Astrid's heart hammered against her chest as she and Leaf stepped inside the cave that served as the entrance to the Celestic Ruins. The name was actually somewhat misleading, as there was little evidence to suggest that the cave ever served a greater purpose than to house the historic shrine built beneath the settlement. The Absol's claws clicked audibly against the smooth stone floor as they ventured further into the cave.
She had visited the Ruins a few years ago, with Brian and the rest of the team, so the cave carried a hint of familiarity, but unfortunately, this did little to ease the anxiety churning within her gut. Her entire body felt jittery and on-edge, as if she had unknowingly consumed an entire sack of coffee beans, and it was taking a great deal of effort simply to carry himself with her usual poise.
Astrid experienced fear so rarely that it sometimes felt like a foreign concept. Fear generally stemmed from the belief that someone or something posed a considerable threat to her safety, when in all seriousness, most things didn't. She was a predator species, with years of battle experience under her belt, so to find herself anywhere but at the very top of the food chain, both figuratively and literally, was absurd. However, that was precisely why she took such feelings seriously whenever they surfaced within her. As an Absol, her intuition carried more credibility than she was usually given credit for, but she could usually overcome her fears simply by acknowledging the need for caution. It wasn't in the Absol's nature to become paralyzed by fearfulness. She had seen that sort of behavior innumerable times from potential prey, and the act of freezing up when confronted with danger was usually the moment when her target became reclassified as 'successfully hunted'.
Astrid emitted a giggle at the thought, earning a confused glance from her Leafeon companion. She quickly glanced over her shoulder, half-hoping to see Renard coming inside, ready to join up with them, but the path behind them was empty, and she bit back a sigh. It may have just been a side effect of her current anxiety, but for some reason, she desperately wanted someone else to be in charge right now. Someone to be giving her directions, and make all the judgment calls. It was easier and safer to be the subordinate sometimes, and not have to burden the responsibilities of figuring out a plan or course of action on her own.
"Nervous?" Leaf wondered, and Astrid blinked over at the young Leafeon. He was looking up at her earnestly, his expression sweet and sympathetic, as if he understood what she was going through. After a short pause, Astrid nodded, a little embarrassed to be acknowledging the reality of her feelings. She was used to people viewing her as the calm and unflappable one, even in the face of adversity and tragedy, but even Astrid had her limits.
"Yeah," she said after a pause, but found that she felt a little bit better now that she had given a vocalized answer. "Renard said Diablos is here, and while I definitely want to hunt him...I'm not certain I have the stability needed to win against him," she confided.
"Me neither," Leaf admitted, biting his lower lip. "I just know we have to do our best. Maybe as a team, we have a better chance than just fighting on our own..."
Astrid smiled, in spite of her current feelings, and her tail wagged briefly. The young Leafeon brought up a good point, effective in its simplicity. On their own, they probably weren't any match for Diablos, but they weren't alone, not so long as they worked together to tackle a serious threat. Besides, the disaster Pokemon had never allowed the odds of success to dictate her actions. No matter how many times she failed to prevent calamity from befalling innocent people, her resolve to prevent the next one remained strong. Diablos was, after all, a living disaster that sought to bring suffering to anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path.
Predator Game, resume.
All doubts set aside, Astrid took a deep breath, and proceeded further into the Ruins. Unlike the structure near Solaceon Town, the Celestic Ruins wasn't built like a labyrinth, nor did it appear to be the remains of an ancient structure. If anything, Celestic Town treated the site more like a museum exhibit. A sloping path led visitors to an open chamber that housed the site's most famous mural: an image depicting a triangle of beings formed around a circle of light in the center.
The Absol's green eyes swept the chamber, frowning slightly to herself when it became apparent that the area was deserted. She knew for a fact that Force had gone inside the cave a few minutes ago, yet the Ruins seemed unnervingly quiet.
