(ACE) The MAUVILLE Team

(skip-there's nothing I can work with right now)

Sirius could only barrel down the stairs after the others as more splinters of the ceiling fell onto them. With an almighty screech, the last of whatever was holding the roof up snapped, and the roar that followed as the roof caved in was beastly. Dust and shards of stone billowed around them as Sirius swung around the corner and into the next stairwell.

The door to the ground floor was ahead. Sirius bolted through it, swinging it wide open so the others could get through. "MOVE!" The stairwell thundered and roared as it was buried under a mountain of concrete, and once everyone was through the door, Sirius slammed it shut.

Hacking out a cough as in inhaled a mouthful of dust, Sirius quickly ignited his torch so they could see through the murk. He wasn't sure where they were, but he knew that they were back on the ground floor. A row of shops were ahead, but it was difficult to tell which part of the building they were in. To him, everything looked the same in this damn city.

"Is everyone OK?" he whispered through the eerie silence that followed the collapse. The dust was so thick it was difficult to see through. "Everyone's here? Nobody hurt?" He looked woefully at the way they'd come, at the busted door and its shattered glass, and almost sighed but only spluttered out another cough. "Looks like we're not going back that way. Come on," he said, turning to the grey gloom ahead, his torchlight flickering along the walls, "let's keep moving."

If they could find Orion and the exit pretty close to one another, he could just grab his brother and get the hell out of there before he had time to protest. But in his experience, nothing was ever that easy, and he had a feeling that this trainwreck of a city wasn't finished with them just yet; above them, the ceiling shivered.

A sound like a concrete wave crashing down around them roars out all other sound. Vaguely, Gramps is conscious of the others hurrying down the stairs around them. A flash of flame from the left, a blur of brown and tan fur behind them. By the time they reach the bottom of the stairwell Sirius is already there. His mouth open as if shouting something, but the tsunami of debris deafens Eris and Gramps. Beside him is the open down and Eris charges through it without looking back.

With a final shudder, the ceiling of the stairwell finishes its collapse and comes to rest as a mountain of rubble effectively sealing them into...whatever part of town they were now. "Is everyone OK?" Sirius whispers as everything goes silence once again. Gramps runs a shaky paw over his head. Smoothing the skin and short fur there as he tries to calm down. "W-we're fine-e."

"Looks like we're not going back that way. Come on." Eris smirks, a comment ready, but unable to spoken as she tries to catch her breath. One pincer lightly clutching her leg to keep her upright. No big loss there. She manages, her breathing slowly evening out. "Didn't want to be up there anyway." Blinking dust from her eyes, she tries to collect her bearings.

This city was suppose to be their home...but what they say now looked nothing like she remembered. On top her shoulder, she can see Gramps straining to see further ahead, his eyes eventually falling on the flame of Sirius' staff. "let's keep moving."

"Do you have any idea where your brother might have been trying to head? A shop? The exit? If he was holed up in the apartment before, the blue fox must live here. However...with everything that has happened...it wouldn't be beyond belief that he may be trying to escape the city like the rest of them.

He moved on autopilot, powered by adrenaline and blind fear. His eyes picked up images- the other Pokemon running, dust and rubble- though the Lopunny disregarded them in favor of focusing on the path ahead. As long as he made it- as long as he wasn't dead. The cut above his eye stung miserably, but Madison ignored it in favor of griping about the attack on his "good" looks later- if there even would end up being a later. Great hiding place, this- this was really great. No danger here, nope, not a lick of it. It's bad enough that I already have those things to worry about, much less the damn building coming down around me.

The Normal type reached the bottom in an admittedly impressive amount of time- amazing what terror could do- and covered his face just in time to protect it from a gust of dust and debris as the shuddering came to an end. "Is everyone OK?" Panting from his frantic dash, the only thing he could do was raise a hand, hunched over and wheezing. In Madison's defense, the air wasn't exactly of a great quality at the moment. "I think... I think we all made it." The Lopunny said breathlessly, taking a look around at their little group. And with a little sarcastic clap, he added, "go team."

Unfortunately, his mood seemed to quickly sour at the mention of the Delphox's brother- right, they were still looking for him, huh? Letting out a huff, the Lopunny dusted himself off.

[[skip]]

"Hhhhhh... hhhhhhhh..."  

The whimpering and whining sounds of her trainer made Mariel turn around, pausing in her efforts to give him a nod. "We will survive. Deep breaths, Calem. In, and out. In, and out..." The canine watched as the boy shifted his breathing to follow her instructions, drawing in shuddering breaths and half-sobbing them out.  

Of course the giant angry terrifying Garchomp wasn't enough. Of course half the city-building had to come down on top of them. Why the fuck not.Her rage lent fuel to her strength, and she used that to toss rubble aside as soon as she gets her paws around them. Her Metal Claw made short work of splitting pieces apart to make moving them possible.

