That was not the scariest thing she was aware of currently, though.
Around the bite wound left on her arm by the Lycanroc, white fur had started growing. Zoey was being very careful not to reveal this to anyone, but it terrified her. Especially since now it was spreading.
She did not have her Pokemon to help comfort her, either.
As the heroes climbed up the slope, Zoey could feel it growing, a horribly warm sensation that reminded her of a fever. Right now, it was contained under her bandages, but she did not know how long that would last.
The newcomer Kai was plowing forwards through the snow, seemingly unfazed by the cold. Occasionally he would turn and wink at her, which was really starting to get on her nerves. She was not interested in him in the slightest, at least not in THAT way. But he seemed incapable of seeing that.
That was very frustrating.
They reached the top of a peak, allowing them to see that the trail was leading down into a treacherous looking canyon, a frozen river running through the middle of it. The winds were picking up, and it seemed another blizzard was coming through. Not the best time to go trekking through there, clearly.
But Zoey knew every hour they wasted was another hour for the Darkness to corrupt their Pokemon. So, running off of the nearly endless energy reserves gifted to Victor, the adventurers carefully climbed their way into the canyon.
There were no Pokemon to be seen, but Zoey knew they were probably in hiding right now. It wasn't a good idea to be out and about during a winter storm like this, after all.
Which made the fact the heroes were doing so even braver and/or stupider.
As they walked through the canyon, Zoey started getting the creepy feeling that someone - or something - was watching them. With all the other stuff they were dealing with, Zoey knew it was a bad idea to dismiss that feeling. So she kept a close eye on her back and the canyon walls.
However, fifteen minutes passed without anything happening, besides the snow falling faster and more frequently. The heroes were carefully climbing up the mountain pass, avoiding the slick icy surfaces.
Zoey eagerly kept an eye out for any Hisiuan Zoruas. Although she did not have any Pokeballs, nor was she in the best shape or position, she still wanted to complete her goal of obtaining the one thing she came to this Arceus-forsaken region for.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of one so far. But she was hopeful.
The storm was definitely picking up now. Zoey pulled her cloak close, feeling snow land on her cheeks and shoulders. Her breath was a silvery mist in the air, as the cold grew greater.
Ahead, Kai seemed to notice something. He stood still, then whispered, "There's a pair of powerful auras ahead. I think some Pokemon are fighting, strong ones too."
"Is there any way we can sneak around?", asked Rex.
Kai shook his head. "Not that I can tell."
Seth said, "We should probably try to see what kind of Pokemon they are. That will help us know what to do next. We'll have to be very careful, though, so they don't end up seeing us and attacking."
Everyone else nodded, but Zoey had a bad feeling about this. Something was going to go wrong, she was certain of it.
After all, the last few days had painfully proven how weak they were against wild Pokemon.
But still, she followed the boys as they cautiously crept forwards, heading up a hill ahead of the heroes. The snow was growing thick now, and she could not easily make out the shapes of the others in all the swirling white.
At the summit of the hill, they could see the fighting Pokemon ahead. One was a massive Garchomp, which was exceptionally sized for its kind, almost like it was Dynamaxed. The other was a truly colossal beast made out of ice - an Avalugg.
There was no way they could get past one of those - it took up half the valley path, and with how it was darting around and attempting to crush its foe, the Legendborn could easily be stepped on and reduced to a bloody pancake. That wasn't even mentioning the oversized Garchomp - that thing could tear them all to shreds and devour them if it wanted.
Everyone else clearly came to the same conclusion.
"Well, Muk.", said Rex, "What are we gonna do?"
"There has to be some way to get around.", replied Victor, "Maybe we could climb...?"
Zoey shook her head. "In this weather? That's basically suicidal. You can't see a thing, and the strong winds are likely to throw you off. That is definitely not going to work."
Kai looked thoughtful. "Perhaps my Charizard can help fly us over. It would take multiple trips, but it could work."
"I'm not seeing a better option.", sighed Seth, "But can he carry Selene? She's probably several hundred pounds."
