Blaze Caverns

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven had awoken that morning to Officer Victor rapping on the door to Wallace's room, rousing him for the morning's roll call. He sat up in his chair with a groan, his back protesting his choice of bed for the night.

Slowly, he dragged himself to the door, Aggron in his wake. With one long, sorrowful glance back at where Wallace lay, still unconscious, he left the infirmary.

Xavian's address that morning was more of the same, and Steven felt ill at how numb he'd become to every new disappearance. He was surprised, though, to hear that another trainer had been protected by the Mythicals that also were on the island. Quietly, he wondered if it was one of the Latis, like what had happened to him. Fortunate, regardless of which one came to their aid at just the right time. Just as unfortunate as the trainer who was no longer with them...

When there was no sign of Clink at Xavian's side, Steven sighed a heavy sigh and tried to stretch his aching back. He needed some fresh air, some place to clear his head. Wallace, Clink, Hayes, Reena... He didn't know what to do.

"Let's go, Aggron," he said, and turned and left the main hall.

------

There was something comforting about being in the depths of the earth. No distractions, no obligations. Nothing to bother him but his own thoughts. And as of late, those were bothersome enough...

He wandered semi-aimlessly, the partial map he and Hayes had drawn during their earlier excursion of the caverns in the back of his mind. But even the memory of Hayes's eager expression as they explored was enough to break his focus, send him off course and into uncharted territory.

Was it foolish to be down here alone? Of course. But nowhere on the island was safe... Latios had told him to stay at the dorms, yet Hayes had been taken right from his own room. At least, maybe if the culprit wanted him gone, they'd have to work to find him down here in the caverns.

Aggron followed his every twist and turn with unwavering loyalty. He had faith in his trainer that they'd make it back to the surface whenever he wanted to go back. Sometimes that was later rather than sooner, but Aggron would watch over him until that time came.

Steven's pace had slowed to a painful walk, as if his own thoughts were weighing him down. Aggron sat watching him listlessly weave down the tunnel when a flicker of light caught his eye.

He sat up with a snort, peering through the darkness as the light grew and grew; whoever or whatever it was, it was getting closer. Aggron moved himself into the middle of the path and faced the oncoming threat, determined glare bright in his eyes.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Whatever the cause of Charizard's sense of urgency, it had at least found them a pretty decent candidate; the smack to the tailbone might even turn out to be worthwhile at this rate. The tunnels bored their way deeper and deeper into the mountain, thankfully with no zubat in sight. Not that it was super easy to see in the dark, but Charizard held his tail out in front of them as they went, and the flickering orange glow it cast on the walls was a hell of a lot better than nothing. Even so, Blue kept a hand on his starter's back, in part to keep himself from stumbling in the half-light and in part as a little reminder that he was there—just so Charizard didn't power-walk too far ahead in his excitement.

It wasn't lost on Blue that this was a perfect place for an ambush. Deep, winding caves, far away from everyone else, most of the spaces too narrow for him to even let Gyarados out to help. (Would it be better just to... not, if it came down to that? Would his poké ball keep him safe from the "Golden King", at least for a little while? Probably not...) At least he'd had the foresight to tell some of the others where they'd been headed. Not a snover's chance in hell that anyone would be able to rescue them if something did go wrong, but at least it'd mean they'd know where to look for signs of a struggle? If that would even tell them anything useful at this point, beyond "well damn, the Golden Asshole sure is getting even stronger"?

God, this whole idea was sounding stupider and stupider by the second. Maybe joining the heist crew would've been the smarter move, dragon on fire be damned. Whatever mess those guys inevitably ended up in—because let's all be honest with ourselves, no matter how skilled or careful or fancy they were, they were still stranded on Garbage Fire Island and Murphy's Law surely already had its sights on them—at least they wouldn't be caught out alone.

Nothing to be done about it now, though; they were already eyeballs-deep in these dark and twisting caves. So if Hoops McBurgerKing was gonna try and grab them, that just meant they needed to pick up the pace on the whole "finding Heatran" thing and hope that it was as amenable to saving some idiot's sorry ass as Latias and Latios had been. Pick it up by a lot, maybe, really get a shift on, not like that was a big deal or anything. Blue tried to walk a little faster, giving Charizard a nudge to let him know it was okay to speed up. That'd probably improve the big guy's mood, at least.

---

Charizard did not speed up. He stopped moving entirely, in point of fact, so that Blue walked face-first into a half-folded wing and very nearly tripped. The tip of Charizard's tail flared up as he swung it forward, hoping to shed more light on the source of the clanking noises he'd just heard. And to make it perfectly clear he wasn't to be trifled with. (Was it the heatran? Blue had explained that heatran were part metal. Had they finally found it? Was this his chance?!)

