Rio's Bone Rush met the Honedge's slash, stopping it mid attack. It didn't even flinch, the blade starting to cut deeper, and deeper. The Riolu hybrid jumped back as his staff was cleaved in two, now holding two smaller staffs. Rio twirled them casually, before smashing the thing in the eye with one of them. He didn't know if that hurt it, the Laberynth was weird like that, but he did send the sword flying into a wall. The blade got stuck in the stone, and the Honedge struggled to free itself.

"Back here again huh... " he said to himself. "Guess Blue was right."

As Rio walked away, still aware of the undying blade that still probably wanted to skewer him, he noted this was a lot different from last time. The mist was new for one thing, and there were no signs of cells. Just stone, and the inability to see ten feet in front of him. No Aura too… either that, or there was nothing he could sense around.

"This mist is annoying…" At that, Rio clapped his paws together, and let his Aura explode. The blue shockwave erupted from all around him, blowing the stone he was standing on away. The mist, however, stayed where it was. Rio blinked. Not normal mist then.

So where was everyone? They all got dragged in at the same time.. But he wasn't sure who fell in. Blue definitely, maybe Red. He should focus on finding them first, they'd be the most vulnerable.

The mist didn't let him see much, he was basically walking blind through the massive cavern. No Aura to sense, no markings, and the occasional hiss of metal.

Wait the hiss of wha-

Rio jumped back to avoid the twin blades that just went for his neck. The Doublade seemed to come out of nowhere, both blades drawn and hovering threateningly in front of the hybrid.

"INTRUDER!" the blades hummed, glowing with ghostly energy.

Rio responded by holding one of his Bone Rushes out and extending it quickly. It pushed the scabbards and through it the swords, back into the mist. A few seconds later, he heard the slam of Doublade hitting the wall, but it was still screaming "intruder." Rio decided to keep it pressed against the blade as he made his way to follow the sound. Soon enough he saw the wall, and the Doublade pinned to it via his Bone Rush. It didn't seem smart enough to cut the thing, even though its blades were drawn. It just flailed angrily towards the Riolu holding it in place.

Rio extended the other Bone Rush to the other end of the room, pushing it until the walls are supporting both ends, and letting go. It held up, and the Doublade was still too dumb to cut the shaft to free itself. Good. So he left it there and went on his way, holding his paw out to drag against the stone wall, feeling for an exit, all while the blades he had taken care of were shouting the word 'Intruder' all the way.

Eventually he saw it, and then felt it. The large stone archway sloping down. Nowhere else to go, and he still couldn't sense anything. At least the mist cleared up. It was still there, but much thinner. He could now see through the dark mists, and down the unlit path ahead. Still dark, but perceivable. Rio summoned another Bone Rush and used the blue glow to light his way. It… didn't help much.

And so the Riolu made his way down, examining the cracked stone wall. Something was written on it… looked familiar too. Back at the waterfall dungeon? With that tall cat Pokemon? What did Blue say it was called… Mewtwo?

God, what a mess. Was it still mad about the ribs? Imagine if he ran into that thing while he was down here. That would be messy. Good thing he'd be able to sense it before it got to that point, the Auras that particularly wanted him dead tended to stick out.

So it was a surprise for Rio when he ran into a thinly furred body as he entered the next room. He looked up to see the confused, and widening purple eyes of the mutant in question. Rio didn't feel its Aura. Why didn't he feel its Aura?

The Mewtwo raised its arm, purple psionic energy creeping up the limb. Rio ducked the Psycho Cut, just missing the top of his head, and leaving a deep gash in the wall behind him. Rio shot his Bone Rush at it in retaliation, but instead of the Barrier like last time the pseudo legendary floated to the side and grabbed the Bone Rush in its bulbed hands, yanking the Riolu closer.

Before it could, the Hybrid detonated the bone, blowing it right in the Mewtwo's face. It flew back, bleeding black blood from its arm and nose, before being surrounded with bright purple energy. The flow of blood started to stem from the Recover.

Rio growled as he flung himself at the mutant, fist coated in darkness for a Sucker Punch. A Barrier sprung up around the Mewtwo to soften the blow, but between splitting his focus on healing itself and the sudden defense the forcefield cracked and shattered under the force of the supereffective blow. It hit the Mewtwo in the chest, but the blow was still softened.

Rio felt the things tail wrap around his waist, yanking him away. Why wasn't it using psychic? It probably noticed the last transformation and wanted to avoid another-

Oh Arceus why didn't he lead with that?

