[RAID] Tricksters in the Dark

[Rocket Agent Jerome]

Jerome lifted a corner of his mouth as they seemed to be making their way into the opened hole. He wasn't sure how many people would fit in there, but he sure didn't like the idea of being in tight enclosed spaces.
The ex-gangster didn't complain though, as he slipped in behind Aulus. Bro' following closely behind.

The half glowing ghost floated past Jerome, over to the branch that the Elite was looking at. Bro' arched a brow, glancing from the branch, to the Elite, then back.
fuuuuuck if he knew how this was good news. And it showed on his expression.  

[LexThetaSigma]

Once the bolder was out of the way, Rory peered inside. It was going to be a tight walk through, he imagined. He took a deep breath and followed the rest of the group, making sure to stick near Jace's extra light source.

The strange scents bothered Jace's nose but instead of getting distracted by them, he continued following the rest of the humans.  

[Natsuko-neko]

Zack moved back to Xander once the boulder was moved, wagging his tail happily. The blond gave the dog a few pats then recalled him and gave a whistle to bring Fai down and recalled him as well. As much as he hated the thought, it might come in handy to have a flying type if the cave turned out to be bigger further in.  

[TRHQ Harvard]

Harvard half smiled at the ghost's expression. "Whatever ate those berries outside isn't from the area, is most likely our target, and apparently has taken up residence in this cave." That explained, she moved further inside.

What started as a tunnel sloping just slightly downward would soon open up into an expansive cavern. Short mounds that may one day become sets of stalagmites and stalactites littered the area, accompanied by the drip drip of the moisture and whatnot that caused the formations. To the side, stumps could be seen from what had been... older ones? That was weird. Broken rock formations could mean a number of things. Higher on the walls, rock ledges jutted out like catwalks.

Other tunnels branched off from the cavern, some looking suspiciously smooth and rounded. In the side opposite the group, a larger tunnel opened up. Stanford skittered in that direction.

Harvard moved to follow when a resounding CRACK echoed through the room, followed by one of the established stalactites crashing to the ground. Good thing those things were to the side, even if it was awfully close to the other Rockets...

Childish giggling echoed faintly throughout the cavern. Looking straight up above where they'd just entered, Harvard's eyes widened uncharacteristically. Very. Sharp. Stalactites. Right. Over. Head. And a glimpse of something pink- "Move." She looked back to the group. "Move. Now." More cracking could be heard, but Harvard was already following after her squeaking companion to the opposite tunnel. They had to move quick! There weren't any pointy things in that tunnel, but there DEFINITELY were pointy things in here, and they were coming down quick!  

[TawnyAngel]

...Yeah, there was that fear again! Thank goodness! He would hate to hink he had lost it or something! The fall of the stalactite had been bad enough but the giggle? It was like something out of a horror movie. Aulus shivered and grasped Tortie's mane again, for very different reasons this time then last time.

Paul pressed close against his trainer's neck, repressing a little "Eeeeeeeee!" or terror. He didn't want to be supper!

Aulus's main concern abruptly became avoiding becoming a kebab a la stalactite. Swearing between clenched teeth he took off after Harvard - Tortie by his side - trying to keep an eye on where everyone else was too.

Paul clung on for dear life and squealed.  

[Natsuko-neko]

Conrad had caught up to the group before they went too deep into the tunnel and was walking by Xander when they came into the cavern. The Eevee jumped at the crack and moved closer to his partner. Xander tensed at the sound of the stalactite falling and hitting the ground, remembering the last time he was in a cave and ended up getting stabbed in the leg.

The giggling was hair raising and both he and Conrad had no problem jumping into a run when the elite ordered. The blond looked over to make sure the rest of the group was moving, ready to urge anyone along if need be,  

[Rocket Agent Tambrey]

Oh, good. The cavern was big and interesting. It would be kind of fun to just explore the place really, except... for that creepy giggle and... falling rocks.
Tambrey's eyes slid in the direction of the crash just before Harvard shouted.

Well, Treestar was happy enough to take orders from other people when they were delivered like that apparently. He saw the problem before Tambrey did and immediately started trotting as fast as he could go, just ahead of his trainer as the stalactites started falling.

"GAH!" Tambrey moved to the side as she began to run, narrowly avoiding one herself. "Frakfrakfrakfrak..."

Ella was heavy and not as fast as Tambrey or Treestar. She waddle-ran as quickly as she could, trying not to panic, after the pair.
Where were the others? Rory? Tambrey's urge to look back, to look around for them, slowed her slightly, especially as she noticed Ella doing her best to keep up. It cost her just a second to recall the steel type, but she wasn't confident enough in the pokémon's armour to leave her out, slow as she was.
Treestar was managing to stay ahead of her despite his little legs.  

[LexThetaSigma]

The childish giggle sent chills down Rory's spine, though not as much as the loud crack as rocks started falling from the ceiling. At Harvard's shout, Jace ran on ahead as Rory glanced around for the others, or more specifically one of them. Deciding that this really wasn't the time or place for that sort of thing, Rory raced after Harvard and the others, doing his best to watch out for the stalactites.  

[Rocket Agent Jerome]

It was thanks to the giggle from up top that his attention was even brought to the ceiling, giving him, and the others enough time to react while they nearly got struck by a shower of pointed rocks.
Jerome could respond quickly enough, even though his reaction time wasn't as fast as it used to be, he was able to leap out of the way, and to a safer aria of the room.

