[Battle] MASON vs VARNOCK

[abyss]

ROUND 1
MASON vs VARNOCK
BATTLE COMMENCE

[Varnock]

The call had come, and it was finally time. The peace had been nice while it lasted, tentative as it was, but he had known the day would arrive where it was time to break that peace. He only wished it hadn't been his side to do it. He supposed it fit though, Lux having started the peace, and now Lux having broken it. All the same, the call had come. He was to assist in the takeover of the Whirl Islands, and he had little choice in the matter. He had made his decisions and chosen his sides. Now he had to live up to his choices.

And so he found himself amongst the roiling waves of the Johto sea. Lux had managed to drop most of their forces nearer to the island, but he had requested to be dropped further out. He would rather drift in silently on Feral than join in with the rest of the forces. He was safer this way, and it would be easier to pass away his presence as that of either side. If all went well he would be a ways into the island while the rest of his side was making an ample distraction for him.

Or so he hoped, at least.

After all, when it came to war and infiltration, a plan was only viable until it is first implemented. He was more than ready to start to improvise if necessary, but a general outline of what he wanted would serve him well.

He eyed the darkening sky then, idly wishing for rain to add to the darkness and more easily hide him from view. Wishing would get him nowhere though. He placed a hand a little higher on Feral's back, giving a quiet order to speed up. He needed to be just a bit closer before he gave the order to dive, or he would run out of air far earlier than he would like.

'At least things look clear for now. As long as I'm careful we should remain unnoticed for a time.'

Even so, the darkness was just as bad for him as it was others. It would fool his own eyes and shroud the enemy within its embrace just as easily as it would the inverse. It would be best if he moved this along as quickly as he could before he had even more trouble seeing than the enemy did.

He held in a sigh, adjusting the mask he wore as his thoughts latched onto that. 'The enemy'. Nox was officially his enemy now and his mind even agreed. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that, but it was a thought for another time. He had a mission to focus on, a base to infiltrate.

And even now he was finally close enough. He tapped Feral twice where his hand rested, receiving a grunt in return as the pokemon slowly began to sink beneath the waves. Varnock took several deep breaths before he sunk below the churning water, filling his lungs as much as he could while he had the chance. Then submerged, he peered futilely through the murk clouding his vision. Feral shot forward through the water, his destination clear to him even in clouded waters.

When his chest was strained to the point of giving out, Feral broke the surface once more to bring him closer to the island's shore. He pulled himself up onto the sand, Varnock gulping down air as quietly as he could before stripping off the thoroughly soaked cloak he was wearing and recalling Feral. He made his way towards the nearest entrance he could find now that he was no longer burdened by the sodden cloak, Lucius released at his side and eying the darkness with his superior vision.

[Mason]

He was nothing more than a wide-eyed child. Twenty-four year old eyes, gray like the turbulent sea he rode above, were set in a look of panic that he had grown all too accustomed to.

Wind rushed up to meet his face as he commanded his Altaria to fly lower to the sea, whose cloud-like winds folded as he dove and Mason hung on tighter. Hang on. Don’t fall. The wind won’t hurt as much as the water would. The world stopped spinning as Winter leveled out closer to the waves, and Mason could almost taste the saltwater. Never let go. Your eyes will sting. Don’t fall. He wondered what his eyes would end up stinging from - the salt, or seeing his homeland torn apart again.

There was peace. They told him there would be peace, and all he had to do was intercept Lux here and there, eavesdrop every so often. Just to prevent anyone from attacking.

But here he was, rushing south from Olivine towards the rocks where it is said a beast slumbers. Mason was supposed to scout. He knew the area well, was good at staying out of sight. But protocol abandoned him in the moments before the islands came in sight, and he had never wanted to be somewhere and yet so far away at the same time. He could have flown high, in the clouds, and stayed hidden. He could have gone slowly but slow is not an option when every moment lost is one movement of the enemy.

His head hurt. Freedom and war went together, but Mason couldn’t figure out why.

Winter finally started to slow down, and landed at the entrance to one of the winding caves. The Altaria turned his head, uncertain, wondering why his trainer had brought him to such a place. But Mason could offer nothing except for an apologetic look, eyes sad as his gaze turned towards the islands. With a wavering step - his legs felt weak, after spending so long in the air - he planted his feet on the ground. It wasn’t as slippery as the spy had expected.

