Aegis Cave

[Namohysip]

Aegis Cave was an eerie, dark Dungeon that still persisted even after Dark Matter’s defeat. While it shrank somewhat, the powers that permeated this place were both ancient and powerful, as were many locations where the Legends had once lived. Brown rocks transitioned slowly into cobalt blue, and then finally to a decayed-royal off-white as one progressed through this layered and labyrinthine Dungeon. ICE, then ROCK, then STEEL, the words in Unown that had to be spelled out, were the keys to passing to each new layer.​

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"Good luck," Maple said after dropping the team off through the portal. When it closed, it was left with just Diyem's heroes and the Charizard in the sky.

...Well, Diyem said awkwardly. Onward. If I go quiet, it means that you may have passed through the distorting force that cuts off my ability to see or communicate with anything within. Tread carefully.

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot warily looked ahead, before turning back to his teammates.

"Whoever we're about to fight... you guys remember the plan, right?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Necrozma still remembered Diyem's last words. A frantic week of searching... but for who? He didn't do a damn thing to locate Team Spice. That was all Maple and her team. So, what was he searching for, exactly? If he wasn't going to tell the team, then Necrozma had to assume it wasn't something good. All the more reason to question Diyem's motives in all of this. They were getting further and further from pure.

"Remind me. The leaders of Team Spice are a meganium and a feraligatr, yes?"

 

[windskull]

Nip was quiet as he looked around the cave, nodding to Cabot before addressing Necrozma. "That's right, though I remember hearing that Darkrai, Cressellia, and Manaphy were all missing, too."

In the last week, he'd taken the time to research that last name, discovering that Manaphy, to, was a pokemon of legend. One that would be considered a lesser god in his world. Though he could not be certain of its role in either place, it reminded him of the Emissaries. Pokemon like Celebi and Hoopa.

Shifting uncomfortably on his feet, he said, "We best be ready for anything."

 

[Ambyssin]

Necrozma crossed his arms. "Darkrai? Manaphy?" He shook his head. "Bah. More creatures not from my planet. This is getting annoying."

 

[windskull]

"I'll admit I'm not the most familiar with Manaphy. Darkrai though..." Nip took a deep breath closing his eyes. "In my world, at least, Darkrai was known for being cruel to his enemies... though he rewarded those who are willing to stand beside and follow him. Darkrai has the power to trap pokemon in a deep slumber, and his mere presence is said to cause eternal nightmares..."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Delightful." He sounded like the perfect company for someone worthless like him. They could lament their shortcomings together. "If there really is someone like that amongst this team, we might have to incapacitate them as early as possible." Necrozma's core darkened. "Not to mention Cresselia is known for her shielding and defensive prowess. She could make things particularly troublesome, too." He grabbed the strange stone he'd taken from Maple and squeezed it hard.

 

[Namohysip]

By the time they passed the Steel chamber, however, it was clear that something was amiss. Diyem had stopped talking to them about what he was seeing—which, prior, had been a whole lot of nothing—and that could only mean that some strange aura was blocking him from contacting them again. From then on, they were alone.

A dark haze came from cracks in the wall and the group elected to steer clear of particularly dark hallways of they could help it.

The path went on and on, and soon they were reaching, according to Maple, the very bottom of the Dungeon, and there was still no sign of Team Spice anywhere. Owen was starting to grow nervous, wondering if they should prepare an Escape Orb in case they saw not Team Spice, but… perhaps what remained of them. It was a horrible, morbid thought, but in a place so empty, for so long, could they have even survived?

There was something sinister a few turns ahead, still out of view. Its ominous aura, however, was impossible to ignore.

 

[Virgil134]

"... Looks like we're almost there."

 

[Ambyssin]

Necrozma was about to ask if anyone who'd been to the Bluff last week recognized this aura, but then remembered that he and Mithos were the lone psychics in the group. "I sense a very... sickly aura, for lack of a better description."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste shivered. “I don’t need a disaster sense to have a bad feeling about this.”

 

[Namohysip]

They approached cautiously, and only rounded a few more corners until they found themselves in a long path that led to complete darkness. It wasn’t a gradual darkness that slowly drained away what little light the team had from their more illuminating team members. Instead, this darkness was abrupt, like a black wall at the end of the hall, and the closer they got, the greater that dreadful feeling became.

It was opaque, but not completely. Within this wall, there were several figures collapsed on the ground, occasionally moving, but not very much. However, as they drew near, the darkness itself dissolved, like a bubble disturbed by the wind. Before the Psychics could warn for them to back away, it was too late—this dark bubble popped.

