No Signal?! [OPEN]

[Ellie Price]

x

A purple ghost flitted through the rocks near the ruins that its Trainer was currently exploring. Its beady little eyes scanning for movement as it finally chose to hide behind a rock. Was she around? Or should he take a chance and perhaps go off licking passerby, scaring the daylights out of them? That would be fun, but he also didn't want to lose. Haunter's sharp 'fingertips' drummed against the rock as his eyes narrowed in thought. Maybe pull a prank on Ellie herself? Oh yes - two birds with one stone. The Haunter grinned and floated swiftly over an embankment where he caught sight of the blond turning the place upside down looking for him, looking behind rocks and behind statues. Haunter snickered lightly and hid behind her, moving accordingly to stay behind her as she looked. Then, getting a rather devious idea, the ghost Pokemon phased into the ground only to pop up in front of Ellie, pulling at his face with his disembodied hands.

Ellie let out a scream and fell onto her butt. Her heart was racing until she began to laugh and laugh hard. The two laughed at the prank, Ellie not minding it much - it was good to be scared out of your wits every so often. The two eventually settle down and Ellie rises to her feet, grinning at her Pokemon. "There you are Haunter....you aren't a very good hider if you come looking for me you know!" Haunter shrugs it off and grins, moving through Ellie and toward one of the walls of the cave. Ellie follows and the two poke their heads around the corner to see if anyone was coming - from one prank onto another.

The two had journeyed here to play hide 'n seek for a while before they continue on their way toward Violet City. Though the game had turned into a bout of harmless pranks toward each other. They hadn't caught the attention of anyone else yet, but with that scream they both assumed someone would come to the little alcove they were playing in. Ellie and Haunter figured they could prank the passerby that chose to investigate her scream - and scaring someone else always proved to be fun! The blond's eyes narrowed mischievously along with the eyes of her pokemon as they waited.

[ciel kriemhild +]

The goal was impossible. Just simply not anything that any trainer could possibly figure out or even come close to finding a conclusion. His team as well as himself were smart; but locating things that just didn't want to to be found was proving to be a waist of time. Ciel hated wasting time. Looking from one wall to the next, the scriptures taunting them with their clues of mysterious pokemon, his fist curled tightly in an attempt to ease honed frustrations; the attempt not working as well as he hoped for. "Where are they? All the research, the lab reports, the rumors. They all led to these ruins. But there are nothing but idiotic Natus, and writings on the ancient walls," fingertips massaged his forehead, a deep breath cycling in and out of his diaphragm. Eyes of worry gazed up to see the frustrations that his master was facing, his concern only for Ciel. The mouse pokemon tugged on the human's coat, hoping to give him some type of reassurance. "Rai- Rai?" Words of concern from his partner caused Ciel to change the path of his gaze, eyes lightening their frustrations at the sight of his partner. Ciel could never let his anger get the best of him when his Raichu looked to him for support. Hell, if anything, Kai made him more determined to give it another go, perhaps this one to be the last one of the day. "Alright then," Ciel said sternly, nodding to his Raichu. "Let's give it one more go. Kai, Survey!"


With the command of Ciel, Kai nodded curtly slamming the tip of his tail into the ground, closing his eyes and amplifying his headphones. As if a whole new network of senses opened up, Kai mentally began to create a map of the surrounding area, noting the amount of times the small electrical signals were disturbed by some force. The hard part wasn't in counting the creatures in the area though, it was more so identifying what electrical frequency belonged to what pokemon, and whether or not that was the type of pokemon Ciel was currently looking for. Having well already found out the average frequency behind a common Natu, Kai was easily able to push those signals out of the picture; leaving him surprisingly with two unknown sources. Up until this go around, the Raichu had not detected the two wave patterns that now communicated with his messages, and actually, he was rather excited to discover perhaps what Ciel was looking for. Opening his eyes immediately, his cheeks sparked a small amount of electricity that fed into his headphones and ultimately communicated a understandable message to Ciel. The human looked intrigued.


