix to the floor with the heel of her boot, he may have been able to hang onto that strange comfort a bit longer.  

Apparently, that wasn't meant to be, either.

"That looks a little better. Now. Beg. Plead me to not hurt these prisoners. I want the words coming from your mouth, Miss Martyr. If you don't, I'll just think you're insincere and whip one of them anyway."

Both former Galactic comrades tensed at the sight of the fairy trying to make his way discreetly towards his human friend; neither dared to turn their head to actually watch, aware that Ariana would notice the movement, but Saturn stopped digging to listen and to better focus on the white and pink he could see out of the corner of his eye.  

Don't don't don't-!
Fucking stop; you'll make it worse!  What're you gonna do, attack her?  Attack the mutt!?

But he stops moving.  Neither can tell why, but.

At least he stopped walking.  Hopefully she didn't see because she's too busy being a gross gloating sack of shit.

"Miss Allergies over there. I'll whip her. I'll whip her until she can't scream anymore."  Fuck,  No wonder she didn't notice.  She was focusing on the girl.  Saturn moves closer to her and Mars's eyes widen.  Fuck fuck fuck don't draw attention to yourself!  "You understand, sweetie? I'll bleed her dry with this thing and then let Garmr use her and her pony's bloody fucking corpses as toys. So the choice is yours. Beg me or I'll do what I fucking want."

Her eyes snap to Fenix.  What's she going to do.

"P-please." This one had better work.  For everyone's sake. "Leave them alone. I can take whatever you want to dish out in their place if you want. They didn't do anything... I did. Just let them be. I'm the one to punish not them. Please...."

Saturn feels sickness coil around his stomach, watching them as he shifts a bit closer to the girl, hoping that if Ariana strikes out, he'll be struck instead.  I'm the one who actually deserves it; if you're going to hit anyone, hit me!

"P-please," Archer was unsure if the stutter was intentional, but Ariana looked to be eating it right up like some greedy troll. He remained in place, however, as Fenix continued her apology and plead. Ariana's penchant for dominance was certainly sickening, as he'd had to endure it far too many times, but it did give him a fraction of some macabre relief that it wasn't him on that dirty floor. At least not yet. "Leave them alone. I can take whatever you want to dish out in their place if you want. They didn't do anything... I did. Just let them be. I'm the one to punish not them. Please...."

Ariana dug her heel into the woman's shoulder as she playfully considered the offered words. She did want to test how far she could push the little bitch under her heel, see that coy, shit-eating little smirk destroyed by anguish and fear. She wanted that bitch to break. With a final push of her heel into the other woman's shoulder, Ariana stepped away from the bowing form and laughed. "See, I wish I could believe you. But I don't know, something just sounds... off. Like you're only saying that drivel just to placate me. Isn't that just awful-- someone lying to you like that?" she asked, glancing over victoriously at Archer.

"So here's the deal: I whip the girl. Just a few lashes, so don't get your panties in a twist. And all of you stay right the fuck where you are and--"

Archer almost wasn't fast enough. Fenix had risen from her spot to nearly tackle Ariana in the flash of an eye. As much as he wanted to let Fenix cut into the bitch, they were still outnumbered. There was no way they would walk out of there alive. Not with Ariana's bloodlust and not with Garmr. Archer quickly locked Fenix's arms back into a hold and brought her back to the line of hostages, Treason quickly coming to his trainer's aid in securing the woman's legs. "Stop. It," Archer growled in a low voice close to Fenix's ear, keeping it audible only to her. "You're making it worse."

The laugh that vomited its way out of Ariana was chilling. "Excuse you?!" she cried, still pacing before them as an animal paraded itself while it looked for the best bite on a carcass. "I was fucking talking, you mewling cunt! And you know what, it's shit like this that led us here. This--" she presented her coiled whip, "is your last warning. Right here. Because the next bitch that fucks up, I'm going to start killing people, and I certainly don't want to do that. I was being honest, you know, about people cooperating and getting out alive. I really was. I wanted all of us to get through this together, like a big happy fucking family. But you..." Ariana chuckled, sneering down at Fenix, "...wanted to be cute. Pokemon, contain them. Queen, bring her to me."

Her toy snapped and gestured with his head and the pokemon moved on their own. Tyranny stayed on Flynn, Treason went to Fenix, Justice covered an exit with Bella, Garmr snarled and bayed at the terrified pony, and Sin and Cleo covered the other hostages. Queen stomped to Max, pulling the girl up by the backpack and dragged her to the other side of the room. The Nidoqueen then tore the bag off of her prey and tossed it to the side, useless.

With everyone nicely locked down, Ariana turned to the girl at her feet, withdrawing a thick bit of folded leather. Oh yes. This would be fun. It looked like that pale skin would bruise from a good breeze. There would be blood, of course, but also welts and purple and green blooms all over. Art. "Pick her up." The simple command was obeyed without hesitation, and Queen grasped the girl's comparatively tiny wrists. In one swift motion, she pulled the girl to her feet and held he hands above both their heads, fully exposing Max's back. Ariana pushed up on the jacket and shirt, using the leather strap to secure the cloth from protecting the now vulnerable back. Once that was done, she pulled another bit of fat leather and stuck it into the poor girl's mouth. "You're going to want that," she whispered into Max's ear, patting the girl's cheek as she stepped away again.

"So, any objections?" she questioned with a smile, unraveling the whip in her hand and allowing it to snake along the floor beside her as she paced by her prey. "I'm thinking three's the magic number here -thanks to your little outburst, Fenix- but if anyone has anything to say, I'd be happy to consider more. I'm not quite sure if poor Maxie here would agree with me-- how about it, huh, Maxie? Would you like more than three lashes? Maybe five? Ten, even? Fifteen might be a bit much, but I think my arm's up for the task." She laughed at her own incredulous words. "Thank God we have a doctor here, right? Though you might want to find another person to carry your backpack, sweetie pie."

[[Permission given to be an asshole]]

"See, I wish I could believe you. But I don't know, something just sounds... off. Like you're only saying that drivel just to placate me. Isn't that just awful-- someone lying to you like that?"

No.

No she couldn't...

Fenix had fought the urge to struggle under the psychotic bitch's unpractical footwear for the apocalypse the whole time she was digging her heels in so when she walked away an icy ball of dread dropped into the pit of her stomach. She lifted her head to watch as the cackling hyena walked away and towards a new, more enticing victim. "So here's the deal: I whip the girl. Just a few lashes, so don't get your panties in a twist. And all of you stay right the fuck where you are and--"

"Keep your fucking hands off of her!" The blonde was on her feet in the blink of an eye and charged straight at Ariana, fist already raised and ready to come down on that pretentious, laughing face. Sadly it never made contact. Fenix found her arm grappled and her body pulled away by the bitch's pet, Archer, and slowly dragged back to the group. The sound that came from the fire gym leader was guttural, a primal roar tearing from her throat as she fought against her captor. It was enough that even his Mienshao had to trap her legs to keep her from breaking free and tearing after the redhead again.

"Stop. It," She heard his voice growl into her ear, voice low and raspy with the strain of keeping it for her ears only. "You're making it worse." Fenix's teeth clenched as she gave a few more brief tugs to test Archer's grip but her eyes never left Ariana. Her defiant gaze only emblazoned with more fury as she watched the cunt display herself in front of them as though she had won. Gloating like she was some kind of alpha.

"Excuse you?!" The blonde had to resist the urge to spit at her. "I was fucking talking, you mewling cunt! And you know what, it's shit like this that led us here. This--" she presented her whip as though trying to prove her point, only further infuriating the blonde in front of her. "is your last warning. Right here. Because the next bitch that fucks up, I'm going to start killing people, and I certainly don't want to do that. I was being honest, you know, about people cooperating and getting out alive. I really was. I wanted all of us to get through this together, like a big happy fucking family. But you..." Ariana gave her a contemptuous smile, "...wanted to be cute. Pokemon, contain them. Queen, bring her to me."