"GAR GAR!" Bro' barked up at the ceiling. Still in the middle of the room, the ghost floated up a few feet, glaring around the cave for where the giggling might have come from.  

[TRHQ Harvard]

As the team hustled across the room, rocks and spikes showered down narrowly behind them, driving them onward. It didn't stop until they were all safely ducked inside the large tunnel. Harvard had crouched the moment she had reached it, whipping out her pistol and aiming it and the flashlight back into the cavern. It was preferred that the target be brought back alive, but that thing was clearly not wanting to play nice. Harvard would take paperwork on dead target Pokemon that could still be cloned over losing an agent on her watch any day.

Bro's outcries were met with more giggles, before the culprit zoomed by in a flash of pink and blue-gray and on down the tunnel they were now inside.

Harvard spun to try keeping the blur in her sights, the gun still held up and at the ready. But the Pokemon was gone all too quickly, leaving them all to just stare after it around a slight bend. From the other side of the cavern and with next to no light, it had been impossible to see around that bend. Now that they were in the open tunnel itself, with the light of fire types and flashlights, it was easy to see what had been hidden. Right in front of them was a hulking machine, about the same size as the helicopter they had used to get there. The metal work glinted in the dim lighting. A massive drill sat on the front end for boring through stone. The rest of the machine was structured oddly to resemble a Rhydon, with a seat and control levers behind the "head."

It was a drill that resembled a Pokemon.

And on the elbow in gold was the emblem of a large and pointed letter "G."

((Duh duh DUUUUN. End of day 1. You can respond to this anytime between now and the start of tomorrow's raid time. =3 ))  

[Natsuko-neko]

Once out of the danger zone, Xander and Conrad turned back to the cavern, the rocket pointing his flashlight to help look for the legendary pokemon. Like the Elite, Xander moved to keep the blur with in sight for as long as possible. Thoughts of the legendary however were quick to disappear when the agent saw the machine, or more accurately, the logo on the machine.

He clenched the hand not holding the flashlight into a fist for a moment then relaxed slightly with a low hiss. Sure he had thought that the other team could show up in some way back at the start of the mission but that didn't mean he hadn't been hoping they wouldn't. "I suppose we better check that out and make sure there isn't any surprises." He said to no one in particular.

Conrad moved to stand between Xander and the Rhydon drill, keeping an eye on it.  

[TawnyAngel]

When the rain of debris stopped and he looked up Aulus became aware that before when he had thought he was afraid he had merely been apprehensive. Galactic. As he took in the shape of the machine he took a step back, hand dropping onto the haft of his staff. Xander was talking about checking it out, making sure there were no surprises and he- he was- he should be thinking like that. Xander was several years younger than he was, had been in that place with him but-

He wasn't going to humiliate himself. No chance. The closeness he had gained with most of these people could be lost in a moment if they saw he wasn't coping as well as they were. They might pity him but they wouldn't like him anymore. He'd be the awkward one everyone really wanted to avoid but tolerated out of obligation.

One hand grasped Tortie's mane and the other grasped his staff. "Any Galactics that are in there aren't walking away again." That had sounded alright, he thought; he voice had been tight but that could be anger as much as fear and hopefully given his general demeanour would be taken for the former. He wished Alex was here, or Claire. He hadn't expected to have to face Galactic here. He wanted to go home.  

[Gwennythe]

Treestar was safe before Tambrey, looking back for his trainer as she slipped into safety behind him, pokéball still shrinking down to size as she did.
She looked back out to see what they'd just escaped from, then around to see how everyone else was holding up, having been slightly scratched, herself, in their fleeing.

Upon turning her head, her eyes caught sight of the machine and she didn't need to see the 'G' to realise what they'd just blundered into.
"Frak."  

[LexThetaSigma]

Once the debris stopped falling, Rory kept his eye on the small flash of pink as its giggles trailed off as it flew down the tunnel. With the help of the flashlights and the flames it was still too hard to make out exactly what was down there, though he was able to see the machine that his fellow Rockets were staring at in what seemed like horror.

The sight of the golden "G" on the machines arms caused a brief flashback to the last time he had been on a raid. The raid that had left him with scars...the one to help rescue the people he was with now from the Galactics.

Now the looks of horror made sense; they had been trapped with those people before. They knew exactly what they would do to them again if they got caught. As soon as he remembered, his eyes quickly searched for Tambrey's before moving closer to her side.

"Maybe the drill was abandoned?" Rory offered calmly. "Or maybe...we could use it against them if they're down here."  

[TRHQ Harvard]

Oh yeah. Harvard's gun was going nowhere other than staying right there in her hand, and at the ready. Except now it was trained on that strange excuse for a machine. Standford grappled back up her uniform to the safety of her shoulder.

She nodded in agreement with Xander and Rory (or maybe really all of them), even if they may not see it, and edged closer. Stanford was staying still and quiet. A good sign, she hoped. It meant he was curious to see what it was, not on edge because an enemy was near. Swinging her firearm and light to scan the area, the Elite in charge finally lowered her weapon a notch and approached the machine.

"Clear," she called just loud enough for the others to hear her. She brushed some dirt from the arm of the thing, not touching the emblem. The thing was covered in a layer of dust and dirt, and the once polished metal was losing any luster in various places. "Looks like it's been here a while. Probably abandoned. We'll keep our guard up from here on out, though, just to be sure." The idea to use the drill wasn't all that bad. Perhaps this joke of a contraption could come in use later... If it still operated, that is.