"This could be perhaps what we've been looking for! Kai you are simply magnificent," the nineteen year old couldn't help but praise the Raichu, smiles lighting up both their faces. But there was no time for chit- chat. The signals could disappear at any moment, and their celebrations would be in vain. "Alright Kai, lead the way." With out a moment to spare, the Raichu uprooted its tail before taking off with the location pictured clear in his mind, Ciel following close behind. When having neared the area of importance, the Raichu slowed down before stopping completely, waiting for further instructions on how to go about creating a trap so that whatever it was couldn't escape. "Okay Kai, I don't exactly want to kill whatever it is, or have it faint on us. Causing disorientation is the best way to prevent those two things. And perhaps it isn't what I'm looking for, then I want to make sure that whatever it is doesn't have life long problems. Got it?" The Raichu nodded, knowing his human well enough to guess at what element of surprise he was leaning towards. "Now, hurry up. I'll follow quickly after." Understanding the mission, Kai gave one final agreement nod before setting out to stun whatever was hiding not too far away. It was only till after his partner left that Ciel realized the unlikely hood of Unknown existing so close to the outside of the ruins.


Darting after his pokemon with skillful speed, a worried look crossed over the trainer's face; hoping that he was not to late to stop his dear Raichu. Upon reaching where his partner had gone, he was startled to see that Kai had known well enough to not attack the two that were real the sources of disturbance- a haunter and a female trainer. A sigh of relief flooded his face, but it appeared to him that the two had not notice their presence. Actually, it appeared that if they were scheming something. "Rai- Rai, Rai" cheeks lit up with a slight playfulness, looking to spook the two, but Ciel looked discontent at this idea; and Kai calmed down. "Should we introduce ourselves? Maybe it would be better if we went about with our own business," pondering his words over after he had said them, Ciel couldn't help but shake his head at the idea. He was done looking for Unknown at the moment. "What would be in the harm of meeting new people. Perhaps they know something despite their childish ways." "Rai!"

[/b] Agreeing with one another towards the decision that was made on the behalf of both of them, Ciel escaped from the concealed area that had hidden the both of them from the two's delinquent acts of trickery. "Are you looking for something over there? I would think that there would be more things to do around here then to sit and wait for poor unsuspecting people to walk by and be scared half to death, don't you think?" His tone was harsh, but that was Ciel's type of friendliness.


[/blockquote][/size][/justify][/blockquote]

[Ellie Price]

x

No one seemed to be coming, so Ellie heaved a sigh and placed her hands on her hips as she took a few steps away from their hiding spot. Haunter was still ever persistent and stared daggers into the pathway leading up to their little alcove, eagerly waiting for some frantic idiot researcher to come bounding up - hoping that someone hadn't just been stabbed or something. But that frantic man of science and logic never came, and Haunter eventually floated slowly away from the wall. "Guess that cave's real soundproof." Ellie nodded thoughtfully and shrugged. Haunter, who had been hoping for someone else to prank, looked disappointed. The hyper-active girl grinned and gave the cave wall a curious look. She wondered what was inside - well ancient drawings and things of that sort, but Ellie was wondering what it said.

The Unknown were rumored to be living somewhere in these ruins, but no one had ever seen them - well at least to her knowledge, but there were drawings of them in the ruins weren't there? That's how one would know that you were looking at an Unknown and not a Gyarados right? Well...I think most people would know a Gyarados when they saw one. Ellie walked over to where she had put her bag and sandals a little while before when they had started their game. Her feet were slightly dirty, and so was her dress but Ellie didn't seem to mind that much. She picked up her bag, opened it, and stuffed her shoes into one of the side pockets that didn't hold important items like pokeballs that she would usually need on the spot.

"Are you looking for something over there? I would think that there would be more things to do around here then to sit and wait for poor unsuspecting people to walk by and be scared half to death, don't you think?"

Ellie spun around to face the boy and his Raichu that had just 'magically' appeared. More that slightly surprised Ellie blinked and processed what he had just asked before grinning cheerfully at him. "True - but that really never gets old honestly!" She took a few steps closer as Haunter laid eyes upon the Male Trainer's Raichu. He gave the electric mouse a Cheshire grin, a creepy show of friendliness, but a show of friendliness nonetheless. The two were dense and didn't react to the Male's harshness, and in fact they were both pleased to see that there was actually another form of life nearby. "But I ain't looking for anything yet - might go into the ruins though and look around there though. That place looks like fun to explore!"

In fact she wanted to go into the Ruins very bad, since she did have a thing for legends - though her favorites were the ones about Suicune. Now that was a legendary she would kill to see. The grace and power that Suicune had...it made Ellie's head spin a little. The Legend of the Unknown....doing some of her own research wouldn't hurt her journey too much. Violet City was that far away....at least she hoped it wasn't. Though, she didn't mind camping too much - in fact she would rather camp out underneath the stars than be cooped up in a Pokemon Center!

[/justify]

[ciel kriemhild +]

"But I ain't looking for anything yet - might go into the ruins though and look around there though. That place looks like fun to explore!"

