BM: *walks across the beach with his hands in his pockets, feeling the soft warm sand under his feet*
BM: Hmm….. ah….
BM: Hey, how's it going dear readers? Bruhmeister here, hope you're glad to see me. Speak to me everyone, I hope you're all fine with my decision with putting Delta Six on hiatus.
BM: 'Why are you talking about Delta Six on Roadtrip?' I hear you ask. To that, I have no real reason. I'm just taking a bit of this chapter's introduction to ask you guys about it being on hiatus.
BM: Anyways, back to the chapter at hand. First and foremost, I'm not the best at being overly descriptive of interior spaces, as you can probably tell with the interior of Solaceon Cave in the last chapter. Big yikes, I know. So as you read through this chapter, keep in mind that if I don't really describe the environments all too well I'm sorry.
BM: Also also, thanks again for being patient with the uploads. College do be like that, haha.
BM: That's pretty much all for this introduction. Now, let's get on right to it.
BM: Wait, is that ice-cream? Hell yeah!
Dimslamer: Bruh momentum.
Discolamer 2: Happy Lunar New Year (better late than never).
Who knew the taste of dust and bitter air was not a good way to wake up?
Tyler gripped his hand and felt the stone floor beneath him. Gripping onto the rough surface for leverage, he pushed himself back on his feet only for him to stumble backwards as a slight feeling of nausea overcame him, causing him to fall flat onto his butt.
"Damn it… Woah, okay." He mumbled as he got back up a second time, more successfully this time around. It was then he got a good look around at his surroundings.
He found himself in the middle of a long corridor whose end was just out of sight and veiled in darkness in front of him. Though Tyler correctly assumed he was still in the Solaceon ruins, he noted that the walls, floor and ceiling of this corridor was in better shape compared to the entrance.
A shiver went down his spine as his power activated. Tyler couldn't see anything past the darkness but he knew there was something beyond it, somewhere in the ruins. Risking it, he called out into the shadows.
"HELLO!? ANYONE THERE!?"
No response. Tyler swore that the echo doesn't sound like it traveled very far anyways, thus leaving him one option left. With a determined expression, he grabbed his phone and tapped the flashlight on. Immediately, the view in front of him was more illuminated but was still fairly dark, allowing him to faintly see the wall at the end of the hall way a short distance in front.
Before proceeding, he remembered to check his belt for his Pokeballs. Ava and Epsilon were still in there, after all.
However, when he clicked the button to let them out, the balls wouldn't budge. He tried over and over and over again and just couldn't get them to open. With a sigh of disappointment, Tyler began walking forward and understood that he wouldn't be able to get them out at this state. He needs to find the others and get the hell out of there.
…
After what felt like a long time of walking down the mazelike corridors, Tyler began to feel the effects of loneliness creep back like an old, unwanted friend. Throughout his travels, he's been in close contact with his team, his friends and eventually his mom. Back at home, he never had a dull moment with Samuel and Josh around.
And now, he was alone again with no end in sight. Though he had passed by some inscriptions on the walls and was able to read them, they were little to no use in finding the actual exit or any notable information about where he was. In fact, a few inscriptions were actually condemning and condescending in tone with a couple being 'know your little worth' and 'actions are returned in full'.
Tyler pondered on what those inscriptions meant as he kept walking, turning down endless turns and walking down endless corridors. In the back of his mind, he knew something was up. Something not good.
…
"Another dead end? Great, just… ugh." Ruby commented in disgust before turning back to face Noir and Sol who were following closely behind. With some help from Sol's flames, Noir located a tight pathway between the walls.
"My, it is fairly cramped here indeed." Noir said as she slid through the crack fairly easily. Sol followed quickly and quietly. Ruby on the hand took quite a bit longer due to her being a quadruped. After that, the trio continued onwards.
"Hate it down here. I really do." Ruby muttered grumpily. Noir sighed in agreement.
"Truly, I share your opinion. However, we must trudge forward. The sooner we locate the others, the sooner we get to leave this place." Noir suggested as they quickened their pace. Ruby groaned in disappointment but still tagged along.
