No one really seemed sure what to make of the situation in the wake of the Salazzle's abrupt departure. Avis took a few moments to get Laura and Aureia up to speed regarding the effects of Salazzle poison, and to say that they took the news poorly would have been a severe understatement. Their moods did not improve even when the Servine attempted to point out that Circe had settled for pacifying the males, as opposed to more unsavory intentions.

"Oh yeah, that's all she did?" Aureia shot back, bristling indignantly. "Let's test that theory, shall we? Blaze, I'm going after that stupid lizard," she told the Fairy-type bluntly, and started towards the stairs.

The Sylveon immediately latched one of his feeler ribbons around her foreleg. When she turned towards him with a venomous glare, he moved nearer and nuzzled against her side, a second ribbon caressing along her back soothingly. Within moments, the Vaporeon's aggression seemed to be sapped from her body, the Sylveon's Cute Charm easing her into a more relaxed state. Once Aureia had settled down, Blaze retracted his ribbons and rested his head on Aureia's shoulder, purring absently.

Laura cursed loudly, but when she started towards the stairs herself, Sparky intercepted her path and growled, his fur sparking dangerously. Laura froze, stunned that her teammate would threaten her so unambiguously, but reluctant to retaliate against a close companion. Like Blaze, the Luxio's eyes were glazed and unfocused, and he showed absolutely no fear of the possible repercussions for his actions. The Lopunny heaved a sigh and opted to stand down rather than test the extent of Circe's influence over the males charged to ensure her departure.

Ember and Raze exchanged an uncomfortable glance. The Buizel appeared to be the only male unaffected by the Salazzle's pheromones, if only because he had covered his nose immediately after first detecting the fragrance. Even their trainers were symptomatic of being exposed to the poison, which complicated the situation immensely. Unfortunately, there didn't appear to be much any of them could do about it except wait for the effects to expire.

Avis seemed just as frustrated as the rest of them. She paced back and forth restlessly, the leaf of her tail dragging along the floor and steadily accumulating bits of dirt and debris with each round she made. Laura stood diligently beside Marcus, her arms folded over her chest, and her expression cross, while Sparky stood guard in front of the staircase leading from the room. His stance had relaxed, but it was clear at a glance that he was prepared to take action at a moment's notice. Aureia had partially recovered from the pacifying effect of Blaze's Cute Charm, and she seemed grudgingly tolerant of the fact the Sylveon was actively cuddling with her.

"Didn't Circe say something about purifying the air?" Ember asked, unable to take the awkward silence any longer. "Using photosynthesis or whatever?"

"There's no sun down here," Avis retorted irritably, and Ember bit back a growl. She hated just standing around like this, unable to leave and also unable to relieve the emotions welling up within her chest. She wasn't even angry at the moment; it was more like being hyperactive, but lacking an outlet to express her present feelings.

"Then how the hell was he supposedly purifying the air?" Ember snapped, gesturing vaguely towards the male Leafeon that Circe had referenced. The tan quadruped had been eyeing them with wary interest ever since they had come down here, but had remained where he was, neither speaking nor moving, and the color of his fur made him surprisingly easy to overlook against the background of the faded stone walls.

Even the humans glanced in the direction of her gesture, and while Adrian offered the Grass-type a polite nod of acknowledgement, Marcus instead flinched badly, his eyes widening into an expression of alarm. Without warning, the younger teen ducked behind Adrian, clutching his shoulders as if to utilize him as a shield against the Leafeon, which was honestly a really bizarre reaction, considering that it was definitely the same Leafeon they had seen earlier. Adrian let out a startled cry, as if someone had tapped him while he was distracted, and then gave his brother a bemused look.

"...the hell you doing?" Adrian wondered.

"It's that psychotic Leafeon I told you about!" Marcus practically hissed into Adrian's ear, and pointing wildly towards the tan quadruped, who smirked widely at the human's reaction. As if to confirm her trainer's fears, Laura inhaled sharply and took a defensive stance, but her legs were shaking, betraying her anxiety.

Adrian looked baffled. "Is this going to a be a trend among people I know?" he wondered. "First Rachel with that Flareon, and now you with a Leafeon..."