Rolling his eyes in a pity-filled yet anger induced way, Ciel couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for the girl. It seemed pretty crystal clear to him that she knew something of the legend behind the ruins; he could see it in her eyes that need to explore for such things that were said to not have existed. To his knowledge, they still didn't. The hope that she yearned off of was simply falsified in his opinion, there was nothing of value behind those walls. No truth in simple fairytales told by insomniatic professors. The markings were nothing but complicated designs of a man made piece of architecture. These were the things that he wanted to confirm with himself, wanted to believe; with all his own observations he had simply not come up with anything. The Unknown had not shown any signs of existing, and if there was no Unknown, how would anything associated with that story be true? It wouldn't. Perhaps they were just creative ways of expressing some sort of code with letters. There was still more stuff to research, still things to discover. Maybe it was a great time to provide the girl with some, encouragement, about her risky ideas. She seemed a bit naive.


"Well now, you were thinking of going exploring in the Ruins of Alph? Looking for exciting adventures? Perhaps the secrets hidden behind those walls?" Ciel's voice edged forward through the sentences, emphasizing each one more then the last. His Raichu looked curiously at him, questioning his motives behind the words his master spoke. Though through a simple movement of his gaze for a split second in the direction of his pokemon, Kai grinned slightly before turning his attention back to the Haunter; adjusting his headphones slightly. "Sad to say, but I must inform you that your desires for such adventure are nothing but wasted energy. I've looked through every single one of those caverns, surveyed each wall for any signs of secretive life. Those ruins are nothing but a playground for Natus. Filthy really. I wouldn't bother with the place anymore, a waste of time it is." Shrugging his shoulders to accentuate his antagonizing negative words, Ciel turned to look at his Raichu, tempted to pull out the male's pokeball and continue his travels on his own for the time being. Rather, he decided against it and turned back to face the girl, looking to weasel his way into her decision to remain away from the Ruins.


Taking moments to intake the silence that followed carefully executed words, Ciel was in a way second guessing the decision he had made. Maybe she was the key to unlocking things and he didn't know it. Maybe she still wanted to go despite his small interlude. But for every plan, Ciel had a backup, and this one was centered more around giving in and attempting another go at the search for Unknown rather then pushing more and more pressure onto the girl. "But," the nineteen year old started, his Raichu twisting a part of his headphones. "If you care to still explore, it would be my pleasure to provide extra assistance when needed be. Going in blind without a map would just be foolish. And I have the proper technology to make sure that we not only go in in one piece, but come out in one piece as well." Giving a nod to his Raichu, as Kai gave one back in his direction, Ciel tapped his foot almost impatiently, despite having only finished his own section of the conversation. It wasn't clear exactly which choice he wanted specifically to happen, or why he even bothered with the girl. But perhaps another look in the ruins couldn't hurt, it was all self-beneficial. "Well then, what's your verdict?"

[Ellie Price]

x

"Well now, you were thinking of going exploring in the Ruins of Alph? Looking for exciting adventures? Perhaps the secrets hidden behind those walls?"

Ellie's usual grin widened at all of his questions. She nodded vigorously, he had hit the nail on the head! "Yep! Doesn't it sound amazing?!" The thought of it made her head spin - she was a real sucker for stuff like this, since it played into the role of Adventurer after all. It was all so mysterious, so thrilling - would she find something amazing? Or something terrible? Something horrifying?! Oh the possibilities were endless! Maybe she would stumble upon some Unknown...Ellie wondered what they looked like - there were probably drawings of them in the Ruins though, so she didn't worry over it - but she was incredibly excited, it was written all over her face.

"Sad to say, but I must inform you that your desires for such adventure are nothing but wasted energy. I've looked through every single one of those caverns, surveyed each wall for any signs of secretive life. Those ruins are nothing but a playground for Natus. Filthy really. I wouldn't bother with the place anymore, a waste of time it is."

Ellie pouted cutely and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well aren't you the positive one..." She watched him shrug his shoulders and suddenly she stomped her foot and let her arms fall, but hands clench into fists. "Well that's what you say! But lemme tell ya, I have a very different set of eyes than you!" Ellie was passionate about this now, and wouldn't let this stranger disregard something she loved as 'A Waste of Time' - and it just goes to show how easily she became passionate over something. In a goofy way she cupped her hands around her eyes, making 'goggles'. "So I bet you I'll probably find something interesting!" The cheerful girl grinned at him, in all honesty she was happy to be taking to another person - and almost asked him to come along with her, as if to double check his work.

