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Team Mischief: Mission 5, Part 3
Chapter 3: And They All Fall Down

Ice stared at Sly's body. It's a Substitute. It has to be a Substitute. It just hadn't faded yet. If it wasn't, the stupid cat would've gotten up by now. "Quit playin' around idiot, we still gotta fight Sorbet!" she shouted. No response. "Sly?" She crossed the short distance and shook her team leader, then put a paw on his chest. His chest was moving a little, but there were some weird bumps in it, that after closer examination Ice realized they were broken ribs, and there was blood too.

"Miss Ice, are you alright? Do you know how Mister Sly is?" Leilani had dropped onto the Sneasel's head and was looking at her partner with concern.

The younger Pokémon was gasping for air and occasionally whispering the names of Legendary Pokémon under her breath. Lee had been right, she thought. They were not ready for this. Sorbet was stronger, faster, and the only way they could win was if all of the guilds' most experienced fighters teamed up. They were doing what they knew they could do, something Lee told them to do.

"Ice?"

"Where do we put him so he's safe and we can keep fighting?" Ice gasped. She scooped her team leader up in her arms and forced herself to stand up. "He fainted, where do we put him?" Her face was wet and she saw some frozen drops of water on Sly's fur. "Lee?"

"Over here," Scarlet said, gesturing to a barricade Berry was constructing. Mean while, the members of Team Ruin was arguing over whether or not Rikku should stay behind the barrier; Nebraska and Terence joined the argument.

Ice laid down the Purrloin behind the barrier, then took his bandana off and wrapped it around Leilani, who was shivering. She sat there quietly before forcing herself to get to her feet and turned to the battle. He's just fainted. She shouldn't be getting so worked up, especially since that happened on her first mission with the team, and Lee had been able to come after the team they fought had left them. Someone would come this time. Maybe even that Merchant leader who ran off. Ice pushed herself to her feet. The best fighters in the stories her brother told her didn't give up. She couldn't now.

"Ready?" Ice asked. Everything was blurry, but she could see everyone else attacking. Even Maple would occasionally launch Flame Bursts at Sorbet in between short bursts of songs. Gunpowder, Dmitri, Fresnel, and Terence were launching attacks nonstop. Berry and Relic assaulted its mind with Psychic; Arkae dropped boulder after boulder onto it. Scarlet surrounded the dragon with a whirling Fire Spin.

Leilani nodded. "We're still needed back there." With that Ice charged forward to join the rest of the group. The Sneasel hit Sorbet with Faint Attack before jumping away from the flames so Leilani could fire Razor Leaf.

In another corner of the battlefield, Nebraska and Rikku finished a conversation and ran to opposite sides.

"Hey Sorbet!" bellowed Nebraska. "It's me PK! Got a problem with the Pokémon who summoned you?" The Totodile ran to the side as she blasted a Hydro Pump towards him.

"Yoohoo, Sorbet!" called Rikku. "You owe me a million Poke for wrecking my town, how are you going to pay for that?" With that he vanished underground as Sorbet fired a Glaciate at him. Or tried to fire, as Maple used the triangle to force most of the attack upward.

"They're drawing his attacks. Hit him as hard as possible while they're working," shouted Dmitri rushing forward with Double Edge. "Go for the neck or head!"

"How? Its moving fast because its trying to take out 'PK'," Scarlet said gesturing a paw at the dragon's rapidly rising and falling neck that was swing side to side after the two reptiles.

"Maybe if I dig another hole and we trap Mister Sorbet's other leg," Maple said.

"Or maybe we can trap the head and neck instead," Leilani suggested. "Between your triangle and Miss Ice's Ice Beam, we may be able to make some walls around him that could box him in."

"Get started then," Gunpowder growled. "You and Fresnel cover for the two lasses."

"Do you think you can do something about the ears and nose?" Fresnel asked turning to Leilani.

She had gotten onto Sorbet's head earlier, but the cold was taking its toll on her even when she was buried in Ice's thick fur and had all of her team's accessories wrapped around her. If she tried again, she'd expose herself to the elements even more and definitely freeze. Still, Sly's best chance for getting help involved the dragon being disabled as soon as possible.

"Once the walls are up a little, I can move to its head and wrap parts of it in String Shot," she replied, ducking down into Ice's fur. "Just so you know, Miss Ice seems to have gone deaf in her right ear."

Fresnel nodded and they got to work while the others attacked. It was difficult at first because Sorbet would easily smash through any walls of ice or snow they made whenever he turned its head around to fire at Nebraska or Rikku. The two had its undivided attention, although the Glaciates it was using gave Maple a lot more snow and ice to use to build a thick pile. Eventually things got easier when the two distractions realized what the others were doing and took the risk of only moving in front of the Kyurem.

Fresnel used Flash repeatedly to blind Sorbet, and eventually the dragon was at a point where it could only identify attackers by the sound of their movements, and with the exception of Nebraska, Rikku, Maple, and occasionally Berry the only sound everyone made was the crunch of footsteps in snow. The effort to stop the Kyurem's movements further was greatly aided by Arkae succeeding in using Rockslide enough times to bury the dragon's tail and force it lower to the ground. During this time Leilani began the slow trek along one of the walls towards Sorbet's head. She used String Shot to attach herself to the neck armor and climb up to the head the second time that night.

