(ELITE) The MAHOGANY Team

Max didn't notice the blue haired boy's pause, and the younger redhead was quick to pick up the slack. "He's Saturn, and I'm Mars." Hmmm. The odd names tickled at a memory... However, the thoughts strayed too closely to her mother and Sara-Anne for her liking at the moment, so she tabled the issue for later. Maybe they were just named after the planets. It certainly wouldn't be the weirdest thing she had encountered.

Saturn let out a breath and agreed with his friend, "Y-yeah." He then asked, "What about yours?" Huh, didn't Ariana flaunt her name last night? Then again, she never claimed it, so maybe he was just double checking. Or just allowing her to properly introduce herself.

"Maximum Snow. Just call me Max," she answered. It had been a long time since she had used her real name, so her response was smooth. She started rubbing her Ponyta behind the ears for comfort as she added, "This is Misty." Misty leaned further into the touch, and clung to the moment of calm.

Any semblance of normalcy was ended with Ariana's voice whipping through the hall, "That's enough chit-chat." She placed her hands on her hips and ordered, "Back to work. Now." Without any complaint, she handed her bag to Saturn, and automatically started digging again. The burning in her back started up with the movement, and she could only hope that the pain meds would kick in soon.

For the short time that follows after giving Max some much needed space, the atmosphere shifts from tense and claustrophobic to merely uneasy. Ariana's presence is impossible to escape, but at least she's not speaking or choosing to torture another person. For now, anyways. People like her can't go long without inflicting some sort of pain, whether it's physical or mental, and that renders the idea of relaxation little more than a fleeting dream. It's simply another reason why hostage labor is an awful idea. Holding threats over people's heads means they can never truly rest their bodies or minds, leaving the muscles and mind alike feeling tense, and when that tension is put to work again...

Well, it's all a question of what will snap first: their bodies, or their reluctant obedience. One glance at Fenix makes Daisy doubt the validity of the former occurring first. How long would they have to wait before their chance to break free of their invisible shackles arrives? It would be difficult to keep everyone in line with only Ariana's flimsy promises of letting them go and the concept of escape. Somebody would have to make the first move, and with the lives of both human and Pokemon at stake, that's a lot easier said than done. An image of last night's nightmare flashes in her mind's eye.

All this worrying over hypotheticals can't be healthy for her body or mind, but in this situation, what else can Daisy do?

"That's enough chit-chat." Ariana's voice fills the room, immediately chasing away whatever sense of normalcy still remaining. "Back to work. Now."

With no other choice but to comply, Daisy sets back to work with the rest of them. Legends above, she can only hope that the meager help she was able to provide Max would be enough to carry the girl through this mess. As for the others...well, there's nothing she can do now.

"Maximum Snow. Just call me Max," she answered. Huh. That was an odd name. Though it's not as if I have much room to talk.

"This is Misty." she added, and Saturn felt a twinge of pity for how the little pony leaned into her human's hand. It was hard to judge how old she was, but she sounded younger than her human-- who looked fairly young, herself. This must be very hard on them both. Must have been hard enough even before Ariana's power trip.

He struggled not to shudder at the memory. How could something that happened yesterday feel so far away? And however I feel about it, Misty must feel a thousand times worse. Max, a million times.

"That's enough chit-chat." Mars could see Saturn's heart stop, the turn of his head more panicky than her own as they both looked towards their captor. She stood by, unimpressed, clearly, with her captives. The woman looked at them as if they were personally wasting her time, hands on her hips. God, she looks like one of those unbearable soccer moms. 'Let me see your manager weeeeehhhhhh.' Christ. Except she was a lot more demonic than an entitled suburban white mom and far more dangerous. Combined with her obnoxiousness, Mars itched for an opportunity to punch her. She wouldn't even need pokemon to beat her. I will take you on with my bare hands and I wouldn't lose; the sheer strength of my rage would propel me through.

"Back to work. Now."

Max handed her bag to Saturn, who took it with a little nod. The two sharing a look, they returned to digging, relieved that at least they were able to dig next to each other, this time.

(I changed my mind here's a proper post. WHY COULDN'T THIS HAVE COME TO ME SO EASILY MONTHS AGO.)

Once Ariana had snapped her fingers for her little digging elves to begin work anew, silence -aside from the sounds of digging, of course- fell upon the group. Archer slowly paced from end to end of the line of diggers, watching them carefully for any sign of either mutiny, injury, or whatever else might cause them all trouble. His pokemon followed his example by standing firm in their watch, while Ariana was... mostly the opposite.

As was the norm for traveling with her, Ariana liked to hear herself talk. It didn't matter that Archer wasn't truly listening, but he guessed that it was that he was more or less forced to listen one way or another. And now, she had so many more victims to impose herself upon, he really should have seen this coming. After all, she truly did relish soaking up their discomfort, their hate, their fear and every other negative emotion like she was some sort of diseased sponge.

It was times like this when he really could never understand why Don had been so smitten with her, so hopelessly and deeply in love with her. Had she subjected him to these rants, or were their times together spent exclusively rutting like horny teens? He couldn't imagine Don bearing through an hour long rant about how she would slit someone's throat for a pedicure. However, the image of that very situation did ease some of Archer's burden as he slowly paced behind the prisoners.

The topic of today was how she missed the old world's commodities, mourning the fact that she'd run out of decent shampoo months ago and how any new bottle she'd found was either empty or bad. It was a topic she liked to rehash in various forms, be it food, indoor plumbing, washing clothes, etc. The last always rubbed Archer the wrong way, since of course she forced him to do anything that marginally resembled a chore. Why would the Queen get her own hands dirty when she could just have her servant do it?

But of course, the point of this wasn't her own hypocrisy. The point was that she liked to fill the silence in the air with her own voice, and by God, that was what she was going to do. Archer could tell by the gradually changing light that she was bound and determined to keep flapping her disgusting lips for as long as her lungs and throat would allow, and were he a religious man, he would have prayed for some miracle to shut her up, or for him to suddenly go deaf. Something to stop this fucking nightmare.

A new sound caught his attention beneath the constant of Ariana's voice, one that instantly lifted his mood: falling rocks echoing. Dust pooled upward from Fenix's spot, and he quickly stood behind her while the rest of his pokemon were vigilant in watching the others. "Are you through?" he asked softly of the blonde, to which of course Ariana had to answer first.

"Fucking finally!" she snapped as she rose from her spot, brushing herself off a bit. "It's about fucking time, God."

Flynn had been relieved Fenix took his words to heart and had simply gotten back to work. While the blonde was typically an overzealous hot head even she had to acknowledge that down here, with other hostages, there was little hope of success even if she did kill Ariana. With all that anger she was able to work harder, longer than the others as she took out her rage on the obstruction blocking their path. It wasn't what any of them wanted but it would keep them alive. For now.

