Drawn forward by the sound of his name uttered into the dim, his outstretched hand bumps into hers, meeting in the middle with fingertips intertwined. Angelo gently squeezes her hand in return, only vaguely aware of how much smaller her calloused fingers feel enclosed within his own, hoping that Skyler found the gesture as reassuring as he did. They had gone through every other trial together so far, he didn’t have any intention on letting that streak crumble now, even if she could handle herself just fine. “Eh, it was boring up there anyway,” he muses, as if his throwing himself down the trapdoor was no big deal, throat scratchy from all the dust that he had inhaled.

His fingers remained loosely curled around hers as his stood, tips linked in the briefest of contact, as he bit his tongue to smother a hiss that threatened to tumble from his lips; that pain in his side becoming apparent that it was located close to his ribs. Angelo turned his head to look around the chamber that they had been dumped into, his expression a tight frown, trying to ignore the sharp prickles tingling across his chest as he inhaled. “Course,” he dismisses nonchalantly as Skyler asks if he’s okay, focusing instead on how the shapes in the room were gradually becoming a little clearer, blue gaze getting used to the darkness. He doesn’t pick up that they had both avoided the question about their injuries.

While Skyler gets to her feet, he wanders over towards where they'd fallen in, curiously peering at the sloped tunnel that filtered a beam of sunlight into the cavern. It was far too steep for them to attempt climbing out again but, if push came to shove later, Angelo figured that with some help from their pokemon they might be able to get out. At least they had a backup escape route. His gaze then drags over what he can see in the rest of the underground room, picking out what looked like carvings chiselled into the stone support beams as well as a corridor off to one side.

“I mean, I don’t know if a lighter is going to be much good but it’s better than nothing.” Letting out an exhale, standing in the beam of light that made the dust particles shine like rainbows, Angelo makes use of the brightness to dig around in his pockets. When he finds purchase on the old metal zippo lighter, pulling it out of his pocket and striking a flame with a flick of the wheel, Angelo catches sight of Skyler’s blonde hair disappearing out of sight down the corridor from the corner of his eye.

Or, at least, that's what he thought he had seen because as soon as he makes to follow, that whole side of the stone wall is suddenly and suspiciously missing a doorway.

“Sky?” There’s a lightning crackle of frustration and surprise as he quickly makes his way over to where he swore he had seen her vanish, his hand reaching out to touch where just a minute prior had been nothing but now was something, his stomach twisting into an uncomfortable knot as all his hand could find was solid, cold stone. A curse word tumbles off his lips that sounds suspiciously like the Alto Marian for fuck, his tongue curling with a click, as Angelo thumps a fist against the undeniable surface; irritation bubbling and a ghostly, cold hand curling around his heart.

So much for sticking together… With a grim expression, he turns on his heel back to the now empty room, suddenly feeling a cold chill as it becomes bathed in silence, the air stuffy and thick. It was then that he noticed that, on the other side of the room, stood a vacant space in the wall; another corridor standing inconspicuous, like it had been there the whole time.

Glancing over his shoulder just once with a frown back to where Skyler had gone, Angelo took off towards the opposite entranceway at a light jog, not needing to be encouraged to move forward. His determination to reunite with his adventure partner numbing the spark of pain that flares with each step.

skyler dross

“Oh, fuck off.” It’s almost ridiculous enough to make him want to laugh but Angelo can’t muster the strength to. Instead his expression is scrunched into something frustrated, scolding spears burning with sharp jabs into his gut, as he finds himself back in the very room that they had started in. His hand rises to drag a palm down his face, confused and desperate, as his gaze smoulders with blue flames threatening to run wild. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

When he had jogged down the corridor, Angelo had found himself at a t-shaped crossing, one of the routes blocked off by a celling high cave-in and forcing him to take the last remaining path. This went on for a while longer with him jogging down the winding passage until he found himself in a smaller chamber. Inside looked to be a suspiciously ornate coffin, chains pooled at the foot of it, leaning against the far wall and another corridor on the opposite side. Wanting to meet up with Skyler, he chose to ignore the temptation of the tomb, heading off down the dark hallway with the thought to bring this up later.

And then he’s back at the beginning. He almost wants to punch something.

Then he hears it. That scream. His blood runs cold as the sound of Skyler’s shout, muffled from behind a thick layered of stone, reverberating from beneath his feet. Below? Dropping down to a knee, Angelo leans close to the ground to listen but all he can hear is the sound of his pulse in his ear, thumping loudly in an increased tempo straight from his frantic heart. Fingertips scrape against the rough rock beneath him in frustration. All of this running around wasn’t getting anywhere. His composure breaks, crumbling at the concept of the unknown happening below his feet, as he pushes himself back up; his mind wiped from anything but the drive for them to be reunited. To know that Skyler’s scream was just a false alarm.