When the walls of snow and ice were almost as high as Sorbet's chest, things took a turn for the worse. Nebraska and Rikku were also suffering from the cold and beginning to wear out and run out of places to hide.

When an exhausted Rikku poked his head out of another one of his holes to shout out another taunt, he found himself the target of another Draco Meteor and was quickly pummeled with the falling rocks.

A distraught Arkae and Relic responded to their leader fainting by barraging Sorbet nonstop with Rockslide and Flash Cannon until the dragon tracked them down and launched an Ancient Power at the pair and sent them backwards and into the ground unconscious. Although this wasn't before the Archen was able to pin one of Sorbet's legs under another a pile of rocks.

Ice and Maple kept building piles of snow and ice around Sorbet until finally it was almost as high as the Kyurem's wings.

In the mean time, Leilani was trying to figure out where Sorbet's ears were. The entire head was covered in ice, with the exception of a hole for each eye and a gap for the mouth. She decided to pile String Shot after String Shot behind the eye ridge closest to Maple so it'd have trouble hearing the triangle.

But Leilani was either a little too late with her String Shot or had missed wherever its ears were. After Maple played extremely vigorously to redirect a Glaciate to her liking the dragon turned towards the wall between it and the Stunky.

"Didn't you learn from Sandy's death? Don't play with those instruments!" Sorbet roared in an ancient tongue. None of the Pokémon understood anything it said outside of "Sandy", but when they saw Sorbet inhale for a Hyper Voice, they understood its intent.

Nebraska thought fast. "Hey, Sorbet!" she yelled, imitating PK for what may be the last time that evening. "Why don't we awaken the other two dragons with that triangle? Think of the great party we can have then? And then the villagers will need loans from me to replace the houses!" As she suspected, she earned Sorbet's undivided attention and took the Hyper Voice for Maple.

"Nebraska?" Terence shouted as he turned to the Totodile.

"Lad, focus!" growled Gunpowder as he used Dragon Claw on Sorbet's side, and Terence nodded before using a Brave Bird on one of the Kyurem's wings. Ice fired another Ice Beam. This better work, she thought.

Dmitri had decided to use the rocks as a way to climb onto Sorbet's back and do a Double Edge right at the base of Sorbet's neck, forcing him to lower his head. As soon as this happened Leilani began to use String Shot to tie the Kyurem's head to the walls. Berry used Psychic to gently place some of the other broken trees on top of the dragon's neck, which Ice and Maple promptly froze and covered in snow respectively.

The Kyurem realized that it had been trapped and let out a furious Hyper Voice that everyone scurried out of the way to dodge.

When the attack was over, the Pokémon rushed forward and attacked the Kyurem repeatedly. Its jaw was mercilessly buffeted with Dragon Claw, Peck, and Faint Attack; its face was hit with Flamethrower, Fire Punch and Flame Burst; Poison Jab landed on its neck; and Uproar was being used on its ears, disorienting it. Sorbet began to open his mouth for another Hyper Voice, only to find some thick string wrapped around it. Frustrated, it tried to launch an Ancient Power to stop the offensive. The frozen earth pulled up in the attack smashed into Terence as well as tore away parts of the snow surrounding the Pokémon, causing the ice and snow walls to collapse.

The Pokémon scrambled out of the way as Sorbet tried to focus on them to attack, when suddenly a set of teeth clamped onto its lower jaw. Nebraska had gotten up and joined the battle. She managed to get a grip on its eye ridge and smash into its jaw with Aqua Tail before yelling, "Get Terence somewhere safe!" She then began to let loose her Rage attack, slamming every part of her body into Sorbet's head until finally it shook her off and blasted her with another Hyper Voice.

"Arr, this be a difficult battle. Devonshire best be gettin' the rest o' the village to safety, because I'd hate to be frozen by this landlubber fer nothin'," Gunpowder growled as Dmitri brought over Nebraska.

"He's still trapped pretty good," Maple said gesturing to the dragon's back legs and tail. "Maybe we can leave him here and hope he stays away from that castle Mike is afraid of, and he'll be fine in the morning."

As soon as the Stunky spoke, Sorbet began using his head to knock rocks off of his hindquarters and tail. Gunpowder glared down at Maple.

"It's not my fault, meanie," she snapped.

"Regardless, we're all damned now," growled the Gabite. Sorbet for the first time in a while was now standing erect on both legs, ready to attack.

"It may not be over yet," Dmitri said. "Fresnel's blinded him, if we keep hitting him, we can win."

"Yer too hopeful."

"It's worth a try."

"Especially if we can find a way to disable the other senses," Fresnel added. "If it can't hear or smell us its attacks will definitely miss. I had a Sewaddle go up to its head and try to disable its other senses."

"Did anyone get her down when we ran?" Scarlet asked.

There was a brief silence as the others looked at each other.

"I'll go climb up an' check on her," said Ice.

"Hold on a second," Fresnel said grabbing the Sneasel. "She said you were deaf in one ear because you were hit with Hyper Voice at close range, is that true?"

"I think I'll get my hearin' back eventually, but after I was hit one of my ears was bleedin'."

