"Come on! We gotta move if we wanna live, ya blob of fat!" A rough male voice spoke, interrupted by a loud laugh as its owner jumped over a fence, his friend following closely behind. Though, closely might be an overstatement, with the chubbier person struggling to hoist himself over the same fence.
"I-I'm trying here! How 'bout you help, huh?!" He countered, breathing heavily as they both ran through a closed alley, the sound of something chasing them beginning to get louder and louder. Whistles reached their ears, along with several ferocious and irritated barks, as whatever was hunting them began getting closer.
The lean and physically fit leader ran into a wall, stopping himself with his heavy fists as he turned right and bolted in that direction. His eyes wandered over his own shoulder, watching as his friend did the same, though not as gracefully as he did. Nonetheless, they were both one step closer to escaping their hunter.
And as soon as his head turned back to look where he was going, he was unpleasantly surprised to see a hulking mass of muscle blocking his path, a grin plastered on their face as they blocked the entire path with their wide arms. They whistled and braced themselves, getting lower on their knees and putting their hands in front of themselves.
Was this an attempt at catching him? The runner scoffed, a similarly big grin stretching across his features as the static of electricity began gathering around his blue whiskers, looking as if they were charging. And as soon as he got close enough, a pirouette, following a simple forward jab by using the momentum, was enough to knock away the walking tank.
The giant huffed loudly, being thrown to the ground and now standing on their own knees, looking forward as the small and nimble cat jumped on one of their knees, grabbed their head, and kicked them right in the face- all done in a split second. For someone without much muscle mass, he always knew what to do to catch his opponents off guard and defeat them, his sleeve full of tricks.
The escapee looked back to his friend and behind him, seeing a similarly large figure trailing behind them and not looking like they were going to give up any time soon. The leader's whiskers sparkled with electricity once more, as he charged towards his partner in crime head on.
With mere seconds before inevitably hitting him, the feline suddenly shouted: "Get down, Ox!". And without even a moment's delay or hesitation, the chubby pokemon fell forward to the ground, with the leader jumping over him with the same grin as before still smeared across his face.
Electricity began travelling down his body, going from his whiskers down to the very soles of his feet, as he released a sudden and quick burst of it into the air. For anyone not knowing anything about physics, it looked like he had just jumped in mid-air, with the truth being not so far off. Though, explaining how he accomplished that would take longer than the duo's escape would.
And so, the gruff pokemon staring bewilderedly up at the flying feline, was soon struck with a brutal and powerful kick to the face, knocking them down and away from the two friends. Fortunately for them, their stalker- while still conscious- seemed to know better than charge head on at two powerful pokemon alone, staying down.
A moment of silence, and then a loud laugh filled the alleys as the smaller friend celebrated. "Hell yeah! Guards- 0, Rhino- 2! Take that you bastards!" He mocked the fallen pokemon and ran to his colleague's side, helping him get up and continuing their getaway, though much calmer than before now.
"I thought the prison wore you down, Nava-" The heavier pokemon began, clearing his throat before correcting himself. "I-I mean Rhino." His voice wasn't as rough as the other's, sounding a lot more kind and being higher in pitch. The saying 'gentle giant' came to mind when comparing his voice to his frame...
Rhino laughed, trotting beside his friend now rather than in front of him. He shook his head and looked up at him. "Bah! You're flattering me, Ox!" The feline reached up and smacked his big friend on the shoulder. "Thanks for the helping me break out of those chains, for real now. My wrists were beginning to get sore."
The small joke made Ox laugh, even if just a bit. Truth be told, he always looked up to his friend and his ability to smile danger right in the face, even when near death. He's always able to make jokes in the worst possible times, like that one time that he hung upside down at the top of a clock tower and kept saying how beautiful it is despite his predicament.
"Anything to repay a debt. Especially when it's you that I owe!" He laughed a bit louder, though still dwarfed by the confidence of his friend, who's infectious laugh bounced and echoed around the alleys, disappearing before it could reach the public. They were lucky enough to have beaten those two guards, but if the entire prison worth of wardens were to find them outside, they'd be both sentenced for life behind bars.
