(ACE) The OLIVINE Team

They didn't have the time to be standing around. Faux seemed to know this and their group pushed onwards with a sprint. Xiao spared no time in following after them, conversation set aside in favor of chasing their group leader into the fray. They didn't have time to chat or pleasantries; they had ai job to do, and gods damn it, he was going to do it. He wouldn't fail like he did back in his village. The togeren's lip pulled back to bare the tusk-like fangs that poked from his mouth, lowering his body closer to the ground to hide amongst the dirt and dust kicked up from their steady pace along the halls.

His golden eyes squinted against the dust in the air and his wings spread out further, the pair that was clipped beating down hard to kick up more dust into the air, to cover their approach and to make their group seem larger than they were - a bigger dust cloud meant more paws to create such a scene, and more paws meant more danger was coming to their targets.

The scent of fear curled around Xiao's nose like the sweetest kiss and his body surged forward with the promise of the thrill of the hunt. He heard a body connect with another with the tell-tale sound of an electrical crackle in the air and the aborted wheeze that came with it. Xiao skidded to a stop and reared onto his hind legs, lower set of wings flaring and beating down hard several times to kick dust into the air with the gust created. Eyes locked onto the second of the lookouts, and he came down like a waterfall, much larger body crushing the snubble into the floor with only the sound of a pathetic wheeze coming from the other fairy type as he pressed the air from their lungs.

With his captive under his grip and eyes locked forward to stare at the path ahead, he listened for the next instructions, he wanted to be sure of where everyone was - this whole thing banked on Xiao being able to get a straight shot at their leader to get them both out of here as soon as possible.

”We could use him as a projectile, knock his comrades down and force them to stay back with a fireball. The stronger ones might prove a bit of a challenge.” Was that consent, a willingness to do what was needed? There was no time to double check, the Quilava's long form balling up as she slammed against the Maneky Etincelle had stopped. It made the tiniest pip, unable to fully call out before the dual attacks brought it to submission. Its round form tumbled forward, and out their range and into the cloud of dust Xiao had built up around them. Whipping her golden gaze around for the other, she could see the Togeren had already claimed a tight grasp upon it, the Snubble going down even easier than the Aipom before it. Perfect. If these stragglers were all they had to offer, then maybe luck was on their side for once.

Though Faux did not have the means to billow dust nearly as well as their feathered friend she ran about and whipped her tails against the floor, anything to stir the building cloud and keep them as obscured as possible. They would be impossible to hide, of course, but it was better than nothing. She raises her tails high and signals for everyone to follow while not allowing these meager pawns to slow them for more than a moment. Cinder even dimmed her flames, a thoughtful action in the heat of the moment and one Faux would not overlook.

Resuming their charge the fire Pokemon burst forward, Cinder nearly making a game out of slamming the Maneky forward a second time, but it was a short-lived run. As Cinder approached the Mankey a third time, the noxious cloud making it difficult to see, she could hear the Pokemon before them. They had a handful of yards if that, and by the sound of it the majority of the Pokemon were still milling about. As the murderous Houndoom's voice assaulted their ears while scolding her underlings, Faux could feel her blood start to boil. She barks, and motions for everyone to make their initial burst. They only had one shot at making an impression.

Letting her flame boil over Faux hesitates for just a moment so anyone else could act first. If something was going to be thrown, dropped, or shocked, they had that moment. With a deep inhale and seeing Cinder's flames rage with a similar fury the fire Pokemon spit heaps of fire into the fray. The shocked yowls of Pokemon spoke of direct hit, though Faux knew Flash Fire would protect their true target..

”You won’t be able to fit more than just your head. If only if we seen him sooner. Damn it.” Shifting her shoulders about the fox thought, surely, with enough maneuvering she could squeeze herself inside. Maybe, if she made enough noise, or got stuck, Arry would return to help her. Yet as she sniffed the chute one more time she could tell Arry's scent was already growing cold. Had he really slipped away so long ago...?

The creak and clatter of metal tells the fox Mathias was messing with the chute once more, and as he starts to speak the reverb muffles his words. Pushing her snout over the lip she listens clearly to his echoing voice. ”---tipped it over himself. It looks like the width could only fit something as small as him or any small Pokemon around his size.” Small. Etincelle, she thought instantly. He was not much larger than Arry, and could easily go anywhere the lad could fit. So they just had to wait for him to return...! Though she tries to sniff the Ninetales can only clench her teeth and continue to fret. Every second mattered for both Pokemon's lives..

”There’s a hamper down below, likely for sending towels and rags to get washed. However, we can’t fit inside without getting stuck immediately.” Hamper? With a deep frown the fox gives a slow exhale. Human words were painfully foreign to her, but she did not press for answers. If Mathias was not concerned about this thing, then it was either moot to know or had been helpful and she should not worry. What mattered was the driving point that they could not fit to chase after him, and all they could do was pray he did not wander too far. With her legs feeling weak Melanie slumped into the hard floor and set her head down upon it. "Im worried for him." She continues to fret with a defeated sigh. How had they been so careless...?


