Axle kept his bag secured to his right side as the four of them all traveled towards where Skyla told them to go. Shaymin and Skyla were slightly chatty behind him, talking about various things of little importance, but Eon and him were deadly quiet. They gave each other looks every once in a while, especially when the conversation behind them dissolved into laughter, but aside from that they weren't really able to say much at the time. They couldn't.
Eventually, Eon walked up close to Axle and whispered to him, "Axle, are you sure…?"
"Are you able to say anything to them?" Axle asked back. "Because I'm not."
"…I just hope you're wrong," Eon said as she looked towards the ground. "I really, really do." Another bit of laughter came from behind them, causing Eon to flinch. "Especially…listening to them now."
Axle nodded silently to Eon before they continued on. Ahead of them was a large hill that reached beyond where Axle could see and was tall enough that in a few hours it would block the sun. It was large, gray, and imposing, certainly a place one wouldn't go to normally. It also was out of the way, as the team had to walk hours through barren landscape before reaching the hill. It was quite possibly a good place for outlaws to hide out in. Axle still felt skeptical, but he had to admit that the placement was good at least.
Axle turned back to look at Skyla. "So, is this it?" Axle asked, not bothering to make sure Skyla and Shaymin were done talking with each other before speaking.
"Yeah, it's definitely the place," Skyla said. "If you were to fly up and look at the back of the hill, you'd find a hole there. It's too small to really fit through, but the sun can shine through there. I'd bet more than anything that's where they kept me. It's probably where they're keeping the other shaymin kids as well."
"Alright," Axle said. A part of me wants to ask Shaymin to take a look at the hill just to be sure, but the other part doesn't have the heart to doubt Skyla's word. Besides, we'll find out soon anyways. All we need to do is reach the end of the dungeon and sees what lies at the end of it.
"We're almost there," Shaymin said as he looked at the cave. "Soon we're gonna go in, bash some outlaws, and save the shaymin kids." Shaymin jumped into the air and did a backflip. "I can't wait! It's time to finally put an end to things."
Axle nodded to Shaymin before looking back at Skyla. "First, we should get some quick strategy out of the way. Skyla, what are your battling capabilities?"
Skyla nearly snorted out laughing. "What do you think?" she asked. "I was captured, kept in a cave for who knows how long, and when I finally escaped I was beaten by a bunch of Wilds. I used to be pretty good, but it's been way too long. Sorry you guys, but you're on your own if we end up in a fight."
"I figured just about as much," Axle said. He took a quick glance at his entire team before kept his glance on Eon. "Alright, here's how we're gonna do things. Eon and I will take the front, as usual. Skyla, I want you to stay behind Eon, with Shaymin watching your back. That way, we can keep you away from attacks from behind. Should an enemy come from the front, Shaymin I want you to fly up to where Eon and I am and we'll form a wall between the enemy and Skyla to protect her. Should an enemy come from behind…"
Shaymin nodded before Axle was able to say anything else. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I'll make sure they don't touch her, even if I have to do it by myself. Don't worry about it. Any enemies that attack us from behind will feel sorry they ever even tried."
"Geez, you guys sure have things all figured out," Skyla said. "You do things like this before?"
"Escort missions aren't the most fun missions in the world, but we have done them before," Eon explained. "So yeah, we have experience in this. You can trust Team Aura."
"Well, feel free to have me do what you need me to," Skyla said cheerfully. "I'll try not to get in your guys' way too much."
"Just conserve your strength for now Skyla," Shaymin said. "That way you can get your swing at the outlaws after we're done with them."
"You bet Rainflower," Skyla said.
With strategy done, everyone walked into the cave. Unlike the Black Hole Cavern, this cave was a lot brighter on the inside, allowing everyone to see the tunnels of the cavern nearly perfectly. As such, they could see the dull gray walls that seemed to be chipped in several locations, as if someone did some sort of mining in these tunnels. As they continued walking further and further into the dungeon, the chips and cracks became more and more prevalent in the walls, as if there were more and more mining operations done further and further in.
"Strange place," Eon mused as they walked through. "Hey Skyla, do you know if there were ever any mining operations done in this place?"
"Hmm…maybe," Skyla said, her voice reverberating across the cave walls. "Wouldn't surprise me actually. I'd bet anything that the outlaws made this place their base because of how much gems are here."
