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It had been a few days since Kyran tempted fate by venturing further into the surrounding forest of the darkrai twins' dwelling, and he wasn't so keen on trying again anytime soon. Too many times had situations escalated to a dangerous level, as all conscious interaction fell into such categorization. His main priority should be in securing the area from potential threat, to fortify it by learning its inner trappings, in order to keep his and Kiara's existences unknown. Having been hunted in the past was not a history he wanted to have repeating, and when close encounter with a darkrai always inevitably led to recurrence of persistent nightmares... well, most did not look upon such innate power too fondly, even if they were automatic and uncontrolled abilities. The fact remained that, the further he pushed his luck with the boundaries, the more he ran into potential threat. Kyran at least limited the farther ventures to the darkest of nights, but the fact still remained... they were in danger, no matter where they chose to stay. It was only ever a question of when they would be discovered, not if; it always had been.


Regardless, even in the daylight hours, it seemed relatively safe to scour the area immediately outside the cave entrance. Few pokémon ever ventured in this far, the foliage thick and matted to obscure the home hidden beneath. He was pretty sure the destruction that Kiara had applied to the nearby area helped to scare any of the smaller bug-types away as well, but the debris was showing its age, exposed to the elements for so long.


Speaking of the elements, even living in such seclusion, they were not saved from the mood swings the weather seemed to be experiencing over the past week. While the extremes failed to reach the foot of the mountains on their side, they didn't need to to be prominently obvious. It wasn't normal... but it wasn't damaging the twins' security, at least. The earthquake that tore through his thoughts just as easily as it had the surrounding area, however, was a different story. The violent rocking knocked the boy off his balance; all he could do was brace himself on the ground, too disoriented and confused to do much else. It was only after it stopped did he question what could have caused such a fierce tremor, stumbling back to his feet with most of his weight placed on his staff.


Speaking of which, was his sister okay in there? He made haste back to the entrance, catching her voice as it echoed over the walls, but missed the subject. "Kiara?" he peered in, surprised to see her up. And wet... oh crap, that tub hadn't flipped over on her, had it?



It had been quite the undertaking, but Beta had convinced herself that the weather anomalies afflicting the land could not be solved by one such as herself. Patterns were disrupted to an irreparable level, but the strict source was unknown. This was not due to some haphazardly-applied phrase of global warming or whatever else the humans tended to lay blame on, this was most certainly pokémon-inflicted. The stories were everywhere, part of lore and history both, so there was no doubt in Beta's mind that the cause was their doing. For what purpose, she didn't know, but decisions of such caliber were not oft impulsive, especially with hundreds, thousands, of years' knowledge under one's belt.


The floods had been most problematic, for although the lighthouse was still structurally sound, it still had potential to be worn away by damaging conditions. Ebb and flow, this was not... and more than once did she find herself erecting a Barrier against the crashing of waves against her home. It was an irritant, but it would pass in time, she hoped. Drag it on too much longer, and she may reconsider departure, but it seemed too far out of the way to bother with at this point in time.


Electrified green eyes jumped to her computer screen as the readings soared. She had been mainly preoccupied with the meteorological fluctuations, but... these came beneath the earth's crust. It didn't seem to be far enough down for a true earthquake, but it touched on the edges. Could this have been caused by the feuding legendaries as well? Could the problems be increasing with time? She scrolled through the lines, expression creasing into a slow frown, -No... no this is not good...- The rocking may not have been a tectonic shift, but it was causing the damage of one. The source was closer than the origin of the storms seemed to be, and was tapping at the precipice of something more dire.


She couldn't stand idly by any longer. Swiftly, she grabbed the lab coat -- her protection against the elements -- and leaped from the highest window of the lighthouse, enveloped in a bubble of psychic energy. Her attentions were focused for the mountain at the back of the forest, an area she had managed to avoid thus far. -If the destruction does not cease, we are going to have more than just an earthquake problem...- she growled to herself, determined to reach the site in time. Desperate times called for desperate measures.