"Why-" the Mewtwo started, but it stopped itself as the black crystal lit up and the Riolu's fur started to change. It receded as it turned black, yellow rings growling around his waist, the tip of his tail, his ears, and his Aura sensors.

Before his captor could react the newly made Riolu-Umbreon flared his Aura, feeling it spread around the room and more importantly over the Mewtwo.

"What?" It said, before slamming into the ground. Rio pried the tail off of him as the Mewtwo looked at him, eyes flashing purple. He felt the Psychic wash over him, and sink into him due to his typing. The Mewtwo's body lit up next, trying to float once more, but the darkness now filling the room prevented him from doing so. Rio summoned his Bone Rush Scythe, and pointed the business end at the Mewtwo in response. The power faded from its eyes, being replaced with… fear.

"Why do you torment me?" the Mewtwo whimpered. "You chased me this far, what am I to you?"

Rio blinked, not lowering his scythe as he processed the mutant's words. Was he serious?

"What?" Rio shouted. "You followed us, you mad cat!"

"Then why did you have me imprisoned? With that thing on your wrist?" If Psych could lift its arm, he'd probably point at the Dark Z-Crystal glowing on his arm.

"I found this-" he held up the glowing stone. "Right before we found you!"

"Then why did you proceed to break my ribs?"

"Because you were trying to kill us first you asshole!"

"I-" the mutant paused, considering the Riolu-Umbreon's words.. "That… is a fair reaction."

Rio groaned and let the scythe and his Aura fade. Normal gravity reassured itself not long after. The hybrid stopped tapping the dark crystal, and his body went back to normal. The Mewtwo wasted no time in floating up once again, still cautiously looking at the hybrid. Fear was still present, he could tell that much even without Aura, but less.

"I am Psych," the Mewtwo introduced himself.

"Original," Rio commented.

"That was sarcasm, yes? You are at least partially a Riolu, and with your name you cannot say yours is much better."

"Never said that." Rio put his hands behind his head as he looked around. The room had three entrances, one behind Rio, one to the left, probably where Psych came from, and the one at the opposite side of where Rio was standing. "But yeah, we weren't keeping you locked up or anything. We just found you. Read my mind if you don't believe that."

"...I cannot."

"Really? But I shifted back-"

"No. I did not even feel your mind when you came in, before your transformation. This place seems to be blocking my sensory abilities. And reading your mind seems to be similarly impossible."

"So that wasn't just me…"

"This place seems to be inhibiting both of our sensory abilities… this mist perhaps?"

"Probably. Now, why the hell were you with Griza?" Rio asked as he walked with his new… aquatinace. Yeah, that was accurate.

"Is that really important right now?"

Rio looked back at the Mewtwo, who sighed.

"She found me, and helped mend the ribs you shattered."

"Not sure if I should apologize for that…"

"I was trying to kill you, so…"

"Whatever. How's she been?"

The Mewtwo paused to think of an answer, while Rio looked at more of the walls they walked. More of that human language. Couldn't make any sense of it.

"Griza has been well," Psych answered after a bit. "When she heard you were hurt, she went to go find you immediately, and those who got in her way…" the mutant shuddered.

"Yeah, I get ya," Rio said.

"Tell me, are you two dating? Based on your reaction..."

"No," Rio answered immediately. "That was a while ago, and she doesn't understand that."

It seemed that Griza had only become more… Griza, upon evolution. Rio still cared about her, he really did, but she doesn't listen if it's not something she likes, and their breakup fell under that category. What a terrifying mess…

"I'm not sure I get it…"

"Not right now." This conversation was getting a little uncomfortable. "Can you read this?" Rio pointed at the text lining the walls. It was a long shot, but it was worth asking, and it changed the subject.

"You can't? It's very basic Unovan."

"Worth ask- what?"

"It's mostly nonsense… 'test… fail… doom…' variations of those words."

"How do you know how to read that? Blue said that's an old human language!"

"Human? …You're right! This is a human language! Why didn't I…"

Psych held his head, eyes widening. Rio didn't need Aura sense to tell how he was feeling. Confusion was obvious on his face.

"You know…" Rio started. "We did find some info on you in the Dungeon."

"Really?" All of Psych's attention was suddenly on Rio, his pressuring gaze seeming to press down on the Riolu. Still, wasn't Griza levels.

"Blue probably knows more, and we left the books back in Wonder City. I think Thesus is working on getting more info."

"Then we must find him! Immediately! Come now!" the Mewtwo was suddenly less like a tiger and more like a kitten as it shot down into the depths. Rio, having what he assumed was at least not an enemy, followed. He was right, Blue was the most vulnerable, and they needed to find him, now.

