Sirius &
DamonThe team found a Pokemon pacing outside the mine’s entrance.
“Is that… our client?” Damon asked Sirius, peering curiously at the distant figure. The Pokemon was round, blue and resembled some sort of shield or pothole cover. It bore a leaf pattern in its flat back, had round knobs around its frame and had a bulbous blue nose. Its yellowish cat-like eyes sent shivers down the cub's spine.
“Perhaps so, I’m not sure… I don’t know what a Bronzor is or what it looks like, Kingcrest.” Sirius replied uncertainly. But the creature spotted them and a look of relief flooded over its face. The Bronzor appeared to be half-exhausted, but quickly hovered over to them.
“Excuse me,” The strange Pokemon said; apparently with no mouth,
“Are you this Team sent by the guilds to guide me into the cavern?”Sirius nodded,
“If you are the Bronzor, then yes; I’m Sirius Vasillis and this is my partner Damon Kingcrest. Glad to be of service.” He said,
“Might I ask your business in the Hollow Caverns today?” The message left on the board was extemely puzzling and mysterious; Sirius's curiousity had gotten the better of him, although it wasn't very much his business or place to ask.
The Bronzor’s yellow eyes narrowed to slits,
“I feel… a presence. Something in the cavern, its tugging at me.” It said cryptically, looking up to the sky.
“I want to know what it is that has been bothering me since a few weeks ago and I’m guessing that it’s in the Cavern, since the feelings seem strongest when I'm nearby the entrance.” It shook its head,
“Whatever ‘it’ is. Anyways, it’s far too dangerous for a body to venture alone in unfamiliar territory and I’m glad to have you strange fellows guide me through.” Damon nearly scoffed aloud;
they were the strange ones? And this was coming from a
pothole covering! Damon smirked at the least and said,
“Alright, Mr.Bronzor, are you ready to go?” Which came up another disturbing subject: what was this 'Bronzor's' gender?
“Whenever you are,” came its reply and all three wandered into the cave’s gaping mouth.
XXXHollow CavernsXXXThe Hollow Caverns were, well, hollow. It was eerily quiet with only the sound of dripping water against slick walls and there were no Pokémon in sight. A lamp was unnecessary, seeing how Sirius’s mane lit up the place nicely. The tunnels wound aimlessly, curving this way and that, and the occasional wooden support beam or mine cart track showed up briefly, though thoroughly blended in with the cave. Their client insisted it lead the way, tuning in to the strange vibes to decide where they should turn.
Damon stared quite nervously at the walls and the ends of tunnels as their light source played with the shadows, dipping and sliding gracefully in show. There was an uneasiness in him, wondering which flickering piece of darkness was a lurking Pokémon waiting for proper opportunity to attack and so he decided to calm his nerves with ‘small talk’, quite unusual for him.
XXX“So… you’ve never been to this place, and yet you choose to venture into unfamiliar territory based on a ‘feeling’?” Damon asked skeptically. The Bronzor shrugged to its best ability and said,
“This gnawing feeling that’s been at pulling me has had me on edge since it started. I couldn’t sleep or seem to focus on anything ever since, and so I simply must find this ‘thing,’ whatever it may be, to put my mind at peace.” The Bronzor sighed in frustration and shook its head; which is to say its body, anyways. Damon only shrugged; the client could do whatever they wanted, and he would do his best to fulfill the task no matter how silly, as long as he got paid.
XXXSirius was quiet as ever, looking down the ends of the tunnel and listening intently for any signs of trouble. Damon was chatting while he should have been watching for the three Sableye stealthily charging at them.
XXX“Kingcrest, don’t be so careless.” Sirius shouted before rushing ahead to meet the attackers. With an angry hiss that they’d been caught, the three Sableye melted into shadow form and streaked across the floor, reaching up with their wicked claws to strike. Sirius reared in surprise, nearly hitting his head on a rusted metal beam overhead as the strange talons of shadow seemed to peel away from their bounds on the ground and take on substance, sweeping at his ankles. Phasing through the floor as if it were merely water and back to their original forms, the Sableyes crowded around the centaur and raked their claws across his back. Damon ran forward and
Tackled one of the dark creatures, clinging tightly to its back as it tried to throw him off.