And while the battlefront blazed before his eyes, Mason stopped. He stared, not sure what he was feeling, and his boots were like iron tethering him to the ground.

But all the same he reached for a pokeball at his belt, Faron appearing next to him. She turned her head to the right, then left, and began to walk towards the cave. Red eyes looked towards the darkness, and the Umbreon didn’t pause to wait for Mason - he wasn't going to follow immediately, and rarely did. Her eyes were far stronger than his own, she could scope out the darkness as her trainer stood on the rocky beach, surveying the situation. He knew he’d need to look for civilians first, that was most important. It always was.

Winter nudged him in the shoulder, and Mason smiled a small, nervous smile that was more for his pokemon than for himself. “Cotton guard,” he said, suddenly feeling very small as the Altaria prepared his defenses and Faron continued farther ahead. His feet sunk into the sand - reminding him eerily of another time, at a more familiar beach - but didn’t want to think too much of it as he started off towards the mouth of the cave.

[Varnock]

Varnock glanced backwards before entering the cave, eyes catching a blue and white streak contrasting with the sky and water. An ally? No, he couldn't assume such things. If he was wrong his mission would be over before it had even begun, and he couldn't let that happen. He was here to save people this time, to prevent as much of the death as he could. No, assuming would get him hurt and compromise his mission. Perhaps he would apologize if it was an ally, but otherwise he couldn't be anything less than paranoid.

One final glance was cast backwards as the smell of the sea hit him once more, but then it was gone, replaced by the damp darkness of the cave itself. His voice was a whisper as one hand rested on Lucius' back like a feather, the dark type acting as eyes until such a time as his own had adjusted to the pitch black shroud around them.

"Lucius, keep an eye on things for us. We need to find a good place to make a stand for when our friend catches up. I want an open area, enough space for one of the newer plans."

The Zoroark gave a quiet grunt in reply, red eyes scanning the gloom surrounding them as the small group continued into the depths in search of their battlefield. Lucius knew what his master was looking for for the most part, but he didn't know the layout of the cave they were in. It would make it difficult to find what he was looking for, but Lucius knew his master had confidence in him. A battlefield would be found. They just had to ensure they kept ahead of their 'friend' long enough to find such an area without running into enemy soldiers. Easier said than done, but not impossible by far.

Varnock though, he had had an idea. Someone was following them, or at the least coming in right behind them, and that was a problem. They were between him and his preferred exit. Several plans came to mind to deal with such a thing, but his personal favorite involved an ambush. It fit his personality and his skill set, and that wasn't even getting in to the pokemon he had with him for this. Lori would have a ball today, he bet. She would finally get to spend some time free in a cave rather than open air.

So he decided to lead their target right where he wanted them. It wasn't hard to set up, just some conspicuous changes to the path that would be caused by a hand brushing against a rock wall, a footprint on drier sections here or there. When they got to a larger, circular room, he was reminded almost sickeningly of how much of an arena it looked like. Maybe people had used it to train before, but that was of no matter to him. He pulled Lucius aside after the pokemon had signaled they had found their battlefield, ordering an illusion to be put up to mask them against the rocks and make it appear as if his 'stumbling' through the caves continued onwards.

His own vision was finally becoming adjusted, but he kept one eye firmly closed just in case. It would not be at all good if he lost his night vision in a cave in the middle of a battle. It could get him killed to not be able to give his team orders, and even worse, it could get his pokemon lethally wounded. He knew they would be hurt, there never would be a clean battle like that, but he never wanted to have to bury one of his friends for any reason other than old age.

Several stabilizing breaths were taken to calm down and silence his breathing as a muted flash of red leaked through the illusion to symbolize Lori flying up to hang from the upper sections of the cave, ready and waiting for an ambush. Varnock himself stayed behind with Lucius to hopefully let the one behind them walk by, leaving his back a perfect target.

[Mason]

Small, silent feet prowled through the mouth of the cave as the cat-like body of the Umbreon snaked low to the ground, her red eyes alert and watching. It seemed as if the very walls creaked with every explosion and every shot to her, but if her stoic face betrayed anything then it was not fear. Fear was something to be left behind at the shoreline, to be washed away by waves. And with every movement, at every sound, Faron’s ears twitched as she registered in the darkness everything her eyes - however strong - could not.