"Try to help Miss Berry get on so she can use her Uproar. The five of us will keep Sorbet occupied." With that Fresnel, Dmitri, and Gunpowder rushed forward to attack again, while Scarlet fired a Will-o-Wisp at the dragon's body. Maple, mean while, used the triangle to try and make the snow pile around and on top of Sorbet, both helping the others move and trying to slow down the dragon.

Ice turned to Berry. "You can use Psychic on yourself right?"

"I can't say I've tried," she replied.

"Do you wanna try now? Cuz unless you're really good at climbin' an' jumpin' we're gonna have to find a new way up."

"Hold on," the Spinda sang a little as she moved the broken upper half of a pine tree to the two Pokémon. "I can use Psychic on this to get us over to Sorbet."

"Pry works better than jumpin'," Ice replied grabbing the branches. Berry did the same, then used Psychic to levitate the tree and the two of them up above Sorbet's head. The Kyurem, mean while, was finally beginning to slow down, but wouldn't stop trying to launch attacks at his opponents. Whenever Maple used the triangle he'd shout in his ancient language and try to make her stop playing by attacking, only for her to deflect it with her triangle or dodge with Dig.

Sorbet's slow but constant movements made it hard for Berry to land the pine tree on the Kyurem's head. The two were able to see that Leilani was still on top of Sorbet's head trying desperately to hold on.

"I'm jumpin'," Ice said, extending her claws and moving towards the end of the branches. Berry caught hold of the Sneasel's arm, but she just looked back and replied, "Don't worry, I betcha we could drop Captain Gunpowder on it an' it wouldn't notice."

"But what if you-" Berry called, but Ice had already let go and made the short drop to Sorbet's neck and caught onto the icy ridges and hoisted herself up. Once she had her legs firmly wrapped around the dragon's neck, she gestured for Berry to join her. The Spinda sighed and lowered the pine limb down to the head and stepped off cautiously, grabbing a horn for support. Ice made the short climb up to join her.

"Lee, you okay?" Ice whispered, catching the Sewaddle in her arms and hugging her. There was no response. "Lee?" she squeaked a little louder.

"Ice?" the Sewaddle murmured.

"Yep, I gotcha."

"I've never been so cold."

"Once we get this done we could getcha to yer parents' to warm ya up, plus, I think the sun's gonna rise soon. Oh, Berry," Ice turned to the Spinda. "Would you rather Lee ties ya on with String Shot so you can work or I freeze ya on?"

"String Shot," the Spinda said. A shivering Leilani obliged and put a loop around one of the Spinda's arm and another around the horn. After that, Ice took the Sewaddle and slid down the back of Sorbet's neck and gave Berry the gesture to go ahead.

Berry leaned down so she was around eye level with Sorbet and began letting out a series of discordant shouts that was her Uproar. Sorbet viciously shook his head back and forth to get her off, but Berry held on as tight as possible.

"Lee, you think you can hold onto my back? An' make plugs for our ears?" Ice asked. The Sewaddle meekly made a loose collar out of String Shot around her partner's neck before climbing around, and using bits of her leafy collar and String Shot to stick leaves over both her and Ice's ears. The Sneasel then extended her claws and repeated what she had done a few hours ago- annoy Sorbet by Slashing its back to see if it'd forget about the Pokémon on its head.

Although Sorbet could barely see the Pokémon on the ground attacking them, it knew exactly where Ice was because of her attacks, so as soon as she had its attention, she had to get up and dodge. An Ancient Power soared by her head as she leapt onto one of its wings and scrambled up it to escape another Ancient Power. The moment the Kyurem turned its back; Ice shot an Ice Beam at one of its eyes then jumped down onto its back.

"Ice…Nebraska…she put…a hole…in the armor…by its jaw," Leilani murmured.

"Alright, I'll tell the others," the Sneasel replied raking her claws down the Kyurem's thick scales. "We'll get it good this time!"

The Kyurem mean while replied by using Draco Meteor. While the last few Draco Meteors were a steady barrage of flaming rocks; this one was more chaotic. Between the blindness in its eyes and the disorientation that came with the Uproar in its ear, it couldn't aim at all. The meteors came from multiple directions; some crashed into each other in mid air, while others landed and wildly missed the dragon's foes, and some even hit it. One caught Ice in the back and sent her tumbling into the thick pile of snow, where Dmitri immediately grabbed her and pulled her aside. Berry was flung off Kyurem's head and was caught by a snowdrift Maple made.

Dmitri dropped Ice and Leilani by the edge of the forest. "Are you two okay?" he asked.

Ice stood experimentally; there was severe pain in her lower back, but she didn't fall down. "I'm okay. Lee, how are ya doin'? Lee?" Once again the Sneasel shook her partner. This time there was no response, and Ice noticed the smell of burnt leaves. The Sewaddle had taken the brunt of the attack. This time Ice broke down in tears.

"I thought you said you were okay," the Zangoose said reaching out to the Sneasel who was hugging her teammate tightly.

"I did it again," she wailed. "One of my teammates took a hit for me again an' got knocked out an' Lee can't keep herself warm so she'll pry freeze before we're done an' I said we were gonna go to her parents' in Sapling Village so she can warm up an' I was the one who said we shoulda taken this mission an' now they're both knocked out an' it could get worse if we all faint an' Sorbet starts rampagin' in the forest!"