"If you care to still explore, it would be my pleasure to provide extra assistance when needed be. Going in blind without a map would just be foolish. And I have the proper technology to make sure that we not only go in in one piece, but come out in one piece as well............"Well then, what's your verdict?""

...But he beat her to the punch. Ellie nodded, glad to have someone so...qualified to accompany her into the Ruins - into the Unknown....oh that was a bad pun. The blond looked at Haunter as it floated back up to her level, wondering what she was going to say to this boy. "Sounds great to me!" She nodded and then extended her hand out to him. "I'm Ellie," She would have said 'Nice to Meet you' but Haunter floated into her way to make a face at their temporary companion. "...And this is Haunter" She chuckled slightly and eventually let her hand fall. Ellie turned around, Haunter following behind his Trainer closely. "C'mon let's go! Lead the way Pardner~!"

[ciel kriemhild +]

"I'm Ellie, ...and this is Haunter."

His eyes attempted to divert themselves constantly away from the floating purple apparition, a tingly feeling dispersing itself throughout his figure. It was hard not to show a rude tinge to his glance, or a hateful look towards the ghost pokemon that toyed with its face; it wasn't even that he judged the Haunter right off the bat. More so, from their first encounter alone, Ciel classified the pokemon in the list that he disliked being around. To him, ghost pokemon just had no style, typically made a mockery of well formulated works, and were just downright creepy. In honesty, he would rather have nothing to do with the putrid thing. Giving a slight disheartening glance towards his own pokemon, Ciel made it clear to Kai to make sure that that thing didn't get too close to him; he would keep his commitment to this Ellie person, but he wasn't about to be caught standing next to a floating head. In response the Raichu adjusted his headphones once more and gave an innocent glance upward, Ciel counting it as a hidden signal that he understood. Drawing back to Ellie with a unemotional face, the male himself tinkered with his head piece to turn on a smooth bit of calming music. He needed his nerves to level themselves, and if that meant not listening to the girl through one ear then so be it. "Yes, well I'm Ciel," he cooed, his hand pressing against his chest to emphasize the obvious "and this, is Kai." After finding that his technology was adjusted to fit the gratifications that he wished to change, the Raichu stepped forward after his name was called, his eyes turning from a serious gaze momentarily to a friendly one, "Rai, Rai."

[/b]

"C'mon let's go! Lead the way Pardner~!"

Introductions were done; Pokemon introduced; mission thought out, Ciel was prepared to once again navigate the scripted walls and mysteries behind the ruins. Since having spoken to Ellie, his mood -though serious and stuck up- had lightened from its disappointment from his earlier adventures. Perhaps even if there was no Unknown or anything from the stories, then maybe there was a strong pokemon to be fought; at least something other then just Natus. The day would prove to be pointless if there wasn't a bit of real excitement. Adjusting his scarf slightly while listening to the background of a quick stacatto violin piece, Ciel looked over one last time to his Raichu; his voice an authoritative tone. "Kai, please run quick schematics of the first couple levels." Without giving a signal of response, the Raichu went to work immediately, his tail once again grounding itself to produce a vague map of the surroundings. Being so far away from the cave he wouldn't be able to give an accurate count on pokemon, but for now that wasn't the main issue. "Now, Ellie; despite having only met you I have a feeling that you don't really understand the dangers behind going into the ruins so let me set some rules," Ciel began, eyes staring sternly into hers. "First and most important rule, don't lose track of where we are. If you happen to go on a little excursion on your own while we venture to another floor, there is a possibility -no, a high probability that you will get lost. If that happens, Kai has the ability to locate you, but, I would prefer not to go through the trouble. Second, if you see researchers, it would look less childish if you don't bother them with stupid antics. They have a job to do, they don't need to be running after fake cries of help or spooked by a ghost pokemon. Third, if you find anything out of the ordinary, anything that you find out of place or important that really is important, then notify me," he paused for dramatic effect, giving his rules a moment to sink in. "Follow them. It'll make things easier for both you and I, as well as keep us both out of harms way. And if you don't follow them... well, I hope you know your way around."


