The Path of Destiny

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 31 - A New Danger Arises

Blazefang leaned back, ignoring the sharp rocks that pricked at his fur as Thunder’s scythe came closer, the sharp edge hovering dangerously close to his neck.

“Stop!” Blazefang cried. “You’re insane! Listen to the others, they said that-” The houndour gave a yelp and moved to the side as Thunder’s scythe came down, the movement slowed only by the deep cut in her arm.

Blazefang hurriedly backed away as Thunder dove at him again. However, something stopped her in her tracks. Redclaw now held tightly onto one of the scyther’s wings. Angrily, Thunder turned to face him.

“What are you doing?” she shouted. “Let me go…or I’ll make you!”

Redclaw didn’t want to obey her, but seeing the look in her eyes, he realized that if he didn’t, someone was surely going to get hurt. He knew that even with a type disadvantage and all her injuries, Thunder could rip him to shreds if she wanted to; she hadn’t been one of Master’s most favored pokémon for nothing. Reluctantly, he let her go.

Thunder dashed toward Blazefang again, and Redclaw felt an eerie feeling creep through his body as Blazefang’s eyes suddenly seemed overcast with yellow. However, before Thunder could strike, Nightshade had quickly darted in her path, blocking the deadly blade with his long horn.

As the two struggled against each other, Blazefang faced the other pokémon. “All I want is for you to listen to me!” he shouted, his eyes losing their yellowish glow.

Nightshade had managed to grab both of Thunder’s arms in his claws. “Stop this!” he cried, staring into her fierce eyes. “Let’s listen to him. Then he’ll leave!”

“No!” Thunder growled, fighting against Nightshade’s grip. The heracross held her arms firmly, ignoring the blows as she tried to kick him to get him to release his grip.

Stormblade glanced over to the two struggling pokémon as he painfully propped himself up with his scythes. “Stop!” he cried, and Thunder turned to stare at him angrily. “He might have something important to say, and either way, he’s not causing us any harm. Don’t…don’t…kill him…”

Somehow, this seemed to snap Thunder out of it, and she turned and pulled away from Nightshade and walked back toward the tree where she had been resting. “He’d better make it quick!” she growled, leaning against the tree and watching Blazefang as if she still wished to sink her blade into his throat.

Blazefang was still gasping for breath; Thunder’s attack had just made him more panicked and exhausted. “Learn to keep her under control!” he snarled under his breath. “I already have enough trouble with one psycho wanting to kill me!”

“What do you mean?” Rosie asked, her teeth bared in a snarl. “Did one of your houndour slaves finally show some sense and turn against you?”

“No,” Blazefang replied, shaking his head as he walked forward. Snowcrystal felt a small prickle of unease as she noticed that Blazefang hardly seemed to react to the insult. “There’s an army…of pokémon,” the houndour continued. “From what I could gather they force any able bodied pokémon they come across to join them…they even tortured some of them…” He remembered the vast groups of common species he had seen amongst the others in the army, and Solus's words about torturing pokémon in order to get them to join. “And their leader…” he continued uneasily, “is a vaporeon called Cyclone. He wants to use me in some war he’s waged against humans or else kill me so one of his followers will gain the Forbidden Attack.”

Everyone else glanced at each other, confused and alarmed at this statement. “Forbidden Attack…” Spark mumbled quietly.

Blazefang nodded. “He wants to track down more Forbidden Attacks and he’s got plenty of followers to help him. I don't know what he's promised or what he's threatened them with...but it’s clear that if he ran into you, he’d try to make all of you…or at least those who aren’t badly injured…join him. And he wouldn’t take no for an answer either.”

For a moment, silence fell upon the small group as they stared at the houndour in disbelief. “That doesn’t make sense!” Rosie snarled, breaking the silence. “How can one vaporeon do all this? He couldn’t have possibly forced so many pokémon to join him even if he did bribe some of his followers. I think-”

“I think we should find out for ourselves whether or not he’s telling the truth,” Nightshade interrupted. “Is the army nearby?” he asked Blazefang. “If so, I can fly overhead and see if this is really a threat or just a story.”

“Not far from here,” Blazefang replied, pointing with his snout in the direction that he had come from. “Go that way. The army lies beyond a large hill. You’ll see them there-”

Without waiting for him to finish, Nightshade took off, leaving Blazefang standing alone with the others, feeling weak and vulnerable in the presence of his enemies. For a while they sat in silence, and Blazefang tried to avert his eyes from the awful wounds covering Stormblade’s body, which were left exposed by the many large rips and tears in the tattered and filthy bandages.

