Lost Cause

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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.

The poochyena out sped Talic by a long shot despite his head start. They were gone and out of there by the time he reached the mawile. The aron looked over to the little yellow pokemon, a worried look on his expression. The aron glanced back to the cave, then to the mawile. He knew he should have kept running, but the mawile was surely in just as much danger as their friend in there.

"U-Uh-M-Miss? P-Please w-w-oh god-please just-ahhhh!" Talic couldn't even decide on what to say to the mawile. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to. Steady clangorous thumps grew close. Fearfully, he looked to the innards of the cave to see Meta running out-without Roi. "M-Meta?" Talic questioned, surprised to see his brother come out so early.

"Just leave them, go! Go! Go!" Meta ordered before nudging the aron along far more harshly than he did before. The aron squeaked in fear before he continued along, running alongside his much larger brother in pursuit of poochyena and the two hostages.

Deeper inside the cavern, Roi quickly found that combat was difficult. The darkness proved to be a problem with two opponents, even with Mind Reader. He still felt confident about this, however, as he gave up on the plan for out-right attack in exchange for unleashing powdery spores into the air around him. If he couldn't beat these pokemon down, then he'd just put them to sleep!

It didn't work. He didn't understand why it didn't, but it didn't. He was certain that he'd thrown the spore right into one of their faces, but the creature instead slammed into him and crashed him right into a wall. He cried out in shock and surprise, but was quick to get himself on his feet. He reeled back his fist as dynamic power gathered near it, only to feel claws rake across his shoulder and stomach with the vicious sting of a bug type attack. He whirled his fist around in attempt to continue the strike regardless, but his fist smacked weakly into a wooden helm. They had helmets protecting them. He needed to be more accurate with his spores if he wanted to send them to sleep.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn't given the time to fully process this information before he was attacked by the second figure. A burst of electricity illuminated the cave briefly, the light just bright enough to stun the breloom temporarily. The electricity jolted through his body and seized his muscles, movement became difficult and even painful.

---

Zadira opened his mouth to speak, but a new voice cut in. It was squeaky, pitched, and more importantly: childlike, "My name is Voix!" His eyes widened. He looked up from his little bundle to look behind them, where the voice came from. A small zorua stood in the midst of the path, head held high with a big snarky and confident grin on his expression. It seemed as if the little dark type appeared straight out of thin air.

"Whatchya got goin on here, Za-dummy?" the child cackled, "Is this supposed to be your new friend? Wasn't I fun enough?" The zorua's cackling faded into a pout. The zorua approached without a care in the world, his attention focused on Mocha more so than the shining zangoose that stared at him with wide fearful eyes.

"What's your name? I bet it's suuuuper pretty-Just like Za-dummy's!" the zorua smiled as he seated himself just out of arm's reach of Mocha.

Mocha: [Energy: 1 + 1 = 2]
Maxie: [Energy: 0 + 1 = 1]
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Mocha jumped. Then she winced as the sudden shock sent waves of pain through her. Her claws came out the next instant as she assumed her best attempt at a defensive stance given her current condition. It wasn’t a very good stance. It took her several seconds to realise what she was trying to defend herself against. It was like a zoroark, but smaller.

”Wha—where—” She glanced at Zadira, then back to the stranger. ”... What?”

…

The sounds of yelling and the rumbling of something big moving past her was almost enough to wake Maxie. The sound of electricity, combined with the added light shining its way down the tunnel, was the final push to rouse her. ”... Huh...?” She turned toward the cave entrance just in time to see the tail end of the lairon leave her sight.

”Where—” The sounds of combat suddenly registered, and she jolted up to her feet. ”Roi!” She sprinted down the cavern as quick as she could. Her eyes adjusted rather quickly to the lower light. She arrived in the chamber in which the battle was taking place just in time to see the two beasts closing on the stunned breloom.

They didn’t seem to notice her yet. She used this to her advantage. Reaching into her bag, she withdrew an orb—this time she wouldn’t forget the tools at her disposal—and hurled it at one of the hostiles. It shattered on impact with the thing’s helmet, but the armour didn’t protect it from the effect. In an instant, Maxie was standing where it once was, and it was back at the chamber entrance.

