Last Time, on Explorer's of Prehistory...
The rescuers got some rescuing by the famous Team Rose, gold-rank exploration team, who were also searching for the Cave of Dreams behind their rivals, Team Vampire. Although the two groups had some complications, they ultimately got their acts together and agreed to work together to find the cave, seeing as how dangerous it is said to be. Meanwhile, Vlad and Dram, two members of Team Vampire, managed to find the Cave of Dreams - and its guardian, who quickly attacked and incapacitated the two brothers, trapping them inside of a small hole and freezing them inside. Meanwhile, the newly formed Team Blizzard had also found the Cave of Dreams (you know, for a legendary, nearly impossible to find cave, a lot of Pokemon seem to be able to find it, you know?) and bravely plunged in, unaware that the guardian of the cave had already sensed their presence...
What will happen next? Find out now!
It took some work - a lot of work - a lot of hard work - but they found it. After hours of hardships, the copied map finally led them to their destination. Finally, they sat before the object of their desire: a small pit in the snowy tundra, almost invisible to the naked eye, that supposedly led to the Cave of Dreams. Their hard work had paid off - but it wasn't over.
"Well," Rose said, looking down into the hole. "Would you look at that?" She gestured to a long, thick rope that was tied to a nearby tree trunk, and dangled down into the pit. "Looks like someone has been here before us. I wonder who that could be."
Dracia scowled. "Team Vampire," she muttered.
Venom rolled his eyes at the Dratini. "Ah, yes, because the Flying-type's really need to climb down a hole. Obviously, it was left behind by the kids who couldn't fly."
"Ah, yes," Rose murmured, looking into the hole. "Quite right. Thank you, eh, Poison."
"It's Venom."
"Close enough." Rose leaped down in to the hole, wrapping her thorny arms around the rope and descending into the hole. "Come along, now. No time to waste. Discoveries and treasure await us!"
"And Team Vampire and the kids," Ace reminded the Grass/Poison-type firmly. "And we find them first - no exceptions."
Rose chuckled. "Of course, of course... Come along, now."
The Cave of Dreams was dark, dank and inhospitable. The air was beyond frigid, easily beating the gale of the tundra outside, and the walls and floors were slick with ice and frost. It was completely pitch black as well, and even the torches they brought with them didn't help much.
Then there was the silence. That's what scared them the most. The air was completely noiseless, a void of absolute nothingness. They couldn't even hear water dripping in the distance, as all of the water in the cave had frozen centuries ago.
The group came to a halt, to plan their next move. None of them knew how deep the cave was, and it wouldn't do to simply run in without any sort of plan or strategy.
"Well, now," Rose said, adressing the group. "Here we are."
Dracia was hardly impressed. "What a dump," she complained. "I thought this place was supposed to be filled with treasure!"
Rose ignored the Dratini. "Officer, perhaps it would be beneficial for us to split up into separate groups. We could cover more ground that way."
"We could also get separated and lost," Ace pointed out. "We have enough missing Pokemon on our hands now. It's one of the thing's we're here to remedy."
"I know, my dear officer, I know," Rose said. "However, you must admit that there is some merit to my idea, correct?"
Ace folded his arms. "We need to stick together, Rose. You know Gardevoir Guild protocol in this situation."
"I don't think this was ever covered..." Rose began.
Ace was quick to pull out a small book, labeled "Gardevoir Guild Protocol." He licked his finger and quickly flipped through the pages, finding what he was looking for. "Ahem... 'In a search and rescue mission in uncharted territory, all members of the rescue team must stay together at ALL TIMES, in order to prevent any other Pokemon from getting lost'."
Aero gently clapped. "Way to go, officer," she praised.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Well played, officer," she muttered under her breath.
"U-um... Excuse me..."
Hula's tiny voice was so quiet that it put Cotton's shy tones to shame. The Bellossom was holding a small red ribbon in her tiny arms. "Uh... I found this tied over on that spiky rock," she reported, handing it to Rose.
"Hmm..." Rose snatched the ribbon away from her underling. "How amateur, Vladimir. I'm disappointed with you," she chastised, as if the Team Vampire leader was there to take her insult.
"What is it?" Aero asked.
"Team Vampire tied - eh, somehow... these rags behind them, so that if they got lost or ran into a dead end, they could find their way back. It's an ancient trick, really," she added snidely.
"Perfect!" Ace said. "Now we can track 'em down! Everyone saddle up!"
Rose pouted. "You deprive me even of sounding the bugle? Officer, frankly, I'm wounded."
"Quit complaining and let's go," Kiara growled, following Ace deeper into the cave with a snarl.
The others quickly set off, save for the three members of Team Rose. "When are we going to do it?" Dracia hissed in Rose's ear.
"Mmm?" Rose shrugged. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Please be more specific."
"You know what I mean," Dracia grunted. "When do we take care of them? They're just going to get in the way!"