“Don’t you know how to knock?!” Kiara yelled as her twin walked into the cave. “I could have been getting dressed; or in the bath!” It had been a while since she had yelled at Kyran. It felt nice, much nicer then moping around her cave. Ineffectually attempting to wipe some of the water off her clothing, she added, “Eh, I’ll yell at you more about that later. There are more important things right now.” Adjusting herself, she yelled, “You felt that right? Of course; yo aren’t that much of an idiot. There is some powerful ground type near our home and, if we don’t do anything about it, this place, our home, could end up as a pile of rubble, So get ready 5 minutes ago; we are leaving now!”

Without giving him a chance to reply, she turned and started to walk into the network of tunnels. She didn’t turn around to make sure he was following; she knew he would be. Suddenly she found herself wishing that something else had been left with her clothing, a weapon. That might have proved more effective than the claws hidden under her sleeves.



It hadn’t been long since the quakes began and, as time passed, they only increased in strength. Calliope was certainly aware of natural earthquakes and these certainly weren’t them. A pokemon was causing this and it obviously didn’t care how much damage it would cause. Already chunks were falling from the ceiling of her home, if she didn’t act soon, the whole thing would likely come down on her and her kin.

“Zap,” Calli began, “this time is different. I don’t want you following me. Promise me you won’t follow.”

<>

“Whatever is shaking the earth, threatening to destroy our home, it might be too powerful for me.”

<> The little Joltik countered.

“No, this time I might not be coming back; this time…no one might come back. And if something happens, I need you here to lead everyone to a new home, somewhere safer. Because…well…if I’mnot able to stop whoever is causing these quakes, our home will be gone; for good. So promise me Zap!”

<> Zap began, <>

“I’ll do my best Zap.” At that, she nodded to the Joltik and turned to walk out of the home she had made with so many of her kind. They needed her to succeed; they were counting on her.

*****

Sitting up, Mana tugged at her wet clothes with a look of obvious annoyance. “It’s been raining so much,” she mumbled to herself. Honestly, she liked the rain; she liked being rained on even, but now that she wore clothes, she did not like the feeling of them clinging to her while wet. Suddenly, though, she transformed into a normal Mew. <> A wide grin across her face, she ran though the water. Normally she would just float, but rain was a special occasion. Suddenly, as she ran, the ground shook beneath her, causing her to trip, though she did catch herself in midair.

While the rain was unnatural, it didn’t concern her that much. While the area she lived in was getting more rain than normal, it had managed to avoid the worst of the weather problems. She had heard of areas that were getting worst weather, likely caused by someone angering the three forces of nature, they could be a rowdy bunch after all, but she was more concerned with the quakes. She had felt similar ones before an eruption in the past, not something that she wanted to relive. She was certain if they continued, as they seemed to be, there would be another eruption, possibly worst. She could also tell that they were not natural; they just had a Pokémon feel to them.

Not wanting to risk her home or the homes of others that lived nearby, Mana once again transformed, this time into a swanna, and flew towards the mountains.

***

It had felt like she had slept for ages, after her escape from the lab. But now, after an extended period of hibernation, she was full of energy; energy she used for destruction. While she had destroyed a large portion of the lab in her escape, she was sure some of it still stood. She also recalled, in half memories that almost seemed like dreams, that there was another underground lab nearby. She had no idea where it was though. Luckily, for her vengeance, not for anyone that lived in the region, she was beyond caring about collateral damage; it actually never even crossed her mind. All she wanted was revenge. That was all she could feel.

Her face emotionless, but her eyes burning with rage, Etna lifted a foot and slammed it back into the ground, causing yet another earthquake. All around her, small pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Considering the debilitating depression that Kiara had been experiencing for the better part of a month, Kyran had not been expecting the snap retort to his concern. Her venomous words came as a double-edged blade: while it was encouraging to hear some of her old spark come back after so long lost, the damage the words were meant to cause wasn't missing. Sticks and stones... whoever had come up with that obnoxious expression hadn't had the abuse come from the only one they cared for. "S-Sorry," he hesitated quietly, despite the request to knock lacking foundation at a cave entrance. Despite it all, he almost smiled to see her like that.