"Rai- Rai." Uprooting his tail from the ground and making his way in front of the group, the Raichu confirmed his preparations for the first couple floors, getting a good gist of where everything was. Following in suit behind his pokemon, Ciel allowed himself to fall a little in front of Ellie. "Alright, Kai will lead the way for the first couple floors. There should be nothing but a couple of Natus but still be on the lookout." Moving gracefully behind his Raichu, it had been record time that they made it to the entrance of the ruins; the light of the outside dropping into the darkness the further Ciel's gaze followed. Perhaps he would need the help of another further on. "Kai, lead the way."[/b] A small light lit up on the Raichu's headphones, Ciel's headpiece doing the same. Syncing together in communication, Kai moved forward into the ruins, cheeks momentarily sparking.
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[Ellie Price]

x

"Now, Ellie; despite having only met you I have a feeling that you don't really understand the dangers behind going into the ruins so let me set some rules. First and most important rule, don't lose track of where we are. If you happen to go on a little excursion on your own while we venture to another floor, there is a possibility -no, a high probability that you will get lost. If that happens, Kai has the ability to locate you, but, I would prefer not to go through the trouble. Second, if you see researchers, it would look less childish if you don't bother them with stupid antics. They have a job to do, they don't need to be running after fake cries of help or spooked by a ghost pokemon. Third, if you find anything out of the ordinary, anything that you find out of place or important that really is important, then notify me. Follow them. It'll make things easier for both you and I, as well as keep us both out of harms way. And if you don't follow them... well, I hope you know your way around."

Ellie and Haunter just looked at him skeptically. What was he? Her Father? The two look at each other blankly, an eyebrow slowly rising on both of them, and as he turned they both were forced to stifle their laughter behind hands interlaced over their mouths. They look back at Ceil and Raichu, wondering how their both so serious! Were they like that all the time?! If so...then this might require their mischievous touch after all! They give each other devious looks before rushing after them. Ellie tightly grips her backpack on her shoulder as she moves it to stuff her shoes into it. She jumps over rocks, Haunter weaving around her occasionally as they catch up with them, skidding to a stop behind them giving them a goofy grin if they turned around.

Even if she did get lost though, which was...quite plausible to happen, Ellie could simply send Haunter out to find another way out since he could easily move through the walls. She was sure that she could get out of their somehow if she were to get lost, she didn't want to though. Ellie wanted to see the look on Ceil's face when they managed to find something interesting in the Cave - surely that look would be PRICELESS. Ellie's mind mulled over several things they could find...maybe jewels, buried treasure, or even the Unown! With a new found excitement, Ellie looks over at Haunter with a grin as they begin to enter the cave.

"Alright, Kai will lead the way for the first couple floors. There should be nothing but a couple of Natus but still be on the lookout. Kai, lead the way."

"I've never seen a Natu before." She said finally, suddenly appearing at Ceil's side, looking around expectantly. Haunter placed its cold hands on top of Ellie's helmet, looking around too. The blond looked at Ceil, noticing that his headphones at suddenly just...lit up. Was that a feature it had? To provide light in the dark or something? Ellie pursed her lips in thought - she wanted a pair that did that.... Ellie looked ahead of her again, trying to peer through the darkness. Her eyes hadn't quite adjusted yet, so she was really just squinting and pouting. Her bare feet suddenly step on something soft and feathery, earning a deafening squawk of well...a Natu.

Ellie jumped in her skin and turned her body toward the sound as she stepped back. This...can't be good. "Natu!!!" That sound penatrates her ears followed by a sharp pain in her ankle. She kicks her leg, sending the bird-like creature away before turning to Haunter.

"Haunter, Hypnosis

[/u]!"[/b] She ordered quickly. Haunter's suddenly surrounded in a light blue light as he locks eyes with the spooked Natu, waves begin to move toward it, lulling it into a sound slumber. "I'm getting out of here!" She whispered as she, purposefully, ran farther into the cave, Haunter following closely behind her. She figured she was bleeding, not bad but not well either. It trobbed painfully as she stopped, hoping that Ceil would catch up and hadn't abandoned her so quickly after that.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

[ciel kriemhild +]

"I've never seen a Natu before."

Was that truly possible? From the looks of things from his eyes, she had played with that disgusting ghoul thing plenty around these ruins and she had yet to see any Natus. That was just, interesting. Trudging forward almost to expect that Ellie would follow somewhat close behind, the Raichu was able to light up a proximity of a couple feet in diameter. It wasn't the whole cave, nor was it enough to see too far in front of them, but Ciel knew the surroundings quite well and it didn't once occur to him that this adventure would lead into any turmoil or any trouble. It was an expedition to find the Unknown, if you didn't have the skills to keep yourself together in a dark cave such as this then you probably shouldn't be here. Hearing the squeak of a Natu off to the side, Kai didn't need a command to send a small amount of electricity in the bird's direction, the Natu simply darting off without the need for more trouble. It was simple really, Natu's knew well enough when they were outmatched and Ciel wasn't here to look for the pointless birds; therefore battling them was unneeded. "Now you see Ellie, Natus are generally harmless. Just give them a little reminder that you aren't here to harm them and they'll-"

[/b] interrupted mid-sentence by a squawk of a Natu and the command of an attack, Ciel and Kai turned around only to see the sudden appearance of Ellie and her Haunter before they disappeared into the darkness in front of them. The two of them sighed.