Fenix herself maintained her rage almost to the point of being machine, meticulously striking the same spot with the same force over and over for what felt like ages. How did she achieve this? Ariana's stupid fucking voice. With every word, every pathetic entitled bitching that came out of her face, Fenix imagined that flapping jaw beneath her weapon and it paved the way for success. With one last powerful swing a cascade of dust and small debris rained on her, causing the blonde to choke and back away as a hole began to from in front of her. Not exactly a subtle success.

"Are you through?" Archer questioned flatly, as though it weren't fucking obvious. Though to be fair there was a big cloud of dust so he probably couldn't tell if it was a hole or a new layer of cave in. Coughing and slapping her chest Fenix nodded, Flynn moving to her side to make sure she wasn't damaged by the slide. "Yeah... Yeah I'm through. Gotta widen it a bit but we'll be able to move on soon."

"Fucking finally! It's about fucking time, God." 'Oh fuck you,' Fenix thought bitterly. It wasn't like she fucking helped at all, just paced around bitching about her hair or whatever other bullshit fell out of her head. And one of the kids was hurt so fucking yeah, it took a god damn while to get through her stupid wall. Especially when they could have found another way in the same amount of time. Bitch.

To say Ariana's voice was starting to piss her off would be a vast understatement. For fuck's sake, that bitch wouldn't shut the everloving fuck up. If this entire situation was different and it was a different person, sure, Max could have commiserated. Life without consistent electricity and other modern conveniences did kinda suck. But hearing about how this petty, self-entitled jackass wanted to get a pedicure made Max wish that the asshole would never get the comforts of society again. Even if that meant Max never got them either.

In order to keep herself from saying something she really shouldn't, Max had to completely tune her out, and between the numbness of the pain medicine and finding the most annoyingly catchy song she could think of to make the rounds in her head, she somewhat succeeded. Focusing on trying to get through the godforsaken goddamned wall also helped. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to dig as well as the others, but stopping for rest was obviously not an option.

It was a fucking godsend when rocks and dust fell around Fenix, even though that caused Lynn to cough from the shit that was floating in the air. I swear to god, they better not have skimped out on building materials and made this with asbestos. In order to mitigate the worst of it, she pulled her hoodie up to cover her mouth. She got the vague impression that without the medicine from earlier, each cough would have been accompanied by much worse pain than what she already felt.

She finally tuned back into Ariana's fucking voice just in time to hear the fucking bitch crow, "Fucking finally! It's about fucking time, God." Like the lazy bastard lady had actually invested actual effort and energy into getting through her supposed fucking shortcut. In order to hide the fact that she really wanted to roll her eyes, she rubbed at her eyes as if trying to clean out the dust.

It was bad enough that Daisy and the others were forced to work for a woman who took advantage of everyone around her in so many horrific ways. What made it all so much worse was that they were not even granted merciful silence as they dug through the wall blocking their path; Ariana decided she would rather speak. Loudly. And not just speak, but complain. She could not stop talking about all the old conveniences she would quite literally kill for, ranging from electricity to shampoo to pedicures.

It would have been understandable had it been anyone else here saying it. There was an inescapable, bitter irony in someone like her-abuser, torturer, rapist-crying about lacking long-gone comforts and luxuries. Did she really think she deserved any of it? Maybe Ariana found it funny, talking about the finer things in life while forcing others to do exhausting manual labor for her. Daisy could have laughed in her face, or maybe spit on it, if doing so wouldn’t have been the death of her. If she could have her way, she would gladly make sure the other woman’s life was never easy again. It would be a fitting punishment for someone who seemed to delight in making others’ lives hell.

But none of them have any power in their situation, so her only option was to focus on the task she’d been ordered to do. The monotony of digging was a small comfort, taking some of her focus off of Ariana’s rambling, but it was impossible to truly block out the other woman. At this point, it surprised Daisy that she wasn’t adding ‘sore throat’ onto her list of complaints. How could anyone love the sound of their own voice this much? One would think Ariana would tire of talking at some point, but apparently her love of tormenting other people outweighed whatever physical discomfort this nonsense brought her.

Eventually, however, dust and debris rained around where Fenix had been digging, a success that could have lifted Daisy’s spirits had it not been accompanied by the harsh coughing of her companions. This entire ‘journey’ of theirs has involved kicking up the dust of this abandoned hideout, and now this happens. She loathes to think of what this repeated exposure could result in, especially when she’s so short on supplies and lacking many necessary tools. Not that their captor cares, Daisy is sure. Their bodies and health were tools at her disposal, why should she bother thinking about any damage done to her hostages?

The best she can hope for is that they won’t have to force their way through any more collapsed parts of this hideout, as slim as that possibility might be. It’s not only because of the dust, either. Fallen debris could easily injure or kill, and who knows when another collapse might bring the entire ceiling down on them...

"Fucking finally! It's about fucking time, God."  Gods, Daisy wished she could actually say something back to that instead of keeping her mouth shut like a good little prisoner. Those are choice words coming from someone who had not only done absolutely nothing to help, but also put an injured person to work. Really, what had she expected other than slow, tedious labor?

(sorry about the broken image, I can’t seem to find a link to the reuploaded version I was given ^^; I’ll work on fixing that)

Thankfully, since Ariana had all but snapped at them to get back to work, there was an excellent excuse for the two of them to just turn around and start digging where they had been sitting, both friends pulling some relief from the fact that this time they were side by side.

Even so, that could only get them so far. Saturn was tired, his weakened body not yet at a point where he was able to put so much exhertion into something without getting exhausted. The soreness from yesterday's digging wasn't helping. Mars dug beside him, feeling her heart slowly begin to sink as his movements grew slower and slower, though he clawed at the debris with the dull-eyed determination of someone who had switched their brain off and let autopilot take over for the sake of doing what had to be done.

It made her smile, just a tiny bit. A few weeks ago he may not have been strong enough to do this at all, giving up and letting Ariana simply take his life, maybe accepting karma had decided he wasn't to complete his mission and deciding not to fight it. But here he was, still going.

Even in the face of Ariana's bitching. The monotomy of digging was bad enough; listening to Woman Bitching In Minor Key Because Whiny Voice made for probably the worst soundtrack she'd ever heard. She was almost tempted to ask if anyone had a music player of any kind and if Ariana would be willing to let them listen to some goddamn tunes to drown out her obnoxious Soccor Mom whining. I swear to god I was joking about the 'can I see your manager' bullshit would you just cAN IT ALREADY!

Whenever Ariana got particlarly loud she would cut through the haze of nothingness Saturn had settled into to focus on trying to stay alive. Mars could tell, because he would scowl. Which was a good sign in judging his mental health because hey! Anger! Irritation! Not-listlessness! That's right Kitten; use all your smart guy words to lambast her to hell and back and share them with me later, maybe.

Personally, she hoped Ariana never got even the smallest taste of civilization again but that everyone else present did because fuck you, fuck you to the center of the planet.

