The OPELUCID Team

(Please skip me--I'm thinking of deactivating Di, actually.)

Kabuto looks into the once again darkened tunnel, his head fins flicking in concern.
"It doesn't look dangerous...Just dark."
Delicately the blue-scaled serpent sniffs the air.
"And wet. Maybe there will be more of that glowing fungus up ahead?"
Without waiting to see what decision Espi comes to about the light bringing TM the Dragonair curiously starts to coil into the darkness.
His white belly hisses across the smooth stones as the Water splashes over his tail.
The sensation is rather pleasant.
Unable to penetrate the gloom but recognizing the tunnel's contours the long dragon curls into the darkness.
So close to the rendezvous point.
Kabuto smiles to himself.
Soon the time will come for them to die.
"I think I seem some light up here. Come quickly!" He calls back over his shoulder, knowing why the passage was both lightless and abandoned.
When there was large amounts of rain or snow melt in the spring this passage was one of many that became filled with leeching water running through the soil.

The emaciated Hydregion lies curled across his bed of ill-gotten gains, smears of blood still oozing from his torn jaws and smudging the transparent plastic cases with dabs of red.
His burning red eyes are closed as he rests his weary bones.
He needed fresh meat. Only the feeling of blood running down his throat could dispel the aching of his disease riddled corpse. The longer he went without feeding the weaker and weaker he became until eventually he would be unable to move at all.
The Brutal pokemon's rest is fitful as the breath rasps in his throat and eventually leads him to cough up a trickle of bright red blood. His scales have lost any lustre they once had in life, leaving them chalky and pale.
But soon, soon his servant will have lead his next victims to their doom and with the blood of a golden altaria flowing through his veins he will once again be restored to health.
His slit pupil eyes flickering open the Hydreigon tastes the air with the flickering length of his tongue. He can barely see but he can taste the still cave air for the faintest flicker of scent.
His scaled belly scraping the floor the dragon begins to move into position.

From the darkness up ahead comes a sudden panicked cry.
"Espi! Espi, help me!" The Dragonair's distinctive voice calls out from the darkness up ahead, luring the pink furred cat in closer.
Water splashes underfoot as the Espeon moves through the dark tunnel and out into the larger open cavern.
Perched above the tunnel entrance the Dragonair flicks his ashen head wings forwards and tightens his coils. From directly above comes a sharp snapping sound of splintering rock as a stalactite shifts and falls, shattering to rubble on the ground below in a cloud of dust. Rough chunks of broken stone block out the exit as they tumble downwards across the Tunnel’s mouth.
It was only a pity the golden Altaria hadn't been closer, suspicious thing she was. At it stood it was too much to hope she had been trapped in the other side of the tunnel but the egg still held in the Espeon's tails would be enough compensation.
"Orochimaru-Sama, your servant has returned." He announces to the rest of the cavern as there is the sound of shifting scales in the blue-tinged gloom.
He looks down on the Espeon, light gleaming off the round lenses of his glasses.
"Goodbye."
A Psychic blow tears him from the wall as the Espeon strikes back and the blue dragon is unceremoniously tossed to the ground. A faint spider web crack runs across the lenses but the cavern is already alive with the echoing hiss of scale across stone.
"Stand aside...Kabuto."

The Hydreigon snaps his dripping jaws as he crawls from his bed the succulent scent of a new egg reaches his sensitive nose. Delicious.
"Now my dear you have the honour of strengthening my immortality. Some part of you will like on inside me, strengthening my essence."
The slit pupil red eyes focus on the Espeon and with a startling speed the Hydreigon darts forwards, his long skinny body curled serpent like across the stone floor. The building Shadowball of the Psychic Type's last defiance dissolves into nothingness against his dark purple chest as the Brutal Pokemon lives up to his name.
All three of his mouths rip into her at the same time, biting downwards to keep the Espeon pinned against the ground. With a sickly crunch the bones are crushed as all three heads pull in opposite directions. A spray of blood smears across the already rust red stones of Orochimaru's killing ground as the Hydreigon separates the head, legs and body like a butcher. A string of brown intestine links the last two segments as the Espeon's blood mingles with the corrupt blood oozing from the Dark Type's open gums. The Hydreigon shakes all three heads, even the soulless smaller heads eagerly grasping at the meat as the long curling tongues lash in the air. They swallow the flesh down in rough bloody chunks, even the long pinkish fur, making the dragon's skinny 'arms' pulse in time to their feeding. Only the main serpentine mouth has the sharp fangs to chew and he takes relish in crushing the bleeding lifeless skull between his jaws. A long sword like front fang is driven straight through the bright blue eyes, extinguishing them forever.
Orochimaru grinds his teeth and the skull splinters in his jaws, the bright red gem falling free to bounce off the floor.
The spiked collar now smeared with red drops onto the stone beside it as Orochimaru feeds in a frenzy of bloodlust, spitting out chunks of the irritatingly long hair and gnawing the stringy muscle off the bone as more blood seeps across the floor.