"I'm getting out of here!"

Staring dumbfoundly into the eyes of his Raichu, Ciel couldn't help but be a bit steamed about the situation. If someone wanted to get out a cave, why would they run the opposite way; the logic made no sense and therefore was illogical. Ellie had to have had a reason to run forward, and Ciel had a feeling that it more or less involved him chasing after her in some manner. Though, why would he want to bother doing such pointless things anyway? She had been the one to cause the situation, and if only she would have stayed calm about the Natu things would have been a bit different. Regardless, whether or not she was planning to play a trick on him, Ciel felt that he needed to find her- she was bleeding after all. "Kai, why is it that I have to feel obligated into helping people?"[/b] The Raichu just peered up in an oblivious manner, shrugging his shoulders in response to his master's banter. "Alright, well from what it looks like they went in a straight direction, could you specifically pick up her body's electrical signals? Maybe the... Haunter's signals?"[/b] Closing his eyes, the Raichu's cheeks sparked small amounts of electricity and sent them off into the darkness; concentrating specifically on the location of Ellie. Similar to the schematics trick, Raichu was able to hone his abilities in tracking after certain electrical signals. From the moment upon meeting the two, Kai had picked up on their electrical signature and was now able to give an estimate of where they were. It was always good to have this kind of skill in these kinds of situations. When Kai found out her general location, the Raichu opened his eyes, staring off into the direction of her departure. "Rai Rai,"[/b] he noted almost urgently. Nodding his head in understanding the Raichu's expression turned serious before darting into the darkness, Ciel following right behind; though something wasn't right.


It took not a lot of time to catch up with the girl, having been able to dodge unnecessary obstacles with Raichu at the lead. He was kind of surprised that she had even gotten this far without a light, perhaps a bit of luck followed after her... or maybe she wasn't actually stupid. Catching the back of her outfit in the perimeter of his light, Ciel's eyes narrowed, disgust formulating in them at the sight of the purple ghost. "Ellie, stop," Ciel shouted, the girl going in and out of his sight. Then it was almost like an alarm set off in his head, or a buzz rang in his ear. His headphones lit up with sudden alarm, Kai sensing the same thing as well. Looking around he couldn't see anything, not a Natu, just empty space. Something was wrong. And then he spotted it; that small shimmer that was out of place in such a dull cave. Ciel squeezed his eyes in attempts to see what lay around, and immediately he fell silent. "Ellie, STOP!" Ciel yelled, reaching for her backpack and grabbing it in an attempt to stop her from taking one step further. Kai's cheeks began to spark, the Raichu looking around them in a hostile and alert manner. Laced within the fabrics of unseen, the lair of a seamstress lay woven to the walls around them, and the passage of corridor in front of them. Though absent, the meals of such a pokemon laid untouched and preserved. Immediately Kai felt alarmed. Natus weren't the only things that lived here. "We have to go, the smell of blood will lead them here."[/b] But it was too late, they had already scented it, they already knew; it was all just a matter of reaching Ciel and Ellie before they had the chance to escape.
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[esperanza.villalobos]

Walking through caves was... scary. Maybe Esperanza was just too tough to admit it out loud, but there was definitely something unnerving about being lost in a strange ruin full of Pokemon, with nothing but the sparks of a Pikachu's cheeks lighting the way. Still she walked with confidence, even trying to appear casual by creating a cradle of fingers to lay her head back into. Recently her luck had been down, and she had a quota to meet, and so in an act of desperation had decided to explore the ruins in search for rare Pokemon. The hatted Latina would have felt much more at ease with the massive Brutus at her side as well, but she knew how the old bull felt about caves, and there was nothing more frightening than a frightened Tauros. So she toughed it out with the capable, yet small Wattson, who strolled casually ahead. The scruffy, rugged Pikachu had no particular direction in mind, knowing full well that they were both miserably lost, and appearing just as nonchalant about it as she was. However his indifference was no show: they'd gotten out of worse unscathed before, and this time would be no different.

