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Through the Eyes of a Flareon

Chapter Thirty: Between Stone and Soil - Part Two

After a long discussion with the small group of rhyhorn, Azure and Tarla had come to the conclusion that the best and most appropriate way was not to collapse the ceiling, as some of the more ambitious – and, as Azure thought, unintelligent – rhyhorn suggested, but for the glaceon to project a rather flat bridge of ice across the enormous opening to the other side of the room, where the land started up again. When discussing where the void could possibly lead, Thunderquake had suggested that it probably ended somewhere in a large room deeper underground, possibly where one would unfortunately have immense trouble getting out of.

Although the bridge had been wide, it was more than difficult for Azure to produce. She didn’t permit herself to use a simple move such as ice beam to craft something that needed to firstly be level on top, but also wide enough. Instead she had to launch ice shards into the other side of the wall which was used to support what she planned to lay on top. Icy wind helped to chill the air, and it was only then that she used ice beam to create a solid bridge, first lining the far cliff and then extending on it until it finally met with the rock face she was standing by. It was not entirely flat, but she believed that the imperfections would serve as foot holes and small barriers. She was asked to make walls for it, but her energy was rapidly depleting, and was hardly able to make a short “fence” on either side.

It was a popular request that she test it, and although Tarla had been extremely wary and worried for her, she made it across without slipping. Tarla assumed that her paw pads were specifically designed for icy terrains, as she had perfect traction the entire way across. When the bird pokémon herself had gone, she found that her toes and claws were extremely slippery and she had to use her right, uninjured wing several times to steady herself, understanding that she could only begin falling to the right, as her injured left wing could not save her if she toppled the other way.

Eventually all that were coming with their party were able to cross, although awkwardly and not without losing one of the geodude. The rhyhorn often went too slowly to fall, and although the glaceon had been excessively afraid that one of them would prove to be too heavy for her makeshift bridge and splinter a weak point, the ice had been solid and stiff, and if only one rock type passed at a time, there were no weight problems. The geodude, however, had been unable to grip the edge and merely slipped straight off. The thought continuously haunted the ice type as she trudged solemnly alongside her fellow colony member, traversing a tunnel that supposedly led somewhere useful.

The tunnel had come a room filled with low-set stalactites, and they were each forced to weave between the points and avoid being pricked. Azure’s shoulder suffered one such injury, and a few times, a rhyhorn had to smash one of the hanging stone pikes in order to fit past. Tarla was always nervous when it happened, as she was irrationally afraid that every spike in the room would come crashing down. Some of them were short and easy to pass under, and it was those ones she grew wary of. Luckily no such thing had happened, and they instead curved with the room to the right before popping into a tunnel that they knew was directing them somewhat east.

It wasn’t long before the passages exampled that they had a mind of their own and began to split into several side tunnels which chose assorted directions, and the group of around twelve pokémon weaved their ways through the maze-like arrangement of tunnels before, finally, they had come into a rocky pass that bore a small pool and boulders. The walls were rippled and the floor was scattered with imperfections in both forms of lumps and indents which varied in sizes. There was an odd glow from somewhere which illuminated the passage in an odd florescent green glow, and although Azure and Tarla had no idea where it was coming from or how it was green, they assumed that perhaps a light source from somewhere had moss covering its entrance, or maybe that was the colour light became underground.

Finding it a pointless waste of thought, Azure shook her mind from it and tried again to focus on something that didn’t remind her of the geodude incident. The imagery was clear in her mind: the rock type casually sliding himself across the ice, using his arms to propel him when he put his hand down to push himself, but the rock merely slipped, and he jerked to one side. His body simply bumped over the small side fence Azure had tried to create, and frantically he grasped at the bridge’s edge. His hands slipped anyway...and he dropped straight down.

Nothing could impede his fall as he vanished through the void in a mess of desperate requests for help. Nobody in the cavern was able to do a thing, however, and although Tarla was blamed for not flying after him, Azure knew that even if she could have flown, the weight of the geodude’s body possibly exceeded her limit. She knew that she herself was heavier than a geodude as well, and if she was the one who slipped, then the altaria might have been unable to save her too. Then again, she did not know the extent of the pokémon’s abilities. Nevertheless, the rock and ground type was not seen again, and she could only imagine that the pokémon could have split when he came in contact with the ground, however far away it was. She felt it natural to blame herself, although she heavily resented such feelings, and tried to convince herself that there was no way to cross and the geodude was the one at fault. As the hours passed and she failed to be rid of the guilt, she wondered if it would ever leave at all.

Simultaneously, she dared the thought that perhaps she didn’t deserve relief. However absurd the thought may have been, she questioned it seriously. Thankfully she stopped paying the issue attention when the cave took her, and she examined the walls with notable interest. Tarla was showing a similar level of curiosity as they both scanned the walls and approached the pole, eagerly lapping up the cool water once they deduced that it was safe. Halfway through, the group began to swarm to where they were, obviously interested in drinking some for themselves. After Azure and her fellow colony member were finished, they began to travel on, wondering what lay beyond. Azure quietly wondered to herself if they were close to the exit, but had no interest in exchanging conversation with the rock types. Luckily she didn’t have to.

“Um,” Tarla began, trying feebly to get the rhyhorn’s attention. “Does a room like this mean that we’re close to exiting the tunnels?”

Thunderquake was the one to look up. “It does not take one sign to determine that,” she grunted, and then returned to her water.

Tarla raised her brow and moulded it into a frown before facing Azure again. “Apparently they don’t know.”
The glaceon turned away, less than interested in what the rock types had to say. She observed the walls surrounding the pond, which dipped in and thus was a small half-cylinder before the walls levelled out again, and observed the rippling mint reflecting off the surface. It was almost enchanting, and as if the walls themselves were made of water. It didn’t take long before she tore away, however, and looked to the end of the room. She tried scenting the air for any hint as to how close they were to the mountains, if that was even possible, but, as she expected, nothing came to her nose and she was left to clench her teeth in angst.

She was tired of being cooped up underground, even if it had been less than a day, and dearly hoped that she wouldn’t have to spend the night inside it. She could only imagine that odd creatures would emerge from their sleeping spots and attack. As she glanced to the shaft of light peeking through a hole up above, the length of which was quite long, she questioned whether or not they would be able to see once the light was completely blocked out. That alone was reason enough for her to want to escape the underground maze-like prison, and she was already beginning to miss the smell of grass and the fragrance of flowers. On top of that, she was growing hungrier, and she craved meat, the likes of which she hadn’t tasted in days.

She felt herself begin to shake with the thought of spending the night in the tunnels or caverns; she found it suspicious that they hadn’t run into any predator pokémon already, and wondered if they had been lying in wait the entire time, ready to strike but waiting for the right moment. All the while, their beady eyes were fixed on their group, laying a large target on their backs in their ignorance. Because of such feelings, she constantly turned around and checked behind, hoping there was nothing there but realistically being unsure.

She flicked her head up beside her, where Tarla stood. She was tall and proud, and somehow, being significantly taller than her gave Azure reassurance for some type of safety. Relaxing, she breathed a sigh. “Tarla, I...don’t know how much longer I can take this.”

The altaria glanced to her, an expression of bored contentment splashed across her face. “What do you mean?”
For a moment Azure was hesitant to admit to fear, or even anything that she was unsure about, and was about to blow it off when she responsively blurted, “The caves make me anxious.” The way her mind had chosen to word it for her, she figured, wasn’t too bad, so she left it how it was.

She waved a suspicious glance about. “I’m not too fond of them either. I can’t understand how anyone can live down here.” She didn’t meet the glaceon’s eyes as she surveyed the room in dissatisfaction. “No fresh grass, not enough light...no trees...” She gave her head a brusque shake. “Well, at least we know where to come if we ever have to dispose of any bodies.”