The heat of her anger began to sway under the chill of dread as she watched the poor girl get corralled, Flynn struggling to get to her but was effectively blocked by Tyranny. Flynn gave the Persian a desperate look as he tried to get around her. "Please..." he pleaded, hoping that something in her would let one of them stop this. "Surely you don't want this. Not this. She's only a young girl..." But the Persian didn't move. Flynn closed his eyes and turned his head with a grimace. He couldn't watch this. He couldn't.

"Pick her up."

Flynn hid his face and Fenix refused to tear eyes away as Ariana began a disgustingly happy ritual of stripping the girl's back bare. She pressed herself back against Archer, hoping to try and loose his footing, but to no avail. "Let me go," she hissed softly through gritted teeth. "Let me stop this!" She started struggling again as Ariana resumed her public spectacle. "So, any objections?"

A million. A hundred million. As many objections as Fenix had ways to break bones in Ariana's body. She wanted to scream, to break free and wrap that shitty little whip around the cunt's neck until she turned purple and dropped over dead. But Archer wouldn't let the fuck go. Blaine had told her how devious and demented Rocket could be, he had even warned her about Ariana specifically one time, but this...this was too much. No one should be allowed to live who was this brutal to other survivors. Humanity had so little left that someone like Ariana still up and around was just wasted air and resources. She didn't deserve to live.

"I'm thinking three's the magic number here -thanks to your little outburst, Fenix- but if anyone has anything to say, I'd be happy to consider more. I'm not quite sure if poor Maxie here would agree with me-- how about it, huh, Maxie? Would you like more than three lashes? Maybe five? Ten, even? Fifteen might be a bit much, but I think my arm's up for the task."

Oh she had something to say alright. Yet it seemed as though Archer predicted her effort when he felt her inhale sharply and before she could shout back exactly what she thought of Ariana's stupid plan a hand found it's way over her mouth with a loud smack. She ended up screaming into the new obstacle and for a moment made an effort to try and bite at him. There was no way she was letting any of this go without a fight. None.

The playful tone in Ariana's voice caused Max's stomach to drop. "See, I wish I could believe you. But I don't know, something just sounds... off. Like you're only saying that drivel just to placate me. Isn't that just awful-- someone lyingto you like that?" It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that the bitch was just looking for excuses. Unfortunately, Max was going to be the whipping boy, and the realization froze her in place. "So here's the deal: I whip the girl. Just a few lashes, so don't get your panties in a twist. And all of you stay right the fuck where you are and--"

Fenix tried to take action and leapt up to attack Ariana, but any thoughts of rebellion were quashed with the ease of which the fiery woman was contained by Archer and his Pokemon. Ariana took offense to the outburst, and her laughter chilled Max to the core, "Excuse you?!" I was fucking talking, you mewling cunt!And you know what, it's shit like this that led us here. This--" She paused for effect while showing off her whip."is your last warning. Right here. Because the next bitch that fucks up, I'm going to start killing people, and I certainly don't want to do that. I was being honest, you know, about people cooperating and getting out alive. I really was. I wanted all of us to get through this together, like a big happy fucking family. But you..." Ariana gave a pointed glare at Fenix. "...wanted to be cute. Pokemon, contain them. Queen, bring her to me."

There was a flurry of movement, but Max was still frozen in horror. She couldn't move. She couldn't scream. Something inside her screamed at her to do anything, but the fear of making this worse paralyzed her muscles. It wasn't until she felt something tugging on her backpack that her survival instincts kicked in and she tried to struggle. The Nidoqueen's natural armor ignored any, and all kicks or punches that actually landed were ineffective at best and hurting her hands at worst. She was then tossed onto the floor before her bag was nearly ripped off, and she had to allow it or ruin her arms or bag. She didn't have to look up to know she was being gazed at like a piece of meat, and she finally just covered her face.

She wasn't allowed to lay for long before there was another order, "Pick her up." The Nidoqueen grabbed her by the wrists and forced her to stand, and then she felt something that was an offense to her very being. Her skin crawled when the woman's hands began pulling up her shirt, and she instinctively tried to twist her body out of the iron grip. The mere touch was making her feel sick, and the knowledge that there were two men in the room made it worse. Her voice still refused to work as if it knew she had no mouth, but she had to scream. Her back was exposed to the world, and something was used to hold the fabric of her hoodie and shirt up. One small mercy was that her front was still covered, but being nearly stripped from behind was freaking her out. She almost choked when the woman thrust a piece of leather into her mouth before Ariana whispered,"You're going to want that."

At this point, the futility of struggling was apparent, and the day's fatigue was kicking in. Max finally stopped struggling, and it was only Queen's grip that was keeping Max standing. She didn't want to get whipped, but she had no options. It wasn't fair. Why was she getting whipped when she had been doing as she was told? The answer was sadly obvious, but she was still despairing. Ariana was being an unfair idiot because she needed to release her power boner. Ariana finally spoke again, "So, any objections?" Yeah, right, no one was going to actually object when they were being held down. Even if they did, it wouldn't matter. Or it would be worse. "I'm thinking three's the magic number here -thanks to your little outburst, Fenix- but if anyone has anything to say, I'd be happy to consider more. I'm not quite sure if poor Maxie here would agree with me-- how about it, huh, Maxie? Would you like more than three lashes? Maybe five? Ten, even? Fifteen might be a bit much, but I think my arm's up for the task." Thirty was fatal if she remembered correctly... or was that only cat o' nine tails? She wasn't going to say anything though; nothing mattered. "Thank God we have a doctor here, right? Though you might want to find another person to carry your backpack, sweetie pie." Her eyes closed in shame and in preparation for the pain.

"See, I wish I could believe you. But I don't know, something just sounds... off. Like you're only saying that drivel just to placate me. Isn't that just awful-- someone lying to you like that?" The words are like a ball of lead being dropped onto Daisy's shoulders, rendering her unable to move. All of that begging and humiliation Fenix went through was for nothing, and that meant Max would...

No. No, the poor girl doesn't deserve this; she hasn't done anything wrong! She's done nothing but follow Ariana's demands, and yet the evil, tyrannical woman is still punishing her. How could any of them be expected to survive this fool's errand when Ariana dealt out these cruelties for her own pleasure? All of them would be reduced to mince meat if this power trip kept up.

"So here's the deal: I whip the girl. Just a few lashes, so don't get your panties in a twist. And all of you stay right the fuck where you are and--"

"Keep your fucking hands off of her!" Still paralyzed, Daisy can only watch as Fenix throws herself at Ariana, a flurry of blonde hair and sheer rage. Her punch fails to make contact, the woman quickly restrained by Archer, and Daisy is unsure of whether to be relieved or terrified. Fenix hadn't touched the Rocket admin, but the fact she'd merely attempted it might just make things worse for all of them, especially Max. No, Daisy is almost certain that this will make things worse.

"Excuse you?!" Ariana's shrill cry is similar to that of a predator as it snatches up helpless prey...or maybe Daisy only thinks that because to the way Ariana is circling them like a pack of wolves. At any moment, she would pounce and tear someone to shreds. "I was fucking talking, you mewling cunt! And you know what, it's shit like this that led us here. This--" The woman presents her coiled whip, the barbaric tool worthy of nothing more than being spat upon and buried, so no one could ever use it again. "-is your last warning. Right here. Because the next bitch that fucks up, I'm going to start killing people, and I certainly don't want to do that. I was being honest, you know, about people cooperating and getting out alive. I really was. I wanted all of us to get through this together, like a big happy fucking family. But you..."