After what seemed like a long while, the heracross returned, a grim look on his face. “The houndour was right,” he told the others reluctantly. “I saw a very large group of pokémon in the area where Blazefang told me to look. Some of them, an espeon and a scyther, were leading a group of what looked to be some pokémon who had escaped from the burning forest. One of them was fighting the whole way.” He shook his head sadly. “It seems they really are looking for new recruits, and will soon have flying pokémon looking around this way too. There were several flying types around, and I only narrowly avoided being seen.”

“See?” Blazefang told them. “I was telling the truth! They-”

“What are we supposed to do?” Snowcrystal asked worriedly. “If all this is true, they’ll force us to join that army and leave Stormblade and Rosie to fend for themselves.”

“I say we start moving again!” Spark answered. “Or at least find a safe place to hide until this…Cyclone, or whoever, passes by.”

“But if they’re after Blazefang, they’re sure to search this area more thoroughly,” Rosie said quietly. “We should get out while we can.”

“That’s right!” Spark agreed.

“But how can we?” Snowcrystal asked. “Stormblade’s still sick…”

“And he’s not getting any better,” Thunder muttered. “We should just go. It’ll make no difference for him how many days we wait.”

“That’s not true,” Redclaw replied with a disapproving glance at Thunder. “However, it is best that we leave this place. Is there anywhere we can hide for now, Nightshade?”

Blazefang listened intently, hardly noticing that the others seemed to have forgotten he was there. The heracross, the one called Nightshade, thought for a moment before replying.

“Based on what I’ve seen and the houndour’s word, Cyclone will be looking for any healthy pokémon to join him, regardless of species. Those who had homes in the forest no longer have any shelter, and that army will probably end up stumbling across some of them, if not many, I’m afraid. Apart from the forest, there aren’t many places to hide around these areas, other than the human town where I met Redclaw…which of course, isn’t safe. And the forest, as you know, has burned to the ground.”

Blazefang shifted uneasily at the last statement, but the heracross continued without acknowledging him.

“The only thing I can think of are the hills to the north of here…if we can get past that area, Cyclone’s pokémon might not venture that far.”

“Well, that seems easy enough,” Spark stated happily.

“Easy!” Blazefang exclaimed. “Cyclone’s probably going to track me down and what if he does chose to-”

“Who cares?” Rosie growled. “You’re certainly not coming with us!”

“Quiet!” Nightshade told them. “What matters is that we all get out of this army’s way. Though if Cyclone’s going to send out pokémon to search for Blazefang…they’ll probably be looking for other strong pokémon too. No one’s safe from them while we’re here.”

“I don’t know…” Wildflame whispered. “This…this just seems too strange. I still don’t see how all those pokémon are willing to join that vaporeon and force others to as well.”

“They must have no other choice,” Redclaw replied grimly.

“Well, I think it’s certain that we have to keep moving,” Snowcrystal told the others. “We need to leave now and get out of this army’s way. But…do you think you’ll be able to make it?” As she made the last statement, she turned to Stormblade, the only pokémon who hadn't taken part in the conversation so far.

The scyther didn’t answer, and merely stared silently at the ground.

“He doesn’t have a choice,” Rosie told Snowcrystal firmly.

“We could always go and hide him somewhere…then come back later after the army is gone,” Spark suggested.

Snowcrystal shot Spark a glare, obviously disapproving of the idea. “We can’t just-”

“Uh…I think you’re not realizing something,” Blazefang whispered timidly. “If pokémon are going to search, we’d be easily spotted trying to travel through a bunch of hills, no matter how fast we’re going. Is…is there are another way?” he asked the heracross, giving him a fearful glance.

“You’re right…” the heracross replied reluctantly. “The hills would take at least a day to travel through, but for a powerful flying pokémon it would take only a short time. The only other place I can think of is Stonedust City…” He paused, seeing several members of the group flinch visibly at the mention of the city, and then whispered, “Unless…”

“Unless…what?” Spark asked, while everyone gave Nightshade a look of mixed curiosity and dread, knowing that the suggestion he was about to make probably wasn’t a very pleasant option.

“There is…another way…through the hills,” Nightshade continued. “A cave that leads right under them and to various other areas...Cyclone’s pokémon won't follow us through there and flying pokémon can't see us, plus the cave is damp and rocky, so it's near impossible to follow a scent in there.”