The glaceon turned to her, a little shocked, as the altaria casually reassigned her line of sight to the glaceon. The quadruped’s eyes were questioning enough and Tarla needed no longer to chortle and respond that she was only joking. The glaceon, normally aware of when words and phrases were serious or not, was confused at herself for taking the bird pokémon so literally. Embarrassed, she tore away from her fellow colony member and approached the entrance to the next tunnel, which, in comparison to the lit room, looked as shadowy as a gengar.

A little agitated, the ice type whirled around and addressed the rhyhorn from across the room. “Are you planning to break any longer?” Before allowing them to respond, she quickly added, “I think we should get moving as soon as possible.”

“What’s the rush?” a rhyhorn questioned, his face moulded by the patient befuddlement that riddled his tone.

“We are in no way interested in delaying your dismissal, glaceon, but taking the time to rest could ultimately save you the trouble of wounds you would have acquired if you were too weary to otherwise avoid.” Thunderquake only looked at her while speaking and then decided to return to the pond. “Resting is a tactic.”

Azure snorted, gritting her teeth. She couldn’t help but wonder how quickly the sun would be sinking soon, as the rays of light shining though the hole were of a faint orange hue, and soon strengthened in colour, bouncing off the walls and mingling with the green to create a strange brownish colour in some places. She seethed at the thought of remaining in such a dank and despicable place any longer. She was growing more and more nervous, imagining actually getting wounds and being unable to find treatment for them. Immediately she thought of Dusty, and feared a wound like hers. It looked horrendous, and the glaceon found herself willing to do nearly almost anything to avoid such a fate.

She felt an odd sense of calm suddenly flow into her as the altaria followed past her and sat her fluffy mass beside a wall, right near where the entrance to the next section was. Azure searched for her anxiousness where she thought she would find it and only dug up a little, hesitant to reach deeper in case she uncovered more than she could handle, and stood, watching the sitting pokémon. Around her, the odd emerald light untouched by orange cast a blanket of colour on her which did not match her pelt at all, and the walls, looking almost moist, were probably going to make her feathers glue themselves together.

In the midst of the unconscious observation, Azure realised that, amongst all the unfamiliarity, the altaria was someone she had known for years. They never particularly spoke to one another, but their respect for the other was mutual, and for that the glaceon was thankful. They shared a general colony bond, but even that was enough in a place so frightening and questionable, and she was suddenly grateful to have the altaria by her side.

Breathing calmly through her nose, the glaceon padded leisurely to the flying type and lay beside her. Tarla flashed her a stiff smile and the glaceon summoned one in response, understanding that the gesture was probably made to encourage comfort. She had never known that side of the altaria, but she was just glad it existed at all.

When the rhyhorn deemed it suitable to start moving, Tarla and Azure were more than happy to move off at the same time. Azure had grown impatient and resolved to taking a nap, although she knew that Tarla kept herself awake, and had been woken when Thunderquake made the decision to press on. She wouldn’t have waited for her if she didn’t claim to know the way out, or understand a vague direction in the least, but considering she did, she knew she would have to suffer the wait until they were able to move off all at once. She had complained a little to Tarla, but knew the altaria was hardly interested in discussing it, and for good reason, she assumed.

The tunnels they travelled through and the caverns they spilled into didn’t differ much from one another, and, in fact, Azure thought they looked the same. Tarla briefly agreed, although she was able to differentiate a little better. Thankfully they came across another pool of water that dipped out from under one of the cave walls and they managed to drink from that, and although Azure wasn’t sure where it had come from, she assumed it was probably a part of another lake.

It was obvious that it had become nighttime when they finally emerged from the caves. Azure beamed with joy and scuttled about the place, having emerged into a tiny clearing which was surrounded by rock of great height about her. It was surprising to see that there were more caves around her, and as she observed them on her left and right, she realised something. They weren’t completely out of them yet. The only paths to take were ones back through tunnels, and with a heavy heart and newfound disappointment, she groaned, flopping down on the ground and resting her chin upon the thin grass. When Tarla emerged from behind her, she didn’t bother looking back.

“Come on, Azure. It’s not that bad. Take it in and then we’ll keep going.”

The glaceon only huffed and remained still, clearly uninclined to move at all. “I don’t wanna.”

Tarla pressed her break together as she heard the rhyhorn from behind draw nearer. “The sooner you get up, the sooner we’re out outta here. I don’t like these rotten caves either!” She craned her neck, feeling a little strain from the wing. “Bird pokémon aren’t meant to live underground.” She kept her head still, watching the clouds pass by before they were blocked out by the walls of rock. As much as she hated to admit it, the underground caves and tunnels only reminded her further of the fact that she was incapable of flight. A flying type would never once consider life underground, unless their other type warranted them to, but the thought of making a home beneath the surface disgusted her. She wasn’t sure how ground types did it, let alone her kind, who were not at all designed for such a thing.

Azure, seeming not to notice a shred of her colony mate’s pondering, gave a sigh and slowly pulled herself up. The rhyhorn shortly caught up to them and passed them, and at that, the glaceon felt herself growl. She knew she had caused that, and told herself that she planned from then on to focus. As the altaria had stated, the sooner she got going, the faster she would get to the mountains. “We’re already in the mountains,” Azure added, for some reason only just registering the information for the first time.

Tarla slid out of her thoughts and gave a brief nod. “That’s what I meant. If we keep going, we’ll escape the caves quicker and pop out somewhere else. Judging by the fact that we wound up here, in the middle of this small clearing out of the caves on this cliff, I’m going to say that the tunnels from here on out will be much shorter than the ones we just crossed through.”

The eevee evolution considered her statement and agreed before setting off, the altaria behind her. The latter lingered a little longer to absorb the sight of the sky and yanked a few strands of grass from the ground to swallow before she moved off.

***

“Do you think we’re getting any closer?” questioned Etire, who walked between the group of four pokémon. When nobody responded, he narrowed his eyes a little. “...Anyone?”

“I don’t know,” Maka sighed, clearly failing to rely on memory. Instinct was another thing, but it seemed just as unreliable. “If we just keep walking this way...”

“Well this better end soon,” the houndoom grumbled, fitting behind the rhyhorn and krinar as he attempted to keep his balance. They were crossing a narrow bridge with water on either side, and judging by the rank smell, it did not have anywhere to flow. It had properties that frightened off even Splash, who didn’t dare enter, which was also concerning. He had screwed up his face – the first sign of proper emotion Maka and Zaion had seen on him before – and refused to enter it at all. The rhyhorn and houndoom had no initial interest to enter anyway, so they ruled out the possibility even before they knew how wretched it smelled.

“Does anybody know what’s actually wrong with it?” Etire questioned, clearly out of ideas himself. Zaion lifted his head with a particular expression.

“Really? You can’t guess?” he chuckled, a little baffled by the pokémon’s inability to understand. When Etire shrugged, a little offended, and tried to back himself up by stating that he wasn’t a genius and was better with his body than his mind, Zaion gave a small snort of amusement. “It’s infested with faeces. You know...crap.”

“What?” the krinar questioned, stopping to turn around and express his bewildered expression. He felt his cheeks redden, clearly embarrassed by his failure to pick up on it. “Uh, well...umm... whose faeces?”

“Whoever lives here,” the houndoom responded, and although he hadn’t meant to be ridiculing, he noticed that it was exactly how his words turned out. “Look up there,” he advised, indicating the endless opening up above them. “It’s some giant space from the floor above, however far away that is, where pokémon clearly live. This water has nowhere to go and nowhere to come from, so it sits here, infecting itself with whatever gets dumped in there.” He cringed at the thought of his mental image, and tried not to illustrate his words.

“That’s disgusting...” Etire groaned after some thought, and Zaion raised his brow with a few nods.

“No kidding.”