“Protect the client!” Sirius barked before shooting a harmless yet showy jet of flames around him to ward off the two Sableye that still attacked. Damon reluctantly obeyed, jumping off of the short Pokémon with a sharp kick before returning to the Bronzor’s side.
“Sirius, cover your ears.” Damon shouted to his captain before releasing an ear shattering screech that stunned the three Sableye, who slammed hands over unprotected ears a moment too late. Sirius quickly struck out with a wicked thrash of his fore hooves and hit one of the Sableye on the back. It shrieked at the sudden sharp pain, crashing against the tunnel wall and slid down into a slumped sitting position; hopefully still alive. Shaking its head wearily, one of the confused Sableye stumbled toward Damon with a claw upraised. Sweeping down, the deadly sharp claws missed the cub by a mile, but it tripped anyhow and crashed into Damon. Struggling under the weight of the befuddled Sableye, Damon settled for gouging the creature with his tail claw. Damon felt a hot liquid pour onto his face and shuddered, and with a cry of agony the Sableye reeled away, stumbling into the darkness. With a hiss, the last of the Sableyes hefted its unconscious comrade over its shoulder and sped away.
With a sigh of relief, Sirius brushed the dust off his arms and equine portion, being careful to avoid the scratched inflicted by the three Darkness Pokemon.
“Kingcrest, I appreciate your trying to make the client more at ease by small talk, but please keep an eye out for trouble. We’re here for protection, not idle chat.” The centaur said firmly, turning to the small feline. Damon’s wings sagged abashedly for a moment.
“Sorry, Sirius. And stop calling me Kingcrest.” Damon added defiantly. With a shrug, Sirius turned back to the direction they were going and allowed the Bronzor to once again lead the way.
XXXTheir client’s eyes were tightened shut, and it mumbled under its breath as if in deep concentration as it drifted down the passages.
Unsure if it was rude or not to ask, both because it was focused intently and it might be taken personally, Damon turned to their client,
“Bronzor, if you don’t mind me asking… what are you?” He received a sharp look from Sirius, but it quickly grew to astonishment as the client replied normally, no offense taken whatsoever.
“Mm, I get that a lot. It’s fine. I understand Bronzors can be strange folk… especially to Pokémon like you. All I know, really, is I am what I am. And I’m thankful for it. The alternative of being a creature of flesh seems so… messy.” Damon watched the Bronzor’s back as it hovered along. The fact that it talked without opening its mouth was apalling, in fact, it didn’t appear to have a mouth at all! And it
hovered. Out of the very few different types of Pokémon Damon had seen throughout his lifetime, he had never seen one as… different as this one. Actually, he had never before seen a Pokémon that wasn’t flesh and blood, so this was quite interesting.
“Well, how can you, you know, live?” Damon asked awkwardly, though too quiet from embarrassment for it to hear. Internal organs couldn't possibly fit in its slim figure. The Bronzor was completely flat, so how did it eat?
Does it eat at all? Damon wondered.
“But I’m glad I’m not like you,” The Bronzor continued, not hearing Damon’s last statement. Damon winced slightly at that comment; his appearance was quite a sensitive subject, to him. It was the whole reason his father hid the rest of them from the judgmental eyes of the world, he was simply afraid no one would accept them. Of course that fear was passed down since their kind of hybrid first began, which was a little time before hybrids became a normal thing to see. Being kept away from the world for so long, his pride of manticores never knew and perhaps only Damon would one day understand acceptance for what he was and find peace. Damon was in awe of their client; the Bronzor was very different looking, but didn’t seem fazed about its appearance at all.
Perhaps because he’s a normal Pokemon, not mutated, Damon thought bitterly. He shook his head and continued to listen to what the Bronze Pokemon was saying.
XXX“Flesh folk are so messy.” Their client continued and Damon relaxed visibly. So it wasn’t his ‘hybrid’ condition the Bronzor was talking about, but flesh and blood Pokemon in general.
“I mean, poke a hole in ‘em and they’re all over the floor! What a mess! Organic bodies are such high maintenance, with the constant grooming and exercise they demand, expelling of toxic waste, and fuel intake!” Sirius’s ears perked up and he realized he was nodding along in agreement; this Bronzor was quite convincing.
“Take in the wrong kind of fuel and kaput! It takes weeks to get the body back into full functioning order. Which reminds me of their laughable immune system…”The Bronzor babbled on endlessly, pointing out the flaws and faults of ‘fleshfolk’. Once the blue Pokemon got to the topic of their ‘unreliable memory banks,’ Sirius interjected.