The contemptuous chuckle and smirk only serves as a reminder of how hopeless this situation is. None of them can do anything to stop what's about to happen, and the guilt drives a nail into her heart. She should have said something, done anything to draw Ariana's attention towards her. If she had voluntarily offered to take the punishment from the very beginning, then this wouldn't be happening...the poor girl...

"...wanted to be cute. Pokemon, contain them. Queen, bring her to me."

Daisy can only watch helplessly as the Nidoqueen forcibly grabs Max and pulls her away from her spot and over to Ariana. With the Rockets' Pokemon in their way, nobody could hope to act or attempt to escape. She, Fenix, and the the other pair can only be witnesses, though she averts her eyes as Max's hoodie and shirt are pushed up to expose her back. One can only imagine what the girl must be feeling, and even if the gesture of respect doesn't mean much, it is the best Daisy can do for her right now. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

Daisy thinks of all the Pokemon she's seen over the years, especially the ones bearing wounds from cruel whippings received from their malicious humans. It was never a pretty sight, nor something that easily healed; just how far would Ariana go? For God's sake, the shock could kill the girl, and the chance of infection in this decaying building is all too real. Would they even let Daisy help her, or leave Max to suffer her way through this filthy place?

"So, any objections?" Countless objections spring to mind, but Daisy knows better than to articulate them; doing so would bring even more punishment upon Max. Forced to say nothing, the woman can only watch helplessly, silently hoping that Ariana would have enough sense not to whip the girl to the point of unconsciousness, or God forbid, death. The red-headed woman continues to ramble, no doubt finding this entire situation to be absolutely hilarious. "I'm thinking three's the magic number here -thanks to your little outburst, Fenix- but if anyone has anything to say, I'd be happy to consider more. I'm not quite sure if poor Maxie here would agree with me-- how about it, huh, Maxie? Would you like more than three lashes? Maybe five? Ten, even? Fifteen might be a bit much, but I think my arm's up for the task." God, this is vile. Daisy wonders if Ariana finds it better to toy with and manipulate her victims, to worsen the anticipation of pain; it's an ugly thought, one she doesn't desire to dwell upon.

"Thank God we have a doctor here, right? Though you might want to find another person to carry your backpack, sweetie pie." Daisy doesn't dare let it show, but her blood has turned to fire. This abhorrent, disgusting woman is a plague upon this entire world, manipulating and tortiring fellow humans for her own sickening amusement. How dare she? How dare she? Why have so many good people and Pokemon died while this she-devil is still breathing? Why?

Her heart racing, Daisy takes the question and places it within a mental box, placing said box deep in the back of her mind. She's not so naïve to think the world acts in any sort of fair manner. But Daisy knows now that she can't simply run away and leave Ariana to wreak havoc somewhere else as soon as this group is split. That would condemn countless other people to terrible fates; she can't allow this to happen.

Daisy would find a way to fight back, but for now, she had to bide her time. She mentally apologized to Max once more, wishing there was some way to save the girl from what is about to happen. The only thing they can hope for is that Ariana does not choose to go through with as high of a number as fifteen with these lashes...

"See, I wish I could believe you. But I don't know, something just sounds... off."

Oh, christ, really?

"Like you're only saying that drivel just to placate me. Isn't that just awful-- someone lying to you like that?

Yeah, of course.  What was she thinking.  Of course this is how Ariana is going to play this.  She'd never meant to spare the girl at all; she just wanted to make Fenix feel awful. Isn't that how all power-hungry assholes play their games?  Maybe it was her need to be optimistic for Saturn poisoning her common sense on how the world actually works, but for a minute there she thought Ariana would be satisfied with just making the proud woman beg.

Fuck you, and fuck your Pokemon.  If there's a snowball's chance in hell of me killing you I am taking it  But not right now, not when it matters.  Her nails are leaving bloody half-moons in her palms.

"So here's the deal: I whip the girl. Just a few lashes, so don't get your panties in a twist. And all of you stay right the fuck where you are and--"

"Keep your fucking hands off of her!"

Oh fuck me, seriously? Now is not the time, dipshit.  You might've just cost the girl a few more lashings!  Thank god Archer restrains her.  Whether it's out of worry for the girl or because he has his own agenda who knows, but either way, that would've gone a lot worse had he not stepped in.

"Excuse you?!"  Jeus, spare them your voice; it sounds like a wounded dog's balls being rubbed on a cheese grater. "I was fucking talking, you mewling cunt! And you know what, it's shit like this that led us here. This--"

She tenses when the whip comes out.  From the corner of her eye, Saturn actually buries his face in his hands, probably to avoid making any sound.

"-is your last warning. Right here. Because the next bitch that fucks up, I'm going to start killing people, and I certainly don't want to do that. I was being honest, you know, about people cooperating and getting out alive. I really was. I wanted all of us to get through this together, like a big happy fucking family. But you..."

She's not even entirely wrong.  Sure, Ariana never actually intended for this to be a family outing, but Fenix, fucking brave idiot that she is, definitely did fucking nothing to avoid provoking her.

"...wanted to be cute."

Did you seriously not think that someone else might end up paying for your smart mouth?

"Pokemon, contain them. Queen, bring her to me."

Mars directs her gaze at the wall furthest from the vantage point of the hulking purple Pokemon.  Saturn shivers at its heavy footsteps as it walks right up to him and Max and grabs the girl away, Saturn raising his head just a little to glance at her.

I'm sorry I'm sorry I'msorry.  It's not his fault this is happening but he's sure doing fuck all to stop it, isn't he?

Not like he'd even get anywhere if he tried, but he could a least try.  Instead he cowers in silence, staring at the wall of rubble as he hears the shifting of fabric.  The sound makes him tense and his gut clenches with the realization of what is coming and the memory of something that once was.

Entirely different situation, and also completely stupid that the sound, the one thing linking the memory to the now, would remind him of anything.  Especially when an innocent kid is about to get hurt.

Badly hurt, probably, because why half-ass being whatever name you could call what this woman is.  'Demon,' and 'dictator' don't feel strong enough.

"So, any objections?" Oh god just get it over with. "I'm thinking three's the magic number here -thanks to your little outburst, Fenix- but if anyone has anything to say, I'd be happy to consider more. I'm not quite sure if poor Maxie here would agree with me-- how about it, huh, Maxie? Would you like more than three lashes? Maybe five? Ten, even? Fifteen might be a bit much, but I think my arm's up for the task."

Don't make the girl talk, don't.  Why her.  Why her.  Why not him instead!?  But if he so much as speaks to suggest it she'll probably just hurt Max more out of spite.

Gods, why is this woman still alive.  All these dead people and she can't be one of them?

Ariana smugly soaked in her prisoners' horror and rage as they watched her in turn. This was where she liked to be-- at the top and completely the center of macabre attention. Her eyes happily flitted to each of them, silently gloating her victory as she made eye contact with those that dared return her gaze. She settled on Fenix for a long while, her triumphant smirk widening in sick pleasure. "So quiet. Well, then, I'll take that as my cue. Maxie, dearie..." she called as the whip's length fell to the ground, its long reach now fully unleashed, "hope you're ready." She bared her teeth in utter glee as her attention was now completely focused on the pale canvas before her. It wasn't a wide back, but she'd worked with skinnier.

The first lash came quickly, eagerly, and bit hard into Max's poor skin, slicing past skin and slightly into fat and muscle. Archer, meanwhile, took the opportunity the noise presented to lean down to Fenix's ear as she struggled hard against him and his Meinshao. "It's only three. You open your trap, do ANYTHING, she gets more. You understand that? You say ANYTHING, do ANYTHING, that girl gets more. Stay quiet and it's over quicker." It was unfortunate that it was simply a rule of traveling with the woman, but... Archer had come to grips with the reality of it long ago. If they wanted to get out of here alive, they would need to come to terms with it as well.