With quick paws Etincelle ran, his body feeling alive and nimble as the sounds of other Pokemon finally reached his tiny ear holes. They were still here, he thought, they still had a chance to strike while the iron was hot. Planting his paws against the floor he feels his pelt come alive with sparks. Fire and the like fling past him, and through he does not curse his melee moveset the hesitation is enough to kill him. As the unknown group of Pokemon start to cry out in a pained panic the Electrike can no longer hold still and resumes his charge.

Heading into the dust without fear the flash of flames lit up the remaining cloud. It was not much, but enough to blind anyone who was not prepared. Pokemon stood with their faces covered, embers and dust flying around seemingly everywhere. As Etincelle reached the closest target he tackled them down with his Spark, smothering with for good measure as a sickening voice made his skin crawl. "What the fuck?! Who dares?!"
The bitch was still here.

Though Mathias wasn't showing it, he was worried about Arry deep down. The poor kid must be scared down there. "Im worried for him." Finally Mathias' face shown he was worried. The charizard could only imagine how scared Arry is with not only the undead around, but with the enemy group being a major threat. Feeling that this failure was a major one though, Mathias sat down and looked at Mel with a worried look. "It's my fault. I should have been looking instead of listening to the others. Damn it." Blaming himself for his failure. Now he had to worry about being punished for Arry not being in the room with them. He couldn't contact Bast right now with the dangerous situation that is currently going on.

Bastet carried the unconscious aipom with her pyschic powers. Once they ran into the enemy group, the espeon wasted no time sending the unconscious aipom flying at the enemies, a direct hit knocking down the foes. Until the voice of the houndoom had caught their attention. "What the fuck?! Who dares?!" There she is, the leader of the group. Does she even have a sense of reason? Does she even care about what she had done? The eeveelution wasn't much good fighting with her powers alone but she had a few non psychic attacks she can use. Still, the goal was to tire her out to where she can be teleported away. "It's her. There's nowhere left for the houndoom to run to." Bastet turns to face her. Going through her mind, she's not thinking about herself but she's also thinking about the others. This wasn't a fight they can fight one on one.

Mathias puts a hand on Mel showing he was equally worried. "I'm worried about him too. How did we manage to screw this up? Without Etin though, we can't get down there. This is bad." The Charizard almost felt like he was entirely to blame for this but not knowing this wasn't neither of their faults that Arry left on his own. If anything bad happened to him, they'd have issues to deal with. Right now, only thing they can do is wait until the others come back and get back on the first floor.

((skip please orz. I pulled a muscle in my ribs and I havent been able to write properly thanks to to pain QQ. I'll edit into a post once I can write without crying))

"It's her. There's nowhere left for the Houndoom to run to." The chill along Faux's spine was enough to know she was still present but Bastet's visual confirmation was encouraging. Her body temperature remained high even after her blast, steam practically coming off of her pelt as she seethed. Though humorous and morbid the projectile Aipom proved fruitful, striking an unknowing Pokemon and quickly cascading into a domino effect as the other Pokemon tried to dodge on their crumbly perches. Smoke and ash from the fiery blasts now filled the space alongside the dust, and while not as thick and clouding as a true Smokescreen the fox would take any chance they could get.

Raising her tails and barking the signal to strike Faux raced forward into the confusion. Cinder tailed after her, fires blazing as she curled into a ball and charged with her signature Flame Wheel. Pokemon groaned and chattered, unsure what had happened or if the flaming blast had come from their leader, and did not think twice to dodge the incoming attack. Slamming into a a Gligar it hisses in confused pain, stinging flinging about to find its assailant. The flames die back around the tumbling Pokemon, and taking in a quick breath the Quilava sinks her fangs into its wing. With another hiss it writhes beneath her, and as the pair topple into a whimpering Sunflora its stinger finally finds purchase in soft yellow flesh.

Faux whipped through the Pokemon, moving fast but staying low as she darted forward. Her eyes were primed for slick black fur or anything that looked like the shiny horns of her quarry, but she need not look far as the bitch snapped again at her lessers. "Get a hold of yourselves!" With her voice ringing clear Fuax dashed toward the grating sound, and once she was within her sights locked her gaze upon the Houndoom. Already it was spitting flames and clawing at the rumble in a hissy display, too busy with her own lack of control to notice as the small fox sent a wispy orb forward. It floated listlessly, unnoticed within the smoke, and when the bitch turned her head the Confuse Ray dissolved painlessly upon her muzzle.