The Pikachu's aimless wandering was interrupted when he detected static in the air, and not his own. Instantly his body went rigid, and he rose on his hind legs, ears twitching and every hair on his body detecting the residual electricity left behind by the Raichu. Curious, unaware of any electric type Pokemon that would actually choose to live in a cave, he determined that the source of the static was worth investigating. So he ran - much to the dismay of Esperanza.

"Wait up Wattson!" She cried out in surprise, reaching for his retreating form as she started running after the ball of yellow fluff. She tripped, twice, scuffing up her elbows and palms in the process. But once she finally caught up with her companion, she was too overjoyed to see other people to be angry with him. What was more, she noticed, was the silk on the walls, clearly a den for a Pokemon. Without even so much as a "hello" to the others, she glanced around quickly, and grinned mischievously when she found what she was looking for: and egg sack. "Aha, easy pickin's... excuse me, lemme just squeeze by you real quick," she spoke as she eased her way past Ciel and his Raichu, diving for the egg sack quickly, and tearing it open. Removing her pack, she began to pluck out eggs and set them inside, working quickly. She knew that whatever owned this nest wouldn't be gone for long, and it wouldn't be happy about some human stealing her brood. Maybe if she ducked in and out quick enough, the other two trainers could keep the angry Pokemon occupied enough for the Latina to escape.

Wattson had other things on his mind. The second he saw the Raichu, he stopped dead in his tracks, and his spirit began to break. He wondered what it was about a Raichu that could possess a trainer to want to evolve their perfect electric mouse. Was there something about them that was genuinely just better than a Pikachu? ... Impossible. Looking down to his fuzzy, spherical self, Wattson tried to find flaws within his physique. Sure, Pikachus were pudgy, and smaller too, but a lesser being than their evolved state? No. That could not be true, and Wattson had to prove it. So the young male sucked in his belly to the best of his ability, puffing out his chest and adopting a stern frown toward his cousin.

Tugging at one of the braided strands of his "beard" thoughtfully, Wattson inspected Kai from afar, considering challenging the larger rodent to a battle. Esperanza would likely not be pleased of course, she seemed busy and bothered but, what was new? So instead he gave a huff, and a rather hateful glare to Ciel, and turned his attention back to his surroundings. His heart sank even more when he realized that there was webbing on the walls. Somehow without his notice they had all ended up in the nest of a Ariados, and he knew that they all needed to get the hell out of there. Deflated and no longer trying to prove his worth, Wattson dashed over to his trainer, tugging at the hem of her pants urgently, but he was only ignored.

[ciel kriemhild +]

Time ticked away effortlessly little by little while Ciel slowly observed their situation. The walls, woven with a thin lace of sticky webbing, cradled unmoving forms, some bodies half-eaten while others were still whole. Even if Ciel could provide help to the pokemon that were caught in the webs, the chances of them not being poisoned or paralyzed were slim, while at the same time he could not tell the dead ones from the live ones. It was sad, but it was the circle of life. As he continued his observations, he predicted that by the size of the web, the amount of eggs, and the amount of prey that had been collected that there were at least five fully matured Ariados living within this cavern. That number didn't include the possibility of the Spinarak that more then likely accompanied the group, which could be in the possible hundreds. The situation was a bad one even for Ciel's level of expertise. If anyone got stuck to the web or got a straight shot of venom right through their veins, they were dead no matter what pokemon they had. Yet despite all the danger of it, the sight was... absolutely disgusting. No Unknown anywhere, no treasure to find, just absolute misery. "Ellie, lets go," his voice was commanding and urgent, but not panicky. She didn't respond. Ciel rolled his eyes; all she did was stare. "Ellie... we need to go,"

[/b] he urged, becoming a bit annoyed. She still didn't move. At the sight of Ellie's weird behavior, Ciel didn't panic, not at all. He was frustrated, yes, with the fact that she wasn't responding but he had a plan. It was a bit risque, but if Ellie was just going to stand there like a dead fish in the water with sharks, he was going to have to resort to it. "Kai?" Looking around and spotting the Raichu rushing to his side, the mouse pokemon appeared to have the same alerted look across his eyes, yellow cheeks sparking in preparation for battle. " I need you to-" The sounds of footsteps caught him mid-sentence, Ciel's eyes coming to rest towards the darkness as if suspecting the large spider like pokemon. From the corner of his vision though, he saw the small electricity radiating off of Kai's tail, and immediately he tuned into the Raichu's signals from his headphones. A sigh of relief was heaved after obtaining the information. It was only a Pikachu.