The second lash came next, with some minutes between it and its predecessor. Ariana wasn't one to allow old pain dull into new. She smiled at her progress, the two lashes coming together nicely into a sort of arrow shape. "/\". Now... for the third and final lash, it would be trickier. She shifted her stance and shoulders a bit, her arm twitching in happy anticipation for another strike. After a minute of aiming and enjoying poor Max's cries of pain, she finally struck her final blow, but frowned at the result. The three lashes were supposed to mimic an "A", but... well it just didn't look right.

"Seems I botched it," Ariana growled to herself, drawing her knife as the whip went to the other hand. "Damn. Well, nothing a knife can't fix." She glanced to the others, silently daring them to intervene, and strode toward her poor victim, knife brandished. "An artist such as myself can't leave a work half done. But Max, you'll need to be still-- if I fuck this up and go just a little too deep, then you'll be paralyzed." She chuckled as she traced her path with the blade, her free hand brushing some dislodged hair away from Max's exposed and now bleeding back. "No beauty without pain, after all."

The knife was sharp, cutting into the living skin like butter. Flaying wasn't something Ariana got to practice often, but it was a small enough area to where she still felt confident in her own ability. The intricate, horrific detailing didn't take long, but throughout it, Archer continued to keep Fenix under control, quietly urging her to not madden Ariana further. With a final slice, Ariana pulled away a thin strip of skin and stepped back, admiring her work. "Well, that looks better. Much better. Queen, let them look at my work-- I'm quite proud!" She laughed as the Nidoqueen obeyed, hoisting Max higher and displaying her newly acquired scars to the others. "Talk about a 'scarlet letter', right? Ha!"

With no one else laughing at the joke, Ariana continued to chuckle softly to herself before waving a bloodied knife in Queen's direction. "Go ahead, release her. Doctor, bandage her up. I guess this is a good place to end the night's festivities-- as much as I'd like to keep you fuckers digging, sleep is very important." She waltzed away, digging into her own bag for a snack. "Archer, you can release Princess. Let her try something. I could go for killing someone right about now to really top off my lovely night."

A simple, sharp glance down at his charge was all he could manage with Ariana watching so closely, but he released Fenix regardless. His pokemon followed suit and they quickly backed away, watching the woman for signs of attacking. The tension in the air was sickeningly thick, especially accompanied with the overwhelming scent of Max's blood.

Fenix's eyes met Ariana's in a fiery challenge, the glittering amber orbs making all of the promises of death and destruction her words could not form due to the hand clamped over her mouth. Her breath huffed and hissed through her nose as she struggled not to hyperventilate with her anger making them seem more like the warnings of an angry Tauros about to charge. She never stopped trying to shift and kick with her legs hoping that the Mienshao's grip would have a weak point somewhere but his arms were wrapped tight and didn't give her much leeway. There was a way she could knock their hold loose but it would require a level of speed and dexterity that she was sure the purple ermine could match. Unless she got lucky and he passed out.

Ariana continued to gloat and flaunt her so called power around until she settled on the poor girl waiting for her fate and once the bitch was no longer facing her Fenix's struggles renewed with a vigor. She had to get loose, she had to stop this somehow, but Archer was stronger than he looked which only pissed her off more. How had she underestimated this man? The first lash sounded with a loud crack, making both Fenix and Flynn flinch and for a moment Fenix tried turning her head away. Yet just as quickly as Ariana had decided to play she seemed just as eager to wait, watching her fresh handiwork swell and weep with blood running down the poor child's back. Why wasn't she still perversely getting herself off? What was her fucking game?

As she brought her gaze back to Ariana, trying beyond hope to kill her with just her mind, Archer leaned into her and whispered into her ear once more. "It's only three. You open your trap, do ANYTHING, she gets more. You understand that? You say ANYTHING, do ANYTHING, that girl gets more. Stay quiet and it's over quicker." Quicker? Quicker!? Ariana was just fucking standing there watching the kid squirm and cry under the pain of the first lash! She wasn't doing anything. This would take hours if Ariana felt like it so what the hell was he expecting her to do? Keep quiet all goddamn day? No sir.

Fenix's response to Archer was attempting to jab her elbow into his ribs and bite at his fingers but his hand was too cupped to reach and he pulled her tighter when he felt her arms move giving her no leverage to thrust her arm back. It was driving her insane watching this and not being able to do anything about it. Finally the second lash came down with another crack only this time Fenix didn't dare divert her eyes, instead staring directly at Ariana and pledging that with her last drop of life the red headed devil woman was going to suffer a slow and painful death by her hand.

"Seems I botched it," Ariana griped, Fenix's eyes following her hand as she reached for her belt. The hell was she muttering about? "Damn. Well, nothing a knife can't fix." Oh fuck no! The bitch was crazy what the hell was she going to do with that knife? The poor kid already had her three lashes this was overkill! "An artist such as myself can't leave a work half done. But Max, you'll need to be still-- if I fuck this up and go just a little too deep, then you'll be paralyzed. No beauty without pain, after all."

Fenix screamed a muffled 'no' through the hand that kept her silent, tears welling up hotly as she felt something inside of her snap and her body go stiff. Her tears trailed down her cheeks and began to pool on Archer's hand before falling off of the side and to the floor. She stopped struggling, stopped moving all together actually, and just stood there watching as Ariana butchered a young girl's back in some gleeful ceremony of 'artistry'.

"Well, that looks better. Much better. Queen, let them look at my work-- I'm quite proud!" Ariana's cackling fell away as Fenix got a good look at exactly what Ariana had been so upset about not looking right and felt her blood run cold. "Talk about a 'scarlet letter', right? Ha!" The sick display was a permanent mark of her first initial. The kid would have to carry that the rest of her life...branded with Ariana's letter. Even if Fenix killed the bitch that mark would never go away, and that was not acceptable. Regardless of what happened to her she wanted, no, needed to end Ariana's life.

"Go ahead, release her. Doctor, bandage her up. I guess this is a good place to end the night's festivities-- as much as I'd like to keep you fuckers digging, sleep is very important." It was like she had no soul, no care for anyone but herself. Sociopaths were not something she came across often but Fenix had experience with a couple in her time as a Gym Leader. They required different measures to deal with because normal punishments didn't phase them as they saw themselves above reproach. Ariana wasn't special, she was a garden variety sociopath. "Archer, you can release Princess. Let her try something. I could go for killing someone right about now to really top off my lovely night."

He seemed hesitant at first to obey but didn't linger in releasing her, merely offering her a stern glare. But Fenix was already cold, he needn't worry. Her face had fallen into an impassive mask despite the tear trails slowly drying on her cheeks and at first she didn't even move or shift from the position Archer had held her in. Even her arms took a few moments to slowly drift away from her back and down to her sides. Flynn waited for the Mienshao to move before coming up to Fenix's side but as he reached out with one of his ribbons to curl it around her leg the sheer amount of hate rolling off of her gave him pause. She wasn't broken, she was the embodiment of fury. It just wasn't being shown outwardly.

The Sylveon gave her a reassuring nudge with his head, pushing it into her hand to try and draw her attention away from the young girl being tended to, but the hand remained limp. She did nothing but stare, only sharing her gaze between Max and Ariana as she stood silently. He wished there was some way he could offer comfort but calm was all he could provide as he let his aura take over to ease the tension in the room. The last thing he needed with the heavy scent of blood in the air was for tempers to flare. Their only chance to get out of all of this alive was to help each other, regardless of whatever Ariana might have planned. Together they were stronger than her. They had to be.