"Don't worry, kid. We got this," Ruto grunted, shifting a large chunk of debris. Fuck this was heavy. "Gonna be- hnnngh- gonna be outta here in no time. Thunk. She shifted a piece of rubble aside. "Gonna kick this rubble's ass, yup."

"Heh... hahahah..." A weak laugh bubbled out and he hugged his jacket closer. Ah Ruto. Bless your gung-ho attitude.

"As soon as we have enough room, Peach and Minerva would be of great help." Psychic would do well in moving this mess, she reflected, mentally calculating who could help them dig out even as she worked. Greygnarl, while powerful, was probably a terrible idea to let out in such cramped quarters even when there was room.

Poor Axel was totally useless here. Just as well. The situation would make the bird panic probably faster than the shivering twig of a boy behind her. Hell, he'd be a mess if he ever knew it had even happened. He would best be left ignorant of the situation until later. Much later. Like maybe next year.

"H-how did w-we even survive that an entire city just- just fell on us hahah oh man this is just- just im-impossible; may-maybe we're gh-ghosts o-or this is a dream o-or-"

"Calem. What did I say about breathing?" The steady voice broke his babbling off into whimpers and then a weird, sobbing attempt at deep breathing again as the boy paced the small area they've cleared.

And yet he's still reacting better than Axel would.

Yeah, Axel doesn't need to find out until next year. At least.

(Due to a change in who runs Calem, the Pokemon he now has with him are Mariel the Lucario, Ruto the Blastoise, Minerva the Delphox, Greygnarl the Tyrantrum, Peach the Gardevoir, and Axel the Talonflame.)

Claus hisses as a chunk of rubble smacks against him. The city, so much of it had fallen, was falling, and it had nearly trapped him. Nearly. The Aiveon's wings may have been useless, and his legs almost the same way, but he could still move. It'd been a stroke of luck that he had not been crushed by the initial debris and concrete tumbling down around him; a few shards have stabbed into his flank, but for some reason, Claus cannot feel a thing. Was it shock, or was the adrenaline so strong that it was numbing him to any feeling at all? It has to be the latter, to allow him to limp along faster than he would ever be able to normally; it was a shame that the stuff wasn't able to somehow fix his torn-up wings. If I could fly, I wouldn't even be here.

Either way, Claus cannot stay in this dangerous city with its creaking, unstable structure that's liable to collapse on him at any moment. Lady Luck must have been keeping an eye out for him, as there is nothing blocking his way out, neither concrete nor some surviving Pokemon wanting to poke its nose in other people's business. Dragging his almost completely degenerated back legs along, Claus slowly makes his way out of the city, likely trudging through the place at a pace even slower than that of a snail. Even a Snorlax would be faster than this. Though Mauville is becoming increasingly less secure by the second, nothing manages to hit Claus as he makes his exit.

(Leaving post. I'm sorry for wasting your floater spot for so long, Nighty.)

The silence was so paralyzingly eerie ... it would've been peaceful if there wasn't the chance of some mindless mutant jumping out of nowhere and mauling your face off. Clouds of dust rendered anything further than three feet away very difficult to see, and the ceiling seemed to enjoy taunting them with the occasional rumble and sending flurries of tiny stones onto them from above. If it weren't for Sirius's staff and the bright flame that adorned it, they'd be in the pitch black.

This was going to be a really long night.

They padded forward in silence for a few minutes, Sirius desperately trying to figure out what section of the city they were in, when Gramps quietly spoke up. "Do you have any idea where your brother might have been trying to head?"

"Out," Sirius replied bluntly, pausing to inspect something on the floor. Brushing away the dust, Sirius saw the hazy outline of his reflection. Clearly it was only a mirror store of some sort, so he moved on. "Or, more accurately, away from me."

He was going to get the reason why Orion hated him so much out of him one way or another. Sirius had near enough given himself a headache trying to figure out what he had done wrong. Sure, he'd only seen him from time to time, but he'd always tried to talk to him, tried to help ... he'd done his part, so why?

Was it simply a jealousy issue? Was Orion bitter that Sirius had ended up with the better Trainer? Not like any of that was his fault, but it was possible...

"But we'll find him, and then we'll leave too, even if I have to carry him over my shoulder. I'll find out what's wrong with him and I'll fix it! So long as that Garchomp or none of its undead buddies are around it should be a cakewalk, right?" Dear legends, the longer he had to stare into this murky darkness and listen to this desolate silence, the crazier he'd get. He was already rambling like an idiot; how long until he'd completely lose his cool? Damn you, Orion ... it's a good job you're worth enough for me to do this...

"Wait." The silence had been broken; a loud thud from somewhere ahead stopped Sirius in his tracks. His large ears twitched and rotated as he listened, holding his torch aloft. Dull thuds, heaving, the crackling of stone ... and grunting? Sirius wasn't too sure, but he swore he could've heard a voice up ahead. Maybe it'd been his imagination, but...