Several times she and Saturn glanced at one another while digging and shared an eyeroll or a stare that lasted a beat or two.

The glances made Saturn's chest feel tight. He wasn't sure why. Probably the reminder that this was their life right now. How had this gone so wrong in the matter of twenty four hours? He turned over and over in his mind what they could have done differently, but as loathe as he was to admit it, nothing they did was particularly dumb. They were just in the wrong place at the worst time.

He only hoped she at least lived to get out of it. With every hour his body felt heavier. Had it been hours? There wasn't even any way to tell that much.

He did know one thing though: being too slow or unable to work would probably spell his doom. As much as he would deserve getting shot in the face, he knew his death would hurt his best friend. His only friend. And he knew that she would carry on his mission for his sake, but he'd rather her not have to. That should be his own burden, not hers.

She may have done some bad things, but she wasn't responsible for allowing the explosion of a lake. And although she still expressed the wish that they had succeeded... Cyrus was dead. She might not understand that she'd been had by him, but he wasn't alive to take advantage of that.

He wanted to be there when she understood. He wanted to be there when she came to realize that Cyrus's vision of a re-made world did not include free will, did not include things like joy and sorrow and triumph.

He wanted to be there when she decided that she would try to make the world she envisioned, by herself. She was too strong for the realization of Cyrus's falsehood to destroy her; she would take his deception and throw it back in his face by trying to fix the problems herself. And since she was less tainted than he was, she'd be perfect. He had no doubt she could make a piece of this world her own and make a difference, even in its state.

He only hoped he'd live to see it. And help. And he would never get to live to see it if he failed now and was murdered by Ariana.

As he contemplated what he might be able to do help her with her efforts (I should be able to rig up some kind of AI to help her, right? If nothing else I'm very organized; I could help with ensuring she has everything she needs, that everything is written down and kept save and neat, and I could help split up tasks to those in charge below us, and help her pick out who would be best suited to each task- oh god shut up Ariana I am trying to concentrate!) the sound of rubble falling made him jump. Both his head and Mars's whipped over to watch as a cloud of dust rose up from around Fenix, Saturn sighing softly as realization of what that meant hit him. At last he was able to let go of the rocks he was trying to dig out and rub his aching hands. One was bleeding. Looks like he tore part of a fingernail off.

He ignored it.

"Fucking finally!" Ariana snapped. Mars and Saturn didn't look at her, but they glanced at each other and rolled their eyes again. "It's about fucking time, God."

Please be quiet for five minutes. Just five. Please. It's not like you helped!

I hope you choke on this dust.

Ariana, ever the impatient bitch, snapped her fingers. Don't just fuckin' stand there with your jaw catching flies, Princess!" Archer closed his eyes against the assault on his ears as she berated Fenix. "Get the fuck in there and see what's on the other side!"

God, how sweet it would be to have that shrieking constant suddenly just... stop. Cease. How wonderful and peaceful silence wSee ifould bring. At first, he'd just been impressed she could keep talking and moaning like that without getting hoarse or thirsty. But no. Like the dogs that never stop barking, it was simply because her voice was used to constantly being used.

Which meant that as long as she breathed, she would never, ever, stop talking.

"Tyranny," Archer calmly commanded. "Go scout with Fenix. See if the floor traps are still in place." The Persian nodded, then slinked to the newly made hole, pausing by the blonde hostage.

"Half a wall between us and that Exploud is better than no wall at all," Tyranny muttered to Fenix as she slipped through first, then waited on the other side for the human to emerge. Her eyes allowed her to see fairly well, even in the intense dark.

She knew immediately where she was, despite not having stepped foot there in years. Not far down the hall, there were a pair of broken Persian statues. Good ol' nostalgia. The old hideout was obviously worn down and derelict, but even with the loud noise from the wall partially collapsing, there were no sounds of approaching enemies. Just... silence. The occasional dripping water. It was promising that nothing was trying to kill them... perhaps they really were alone here.

Once Fenix was through, Tyranny nodded to the statues. "We're going that way. At the end of the hall on the left, there'll be a big open space... hopefully. Watch the floor tiles."

Archer sighed as the girls disappeared from sight. It was imperative that Fenix and the others trusted him, and by extension his pokemon, if they were going to do this right. Still, he knew what could lay ahead. He didn't like the idea of leaving Tyranny all to her own.

Well... it was out of his hands. He had a job to do.

"Everyone, while we wait, go ahead and rest. Treason, help distribute water." The Mienshao happily nodded, then went about helping the hostages to their seats and finding water for them. It would have been cute if they weren't being held and worked against their will.

Don't just fuckin' stand there with your jaw catching flies, Princess!"

The actual fuck? Fenix turned around to witness Ariana flailing her arms about like she was shooing a stray dog away from her and frowned. "If there are any flies around here it is only because your shitty attitude drew them in," she muttered angrily. "Get the fuck in there and see what's on the other side!" Rolling her eyes Fenix waved her off and turned around to check the hole's size to see if she could even fit through there. She was pretty limber so it seemed like a safe bet she could fit through but she didn't want the others crawling through until it was wider. Especially the one with the lashes... No way that kid would make it through without making those injuries worse.

"Tyranny," Archer commanded from behind her. "Go scout with Fenix. See if the floor traps are still in place." Knowing she would just get lip if she didn't follow orders like the Persian Fenix waited patiently for the feline to join her, letting her through first since she would probably be told to anyway. If she were alone on the other side she could easily ambush the Persian, and while Ariana would probably be stupid enough to let her Archer wasn't. And this was Archer's pokemon. She wanted that man on her side, not Ariana's, so the best way to do that was to play nice with his team.

"Half a wall between us and that Exploud is better than no wall at all," Tyranny muttered as she slipped by, Fenix chuckling before following. She liked this cat. Flynn nervously paced behind the pair until they were both through and peeked his head through the hole to make sure they were both okay. Tyranny was charming but Fenix was his friend, he didn't want either of them hurt. Especially after Archer specifically mentioned 'floor traps'. "Take care of her," he called out to Tyranny. "Please..."

Fenix turned back and gave Flynn a little wave before marching off with the Persian, glad her friend wanted to make sure they were safe. It wasn't going to be a picnic based on all of the structural issues they had already encountered but maybe they would get lucky. "We're going that way. At the end of the hall on the left, there'll be a big open space... hopefully. Watch the floor tiles."

"Sure thing kitty cat," Fenix replied with a grin, keeping her steps light in case anything had a pressure switch. Her grandfather designed nearly every old trap system Rocket used to use so she was aware of his unique...style, when it came to traps. These floor traps were obviously going to be some kind of trigger or pressure sensor that would set off some kind of failsafe or alarm. The only question was what kind of trap and if they were still active.