Keeping low to the ground Faux watched, paws ready to move at a moments notice. For a second the Houndoom stood still, mouth twitching, as though unsure what had happened, but after another beat she started to growl even louder. Her gums twitched with what Faux could only assume was anger, and flames licked out from the corners. "You curs--!" She snarls, a a stream of fire flying haphazardly around her as she moved with stumbling steps.

"I'm worried about him too. How did we manage to screw this up?" Grinding her teeth the Ninetales sniffs the floor in a vain attempt to find a fresh trace of Arry. Though his scent still lingered, legends he had just been here, it was not the warm, fresh scent of a Pokemon who was present. "We were too distracted by all the chatter to do our one job of caretaker." She gibes at them both, head falling dejectedly unto her good leg. They were no use in the fight, no help at riding the area of a murderer.. and not trustworthy enough to watch a single child. Though Mel strained her ears for any sounds, Arry calling to them, the others returning, something awful, all that came to the sensitive appendages were the sounds made by Mathias and herself, as well as the crackle of his life flame.

Letting her head tilt sideways even more the fox's face rolls cheekfirst unto the floor, a deep pout souring her maw as she lets out a shaky whimper. "Etincelle would know what to do." He would charge after the lad, head face first into the chute, and sniff him out without hesitation. "Without Etin though, we can't get down there. This is bad." A sharp sting jolts through her eyes, tears daring to well up as dread and grief alike make the fox sick to her stomach. But she holds them back with a choking gasp, her emotions not allowed to get the better of her in this place. With a deep inhale she stops herself from having a full meltdown, and chastises them again with a, "Bad? Its devastating. If anything happens to him its on our paws."

"Get a hold of yourselves!" Etincelle felt his body tense up, a deep seeded anger boiling within him at the sound of what he deemed to be a truly evil Pokemon speaking. Digging his blunt claws into the grit he turns toward the sound like a homing beacon, stiff steps moving him without consent, but his path is blocked by bumbling and confused Pokemon. A Wooper stumbled and fell on the uneven ground, wailing incoherently as he tried to get back on its feet. Grabbing it by the tail Etincelle through it out of the cluster; this was not its fight.  

Within a few steps he could feel its toxic slime coat stinging and burning his lips, but the irritation was nothing compared to the blazing resentment he felt for this Pokemon he had never met. "You curs--!" She insulted the room, the recipient both them and her Pokemon alike. Suddenly a burst of flames rushes forward, the Flamethrower's target unknown as it sweeps the space in a jank fashion. Letting sparks arch across his pelt the small hound starts to charge, the bitch his sole focus, but a Skarmory steps in his way and beats him aside, squeaking something he did not bother to listen to as he's chased away from his goal and other Pokemon begin to follow his fleeing shiny form.

Bastet stared right at the houndoom with disgust. All she can hear is hatred spewing from the dark type's maw. "Get a hold of yourselves!" She barks with anger. In a sense, the espeon could tell that this crazed houndoom hates losing and so far they've already proven to hold their own quite well. A confuse ray hits the houndoom causing her to call both parties something of an insult. "You curs--!" Is Bastet supposed to be offended by that? Then a Flamethrower got sent haphazardly in unknown locations. Though the heat was felt, the espeon didn't flinch. However, Bastet sensed an attack coming from behind, it seemed that one of her lackeys really want to find an unfortunate end. Though Bastet would rather subdue her opponents, she has no qualms on taking a life if need be. That's how she was trained as a pokemon in the military.

A Machoke, a fighting type tries to take a swing at Bastet only for her to use her powers to shove him back. "You really should have picked a different target than me. You know what, I'll play with you since you want to fight me this badly." Though she doesn't intend to kill this machoke since she's not showing any signs of going for a kill, she would go for a knock out instead. The fighting type swings at her only for Bastet to use her quick attack to evade the attack. She was toying with her opponent. "Like I said, you should have picked a different target than me. But I guess you're all brawn and no brain. Oh well, guess I should end this soon. You're not even a challenge." As she said it she began to use her confusion to hit the Machoke's left leg first. She wasn't going to knock him out quickly but she was going to show this bruiser that she has the upper paw in this fight.

The fight was roaring around Xiao, the sound of bodies rushing about, the panicked cries of pokemon getting hit with attacks from friend and foe alike a familiar tune to the togeren's ears. This was his element; the frenzied rush of battle, the cries of pokemon attacking and being attacked. The roar of battle and the surge of adrenaline through his body was welcomed as he leaned more heavily on the snubble he had in his grip. The smaller fairy wheezed out a pathetic whine as he compressed the air from it's lungs with his weight, golden eyes locked with the wide, fear-stricken ones of the fairy in his grip. He bared his teeth and tusks with a growl that rippled through his body like a demon, stubby teal claws digging at flesh and drawing blood.