She wasn’t too far into the cave when she noticed a footprint, and the Umbreon stopped, head lowering to the ground to investigate. “Find something, Faron?” Her trainer called out, following from a distance as he ran a hand along the wall of the cave, looking at some loose dirt. Someone had been here, Mason knew that without a doubt as Faron bounded back to him, leading the spy and the Altaria towards the footprint. Winter wanted nothing to do with it though - he just glanced around nervously, spreading his wings only to fold them back again, clearly unable to take off into the limited airspace.

But Mason couldn’t afford to leave a Pokemon outside, and he put a hand on Winter’s head to try and calm down his frantic behavior. The dragon hated small spaces. And though the Altaria had that extra layer of defense, he felt exposed without the sun shining in front of and behind him.

It wasn’t likely he’d calm down anytime soon, even as the dust settled around his wings. Mason knew he’d just have to press on, and he knelt down beside Faron. It was dark, but his vision had adjusted enough to see the outline at least - and it seemed fresh. He wondered if that was good or bad, but could decide on neither as his brow furrowed. Who else would be going in this direction? Someone could just be looking for refuge, a Nox scout may be looking to get to the main battle, or a Lux soldier could be snooping around.

Hoping against hope that it wasn’t the latter, Mason stood up and took two pokeballs, releasing his Vulpix and Mightyena. “Lucina, go ahead with Faron,” he said urgently, pointing of towards the shadows of the cave as the hound bounded off, trying to catch up with the Umbreon who had already started to continue ahead in her curiosity. “And Maedhros-” Mason paused, keeping a hand on Winter and leading the large bird after the two Pokemon ahead, “-watch my back.” The Vulpix obediently slowed down, falling in step behind his trainer. Mason breathed a small prayer that no one was near. The small fox would probably be the first target of a preemptive strike, and for the first time in years the spy felt a nervous sweat on his palms as he thought about a face leaving his team forever.

And it seemed to him, in that moment, that his fears would be realized - for as Faron went ahead, low to the ground and searching for anymore footprints, she walked into a large, open room where the shadows hid predators and walls still seemed to creak. She didn’t see death lurking on the ceiling, waiting in the dark.

There would be no warning cry.

[Varnock]

In hindsight he would admit he should have been ready for such a thing. He had not expected something with so great a nose as a Mightyena even when he should have been contemplating as many outcomes as possible. It didn't matter though, not now. The trainer was likely nearby if their pokemon were already visible. He kicked his plan of attack into gear immediately, tapping Lucius on the side as he let loose Feral once more the bolster his forces.

"Flamethrower. Aim it down the tunnel, blind them. Feral, knock them around some with an Aqua Tail."

Even with his gaze turned away from the flames, the eye he had left open had definitely lost its immediate usefulness as the night vision went. He switched eyes and signaled Lori down for the next move, an attack to further conceal their numbers. He had to strike hard and fast to take out the scout group and still be ready for the main force coming in behind. He had to be as ruthless as possible without killing them.

"Haze. I want a blanket obscuring us."

The Crobat made no sound other than the flapping of wings as the thick vapors leaked from her mouth to be spread about the cave by the same motions. This would provide several benefits to them with the cover and control over the enemy forces it could offer. If they were too busy trying to find his own forces, they would be easy targets for Lori to pick off with her senses. This was her element, and she would be proving that today.

Of course, Feral had not been still while this went on. He knew that the haze was a double edged sword just as much as his master did. It would obscure the enemies just as quickly as it would them, so he lunged forward at Varnock's command to strike at one of the two quadrupedal shapes before him. Water quickly gathered up from the air and dampness around them, wreathing his tail in liquid as he viciously spun in an attempt to batter one as soon as the flames from Lucius' attack had cleared.

This was his own chance as well. With the enemy hopefully blinded and focused on those attacking them, he could slip further into the cave to keep himself out of the Haze that would quite likely leave him a coughing mess. Perhaps a pokemon could avoid dropping into a fit from it with their more powerful bodies, but his own was only human and a tad frail at that. He did his best to keep ahead of the cloud, letting loose one more of his force as he moved. Iria appeared with a silent twirl, looking around the darkness in curiosity. Varnock dropped into a whisper to issue orders as he placed his still damp cloak onto her form. Hopefully it would act as a minor shield to some attacks, but it's main function was to hide her brighter colors in the darkness. The longer she remained hidden with him the better.