Once her heated reprehension subsided, Kyran moved to step past the threshold as the lesser-preferred options were proven false: she wasn't bathing, and she was certainly still fully-clothed. He attempted to focus on his steps, trying to rely less on his staff, to blunt the sharp condescension and let it roll off. Glancing around the inner walls, he could see that most of the damage hadn't broken the surface; with as violent a shake as it had been, though, that luck wasn't going to last if the tremoring continued. Retraining his attention back to his sister, he nodded, "I'm ready." Having a schedule to keep wasn't usually much of a problem.

As they traversed down the winding trails beneath the mountain, the boy couldn't help but be glad that the source of the problem seemed to be buried within the depths of the cavern systems, for he didn't think he'd be able to keep up with Kiara's pace any other way. The staff was one thing, but it took time to maneuver; when the rocky walls flanked the other side, it cut the time down to compensate for half the weight normally reseerved for the held support. The optimism wavered with the thought of a cave-in, and his senses on guard for the smallest of alerts in the darkness. He didn't dare speak, in case whatever was causing this whole fiasco was closer than expected, but as he accidentally knocked a pebble on the ground with a misplacement of his staff, he realized it wouldn't matter either way at this rate.

* * *

Normally, traveling so far a distance from the place she was supposed to protect would have been nerve-wracking for the child of science experimentation. She was to be bolted to the place with the trappings of ingrained loyalty, a twisting prerogative to uphold the sanctity of the lair the scientists -- those who made her life possible -- toiled over and held dear. At least, they had many a year before, but without such path to follow, what future did one of her discipline, her history, really have?

Her hands clutched tighter at the small console, fished out of the lab coat pocket so as not to accidentally drop it to the surface below. Again. The child's body she now occupied floated yards above the tallest of the forest's trees, but the young girl barely batted an eye to what was literally beneath her, concentration narrowed to her goal line. She didn't even know she was capable of moving so fast while airborne, for even while scoping out the perimeter of the lighthouse where she dwelled, the nervousness of being discovered kept a strong handle on her internal emergency brakes, her foot loosening it's pressure on the acceleration. However, if the readings were correct, then it wasn't just her that was going to be in peril...

The mountain was losing its distance from the green-marked mewtwo-child, and with it came the frantic scan as to where the disturbances were taking place. It didn't take more than a couple of seconds to determine that it wasn't on the surface... and that to get a good reading of where she needed to go, she would have to deploy the abilities she hated to admit she was capable of.

This was no time to be self-conscious. Hovering in place, Beta redirected attentions inward to project out. This was certainly not a natural occurrence, and at the rate it was headed, was running head-first into a battle with Mother Nature's anger. Maybe that's what this angry pokémon wanted, in the end... for Beta was certainly tasting more than enough hatred emanating from the far-off sensory pulses of Etna's enraged mind. -It is unraveling...- she paused, distressed, before moving onward. She'd have to find some way to get down there...

_______________________________________________________________________________

Kiara replied neither to Kyran’s apology not to his confirmation that he was ready. Neither really mattered to her right now; she was looking for vengeance. She was certain she would find it at the end of the tunnel. Breathing in deeply, Kiara released ominous wind around her, letting it flow over her and around her and down the tunnel. The fear in the wind felt nice to her. In a way, it reminded her of the fear she had been feeling nightly, in the nightmares she had been having since the transformation, only from the other side. It felt nice to be on the other side again; the one causing fear, not feeling it.

“This is definitely the right way,” Kiara stated. It was said out loud, but it wasn’t really directed at Kyran. “Though, I think it has stopped for a moment..” Closing her eyes, she did her best to picture the cave network in her head. “Yeah, definitely the right direction.” This time it was more of a mumble. Descending with the slope of the tunnel, they soon came upon a large round chamber. It seemed to be the hub of a large network tunnels. On the far side of it, lay a large wall. “Just past that wall, I’d say…”

***

The ground shaking beneath her, Calli steadied herself using her spear. The closer she got to the source, the more the earth seemed to shake underneath her feet. She actually found herself worried. If something could do this to the very ground itself, what could it do to her? Still, there were many Joltiks waiting for her, back at her home; she had to make sure they were safe, that whatever this was wouldn’t get to them. And, hopefully, she would make it back to them. Regardless of that, though, she had to stop this threat.