Misty nearly bolted when the Nidoqueen had grabbed Max, but the crazy Houndoom's growls pinned her in place. She could only watch in horror as the girl that had saved her life was thrown around like junk before being forced to stand. From what she knew of her trainer, staying covered was a need stronger in her than other humans, and seeing the wretched red head casually pull up Max's shirt and hoodie felt wrong. The only solace that she could find was that she had only exposed Max's back. Once the whip came out, however, any peace of mind was destroyed as she was reminded what was going to happen. Her Trainer struggled against the tough grip for a while until utter hopelessness sunk in, and the sight stirred sparks in the fire type's belly. The sheer horror was still there, but now... anger was forming. How dare someone bring Max to this? She felt how powerless she was in this; she should be fighting tooth and nail to stop the needless whipping, but to fight would be to kill herself or Max...

The horrible woman was gloating over the prisoners, daring them to make any moves. The blonde girl had been contained, and the others had been thoroughly cowed. Most of them averted their eyes from Max. It was a gesture that at least Misty could appreciate; Max's eyes were already closed. "So quiet. Well, then, I'll take that as my cue. Maxie, dearie... hope you're ready." Misty could see Max's body tense as she anticipated the first lash, and when it finally happened, the poor girl's body arched in agony. Despite the leather placed in her mouth, Max's high pitched voice still echoed in the room. Misty had tried to keep her eyes on Max, but after that she had to look away. She pinned her ears down so that she might not hear the full force of Max's pained cries. The spaces in between each of the following lashes were so long; the crack of the whip followed by what felt like minutes of barely contained screaming and whimpering.

When the third crack echoed out, Ariana somehow wasn't satisfied. "Seems I botched it," the redhead grumbled. Misty was incredulous; what could have possibly gone wrong? There had been three lashes. Wasn't that enough? The next few words caused the Ponyta's head to shoot back up and look at the macabre spectacle. "Damn. Well, nothing a knife can't fix. An artist such as myself can't leave a work half done. But Max, you'll need to be still-- if I fuck this up and go just a little too deep, then you'll be paralyzed. No beauty without pain, after all." She couldn't see just what was on Max's back yet, but the scent of blood in the air told her enough. What the hell was this woman going on about? Max's back wasn't some canvas for her to mutilate and call it art! The shine of a knife quieted any words that the Ponyta would have said, and despite the agony she was sure Max was in, the girl had managed to keep her heavily injured back from moving while the woman finished her job.

Misty nearly heaved when she saw the woman pull off a strip of pale skin. Ariana then announced, "Well, that looks better. Much better. Queen, let them look at my work-- I'm quite proud!" At the order, the Nidoqueen, the goddamn Nidoqueen who let this happen, pulled up the still weeping girl to show off the bare back with a bloody symbol on it. Misty didn't know the significance of that particular symbol, but given some of the other's reactions, it was something really bad. Ariana had the gall to joke, "Talk about a 'scarlet letter', right? Ha!" Then she ordered, "Go ahead, release her. Doctor, bandage her up. I guess this is a good place to end the night's festivities-- as much as I'd like to keep you fuckers digging, sleep is very important." With that, Queen dropped Max to the floor, where she gave out another pained cry and curled into a ball on the floor, with the hood pulled over her face. After a moment, her right hand was reaching for something, and after a few seconds, the grasping became more panicked. Spell finally broken, Misty bolted over to Max as quickly as her shaky legs would take her, and she lowered her head down as low as she could to the human's hand.

The panicked grabbing stilled when she touched the Ponyta's head and garbled out, "Mrmmpy?" Then her left hand pulled the piece of leather out of her mouth, and she quietly repeated herself, "Misty? Where... where is it?" The Ponyta gave her a confused look before she remembered that the Nidoqueen had snatched off her bag; she then nodded at Max before retrieving it. She had to drag it due to not having hands, but as soon as she brought it near her human, Max was practically curled around it. Misty then knelt down so that she was lying in front of Max and offered her support as well as she could. Until Max stopped crying, however, she knew she wouldn't remove the hood for anyone to see her face.

((SO SHE CAN SPEAK, LOL. Also, Balth, you can do almost anything you need to in order to patch her up. She's not stupid to refuse any help, and at least Daisy is a girl, lol.))

"So quiet. Well, then, I'll take that as my cue. Maxie, dearie... hope you're ready." God, Daisy can't look at the whip, or the girl about to receive a punishment she never deserved in the first place. With the first crack of the whip and the accompanying sounds of pain, Daisy finds it impossible to block out what is happening. Good. If Max had to go through this, then none of them should be left unaffected. Pure, unadulterated fury pulses through Daisy's veins, aimed entirely at the woman so gleefully carrying out her torture on an innocent girl. The second and third lashes are carried out with time spaced between them for Ariana to revel in her "work". Somehow, despite Max's shrieks of pain and the heavy scent of blood, Ariana's bloodlust still isn't sated.

"Seems I botched it," the woman growls, obviously displeased, but for what reason? Daisy watches her take out a knife and begins to feel sick to her stomach; what in Mew's name is she doing now? "Damn. Well, nothing a knife can't fix. An artist such as myself can't leave a work half done. But Max, you'll need to be still-- if I fuck this up and go just a little too deep, then you'll be paralyzed. No beauty without pain, after all." The words are like being stabbed in the stomach; why this? Why couldn't she finally leave the poor girl alone? As soon as the thought arrives, Daisy knows it's a futile thing to ponder. Everyone in the room already understands why this is happening. Ariana is reveling in the pain inflicted, practically drunk on being able to control and brutalize them at her leisure. If Daisy and the others weren't needed as human shields, then they would likely all already be dead or tortured.

"Well, that looks better. Much better. Queen, let them look at my work-- I'm quite proud!" The Nidoqeeun holds Max up, displaying the abhorrent sight of her new wounds to the rest of the room. The lacerations and one single incision came together to form a bloody "A" on Max's back. Looking at it, Daisy could have swore the temperature in the room dropped; to make things even worse, Ariana couldn't let Max keep her dignity. She just had to go and make a stupid joke. "Talk about a 'scarlet letter', right? Ha!"

Finally, finally, she seems to be finished tormenting the wounded girl...at least for now. "Go ahead, release her. Doctor, bandage her up. I guess this is a good place to end the night's festivities-- as much as I'd like to keep you fuckers digging, sleep is very important." Daisy had been given the order, and it is one she has no issue following through with. Her bag is still there, and she retrieves it, barely sparing a thought towards its heavy weight. She has a patient to care for, after all, someone who needs her. At this point, Max is almost curled up completely into a ball, and Daisy's heart aches for her. There's nothing to be done except try to patch her up as much as possible...

Daisy had been fine with her supplies before, but now they seem terribly insufficient. If only Maggie could be here to help...but Daisy does not dare let her out of her ball. They'd been warned before over what would happen if anyone released a Pokemon without explicit permission, which means she's on her own. Daisy takes a deep breath; this isn't the first time she's cared for a patient by herself, and it certainly won't be her last. Besides that, this is still her element; Ariana may be able to inflict pain, but as long as Daisy is around, she can do something to ease it. The only bright spot in this is that Ariana wasn't stupid enough to deliver the lashes on Max's stomach or chest. Even with the low amount of lashes, that might have lead to some serious problems with her organs that couldn't be fixed here. Of course, there's still the risk of infection, especially in a filthy place like this.

Daisy inspects the wounds, silently seething with renewed hatred for Ariana and her sadistic nature. Judging by the depth of each lash, the focus had been on pain over lasting injury, as while the skin was broken, the fat and muscle underneath was only slightly afflicted. That is a good sign. It meant that Max likely wouldn't suffer any damage to her nerves.