"I knew we shouldn't have come here. Now we get trapped for who knows how long because of some bullshit negative energy." Ruby spat angrily. Noir just exhaled in an attempt to quell her annoyance.
For what felt like eternity, Ruby bickered and complained throughout. Although Noir was known to be calm and collected by her team, even the calmest individuals eventually reach their limit. And as they reached another dead-end, the floodgates opened.
"Shut up, just silence already! Enough bickering, it does not help the situation one bit! Do you not understand the absolute torture that is listening to your whining!?" She yelled, her voice echoing through the hallway. Noir's sudden spark of anger surprised Ruby who could only look away in shame.
As the echo subsided, Sol's ears twitched lightly. The Infernape looked around for a bit before focusing his gaze on a section of wall on their right. Igniting his fist with flame, he threw a strong punch at it, putting a large crater into the wall. Noir and Ruby looked over with shock.
"Sol, what are you doing!?" Ruby inquired. Sol still had his gaze fixated on the wall as he reared back his fist, once again enveloped in flame.
"Stand back." His raspy voice muttered. Noir and Ruby still had no idea what was going on but decided to comply anyways.
As the punch landed, the wall crumbled as stones tumbled and smashed to the ground. What lay in front of the was another hallway. On closer inspection, the pattern on the walls of this hallway were different to the previous ones.
"Let's go." He mumbled as he walked over the rubble and stepped into the hallway. Ruby and Noir looked at each other before tagging along.
"My, he's quite strong." Noir commented. Ruby chuckled at her late realization.
"The Champion's ace is strong? No way, never would've guessed." Ruby replied with faux-surprise. Noir gave her a deadpan look as the group pressed onwards.
…
"Alright, let's see here." Lucas muttered to himself as he shone his flashlight onto a small book he kept in his satchel. On the fairly yellowed pages, he had drawn the path he walked and made a simple map of the route he took.
He jotted down more information that he had gathered in the past few hours of being down in the labyrinth. From the various inscriptions and distinct patterns on the walls that he managed to decipher with Tyler's method to the dimensions of the various hallways he ventured through.
His numerous attempts at reaching the other via phone proved futile, thanks to the abysmal signal down in the depths. This further spurred him on to figuring out what and where they actually were. It was clear they were still in the Solaceon Ruins, but the issue of how far down, how they got there and many more were still unanswered.
Taking his eyes off his book, Lucas stopped in his tracks and turned off his flashlight. In the far end of the hallway, a flame flickered to and fro. It was no ordinary flame however, as it hovered closer and closer.
Lucas hunkered down and reached into his satchel, procuring an empty Ultra ball. As the champion, he knew from experience that if a fight can be avoided, it should be avoided. This applied especially well to his current predicament, seeing as he doesn't have Sol with him and the rest of his team deciding to stay behind at the League.
As the flame got within throwing distance, Lucas leapt up and tossed the ball with great speed and accuracy.
Only for it to bounce off the target's forehead, eliciting a yelp from it and ceasing its flame.
"Ow, what the- A Pokeball?" Autumn examined as she rubbed the spot where the ball hit.
"Wait, Autumn? Is that you?" Lucas inquired in surprise. Clicking his flashlight on, he saw the Ninetales turn to look at him with surprise and relief.
"Lucas! F-finally, someone else!" Autumn exclaimed gladly. Lucas exhaled a sigh of relief as he picked up the failed ball. He then froze as his hand bumped into something.
"Woah!" The champion fumbled as he noticed Rocco standing right next to the ball. The stoic Normal type nudged the ball closer without a single word before silently sitting down.
"Y-yeah, he's really good at staying in the shadows ehehe." Autumn admitted with a light giggle at the sight before her. Lucas rolled his eyes as he got up and dusted himself off.
"Ah, well. Good to see you two. Now, I may need your help with something. I've charted down the route I took down here and I was wondering if you guys can help." Lucas pointed while opening his book, getting closer to the two Pokemon to let them take a peek at it.
Autumn took a moment to process the frankly messy handwriting and rough drawings but eventually nodded in understanding. Rocco meanwhile just had a blank stare, or what was probably a blank stare, on his face.