"It's not my fault that thing is deranged," Marcus insisted, calming down enough to let go of Adrian's shoulders, but watching the young Leafeon nervously. "Look at its eyes and tell me it's not psychotic."

"Its eyes?" Adrian repeated, blinking several times, and taking a moment to rub one of his eyes with his hand before peering at the Grass-type. The Leafeon met Adrian's gaze without the slightest trace of fear, and Ember felt a strange shiver run down her spine. There was...definitely something different about the Leafeon from the last time she had seen him. He had distinct, golden-brown eyes with a slightly feral edge, but Ember couldn't remember how his eyes had looked before. She had been more interested in Shadow's appearance, and the lighting of the previous chamber had been much poorer, with only her tail flame and the flashlights illuminating the surrounding area.

However, she couldn't deny that his demeanor had shifted drastically. Leaf had been on-edge around them, similarly to Shadow, but Ember best remembered the crippling apprehension the Leafeon had displayed around her tail flame, and right now there was no such unease present. He stood with calm confidence, as if he were unquestionably in control of the situation. Marcus and Laura's anxiety had provoked a smug smirk, but Ember noticed that the Leafeon set his mouth in a way that displayed one of his fangs at almost all times. Loathe as the Charmander was to admit it, even in the privacy of her own thoughts, she found the expression oddly intriguing. She couldn't even pinpoint why, but the sight of the fangs excited her in a way that was slightly shameful.

"What is it, Raze?" Marcus wondered, and Ember looked over to see that the Buizel had come over to his trainer and was tugging urgently at his shirt sleeve. Once he had gotten Marcus' attention, Raze pointed towards the opposite end of the room, where a familiar quadruped with white fur lay unconscious. The youth's eyes widened, and he seized his brother's wrist, pointing out the unconscious Dark-type with the same sense of urgency that one might show for an accident victim.

Adrian was at the Absol's side within seconds, and without the slightest hesitation, he knelt down beside her and began carefully inspecting her body for injuries. Marcus followed after him and began rummaging inside his travel bag, pulling out a number of medicines with different colored labels, in preparation for Adrian requesting them.

"Is she okay?" Marcus asked, as Adrian checked the huntress' pulse and other vital signs.

"Nothing life-threatening, just a nasty bump on the head," the older trainer replied, heaving a small sigh of relief. "More exhausted than injured, really. But I might want to take her to a professional just to be sure. Hand me one of your Pokeballs, will you?"

Leaf twitched noticeably from the other side of the room, and when Ember glanced his way, she almost immediately spotted the ebony Espeon laying on the ground behind him, explaining why the Grass-type had remained stubbornly rooted to the one spot, and maybe why he had been been acting so aggressively towards them. If both Astrid and Shadow had been incapacitated somehow, then he was probably the only one keeping watch over them.

Adrian took the Pokeball Marcus handed him and tapped the button to enlarge the sphere. He then gently lobbed it against the Absol's side, wincing when it seemed to strike her harder than he intended. To their astonishment, however, the ball didn't open, and instead just emitted a buzzing sound and bounced away. Adrian furrowed his brow and exchanged a confused look with Marcus before picking up the ball again and inspecting it, as if concerned that it was defective.

"Try it again?" Marcus suggested, and Adrian nodded, lobbing the ball a second time, but just like the first attempt, the ball produced a buzzing sound on impact, and bounced away from Astrid, leaving her where she was.

"Third time's the charm?" Adrian asked, chuckling awkwardly. This time, he stood a further distance away from the Absol, and tossed the Pokeball in a more traditional manner, like a trainer genuinely attempting to make a capture. Yet once again, the ball produced the rejection buzzer, and bounced away from the Absol.

"Maybe the ball is defective," Marcus said doubtfully. "I should try it on something else..."

"Throw it at one of us, see what happens," Leaf growled, his tan fur bristling aggressively. Laura shot the Leafeon a warning look, only to receive a wide smirk in response that prompted her to avert her gaze nervously.

"One sec, I'm going to check something," Adrian murmured, rummaging in his pocket and pulling out his Pokedex. He tapped one or two buttons to navigate the menu screen, and then clicked the device to scan the injured Absol. He was silent for a few moments, just flicking through the display, and then let out a triumphant yell.