"Stay close," she murmured to the Leafeon, walking to the center of the room, her nose twitching as she sought out scents that would indicate the presence of other living creatures, and immediately homed in on the fresh trail of a male Lucario, guiding her towards a narrow tunnel in the northwestern corner of the room. A pair of velvet ropes, the kind often seen manned by bouncers at VIP events, lay limply on the ground in front of the tunnel, indicating that the area ahead was normally sealed off from public viewings, but that someone had dismantled the flimsy security. Astrid rolled her eyes, more amused than anything. The Celestic Ruins really WAS being treated like a museum exhibit, although she found it strange that the town elders didn't have a regular security team watching over the site, because it seemed like anyone who wanted to would be able to waltz in without any difficulty.
Leaf paused for a moment to curiously sniff at the velvet ropes, the concept of their use almost certainly foreign to him, but he didn't linger, and slipped through the narrow tunnel after her. Astrid glanced over her shoulder, silently judging the Leafeon's distance and probable vantage point of her backside, and consciously made an effort to have her tail droop slightly. It wasn't like she was normally modest about such things, but she didn't want to encourage Leaf's split-personality by ignoring what could easily have been a thinly-veiled attempt for the young Leafeon to 'casually' discover the physical differences between males and females.
And yes, she was fully aware that this was an absurd thing to worry about under the circumstances. However, she recalled how Devine had surfaced during the Solaceon Ruins incident, as well as her previous contact with the split-personality back in Eterna Forest. Judging by Renard and Seraphina's respective comments, both Diablos and Circe were likely to be in attendance, and if the personality shift was triggered by stress in some fashion, it seemed almost inevitable that it would happen again.
The narrow passageway soon opened into another circular chamber, and snatches of whispered conversation reached her ears. The Absol stopped in her tracks, so abruptly that it came as no surprise when Leaf bumped into her from behind. She shot a reproachful look over her shoulder, and signaled for him to remain as quiet as possible while she crouched and crept along the last stretch of the corridor, remaining hidden in the shadows of the unlit passageway.
A trio of Pokemon occupied the chamber, the first of which was the Lucario whose scent she had followed to get here. Force was sitting on the floor near the back of the room, while an equally familiar Kirlia examined his body for injuries. The third Pokemon, to Astrid's surprise, was yet another familiar face: a mammalian quadruped with tan fur and active flames burning from vents located on its head and hindquarters. The Quilava was visibly irate, pacing back and forth while her flames burned with extreme intensity, making the air around her considerably warmer than normal.
"Cecilia, could you please turn the heat down a notch?" Force wondered. "You're kind of roasting us alive in here."
"I did turn it down!" Cecilia snapped back. Her companions exchanged a look, and Iris shrugged helplessly, clearly as much in the dark regarding the Quilava's mood as Force was.
"Okay, but I still feel like my body is melting," Force said, speaking in a soft, soothing manner. "I know my evolved form is hot, but I'd prefer that not to be so literal."
"Bite me," Cecilia retorted waspishly, but her flames simmered down regardless, and she ceased her pacing, growling under her breath while glaring at the floor. Force and Iris exchanged another look.
Finally, the Lucario cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm a little afraid to ask, but...what's wrong?" he wondered, his words containing the same level of care as a bomb defuser handling a primed explosive.
"Kaito's pissing me the hell off!" Cecilia snarled, her flames coming back to life for a moment before she remembered to tone them down again. "I swear, if he ever pulls this shit again, I'm going to-"
"Just calm down," Iris interjected gently. "You're way too worked up right now. Take a deep breath," she instructed. Cecilia looked exasperated, but complied. "Now let it out," Iris continued, still speaking in a soft whisper. Once this instruction had been followed, the Kirlia smiled. "Okay, now tell us what's on your mind."
"What are we even doing here?" Cecilia demanded, gesturing aggressively to the surrounding room. "We don't need to be here, but Kaito insisted we all meet up in town, and for what? To drag us along to stare at drawings on the damn walls again! He dragged me along to the Solaceon Ruins to be his bodyguard or whatever, and then dragged me here!"
