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.::Stark & Rem & Geisha & Will & Argonne::.

Stark was feeling fine about fighting Abraham, until he revealed his power to use Miracle Eye, and zapped James to within an inch of his life. He turned his attention to Stark, but was caught in the face with a Shadow Ball from Geisha. He coughed, then teleported away, launching a Psybeam at Stark, who just barely avoided it, sending a volley of Psycho Cuts in Abraham's direction. The Alakazam teleported once again, this time thankfully into the path of a boulder from Rem's Ancientpower. With a cry, the Alakazam fell back, surely about to be crushed under the stone. He concentrated, then blasted the rock apart and leapt to his feet, oddly spry for an old man. He turned and glared at the group.

"This foolishness ends now!!" He raised his staff, launching a wide burst of Psychic energy in a ring around him, blasting the assembled parties off of their feet. Stark went sailing and struck a pillar, sinking down to the ground. The Alakazam wasted no time, and launched an Extrasensory at Stark. The pain was unbearable, unlike nothing he had ever experienced before. He cried out, but there was no respite, no mercy. Abraham laughed.

"All who enter here shall be judged!!"

"Well, then," said a voice behind him, before a massive blob of shadow blasted the old man off his feet, sending him skidding comically across the floor. His staff clattered against the floor, where it was picked up by Geisha. She smirked at Abraham.

"That includes you, yes?" Abraham snarled, reaching out as though to strike Geisha, before a bolt of white light blasted him against the wall. Argonne followed up the Flash Cannon with a Psychic of his own, pinning the Alakazam to the wall like an insect. Straining, Argonne targeted his third eye, closing it shut. Abraham's face was one of pure fear as Stark approached.

"W-wait! You know not what you do!! You could be as gods yourselves!! Champions of Lord Oculus! You could-"

"Not interested," said Stark, his eyes flashing pale as he launched one final Psycho Cut at the cult leader. Abraham's head slid off his shoulders with almost comical slowness. By the time it hit the ground, Stark was already running.

"Let's go!!" he shouted, looking back at the others- the cultists were getting closer, by the sounds of things, and Stark did not want to be here when they arrived.

.::Stark & Rem & Geisha & Will & Argonne::.

Argonne had just released Abraham's corpse from the wall when Gabriel called out for help. He grit his teeth, still reeling from the damage inflicted on him, and jogged over to the injured Mightyena. He took a deep breath, then picked up the Mightyena easily, slinging him over one shoulder.

"Come on!" he shouted, running toward the others, who were already at the end of the hall. The voices of the cultists were getting louder, closer. Rem and Will started to follow, but Rem hung back for a few seconds, glancing at the door into the shouts were coming from. Will stopped momentarily.

"What the hell are you--?" but his question was cut off as several glowing green boulders were conjured in front of the doorway, blocking it. Rem opened his eyes and nodded.

"That'll hold them for a while longer, but not by much. Let's go!" And with that, he flew off, leaving Will trailing behind. After a few moments, they all ended up at the door at the far end of the tomb. It seemed small, considering what lay behind it. Stark looked at the door, then back to Geisha, who was still carrying the staff. He turned to the rest of the group.

"Is everyone ready to finish this?" It didn't matter either way- the cultists had reached the door, now. There shouts turned confused for a moment as they tried to organize themselves against Rem's barrier. Sick as it was, the only safe haven was inside that room. Without really waiting for a response, he nodded to Geisha. She floated over to a small hole in the floor, just wide enough for the staff to fit inside. Without hesitation, she plunged it in.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, beneath the sounds of the cultists' shouts, came a small, melodic hum. Like a tuning fork. Eventually, the sound got louder and louder, and higher-pitched, until it was almost unbearable. As it reached its peak, the door itself seemed to vibrate, the eye carving starting to glow. With a strained creaking sound, the door slid aside, revealing the room within. Just as this happened, there was a loud thud as the cultists managed to force open the door. There was a cry of shock and despair at the sight of their fallen leader before they once again turned to anger. The crowd turned right toward Stark and the others, sprinting across the tomb at them.

"Inside!!" Stark shouted, leading the team into the room. Stark looked back to make sure everyone was inside, to see Geisha still by the staff. The cultists were close now- he could see the anger in their eyes.

"Come on!!" he shouted, amid the sounds of explosions from the cultists' attacks. After a brief moment, Geisha pulled the staff from its place, and sped toward the now-closing door, making it inside just as it shut behind her with a massive thud, oddly choking the sounds of the crowd outside off completely.

As he gave Geisha the time to catch her breath, Stark took the time to inspect their surroundings. It was oddly mundane, for what it supposedly contained. It was a small room, with what appeared to be beds lined up against the walls, oddly preserved, considering the decay of the rest of the temple. Argonne walked over to one of the beds, setting James down on it. Rem blinked a couple of times.

"It... looks like a hospital."

.::Stark & Rem & Geisha & Will & Argonne::.

Stark and Rem turned at Gabriel's commentary, then stopped, dumbstruck by what they saw. It looked like... a black hole. It was really the only way to describe it. A mass of darkness, with streaks of purplish color, collapsing ever inward upon itself. Stark, Rem, and Geisha moved toward it, wearing confused looks.