As she continued along the tunnel, she released some webbing. Carefully, she braided it into a rope, wrapping one end around her wrist and securing the other end to her spear. If this was a ground type, she might not want to get close. This way she could still use her spear, without putting herself too much at risk.

Her weapon now modified, her pace quickened. For the moment, the quakes seemed to stop coming. Either whatever was causing them was taking a break, or it was merely up to something else. She was certain that they would continue, though. Rounding a corner, she noticed that the passage she was in was leading towards a large chamber. She could see another tunnel on the opposite side, and a large wall in between.

***

Eyes glowing with rage, Etna unleashed a blast of flame, a bizarre mixture of reds, oranges, and black. It made molten the wall before her. A smirk across her face, charged toward it, a shadowy aura enveloping her. The moment she made contact was painful, the heat from the molten upper later combined with the force of the solid layer beneath, but that did not stop her. Oblivious to her own pain, she smashed through the wall into a large, adjacent cavern.

***

As she had taken the form of a swanna, as opposed to a harrier jet, it had taken Mana a bit of time to make it to the mountain. Luckily, she had traveled there many times in the past and, while she did not know the network of tunnels that ran under the mountain, she certainly knew of many entrances. Landing at one such entrance, she quickly transformed into a Zubat and flew into the cave, content that she would fit right in.

She knew that she still had a ways to go, but she was definitely making progress.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Even though Kyran didn't know what to expect by the time the two of them reached their ultimate destination, he knew very well that whatever they encountered couldn't be good. Secluded from much of the world throughout their time on this plane left its marks visible, but it was the price to pay for safety. At least, that was the general idea; these pokémon-created earthquakes would beg to differ, it seemed. Despite the fact that these mountains had survived the test of time, even with the drilling of tunnels, woven through the inside, it was only a matter of time before things started collapsing under the trauma. The mountain itself may be fine, but those who depended on its inner workings...

His steps slowed briefly as he caught sight of the Ominous Wind that Kiara was producing, for he did not wish to be caught up in that disturbance. Instead, he walked a little to the side, so his pace could continue at a regular pace to her own. It was a move that Kyran had once been able to do, but had recently overridden in favor of something he'd likely use more often. There wasn't any telling whether it would come in handy in this particular case, however, and he found himself hoping he hadn't jeopardized the situation by replacing it too soon.

Kyran glanced to Kiara as she spoke, but refrained from vocalizing his agreement -- he never had any doubt that Kiara knew where she was going. Even leading the two of them astray would probably have been seen as all part of his sister's plan, towards some end or another. His attention stuck close to their surroundings, the stability, more so when Kiara called attention to the shaking earth, pausing in its vibrations for the moment. Peculiar... though the likelihood of them staying that way probably wouldn't have played much of a part in halting their own advancement towards the source: Kiara was angry, and there was nothing that was going to stand in her way of finding out what had her so flustered.

As they reached the deeper tunnels, a convergence toward a larger, central area became more evident. Kyran's pace tapered off as he reached where the path widened, bracing himself with his more humanoid hand at the wall a he peered past. This felt wrong... not the area itself, but he thought he could feel the rumbling increasing again, closer this time. He was about to mention as much when the walls before them seemed to bow to the sound of something massive hitting another more solid. It wouldn't be solid for long... but Kyran's sight snapped down to the violent shaking, and it was all he could do to keep himself upright. It wasn't until he was sure that the tunnel the twins currently occupied wasn't going to collapse over the top of them did he turn back to the source of this madness. He never thought he'd see a pokémon so large... and it would be but a matter of moments before he also realized she was on a murderous rampage.