"Wanna try keeping your voice down?" Axle growled.
"Why?" Skyla asked, completely disregarding Axle's suggestion.
It was just a couple of moments later when the three of them heard a deep growl followed by the sounds of thundering footsteps heading in their direction. Axle faced forwards, his right paw at the ready to attack, Eon ran to his right, and Shaymin flew over to his left, all getting ready to face his foe.
A rhyperior, who was nearly as tall as the tunnel was, came stomping imposingly towards the team. Its footsteps shook the ground as they walked, and Axle kept his eyes on the walls of the cave to make sure a cave-in didn't happen. Once the rhyperior reached uncomfortably close to the team, it lowered its head and roared at the crew.
"This is why," Axle groaned. "Shaymin, we need distance."
"On it," Shaymin said.
The grass/flying-type quickly launched an Energy Ball at the rhyperior, staggering it a bit. With it staggered, Axle ran up to the drill Pokémon and hit it hard with a strong Force Palm. Those two attacks were exactly what was needed to knock the rhyperior back a few feet, and even knock it down onto its back.
"Yeah, bigger they are, harder they fall!" Shaymin yelled, doing a backflip as he did so.
"Don't think it's over," Axle said knowingly.
Axle was right, as the rhyperior slammed its arm hard into the ground, causing the ground below them to shake violently. Shaymin and Skyla both flew off the ground to avoid the attack, but Axle and Eon weren't so lucky. It wasn't as strong as an earthquake, but Axle could feel his legs shaking and slowly giving way and he was sure Eon was feeling the same thing.
"B-bulldoze," Eon groaned. "I-it's an attack that…ahhhhiiiii!"
Axle felt his heart nearly stop at the sound of Eon's screams of pain. "E-Eon!" Axle groaned. "Shaymin, get her off the ground, now!"
"On it!" Shaymin announced.
Axle looked up out of the corner of his eyes to see Shaymin wrap his forelegs around the eevee and lift her off the ground. Despite still being in the midst of the Bulldoze attack, Axle breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Eon wasn't getting hit by the attack anymore. And eventually, the shifting ground stopped, and while Axle could still feel his legs shaking, he could breathe another sigh of relief knowing that the attack was over. Though the ground still shook as the rhyperior crawled slowly back up on its feet.
"The attack shakes the ground causing our legs to give way, making it difficult to move as well as we used to," Eon said from the air. "This isn't good. Axle, rhyperior have strong defenses, so you're not going to do much damage even with your advantage."
"I get the picture," Axle said. "Shaymin, put Eon on my back."
"You sure about that, Axle?" Eon asked.
The ground thundered as the rhyperior nearly finished getting up off the ground.
"We don't really have time to argue about this," Axle said. "Besides, we both knew something like this could happen."
Before Eon could argue another word, Shaymin lowered her onto Axle's back. Axle felt his legs nearly gave way at how unstable they already were combined with Eon's weight suddenly falling on his back, but he managed to keep himself steady through sheer force of will. Once the riolu got stable footing, Axle took a couple of steps back to put some distance between himself—and Eon by extension—and the rhyperior. He managed to do that just before the rhyperior was able to get on its feet and roar back at the crew.
"Eon, we need to distract the rhyperior," Axle said. "Shaymin, you attack it from above while we're distracting it. Skyla, try hiding somewhere a bit always so you don't get caught in the crossfire. Call us if you need us."
"Sure, why not?" Skyla asked, chucking.
"Roger," Shaymin said.
"On it," Eon said.
Axle backed up a bit, keeping Eon straight so that she could attack the rhyperior with a Shadow Ball attack. Eon did so without prompting, sending that ball of ghastly energy flying at the rock/ground-type. This caught the rhyperior's attention and it went charging at Axle and Eon at a decent pace. Axle, with the weight he was carrying, was just barely able to dodge out of the way in time, but he managed without accidently dropping Eon.
"Shaymin, fire!" Axle commanded.
Wordlessly, Shaymin launched another Energy Ball, this one causing the rhyperior to reel a bit upon impact. Eon didn't let it look towards Shaymin, though, as she let out a Hidden Power straight at the rhyperior to keep its attention on her. So Axle kept on his toes, prepared to dodge whatever attacks come his way.
"Axle, I think Shaymin's last attack might have lowered its defenses," Eon mumbled to Axle. "We should get ready one last attack. This includes you, by the way."