“That’s perfect!” Spark cried happily, sounding relieved that the news hadn’t been as bad as he’d thought it would be.

Nightshade gave him a worried glance and sighed. “It's not a straight tunnel or a small group of caverns, Spark, but a massive cave system. It has many exits...the only trouble is finding those exits. It leads very deep underground, and from what I’ve heard from pokémon who have gone through it, it’s nothing short of a gigantic maze.”

A silence followed this statement, until Spark spoke up loudly. “I vote no cave!” the jolteon cried, giving Nightshade an irritated glance as if he was annoyed that he had suggested it.

“I’d be willing to risk it,” Wildflame told Nightshade. “It would be better than being forced into some army fighting for a cause that has nothing to do with me. Plus if these pokémon are willing to kill for Forbidden Attacks, or torture pokémon into obeying them, I don’t want to be anywhere near them.”

“It’s probably our best chance,” Redclaw agreed reluctantly. “If anything, we might be able to hide near the entrance until the army passes by…”

“You’d be waiting an awful long time,” Blazefang growled. “Tell me where the cave is. I’m going.”

Nightshade was about to reply when an earsplitting screech rent the air. The heads of all nine pokémon lifted toward the sky as a rather large and fierce looking noctowl swooped overhead, its talons coming nearly close enough to brush Redclaw’s thick mane. His eyes connected with Blazefang’s for a brief moment, and without saying a word, the noctowl flew off, heading in the direction that Blazefang had come.

“That was one of them!” Blazefang whispered, leaping to his feet with a look of alarm etched across his face. “He’s gone to tell the army…there won’t be a place to hide. Where is the cave?”

“Great!” Rosie growled. “Now the army’s going to come right to us thanks to you!” She gave Blazefang a glare and looked to Nightshade. “They won’t be able to follow us easily through that cave. If we cross through there I think we’ll be able to avoid them and then find somewhere else we can rest.”

Redclaw nodded. “I guess the only way to avoid this whole mess is to risk going through the cave,” he agreed. “I don’t know how dangerous this army really is, but avoiding it is certainly the best option. We’ll follow you, Nightshade.”

“We should leave immediately,” Nightshade told him with a nod. “I didn’t like the look of the pokémon in that army. Some were quite fearful and others were acting downright cruel to the newer recruits they were bringing in. Follow me; I know a quick route to the caves. Wildflame and Spark, you help Rosie keep up. As for Stormblade…can you carry him on your back, Redclaw?”

Neither Redclaw nor Stormblade looked pleased at this suggestion. It was clear from Redclaw’s expression that he didn’t fancy getting any bad cuts on his back while Stormblade just looked as if the very thought of it was humiliating enough on its own. However, seeing that there was no other way to travel quickly, Stormblade allowed Nightshade to assist him onto the reluctant arcanine’s back.

Redclaw stood up slowly, trying not to jostle Stormblade who now lay across his back, looking thoroughly embarrassed about it. “Just don’t cut off any of my fur,” Redclaw muttered under his breath.

“Just try not to run too fast,” Stormblade replied, gritting his teeth against the pain as Redclaw started to move forward after the others who had begun to follow Nightshade.

Blazefang began to trot after them, but stopped in his tracks as Rosie glared at him. “Don’t think you’re following us!” she spat. “They’re mostly after you. We’re not going to let you put us in any more danger!”

“I’m going to that cave!” Blazefang snarled back and continued to follow, and no one bothered to try and stop him again.

As quickly as they could manage while still keeping pace with the injured pokémon, the group followed Nightshade through the moonlit plain, heading for the tall grassy hills that could now be seen faintly against the darkened sky. The journey was very uncomfortable for both Redclaw and Stormblade; Stormblade’s scythes kept nicking Redclaw by accident, and nearly every movement Redclaw made caused Stormblade even more pain. Rosie was faring better, as she had become somewhat accustomed to using only three legs, and after eating some of the berries Nightshade had found, the pain wasn’t unbearable.

Blazefang trailed after the group, glad that his dark fur would make it difficult for most flying types to see him from above. A few bird pokémon passed over them through the air, and though Blazefang had heard Redclaw point out to Snowcrystal that they could be just solitary pokémon out hunting, he was still afraid.