"Did you guys hear that as well?"

The large chunks of rubble had finally settled, but the dust and finer particles they kicked up still choke the air around them. Everything more than a few feet out appears hazy. Eris coughs and brings up a pincer to try and block out more from getting into her lungs. On top her shoulder, she can see Gramps doing the same after motioning in a direction to their left. A coughing fit overtakes him before she can ask anything else, but as she squints through the haze, she can see a light of some sort.

Making her way down the corridor, she keeps the bright spot her focus, using it to guide her through the thinning dust. It has to just be Sirius' staff. She reasons. Though, how they got that far ahead of them, she can't guess. Or maybe it was his brother, blue boy? Finally in clear air once again, she lowers her arm. Above the pair is a hole through the crumbling wall. A deep, but small one letting in a shaft of moonlight.

It illuminates the intersection. Coming to stand in the center, she peers through the hole. Nothing interesting. Stepping back, she looks around the empty intersection. "OH...oh my...I'm sorry. I saw the light. I-I just assumed it was Sirius' staff." Gramps stutters from his place atop Eris' shoulder his voice full of genuine concern. Leaning forward as far as he dares, he peers down the various corridors. "Do...do you remember which way we came from?"

After taking a moment to think she shakes her head slowly. "Pretty sure it was this way." She says, confident that even if she is wrong, they have managed to jump off the crazy train of finding Sirius' brother. Both outcomes had their pros and cons. Picking a direction at random, the scizor starts the jog down it. "Don't worry, you've still got me." Eris adds as she goes, the softness out of place in her voice.


((ooc: Leaving post. It's been fun guys, but I have to cut down on teams for the time being. Hopefully I will be able to join up with everyone later on!))

Discomfort.

Discomfort was the best possible word to summarize Madison's feelings at that time. He picked his way gingerly through the rubble, gaze flickering up towards the bright staff ahead and then down to the ground to make sure he wasn't going to step on something sharp or unpleasant or dirty on accident. "So are we just going to wander around in- in this until we find him?" The Lopunny was unable to keep the irritation from sinking into his voice. He made a vague gesture at their surroundings, what little were visible. "How do we not know we aren't just walking around in circles? If something else wants to attack us, you might as ring the dinner bell, because we won't see them coming." He crossed his arms tightly against his chest, gaze drifting through what little he could see of their surroundings.

Their group was small, and it just seemed to keep on getting smaller. Though he could barely make out much of anything so long as the air was filled with a dusty haze, his sensitive ears twitched at the sound of... Less footsteps? With a frown, Madison tried to pay much closer attention in the hopes of proving himself wrong- because as irritable and survival-driven as he was, there still remained a small part of himself that cared- only for a different sound to catch his attention.

"Did you guys hear that as well?" It had been difficult not to.

Suddenly serious, a frown tugged at the Normal type's features. "I heard it." An uncomfortable glance in the direction of the staff, his arms tightening around himself. The answer to the question was thinking of seemed obvious, and yet a small part of Madison was hopeful enough to dare asking. "We aren't... Going to go investigate that, are we?" Please no.

[[Since Calem was adopted and posts reset, I'm going to have the posts where Orion was speaking to him simply not exist. So he ran into one of the buildings and it collapsed on him, putting him near Calem.]]


Why did he have to be so unlucky?

Orion gave a small groan as he woke to find his head splitting with a throbbing pain and a paw went up to the source as he slowly rose. Pebbles and dust shifted and fell from his azure coat, tinkling on the ground as they landed. He barely remembered what had happened; he had run into the first opening he found in a desperate effort to get away from his brother, but... it had obviously backfired. He opened his eyes and was greeted with nothing but an inky darkness. Well, shit. Did that mean he was completely trapped?

He closed his eyes once more as he fought against the searing pain emanating from the top of his scalp, opening them only as he brought his hand back down before them to check for blood. Not much, thankfully, but the possibility of concussion occurred to him. Because he was simply having too good of a night. Karma just had to bring it crashing straight back down.

A few more bits of debris dislodged from his coat, reminding Orion that he had been buried in the collapse and that he'd likely need to find a way out of that. Right. The psychic fox's ears twitched as they listened to the fallen building's complaints, but heard little else other than... wait. "..enough room, Peach and Minerva would be of great help." His eyes widened to comical proportions and his jaw slackened with the shock.

Those were... voices.

Just how many poor bastards were stuck in this godforsaken maze of a city?!