"Are you able to walk?" Axle asked.
"My paws feel fine," Eon said. "Trust me."
"Alright," Axle said back to her with a nod. "When I find an opening, I'll put you down."
Another charge came towards Axle, and Axle dodged out of the way of the attack. This attack caused the rhyperior to slam into the wall of the cave, and lodge itself into the wall. Axle could tell, by the way it struggled within its little crevice, that it was also stuck there, unable to get out. The riolu's eyes widened as he saw a chance.
Axle knelt down, letting Eon quickly jump off his back. As soon as she got off, Eon immediately shot a final Shadow Ball onto the rhyperior. Shaymin, seeing the state the rhyperior is in and Eon's attack, immediately caught on and launched an Energy Ball into the rhyperior. Axle let out a Bullet Punch to keep the rhyperior there allowing Eon and Shaymin to keep their attacks up. Eventually, the combination of attacks managed to finally knock the rhyperior down and out.
"Finally, it's over," Axle said with a sigh.
"Hey Skyla, you can come back now!" Shaymin called to his friend.
Skyla began walking back. "Hey you guys," she said. "I was wondering when you'd finally finish."
"That rhyperior was really strong," Eon said. "Stronger than a lot of Wilds we usually face. It's been a while since we've had a fight this tough."
"…I wonder," Axle mumbled to himself. He shook his head and spoke out loud. "Anyways, as of right now, we should get a move on. No use standing around here thinking of it until more Wilds start swarming us. There's bound to be a couple in the area that heard the sound made from this last battle."
"Yeah, we should hurry," Eon said with a nod. "I've been able to stand on my own for now, so don't worry about me."
"I'll try to be a little quieter too," Skyla said, though she said it at the same volume she usually spoke in.
"Let's just…get going," Axle said.
The four of them all walked off and continued on further into the cavern. As they walked through the dungeon they constantly encountered wild Pokémon, sometimes having several consecutive battles until they were able to go further into the dungeon. The team was starting to get tired as they went further and further into the dungeon.
As they were walking, Axle noticed something strange when it came to the battles they encountered. They mostly faced Ground-Types, and the wild Pokémon mostly attacked Axle and Eon. The riolu kept up a similar strategy to what he did with the rhyperior, having Eon and himself distract the Pokémon while Shaymin launched his attacks from above and afar, but even when Axle felt Eon and him were to slow at their distraction attempt, the Pokémon still focused on himself and Eon over Shaymin.
This can't be good, Axle thought. No matter how I try to think about it, how many ways I try to swing it… Axle looked to his right to see Eon lagging behind him, limping due to all the stress the Ground-Types constant shaking put on her. He almost grew angry at seeing that, but he managed to take a deep breath and keep his emotions in check for now. Let's just keep going for now. We'll find out soon.
The four of them continued walking until they reached a dead end. Axle, Eon, and Shaymin walked to the middle of the room, examining as much of the room as they could. It was a large, dome shaped room with not much going for it. There were ledges surrounding the perimeter high above, but there wasn't much distinct about them. What was most striking about the room though was that it was missing one crucial thing. Sunlight pouring down into it.
"Did we take a wrong turn or something?" Eon asked as she looked over the room. "It looks like we're at the end of the dungeon, but we haven't seen the kids or the outlaws. I thought this was where they were hiding out?"
Shaymin flew into the room and looked around as well. "Yeah, something feels wrong," he said. "Hey Skyla, you have any ideas?"
Axle, Eon, and Shaymin all looked back at Skyla to see her looking at the ground. "Skyla?" Shaymin asked again.
Skyla sighed. "…The kids aren't here," Skyla said. "They never were here."
"So, are you going to come out and say it?" Axle asked.
Skyla looked up at him. "So, you knew? Yet you still let me bring you here? I don't know what that says about you but…it doesn't matter much anymore."
"Skyla, what's going on?" Shaymin asked.
"Shaymin, she's one of the outlaws," Axle said. "Not only that, but the leader of the outlaws. She was the third voice I heard in my Dimensional Scream."
Skyla huffed. "Not sure about any 'Dimensional Scream' or whatever, but you're right. That semisage and gogoat you met, they're both my partners. And the three of us are going to be the ones who get Clover's treasure."