"Ah! I think can help a bit. So uh, let's see…" Autumn piped up as she began explaining.
…
"And then we won! We actually did it!" Jewel gleamed excitedly, reminiscing over their victory against Roark in Oreburgh fondly. Cynthia simply listened on with a proud smile, genuinely enjoying Jewel's 'dramatized' retelling of the story. Much better than just walking down the hallways in silence.
"I had a feeling he would have a knack for battling. His father was ruthless in battle, always taking the opportunity when it presents itself. Of course, he made mistakes. What made him special was how he made up for them. During one of his battles his Abomasnow was hit with a Confuse Ray, cutting her accuracy dramatically. Instead of frantically trying to attack, he commanded her to use Hail as cover to allow her to dodge incoming attacks more easily until she snapped out of confusion." Cynthia told, impressing the young Sylveon.
"Wow, that's really clever! Tyler's made some pretty smart calls too, but nothing like that!" Jewel exclaimed, her mouth agape in astonishment. Cynthia let out a simple chuckle and nodded.
"With enough training, I'm sure he can. However, battling wasn't the only thing that he was good at. No no, he took care of his team and took care of them well. They were like family to him." Cynthia explained with a smile of adoration. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Jewel blushing and turning away slightly, which only made her smile grow wider.
"Not everything was sunshine and rainbows, though. He was strict when the times called for it, sometimes to a point where I start to worry. But something tells me that his team knew it was for the best." She clarified as they turned a corner, another hallway greeting them.
"Well, Tyler can be a bit rough when it comes to training and s-stuff." Jewel admitted shyly. Cynthia smirked knowingly, finding it cute how smitten the Sylveon was over her son.
As they turned the corner and prepared to encounter yet another long hallway, Cynthia and Jewel were shocked to find that there was in fact, no hallway. Specifically, no "way".
The large hall was mostly featureless, constructed out of materials no different to the previous hallways and corridors aside from the outrageously tall ceiling. However, there was one very noticeable feature that all the hallways lacked.
"Stairs? Wait, could this be the exit?" Cynthia muttered to herself as she got closer to investigate. Looking up the steep-angled staircase and into the darkness, Cynthia could faintly make out what seemed to be a platform and a closed-off doorway.
"Damn, looks like it might be an exit but the way's blocked. Hm, we should gather everyone else before we proceed." Cynthia suggested before turning back towards the hallway, shuffling quickly to catch up. As she was about to exit the hall, she stopped in her tracks.
"…Great way to get lost. Have any ideas, Jewel?" Cynthia asked. After a quick bout of thinking, Jewel came up with a solution.
"Ah! I'm not 100% sure it will work, but I can try to leave behind a trail of 'energy' if that makes sense. I'll focus and try to leave traces of positive energy. I know it sounds silly, but it might work! Maybe! ….Hopefully." Jewel offered slightly unsurely. Cynthia nodded, taking any opportunities available. Then, she began taking off her outer coat.
"Good idea, but I think we should split up to cover more ground. I'll use bits of my coat as my own trail marker." She explained as she began to tear and rip pieces from her coat. Jewel nodded as the two approached an intersection. Reaching into her satchel, Cynthia took out her phone and handed Jewel her flashlight.
With a little focus, Jewel noticed that the energy around her changed in the specific spot where she stood. With an excited look, she turned to Cynthia and gave her a confident nod. After turning on their lights, the two set off.
…
"Then we took a left here and uhmm… then we bumped into you!" Autumn finished recalling the route that she and Rocco took, the latter only answering for the handful of times Autumn forgot. Lucas jotted and drew what they told diligently, not missing a single important detail.
Interestingly, they had encountered a few walls that had sustained heavy damage, almost all of them being a pile of rubble on the ground. All of them hid a hallway, but Autumn and Rocco dared not to venture down any of them.
"Alright, thanks so much you two." Lucas thanked gratefully, giving the Ninetales and the Type: Null a few headpats. Then, he turned back to his notes to study them closely, leaning on the wall behind him for some comfort. Autumn leaned over to take a better look, almost as invested as he was. Rocco on the other hand was on guard duty.