Never pausing to rest, the group of pokémon followed Nightshade silently through the night, their paws hardly making a sound as they trotted quickly together, keeping their eyes on the shapes of the hills that loomed ever closer, and the heracross that guided them.

Just when Blazefang began to feel as if he would pass out if he had to run any longer, they had reached the foot of the hills, and Nightshade told them to rest. Under the cover of darkness and the shelter of the large stones at the base of the hills, the pokémon all huddled together, trying to catch their breath.

Redclaw lay down, while Stormblade slowly crawled off his back and onto the ground. “Never…again…” he whispered to the arcanine, thinking back on how painful and uncomfortable the swift ride had been. Had Redclaw been moving slower, however, he might not have minded as much. Rosie was curled up beside Redclaw, looking more exhausted than anyone, and Spark wasn’t much better off.

Blazefang looked warily to the group but kept his distance; he was too weary to look for the cave himself. Instead, he lay down against the cool stone, closing his eyes and trying not to think of the danger he was in.

After a few minutes, Nightshade told them to get up again. Now that they were close to the cave’s entrance and in the shelter of some tall rocks, Redclaw did not have to carry Stormblade, though the scyther still had to rely heavily on Wildflame to help him walk. As the houndoom followed the others to where Nightshade was leading them, she was forced to move at a slow pace so that Stormblade could keep up with her. She knew he was struggling just to walk even with her help, and every so often he would make small cries or whimpers of pain. Turning her head, she could see Blazefang trailing after them timidly, trying not to be noticed. Sighing, she turned and focused instead on following the others ahead of her.

She stopped and let Stormblade lean against her for support when Nightshade and the others halted in front of a gaping hole in the stony side of one of the hills, leading deep underground. Wildflame felt a warm breeze emitting from the cave, ruffling her fur.

“So, this is it?” Spark asked from up ahead. His voice was carried away by the breeze, making it harder for Wildflame and Stormblade, who stood further away, to hear him. “It looks rather…obvious, don’t you think?”

Rosie turned her head toward Blazefang, baring her teeth in a snarl. “It’s going to be pretty obvious if they run across it while tracking him!” she growled.

“I don’t think we have to worry,” Nightshade replied calmly. “I believe that if some of the pokémon in Cyclone’s army are from the forest, they will know of this cave, and most likely avoid it. And I doubt that even those who don’t know will bother searching through it for one pokémon. Even if they did, it’s unlikely that they would succeed in finding what they were searching for.”

“I say we drive Blazefang off before we do anything else,” Rosie growled, and Wildflame stiffened, shooting a warning glance at Blazefang, who hadn’t seemed to have heard.

Blazefang took the hint and slowly stood up, ready to run or fight as some of the other pokémon turned to look at him. However, there would be no time for a battle. Another loud screech sounded above them, and a pidgeot, followed by two noctowl, landed between Stormblade and Blazefang. Around the moonlit area, grass rustled and parted, revealing the forms of various other types of pokémon, all facing the travelers. “Stay where you are,” the pidgeot told them loudly. “I have a message from Cyclone.”

Blazefang took one look at them and bolted into the cave. The others stood up, and Redclaw, Nightshade, and Thunder walked forward, a dangerous gleam in their eyes.

“We’ve heard about Cyclone,” Redclaw growled. “And we want nothing to do with this. Leave!”

Snowcrystal noticed a few of the pokémon dart into the cave after Blazefang, while the rest of the strangers approached the group. Wildflame and Stormblade moved closer to the others as Redclaw and Nightshade stood in front, with Thunder coming to stand beside them. “Get in the cave!” Redclaw hissed at the others, and Snowcrystal, Spark, Rosie, and Wildflame, helping Stormblade, vanished into the cave, almost immediately becoming shrouded in darkness.

Snowcrystal could hear Redclaw’s voice echoing outside, and Wildflame led them down one of the many black tunnels until she crouched against the cave wall, Stormblade at her side. The others crouched down too, hoping to remain hidden until Redclaw and the others returned.

Wildflame turned toward Snowcrystal, an annoyed look in her eyes. “Hide that stone!” she growled, eying the glowing red crystal around the growlithe’s neck. Snowcrystal quickly obeyed, covering it with her paws. Suddenly the sound of frantic pawsteps in their direction caused Snowcrystal to look up.

“Redclaw…?” she called, standing upright.