Kai chuckled. "He once twisted an Onix into a pretzel. Carrying the Ursaluna will not be an issue."
Their plan decided, Kai sent out Blaze.
"Alright big guy, we need your awesome strength to get us past those Pokemon over there.", Kai stated, "Feel like you're up to it?"
Blaze asked, "Why can't I just fight the Pokemon?"
Kai replied, "You are good, but I'm not willing to risk you or anyone else against those things."
Blaze looked over at the battling Pokemon. "Ah, I can see that. Alright then."
He proceeded to pick up Rex and Victor, and flew off with them. A few minutes passed, and the winds grew ever stronger. But he then returned, taking Kai and Cain away too.
As Zoey stood there with Selene, waiting somewhat impatiently for Blaze's return, it happened.
With a thunderous roar, the Garchomp slammed the Avalugg into a wall, causing the valley to tremble. The Avalugg roared back, stomping its feet and causing the ice beneath Zoey's feet to split, ripping open a huge chasm across the valley.
She leaped back, narrowly avoiding falling to her death. But at that moment, a roaring wave of snow swept down from above, slamming all the breath out of her and sweeping the Ursaluna and herself down into the chasm. (-o-)
When Zoey woke up, she was quite surprised that she HAD waken up.
Freezing cold and stuck at the bottom of an icy chasm, nearly buried beneath an avalanche, it was a marvel that she had survived. It would also be a marvel if she ever made it back out.
Looking around, she realized that she appeared to have fallen into an already existing ice cavern. The walls were blue and shimmery, and she could see her reflection in them. With alarm, she realized that the arm she'd been bitten on was entirely covered in white fur, and ended with three sharp claws.
Shivering now from both cold and horror, she tore her eyes away from her reflection and instead thought about how she was going to get out of here. Looking up, it was pretty clear she was not going back the way she came, so she knew she was going to need to navigate the tunnels and hope to find an exit. There had to be one, right?
Pulling herself to her frozen feet, Zoey struggled to stand up. Looking around, she could see no sign of Selene, which worried her. But she knew there was no way she could spend time looking for Selene right now - she had to ensure her own survival too.
Once she was standing, Zoey slowly started walking, keeping an eye out for any signs of an exit. Everything was numb, and Zoey knew frostbite was a deep concern now. But there was nothing she could do about that.
Her footsteps echoed on the icy floor, and Zoey could see icicles dangling peacefully around her. This cave was truly gorgeous, but it was hard to think on its beauty when it could end up being her tomb.
After what felt like hours, she still had not found anything. It was an endless maze of tunnels and ice, and Zoey was only getting colder. She could barely feel anything now, and she felt quite afraid. It was very possible that she could die here, clawing at the walls as she searched for an escape that was not there.
But right as she felt like giving up, there was a soft yip, and a gray fox-like Pokemon appeared. It had a white tail and mane, which both ended with softly glowing blue tips.
All Zoey could think about at that moment, though, was that this Pokemon could help her.
"Please.", she whispered, "Can you show me the way out?"
The Pokemon yelped and ran off into the tunnels. Zoey, panicked, hurried after it, hoping she had not scared her only possible help.
Through twisting and turning paths she ran, panting as she tried to keep up. The Hisiuan Zorua was always ahead, zipping through the caves expertly.
Finally there was a cold wind rushing in from ahead, and the two burst out of a cave entrance, high on a snowy mountaintop. Zoey fell to her knees, grateful to see the sky again.
The Zorua, meanwhile, stared at her quietly. Zoey smiled at it. "You saved me.", she whispered.
The Zorua calmly nodded.
Zoey looked around. "Would you be willing to help me get back to my friends?", she asked, "I've been separated from them, and I don't think I'll be able to survive if I can't find them."
The Zorua seemed thoughtful, before nodding again.
"Oh, thank Arceus!", cried Zoey. A smile came to her face, and she did not feel so hopeless anymore. (-o-)
AN: That was an interesting end, wasn't it? The next chapter's the last one for this arc, and it's there where we'll find out how Zoey may (or may not) get back to her friends.
Well, that's for next time! See you then!