"I have decided I hate being chased!" wailed Rayzor from behind her, but Bean didn't stop to console him. Instead, she focused her energy into pushing Meyers forwards, feeling his strides lengthen as they pounded down the tunnels, away from the bloodthirsty howls that haunted the previously empty halls.
"To the left," snapped Sheer from her side. Meyers scrambled in the dirt for purchase as they flung around the sharp corner, but their guide didn't slow down.
The hallways slowly began to slope upward, and hope dared to kindle in Bean's chest. They must be close! Or, at least, getting closer…
There was a chorus of squeals and yips from behind them. Golurk or Sheer must have thrown in another roadblock. Despite the Cryogonal's positively toxic attitude, Bean was infinitely grateful for her help. They wouldn't have gotten very far without her.
After they'd first bumped into her, the group began to head back the way they had come and only turned two corners before they'd run straight into a pack of Invictus's cronies. For a second, the two groups had only stared at each other in shock, but Sheer was quick to incapacitate enough of them to allow their escape.
Bean had only seen the leader Stoutland go down with a jagged icicle in his chest before Meyers was vaulting in the other direction, roaring for Rayzor and Golurk to follow. They would've been torn to pieces without the Cryogonal's quick wits.
After a few more twists and turns, steadily climbing upwards, Rayzor gasped from behind them, "Light!" Sure enough, at the end of the hall a pinprick of sunlight beckoned to them. Meyers panted as Bean murmured encouragingly, telling him to keep going, they were almost there, it was so close. They couldn't fail now that it was within reach…
A few more minutes of silent running, broken only by their heavy breathing, and the tunnel's exit flew into detail. "Go!" growled Sheer, stopping at the entrance. Meyers pounded past her, and Rayzor was quick to follow. Golurk melted from the shadows a beat later and slipped out into the dying sunlight. Bean turned back in time to see Sheer fill the tunnel with a heavy sheet of ice, and heard the muffled THUMPs of their pursuers smashing against it.
"Won't hold them for long," she grumbled, looking back at the cave with disgust.
"Then we're moving," Meyers growled, tilting his head to get a better look at their surroundings. They were finally outside, but still surrounded by stone and ice on all sides. It appeared that they were standing in the middle of the crown of mountains. All around them, the walls sloped upward with dirt pathways and tiny cave entrances dotting the snow. A few abandoned human machines littered the ground around them. "Old quarry," Sheer said before anybody could ask.
"Now go. If you go through that tunnel, it's a straight line all the way to the outside." She gestured to one of the many identical caverns dotting the landscape.
Bean frowned. "You're not coming with?"
Sheer scoffed as if the idea was blasphemous. "No. It was one tunnel. I've got more places to stay. I can find more idiots to freeze on my own."
Bean heard Rayzor inhale sharply from Meyers's side. "I… don't think it was just one tunnel." She glanced over and followed his eyes up to the mountain's upper trails, and her blood ran cold. The previously empty-looking mountains were suddenly crawling with patrols of Pokemon. Invictus's Pokemon. The groups were emerging from the caves, circling high above them and sending flurries of snow drifting down to the ground far below them. When the wind blew right, their jeering, bloodthirsty voices reached Bean's ears.
"It's too late," Meyers said huskily.
Sheer swore from beside them. Her eyes were glittering with an unsettling rage. "I'll kill them all. Bastards." Bean shivered as the air around them grew colder.
"Whether or not you're coming, we need to get out of here," Rayzor interjected. He and Golurk were standing close together, watching the cliffs warily.
The tunnel they had emerged from had fallen silent once again, though Bean suspected that the patrol had gone for backup, but it was only a matter of time before more of the patrols noticed them and came down the mountains.
Meyers turned and headed in the direction of the tunnel Sheer had pointed to. "Then let's leave." Rayzor quickly fell in line behind them, but Golurk and Sheer didn't move.
Golurk regarded her with curiosity. "Are you coming with us?"
"You told me you had a patrol you needed disposing of," she shot back, staring at them defiantly.
"Actually, you have many patrols to deal with now, if you haven't noticed," Meyers snarled. "If you want to fight your way back through the entire mountain just to stab a couple of Stoutland, be my guest."
Sheer hissed with displeasure, and Bean got the feeling she didn't like that he was right.