"Iria, keep an eye on things with your abilities. I cannot see into that cloud and need you to be my eyes."

Yes, hopefully this would go well.

Flamethrower directed down the tunnel, Aqua Tail directed at your choice of the two in front, Haze placed onto the battlefield. Current pokemon out: Iria(Gardevoir), Lucius(Zoroark), Feral(Feraligatr), and Lori(Crobat)

[Mason]

The shadows lit up in a torrent of fire - reflected in his eyes, it danced almost mockingly. You can’t escape. And he wouldn’t. A scream nearly escaped his dry mouth, though it surely would have been lost among the winding tunnels had it been let loose. These caves swallowed up everything; the tide, pokemon floundering in the deep and wondering where all the people had gone. They’re dead, a voice from somewhere would whisper in return.

And Mason would have been next, but as the flames shot down the cavern, he felt cloud-like wings wrap around his body. Everything got brighter, his gray eyes shut as parts of the wild flame collided with his Altaria’s back, and a shriek erupted from the dragon’s mouth. His skin cracked and boiled under the heat, eyes blinded from the intensity of the flame. And with a face contorted in fury and pain, he spread his wings and whirled around as a dragon pulse shot of his mouth and down the tunnel towards where the flames had come from.

No, no this was all wrong - Mason coughed, the heat drying out his throat even more, and tried to restrain the rampaging dragon. ”Stop it, quiet, quiet!” he said, with more desperation than he had intended. Down the tunnel, he stared with frightened eyes and a dull ringing in his ears. He needed to get down, flush out this threat - there were people, civilians nearby and even though he shook at the thought of fighting, it was all that could be done. It comes to this, again - he knew, but somehow everything felt different this time around.

Mason couldn’t pinpoint the reason even if he had tried, but he remembered being less afraid at Olivine.

When he tried to fold down Winter’s wings again, the Altaria thrashed backwards with another cry. He was panicking; desperate and terrified of the closed space, his vision was dull and wings scraped against the rocks. It was no use. Mason fell to the ground, landing on top of a sharp rock - he didn’t notice the pain in his side immediately, and fumbled for the Altaria’s pokeball. In a flash of red that blinded his already stinging eyes, he called the dragon back. And with an exhausted sigh, he leaned his head back against the rock wall as his Vulpix, who had managed to avoid the majority of the blast, nuzzled against his hand. ”I know.” His voice shook as he stood up, using the wall as a support.

But whatever calmness he feigned went away as he stared down into the gaping maw of the cavern, and the color drained from his face.

Ahead of him, the dragon pulse crashed into the wall of the cave. The Altaria’s aim was skewed, but that didn’t render the attack useless - the shock wave reverberated, sending loose rocks flying and stalactites crashing to the ground. But that wasn’t all he was worried about. He couldn’t see, and a strange fog was snaking throughout the cave- where had it come from? It didn’t matter, it didn’t matter he told himself, but caught up in it and coughing violently, Mason thought only of the two pokemon he had sent ahead and what was waiting for them.

The aqua tail collided with Faron, and her small frame took the blow full force.  Red eyes closed as she collapsed under the sheer force of the other Pokemon, but though the Umbreon was small, she was not weak. In retaliation, her eyes snapped open, the yellow rings on her body glowed eerily in the haze.  A confuse ray began to meander towards the Feraligatr.

But Lucina ran on ahead, her vicious and calculating eyes scanning the area - and when her vision was obscured by the haze, her sense of smell more than made up for it. She was always one to dive right into the heart of a battle, to not waste any time. Faron could handle herself back there, she’d faced worse. But the Mightyena - she had an opportunity, and knew it. Using the cover to her advantage, Lucina stalked along close to the ground, slowly, quietly, until she was on the verge of the fog... And in one powerful motion, the Mightyena pounced out into the air, aiming a crunch at a tall, cloaked Pokemon in front of her.