“Alright, then, what’s so good about being a… a Bronzor?” he asked, not knowing the proper term of the Bronzor’s species or type or whatever it was. Besides, he wasn’t going to stand around, letting this
thing insult his kind. The Bronzor laughed and responded,
“For one, resistance to fire. Although not necessary, I am able to consume organic food, though other things are much more nourishing. All in all, I find I’m neither vain, nor attractive and will likely be the first one to be let go in any hostage situation.” The Bronzor said smugly. Damon quietly spoke up.
“I like being what I am. I can feel the wonderful comfort of fluffy cushions, feel energized with every intake of breath and pound of blood; I quite enjoy being a soft creature of flesh and mushy stuff.” He stated matter-of-factly. Sirius felt both proud and slightly ashamed; proud that Damon stuck up for their kind and disappointed that he himself didn’t speak a word in their defense. The Bronzor shrugged,
“I suppose you have a point there. And I suppose I wouldn’t mind being a fleshfolk for one day. I would be able to bear it, I’m sure.” The steel-type grinned with no mouth (A-haha? Ha-ha?) and stiffened.
“Did you hear something?” It asked quietly. Sirius turned to Damon and shrugged helplessly,
“Only dripping water and churning dirt as we walk. Why?” The centaur replied. The thin Pokemon’s yellow cat-like eyes narrowed and it suddenly turned a few degrees to its left.
“Extrasensory!” It hissed out loud and released an un-seeable force that pulsated like a wave from its body. A shrill cry escaped from the mouth of a Pokemon up ahead and the sound of a body collapsing to the floor was heard; the Abra fell into a heap in the light of Sirius’s mane. Its friend shouted out in surprise and fury; it drew back its hands, forming a ball of light.
“Watch out!” The Bronzor yelled before Damon jerked the Pokemon behind him.
“Stay back,” the cub warned, leaping aside when a yellow beam of psychic energy shot past. With a few long strides and a quick leap, Sirius pinned the Psi Pokemon under his full weight; which was a lot. With a sigh as air was forced from its lungs, the Abra hurriedly teleported out from under the equine and sent a surge of multicolored energy his way.
“Sirius, look out!” Damon shrieked, shooting a barrage of
Poison Stings overhead. Ducking to the side, Sirius ambled into the Abra’s
Psybeam, shot before it, too, avoided the poisonous darts.
“Oongh… come back here!” Damon cursed, lighting up with sparks and charging forward, tackling the armored Pokemon with a electrifying embrace. The Abra screamed and pushed the lion away with a close quarter blast to the chest. Clutching his torso, Damon rolled away, pain twisting his face lightly. Sirius rolled out a tongue of flame that licked eagerly to the walls; and with a gasp, the Abra quickly teleported away with its friend tucked under its arm. The fire expired after a minute, leaving a thick, greasy grey cloud of choking smoke hanging in the cramped tunnel area. The Bronzor jumped as if just remembering something and cursed under its breath.
“Aw, shoot. You guys need constant oxygen intake! Hurry, let’s get away from this smoke.” He called to the two before gesturing down the tunnel. Damon stumbled, coughing, but nodded his head, understanding what their client said. Sirius, however, was a coughing heap on the floor, hugging his sides with his torsos heaving. The Bronzor quickly zoomed to Sirius’s side and flipped horizontal, still floating in the air. It scooped its body underneath the centaur’s thick frame and hoisted him a few feet in the air with no apparent effort.
“Quickly, now!” Came its voice, unstrained from the weight on its backside. He urged Damon away from the traveling black smog, deeper into the tunnel; if they turned back to the surface now, they would probably not be able to return for a long while due to the lingering smoke.
“Accursed… Be careful when letting loose fire based attacks down here; it takes oxygen a while to travel down here and, shoot, I forgot you flesh folk have to breathe. A little bit of fire is okay, like the fire protruding from your back, what is it, a mane? Yeah, but too much and ya clog up the tunnels like finely greased arteries.” Before their client could begin to rant about their blood vessels and unhealthy eating habits, Sirius choked out between tearful spasms of coughing,
“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.”“Sirius, are you okay?” Damon asked, concerned as always.