Dmitri hesitantly picked up the Sneasel. "Maple can make a fire. We can use that to keep your friend warm. Then we can finish off Sorbet." With that he carried the girl over to Maple and gathered some kindling. In a few minutes Leilani was in a little hole in the ground near a small fire. "Are you feeling better? Because Gunpowder needs us out there."

Ice nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Lee said that Nebraska dented the ice around Kyurem's mouth."

"Great, if we can hit that with Fresnel's Fire Punch or Gunpowder's Dragon Claw we can do some real damage." The two left Maple and rejoined the battle.

"What's with the lollygagging there ye landlubber?" Gunpowder demanded. "And what's with the lass?"

"Her whole team's been knocked out," Dmitri said brightly immune to Gunpowder's glare. "She says there's a dent in Sorbet's jaw armor."

"Where?"

"I never saw it, Lee did. I think she latched onto the right side, so maybe it's around there. I can go up and try ta look again," Ice rambled.

"Get on it lass," he growled. As soon as he said this Ice ran around and leapt onto the Kyurem's tail and scrambled on top. The climb would be a lot harder than before since she was starting from the bottom. So she chose to be catapulted instead. Ice stabbed at Sorbet's tail with Aerial Ace until finally the dragon turned and recognized a vague dark shape on its tail. The Kyurem whipped it tail down and up, sending Ice flying. The Sneasel angled herself so that she was aimed at the neck only for the dragon to suddenly turn and open its mouth. Shit. She remembered her brother telling her when she left that she'd be prey during this mission. She gulped and forced the feeling of panic out of her stomach and focused on trying to hit the hole in the jaw with Faint Attack to leave her mark.

She squinted and saw the cracks and small hole and swung her fist into it. She felt something crack and there was intense pain in her elbow. The Sneasel gritted her teeth and kicked at the jaw to launch herself away, feeling the Kyurem's jaw snap inches above her arm.

"What in the name of the Distortion World did ya pull lass?" Gunpowder snapped catching her by the back of the neck and giving her a good shake.

"I couldn't climb it, the scales were too slick, so I got it to fling me," she grunted. Her whole body was sore and she felt her eyelids droop. She slapped herself. "The hole is on the left side of its jaw, under it, on the edge."

"Alright, lasses cover us from a distance," he growled putting her on the ground. "Lads, over here, I think we can knock this scurvy landlubber down." Fresnel, Scarlet, Berry, and Dmitri ran over to him, and the four came up with a plan.

Maple and Berry were standing behind Fresnel, Dmitri, and Gunpowder, the latter three were standing on some more broken tree limbs. Ice and Scarlet were off to the side ready to be the distraction again. They fired an Ice Beam and Energy Ball at the dragon's right arm and took off running. The clearing had started to brighten a little, so the Sneasel had to stay a moving target, since with her dark fur she was the easiest Pokémon to see.

Maple played her triangle and Berry used her Psychic attack to lift the snow and branches under the other three Pokémon. Dmitri went first, his face elated by the fact that he was flying, and slammed his claws into the dragon's jaw with Poison Jab. As soon as he landed, Ice and Scarlet attacked again and began zig-zagging to keep Sorbet's attention away from the flaming fist that Fresnel slammed into the hole in its armor, melting a little of the surrounding hole. The Sneasel and Vulpix fired a few more attacks until they had the dragon's full attention. It swung around and used Ancient Power, catching Scarlet in the face and knocking her over, while Ice continued running until Gunpowder bellowed and slashed at Sorbet's injured jaw with Dragon Claw.

The legendary dragon wobbled and fell to the ground, disturbing the thick layer of snow around it.

"Did we win?" Dimitri asked turning to Gunpowder.

"Looks like it," Gunpowder growled. "Alright you five, let's get the injured and bring 'em back to Tao."

"Maple, why don't you cover him in snow just to make sure he doesn't get up later," Fresnel said, bending over to pat the Stunky on the shoulder.

"Sure," she sniffed then began playing. The snow began to form some massive waves that slowly folded around the dragon that she had treated as a friend since both arrived in town.

They all turned and walked to the various parts of the battlefield where unconscious friends lay when they heard the slow rumbling and turned to see the shifting snow. The dragon was on its feet and glaring down at them. It was exhausted, and now bleeding, but it still stared darkly at them. "PK…you will not murder anymore or abuse the powers of the Triangle and Cello," he growled and hit Berry with an Ancient Power.

Gunpowder stepped forward. "Quit yer blubberin' an' faint so we can go home!" he hollered, then began to charge forward with another Dragon Claw. Sorbet's response was to open his massive maw and exhale deeply preparing for a massive Hyper Voice. Gunpowder kept rushing forward regardless, planning on hitting the lowered head.

He's getting too close, Ice thought, leaping after him. Every time she jumped through the snow more pain shot through her battered body, but she forced herself to go faster. She needed the momentum.

The little Sneasel barreled into Gunpowder and managed to knock the Gabite into the ground and away from the attack. But she was right in its range. The Hyper Voice slammed her into a tree, and she thought she heard something pop in her left ear, but she wasn't really sure. Everything was dark and muddled.

"Tell my brother I got to be a hero, like in the stories he told," she mumbled as she lost consciousness.