"What is it?" Marcus asked, getting up to try and look at the display. Adrian pointed to something on the screen.

"She's registered to another trainer," Adrian said, but then he frowned and tapped the screen, bringing up another image on the display. "Female Absol, nicknamed 'Astrid', hmm...hey, Marcus?"

"What's up?"

Adrian tapped his chin thoughtfully with the Pokedex. "I just looked at her trainer's file, since the ID number links to his license for identification purposes...his status says 'deceased'."

"What?" Marcus blurted, seizing Adrian's Pokedex and staring at the display. "Trainer name...Brian...Trainer status...deceased. He died like...four years ago. Shouldn't his Pokemon have been passed to his family, or released?"

"I don't really know the procedure in the event of a trainer's untimely death," Adrian murmured solemnly. "Maybe he didn't have family. And maybe the officials never recovered the Pokeballs, or the Pokedex. This sort of thing is restricted by the technology. So long as the Pokeballs are intact, it doesn't matter what a computer file might read, the Pokemon can't be captured by other balls. They could manually unregister the Pokemon from his file, but it won't 'release' the Pokemon."

"This is really weird," Marcus murmured. "So what do we do about her?" he asked, gesturing to the Absol. "We can't just leave her here, not if she might need professional attention."

"Probably try to have her regain consciousness, and then assist her back to the Solaceon Pokemon Center," Adrian answered. "If she were a smaller species, I'd just try to carry her, but she's too large to try to lug up so many stairs."

Marcus nodded and glanced around the room warily. The youth did a double-take on noticing Shadow's unconscious form beside the Leafeon, and he coughed unconvincingly to get Adrian's attention, and then surreptitiously pointed the Espeon out to him.

"Oh, that explains a lot about the Leafeon's demeanor," Adrian said in an undertone. "Wild Pokemon tend to act more aggressive and agitated when they feel threatened. Just keep your distance and don't do anything to provoke him."

"Shouldn't we at least try to help him, too?" Marcus asked, dropping his voice to a whisper. "I mean...maybe they won't feel as threatened by us if..."

"Good idea, but in no way guaranteed to work, little man," Adrian commented, examining the different medicine bottles Marcus had laid out. "I don't think that Leafeon's going to let us anywhere near them, and even if we left a Potion out for him, I don't think their paws are really equipped to use them."

Marcus nodded reluctantly and glanced over at the two Eeveelutions again. It was clear from the younger trainer's expression that he genuinely wanted to help the injured feline, while also understanding that an attempt would not necessarily be interpreted as good will.

"Okay, I think most of us need to back up more and give Astrid here more space," Adrian said, addressing the Pokemon that had curiously gathered around the Absol. "She took a blow to the head or something, so she might be confused or disoriented, and if we're all crowded around her, she might panic."

The other Pokemon obediently retreated a few paces, leaving only Adrian and Raze in close proximity to the fallen Dark-type. Adrian glanced briefly at the Buizel, but made no comment. He picked up one of the medicine bottles and swirled its contents gently before unwrapping the plastic seal and carefully spraying the contusion upon the Absol's head. He waited for a few seconds and then applied a second layer of ointment.

The Dark-type abruptly flinched, which was actually a fairly common reaction to most human-made medicines. Most major Potion brands both treated and sterilized wounds, and Ember could speak from experience that those medicines stung like hell. Adrian ceased spraying at the first sign of movement, to avoid getting any in Astrid's eyes, but after several seconds, her eyes remained closed.

"Okay, pass me one of those," Adrian said, pointing towards another bottle, this one containing a number of capsules, similar to the vitamin tablets that humans sometimes took with meals.

When Marcus hesitated, unsure which bottle Adrian meant, Ember stepped forward and seized the bottle. Using the natural dexterity of her claws, she popped open the 'tamper-proof' lid without the slightest pause and extracted one of the capsules to drop into her trainer's hand. He smiled, visibly amused by the Charmander's audacity.

