Fiona was out of her depth, she could admit that. It wasn't the situation. No, she knew exactly where she was, and she could handle herself, even reduced to Heather and a pair of borrowed Pokemon. It was that Chloe's damn Mawile would simply not. Stop. Crying.
She had tried everything. Hugs, bribes, comforting words. She had even tried singing. But none of her efforts had any effect. Mimi was simply inconsolable, wailing away as they moved further away from where she had last seen Chloe. Thankfully, the wails had since subsided to sobs, and finally sniffles, mostly due to Reinette who stood, gently rubbing Mimi’s back. The Steenee was also glaring at Fiona like this was somehow her fault, which it really wasn't. Chloe was the one who insisted on babying her little princess. Which wasn't really fair, if Fiona was honest, Chloe babied all her Pokemon after all.
No, it was simply that Mimi was so young. It was easy to forget, the way she threw around other Pokemon like they weighed nothing, but if Fiona remembered what Chloe had told her, she was barely a year old. That made her all the more impressive. The separation anxiety was understandable. Not that it made it any less fucking annoying though.
Fiona sighed. She should probably get moving. She needed to find Eleanor, then the two of them could try and work out where the hell Chloe and Troy wound up. Besides, as had just been proven to them, this place could be fucking dangerous, and Fiona felt vulnerable without Star. Having Thistle back, who she knew was with Eleanor, would make her a lot more comfortable.
“Come on,” she said to the two Pokemon, “Let's go find the others shall we?”
They set off, Heather leading the way, Fiona on high alert. She alternated her focus between scanning the darkness for any threats and making sure that Chloe’s two Pokemon were keeping up and not wandering off. It was a bit of an awkward position really. She knew they were both powerful, but she had no idea how they would act without Chloe here.
Come to think of it, she had no idea how her own missing trio would behave. Star would probably be pissed, but helpful. Tank… she had no idea. Tank was hard to read. She gave it even odds he would stand still until she found him, or he would faithfully listen to whoever he ended up with. Chloe, she was pretty sure. Thistle? Well, she wished Eleanor luck on that front. Her unruly little bird had earned his thorny name. He needed a firm hand, else he would do nothing but squabble with Chloe’s insane Jigglypuff.
Who was also with Eleanor, Fiona recalled. At least she had Troy’s dumbass Pancham to balance them out.
Fiona snorted. Okay yeah, in any other situation, that would be hilarious. The idea of timid Eleanor trying to wrangle Thistle and the Dangerpuff while TJ did squats.
“Guess I lucked out with you two,” she said, turning to look down at Reinette and Mimi. Who were not following.
Instead, Mimi stubbornly stood still some distance back, resisting Reinette’s attempts to coax her along. Fiona sighed. Right, her own problem child. Literally, in this case.
“What's wrong?” she asked, heading back up the tunnel to stand before them. Mimi didn't respond, just shaking her head in denial, while Reinette huffed and pointed.
Fiona stared.
“Yeah, nah. I got nothing from that,” she confessed. She vaguely recalled something about approaching kids on their level, and figured that Mimi probably counted, so she knelt to look her in the eye.
“We need to get going so we can find the others,” she coaxed, “Don't you want to find Chloe?”
“Maw!” Mimi responded, nodding.
“Well, the sooner we get going, the sooner we find her.”
“Wile!” Mimi replied, shaking her head. Fiona turned her head to look at Reinette, who shrugged.
“Any idea?” Fiona asked. Reinette was a prissy little shit, but she had a head on her shoulders, and seemed reliable enough. She was probably the best Pokemon to be stuck with down here, aside from Fiona’s own, of course.
Reinette considered, head tilted to one side, before she gestured towards Mimi, then up at Fiona.
“Stee,” she said, making a scooping gesture.
Fiona looked between her and Mimi.
“No,” she said.
She looked Mimi in the eyes, “I am not carrying you. Chloe would, but she's not here, and I don't have your Pokeball. You have to walk.”