Force nodded sympathetically. "It would be nice if he actually told us what we were going to be doing before arranging for us to meet somewhere," he sighed. "Do either of you know what's so special about this place? Because that Absol from Eterna Forest showed up right after my fight with Sera, as well as the Ninetales that tried to confront Diablos at the Chateau."
Leaf shifted restlessly from behind Astrid, the Leafeon taking advantage of her crouched position to peer over her into the room ahead, but it was clear that he was becoming anxious to get involved in whatever was going on. As much as Astrid would have liked to remain hidden and eavesdrop for a little longer, she couldn't really afford to squander her time while the threat of a disaster still loomed over the town.
Rising to her feet, Astrid cleared her throat and stepped into the room, with Leaf following at her heels. The chamber was a little smaller than the previous room, while still spacious enough for them to comfortably move around without getting in each other's way. Various paintings and inscriptions embellished the surrounding walls, but Astrid's attention was focused entirely on the three Pokemon across from her.
"Hello," she greeted, her voice polite, but without the playful bubbliness that she usually displayed. "Speak of the devil, huh?" she added, this time unable to resist the giggle from escaping her throat.
Cecilia bristled at once, shifting into a defensive battle stance, her blue eyes narrowing at the Absol. Iris gripped Force's arm anxiously, and the Lucario sat up, easily the least apprehensive of the three.
"So let's start with the big question here," Astrid continued cheerfully, her tail wagging slightly. "What are you guys doing at the Ruins?"
"Hell if we know," Cecilia retorted waspishly. Astrid honestly wasn't too surprised by that reaction, as the previous eavesdropping had already established that the fire weasel was livid over the fact they were at the Ruins at all.
"Hmm," Astrid murmured, tilting her head thoughtfully. "I don't know if I really believe that," she mused, adding a playfully sinister drawl to her words.
"Well, I'm not going to let you smell me again," Cecilia snapped back, earning bemused looks from her companions. "She ambushed me and Kaito on our way from the Solaceon Ruins," she explained with a growl. "Asked a bunch of questions while threatening to eat me if I smelled like a liar. Not in a good way, either."
"There's a good way to smell like a liar?" Leaf blurted, maneuvering around Astrid so that he could stand beside her, drawing the group's attention to him for the first time. All the blood immediately drained from Iris' face and she gripped Force's arm tighter than before. The Lucario flinched, but it was unclear whether the reaction came from seeing Leaf, or from the iron grip that Iris was exerting on his arm. The peculiar reactions did not escape the Leafeon's notice, and he frowned. "Um...why are they afraid of me?" he wondered.
"You nearly killed Force," Iris practically hissed, her pink eyes narrowing and her body trembling with a mixture of emotions. Leaf bristled slightly at her tone, but his eyes shone with innocent confusion.
"Um...no, I didn't?" he squeaked, his voice rising a half-octave.
"Yes, you did! I was there!" Iris snapped, conjuring a sphere of energy within her paws, but Force swatted it aside before she had the chance to launch it. "Wha-? Force, why did-?" the Kirlia sputtered, too bewildered by her mate's actions to remain angry.
"If you attack them, they'll fight back," the Lucario reminded her quietly. He shifted position so that he was crouching on one knee, his expression solemn. "That will just cause the vicious cycle to continue. Their true enemy is Diablos, so if we have to fight against them, it should be for the sake of protecting our companions and the future we strive to create."
Iris started to protest, but was silenced by Force placing a gentle kiss on her cheek and holding eye contact for several moments. Her cheeks flushed, and the Lucario rose to his full height. In spite of his recent defeat at Sera's hands, the aura Pokemon carried himself with impressive confidence.
"I don't understand," Leaf whimpered, looking around at the other Pokemon with increasing desperation. "What did I do?"