Maybe she had the element of surprise, or maybe not. But either way, her fangs told of the shadows and her eyes held a feral terror in their red depths.

And all the while, Mason inched forward through the fog, his legs weak and frame thin. He was getting closer, but not close enough, and despite the best efforts of his Vulpix to lead, there would be no time. There was never enough time - and at this point, he saw only one way out. With his body against the wall of the cave and his hand on the wound at his side, Mason gathered whatever was left of his breath. “Stop!! Whoever you are, please, call off your Pokemon and I’ll call off mine!”

[Varnock]

The muted light given off by the flamethrower through the Haze was his only clue something was rushing towards his Gardevoir, and Iria seemed just as surprised as he did. Color drained from the face beneath the mask as the dark blur flashed towards them, only the lighter color of its teeth piercing through the darkness told him anything about what it was about to do. It wanted to hurt his friend, and he couldn't let that happen.

Movement, anger, sweat. The cave had become stifling, even as damp as it was, but that didn't stop him. He tried to move forward fast enough, tried to knock the pokemon off target, tried with all his might. Iria was one of his weaker pokemon, he knew she would really feel it if she was hit. Even with all his rushing though, he was not fast enough. There came a sound of pain that reminded him of tiny bells as Iria made futile attempts to remove the biting pokemon with her abilities. The cloak had torn like so much wet paper, offering little protection outside of a shroud against being seen.

Orders were shouted as he ran, one hand fumbling at his belt to try to save his pokemon faster. A flash of red symbolized a new arrival to the battle, but they just stared for a moment, wanting to do nothing more than continue sleeping. He had grabbed the wrong ball, but Queen was far more dangerous than the one he had been hoping for.

"Queen, you have to move! You have to help Iria!"

The urgency in his voice got the slovenly pokemon to turn her head towards what was bothering him so, the darkness troubling her eyes and just making sleep sound more and more appealing. Soon enough though, she saw what the problem was. She saw something attacking another pokemon. Something attacking her friend. No, not even one as lazy as she could stand for that happening right before her eyes. Even she could be prompted into action by anger.

Still Varnock arrived at her side alone, beating uselessly against the pokemon with fists nowhere near strong enough for his tastes. This was further proof his body needed to be just as strong as his mind if he wanted to protect people. Should he survive this, it would not happen again. Not if he could stop it. This time though, no matter which side his opponent was on, there would be blood for the wounds caused to his friends.

It was then that Queen moved, a bellow loud enough to shake Varnock out of his maddened strikes against the Mightyena punctuating her sudden action. She did more than move then, she erupted, lashing out against this enemy with a vicious strike from her powerful legs. It was a Mega Kick powered by the force of her movement, height for it gained by resting on her arms.

The voice of the enemy trainer, no more than boy as far as Varnock could tell, echoed in a meaningless manner in his ears. Call them off? Call them off after he had so badly hurt Iria? No. No no no no no. There would be payment for this, payment in tears and payment in revenge. It was not something he would enjoy doing, but if pokemon this dangerous were left alone there was no telling what else would happen.

His own voice was cold as that of the snow of his hometown, as piercing as the icicles, and as dark as a clouded winter night when he called out his response.

"Everyone, repay them for harming Iria. I will have no mercy, attack with full force!"

Feral was the first to act, mind shuddering from the Confuse Ray. Once more the problem of the Haze arose to hinder just as much as it helped. He hadn't seen the ray coming until it was far to late, and now he was left disoriented as he lunged towards what he thought was his enemy. He spun, another Aqua Tail coming off with all the force he could muster at his master's words. It was not to be though, a cringe coming as he collided with a stalagmite instead.

Lori was next, far more skilled in a dark cave than her allies. She navigated through the Haze and darkness as if it wasn't even a hindrance, and it truly wasn't. She 'saw' in a different manner then her fellows did and it gave her quite the advantage. She knew the locations of her targets easily, and honed in on the one that would be the biggest problem. That Umbreon had already managed to leave Feral far less useful than he normally was, so it had become the priority.

She lanced through the Haze fogging the already gloomy area towards her target, moving in a careful manner in case it heard her and attempted to respond before she reached it. Hopefully though, her Acrobatics would be more than enough to harm an already weakened target.