That apparently, was the wrong thing to say, as Mimi immediately burst back into wailing tears, that echoed painfully off the walls.
“Oww,” Fiona said, feeling a hard slap on her knee. She turned her head to see Reinette glaring up at her.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
“She's not a baby, she has to learn,” Fiona defended, meeting the Steenee’s icy glare.
“I am never having kids,” she muttered.
This was a pain in the fucking ass.
“Not a word,” Fiona warned Reinette.
They trudged through the darkness, Mimi in Fiona’s arms, Reinette smugly strutting along beside them.
“At least she's not crying anymore…” Fiona muttered, taking the small mercy. It had, thankfully, been rather quiet going so far.
They had only encountered a lone Medicham, which Heather had sent on its way, but Fiona was fast discovering that she had a bigger problem. She had no food beyond a few treats she kept in her pocket for her Pokemon, and more importantly, she had no water.
She cursed herself for not keeping her bag on her, that was a rookie mistake that she would not be making again, but that didn't change the situation. She had to find the others, hopefully at least one of them would have their pack. Fiona checked her Poketch again, she had a map of the Coronet Tunnels loaded onto it. Of course, the map wasn't anywhere near complete, but being on the main path to Snowpoint, this area was covered in great detail.
Her path would, if she read it right, join back to the one that Eleanor had been in. That was good. What was less good was that she had no idea where the other two were. Problem for later though. First, she needed to find Eleanor, then they needed to rest, and find something to drink. That shouldn't be too hard, there were streams all throughout these tunnels, it was just a matter of not losing her shit before she found one.
Fiona's arms ached, her lips were dry and her lamp was beginning to flicker. She didn't have her little charger on her. Soon she would be reduced to just the light on her Poketch and her phone. It was a good thing that the Poketch could be charged just by shaking it. Really made her wonder why the hell her lamp wasn't designed the same way. She filed that away for later.
Right now she was thirsty, tired and pissed off. The only thing going for her was that Mimi had settled down. Small blessings and all that. Still, the cave was getting to her. The constant, eery ambiance, the crushing darkness…
She needed to get the fuck out of here.
Of course, that's when the Pokemon showed up.
Heather froze, ears perking as she responded to some noise up ahead.
Fiona tensed.
The cave trembled as something big moved up ahead.
“I need to put you down,” she told the Mawile in her arms. Wonder of wonders, Mimi didn't protest, simply nodding and staring off ahead.
“Are you two going to help me out?” Fiona asked Reinette, who rolled her eyes in response.
“Fair enough,” Fiona said, “Wrong question. Will you listen to me?”
Reinette considered, before waggling her hand in a gesture that Fiona took to mean “depends”. That was good enough, she supposed.
“Okay,” Fiona said, “Heather, you lead. Reinette, back her up, Mimi, stay with me. That okay?”
Both Pokemon nodded agreement.
“Stee.”
“Wile.”
“Alright, let's do this.”
The noise turned out to be more than just one big thing. It was two big things, and a bunch of little ones.
Fiona had arrived at a larger opening in the mountain, one filled with Pokemon. Specifically, two Onix and a half dozen Geodude.
“Fuck,” Fiona muttered. Those weren't odds she particularly liked, not with Heather at a type disadvantage, and especially not without Star to watch her back. She debated turning back to see if she could find another way around. Of course, she didn't get to make that decision. One of the Onix locked its eyes on her and roared.
“Double fuck. Alright girls, we’re on.”
Fiona squared her shoulders and cleared her throat. In a way, she was looking forward to this. Playing mum to a needy Fairy wasn't what she did. Asskicking though? It was Fiona time.
“Heather, Fake Out,” Fiona ordered. Her Skitty raced forward, slapping the Onix upside the head, causing it to flinch and interrupting whatever move it was about to use.