* * *

Beta circled about the surface of the mountain. She could feel that the origin of the shaking of the vicinity was directly below her, but she couldn't locate a way to enter into the mountain's depths. Considering the girl was not at the point where mountain fell into forest, many of the caves were out of her reach. Things were getting more serious... the problem was surfacing, quite literally. While such knowledge lended it to the fact that that would mean the rocking of the earth would touch less on the instability of the magma veins, the damage had already been done. This situation needed to be contained, and it needed to be contained now.

The psychic energy she was feeding off of was directed downward, toward the underground networks. Perhaps she could locate a durant colony in there that could guide her on where to go from here, the shortest cut through to the problem area. She managed to lock onto a mental map within a moment of beginning, something that had traversed the long halls many times over... and that was being mindful of staying clear of the maddened pokémon below.

Without a second thought on the matter, she reinforced her barrier and dove through the closest entrance into the cave tunnel systems, maneuvering the stony corridors as though it were the back of her hand. It took her little effort to find the place, still hovering above the ground, immune to the rumblings beneath feet but not to the overhangs above... or the enraged groudon before her. She only paused briefly, in order to gain her bearings, quickly calculating speeds and distances. -This disruption has gone on long enough, you must stop!- she called over the muddied static of a broken mind. Beta didn't think it was any use, but there was no harm in trying. She focused her energies on Future Sight as a backup plan, but that only managed to prove her suspicions correct. Things were about to get messy.

______________________________________________________________________________________

At the sound of a crash, Callie ran to the large chamber. At various points stood herself, a dark black and red pokemon, that she couldn’t identify, the most likely source of the rumbling and three pokemon that had been transformed into humans, much as she had. The two that stood together….one of them smelled familiar….she seemed to recognize it from before her transformation. The third, though, it was completely unfamiliar and seemed to float in the air, as useful defense against a pokemon that caused earthquakes.

Standing there, she didn’t have to be a psychic type to sense the rage emanating from Etna. Thinking it prudent to try and slow the beast down, she launched an electroweb at it. Unfortunately, since Etna was a ground type, the move was completely ineffective. Etna didn’t even notice it.

Not willing to wait to give the creature a chance for a first move, Kiara attempted to use Hypnosis on the Groudon; other pokemon were much easier to deal with when they were asleep.

The wave hit Etna, dead on, and created a sinking feeling in her mind, that Kiara was able to sense, bringing a smirk to her face. It soon vanished, though, as Etna’s rage pushed through the hypnosis and the only effect it had on her was making her angry.

With an otherworldly roar, Etna launched Shadow Fire at the shiny darkrai. It flew straight at Kiara, enveloping her in its deadly heat. With an intense scream she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

********

Hurrying towards where she sensed the source, Mana suddenly heard a loud scream. She knew it belonged to a victim of whatever was causing this. In a panic, she picked up speed.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Kyran still hadn't determined what it was this large behemoth was after, tearing up the place as she was, but it was clearly apparent that she was angry about something. Such a volatile creature, blinded by emotion, it would have been best to steer clear and observe how best to handle a situation of such magnitude; that's how Kyran would have preferred to go about matters, at least. The consequences of this turn of events was not only aimed or accrued by himself, however, a point made very clear as Kiara was taken down -- everything past that point, Kyran reacted on instinct. He couldn't undo the damage that was already caused, but at least he could prevent some from stacking on top of it. With a glare, he hurled a Disable Etna's way, moving to stand in front of Kiara in case things backfired. It would be best if he just took Kiara and ran for it... but then that would leave this whole place vulnerable to catastrophe. He'd never hear the end of it if he let that happen.


Beta jolted as Etna's attack knocked its intended target unconscious. She had never heard of a move like that, let alone witness its destructive capabilities first-hand. With a slight wavering nervousness, she turned to spot Calliope across the cavern; there were more people here than she thought there'd be. She offered a single nod, though doubted she had caught the biggly's attention long enough for her to notice, and levitated a little higher. Beta may have foreseen a single move in the future, but until then, she was just as susceptible as anyone else here. One-hit moves were not to be taken lightly... so in preparation, she strengthened her Barrier one last level, hoping that the rest of the others in the area would be okay through the onslaught.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Kiara began to dream as she lay unconscious on the hard cavernous floor…..