Once they reached the statues Tyranny pointed out Fenix stopped cold, her eyes picking out a misshapen tile that had a series of scorch marks around the edge. That plate had once covered a wired trap, a sensor of some kind. "Hang on Claws, something....something isn't right here. That scorch mark isn't that old. There isn't much dust settled in that area so it blew in the last few months or so. But this place has been sealed way longer than that... I don't like it." What the hell could have caused that?

They barely had a moment to process getting through the damn wall before Ariana snapped at Fenix, "Don't just fuckin' stand there with your jaw catching flies, Princess! Get the fuck in there and see what's on the other side!" The tone made Max grit her teeth in irritation, but what else was new? Of course Ariana was going to continue bossing them around like a bitchy manager. No, manager was probably too nice a word for what Max felt at the moment. Dictator? She certainly fancied herself the master of this group. Unfortunately, she was exactly that thanks to whatever hold she had on her companion. Lackey. Slave. The reminder of the man's situation didn't help Max's mood either. They were all stuck with this dumbass who only wanted to ride the power trip, and she was taking everything she could. Everything.

Archer ordered his Persian, "Tyranny, go scout with Fenix. See if the floor traps are still in place." After Fenix and Tyranny had slipped through the hole, he then directed his attention to the rest of them. In another moment of consideration, he then said, "Everyone, while we wait, go ahead and rest. Treason, help distribute water." While it was probably more a matter of practicality than caring about them specifically, Max and Misty could appreciate the gesture.

Max attempted to stretch, but the pain in her back very vividly reminded her why that was a terrible idea. Her whole body twitched at the reminder, and she barely contained the hiss of pain. Attempting to keep attention away from her, she walked away from the hole to sit down. It was such a load off her feet and her arms that she didn't pay the stinging much mind. She needed to take the break for her own safety and sanity. She couldn't afford to let Ariana wear her out too early into this venture. If she was this awful while they were still relatively useful to her, then it did not bode well how she would treat them when or if they became useless. Even if it was her own damn fault if they had been driven to that.

Misty joined her side, but the pony was not going to lay down in this situation. It was too dangerous, and she was far too antsy to get into the vulnerable position. "How are you holding up?" She was clearly worried, and the nervous question was whispered.

Max's response was a to sigh deeply before quietly answering, "... Managing." No point in worrying the already fearful Ponyta more than she needed to be. It wasn't like they could do much in this situation other than keep moving forward. The other options... weren't really options. Dead or dying was not how they wanted to end this venture. When the Mienshao approached them with water, Max managed a faint smile. "Thanks, man."

"Don't just fuckin' stand there with your jaw catching flies, Princess! Get the fuck in there and see what's on the other side!"

After all the complaining Ariana subjected them to during their time spent digging, the last thing Daisy wanted to hear was her voice snapping at them. She never seemed to tire of talking, ordering them around, making demands-and while that wasn't surprising for someone as controlling as her, it was getting on Daisy's already frayed nerves. If only she could get the Rocket to be quiet for more than a few seconds. Maybe then she wouldn't want so strongly to say something back, call Ariana out for expecting Fenix to act instantaneously after putting her through harsh work... not that it would do any good. It would probably, no definitely, only lead to another person being tortured, or even killed, all so their captor could assert her power.

Only being able to help for now by not acting, well, the irony of that isn't lost on her.

"Tyranny, go scout with Fenix. See if the floor traps are still in place."

As Fenix and the Persian departed, the rest of them were the next to be addressed.

"Everyone, while we wait, go ahead and rest. Treason, help distribute water."

Gods, rest sounded like such a relief right now, especially with how her limbs and back ache from the digging they'd done. She knew they were only being given this opportunity because exhausted and dehydrated people make for useless hostages (and useless hostages are dead hostages), but still, Daisy could appreciate the chance to sit down and let her body relax. Even if the break doesn't last long, at least it's better than nothing at all.  

When Treason brings her water, she gives a polite 'thank you' in return even though seeing them makes her heart feel heavy. It's not because of the Mienshao in particular, really, but Daisy would give anything to be able to have her own Pokemon out and free from the threat of them being shot for the act. Just having even one of them at her side would be enough. It would help her feel a little less hopeless, less alone, in this dire situation.

Saturn's wince and Mars's grimace deepened as Ariana shouted more orders. Neither of them dared move, although Saturn began picking at a loose thread in his sweater, unable to help but worry a bit for Fenix as she disappeared through the hole. Even with the Persian following after, it unnerved him to know someone unarmed was heading into potential danger.

Logically, he knew why Ariana had ordered it. She wasn't about to give anyone a weapon. But still.

At least there was quiet on the other side of the wall. As tough as she was, Fenix would probably make some noise if something had lunged out of the darkness at them.

"Everyone, while we wait, go ahead and rest," Archer decided. Saturn's eyes snapped to Ariana, but there didn't seem to be any objection. "Treason, help distribute water."

Despite the name (Treason? Really? That is the EDGIEST thing I've heard in awhile. Why is every one of his pokemon named like a thirteen year old boy- right, he probably WAS thirteen.) the pokemon looked to be an unusually bubbly one, happily moving to help everyone to sit down. Mars actually found herself smiling at the cat whose species she couldn't name, even if it was more of a little smirk. "Thanks," she said, just barely stopping herself from cooing. Beside her, Saturn grinned knowingly, and she elbowed him as lightly as she could in the ribs just before they sat down, snorting as he pretended to complain.

"No fair, Mars," he groaned, voice low to attempt to avoid attracting attention. "I didn't even say anything!"

"You were thinking it, Kitten," she shot back, and he poked her. It raised her spirits just a bit to see that even in this vile situation, a stupid joke could crack a smile out of him.

He looked over to Max, sitting with her pony, and quickly shed her bag, holding it up and giving it a nod as he tried to straighten his own bag, which hung precariously off his other shoulder. Want this back for now?

As he tried to straighten his bag with his other hand, Mars stiffened, sat up straight, and suddenly grabbed it, Saturn's attention quickly redirected to her. He flinched, guilty, as he found her staring at his bleeding finger and grimaced as both of their eyes lifted from his injury to meet each other's gaze.

"We have some bandages," she reminded him, fixing him with A Look. He shrugged, glancing back over to Max before answering her.

"And we should save those... just in case. This isn't a major injury and who knows what might happen down here."

"Sure thing kitty cat," the blonde casually replied, and Tyranny was grateful for the casual air between them. Without that screeching, wailing harpy at everyone's throats, they could actually enjoy the silence. Even if that silence could have been filled with enemies just waiting to pounce.

They drew closer to the hallway both Rockets had worried over, but the blonde stopped her shortly before getting there. "Hang on Claws, something....something isn't right here. That scorch mark isn't that old. There isn't much dust settled in that area so it blew in the last few months or so. But this place has been sealed way longer than that... I don't like it."

Tyranny wasn't at all sure that she could fully trust this woman, but she took the chance in looking to the spot she'd pointed out. True enough, what Tyranny had dismissed as normal wear and tear for an underground hideout collapsing in on itself, was a scorchmark. Newish. Her ears and whiskers twitched and a weight began to settle in her stomach. Uh oh... This... This was probably a bad sign.

