Lost Cause

First topic message reminder :

Each step was made with hesitance, but he was fairly certain that this path was the safest. The only problem was that it was a guaranteed safety. His eyes darted about to and fro with a growing sense of dread and anxiety. He was alone, out in the open, in the place he'd last seen Voix. For all he knew the damned Zoroark lived here and yet he was coming back. It made his skin crawl and fur stand. He honestly looked adorably fluffy more so than terrifying. He swallowed his fears as he stepped along, uncertainty kept him from making much progress.

He came with the intent of collecting some items, a sack strapped around his side. The light crystal blue necklace dangled from his neck as he walked on all four legs. It was much more comfortable this way. It kept his stomach less exposed, far easier to run from danger as well. Zadira needed more items though. Not only for his own protection, but to hopefully sell them to the local merchant back at Grassveil, maybe an explorer or two. The debt he needed to pay was big and the lawyer made it perfectly clear what would happen if he couldn't keep on his payments.

It was understandable, considering the pachirisu saved what was essentially the rest of his life, but the lawyer's expectations were brutal. He could either pay up or he was going right back to where he was found.

Mocha: [Energy: 3]
Maxie: [Energy: 3]
==================================================
Maxie began tying the various scarves and whatnot together without question, but not without comment. ”This is ridiculous… But I have to admire your ingenuity.” She imagined they wouldn’t be moving much faster than if Mocha were to just walk by doing this, but really, Mocha shouldn’t be straining herself at all in her condition.

Play along. She had to play along. She didn’t have a choice. Maxie wouldn’t hurt her, and she knew Maxie wouldn’t let Roi hurt her, but Mocha knew that Roi would ultimately see his plan through. He was the strongest of them, and he was the leader, as decided by him—and Maxie, it would seem.

She didn’t like seeing Zadira tied up. It didn’t look comfortable. She knew it wasn’t. She just hoped he’d stay asleep now, so that he might find some peace in unconsciousness. She almost wished she could sleep, too. Roi probably would oblige, if she asked, and she was certain she could provoke him into using his spore otherwise. But the idea of sleeping while she felt so threatened didn’t sit well with her at all. She had to stay awake so she could wake Zadira up, in case things suddenly turned for the worst.

Cautiously, wordlessly, the zangoose approached Roi. While she had stared at him a moment before, now she refused to look at him. She just waited there for him to tell her what to do, or for him to just go ahead and do whatever it was he planned to do.

He couldn't help but be suspicious as Maxie approached. He didn't tell her to and with how Zadira acted, he suspected that he was about to be attacked once again. It came as a pleasant surprise to him when she didn't. The breloom settled himself back down just enough before he lowered himself for her to climb on. He motioned with a nod for her to do so. It was likely going to be painful, but it was necessary.

His attention was turned to Maxie, "How ridiculous a plan is only matters if there's a level of danger that comes with it. A plan's a plan. Now, c'mon. We've stuck around here too long for my liking. At the very least I'd like to move past where that Dusknoir showed up." If Maxie boarded the roo, then he would turn and start walking-a zangoose on his back and another being dragged along the rock-littered around. It was easy for him to carry Mocha, but the added weight of Zadira just behind was enough to slow him down. While it wasn't a snail's pace, they wouldn't have to stop every five seconds to check on Mocha.

---

Higher up the mountain, off the path and atop of a much higher ledge at the mouth of a cavern, someone watched them. Two figures, in fact. While they weren't obvious to the inattentive eye, they didn't bother to hide. Their dark coloration blended with the face of the mountain. Small silver eyes focused on the weary travelers. They watched their steps, they watched their moves, and they watched their flaws.

All of the hideous little flaws. They could see every little one. The zangoose, the mawile, and now the breloom. None of this was right. All of it needed to be fixed.

As the explorers moved on, the creatures retreated into the cavern. They'd need to work up a plan, then, they'd fix it.

Mocha: [Energy: 3]
Maxie: [Energy: 3]
==================================================
Begrudgingly, and not without some sounds of discomfort, Mocha climbed her way onto the breloom—retracting her claws before doing so. If there was one advantage to this, it was that she was pretty certain she was being carried by a breloom now, and not a murderous zoroark. She still didn’t like him. She was pretty sure he didn’t like her, or Zadira. She wasn’t sure he was that much more fond of Maxie, either. Yet he was still trying to help them. Maybe he wasn’t that bad a guy, really.