Eyes still beaming with rage, Etna unleashed Shadow Sky. Unnatural, inky darkness emanated outward from her, filling the cavernous room. It had no effect on her, but its jet black cloud darkened the already dark cave and drained the life of those within it.

Inside and out Calli burned, as the blackness engulfed her. The large pokemon in front of her was now a red blur in the darkness; she could still make her out, but it was through like a fog. Fighting through the pain, Calli, now aware that her electric attacks would be useless, launched her spear-made-harpoon at Etna, and unleashed a leach life with the other. As the harpoon connected on Etna’s back, she cried out. The pain in Calli lessened slightly as the leach life connected, restoring a small measure of the damage that the dark sky had caused her.

****

Worried that she would get there too late, Mana hurried through the tunnels. “I..I’m, almost there!”

****

Kiara looked around frantically. She appeared to be manacled in some unfamiliar cell; there was barely any room for her to move, and her hands had bizarre, claw shaped harnesses on them. The room was dark, too dark for her to even see in, despite being a dark type. The only thing she could sense ahead of her was a small glint off what looked to be a metal bar. She felt trapped and alone. “Where am I?” she pleaded desperately,

______________________________________________________________________________________

Kyran stood his ground, blocking his unconscious twin from immediate view from the towering pokémon. As non-damaging as his own attack was, the shadow groudon's temperament made her more than a little unpredictable, as blinded by rage as she was. It felt familiar, though he was drawing from similarities and not a repeat occurrence. With everything that could go wrong all seeming to converge into a single moment, Kyran almost wished he had the luxury of panicking, of receding back into the tunnels from whence they arrived and ignore the destruction. The thought was impatiently tossed aside, even before Etna countered the defensive maneuvers coming from all sides of her. Sight cutting through the blackest of night had never been an issue for him, and neither was this false darkness, blue eye flashing in the haze as a sensation like needles cut through his attention, sharply refocusing his efforts. He didn't want any further harm to befall Kiara, so out of reflexive action, he rushed Etna with a Feint Attack, as warning to cut it out. Sure, it was obvious the message probably wouldn't get through, but there was only one person he'd allow to push him around without consequence.


The strength of the Barrier left Beta's vision like looking through frosted glass, but the filter was more superficial than it was impairment. Sight had not been really dampened until Etna's attack on the territory, and Beta found herself wincing and reeling back a bit at the pain. It felt like her energy were being forcibly torn off of her, seeping out the pores in her skin and dissipating out of her own reach. Future Sight was not yet ready, this was not the move she had seen coming... Through the sharp pangs, her nerves pulsing and clawing, she tossed a glittering barrage of Swift into the darkness before her, biding her time before she'd be able to cause some real damage. She caught sight of the others, attempting their own strikes on the groudon, and hoped they'd be able to do something more than just enrage the legendary further. They had to put a stop to this!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Her face in a grimace, at the pain of the shadow sky, Calli made her next move. The possibility of fleeing didn’t even occur to her, even though she was greatly outmatched. Too much was riding on this battle. She was thankful that she was not alone, even if she did not know her current comrades. Even if they would normally be at odds, the enemy of her enemy was her friend, right? Raising her left hand at the great beast, she launched a single beam.

Etna let out an earthshattering roar as she was first pummeled with a Feint attack, which was then followed up with a Future Sight, Swift, and a Signal Beam. Reaching her right hand behind her, she gripped the webbing that was attached to the spear in her back on one end and to one of her opponents on her other. With a great heave, she whipped the Biggly Joltik girl into Beta. Eying the Darkrai in front of her, she lowered her left shoulder and charged into him with a Shadow Break.

Just then, Mana flew in from a side entrance, still in the form of a Zubat. Without hesitation, she launched a confuse ray at Etna.

******

As Kiara sat alone in her cell, the shadows that surrounded her seemed to congeal into long tendrils. She shrieked as one reached for her leg.

