"Blood on the Snow"Client: ???
Mission: "Come on. I've sent letters to the guilds like six times, now. Why won't anyone answer me?"
Dungeon: Icy Peak
Floors: 15 Floors
Rewards: ???
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Harley Quinn was not above mentioning her own faults. She was well aware of her own stubbornness and impetuous attitude towards others. At times she came across as a bit of a brat, at others she was a royal B-i-t-c-h, but not even she deserved this in her opinion.
Yes, she’s robbed from Pokémon that probably didn’t deserve it, but freezing to death for it was really disproportionate retribution don’t you think? That’s like being shot to death for stealing a pack of gum!
Come on, guys. Harley wasn’t that bad of a girl! Sure, there was that one time she literally stole candy from a baby…oh, and that other time when she popped this Azurill’s balloon just to laugh at its brokenhearted expression…and…and that time she put Alec’s paw in warm water while he slept so he’d-um. Arceus, now that she thought about it she probably did deserve this.
The Poochyena blinked her eyes open, her vision was sharp as ever, but not even she could see pass the blizzard that roared outside the small crevice she’d barricaded her small, gray body into. White flakes fluttered lazily inside to rest across her back which she kept predominantly turned to the opening in an attempt to retain whatever body heat she had left. Her tail twitched, curling tightly against her back legs. Truly this was an ironic fate. She was a coldhearted canine freezing to death in a tiny hole, alone and miserable, the chill creeping in to coil around her bones.
‘Am I really going to die here?’ The thought brought on such a wave on anguish that for the first time in ten years the Dark Type gave a choked sob and let the warm tears spill down across her muzzle to freeze upon the stone floor. Since being save all those many years ago by that beautiful, shiny Ninetales in the forest she’d not cried. Her last memory of sorrow that had forced its way out in the form of tears was watching her mother fall to a Machoke; she could still see the blood…hear the agonized howl from the female Mightyena. She watched the scene unfold again in her mind, that red and white sphere spiraling through the air where it drew her mother in and locked her away forever.
Harley’s shoulder lifted once in a heavy sigh, the air expelled from her mouth blossomed in a puffy, white cloud that drifted overhead before slowly dissipating. If only she knew where Kit and the others were, she could die happy, so long as she knew they did not share the same fate for her foolish mistakes…
"I'm sorry, guys...I'm sorry...so sorry guys..."
...guys...guys...
“Guys, if you don’t move your tails I am leaving you here!”, Loud and bossy as always, Harley stomped her foot in a demand for attention as she stood before the mission board with a mischievous spark in her orange eyes.
Kit was in no hurry, the Vulpix made his slow and graceful way down the hall without a trace of urgency in his steady paw steps. From behind his mask his lips curled into a hidden smirk. Ah, what insanity would befall them today? Surely if it involved the mission board then Harley had, no doubt, picked something for them to do already without consulting the team as a whole.
Then again, was he really surprised at her boldness? You would think he would be use to it by now. She really was a bit pushy in her mannerisms. ‘Kitsune’ never seemed to mind and took it all in stride, but it was Evelyn that bumped heads with the Poochyena constantly.
Speaking of Evelyn…
“This better not be some moronic scheme to get treasure from innocent civilians!” The Growlithe commented with a snarl, her white teeth flashed in obvious disdain for her new captain. As it were, she’d started her own exploration team with some silly Drifloon, but had quickly realized she was not ready for such responsibility. This, she admitted, was done very grudgingly on her part, and even more so when she joined a team of thieves. Her sense of justice was forced to adapt and she was currently in the denial that Harley and Kit were ‘Robin Hood’-like bandits.
Steal from the rich, give to the poor…that kind of deal. Well, the former was correct, however, the give to the poor part was not so much. Harley would never willingly hand over her hard-earned ‘shinies’, as she called them.
Harley viewed Evelyn as a menace of sorts, always complaining about the Growlithe’s speeches on ‘the good of giving’ and ‘how crime is bad enough without thieves’. The Poochyena only kept her on, because she got along rather well with Alec, who was also a self-proclaimed ‘doer of righteous…stuff’.