Suddenly a whooshing sound met their ears. With alarm, Maka froze, causing those behind her to halt as well. Splash stopped last, being at the back of the line, and stood placidly while the others looked frantically about. None of them spoke as the sound grew louder, and it soon became apparent that something was falling from above.

With a flick of shock, Etire spotted some sort of tiny dot which expanded until it was nearly upon them. As he stared up, watching it approach, he realised that it was about to fall to their right, narrowing missing them, and land in the pool. Gritting his teeth and calling out in surprise, he watched as the boulder did just that, plunging into the water and creating an enormous wave to rise from its depths and loom over them.

All four let loose a cry of surprise and discomfort – except for Splash, whose call was a happy “Quaaag!” – as the dirty water splashed over them all with a powerful force. Splash, Etire and Zaion tumbled off the ledge and into the water, the latter two gasping for breath as they fought to remain above the waterline. Splash disappeared below the surface and rapidly tunnelled his way to the other end of the pool, leaping out of the water and shaking off on land. Etire struggled, his style of swimming inadequate and unable to keep him properly afloat, and was evidently weighed down by the consistency of the water. The houndoom managed to make his way to the shore and haul himself up, shaking violently as he fought to rid himself of the disgusting substance caking his coat.

“A little...help!” Etire gurgled, keeping his mouth shut afterwards. Zaion glanced at him, highly uninterested in going after him.

Maka’s attention was placed elsewhere, however, as she stared into the pool on her right, where the presumed boulder had fallen. Her heartbeat was rapid as she searched the waters from above with her eyes, unable to see past the floating muck which had separated in places. “Help, guys,” she began, somewhat desperate. She whirled around to Zaion and Splash, the former of whom a little surprised at her reaction.

“He can get out himself,” the houndoom responded coolly, glancing quickly to Etire, who was slowly floating to the edge with a knotted brow.

Maka’s eyes widened in some form of outrage. “Not him,” she began harshly, gesturing to the pool she was turned towards. “The geodude who fell! He’s probably drowning in there!”

“What?” Zaion questioned quietly, his disbelief prominently showing. “A geodude? ...Wasn’t it a—”

“It wasn’t a boulder, and doesn’t matter why he fell,” the rhyhorn shouted. “What matters is his survival, and I can’t go in there after him or I’ll suffer the same fate.”

“So will I,” he answered roughly, completely unsure how to resolve the problem. Tentatively he turned to Splash, who was watching the situation with subdued contentment. He had no idea if Splash would listen to him if he told him to swim in after the geodude, or even if he would make it back up to the surface, and made the decision to try anyway. “Splash, you need to do what I say.” He glared at the quagsire, who didn’t even face him. His hopes of conveying a message, and before the geodude drowned, were beginning to dwindle. “You need to go in after that geodude. He’ll drown if you don’t; you’re the only one out of us who can swim properly, and if you don’t think you can do it...you can at least try.”

He held his breath and stared at the quagsire, who still only just stood in place. When Etire shouted out to him, finally at the shore, the quagsire didn’t meet his eyes. Maka was beginning to feel desperate as she dug her claws firmly into the ground, her large jaws compressing and her eyes fogged by the unease and fear she felt for her fellow rock type. She had explained the nature of a situation entailing a rock type in water to her travelling companions earlier, and shook her head firmly at the idea that someone before her might have to live it. It was a reality she had never seen, only heard about, and instantly she knew that it was a reality that was closer to being real than she had ever expected. Before now, it had simply been a tale – a horrifying one she didn’t doubt the credibility of – and had not imagined it would happen to anybody she knew.

Time was running out, and the rhyhorn could do nothing but stand and stare. “Splash...” She flicked her head to him, and to her surprise, managed to catch his eye. “He’ll die.”

For an unspoken reason, the quagsire’s mouth closed and for the first time, Maka saw a flash of emotion. He frowned. Following his frown was his quick blunder to the waterhole and then his disappearing form, hardly splashing water as he entered. The krinar, who pulled himself ashore from the other side of the pool and yanked his feet from the water, glanced to Zaion, who was staring, shocked, at the pool to his left and the rhyhorn’s right. He couldn’t quite fathom why the water and ground type had listened to her at all.

Maka hardly appeared surprised, but was instead focused on what lay before her. She waited in anticipation, the same as the others, for the result of Splash’s endeavour. She hoped desperately that he would reappear with the boulder-like pokémon in his hands, and suddenly wondered how deep the pool was. If it was too far down, Splash might not have been able to lift the geodude to shore. She remembered, however, that everything was apparently lighter in water, and hoped that the aid it could give would make it notably easier.

A few seconds later, the quagsire emerged, the geodude in his strong paws’ grip. The boulder-like pokémon was immobile and his limbs dangled from his body. The only sign of hope she had was his closed eyes, figuring that if he hadn’t made it, there was a chance his eyes would have been open. As she watched, the pokémon was laid upon the shore and Splash hauled himself out, shaking off and sprinkling the nearby ground with dirty droplets. The houndoom stayed back for that very reason, and presumably when he deemed it safe, he raced to the rock type’s side.

“What’s the status?” questioned Maka as she neared the geodude, speaking specifically to Zaion but allowing room for anybody listening to respond. That was only the krinar, who hobbled over shortly after.

“I don’t know,” the houndoom blurted, unsure how or what to diagnose. He tried examining the body from the outside, but a physical state was yet undetermined.

“Does anybody know what to do?” Maka asked a little desperately, hoping there would be a sudden suggestion or knowledge for what to do. She had no idea what specifically she and the others would do for him, but figured that, in time, they would either learn or...accept whatever fate may befall the stranger. She nudged him with her nose, acknowledging but trying to ignore the stench that wafted from his solid form, and rolled him over. His arms flopped lazily as his mouth separated, and she cringed, noticing some of the disgusting waste water trickle in through the sides of his mouth.

Wasting no time, the houndoom drew his head back and summon crackling flame before expelling it from his jaws, dousing the geodude instantly. The response was not immediate, but Maka’s shock was, and before she could tell him to call it off, the rock pokémon began to stir and slipped from his unconscious state with coughs, splutters and an absent set of waves from his arms.

“What!” was all he managed, his eyes looking about in confusion. The fire cleared from his sight and he began to absorb his surroundings. His reaction was to straighten out his arms, his mouth ajar with surprise before he hopped a few paces away, in the direction the mob was heading. He quickly realised that there were rises in the earth further on, and understood that he was unlikely to escape in the event that he would need to.

Maka, noticing his response, captured his glance and spoke to him slowly. “We won’t harm you, friend.”

The geodude watched her intently, scanning her up and down before stopping on her eyes again. “If you do, then you’re stupid.” He waited a moment before switching to the houndoom.

“I would say ‘let’s try this again’ and have you thank me for waking you up, but I think your mind has been made,” he shrugged, either uninterested in trying to convince the rock type, or simply didn’t care about gratitude.

There was no reply from the geodude before the krinar spoke up. “Hey, you really should thank him. And him.” He nodded to Splash, who stood contentedly, not looking at anything specific. The geodude followed Etire’s eyes and stopped upon the quagsire, clearly noticing something amiss.

When he didn’t respond, Zaion heaved a patient sigh and turned toward the other end of the cavern. He said nothing as he strolled away, and tentatively, Maka headed on after him once she thought she had stood on the spot long enough. She eyed the rock type as she passed him, as did Etire, who followed. The stranger was left to sit, appearing to be mulling things over in his mind.

“He was grateful,” Maka muttered grudgingly once she caught up with Zaion. Splash and Etire dawdled behind, although the latter had a reason to do so. “And after all that concern I wasted on him.”

“It’ll probably pay off,” the houndoom predicted, shrugging a little. “What’s the bet he’ll come running back – well, hopping back – in, what...ten seconds?” He added that her concern would have given him something to consider, but the rhyhorn was a little sceptical.