She still didn’t like him.

Maxie picked up the end of the makeshift rope and gave it a few test tugs between her hands. She felt bad about literally dragging the zangoose through the dirt, but she figured it had to be better than leaving him behind. She didn’t bother trying to justify it any further in her head. She just accepted that this was necessary.

They were going to have to drag and carry this weight up a slope. This was going to suck.

With one hand, she searched blindly in her bag, running her hand over each item as she thought through what each one was. She was doing inventory, making sure there weren’t any other items, like the spurn orb, that would make the situation any better. There was one she thought could have been useful, if they for whatever reason needed to move one of the zangoose particularly quickly. For now, it was best it stayed where it was. Their method currently was working fine. Far from ideal, but fine.

Mocha’s eyes wondered as she clung atop the breloom. Up at the cliffs and sky above. She saw what she thought might be a cave entrance, but it was so high up, and the rock was so dark, that it might have just been a shadow on dark rock. The figures that had been there just a moment ago were gone by the time she was looking in that direction.
==================================================
Mocha's Rolls:

Badger carried out 1 launched of one Black Mist Mountain :

Badger carried out 1 launched of one Echo World :

Maxie's Rolls:

Badger carried out 1 launched of one Black Mist Mountain :

Badger carried out 1 launched of one Echo World :

The breloom didn't talk much as they moved along. It didn't take long for his tail to hurt either. It probably wasn't the brightest idea to hook it up to his tail, but the rope didn't exactly allow for something like his own chest. He could have wrapped the harness around him and a single knot around the zangoose's paw or something, but he was trying to avoid hurting Zadira further.

By the time they reached up the path, the Dusknoir Roi and Maxie knocked out was gone. Not a single sign of the phantom was left besides the crumbled remains of Roi's makeshift den. He cast a cautious gaze around, "Keep on your guard," he warned. He didn't explain. He felt as if he didn't need to.

The path winded its way around the mountain. The outward view of the mountain range around them was not only obscured by a thick fog, but the path led them into a pathway carved into the mountain, large stone walls stood in the way of it. Narrow and slim, just wide enough for perhaps an Aggron or a tyrannitar to fit through, the strip was long. It made Roi uneasy, but the only way was to either climb up a sheer cliff or go back and beat their way through a far steeper slope.

His hesitance was brief, but he pushed forward. If anything were to happen, he'd be able to handle it. He was confident in it. He kept his head held high and his ears alert. Just behind them, Zadira slowly and quietly began to wake up. He felt something constricting his chest. Dazed, he looked down to notice that he had rope wrapped around him. It wasn't constrictive, he could still move about, but it didn't change the fact that he was being dragged along.

His head fell back, too tired to hold it up for much longer. He didn't understand what was going on, but he could see the top of each cliff that sandwiched him and Voix. He didn't know where Caritas and the mawile were, but he was pretty certain that Voix was in the midst of taking him to whatever twisted joke he had lined up. He could see dark figures dancing along the top. He couldn't make out their shapes, but this surely must have been some attempt at scaring him. With nothing but a tired expression, he remained unresponsive.

Roi stopped. Rocks and pebbles fell from above. He could hear each and every clatter echo off the walls. He looked up. He could hear whispers. After a momentary pause, he spoke, "Who's there?" He was cautious, but his posture was clear in that he was primed to run if necessary. The whispers fell into quick hushes. Unintelligible bickering sounded from above in hushed yet loud tones, trying and failing to keep quiet. "I can hear you."

Another pause. "...Nobody's here, just keep goooiiing!" a small squeaky responded.

Mocha: [Energy: 3 -1 = 2 / 2 = 1]
Maxie: [Energy: 3 - 4 -7 = 0]
==================================================
Maxie hadn’t noticed the potential threat until Roi pointed it out. She was far more focused on wondering just how long she could keep pulling Zadira. Even with the breloom helping—and probably doing more of the work—it was a lot. She wasn’t used to lugging so much weight.