"You should come with us," Golurk urged, and Sheer and Rayzor gave a noise of exasperation in unison. "I know this is your home, but sometimes there's more out there for you to see. And it wouldn't be safe for your stay here, anyways."
Despite the pressing situation, Bean's heart swelled. She could feel how his words resonated from the heart, and she knew he remembered Rayzor convincing him to follow them away from Dragonspiral Tower. Perhaps he saw a similar situation reflected in Sheer's placid glare.
From behind them, a chilling howl rose up, and Meyers growled and tensed. "No more talking. We're leaving." Golurk hesitated before following them, and they slipped into the tunnel.
It was a much shorter walk to fresh air again, and by the time they emerged on the other side of the mountains, the sun was still barely peeking above the treetops.
Rayzor sighed and rubbed his arms, and Bean knew he was still feeling the chill of the mountains that would never quite leave them. Meyers nudged him forward again and he gave a groan of protest. "Can't we slow down for just a second?..."
"We need to get away from Twist Mountain before anything else," the Druddigon said sternly.
"Do you know if there's anywhere we can hide for the night? Or, just rest in general?" Golurk asked. Bean turned to face him, unsure of who he was talking to- and was shocked to find Sheer at his side. Well, a fair distance away, of course, but still trailing their group. She was careful not to make a surprised remark, but buried her smile in the fur on her chest.
"There's a small human town to the south of here," Sheer grumbled. "We could lose them around there. And then there's another cavern system beyond that."
Bean knew the rest of the group wasn't particularly enthused about plunging back into darkness, but she was glad that there was an escape in sight. "Great! Let's at least make it to the town, and then we can rest if everybody's too tired to go further."
The rest of the group managed a tired agreement, and Bean let the soothing sounds of twilight settle into her ears.
I can't believe I'm doing this.
Sheer was already regretting her decision to follow the other Pokemon by the next morning. They'd made it all the way to the little town, which had a name like Mistralton, or something, and then paused for the night before resuming their trek the next morning.
Even though she preferred to be alone, she didn't exactly hate travelling in a group, but she just hadn't been prepared for how much they all talked. Bean chattered incessantly about every topic, and Rayzor and Golurk were seemingly experts about going down complete rabbit holes of conversation with no real rhyme or reason.
Meyers was the only one who only spoke when it was absolutely necessary, and she found she liked him the most out of the entire group. He was dry and brief and didn't bother to sugarcoat his words.
She didn't mind Golurk, though. He was a bit more composed, and his words were usually carefully thought through and structured, so it wasn't entirely mind-rotting to listen to him talk. The only thing that bothered her was the naivete that tinged his thoughts; sometimes, she swore he had grown up under a rock with the things he tried to rationalize. Maybe he had.
But whenever she and Golurk interacted, she could practically feel the burning stare of Rayzor, who- oh, great stars. She didn't even want to waste her time thinking about him. His mere presence was enough to irritate her, and his equally aggressive attitude towards her didn't help the situation. She found she preferred most to pretend he wasn't there, but sometimes she couldn't help but let a biting retort escape.
Overall, it was easiest just to stay in the back of the pack and pretend she wasn't there. Joy.
Their next day of trekking had led them through wetlands, which was a lot of trudging through marsh but thankfully there were large stretches of dry land they could use to skirt the worst of the sinkholes.
Despite the challenging terrain, there was always time for small talk. Bean had decided to make up some sort of game to try and get the others to know each other better. "If we're going to be travelling together, I'd love to know more about you, dears!"
Favorite color, favorite fruit, favorite place to be, how many siblings?, what kind of music do you like?... It was starting to feel more like being stuck in a hatchling's classroom.
Though perhaps it did provide her some mildly interesting insight. It sounded like Bean and Meyers had traveled a fair bit in their lives, which was reasonable considering their age, but Rayzor and Golurk had not. Golurk explained to her that he had lived in a tower until it was ransacked by Invictus's goons, which made a lot more sense. Invictus's name was enough to make her simmer with resentment.
Golurk's answers to all the other questions sounded like surprises even to him, but Rayzor's words held a slight tinge of hesitation, as if he wasn't telling the truth. Which was weird, because there was no reason to lie about your favorite color.
Finally, after another half day, they found themselves at the entrance to Chargestone Cavern. Sheer gave a tiny sigh of relief. Even if there wasn't ice and snow covering the ground here, she always found herself feeling a bit more home in a cave.