________________________________________________________________________________________

It was one thing to actually move in order to hit an opponent with a Feint Attack accurately, but it was quite another to get out of there as fast as he had landed the hit. Persistence drove him toward his mark, but unsteadiness caught hold of Kyran as soon as the move had been delivered. He had been hoping the attacks from the others in the area would distract their shared opponent enough for him to survey what had been done, but by the time his balance was steadied, inching himself to the side slightly, he was met with the stony shoulder of the pained groudon. It had only pinned him to the wall for a second, but the force behind the move was enough to traumatize his lungs into seizing, temporarily incapacitating his ability to intake any oxygen. Like an injured, cornered dog, he struck at her with another Disable before she could retreat from him, but his attention was getting fuzzy. Without the necessary foundations, he collapsed to the ground, holding himself upright by the shaky support of his arms.

Etna's roar was enough to startle Beta; she knew that all the attacks meeting the same goal would draw attention to the pain they would be inflicting, but so vocally, no. She flinched as a piece of the walls above her crumbled and hit the Barrier that encapsulated her form, renewing the attention she had to her own health meters from the prior attack and knowing that they did not have much time left. It was enough of a distraction to detract her mind just long enough for Calli's flight to go unnoticed -- that is, until she landed on the mewtwo. She gave a surprised squeak as she was knocked from the sky by the reverse-bugswatter, disoriented but saved from the brunt of the damage by her erected guard. With a start, she grabbed for Calli's arms despite the girl having a good foot's height on her in order to catch and slow the joltik's descent. As she latched on, her attention divided, spotting as Mana emerged from another tunnel. That was... one brave little zubat.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Looking down at her hands, Etna was utterly confused, in addition to the actual confusion effect; she could no longer use neither Earthquake nor Shadow Break. Lost as her mind was, in the deepest recesses of her head, this did not worry her, as it would worry a more rational pokemon; this only served to infuriate her even more. Eyeing the newcomer, Mana, she lobbed a ball of Shadow Fire at her and unleashed a roar.

Calli was seeing stars, “What happened?” she mumbled, barely coherent. Suddenly shaking it off, she turned to Beta and stated, as she rubbed her shoulder, “Sorry about that.” Barely getting to her feet, she launched a Signal Beam at Etna, as the shadow groudon released a ball of Shadow Fire, but it didn’t seem to have a noticeable effect.

The Shadow Fire hit Mana head on, she shrieked out in pain, as the burning sensation spread over her. This isn’t going to work….I have to fight fire with fire… Closing her eyes, she transformed into Etna. The first thing she noticed was the dark air feeling the cavern no longer seemed to burn her. The second thing she noticed was the rage. That hit her harder than the attack had. She roared out, barely able to keep her emotions in check; whatever had caused the groudon to feel this way, was not natural. As if to confirm her assumption, flashed of memories, of being in a lab pulsed through her mind. No longer able to keep control, she charged Etna with a Shadow Break, slamming her into the back wall. Bits of ceiling fell all around them.

***

Kiara cried in fear, as the tendril of shadows grew and enveloped her lower half. She could no longer see her legs but, what really frightened her was, she could no longer even feel them; it was like she was being erased from existence and, trapped as she was, she could do nothing to prevent it.

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His lungs still tensed and reluctant to work, Kyran managed to force a harsh breath, attempting to get his bearings. The impact of Shadow Break had made the entire upper portion of his body ache to the point that it had grown numb from the shock, but at least it made it easier to ignore the pain, even if he couldn't tell how much damage had truly been done. These human bodies, they seemed so frail to the darkrai structuring he was still so used to... but this was no time to reminisce. He hesitated only briefly, confusion drawn across his face at the appearance of not one but two shadow groudon. This was too much to handle... the caves could barely stand against one! He had to get Kiara out of here; he could deal with the repercussions later. Focusing on his sister's safety, he ignored as the searing attempted to get him to sit back down and stop moving. Later, later! He only just managed to reach where his sister was lying uncoscious before the two groudon rammed into the back wall. How much longer was this place going to be able to hold up the mountain, at this rate?