“Really?” she uttered bluntly, and the houndoom shrugged, nodding his head coolly.

“In four...three...two...one...” He lowered his head as he progressed.

Silence invited another voice, but when none came, Zaion was left to listen to the emptiness of the room, filled only by the pattering of the four pokémon’s feet. A little disappointed by his failed prediction, he scowled. “Well, it was worth a try.”

The rhyhorn eyed him a little strangely before sighing and glancing behind, watching the dumbfounded – or just rude – geodude whose body was still glued to the floor. He merely watched them go, possibly a little lost for what to do himself.

“Hey,” Etire called from shortly behind, earning the attention of the rhyhorn and houndoom. He laid his eyes on the former. “Isn’t that geodude from your herd? I haven’t seen any living here so it seemed weird that this guy might be on his own.”

Maka’s expression hardened, but she slowly shook her head. “I don’t recognise him. He evidently didn’t know who I was either, so...maybe he was from another part of the clan that I didn’t converse with.”

Etire made a noise of acknowledgement and frowned a little, figuring that he must have somehow been right. Maka was a little disheartened by the fact that the geodude had not been grateful, especially if he was from her clan, although she couldn’t say that ingratitude hadn’t been shown to her before, but had also not been expected in this situation. She figured she would be best just to forget the situation instead of waste thought on it.

After a time of travelling, the four encountered slopes and rises time and again, and Zaion wondered if they were finally being led to the surface. The thought had flashed to his mind a few times, and he was indeed excited by the prospect, which seemed a likely outcome. If they were low enough down to be at the receiving end of a falling geodude, then they were obviously not at the highest level in the caves. It left room for many more floors, any of which he knew could lead them out.

At one point, the tunnel was a spiralling ramp ascending to the top floor above, which they reached and met with several paths. It was difficult choosing one that all three agreed on – as Splash was content to follow any of them without question – and much of the time, two were in agreement while one opposed. Democracy was condoned by Zaion but loathed by Etire, who believed that a physical fight had a better chance of achieving a resolution. However, when the houndoom asked him to test that theory, the pokémon remembered his injuries and withdrew his statement.

Eventually the time came when the cavern brightened significantly, as previously, the fire type was required to use his flame to light the way. The exercise did get tiring, and he was glad for some natural light. However, the presence of light wasn’t just comforting and convenient—it meant they must have been near an opening of some kind, such as a window or, if they were lucky, a way out. Once voicing his opinion and hearing the others groan and nod in response, he cleared his throat and began looking about the room. Obscured at first by a stalactite was a small hole in the ceiling which let in a considerable amount of light in a blocky shaft, which he could see as he passed under it, and called his companions over to see for themselves.

Etire was the last to arrive, and when he looked up, his face brightened. “Does this mean we’re close to the surface? Finally?”

“Do not be deceived,” Maka warned, and the other two looked at her in concern. The comment made it sound as if she had experience with similar things.

“What do you mean?” the psychic and fighting type questioned.

“Just because there’s an opening here, it doesn’t mean we’ll suddenly find our exit.” She threw her head to the opposite end of the room. “We have no choice but to keep moving, but try not to get your hopes up.”

“Yeah, but we’ll get out of here at some point,” protested Etire stubbornly, as if keen to gain confirmation from her that escape was at least a possibility. He was a little discouraged at her words, which made it difficult for him to summon the necessary motivation to continue. He knew that he had no choice, as she had mentioned, but he found it easier nonetheless to have a proper goal.

“Duh,” Zaion muttered with a little amusement, keeping his brow raised and his smile freshly tantalising.

Despite the low hopes they had for an escape to meet them quickly, they each continued on, Splash wandering happily behind. The stench from the pool had not worn off, and every now and again, the males would be reminded of their adventures in the mucky water. Maka smelled it as well, but she kept ahead of the group to avoid it any directional wafts. Nobody questioned her decision, but it didn’t exactly comfort them. Splash didn’t seem to mind.

“There goes my stomach,” Zaion commented with a shred of humour as a rumble reverberated from his midsection, and immediately the krinar turned to him.

“I am so freaking hungry!” he bellowed, slapping both of his hands to his torso. “Does this place even have food anywhere at all? I haven’t seen a single plant...or fruit. I’m really craving fruit.”

“Fruit,” laughed Zaion in a muffled chuckle. “I want meat. What the elite of the world eat.”

A look of questioning crossed the krinar’s face as the fire type made the assumption, but didn’t react, as he knew it was a simple ploy to entertain himself with small bouts of meaningless arguing. “Don’t you think an elite pokémon would have gotten us out of here by now?”

“Being elite is not about taking responsibility for everyone else. Besides...” He flashed a sideways smile coated greasily with cruel amusement. “I’m not the one in bits and pieces.”

“This is a battle wound,” argued the krinar with light-hearted outrage, willing to argue only on a friendly level.

“Should I be sad that I don’t have proof that I survived a bombardment of terrible, horrifying pebbles?”

“Maybe not, but those terrible, horrifying pebbles blocked your way back to the chamber the earthquake chased us out of,” the krinar mentioned with a small grin.

“Yes...case of the dreaded pebble walls,” Zaion snorted.

“The point is, we should find something to eat,” Etire suggested, and finally Maka whirled around.

“We need to find a way out first,” she reminded him, and he sighed, nodding in agreement. “I have a feeling we’re on the right track...”

“We better be on the right track,” the fighting type muttered. “I don’t want to be stuck in here forever. As delightful as that sounds, I have a life on the surface.”

“Nonsense,” the houndoom began with an amused scoff. “Your female friend is stuck here too. You got all you need to start an underground clan!”

The krinar was clearly uncomfortable with the statement as he didn’t reply, and Zaion wondered if he should have spoken at all. However, he had said it good-naturedly, and decided that if it was taken as an insult by the recipient, then he couldn’t do anything to change that.

Both males came to a halt when their rhyhorn friend stopped in her tracks. Having not paid much attention, Zaion and Etire shifted their gazes from one another and laid them upon what occupied the rock type’s attention, which looked to be something small and round. At first they had not a clue for what it could be, but that soon changed when the rhyhorn, extremely curious, moved towards the patterned ball. When she reached out to touch it, it suddenly uncurled, as if one simple touch was all it took to break its composure, and the olive pokémon’s white underside sprawled with it as it stretched out across the ground. Even outspread, the pokémon was only around half the length she was. It posed no immediate threat, as it was unconscious, and Maka stared at it with unknowing eyes. Splash sat contentedly beside Etire while the other three tried to assess the situation, unsure of what to do.

“It’s not...dead, is it?” questioned Etire slowly, and Maka shook her head, eyes still on the sandshrew before them.

“No, she’s...not. She’s just unconscious.” She looked up, her face one of concern. “I think we should try to help her.”

“How?” asked Etire sceptically; he had a feeling that he would have to carry her based on the fact that he had more versatile limbs than the houndoom or rhyhorn. He hoped she would be willing to carry the pokémon on her back instead, if that was when what she meant.

“I’m...not sure, but if there are predators in here, we should bring her somewhere safe.”

“We need to bring ourselves somewhere safe,” added Zaion, and Maka held her breath. “What do you propose we do?”

She looked to Etire. “Lift her onto my back.”

The krinar eyed her for a moment before glancing to the houndoom, then followed her request. Despite the injuries he had sustained, he was able to hoist her up with the help of Zaion’s curved horns, which, given there were two of them, provided suitable support. Once the sandshrew was set upon the rock type’s back, she glanced around, trying to spot her but having trouble due to her intruding armour.

“We don’t even know if we’re close to the end. And that pokémon could weigh you down...” commented the psychic and fighting type, and the rhyhorn focused on the path ahead.

Zaion joined with her gaze. “Now what?”

Without looking to either of her companions, she answered, “We continue.”