Bean and Meyers stood to the side and let the rest of them file in, taking up the rear. The other two didn't miss the defensive gesture.
"Do you think they're all the way out here already?" Rayzor asked warily.
"Probably not-" Bean started.
"But it's never a bad idea to be alert," Meyers finished. The Swoobat looked down at him with a tiny smile.
"There's not that many ways into Chargestone. They would've had to cross paths with us at some point, unless they were moving incredibly fast or came from the opposite side of the continent," Sheer pointed out, and the others nervously agreed it was incredibly unreasonable for them to be ambushed in the cave.
"It's concerning that they're everywhere else, though," Bean murmured, plucking at her down. "It only took a couple of hours for the biggest mountain range of Unova to be overrun. Obviously, they're not facing any opposition."
"What about Bellatrix?" Rayzor asked. "She must be doing something about it, or at least trying. I mean, wasn't the whole reason she made an army was to fight Invictus?"
Bellatrix? That was a name Sheer hadn't heard before, though perhaps that could be acquitted to the fact she'd been sheltering in Twist Mountain for so long before Invictus's takeover. She refrained from asking who they were- she'd get enough context from the following conversation.
"Invictus's army is still growing, but if Bellatrix's recruitment efforts are failing like they were in Serpentine everywhere else, she'll be outnumbered in no time. And every Pokemon is cowardly by nature," Meyers growled. "If they think Invictus is winning, they'll join him."
And in that case, they deserve to be struck down, Sheer thought with another jolt of anger.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Golurk asked anxiously. "Can we fight them? I've- never fought-"
The dragon snorted and tossed his head. His tail lashed out and sent a levitating crystal spinning into a magnetic rock. "No. We keep moving away from that bastard. It is not my issue. You all can speak for yourself."
Bean frowned but didn't argue. Sheer could tell she wanted to argue, but there wasn't anything she could say.
Their scuffed-up group consisted of an elderly couple and two brainless teenagers. You're barely older than they are, a pointed voice scoffed in her head, but she ignored it. She had more survival skills than the two of them put together, regardless.
The point was, they were ill-equipped to charge into any sort of battle against a bloodthirsty warlord. Even though it seemed heartless to leave the rest of the cities at Invictus's mercy, there was nothing they, as a group, could do.
Not counting Sheer. She had decided immediately that she wasn't part of this. She could go skewer a group of goons anytime she saw fit. By herself.
"But we can still warn others! Can't we?" Rayzor tried. "I mean, we're already heading east. Maybe… we can do our part by warning those that we pass that Invictus is approaching…" He trailed off at the end, realizing how futile the words sounded on his tongue.
And where would those they warned go? It wouldn't take long for Invictus to slide his dirty claws around every part of the continent, especially if his forces continued to grow without resistance. Would the humans and their pampered pets even stand a chance at all?
"Perhaps the gods will see our plight, and grace the earth once more," Bean mused, tapping her feet against Meyers's horns. Sheer resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and saw the old dragon doing the same.
The gods were fickle monsters, if they were even real. The dragon goddess of truth was merely said to purge those who spread untruths with merciless fire, and the land guardians were depicted as being much more interested in assisting humans, for whatever stupid reason. There hadn't been a reported sighting of the Swords of Justice in hundreds of years. It was idiotic to assume some self-centered, most-likely-fictional creature would descend from the heavens to give Invictus a stern talking to.
"The deities aren't always the heroes, though," Rayzor said, mirroring her internal annoyance. "In most stories, they just set things on fire and make it rain for a million years, or something."
Bean scrunched up her face in a disapproving stare. "Now! Don't go speaking like that. The actions of the gods could not be interpreted by mortals such as us. In the end, those disasters served a purpose."
Sheer suppressed a groan. She was one of those Pokemon, wasn't she? "I don't think Reshiira will save us now," she said flatly. "From the eyes of an immortal, this just looks like a tiny little stormcloud in the grand scheme of things."
Bean couldn't argue with that. She sighed and took off her spectacles, cleaning them against her spotless fluff. "I suppose you're right, Sheer. Perhaps I am getting a little desperate."