Swallowing, she backed away a little from the scorch mark and looked around, her voice a hushed whisper. "Sooo... little history about this place," she began as she slowly slinked to the opposite side of the wall, but still carefully making progress down the hall. "The... floor traps you and I are going to go look at... They uh... Well, they used to have... explosives rigged to them. More... specifically... pokemon explosives. Voltorb, Geodude, that... sort of thing. So... uh... that... might be from..." God, she couldn't even bring herself to say it.

---

Treason really didn't mind being the waterboy in this phase of the plan. Really, it was nice doing something that didn't involve standing around, staring into the inky dark or standing around, looking intimidating. There were makeshift cups in his trainer's bag, as well as some water, and with no other suggested alternatives, that's what the Mienshao used. He tried not to give that cranky, domineering bitch of a Vileplume a shit-eating grin as he took from Ariana's canister for a few of the servings, once Archer's ran low. Damn the temptation was there, though. Bitch.

Even though Treason would never consider himself a philanthropist -who could, when they worked so diligently for Team Rocket?- he enjoyed distributing the small comfort to their hostages. They were all just kids, really, though there were the two women who were far more mature. Still. If it had been old times, they probably never would have bothered these people. Just random, poor, normal folk. These kinds of people were targets for the lower grunts who didn't know what the fuck subtlety was. Not for his trainer, or even for the harpy that controlled him like a goddamn puppet, hand up the ass and all.

So when he came to the poor bastard that Ariana had senselessly tortured, he made sure it'd been from Ariana's stash. She wouldn't know, but he would, and that was enough. "Thanks, man," she managed to say, which, stunned Treason a bit. She was thanking him, despite everything. It... stung. Damn. Yeah. These kids were too good to be here... What a shame.

He offered a little smile of his own, one that was far more empathetic than he'd anticipated. "No problem, kid. Just... I'm rootin' for you, yeah?" he added in a softer voice, then quickly left the hostage to her horse and water to keep passing them out. One way or another, he'd get everyone out of this fucking shit heap, and they could all do a fancy jig on Ariana's corpse. Yeah. That was a fantastic plan.

Ariana, on the other hand, watched the entire display that the little Mini Her and that shitty skinny twink with a distasteful glare. She was treating that little fuck like he was her equal again and it was sickening. No offspring of hers was going to demean herself with co-ed friendship. Fuck that. But something was keeping her from interfering. Morbid curiosity, perhaps? Or maybe this was an elaborate manipulation, like she'd done to countless men over the years. Hmm. That might really be it. If it was, after this was over, she'd have to congratulate the girl on her top-notch performance.

Or, if it wasn't, she'd just have to kill the shit-eating, blue-haired verruca. Then everything would be fine. None of her kids would be tainted with something as ridiculous as the power of friendship. Imagine Silver with a friend like that. What a fucking laugh.

Immediately impatient, she sauntered her way to Archer, nudging his shoulder with her own before lamenting. "And how long are we going to trust that cat of yours with Mrs. Volcano? Leaving them alone together out of our sight is just going to get your precious pussy killed."

Painfully aware that Ariana was likely only asking just so she could say "pussy" in casual conversation, Archer sighed and kept his eyes forward, on the hostages. Where they belonged. "...They haven't been gone more than five minutes. We asked of them a complicated task. Unfortunately, some waiting will be involved, Ariana."

Fenix watched silently as Tyranny confirmed her suspicion, the feline's fur bristling at the realization. Seems she wasn't happy either. "Sooo... little history about this place," she teased out, pressing herself into the wall as she slipped around a broken statue and continued forward. "The... floor traps you and I are going to go look at... They uh... Well, they used to have... explosives rigged to them. More... specifically... pokemon explosives. Voltorb, Geodude, that... sort of thing. So... uh... that... might be from..."

Great... Fenix nodded and followed suit, keeping herself close to the wall and keeping an eye ahead of Tyranny to watch each of her steps. "Yeah, I'm familiar with the type," she mentioned casually as they moved. "My grandfather pioneered most of these designs which is why I was confident coming down here alone. I wasn't sure what kind of traps would be waiting but I knew they would be of a concept I was familiar with. Using living pokemon in a trap though...and then letting them starve and die alone down here to the epidemic... That's cold even for Rocket. No way grandad came up with that while he was here. The explosive pressure plate or sensor, sure, but not using a Pokemon. Too much collateral damage."

Smiling she put on her best grin and cleared her throat, dropping her voice and adding a bit of gravel to it to try and mimic the man properly. "Traps are art, my dear," she mimicked playfully. "You have to respect your victim as much as your trap. Especially if they find a way out of it."

Max wasn't sure what kind of response she had been expecting from the Mienshao, but an empathetic smile wasn't it. It wasn't like she expected him to be the same vein of cruel as Ariana's Pokemon, but Archer's Pokemon had a mixed bag of personalities, and while Treason had seemed more casual, she knew better than to assume that meant actual friendliness. So the smile and his encouraging words were a bit of a shock. "No problem, kid. Just... I'm rootin' for you, yeah?" The reassurance caused an ache in her chest. They were all in this shit show against their wills, and considering what his own trainer was going through, he felt the need to encourage her still. He left too quickly for her to respond, but her eyes followed him for a few seconds as he continued distributing water.

We have to get out of this. With Archer in tow.

While Misty had also been a little stunned at the quick words, her eyes caught movement that drew her attention back to the present. Saturn was reaching his hand out with Max's bag, and knowing that she would want it, Misty nudged Max with her head and nodded towards him when Max looked at her. She blinked at the bag dumbly for a second since her mind was still stuck on the previous interaction.

When Max's brain snapped out of the earlier derailment, she put two and two together and realized he was offering it back. She reached her hands towards the bag to grab it, and the movement caused her back to remind her why that was stupid. Determined to ride it out, she closed her eyes for a second before recomposing herself and reclaiming her belongings. She plopped the bag down on top of her legs as she attempted to space out for a few blessed moments of quiet. She completely missed the glare that Ariana had directed towards Mars and Saturn as her thoughts drifted off.

Misty didn't. The Ponyta was relieved when she finally turned away to snap at Archer in her impatience to keep moving. That evil woman zeroing in on anyone would only lead to bad things, and Misty did not want to see what else she would do to torture them.

(Please skip me.)

"'Just in case.' Just in case my ass, Saturn," she scolded as Max took her bag from Saturn, his best friend barely keeping her voice down. Wow. A miracle. Mars was a lot of things; 'quiet' was not one of them. Especially not when excited in any way. "What are we waiting for? A giant gash? Someone to get mauled? How about we not get infected by whatever nasty shit is down here and actually use the supplies we saved up."

"You won't let up until I relent, will you?"

