[FIN] Call To Aid

[Blood_Goddess]

The man, Colin, that Dith had patched up, sat where he was as he was being tended to. he seemed very weak and very tired , but let out a single weak laugh glancing up at the man with the eye patch, "Where am I ganna go." he pointed out, straining against his bonds with what little energy he had.

The Jirachi watched with amazement, looking between the trainers as they compared the pokemon they had and what moves they could use. It made little sense to her, though she understood the idea of what they were talking about, sometimes She heard Alder, or other trainers talking about battle moves and pokemon knowing certain attacks.

She floated closer to the pokemon trainers, "Can I do anything to help?" her tone was uncertain and hopeful.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Kiss Kiss knows sing too, if that will be any help." Rosie added, placing a hand on one of the love balls at her hip.

It sounded like they had a good team to get in without hurting anyone, this idea made her very happy. If they really could pull it off, get the pokemon out and not leave anyone hurt.

Pushing herself to her feet, Rosie walked back toward the group, hitching the bag back onto her shoulders. "I think having an escape plan would be a good idea too." Rosie said, glancing over to Ray "What can you tell us about what its like in there?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ray was on her feet, watching the trainers one at a time in consideration.
Mossy eyes met with Dith for a moment, before she looked back over to Rosie.
"Lets keep in mind that these mines are old, and while I know that they're not the kind to just cave in and kill us all, we should probably avoid burrowing into the walls unless its absolutely necessary, just in case."

It wasn't long before the red and white striped pokemon returned to the group. joined this time by a mark-less Pikachu, the pokemon who usually had a long blue hood, seemed to have it missing this time.

"I'll do what I can to guide you guys, but really its going to be about being as quiet as we can, and remembering where we go."
Sqinting her eyes, the women looked up at the sky, casting a glance down at the man bound up with a slight thoughtful frown, she moved off to gather Luke's map back up and whatever she could salvage.
"Alright well, we don't have all day chickies- the sooner we get this done the better. I won't like to know what happens if their buddies show up."  

[Suudonym]

"Maybe so," Luke replied to the Jirachi, offering an encouraging smile. "It's definitely useful that you can fly around easily like that, but remember to be careful. They're trying to capture pokemon like you."

Tartarus and his Brick Break came to mind at mention of carving their way out of the caverns, but mention of the possibility of collapse caused him to reconsider quickly. "I got caught up in a sinkhole somewhere around this area once, a long time ago," he remembered aloud. "Forcing our way through doesn't feel like a great idea. If it comes down to needing to get away quickly, it might be easiest to just cover our backs with offensive moves… You said they're not great trainers, right?" There was a lot to be said for the intimidation factor of moves like the classic Flamethrower or Thunderbolt.

For the time being it seemed that they were going to press forward, and Luke moved to follow.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mmmh, I meant if we found ourselves trapped, but that is a good point," Dith nodded, he wasn't any kind of expert but he could see that digging into unstable walls as anything but a last resort was distinctly not bright. "Offensive moves we can all bring some of I'm sure," he added, "and they might not be used to ghosts popping in and out of visibility? If we have to try to make a getaway any trick might help I suppose.... But yes, the sooner we go the better." They could talk more on the way at first if there was more to settle and work out but sooner or later they would have to quiet down. Stealth. Not his strong suit.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

((Sorry, this is from page 8. XP I apologize for being so overdue. This and next week are finals weeks for me. Also, I have no idea if the dice thing is still necessary or not, but I'm doing it anyway.))

Akira took Moriko's snort to mean she was okay with his proposal, and as he trainer confirmed this, he breathed a sigh of relief. Calling out his eeveeloution, the young man smiled at Lin and Jeeves as each was introduced, feeling obligated to bow back to the little pokemon. So polite! How did he teach him manners like that?!

"That makes sense," he acknowledged, sniffing as Lin explained his affiliation with Grass-types. He didn't know too many types himself, but he thought he liked Grass best. They seemed fairly peaceful for the most part. "Oh, this is Happa," he said, picking up the shy Leafeon as he carefully got up onto Moriko's back. "I like to use him as my own personal air-freshener, especially when there's a lot of things around that trigger my allergies."

Though the trek was long and Akira's butt quickly got sore from being unused to riding, he distracted himself with the forest scenery and found the the trip to be somewhat enjoyable. He was also very grateful to Moriko, as he didn't even want to think how much worse off he'd be if he'd ridden a Ponyta or Rapidash.

With the sudden appearance of the strange man, the brunet would have liked to yelp himself, but everything happened so fast that he hardly had time to react. Jeeves' composure amazed him and he wondered how Lin had managed to train the pokemon so well. Without skipping a beat, he was ready to do as his trainer bade him.