Finally though, there was Lucius. He had reacted to the Dragon Pulse later than he should have and ended up attempting to dodge a misfire, leaving him right in the path of the rocks that were left obscured by the Haze around them. He shouted in pain as several clipped him, one leaving a painful gash along one side. He cast his eyes fruitlessly about for his opponent, quickly switching to scent to locate the ones closest to where the Pulse had originated.

Stalking forward silently, he slowly moved closer to the Vulpix and her trainer, mistaking it for the Altaria that had harmed him. Even had he known though, he wouldn't have cared. Lucius was a vengeful pokemon, and something would pay for his own wounds, if not those of Iria's.

He lashed out, a Night Daze lurching forth from him in an umbrageous wave towards the small fox pokemon and her trainer. His master asked for blood, and he would get it.

Feraligatr hurt itself in its confusion! Crobat used Acrobatics on Umbreon! Slaking used Mega Kick on Mightyena! Gardevoir used Psychic on Mightyena, but it failed! Zoroark used Night Daze on Vulpix!

[Mason]

There were noises - harsh against his ears - cries and growls and maybe a voice, but he couldn’t be sure. And as Mason walked blindly through the fog, he noticed the same eerie feeling that was in his stomach the second he had arrived at the shore. His legs didn’t want to move - limping slightly on one side, worry gripped him like a cold sweat. The attacks and the sounds just kept coming and coming down from the cavern, and even though Mason knew he was walking, it was as if he never got closer.

It wasn’t so much a worry for himself; he still hadn’t noticed the wound on his side. But since he wasn’t there to give commands, he could never be sure what Lucina would do. She was supposed to stay by Faron, but the Mightyena’s violent and vengeful attitude had gotten her in deep trouble more often than it had saved her. In a heartbeat, those jaws could snap and lock on anything and Mason wondered where he went wrong - years ago, maybe. At that first battle.

So when no response came from whoever he had yelled at down the cave, Mason feared the worst. He feared this haze that had gotten in the way, he feared the next scream that would come and who would cause it.

Down beyond the reach of his eyes, Lucina’s jaws clamped shut and wouldn’t let go. She tasted blood, she tasted hatred and frenzy and her own memories. Against her dark thoughts, the psychic power did nothing and with every movement she tried to make her teeth sink in just a little bit deeper. The Mightyena didn’t care who she was attacking, not like her trainer would. It was her duty to avenge and kill, caution and mercy be damned. There was nothing left in her dark gaze, nothing except for the heat of battle.

But for all that, she could still feel pain. The Mega Kick crashed into her, and Lucina’s jaws released with a frenzied yelp as her body crashed into the ground, an entire side of it throbbing as she rolled into the wall of the cave. With sheer rage etched into her every feature, the Mightyena lifted her head with a bloody and nightmarish snarl - her impressive frame seemed to limp, and she wouldn’t have been able to stand were it not for the burning pain fueling her to retaliate. Leaning to one side and enveloped by the fog, a Hyper Voice exploded from her maw. The sinister noise echoed, panic and pain all coming together to make a gut-wrenching sound that echoed again and again and again in the small space.

As the sound slammed against Mason, he knew. He felt the hurt, the crack in her howl that wasn’t usually there, and for a moment he forgot about his coughing and the haze. All he wanted was to stop, just for everything to stop, and to sit at his Pokemon’s side. “Lucina!!” He practically screamed, his own voice battling with the resonating howl.

At that moment he nearly began to sprint, but a blast of dark energy stopped him in his tracks. Any protection he tried to muster was useless as the shock wave enveloped his senses, and his eyes burned so much now that he shut them tight. Mason knelt to the ground, trying to think and knowing that he needed to be able to see again. He had to get closer. “Maedhros, flamethrower! Into the air!” the man said, hoping that the light would give him some indication of a direction - and hoping that his Vulpix hadn’t been too hurt by the blast. The little fox had stayed low to the ground, sneaking and moving just beneath the thick of the fog. Though disoriented by the attack, he kept his focus.

Sure enough, the flames shot out from the dark, illuminating everything for a moment. The attack was focused, smaller than the other one but very intense as it burned. Mason didn't want it to hit whatever had attacked him. He just needed to get his Pokemon back to him, he just needed to see for a single moment.