Without missing a beat, she grabbed the other creature’s tail with her horns and jerked it away from the breloom. It was surprised, to say the least.

”If you say anything about me disobeying orders I swear I will switch places again and leave you with your new friends..” she deadpanned.

The zorua tilted his head at Mocha, very much confused by her response. The look twisted into an amused grin, "Whawhere isn't a very pretty name. Did your parents hate you or something?" The dark type glanced over to Zadira, who seemed equally as confused as Caritas, if not more. The kid smiled at Zadira before he gave a wave of the paw. The ferret's baffled appearance grew darker. He growled as he lifted himself onto his hind legs, claws outstretched once more.

The dark furball's ears fell back as the confused expression returned to him, "What's wrong Z'dummy?" Voix looked around himself, the curious gaze not quite registering that he was the problem here. Zadira lunged forward and swiped at the kid with all the strength he could muster. The kid squeaked in surprise as he dodged off to the side, the claws of the zangoose slashed into the ground just inches behind his tail. The zorua bolted around Mocha to the other side of her, eyes wide with surprise.

"Hey! Daddy said no fighting outside of spar!" the child yelped.

---

Roi didn't know whether to be upset or relieved that Maxie showed up. On one hand, he now had assistance, but on the other Maxie just left the two injured zangoose all on their own...he quickly decided he was upset.

"You left them alone!?" He criticized despite her warning, his voice tense thanks to the continuous burning sensation along his side accompanied with the paralysis that hindered his normally quick and spry movements.

The beast back towards the entrance was confused, it looked around for a moment as it took in its surroundings. Roi could just barely see the silloutte of it against what little outer light the outside provided. He...he'd never seen a pokemon like this before. The helm looked as if it locked the creature's face away while the rest of its body looked to be some strange amalgamation of body parts. The silver eyes turned and focused on them again just as its friend moved in to attack once again.

"You've strayed too far from the path," one of them spoke, "Submit to your fates." Their words were muffled, but just loud enough to echo off the walls. A crack of electricity shot through the air again as the Thunder Wave shot towards Maxie. The other Type:Null spent its precious moment just getting back to the fray.

Maxie kept her back—and by extension her horns—towards the two hostile Pokemon, granting herself and Roi some protection from the two. Roi decided to complain about her decision despite her threat, effectively calling her bluff. ”You’re both lucky and unlucky I don’t have another Switcher Orb.” She reached into her bag when she heard the static in the air; an indication of another electric attack.

The feeling of the attack hitting her wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t quite painful either. The feeling of her muscles tensing up was worse. From a sturdy pouch in her bag she withdrew a cheri berry. Which she did not hesitate to consume. That was, however, her only one. Roi would just have to deal. She kept the closer Type: Null at bay with the threat of her iron-ripping jaws, but she wouldn’t be able to keep both off of them.

...

It was a kid. At first Mocha didn’t think this was who Zadira had meant, but when Zadira tried to attack it, she supposed it must have been. ”He’s… Just a kid…?” It took her a few moments to process everything that was suddenly happening around her. Did he—Voix? Did he say daddy?

”He’s your brother...?” It was less a question and more a statement with an air of confusion. She had mixed feelings about the fact that Zadira was attacking the kid. On the one hand, Zadira made it seem like this Voix character was a serious threat, and if that were true, she would be happy he was trying to stop him. On the other, he was a kid. She decided she wouldn’t intervene—not that she thought it would be safe to try. She stepped away from the little fox, not wanting to be standing between an angry zangoose and it’s target.

They were both paralyzed...except they weren't because Maxie ate a Cheri Berry. Roi couldn't help but find the mawile's idea of using it on her rather than him a little dim witted-considering he was the stronger of the two. Then again, she needed to keep herself in check as well. He didn't have such leisure, since it was far too dark for him to see in his bag. Still, he reached for it anyways. He had a warp seed. If he could just-...where was his bag?