Turning his gaze away from his master's meal Kabuto, head fins folded back, slinks along the floor like a snake towards the spot where the egg has fallen unnoticed. He can smell the developing child inside the still rubbery shell and it makes his mouth water. What did pokeflesh taste like for his master to desire it so? Was it really that delicious?
He licks his tongue over his still pale muzzle as he surveys the cream colour shell.
"Sorry Espi..." He says under his breath. If he had the choice he would have chosen to spare the Espeon from her unpleasant fate but he prized his own safety too highly. Orochimaru had to feed...
The egg certainly smells alluring. With a soft whisper of scale next to inaudible over the sound of his master finishing the flesh and starting to snap open the Sunlight Pokemon's bloodied bones for the nutritious marrow within.
"Waste not, want not." He says to himself and opens his jaws wide.
"Kabuto..." His master's voice says from beside his ear.
A drip of blood falls from the deep blue lips onto the Dragonair's shoulder.
"You weren't thinking you could possible get away with it were you?"
If he had hairs they would be standing on end. As it was the terror of his master's predatory aura was almost tangible. Kabuto finds fear is freezing his muscles solid.
"Are you in the mood for your egg now master?" He says in a tone of absolute obedience, his act picture perfect.
The Hydreigon chuckles and withdraws his long neck, moving back towards his meal.
Already there is nothing left of Espi but a few chunks of bloodied fur, broken bone and the long forked tail. Orochimaru's long tongue rasps at the stone as he licks up the puddled blood, curling his long black furred tail around the egg to keep it from Kabuto's grasp.
Kabuto looks away and spies the fallen spiked collar resting beside the gem like a solidified droplet of blood.
Trust me when I say it was you or me. The Dragonair thinks as he picks up the collar and gem in his mouth, both metallic with the taste of Espi's blood.
The collar clinks off Espi's last gift to him, the dark orb hung around his neck.
Someday I will be strong enough to defeat him. Until then he added the collar to the pile of Orochimaru's other trophies, given a place of significance above the remains of lesser rabble.
Orochimaru stretches almost cat-like, his long sinuous body uncoiling slowly as he yawns with wide and bloodied jaws.
“I feel well enough to hunt again” He says with an almost coy edge to his voice.

((OOC: Fill-in harbinger attack completed with permission))

(I really wanted to post, but I can't as of now; please skip me.)

His master still licking the last few dabs of blood from the rough stone floor Kabuto presses his glasses further up his nose with the crook of his broken tail and inwardly sighs. Espi was dead, thoroughly dead but his master's prized golden altaria was still alive.
The dragonair does not bother with hoping that his master's meal would have satisfied him for now. Orochimaru was always hungry.
Resolutely flicking back his head fins the blue scaled dragon scans the cavern for any signs Orochimaru's killing grounds have been compromised. The three headed dragon's vast hoard of stored knowledge remains compromised, the more durable unovan made TMs holding against the pressure of the brutal pokemon's sinuous body. The pile of war trophies beside it too remains intact.
Through the rubble caused by the falling stalactite; an unorthodox move his master had yet to punish him for, was the tunnel where the altaria was presumably still waiting. His master was not a tidy eater but if she had not entered the tunnel all she would have heard was the falling rocks.
His master's prey could not be permitted to escape.
Kabuto flutters his feathery head fins, effortlessly raising himself from the ground and with a flap of Orochimaru's multiple wings his master does the same. A rough hole in the ground, a depression formed by flames and worn smooth by use leads past the blocked tunnel into another of the atreial passageways leading from Orochimaru's lair. This one is halfway filled with water and Kabuto does not pause but dives straight in.

Blood oozes from Orochimaru's split jaws as he immerses himself in the lake water. Unlike his servant he was no by nature a water dwelling dragon but still a competent swimmer and, by virtue of his Surf attack, one skilled in aquatic combat.
It was by lurking in an aquatic pool that he had first bound the dragon at his side to his service.
His six black wings press in at his sides, reducing him to a three headed serpent as he twists his body powerfully and sees the faint gleam of artificial cavern lights above him.
The tunnel opens up into a lake, serene and flat, that is now starting to ripple with the movements underwater.
With a myriad spray of tiny diamond like droplets the Hydreigon emerges from the water and slithers ashore like a loathsome overgrown serpent, red dripping jaws opening wide to show his elongated fore fangs.

The fluffy golden bird didn't even know what had happened until she decided to follow where Kabuto went. Some rocks had fallen, which were easily pushed away if she put her mind to it. I'm not that naive, you little twerp, Di thinks to herself. The nervousness was really just a tarp to cover her real personality, the personality forged in the heat of battles with questionable legality. She chuckled to herself evilly, singing a haunting song just under her breath.

She finally came to the grounds where Espi was slain. It was to be expected, Di wasn't too shocked, you can't actually act like Espi did without not dying. Though, I did enjoy her telepathy. It was like I could hear again. She looks up to the rest of the room's decor. There was a pile of TMs near a corner. Di walks silently over to it, deviously thinking of what she could do with them. She remembers seeing TMs being used several times in her life--they make you stronger. She breathes a gust of a DragonBreath attack in the air to compare it with whatever she could learn from these. She picks out a pretty light bluish one. "Mine," she whispers. She places it on her forehead, good and ready to learn forcefully. It clicks, and she gently places the TM back. She tries a DragonBreath attack again. It turned into a concentrated spray of stone-cold ice, freezing a part of the wall as well. Quietly, almost like a ghost, she worms back through the rockfall to where she was before. "Twerp," she whispers with newly found confidence, "you're dead."