Orion skittered forward, bringing his staff forward from the place he'd apparently dropped it, the wood igniting at his touch to reveal the collapsed walls and ceiling that separated him from the other voices. "H-how did w-we even survive that an entire city just- just fell on us hahah oh man this is just- just im-impossible; may-maybe we're gh-ghosts o-or this is a dream o-or-"

"Calem. What did I say about breathing?" the first voice said in a stern, parental voice. Orion bit down on the staff and began to paw at the loose bits of concrete and plaster and metal in front of him-- the voices were in this direction. They had to be. If his giant, stupid ears were good for anything other than ammunition for insults, they excelled at locating something. He paused in his digging long enough to call out, "Hello?" His anxiety flared at the thought of bringing strangers closer to him, but it was either this or calling out for his brother. Strangers were always better than Sirius. "I'm trapped too-- maybe we can get through this wall and figure out how to get out?"

"Good," she murmured, watching Ruto shift more of the rubble around. "If we can move it so that we have a clear path up the stairs and out--"

"Hello?"

Calem nearly fell over. Ruto yelled. Even Mariel gasped.

A person!?

"I'm trapped too-- maybe we can get through this wall and figure out how to get out?"

"Ohmygoshsomeoneelse?" The filthy, bug-eyed boy stared wide-eyed at the rubble the voice filtered through.

"Steady, Cale." came the automatic, soft response. This was still a stranger. I don't want to advertize that we have someone fragile with us just yet.

She cleared her throat. "Yes, that sounds like a fine idea. Can you move any of this on your own? Are you injured? We have medical supplies if you need help, but if you can't move any of this, a big Blastoise is going to need to smash her way through and it's best if you move back quite a bit."

"Shouldn't take more than a minute! You just hang tight there! Hnnngh!"  She shifted aside more mess, thinning the wall diving the two. "Got a name? Talking to me helps while I'm workin'. Not sure why; jus' does. Plus it's nice to hear someone else is okay!" Especially after the demon Garchomp.

"I heard it," Madison replied, lifting some of the weight off of Sirius's chest. At least he hadn't gone completely crazy and started hearing things. "We aren't... Going to go investigate that, are we?"

Sirius looked back, pinching his chin as he thought. True, it could've just been a group of undead making weird noises somewhere, but there was just something about those sounds that piqued his curiosity. He'd listened to the undead snarl and moan and hiss for a long-ass time now; he knew what they sounded like. Those noises didn't sound like the undead at all.

The others were being suspiciously quiet though. Frowning Sirius turned and almost dropped his staff in surprise. They were gone. Gramps, Eris, Kenna ... all three of them had vanished. "Wha--" He whirled around in circles; maybe they'd just wandered over to one of the nearby shops or something? But no. They'd gone. How they'd managed to get lost when there was a floating flame waving around in the air to guide them, Sirius did not know. IDIOTS.

"Well ... not sure where they went, but it looks like its just us two for now," he said to the Lopunny, scratching at his ear in puzzlement. Tonight was just getting weirder and weirder. "And I know it's not what you want to hear, but I wanna go check that noise out. Call me crazy but ... I got an intuition." Without waiting for a response he carried on, hoping Madison wasn't dumb enough to himself lost as well.

The sounds got louder as he carried on down the corridor. OK, those were voices. They stood out like a gold penny when compared to the usual symphonies of death the undead belted out. There was more than one of them but they were muffled, like he was listening to them from underwater. He crept forward, gasping as a giant mountain of rubble came into view beyond the gloom.

"They're trapped under the rocks!" Sirius hurried over, listening to the heaves and grunts from behind the lumps of concrete. Whoever they were, they were alive and trying to dig themselves out. It could be Orion. Cold terror shot through his chest as he held both his staff and bare hand aloft, and started to try and lift some of the rocks with Psychic.

"Whoever's in there, don't worry!" he called, waving his hand and sending one chunk of rubble flying away. "We'll get you out - just hold on!" A glance over his shoulder confirmed that Madison was still behind him. At least one of his little posy had enough brains to keep up. "Give me a hand with this, will you?"

It was the Fire type's expression that caught his attention before anything else, from what little he could make out through the gloom. The flame on the end of his stick illuminated the Delphox's features oddly, casting strange shadows around their surroundings- an atmosphere more fitting for telling scary stories than it was for walking through. Madison shot him a curious look in response, weight shifting nervously from side to side. He felt trapped and twitchy and claustrophobic, he was beginning to get the feeling he was about to feel more than just a little uncomfortable. "Well ... not sure where they went, but it looks like its just us two for now,"

If he could have gone pale, he would have. "What?" Spinning around, the Lopunny froze at the sight that met him- or lack of? He had thought they were missing people, felt something was off, but this? He had never expected this. "What the hell?" Oh, well wasn't that just perfect. Trick him into going meandering through the dark in search of someone he didn't know and frankly would have gladly tossed to the dead and then abandon him? Seriously? What a noble lot you are. Power in numbers my tail. I would have been better off jumping out of that cruddy window back there.