"Well, not all legends feature gods," Golurk cut in. "Lots of them are about normal creatures who manage to save the day. Maybe… huh." He paused and stared out beyond them, lost in thought. "Just kidding. That sounds silly. For all we know, the heroes in stories might not even be real…"
His shoulders fell, and for a brief moment, Sheer felt pity rather than irritation. It seemed like he hadn't exactly been raised to endure this kind of stress, from what she had observed. Well, none of them had been, but his situation had been a bit peculiar. It was probably incredibly demoralizing and overwhelming to be caught in a situation like this.
"It's okay, it was worth a shot," Rayzor comforted him, patting his arm.
They were quiet for another half-hour or so as they continued down the tunnel. Chargestone's layout was much more straightforward than Twist Mountain; there were very few small, branching tunnels, and those that did exist ended in large caverns where it was easy to get one's bearings.
The bright blue crystals reminded Sheer of her home, even though it was now swarming with rats. It was much too bright and uncomfortably warm in Chargestone, but the sloping walls kept her grounded. She'd return to Twist eventually, and make sure they all shattered beneath her ice.
The same way her brother had been shattered beneath those hooves. Evil deserves to be extinguished. It wasn't the same evil that had killed her brother, but it was evil nonetheless.
Rayzor's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Well, I think maybe we shouldn't be looking backwards to find a solution. What happened has already happened."
"Astute observation," she said dryly. He gave her a bitter look before continuing.
"Maybe… we should look forward? Which doesn't make a lot of sense, but-"
"Like using modern technology instead of the ancients?" Bean asked, intrigued. She was leaning so far forward on Meyers's head Sheer thought she might topple off.
"Um- kind of?" Rayzor continued. "Like, maybe we should be rallying every Pokemon together against Invictus instead of trying to pull an ancient hero stunt and do it ourselves. If we can reach enough Pokemon on this side of Unova fast enough, we may be able to create an entire rebellion. It- wouldn't be easy, though."
The most annoying thing about it was that it wasn't a terrible idea. At least, it wasn't for those who felt like doing it.
"Great. You all have fun with that," Sheer said. Rayzor gave her an exasperated look.
"What are you talking about?! I thought you hated Invictus! We are literally forming a plan to dethrone him!"
"I prefer to do things my own way," she shot back. He looked like he was ready to kill her, but Bean reached out and patted him with a wing.
"Sweetheart, calm down. Sheer's not going to stay with us, remember? We need to worry about us, first."
Rayzor took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "Okay. You're right. So, what are we going to do?"
"I think trying to rally the Pokemon is a good idea," Golurk put forward. Sheer found it laughable how quick he was to support Rayzor's ideas, and the same applied vice versa.
"That way, once we had enough support, we wouldn't have to worry about running to the far corners of the land," Bean added. "News travels fast, especially when lots of Pokemon are spreading it."
The three glanced expectantly at Meyers, who had been silent thus far. He let his tail sweep away the dust beneath him before he spoke. "I don't think we should make this decision right away. We should wait until things progress a little farther. Bellatrix, or others, can still turn the tide. If things start to slide, then we can attempt to intervene."
Sheer thought it was a strange thing to say. If you were going to do it, why not just do it now?
Something flashed in the Druddigon's eyes. Worry. Ah. He wants to protect them. And sending them into a warzone isn't exactly safe.
Bean seemed to concur, at least for the moment. "Alright. Let's just try and get out of this cave, for now." Rayzor and Golurk didn't object.
The group continued on a little further, and she felt them all give a collective sigh of relief when the light at the end of the cavern became visible.
"That was so much easier than Twist Mountain!" Rayzor laughed. "I'm so glad we're done with caves, for now."
Meyers let out a grunt of agreement and stretched out his back legs. "Glad we're done with cold, hard rock. Makes the talons sore," he grumbled.
Sheer stayed behind them, wondering if now was the time to disappear. Everyone's attention was on each other, and nobody was looking back at her. They'd be out of the cave before they realized she was gone, and then she didn't have to get tangled up in their stupid plan containing an apalling lack of self-preservation. They started moving again, still not bothering to throw a backward glance, and Sheer made her decision. They're no longer in immediate danger. If they make the decision to charge to their deaths, that's their fault.
She couldn't say she'd particularly miss any of them. Meyers was the most honorable in his bluntness, and Golurk was bearable, but it wasn't enough to make her want to stay.
Goodbye, then, she thought, somewhat cynically.
But instead of disappearing into the shadows in a noble, cold way, she turned around and nearly fell into pieces.