"Skyla, what?!" Shaymin asked. "What do you mean? Y-you can't be…"
Shaymin stopped in mid-sentence. "No, that's not right," Shaymin mumbled, mostly to himself though Axle and Eon could hear him. "It's not that you can't be, but I don't want you to be. I…saw the signs, I knew your story had a lot of holes in it, but I hoped it was just some misunderstanding." Shaymin looked at Skyla and raised his voice. "Skyla, why? What's going on?"
Skyla shook her head. "I can't let you guys get in our way. I've heard plenty about the 'great' Exploration Team Aura, enough to know you guys are going to be trouble if I leave you alone."
"So you plan to fight us?" Axle said, his paws balled into fists. "Don't pretend just because you're a Mythical Pokémon that this fight will be easy!"
"Yeah, I kinda guessed on that," Skyla said. "Luckily I've got a backup plan."
Suddenly, several large Pokémon fell from the ledges above the room, shaking the ground as they did so. There were about 20 of them that surrounded Team Aura, and they were all either Rock or Ground-Type, some a combination of the two. There were about four rhyperior as well, and Axle suspected one of them might have been the same rhyperior that they defeated before. On seeing all the enemies, Axle and Eon backed up towards Shaymin in a triangular position, getting close enough so that their three respective tails were touching.
"So, you brought backup?" Axle asked. "Cowardly tactic."
"Pfft, not like I care," Skyla huffed. "I've gone too far; nothing matters anymore. Besides, I told you guys, I heard all about you already. So when I sent a telepathic message to Semisage and Gogoat, and they told me you were coming, I knew I had to do something. All it took was making a few connections to the underground and finding a good place for a trap. So, how'd I do."
"How could you do this?!" Eon yelled. "Lie to Shaymin! Kidnap a bunch of kids! You're a despicable creep, you know that?!"
"So, this should be interesting," Skyla said, ignoring Eon's outburst. "Think you'll be able to take down all of these and me at the same time? Gonna admit, you get serious points from me if you do."
"Skyla!" Shaymin yelled to try and get her attention.
"Rainflower, I want you to come with me," Skyla said. "Leave your friends and help me search for Clover's Treasure. It'll be the adventure of a lifetime."
"Wait…what?!" Shaymin and Eon both asked.
"Rainflower, think about it," Skyla said. "We're both Mythical Pokémon. We're going to outlive pretty much everyone we know. So why shouldn't we stick together? You wanted some time to catch up with me, now's your chance."
"Skyla, these guys are my friends!" Shaymin said. "You're asking me to abandon them like this? Plus, you kidnapped a bunch of kids!"
"So what?" Skyla asked. "We're not hurting them or anything. They're all just fine. We're only keeping them until we find Clover's Treasure, then they can go back. It's not like it matters."
"You kidnap a bunch of kids and act like it doesn't matter?!" Eon asked. "Shaymin Village is in chaos because those kids are missing! Their parents are worried sick! Their friends are also probably really worried as well! Does that really sound like it doesn't matter?!"
"Skyla!" Shaymin called.
Skyla raised her right forepaw. "Make your choice now," she demanded.
"Skyla, please!" Shaymin pleaded. "Tell me why you're doing this! What happened?! Please, tell me and I can help you. I want to talk this out. I…don't want to…"
"So, you're sticking with your friends then," Skyla said with a worn out sigh. "Fine. Maybe you'll change your mind after we're done here."
Skyla lowered her paw, signaling the attack. On her signal, all the Pokémon around the arena called out a powerful roar that filled the cave with sound. Axle and Eon both covered their ears at the sound, but Shaymin just stood there, head lowered to the ground in depression.
"Shaymin, I don't think you're going to get any more info out of her," Axle said quietly to him. "We need to get out of here now."
"…Why?" Shaymin asked in a defeated tone.
"We can try to figure that out later," Eon said. "But we can't do that if we lose here. Axle, you ready?"
Axle chuckled. "You know it." Axle then turned to Skyla and looked at her. "You know it's funny, you're still underestimating us. You should have realized, if I had any inkling that you would be planning on betraying us, I would plan for it. We'll be back later for you."
With that, Axle quickly reached into his bag and pulled out a small glowing orb. "Escape Orb!" Axle yelled before shattering the orb on the ground. Once the orb broke upon impact, a brilliant sky-blue light rose from the ground to the sky, surrounding Team Aura. Once the light disappeared, Team Aura was no longer in that cave.