She looked in the direction the voice had suddenly come from, but didn’t see the source. ”... Well, they don’t sound like a threat.” Her head swiveled back upon hearing a sound from behind her, but she saw nothing. Then she noticed Zadira.

”Z’s up,” the mawile whispered a warning to Roi.

Mocha briefly considered jumping off Roi’s back. They were stationary at the moment, and she knew that her weight had to be wearing on him. Like him or not, he was the best of them as far as fighting mattered, and the last thing any of them needed was for their best fighter to be exhausted. She didn’t, though. She wasn’t going to do anything without being told first. She didn’t want to cause any more trouble. She just wanted this all to be over with.

She glanced back at Zadira, who was apparently waking up. She wished he was up and walking, and not being dragged. She also wished she could convince him not to attack anyone again, for his own sake.

Great, two problems happening at once. Just what Roi needed. The breloom snorted, "I don't suppose Z looked like he'd be much of a problem when you first saw him too?" It was mean, especially towards Zadira. The zangoose could hear him. Neither of them cared all that much.

Up above, the muffled voices bickered among each other even more. A quick "Oof!" and a sharp "Woah!" preceded the shape of something looming over the edge. Fearful cries echoed before the shape fell right over the edge with a terrified cry. The cry was cut short by a metallic smack against a rock that jutted out from the side. The metal pinball fell down the rocks and walls before he landed just ahead of the group with a painful sounding "THUMP!" followed by a pitiful whine.

Three more heads peaked over the edge and down at the group as the little aron that stood before them shook the his dazed head clear. After a brief second, it noticed that it was now right in front of the path of these strangers. "...O-Oh..." the Aron squeaked fearfully, his voice matching the one that spoke out to them before. Its eyes darted left to right, desperately searching for a way out of this situation. "N-Nobody here! Nope! You don't see anything in front of you just keep walking hahahah!" the steel type chuckled nervously. "Actually wait no just uh-turn around. Yeah, turn around and uhhh come back in five minutes. Yep. That's what you totally want to do." It spoke up suddenly.

"You a'ight down there Talic?" a deeper voice called down.

"THERE'S NO TALIC HERE, META, THERE'S NOBODY HERE-SH-SHUT UP!" the aron cried back. It became very apparent to both Roi and the partially-conscious Zadira that this aron must have been young. His mannerisms, voice, and general confidence spoke completely for him.

"...I'm comin down," the voice dubbed Meta by the little Aron spoke out, "If any of y'all touch a plate on his head I'm gonna smash ya!" The three shapes up top seemed to merge into one. The metallic clangs started out throughout the passage again, though these were much deeper-heavier even. The movements were far more controlled than the Aron's graceless fall.

Once it was close enough, the monster jumped off the wall entirely and landed just behind the aron with a heavy clang. The ground beneath the lairon cracked and shattered as the walls around them rumbled with more falling rocks and pebbles. Two poochyena hopped off of the steel type, having hitched a ride on the way down. It all made Roi nervous. If this sort of careless behavior kept up, there could be a rockfall. Irritated, he spoke up, "Look is there going to be a problem here or can we just go?"

"I don't know," the lairon growled defiantly, "Is there?"

Mocha: [Energy: 1]
Maxie: [Energy: 0]
==================================================
”No,” Maxie responded, trying to defuse the situation before it escalated. The poochyena didn’t concern her—she could deal with Dark-types. The aron wasn’t much more threatening, either. The lairon was the biggest concern—he had a type advantage over her. Still, Roi could probably handle it… Regardless, best they avoided fighting altogether.

”Maybe...” Mocha whispered under her breath. Roi could probably hear her, but that was okay. It was directly more at him than the other Pokemon anyway. He had insulted Zadira, and that irritated him. She was beginning to change her mind about not causing problems. Roi probably deserved the trouble he was getting into.

“Who ya draggin’ there?” One of the poochyena asked, leaning to the side to look around the breloom and the mawile and get a better look at the prone and harnessed zangoose.

“Is he dead? He looks dead.” the other added.

“If he’s dead maybe ya should just leave ‘em, you’d get along a lot faster—”

“No, wait, keep dragging him,” the first—or was it the second…?—poochyena interrupted the other. “Slower works better for us.”