The breloom felt around his hip before reaching up to his chest only to realize that the bag's strap was gone. The slice of the creature's claws must have dropped it on the floor somewhere around here. With an irritated growl, he focused his attention on the monsters' approach. "Wouldn't happen to have ever seen anything like these guys, have you?" he questioned right before the one closest hurled themselves toward the mawile, uncaring for the threatening jaws of Gilbert. The helm on their head took on a light silver sheen as the Iron Head threatened to smash right into the mawile's jaws.

The other, meanwhile, picked up speed as they grew closer. A spark here and there and suddenly the whole cavern was alight with the blaze that engulfed the Type:null's body. They charged straight for Roi, in the hopes that the mawile would be busy with their friend while they targeted the breloom. The breloom's gaze focused as he tried to reach out to the Type:Null's mind, not only to dig around into it, but to prepare himself for a good strike against it.

----

"It's a trick!" Zadira sneered immediately in response, which might have come as a surprise considering how he usually blocked all other subjects of attention out. The zangoose didn't stop to explain thoroughly, however, as his form hurled past Caritas just as she moved out of the way and towards the Zorua.

Child-Voix squeaked in surprise before he narrowly dodged another slash of zangoose claws. This time, however, the trickster put a bit more style into his dodge. Instead of moving off to the side, he jumped right up onto the Zangoose's head, ran along his back, and hopped off just as Zadira turned to swipe at him. The zorua growled, "I'm gonna tell dad if you don't stop it!"

He didn't stop. He moved in again for another strike, only for dark energy to collect around the Zorua. With a Dark Pulse, a black shock wave slammed into the oncoming ferret. He cried out as he was blasted back onto the ground, where he struggled to get back up again. The zorua huffed victoriously in response to this before he looked over to Mocha, "What the hell's his problem?"

Mocha: [Energy: 2]
Maxie: [Energy: 1]
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Voix asked a great question that Mocha couldn’t quite answer. Well, should probably could have, with plenty of different answers; He says you murdered his friends, he’s been tricked on numerous occasions by your kind, he’s got a bit of trouble telling what's real and what’s what, he’s got some anger issues. Zadira had a lot of problems, Mocha was learning.

She understood some of it. She too had been a victim of the zoroark’s tricks. This Pokemon, however, didn’t feel like the same thing at all. What he was saying didn’t make sense given the context Mocha could infer and piece together from everything Zadira had said. This wasn’t an illusion like with the zoroark.

She turned toward Zadira. The fox got a good hit on him, but it wasn’t utterly disabling. She didn’t like him getting hurt, but she wasn’t sure attacking the little guy was the right call, either. ”Yeah,” Mocha replied to the other zangoose, completely ignoring Voix’s question. ”But I don’t think it’s an illusion.” She retracted her claws and stepped toward the zorua. Zadira wouldn’t like it—she wasn’t too keen on it herself—but she had to be certain.

”Don’t, like, bite me or anything,” she said quietly before poking the tuft of hair on the tricky fox’s head. He certainly felt real. She didn’t consider how weird this might have been for the zorua; a stranger just sort of poking at him like he was some kind of specimen for study. Still, had to be better than trying to kill him, right?

”I think he’s like Roi,” she declared.

…

Maxie’s horns took on a sheen of their own as she countered the Type: Null’s Iron head attack with her own. ”Never. Not even in books.” The fact that they were practically having a casual conversation in the midst of a fight was sort of comforting to her—even if it was with someone as frustrating as Roi. It really took the edge off the fact that these things were trying to kill them.

As their other opponent charged toward Roi, Maxie started to move as if to intercept, only to have to turn her attention right back to the first to avoid another incoming attack. Roi was going to have to deal with that one on his own—but at least he wasn’t fighting two alone. ”Heads up!”

She didn’t like playing on the defensive, but her opponent wasn’t letting her switch to the offensive. She needed an opening—ideally before the thing exhausted her into dropping her guard.

"Huh?" the fox tilted his head at the request for the zangoose to not bite him. He looked up at the ferret's claw as she poked at the tuft of fur atop of his head. Yep, felt like zorua. Strangely enough, he seemed to find this amusing, "H-hey-stop!" he laughed before he brought a paw over his head. To ruffle through his fur, though his tone betrayed his words.

