Crystal Forest

Flare and Valiant made it outside and landed on the ground right next to the hole they had flown out of. Hearing Copper's question, Flare looked around suddenly. There was no sign of her, or Wing either. Looking at Valiant, Flare could tell that he was concerned as well.

Valiant spoke up. "It's possible, that Lavender and her counterpart went searching for Synth, but why would she do so without first telling us? I fear she may be in trouble somehow..."

"...It's coming."
The two words spoken by Lavender heralded a bright flash of red and silver, it sliced a gash into her Houndoom companion's chest and streaked away.
Wing gasped in pain and staggered back. How could anything be so fast? The wound didn't look deep, but it stung. A bit of blood was already collecting in the fur underneath. Fury Cutter, he would guess. That means the Scizor would be coming back again... He quickly readied a fireball, launching it in the direction the Scizor had vanished in. To his surprise, it gained a screech of pain as the Scizor collided with it head-on, and went flying into one of the pillars with a satisfying crack.
The Scizor stumbled to his feet and blinked once, looking up at the ceiling.
"The only reason it hit me is because I was disracted!" It yelled, in a voice that was grating and echoey. "What's that?" He appeared to be speaking to something the others couldn't see, but it also seemed to respond. "Yes master..." He grumbled, waving his right claw in his adversaries' general directions, and they vanished to reappear where they were before.

Will stopped when he noticed that Lav had reappeared suddenly. He dashed over to her and Wing. "Are you two alright?"

Suddenly, two familiar auras flashed in Copper's sight. The cat bounded down to the bottom of the pit, ignoring the glaceon and rushing to confront Lavender.

"Lavender, are you alright?" He asked concernedly, noticing the cut in the houndoom's chest in the dim light. "Oh my... we need to get you to the surface right away... Let's go.", The cat said, lifting himself up again telekinetically.

Meka was sitting near a tree.She licked her paws,feeling the presence of others from below.But how did they get down underground? She had no idea.Her ears perked up as the wind blew.It felt good.

Meka suddenly covered her ears with her paws.The wind had ripped them a bit."Oww..."she whined.Her paws fell to the ground as she looked around,hearing more sounds.

Lavender blinked against the transistion and the sudden noise. "Ayy.." She mumbled, looking up at Copper. "I'm perfectly fine, and so will Wing be." She dismissed the Houndoom's wound, due to seeing it beginning to heal itself. "Lets go, though. Don't want to hang around here any longer." She motioned for Wing and Will to follow as she bounded over to the hole that was made, still seemingly uneasy with the situation.

Wing nodded slightly in Copper's direction. "Don't worry about me." He added, stepping lightly after Lavender.

The cat flattened his ears concernedly. "If you say so."
Back at the surface, Copper squinted as his eyes as they adjusted to the light of the orange sky. It would soon be nightfall and the group had yet to rest since their departure into the cavern. "We should set up camp somewhere soon.", He said loudly enough for the pokemon in the chasm to hear, "Nobody should go anywhere without the accompaniment of a partner." He sternly overlooked the group. "And by that I mean another guardian. I suggest that everyone pick a partner before it gets dark. I don't trust those things not to come after us." The distressed cat looked away at the horizon, the usual auras fading from view again. He shut his eyes tight and shook his head.
"What is going on? My abilities are becoming so unreliable... Is this your doing?" He asked inwardly at the Spiritomb.
"Heck if I know, kid. Alls I know is Ghost and Dark don't exactly help the psychic condition."
Copper groaned. Suddenly, he noticed a faint presence nearby.

"Who's there?" He scanned the area for movement, noticing a hole dug under a nearby tree.

Meka quickly hid behind the tree.She didn't move.She just sat there,trying not to be noticed.Her purple eyes,squinted,to get a better look at the group.She sighed,remembering her vision is poor.

Meka then jumped into the tree.She began to climb it,making noises here and there,making branches move.She reached a certain point and stood still,getting a better vision of the group.Her colors made her blend in.

Flare looked over at Valiant. "Did you hear that?" he asked his counterpart. "It sounded like something is moving in that tree," he indicated a nearby tree whose branches were still swaying.

"I believe someone may be spying on us," responded the charizard. "I sense a power nearby, and it seems to be coming from that tree. It is unfamiliar to me, but it does not seem dangerous. For now, let's just ignore it and see what it does next."