Description
Team Mischief: Mission 5, Part 3
Chapter 3: And They All Fall Down

Ice stared at Sly's body. It's a Substitute. It has to be a Substitute. It just hadn't faded yet. If it wasn't, the stupid cat would've gotten up by now. "Quit playin' around idiot, we still gotta fight Sorbet!" she shouted. No response. "Sly?" She crossed the short distance and shook her team leader, then put a paw on his chest. His chest was moving a little, but there were some weird bumps in it, that after closer examination Ice realized they were broken ribs, and there was blood too.

"Miss Ice, are you alright? Do you know how Mister Sly is?" Leilani had dropped onto the Sneasel's head and was looking at her partner with concern.

The younger Pokémon was gasping for air and occasionally whispering the names of Legendary Pokémon under her breath. Lee had been right, she thought. They were not ready for this. Sorbet was stronger, faster, and the only way they could win was if all of the guilds' most experienced fighters teamed up. They were doing what they knew they could do, something Lee told them to do.

"Ice?"

"Where do we put him so he's safe and we can keep fighting?" Ice gasped. She scooped her team leader up in her arms and forced herself to stand up. "He fainted, where do we put him?" Her face was wet and she saw some frozen drops of water on Sly's fur. "Lee?"

"Over here," Scarlet said, gesturing to a barricade Berry was constructing. Mean while, the members of Team Ruin was arguing over whether or not Rikku should stay behind the barrier; Nebraska and Terence joined the argument.

Ice laid down the Purrloin behind the barrier, then took his bandana off and wrapped it around Leilani, who was shivering. She sat there quietly before forcing herself to get to her feet and turned to the battle. He's just fainted. She shouldn't be getting so worked up, especially since that happened on her first mission with the team, and Lee had been able to come after the team they fought had left them. Someone would come this time. Maybe even that Merchant leader who ran off. Ice pushed herself to her feet. The best fighters in the stories her brother told her didn't give up. She couldn't now.

"Ready?" Ice asked. Everything was blurry, but she could see everyone else attacking. Even Maple would occasionally launch Flame Bursts at Sorbet in between short bursts of songs. Gunpowder, Dmitri, Fresnel, and Terence were launching attacks nonstop. Berry and Relic assaulted its mind with Psychic; Arkae dropped boulder after boulder onto it. Scarlet surrounded the dragon with a whirling Fire Spin.

Leilani nodded. "We're still needed back there." With that Ice charged forward to join the rest of the group. The Sneasel hit Sorbet with Faint Attack before jumping away from the flames so Leilani could fire Razor Leaf.

In another corner of the battlefield, Nebraska and Rikku finished a conversation and ran to opposite sides.

"Hey Sorbet!" bellowed Nebraska. "It's me PK! Got a problem with the Pokémon who summoned you?" The Totodile ran to the side as she blasted a Hydro Pump towards him.

"Yoohoo, Sorbet!" called Rikku. "You owe me a million Poke for wrecking my town, how are you going to pay for that?" With that he vanished underground as Sorbet fired a Glaciate at him. Or tried to fire, as Maple used the triangle to force most of the attack upward.

"They're drawing his attacks. Hit him as hard as possible while they're working," shouted Dmitri rushing forward with Double Edge. "Go for the neck or head!"

"How? Its moving fast because its trying to take out 'PK'," Scarlet said gesturing a paw at the dragon's rapidly rising and falling neck that was swing side to side after the two reptiles.

"Maybe if I dig another hole and we trap Mister Sorbet's other leg," Maple said.

"Or maybe we can trap the head and neck instead," Leilani suggested. "Between your triangle and Miss Ice's Ice Beam, we may be able to make some walls around him that could box him in."

"Get started then," Gunpowder growled. "You and Fresnel cover for the two lasses."

"Do you think you can do something about the ears and nose?" Fresnel asked turning to Leilani.

She had gotten onto Sorbet's head earlier, but the cold was taking its toll on her even when she was buried in Ice's thick fur and had all of her team's accessories wrapped around her. If she tried again, she'd expose herself to the elements even more and definitely freeze. Still, Sly's best chance for getting help involved the dragon being disabled as soon as possible.

"Once the walls are up a little, I can move to its head and wrap parts of it in String Shot," she replied, ducking down into Ice's fur. "Just so you know, Miss Ice seems to have gone deaf in her right ear."

Fresnel nodded and they got to work while the others attacked. It was difficult at first because Sorbet would easily smash through any walls of ice or snow they made whenever he turned its head around to fire at Nebraska or Rikku. The two had its undivided attention, although the Glaciates it was using gave Maple a lot more snow and ice to use to build a thick pile. Eventually things got easier when the two distractions realized what the others were doing and took the risk of only moving in front of the Kyurem.

Fresnel used Flash repeatedly to blind Sorbet, and eventually the dragon was at a point where it could only identify attackers by the sound of their movements, and with the exception of Nebraska, Rikku, Maple, and occasionally Berry the only sound everyone made was the crunch of footsteps in snow. The effort to stop the Kyurem's movements further was greatly aided by Arkae succeeding in using Rockslide enough times to bury the dragon's tail and force it lower to the ground. During this time Leilani began the slow trek along one of the walls towards Sorbet's head. She used String Shot to attach herself to the neck armor and climb up to the head the second time that night.

