Let's get to that now! (-o-)
The band of friends made their way to the next floor, which appeared to be a torture chamber.
Judging by the conditions of the tools and the smell of blood and burnt flesh, it had also been used recently.
"Let's not stay here for long.", commented Zoey.
No one argued, and made their way to the next set of stairs. These ones ended at a trapdoor, which was somehow sealed shut.
"They must have heard the fighting and trapped us inside!", Victor exclaimed, "Weird that none of them came to help out their buddies, though."
"Isn't it obvious?", Zoey asked, "These guys are so twisted and corrupted it's like they hardly feel any other emotions besides malice these days."
Rex replied, "Yeah, that's messed up. But how are we going to get out of this Arceus-forsaken dungeon?"
Selene strode up. "Allow me.", the Ursaluna said, and she proceeded to ram her head into the trapdoor.
It buckled under the force, and when she rammed it again it proceeded to burst open and allow them access to the next floor.
There were some shouts, but Selene simply charged out and used her powerful claws to send the cultists flying. Everyone else climbed out, and found themselves in a dark hallway.
"Quickly, let's see if there's anything we can find before more show up.", Cain said, "We have to find our Pokemon!"
Racing down the hallway, they found themselves in the great hall. There were several flights of stairs around the room, and a massive table in the center. Two tall oaken doors marked the entrance.
Looking around, the heroes noticed only one of the stairs had guards on it. They charged in, but Selene raced ahead and took out most of them again.
"You are quite handy, aren't you?", commented Rex.
Selene replied, "There is no time for idle discussion. The leader's chambers should be up here somewhere."
When they reached the second floor, however, Zoey spotted an open room, with a table in the center. "Look, there seems to be a map on its surface!"
They headed over to investigate, and saw that it was indeed a map. But not just any map - this one appeared to be a combat map, with arrows and fortresses and units marked on it, with various dates and coded words on its surface.
Seth rolled it up and put it in his backpack. "This is way too important to leave behind. If I can decode it, it could tell us all of their current plans!"
Cain nodded. "Yes, but I don't think it will tell us where our Pokemon are. Let's keep moving."
They left the room and hurried up to the third and final floor. There, they found more guards, but those were also easily dispatched.
"You know, this is disturbingly easy.", Rex commented, "Do you think it could be a trap?"
Victor replied, "Nah, they just weren't expecting us to befriend an Ursaluna. Let's keep going; we're almost there!"
They quickly arrived at a private wing, blocked off by a pair of iron doors. Those were also locked, but that was no barrier to Selene. She smashed them open, allowing the heroes access to the chambers.
Inside, it was full of luxurious furniture, with a large window opening out to a snowy mountain dropoff. Wind and snow whipped through the air outside, as a blizzard raged on.
At the end of the room was another pair of locked doors, obviously a bed chamber.
"Over there; that desk may contain messages.", Seth whispered, pointing towards a majestic wooden desk with many drawers.
Digging around inside it, though, did not reveal anything but blank pieces of parchment, empty ink bottles, and broken quills.
"Perhaps the leader keeps them in the bedroom?", suggested Zoey.
Cain shrugged. "Worth a look."
They walked over, and broke down the doors. In front of them was a large four-poster bed, draped with blue sheets. There was a small table next to it, on top of which was a stack of letters.
"Jackpot.", whispered Rex, and he gathered them up and loaded them into Seth's pack. "Alright then, let's get out of-"
"My, my, did anyone ever tell you naughty children it's impolite to dig through a man's private quarters?", came a disapproving voice, and they turned to see the blue-robed man who'd captured them. In his hand was a tall iron staff, which looked simple until it lit up with deep-blue flames.
"I suppose I will have to discipline you, then.", he continued, spinning his staff leisurely, "Take a deep breath, now..."
He pointed the staff at them, and a huge wave of water slammed them into the wall.
"Ack!", cried Victor, "It burns!"
Zoey frowned. "No it doesn't."
The blue-robed man chuckled, "Perhaps not to you, chosen of the Shield Wolf, but I have a type advantage against that one. Not to mention that Ursaluna who you've all been using to get through my men. How well can you fare against me without a Pokemon to protect you?"
Selene growled, and struggled to get up, but the blue-robed man pointed his staff at her, and a mighty blast of water slammed the poor Ursaluna against the wall again, cracking the old stone.
"I'm...sorry...", she groaned, and then she fainted.
Seth snarled, but his leg prevented him from making a move. Cain jumped at the blue-robed man, but their opponent simply chuckled and teleported back into the main chambers.
"Catch me if you can, Legendborn. Or are you too weak and slow?", the man taunted.
Seth struggled to pull himself back to his feet, as his friends raced in to try and fight their new foe. He already knew how this would end, though; if they tried to fight this man, they'd lose. He was too powerful for them to fight against.
Seth pulled out a dim yellow crystal, and placed it on Selene's forehead. It dissolved into dust, and Selene groaned as she woke back up.
"We have to get out of here, we can't fight that guy!", Seth cried, "Do you think we could break open that window and escape that way?"
Selene replied, "Possibly...but it is quite risky. It's not like we have another choice, though."
There was a scream as Victor smashed into the bed beside them, launched back by another bolt of water. He struggled to his feet, but was clearly losing strength.
"We have to hurry!", Seth exclaimed.
The Ursaluna nodded, and she charged out of the room, followed by Seth and Victor. In the main chambers, the fight was definitely going sideways. Rex was trying to hit the blue-robed man with a chair, but the Dark Legendborn kept teleporting around. Zoey was desperately holding up a shield as she was bombarded relentlessly by the man's many attacks, but it was clear that she wouldn't be able to maintain it for long.
Cain, meanwhile, was trying to use his powers, but his concentration kept getting disrupted by blasts of water.
Selene roared, and swung her claws into the window, shattering it and causing the blizzard to immediately fly in, the cold winds and snow instantly dropping the temperature by many degrees.
The man chuckled, "Go ahead, jump out. You may notice we are overlooking a tall cliff. Certain death awaits if you try and escape that way."
"Better than being captured by you!", replied Victor, and before he could question his decision he leaped out the window.
Selene grabbed the others one by one and threw them outside as well, the man's eyes widening as he realized they were committing to that crazy plan. Seth was tossed out last, and the bear followed them.
As soon as they were gone, he sighed. "Very well, I'll clean up their remains later. I have other concerns at the moment...the Darkness is very insistent on a way to forge him a new body." (-o-)
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the cliff, several bodies had landed in a thick heap of soft snow. Anyone watching would be able to observe as an Ursaluna dragged them away, still breathing...
Such as it was that even this Dark Legendborn could make a mistake...(-o-)
AN: Another chapter concluded! Last chapter, I received a review asking about the eighteen Nobles, and if three of them are going to be killed off or removed in some way since there are only fifteen submissions accepted for this story.
The answer is no. I added three of my own OCs to this story as well, which brings us to eighteen. Of course, there is the fate of the Bug-type Warden, to which I'll reply with this:
The Nobles are safe for now. (emphasis on that last part)
Unfortunately, the Wardens don't have the same guarantee...
Anyways, that's all for now, so I'll see you guys next time!