Description
Through the Eyes of a Flareon

Chapter Thirty: Between Stone and Soil - Part Two

After a long discussion with the small group of rhyhorn, Azure and Tarla had come to the conclusion that the best and most appropriate way was not to collapse the ceiling, as some of the more ambitious – and, as Azure thought, unintelligent – rhyhorn suggested, but for the glaceon to project a rather flat bridge of ice across the enormous opening to the other side of the room, where the land started up again. When discussing where the void could possibly lead, Thunderquake had suggested that it probably ended somewhere in a large room deeper underground, possibly where one would unfortunately have immense trouble getting out of.

Although the bridge had been wide, it was more than difficult for Azure to produce. She didn’t permit herself to use a simple move such as ice beam to craft something that needed to firstly be level on top, but also wide enough. Instead she had to launch ice shards into the other side of the wall which was used to support what she planned to lay on top. Icy wind helped to chill the air, and it was only then that she used ice beam to create a solid bridge, first lining the far cliff and then extending on it until it finally met with the rock face she was standing by. It was not entirely flat, but she believed that the imperfections would serve as foot holes and small barriers. She was asked to make walls for it, but her energy was rapidly depleting, and was hardly able to make a short “fence” on either side.

It was a popular request that she test it, and although Tarla had been extremely wary and worried for her, she made it across without slipping. Tarla assumed that her paw pads were specifically designed for icy terrains, as she had perfect traction the entire way across. When the bird pokémon herself had gone, she found that her toes and claws were extremely slippery and she had to use her right, uninjured wing several times to steady herself, understanding that she could only begin falling to the right, as her injured left wing could not save her if she toppled the other way.

Eventually all that were coming with their party were able to cross, although awkwardly and not without losing one of the geodude. The rhyhorn often went too slowly to fall, and although the glaceon had been excessively afraid that one of them would prove to be too heavy for her makeshift bridge and splinter a weak point, the ice had been solid and stiff, and if only one rock type passed at a time, there were no weight problems. The geodude, however, had been unable to grip the edge and merely slipped straight off. The thought continuously haunted the ice type as she trudged solemnly alongside her fellow colony member, traversing a tunnel that supposedly led somewhere useful.

The tunnel had come a room filled with low-set stalactites, and they were each forced to weave between the points and avoid being pricked. Azure’s shoulder suffered one such injury, and a few times, a rhyhorn had to smash one of the hanging stone pikes in order to fit past. Tarla was always nervous when it happened, as she was irrationally afraid that every spike in the room would come crashing down. Some of them were short and easy to pass under, and it was those ones she grew wary of. Luckily no such thing had happened, and they instead curved with the room to the right before popping into a tunnel that they knew was directing them somewhat east.

It wasn’t long before the passages exampled that they had a mind of their own and began to split into several side tunnels which chose assorted directions, and the group of around twelve pokémon weaved their ways through the maze-like arrangement of tunnels before, finally, they had come into a rocky pass that bore a small pool and boulders. The walls were rippled and the floor was scattered with imperfections in both forms of lumps and indents which varied in sizes. There was an odd glow from somewhere which illuminated the passage in an odd florescent green glow, and although Azure and Tarla had no idea where it was coming from or how it was green, they assumed that perhaps a light source from somewhere had moss covering its entrance, or maybe that was the colour light became underground.

Finding it a pointless waste of thought, Azure shook her mind from it and tried again to focus on something that didn’t remind her of the geodude incident. The imagery was clear in her mind: the rock type casually sliding himself across the ice, using his arms to propel him when he put his hand down to push himself, but the rock merely slipped, and he jerked to one side. His body simply bumped over the small side fence Azure had tried to create, and frantically he grasped at the bridge’s edge. His hands slipped anyway...and he dropped straight down.

Nothing could impede his fall as he vanished through the void in a mess of desperate requests for help. Nobody in the cavern was able to do a thing, however, and although Tarla was blamed for not flying after him, Azure knew that even if she could have flown, the weight of the geodude’s body possibly exceeded her limit. She knew that she herself was heavier than a geodude as well, and if she was the one who slipped, then the altaria might have been unable to save her too. Then again, she did not know the extent of the pokémon’s abilities. Nevertheless, the rock and ground type was not seen again, and she could only imagine that the pokémon could have split when he came in contact with the ground, however far away it was. She felt it natural to blame herself, although she heavily resented such feelings, and tried to convince herself that there was no way to cross and the geodude was the one at fault. As the hours passed and she failed to be rid of the guilt, she wondered if it would ever leave at all.

Simultaneously, she dared the thought that perhaps she didn’t deserve relief. However absurd the thought may have been, she questioned it seriously. Thankfully she stopped paying the issue attention when the cave took her, and she examined the walls with notable interest. Tarla was showing a similar level of curiosity as they both scanned the walls and approached the pole, eagerly lapping up the cool water once they deduced that it was safe. Halfway through, the group began to swarm to where they were, obviously interested in drinking some for themselves. After Azure and her fellow colony member were finished, they began to travel on, wondering what lay beyond. Azure quietly wondered to herself if they were close to the exit, but had no interest in exchanging conversation with the rock types. Luckily she didn’t have to.

“Um,” Tarla began, trying feebly to get the rhyhorn’s attention. “Does a room like this mean that we’re close to exiting the tunnels?”

Thunderquake was the one to look up. “It does not take one sign to determine that,” she grunted, and then returned to her water.

Tarla raised her brow and moulded it into a frown before facing Azure again. “Apparently they don’t know.”
The glaceon turned away, less than interested in what the rock types had to say. She observed the walls surrounding the pond, which dipped in and thus was a small half-cylinder before the walls levelled out again, and observed the rippling mint reflecting off the surface. It was almost enchanting, and as if the walls themselves were made of water. It didn’t take long before she tore away, however, and looked to the end of the room. She tried scenting the air for any hint as to how close they were to the mountains, if that was even possible, but, as she expected, nothing came to her nose and she was left to clench her teeth in angst.

She was tired of being cooped up underground, even if it had been less than a day, and dearly hoped that she wouldn’t have to spend the night inside it. She could only imagine that odd creatures would emerge from their sleeping spots and attack. As she glanced to the shaft of light peeking through a hole up above, the length of which was quite long, she questioned whether or not they would be able to see once the light was completely blocked out. That alone was reason enough for her to want to escape the underground maze-like prison, and she was already beginning to miss the smell of grass and the fragrance of flowers. On top of that, she was growing hungrier, and she craved meat, the likes of which she hadn’t tasted in days.

She felt herself begin to shake with the thought of spending the night in the tunnels or caverns; she found it suspicious that they hadn’t run into any predator pokémon already, and wondered if they had been lying in wait the entire time, ready to strike but waiting for the right moment. All the while, their beady eyes were fixed on their group, laying a large target on their backs in their ignorance. Because of such feelings, she constantly turned around and checked behind, hoping there was nothing there but realistically being unsure.

She flicked her head up beside her, where Tarla stood. She was tall and proud, and somehow, being significantly taller than her gave Azure reassurance for some type of safety. Relaxing, she breathed a sigh. “Tarla, I...don’t know how much longer I can take this.”

The altaria glanced to her, an expression of bored contentment splashed across her face. “What do you mean?”
For a moment Azure was hesitant to admit to fear, or even anything that she was unsure about, and was about to blow it off when she responsively blurted, “The caves make me anxious.” The way her mind had chosen to word it for her, she figured, wasn’t too bad, so she left it how it was.

She waved a suspicious glance about. “I’m not too fond of them either. I can’t understand how anyone can live down here.” She didn’t meet the glaceon’s eyes as she surveyed the room in dissatisfaction. “No fresh grass, not enough light...no trees...” She gave her head a brusque shake. “Well, at least we know where to come if we ever have to dispose of any bodies.”