"And I know it's not what you want to hear," Sirius had continued, and as soon as Madison was done with his little tantrum, he tuned back to face him, "but I wanna go check that noise out. Call me crazy but ... I got an intuition." A whine built up in his throat as the last member of their little group moved to leave, but the Normal type pushed it down, following him with a deep frown. Well, if anything, he at least knew who he could trust to rely on. Even if he did feel as though the Delphox was probably leading him into something terrible.

Like the sounds of panic and a mountain of rubble. Glorious. Mystery solved. Could they please leave now? Apparently not.

For a few moments, the Lopunny had simply stared. He would have been more than content to continue doing so as well if he hadn't been asked to help- after all, what could he really do? Punch stuff? "Give me a hand with this, will you?" A face was made in response, but he still found himself moving forward to pitch in, regardless. He could overturn a few rocks. Perhaps not as quickly as Sirius could move them with Psychic, but it was still something.

"Ohmygoshsomeoneelse?" was the almost immediate reply, causing Orion to heave a sigh of relief.

"Steady, Cale," the first voice murmured; it was only due to Orion's fantastic hearing that he even heard the words. "Yes, that sounds like a fine idea. Can you move any of this on your own? Are you injured? We have medical supplies if you need help, but if you can't move any of this, a big Blastoise is going to need to smash her way through and it's best if you move back quite a bit."

Orion's eyes widened at the warning. A Blastoise? He scooted back to the other side of his little pocket of open hallway, watching the walls for a moment. "Shouldn't take more than a minute!  You just hang tight there! Hnnngh!" a new voice sounded; probably the Blastoise. "Got a name? Talking to me helps while I'm workin'. Not sure why; jus' does. Plus it's nice to hear someone else is okay!"

The blue Delphox made a noise of unease. He'd never really been a loquacious one, especially since his trainer hadn't really approved of it. But this Blastoise and her friends were about to help him and frankly, that's all he really wanted out of life. "O-Orion. I'm Orion. Uhm... What's... yours--"

He froze as another voice, though barely audible, sounded from another part of his collapsed prison. Ears straining to hear, he instantly recognized the timbre and tone of it even though the words were incoherent. But it drew louder, which meant it was getting closer. "Whoever's in there, don't worry!" Sirius called, causing Orion's heart to race. Goddammit, he just got away from that son of a bitch! "We'll get you out - just hold on!"

"Shit!" he hissed under his breath, skittering back over to the other wall. Christ, he had to think of something fast. If push came to shove and that fucker Sirius got to him first, he'd collapse the place down on them both if he had to. "There's someone coming in from the other side-- I think he's trying to kill me!" he whimpered in a panicked whisper. "Please hurry!"

The voice spoke and Ruto worked a little more carefully to avoid drowning out the timid voice with smashing and hauling rubble. "O-Orion. I'm Orion. Uhm... What's... yours--"

Calem made a thoughtful little noise. Orion. Pretty name. Unfortunately he doesn't get time to respond.

"Whoever's in there, don't worry!" It was faint, very faint, but unmistakable. Calem gasped and flinched in shock. "We'll get you out - just hold on!"

He expected the wary look on Mariel's face, expected the look of excitement on Ruto's, expected the sick bubbles of dread rising up through his stomach at the thought of yet more people, more strangers. What he did not expect was Orion's reaction.

At first he thought he misheard; Orion hissed something he can't make out and it would be easy to believe it was just a mistake if not for the frantic whisper he managed to get out, clearer this time, so they could hear him. "There's someone coming in from the other side-- I think he's trying to kill me!"

"What?" he squeaked, his voice rising an octave.

"Please hurry!"

"On it," Mariel promised. It didn't matter at the moment if Orion was mistaken or not, attempting to deceive or not. It cost nothing to at least get Orion away from the perceived threat and he would be mad to take on more than one Pokemon at once. "We're almost there."

"Why- why would he want- doesn't he want to help?" He's had his share of encounters with horrible people but that didn't sound like someone who wanted to kill him.

"We can figure that out in a minute, kiddo." The giant Blastoise heaved aside some more rubble and...

And there he was. A Delphox. Calem recalled the Blastoise and Mariel lifted him up into her arms.

"He sounds close; we need to run. Can you run?"

It took more than just a few Psychics to lift what was left of the rock; Sirius was feeling a headache coming on by the time they'd finished. With the combined efforts of Madison and whoever was trapped inside the stony prison, the last one soon rolled aside and revealed the captors.

"Orion!" Completely ignoring the human and his Lucario, Sirius rushed over to his brother and seized him by the shoulders. "What the hell?! Why'd you run off like that? You could've been killed! I was worried sick!"

"He sounds close; we need to run," said the Lucario, hoisting her Trainer up into her arms. Damn, these Fighting-types were strong. "Can you run?"