“I’ll live,”—another bout of coughing interrupted him—
“My body has two sets of lungs; a small one in the upper portion of my body and a quite large pair in my lower torso. I need twice as much oxygen then most for all my needy muscles, so it’s quite painful for a hungry lung to be attacked by stifling smoke.” He explained painfully.
“Oi, think you’ll survive? It’ll be quite a bother to have one of my guides dead,” the Bronzor pointed out jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Sirius laughed,
“I should be fine in a few; just tired and hurting.” Ever so slowly, Sirius scrambled to his feet, clutching his head as his blood flow adjusted to the height.
“No more words; we must be far away from that billowing smoke as quickly as possible.” He said when the headache passed.
XXXThe air had gotten thicker and slightly harder to breathe, but thankfully free of any hint of smoke. Sirius was quite careful about his fire moves from then on; he even set his mane at a shorter setting. It was slightly dimmer, but didn’t eat up all the oxygen; they would need every breath they could catch as they continued. The sticky, lumpy clay walls soon turned smooth as polished brass, not to mention dry to the point of crumbling.
“This is… different,” Damon observed, feeling the surface of the wall with the tip of a wing.
“Indeed…” Sirius agreed, wiping two fingers on the wall and examining them; no dirt came off the level surface. The dirt was packed extremely hard, not even a light powder let off.
“Curious and curiouser… This thing… its calling to me… It’s so close!” The Bronzor said, increasing its speed slightly with excitement. Often they came by lanterns embedded in the earthy walls with glowing blue fungus growing inside, lighting the way fairly. The three paused in the middle of the path and clutched at the walls, looking around wildly as a mild tremble rolled through the earth, casting dirt clods to sprinkle on their heads.
XXX“Look!” Sirius shouted, pointing behind them. It was a stampede of… Geodude? But the most noticeable thing was they were chasing a flock of Zubat. Angry Zubat.
“Ru-u-u-u-n!” Damon screamed over the sound of stomping rock-types before turning tail and zooming past the two.
“Quickly, now!” Sirius grabbed their client as if it were nothing but a Frisbee, staggering under the weight for a moment before galloping with a newfound strength. Yeah, the idea of being slapped to death with leathery wings, eardrums screeched out and finally tramped over by a dozen small boulders
wasn’t quite attractive. It was amazing what fear could make you do in a pinch. Sirius was almost caught up with his vice captain when the cub hesitated at a fork in the road. Sirius thought about shouting a random direction, but wouldn’t their client know where to go? They couldn't risk going the wrong direction. Bringing his arm back, he flung the Bronzor the fifty feet away, over Damon’s head, and shouted,
“Where to?” XXX“Left! Left!” The Bronzor shouted hurriedly; it was partially embedded into the wall and struggling to get out. Damon leapt upwards and clamped his maw over the steel body.
“Sorry about this,” he apologized briefly, muffled, and yanked outwards. The Bronzor swiftly swooped down the left tunnel as it slid out of the wall.
“Quickly, come on, hurry up!” It shouted in encouragement before turning and rushing down the tunnel. Quickly turning to the left fork, Sirius and Damon ran for a while before deeming they created a safe distance between them and the stampede.
XXX“Phew, they went down the other tunnel,” Damon sighed, panting hard.
“Don’t rest yet, Kingcrest, some of them got stranded.” Sirius pointed to a few Geodude hopping after three swooping Zubat.
“Get ready,” Sirius warned before flipping his black jaws over his head, gaping them wide at the oncoming group. With a shrill screech of surprise, the Zubat darted to the side and crashed into the walls, the Geodudes tripping and somersaulting to a stop. Sirius crushed the wing of a fallen Zubat while wrapping another one in his tail flames, lashing it as it escaped and flew wobbly into the air. With a halfhearted growl, Damon leapt up and snagged its legs, tugging it down with him. The Zubat hissed and
Bit at him, clawing with its slender feet as best as it could at whatever purchase it could find. Damon’s jaw found the bat’s soft throat and tightened, shaking it vigorously like a chew toy and sharply releasing it where it slammed into the wall. The final Zubat flew into Sirius’s face and started to beat it with its wings and scratch at it with its claws. Sirius felt a hot pang bloom on his left cheek and reached to clutch it. Since he didn’t attack, the Zubat flew back a few feet and swung its wings in an arc, sending sheets of air swirling sharply his direction and leaving him with a few more cuts in his flank and chest. With a sharp gasp, Sirius staggered backwards into Damon, who was attempting to tackle a Geodude. With a high-pitched yelp, the cub scrambled away from his captain.