More stained, white stone made up the walls of this final, empty chamber, save for five figures that were collapsed in the middle of it all. They matched the list of species of Team Spice exactly: Meganium, Feraligatr, Manaphy, Cresselia, and Darkrai. The latter of them stood above the other four, meditative, but now the other four figures were stirring, too.

“That’s them!” Cabot said. “It’s Team Spice! They’re alive!”

“But why is that one standing there…? He looks scary,” Cynthian said, pointing a rose at Darkrai, who was now glaring at them with a hatred so strong it nearly made his petals shrivel.

 

[windskull]

A body of solid mist, dark as a cloudy, moonless night. Just like the stories said. Cresselia's form he was less familiar with. But she was easy enough to distinguish from the others. All five of them, just as they expected. The fur on Nip's neck and along his spine began to prickle, and he took a defensive pose.

"I don't like this one bit. We best stay on guard."

 

[Namohysip]

The four were rising, slowly. Manaphy and Cresselia both floated in the air, wobbly and weak, while Meganium and Feraligatr both staggered to their feet.

“You broke it,” Darkrai said. “Why did you come here?” As he spoke, his eyes glowed a bright gold, and a second Darkrai seemed to emerge and then drift behind him. Its arms, wispy like smoke, wrapped around the main body and then pointed forward at the same time. “They could have wasted away here, yet now you’ve come to die, too.”

“Darkrai’s… betrayed them?!” Cabot said.

“Darkrai…” Owen didn’t know much about this one, but he seemed so sinister. And the way he was talking… Could he be the one behind these shadows?

“Get… get away…” Meganium staggered forward.

"We're here to help you," Cabot said slowly, but he didn't move forward. This was bad.

“I said… get away…” Meganium stared. His eyes, too, had a golden light, and from his back emerged the ghost of another him. It had a sick smile on its face. “I’ve already lost so much, why not lose a little more? That’s what I thought as I fell asleep. And now, you think you have the right to wake me up?”

“Doom follows us,” Feraligatr said next. “It was only a matter of time before it’d come to this. You’re the ones trying to kill us, aren’t you?”

They weren't thinking rationally. It was like Turf all over again, except this time... they were a whole league stronger than Turf was.

“They sealed themselves here when they found out what happened,” Nip deduced, motioning to Darkrai. “Something about his power must have let them stall for time. But now that we’re here…”

“It’s too late…” Cresselia rose a little higher, then drifted backward with Darkrai. “We can’t go back to sleep unless we kill them. We have to save the world again, and they’re in the way…”

“Who are those people?” Manaphy asked in a squeak. “They… they don’t look nice! I… we… we need to…”

The corrupted heroes glanced at one another, as did their hazy shadows. Then, all ten sets of eyes locked onto the team.

Team Spice is about to attack!

Thyme and Pepper are in the Front Lines!
Darkrai, Cresselia, and Manaphy are Supporting!

Cresselia used Shield II, protecting Thyme!
Manaphy used Boon II, boosting Pepper’s Defense by 2!
Darkrai used Boon II, boosting Pepper’s Resistance by 2!

Meganium Thyme: 600 HP + Cresselia, 400 HP
Feraligatr Pepper: 700 HP

Special Condition: Defeat Thyme and Pepper on the same turn!

Darkrai is planning something...

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Time for one hell of a fight.

"Aw hell. Places, everyone."

 

[Persephone]

Darkrai... they made him sound like a god of Anahuac. Yet here you are. Fighting him. Or a corrupted version of him? Cuicatl hadn't really been paying attention.

The other psychics talking about themselves as a group that didn't include her was strange. Sure, she was pretty much anti-psychic now but...

A matter for another time. Today she was going to stay back unless she had to. Let those familiar with this god strike first while she formed a plan. Even dragonfire couldn't be guaranteed to prevail against a god.

 

[Ambyssin]

Necrozma's core crackled.

This is gonna suck.

 

[Tanuki]

“Yeah, save the world,” Zane mocked. “Naturally, this world’s heroes would be murderous psychopaths covered in dark ooze.” He rolled his eyes while getting a good stretch in to make sure his hammys were whammy. “Shut up and let us beat some sense into you, all right?”

Zane Calls Team Spice

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot took on a battle stance as he grabbed an Iron Thorn from his bag. He never thought he'd fight a second Rescue Team with a god on it, yet here he was about to take on one that had three of them... He just hoped his plan would work.

 

[Adamhuarts]

Cynthian felt like withering in the presence ominous atmosphere surrounded Team Spice and their legendary allies. In just two weeks, he'd seen the worst things in his life yet.

When he saw Cabot taking a battle stance, he took that as his queue to meekly take a few steps back behind those taking the frontlines. What should he do when the battle begins? Cynthian agonized that thought over while he anxiously waited for the stand off to end.