"Wait, what? Who?" Sirius looked around and perked an eyebrow at the pair. "Run from what? I don't see anything. We've just come from all the way down there and haven't come across anything."

For once in his life, Madison decided to keep his mouth shut, picking through the rubble with a determined frown. Sirius could do the talking; he seemed more like the personable type, anyways, and he was the one who wanted to go out of his way to help out a bunch of strangers in the first place. Let's just hope these guys don't decide it's a bright idea to cut and run on us, too, huh? The Normal type couldn't help but think to himself, still feeling just a tad bit bitter. Ah, well. He would probably get over it eventually. On the bright side, the Lopunny was at least feeling merciful enough to keep the majority of his thoughts to himself- that was always a silver lining, right?

"Orion!" Madison's expression seemed to sour at the sight of the blue Fire type, and he crossed his arms, taking a step back. Idly, his gaze drifted over in the direction of the strangers, expression neutral- not friendly, but not off-putting, either. "What the hell?! Why'd you run off like that? You could've been killed! I was worried sick!"

"Considering this place is coming down around us, I don't think running would be a very bad idea." Though he had to wonder- what was the Lucario talking about? Who were they planning on running from before? His mind flashed to the dragon who had caused them so much trouble in the first place, before a quick shake of his head cleared it. No. That thing was long gone- it had to be.

Thankfully, his companion seemed to take the words right out of his mouth, saving him the trouble of voicing them himself. "Wait, what? Who? Run from what? I don't see anything. We've just come from all the way down there and haven't come across anything."

"On it," the voice on the other side reported, but it didn't soothe Orion's anxiety. He had almost been away from that asshole and now, he was seconds away from all that effort being for naught. "We're almost there."

"Why- why would he want- doesn't he want to help?" Orion flinched at the other voice; he really needed a way to talk himself out of this.

"We can figure that out in a minute, kiddo." Suddenly, the wall shattered before him and there in its place stood a Lucario, Blastoise, and a human. Orion visibly flinched at spotting the trainer, his distrust of the species as a whole overriding his need to run.

"He sounds close; we need to run. Can you run?" the Lucario asked as the trainer withdrew the intimidating water-type, snapping Orion out of his stupor. He swallowed and nodded, but that second of hesitation cost him his escape. The other wall opened and there he was, Sirius himself.

"Orion!" The named fox bolted behind the Lucario and her trainer; that cock-sucking asswipe wasn't getting him back so easy. He couldn't force his way through people like he had his front door. "What the hell?! Why'd you run off like that? You could've been killed! I was worried sick!" Orion simply growled at him from behind the strangers, his hackles all standing on end. He didn't like being pushed into a corner, but by God, he'd fucking fight if he had to.

"Considering this place is coming down around us, I don't think running would be a very bad idea," the bunny observed from behind Mr. Perfect, and Orion was inclined to agree.

But it looked that even though Orion had whispered his pleas, Sirius still heard him. Because of course he did, he was perfect. Orion couldn't fight perfection. "Wait, what? Who? Run from what? I don't see anything. We've just come from all the way down there and haven't come across anything."

"YOU!" Orion hissed, his teeth bared. With people now more or less on his side, he felt his bravado surge. Maybe he could actually get them to stand up for him if he was honest. "I am running from you. What, was I not clear enough when I told you to get the fuck away from me? Multiple times? Or when I snuck away on my own to get away from you? How fucking thick are you that you can't understand that I hate you and I would die a happy fox if I never fucking saw you again?!"

A piece of rubble moved and before anyone had any time to register much of anything:

"Orion!"  

A normal colored Delphox rushed past Calem and Mariel, the human shuddering even though Sirius barely touched him, still unnerved by how close the stranger had come to brushing up against him. "What the hell?! Why'd you run off like that? You could've been killed! I was worried sick!"

"Considering this place is coming down around us, I don't think running would be a very bad idea."  A Lopunny threw in some very valid two cents of theirs.

The fox put another question to his... relative? "Wait, what? Who? Run from what? I don't see anything. We've just come from all the way down there and haven't come across anything."

Oh. He must have heard! Calem made a nervous noise and hid mostly behind Mariel, who surveyed the situation, hands on her hips.

"YOU!" the blue fox snapped. "I am running from you. What, was I not clear enough when I told you to get the fuck away from me? Multiple times? Or when I snuck away on my own to get away from you? How fucking thick are you that you can't understand that I hate you and I would die a happy fox if I never fucking saw you again?!"

Calem made another noise, increasingly distressed, confusion swirling into the toxic stew of emotions. Everything was happening so much, so fast. "W-why- why are- wh-"  

He couldn't continue. Mariel picked up.

"Why are you bothering him? If he said he wants you to leave him alone, he wants you to leave him alone. He can't get much clearer than 'leave me alone.'" Her glare grew sharper. "I'd advise you listen to him. You're certainly not earning his favor by chasing him, so frankly, pursuing him is a moot point anyway if you want him to care about you at all."