Maxie was... Perplexed by the two little Dark-types. If she wasn’t watching them speak, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. The lairon seemed to be the only one acting notably aggressive so far, so she considered that a good thing. The phrase “slower works better for us,” however, was vaguely threatening. She decided to keep on guard, despite her stating there wasn't going to be any problems.

Mocha was ready to jump off of Roi, in the event that one of the Pokemon before them decided to attack the breloom—or the breloom decided to just attack one of them. Neither possibility would surprise her much.

"Both of ye shaddup," the lairon demanded of the two pooches. The massive metal beast's steps clanged forward. Meta approached the aron. Cautious and gentle, the lairon helped the pre-volution up to his feet. The young argon shivered in the spot, eyes wide and unable to be taken off of the group before them.

"He's not dead," Roi clarified, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got to get going." The breloom took a step forward, but the lairon stepped into his path.

"Uh-UH-" Talic piped up, "W-wait-uh-you guys look tired...right? A-And your friend looks h-hurt..."

A large foot reached out over the aron, Meta pulled the Aron back and away from the group, forcing the little guy to stand behind behind him. Talic seemed relieved that he was forced out of the position, as he curled up next to the larger lairon for protection. "My lil'brotha saw y'all chugging along. He wanted t'help," Meta grumbled, "He thought it'd be a grand-good show of hoes-pit-tal-tity-or whatever ye'call it- for us all to offer a hand."

Zadira kept to himself, tied up yet listening. He struggled to figure out Voix's game with this so-called encounter. He almost wished Voix would just knock him out again. He could easily cut the ropes that held him, but he didn't quite have the energy to. What was he going to do when he did, run? Voix was going to catch him. It was inevitable. He couldn't do anything but sit here and wait.

Mocha: [Energy: 1]
Maxie: [Energy: 0]
==================================================
The two poochyena silenced themselves and stood at attion, as if they were soldiers and the lairon was their commander. Thet both still had an almost predatory look in their eyes, however.

If the group was trying to be hospitable, they had a funny, almost hostile way of showing it. Maxie was almost one hundred percent certain that whatever these four were up to, it wasn’t helping out weary travellers.

Despite how tired she was, and how tired Roi was likely getting, she was pretty sure that if they were careful enough and clever enough, they could beat all four of them in a fight—so long as Mocha and Zadira stayed out of the way.

The mawile got the feeling that the lairon wasn’t going to let them just walk past, which probably meant his intentions were ultimately bad. So it was really a matter of time before they had to do something about it; deal with them now, or wait and see where this goes. Waiting was probably a gamble, and the risks almost certainly outweighed any rewards. She turned to Roi, to see what he thought was the right call. he was the leader, after all.

Mocha on the other hand, had her full attention on Zadira. She didn’t care about the lairon or his friends, she just wanted to make sure Zadira was okay. He was awake now, she was sure, but he was practically motionless. It worried her. If they stayed in one place for much longer, she was going to help him, whether Roi liked it or not—and she knew he wouldn’t.

The breloom looked over the four pokemon that'd confronted them. His uncertainty and struggles with the decision was visible. Roi's gaze focused on the lairon in particular, who stared right back at him. His eyes took on the light purple tint once more, which seemed to make the lairon uneasy. Meta's body tensed up, ready to brace himself for some kind of attack...but it didn't come.

The light faded out. The breloom gave another thoughtful hum before he glanced back at Mocha, Zadira, and then looked over to Maxie. He looked back to the so-called helpful folk. The aron was young, the poochyena seemed to be rather young as well. The lairon was clearly the eldest here, but something was off. He knew exactly what.

Roi made his decision, "I'll go with you," the breloom offered, "The mawile stays with the zangoose and all of you come with me to show me where and how you intend to "help" us. I'll "evaluate" it and if I like what I see, I'll bring the others by. As a certified explorer I need to ensure the safety of my clients...even if they're not quite official." Certain words were intentionally stressed for the lairon. The steel type tilted his head curiously as the breloom began to untie the bind around his tail.

The rope fell limply onto the ground before the breloom turned back around and stepped forward. The lairon paused as he considered the breloom's words. For a moment, it felt more like the lairon was contemplating some offer more than the breloom did. After a brief silence, the lairon nodded, "...Alright. C'mon." The steel type gestured behind them, the way they were originally going to go, "S'not far..."