The solid shape that materialized out of the gloom certainly looked metallic, but not especially fiery aside from the orange firelight reflecting off its armor. Instead the light glittered off of a set of three wicked-sharp points, all of which were angled unwaveringly in their direction. Charizard snarled, embers dancing around his teeth, and spread his wings wider to keep Blue from moving any closer. The shape did not budge even in the face of his threat. Just a mountain of something barring their way.

...wait a minute.

"Oh. It's you!" Charizard relaxed slightly, tail flame dying back down from a blaze to a curious waver. "What are you and your human doing down here, with all that's been happening? Was he really that hungry for rocks?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Oh. It's you!" Charizard relaxed slightly, tail flame dying back down from a blaze to a curious waver. "What are you and your human doing down here, with all that's been happening? Was he really that hungry for rocks?"

Aggron blinked in surprise as the flickering light came into view and revealed itself to be Blue's Charizard. "Oh! Yes, it is me, and you, too."


He relaxed his stance and thumped his tail on the ground amicably. "Sorry about that. I didn't expect to see someone down here we knew. It's good to see a friend, though."


"Rocks? No, not this time," he said, gaze falling. "My trainer needed space to think. It's quiet down here. Probably not safe, but nowhere is really safe..."


"I'm here though, and if something wants to mess with us down here, they're gonna have a bad time." He scowled into the dark. They may have gotten the drop on him at the arena, but this was his home. And he wasn't going to go down without a fight. Not this time.


"What are you doing down here, though? A dragon like you usually likes the sky better than the earth."

---------

The thump of Aggron's tail caught Steven's attention. It wasn't the sound of alarm, and he seemed to be happily chatting away with...


"A Charizard? Wait... Blue's Charizard?"

Steven stepped around to Aggron's side to greet the big fire type, and caught sight of the rather grumpy looking trainer in question.


"Ah, and Blue himself," said Steven, amused at the young man's reaction to walking into the backside of his pokemon. At least one thing was constant across realities.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Definitely not Heatran, though it was at least a relief—Charizard hadn't even realized he was nervous until he felt some of the tension leave his wings—to see someone he recognized. He smiled at Aggron and let his tail relax.

"Normally I'd rather be outside, yes, but we're looking for someone. There's supposed to be a legendary pokémon here somewhere. A 'heatran'. I've never seen one before, but Blue says it's big and made of magma and metal. It sounds strong, and I wanted to..." He stopped a moment, frowned, reminded himself why theywere there. "...we wanted to know if it would help fight off the danger. If other legendaries are willing to help protect everyone, then we... we thought it'd be a good idea to ask the heatran one, too."

Charizard's swishing tail traced a little circle of sparks through the air as he thought of something, suddenly excited. "You've been here before, right? In these caves? Have you seen Heatran?"

---

The only thing worse than the fact that Blue had plowed straight into Charizard's back was the fact that someone else was actually here to see it. Of course the caves were entirely devoid of non-chittery-bat life up until the moment he nearly ate floor. And, of course, the only thing worse than the only thing worse than that was the voice that, yet again, sounded like it thought it recognized him. Great. More questions, more assumptions, more people who were only concerned with comparing him to someone else. A round of applause for Garbage Fire Island, everybody!

"...Yeah, yeah, sure, me myself, nice to meet you," he said hastily. "You're... Steven, right?" There was definitely a Champion Steven in his world, or at least had been until he'd wandered off down a hole to go look at rocks, apparently, so he supposed this actually kinda checked out; still, he avoided mentioning anything about it. No assumptions. Don't be the idiot everyone else around here's so desperate to be. "You're the one who's met Latias and Latios here on the island, right? Don't suppose you've seen any other legendaries around we should know about? We were kinda hoping to ask Heatran for some... help, I guess."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Normally I'd rather be outside, yes, but we're looking for someone. There's supposed to be a legendary pokémon here somewhere. A 'heatran'. I've never seen one before, but Blue says it's big and made of magma and metal. It sounds strong, and I wanted to..." He stopped a moment, frowned, reminded himself why theywere there. "...we wanted to know if it would help fight off the danger. If other legendaries are willing to help protect everyone, then we... we thought it'd be a good idea to ask the heatran one, too."

"Heatran?" Aggron tapped a claw against his chin in thought. "I don't know that one. And it's big and made of magma and metal? Kind of surprising I don't, actually. Seems like we might get along."

Aggron's gaze fell on Steven for a moment as Charizard explained his reasoning for wanting to find this Heatran. He nodded slowly.

"Makes sense to me. There's other Legendaries we've met here that have helped. The Latis, they..." he faltered a bit. As much as he tried to tell himself he was over the incident, it still stung to remember, especially in front of another pokemon he knew and respected for their strength, among other things.