The two could talk nonstop about ‘justice’ and the whatnot, which suited the team Captain just fine in that she didn’t have to deal with either of them while they chatted one another’s ears off.
Still, she was not a patient Pokémon, and watching the Fire Type and Fighting Type converse a few feet behind Kit was beginning to grate on her nerves.
“Will you all hurry up already?!” Her voice pitched into a squeal of displeasure, the ‘y’ of already stretched out into a cry of annoyance.
Her outburst earned her a disapproving glance from Evelyn and Alec, while Kit remained ever stoic and ignored her entirely as he continued his calm trot.
“What is it you’ve chosen for us this time?” The Vulpix asked upon reaching her side and Harley huffed once impatiently before turning around to tear down the piece of paper she’d been standing guard in front of.
Arceus be damned if someone took HER mission. She picked this one out because it was so unspecific. The client was a mystery, the reward was a mystery, and the actual request itself left a lot to the imagination. It HAD to be good. At least, this was how Harley viewed things.
If she knew then what she knew now, she’d never have picked that request, if she had let Kit look at it, he would have realized just how shady it was, but when the Vulpix had asked she’d exclaimed that she was the captain and her word was law.
Kit, in his usual laid-back manner, had simply accepted her terms with little argument. Evelyn and Alec voice their own concerns, but Harley ignored them as she usually did. She was so full of herself, so selfish...
...so...so......foolish, arrogant. She was getting her just desserts. Oh Arceus, forgive her. Punish her as you please, but don’t let those three suffer for it.
The wind blew with a sudden ferocity, the Poochyena yelped in alarm at the frost nipping her backside. Cold, so cold, in desperation she inched slightly further into the crack in the mountainside she’d hid in when the storm had begun.
It was so small, the tip of her nose was now pressed against the frozen wall at the back, ice cling to the end of her tail that she was trying to curl in tight around her body, but the compact space would not give her any room for it to pass by her legs.
Cold...so cold. So very...very...cold...
...cold...cold...“It’s cold!” Alec remarked, the obvious statement was ignored by both Kit and Evelyn who were unaffected by the cold. Being a fire type had its perks, as well as having a nice, thick coat of fur most fire Pokémon had a built in heater hat regulated their temperature in accordance with the environment. If it was too warm it turned their temperature down to keep them from overheating, too cold and it turned it way up to keep out the chill.
Harley had, unconsciously, nodded at the Riolu’s statement; her orange eyes squinting against the vast expanse of white ahead. Arc’dammit, she couldn’t even see the stupid mountain with all this snow flying around. They were on the right path though, multiple signs had littered their way warning them of limited vision the closer they got to Icy Peak. Another sign, barely legible, had informed them to be wary as multiple Pokémon had gone missing lately.
The Poochyena couldn’t shake the feeling that it related to their mission somehow, and while she did not speak it aloud Kit repeatedly glanced at her in his own unspoken concern. He’d had the same feeling.
Evelyn cleared her throat, it was a raspy, nasty sound but it did the job and the group turned to look at her. Suddenly self-conscious the Growlithe adjusted her hat in a nervous gesture before issuing a soft query of
“Just…just how far into the mountains is our client?” Harley had not told them just how sketchy the mission notice was, that they trusted her so readily even not knowing the whole story was both upsetting and inspiring.
“Shouldn’t be too far…” She replied, nose wrinkling from the cold and she gave an abrupt sneeze before continuing,
“We won’t know the details of the mission until we reach him-““Or her” Alec interjected, waving his sword in the air with his free paw at his chest.
“It may be a fair maiden, in need of assistance! We shall embark forth to rescue her with haste!” “Right, whatever, anyways the sooner we get there, the sooner we do the mission, get the reward and get home in time to watch ‘My Little Ponyta’.” Evelyn stated with a wide smile.
