Additionally, I am considering closing OC submissions early, since I believe the current amount of chapters may be deterring people. The rest of the slots will be filled out with new characters of my own design, which we shall begin meeting in the next few chapters.
There were only two slots left, anyways, so there won't be too many new faces.
Now that that's over with, let us begin the chapter! (-o-)
The wind rushed past the ears of the Legendborn as they fell into the abyss, darkness all around them. Someone was screaming - no one was quite sure who.
There was a loud whirring noise, and zooming down towards them was Ulfsigr, jetpack flaring behind him. The armored young man reached out, and seized onto the rope. Carefully, he slowed down their fall, gradually leading to a stop.
Carlos gasped. "How are you doing that?!"
Ulfsigr grunted, "Hydraulics in my suit...making me stronger...but my jetpack won't be strong enough to hold this much weight for long. Going...to try to get us...to the ground..."
His jetpack was sputtering and coughing up smoke as they slowly descended, the headlights on his suit illuminating the fact that there was still a massive amount of darkness below them.
However, now that they were going slower, some of the others could now act.
Wolfe sent out one of his Pokemon. "Sora, help with the rope! We will die otherwise!"
His Pidgeotto seemed a little alarmed, but he quickly flew up and seized the rope.
He was quickly joined by Winona, Checkmate, and Nimbi, and they continued gliding down softly.
Ulfsigr shut off his jetpack as they descended, knowing it would not be a good idea to keep it running much longer. He took a tight hold of the rope and let the bird Pokemon float him down with everyone else.
After a few quiet minutes, which only made everyone more and more tense, the heroes finally found their feet touching the ground. Everyone sighed with relief as they let go of the rope, and sat down. The bird Pokemon cheerfully landed by their owners, all looking proud of themselves.
But after some relaxation, Carlos asked, "So, uh, how are we going to get out of here?"
Wolfe replied, "I am not certain...however, there is a promising path in front of us. We can't see it in this darkness, but I can sense it is there."
"Darkness...darkness...oh no.", whispered Ray.
"What is it?", asked Clara, but it was clear she already suspected his reply.
"The shadows are the realm of the Darkness.", Ray answered, "We are trapped underground, far from the surface, and surrounded in darkness. We have to move. Now."
As everyone hurried to their feet, dark laughter shook the area.
"How very clever of you...", the voice of their enemy said, "It was I who sent those Onix towards your path. Now you are in my domain, and you will NEVER escape."
"Run!", shouted Carla, and the Legendborn took off down the path Wolfe had shown them.
But as they ran, the shadows morphed around them, and glowing red eyes emerged from the darkness. "How shall you die?", the Darkness whispered.
"Begone!", snapped Carlos, sending out his Pyroar. King's mane lit up with fire, illuminating a large circle around them.
A circle that rapidly started shrinking.
"If fire could stop the Darkness, we would've won a long time ago.", Ray commented, "Hurry!"
They continued running, their shoes pounding against the stone. The Darkness continued laughing around them.
"Run, run, run, but you'll never get away! Darkness is EVERYWHERE. My reach is INFINITE. You can only DIE!", the Darkness declared.
"Can we shut him up?", pleaded Ulfsigr, "He is actually getting annoying."
"How can you joke in a time like this!?", demanded Carlos, "We might be about to die horribly!"
John shouted, "Stop arguing! We need to focus on escaping!"
A cold finger brushed against his ankle, causing him to yelp and run faster.
"The passage looks exactly the same!", cried Clara, "It's like we're running in place!"
Wolfe gave a sad sigh. "Perhaps we are. The Darkness appears to be altering our perception of reality!"
"What the heck does that mean!?", asked Carlos.
Wolfe replied, "It means that what we think we're doing is not what we actually are! We have to think outside the box!"
The Darkness made a sad noise. "Oh, you're too late, too late. You were never going to figure it out anyways. How depressing, when your horribly-mangled bodies show up later..."
Catherine glared into the darkness, her eyes glowing with strange power. "You have no power over me, demon."
She extended her hands, and the shadows retreated. However, sweat started pouring down her face, and her hands were shaking. "I can't hold him back for long!", she cried.
"I don't even know how you're holding him back at all!", replied John.