"They protect," he finally said. "And Shaymin, she can heal! Heatran doesn't seem like they'd be a healer, but I bet they're powerful in some other way. That's a good idea you had to try to find them and ask for their help."

Charizard's swishing tail traced a little circle of sparks through the air as he thought of something, suddenly excited. "You've been here before, right? In these caves? Have you seen Heatran?"

"We have," Aggron began, "a few times now, but we haven't seen this Heatran. Not that we've been looking for them. It might not seem like it, but there's a lot you can miss in a cave if you're not looking."


Aggron perked up at a realization. "If your trainer can tell Steven what you're looking for, I'm sure he could help. Both of us! Two noses are better than one, and if you're looking for something that comes from the earth, I bet we can find it."

--------

"...Yeah, yeah, sure, me myself, nice to meet you," he said hastily. "You're... Steven, right?" There was definitely a Champion Steven in his world, or at least had been until he'd wandered off down a hole to go look at rocks, apparently, so he supposed this actually kinda checked out; still, he avoided mentioning anything about it.

Steven did his best to hold in his chuckle at Blue's antics. He'd only met the young Champion-turned-Gym Leader a handful of times, but his patented charm and disdain for formality tended to stand out in a crowd. Not that Steven minded. League events were too dull, most times.


"Yes, I'm glad we're acquainted in some fashion from your universe, makes introductions a bit easier. I ran into your Charizard earlier on this trip. A practice match with you would have been welcome, before..." His gaze fell, and some of the candor in his voice faded. "Well, before all this."

"You're the one who's met Latias and Latios here on the island, right? Don't suppose you've seen any other legendaries around we should know about? We were kinda hoping to ask Heatran for some... help, I guess."

A flicker of panic passed over Steven's face at the mention of the Latis, but when Blue didn't press any further, he relaxed just a little.


"I did meet the Latis, yes. Only briefly. We met Shaymin as well, when we were searching for a way to cure Clink's poisoning. She was able to help, but..."

He hesitated, recalling the small Mythical's words. She'd only helped Clink, only trusted Clink. But Orzo had looked ill this morning, too...

He shook his head. He could worry about that later. For now, Blue had asked about another Mythical.


"Heatran? I don't believe I'm familiar with that one. They're not a Hoenn Mythical, at least." He thought for a moment more, thinking back to all the times he'd chatted with Cynthia about the myths and legends she loved to study so much.

"Actually, maybe I do remember something about Heatran. They're Sinnohan, right? Cynthia did mention a Magma Stone and that caught my interest. Something about Heatran living in the depths of Mt. Coronet, maybe?"

"If that's the case, then searching around here makes sense. There's some caverns further down where the temperature rises." He remembered quite clearly the day he met Violet and Mitch and their search for the missing trainers.


With a renewed sense of purpose, he drew himself up and fixed Blue with an even stare. "I can take you to the spot, and from there we can search for Heatran. Any assistance we can get from the Mythicals against this enemy will be a huge help."

With that, he gave Aggron a pat on the arm and turned to lead the way deeper into the earth.

 

[Flyg0n]

GWWAAOOORRRR!

The earth shook and an orange glow pulsed from deeper within the tunnel. The tunnel suddenly felt much hottewr than before, almost oppressively. Then a sound like a drumroll - no, rapid footsteps. Something was charging down towards them, fast.

Everything shook and then - With a crash, a huge shape exploded out of the side of the tunnel, blazing orange and dripping magma. Heatran. His whole body seemed to pulsing and rippling, made of living magma.

"Ahah! Finally, a challenger!" to pokemon, his voice was bold and gravely, though to humans it would have sounded like a powerful roar of challenge. "A child of fire and a child of steel! Let us test ourselves in combat!"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

The walk through the caverns had been quiet. Hot-- the temperature steadily increased the deeper they went, a sign Steven managed to remember the correct path-- but quiet. Nothing but the sound of footsteps and the heavy breathing of both Aggron and Charizard, until....

GWWAAOOORRRR!

The earth shook and an orange glow pulsed from deeper within the tunnel. The tunnel suddenly felt much hottewr than before, almost oppressively. Then a sound like a drumroll - no, rapid footsteps. Something was charging down towards them, fast.

The group froze as the terrible roar shook the tunnel, reverberating off the rock walls enough that Steven had to cover his ears against the sound. The earth trembled beneath their feet, like a freight train was barreling down the tunnel toward them. Dirt and debris rained down from the tunnel ceiling.

On instinct, Aggron shoved his way in front of his trainer, putting the bulk of his mass between Steven and whatever was approaching...

Everything shook and then - With a crash, a huge shape exploded out of the side of the tunnel, blazing orange and dripping magma. Heatran. His whole body seemed to pulsing and rippling, made of living magma.