“There’s a new episode out today!”“Can’t believe you still watch that girly, baby crap…” Harley retorted, turning around to lead the group on with Evelyn glaring daggers at her back.
[Did I just ZING myself?]“It teaches us morals and life lessons about friendship!” The Growlithe shouted at the group as they swiftly began to head down the path, Harley in the lead.
They ignored her for the most part; when she’d caught up to them the conversation went unfinished in favor of everyone glancing around with their mouths open in awe.
“Well damn…” The constant blizzard had obscured their sight so badly they didn’t see the Arc’damned mountain right in front of them. Harley tilted her head back to gaze at the top most peak that was barely visible even from this close a standing point to the base. Thank the legendary they didn’t have to go all the way up there.
“There’s a path over here that seems to lead up…” Kit called, standing before said path with this masked-muzzle tilted upward. For the second time since befriending him, Harley had the sudden urge to snatch the mask right off his face and see just what he was hiding under it. Shaking the impulse off she padded over to take the lead once again and the small group began their steady ascent into the building storm above.
“Fire types…” The two words slipped from his maw with an infinite joy, and the Pokémon peering into the frozen pool gave a sickly, sweet smile.
A Glaceon of normal coloring, but with eyes a hazy-red lifted his gaze from the slick surface to turn and scan the infinite rows of cages behind.
“Ah yes, those worthless guilds have finally come through! To think, it’s taken seven attempts. You believe these rescue teams would have a fire type in their party before coming here. After all, in this realm of ice our only fear is that of a blaze.”
Within the cages the cries of young Pokémon arose, their voices fearful and tearful; young explorers, who had not heeded the ominous warnings of this strange mission letter.
He turned from the pool, the Slowpoke sitting at the edge near the speaker’s side withdrew his tail from its depths and the watery image of the four Pokémon scaling the mountain faded in ripples.
“Nocturne, my plan is almost complete. Ensure those fire type make it up here alive.”
The Slowpoke opened its mouth in a yawn before slowly toddling away, once it had slipped out of view the Glaceon dug his claws into the cold soil of his lair, his ruby eyes lifted up to eye the strange sculpture before it.
“Soon, soon…” He murmured to the statue that seemed carved from ice. “A little longer, my pet and you’ll be free of your prison and I’ll have my revenge on those fools that sent me here…”“Anyone else hear that? Or have I finally been infected with the ‘crazy Riolu’ disease?”“That’s not funny, Lady Harley.”“Wait Alec, I hear it too.” The four Pokémon ceased their trek, each glancing around in opposite directions and trying, in vain, to put a source to the noise. It was a low rumble, a steady growl that seemed to come from all directions. The earth trembled beneath their paws as though breaking apart.
“Don’t tell me...” “AVALANCHE!” If there wasn’t one then, there surely was now. Alec’s voice reverberated across the mountains, the sound bouncing from surface to surface and weakly calling back to them in a faint echo. The rumbling increased in magnitude and the path began to break.
"Alec, you moron!" “Make a run for it!”Snow began to careen down the side of the mountain like a slushy-waterfall of death [epic analogy, Shawn] as the four canine-like Pokémon went running for cover. Harley took a misstep, her paws sliding from under her and her body slamming onto its side on the path before she could find her footing she was sliding towards the edge of the steadily collapsing path. Her eyes grew wide as she sought out her team to find them each in similar situations.
Alec was using his sword as a brace, the blade embedded in the cold soil, but as the ground shifted and broke the sword dislodged and he fell back against the tilt of the earth.
“My hat!” She heard Evelyn bark out, but quickly shrugged her annoyance off and gripped the ground with her claws. It was a stupid hat! They were about to fall to their deaths and she was whining about that damn hat!
Harley snapped her teeth and tried to heft her weight back onto the cold slab of earth that kept rocking back and forth on the precipice of the mountain side. She stopped when she realized her movement was making it shift further and quickly barked an order
“Everyone freeze!”Kit obeyed instantly, his hind legs dangling from the edge. After a moment Evelyn and Alec did the same and the world seemed to grow quieter.