“Get down!” Wildflame hissed, pulling Snowcrystal back against the wall and covering the crystal again. The dark shapes of two four-legged pokémon – who were too small to be Redclaw – darted around a corner in the tunnel they had come from and began to head right towards them.

Snowcrystal’s eyes widened in fear, the faintest traces of her crystal’s light from beneath her paws the only thing allowing her to distinguish the shapes of the pokémon from the darkness.

Suddenly the pokémon running in front gave a shriek of mortified terror, and Snowcrystal’s eyes widened as he vanished before her very eyes. The second pokémon froze, then quickly bolted back the way he had come, the quest to find Blazefang and any potential new recruits for Cyclone forgotten. Snowcrystal stood up and walked forward, wondering where the other pokémon had vanished to.

She soon found out.

Just ahead of her, filling nearly the whole cavern, was a massive black pit that reached deep into the depths of the cave, dark and forbidding. She heard a faint yet sickening crunch as the pokémon’s body landed far below. She shuddered, backing away, her eyes wide with fright.

Rosie peered forward, using the full light from Snowcrystal’s crystal to see the dark hole. “We would have fallen in there if we hadn’t kept so close to the wall,” she whispered, sounding horrified.

“That would not be fun,” Spark stated obviously as he stood up and headed back along the narrow ridge separating the wall from the pit. “Let’s move to a safer spot, all right?” he asked, his voice sounding shaky.

One by one the pokémon filed after him, Stormblade with the help of Wildflame. Once out of the cavern containing the pit and into another with safer ground, they stopped to rest again.

Snowcrystal was still catching her breath when the sound of footsteps came near. She whirled around, frightened, only to sigh in relief when she noticed Redclaw, Thunder, and Nightshade returning. Nightshade and Redclaw had no wounds, but Thunder was limping on one leg, and one of her eyes was tightly closed, blood seeping out of it.

“Thunder tried to fight them, but we managed to escape…I think they’re only after Blazefang right now,” Redclaw explained for the others.

“Good!” Rosie replied. “They can have Blazefang. Let’s go further into the cave…I’m not quite sure they’ve stopped searching for us for good.”

“We fire types can use ember to light the way ahead of us,” Snowcrystal suggested.

“Good idea,” Nightshade told her. “But we’re still rather close to the entrance. Let’s wait until we’re deeper in the cave, where the light won’t be seen by our enemies so easily.”

“We’re supposed to wander around in the dark?” Spark cried in dismay.

“I’ll lead the way,” Wildflame offered, “and don’t worry, I’ll make sure to test if the ground is safe before I walk on it.”

Thunder peered through the darkness doubtfully, not noticing as Stormblade approached her. “Thunder?” he asked, causing her to jump slightly. She turned away from him as he questioned her. “What happened? Is your eye badly hurt? Do you want me to-”

Without bothering to answer, Thunder lashed out with the back of her scythe, knocking Stormblade’s head sharply against the rock wall. “Okay,” she said to the others, no longer acknowledging him, “let’s get a move on already.”

As soon as Wildflame vanished into a large tunnel ahead, Thunder quickly followed her, and was followed by Nightshade, Spark, Rosie, and then Redclaw. “Do you want me to help you, Stormblade?” Redclaw asked, but received no answer. Snowcrystal walked over to Stormblade, who had sat up, still leaning against the wall with his head lowered as he stared at the ground.

“Come on, Stormblade!” the small pokémon cried, nudging his uninjured leg. “We have to leave! It isn’t safe!”

“Sure…fine…” Stormblade replied dully, not looking up.

“We need to leave as in NOW!” Redclaw called from up ahead, his ears pricked as the sound of pokémon approaching reached them.

Stormblade didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to try. When Snowcrystal tried to talk to him, he barely heard her.

“Redclaw’s going to help you walk,” the growlithe whispered.

“I don’t need any help,” Stormblade told her, looking up. “Tell the others to go on ahead. I’ll follow you.”

Snowcrystal was about to argue, but she stopped herself, realizing that Stormblade wasn’t going to listen. Instead, she just nodded, and followed Redclaw into the cave.

Up ahead, it was completely dark, and even the light from Snowcrystal’s red crystal wasn’t enough to see much of anything. “Can’t somebody use ember now?” Spark complained as he limped ahead of Rosie and Redclaw.

“Just a bit farther,” Wildflame replied from up ahead. “I can’t hear any of those pokémon following us, so they must have just gone after…Blazefang…but I want to be sure-” Her words were interrupted as she suddenly walked head first into a large boulder. With a growl she backed away, muttering a very vulgar swear word.