"STARS!" she roared before she could stop herself, and everybody turned back in shock. Barely an inch from her face, a Klinklang was just about staring into her soul. How had it even snuck up on her?! Instead of lashing out, or attacking in any way, it continued to stare at her.
"Back up!" she snarled, throwing a sheet of ice towards it. It whirred away before it could get frostbitten, but didn't go far.
"I apologize for frightening you. It was not my intention." The voice was level and robotic, but it wasn't cruel or harsh.
"I wasn't scared," was all she managed to snap. By now, the other four had rushed back to her side and were staring at the Klinklang in bewilderment. It stared back at them, ever observant. Sheer hated their double crossed eyes. Something about them was… unnerving.
"I overheard your conversation about Invictus. Rebellion."
They all tensed, and she let the temperature around them drop. Meyers let flame hiss around his jaws. "You work for the bastard?" he snarled, mirroring Sheer's thoughts, and took a step forward.
The Klinklang didn't move back, despite the threat. "If I did, I most likely would not have announced my presence."
The Druddigon growled, still not sold, to which she didn't blame him. If this was one of Invictus's goons, there could be any number of others, hiding and waiting to ambush them.
"Hold on!" Bean said, flapping her wings in an attempt to divert Meyers's attention. "Invictus isn't one for subtlety. Remember Twist Mountain? Unless he's changed tactics in less than a week, this doesn't seem like his doing. Normal Pokemon live here, too," she reminded them, but never took her eyes off of the Klinklang.
Sheer begrudgingly admired her level-headedness. When they stopped to think, her argument was the most valid one they'd come up. Well, the only one they'd come up with, but nobody was challenging her.
"Is that so?" asked the Klinklang, making them jump. "A balance of ambush and brute force seems like it would be more successful."
"Don't give them any ideas," groaned Golurk, and to their surprise (again), the Klinklang smiled.
"I'm Zero, by the way." The group stared at him for a moment, too bewildered to respond.
"Nice to… meet you?" Rayzor finally tried.
Zero seemed pleased by the response. "You as well. Now, I must apologize for being intrusive, but where is your next destination?"
Sheer glanced over and saw Bean giving her a similar look. "Nowhere in particular," Bean said evenly. "Just towards the east, away from Invictus."
"Ah," Zero stared at the ground between Meyers's front claws, thinking. "Well, I hate to ask, but… may I accompany you at least out of the area?"
"Why?" Sheer asked, instantly suspicious.
He seemed taken aback by her aggression. "Well- I know it's rude to spy, but if what I overheard you talking about is true, I don't want to stay here and leave myself as easy pickings for the approaching army."
"Er… why don't you just leave, then? The exit's right there," Rayzor said, gesturing towards the cavern exit behind them.
"I have before, but I never get far," he said, gazing out at the exit beyond them. "I was raised in a human lab before being released here. It's the only place I've ever known. The outside world is rather intimidating."
"I'm- sure we could help you!" Golurk said enthusiastically, then hesitated and looked at the others sheepishly. Sheer thought back to his explanation of how he'd lived in a tower his whole life, only brave enough to step out when the others offered to help. Rayzor gave him a rueful smile, and Bean's eyes creased with amusement. The tense mood was already dispersing, and even Sheer didn't feel as on-edge.
"Well… I suppose it couldn't hurt. Meyers?" Bean asked, glancing down at him.
"Fine," he grumbled. "But they're your herd of lost sheep. I am not going to take care of them." She tittered a little laugh and leaned back on his horns.
"Then we can leave it to Golurk! He's the one rounding up all the little lost ones." Golurk gave another half-embarrassed laugh.
"We can take care of ourselves! Just because we're younger than you…" Rayzor grumbled, crossing his arms.
"I pulled you out a marsh sinkhole less than an hour ago."
Sheer let out a snort of amusement at the memory before catching herself. No, she would NOT let herself enjoy her time stuck with these fools. And yet, why did she stay? She could have disappeared back there, but something had stopped her.
Well, besides Zero's appearance. Never mind. She decided to blame it on the Klinklang's appearance. A new stranger, no matter how naive or lab-grown they were, was a possible threat. She just had to stick around for a little bit longer to make sure they weren't suspicious, that was all.
Deceit could lurk around even the most brightly-lit corner.