When the walls of snow and ice were almost as high as Sorbet's chest, things took a turn for the worse. Nebraska and Rikku were also suffering from the cold and beginning to wear out and run out of places to hide.

When an exhausted Rikku poked his head out of another one of his holes to shout out another taunt, he found himself the target of another Draco Meteor and was quickly pummeled with the falling rocks.

A distraught Arkae and Relic responded to their leader fainting by barraging Sorbet nonstop with Rockslide and Flash Cannon until the dragon tracked them down and launched an Ancient Power at the pair and sent them backwards and into the ground unconscious. Although this wasn't before the Archen was able to pin one of Sorbet's legs under another a pile of rocks.

Ice and Maple kept building piles of snow and ice around Sorbet until finally it was almost as high as the Kyurem's wings.

In the mean time, Leilani was trying to figure out where Sorbet's ears were. The entire head was covered in ice, with the exception of a hole for each eye and a gap for the mouth. She decided to pile String Shot after String Shot behind the eye ridge closest to Maple so it'd have trouble hearing the triangle.

But Leilani was either a little too late with her String Shot or had missed wherever its ears were. After Maple played extremely vigorously to redirect a Glaciate to her liking the dragon turned towards the wall between it and the Stunky.

"Didn't you learn from Sandy's death? Don't play with those instruments!" Sorbet roared in an ancient tongue. None of the Pokémon understood anything it said outside of "Sandy", but when they saw Sorbet inhale for a Hyper Voice, they understood its intent.

Nebraska thought fast. "Hey, Sorbet!" she yelled, imitating PK for what may be the last time that evening. "Why don't we awaken the other two dragons with that triangle? Think of the great party we can have then? And then the villagers will need loans from me to replace the houses!" As she suspected, she earned Sorbet's undivided attention and took the Hyper Voice for Maple.

"Nebraska?" Terence shouted as he turned to the Totodile.

"Lad, focus!" growled Gunpowder as he used Dragon Claw on Sorbet's side, and Terence nodded before using a Brave Bird on one of the Kyurem's wings. Ice fired another Ice Beam. This better work, she thought.

Dmitri had decided to use the rocks as a way to climb onto Sorbet's back and do a Double Edge right at the base of Sorbet's neck, forcing him to lower his head. As soon as this happened Leilani began to use String Shot to tie the Kyurem's head to the walls. Berry used Psychic to gently place some of the other broken trees on top of the dragon's neck, which Ice and Maple promptly froze and covered in snow respectively.

The Kyurem realized that it had been trapped and let out a furious Hyper Voice that everyone scurried out of the way to dodge.

When the attack was over, the Pokémon rushed forward and attacked the Kyurem repeatedly. Its jaw was mercilessly buffeted with Dragon Claw, Peck, and Faint Attack; its face was hit with Flamethrower, Fire Punch and Flame Burst; Poison Jab landed on its neck; and Uproar was being used on its ears, disorienting it. Sorbet began to open his mouth for another Hyper Voice, only to find some thick string wrapped around it. Frustrated, it tried to launch an Ancient Power to stop the offensive. The frozen earth pulled up in the attack smashed into Terence as well as tore away parts of the snow surrounding the Pokémon, causing the ice and snow walls to collapse.

The Pokémon scrambled out of the way as Sorbet tried to focus on them to attack, when suddenly a set of teeth clamped onto its lower jaw. Nebraska had gotten up and joined the battle. She managed to get a grip on its eye ridge and smash into its jaw with Aqua Tail before yelling, "Get Terence somewhere safe!" She then began to let loose her Rage attack, slamming every part of her body into Sorbet's head until finally it shook her off and blasted her with another Hyper Voice.

"Arr, this be a difficult battle. Devonshire best be gettin' the rest o' the village to safety, because I'd hate to be frozen by this landlubber fer nothin'," Gunpowder growled as Dmitri brought over Nebraska.

"He's still trapped pretty good," Maple said gesturing to the dragon's back legs and tail. "Maybe we can leave him here and hope he stays away from that castle Mike is afraid of, and he'll be fine in the morning."

As soon as the Stunky spoke, Sorbet began using his head to knock rocks off of his hindquarters and tail. Gunpowder glared down at Maple.

"It's not my fault, meanie," she snapped.

"Regardless, we're all damned now," growled the Gabite. Sorbet for the first time in a while was now standing erect on both legs, ready to attack.

"It may not be over yet," Dmitri said. "Fresnel's blinded him, if we keep hitting him, we can win."

"Yer too hopeful."

"It's worth a try."

"Especially if we can find a way to disable the other senses," Fresnel added. "If it can't hear or smell us its attacks will definitely miss. I had a Sewaddle go up to its head and try to disable its other senses."

"Did anyone get her down when we ran?" Scarlet asked.

There was a brief silence as the others looked at each other.

"I'll go climb up an' check on her," said Ice.

"Hold on a second," Fresnel said grabbing the Sneasel. "She said you were deaf in one ear because you were hit with Hyper Voice at close range, is that true?"

"I think I'll get my hearin' back eventually, but after I was hit one of my ears was bleedin'."