Mocha: [Energy: 1]
Maxie: [Energy: 0]
==================================================
Well this was a dilemma. It didn’t escape Maxie that Roi knew something was up, and she didn’t want him to try and deal with it on his own—good an explorer as he might be. On the other hand, going with him would mean leaving Mocha and Zadira alone—and Mocha alone with Zadira. Not that she didn’t trust Zadira… But she kind of didn’t trust Zadira. If only because he seemed to have a hard time distinguishing what was and wasn’t real. She was sure he was trustworthy otherwise.

Would Roi be okay with her leaving the two zangoose alone and going with him? Probably not. Was she going to say anything about it? Definitely not. Instead, she’d wait for the group to lead him away, and then she would follow behind in secret. Was that the best way to go about the situation? Probably not as far as Roi was concerned, but she was tired of arguing with the self-righteous breloom.

”Be careful,” she whispered to the mushroom, as if she didn’t intend to make sure he was.

Finally, a plan that Roi and Mocha could both agree on. She practically leaped off the breloom’s back—nearly losing her balance completely, but stabilizing herself with only minimal self-inflicted pain from the jarring movement. Without hesitation—or rather, with minimal, pain-enforced hesitation—she made her way next to Zadira and sat beside him, just outside of his immediate reach—just in case she accidentally startled him.

It was expected of the mawile that she would follow Roi's orders. It was because of this expectation that Roi didn't bother to ever read her mind. It was a mistake, but one that he was likely to not regret. The breloom nodded to the mawile, confirming that he would indeed be careful. Meta, Talic, and the pooches all turned around and lead the breloom away.

The zangoose and mawile were left behind. Zadira, in reaction to his sudden freedom, opted to curl into a ball instead of take any more active actions, such as trying to run away or fight back. His paws lifted over his ears as his eyes squeezed shut. The zoroark would go away eventually, he just had to remain unresponsive...right?

The group gathered together continued to the edge of the crevice and beyond. They were taken off of the path for a fair distance and made a small climb to the mouth of a cavern that looked more like a Steelix punched a hole through the mountain more than a naturally formed shape of the land. The darkness inside threatened to swallow any who enter whole, even being completed with sets of rock that speared out of the walls and ceiling like teeth. It was...very much the opposite of friendly and welcoming.

"Jus'in here," the Lairon spoke, "We've got all kinds of medical supplies and items to help with yer'problems."

"I'm sure you do," Roi responded, though he said no further words. Instead, he focused his attention on the atmosphere around him. Deeper and deeper they traveled, until at last, he could hear it-the unmistakable sniffling of two terrified young pokemon...and the guttural growl of two beasts who's silver eyes seemed to shine in the darkness.

Mocha: [Energy: 1]
Maxie: [Energy: 0]
==================================================
”Okay,” Maxie announced to the two zangoose. ”Pretty sure Roi’s about to get himself into some trouble—and I’m pretty sure he knows that. And I’m pretty sure he thinks he can handle it on his own, and I’m pretty sure he can’t. So, I’m going to follow them, and you two stay right here and try to stay out of trouble.” She turned to follow the group now that there was some good distance between her and them.

”You should just let him go.”

”Yes, I get it, Mocha. You don’t like him.”

”He’s not helping.”

Maxie didn’t turn around. ”... At least he’s trying.” Without another word, she sprinted off, doing her best to keep just out of sight of the Roi and the strangers.

Mocha turned to the ball of fluff that was Zadira. She was growing very irritated with Roi and Maxie both, but she tried not to let that carry in her voice. ”They’re both gone now. It’s just us…” She glanced around, searching for any signs of other Pokemon about. She didn’t see any.

”... I think...”

…

Maxie hid behind a decent sized boulder as she waited for the group to enter the cave.

“Jus'in here. We've got all kinds of medical supplies and items to help with yer'problems."

”Oh, I’m sure yo—” She started whispering the words to herself but stopped when she heard Roi saying the same thing. ”Not sure how I feel about that…”

Once the last of the quintet disappeared into the darkness, Maxie moved up to the mouth of the cave. ”Big cave. We’re good with caves, right Gilbert? Lived my whole life in a cave. We got a home field advantage. Of course, I suppose, so does whatever lives in the cave…”

She took all of one step into the darkness before a red light suddenly appeared in front of her. A surprised gasp was followed only moments later by the quiet, dull sound of the mawile collapsing to the floor.