Kabuto smirks at the sign of a fluffy golden edged wing, flicking his head fins back firmly in a gesture of determination. The small sounds of rock scraping on rock has not escaped his notice. The Altaria has made her way past the rockfall into the cavern beyond surely and seen the remains of his masters meal. Diwali had never really trusted him anyone but she had foolishly trusted him enough to be lead into this maze of underground tunnels and that would be the cause of her death. In here she would never escape Orochimaru's jaws.
Unwillingly Kabuto finds his mind drawn back to the arrogant Staraptor who had been the only one to accomplish such a feat and he shakes his head to clear it of such thoughts.
No, his master was the strongest. Only simple luck had allowed that bird to wound him so and as long as he was at his master's side it would not happen again.
The dragonair tilts his head so that the faint light gleams off his glasses, turning the round lenses an opaque white with glare and making it look like his eyes have briefly become lamps.
The serpentine dragon's entire body relaxes, the false smile of well-meaning innocence being replaced by an arrogant smirk of disapproval. Oh he is going to enjoy watching her get torn apart.
"Oh Di, Di, help me!" he calls out in a falsetto mockery of his earlier and more convincing cries for aid. "Something terrible has happened to Espi!" Kabuto doesn't even care if the Altaria is a position to be able to read his lips, it just feels good to let his hatred out into the open. An ugly sneer plastered across his face the Dragonair flies down towards the Altaria.
The orbs of his tail begin to flicker with a subtle blue-purple flicker of light as the Dragon Type lunges forwards with his long sinuous body, looking like his intention is to hold the golden Altaria down with a Wrap attack before shifting mid air and bringing his crooked tail down towards her in a Dragon Tail attack. His glasses gleam.

Orochimaru chuckles, the eerie sound emerges from all three of his mouths and echoing around the hollow space of the cavern. Ah the golden bird, she looks as delicious as he remembers and even with the warm meat of the Espeon residing within his skinny stomach the scent of the golden dragon causes bloodied saliva to ooze from the corners of his mouth.
Has it really been so long since he last snapped an long elegant neck and tore the frail wings to wispy shreds?
"Please...It is sweeter if you struggle." He hisses softly, licking his long tongue across his wide jaws.
The Hydreigon smiles widely as droplets of blood fall from his wounded jaws and flaps his six skinny wings, pulling back his heads and inhaling deeply. A flicker of light shows around his dark blue jaws as he breathes in deeply through the nose and exhales a burning star of fire aimed not at the Altaria but the lake that surrounds him.
With a hiss hot steam billows out to fill the cavern in a passable smokescreen, reducing forms of pokemon and rock formations alike to hazy edged shadows. Keeping close to the lake Orochimaru folds his wings into his body, streamlining his reptilian form as he dives for the Altaria's location. The wind of his passing causes the water's surface to ripple as he darts forwards.
His slit pupil eyes are reduced to near uselessness as the steam billows upwards but his flickering tongue fares better at penetrating the misty cloud of stream.
Snapping himself upright like a rearing cobra he emerges from the Altaria's other side, wide jaws open to show gasping fangs as from all three jaws he spits out a shock wave of energy as he aids his servant in the attack with a powerful Dragon Pulse attack of his own.
The energy radiates outwards in a wide shock wave.

((OOC: Permission to freeze Kabuto solid is given))

Paws skitter on the dried cracked pavement and from between the ruined buildings a bright flick of colour darts, highlighted by the faintest traces of the rising sun. As it emerges from between the dusty windowed buildings the speck of colour resolves itself into the sight of a bright coloured wing like a stained glass window, bright blues, reds and yellows flashing as wings beat and carry the Beautifly onwards. Skidding behind it a fluffy orange furred Flareon chases, paws outstretched as it tries to reach the shimmering wings. A laughing grin stretches the face speckled brown with patches of missing fur and shows the slightly pointed teeth within.
Under normal circumstances this would be a innocent scene, perhaps of two friends playing tag in the big city but the Flareon's eyes are tightly focused on the fluttering insect with an unnatural intensity.
"I'm going to kill you!" He cries out, face distorted in a terrible grin of enjoyment as his paws swish through the air in an attempt to paw the Beautifly from the air. One paw is a bright orange-red, the other a darker color with where the fur has fallen out.
Fluttering its ornate wings swiftly the Beautifly soars out of the Flareon's reach as the Fire Type struggles to leap high enough to bat it from the air.
"Die!" The Flareon leaps, stretching out his paws towards the already out of reach insect.

"Juugo. Calm down."

With a flutter of dark feathered wings a lean bodied Staraptor comes to perch on a broken and rusty edged rooftop, looking down at the Flareon with bright red eyes.
The Normal/Flying Type's talons tighten around as he pushes off the broken building and dives towards the Flareon.
Bright orange ears flicking as Juugo hears the sound of flapping wings and turns his head, a glow of flame starting to form in the back of Juugo's throat as he deeply inhales air into the flame-making organs of his body.
Folding his wings in close to his body to increase his already impressive speed the Staraptor darts inwards and extends his claws, putting himself in a vulnerable position to increase his speed of attack in the technique of a Close Combat though his target is not the Flareon itself.
The Staraptor firmly smacks the bell still hanging around the Flareon's neck with a talon. The metallic chiming echoes through the air as the glow dies with a soft puff of warm air.
Juugo slumps downwards, breathing deeply as he clutches at the furless patch of skin near his face. The look of maniacal bloodlust changes into an apprehensive scared look.
"Sorry Sasuke..." He says apologetically, carefully rising back to his feet.

