Cave

-- April 17th, 0AT --

Deimos blinked several times from where he crouched at the cave's beginning. After letting his eyes adjust for several minutes, he looked around. The cavern had a singular tunnel with a gentle slope descending into the ground.

If he and Roggenrola were attacked at any time, there would be no cover to hide behind. They would be sitting ducks for any long-range attack that any unknown attacker that they wouldn't be able to see could make.

This gave Deimos two options. He could turn back now and not investigate the cave and the tracks leading into it. His second option was to move forward regardless of the risk and pray there wasn't an ambush ahead.

Oh, how Deimos wished he had Tamora's Solrock. Its psychic abilities would ensure nothing caught him off guard. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Deimos had Roggenrola. While it lacked psychic types intelligence and skills, it made up for it by having a solid defense and a very versatile skillset.

Taking a deep breath, Deimos motioned to Roggenrola to take the lead, knowing the rock-type senses would be better in this environment. They inched forward down the cave's corridor at a snail's pace.

Both human and Pokemon were careful to make minimum noise, knowing it could alert whatever lurked inside the cave. It didn't take them long until they found the first signs of life.

It started as a soft murmur that echoed throughout the cave. It gradually grew into a conversation as Deimos and Roggenrola crept closer to the source. The cave corridor gradually grew lighter as they approached a bend in it. A light source seemingly lit up the cave from around the bend.

Reaching the bend, Deimos quickly peered around the corner before jerking his head back. His heart thundered in his chest as he processed what he saw. Calming his racing heart, Deimos once again looked around the corner for a more extended time before hiding again.

This time, there was no denying what he had seen. Kneeling on the ground was Tamora, covered in dirt, blood, and grime. Guarding her was a Lairon; two of the ridges on its back were deformed from what Deimos assumed was an earlier battle. Further past the two was a Solrock pounded into a wall. The spines that usually covered its body were snapped off and laid around the cave.

In front of the two was Gideon, facing a wall, holding a torch with his back to Tamora. The wall was covered in what appeared to be ancient drawings. He seemed to be trying to make sense of what looked like an old mural that looked like it was painted on the wall centuries ago. 

Hiding around the corner still, Deimos stood there contemplating his choices. He only had two, if he was being honest with himself. He could either attack the Lairon and, by extension, Gideon, or he could run away and hope that Gideon wouldn't come after him next. Considering Gideon had already killed Leka and Neldo, and thinking back to the Ekan attack, Gideon had most likely set that up to kill Blaren. 

If he chose to attack Gideon, he'd have to set up a stealth rock hope that they didn't notice before having Roggenrola use Smack Down while targeting the Lairon's head. Hopefully, it would penetrate or do significant damage, but considering Lairon is a Rock/Steel type, he wasn't too sure about that.

Nodding to himself, Deimos decided to base his decision on what Gideon was saying to Tamora. Focusing back on Gideon and Tamora's conversation, Deimos started listening more intently.

"It's fascinating, isn't it, Tamora? This all but confirms that it exists in the world, a legendary. We all thought they were myths and legends, but we both know those are merely stories to cover up the truth." Gideon spoke.

"It's merely a mural that confirms the truth; I don't see what's so important about it," Tamora said nonchalantly. She knew that no matter what she did, Gideon would kill her when he was finished. 

"Yes, precisely. It is a mural that confirms the truth, but it is also so much more," Gideon said obsessively as he turned around to face Tamora. His mouth turned up into a smirk as he looked down at Tamora.

"I knew something was wrong when we were told to come here, or more precisely, Lord Ujiyasu knew that Captain Ujiteru and his little black ops team were up to something—but hunting down a legendary? I would have never expected that, aha," Gideon said while laughing. 

Almost as soon as he started laughing, Gideon stopped, his face going from carefree to extremely serious.

"So, what did Captain Ujiteru ask you to do? I doubt taking pictures of this mural or finding the location was the only thing." Gideon asked Tamora while turning back to the mural to continue trying to decipher it.

"Come closer, and I'll tell you, you piece of shit," Tamora spat out in response.

"Hmph, cute, but I think I'm fine," Gideon said as he crouched down to get a closer look at some of the murals.

As the conversation stopped, Deimos peaked his head around to survey the situation again. Everything he had heard over the last few minutes had left him shocked to his core. He knew what a legendary was, but the only ones he could remember being in the Ransei region were Arceus, a shiny Rayquaza, and a Zekrom. 

All three only appeared at the end of one of the games, making Deimos very confused about what legendary the mural referred to. However, considering the significance of what was said, looking at his choices, there was only one logical one now. If he left, Gideon would likely hunt him down to ensure he didn't say anything about what happened. 

That left him with a single option. Somehow, he needs to kill Gideon and his powerful Lairon. Sure, Gideon's Lairon was injured, as seen by the crushed spines on its back. Considering all the moves Roggenrola knows, his best chance to severely damage Lairon off the start is setting up stealth rock and then using Smack Down as many times as possible before Lairon closes the distance or dies. 

If it gets close, Harden and Headbutt and hope Lairon doesn't cut Roggenrola in two. Taking a deep breath, Deimos stopped looking around the corner and started to tell Roggenrola the plan he came up with.

"We either pull this off perfectly, or we die, Roggenrola," Deimos said bluntly; he didn't want to give Roggenrola any false hope. It was do or die. 

"You're going to begin with a stealth rock; it should target all three in the room, so we'll just have to hope Tamora survives somehow. Once you get it set, start using Smack Down against the Lairon and aim for its head. If it gets close, use Harden before Headbutt. Sand Attack and Tackle won't help you in this situation." Deimos told Roggenrola.

"Rola," Roggenrola replied firmly; it was focused, knowing that if it didn't take down the Lairon, neither it nor Deimos would survive.

As Roggenrola began to set up the stealth rock, Deimos took a deep breath and focused on what he would have to do. He'd have to delay Gideon and the twin axes long enough for Roggenrola to kill Lairon and help him. Tamora wasn't tied up, but her crossbow was in two pieces on the floor. She was also pretty injured, so Deimos wasn't expecting help from her. 

Roggenrola slowly charged the stealth rock up. Deimos was tense and ready to start sprinting at Gideon. His mental countdown started ticking the seconds so he would know when to start running. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

Zero. Chaos erupted.

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A/N: Yeah, I'm back. Chapters will be posted when I feel like they are ready to be posted. It will most likely be 1-2 a week. Maybe more, we'll see haha. I apologize for the wait; college and life happened, and I got swamped.