"With us having to use our hands? Hell no. Give it here; it'll be faster than you trying to bandage yourself with one hand."

Sighing, he dug through her bag, nosing past her things, until he found the first aid kit and handed it off to her, holding out his finger right afterwards. 'Delicate' Mars was also not, but thankfully, as Saturn had accessed, it wasn't a bad wound. Mars cleaned it out (he hissed in pain; wow that hurt; how did it hurt that much; it was such a small wound compared to what it could have been) and had it bandaged in less than three minutes.

"Right at the bendy bit too, yikes," she winced in sympathy. "That's gonna suck. At least now you won't be rubbing dirt in it like an idiot."

"All right, all right, god. Your point stands. Yeah, that'd be pretty bad." He stashed the stuff away. "It's too bad we don't have gloves..."

"As soon as we get out of here, we're definitely gonna be looking for some," Mars swore. "Like, I doubt we're gonna end up a crazy woman's hostage again but who knows; if we ever get caved in and have to dig, gloves would be-"

She paused, then beamed.

"Pretty handy."

He stared at her as he zipped her bag up, shoving it into her chest. "... I'm disowning you."

"Yeah, I'm familiar with the type," was Blondie's reply as they carefully moved forward. "My grandfather pioneered most of these designs which is why I was confident coming down here alone." Wait, her grandfather? Tyranny perked her ears and paused in her stride to look up in surprise at Blondie. Who the hell was her grandfather?

"I wasn't sure what kind of traps would be waiting but I knew they would be of a concept I was familiar with. Using living pokemon in a trap though...and then letting them starve and die alone down here to the epidemic... That's cold even for Rocket. No way grandad came up with that while he was here. The explosive pressure plate or sensor, sure, but not using a Pokemon. Too much collateral damage."

Blondie continued her spiel, with Tyranny still recovering from the shock of Blondie's casual revelation. "Traps are art, my dear," she mimicked a man playfully. "You have to respect your victim as much as your trap. Especially if they find a way out of it."

"I mean..." she began haltingly, "your grandpa wasn't wrong, whoever he was. But after the base was exposed by that asshat Lance and that weird drooling weirdo, I'm not sure what kind of maintenance went into this place-- only that it kept it relevant enough to interest the Bitch." She gave Fenix a look. "Your grandpa might have designed the traps, but who the fuck knows what happened after implementation."

Tyranny paused as they finally reached the end of the hall, where the trap corridor waited for them. It was silent, save for the occasional drip of water. The darkness yawned onward, obscuring much of the corridor to even her sharp eyes. This wasn't reassuring. Not enjoying the bowling ball of anxiety sitting pretty in her gut, she gently nosed Fenix forward. "The access panel is underneath the middle floor tile right in front of you," she whispered as quietly as possible, though it felt like she was shouting at the top of her lungs. "I'll keep an eye out for... company."

---

Ariana scowled. She hated this. Archer wasn't being fun, the hostages were acting all light and easygoing. Little shits. It made her uneasy and angry that they, especially her miniature, were just going about their fucking day. What was this? A fucking picnic? Irate at seeing the twinky little shit getting way too close to Mars, Ariana stormed to them and kicked the blue-haired puke as hard as she could muster, laying him flat on the floor. "I thought I mentioned I didn't like seeing you two together," she snarled, her voice nothing but dangerous. "Fuck off, you gay pixie fuck."

Archer stiffened at Ariana's sudden angry outburst, though he kept his ground. Trying to physically intervene was a death wish. "Ariana, we need hi--"

"Do we?!" she snapped back, her eyes wide with rage. "Do we really fucking need this fleshy twig? What is he really offering, other than a constant source of annoyance? I'm sick of looking at his sad, pathetic little orphan commercial face and I'm really ready to put a few dozen bullets through it."

Able to keep his calm, Archer took in a small breath. She was cooped up. Even with her victorious fuck and whipping yesterday, her impatience was something that would not be sated for long. "We need bodies," he stated calmly. "If we start killing off hostages this early in the game, there won't be any left to remove obstacles later on. He needs to stay alive to... be expendable later."

It made sense. She hated that it made sense. She glowered down at the two children, then snatched the boy by his hair and dragged him to the other side of the room. Dropping him unceremoniously onto the ground, she pinned him there with her heeled boot, putting a considerable amount of weight on him to hear his breath begin to struggle. "You go near her again, I'm going to dice up every useless digit and limb off of you, and leave them as a trail for the Undead to find you and use you as the most pathetic banquet the world has ever seen, do you fucking understand me?" she growled. "Stay. Away. From her. She's mine, and I'm not going to let you taint her anymore."

"I mean..." Fenix snickered lightly, amused by the casual air despite their situation, "your grandpa wasn't wrong, whoever he was. But after the base was exposed by that asshat Lance and that weird drooling weirdo, I'm not sure what kind of maintenance went into this place-- only that it kept it relevant enough to interest the Bitch." Tyranny gave her a side look that spoke far more in volume than words ever could. "Your grandpa might have designed the traps, but who the fuck knows what happened after implementation."

"...Yeah..." No kidding.

They continued down the hall with little more incident, or conversation, and once they finally reached the end Tyranny stopped. Fenix's eyes were no match for the feline with her but it seemed even Tyranny was having issues peering into the darkness if the way she was squinting had anything to say about it. Great. Looks like they did this the slow, hard way. One panel at a time and trust the ambient light from their flashlight would serve.

"The access panel is underneath the middle floor tile right in front of you," Tyranny whispered, though speaking in such choking silence seemed to amplify her voice that much more. It was like a grave down here, oppressive and quiet as though the very air robbed you of the will to utter a single noise. Creep factor off the scale. "I'll keep an eye out for... company." Fenix nodded, unwilling to break the silence a second time while every hair on the back of her neck began to stand on end. Something was in there...Something dangerous...And she didn't want to set anything off and meet it face to face.

Moving the indicated panel Fenix pulled out a small pouch that had been strapped to her leg, grateful Archer had let her keep some of her things, otherwise this was going to be incredibly dangerous. The tiny tool kit was a far cry from being suited to this kind of work but it would have to do. As long as she didn't fuck up, that is. Prying up the panel Fenix found a series of pressure mechanisms that led to the immediate surrounding tiles. Fuck, that meant there would be a series of these same tiles scattered in random places, each one capable of triggering a release like this one on a nearby plate if not being the plate itself. "Fucking over-complicated...stupid..."

Grumbling as she worked helped to ease her quickly wearing nerves but at least she kept her voice so low it was more of a rumble in her chest than actual words. No point attracting attention.

---

Flynn had been sitting quietly by himself within sight of the hole Fenix had crawled through to await her return when Ariana's violence suddenly exploded out of nowhere. She took her brutal personality out on the small young man with her mini doppelganger and proceeded to have a shouting match with Archer about whether or not he was worth keeping alive. Standing up his fur began to puff from anxiety until finally Ariana relented to Archer and dragged Saturn to another corner of the room.