"Hn." Now the Fire Type has been calmed down the Staraptor only acknowledges his cursory apology with a small grunt as he observes the landscape. Juugo's transformation had started as soon as the Flareon stepped paw into the abandoned city, leading the Fire Type to chase down the first pokemon he saw with intent to kill.
The Staraptor tilts his head, his bright red eyes scanning the cracked and abandoned buildings for any sign of life. The human city, like all human cities, was deserted with next to no signs of life beyond the tiny speck of the fleeing Beautifly. Still the Staraptor does not lead his team on, waiting for the others to join him. This place is hardly the largest city in Unova but they would not have been the only ones who thought there might be something of interest in this assemblage of human buildings. Here, if luck permitted, they would find the information on his brother's location that he needed.
Sasuke's head snaps to the side, his blood red eyes intently focusing on something behind him as his wings fold tight around his body.
The open mouth of a cave is visible through his enhanced eyesight and he sees a flicker of what looks like movement deep within.
"Juugo...come." He orders with a flick of his wings.
The flicker of violet energy would be near indistinguishable to one without a raptors eyes but to him it looks curiously familiar.
Like dragon energy.

A jet of ice cold air shoots from the sharp golden tip of the Altaria's beak and freezes the air between the cloud-winged dragon and the descending Kabuto solid.
The Dragonair's delicate feathery fins cease their movement as ice creeps over the dragon's serpentine body and turns the pale blue skin a frosty white.
His attack fails and Diwali gets the satisfaction of seeing a spark of shock behind the round lens glasses before the frozen dragon clatters to the floor.
A myriad of spiderweb fine cracks run over the dragon's icy coverings as the pale glow of energy around his Dragon Tail dies away.
The Shining Altaria smirks malevolently, glad to finally shut up the irritating Dragonair she suspected all along was a self-serving traitor to his own kind.
Beneath the fog of the ice pane Kabuto feels his body become completely paralyzed. His glasses fog opaque, rendering the world beyond a smear of shadow and light as a few dark flecks speckle his icy prison.
The Dragonair's long body spasms inside its icy prison, the Dragonair twisting as the long dragon's convulsions cause it to splinter and crack along the back.
Kabuto's body twitches and his skin splits along the back.
Skin a faint shade paler the icy prism twitches as Kabuto uses his ability to free himself from the ice soon after he has frozen. Skin slimy and slowly darkening back to the shade of normal scale the serpentine dragon shatters the ice to retrieve his Wise Glasses and replaces them back on his still dratini pale snout. The haze of the world becomes defined once again. A splatter of red blood covers part of his ice prison and his master is running his long tongue across his red edged jaws. Lying forlornly in a puddle of blood is a pair of fluffy cloud like wings.
A sharp cracking sound makes him look away from the potential meal to the ceiling.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto cries out as the first chunk of falling rubble hits the ground.

The delicious golden bird turning around to incapacitate his servant has left her open to the pulsating wave of pure dragon energy that emanates from all three of the Hydreigon's jaws while Kabuto's new icy covering protects him partially from the effects of the energy.
The Altaria is staggered by the raw force of hunger the Hydregion imbues the shock-wave with and Orochimaru strikes with serpentine speed.
Blood splatters the grey stone floor and his servants icy prison as the Hydreigon's three gaping mouths lunge in with a vicious three-way Bite attack.
The two blank eyed heads dig their sharp edged beaks through the fluffy cloudy down to dig into the muscle joints of the golden dragons wings and sink in. Blood from the wounds in hungrily sucked up as the jaws tighten like vices to sever through muscle and eventually snap bone, leaving the Altaria incapable of flight.
Orochimaru's main head with its long serpentine fangs snap around the shining dragons beautiful slender neck, his sharp fangs piercing the jugular.
The Ice Beam meant for him is deflected upwards, scoring the rocky ceiling as the last glow of power ties in Diwali's throat.
His long tongue licks along Diwali's throat, savoring the sweet taste of fresh blood on his tongue as his jaws slowly tighten, giving the golden dragon enough time to feel the pain of her imminent death before with a brutal twist of his jaws he decapitates the golden feathered Altaria.
His smaller hand-mouths twists and separate, tearing the useless flimsy wings from the bird and savoring the delicious taste of the rare flying type the Hydreigon devours the Altaria whole like a serpent so as not to waste spilling any more of that gorgeous blood.
He leaves the cloud like wings with their little meat for Kabuto to enjoy as his servant already determinedly escapes the ice by shedding his own skin.
After all Kabuto deserves it for providing him with not one but two delicious meals over such a short time. He might even receive the egg the Hydreigon still holds wrapped in his tail
"Kabuto..." The three-headed dragon starts to say but is stopped by the Dragonair's cry of alarm.
A pebble bounces off the back of Orochimaru's serpentine head.
With her last action Diwali's final Ice Beam has knocked loose a few crucial stalactites and started a cave-in of the entire tunnel.

((OOC: Fill-in Harbinger attack of Diwali completed))

Nervously the large Flareon draws backwards, raising one paw as if about to step backwards. His ears are lowered as his natural timid nature reasserts itself.
Despite his great size, he is nearly taller than the Staraptor, and his well-muscled body the Fire Type is afraid, afraid of losing control again and afraid of hurting someone. His shoulders shake as his other half tries to eagerly leap forwards.
"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" He asks timidly, his fluffy tail held between his legs.
A red-eyed look from the Staraptor silences his doubtful thoughts.
Sasuke always knew what he was doing and from his memories of Kimimaro Juugo would follow his orders even if the Flareon didn't think it was right.
Putting aside his wondering about what was taking Suigetsu and Karin so long the Flareon takes a more confident step forwards towards the hole in the ground where he had spotted a faint flicker of light. The tall Flareon is not claustrophobic in the least despite spending years crammed into a tiny cage and he has no trouble with stepping into the damp darkness with Sasuke at his side.
Juugo's black-lined ear twitches as he hears a faint noise echoing out from the tunnel and he braces himself.
"Sasuke..." He starts to ask but the Staraptor is already flying towards the source of the noise.