But as the flames began to fade and everything started to go dark again, a pale blue light washed over the haze, and for a moment Mason was very confused. At the center of the battle, an artificial moonlight had appeared towards the roof of the cavern. It bathed everything in a serene glow, and for the first time in what seemed like hours, Mason could see. Faron, however, was in very poor shape. There was no way she could have avoided the Crobat, it was too fast, and far more suited to a cave than the Umbreon was. The acrobatics nearly pushed her to the breaking point, and after being bombarded by the attack, there was only one thing she could really do.

Though the moonlight did restore her health, the illumination that it provided was crucial for her trainer. Mason wondered if the Umbreon had planned that, and wished - not for the first time - that his pokemon could speak back to him.

And now, he had a chance to end this. He wasn’t entirely sure, but across the rocks and the pale light, Mason thought he could see a human-like figure. This was it, his last chance. Because as he looked across the cavern, he knew he couldn't win this fight. But more than that, he had a mission - and this was not a part of it. "I'm begging you, we can stop this!" He paused, raising his empty hands up into the air. "I'm unarmed. May I approach? Whatever my pokemon has done, I'm sorry and I can help. And then we go our separate ways. I'll turn around and leave right back out the way I came." Even as Mason spoke, he was surprised at how calm his voice sounded. Maybe he was even a little frightened. When had he gotten used to life or death situations? The thought made him restless, and he felt his hands begin to shake.

(Mightyena used Hyper Voice, Vulpix used Flamethrower into the air, Umbreon used Moonlight)

[Varnock]

Pain. Pain was all he felt, all he heard. Once more he hadn't been prepared, hadn't expected something like a Hyper Voice. In a cave like this it would just reverberate back and forth on itself endlessly, no care for friend or foe. His own trap had become a hell of danger and pain, his ears ringing far more than any normal situation could ever call for.

This was bad. He couldn't hear anything and the pain was making his eyes water, and his pokemon weren't much better off. Feral had already been disoriented when the wave of sound hit, and now he was collapsed on the ground. That much noise and conflicting signals had likely sent him into shock, and Varnock couldn't even see him to know there was a problem.

Lucius was arguably the best off. After his very own tactic had been used to ruin his night vision, the Hyper Voice had hit and left him a mess against one wall that was unable to see or hear. Lucius slowly crept back along the rocks, an arm feeling around for him as he stumbled in the general direction of his trainer. Something like that, no one would be fine after it. He had to get back to him to help his friends before it was too late.

And then Lori was arguably the worst off from such a tactic. Her senses were overloaded by the sudden loss of hearing and sent her careening painfully into a wall, dropping into a crumpled heap that carefully began trying to lessen its wounds with a Roost. She was hurt pretty badly from that and her high speed contact with the rocky surface near her.

Iria was certainly hurt the worst though, bleeding heavily from an arm that was closer to being torn off than it was to being attached. The wave of sound that cascaded over her only worsened things and left her a screaming mess of pain that just tried to curl up and be as small as possible. Varnock pulled himself towards her form through the black haze he had over his senses, doing his best not to black out as Queen watched over his form.

She was in just as much agony as the rest, but her only response to it was a tortured roar before taking a chance to Slack Off while she kept an eye on what she could. Lazing around now seemed like a good idea though, especially with the way her ears were buzzing constant complaints at her.

Varnock collapsed against the pain wracked form of Iria, pulling the cloak off and shakily tearing it into strips while his own senses slowly returned to what could not be called normal, but they were no longer hurting him. He couldn't hear though, not yet. He just kept tearing strips, wrapping them about the wounded arm of his pokemon as tears slipped down through the base of the mask he wore.

It wasn't being able to hear that alerted him to their enemy getting closer. It was a sense of rage that had him turning towards a voice he couldn't make out through sickening static that had become his hearing. He didn't know what was being said, but he knew he could still protect Iria. Varnock positioned himself between her and this trainer before him, body shielding her own. He spoke with a voice still strained from his warped senses, even if his body had stopped screaming about it to him.

"Get away! I won't let you hurt her any more than you already have!"

His team was in shambles, wounded, deprived of their senses, and worse. What had gone wrong? What had he done wrong?

"Just... Just leave them alone. None of us wanted any of this! Never again, not after Goldenrod! Not after the Betrayal! We don't want death anymore, don't want to cause it..."