Now, to work on preventing infection. Rummaging through her bag, Daisy retrieves the pouch containing her bottle of saline solution, mercifully intact despite the rather rough handling the bag itself has gone through. Still, there's not much of it left; the bottle had been a rare find. She didn't have much water left in her canteen, either, but it had been boiled before her arrival in Mahogany, certainly better than nothing. Daisy would just have to be careful. A little water is used to flush out the open cut where Ariana had sliced off skin, whereas the saline is saved for the deeper lashes.

Next, Daisy takes a cloth from her bag and dampens it with water from the canteen. She wipes away blood from around the openings of the lashes and slightly inside them, careful not to prod too harshly lest she agitate the already-painful wounds. The bandages would help keep the air from interfering with healing, and the gauze would absorb the blood, but the application of both saline and warm water beforehand should keep any dirt or other material from getting caught within. After this, she sets aside the bloodied cloth and fetches her remaining bandages and gauze.

Wetting the gauze slightly, Daisy first applies it to the strip that formed the middle of the foul "A", then begins her work on the longer and more concerning lashes. If her supply of wrapping for the bandages was looking a little low, it's certainly not holding up well now, but she can't focus on that. The real worry would be when the dressings needed to be replaced; she wouldn't be even half as useful without proper supplies. Of course, another problem was that Max should not be doing any sort of physical labor with such fresh wounds, but Daisy knew better than to place her trust in the reasoning of someone like Ariana.

Daisy pushes these thoughts away as she works on applying the bandages; they'll only serve to distract her from the task at hand. Right now, it's only her patient that matters. Silence lays over her like a stifling blanket, and when the task is finished, it is almost a relief. It isn't like her to get this nervous over working, but treating lacerations on a human caused by whipping is...not a normal thing for Daisy. She can't stop thinking of that "A".

"Max, hon, I'm finished here," she says softly to her, trying not to be too overbearing or loud. After this ordeal, the girl needs her space and privacy alike. "Your hoodie shouldn't disturb the bandages. But, please let me know if you start feeling worse...if the pain increases, or you're feverish. Anything like that."

Gods, Daisy hopes she doesn't sound patronizing. That's the last thing Max needs.

(I tried, Max lolol. Can totally edit the dialogue out because I have no idea if I wanted to keep it or not, rip)

"So quiet. Well, then, I'll take that as my cue. Maxie, dearie... hope you're ready."  Neither of them can watch as the whip cracks and the scream echoes around the room.  The girl has enough to deal with without everyone gawking at her like a spectacle.  Mars does her best not to flinch, mentally cursing every second Ariana waits before the next lash.  Is waiting fucking necessary?  Just get it over with!

"Seems I botched it,"  Despite herself Mars looks over, if for no other reason than to confirm that this is, indeed, reality.  Botched it?  What the actual fuck is she talking about?  How do you botch a flogging unless you've fucking killed the victim when you didn't mean to?

...

Unless flogging her isn't the only purpose of this fucked up display.

"Damn. Well, nothing a knife can't fix. An artist such as myself can't leave a work half done."

Look at that; I was right.  Christ, can't I be wrong for once?  This is like, the third time in a row that I was right?  I didn't want to set a record for most times in a row I guess something right when it's something like this.  

Then again, the better she can read this woman, the better a chance they have at surviving.  Probably.

"But Max, you'll need to be still-- if I fuck this up and go just a little too deep, then you'll be paralyzed. No beauty without pain, after all."

Paralyzed...  That would be a death sentence.  Not just in the epidemic in general, but almost immediately.  Ariana is probably not the kind to keep someone around who can't do anything.  

She'd better not paralyze this kid on purpose.  That's not her plan, right?

Shit, don't let that be where she's going with this.  Her eyes catch the blue of Saturn's hair-- he has his head down and his hands over his ears, trembling.  Not that she can blame him.  Those screams were chilling.  And they're not done yet, either; Ariana still has something to do, which both young people avoid watching but can't avoid hearing.

"Well, that looks better. Much better. Queen, let them look at my work-- I'm quite proud!"  

She supposes she should look.  If not enough people do the woman will probably be set off again.  Grudgingly, she glances over, seeing red at the sight of the A in the girl's back.  Out of the corner of her eye, Saturn flinches violently and actually has to stifle a sob. "Talk about a 'scarlet letter', right? Ha!"

Oh god oh god oh god you marked her how could you how could you.   He hides his face in his knees, trying to suppress his shivering.  

She's never going to be allowed to forget this.  If her mind forgets, her body will remind her.  

It's not fair; it's not.

She's still crying, and each sob is another knife to his heart.  Why her.

"Go ahead, release her. Doctor, bandage her up. I guess this is a good place to end the night's festivities-- as much as I'd like to keep you fuckers digging, sleep is very important."  A doctor, that's right; thank god they have a doctor.  He can't help but glance at her, like someone who just has to stare at a car wreck.  She's curled in a ball.

Saturn feels an insane desire to sit beside her and let her absorb his presence, the way Mars does whenever he's panicking-- it's always comforted him, to just feel someone nearby.  But that won't help here.  He'll just be in the way, and he's a stranger, anyway...

They remain silent as the doctor patches her up, Mars finally moving to sit beside Saturn.  A tiny, wobbly smile manages its way to his face and he resists the urge to lean against her as the smile fades away.

Daisy is talking to Max, but he doesn't listen.  He owes her privacy.  For now he'll just... lay down, he supposes as he moves to do so.  They do need sleep if they're going to survive this.  He feels Mars's body settle beside his, feels the tension keeping her wound up, and he rolls over onto his back, reaching with one hand to give her shoulder a squeeze.  She relaxes beneath his grip.

Time to try for some rest.

As the doctor tended to the poor brutalized girl, Archer returned to his task of rummaging through the bins nearby for anything useful. Unfortunately, it was tough-going, as it'd been soaked through with years of moisture and mold; there was very little chance he'd find anything in there. But his gut told him to appear busy. Looking idle would prompt Ariana to task him with something, and right after whipping someone--

"Hey, Archer..."

His teeth clamped onto the inside of his lower lip as his arms paused in their position in the bin. His stomach dropped and he felt some of the blood flee from his face. He knew that tone. That disgustingly sweet tone that implied... the worst. Archer straightened his back to look over at his fellow Rocket and his fears were confirmed. She was staring at him as Garmr stared at a piece of meat. Bile rose and bit at the back of his throat, but he had to refrain. There wasn't much chance of escape once Ariana got the taste for intimacy, but he had to try. The day he stopped trying, he'd be dead. "I'm... not done looking through these for--"

"No, you're done," she corrected, sauntering over to him with an extra swing in her hips. As if that meant anything to him. "Come on." She closed the gap between them and grasped the collar of his uniform, pulling his face down to hers to leave only a whisper of space between them. "I feel fantastic."

There was the bile again. Archer swallowed against it as he maintained the emotionless facade, then relented. There was no escape. Further fighting would incur her gleeful wrath, which would be worse. He'd already experienced what that involved. Without another word from him, he followed her, led on like a disobedient mutt by the collar. As she led him away from the group, he cast a subtly pleading, anguished glance to Fenix, willing her to make eye contact with him.

You aren't the only prisoners.

---

While Ariana's pokemon were still upbeat and cheerful -or as much as they could be- Archer's pokemon all remained tense and anxious. Tyranny paced, tail lashing, as the muffled sounds filtering in from the adjacent room floated in the air around them. Treason had leaned against the wall near Justice, his eyes closed tightly against the noises, hoping to will them out of his own head. The Tauros himself wasn't doing terribly well, using the advantage of facing away from the group and into the hallway to silently weep his own frustrations of being unable to do anything. They were all helpless to aid the one human that had cared for them.