“Mimi, Onix. Reinette, Geodude” Fiona instructed, making a choice. Hopefully the Grass Type would make short work of the Geodude and be able to help Heather out. She had no faith in Heathers ability to one vs one the enormous Onix, but she should be able to stall it long enough. Mimi? Well, Fiona had learned back in Eterna that it was simply best to let her loose and get the fuck out of the way. Same with Tank, really. Fiona vibed with that.
Mimi seemed eager to work off some frustration, charging straight at the huge Pokemon, while Reinette leapt for the Geodude.
Mimi’s Onix, the larger of the two roared, rearing up for what Fiona was assuming would be a Rock Tomb. Mimi blurred forward, connecting with a Sucker Punch that sent Onix reeling. Right. She could handle that.
Reinette meanwhile threw a Razor Leaf, leaves slicing into the Onix as the Steenee dodged the returning Rock Throws, racing forward with elegant confidence. Again, she had this.
Fiona focused on Heather, the other two clearly not needing her input.
“Stay close!” Fiona instructed. She needed Heather to keep the thing busy.
Heather leapt to the side as Onix smashed its incredible bulk into the ground, sending shards of rock flying due to the sheer force behind the Slam.
“Disarming Voice!” Fiona called.
“Nya?” Heather responded.
Onix barely reacted, instead sweeping its glowing tail at Heather.
“Jump!”
Heather barely cleared the Iron Tail, launching herself upwards as best she could. The attack missed Heather, but crashed into a Geodude, Reinette taking the opportunity to punt one of her opponents directly into Onix’s path. The smaller Rock Type went flying, embedded itself into a wall with a crash and a shower of rubble. It didn't move.
Reinette was dancing, weaving her way between the Geodude, dodging Rock Throws and Rock Smashes with grace, occasionally lashing out with a powerful kick. She had launched that poor Geodude with a Low Kick, and was now mid Triple Axel, landing blow after blow upon another. These Geodude were clearly not particularly strong, but that was still fucking impressive.
Mimi meanwhile, was not being subtle. She clung to her Onix’s head with her jaw, pummeling the ever loving shit out of it with Play Rough while it tried to shake her off. It swung its huge head, crushing the Mawile against the wall. Fiona winced, but Mimi didn't let go. She clearly had some shit to work through, and Onix’s skull seemed to be the outlet for it.
“Copycat!” Fiona ordered Heather when she landed after dodging the Iron Tail. The Skitty’s own tail glowed, and she jumped forward, smacking her Onix in the head with it. It barely reacted, Heather lacking the sheer power of the other Pokemon. That was okay, they were playing the long game here.
Besides, that friendly fire with the Geodude had given her an idea.
“Piss it off! Fury Swipe it in the eyes!” Fiona yelled, Heather leaping to obey.
“Nya, nya nya!”
Heather clawed the Onix’s eyes repeatedly. It roared, flinging her away with a shake of its head.
She landed, springing forward as Fiona shouted “Get between it and the other one!”
Heather dashed forward. The Onix, blind in one eye and filled with rage, reared up, ready to charge. Fiona grinned, this was going to be sick.
Onix didn't charge. It roared, unleashing a torrent of blue fire. Dragon Breath. The attack engulfed the cavern. Heather got out of the way, but the Geodude and Reinette were hit.
“Fuck!” Fiona swore.
The Geodude were hit hard. They fell, fainted. Reinette stumbled, and fell, breathing hard.
There was a shout and a crash. Mimi was thrown free, tumbling ass over teakettle to land at Fiona’s feet.
Both Onix now turned their attention to Fiona. Mimi struggled to her feet as Reinette lay, stunned and Heather squared up.
Fiona looked down at the Mawile at her feet. She was battered, but still good to go. Reinette was recovering. Slowly.
Fiona took a deep breath. Right. That hadn't gone quite how she planned it, but still. Plan A, take out the Geodude was finished. Now she just had a pair of pissed off Onix. Easy.