"Try to help Miss Berry get on so she can use her Uproar. The five of us will keep Sorbet occupied." With that Fresnel, Dmitri, and Gunpowder rushed forward to attack again, while Scarlet fired a Will-o-Wisp at the dragon's body. Maple, mean while, used the triangle to try and make the snow pile around and on top of Sorbet, both helping the others move and trying to slow down the dragon.

Ice turned to Berry. "You can use Psychic on yourself right?"

"I can't say I've tried," she replied.

"Do you wanna try now? Cuz unless you're really good at climbin' an' jumpin' we're gonna have to find a new way up."

"Hold on," the Spinda sang a little as she moved the broken upper half of a pine tree to the two Pokémon. "I can use Psychic on this to get us over to Sorbet."

"Pry works better than jumpin'," Ice replied grabbing the branches. Berry did the same, then used Psychic to levitate the tree and the two of them up above Sorbet's head. The Kyurem, mean while, was finally beginning to slow down, but wouldn't stop trying to launch attacks at his opponents. Whenever Maple used the triangle he'd shout in his ancient language and try to make her stop playing by attacking, only for her to deflect it with her triangle or dodge with Dig.

Sorbet's slow but constant movements made it hard for Berry to land the pine tree on the Kyurem's head. The two were able to see that Leilani was still on top of Sorbet's head trying desperately to hold on.

"I'm jumpin'," Ice said, extending her claws and moving towards the end of the branches. Berry caught hold of the Sneasel's arm, but she just looked back and replied, "Don't worry, I betcha we could drop Captain Gunpowder on it an' it wouldn't notice."

"But what if you-" Berry called, but Ice had already let go and made the short drop to Sorbet's neck and caught onto the icy ridges and hoisted herself up. Once she had her legs firmly wrapped around the dragon's neck, she gestured for Berry to join her. The Spinda sighed and lowered the pine limb down to the head and stepped off cautiously, grabbing a horn for support. Ice made the short climb up to join her.

"Lee, you okay?" Ice whispered, catching the Sewaddle in her arms and hugging her. There was no response. "Lee?" she squeaked a little louder.

"Ice?" the Sewaddle murmured.

"Yep, I gotcha."

"I've never been so cold."

"Once we get this done we could getcha to yer parents' to warm ya up, plus, I think the sun's gonna rise soon. Oh, Berry," Ice turned to the Spinda. "Would you rather Lee ties ya on with String Shot so you can work or I freeze ya on?"

"String Shot," the Spinda said. A shivering Leilani obliged and put a loop around one of the Spinda's arm and another around the horn. After that, Ice took the Sewaddle and slid down the back of Sorbet's neck and gave Berry the gesture to go ahead.

Berry leaned down so she was around eye level with Sorbet and began letting out a series of discordant shouts that was her Uproar. Sorbet viciously shook his head back and forth to get her off, but Berry held on as tight as possible.

"Lee, you think you can hold onto my back? An' make plugs for our ears?" Ice asked. The Sewaddle meekly made a loose collar out of String Shot around her partner's neck before climbing around, and using bits of her leafy collar and String Shot to stick leaves over both her and Ice's ears. The Sneasel then extended her claws and repeated what she had done a few hours ago- annoy Sorbet by Slashing its back to see if it'd forget about the Pokémon on its head.

Although Sorbet could barely see the Pokémon on the ground attacking them, it knew exactly where Ice was because of her attacks, so as soon as she had its attention, she had to get up and dodge. An Ancient Power soared by her head as she leapt onto one of its wings and scrambled up it to escape another Ancient Power. The moment the Kyurem turned its back; Ice shot an Ice Beam at one of its eyes then jumped down onto its back.

"Ice…Nebraska…she put…a hole…in the armor…by its jaw," Leilani murmured.

"Alright, I'll tell the others," the Sneasel replied raking her claws down the Kyurem's thick scales. "We'll get it good this time!"

The Kyurem mean while replied by using Draco Meteor. While the last few Draco Meteors were a steady barrage of flaming rocks; this one was more chaotic. Between the blindness in its eyes and the disorientation that came with the Uproar in its ear, it couldn't aim at all. The meteors came from multiple directions; some crashed into each other in mid air, while others landed and wildly missed the dragon's foes, and some even hit it. One caught Ice in the back and sent her tumbling into the thick pile of snow, where Dmitri immediately grabbed her and pulled her aside. Berry was flung off Kyurem's head and was caught by a snowdrift Maple made.

Dmitri dropped Ice and Leilani by the edge of the forest. "Are you two okay?" he asked.

Ice stood experimentally; there was severe pain in her lower back, but she didn't fall down. "I'm okay. Lee, how are ya doin'? Lee?" Once again the Sneasel shook her partner. This time there was no response, and Ice noticed the smell of burnt leaves. The Sewaddle had taken the brunt of the attack. This time Ice broke down in tears.

"I thought you said you were okay," the Zangoose said reaching out to the Sneasel who was hugging her teammate tightly.

"I did it again," she wailed. "One of my teammates took a hit for me again an' got knocked out an' Lee can't keep herself warm so she'll pry freeze before we're done an' I said we were gonna go to her parents' in Sapling Village so she can warm up an' I was the one who said we shoulda taken this mission an' now they're both knocked out an' it could get worse if we all faint an' Sorbet starts rampagin' in the forest!"