"Now, I also marked down the broken walls according to your information. Odd, they don't really seem to be following any specific pattern, aside from busting down dead ends anyways." He commented, scratching his chin lightly.
In the still and silent air, it was then that all three of them heard something. Something very faint and muffled, something that resembled speech coming from two voices. Lucas and Autumn stood up and looked around, trying to pin point the source of the noise. All of a sudden, one of the voices peaked shortly.
As the voices ceased, Rocco perked up suddenly. He ran and shoved both of them down just as the wall behind them exploded, sending debris and rubble flying and ricocheting onto the opposite wall.
When the dust settled, Lucas looked up to see the damage. Through the hole created, Noir, Sol and Ruby emerged.
"What do you mean you've never had Nanab berry milk!?" Ruby yelled. Noir sighed, shaking her head in frustration.
"Exactly what I meant. Nanab berries in my home region were hard to come by, let alone milk flavored with them. And my arrival to Sinnoh hadn't been too long ago, thus leaving minimal time for me to sample exotic milk flav-" Noir responded before noticing Lucas and Autumn staring at them. Her surprised look turned into one of relief. Ruby meanwhile, turned around as she turned white. Well, noticeably whiter than how she was.
"Uncle Lucas!? Don't look at me, I'm dirty!" The Absol exclaimed as she tried hiding behind the taller Dark type, to no avail. Lucas still gave the trio a dumb look, which morphed into one of annoyance.
"What the hell was that, Sol!?" He scolded his Infernape, who sweatdropped at the champion's tirade. Meanwhile, Noir helped Autumn and Rocco up on their feet, the former giving her a hug and the latter giving a short, friendly nod.
"O-Oh, it's nice to see you again Noir! So it was you that were breaking down all those walls?" Autumn greeted. Noir chuckled.
"Likewise! To answer your question, yes. Though, it was mostly courtesy of Sol's might and my voice being used as echolocation." She explained with Autumn comprehending her methods, pretty impressed at Sol's sharp hearing. Then she turned to Ruby.
"What about you? What did you do?" Autumn inquired. Before she could answer, Noir spoke for her.
"Being the source of my ire." Noir joked with a smirk. Ruby turned away with a puff and Autumn sighed.
The group chatted away for some time, catching up and filling Lucas in on their progress and the paths they took. Unfortunately, it was time for their biological needs to make themselves known.
"H-hey, any of you feeling um.. a little hungry?" Autumn asked shyly. Receiving a lot of nods and affirmations, she began to worry about them getting out. Though Lucas' notes were quite helpful, they still had no idea where the exit might be.
And then from around the corner, a female voice rang out.
"Ah, there you are!" Cynthia exclaimed as she greeted the group with a handful of scraps in her arms.
"Cynthia! Damn, is it great to see you again. What's that?" Lucas responded her greetings, asking about the scraps.
"I'll explain it to you on the way, we've found a possible exit. Come!" She ushered. Everyone then got up eagerly and began following her lead.
…
Josh turned another corner and again, was greeted by another long hallway. He sighed in disappointment and exhaustion, slowly losing hope after every intersection. He had counted that they've been down there for around seven hours at this point. A sudden pang of hunger did little to help the situation.
"Damn it all." He muttered as he shone his flashlight around, looking for a more comfortable spot to rest shortly. In the distant darkness, Josh noticed something on the ground and curiously approached it.
Or rather, him.
Tyler was lying on the ground, unresponsive.
"Oh shit, oh shit, Tyler!" Josh yelled as he rushed over to him. Kneeling down, he tried to shake Tyler awake to no avail. He tried slapping his face, a technique that would always work when he overslept, to no response as well. Another method was to leave a box of chicken nuggets by his side, but Josh figured there were more pressing matters at hand.
"C'mon, hnngh!" He groaned as he attempted to pick his friend up, draping his arm over his shoulder for support. A couple of tries later, Josh got him up to his feet and together, they began walking down the hallway, still looking for the exit.
"Damn it, damn it all. We shouldn't have come here." Josh mumbled in regret as he dragged Tyler along. In truth, he was exhausted and the burden of supporting Tyler as well was eating away at him. Josh wondered how long he would last before finally collapsing from exhaustion.