Beta lowered Calliope back to the ground, but still hovered in place on her own. While she considered that it may have been of aid to keep the joltik girl suspended in air, to avoid much of the collateral and aimed damage, she knew it would have hampered the ability to attack. Not only that, but Beta wasn't the strongest and her arms had already been getting sore. She was about to make sure Calli was okay, but it was then that she noticed that the zubat had disappeared, a groudon occupying its previous space. It may have been practical to think she was dealing with a ditto, but it was only then that she realized she could feel the psychic waves emanating off the false groudon. Beta twitched her tail, stiffening at the sudden surge of inexplicable despisal. She pushed the feeling out of her mind as much as possible, readying another round of Future Sight; she'd get her answers later.

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Rage still coursing through her body, Mana unleashed a Shadow Fire at Etna. Etna shrieked out in pain as it made contact, one of the few moves to cause noticeable damage. Finally gaining control of herself, after the flame was released, Mana stumbled backwards and collapsed, transforming back into a girl at Beta’s feet. “So much anger…..” she mumbled as her eyes shut, exhausted.

Not taking long to recover, Etna roared out, causing the very walls to tremble. The disable effect had finally worn off on her move Earthquake and she was looking to end it in one final round. With a stomp, the ground began to shake…..and to crack. Whatever had been holding up this chamber has been weakened by the violence of the few rounds of combat added together with all of the previous quakes. As the ground opened up into a chasm, Etna fell.

Her spear still lodged in Etna, Calli was violently ripped into the hole. Still in a daze, the sudden yanking on her arm did little to help. She had no idea how far she had fallen before snapping back to coherence. Not sure if it would be enough, she launched as much electrowebbing as she could at the rocky surfaces around her. With a snap, the web halted her fall and dislodged her spear from Etna. It is going to be a long climb back up… Sore and with a numb arm, she began her ascent.

****

Trapped in her dream, Kiara made no sounds, the black shadows had almost completely enveloped her; just the top of her head remained uncovered. Suddenly, though, the blackness was tore away and the darkrai just stared into the distance.

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The majority of Kyran's attention was averted from the battle raging on in the central area of the cave tunnels, only mindful of how near the two battling groudons were getting to his and his sister's current stead. What focus wasn't used for blocking out pain was instead retrained to try to figure out how to get the both of them out of there. His own energy was nearly drained, and the lingering effects of Shadow Sky weren't helping. He moved to prop Kiara against the wall of the tunnel, considering that it may offer better support for him to pick her up and carry her back -- a foolish idea, perhaps, but the only one he had at his disposal. His attention was snapped back to the battle in the central area not from Etna's roar, but from the subsequent rattling and deterioration beneath her feet. Hissing a curse under his breath, he roughly grabbed hold of Kiara and pulled her further up, in case they needed to make a quick retreat. Survival was the most important part here, and he didn't know just how much the place was going to crumble into pieces.


In an attempt to gauge a good time to help out in the fight, Beta kept concentration on the movements of those around her, readying herself to sling another Swift Etna's way. She never got the chance to before everything seemed to cave around her, from the surrounding infrastructure to the combatants themselves. The stars about her hand fizzled as Mana collapsed at her feet, and she jolted when Calli was torn from where she stood to follow Etna's descent into a crevice who-knows-how-deep. Quickly, she temporarily abandoned the unconscious mew-girl to float to the edge of the gaping hole, trying to determine if she could descend down into the crater and fish Calliope out. There was no time to deliberate on it further, however, as the floor where she was hovering gave way, forcing her to compensate for the lack of stability using her own powers. She glanced back; the floor was terribly unstable, and she knew that she'd never make it back out of the hole before Mana had fallen down as well. At least Calliope had been conscious... With a wince, she tried to push her thoughts onto the joltik beneath the surface, hoping she was still alive, -Beta is sorry...- Turning tail, she snatched up Mana's slight form and tore out of the mountain.