Group RP Cobalt Crew Chronicles: Caverns of Cold Steel

Spoiler: Cave Crew Location Update

"Weel lassie, ah hawp we're in th' networks atween mines 15 'n' 16 richt noo. As lang as we keep gaun straecht, we shuid be in th' lower levels soon." Royce paused as he felt a faint mixture of gases roll over his body. If he had had a nose, he might have wrinkled it at this point, though Rolycoly didn't exactly have a sense of smell. "Riley, mynd th' walls as we gang fo'ard. A load o' Woobat used tae bide in wee coves 'n the walls 'ere. Still a bawherr... messy."

In the back of the party, Douglas muttered something about cramped dirty spaces.

"Ye wur th' yin wha signed up tae be a Frosthunter, laddie," Royce said amusedly. "Na choice tae git yer hauns dirty samtime."

Levi scoffed. "Doug should be used to getting his hands dirty. He was a peat digger at the moors before they froze ever."

"Yeah, and it was dirty, mucky work," the Timburr snapped back. "Exactly why I left."

"Feel nice to be back in familiar territory?" the Scraggy taunted.

"Will it feel nice if I whack you upside your head aga--"

"Laddies, save yer air fur mair important hings," Royce said in a warning tone that left no room for argument. The party fell into silence again.

"Sorry," the Timburr and Scraggy both said dejectedly.

As the group continued walking through the darkness, Amy wished she could have had some sort of move like Flash to use at times likes these. Thoughts of her past crept in intrusively try as she might to push them back...

Amyyyyy... a low, terrifyingly familiar voice seemed to breeze past Amy's ear with a chill. A malicious cross between a snort and cackle whispered from the darkness.

 

"Something th' maiter, Amy?" Royce said, turning around. "Ye'r nae getting dizzy fae bad air urr ye?" he asked, immediately looking concerned.

"Yeah, you all right?" Levi asked. "Sounds like you just heard somethin'. Also, could you have lit up your eyes sooner? We could use more light," the Scraggy said, sounding slightly annoyed.

 

Boreas stumbled into the cavern last, rolling Puck rather unceremoniously into the cavern. Frostfloaters still patrolled outside, though they didn't seem to keen on entering the cave tunnels; every time one flew close, it would shake with what almost seemed like annoyance before turning around.

"They won't...follow us in here" Boreas mumbled, finally catching his breath, pushing the frozen Zoroark off to the side. "Floaters like access to the open air so they can reform if melted."

"Boreas, will ta little ones manning the tents be a'right?" Angharad asked, her voice full of concern. "They all scattered when the Floaters cam down."

Boreas nodded. "Ay, the Swinubs and Sneasels at the tents will be fine, as long as they keep their heads down. Floaters don't think much of Ice-types unless they actively cause trouble, like I did trying to help Hartman." Boreas' slumped and weakly slammed his fist against the cavern wall. "Hartman..."

Demyx stepped forward, looking racked with guilt. Boreas pointed his paw the Dewott firmly. "Don't apologize, Defender." the Beartic said sternly. "I can't have you feeling sorry right now. You did all you could. And Hartman wouldn't want you down either."

A strangled gurgle began to emanate to Boreas' left, followed by a series of cracking noises. All heads turned in the direction of the noise as they saw that Puck's icy prison had begun to splinter with cracks, and trickles of sour, fruity-smelling liquid was seeping through, causing the ice to begin thawing. A chunk of ice surrounding the Zoroark's left paw slid off, exposing the appendage to open air. Puck's claws began to curl.

Demyx sniffed the air. "What is that... smell?" he asked.

Boreas snarled angrily, his breath forming an icy cloud. "He was carrying Aspear berries in his hair. Of course he was, the superstitious little --"

The Beartic roared as he lifted the Zoroark above his head and brought the ice block shattering down on the cavern floor. Puck lay sprawled out, disoriented, soaked and chilled to the bone, and retching, but he was still very much alive. Boreas glowered unsympathetically before grabbing the Illusion Pokémon by the shoulders and slamming him against the cave wall.

"PUCK!!!" Boreas shouted. "This is your fault! Starting meaningless fights, acting like some end-of-days prophet with that garbage in your hair! You've got this entire mountain on lock-down now!"

Despite the situation he was in, Puck coughed, before grinning shrewdly through squinted eyes. "Well, I--" the Zoroark coughed violently again. "I'd say I was pretty damn prepared back there."

 

Riley frowned, glancing back briefly at Amy's frightened outburst, but re-focusing on the tunnel ahead; she couldn't afford any lapses in her Aura pathfinding. Still, the Kirlia's comment on unheard voices made her uneasy. If there really was something in this tunnel with them, her Aura wasn't picking anything up.

"Ah forgoat howfur mirky thae caves git wi'oot lights," Royce said in a low voice. "Nice tae hae smart folks lik' ye aroond in times lik' --" Royce's sentence stopped short as his whole body seemed to seize. He toppled over unmoving, his eye, normally glowing like an orange coal, was completely dark.

 

Amy yelped in surprise as she felt an arm yank her violently back upright.

"Don't get too low!" Levi whispered furiously. "Doug, get Royce off the ground, NOW!"