Racing over to him, unwilling to let the boy be alone and scared with Ariana looming like the Sword of Damocles, Flynn stopped at his side and eyed Ariana's leg pinning him to the ground. Extending his calming aura as far out as he could to envelop Saturn he watched with baited breath for the redhead to remove her heel, hoping this didn't escalate further. He could only hope his calming aura kept Saturn from being too scared and panicking or he might end up hurt like the other one. Two injured bodies was only going to make things worse.

Misty's eyes had still been locked on Ariana when she saw the shift in her already snappy mood. The Ponyta's ears instantly went backwards and laid flat in fear. She followed the red gaze to Mars and Saturn, and she tried to whisper to them in warning, "Guys..." Though once the stomping started, her weight shifted to her back legs and she stumbled backwards to Max. Even if Ariana inspired anger in Misty, she was still well aware of just how useless she would be in a fight against Ariana, and she was so very afraid.  

Max's head snapped up in time to see and feel Ariana kick Saturn to the ground. She flinched in sympathy pain, but she almost didn't notice the pain when she heard the venom in Ariana's voice. Her blood ran cold when Ariana started talking about how useless he was and how much she wanted to shoot him for it. Her hands started to come up and cover her ears as if such a simple action could block out gunshots. Thankfully, Archer somehow made her see sense, and while Max really hated being thought of as an expendable resource, at least it meant that they could live a little longer without her simply killing for fun.

Max couldn't figure out what the problem was until Ariana dragged Saturn to the far corner and ranted to him about "her possessions." The implication that this redheaded bitch thought that Mars belonged to her for some arbitrary reason made her deeply fear for Mars's wellbeing. Ariana was basically telling two people who seemed to care about each other that they couldn't be around each other because Ariana didn't like it. How would Saturn's presence taint Mars, anyway? None of this made sense, but all she knew was that if Mars exploded, Saturn might not survive. As quietly as she could, she whispered behind gritted teeth, "If you explode now, she might kill him to spite you."

No sooner had Saturn shoved the bag into her chest and made a joke about disownment--something she'd started to giggle at, too, because familiar! Comfortable! Also, funny!--did Ariana suddenly just... appear at their sides. Like a summoned demon.

Which was an accurate description of the woman, really.

If only they'd heard Misty's whispered warning above Mars's budding laughter. Not that it would have made much of a difference in the end.

She kicked Saturn in the side, hard enough to knock him over, twin shouts ringing out; Saturn's, in pain, Mars, with fury.

Both with shock and fear and utter confusion.

"I thought I mentioned I didn't like seeing you two together." Her voice was a snarl; her eyes blazed. Both young people glanced at each other as Saturn dragged himself upright, wide eyes frantic.

Did she say that?
Did you hear her say-?
No?
I didn't?

The silent exchange done within seconds, their gazes snapped back to Ariana as she ground out her next command.

"Fuck off, you gay pixie fuck." Saturn shrank just slightly with the insult, looking again to Mars; recovering from the sudden explosion, she looked like she was gearing up for one of her own.

"What the fuck-?"
"Ariana, we need hi--"

"Do we?!" she snapped, ignoring her maybe-daughter utterly, fury now on Archer. "Do we really fucking need this fleshy twig? What is he really offering, other than a constant source of annoyance?"

But I haven't done anything!? He wracked his brain, trying to figure out what the hell he said or did to her to make her so fucking mad. When did she say she wanted me to stay away from Mars!?

"I'm sick of looking at his sad, pathetic little orphan commercial face and I'm really ready to put a few dozen bullets through it."

He froze. Eyes went to Mars, who looked like she was about to get up. She looked to him. Eyes locked.

That one moment was all Archer needed to get a handle on the monster's rage, at least insofar as preventing murder.

"We need bodies," he reasoned. Mars's mouth opened and closed, fingernails biting into her palms. "If we start killing off hostages this early in the game, there won't be any left to remove obstacles later on. He needs to stay alive to... be expendable later."

The logic made Ariana pause. Clearly still unhappy, but willing to take Archer's reasoning, she made no move to grab her gun. But the demon wasn't fully sated and Mars and Saturn knew that from how her frame didn't relax. Her head turned to level a look of pure anger down at them, and before either of them could even twitch, she grabbed Saturn by his hair.

He shouted in pain and fear and Mars leaped to her feet with a sound that might rival thunder as Ariana dragged her best friend across the room by his hair. He didn't dare struggle or resist; some part of him was already detatching from the situation, floating away, seeking an out. Vividly he remembered his grandmother, her old, gnarled fingers tangled in his hair, yanking him across the room to scream at him for hiding what she called 'contraband,' as though it were normal to treat the place he was supposed to call home as a prison.

Ariana dropped him to the ground so roughly that he didn't land on his butt, but rather on his back, and she was quick to stomp a foot onto his chest to prevent him from sitting up. He gasped in pain, the sound choked out as she leaned a fair amount of her weight onto his diaphram to lean down a little into his face. He stared up at her, hand grasping at her boot, his large, almond-shaped eyes a whirlpool of fear and confusion and stop, please.

"You go near her again, I'm going to dice up every useless digit and limb off of you, and leave them as a trail for the Undead to find you and use you as the most pathetic banquet the world has ever seen, do you fucking understand me?" Her voice emerged low, dangerous; a growl of distant thunder. "Stay. Away. From her. She's mine, and I'm not going to let you taint her anymore."

He couldn't speak; she was crushing his chest too much. All he could do was gasp for air and will Ariana to lift her boot off. Preferably walk away without trying to extract some kind of agreement from him. He didn't want to seal his humiliation by having to say 'yes' to her, about staying away from his best friend. His dearest, only friend.

Though he was far too preccupied to notice Flynn, the soothing aura the Sylveon put out to attempt to calm and comfort him was noticable. Surprised and confused by it, Saturn did his best to cling to the feeling that settled into his head, unsure of which pokemon was doing this but aware on some subconscious level that some pokemon currently around them must be doing this.

Mars was about to go over and give Ariana a piece of her fist, gun and pokemon be damned, but Lynn's voice, a mutter through gritted teeth, stopped her.

"If you explode now, she might kill him to spite you."

... She was right. With a sound like a wounded honey badger, she sat down again, locking eyes with Saturn for a moment before looking away.

Ariana was going to pay for this shit.

Tyranny hated this. Hated waiting on someone else to do the work, to just sit on her ass and watch while someone else handled all the important shit. And on top of being little more than a useless nanny, they were in a part of the building that was one of the most dangerous. Every sound was a potential threat, every movement of her charge could have been the beginnings of a mutiny. She hoped that Princess didn't bother with trying to be mutinous-- after all Queen Bitch had one of her pokemon hostage and all. But still. There was always the chance, and having to prepare for a possible fight every single second was fucking exhausting.