The seconds ticked by. He counted them. Roi left. Maxie had an exchange with Mocha, then Maxie left. Caritas-...Mocha? Mocha then addressed him, or at least what he assumed to be him. She said there was no one else left. He didn't believe her. The fact that she doubted her own answer sold it to him. Despite the paws he placed over his ears, he could hear every single little pebble drop in the small crevice of the mountain.

It was apparent to him that Voix must be about to begin whatever it was he wanted. There was a problem with his plan of curling up into a ball and doing nothing, he realized. Mocha was here. If Voix was about to get it started, then she was going to get caught up in it. He felt compelled to do something, yet at the same time he felt completely hopeless. What was he going to do-whisk her away like real explorer? He couldn't do that, even if he weren't concerned about the mess on her back. The mess he made.

He didn't know what to do. Commit to the idea that this Mocha is real, stay here and play dead, or just get out of here. He didn't have anything holding him back, not even the rope around his chest was tied to anything.

Silence hung in the air, before his muffled and weak voice spoke, "He wouldn't leave us alone. He's still around." He had no evidence to back up this claim other than personal experience with Voix, but even that that'd only be valid if the zoroark truly were around...which he wasn't. "He's just deciding how he wants to toy with us."

----

"Alright, spooky eyes, scary growls, I get it, just let the kids g-AH!" Roi started off cocky and arrogant, his head held high and his chest puffed out. The two forms in the darkness lunged forward mid-sentence, forcing him to cut off whatever speech he had planned. The two ralts in the darkness were freed from their pin as the two monsters abandoned their hostages to attack the breloom.

Talic cried out in fear just before he was swept away by the form of Meta. The aron was pushed in the direction out of the cave before the lairon turned right back around to face the fight. Talic took the hint and rushed back the way they all came, eyes filled with tears as worried whines echoed throughout the cavern.

Meta, meanwhile, barreled towards the now-freed hostages. He struggled to see much in the dark, but he did know two pups that could likely see just fine. "Mutts! Grab them and get outta here!" He ordered the poochyena.

Roi, meanwhile, narrowly avoided the swipe of a massive claw. He could hear the clatter and clanging of wood as the two assailants moved to strike him. This was normally the time where he'd use Mind Reader to land a Dynamic Punch, but the combo of the two beasts doing whatever they could to land a hit on him left him far too busy simply trying to avoid their attacks to make a move.

Mocha: [Energy: 1]
Maxie: [Energy: 0]
==================================================
Well adapted to the dark, the poochyena had no issues finding their targets. Each one swept up one ralts each. “Got ‘em!” One of the pups informed their superior.

“And we’re outta here!” The other—or perhaps the same one, it was dark and they sounded so similar—declared as the two bolted back through the cave and toward the entrance.

A few moments later and they were nearing the entrance. “Hey, it’s the yellow one,” one of the noted the unconscious mawile slumped against the cavern wall.

“Should we wake ‘er up?” The other asked the first.

The first looked back into the darkness deeper into the cave. The sounds of combat echoed throughout. He turned back to the mawile. “Hey! Hey! Wake up! Your friend is about to get eaten!”

The mawile stirred a bit, but didn’t seem to be fully awake.

“Welp we tried!” the second declared before turning and running out the cave entrance. The second one followed swiftly.

“Hey! Don’t leave me!”

…

”... You’ve never said his name.” Not that it really mattered much. Knowing the name of the Pokemon Zadira was so unnerved by wasn’t going to help her any if he really did show up. Still, her curiosity got the better of her. Besides, Zadira seemed so defeated at this point that she didn’t imagine talking about this monster would do much more to him. ”Who is he?”

She fidgeted with her claws. Zadira was so convinced that whoever this Pokemon was was somewhere around them, she almost felt compelled to believe it. It wasn't a case of wanting to believe him—it was a case of hoping he was wrong. The encounter with the zoroark, however, coloured her perception. It was far to easy to think she saw a faint movement out of the corner of her eye, or heard the telltale signs of another Pokemon approaching.