Sin, however, while obviously not pleased with anything happening to his trainer, remained impassive at best. As Archer's second and the oldest of the team out in the room, -where was Anarchy when they needed him?- he needed to remain strong for the others. His eyes stayed on the hostages around him, hoping now that they would understand he, his teammates and his trainer needed help as much as they did. That they could and should be allies. And that together, they could actually kill that fucking bitch.

It was a grueling hour before Archer finally appeared again, stumbling into view as Ariana pushed him back into the room. His clothes had become very disheveled, along with his hair. His bottom lip sported a bruise and a weeping wound, and he stank of shame. His pokemon in the room went rigid as Ariana slithered up behind him, her long fingers trapping and pulling him down to her height by the hair. "That's a good boy," she quietly sung in his ear, ignoring the ticks and flinches in his expression. His facade could only do so much. With a low, lustful laugh, she released him, stalking to her corner with a victorious air, settling down with a happy sigh. Taking out yet another ball, she brought out her Honchkrow. "Foppy baby, keep watch? You have my permission to take some eyes if they try anything." The bird nodded and flapped up to a higher perch, gleefully daring anyone to try him.

In the meantime, Archer carefully walked to the opposite corner of the room, his face tediously maintained to be blank. As he sat, however, the humiliation and degradation of what just transpired took its toll. His hands shook slightly as they rested on his knees, his mouth twitched as the pain throbbed from the open wound and his breathing wouldn't slow. His pokemon knew they couldn't flock to him, as that would just attract unwanted attention, so Sin was the only one to rise and go to their trainer. A grateful hand went out to the hound, petting the fire type while his eyes remained glued to one inconspicuous spot on the floor.

It took some time, but eventually they settled and drifted to sleep. After all, they needed their rest-- who knew what fresh horrors tomorrow would bring?

[[time skip next round]]

Fenix hadn't moved from her spot, stuck firm as she watched the poor girl who had been brutalized by Ariana get patched up by the doctor. Her fingers dug tightly into her hands as little rivulets of blood began trailing down her fingers to drip onto the metallic floor below. Flynn caught scent of the blood and began to grow concerned, wrapping his ribbons around her leg to try and push his already pulsating calming aura towards her in an effort to soothe her boiling anger.

Her eyes never faltered until she heard Ariana's twisted glee morphed into an almost purr as she sashayed over to Archer with a sinister smile. As the bandaging was all but finished Fenix allowed her morbid curiosity to overtake her and followed the She-Devil's swaying hips to where her companion was trying his damnedest to ignore her. She practically poured herself over him and slowly began dragging him along with her and as they passed by Archer's distraught, almost fearful gaze caught hers and she felt her chest tighten.

Despite being a Rocket he was as much bound to the woman as they all were.

With a subtle nod of her head she let the man know that she understood and sighed as the door closed behind them, her heart a mixture of loathing, pity, and guilt. She tried to block out the sounds that all too soon began to emanate from the room just beyond them and instead set herself in the farthest corner possible from the doorway to rummage through her sack. After taking a moment to wrap her bleeding hand in she pulled out one of her Grandfather's notebooks and began studying it intently hoping that reading would trick her mind into pushing out all surrounding sound in the area. For now it seemed to be working.

Flynn, however, couldn't block it out. It didn't help that all of Archer's pokemon seemed to be on edge as the activities took place behind the closed door. Tyranny in particular was restless and the Sylveon pitied the poor feline. She obviously held a great deal of love for her trainer and did not approve of what was happening. None of them did. He tried offering her a reassuring smile but wasn't sure what kind of reception it had.

After what felt like an eternity the pair emerged once again and the scent hit Flynn like a brick wall. He frowned in disgust at the gloating female as she floated across the room in triumph, letting out yet another of her foul creatures. This time it was a Honchkrow and for once Flynn felt confidant enough to not care about her little minion as this one he could handle even if blindfolded. "Foppy baby, keep watch? You have my permission to take some eyes if they try anything."

His blonde companion raised her head slightly above the journal she was buried in as Ariana's voice penetrated her bubble of peace and stared at the bird. She shrugged as it set itself higher in the hallway to overlook them and went back to her reading, obviously not impressed by the feathered menace. Flynn lay down next to her once he was sure Archer and his pokemon were settled and eventually began to drift off himself, Fenix's hand gently stroking his head and neck as she continued reading. She would eventually fall asleep but for now losing herself in the experiments of her Grandfather was a welcome distraction to the days events and just what she needed to take her mind off of the torture still waiting for them the following day.

When the doctor came over, Misty was quick to alert Max to the presence of the other lady. She nudged the young woman's head and quietly whispered, "Doctor's here to patch you up." Max was a nervous girl, and according to personal experience and old tales, she really didn't like being touched when she wasn't expecting it. Even though Ariana had all but ordered the doctor lady to take care of the wounds, Misty had a feeling that Max wasn't paying a lot of attention. It would be better to make sure that there were no misunderstandings, or Max might lash out purely on instinct.

As the wounds on her back were treated, tears continued to run freely down her face, but beyond hissing when a particularly sore spot was touched, she remained silent. She knew what needed to be done, and cleaning wounds was a necessary part of treatment. While the wretched redhead's hands had caused her skin to crawl, the doctor's administrations, despite also causing pain, had no other effect on her. When she was finished, the doctor quietly spoke, "Max, hon, I'm finished here/ Your hoodie shouldn't disturb the bandages. But, please let me know if you start feeling worse...if the pain increases, or you're feverish. Anything like that."

Her voice still too raw to speak, she simply made a sound that could pass as a verbal okay accompanied by a weak thumbs up to ensure the lady knew that she had been listening. She then gingerly began to pull her shirt and hoodie back down, before crawling with her bag to a far wall. She didn't want to be front and center anymore. Her face was still covered by the hood, but the feeling of being exposed lingered.

Ariana, however, wasn't done for the night. Max couldn't see what Arian was doing, but the woman's tone was sickening, "Hey, Archer..." Oh Arceus above. Was this woman really going to do what that tone suggested?

Archer didn't seem thrilled, "I'm... not done looking through these for--"

The redhead was not going to be deterred, "No, you're done. Come on. I feel fantastic." As she spoke, Max had to lift her hood up so that she could confirm that she was in this hellhole of the Mahogany secret base with Ariana, and not the black-haired man from her past. Her mind had tricked her into thinking Ariana's voice had deepened, and for a few moments, the dim light in the room and her blurry sight thanks to her tears caused the redhead to look... too familiar.  She tensed like a cat, and her blue eyes were wide with terror as if seeing a ghost. When Ariana led Archer away, Max finally wiped her hands clean so she could wipe away her tears, and she looked ready to be sick. When the sounds started, her stomach heaved, which caused her back to hurt, and she simply curled back up on the floor and covered her ears.

It felt like forever, but they finally came back out with disheveled clothes and a smell that almost made Max retch again. Ariana sounded like she was having a great time as she let out another Pokemon, "Foppy baby, keep watch? You have my permission to take some eyes if they try anything." That likely wouldn't be necessary. Not after all this bullshit. The Honchcrow took a perch where he could see everyone, and Max promptly ignored him for the shamed man. She couldn't help it. He was living what would be her personal hell. Ire towards Ariana rose again, but it was tempered with the knowledge that she couldn't run or fight like she wanted. Knowing what she knew now, even though it pained her to think it, she couldn't let Melody out. Not with someone around who was so similar to the man that the owl hated. Due to her hood, it was unlikely anyone could see her determined gaze, but she made a quiet promise to Archer. We're going to end this. Afterwards, she lowered her head again; Misty was dozing, and Max took the opportunity to switch places with the Ponyta. If the woman was exactly like the man she feared, then she needed to keep a close eye on her Pokemon. She refused to make the same mistake twice.