Spark gasped. “Wildflame!” he cried angrily. “That’s a BAD WORD!”

“Oh, shut up!” Wildflame muttered irritably. The houndoom turned to the boulder and sighed. “Guess I have no choice,” she told herself, and breathed out a small plume of flame.

The way in front of them was partially blocked by what Wildflame had thought was a boulder, but in reality was a tall pillar of stone, formed long ago when a massive stalactite and stalagmite joined together. The only way through the passage was through a narrow gap between the pillar and the opposite wall.

“We won’t all fit through there!” Rosie growled.

Snowcrystal was about to say something when Stormblade gave a gasp of pain from behind her and staggered against the wall, and another pokémon gave a surprised yelp and stumbled straight into her. Pushing herself away, Snowcrystal instantly recognized Blazefang’s black and red fur as Wildflame turned her head and the small ember flame toward them.

Wildflame let the flame go out in shock. “Where did you-” she began, but Blazefang was already scrambling past the others and toward the houndoom. Confused and angry, Stormblade stood shakily back up and watched as Redclaw used his fire attack to provide light for them again.

“Are you just going to stand here?” the panicked houndour asked Wildflame, before moving toward the opening leading further into the tunnel.

“Wait a minute,” Redclaw told him, blocking the way. “You can go through here…but we go through first.”

Blazefang bit back an angry reply and simply nodded reluctantly, seeing no other option. Redclaw moved aside and indicated that the smallest pokémon go first. Spark and then Rosie were the first two to push their way through, though with difficulty, and they waited on the other side as Snowcrystal easily passed through the opening. Redclaw turned to Wildflame, Nightshade, Thunder, and Stormblade, unsure if any of them would be able to fit through such a narrow space. “Wildflame,” he suggested, “you try.”

The houndoom walked forward, stepping into the opening and trying to force her shoulders through. Claws scraping against the ground, she tried to push forward, ignoring the pain as her fur scraped roughly against the cave’s uneven walls. She made it a tiny bit further before at last she had to give up and crawl painfully back out of the hole. “I can’t…” she muttered in frustration.

“Well…I don’t think the rest of us will be able to…” Redclaw began, but was quickly interrupted.

“I’ll try!” Thunder spoke up, and pushed past Wildflame until she stood in front of the narrow crevice. Turning so that she would be entering it sideways, she flattened her wings against her back and pressed her body against the wall, slowly edging her way into the slim opening. It was a struggle to make any progress. The rough rock scraped painfully against her open and bleeding wounds, and there wasn’t enough space for her to move backwards or forward, so there was no way of preventing that. As she edged sideways closer to the opposite side, the passage got narrower, to the point where she almost felt like she was being crushed when she tried to go further. Redclaw peered through the opening, noticing that her progress had gotten steadily slower until she stopped. He had heard of pokémon that had tried to enter narrow caves and gotten hopelessly trapped, and he couldn’t help growing a bit worried.

Yet for once Thunder was glad she was so thin. After a few more seconds of struggling to free herself, she made it to the other side where Rosie, Spark, and Snowcrystal waited.

Blazefang turned to look at Wildflame, Redclaw, Nightshade and Stormblade and rolled his eyes. “None of you guys are going to fit in there!” he muttered. “Let me go through…” He took a step toward the opening, but Redclaw blocked it again.

“Not until we find a way,” the arcanine growled. He looked up, studying the rock. “Do you think we could try breaking this pillar…at least enough to widen the gap a little?” he mused.

“We could try,” Nightshade replied. “We just have to be careful not to break it too quickly…I don’t want to cause any sort of collapse.”

“A collapse?” Spark repeated from the other side, sounding nervous. “This sounds a little too dangerous…”

Rosie just sighed and glanced around, her eyes darting to Thunder’s wounds. “Yikes, Thunder, you’re bleeding!” the ninetales exclaimed. “Couldn’t you have waited back there with the others?”

Luckily, Thunder didn’t get a chance to reply as a shout from Stormblade on the other side of the crevice distracted those waiting on the far side.

“What happened?” Snowcrystal called worriedly.