The glaceon turned to her, a little shocked, as the altaria casually reassigned her line of sight to the glaceon. The quadruped’s eyes were questioning enough and Tarla needed no longer to chortle and respond that she was only joking. The glaceon, normally aware of when words and phrases were serious or not, was confused at herself for taking the bird pokémon so literally. Embarrassed, she tore away from her fellow colony member and approached the entrance to the next tunnel, which, in comparison to the lit room, looked as shadowy as a gengar.

A little agitated, the ice type whirled around and addressed the rhyhorn from across the room. “Are you planning to break any longer?” Before allowing them to respond, she quickly added, “I think we should get moving as soon as possible.”

“What’s the rush?” a rhyhorn questioned, his face moulded by the patient befuddlement that riddled his tone.

“We are in no way interested in delaying your dismissal, glaceon, but taking the time to rest could ultimately save you the trouble of wounds you would have acquired if you were too weary to otherwise avoid.” Thunderquake only looked at her while speaking and then decided to return to the pond. “Resting is a tactic.”

Azure snorted, gritting her teeth. She couldn’t help but wonder how quickly the sun would be sinking soon, as the rays of light shining though the hole were of a faint orange hue, and soon strengthened in colour, bouncing off the walls and mingling with the green to create a strange brownish colour in some places. She seethed at the thought of remaining in such a dank and despicable place any longer. She was growing more and more nervous, imagining actually getting wounds and being unable to find treatment for them. Immediately she thought of Dusty, and feared a wound like hers. It looked horrendous, and the glaceon found herself willing to do nearly almost anything to avoid such a fate.

She felt an odd sense of calm suddenly flow into her as the altaria followed past her and sat her fluffy mass beside a wall, right near where the entrance to the next section was. Azure searched for her anxiousness where she thought she would find it and only dug up a little, hesitant to reach deeper in case she uncovered more than she could handle, and stood, watching the sitting pokémon. Around her, the odd emerald light untouched by orange cast a blanket of colour on her which did not match her pelt at all, and the walls, looking almost moist, were probably going to make her feathers glue themselves together.

In the midst of the unconscious observation, Azure realised that, amongst all the unfamiliarity, the altaria was someone she had known for years. They never particularly spoke to one another, but their respect for the other was mutual, and for that the glaceon was thankful. They shared a general colony bond, but even that was enough in a place so frightening and questionable, and she was suddenly grateful to have the altaria by her side.

Breathing calmly through her nose, the glaceon padded leisurely to the flying type and lay beside her. Tarla flashed her a stiff smile and the glaceon summoned one in response, understanding that the gesture was probably made to encourage comfort. She had never known that side of the altaria, but she was just glad it existed at all.

When the rhyhorn deemed it suitable to start moving, Tarla and Azure were more than happy to move off at the same time. Azure had grown impatient and resolved to taking a nap, although she knew that Tarla kept herself awake, and had been woken when Thunderquake made the decision to press on. She wouldn’t have waited for her if she didn’t claim to know the way out, or understand a vague direction in the least, but considering she did, she knew she would have to suffer the wait until they were able to move off all at once. She had complained a little to Tarla, but knew the altaria was hardly interested in discussing it, and for good reason, she assumed.

The tunnels they travelled through and the caverns they spilled into didn’t differ much from one another, and, in fact, Azure thought they looked the same. Tarla briefly agreed, although she was able to differentiate a little better. Thankfully they came across another pool of water that dipped out from under one of the cave walls and they managed to drink from that, and although Azure wasn’t sure where it had come from, she assumed it was probably a part of another lake.

It was obvious that it had become nighttime when they finally emerged from the caves. Azure beamed with joy and scuttled about the place, having emerged into a tiny clearing which was surrounded by rock of great height about her. It was surprising to see that there were more caves around her, and as she observed them on her left and right, she realised something. They weren’t completely out of them yet. The only paths to take were ones back through tunnels, and with a heavy heart and newfound disappointment, she groaned, flopping down on the ground and resting her chin upon the thin grass. When Tarla emerged from behind her, she didn’t bother looking back.

“Come on, Azure. It’s not that bad. Take it in and then we’ll keep going.”

The glaceon only huffed and remained still, clearly uninclined to move at all. “I don’t wanna.”

Tarla pressed her break together as she heard the rhyhorn from behind draw nearer. “The sooner you get up, the sooner we’re out outta here. I don’t like these rotten caves either!” She craned her neck, feeling a little strain from the wing. “Bird pokémon aren’t meant to live underground.” She kept her head still, watching the clouds pass by before they were blocked out by the walls of rock. As much as she hated to admit it, the underground caves and tunnels only reminded her further of the fact that she was incapable of flight. A flying type would never once consider life underground, unless their other type warranted them to, but the thought of making a home beneath the surface disgusted her. She wasn’t sure how ground types did it, let alone her kind, who were not at all designed for such a thing.

Azure, seeming not to notice a shred of her colony mate’s pondering, gave a sigh and slowly pulled herself up. The rhyhorn shortly caught up to them and passed them, and at that, the glaceon felt herself growl. She knew she had caused that, and told herself that she planned from then on to focus. As the altaria had stated, the sooner she got going, the faster she would get to the mountains. “We’re already in the mountains,” Azure added, for some reason only just registering the information for the first time.

Tarla slid out of her thoughts and gave a brief nod. “That’s what I meant. If we keep going, we’ll escape the caves quicker and pop out somewhere else. Judging by the fact that we wound up here, in the middle of this small clearing out of the caves on this cliff, I’m going to say that the tunnels from here on out will be much shorter than the ones we just crossed through.”

The eevee evolution considered her statement and agreed before setting off, the altaria behind her. The latter lingered a little longer to absorb the sight of the sky and yanked a few strands of grass from the ground to swallow before she moved off.

***

“Do you think we’re getting any closer?” questioned Etire, who walked between the group of four pokémon. When nobody responded, he narrowed his eyes a little. “...Anyone?”

“I don’t know,” Maka sighed, clearly failing to rely on memory. Instinct was another thing, but it seemed just as unreliable. “If we just keep walking this way...”

“Well this better end soon,” the houndoom grumbled, fitting behind the rhyhorn and krinar as he attempted to keep his balance. They were crossing a narrow bridge with water on either side, and judging by the rank smell, it did not have anywhere to flow. It had properties that frightened off even Splash, who didn’t dare enter, which was also concerning. He had screwed up his face – the first sign of proper emotion Maka and Zaion had seen on him before – and refused to enter it at all. The rhyhorn and houndoom had no initial interest to enter anyway, so they ruled out the possibility even before they knew how wretched it smelled.

“Does anybody know what’s actually wrong with it?” Etire questioned, clearly out of ideas himself. Zaion lifted his head with a particular expression.

“Really? You can’t guess?” he chuckled, a little baffled by the pokémon’s inability to understand. When Etire shrugged, a little offended, and tried to back himself up by stating that he wasn’t a genius and was better with his body than his mind, Zaion gave a small snort of amusement. “It’s infested with faeces. You know...crap.”

“What?” the krinar questioned, stopping to turn around and express his bewildered expression. He felt his cheeks redden, clearly embarrassed by his failure to pick up on it. “Uh, well...umm... whose faeces?”

“Whoever lives here,” the houndoom responded, and although he hadn’t meant to be ridiculing, he noticed that it was exactly how his words turned out. “Look up there,” he advised, indicating the endless opening up above them. “It’s some giant space from the floor above, however far away that is, where pokémon clearly live. This water has nowhere to go and nowhere to come from, so it sits here, infecting itself with whatever gets dumped in there.” He cringed at the thought of his mental image, and tried not to illustrate his words.

“That’s disgusting...” Etire groaned after some thought, and Zaion raised his brow with a few nods.

“No kidding.”