“Heal up, I’ll cover ya.” He shouted to the dazed hybrid before leaping at the Zubat in a whirlwind of claws and teeth. Sirius numbly stuffed a hand into his explorer’s bag and withdrew a plump Oran berry, quickly scarfing it up. His head began to clear and his wounds close up; he felt well refreshed and ready to fight more. Whirling around, he
Stomped a Geodude’s head with a hoof, sending a sharp jolt of pain through his leg; he
had to remember to stop doing that. The Geodude chortled at Sirius’s futile efforts to hurt it and
Tackled the centaur, pushing him back a few feet. Damon let out a battle cry before charging at the Geodude and
Tackling it away. Pushing the cub off, the Geodude began to glow white, its craggy surface smoothing over and shining as if polished. With surprisingly fast speed, the Geodude charged toward Damon before being squished by roughly a thousand pounds of angry centaur. Getting up from the slight depression he formed in the ground, Sirius moved onto the next Geodude with hooves a’ kicking and jaws a’ snapping. Leaving that Pokemon to the mercy of his leader, Damon
Charged up some energy and
Tackled the final Geodude, not doing much damage, of course. The Geodude somehow leapt into the air with no apparent feet, somersaulted and landed harshly on the earth, creating an earthquake. Unfortunately, in such close quarters, the tunnel began to collapse.
“Gah!” Damon exclaimed, dodging a falling stone.
“Get the client!” Sirius shouted to the feline, heading toward his way in a shaky gallop. The remaining Pokemon soon realized what was happening and quickly made their way out the other end of the tunnel into the room beyond. Damon looked around wildly and spotted the Bronzor; who was darting around aimlessly while avoiding jagged pieces of falling stone. Quickly nabbing the Bronzor by the rim, the manticore dragged their client the opposite way. His jaws hurt slightly from the sudden harsh clamping, but fear made him temporarily numb and he’d much rather lose a few teeth than get crushed by a zillion pounds of rock. Sirius snatched up the unconscious Pokemon that were left behind, bundling them in his arms and cradling gently in his slender black jaws.
“Sirius!” Damon shouted as the equine leapt toward the opening to the larger space, rocks crashing behind him. As he landed harshly, nearly spilling his load, boulders of all sizes and sand collapsed in a thick wall behind him, snagging his tail fire which quickly sputtered out and relit itself.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Sirius said,
“That was a close one. Is everyone alright?” He asked, looking critically at Damon and the Bronzor. Damon nodded,
“Yeah, I’m fine, ‘cept for my teeth, of course; sorry for grabbing you all of the sudden, Mr. Bronzor.” Damon apologized to the steel-type, suddenly deciding the genderless Pokemon was male. The Bronzor shook its head,
XXX“No problem. I was too shocked to move and you rescued me from a most uncomfortable inconvenience.” It stated, its normal cool self again.
XXX“Inconvenience? You would have died!” Damon spluttered, exasperated.
XXX“On the contrary, I would have merely been stuck for a long period of time. Granted, the force of rocks could have rendered me unconscious or immobile and left me to slowly imprint myself on the boulders, creating a fine fossil specimen by the way, but I would merely have to wait for someone to dig me out; whether it be a few hours, a few days or a few years.” The Bronzor explained, quite at ease. Damon was blown out of his mind;
days?! Alone, with no sunlight, food, nor water for years on end stuck in a rockslide deep into the earth without any air?
“Wait, what happens after a few years?” Damon asked suspiciously.
“Oh, we can last much longer, but after a while, some Bronzors get bored and allow their bodies to die. Such a shame, but those are the Wheel believers.” Their client said slowly like a patient teacher would to a dumbfounded student.
“What’s a Wheel believer? Do they believe in inanimate objects, or just like wheels because it shares your basic shape?” Damon asked, still bewildered; this was clearly way over his head. The Bronzor sighed exasperately, rolling its yellow eyes.
“Those who believe in the Wheel of Life concept,”—at the look of Damon’s derp face, it continued—
“Some Pokemon believe that if they do good in this life, they will return as a different Pokemon at a better station. Based off of good deeds and whatnot; its quite foolish, in my terms.” The Bronzor explained.