"Oi! Don't be scared of me or anything! You know damn well I wouldn't hurt you- you're like a brother to me!" Rhino reassured him and offered Ox a kind smile, one that the other reflected on their own face immediately. After that, it wasn't long before they reached their destination- a set of large, open pipes and a similarly large manhole on the ground.
They looked at each other and nodded, knowing full well what they had to do. It's not like they can get any filthier anyway- they're both stained with their past crimes. One was a master thief and a petty cat burglar, while the other was the head of an illegal underground black market and fight club- the place where they were headed to now.
And just like that, the feline slipped into the pipe and began sliding down along with the trash he picked up along the way, while the bigger pokemon climbed down using the ladder under the manhole, carefully putting it back where it was to cover the entrance and checking thrice if nobody was following them.
Thankfully, nobody was, and they hastily made their way down to the deepest depths of the town's underground tunnel system. Popular to contrary belief, it wasn't all sewers and trash. It was also abandoned (albeit still trashed) service tunnels, ones that were once used by the guardsmen to quickly get to where they had to be without anyone watching, following or distracting them.
But now, after the last ruler was overthrown and the people chose another one, the funding for these tunnels has been suddenly cut. Truth be told, it was to be expected. Taking care of such a complex underground tunnel system on top of all the other expenses must have cost a pretty penny to say the least.
Because of its complexity, however, it was easy to hide inside and wait out any heat on the surface. For example, if you were being chased by some guards, you could easily lose their pursuit if you knew your way around. Rhino and Ox were one of the people whodidknow their way around- they were the founders of the black market here, after all.
It wasn't long before they were reunited again, with the small and nimble feline rolling out of one of the pipes and falling into a heap of trash, while the other safely climbed down a ladder, helping his friend up. Rhino smirked and spit into an empty can nearby as he got back up to his feet, looking around the dark sewers.
He took a long whiff of the "air" that filled the place, sighing with relief as the two friends began leisurely walking forward and slowly out of the sewers. "It feels good to be back, even if it wasn't that long since I disappeared." Rhino chuckled and smacked his friend on the arm. "I missed this place and you!"
"'Course you did." Ox responded with a hearty chuckle of his own, his feet loudly thumping on the concrete ground. All the gunk was slowly beginning to turn into spiderwebs and debris as they arrived in the tunnel systems mentioned before, leaving a trail of wet and soggy trash behind themselves.
The deeper they went into the ancient relics of the past, the brighter it got. Torches were scattered along the walls along with discarded kerosene lamps shining brightly in the dark, making out a path and guiding any person that would find them even deeper underground, where it would all eventually stop.
And the best part about this? The exact moment that the shining flames of the lamps and torches left, the road split into a four-way, with nothing visible in the darkness that filled all tunnels. Rhino looked behind himself and up at Ox, who was straining to contain a laugh with his hand over his mouth. "What? Don't remember the way, boss?"
"Shut up!" The feline smacked the larger mon on the back with his cape-like tail, as it swayed left and right on its own. In an instant, his whiskers lit up with electricity just like they did before in the alleyway, emanating a bright, blue light that danced and flickered in the darkness. His head swiveled left and right, trying to remind himself of where to go, ending on a heavy sigh and an irritated flick of the tail.
Ox simply scoffed and pat his friend on the shoulder, getting his attention and motioning his own head to the tunnel on the left. "C'mon, they're all waiting for you." His kind voice echoed and bounced off of walls, probably gaining some hobo's attention; this area was full of them, after all. They had everything except for light, and even then it wasn't a problem, as they could easily snatch some torch from the topside.
As the two friends went further down the giant pipeline, they began hearing music coming from right around the corner. What they expected to be some energetic bop, one that would get their spirits up in no time, was actually the slow and beautiful humming of a violin. Nobody knew how to play a violin in the slums.
The duo gave each other a scared, yet knowing look, both of suddenly beginning to sprint down the tunnel in a race to see which one could find out what all the fuss is about faster. Rhino got on all fours, rushing forward like a cheetah chasing its prey, stray bolts of electricity bouncing off of metal pipes and whatnots.
The bigger one simply kept on running as fast as he could, as he did not have anything to aid himself in movement. And although he was far behind the other pokemon, he could still clearly hear the loud and sudden explosion that went off further in the tunnels, a strong gust of wind and dust nearly blowing him off his feet.