The sudden appearance of the Haunter, on the other hand, almost made Akira faint. He paled considerably when he realized that the ghost-type was on their side and remembered that the large man on Ponyta had called it out earlier. Whoever this man was, Akira was starting to feel sorry for him - at least until he threw what he'd been carrying at Zla and Akira managed to recognize it as an unconscious pokemon.

When Lin dismounted, Akira was dumbstruck for a little while, watching the older teen go after the man before finally realizing he probably should have dismounted himself. He did so, still holding on to Happa. Absently stroking Moriko's neck with his free arm, Akira remained by her side, uncertain of what to do at that point. It wasn't long before he was anxiously clinging to that very same neck, all but frightened by the sight of Leste's Whirlwind and the force of its power. He thought the yell that followed was a little reassuring, though, for the sake of trying to catch the stranger.

He was quiet as Rosie and Luke sent pokemon after the man and continued to keep his mouth shut when one of said pokemon returned. As the group decided to see what the Lopunny had found, Akira was jolted out of his stupor when the pokemon beside him disappeared into her pokeball once more. Oh, right, he should have probably gotten a move-on, too.

With Happa just as - if not more - nervous than Akira was, the brunet decided to him back, too. Now that there were no shedding Sawsbuck around, he doubted he would need his air-clearing assistance as critically. Once that was done, he followed after Lin and the others to where the man hung from a suspended net. Either the trap had been recently set or wild pokemon must have been able to avoid the thing a lot easier than the fleeing man. But why had it been set in the first place?

Sera's poking at the man with the stick brought a smirk to Akira's face, though. Leave it to her to be the intimidater; she was obviously enjoying herself. Lin seemed to as well, if only because it could have been payback for the man almost having hurt Jeeves. Lin obviously cared a great deal for pokemon - not only his own, but the hurt Sneasal as well.

It wasn't long before another being made an appearance - this time a familiar pokemon. Akira recognized Double Stripe, but he dared not say from where. So, once more, he just kept his mouth shut and listened. He was quite startled when the Serperior entered the net and pulled the stunt that tore it open.

He probably would have been screaming too if he'd been that man, but then again, he already knew what it felt like to have a serpentine pokemon like that binding you to the point of pain. Not to be dragged along like that, though. When Lin commented that he liked Double Stripe, Akira couldn't help smirking. "I'm not sure you would if you were the one in his coils," he muttered.

There was another pang or two of sympathy for the man as they followed the Serperior to Ray. The fellow kept getting the air squeezed out of him and again Akira felt empathetic, having shared the same experience. He didn't have too much time to pity him, though, before Double Stripe was hissing something and Rosie was dangling upside down by her ankle.

In the confusion that followed, Akira wasn't of much help. He was surprised to see Ray and almost as relieved as the others, but he'd had a hunch she would have been able to hold out on her own. The contrast between her survival abilities and his made him liken the comparison of an infant to an adult in terms of experience. He decided to remain silent still, however, since even though he'd spent some time with the young woman at Sera's birthday party, she probably wouldn't recognize him from the first time they'd actually spoken properly.

Although quiet, the auditory learner kept his ears open as he processed everything Ray told them. The significance of the jammed signal made him take out his phone to look at it, realizing now just how useless it really was out there. It was even worse than he thought. How had Ray managed to stand it, being out here on her own with no way to call for help? No pokegear, no electronic technology; just her own brain and the ability to do things like set traps. She was a woman to be reckoned with indeed.

Her mention of a 'Colin' struck his interest as he recalled the man back at the cabin mentioning a certain fellow by that name. He was the one Ray had gone searching for if he remembered correctly. Well, it seemed as though she found him and more. It was then that Luke mentioned another name. 'Tymiko'? Hm...the name sounded a lot less familiar, but there was a spark of recognition, like from long ago. Perhaps one of the other trainers had mentioned the person at the hospital or something. But as soon as they followed a delighted Ray back to the place where she seemed to have made camp, Akira was almost positive that the tied up fellow sitting there was the Colin everyone had been talking about.

He winced at the state in which Ray's captive was in, though luckily the large blonde man seemed ready to tend to the obvious injury. A gentle giant, Akira thought. He would have to find out more about the fellow later, though he'd been quite intimidated when he'd started yelling at Ray and using some foreign words he'd never heard before. Hopefully he would be of a better temperament when everything calmed down. In the meantime, they had a live captive to deal with (and counting; Ray seemed to be collecting them) as well as a group of trapped black marketers to deal with.

The 'pansy-assed little pushover' comment actually made Akira laugh aloud, though he quickly hid his amusement. He was almost positive she had someone particular in mind upon speaking those words, though he wasn't sure who. Quite likely himself, but he wasn't about to deny it. He agreed, too, but hey, at least the pushover had managed to push himself into going on this trip. He hadn't yet been of much use, but hopefully that would change in the near future.