Zadira struggled back onto his feet, still feeling very much tired all things considered. He knew, however, that he needed to get rid of this pest before he ruined things any further. Mocha was convinced that the zorua was real, but all that served to do was make him doubt her authenticity. Fear crawled under his skin like a sickly infestation. He froze to the spot as he watched the two interact. It took him a moment to speak, "Wh-What do you mean by that...?" his confused and fearful voice wavered.

----

Roi didn't need a word from the mawile to know what was coming, considering the bright ball of fire was headed straight towards him. The breloom reeled back he fist of his good hand as he stood to take on the attack instead of dodge out of the way. The breloom's fingers glowed with a brilliant hue as the chimera closed in. Once it was close, he launched his fist with the intent of striking the beast with enough sudden force to divert it off course just to his left.

He was too slow.

The fist met the beast's neck, but the null crashed into him at full speed. He hardly even had the time to cry out before he and the null charged straight into the cavern wall. A sickening snap echoed throughout the cavern, but it was unclear if it was from the breloom or from the Type:Null. The two were consumed in a ball of fire, before the light went out completely.  All sounds of their conflict ceased, but at the very least it served as a neat distraction that caught the remaining Type:Null's attention.

Mocha: [Energy: 2]
Maxie: [Energy: 1]
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The moment the Type: Null turned toward toward the brief inferno, Maxie struck it hard with her iron jaws. Not giving it an opportunity to retaliate, she gripped it’s helmed head with her horns and unleashed the freezing effect of an Ice Fang, encasing it in a new helmet of ice.

With the threat subdued—at least for the moment—she turned her attention to Roi. Or rather, the place Roi had been a moment ago. He was gone. She was in shock. It was a fire attack, he was a Grass-type—but this wasn’t normal. Where was the other Pokemon? Could it really have been that strong? Would it really destroy itself like that? Would the other one do the same?

She didn’t stick around to find out. She grabbed the breloom’s bag and bolted out of the cave, running faster than she had ever run before. She didn’t stop until the cave was out of sight. Minutes later, ducking behind a rock, she finally stopped to process what exactly just happened.

”Did Roi just die?” Her voice was very panicked; rushed and spoken with little breathe. A memory suddenly came to her, of Zadira saying Roi was already dead, that someone had killed him. She was never sure she completely believed him. She supposed that was true now. ”... Or… Die again? What just happened?” No one responded. There was no one to respond.

Roi was an enigma. There was a growing list of things about him that didn’t add up. She wasn’t sure how to react to what had just happened, except be generally perplexed and just a bit frightened. She didn’t feel compelled to grieve; she barely knew the guy, and she didn’t really like him. Still, he did just die right in front of her. Or at least, seemed to die. The whole thing was quite bizarre. It was more like he just stopped existing. His bag was still here, though.

After taking a long moment to collect herself and calm down as best she could, Maxie stood, took a deep breath, and started walking back to where she had left the zangoose. In a much calmer voice, she whispered, ”We are going to say nothing about this, because I have no idea what to say.”

…

Mocha stopped when the fox said so. ”He doesn’t make sense, right?” She stood up straight and turned to face Zadira. ”I mean Voix here. He’s not supposed to be like this?” She gestured vaguely at the zorua. She didn’t know what Voix really was supposed to be like, but based on what little Zadira had said, she couldn’t imagine he was supposed to be a little kid brother who wanted to avoid confrontation.

”And Roi is supposed to be—You know…” She didn’t meet Zadira’s eyes, instead glancing off the to the side. She held one arm with the other. ”I don’t know... It’s like they’re real… But not right?”

Child-Voix quirked an eyebrow as Whawhere seemed to be under the belief that he...didn't make sense. "Uhhh...if anyone's not making any sense here it's you, Whawhere." He couldn't help but snicker at his own joke. The fact that Zadira was so uptight and cautious either flew over the zorua's head or he just didn't care.

"I'm exactly how I'm supposed to be," he declared with a bit more passion. He puffed his chest out proudly, a hint of arrogance in his tone. "So-what are you all even doin here? This place doesn't look like it's anywhere near home..." The zorua paused as he contemplated it. He observed his surroundings, as if this were the first time he was seeing them. "Mom and Dad are gonna be sooooo angry if they have to come find us."