I know what it's like to be chased by people who won't leave you alone; I won't let them bother him. Pretty much only thing he was good for was battling wth his pokemon. He didn't want to fight but...

He would take Orion's side in this and fend them off if he must.

"YOU! I am running from you. What, was I not clear enough when I told you to get the fuck away from me? Multiple times? Or when I snuck away on my own to get away from you?" Sirius felt his mouth slowly dropping open, tears springing into his eyes. He couldn't stand another moment of this. "How fucking thick are you that you can't understand that I hate you and I would die a happy fox if I never fucking saw you again?!"

"But WHY, Orion?!" Sirius exploded, tossing his hands into the air as his tears of frustration leaked down his face. "WHY do you hate me? WHY don't you want to see me again? I don't understand what I did wrong, and you won't even tell me!"

"Why are you bothering him?  If he said he wants you to leave him alone, he wants you to leave him alone.  He can't get much clearer than 'leave me alone.'" This ... this bitch. Who the hell did she think she was? Sirius just glared straight back at the Lucario, his gaze livid. "I'd advise you listen to him. You're certainly not earning his favor by chasing him, so frankly, pursuing him is a moot point anyway if you want him to care about you at all."

"OK, firstly, who the fuck are you?" the Delphox snarled, jabbing a finger at her. "And second, what has any of this got to do with you?! This guy is my brother and you're telling what I should and shouldn't be doing with him?! Shut the hell up. Why don't you go and baby your human for a few minutes and let me just speak to him."

Swiftly turning his back on the Fighting-type, Sirius took a deep breath. His heart was pounding, his fur hot and damp with sweat; getting worked up was not going to help. "Orion," he began calmly, steadying his voice. Bursting into tears wouldn't yield positive results either. "Please, just tell me ... why do you hate me? What did I do wrong? Because whatever it was, I'm sorry, and I promise I'll do whatever I can to fix it."

If Madison's fur was any longer, it certainly would have visibly stood on end. Perhaps it was something about the general atmosphere taking a turn for the worst, or maybe it was his frustration coming to a head, but in any case, he was less than pleased by the way things had suddenly decided to start going. As if he hadn't already been annoyed enough to begin with?

"YOU! I am running from you. What, was I not clear enough when I told you to get the fuck away from me? Multiple times? Or when I snuck away on my own to get away from you? How fucking thick are you that you can't understand that I hate you and I would die a happy fox if I never fucking saw you again?!" Expression twisting with irritation, the Normal type couldn't help but regret ever running into the unpleasant fox once more. As if he hadn't been enough of a headache the first time around. Everyone else had managed to cut and run rather neatly- why was he the unfortunate one that ended up getting stuck with Grumpy McFamily Issues all over again?

"Why are you bothering him?" One of the strangers spoke up, and Madison couldn't help but feel inclined to agree. He kept his mouth shut, however, already anticipating a less than favorable reaction from the other Delphox. "If he said he wants you to leave him alone, he wants you to leave him alone.  He can't get much clearer than 'leave me alone.' I'd advise you listen to him.  You're certainly not earning his favor by chasing him, so frankly, pursuing him is a moot point anyway if you want him to care about you at all."

"OK, firstly, who the fuck are you?" Sirius shot back, and Madison couldn't help but sigh. Called it. He squeezed his eyes shut as the Fire type raved, hands reaching up to rub delicately at his temples.

"Can we PLEASE focus on the real problem here?" The Lopunny hissed, his tone exasperated. "I mean, seriously? I think we have bigger things to deal with than who is bothering who- like how we're kind of trapped in this shitty place? Maybe you lot might find something charming about the whole 'falling apart while we stand and chat' shtick, but I didn't wake up this morning intending to get eaten by a walking hunk of rotting flesh or crushed under a ton of stinking rocks, thanks for asking." He bared his teeth, aware of how unimpressive the sight probably looked. "But, you know, have at it."

"But WHY, Orion?!" The blue Delphox scoffed at his brother's distress, the tears leaking from the other's face only serving to fuel Orion's vindication. Good. Let him cry. "WHY do you hate me? WHY don't you want to see me again? I don't understand what I did wrong, and you won't even tell me!"

His snarl stayed in place as he eyed his distraught brother down. He didn't want to go into Shaun's abuse in front of these strangers and definitely nit to Sirius himself. That chapter of his life wasn't meant to be broadcast. Thankfully, the new people he'd found jumped in readily to his defense and Orion found himself inching more and more behind them as they spoke. "W-why- why are- wh-" When her human couldn't continue, the Lucario picks up the question for him.