As the strange Pikachu had analyzed him, Kai had done the same. It was intriguing to him how the lower evolution appeared threatened by his being, maybe perhaps annoyed. When it came to the type of equipment he carried, the posture he stood, and the attitude he expressed, Kai was used to others being jealous of the lifestyle he had. Was this Pikachu any different? Just by the way Wattson stroked the strands of beaded hair, Kai assured himself that this Pikachu was no typical dumb wild mouse. Well, at least from first glances he figured it was true. Kai also had deducted that this electric mouse seemed to want to have little to nothing to do with him. Regardless of that fact, he still radiated jolts of electricity from his tail over in the direction of Wattson, trying to communicate with him possibly. In times like these hasty natures weren't rewarded, rather, it only killed the ones that loved you faster. And Kai wanted to protect Ciel and his team as much as he could. Watching as Wattson had given up the strong man act and rushed over to his trainer in a newly alerted status, Kai hoped that the Pikachu would respond to the messages he had sent, and possibly follow him in order to ensure the escape of their trainers alive.

"Aha, easy pickin's... excuse me, lemme just squeeze by you real quick,"

Complete disregard; idiocy; lack of any regards to her team. As Ciel watched in heightened disbelief at the constant changing situation, he was just dumbfounded at the sight of Esperanza's behavior. Was she just stupid or what? Looking towards Ellie in a half-gazed pissed off look, the electric trainer could feel the signals around them changing as if to alert him. Without even bothering to respond to the Team Rocket's kind manners, Ciel knew that time was running out, and so actions needed to be taken to preserve their lives. "What are you doing? Are you stupid?" Ciel asked, really not expecting an answer from Esperanza. Waltzing away and leaving Ellie by herself to confront the new person, Kai followed his trainer obediently, both trainer and pokemon synchronized to the surrounding wavelengths as well as themselves. "Whoever the hell you are, you need to take a good look around here. If the Ariados catch you stealing their eggs you won't ever see the light of day. Maybe you should try looking to your pokemon for advice, since obviously you're too dumb to get the idea here." After being a bit moody for a couple of moments, Ciel relaxed himself, molding his frustrations back to forming one stream of mind; its focus primarily centered around protecting himself as well as Ellie. What a burden really."Alright, Kai I need you to knock Ellie out by messing around with the electrical signals in her body." There was a pause in his words. Ciel looked directly into the eyes of the Raichu, while Kai looked back at him with the same mind set. This sort of work was dangerous, needed the proper control of electricity. A little too much and Ellie could be paralyzed for life, or even killed, but was there another option? "As soon as we do that we can get out of here and..." Ciel stopped. Kai stopped. He hoped everyone would stop. Silence echoed momentarily through the corridors of the cave, the pin drop sound of movement bouncing off the walls. Caught within the area of light was a small glint in the distance, that was soon followed by a a pair of purple eyes that beamed in their direction. The Ariados had come back.

Through the caverns the family had branched out. One by one the fully evolved forms of the venomous spider pokemon dispersed with a small groups of Spinarak, searching for prey to feed their future offspring. With the scent of blood, and the detection of a problem stirring among the cave not too far from where they had laid their eggs, one of the groups had stopped their hunt early to re-evaluate their territory. With an Ariados at the head of the group, the Spinarak followed close behind, some carrying struggling young Natus that had been, fortunately for them, caught up in their sticky webs. When the group had finally gained a clear visual of their nesting grounds, the Ariados was angered to find humans lurking within their territory. It wasn't a normal tradition to consume a human, but with the need for food growing as their population grew, anything that could be caught easily was generalized as nourishment for the spiders. But that wasn't the main reason of what caused the Ariados or the Spinarak to surround the entrance into their home or their natures to turn hostile. Just from the visual of the humans pillaging their offspring had been enough to send the pokemon into a state of defensive operations. The crime of their eggs being stolen was plenty of reason to kill the humans in the minds of the spider pokemon. They were a threat, and by the looks of things, the group would need some assistance to dispose of all of them. Communicating an order to one of the nearby Spinaraks, the younger spider took his leave in a rush, its intentions primarily set on finding backup search of the others. Meanwhile, all eyes had begun to shine forward with a new found fury towards the humans. Their family was in danger regardless of the reason, and death was the only option in the mind of the Ariados. Without giving another instant for the humans to react, a fury of pins fired rapidly from the head of the Ariados moving with increasing speed straight for the human and its Pikachu, the intentions purely on killing the trespassers and protecting their young.
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