Zadira shivered in place, uncertain of whether it was rage or fear that drove him to do so. Mocha was right, none of this made sense, which was why it all fit together so well, "I-It's him. It's an illusion..." he insisted, "They're all not real." Was this Mocha real? Was she an illusion too? His claws remained extended as he kept his eyes focused on Mocha. He didn't want to go near her, but he also wanted to know if she was real or not. He definitely wasn't about to touch that Zorua...

Mocha: [Energy: 2]
Maxie: [Energy: 1]
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She recognized that look. ”Zadira…” It wasn’t clear if she was concerned or upset. She wasn’t certain herself how she felt about the fact that he wasn’t sure if she was real or not. There wasn’t really anyway to prove it, other than touch—and even then a clever zoroark could probably find a way to subvert that shortcoming. If Zadira really wanted to believe that something was a trick, he could probably convince himself of such.

She didn’t quite know what to do. She didn’t want to approach him and risk making him panic. He probably wasn’t going to want to go near Voix. She could tell Voix to get away, but there was still the possibility that the zangoose just assumed that he was only appearing distant. There was no winning in this scenario, because the risk factor was never 0.

It occurred to her that Voix didn’t know where he was. More missing information. But Zadira had said this is where Voix killed Roi and his team. This Voix didn’t recognize the place because he hasn’t been here yet. Mocha didn’t understand why this was happening or what it meant, but she was pretty sure she understood roughly what was going on.

”Zadira, I need you to trust me. You’re right that it’s him. This is Voix,” she pointed at the zorua. ”But he isn’t the same one you think he is. I promise you, he’s not an illusion. Look at him. You know when he’s from.” She was assuming, and she wasn’t entirely sure he would comply, but she didn’t know what else to do. How are you supposed to convince someone that Pokemon literally from their past were really here, when reality-bending illusions were somehow so much more sensible?

Maxie war nearing the point she had left the zangoose when she heard the new voice and the two zangoose talking about someone else. What she overheard didn’t make a whole lot of sense. ”Something tells me this isn’t going to be normal or good,” she whispered to her ever-present companion.

Voix's ears twitched in annoyance as he went utterly ignored. He might have ignored Zadira's whole complication and threat to kill him, but this wasn't too out of the norm for him. The zorua gave a heavy and loud sigh, "This is boooooriiiiiiing," his voice rang out in a sing-song tone. He hopped up onto a nearby rock that put him at eye level with the two. "When are we gonna go hoooome?" the zorua huffed, only to be ignored once more...kind of.

The frightened ferret glanced over to the zorua doubtfully as Mocha attempted to explain the situation to him. What she said...it didn't make sense. It couldn't possibly be her. What was Voix's game here...or was he trying to make Mocha look like she was crazy too...? His expression wavered, his eyes darted between Mocha and the Zorua. All he needed was one hit against Voix. A good one. If he could get that, then Mocha would either believe him...or prove to be just as fake as the zorua near him.

"I-I trust you," he stuttered as he struggled to make his decision. A brief pause flowed as he processed through his thoughts. Even if he she was right...Voix was still here in a sense. He needed to go. "But I don't trust him." The zangoose's rage pitched right back up with a low growl before he moved in to swipe at the Zorua once more. The child hardly registered that he was being attacked this time around, his attention more focused on a new scent he caught in what little wind that flowed through the crevice.

Zadira's claws scraped against stone as Voix yelped in surprise. This time, however, Zadira was prepared for the miss. He was quick to whip back around with sharp claws that crackled with a dark energy. The zorua was too slow, if nothing intervened, Zadira was about to potentially seriously injure the child.

Mocha: [Energy: 2]
Maxie: [Energy: 1]
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She shoved the zorua off the rock the moment she realised what was happening. It wasn’t a well thought out response—it was just the fastest thing she could think of. The fall from the rock would be nothing compared to the damage the zangoose's claws could do. The next moment she was wrapping her arms around his in an effort to stop him from making any further attacks. ”Zadira, please! He's just a kid!”

Mocha wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to protect the smug little fox. Everything she knew about the kind of Pokemon Voix was told her she shouldn’t—if anything she should have been helping Zadira take him down. But she refused to believe that this was the same Voix that he had told her about. He was just a kid.