Out of view of the white growlithe and the other waiting pokémon, Redclaw turned around, seeing Stormblade lying on the ground and three pokémon standing behind him. They were a charmeleon, a rapidash, and another scyther, who stood with her foot on Stormblade’s neck. Blazefang gave a shriek and tried to run for the opening between the pillars, but Redclaw blocked him again. “It’s you they want,” the arcanine hissed from between clenched teeth. He turned to the three standing there. “Let Stormblade go,” he growled to the strange scyther. “I’m sure this Cyclone pokémon has no use for him.”

The strange scyther’s eyes widened a bit at the mention of the name Stormblade, and she glanced down at the pokémon she held to the ground, looking confused, but only for a moment, and she turned to Redclaw again. “It’s not him we want,” the scyther replied, and stepped in front of Stormblade, followed by the charmeleon, who approached Redclaw.

“Just let them take Blazefang already!” Rosie shouted from the other side of the stone pillar, listening intently to the conversation.

Redclaw hesitated; he’d heard of the things Blazefang had done, but did he really deserve to be forced to fight, and potentially kill, for these pokémon who were trying to make him join an army? Boldly, he stepped forward. “He doesn’t want to join you,” he stated firmly. “Look elsewhere for recruits.”

“He knows Shadowflare,” the scyther growled in reply. “We won’t find it anywhere else.”

Redclaw silently hoped that Blazefang would do something, that he’d threaten her with the Forbidden Attack and try to get them to leave…or anything, but the houndour remained silent.

“Enough of this!” the rapidash cried angrily, stamping his hoof down hard. “Either you three and the houndour come with us or we’ll report back to Cyclone and have him send more pokémon to hunt you down.”

“Let them try it,” Nightshade replied calmly with a small smile. He knew better than anyone that tracking was nearly impossible in the cave.

The three pokémon looked as if they were going to back away and retreat. “Fine,” snorted the charmeleon as he and the scyther began to turn away.

“I’ve got a better idea!” the rapidash snarled.

If Nightshade hadn’t happened to jerk backwards in surprise at that moment, he would have been gored by the rapidash’s horn as the fire pokémon lunged forward. Missing his target, the fire type slid into the big stone pillar, causing the cavern to shudder. Redclaw turned and sank his teeth into the pokémon’s hind leg, noticing that the scyther and charmeleon weren’t attacking, and seemed rather shocked themselves.

The rapidash kicked Redclaw in the muzzle with his free leg, while Nightshade ran to Stormblade, who seemed unable to get up. In the confusion, Blazefang bolted into the narrow space leading to the next cavern, pushing his way painfully through the small space until he made it through and lay panting near Snowcrystal and her three friends.

Not noticing that Blazefang had fled, Redclaw tackled the rapidash that had threatened them, sending him crashing into the opposite wall. Turning toward the pillar of stone, he slammed against it with a take down attack, hoping to cause it some damage so he and the remainder of the group could rejoin the others.

A resounding crack rent the air as the massive stone column shuddered. Several large cracks appeared in the rocky surface, but it didn’t move. Furious, the rapidash stood up, ready to charge at Redclaw again.

Making sure Stormblade was standing on his own, Nightshade left his side and ran toward the large pillar, slamming his horn into one of the cracks. There was a loud breaking, grinding sound, and a chunk of rock fell to the ground, widening the hole. “Get in!” he called to Stormblade and Wildflame, while Redclaw dodged a thrust from the rapidash’s horn. The scyther and charmeleon watching the battle stood warily, not wanting to get involved with the fight, especially now that Blazefang was gone.

After Wildflame had darted through the widened opening and Stormblade had managed to make it through, Nightshade rammed the pillar with his horn again, knowing that he needed to make the opening wider for Redclaw.

After a few tries, another section of the column broke off, and Nightshade jumped into the opening, calling to Redclaw, “hurry! This way!” Redclaw turned to look, and stopped a second too long.

He gave a cry of pain as the rapidash slammed into him, knocking him into the weakening pillar behind them. A loud rumble was heard.

“Uh…I think we should be getting out of here…” the charmeleon muttered anxiously, seeming to snap the rapidash out of his frenzied rage.

Abandoning Redclaw, the horse-like pokémon leaped up and ran after his two companions as they headed back the way they had come, while Redclaw bolted into the widened hole. He still had to struggle to get through it, but he made it to the other side quickly. And not a moment too soon. Redclaw ducked his head as the entire pillar collapsed, chunks of rock falling from the ceiling.

With a jolt of panic, the nine pokémon who had gone into the tunnel beyond the pillar realized that a large part of the ceiling above was collapsing. In their terror, some of the pokémon scattered; others tried to take shelter, or in Stormblade’s case, crouched down by the cave wall, unable to do anything else.