Sasuke's face is a careful blank despite the desperate whirring of thoughts in his head.
He can clearly remember the three-headed dragon lying in a puddle of its own blood as he triumphantly flew away from the battle, remembered the careful blankness in the Dragonair's eyes as he found his master defeated but dared not approach his killer.
The Dragon Pulse of such a unique shade of venemolus purple was surely just a coincidence...
Orochimaru was dead, the disease ridden Hydreigon had tried to eat him and Sasuke had defeated him.
That was the day he had shed his confines and abandoned Team Plasma to pursue his own goals.
Orochimaru couldn't possibly have survived the Close Combat beating he had received from Sasuke's sharp claws could he?
The battle had been a close one. Only his illness had made Orochimaru weak enough to be defeated. If that smug snake of a Dragonair had managed to revive him...
A rumble from ahead marks the start of a cave-in as a sharp stalactite smashes on the ground and in the dusty darkness in front of him two bright red eyes form ember like sparks.
"Orochimaru." He says with no hint of hatred or surprise.

(I'm sorry but I'm going to have to skip my first round. I highly doubt I'll have time to put together a decent post before the next set of warnings. I'll come in next round, I promise. >.<)

The Dragonair can't help it. His calm facade shatters as he fights to get airborne, his dark grey eyes opening wide as a chunk of stone larger than his head thuds down beside him, its pointed end sinking deep into the stone floor and cracking it.
His head wings beat furiously as the serpentine dragon takes off, desperately fluttering to stay airborne as he looks around and catches the glimpse of an exit. The dark voice of the Uchiha brat is no deterrent from his efforts to save his own skin.
Kabuto turns towards his master.
"Lord Orochimaru, let's go!" He cries out, wanting the great Dark/Dragon to get airborne and follow him.
With a loud grinding crack the rest of the ceiling starts to shift.
Spirals of grey stone dust land on the Hydreigon's dark furred wings as bright red eyes fixate on the figure of the Staraptor in the middle of the cavern.
Kabuto stifles a heartfelt groan, even bloated on the meat of two of living the great dragon was still hungry?!
A stream of silver-grey rock dust coats the glass of one glasses lens as Orochimaru finally takes flight and follows after the Dragonair as Kabuto arrows his lithe body towards the gleam of light that marks the rising sun.
The cavern collapses around him, forcing the dragonair to dodge and weave violently to avoid being felled by the falling rocks. A spiderwebbing of black cracks spread across the ceiling as his body held straight like an arrow to increase his speed Kabuto finally darts into the light and with a massive dust cloud the cave collapses behind him.
The Dragonair turns mid-flight to see the fading cloud holds no silhouetted shape.
A few stray pebbles bounce down.
"Orochimaru!" He calls, knowing his master disapproved of such casualness.
Aside from the sound of collapsing rubble the early morning air is still.
"When have we been so familiar...Kabuto..." The Dark Dragon's reply comes from inside the mound of rubble. Through a gap in the stones he can see one of his master's red eyes open. Luck has spared the Hydreigon's life but he is now trapped in the rubble.

"Sasuke-kun..." The Hydreigon hisses, flickering out his long tongue to taste the familiar scent of prime young bird meat. His remembered wounds ache as his bloodied jaws snap themselves closed. The aura of raw menace oozing in coils from his body is nearly solid, his hatred and desire for the bird in front of him obvious.
The soft touch of a spiral of grey dust across the back of one wing distracts him from the idea of consuming the bird in front of his and by snapping all six of his black wings simultaneously the Dark/Dragon rises into the air.
Smaller stones have started to fall from the cavern roof as he rises, following the bright blue shape of Kabuto's body towards the exit while small pebbles bounce off his blue scaled hide. A flicker of flame playing across his serpentine jaws he diverts a few boulders from his path, twisting in mid-air to reach the edge of the cave.
He can almost taste the sunshine when with a loud crack the roof collapses entirely and he is buried beneath the rubble. Falling rocks pin down his wings, nearly crushing them between them before rolling off his back. His long body he manouevers into the space between stones. A solid stalagmite manages to survive the blows, curling his tail around it spares it from the larger stones as he feels one head pinned underneath him, his main head just able to peek from a gap between two boulders. His breathing becomes laboured as he manages to pull his legs into the tiny space between stones. Two large slabs of the smoother sections of the tunnel have formed a rough kind of roof above him, one he cannot shift without causing rubble to collapse on him. for a few moments he merely focuses on breathing until Kabuto's voice breaks his concentration.
"Orochimaru!" Ah, the Dragonair had made it outside the cavern and his first act was to be arrogant in seeing if his master was dead.
"When have we been so familiar...Kabuto..." Orochimaru says with a soft chuckle, raising his head as much as he is able.
"Dig me out." He orders.