The two current allies descended further into the depths, looking for any sign of a Bidoof, or anyone that wasn't a floating sword. It was weird, they didn't find many floating swords either… usually the Labyrinth just chucked undying enemies at you, what gives? It was getting hotter too…

"This heat is strange, wouldn't you agree?" Psych asked, fanning himself. "A departure from the relatively cool temperature so far."

"Dungeons are weird," Rio shrugged. "Especially this one."

As they continued, Rio opened his mouth to say something, when he felt a change. The heat suddenly felt fine. Like, he could feel it, but it felt like any other day. His fur changed color once again, turning red where it was blue. His neck fluff turned a creamy yellow as it suddenly puffed out, covering his mouth in a flash. The same thing happened to his tail. That yellow fur suddenly grew on top of his head. One eye turned black as the transformation completed. Rio blinked, coughing up stray strands of neck fur because his mouth was open when it triggered.

"Gah!" Rio said, spluttering as he moved his considerable fluff out of his face hole. "The hell?"

"It seems your transformations can also be triggered by the environment." Psych commented. "This is a strange ability for a Riolu… are half Eevee by chance?"

"Yeah yeah, I know I'm a freak, calm down," Rio looked his new fur over, shaking it out. The Riolu-Flareon fluffed out even more as a result. "Come on, let's see what's causing it."

The two went down the path, and walked into what could only be described as a melting room. Everything inside was in some form of melting. The stone was turning to magma, walls crumbling as they melted. The floor that hadn't melted shot up in jagged pillars that stuck out of the lava below. There was also the little fact that the place was littered with broken swords. Some of the Honedge just struggled in the hot wall, metal glowing with the heat. Some were even starting to melt. Some of the Doublade were snapped clean in half, struggling to hover. Could swords sweat, or was that just the fact that they too were in the process of melting? Either way they seemed to be grounded. Plus what really took the attention of the two was who was causing it.

The Tyranitar was stomping on a Duoblade, just stomping the those swords into the ground. His hat was nicked, but Veles looked fine. Rio did notice that weird tattoo on his arm had… grown. Instead of stopping at the elbow, the thick black lines branched to the top of his arm and has started creeping towards one of his eyes. They were both a blazing yellow.

"Stupid thing!" the Tyranitar roared, stomping the blade into the ground. "Do you KNOW how much this hat cost? Little shit!"

This went on for a while, the two freaks just staring at the display of absolute rage. Soon the ghost was putty under the raging lizards stomp. Its hilt still had the pulsing eye, shouting 'intruder' as if it did not just get what amounted to its spine shattered and melted.

"What?" Psych said absently, Barrier raised. "That shouldn't be possible, Tyranitar cannot manipulate stone in this way…"

"Lotsa things seem impossible," Veles growled, turning to stare down the two. Rio noticed that he was looking down at Psych, who he could have sworn was taller. "Like a giant hole in the ground interrupting my daughter's big day. Like two of the three mon who interrupted it in the first place teaming up, and the fact that both of them have fucked with my operation before that. All freaks at that. What a coincidence… "

Rio didn't need Aura to know where this was going. He had his hands up, ready to strike.

"What are you-"

"I hate it when they play dumb." Another step, another shake of the earth. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you. You're both way too valuable. But you're gonna pay."

"Sir, I-"

Suddenly, a molten spike jutted out of the ground and crashed into Psych's Barrier. Rio lept back as the mutant crashed back into the wall. Molten rock washed over the bubble as the mutant gazed at the hot, jagged rock that would have speared him if not for the barrier.

"I said don't play dumb."

Rio took that chance to rush in, blasting forward and slamming a Force Palm into Veles's stomach. Instead of the blue explosion that usually followed, flames erupted from his palm and engulfed his enemy, and blasted the wall behind him. The rock type didn't budge, only glaring at the Riolu hybrid as the flames cleared.

"Ever heard of a type advantage kid?" he scolded, before driving a fist into Rio's stomach. He used Bulk Up right before to soften the blow a bit, but it didn't do much. Rio's breath left his body the same time his feet left the ground, and he crashed into the wall next to Psych. He gasped for air as their adversary shook the room, stomping closer. His stomach and back felt like it was on fire, which it might have been considering where they were.

"Now…" Veles growled. "I said I wasn't gonna kill ya, but soon enough you're gonna wish you were dead."

Rio tried to focus on one of his stones, the dark one, but he soon felt that funny feeling in his chest again, and stopped. He was stuck in this form…

He got his wish for a challenge.