The scent of fear, panic and confusion was like the sweetest perfume to the togeren. He was a battler, a protector and above all else, a fallen deity to the people he once called his home. Never again would he fail someone like that. The fairy in his grip had gone limp, fear and oxygen depravation ripping it from consciousness. Inhaling deeply, Xiao's eyes glowed gold in the dusty air as his wings - broken and not - flared and flapped to kick more into the air to keep their attacks random and harder to follow. Teal energy wisped up from the fairy in his grip as Xiao consumed the dreams of the unconscious snubble, snapping the little wisp from the air like a hungry predator only to lunge forward to his next target.

His larger body collided with a smaller form of another pokemon, sending them both across the ground, the uneven ground raking strips of flesh off the unfortunate poochyena that'd been victim to Xiao's attack. The hound's cry of pain was cut short as Xiao grabbed the thing by the scruff and tossed his head sharply to the side to throw the injured pokemon further into the fray, the confused and startled shouts of others following as they scrambled out of the way of yet another bodily projectile of their crew.

"Get a hold of yourselves!" The togeren's eyes snapped up at the sound of the houndoom's voice, lowering himself to the ground to ready himself to lunge. Wings spread out and ready to lunge despite his flightless disability, he dashed to the side to avoid an attack from a bold skorupi, spinning to try and sweep the thing with his tail, letting out a growl as the agile bug skittered out of the way. Distracted from his original lunge to the houndoom, Xiao focused on the bug instead, doubling back on himself to sweep a vicious hand down, claws scrabbling against a hard carapace and hooking underneath one of many plates on the thing's body.

With his grip assured, Xiao smacked his second hand down hard, lips pulled back to show tusks and teeth as the bug reared to sink fangs into dark teal colored fur and flesh. Biting back the pain as he had been taught all those years ago, the togeren reared back and yanked the bug with him into the air, only to slam it back down onto the ground mercilessly. The impact got a pathetic screech and whimper from the bug as it let go, only to get the same treatment as the hound before had, throw back into the fray to collide with another pokemon, sending them both down in a tangle of limbs and pained cries.

Keeping his fangs to himself was the hardest to do; Xiao wanted to let loose, to kill those who dared threaten who he was protecting, but he kept himself muzzled for now. He's only just talked to the others about the dangers of killing, he wasn't ready to share his own hipocrasy just yet. Sometimes, you needed to kill, Xiao knew this. But these pokemon were pawns, there was no need to take a life that was just as much a victim as they were.

"You curs--!" Once more that voice pulled his attention, though this time it was followed with the searing heat of a flamethrower that surged jankily through the dust, setting particles alight and choking the hallway out with the heavy scent of burning ozone and flaming dust bunnies. Xiao growled and lunged for another pokemon closer to the hound that was his true target, trying to get closer to her so he had a clear shot. The longer she was here, the more danger she posed. Xiao was not about to fail his task, not now, never again.

He would do his master proud and protect the weak, and take out threats to anyone he protected with extreme efficiency.

Keeping her belly low to the floor and her presence inconspicuous Faux's gaze did not leave the Houndoom's form. The Confuse Ray worked perfectly, and aided by the panic of those around them the bitch was completely disoriented. With haphazard attacks and insults she lunged at the first thing to move within her sight, claws and fangs alike sinking into a hapless Mawile. The Pokemon reacted in pure panic, its massive jaws whipping around and crunching down on the much larger Houndoom before it realized who it was biting. Sheepishly releasing its grasp the dual type scrambled backwards, but it was too late to run. With no tolerance for insubordination and a small window of clarity from her confusion the brute released a point-blank fire attack upon the dual steel type. The mawile screamed, the agonized cry easily drawing in the attention of others as the canine kicked it away resumed her enraged rampage.

Cinder's paws clasped over her ears to drown out the scream, a shiver running down her spine that rattled her very core. To attack her own without remorse, was that how she took out Rosko...? Had she been as heartless to her own kin?! Both of her flames roared, blazing hot and white as Cinder released a Swift forward. The chasing stars knew their target even if she didn't, and racing through the smoke found their mark. A grunt and whine spoke of impact, and focusing on the sound as best she could the fire type released her own Flamethrower its direction.  Its crackle was too much to hear, though the burst of light within the dusty array could easily blind someone for a few moments.

The fox remained stationary, unflinching regardless of the screams, voices, and thuds around her. With a calming breath Faux focused solely on disruption, and pouring her energy into her Confuse Ray she sent sphere after sphere forward into the fray. They would dissipate before long, but any bit of confusion she could add to this mess would be to their benefit. The shimmery lights danced in the dusty air, almost like small apparitions as they drifted forward. As the brawl of another pair of Pokemon came too close to her the fox sulks to a new location, her belly fur never rising from the broken floor.