Harley sighed, taking a moment to weigh their options. Now that no one was moving the slab was motionless and steady. How the hell did they get off here?
“Swwiiiii~?”Oh god, what was that? Her head snapped forward, fully alert at the sound, and she growled upon spotting a Swinub peering down at them from a rocky junction just a few feet higher than their own perch.
“H-hey! Help us!” The Growlithe called out, Harley glaring at her as she did, but she ignored the Poochyena.
“We’re stuck here! The path broke and we-““Swwiiii~!” The tiny furred-pig exclaimed, cutting her off and hopping from it’s ledge down to theirs.
“No-no-no!” “You stupid little sh-“The slab shifted and then rocked back, sliding from its catch on the edge of the mountain and sending the four Pokémon and the foolish, little Swinub down into the dark below.
“Once the storm passes, I have to find them. I have to get the guys back…” Harley backed out of her hole, head tilted up and ears flopping about lazily in the calm breeze. The blizzard had passed, for the most part, and she shook her fur out to rid it of its snowy burden.
Casting her orange gaze upward she narrowed her eyes at the opening in the side of the mountain that beckoned her forward.
It was dark. The snow packed tightly around her body like a frozen cocoon. Harley opened her eyes, dizzy, and kicked out her paws to break from the white prison, but found it too tightly packed around her limbs. With a soft groan she nudged her muzzle up until the tip of her nose broke the surface of the snow…and then she stopped.
She’d heard voices, voices that weren’t her team.
“-these ones?” Harley strainer her ears to hear them, although muffled she could make out what they said rather clearly.
“Yeah, the boss said a Vulpix and Growlithe had come. We’re pretty lucky they didn’t die in that fall.” What? They were expecting Kit and Evelyn?
”What about the Riolu? It isn’t a fire type.” Fire types? Harley’s breath caught in her throat as everything started to make sense. Oh no, please no.
“Eh, bring it along too. If we don’t he might get in the way rescuing his friends or someth’n.”“Didn’t he say there were four of them-Oh, wait there’s the other one.” Harley held her breath then, terror kept her frozen, motionless.
“It’s a pretty small Swinub, huh? It’ll fit in the sack with that Riolu.” The relief she felt was quickly dampened by the realization that her team was about to be kidnapped!
“Yeah, just chuck’em in. Be gentle though, dammit. It’d be a pain if they woke up…”“I heard you, I heard you. Man, I can’t believe it’s taken this long for those damn guilds to send some fire type to this place. The boss must’ve sent six letters already.”
“Yeah, this’ll be lucky seven! Now come on, there’s a storm coming. I want to be back before it hits.”The shuffling of footsteps started and then slowly faded until Harley could hear nothing but the steady thump-thumping of her own heartbeat. With disbelief on her face to set to work thrashing her way out of the compact snow that had built around her. Chilled to the bone, the Poochyena wriggled loose from the icy cage and shook her pelt free of any white flakes. She lifted her head in the direction the owners of the voices had drifted to.
“Oh Arceus, what have I done?” Regret was swiftly met with punishment and the wind arose in a howl around her. Spurned into action, Harley dashed for the nearest sanctuary she could find and quickly wedged herself into the crack in the mountains side.
And now? Now it was time to stop feeling sorry for her self. Now she had to face her mistakes and own up.
“Watch your gold and treasures, kiddies. It might vanish in a flash. Faster than a shifting shadow, quicker than a whip’s lash. You might think you’ve won this round, but surely fate will run you down. Blink and you might miss it all, Harley Quinn has come to call…”Mental note Harley: We need to work on that introduction a bit more and maybe next time say it when there’s someone around so you don’t look like a crazy Pokémon talking to yourself.
With a snort she sunk her claws into the edge of the rocky mountainside and shifted until she’d found decent footing before beginning the long and arduous task of scaling up the side. If only she had thumbs, dammit!