“Besides, your captain over there still hasn’t explained why he’s carrying a bundle of unconscious Pokemon in his arms.” Damon turned to Sirius with a quizzical eyebrow raised.
“Sirius, why are you carrying a bunch of unconscious Pokemon? Why did you save them, they were trying to kill us!” Sirius was carefully laying out the three Zubat and one Geodude who were asleep. The centaur then looked up at his vice capt.
“It’s a horrible way to die.” He said simply. He tried to imagine what it would be like for himself, getting crushed by tons of boulders—bones snapped, skin peeled, and lungs deprived of oxygen as the force tried to crush the body together and apart at the same time into small pieces that fit well between the jagged stones, bringing unimaginable pain in the slow process. The thought was terrifying; no Pokemon deserved to die like that. Damon shut his mouth; it needed no further argument.
XXXThe three took a nice long break afterwards and filled their bellies with food and cave water. The Bronzor’s eyes widened,
“I… can hear something calling again—it's so loud. Its nearby; we should get going.” Picking themselves up and discarding their apple cores, the two guilders followed their client into the next room. The cavern was quite wide, the terrain was of quite even ground and clear water dominated the room. There was only a few dozen yards of hard-packed cave flooring before it sloped downward into the freezing pool. Stalagmites of all sizes poked out of the surface, sharp and dangerous; it was probably a good idea not to go into the water. At the far end of the cave, illuminated by crystals clinging to the ceiling that reflected light off of strangely glowing fungus, was a monstrous statue. It sat halfway into the water with a slumped posture, its color faded so much with ages of wear; it almost seemed as if it were part of the cave. Its features were smoothed over, a result of a millennium of water drops spilling over it to get to the water below. Sirius stared at it; it was a beautiful carving and a shame it was neglected for so long; it looked like a Pokémon, but nothing he had seen before. It was clearly serpentine, with sharp features and long ‘hair’ like pieces cascading from above its eye sockets; its tail fanned out prettily out of the water as its eyeless sockets seemed to bore into the intruders.
“Hm, a statue of a Milotic? Strange, it feels like the thing that's calling at me is beyond it.” The Bronzor observed, looking to the sides of the statue as if there were some creature or door behind it. A Milotic? That must be what this creature—ahem, statue must be.
“It’s beautiful; though worn with age.” Damon said, gazing with awe at the ginormous graceful figure.
“Hey, is that a doorway?” Behind the statue was a small opening at the back of the cave.
“But how’re we going to get over there?” Damon wondered aloud. All of the sudden, the cave began to shake and a slab of stone blocked the doorway in which they came in. Damon cried in alarm and ran in small circles as the cold earth trembled, stopping in his tracks as the Milotic statue’s eyes glowed green. As it suddenly came into animation, the oversized figurine lifted its head and began to come apart from the wall, sending boulders crashing with great splashes into the once still waters below. Tossing back its head it gave out an almost life-like roar before snaking across the water to meet the three. Opening its mouth, it shot out a torrent of pure clear water, scattering them away from eachother.
The attack was soon followed up by three terrified screams.
“Gah! Sirius! Bronzor, go hide somewhere.” Damon commanded their client before shooting a
Spark ball at the aquatic Pokémon. The serpentine creature let out a reptilian shriek and writhed as sparks danced over its smoothing surface, shaking the cavern and loosening some stalactites from the ceiling; consequence of its careless thrashing. As boulders from the quake crumbled harmlessly as they crashed onto the oversized oarfish, the Milotic began to glow a blinding white and its craggy surface seemed to smooth over like actual Milotic flesh, silky and slick. Speeding up considerably, its flowing hydrodynamic body maneuvered in the more life-like way of a truly living Pokemon, which was horribly disturbing.
Sirius regained his footing and galloped toward the monstrous creature after rolling out a badly conjured
Flame Wheel that quickly died in a bath of grey smoke, purposefully. Momentarily concealed, Sirius sprang out from the haze and made a terrifying face, shadows twisting his features into a horrible silent scream.
Astonished, the living stone statue reared for a second and came crashing down, its chest sending a tidal wave toward them. Sirius frowned, his attack didn’t seem to do much harm, and he knew he had a plain disadvantage to this creature, whether it was rock or water or both. Generating a lump of heat at the bottom of his stomach, the equine galloped over to his co-captain and fired a super charged hot lick of flame, reducing the oncoming
Surf into hissing steam.