The response she receives from Max is weak enough to worry her, but Daisy doesn't push the girl to try to speak. She's been through too much already. After packing away the remaining supplies back into her bag, Daisy takes her own spot from the others in the room. Sitting there alone only helps to magnify the stress of this horrific day; Daisy thinks again of Max, desperately hoping that she'd done enough to keep the girl's wounds from worsening. If she sees another innocent person die to something like infection, she might just...

The sound of Ariana speaking draws Daisy's attention. God, what else does she want? However, the Rocket woman isn't talking to any of them, but rather the other Rocket member. Daisy's throat constricts further after their short exchange; the redhead's attempts at seduction and Archer's obvious unwillingness only make her feel ill. Ariana resembles a wild predator more than a human being, dragging her prey off in a revolting display of power. As Archer is lead away from the rest of them, the look on his face is one of despair and helplessness, another victim to Ariana's sadistic, destructive nature.

Daisy didn't care that he is-or was-a part of Rocket, nobody deserves this. As those sounds begin to drift all too soon from the other room, she tries to focus on one spot, letting unadulterated anger wash over her. All of this suffering went back to Ariana and her blatant, abhorrent attitudes toward her fellow human beings. Whether it was whipping and leaving a permanent mark on Max over nothing or forcing herself onto Archer, it is plain that there is no length Ariana won't go to. None of them here are safe; they are all prisoners, and it's only a matter of time before something happens that proves fatal.

Daisy had been willing to play along to get out of this place, but now she knows that won't be enough. When it's not her and the other hostages here, it'll be someone else unlucky enough to encounter the redheaded woman. There would always be someone else. Even if Ariana kept her word and let her prisoners go, Archer would never get away from his own suffering at her hands. Not unless...not unless something was done about Ariana herself. The anguish she brought into people's lives wouldn't end unless she was dead.

Daisy takes a deep breath. It is an overwhelming thought for someone with no power or leverage to have, but she knows it's true. One only has to look at Archer's Pokemon to see the frustration, tension, and simmering fury; why wouldn't they be angry? They and their trainer needed help just as much as she or any of the others did. They're all at the mercy of one individual.

When the two Rockets return, Daisy is well-pressed to keep her hatred from showing itself. Ariana's body language screamed triumphant, and for the first time in awhile, Daisy actively wants to outright attack another person. Punch, kick, claw, it didn't matter. But she couldn't, not if she valued her own life or those of her Pokemon, and that meant Daisy has to somehow distract herself.

Not wanting to make a spectacle out of him, Daisy didn't look at Archer much longer than a few seconds, but those seconds are all she needs to see the damage done. Biting down on the inner part of her lip, she says nothing, and barely reacts to Ariana letting out another Pokemon-this one a Honchkrow-to 'keep watch'. Let her make threats. It isn't like any of them are stupid enough to try anything while surrounded by hostile Pokemon.

Sleep wouldn't arrive easily, Daisy knew that well enough, but she still has to try. God knows what would be awaiting them tomorrow.

"Hey, Archer..."

Beside her, Saturn jerks as if shot, sitting up.  She opens an eye to stare at him, his face sheet white.  Not like she must look much better-- that tone in Ariana's voice feels wrong, reeks of wrongness.

"I'm... not done looking through these for--"

"No, you're done," she interrupts.  There's a lack of sharpness, but even despite that, Mars feels a chill settle in her spine.  Saturn is... trembling. A nd still sitting up- lay the fuck back down!  She reaches up and tugs him.  Lay down, fucking hell.  Do you want her to notice you sitting up and staring when she turns around!?  

"Come on."  She's still busy with Archer, Mars feeling nausea well a little.  "I feel fantastic."

... He goes limp.  Saturn, whose muscles had been tensing as if ready to stand up, goes slack, letting Mars tug him back down.  What the fuck.  That's- that makes no sense, as glad as she is that when Ariana turns around Saturn won't be doing something stupid.

And what the fuck is Ariana even talking about-- okay, yeah, of course she'd feel 'fantastic' after what she just did.  Sadists are like that.  But why does she sound like she's flirting?  It's gross and confusing and shit, she does not like this.

Not at fucking all.

---

They're back.

For the past hour it had felt like he was watching himself from far away, or that time had stopped or sped up or done some other surreal thing, but the second he hears the footsteps returning, the world snaps back into focus and his whole body tenses.

For a moment or two there's silence as they enter.  

"That's a good boy."  

And his stomach rebels violently, Saturn coughing and curling up to suppress its desire to empty its... not-contents; he hasn't eaten.  Thank god.

That's a good boy.
That's a good boy.
That's a good boy.

The soft laugh does nothing to dispel the phrase ringing in his head, and he barely even notices the presence of the new Pokemon or her request to him.  

She needs to die.  She needed to die before this, and he didn't think it was possible to want it more, but he does, oh god, he does.  She's that kind of person, the one who's never satisfied, who'll always find just one more thing to defile and ruin and take away and she needs to be stopped before she can go any further, or her evil can taint anyone else.

He falls asleep with her voice in his dreams, mixing with two voices from long ago.

Morning came after fits of restless sleep for Archer. After the previous day's various activities and... unfortunate situations, Archer had been more than ready to get yesterday over with and to begin anew. His optimism had failed him, however; he felt like he'd been hit by a train. His entire body was sore, his mind was still feverish with hate and pain from the night prior, and he could see the look of pity and sympathy from his pokemon as he woke. He hated that. He hated that they hated themselves for being unable to help. He hated that he was too inept to help himself.

Archer took in a deep breath and, using Sin's sturdy horns to aid him, stood and dusted himself off. At least none of the potential residents had found them during the night. As he roused and stretched, Ariana's pokemon shifted as well. Bella, who'd acted as a sort of pillow for her trainer, gently woke the latter. Bile rose in his throat at the almost endearing display. It'd be cute if they weren't trash-mongers that deserved to choke on their own entrails and burn.

"Time to wake," he grumbled at the hostages, lightly kicking feet to wake any that happened to actually be sleeping. "Need to get back to digging."

At the first sign of stirring Flynn instantly snapped awake. While he himself didn't move his eyes scanned the room to check who was actually waking in hopes that he could prevent any sneaky underhanded tactics from the Rockets like pocketing Pokeballs while their prisoners slept. He hadn't gotten much rest as a result of his watchful regimen but he deemed it worth it.

Thankfully it was Archer that was rising first leaving the Sylveon a little more at ease. The man was one of their captors but he was at least very honest and to the point about what he desired from them. Unlike Ariana who derived pleasure from everything she put them through up to and including torture according to last night. She didn't even pretend that they were necessary, to her each of them was an expendable toy.

As Archer went around assuring the captives were awake Flynn began nudging Fenix to let her know that they were getting ready to move. The woman had barely slept having stayed up as long as possible to read Blaine's journals and to monitor the irritating bird that had made itself happy perched over their heads. She didn't put it past the smarmy bastard to fuck with one of the pokemon or kids while they slept just to amuse himself.

The blonde cracked one eye as Flynn's paw batted at her cheek and she waved him off before sitting up. Unconsciously she reached for her needles on her arm then frowned when she remembered that they were now in her bag. Archer had taken them all from her and now they were kept 'safely' tucked away. Granted she didn't need them but it was always nice to have a little help when trying to escape a sadistic fuck like Ariana. She rose to her feet and grabbed the metal bar she had been using the previous day to head back to their little project, beginning to work if only to not have to look at the She-Beast as she woke. Seeing her so vulnerable would create an urge to attack Fenix wasn't 100% sure she could ignore.