As they were about to turn a corner, Josh could hear the distant sounds of footsteps and a voice calling out. From the other side of the hallway, a light turned the corner as Jewel called out.
"TYLER! JOSH! Where are you!?" She yelled. Josh scrambled and turned on his light, waving it around to get her attention.
"We're over here!" Josh called out. Jewel's ears perked up and she bolted to greet them. As her light shone on them, her expression dropped.
"Tyler? Oh no, Tyler!?" She muttered, her panic increasing by the second. She wrapped her feelers around his face and tried to read his emotions, pulling them away suddenly with fear in her eyes.
"What's wrong with him?" Josh inquired. Jewel ran to Tyler's side and used her feelers to support him.
"This place, this place is what's wrong with him. We have to go! I've already laid down a trail, let's move!" She exclaimed, picking up the pace as they dragged him along. Josh nodded and tried his best to keep up with her. As they shuffled along, Josh noticed a worried and scared expression on Jewel's face, only spurring him to move faster and faster. What Jewel felt in Tyler must be very serious.
After a good bout of speedwalking, they reached the hall that Cynthia and Jewel discovered earlier. Seeing as there was still no one there, Josh offered to go looking for the others and asked Jewel to stay behind to take care of Tyler. As there were still debating on what to do, Cynthia and the others arrived.
"Oh no no no, what happened to him?" Cynthia muttered as she rushed over to Tyler, who was laying down. Hearing the commotion, Noir and Autumn rushed over while Rocco went at a slower, more curious pace. A look of worry were strewn across their faces.
"I think he's under the effects of Dreameater! I think! Oh Arceus…" Jewel suggested as she wrapped her feelers around his head, trying her best to help. Cynthia bore a calm expression as she began to think of a plan. Noir offered to use her lap as a pillow to support him and Autumn looked like she was about to burst into tears at any second.
…
Laughter. Endless laughter. Laughter. Endless laughter.
Tyler panted, finding it harder and harder to support his own body weight by the second. He had been crawling on the ground for quite some time, though he stopped because he was too exhausted.
He knew there was no longer any chance of escape. Hell, escape was the last thing on his mind. He just wanted the laughter to stop. The torment, anything to just cease.
Then out of the wicked cackling and jeers, he heard it. A voice. A voice he knows fondly. Then another, one that's gentle and kind. And another one that's confident. And yet another, one that's never let him down. And one more, one that came back when he needed it.
They were calling his name.
"Damn it, c'mooon..." He struggled, trying his absolute best to stand up. At this the laugher only got louder and closer. Tyler could feel the force pushing down on him getting stronger and stronger and the voices he heard beginning to fade away.
"No, NO! Argh!" He yelled with all his might.
…
Slowly, Tyler's eyes began moving in his eyelids before opening slightly. As his eyes readjusted to the still dark surroundings, he began to make out the details around him.
Everyone was looking at him in various states of happiness and excitement. Before he could process any of it, he was given multiple tight hugs by his loving team, much to his appreciation and much to his discomfort. Even Rocco seemed to have a more joyful expression, not that it was easy to discern how he felt anyways.
Lucas initially suggested letting him have some space but Josh and Cynthia decided to let them have their moment, knowing that Tyler needed it as much as they did.
"TYLER!" Jewel cried as she pulled on him even tighter. Tyler lightly tapped her back to let her know that she was being a bit too enthusiastic. Thankfully, the Fairy type obliged.
"Haah… Man, is it ever good to see you guys again… heh." Tyler slurred, still feeling immensely drained from his whole ordeal. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked around.
"Hold on, is this the exit?" He asked, referring to the exit. Cynthia nodded in confirmation.
"It seems so. We haven't found any other halls that look like this, anyways. But that's beside the point, are you alright? Can you walk?" Cynthia replied in a motherly tone. Tyler nodded and stood up, with significant wobble-age.
"Allow me, Tyler." Noir offered, giving him a hand. Josh also rushed over to support his buddy.
"Okay maybe I do need some help, heh." Tyler admitted with a chuckle. His chuckling was cut short as he felt something nearby. The drop in his expression was quickly picked up by Rocco.