How much time had even passed? It felt like an eternity since they'd rounded everyone up, but they'd only slept once. Surely it hadn't been too long of a day today, despite her instincts telling her otherwise. Her ears flicking about her, she finally drew the courage and stupidity to get a little closer to Princess, wanting to see how the progress was coming. She couldn't even talk out her frustrations because, guess what, they were smack dab in the middle of a fucking megaphone, and every sound they made could attract things that were very capable of killing them both instantly. She lightly nudged Princess with her head, silently asking her progress. At least, she hoped that got through.

---

Ariana felt a little better once she had put the boy in his place, but it was easy to see it wouldn't last her too long. She was too pent up with too much temptation around her. Archer knew he was the only one that could reign her in even a little, but trying that trick too many times was sure to get him destroyed just like the others. The point wasn't to get them all killed. So, he had to be careful. Strategic. Therefore, he had to do nothing when she tugged around that poor kid like a rag doll. It was all he could do to keep her from killing him.

In the time that Fenix was away, Ariana grew more and more restless. "What. The ever-loving fuck. Is taking them so FUCKING long?" she snarled, directing her ire toward him. Well, at least that was a step up. He didn't need to redirect her away from the hostages, at least. "You said they'd be done by now, Archer. You said--"

"I said that we put them on a complicated task and it would likely take a while for them to complete it," Archer corrected, his voice the usual emotionless monotone. "I did not give an actual timefra--

Ariana's hand striking his cheek cut him off, and the echoing sound easily cut into the silent dark. She pulled him close by his shirt, her face centimeters from his. "Did you just fucking interrupt me?" she asked in a low snarl. "You don't fucking do that. No one fucking does that. If yoou don't quite remember, asshole, we're on a bit of a time frame. I'm not going to be stuck down here for a week and a half waiting for Team Bitches to waddle their way back. I'm not going to fucking babysit these hostages while they waste precious water and food that could be saved for important people. Like me. Do I look like a fucking philanthropist, Archer?" She waited a beat, then struck him again, harder. "Fucking answer me."

Archer knew better than to acknowledge the hits in anyway, even as he recognized the telltale sting and warmth of blood oozing out of the wound she'd just created. "...You do not."

"That's right. I don't. Now. Get your ass over to that big-titted bimbo and tell her to hurry it up. Because if it's me going over there, I'm slitting her fucking throat and rolling her fat ass corpse over those traps to disarm them. Got it?"

Nodding, Archer waited until Ariana released him to leave, his pokemon all tense from the scene. A quick glance to Sin caused the Houndoom to stand and follow, while the others remained glued to their spots. Christ. Ariana was going downhill far faster than anticipated.

It didn't take long for Archer to reach them, though it would have taken even less time had he not been so careful with his footsteps. Eugh. The silence in here was oppressive. He found the duo easily enough, and in the softest voice he could muster, he asked, "Progress report?"

Flynn stood vigilant by the young man's side as Ariana continued to try and assert her dominance by crushing his chest. The Sylveon feared any permanent damage the woman's weight or heel could do to the smaller boy's rib cage or sternum but until Ariana actually got off there was nothing he could do. He couldn't even reach out to the boy to help him.

His aura remained steady as Ariana finally removed herself from Saturn to rail against Archer's plan as he tried to explain why they needed to wait. As she became more and more engrossed in Archer Flynn moved to Saturn and wrapped his ribbons around the boy's wrists, helping pull him into a sitting position and pushing even more of his calm through the touch. "Don't be afraid," he whispered softly. "You aren't alone, I promise."

---

Fenix had been working steadily for longer than she could track in this darkness. Sweat rolled down her brow as she struggled to remain perfectly quiet while also handling machinery that could kill all of them if she set it off. The stress of this job and the fact she didn't have all of her tools had made her progress slow, only five plates into the hallway and having marked a half dozen more as potentials. It was like a game of Minesweeper and she hated that game.

"Progress report?" She was halfway through diffusing another one when Archer's voice behind her scared the ever loving hell out of her, her hand slipping and stabbing one of her hands causing her to loose her footing and slip back on one of the 'maybe' plates. Which immediately began to click on a repeating pattern. "Shit-" she hissed sharply, turning to look at Archer before scrambling to her feet and rushing back to where he and his Pokemon were waiting. Cupping her bleeding hand to her chest she waited for the inevitable pop, the boom that would resound through the hallways sounding off the glorious success of their demise... but nothing came.

Confused and overly alert Fenix listened. The clicking had stopped abruptly like it had finally connected with its fuse but nothing went off. Through the blood pounding through her ears in the crushing silence and her adrenaline she almost didn't notice the strange scratching sound across the floor echoing from deep within the darkness. She tried to look closer, stepping towards the edge of the plated floor to hear better, when far into the shadows a pair of crimson red eyes opened to face her. It kept...blinking...in and out of existence, for lack of a better word, but along with that sound the eyes kept moving closer and closer.

Taking her uninjured hand Fenix shined her flashlight down the hall, the light almost melting into the darkness rather than illuminating it, but within the beam something came into view. Or, rather it rolled into view. The scratching sound, the blinking eyes, it had been an Electrode rolling towards them at a terrifyingly slow pace. The worst part though was that it had been setting off other floor tiles as it went and within moments several more pairs of eyes glowed to life and began to follow. "Fuck..." her voice caught in her throat, her hands shaking as she realized she didn't have any fucking weapons or Pokemon on her. "Fuck fuckfuckfuck we gotta go. Archer- move it!"

They were going to die if they didn't haul ass out of this enclosed hallway.

Max's shoulders slumped when Mars made a sound like a wounded animal and sat back down. Thankfully, the wretched bitch who may have been Mars' mother seemed to have had her fun and left Saturn alone not long after. When she was pretty sure that Ariana was out of earshot, she muttered, "I'm sorry." She didn't want to risk anything more if that explosion was Ariana pissing on her territory. Furthermore, she couldn't tell if the problem was that Mars was interacting with Saturn in a positive way, or if it was the fact that Mars was interacting with anyone.

If Max was completely honest, once she could hear Ariana's voice again, her head felt a little dizzy, and it was as if she was existing slightly to the left. It took her a few minutes to realize she was spacing out really badly, and she started to shake her head to snap out of it. The feeling remained, and only got worse when she noticed Archer going through the hole with only his Houndoom. Leaving them with Ariana. Even though he had left the rest of his Pokemon, she already felt his absence, and underneath the fuzz in her head, a deep sense of dread lurked.

Misty had been keeping an eye on her trainer between watching Ariana and the rest of the room, and the glassy-eyed look Max had was worrying her immensely. Unfortunately, when she thought about trying to talk to her trainer, Archer was ordered out, and the last shreds of feeling safe that she didn't know she had dissappeared. All thoughts of doing anything but standing by her trainer went out the window, and she could only pray that Archer would return soon.