He went so far as to rip his mask off, throwing it towards Mason to reveal a tear streaked face. His pokemon were hurt and needed his help, but he was stuck here talking to a man he couldn't even understand after all that noise. His body was giving out too, healing itself enough to remind him the wounds were there. He would black out soon, and couldn't control that.

"This was why I left, why I did what I did. All the needless pain and violence. Please, just leave. I just want to tend to my friends before they get any worse!"

He had just one chance. One chance to appeal to this man as another human being, as Brandon instead of Varnock. If he failed... No. No he couldn't fail, not at this. Should he make a move to hurt them more, he would do what he despised so much. He would try to become a killer to protect those he loved, would actually use the gun he carried. He just had to hope though, hope this man could understand, could let him help those hurt.

He just had to hope.

[Mason]

His eyes still felt dry and cracked - shaking hands gravitated towards them, but he didn’t want to risk blurring his sight any more than he already had. For as the moonlight began to fade, his vision went with it. And the only thing he could think of was the flamethrower and his own curious footsteps, starting everything for the two trainers, all the hurt.

And at that moment, it occurred to him for the first time that he didn’t even know if this man across from him was Lux or Nox.

Mason could never recall wanting to sleep, but fatigue washed over him as he lowered his hands, a dark phantom promising dreams and rest but first - there is always a catch with these things - he needed to find his way back home. Home. Mason wanted to leave, but something that he couldn’t quite grasp prevented him from just taking his pokemon and sprinting out. Instantly, he pictured Lucina tearing into another pokemon, and was horrified with himself. I didn’t train her well enough, I didn’t protect her, I didn’t I didn’t I didn’t ran through his head as a dark figure approached through the haze, limping horribly, only to collapse at his feet. As much as the Mightyena could give a hit, she couldn’t take one in turn and her side looked as if it had been bashed in with a metal bar.

Then the dryness faded - tears collected at the corner of his eyes and even though he knew that everything was his fault, (certainly it is, he thinks without questioning it for a moment), he knelt down and placed a hand on his pokemon’s forehead. Raspy voice, saliva and blood dripping from her maw and Mason couldn’t figure out why the Mightyena had such a hate within her. For a split second he thought back to Olivine, then opened his mouth to speak though the words came with much difficulty. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, what did I send you up against…” His voice faded to a whisper as he took out a pokeball, and in a flash of red light Lucina left the hazy battlefield.

Time felt stagnant in the cave. His only measure of the passing seconds was the growing pain at his side, but in the darkness he could see no blood and tried to keep pushing it the the back of his mind.

With what was left of his night vision, Mason watched the other man frantically tend to a pokemon, and he could hear fabric being torn. He opened his mouth - about to issue an order to Faron - but words slammed against him like a brick wall, causing his own to stick in his throat. It was everything he didn’t want to hear, not for his own sake, but for the pokemon lying hurt on the cave floor. What could he do, though? What could he say? Nothing. So that’s what happened - for several moments, though it felt like hours as time rocked back and forth, back and forth…

A mask hurled towards him only just managed to bring his reeling senses back to earth - the sound startled him, and for some reason he was afraid to pick the object up. His Vulpix walked towards it, investigating, and he sniffed it before looking back up at his trainer. And with hands that still trembled, Mason took off his small backpack.

Maybe he would regret this - but he removed a few potions and bandages, and set them down beside the mask before standing up. The spy said nothing still, his eyes trying to look into the darkness and find something but he wasn’t sure what.

For if his vision hadn’t been set aflame by fire and shadow and haze, he might have recognized the man’s face.

“F-Faron,” Mason said, calling his pokemon back to him. “Lead me out of here.” As the Umbreon solemnly walked over to him, her footsteps heavy and ears still ringing, she glanced at the mask. Her trainer could never guess what she was thinking - and without a sound she started off towards the entrance of the cave. Maedhros looked like he wanted to follow, but Mason would take no more risks and returned him to his pokeball. The red lit up the cave one last time; this was a place, now, that he wanted to leave behind but was sure he would never be able to forget.

Gray eyes, now the bearer of remorse in the place of panic, turned towards the light at the end of the cave that he couldn’t see, but hoped remained.