"This... this is the thing that was supressing my abilities earlier, but... it's unlike anything I'm familiar with." Stark shrugged his shoulders in discomfort. Even with his immunities, he could feel the sense of wrongness emanating from the object.

"Rem?" he said, hesitantly. "You think it's safe to scan?"

Rem moved forward slightly. "One way to find out," he said, closing his eyes. He reached out with his thoughts, scanning the object before him. It was... difficult. There was no real mind to scan within it. Simply an alien sort of presence, one that seemed to have no interest in them. Rather, it seemed to welcome Rem's mental touch, as though drawing it in. He felt other presences, as well, tied to the thing, as though feeding it. He followed the pathways left by the other presences, and had his suspicions confirmed- they were the other cult members, feeding this thing with their thoughts.

He delved deeper, though it threatened to consume him as well. He looked for any evidence of its origins, its motivations. He saw only one thing before being forced to retreat- a final moment of a man, as he lay dying in the very bed the orb sat over.

Rem withdrew, panting heavily. "This is it... this is... what did this... to the cultists... It sustains itself... by feeding on their thoughts." He took a deep breath to recover, then continued. "It maintains a contact with all of those Psychics out there, feeding on the majority of their brainwaves in order to sustain itself. But it doesn't seem to have any other motivations than to keep itself in existence. From what I saw, it's.. just a remnant. A shadow of a man that died here, without any of his motivations, his thoughts, his hopes." He shook his head.

"It's just... there."

Stark looked at the sphere, puzzled. "So what do we do with it now?"

.::Stark & Rem & Geisha & Will & Argonne::.

Stark was about to protest to Gabriel's comment when the Weavile simply acted upon it, thrusting his claw into the sphere. He watched as the sphere appeared to leak its being everywhere, and then felt, rather than heard, its dying scream as it erupted. And erupt it did- the resulting force explosion knocked the entire group off of their feet, blasting them to the far end of the room. Stark struck the wall behind him, and was consumed by darkness.

When Stark came to, he was kneeling in broken glass, wincing as he shifted in it. He groaned as he looked around, taking a cursory examination of his teammates, deciding, for the time being, that they were all alright. Stark winced as he stood completely, the glass cutting into his feet and his shoulder blades. He heard Gabriel speak, and scoffed.

"Really? Punching the psychic mass wouldn't have repurcussions...?" He groaned again. Then, to his surprise, he heard a tapping in the room. He waited for a moment, then heard it again. He turned toward the sound, and was surprised to hear it coming from the door. He cocked his head, then heard it again, more insistent this time. He walked over to Geisha, and picked up the staff in his teeth. He looked about, and saw a similar hole in the ground to the one on the outside in front of the door. With some difficulty, he placed it in.

This time, surprisingly, there was no preamble, no theatrics- the door simply opened. On the other side was a somewhat groggy-looking Kirlia. The Kirlia jumped back, then started trying to speak.

"A-are... are you... okay?"

Stark was puzzled, then regained his composure. "Er... are... are you?"

The Kirlia nodded, then looked back at the other Pokemon in the main hall. Most of them were unconscious, but some were stirring, or drowsily exploring their surroundings. She looked back at Stark.

"That thing..." she said, pointing back into the room behind Stark. "It's gone... right?" Stark thought for a moment, then smiled reassuringly.

"Yes... yes, it's gone. We took care of it."

The Kirlia heaved a sigh of relief as Stark turned back to where Gabriel lay.

"Hey, Gabriel, I think your plan worked- all of these people out here seem to be okay."

.::Stark & Rem & Geisha & Will & Argonne::.

Stark spared a nod toward James, who seemed in much better spirits than the rest of them, as he disappeared, back to the Guilds, obviously. Stark stretched, wincing in obvious discomfort, as Gabriel did the same- with the same results, by the look of his expression. Stark turned to Gabriel as he spoke up and nodded.

"Right," he said, turning to the congregation, which had more or less come to. He cleared his throat, then spoke in a loud voice, "Alright, people! I understand most of you are disoriented after being released from the control of the presence that was down here. But I need your attention, please! If all of you will direct your attention up here!" When they did so, Stark nodded to Argonne, who stepped forward, his Aura blazing to life.

"We will lead you out of here- if you could please all follow us, particularly Mr. Argonne here, we should accomplish this with as little trouble as possible." He nodded to the rest of the team, then moved through the crowd, the group following little by little as they passed, as they made their way toward freedom.

==~==

.::Outside the Mystic Portal...

Stark heaved a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the barrier and into the clear air. He winced a bit at the brightness of the sun, but it was a good pain- it meant they were finally out. He blinked a few times, the turned back to the rest of the team, as they emerged from the Portal, just ahead of the former cultists. There was a collective cheer that grew louder and louder as more and more victims made it out of the barrier and into the sunlight. Stark even saw a few of them kneel down and kiss the ground in thanks, or burst into tears.

Stark smiled, then turned to Gabriel. He placed a paw on the Weavile's shoulder in a friendly way.

"You did good today. Thanks for all of your help." He grinned as he pulled the Explorer's Badge out of his bag, and gathered the rest of the team around him.

"Now let's get the ******** out of here," he said, pressing the button and whisking them all away in a burst of light.

.::End Mission!