The Hydreigon's burning eyes glare down towards him and Sasuke meets their gaze coolly. Curled against the floor of stone like a giant serpent he can almost feel the raw power that flows from the dragon's bloodied jaws, meeting the difference between them with his cold stare.
The Hydreigon formerly belonging to the green-haired sage of Team Plasma was a formidable opponent by the standards of most, a vicious killer with intelligence enough to enjoy hunting down certain prey, drugging them so they were helpless before him and killing them slowly.
It was only thanks to horrible illness that had seemed to have taken over the dragon that he had the opportunity to strike down the dragon, waiting for the moment when he was weakest...
The grinding sound of stone on stone lets him know the danger in avoidable.
A confrontation in a collapsing cave is unnecessary danger to him, the Staraptor opens his wings.
Out of the corner of his eye he sees the bright spot of pale gold in the center of the floor.
Altaria wings...
A falling chunk of stone crushes the delicate feathers as the ceiling starts to fall down on the pair.
"Juugo...let's go." He flicks his head around as arrows towards the entrance as Orochimaru takes wing behind him.

The timid Flareon backs away from the Hydreigon as far as he can without abandoning the Staraptor, crouching his muscled body close to the ground in an attempt to make himself appear smaller.
A few droplets of sweat show against the rough orange fur of his forehead as he holds himself back, hoping the dragon does not notice him.
The sickening feeling of the transformation is starting to come over him, Juugo does not know how long he can hold himself back before he changes.
"Yes Sasuke." He says meekly, uncoiling like a spring as he bolts for the exit. His uneven stride becomes more and more confident as his twitching jaw contorts into a vicious grin.
His eyes fix on the uncurling shape of the Hydreigon in front of him, his nervous mind congealing into a single ancient thought.
Kill.
He leaps for the dragon's tail and smacks into the wall of the cavern, hastening the collapse of the tunnel roof. Instinctively building up his strength the Flareon stands on his hind legs and grabs a large slab of falling stone in his paws, forming a small pocket of space in the rubble.
A speckle of foam forms at the corner of his jaws as he snaps them.
He can't let go of the rock now, the roof would fall and crush them and the other trapped survivor's are so tantalizing close to him.
"Going to kill you!" He snaps, faint puffs of flame playing around his jaws.

"Yes Lord Orochimaru." The Dragonair says, tilting his head downwards in a gesture of submission before closely examining the tumbled stones. Thankfully the only part of the tunnel that has collapsed is the thinner layer of stone that had separated two tunnels. It had fallen in slabs, the only larger chunks of stone being formed from crushed rock formations.
By his judgement the stones would be easy to break with a single blow but there was a frail balance preserving the small pocket of space where his master had found shelter. If a single foundation stone was moved in the wrong direction the collapsing rubble would crush the Hydreigon.
For a moment Kabuto is horribly tempted to shift that one stone and watch Orochimaru die but from the crack in the rocks the red eye meets his gaze.
Fear paralyzes the Dragonair, beads of sweat running down his light blue skin as his grey head fins tremble and a nervous grin twists his face. A familar voice reaches him and he calms a fraction.
"I will require some help Lord Orochimaru."
Kabuto turns his head, confirming the voice as a familiar Espeon. When she wanted to Karin's voice could really carry.
"Karin. Get over here." The Dragonair orders.

Curled up against the stones Orochimaru struggles to turn his head to face the Flareon. His malevolent red eyes gleam like two bloody stars in the gloom as he fixes his malevolent gaze on the well-muscled Fire Type. An aura of menace surrounds his entire body, his muscles tensing as if to communicate another movement out of the Fire Type will result in him biting the Flareon in half.
His tail twists irritably in the small space it is allowed. He can feel the heavy weight of stone across his back as he turns the malevolence of his gaze on the Staraptor.
"Sasuke." He hisses the bird's name, drips of Diwali's red blood dropping to the stone floor.
The serpentine jaws twist into a sickening grin.
"Alone at last..." His voice is soft, almost seductive. The last time they had fought he had been weak. Now with fresh meat in his stomach he felt STRONG. If they fought...who exactly would win?
Orochimaru's jaws gape, showing the bright peaks of his sharp fangs eager for another taste of fresh flying type meat.

With a whimper the Flareon flinches backwards, shrinking in his fur as even the sudden mania that often overtook him couldn't help but fear the intense aura of a predator the Hydreigon could produce.
His paws tremble, causing the twin slabs of rocks that hold back the rubble to tremble too.
The fear plain on his face drains away his aggression until with a soft whimper he falls completely still with the hope the three jawed dragon wouldn't notice him anymore.
The deadly flames that had been building in his stomach die away, a pathetic puff of smoke leaving his sharp toothed mouth as the Flareon tries to back away without letting go of the solid roof above them.
He is too intimidated to even speak until he sees Sasuke looking at him. The Staraptor had much the same aura about him but the look of the bright red eyes is calming instead of frightening.
Sasuke would know what to do. Juugo's muscled shoulders relaxes as he gives up the burden of responsibility.
"How do we get out Sasuke?"

The Staraptor shifts, showing the sharp black talons of his legs to the Hydreigon as he gazes fearlessly up into the malevolent red eyes of the great dragon. Once he had been so scared he could barely move by this same Hydreigon, had been beaten down at the point he thought himself invincible. For years he had called the Dark Type his teacher but now where the gross unnaturalness of the Brutal Pokemon's body had once left him fearful now he was disgusted.
Orochimaru was not wise, simply gluttonous and possessive.
"There's nothing left for you to teach me." The Staraptor says blankly, looking up into the red dripping jaws of the Hydreigon.
Suigetsu and Karin hadn't been far behind them when Juugo had decided to chase that Beautifly, they would be here soon and perfectly capable of freeing them from the stones.