Something was happening now, between the two zangoose and—was that a zorua? Where’d he came from? Whatever. Maxie was in a detached state at this point. She had to be. The alternative would be a mess of emotions; fear, anger, confusion. It would all be far too much. And at this moment, it was very clear that what remained of their group needed someone to try and keep things together. Roi certainly wasn’t going to be doing that anymore.

She didn’t pick up her pace when she saw the blue zangoose lash out at the little fox, nor did she when Mocha intervene and tried to stop him from continuing. Zadira wouldn’t hurt Mocha—and if he did, he’d regret it. She’d deal with whatever situation was amounting when she got to them. In the meantime, she hummed a low, slow tune as she made her casual approach. Everything was going to be fine.

Hey google, roll a d20:

...This wasn't Mocha. This wasn't Caritas. This was just some mockery. Did Mocha ever truly exist to begin with, or was this an elaborate ploy by the little rat that looked at him with such rotten little eyes. He missed the murderer, but before he could try again, Mocha-or Voix or whatever the true nature of what he saw was, held his arms still. He fought back against her, but even with his newfound energy sourced from anger, he couldn't break free. He was too weak to, both from exhaustion and simply being naturally so.

Even if she were real, she'd have to forgive him, right? He just needed to show her. He needed to get a hit. With his claws effectively immobile and unable to muscle his way free, he only had one weapon left. His fangs. The zangoose was quick to act, not exactly thinking things through. He acted on instinct as he tried to sink his teeth into her fur, or at the very least force her to let go. At the very least, a zangoose's claws were much worse than their bite.

Mocha: [Energy: 2]
Maxie: [Energy: 1]
==================================================
A sudden, sharp pain surprised Mocha. She yelped in pain. It took her a second to register that is was Zadira biting her. He lied. He did not trust her. At the very least, he’d know she wasn’t an illusion.

She shoved the zangoose away. ”Zadira, you idiot! I’m me!” She doubted that would do much more to convince him—it was purely reactionary. She sounded angrier than she really was; she was mostly just upset. Upset that Zadira didn’t trust her—and bit her. She reached up and felt the area where the zangoose had bitten her. Thanks to thick fur, Zadira wouldn’t have to worry about catching the taste of blood.

The approaching mawile did not fail to notice what had just happened. She was close enough now any of them should notice her. Even if they hadn’t yet, they were about to. ”Zadira if you so much as touch her again I’m going to freeze you into a block of ice and send you down the mountain.” Her tone was serious, stern, but it was mostly an empty threat. She was pretty sure she couldn’t produce that much ice, and she didn’t want to hurt Zadira. She would, however, if he was going to keep causing trouble.

Making Zadira feel like the bad guy was probably not the smartest move, but at this point she was just trying to get some grasp of control on the situation. Normally, she would try to reason with him; she generally tried to be reasonable. But not right now. Not after everything that had happened. Zadira was in a state where she had little faith in being able to reason with him, so she was going to see where a threat got her. If that didn’t work, then she would find another way to deal with him.

She released him. It certainly felt like a zangoose was trying to wrestle with him, but he couldn't trust it. He couldn't bring himself to trust anything. He couldn't even trust himself. He desperately clung to the one goal, strike the child.

Just like when the steelix showed up, it was as if he didn't even hear Maxie's voice. Fortunately, Mocha was not his target. That zorua was. He bolted away from the zangoose as soon as he was released, the shove she gave him only helped to urge him on. That white streak of a quick attack trailed behind him as he rushed straight for the kid.

Child!Voix's ears raised up in alarm, but this time he stood his ground. Black electricity crackled around his mouth before another ray of black energy blasted right into the oncoming Zangoose, much stronger than before this time around. Zadira's body slammed into the side of the hard jagged wall, dust clouds polluted the air around his vicinity. In a matter of a second, the pulse ceased. The zorua watched the zangoose crumple to the ground before he gave a haughty huff.

"Dad's not gonna be very happy when we get home, dumbass," he turned his head towards the newcomer, a mawile. Oh goodie. "So what's your name?" He casually asked.