Without warning, the right side of the tunnel erupted. Steven ducked as chunks of rock flew, but Aggron's Protect was already in place. Boulders bounced harmlessly off his shield, which he kept in place until the last of the rocks tumbled to a halt.

Through the blue tint of Protect's barrier, they could see their visitor. Heat flickered off its body, making the orange glow of superheated rock beneath the creature's feet waver like a mirage.

Steven drew in a sharp breath; the air was hot, almost suffocating. There was no doubt, this was Heatran.

"Ahah! Finally, a challenger!" to pokemon, his voice was bold and gravely, though to humans it would have sounded like a powerful roar of challenge. "A child of fire and a child of steel! Let us test ourselves in combat!"

"What?!" Aggron shouted, staring wide eyed at the boiling, bristling magma Mythical before them. "A challenger? Combat?"

"I thought we were going to ask Heatran for help!" He wheeled his head toward Charizard, incredulous. But when all he saw in the dragon's eyes was hungry determination, Aggron knew this wouldn't be as simple as asking the Mythical nicely.


He squared back up with Heatran and hunkered low with a growl.

------

Steven had pressed himself up against the tunnel wall when Heatran roared in challenge. His anxious gaze darting from the gaping hole in the opposite wall to the rock over their heads. It didn't look to be in imminent danger of collapse, but if there was to be a battle here...


"Aggron, buy us time!" he shouted before turning and waving frantically at Blue, pointing to the tunnel behind them. "Back the way we came! We need more space!"

Steven glanced over his shoulder at where his partner had hunched over on all fours, horned fixed on Heatran's form.

"There's a cavern close by! We need to lead Heatran there before it attacks!"

He hoped Blue had enough sense to realize the devastating effect of a powerful blast of fire in such close quarters. Aggron would be fine, Charizard, too, most likely. But he and Blue...

Steven had barely made it to Blue's side when he heard Aggron's roar. He spun just in time to watch his partner lower his head and charge forward, straight at Heatran.

 

[Flyg0n]

The blow from Aggron actually knocked Heatran back several feet.

"Oho!" His eyes sparkled with delight. "A tactical retreat? Clever." Although his words sounded like mere rumbles and growls to a human, there was a sense that he was impressed by Steven's quick thinking. Many times he ambushed trainers and he'd seem them immediately engage in battle, full of reckless determination without a cool head to back it up.

With a frightful roar, he charged after them, though curiously made no attempt to attack, until Steven and Blue had managed to reach the cavern. For a moment, there was a lull, Charizard and Aggron gathering themselves, Blue and Steven analyzing their opponent. But only for a moment, a single breath.

Then, with a command from their trainers, Charizard and Aggron erupted forwards as one, moving with the skill and synchronization that only a masters pokemon could. Fire and stone met lava. The room grew hot, but even in the midst of chaos both trainers kept their cool. Heatran proved an aggressive opponent, and a clever one. Always on the move, using the environment, and constantly trying to break Aggron and Charizard apart.

Yet Charizard and Aggron were both used to fighting in teams, controlling their attacks so deftly as to only strike the intended target, and anticipating their comrades' movements. Heatran struck, hard and fast, but between Aggron's command of the earth and Charizard resistance to fire, they covered for each other, diverting attacks and blocking whatever they could. Even so, their opponent landed several devastating blows. The battle raged for a momentary eternity before a crafty dodge from Charizard opened Heatran up. Aggron punched the earth, sending a single spire of stone surging up, right under Heatran. The blow knocked him skyward. Not far, but far enough. Enough time for Blue to call a finishing strike.

"Scorching Sands!" he snapped out the command, Charizard responding before he even finished speaking, anticipating it.

A searing, almost molten surge of earth swept across the battlefield, pummeling Heatran mercilessly to the ground. Charizard let up after a few seconds, leaving Heatran stunned on the ground. Aggron paused, and Charizard hovered above him, tail flame flaring. Their trainers waited, tensed, breaths held.

The earth trembled as Heatran rose, and the temperature spiked. Then he let out a great, fierce bellow, with such force that it made Blue and Steven stagger. Then he sank to one knee, panting. His eyes closed for a moment. "Ahaaa... a fantastic battle," he nodded, opening them again to regard his opponents. Charizard landed on the ground and Aggron relaxed from his fighting stance.

Heatran rose and rumbled proudly. "It has been many years since I've had such a good match. Not only have you shown you possess strength and determination, but the wit to wield it. Battles are not about power, but about being in sync, planning ahead, and keeping a cool head. And you have proven you can do all these things." He approached the four, then dipped his head to them.

"You have proven yourself as warriors and children of fire and stone! I look forward to a glorious battle by your sides. Call upon my name with conviction, and I shall come." His maw stretched into fierce grin. "And we shall lay waste to our enemies!"

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