"Why are you bothering him? If he said he wants you to leave him alone, he wants you to leave him alone. He can't get much clearer than 'leave me alone.'" Orion allows himself a smug smirk as she tells Sirius off, not in the least bit guilty at pitting these people against him. "I'd advise you listen to him. You're certainly not earning his favor by chasing him, so frankly, pursuing him is a moot point anyway if you want him to care about you at all."

"OK, firstly, who the fuck are you?" Sirius snapped, jabbing a finger accusingly in the Lucario's direction. Orion's smirk disappeared as his glare returned. "And second, what has any of this got to do with you?! This guy is my brother and you're telling what I should and shouldn't be doing with him?! Shut the hell up. Why don't you go and baby your human for a few minutes and let me just speak to him."

"Except you're conveniently forgetting that I don't want to talk to you, dick bags," he snarled back from behind the strangers, but his quip apparently went unheard by his brother. Typical. He could whisper to try and keep Sirius from hearing and Sirius would fucking hear, but he says something loud and clear that he wants the asshole to hear and he fucking doesn't. Fucking typical.

"Orion," Sirius began in that irritating "I'm-the-calm-adult-in-this-conversation-listen-to-me" voice. Orion's hackles flared back up at his name, seething at his brother's hubris. When was that asshole going to get the fucking picture?! "Please, just tell me ... why do you hate me? What did I do wrong? Because whatever it was, I'm sorry, and I promise I'll do whatever I can to fix it."

"Can we PLEASE focus on the real problem here?" Orion turned to see the pissy little Lopunny from earlier, but not the horse or that infuriating Scizor with her weird lizard dad. He scoffed at the rabbit, clearly not impressed with whatever he was trying to convey, even though it was completely logical. Not that Orion and logic had ever really gotten along. "I mean, seriously? I think we have bigger things to deal with than who is bothering who- like how we're kind of trapped in this shitty place? Maybe you lot might find something charming about the whole 'falling apart while we stand and chat' shtick, but I didn't wake up this morning intending to get eaten by a walking hunk of rotting flesh or crushed under a ton of stinking rocks, thanks for asking." Orion scoffed again at his display of intimidation and bared his much larger, much more intimidating teeth right back at him. "But, you know, have at it."

"You know what, Brother Dear, your fluffy plush doll's got a fucking point," he snapped, keeping himself behind his saviors. "Why don't you leave? We'll all leave-- you go one way and I go the fucking opposite. That sounds like a great plan; let's do that! Maybe while you're busy fucking off, you can find someone else to stalk."

Mariel didn't expect her stern words to go over well.  They didn't.

"OK, firstly, who the fuck are you?" The Delphox pointed a finger at her and Calem, Mariel's glare deepening and Calem flinching. "And second, what has any of this got to do with you?! This guy is my brother and you're telling what I should and shouldn't be doing with him?! Shut the hell up. Why don't you go and baby your human for a few minutes and let me just speak to him."

Calem shrank further against her and she was about to retort, but Orion beat her t it.

"Except you're conveniently forgetting that I don't want to talk to you, dick bags."

Mariel chuckleed a bit. Well put.

"Orion," the fox begins; sounds upset, but crocodile tears are a thing. Calem suppresses a shudder at the number of times he's witnessed them from fans trying to guilt him into various things he definitely didn't want to do. "Please, just tell me ... why do you hate me? What did I do wrong? Because whatever it was, I'm sorry, and I promise I'll do whatever I can to fix it."

"Can we PLEASE focus on the real problem here?" The rabbit caught their attention now, Calem biting his lip. "I mean, seriously? I think we have bigger things to deal with than who is bothering who- like how we're kind of trapped in this shitty place? Maybe you lot might find something charming about the whole 'falling apart while we stand and chat' shtick, but I didn't wake up this morning intending to get eaten by a walking hunk of rotting flesh or crushed under a ton of stinking rocks, thanks for asking."

Mariel placed her hands on her hips and Calem winced further. Well. She wasn't pleased by being spoken to in that way. But she also wasn't arguing. She must have seen the logic there.

"But, you know, have at it."

Her teeth bared slightly. Really didn't like being spoken to that way.

"You know what, Brother Dear, your fluffy plush doll's got a fucking point," Orion added, and Mariel raised an eyebrow-- insulting the Lopunny felt a little excessive even if he was being a bit of a dick. "Why don't you leave? We'll all leave-- you go one way and I go the fucking opposite. That sounds like a great plan; let's do that! Maybe while you're busy fucking off, you can find someone else to stalk."

Calem cleared his throat and straightens, managing a glare at Sirius. "Look. I... I don't care if he's your brother. 'He's my brother, butt out' isn't a defense. He said to go away. So go away. He and Mariel and I will go one way and you and the Lopunny can go the other way. Problem solved; it's super simple." He looked over his shoulder at Orion. "Unless you'd rather not come with us? It's true you stand a better chance of getting out of here if you're not alone a-and we won't bother you..."