"But Royce--" Amy began, but the Scraggy shook a silencing finger at her.

"The heavier air in mines can sink to the bottom of the floor," Levi said in a rapid but clear voice. Amy could see the seriousness in his eyes from the dim glow of her Psychic. "Air we can't breathe well. Just a bit of height can make all the difference. Royce is shorter than the rest of us, and it's possible he's had it worse than us this whole time."

As he continued to speak, Douglas grunted as he hoisted the Rolycoly above his head. "All right I got him!" the Timburr called out.

"All right, keep him up there!" Levi said, still facing Amy. "I don't know how Rolycoly's breathe exactly, but being part Fire-type, as long as he gets enough oxygen around him again, he should start waking up!" Returning his attention to the Kirlia he said firmly. "Keep your head high from here on out. That goes for all of us!" he said a bit louder.

 

Douglas smirked. "Nah, I can handle him, miss. Besides, if we have to act fast, I don't want you accidentally throwing Royce with your mind. Keep lighting the way for us. Until Royce wakes up, you and Riley are our eyes now."

"I'll take point with our Riolu friend, I guess," Levi said, still looking rather serious. "Remember, heads up, and keep alert. And if you hear any more voices..." Levi looked at Amy one last time. "Well, don't keep it to yourself. I don't think you're crazy. With all the things happening, I... doubt we're alone."

 

Puck responded to Boreas' and Angharad's threats by releasing a burst of flame from his mouth. Boreas cried out in pain as the Flamethrower singed his paw; Angharad, despite her anger, also instinctively released her grip and let dropping the Zoroark to the ground. Before anyone could react, he dashed out of the Beartic's reach and split into four Illusions. All of them made a dash for the cave exit before turning around and glowered at the Pokémon crew.

"You must be as stupider than a Slowpoke if you think I'll stick around with the rest of you," the Zoroarks spat at Bluegrass unison, their voices overlapping with one another, though each boiling with undisguised hatred. "You don't really care about saving anyone. All of you, cowards, fleeing into the tunnels without even trying to put up a fight! We could've crushed those Floaters! I could've melted them all!" Puck's voice seemed to crack for a moment as he screamed the last few words. The Zoroark blinked furiously before talking again.

"Just like at the Chasm, just like in Lacunosa, you're all useless! Useless!" the Zoroark seethed. "You will all lose. You will all freeze. I just wish I could watch it happen. Have fun on the way down!"

The Zoroarks then slammed their paws to the floors and plunged the cave into darkness with another Night Daze attack. The rest of the Pokémon flinched as the shadows surged forward. Boreas thought she could see several more Focus Blasts being fired upward within the darkness, following by an awful crumbling sound.

"That blasted fox is bringing down the entrance!" Boreas bellowed. He tried to move forward but in the darkness, he couldn't see past his nose. He coughed as he breathed in a cloud of dust, followed by freezing air. By the time the shadows faded and the dust settled, Boreas looked at the entrance of Mine 15 with shock as he saw shaft completely entombed in a mix of stone and ice.

"He used his illusions to trick the Floaters into sealing the tunnel!" the Beartic raged. "That cursed--" Boreas swung at cave-in with all the Superpower he could muster, but the exhaustion from earlier still hadn't worn off yet. He fell to his knees, cursing under his breath. "If I... ever... see that Zoroark again.... I'll..." Boreas groaned as he collapsed, passed out from exertion.

 

The Scraggy looked at her grimly. "You really are still new to the Frosthunter job aren't you?" he said, though his ton lack and condescension. "Your Aura can't pick up a lot these monsters because of the intense cold they emit. They're good at hiding, and truth be told, I think a lot of them are even alive in the same sense you and me are."

"Ay, Levi's right," Douglas said, still carrying the Rolycoly above his head. "Remember that thing carted out of --"

"We don't talk about 17, Doug," Levi said with warning.

"Ah, to the Chasm with rules right now," the Timburr said exasperatedly. Continuing on, he said, "A month ago, a team of Frosthunters led by a Wartortle got attacked in the lower levels. Only a few made it out, and whatever they killed, was absolutely massive. Looked like a castle tower, except it was made entirely of ice and had a bunch of yellows glyphs for eyes --"

The Timburr stopped talking as an ominous tremor rumbled through the floor. A fine cloud of dust shook loose from the ceiling.

"What in the Frozen One's name was--"

The Timburr dropped Royce to the ground as he, and the rest of the party clasped their ears in pain as a horrible screech shot through the cave. The scream seemed to chill them to the bones, and made their skin feel as if it was turning to glass.

Riley gritted her teeth and grimaced through the noise, trying to place one paw on the wall to try and see what was making such a sound. She sent another pulse of Aura through the stone and felt her heart fall into her stomach.

She only saw it for a moment, and couldn't even see it clearly, but it was enough to make her want to crawl into a cave pocket and never come out. Something was beneath them, far, far down. It was enormous, it was furious, it was hungry, and worst of all, Riley could sense the feeling that it was intelligent.

The Riolu stumbled back and fell to the floor, then immediately gasped in pain as she felt her breath turn painful. Levi was right. The air was indeed almost unbreathable just two head lengths lower.