Suddenly a whooshing sound met their ears. With alarm, Maka froze, causing those behind her to halt as well. Splash stopped last, being at the back of the line, and stood placidly while the others looked frantically about. None of them spoke as the sound grew louder, and it soon became apparent that something was falling from above.

With a flick of shock, Etire spotted some sort of tiny dot which expanded until it was nearly upon them. As he stared up, watching it approach, he realised that it was about to fall to their right, narrowing missing them, and land in the pool. Gritting his teeth and calling out in surprise, he watched as the boulder did just that, plunging into the water and creating an enormous wave to rise from its depths and loom over them.

All four let loose a cry of surprise and discomfort – except for Splash, whose call was a happy “Quaaag!” – as the dirty water splashed over them all with a powerful force. Splash, Etire and Zaion tumbled off the ledge and into the water, the latter two gasping for breath as they fought to remain above the waterline. Splash disappeared below the surface and rapidly tunnelled his way to the other end of the pool, leaping out of the water and shaking off on land. Etire struggled, his style of swimming inadequate and unable to keep him properly afloat, and was evidently weighed down by the consistency of the water. The houndoom managed to make his way to the shore and haul himself up, shaking violently as he fought to rid himself of the disgusting substance caking his coat.

“A little...help!” Etire gurgled, keeping his mouth shut afterwards. Zaion glanced at him, highly uninterested in going after him.

Maka’s attention was placed elsewhere, however, as she stared into the pool on her right, where the presumed boulder had fallen. Her heartbeat was rapid as she searched the waters from above with her eyes, unable to see past the floating muck which had separated in places. “Help, guys,” she began, somewhat desperate. She whirled around to Zaion and Splash, the former of whom a little surprised at her reaction.

“He can get out himself,” the houndoom responded coolly, glancing quickly to Etire, who was slowly floating to the edge with a knotted brow.

Maka’s eyes widened in some form of outrage. “Not him,” she began harshly, gesturing to the pool she was turned towards. “The geodude who fell! He’s probably drowning in there!”

“What?” Zaion questioned quietly, his disbelief prominently showing. “A geodude? ...Wasn’t it a—”

“It wasn’t a boulder, and doesn’t matter why he fell,” the rhyhorn shouted. “What matters is his survival, and I can’t go in there after him or I’ll suffer the same fate.”

“So will I,” he answered roughly, completely unsure how to resolve the problem. Tentatively he turned to Splash, who was watching the situation with subdued contentment. He had no idea if Splash would listen to him if he told him to swim in after the geodude, or even if he would make it back up to the surface, and made the decision to try anyway. “Splash, you need to do what I say.” He glared at the quagsire, who didn’t even face him. His hopes of conveying a message, and before the geodude drowned, were beginning to dwindle. “You need to go in after that geodude. He’ll drown if you don’t; you’re the only one out of us who can swim properly, and if you don’t think you can do it...you can at least try.”

He held his breath and stared at the quagsire, who still only just stood in place. When Etire shouted out to him, finally at the shore, the quagsire didn’t meet his eyes. Maka was beginning to feel desperate as she dug her claws firmly into the ground, her large jaws compressing and her eyes fogged by the unease and fear she felt for her fellow rock type. She had explained the nature of a situation entailing a rock type in water to her travelling companions earlier, and shook her head firmly at the idea that someone before her might have to live it. It was a reality she had never seen, only heard about, and instantly she knew that it was a reality that was closer to being real than she had ever expected. Before now, it had simply been a tale – a horrifying one she didn’t doubt the credibility of – and had not imagined it would happen to anybody she knew.

Time was running out, and the rhyhorn could do nothing but stand and stare. “Splash...” She flicked her head to him, and to her surprise, managed to catch his eye. “He’ll die.”

For an unspoken reason, the quagsire’s mouth closed and for the first time, Maka saw a flash of emotion. He frowned. Following his frown was his quick blunder to the waterhole and then his disappearing form, hardly splashing water as he entered. The krinar, who pulled himself ashore from the other side of the pool and yanked his feet from the water, glanced to Zaion, who was staring, shocked, at the pool to his left and the rhyhorn’s right. He couldn’t quite fathom why the water and ground type had listened to her at all.

Maka hardly appeared surprised, but was instead focused on what lay before her. She waited in anticipation, the same as the others, for the result of Splash’s endeavour. She hoped desperately that he would reappear with the boulder-like pokémon in his hands, and suddenly wondered how deep the pool was. If it was too far down, Splash might not have been able to lift the geodude to shore. She remembered, however, that everything was apparently lighter in water, and hoped that the aid it could give would make it notably easier.

A few seconds later, the quagsire emerged, the geodude in his strong paws’ grip. The boulder-like pokémon was immobile and his limbs dangled from his body. The only sign of hope she had was his closed eyes, figuring that if he hadn’t made it, there was a chance his eyes would have been open. As she watched, the pokémon was laid upon the shore and Splash hauled himself out, shaking off and sprinkling the nearby ground with dirty droplets. The houndoom stayed back for that very reason, and presumably when he deemed it safe, he raced to the rock type’s side.

“What’s the status?” questioned Maka as she neared the geodude, speaking specifically to Zaion but allowing room for anybody listening to respond. That was only the krinar, who hobbled over shortly after.

“I don’t know,” the houndoom blurted, unsure how or what to diagnose. He tried examining the body from the outside, but a physical state was yet undetermined.

“Does anybody know what to do?” Maka asked a little desperately, hoping there would be a sudden suggestion or knowledge for what to do. She had no idea what specifically she and the others would do for him, but figured that, in time, they would either learn or...accept whatever fate may befall the stranger. She nudged him with her nose, acknowledging but trying to ignore the stench that wafted from his solid form, and rolled him over. His arms flopped lazily as his mouth separated, and she cringed, noticing some of the disgusting waste water trickle in through the sides of his mouth.

Wasting no time, the houndoom drew his head back and summon crackling flame before expelling it from his jaws, dousing the geodude instantly. The response was not immediate, but Maka’s shock was, and before she could tell him to call it off, the rock pokémon began to stir and slipped from his unconscious state with coughs, splutters and an absent set of waves from his arms.

“What!” was all he managed, his eyes looking about in confusion. The fire cleared from his sight and he began to absorb his surroundings. His reaction was to straighten out his arms, his mouth ajar with surprise before he hopped a few paces away, in the direction the mob was heading. He quickly realised that there were rises in the earth further on, and understood that he was unlikely to escape in the event that he would need to.

Maka, noticing his response, captured his glance and spoke to him slowly. “We won’t harm you, friend.”

The geodude watched her intently, scanning her up and down before stopping on her eyes again. “If you do, then you’re stupid.” He waited a moment before switching to the houndoom.

“I would say ‘let’s try this again’ and have you thank me for waking you up, but I think your mind has been made,” he shrugged, either uninterested in trying to convince the rock type, or simply didn’t care about gratitude.

There was no reply from the geodude before the krinar spoke up. “Hey, you really should thank him. And him.” He nodded to Splash, who stood contentedly, not looking at anything specific. The geodude followed Etire’s eyes and stopped upon the quagsire, clearly noticing something amiss.

When he didn’t respond, Zaion heaved a patient sigh and turned toward the other end of the cavern. He said nothing as he strolled away, and tentatively, Maka headed on after him once she thought she had stood on the spot long enough. She eyed the rock type as she passed him, as did Etire, who followed. The stranger was left to sit, appearing to be mulling things over in his mind.

“He was grateful,” Maka muttered grudgingly once she caught up with Zaion. Splash and Etire dawdled behind, although the latter had a reason to do so. “And after all that concern I wasted on him.”

“It’ll probably pay off,” the houndoom predicted, shrugging a little. “What’s the bet he’ll come running back – well, hopping back – in, what...ten seconds?” He added that her concern would have given him something to consider, but the rhyhorn was a little sceptical.