Rhino didn't stop running though. He couldn't stop, and he wouldn't stop. Something bad was happening, and he was going to find out what it was. But as his feet thumped harshly against the concrete ground, they began to drown out the low and melancholic croons of the distant violin. Soon, however, the sound would be replaced by another one- crackles and raging fire.
His eyes narrowed as a blast of heat hit him right in the face, coming from the tunnel opposite of him. Without any hesitation, he ran forward like the guards he fought off earlier, disregarding his own wellbeing as another heatwave threatened to melt his face. It was as if the underground itself was trying to warn him, to tell him not to continue forward.
But as he charged through the heat, he began to see a light in the tunnel, after which came the inferno. He came to a screeching halt as he arrived at his own "kingdom", one that was now burning along with its citizens. His eyes gleamed with the same light as the blaze, as he watched all the years of preparation and ensuring everyone was safe simply being washed away. Everything went down the drain.
Crude, wooden buildings were burning, taverns were exploding, children were crying for their mothers and the elderly were choking under the constant onslaught of the smoke and fire, as it created an impassable barrier. Rhino couldn't move. He was paralysed, his feet not listening to his own pleas, as he begged them to let him act and help the people.
The violin's slow notes played over and over again in his head, as if taunting him with the irony. Despite standing right next to the devouring flames, flinging charcoal and sparks at him and burning his nose, the instrument tried to calm him, like a mother would an angry child that was just refused another sweet.
His fight club, his black market, all of his earnings and rightful property was now slowly being eaten whole, only serving as fuel for the colossal bonfire that stood right next to him. "Rhino! Look away!" Came a voice from behind him, distant yet coherent. It was probably Ox warning him, but it was hard to tell with the raging fire before his bleak and blank eyes, scanning for any movement.
Soon, the sounds of terror and horrified screams came to an end as well. Only the loud sparkling of the blaze could be heard, as it drowned out any noise and sound. And after that, Ox finally showed up, embracing Rhino from behind and forcing him to look away. He was crying, that much could be heard, but anything other than that was inaudible.
"They- They killed them." The electric cat finally spoke, clenching his fists in anger as he came to his senses. "They destroyed everything." Ox opened his eyes, letting him go as an electrical current began to flow through his hands, spilling onto the ground and connecting to the various pipes, wires and mesh that lied around.
"Everyone is dead, Tac. Children, elders- nobody was spared." For a brief moment, a sudden yet bright light materialised in front of him, unable to contain any of his power or emotions anymore. Sparks shot out from the feline as tears began streaming down his face, his mouth opening into a silent scream.
...Right before exploding and actually beginning to yell into the fire, small thunders striking the area in front of him and helping the inferno expand unintentionally. Everything began shaking aggressively and uncontrollably as Rhino's electromagnetic field grew exponentially, putting the whole structure at risk of collapsing in on them.
That's now what he cared for though, his mind focused on the fire and on all the people that died. He didn't care about how much he lost now, as he could always get everything back in the matter of months- lives, however, he could not simply 'get'.
And as the air around him began to ionise, a glowing aura began to envelop him and his surroundings, with more thunders striking the area in front of him as if there was a lightning rod there. His own voltage began to rise, no longer merely sparking and bouncing off materials anymore, instead focusing on making the debris around him float.
"ARREST ME, ABUSE ME, TORTURE ME, BUT NEVER LAY YOUR FUCKING HAND ON MY PEOPLE!" Rhino screamed into the fire, both his body and the tunnels around him reaching their limit. And with how his power only seemed to grow by the second, disaster was imminent. And it all happened so fast that he couldn't even blink.
In a mere moment, his body had finally given up, completely exhausted after such a powerful and continuous discharge of raw, rage-fuelled power, collapsing on the hard floor with all the pebbles and rocks his electromagnetism had picked up.
The walls and ceiling seemed to get the same idea from him, mimicking him perfectly and cracking under the sheer pressure, crashing down on the two friends and making them both disappear below the rubble, faster than either of them could ever react, burying them along with the scorched remains of their beloved city.