The espersian growled as he saw something bound behind the tree and watched the leaves and branches rustle in an upward pattern.
"Who are you?!", he shouted timidly, his fur suddenly radiating a black aura and the grass beneath his feet shriveling and browning. Without warning, a dark pulse erupted from the gem on his head and struck the tree, shaking it violently.

Meka screamed.She lost her balance and fell out of the tree. Her feature that stood out the most was her purple paw. "Acckk!!!"she screamed,watching her self get closer to the ground. She covered her eyes with her paw and let the wind rip her ears.

Copper stepped back in shock and disorientation as the attack he involuntarily fired struck the tree and sent the pokemon falling. "N-no...", He gasped, trying to muster a psychic to catch her, but unable to gather the energy or mindpower.

"Hold on!" Valiant shouted, launching himself into a low flight to intercept the falling leafeon. He caught her only a few feet above the ground on his outstretched wings and slowly glided down, landing gently on his belly. "Are you alright there?" he asked in a soft, parental tone.

Meka stopped shaking.She uncovered her eyes and looked around.A whimper came from her,as she felt the pain of her ears ripped.Her gaze turned back to the hero."Y-Yes..I'm fine..."she answered softly.

The cat shakily ran over to Valiant and the Leafeon on his back. "I'm so sorry! I don't know how that happened... Are you alright?", He asked concernedly.

Volt hobbled shakily to where the others were gathered, having returned while they were distracted. "More excitement?" he asked, his voice almost bitter sounding. Looking up at the Charizard's wings, he noticed the newcomer. "Our party seems to grow by the minute," he remarked.

He could feel the tarry substance had spread even further over his body, completely surrounding his left eye, which had turned a golden yellow. The strange claws it had formed were sharper now, and an odd weight told him there were spikes forming on the tips of his tail.

Meka hopped to the ground.She smiled and said"I'm fine..."Her eyes shifted too the cat's paws."Hey...Your paws are purple like mine!!"she exclaimed,holding up her right paw.

Copper breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to see that you're alright." He looked down at his paws, noticing that the front right and back left paws were a purple hue. "Huh, so they are.", He said sheepishly, having been in the dark so long he never got a good look at himself.

The cat turned suddenly to see the Jolteon. "Voltico! ...Where did you come from?", He asked.

Meka blinked. She looked over at the Loteon. Her eyes blinked.She,then turned away and began to run off. Her stomach groweled at her,and she has eaten nothing BUT leaves.She left racks,following after her.

Volt stood and blinked at the fleeing Leafeon. "Was it something I said?"

Copper clenched his teeth conflictedly. Should he follow after her or let her go? She wasn't a guardian, but any eeveelution could be in danger as long as the Guardians were being hunted.
"Stop, wait!" He shouted after the leafeon, then began to run in the direction she had.

Will nodded and started up the hole, crawling along the walls to make sure he stayed out of the way.

Flare rushed over to Valiant's side. "That was a close one, huh?" Valiant nodded and got up. "She seems fine, but I don't know where she's off to in such a hurry. I do know this though: the power we are sensing is coming from her. I believe she may be-"

Flare interrupted Valiant mid-sentence. "But how? What about...Synth..." Flare's voice trailed off. "I'm afraid he's gone Flare. Trapped in the cave when it collapsed. But you no doubt are feeling it? A similar sensation to the time when you first met the others? I can't explain it, but she may be another guardian."

Lavender leapt into the air, Wing right on her heels, following Will out of the dark and into the twilight that let her know that they had been in there at least for the afternoon, if not more. "Oh..." she sighed, not intending that their foray into the cave would end in it's collapse, along with some of her friends' possible deaths and changes in their appearances and attitudes. "...What do we do now?" She asked, half to herself.

Wing, who was quite apathetic about the whole 'friends' concept, wandered over to Valiant and Flare. "Someone else was here, their scent is still in the air. Who?" He questioned.

Meka found some bread. She quickly grabbed it and ran up a tree. She came too a stop on a large branch and sat down. Her paws reached up at the bread and pulled it from her mouth,leaving some bread inside it. "Mmm~..."she said quietly,nibbiling on the bread.