"What. Wrong?" Rocco inquired as he walked closer. Before even an answer was given, he turned towards the way they all came from. Sol noticed this as well and turned towards the doorway, his fists alight with flame.
"We need to go, NOW!" Tyler yelled. As if on cue, a massive bout of laughter came from the hallway. As the rest turned towards the source, Sol launched a particularly bright Ember down the hall. The burning fire served as a light to view the horrors at the end of that tunnel.
A large mass of smiles, glowing red eyes and long tongues began moving at them at a rapid pace. Lucas quickly deduced them as Gengars, but nothing like the ones he has seen before.
In an instant, everyone began scrambling up the stairs. Noir and Josh were determined to support Tyler and keep him up to pace with the others, the prior occasionally launching attacks at their pursuers due to her advantage. Jewel threw Swifts at the pursuing Gengar, internally grateful at the newer typing of her attack while Ruby shot off occasional Night Slashes, occasionally getting good hits. Autumn, Sol and Rocco took the lead and were in charge of breaking down the blockage as they were the strongest of the bunch.
Thankfully, the blocked doorway wasn't as severe as they thought and a couple of boosted punches from Sol with the help of Autumn's flames and a well-placed Headbutt from Rocco did the trick. With the path clear, the group continued sprinting.
Ascending yet another flight of stairs, this time being one that spiraled upwards, and busting down another blocked doorway, the group could see the light at the end of the tunnel, the spiral stairs that they took.
They ran up the stairs that they used to descend and emerged at the room of hieroglyphs. Recognizing the familiar sight, the group knew they were close to the exit. However, another problem presented itself.
"We cannot let these Gengar leave! I have an idea!" Lucas called out, with him giving Sol a trustworthy nod which he replied. Usually Lucas' ideas outside of actual Champion work were questionable at best but since nobody else had any better ones, they figured to just let him roll with it.
As they ran outside into the fresh mountainside night air, Lucas and Sol stayed at the back of the group before suddenly turning around.
"Alright! Close Combat!" Lucas commanded. In a split second, Sol leapt up towards the rocks surrounding the entrance and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks. Each subsequent hit dislodged more and more rock. Finally the entrance collapsed, leaving a cloud of dust and debris.
The group panted and sat down to catch a breather, taking in the fresh air compared to the stuffy cave air.
"Fuck. Me." Tyler muttered, earning a congregation of laughter from the others.
"Dude, I know right? Man, that was insane." Lucas commented with a slight chuckle, still in disbelief at the whole ordeal they had to go through.
"Okay, I gotta admit. That was some smart thinking. Except the whole damaging a historical site deal." Ruby critiqued. Lucas merely lifted his arms and pointed at the now buried entrance.
"Hey, it worked didn't it? I know, the ruins are probably going to be a little damaged and all but the important thing is that we're safe. I'll send a team of archaeologists, Dark types and explorers here. Since we know what we're dealing with and what the hell is down there, I figure it's worth another look." Lucas reasoned. With a round of nods, the group sat down to rest.
A short while later, the group were back on the road again. They had no interest in staying at Solaceon for any longer, for fear of their safety. Specifically Tyler's as he was curiously the only one afflicted with Dreameater.
As Tyler was unfit for driving, Cynthia offered to drive his car instead. Though she hadn't driving in many years, she was still able to handle the surprising power of his Subaru. Even if it was a tight fit, considering she was now an extra person there.
With the city of Hearthome approaching, Cynthia looked over to her right. Noir, who offered to take the passenger seat to give space for Tyler to lay down, was nicely asleep. In the back row, Tyler was resting much more peacefully this time. Jewel laid atop him in a neat circle and Autumn took her usual spot in the crook between his legs. Even Rocco made himself comfortable, sleeping silently on the carpeted floor.
Cynthia couldn't help but crack a smile.
BM: Mmm, this is some damn good ice cream. Bit of a long one, huh? Thanks for sticking around and thank you for reading. Thank you for your understanding as well. Take care, bruhmeister ou- *ice cream falls over*
BM: Aw fuck.