EDIT: Amid the deep discussion between the other trainers and Ray, Akira continued to think. There were still some things he wasn't certain of. Noticing Jeeves on the ground when the other pokemon took his place on Lin's shoulder, he smiled lightly at the grass-type. "You can ride on my shoulder if you like," he offered. The Snivy was bound to be a great deal lighter than Happa anyway, and he carried the Leafeon around in his arms all the time.

The people they were targeting weren't used to dealing with pokemon? Good. That made two of them. Akira considered using Supercilious for battle, as the Serperior was obviously his most powerful pokemon, but there were several issues with that. One was that he worried Ray would recognize Silly immediately and perhaps wonder why he had with him a Serperior that she had met with someone else.

Another problem was that there was no guarantee that Silly wouldn't try to strangle him on sight again, even with other trainers around, and that would just be plain embarrassing. Even if he didn't, he highly doubted Silly would listen to anything he said. Still...when Jeeves showed off his vines, Akira realized there was probably a good deal Silly could help with. Perhaps the pokemon would make a deal with him. To solve the first problem, though, right before they battled, Akira could let out Silly in the hopes that no one would have time to recognize him; least of all Ray.

He could sort all of that out when the time came. Right now he still had a few more questions before or while they were heading out. "Ray...if there's another entrance, why didn't the people trapped in the mine not use it to get out?" his logical thinking implored him to ask. He feared he might have missed understanding something. "Is that where this guy came from, do you think, or is he part of their back-up?" Akira jerked a thumb toward where Double Stripe had taken the other man with Colin.

"You said they were trapped, right? Or do you think they might not have maps either?" When Ray had mentioned George before and how his attention to detail had gotten her in trouble, he wondered a bit what she had meant. Maybe not that George had been part of this whole mess, but it would have been nice. Akira would have liked a reason to hold the man and his silly hand-drawn maps responsible.  

[Gwennythe]

Lin thought about the further moves his pokémon could offer...
Gregson (who was still happily psyching himself up for his 'very important part' in the mission) did not have very much to offer either in escape method, or cover fire...
"Jeeves has Leaf Tornado... I guess... Moriko has Camouflage..." He wasn't sure how much use the latter could be, but he supposed, in a cave, she would take on the assets of the rock, so perhaps she'd have a talent at defense, if their enemy turned offensive attacks on them on their way out.

Jeeves looked up at Akira, as though recalling he was present, and checking on his condition, before returning his placid, but watchful, gaze back to Lin; a hint of disapproval still in his eyes where they found Gregson.
At Akira's offer, he gave a little nod.
He supposed, in lieu of his usual post, this man's shoulder would do; he seemed quite refined enough, and well mannered; Lin seemed to trust him already, allowing him upon the back of Moriko, who, in turn, must trust him...
Considering them to be good judges of character, Jeeves made to lift himself up to the offered place.  

[Blood_Goddess]

With was with an uneasy nod that the Jirachi showed she understood, drifting closer to the young man.
"I'll do my best..." She said with a nod, but the frown didn't leave her soft face. She didn't know why they were trying to take her... Why her?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Here, put that guy here for now, we'll return for him before too long." Ray told Rosie, who was still holding the unconscious Sneasel.

The tall women was making a gesture to something that was easily slipped out of plain sight, either a shelter built by the women herself, or covered by the natural overgrowth.
A cave of some kind, small that lead into a dark drop off, obviously a kind of cave in to the mines below, or an abandoned work storage as it didn't seem to descend very far.

It was apparent that the Blond herself was surprised by the appearance of the hole that had been in front of them this entire time, but at Ray's suggestion she gently stored the pokemon within.
with that Ray quickly lead the group off, once she made sure that the Colin was bound and gagged.

Akira asked some good questions, ones that Ray was quick to answer as she hurried them along the forest toward the locations she had mapped and located.
"For one, they're city kids, I can tell you that right off the bat, I've never seen them in Sagestone. So to say they know nothing about the wild, well, thats an understatement" She jerked her head back to her camp. "Hence why they've got Colin here, they have a couple of miners working for them too, who knows where they are now. Poor choice in Colin though, he doesn't know nearly that much to help them out, probably enough to find some kind of exit, though I'm not sure where they found it."
It was a troubled expression that she wore for a couple of seconds before she cracked a wide smirk again.

Double Stripe slithered quickly to keep up with his partner, making good time with her stride, while Breeze hopped up onto her shoulder a deep frown set on his face.