“I’ll watch your back; unfortunately, my attacks have little to no effect on that… thing. Keep going!” Sirius said before running off to draw the Milotic’s attention away from the lion.
XXX“O-okay!” Damon had barely enough time to react before Sirius was gone; charging up again, the manticore fired another large
Spark ball the serpent’s direction which hit dead on. A stream of water spiraled around the Milotic’s fan-like tail before shooting toward the lion cub. With a shriek, Damon scrambled away, narrowly avoiding the attack. Sirius was fighing to capture the creature’s attention.
XXX“Oi, big and ugly, over here!” Sirius taunted, shooting a jet of flame as to capture its attention. As the rock creature swerved to avoid the harmless flame, Sirius spotted the small entryway behind its bulk that distracted him for a second.
I wonder what’s inside there, he thought, before shooting another
Flame Wheel. The guardian countered with a torrent of salt water it shot out of its mouth. With a shriek, Sirius was knocked backwards, sprawling in the mud. The powerful attack left him stunned and he lay silently in the muck for a few seconds. Before the monstrous Milotic could finish him off, a silver-colored beam of energy rocketed overhead and hit the stone creature. Damon whipped around and saw their client, the Bronzor, standing out from behind its hiding spot and glowing silver colored, the strange current still connected to its body. As the light faded, the Bronzor leaned against the boulder, its energy clearly spent. With a final roar, the stone Milotic shook its head high in the air and then froze in place, its eyes fading to the black hollowness they were before. Ever so slowly, it leaned forward and then slammed down into the water, its head resting on the shore. It looked as lifeless as it had been before; dark, cold and craggy from poor care; its body even looked as if it melted into the stone. Its serpentine body stretched all the way to the other side of the cave, creating a safe walkway to the door beyond. Sirius was on his feet again and struggling to relight his mane, though the natural cave crystals did enough work. Giving up, he shrugged,
XXX“Shall we?” He motioned to the bridge the stone creature created. He reached to his bag for healing items, but the Bronzor surged ahead at a surprising pace.
XXX“It’s here! Just beyond that entryway…” Not waiting for its guides to heal up, the steel-type shot across the Milotic’s back.
“W-wait for us!” Damon shouted after it, scrambling across the stone statue’s backside after their client. Sirius cursed silently under his breath and galloped after them. His energy was mostly spent, but he could spare a few more moments getting the idiots’ attention so they could heal up.
XXXThe three entered the next room, much tired from their previous battle with the guardian.
“Congratulations,” came a whisper-like, yet strong voice. The three immediately stiffened and looked wildly about the gloom. Sweat dripped down Sirius’s neck; he knew they couldn’t endure another battle so soon. The needed rest, and lots of it. The Bronzor grew still, eyes closed as if tuning to something. It’s eyes opened wide,
“It’s here.” Sirius’s brows rose, finally, that ‘thing’ that had been calling it, the
whole reason they were dragged into this cavern? Suddenly, a single ball of light appeared in the middle of the room. It wasn’t quite a flame, but some sort of churning mix of flowing yellows and whites, swirling into a bright orb of light. Then a square of light appeared, and another. Soon the whole room lit up, thoroughly blinding them. As their vision returned, they looked around the room in awe. The small orb slowly floated upwards, joining others like it at the top. White square tiles, each polished to the point of pristine condition, covered the walls and floors, reflecting the light provided by the strange beams quite effectively. It was so…
clean. Sirius almost felt embarrassed to have his dirty hooves soil the tiles underfoot.
Damon gasped aloud,
“Sirius, look!” The equine looked up sharply at the tall staircase leading to another doorway where a very peculiar Pokémon was waiting. As she stepped out of the shadows, light danced across her surface in a brilliant white dazzling display of light. Sirius didn’t realize his mouth was agape in both shock and awe. This Pokémon heading toward them was a Bronzong, bright and glittering like silver. Instead of the usual blue encrusted metal, her surface was that of a shiny new mirror; sparkling and glinting with every turn in the light. Her red eyes really stood out compared to the rest of her. As she floated down the polished steps, she gestured with an appendage.