Adrian cautiously pried open the Absol's mouth and slipped the capsule in, pulling his hand away as quickly as possible. It took a second or two for the capsule to start dissolving, but once it did and the bitter taste of the medicine assaulted her taste buds, Astrid jolted awake, her expression contorting into an expression of revulsion. Adrian held the Absol's shoulders firmly to keep her from moving around too abruptly, and spoke reassurances in her ear, while still employing a firm, commanding tone. He was currently in charge, but everything was okay. Such an approach might have seemed mildly odd from an outside perspective, but Adrian dealt with unruly and aggressive Pokemon a lot, and Absol had that blade-like horn on their head that could cause considerable damage if it was swung around in a blind panic.

Raze assisted by waving his paw, giving the Dark-type something to focus on long enough to get her bearings, and after a few tense moments, she relaxed enough for Adrian to feel comfortable releasing her shoulders. It was abundantly clear, however, that she was experiencing a crippling headache.

Adrian and Raze spoke to the Absol for a few moments, filling her in on the situation, or at least the intention of taking her to Pokemon Center for proper treatment. Raze mentioned something about the building having air conditioning or something strange like that. Ember couldn't think of any other significance for saying that there was 'A/C' at the Center, but it was remarkably effective at containing the Absol's objections.

It still took a little effort, but the group managed to prop Astrid back to her feet, and the trainers worked in tandem to make sure she could walk without immediately teetering over. The group started back towards the winding stairs, only to pause when Marcus reminded Adrian about the other casualty.

"Right," Adrian murmured. "Best bet is for a Pokemon they might be more comfortable or familiar with, like Aureia or maybe Blaze, but..."

"Quadrupeds can't use the Potions very well," Marcus finished. "I'd say Laura, but I don't think that'd end well. Oh, but Raze knows them, right?"

Adrian's gaze rested on the Buizel for a moment, and the water weasel nodded earnestly. "Yeah, that should work, and he can regroup with us at the Pokemon Center...oh crap, the Ruins are pitch-black on most floors. He was with Astrid before, but we'd need to leave him with a light."

Ember shot her paw into the air, and then waved it when Adrian didn't immediately react. The motion also caught Marcus' attention, and he stifled a snort of laughter. Adrian considered the Charmander for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Sure, if you really want to," he told her. "I know you can operate the medicine bottles, so..."

The young man stooped down and returned the collection of bottles to the bag, except for the spray medicine bottle that he had used on Astrid. He checked to see how much remained, and then passed it to the Charmander, who held it close to herself, practically purring with delight, her tail flame wavering as if blown by a gentle wind.

"And one second, let me leave you with a copy of the directions," Adrian murmured, tearing a fresh page out of his notebook and clicking his pen. Just when he was about to scrawl something, he froze. "Wait...wouldn't these be useless for navigating back?" he wondered, looking over at Marcus.

The younger trainer's mouth dropped open. "You're right...the floors aren't stacked on top of one another...so it's not just as simple as reversing the directions...shit, how are WE going to get out?"

"We really should have marked the stairwells with chalk or something," Adrian murmured, rubbing his neck nervously.

"Wouldn't you just always take the stairs up?" Blaze wondered blankly, the Sylveon's voice echoing in the chamber. There was a long silence as the other Pokemon digested what he said. The Fairy-type bristled slightly, misinterpreting the silence as the group ostracizing him for saying something stupid. "I mean, weren't all the other stairs going down, except the ones we came from?" he protested.

Aureia's eyes were the first to light up in understanding, and she pecked the Sylveon's cheek with unexpected enthusiasm, catching Blaze completely off-guard, to the point that he stared at her in utter bewilderment, his cheeks burning brightly. Without missing a beat, Aureia turned towards Adrian and relayed the Sylveon's suggestion. Adrian seemed slightly unsure what she was telling him based on her words alone, so the Vaporeon raised one of her forepaws and gradually made it descend towards the floor, moving it from side to side to indicate the branched pathways. Once she reached the lowest point, she made eye contact with her trainer, then steadily raised her paw back into the air, moving it in a circular motion to illustrate that, while the path might not be a straight line, it was a single, continuous path.

"OH!" Adrian blurted, his eyes widening with sudden understanding. "I feel so stupid now...Marcus, in each room, only one of the staircases goes up."