Dmitri hesitantly picked up the Sneasel. "Maple can make a fire. We can use that to keep your friend warm. Then we can finish off Sorbet." With that he carried the girl over to Maple and gathered some kindling. In a few minutes Leilani was in a little hole in the ground near a small fire. "Are you feeling better? Because Gunpowder needs us out there."

Ice nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Lee said that Nebraska dented the ice around Kyurem's mouth."

"Great, if we can hit that with Fresnel's Fire Punch or Gunpowder's Dragon Claw we can do some real damage." The two left Maple and rejoined the battle.

"What's with the lollygagging there ye landlubber?" Gunpowder demanded. "And what's with the lass?"

"Her whole team's been knocked out," Dmitri said brightly immune to Gunpowder's glare. "She says there's a dent in Sorbet's jaw armor."

"Where?"

"I never saw it, Lee did. I think she latched onto the right side, so maybe it's around there. I can go up and try ta look again," Ice rambled.

"Get on it lass," he growled. As soon as he said this Ice ran around and leapt onto the Kyurem's tail and scrambled on top. The climb would be a lot harder than before since she was starting from the bottom. So she chose to be catapulted instead. Ice stabbed at Sorbet's tail with Aerial Ace until finally the dragon turned and recognized a vague dark shape on its tail. The Kyurem whipped it tail down and up, sending Ice flying. The Sneasel angled herself so that she was aimed at the neck only for the dragon to suddenly turn and open its mouth. Shit. She remembered her brother telling her when she left that she'd be prey during this mission. She gulped and forced the feeling of panic out of her stomach and focused on trying to hit the hole in the jaw with Faint Attack to leave her mark.

She squinted and saw the cracks and small hole and swung her fist into it. She felt something crack and there was intense pain in her elbow. The Sneasel gritted her teeth and kicked at the jaw to launch herself away, feeling the Kyurem's jaw snap inches above her arm.

"What in the name of the Distortion World did ya pull lass?" Gunpowder snapped catching her by the back of the neck and giving her a good shake.

"I couldn't climb it, the scales were too slick, so I got it to fling me," she grunted. Her whole body was sore and she felt her eyelids droop. She slapped herself. "The hole is on the left side of its jaw, under it, on the edge."

"Alright, lasses cover us from a distance," he growled putting her on the ground. "Lads, over here, I think we can knock this scurvy landlubber down." Fresnel, Scarlet, Berry, and Dmitri ran over to him, and the four came up with a plan.

Maple and Berry were standing behind Fresnel, Dmitri, and Gunpowder, the latter three were standing on some more broken tree limbs. Ice and Scarlet were off to the side ready to be the distraction again. They fired an Ice Beam and Energy Ball at the dragon's right arm and took off running. The clearing had started to brighten a little, so the Sneasel had to stay a moving target, since with her dark fur she was the easiest Pokémon to see.

Maple played her triangle and Berry used her Psychic attack to lift the snow and branches under the other three Pokémon. Dmitri went first, his face elated by the fact that he was flying, and slammed his claws into the dragon's jaw with Poison Jab. As soon as he landed, Ice and Scarlet attacked again and began zig-zagging to keep Sorbet's attention away from the flaming fist that Fresnel slammed into the hole in its armor, melting a little of the surrounding hole. The Sneasel and Vulpix fired a few more attacks until they had the dragon's full attention. It swung around and used Ancient Power, catching Scarlet in the face and knocking her over, while Ice continued running until Gunpowder bellowed and slashed at Sorbet's injured jaw with Dragon Claw.

The legendary dragon wobbled and fell to the ground, disturbing the thick layer of snow around it.

"Did we win?" Dimitri asked turning to Gunpowder.

"Looks like it," Gunpowder growled. "Alright you five, let's get the injured and bring 'em back to Tao."

"Maple, why don't you cover him in snow just to make sure he doesn't get up later," Fresnel said, bending over to pat the Stunky on the shoulder.

"Sure," she sniffed then began playing. The snow began to form some massive waves that slowly folded around the dragon that she had treated as a friend since both arrived in town.

They all turned and walked to the various parts of the battlefield where unconscious friends lay when they heard the slow rumbling and turned to see the shifting snow. The dragon was on its feet and glaring down at them. It was exhausted, and now bleeding, but it still stared darkly at them. "PK…you will not murder anymore or abuse the powers of the Triangle and Cello," he growled and hit Berry with an Ancient Power.

Gunpowder stepped forward. "Quit yer blubberin' an' faint so we can go home!" he hollered, then began to charge forward with another Dragon Claw. Sorbet's response was to open his massive maw and exhale deeply preparing for a massive Hyper Voice. Gunpowder kept rushing forward regardless, planning on hitting the lowered head.

He's getting too close, Ice thought, leaping after him. Every time she jumped through the snow more pain shot through her battered body, but she forced herself to go faster. She needed the momentum.

The little Sneasel barreled into Gunpowder and managed to knock the Gabite into the ground and away from the attack. But she was right in its range. The Hyper Voice slammed her into a tree, and she thought she heard something pop in her left ear, but she wasn't really sure. Everything was dark and muddled.

"Tell my brother I got to be a hero, like in the stories he told," she mumbled as she lost consciousness.