Kit was not easily surprised, he usually expected the unexpected and was rarely caught off guard, but when he woke up in a cage in the middle of some strange cavern-like temple…well, he was a little shocked.
The Vulpix glanced to the intricately carved images on the walls, his eyes narrowing at the cages that looked so out of place in this ancient cave. They were cold, steel bars with thick locks noosed around their doors. He did not like where he was at, and the whimper at his side informed him neither did Evelyn.
“What’s going on? Where are we and…and where’s Harley?”It was then he realized his leader’s absence, his mask shifted and he glanced around to find her in vain. All he saw was a Swinub licking Alec in the side of the face. The Riolu giggled about, flailing his paws to shoo it away but remained sleeping.
“Oh, Madam Evangeline. I didn’t know you were so playful~”Right, let’s ignore that.
The Vulpix stood suddenly, a flash of blue appearing in his peripheral and he wheeled around to find himself face to face with a massive Glaceon with angry, red eyes.
“Hello, little fire fox and fire doggy. So nice of you to join us, after all you are the guests of honor.” The Eeveelution turned, his tail flicked like a conductor’s baton behind him as a gesture towards the Froslass and Sneasel there to open the door.
The two did as told and the lock fell uselessly to the ground to allow the door to creak open. Kit considered making a run for it, but he gradually began to notice the other Ice Type Pokémon gathering in the room. Too many to fight, even with him and Evelyn having a type advantage. With a growl he stepped out of the cage, head held high in defiance. Evelyn followed suit, though far more meekly while Alec and his new ‘girlfriend’ stayed in the cage.
“You want to know why you’re here, I’d assume.” The Glaceon stated with a purr of contentment, pacing before a large ice sculpture that seemed carved into the very wall. It was massive, easily reaching the roof of the small cavern. Kit could make out arms, legs, and a thick torso. It’s ‘head’ or so he assumed was it’s head, pointed up like a stalactite. It took a moment of starring in awe before it finally clicked.
"Regice.” He murmured and the Glaceon clapped in delight.
“Yes, such a clever little Vulpix!” It turned to raise a paw at the frozen legendary behind it.
“It is Regice, guardian of snowy climates. You are here to awaken him with your flames! Unfreeze him from his prison and then I shall unleash him upon the Gemstone Mines for my revenge!”“That’s horrible, what…what could possibly make you want to do such a thing?” Evelyn squeaked out and the Glaceon rolled it’s eyes.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said REVENGE! You see, I grew up in those mines. Yes, yes it was a hard upbringing. My brothers and I fought for the gemstones we desired for our evolutions! ‘You should be an Espeon, Stefan!’ they’d say to me! Mocking me! They went out of their way to take the best stones for themselves, hiding the extras where I couldn’t get them and when they had all evolved they finally gave one to me as an ‘apology’!” He spat the word with venom, his pacing increased as his story continued in an almost catatonic frenzy of emotion.
“The one they gave me was a rock! An Icy rock! When I evolved it was endless ridicule! My brothers were all powerful Flareon, Jolteon and Umbreon while I was the girly, little Glaceon! WELL! We’ll see whose laughing now! Won’t we?!”“Yeah, we will.” A sleek gray blur shot from the side, swinging from the end of the tapestries that adorned the large window-like holes in the room’s walls.
Stefan flew back into the Regice statue with a cry of alarm and the blur dropped from the tapestry to land before him.
“Harley!” “In the fur!” The Poochyena called back, raising a paw into the air to reveal two bright, red orbs.
“Guessss wwwhaaatt theeessseee arreeee~?”“Oh no…”“Oh yes.”She tossed them to the ground, watching them shatter at her paws and a sudden illumination burst from the windows to fill the entire cavern with a bright, golden glow.
Drought Orb & Foe Fear Orb.
Multiple ice types fled the vicinity, but those that stayed would find themselves face to face with two enraged fire type. Evelyn let loose a Fire Spin, the flames coiling around a nearby Snorunt to send it running from the room, screaming with its stubby arms waving around madly.