"Wrong," Rose corrected. "They're just going to rescue those idiots - or pick up what's left of them."
Hula turned paler than ever.
"We'll be free to find whatever treasure this place has the moment the rescue is finished," Rose said sternly. "There's no need to resort to attacking a police officer in this instance, so please, dear, curb your pathetic lust for violence before I saciate your hunger with a Sludge Bomb down your throat!" She paused and then giggled girlishly. "Oh, dear, I apologize. I'm just a little bit absolutely livid right now."
Dracia had wisely slithered back, knowing full well from personal experience that it was not wise to get on the receiving end of one of Rose's rare tantrums. "S-sorry..." she muttered, thoroughly licked.
"You should be," Rose murmured. Catching the terrified look on Hula's face, she asked, "What on earth are you looking at?"
"N-nothing..." Hula squeaked.
"Good." Rose turned away and tossed her scarf back. "Come along, girls. Let's be off."
"O-one more time... One, two, three!"
Vlad and Dram roared as they hurled their bodies against the door to their icy prison, bashing the frozen wall as best they could. All they received for their efforts was a chilly and painful rebuke, sent flying back from their target and down to the floor.
Vlad sat up with a wince. "Alright," he said, his suave voice cracking. "Five minute break, everyone. That's a wrap." With that, he flopped to the ground, face first.
Dram scowled, pushing himself off of the ground. "N-no..." he growled angrily. "No way I'm getting up... Not now... Dang it, Vlad, get up!" He angrily began to pound the ice wall with his wings. "Wing Attack!"
Vlad slowly pulled himself off the ground, wincing as he did so. He had been flinging himself onto the wall harder than Dram had, and had sustained serious damage. "R-right... I'll..." He gritted his fangs and fell forward. "No good..." he gasped. "That monster really did a number on me..."
"You can't just give up!" Dram shouted.
"I'm not..." Vlad picked himself off of the ground. "I'll... Urgh... Let's keep at it..." He raised his wing and charged. "Steel Wing!" he roared, a steely aura forming around his wing. He roared as he smashed his wing at the icy barrier.
The wing struck, but bounced off and smacked into his face, bloodying his nose. The Crobat gave a wheeze and fell to the ground. "H-have to keep trying..." he gasped. "F-for Akasha... Urgh... Sludge Bomb!" he shouted, spewing a blob of slime at the wall. The sludge splashed against the wall and bounced back, whizzing over the two 'bat's heads and striking the back of the cave, splattering against the back with a hiss. When the sludge cleared, a few tiny cracks had appeared on the wall.
Vlad and Dram looked from one to the other, surprised. "Do you think?" Vlad asked.
Neither brother needed to see anything else. They had been so focused on the frozen wall that the monster had sealed them away with that they hadn't bothered to check how solid the back of the cave was. The two bats threw themselves at the wall, full force.
"Wing Attack!"
"Steel Wing!"
With the last of their combined might, the two brothers smashed the wall, resulting in a satisfying crack. The icy wall shattered like grass, fragile crystals clinking and clanking as they hit the ground.
Before either of the Vampires would discern what was happening, a deep, violet mist rushed inside the room through the newly formed hole, quickly enveloping the brothers and forcing them to cough and wheeze.
"W-what the heck is this crud?!" Dram coughed.
Vlad sniffed the air. "Well," he answered, "it's a bit strange, but my lungs aren't exploding and my blood isn't boiling..." He paused and sniffed the air again. "It smells rather nice, actually."
"Whatever it is..." Dram muttered. "It's not helping. Come on, let's find out what else in there. Maybe's there's a way out of this Arceus-forsaken place!"
"Hoh hoh hoh... Dram, you always were the temperamental one!"
The two bats' ears pricked at the deep, masculine voice. "Who's-?!" Vlad began.
"Oh, come now, boys!" a second voice, this one female, cried. "Stop your silly adventurer games for a moment and come eat lunch! Oh, and Dram, wash off your face! You're filthy!"
The Vampires recognized those voices; that's why they were so terrified. Those voices had long gone silent in this world. The two brothers turned back to the mist, where two faint, bat-shaped figures had formed.
"M-mother?"
"Pop...?"
"Hah... Hah... We're... getting close... I can feel it..."
Akasha the Zubat panted as she flapped her aching wings, flying through the dark tunnels of the Cave of Dreams. The Poison/Flying-type was constantly screeching into the darkness, her echolocation allowing her to navigate the tunnel better than a pair of eyes would. "Can you see any more ribbons?" she peeped to her companions.
Storm shook his body. "Nope," he said.
"Uh-uh," Crystal answered. "And our torches are running low, too..." she added, raising her dimming torch. "Maybe we should go back..."
"We can't go back!" Akasha snapped. "My brothers are in danger, and it's up to us to save them!"
"Well..." Crystal muttered. "Shouldn't we let the grown-ups handle it?"