Behind the round lenses of his glasses the Dragonair rolls his dark grey eyes.
A self-satisfied smirk plasters itself across his face as the serpentine dragon raises his broken tail and with the crook of the tip presses the glasses up his pale white nose to obscure his gaze behind the glare of the rising sun.
"Oh it's you."
The arrogant dragon sneers, not considering the young Vapoureon a real threat. "You forget your place. I am Orochimaru's aide, not some third-rate lackey...like you."
Kabuto glares disapprovingly down at the fallen Espeon.
"I would have thought that Sasuke would have been able to assemble a more formidable attack force but I suppose you all have your special...talents."
The Dragonair sneers down at the Vapoureon one last time before turning back to Karin.
"Karin, remove those rocks. I'll be by to aid you in a moment."
Curling against the ground the Dragonair leaps forwards, the gem-like orbs on the end of his tail starting to glow with a deep purple light.
His light grey head wings angle backwards to increase his speed as he darts towards the Water Type, intent on removing the obstacle to his master's plan with a well-aimed Dragon Tail.

Like a creature of the night crawling from the crypt a dark chuckle rises from Orochimaru's throat as he glares down at the stripling brat in front of him.
Ah, the Uchiha's were so arrogant and sure of themselves but they had the most delicious scent.
A dribble of bloodied saliva oozes from the corner of his mouth.
Just thinking of how wonderful the warm savory meat would taste makes his lick his long tongue over his bloodied lips.
The Hydreigon shifts, leaning forwards to gaze deeply into the Staraptor's bloody red eyes and see the usual strange blankness of utter confidence. Even knowing he was completely outmatched the Staraptor truly was not afraid of him.
Orochimaru chuckles, shifting his body as best he can and nudging aside a few pebbles to increase the amount of light in their small pocket cavern.
"You are lucky I've already eaten."

Shifting the great weight more comfortably on his back the Flareon winces as the rocks grind against each other and a few small pebbles fall loose. A large lump of shale is poking painfully into his side, right where he can't reach it and even for his artificially enhanced body he couldn't hold the roof forever.
Trying not to draw the attention of the Hydreigon Juugo lowers his head.
"Sasuke?" He asks softly, his bright pink-red eyes alight with childish pleading. Even though his large body loomed over all of the Staraptor's other companions (even at times the Staraptor himself) he was also the youngest and the least experienced of the outside world.
Stoically the Fire Type waits, the weight of an entire cavern held up by his Strength, for someone to tell him what he should do.

"Hn." The Staraptor says. His eyes like twin chips of ruby are just as hard as the Gemstones.
He settles, the pointed spurs of his legs being moved into a position of less prominence.
At all their previous meetings the Hydreigon had fought him, even when he had still been a Staravia the Hydreigon attacked him as much as for the fun of it as for any true goal. Perhaps this was a sign not that the large Dark Type was finally bored of him but rather that the dragon was starting to have some respect for his abilities...
Turning his back on the Hydreigon's hungry jaws emphatically he turns his gaze back to Juugo. The Flareon is starting to struggle under the heavy weight of the stone though he would never mention it.
It is then he hears the sounds of a starting battle outside and recognizes one of the voices.
"Suigetsu...Stop playing around and remove these rocks." He orders cooly, folding his dark wings around him.

Opelucid City/ Early Morning(1)

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It had taken me a few weeks to travel from Nuvema to Opelucid. It should have been much briefer, but I always seemed to encounter a few obstacles. The undead were child's play to dispatch. The majority were unfed and had decomposed till they were little more then ribbons of flesh and fragmented bone. I will concede that a portion of the shambling cadavers were more arduous to decimate. That wasn't what exasperated me though. What frustrated me was how nearly fearless they had become because of their deteriorated minds. I was bestowed no pleasure in killing a creature I couldn't administer emotional suffering to. The real obstacles weren't the undead.

Those I enjoyed exterminating were the living. The majority were injured or infected but that didn't matter. As long as they felt terror. Sometimes the damaged would come up to me. Begging for help. Most of the time however, the injured, infected or living would try to scurry around me or would deceive me into thinking they hadn't noticed me and delude themselves into believing I hadn't noticed them. Some would hide. I liked the individuals who chose to disappear the most. That's when my game could begin. I would mislead them into believing I had left. As if I hadn't noticed them. As if I couldn't notice them. If they knew anything about Nidoking they would know we have excellent hearing, a carry over from our previous evolution.

I'd remain hidden too, biding my time. They'd eventually emerge. Then I'd appear from wherever I was hidden. Then they'd flee. And I'd let them. I wanted it to last. It would go on like this for hours or even days. Eventually, I'd catch them, I'd non-fatally lacerate them with my claws..then I'd let them retreat. And the cycle would repeat. At the end, they'd just lay out before me, a mess of bloody gashes and obliterated hope. Then I'd end them. Because I enjoyed their terror. At least that's how the hunt went on a good day.

I stopped enjoying my memories and instead directed my attention towards the city. I had already made a departure from the entrance, and crept into the modern city. It's path was copiled of dust brown bricks that fell almost haphazardly into place. The majority of the domiciles looked archaic and were quite close to the same dusty brown as the bricks. Two structures however, contrasted from this color scheme. The first was the Pokemon Center which was situated dozens of yards before my passage from Route 11. The latter building I could barely perceive off in the distance. It was considerably darker than countless other buildings and had an almost medieval architectural style that opposed the more modernized fashion of the additional structures.