Snowcrystal had been running forward away from the collapsed stone column, when she forced herself to stop and turn to look for her friends. She gave a shriek of terror as the sound of many rocks hitting the cave floor and piling on top of each other reached her ears, and the ground shuddered, knocking her off balance.

In helpless terror, the growlithe tried to cover her ears with her paws to block out the horrible roaring noise as she lay on the ground, crying out in terror as small rocks pelted her huddled form.

Then suddenly, it stopped.

Snowcrystal coughed, freeing herself from the small chunks of stone that covered her. The cave was completely dark. The first pokémon she thought of was Stormblade. Lighting up the cavern with a small ember, she quickly spotted the scyther and ran over to him. “Are you okay?” she asked, nudging his shoulder carefully.

“Stormblade hasn’t been okay for weeks,” Rosie grumbled, standing up slowly near where Stormblade lay. To Snowcrystal’s relief, she didn’t seem hurt by the cave in.

Stormblade looked up, but didn’t look at Snowcrystal. “Sure. I’m fine. Not hurt worse…” he replied quietly.

Snowcrystal glanced around and saw Thunder get shakily to her feet, and turned to look for the others. There was no sign of them. She quickly noticed a huge wall of rock and debris from the collapse, blocking off the small area behind them. Realizing that the others must be trapped on the other side, she hastily climbed the rugged boulders, hoping to find a way she could slip through to reach her friends. Rosie, meanwhile, was studying the cavern they’d found themselves in, gazing into the dark tunnel that lay ahead of them, cool cave air ruffling her fur. The others, she realized, must still be back near where the stone column had fallen.

Snowcrystal pawed at the rocks, not seeing any place where she could possibly get through to the other side. She gave a small squeak of surprise as some of the smaller rocks near the top shifted. Using ember again, she saw Nightshade’s claws break through, then retreat.

“Nightshade!” she cried, running up to the hole. The heracross did not try to break through the rocks, but she heard his voice from the other side.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “Redclaw, Wildflame, and Spark are fine. So is that houndour, Blazefang.”

“I’m fine!” Snowcrystal answered. “Rosie and Stormblade aren’t hurt any worse…I don’t know about Thunder…but can you break through these rocks?”

Nightshade took a moment to reply. “There’s a very large rock near the top of this heap of boulders on this side,” he replied at last. “I can’t try to shift more than a few of these smaller rocks without causing it to fall over. I can move the rock itself, but it might make the whole tunnel collapse! There’s enough space for us to go back the way we came and find another route; Cyclone’s cronies are gone. I’m afraid we’ll have to go separate ways.”

“But-” Snowcrystal began.

“Just help the others,” Nightshade replied. “You’ll be fine if you stick together and make sure either you or Rosie provides light to see by. Be careful, and remember to mark the walls of the tunnels you pass by with your claws so you know you’ve been there and won’t end up going in circles.”

“I…I’m not sure I can-” she replied hesitantly, but Nightshade cut her off.

“Just lead the others,” he replied calmly. “The rest of us on this side need to get going. This place could still collapse.” Another rumble was heard, and the heracross’s voice sounded more anxious. “We need to go now. Get the others and move further along the tunnel. You should be safe once you’re away from here.”

“Okay…” Snowcrystal whispered uncertainly, and she heard Nightshade scramble back down the rocks on the other side. She then headed down the pile of boulders to the cave floor.

“Good luck, Snowcrystal!” she heard Redclaw call from behind the rocks as she and Rosie did what they could to help Stormblade get up, and along with Thunder, the four of them walked away from the scene of the collapse.

-ooo-

A short while later, Snowcrystal’s group stopped to rest, safely away from the danger of falling rocks. Rosie had curled up near the wall of the cave to try and get some sleep, and Thunder had soon done the same. Stormblade sat away from the others, refusing to talk to anyone.

Leaning against the smooth and wet cave wall, Snowcrystal’s thoughts constantly wandered back to the group of friends who were separated. Were they all right? Would they find a way to reach her again? Had Blazefang left, or was he still with them?

Sighing, she lay her head on her paws, listening to the soft sound of water dripping from somewhere further within the cave as she closed her eyes and willed sleep to come to her. If there was anything she needed now, it was to have as much strength as possible for the journey ahead.

To be continued…