"Leaf...how much do you actually remember about your fight with Diablos in the forest?" Astrid ventured cautiously. The Leafeon squinted at her uncertainly, uncomfortably aware that all eyes were upon him.
"Um...all of it, I think," he mumbled.
"Who won?" Astrid pressed.
"No one did. He ran off like a coward," the Leafeon growled. The room went completely silent, so that even Cecilia's active flames seemed to have stopped making a sound. Leaf looked around the room, consciously aware of the sudden shift in mood. "What?" he stammered.
"His aura hasn't shifted," Force noted idly, his eyes lifting from his blazing paw to focus upon the Leafeon. "He's not lying."
"You guys said that Iris didn't sense any shift in emotions before or after it happened," Cecilia argued with a growl.
"This isn't important right now," Astrid interjected, shifting her weight restlessly as the jittery sensation returned to her limbs. "Shadow understands the situation better than I do, and I originally planned to get Renard's input, but my disaster sense went off, so now we're here."
"Disaster sense?" Iris repeated, visibly alarmed. The Absol nodded impatiently.
"Something bad is about to happen in this town," she informed the group solemnly. "If you're even remotely sincere about wanting to create a better future for yourselves or others, you'll put aside your grudges for now and let me stop it. Please..."
The Absol's voice cracked slightly at her plea, but she let it hang in the air regardless. She didn't care if it made her seem weak or vulnerable, so long as the Pokemon opposing her understood how sincere her resolve was. They were allies of Diablos, she understood that much, but if the malevolent ghost was about to enact something that would cause great harm to innocents, she hoped they wouldn't stand back and let it happen without at least trying to minimize the casualties.
The three Pokemon exchanged uncomfortable looks, but Cecilia merely frowned, evidently the least moved by the emotional plea. Iris bit her lower lip, shifting uncomfortably beside Force, while the Lucario's expression was unreadable.
"What kind of disaster?" Force wondered.
"I don't know," Astrid admitted. "My premonitions or whatever are really vague, designating a location, but not the time or cause. I usually have to be there to figure it out, and I often can't even get there in time to do anything. I detected the conflict in Eterna Forest the day we ran into you guys, and I sensed when Echo and Rio died, but arrived too late to intervene..."
Cecilia abruptly cringed and shielded her face with her paws, but not before Astrid caught a glimpse of tears forming in her eyes. Force pursed his mouth, looking for a moment as though someone had just punched him in the stomach. Astrid realized, a moment too late, that she had just brought up the murder of one of her friends to the one whose body had been used to commit the deed, but now wasn't a good time to focus on that.
"Renard said Diablos has regained his true form," Astrid continued with a growl. "His actions cannot go unopposed as he continues to gain power and endanger those around him. I can accept you allying with him, but if you get in the way of me protecting others, I'll remove you as an obstacle," she promised, baring her fangs in a predatory snarl. The crystal affixed to her anklet bracer glowed with a warm white light, its energy gradually coursing through her body.
"Same here!" Leaf chimed in, puffing himself up defiantly, his leaf-like tail flicking.
The three Pokemon exchanged a look again, and the Lucario shrugged irritably. "What do you want from us?" he asked. "Kaito didn't tell us what we're doing here, so it's not like we can tell you anything important."
"And I seriously have a hard time believing that," Astrid interrupted, pawing restlessly at the stone floor. "Isn't Kaito supposed to be the leader or whatever? He doesn't tell you anything about his plans or goals, just tells you to show up somewhere?"
"Ha, I wish we were kidding," the Quilava muttered darkly. "It's almost impossible to get concrete information from him. Half the time, he just wants to check a place out to satisfy his personal curiosity, or else he's acting on a hunch. The only reason we went to check out the Solaceon Ruins was to try and figure out why the Sigilyph I beat went after Force."
"It's honestly annoying as hell," Force agreed. "Lin's the only one who seems to be able to drag information out of him, but someone had the bright idea to have Lin stay in Johto to help Sorin and Celes look for Kuro. And then Kuro ended up in Sinnoh somehow!"