"-ter Release: Demon Fish technique!"
What? What the in the seven hells was that? My elongated ears swiveled ,clockwise and then counter clockwise, trying to pinpoint the origin of the voice. A new murmur emanated instead, more feminine in nature.
"Suigetsu! You better have a pret-"
Ah there it was. I advanced hurriedly advanced, careful not to make much racket. I slowed as I absconded from the City and found myself within Route 9. Hmm a little ways further from the city then I was expecting. As I progressed outward, I slunk lower to the ground, emersing my being in the tall grass.

There they were, at least those that I could discern. A very agitated Espeon and a decisively focused Vaporeon. The Espeon had leapt down and bumped her head against the Vaporeon's. I listened intently. All though no words were uttered I heard shuffling that inside the cave.

I perched, almost adjoining the ground and apprehend any muttered comments. I could see them while they would have trouble noticing my form among the tangled weeds. All I needed to do was listen to understand what was happening. Unless they knew where to look that is. I'd wait till the others emerged. Then I'd decide who to join.

((OoC: So I'm going to assume this is White's Opelucid City.))

The Dragonair presses his glasses further up his nose with a smirk, his soft grey fins folding in to the sides of his head as he curls low against the ground. His crooked tail with its glowing orbs twists behind him as the Vapoureon obediently listens to the words of the arrogant Staraptor and goes about his business like a good little servant.
The blue-scaled dragon looks around the area with his darting gaze, carefully scanning for anything of interest. There was Karin, Juugo, Sasuke and the Vapoureon Suigetsu.
Kabuto grins, his dark grey eyes hidden beneath the two round lenses of glass.
Neither of them would be any match for his master's jaws with only the training the Dark Type gave his most unimportant servants.
With a faint grin Kabuto abandons the pointless scrap with the inexperienced Water Type to turn back to the cave-in. Obedient to the Staraptor's orders the stones had been broken and now his master can break free.
Keeping low he prepares himself for whatever his master's plan will be. He knows the Hydreigon well enough to know his capacious temper won't have been improved by his brief imprisonment.
"Well if you are going to be a good boy." He says mockingly, leaving the Vapoureon to hammer away at the wall of stone. The lake-dwelling dragon carefully looks at the now weakened wall of dirt.
The stacked stones can easily be broken from inside, though he can't say anything for sure about the state of the caverns interior.
He smacks one of the base stones with his tail and hears the stone grind and crack.

The dark hair of Orochimaru's tail starts to get wet as the seeping remains of the Water Type attack ooze through the spaces in the roughly stacked stones.
The Hydreigon grins to himself and a soft sigh leaves his heads.
Ah, it was time for the games to begin.
He had spent a long time knowing he was more intelligent then other pokemon and along with his constant thirst for knowledge it had left him with a surprisingly playful nature when it came to his prey.
So much warm meat and so close...He would savor these kills.
His bright red eyes gleam in the darkness as the dragon opens his jaws.
A flicker of golden light grows deep in the pit of his throat as he snaps his jaws open and the gloom of the cavern fills with fire.
The blaze hits the rock and the flimsy stone poses next to no resistance as the flames melt it into slag and burst out into the light, Orochimaru coiling his long serpentine body through the blaze as the flames gouge at the stone and sky and he opens his jaws wide with a terrifying roar as the Fire Blast sears the earth. Twisting his head he flexes his multiple wings.
"Ah, that feels better." The dark/dragon purrs, leaning down to nip at the Vapoureon with a Bite attack.

"Juugo, move."
The Flareon leaps into action, his collar of yellow fur puffed up as he lets the stones fall from his back and dives through the breach caused by the Hydreigon's molten hot breath.
The rocks shift and grind against each other as without the curve of his back to hold them up the rough ceiling of stone begins to crumble around them.
The Fire Type keeps both eyes on the Staraptor in front of him as he smashes aside one tumbling lump of stone with a single solid blow of his paw, carcking the rock into rubble with the force of the blow.
He winces in pain as this physical exertion calls to his other personality inside him, the siren whispers of bloodlust making his mouth taste of blood.
Swiftly Juugo darts from the collapsing cavern, a puff of dry rock dust rising up around him as the stones fall.
Like a dart of orange flame the Flareon uses Quick Attack to nip out of the way and ends up in his paws in the spilt puddle of water.
"K-Kill.." He pants wincing in pain as a snarl contorts the furless side of his face.
A flare of flame plays around his furry jaws as he pants for breath.

Sasuke's head spins around, the Staraptor's keen eyes swiftly picking up the Hydreigon's motions. Orochimaru was going to burn his way through the weakened wall then likely as not turn his wrath on them while they were still trapped inside.
Waiting for Suigetsu to finish breaking through the dirt wall was no longer an option, they had to leave now.
"Juugo, move." The Staraptor orders as soon as he sees the flare of flames start around the Hydreigon's multiple jaws and unfolds his wings.
He was far swifter a flier than anyone apart from his brother that he had ever seen.
He hears the stones start to shift as Juugo obeys his command and arrows his dark-feathered body straight for the hole Orochimaru has left in the stone wall. The heat of the molten edged rock brushes his feathers as he tumbles through the rock dust and smoke to the outside world once again.
Seconds behind him he tears Juugo's paws touch the ground as with a slow rumbling the rubble finally settles into position.
Sasuke looks around as the Hydreigon yawns.
"K-Kill.."
Eyes like droplets of blood turn on the Flareon.
"Juugo, calm down." He orders.