With one major obstacle figured out, the group returned their focus to the task at hand. Astrid was conscious, but it was clear that she was utterly drained, thus requiring another Pokemon to help support her, especially when it came to climbing the stairs. That said, Ember suspected that the winding staircase was going to be the toughest part of the trek, because it was so narrow that they would need to go practically single-file, and it felt like a longer flight of stairs than the others within the Ruins.

However, they seemed to be managing it well enough, and after a few minutes, Raze and Ember were the only trainer-owned Pokemon that remained in the massive chamber.

"Hey, little guy," Raze greeted enthusiastically, walking over to where the Leafeon was standing. "Is Shadow okay?"

"See for yourself," the Leafeon replied, and Raze blinked, his smile faltering slightly. Maybe he too was picking up a strange vibe from the Grass-type, but he shrugged it off and went over to get a better look at the Espeon. Ember followed, still holding the potion bottle close to herself.

"Not that bad, actually," Raze mused, lightly prodding the Espeon's shoulder, which at least produced a reaction from him. "I think he's starting to come around...how did he get hurt, anyway?"

"Forced to intercept Astrid's Dark Pulse," Leaf answered nonchalantly. "Stupid fire lizard."

Ember shot the Leafeon a glare, despite knowing the comment wasn't directed at her. Raze bit his lip, indicating that he also realized the young Leafeon's comment was potentially offensive to present company, but didn't feel it was worth the effort of correcting him.

"And you fought her off somehow?" Ember asked bluntly. Circe had told Avis that the Leafeon had bested her in combat, but she honestly couldn't picture it at all. The Leafeon's demeanor was weirdly confident, but his body didn't look the part of a trained Pokemon, least of all while appearing to be so young.

"She annoyed me," Leaf replied casually, as if this simple remark sufficiently answered all remaining questions.

"You fared pretty well, from the looks of it," Raze mused, looking at the Leafeon's fur. There were a number of small scrapes and cuts, but nothing that seemed remotely serious. "You okay with Ember here taking care of Shadow's injuries?"

"Mm-hm," Leaf murmured, his eyelids drooping slightly, and his eyes losing their vibrant color. Ember stepped nearer to the ebony Espeon and carefully applied a few sprays of the Super Potion to the most visible scrapes on the psychic feline's body.

The stinging sensation seemed to be significantly stronger for Shadow than it had for Astrid, because the Espeon jerked reflexively and cursed under his breath. The sudden movement appeared to agitate other aches and pains along his body, judging by the way the Espeon grimaced. Raze covered his mouth with his paw, stifling his laughter.

Ember shifted her position and administered another spray of potion to the Espeon's other side. Shadow flinched again, although he only gritted his teeth in discomfort, as opposed to another profane outburst. He cracked his silver eyes open slightly, focusing briefly upon Leaf, then Raze, and lastly on Ember.

"Oh good, you're awake," Raze said, unable to contain his chuckling. "Listen, I know it's going to sting like a...something that stings a lot," he finished lamely, glancing towards Leaf. "But it'll make you heal a lot faster. Trust me on this one, okay?"

Shadow muttered something, but didn't object. Ember circled around the Espeon, examining him for any cuts or scrapes she might have missed on the first swoop. Shadow's expression was tense, and he kept closing his eyes and grimacing, as if suffering from a persistent headache.

"Where's Astrid?" he asked abruptly.

"Adrian and Marcus are taking her to the Pokemon Center," Raze answered promptly. At Shadow's alarmed expression, the Buizel waved his paw airily. "She'll be fine, just had a nasty bump on the head, and Adrian just wanted to get that checked out."

"Hm...wait, where did Cece go?" Shadow asked, looking around and even craning his neck to check the corners of the chamber, as if expecting the Quilava to be hiding in one. Raze seemed confused.

"I don't know...no one but that Salazzle went past our group," he said, peering around, but he seemed to be checking each side of the room for a separate staircase than the one leading into the chamber. "Isn't this the last room?"

"No, there's one more," Shadow groaned, staggering to his feet and limping towards the back of the chamber. Perplexed, Raze and Ember exchanged looks, but the Espeon soon stopped and pointed towards an exposed hole in the floor. On closer inspection, a staircase dipped just out of sight, leading into darkness. "They must have gone down there..."