Kit gave a short, barking laugh and turned to toast a Froslass with his Flamethrower but the Ghost was a bit quicker and struck out against him with a Sucker Punch, knocking his mask off before he lit her aflame.
Harley turned to stare, it was the first time she’d ever seen him without that mask and while the Vulpix scrambled around to find it, one paw over his face, she couldn’t help but give a soft chuckle.
She didn’t see why he was shielding it from view, his face wasn’t horrible deformed or anything.
With her attention on Kit she forgot about the Glaceon behind her, that is…until he sunk his teeth into her left shoulder with an Ice Fang.
Harley gave a yelp, lashing out her back legs to throw him off and Stefan retreated to catch his breath.
“My plan…MY PLAN. RUINED!”“It was a retarded plan anyways…” The Poochyena remarked with a sneer, firing a Shadow Ball the evolved Eevee avoided by darting to the side with an extremely startling speed.
Before Harley could react claws were slashing at her chest and she rocked back to her hind legs to avoid the brunt of the attack.
Alec, now awake and somewhat disgusted at his short-lived romance with a Swinub, dashed forward to assist but a wall of ice appeared around the Poochyena and Glaceon which he promptly slammed into.
Let’s ignore him some more!
“Harley! Hold on!” Kit’s voice cried out from outside the icy dome that Stefan had erected. The Dark Type inhaled sharply at being trapped and glared at the Glaceon with contempt.
Stefan gave a sweet smile, invoking his Blizzard to spiral around in the dome like a warped parody of a snow globe.
Harley starred down at her paws, at the splatter of her own blood that marred the snow encrusted floor.
If anyone deserved to die it was her, but…then again…
“Hate to break it to you, Stefanie, but I’ve got big plans of my own and they don’t involve dying here…”“MY NAME ISN’T STEFANI-“ He couldn’t finish his statement. Dead Glaceon can’t talk can they? They can gurgle a little bit, but that’s only for a few moments after death. Stefan didn’t even get that long.
He probably didn't even realize that Poochyena could have Fire Fang as an egg move.
'Thank you, Shiva...'The dome of ice dissolved into a puddle that mixed and pooled with the blood around the limp Glaceon.
Triumphant, Harley stepped away from the statue of Regice to greet her team.
“Are you alright?” Kit asked, ever the concerned parental figure of the group and in reply the Poochyena gave him a swift nod. Her wounds stung, but not so badly they would damper this moment.
“Guys, I…I’m so sorry. I should have told you that...the mission was…”“It’s in the past now. We learn from our mistakes...” Evelyn added, stepping up to Harley’s side to nudge the Poochyena with her head in a friendly gesture. Harley was quickly forgotten, though; when she spotted a Snorunt wander by wearing a familiar hat.
“HEY!” The Growlithe tore off after it, leaving a stream of curses in her wake. Shaking their heads, Kit and Harley proceeded to unlock the cages that held the other rescue teams that had been tricked by that deceptive Ice Type. They waited patiently for Evelyn to return, hat in tow and smelling somewhat like cooked hotdogs, and to ensure that the other Pokémon all got out first before heading for the exit themselves.
“You know, Kit. I kind of liked you without the mask.”“Too bad.” The Vulpix grumbled, adjusting his ‘face’ and pretending not to notice the Poochyena smirking at him.
“What?”“You have a cute face.”“I am many things, Harley. CUTE is not one of them.”“I thought you were cute, too.”“Evelyn, don’t you start…”“She agrees with me! You’re adorable Kit!”“STOP. IT.”“Hey, anyone else think we’re forgetting something important?”“Important? Naw.”Alec lifted his head from the floor with a groan.
“Oh man, that hurt worse than that one time I was made of rubber and got bitten by shark man who was interfering with my dream of becoming the king of pirates and…whoa, I hit that wall harder than I thought. Ugh, guys? GUYS?...dammit.” 