"There aren't any explorers this far out, though..." Akasha explained.
"Um, yeah there are!" scoffed Storm. "There's me! I'm gonna be the world's greatest explorer one day, and it all begins now!" He whirled to the two girls. "What better start than exploring a legendary cave?"
The girls were silent: neither of them had an appropriate answer for that. "Well..." Crystal murmured.
Akasha's ears pricked. "Vlad?" she asked, whirling around.
"What?" Storm asked.
"I thought I heard Vlad's voice..." the Zubat replied. "I... I did! I heard his voice! He's this way!" she shouted, jabbing her wing down the tunnel.
"Then let's go!" shouted Storm. "Team Blizzard is a go!"
"Yeah!" the girls chanted, their courage renewed by the prospect that the boys were nearby. The trio of children charged into the depths of the cave.
It didn't take the kids long to find the Vampires.
The frozen wall was mostly transparent and partially shattered due to Vlad and Dram's efforts to escape from their icy prison, and as such Team Blizzard could faintly see their bodies from behind the ice, though they really just looked like purple and blue blobs. Akasha's sensitive ears could faintly pick up the quiet voices of her brothers, and she screamed out to them as loudly as she could. "Vlad! Dram! It's me, Akasha! Are you okay?!"
There was no response, and a feeling of dread washed over the youngest Vampire. "We've gotta get them out!" she wailed.
Storm narrowed his eyes. "Leave it to me! Headbutt!" The Glalie roared and leaped forward, smashing his entire body against the ice. Thankfully, Storm was still relatively fresh from their journey, and full of pep. It only took three Headbutts to shatter the icy wall, Vlad and Dram having softened it up for them. The ice cracked and fell away, revealing their targets.
Akasha gave a delighted laugh at the sight of her brothers. "Vlad! Dram!"
"W-what the heck is that?!" Crystal squeaked.
Violet mist was seeping into the cavern, oozing out from the hole and into the cave. Akasha coughed. "I dunno, but I don't like it! Vlad, Dram, help me clear up this stuff!" She began flapping her wings and blowing the gas back into the hole. "Guys, come on!" she complained, noting her brother's lack of movement or interest. "You could at least thank us for coming all this way to save your tails!"
Neither bothered responded.
"G-guys...?" Akasha turned towards her brothers. "Are you okay...?"
"Mom, Akasha's crying!" Dram said suddenly, in an oddly flippant tone for one so gruff.
"D-Dram!?" Akasha exclaimed. "I don't cry! You liar!"
Vlad grabbed Akasha with his wings. "I'll put her to sleep, mother, don't worry," he said, cradling his dumbfounded sister.
"Let me go!" Akasha whined.
"What's wrong with them?" Storm asked.
"Maybe it's the mist?" offered Crystal.
"Y-yeah, that's just what I was thinking!" Storm exclaimed. "We've got to get rid of it, somehow..."
"Do it fast!" Akasha wailed. "They're acting weird!"
"Should I get her bottle?" Dram asked.
"Maybe she's hungry," Vlad agreed with a nod.
"I'm not hungry! Let me go!" Akasha shouted. "What's wrong with you? You guys are acting like kids!"
"..."
Akasha blinked. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Storm asked.
"I heard..."
"...Groh..."
The two Ice-types winced; they had heard that one.
"GROOOOOOOH!"
Rapid, heavy footsteps began to pound the icy ground, talons scraping against the ice. A hideous shriek filled the air, nearly shattering Akasha's sensitive ear drums. "GROOOOOOOOOOH!"
Something big and shadowy rounded the corner, massive topaz eyes glowing like fireballs as it leered down at the intruders. "ICE BEAM!" it screeched angrily, blasting at the ground with a beam of frosty energy.
"R-run!" the kids all shouted in unison. Akasha yanked herself out from her brother's grip and flew off with the two Ice-types. The enraged beast screeched, firing off a multitude of Ice Beams at the children as they beat a hasty retreat.
"What do we do?!" wailed Crystal. "Storm, what do we do?!"
"I don't know!" Storm cried. "Just keep running!"
"Grooooooh!" the monster roared as it chased them, ignoring the joyfully oblivious Vlad and Dram. Its large body was not built for such a cramped space, forcing it to crouch and making it difficult to catch the trio of intruders. That didn't mean it wasn't going to try, of course. Snarling and screeching, the beast lunged at the kids, missing by mere inches and smashing ice with its wicked and curved snout.
The kids kept running as the beast picked itself up and kept chasing them. "H-h-help!" screamed Crystal.
Her scream echoed throughout the Cave of Dreams, followed by the enraged roar of the beast as it closed in on the children.
Author's Note:
Duhn duhn duhn!
Looks like our prepubescent pals are in a pickle! (I love alliteration.) Will the heroes be able to save them in time? What the heck is wrong with Team Vampire's senior members? And what's with Team Rose?
Tune in again to find out! Until then, see you all later! XD