“Really?” she uttered bluntly, and the houndoom shrugged, nodding his head coolly.

“In four...three...two...one...” He lowered his head as he progressed.

Silence invited another voice, but when none came, Zaion was left to listen to the emptiness of the room, filled only by the pattering of the four pokémon’s feet. A little disappointed by his failed prediction, he scowled. “Well, it was worth a try.”

The rhyhorn eyed him a little strangely before sighing and glancing behind, watching the dumbfounded – or just rude – geodude whose body was still glued to the floor. He merely watched them go, possibly a little lost for what to do himself.

“Hey,” Etire called from shortly behind, earning the attention of the rhyhorn and houndoom. He laid his eyes on the former. “Isn’t that geodude from your herd? I haven’t seen any living here so it seemed weird that this guy might be on his own.”

Maka’s expression hardened, but she slowly shook her head. “I don’t recognise him. He evidently didn’t know who I was either, so...maybe he was from another part of the clan that I didn’t converse with.”

Etire made a noise of acknowledgement and frowned a little, figuring that he must have somehow been right. Maka was a little disheartened by the fact that the geodude had not been grateful, especially if he was from her clan, although she couldn’t say that ingratitude hadn’t been shown to her before, but had also not been expected in this situation. She figured she would be best just to forget the situation instead of waste thought on it.

After a time of travelling, the four encountered slopes and rises time and again, and Zaion wondered if they were finally being led to the surface. The thought had flashed to his mind a few times, and he was indeed excited by the prospect, which seemed a likely outcome. If they were low enough down to be at the receiving end of a falling geodude, then they were obviously not at the highest level in the caves. It left room for many more floors, any of which he knew could lead them out.

At one point, the tunnel was a spiralling ramp ascending to the top floor above, which they reached and met with several paths. It was difficult choosing one that all three agreed on – as Splash was content to follow any of them without question – and much of the time, two were in agreement while one opposed. Democracy was condoned by Zaion but loathed by Etire, who believed that a physical fight had a better chance of achieving a resolution. However, when the houndoom asked him to test that theory, the pokémon remembered his injuries and withdrew his statement.

Eventually the time came when the cavern brightened significantly, as previously, the fire type was required to use his flame to light the way. The exercise did get tiring, and he was glad for some natural light. However, the presence of light wasn’t just comforting and convenient—it meant they must have been near an opening of some kind, such as a window or, if they were lucky, a way out. Once voicing his opinion and hearing the others groan and nod in response, he cleared his throat and began looking about the room. Obscured at first by a stalactite was a small hole in the ceiling which let in a considerable amount of light in a blocky shaft, which he could see as he passed under it, and called his companions over to see for themselves.

Etire was the last to arrive, and when he looked up, his face brightened. “Does this mean we’re close to the surface? Finally?”

“Do not be deceived,” Maka warned, and the other two looked at her in concern. The comment made it sound as if she had experience with similar things.

“What do you mean?” the psychic and fighting type questioned.

“Just because there’s an opening here, it doesn’t mean we’ll suddenly find our exit.” She threw her head to the opposite end of the room. “We have no choice but to keep moving, but try not to get your hopes up.”

“Yeah, but we’ll get out of here at some point,” protested Etire stubbornly, as if keen to gain confirmation from her that escape was at least a possibility. He was a little discouraged at her words, which made it difficult for him to summon the necessary motivation to continue. He knew that he had no choice, as she had mentioned, but he found it easier nonetheless to have a proper goal.

“Duh,” Zaion muttered with a little amusement, keeping his brow raised and his smile freshly tantalising.

Despite the low hopes they had for an escape to meet them quickly, they each continued on, Splash wandering happily behind. The stench from the pool had not worn off, and every now and again, the males would be reminded of their adventures in the mucky water. Maka smelled it as well, but she kept ahead of the group to avoid it any directional wafts. Nobody questioned her decision, but it didn’t exactly comfort them. Splash didn’t seem to mind.

“There goes my stomach,” Zaion commented with a shred of humour as a rumble reverberated from his midsection, and immediately the krinar turned to him.

“I am so freaking hungry!” he bellowed, slapping both of his hands to his torso. “Does this place even have food anywhere at all? I haven’t seen a single plant...or fruit. I’m really craving fruit.”

“Fruit,” laughed Zaion in a muffled chuckle. “I want meat. What the elite of the world eat.”

A look of questioning crossed the krinar’s face as the fire type made the assumption, but didn’t react, as he knew it was a simple ploy to entertain himself with small bouts of meaningless arguing. “Don’t you think an elite pokémon would have gotten us out of here by now?”

“Being elite is not about taking responsibility for everyone else. Besides...” He flashed a sideways smile coated greasily with cruel amusement. “I’m not the one in bits and pieces.”

“This is a battle wound,” argued the krinar with light-hearted outrage, willing to argue only on a friendly level.

“Should I be sad that I don’t have proof that I survived a bombardment of terrible, horrifying pebbles?”

“Maybe not, but those terrible, horrifying pebbles blocked your way back to the chamber the earthquake chased us out of,” the krinar mentioned with a small grin.

“Yes...case of the dreaded pebble walls,” Zaion snorted.

“The point is, we should find something to eat,” Etire suggested, and finally Maka whirled around.

“We need to find a way out first,” she reminded him, and he sighed, nodding in agreement. “I have a feeling we’re on the right track...”

“We better be on the right track,” the fighting type muttered. “I don’t want to be stuck in here forever. As delightful as that sounds, I have a life on the surface.”

“Nonsense,” the houndoom began with an amused scoff. “Your female friend is stuck here too. You got all you need to start an underground clan!”

The krinar was clearly uncomfortable with the statement as he didn’t reply, and Zaion wondered if he should have spoken at all. However, he had said it good-naturedly, and decided that if it was taken as an insult by the recipient, then he couldn’t do anything to change that.

Both males came to a halt when their rhyhorn friend stopped in her tracks. Having not paid much attention, Zaion and Etire shifted their gazes from one another and laid them upon what occupied the rock type’s attention, which looked to be something small and round. At first they had not a clue for what it could be, but that soon changed when the rhyhorn, extremely curious, moved towards the patterned ball. When she reached out to touch it, it suddenly uncurled, as if one simple touch was all it took to break its composure, and the olive pokémon’s white underside sprawled with it as it stretched out across the ground. Even outspread, the pokémon was only around half the length she was. It posed no immediate threat, as it was unconscious, and Maka stared at it with unknowing eyes. Splash sat contentedly beside Etire while the other three tried to assess the situation, unsure of what to do.

“It’s not...dead, is it?” questioned Etire slowly, and Maka shook her head, eyes still on the sandshrew before them.

“No, she’s...not. She’s just unconscious.” She looked up, her face one of concern. “I think we should try to help her.”

“How?” asked Etire sceptically; he had a feeling that he would have to carry her based on the fact that he had more versatile limbs than the houndoom or rhyhorn. He hoped she would be willing to carry the pokémon on her back instead, if that was when what she meant.

“I’m...not sure, but if there are predators in here, we should bring her somewhere safe.”

“We need to bring ourselves somewhere safe,” added Zaion, and Maka held her breath. “What do you propose we do?”

She looked to Etire. “Lift her onto my back.”

The krinar eyed her for a moment before glancing to the houndoom, then followed her request. Despite the injuries he had sustained, he was able to hoist her up with the help of Zaion’s curved horns, which, given there were two of them, provided suitable support. Once the sandshrew was set upon the rock type’s back, she glanced around, trying to spot her but having trouble due to her intruding armour.

“We don’t even know if we’re close to the end. And that pokémon could weigh you down...” commented the psychic and fighting type, and the rhyhorn focused on the path ahead.

Zaion joined with her gaze. “Now what?”

Without looking to either of her companions, she answered, “We continue.”