"And this... is probably why they can't use this entrance." Ray announced as she drew them to a large metal slab, that was heavily rusted over. "Its a shaft. deep drop, fast stop, and consider climbing up that baby." Ray let out a long wistle then with a sharp clap of her hands, rubbed her palms together "ALRIGHT! Who can tear this open?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mmmmmmh." Frowning and rumbling Dith inspected the slab and then shook his head. "None of mine," he admitted freely but as he spoke he released Viktor, Luna and Teazer alongside the invisible Zla in readiness. The spotted golden Esepon hopped up onto his shoulders while the lanky Liepard rubbed against his leg and then sat down to wash a paw in an attempt to look indifferent. Luna merely sat down and curled her tail around her paws; if she was anything but indifferent to the situation it was impossible to tell.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera halted as the group approached the slab Ray indicated, turning to glance at her Absol. "D'you think you can?"

Isabella shifted her glance from her trainer to the obstacle, sizing it up briefly. She took a few steps back, readied herself, then lunged forward with her horn at the ready in an attempt to slash it open, at least a little.  

[Suudonym]

Luke released his Aggron in response to the presented obstacle, gesturing to Sera and her Absol, "Help them out, Tartarus."

The steel-type rumbled his understanding and moved to join Isabella, assisting her efforts with a hardy Brick Break.  

[Gwennythe]

Not to be deterred, and willing to prove himself, before Lin could stop him, Gregson ran to aid with the removal of the slab!

The valiant little Igglypuff tottled directly to one corner and began tugging on it with all his might.  

[Blood_Goddess]

With the Absol and Aggron (and the Igglybuff) both working on the cap, they made quick work of peeling it up and away from a gaping black hole.
A gasp of cold air gushed from the opening for a few seconds in a ghostly howl, before it fell still again.

At this point Ray stepped forward to crouch down by the shaft, peering down into it with a calm smirk over her lips.
a closed hand reached out over the hole, and as the gloves fingers opened so fell a rock that had fit in her palm.
silently she counted to herself as the quiet continued, grinning more when the rock impacted the ground below.

"Alight! Grass types out! lets go down."
Her arms spread out side as she looked to Double Stripe who was already moving.
vines from his shoulders snaked out, the hefty coils of the snake holding him to the ground as his partner dropped down into the hole, his vines in hand.

Over the next few seconds Ray was descended into the darkness, only when she hit the ground was the bottom illuminated from the Pikachu's flash on her shoulder, though no call up was met.

Double Stripe recoiled his vines, looking to the next person for their turn, flicking his tongue out at the blond trainer in pink.

Rosie, looked from the snake, to the open shaft, before she stepped forward to allow the grass type to help her down. gripping the vines that were wrapped around her waist, to be lowered in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once everyone gets down, They would find Ray crouching at the end of the stony hall listening.

Rosie standing by where the others would be descending, lending a hand if they needed it in the half darkness.  

[Suudonym]

Being transported from one place to another via a grass-type's vines was an experience that still felt a little too familiar, and Luke was glad to be released at the bottom, taking up a position near Rosie. He took stock of their surroundings carefully, unsure of what to expect apart from his memory of the twisting tunnels he had navigated so long ago.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Tiny hands found the Jirachi's head, the tiny pokemon bowing forward with a small whine, eyes closing tightly for a few seconds before a harsh gasp jerked her back up, and she stared around the caves as if terrified of something.

"Maybe ghost types should go ahead, try and find our way..." Rosie said, knowing that there were a few in the team that could be used.
"If there are people down here, they've been stuck for a long time... hopefully they won't be willing to put of a fight." her eyes trailed the stone walls as she quietly spoke, reached to the Love ball at her hip, picking one off slowly as she glanced around the wall of the cave.

Right off they would realize that the mines were not terribly big, large pokemon would have a hard time moving easily in such a small aria. Rosie worried, that effectively cut the use of her team right in half. Though she was sure she could depend on the other three if she needed them.

"I feel them." The Jirachi said, drifting forward with a light jingle of her ribbons and holding a finger to point in the direction Ray was staring off at.
"I can feel them, all of them. They're all there, fear, loneliness, sorrow, pain, pain, pain!" again the Jirachi recoiled with a cry that reflected the emotions she was sensing, bringing everything back to the surface "Hopelessness! Its all there! All over again!"

After the Jiachi's outburst there is a clattering of rocks that echo from down one of the caves.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Once down at the bottom, Sera didn't hesitate to follow Ray onward. While she would have been very nervous if she was alone or with just her friends, the increased number of people and therefore pokemon made her much more comfortable with the situation. Briefly she dismayed at the fact she hadn't brought Anastasia, as the Umbreon's soft pink glow could have added at least a little more light, but oh well. Giselle didn't wait for any sort of instruction before heading towards the source of the noisy rocks.

At the Jirachi's distress, Nicolette hurried forward, her hands outstretched to take the small legendary into her arms if it let her. "Ohh nooo, no, no, don't," she said gently, not realizing that she should probably try to dispel her own fear and anxiousness first. "Don't be upset, it's okay, shh, shhh. We're going to try to fix it, don't worry. Please don't worry."