XXX“Warriors, be at ease and rest, for you well deserve it. You have passed my test and were deemed worthy to enter.” The creature’s voice was definitely feminine; gentle and relaxed in tone, carrying out easily over the mostly empty room. Damon gratefully sank down into an attentive lounging position and Sirius’s muscles relaxed considerably, painfully reminding him how cramped they were. Their client, however, couldn’t peel its eyes away from the mirror-like Bronzong, as if under a spell.
XXX“You are probably wondering why you were called here.” The Bronzong said as she hovered over to the three.
“Yes, why?” The Bronzor asked, finding its voice finally. The Bronzong hesitated, glancing at the guilders before answering,
“Perhaps I should start from the beginning…” The Bronzong seemed to sigh and settled down on the ground as if to prepare for a long story.
“Very well. In ancient times, all Bronzor and Bronzong were created clear as mirrors, not a single blemish or suggestion of fogginess; harder than steel and scratchless -- truly pure beings. My ancestors thrived in breathtakingly beautiful cities of ivory and all was peaceful and good until young ones began to wander out into the world where it was dangerous, unclean, and unsafe. It continued on until only one city remained, Pallas, the Bronzong capital where only the devote lived. That is when the Bronzor and Bronzong that lived outside the gates began to dirty; they grew a tint. At first it was hardly distinguishable, but it grew brown, then green and finally a dark blue. Horrified of what the others had become and in fear that the young people would also flow out of the city, attracted by the outside world, they closed up from all other Pokemon for fear that the tint was contagious and taint them as well. Things almost returned to normal when, one day, a strange earthquake befell the city and it sunk into the earth… our beloved temple was all that survived, though it had fallen deep into the caverns, and the rest had crumbled into gravel; not one part of the structures they once were, were recognizable. Many had died; the few that did survive were the priests and priestesses of this temple of Nikephoros, plus a couple city folk that decided to pay their respects. It was a very dark time. Ever so slowly, we recovered and even a few of us decided to go back to the surface and thrive with our fellow brothers and sisters, while the rest of us stayed down here in the temple intent on protecting and restoring it to its former glory.” She motioned to the doorway beyond the grand staircase behind her.
“Through the door is the entrance to our temple, and we have expanded since that time an eternity ago. We created another city for ourselves, though it’s a mere fraction of the grandeur of the last Great City. Down to the reason you were called, young Bronzor—“ the Bronzor scoffed,
“Young! Ma’am I am twenty years of age—you sound no older than twenty, yourself.”“Three-quarters of a century, actually.” She replied calmly, ignoring the shock in his face.
“Continuing on, there aren’t many of us left; we are… I suppose -- a dying race, those of us that are blessed with the shell of a mirror. Now we must resort to calling young Bronzor from the surface so that we will not fade out. You were specifically chosen by Nikephoros, the Great One, to undergo a ritual that will return you to your pure state and become priest in the temple. Though Nikephoros respects your choice: will you accept and become one of us?” The Bronzong asked the Bronzor. Sirius and Damon looked at their client, who was sitting still. It was clearly shocked by the turn of events, and rendered speechless by her question. Slowly, as it finally gathered its wits, it replied.
XXX“I have no idea who your deity is or what duties a priest has; I’m not even fairly religious to Arceus.” The gleaming Bronzong nodded her head, saddened.
“But,” it said,
“This strange phenomenon is no light deal and I have to admit I'm quite curious about your civilization; the stories you could tell me. So I accept.” The Bronzong beamed brightly at the Bronzor,
“You have made a wise decision, young Bronzor. The ceremony will begin immediately! One of your future colleagues is waiting through the door—Lashima!” The oversized bell called and a Bronzor rushed through the doorway, gleaming with a mirror coat, identical to the Bronzong.
“Yes, Lady?” it asked, also of a feminine voice. Then ‘she’ spotted the green-blue Bronzor--
“Oh! Is this the one? How grand, come with me please.” Ushering the filthy looking Bronzor, in comparison to the other two of the same species anyways, up the stair case, the duo disappeared.
“Please direct our newest member to the chamber while I deal with the escorts.” She called after them, still in a light mood from the Bronzor’s answer.
Mission CompleteItems used: 2 Apples,
2 Oran berries (I believe that is the correct amount)
Battles fought: 4 [Sableyex3, Abra x2, Zubat x3, Geodude x3, Miloticx1=
12 Pkmn in all]