"It sounds to me like he's a crap leader," Astrid stated bluntly. "If he's honestly that uncommunicative or whatever, I dunno why you haven't ditched him yet. If my former trainer was even half as bad as you guys say Kaito is, I would definitely have stopped listening to his commands and advice. My pride wouldn't have let me put up with incompetence for long, not when I'm counting on them for guidance," she growled.
Cecilia and Force both winced in unison, as if someone had walked up behind them while they were making unflattering remarks about that person. "It...wasn't always this bad," Force mumbled.
"Yeah, Kaito is just kind of introverted," Iris chimed in awkwardly. "I mean...he seems to have an easier time opening up to me than the others, but...he's not perfect. It's hard for him to um, articulate his thought process, and he sometimes takes for granted that not everyone is on the same page as him."
"That's why he shouldn't be in charge, then," Astrid countered bluntly. "At the very least, there should be a middleman or whatever, making sure that all the relevant information is being shared, and that concerns and questions can be directed to them, rather than Kaito, and that that person can get the answers from Kaito instead. Otherwise, you guys are just following him blindly, with no idea what you're getting into!"
"Um...Lin kind of fit that role, didn't she?" Iris wondered, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "We all discussed our questions with Lin first, rather than Kaito, and she was good at getting the answers if she didn't already know them..."
"She was even comfortable coming to talk to us and make sure we were doing all right," Force mused thoughtfully, a reminiscent smile tugging at his lips. Cecilia nodded slightly in agreement.
"...why do I feel like I'm on the verge of starting an internal revolt?" Astrid wondered aloud, looking over at Leaf, but only receiving a blank look in response. "I mean like...my questions and comments are getting to them to think about changing sides," she clarified with a giggle.
"Not likely," Force answered with a snort. "I still support our group's goal, even if I dislike the methods or one of the associates. Kaito's communication issues are a problem, but I'm not going to turn against him because of it."
"I have a question," Leaf interjected abruptly, and all eyes turned to him in surprise, although Cecilia and Iris noticeably tensed. "Um," the Leafeon began, visibly discomforted by the reaction. "Why are you guys in this room?" he asked, gesturing around the chamber.
There was an awkward pause as everyone tried to process the question. To Astrid's amusement, she almost immediately picked up on what Leaf was getting at. The three had openly stated that they had no idea what their group's plan was involving the Celestic Ruins, yet they were occupying a chamber, seemingly by choice, that prevented them from observing what Kaito and/or Diablos were up to.
"I just got inside from fighting Sera," Force answered, glancing sideways at his companions. "Although now that you mention it...why ARE you two in this room? Didn't you tell Kaito about Kuro's group showing up?" he wondered, directing the question to Iris more than Cecilia.
"I was with Kaito and Diablos," Cecilia growled defensively. "But then Mr. Puffy Pants said I was making the room too hot, so Kaito suggested that I cool off for a while, but he might have just wanted me to go away for a while."
"Um...that Medicham is actually female," Iris noted shyly.
"Wait, really?" Force blurted, his eyes widening with interest. "Is this the first time Diablos has possessed a female body? What pronouns are we supposed to be using when talking about him? Or her? Them?"
The Lucario pursed his lips uncertainly, and Cecilia giggled, looking genuinely delighted for the first time since Astrid had entered the room. "I actually asked the exact same thing!" she practically squealed. "I mean, we've just always kind of assumed Diablos was male, but I dunno if Spiritomb or other ghost Pokemon actually have a gender. He's never corrected us before, but I also don't remember if we've ever referred to him by a pronoun while he was nearby. Plus he's not even really a Spiritomb now...does THAT form have a gender? I'm not sure how to tell...do you think it'd be rude to ask?"
There was a moment of silence following the Quilava's enthusiastic rant, which Force broke with a quiet chuckle and shake of his head.
"I think this sort of thing is the reason why Kaito wanted us in a different room."
