Hello everyone, hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Major thanks to my beta, and the wonderful people who read this story!

Chapter 6: The Party's Decay

"Dau Si?"

"Sonata?"

"Why are you here?"

"No need to sound so excited, old friend. If anything, I would think you would be glad to see me."

The Loudred spit on the ground and shook her head. "I would rather you have gotten swallowed by one of the Forest's monsters."

"I would have if the beasts had even a shred of power. It took very little to take a dragon down."

"A dragon? I never saw any dragons in Denaid, but I met some sort of monster with scythes for hands."

"A Scyther?"

"If it was made of rock and absorbed water through its feet, perhaps. Not quite as fast either."

The Fighting type put her hand up to her chin and pondered what her fellow knight told her. "We will need to make detailed reports of the monsters we encountered. When we get back to the kingdom, that is."

"Is that what you came for? To take me back to Pasir?"

"Not at first. I am to observe you for a time, and once finished, we shall return to Pasir per the Queen's instructions."

Sonata huffed and turned away from her comrade, acting in a way Quintus had yet to see from his counterpart. "I understand."

"I have noticed it is just the two of you in this room. One might assume something unfit for a knight was happening here."

"What would you know about what is appropriate for a knight?" Snarled the Normal type.

"Far more than you, which would explain why I am a higher ranking than you. It would do you some good to take some inspiration from my actions."

"Not in any of my lives."

The Fighting type sighed and shook her head. "Very well. I will find an empty room to stay in for the time being."

With that, the newcomer left, leaving an angry Sonata and a perplexed Quintus. "Sonata? Who-"

"Go to sleep, Quintus. We can talk tomorrow." the knight took to the ground and rolled onto her side.

He sighed and followed her lead, wishing that someone would explain what was happening around him.

Clust had yet to see any of his kind, although his commander was sure that he would find Bunnelby in the mountain. The Ground type couldn't help but be a little skeptical. If he wasn't the only one, wouldn't he have seen more of his brethren already? But he had to have faith in the prince, the genius that had devised this entire plan.

It wasn't until the rock had grabbed him that the Normal type realized he wasn't alone in the rocky halls. It dangled him upside down and turned its head sideways to look at its capture.

"What's this? Haven't seen one of your kind around here before."

"N-no, there's plenty of Bunnelby here. Diggersby, too."

"No, I don't think so. I don't reckon there is. It makes me wonder if we have an outsider in the mountain. Doesn't it make you think that?"

It took a moment for the Agnian to realize he wasn't the one the Rock type was talking to. He looked all around, and he began to see the outlines of shapes, tracking their movement as they came closer. It wasn't long until he realized it was a group of Geodude and Graveller, and that the one that had caught him was much, much larger than the rest.

"I wonder what the Monster would do with you, huh little one?" The Golem asked the captured 'mon.

"Th-the Monster?"

"Thank you, little intruder. That was all I needed." The Megaton Pokemon threw the foreigner to the ground, and Clust clutched his head after the impact.

The group of Pokemon surrounded him, until the Bunnelby couldn't tell what was mountain and what was Pokemon.

"What are you doing?" asked the nervous Normal type.

Screams filled the caverns, but it wasn't long before they were silenced. The Rock types slowly peeled away from the area, but the Golem stayed as his counterparts retreated to their own caves.

"The King has no need to hear about this. He would've wanted to dispose of the pest himself." He thought, and he too, left the scene.

The Nidorino had apparently fallen asleep, the Arcanine watching over him as he awoke. The Poison type lifted his head to speak to his mate.

"Any sign of them?"

"The last group hasn't come through yet. It's been hours, shouldn't we be worried?"

"They must have run into trouble on the way. We cannot reset a dungeon, so we must simply wait. Although it is troubling…."

He put his head back down and furrowed his brow. The duo chatted for the next few hours, waiting on their comrades. It wasn't until nightfall that the last group showed up, bruised and battered. The Normal type was carrying her Leafeon companion, but collapsed the moment they pair made it out of the Dungeon. Any questions the Poison type had vanished, leaving only concern for his comrades. His mate rushed over to check their conditions, and he stared at the still open Dungeon entrance, waiting for it to close.

When a third figure started to reach through, the prince wasted no time in spitting an Ice Beam at the shape. It recoiled, falling back through the doorway, and he blasted it once again for good measure. The door closed, and the mysterious figure was trapped in the Dungeon.

"What the-"

"Hold on Celeria, we can worry about it later. We need to make sure these two are stable before we go chasing after Ferals."

"But what if it was-"

"It wasn't a Pasirian or a Pokemon from the mountain. I have never heard of anything escaping a Dungeon before, but it had to be a Feral."

The Fire type shook her head and turned back towards their unconscious companions. The two had wide cuts adorning their skin, like wet scarves on their body. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before, and the pair had seen many different types of Pokemon in Agni and in the Dungeons surrounding it.

"What do you think it was?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't seen anything like this in Agni or outside of it. Nowhere your dad sent me had anything that could do this."

They attended to the wounds of their comrades, unaware of the eyes watching them from the great mountain before them.

The Steel type dropped the broken Fighting type in front of its twin, discarding it like an old plaything. He walked up to the cowering Primeape, a sparkle in his eye as he approached the Agnian.

"I will ask again, weakling, what are you doing here?"

"I w-will never tell you! You beast! You-"

That was all he got out before the Excadrill used Shadow Claw to silence him. The Subterrene Pokemon brushed his hand against the grass to clean his claws, and shook his head.

"Weaklings, the both of them. I haven't had an easier fight in moons. No Primeape have lived in this mountain home in ages, if at all, so perhaps I should tell the king. Or perhaps, it'd be best not to worry him…"

And that's it everyone! Another small chapter since I've been working alot lately, but I'll try to make next month's a little longer. Hope you enjoyed it!