Ray looked towards Ulfsigr. "The aurablade. Grab it now!"
Ulfsigr did not argue, readying the hilt inside his bag. A burst of malevolent energy flickered through everyone's minds, as the Darkness saw the weapon.
"Impossible. I secured them all-"
Ulfsigr shouted in rage, the blade of energy materializing from the hilt. He slashed it forward, and with a gust of cold wind the presence that had been subconsciously lurking at the back of everyone's minds retreated, and the passage resumed to a more normal kind of dark.
"...I can't believe we survived.", Carlos finally said.
Ray replied calmly, "The aurablades were created to fight off the Darkness. But we cannot truly defeat him with them; we must unlock our full abilities to do that. Let us make haste, before he decides to return."
No one argued.
However, after only a few hundred feet, the Legendborn found themselves in front of a massive cavern. The entire room was filled with a jungle, except it was made out of different colors of crystals. There were emerald trees and ruby fruits and sapphire pools, and there were statues of all sorts of Pokemon, made entirely of thick crystal. A soft pink light suffused the area, adding to its enchanting appearance.
"What in the Distortion is this place?", asked Connor, looking rather befuddled.
Ray shook his head. "I am not sure, but we must proceed very carefully. Magical places like this are never safe, and could be full of any manner of curses or enchantments."
Kelly shivered. "Yeah, let's not spring one of those."
The heroes slowly and quietly walked into the crystal jungle. But still, their footsteps echoed around them, amplified by the crystals.
One could not shake the feeling that the Pokemon statues were staring at them, either...
Soon, they began to hear a melodic humming coming from ahead of them. The Legendborn felt nervous, for they did not know what could be making it.
The answer was quickly revealed when they stepped into a clearing ahead of them.
A small Pokemon, made of rock and pink diamond, floated in front of a ring of statues, humming to themselves. It stopped as soon as the adventurers appeared, though, and spun around.
"Oh, hello, Legendborn!", it cheered in a high, happy voice, "I wasn't expecting you here!"
"Crystal Queen, it is an honor to be in your presence.", Ray said, kneeling before the Diancie.
Catherine and Kelly followed suit, but no one else did. They weren't from Regiras, though, so none had the same devotion as the natives.
Diancie asked, "So, how did you get here? I sealed all passages to keep out the Darkness."
Connor answered, "We, uh, kinda fell because of a cave-in. Caused by the Darkness."
"Oh, dear, that is very troubling!", Diancie replied, "But my crystals will keep him out. They always have. You all could be safe here, you know. It gets dreadfully lonely here sometimes."
Ulfsigr said, "I appreciate the offer, but we kind of have to save the world..."
"Oh, yes, of course. Heading to Azulia City, right? That doesn't sound wise...I can sense my fellow Legendary's anger...", Diancie replied.
"That's...kind of why we're going there.", Ray stated.
"Oh. Okay.", Diancie said.
Carlos asked, "Do you know if there's a way out of here? We need to get back to the surface."
Diancie answered, "There isn't one!"
Carlos paled, and Diancie giggled. "Oh, don't worry, I can make one. But surely you should consider your options! You could live here safe and happy for the rest of your days!"
Carla shook her head. "Your home is pretty, but we don't want to stay here. All of us have friends and family on the surface, and we can't just hide from saving the world."
Catherine flinched at the word 'family', and Ray's face darkened slightly.
Diancie sighed. "I guess there's no convincing you...but I must warn you. There is much suffering and darkness in your future if you go to the surface. Evil things lurk in every shadow, death and pain will become old friends, and every single one of you conceals a darkness that could consume you and everything else. Are you sure you want to deal with that?"
Everyone nodded, some more hesitantly than others.
Diamcie sighed even deeper. "Very well. I shall open a tunnel to the surface. Good-bye...and good luck."
She gestured towards a wall hiding behind some trees, and it rumbled as a tunnel dug its way through it, a distant square of sunlight in the distance.
The heroes ran up it, Diancie's warning echoing through their minds.
They all wondered what it would turn out to be... (-o-)
AN: That's another chapter done! Next time, we'll be switching over to the other group, and starting the Road to Glashear arc!
I hope that you're still enjoying the story, and I'll see you all next time!