With no more patience to venture back through the tunnel he had come from to look for hidden passageways and clues, Angelo’s fingers latch over a capsule, releasing a Larvitar in a beam of dazzling white. “Hyper Beam!” With a finger pointed towards the stone wall that Skyler had disappeared behind, Hercules releases a blast of energy from his mouth that temporarily illuminates the dark corner of the room, completely pulverising the barrier with an explosion of dust and rock. He can feel the ground shudder for a second underneath him.

There’s a smirk on his lips – one that he often wore when he did something stupidly reckless – as Angelo throws himself into the corridor that they had forcibly revealed, his heart racing as he vaguely considers that his tactic may have been a foolish one. But with Skyler pulling at him with invisible string, with the pain jabbing through his body with every step and keeping his nerves alive, it was easy to dismiss sense.

Returning Hercules, he covers his mouth and nose with an arm as he bursts through the dust cloud, almost tripping over chunks of rock that they had left behind in his haste. Following the path that Skyler must have taken, Angelo eventually finds himself in front of some fallen debris, ignoring the stabs of pain in his ribs as he climbs over; not letting it get in his way as the path leads him finally down to a lower level. There’s a small swell of hope in his chest, blooming amongst the determined fire and pained claws of worry, as he realises that he may be getting closer to where the scream had originated from.

You’ll be fine, he thinks, and you’re probably going to take the piss and laugh when you see me…

He thinks of that image, her laughing at his idiocy, to temper the hot iron burning through him that leaks through his ribs, a hand briefly pressing to his hurt side. Distracted, he almost runs straight into a Cofagrigus, a yelp of surprise bursting from his throat. It looks a little puzzled, floating there in the middle of the corridor but Angelo doesn’t stop to ask whether it had seen a woman with golden hair and a wicked grin, shouldering right through the spectre like a tackle and narrowly avoiding an outstretched hand.

“Skyler!” His voice breaks out, ripping out of his chest with a painful stab as his breathing grows heavy, his feet leading him down the corridor until blue eyes are met with a crossroad. Heart racing as he staggers to a gradual jog, suddenly unsure which direction to take, he stands in the middle and glances down all three as he catches his breath…. He has to pick one. Now!

skyler dross

For a moment he thinks that it's his legs that are shaking and with a cold flash of dread, Angelo worries that he’s pushed himself too hard, that maybe his fall had been worse than he had originally thought. Then the dust and shards of rock begin to fall, raining down on his head, pattering against the stone beneath his feet like a hailstorm.

Oh, so it wasn’t his body giving out, after all. It was the whole, damn building.

At least it felt like it. A cold ghostly claw squeezes over his heart like a vice grip, eyes narrowing, as he looks down the corridors on either side of him; each one beckoning him to run down into their shadows to find Skyler before a cave-in pulled them even further apart. He pushes off, preparing himself to enter one at random even though he had no real clue which was right, just knowing that moving forward was better than standing still. Angelo barely takes two steps before he’s staggering to a stop, his blue gaze blinking wide, as he comes face to face with a tangle of wild golden hair and eyes glinting like a waxing crescent moon, sharp and dangerous, in the dark.

They nearly collide into one another, her name almost tumbling from his lips again but then their hands are reaching for each other, everything suddenly exploding into action where even contemplation seemed too time consuming; like the fast forward had been punched on his life. Angelo barely has time to register the burst of relief in his chest before it’s replaced with a greater rush of adrenaline, his heart pounding hard enough to send aching vibrations through his bruised body, as they are swept up into a high stakes escape.

Gripping tightly onto Skyler as he keeps pace, Angelo risks a glance over his shoulder to the cause of the trembling, catching sight of a boulder rolling after them in hot pursuit, following them like it had a mind of its own. “Perfect!” He shouts over the loud rumbling that thunders all around them, his voice snapping out dry and sarcastic at the revelation of its true identity, Golem following them through every twist and turn as they plunged deeper into the ruin labyrinth. Turning to look ahead of them, he squeezed Skyler’s arm as they took tight corners and sudden changes in direction; their attempts at losing their pursuer failing each time…

Jaw clenched, Angelo is about to suggest that they take the rolling pokemon out with one of their own, potential damage to the walls and roof be damned, only to suddenly find himself being forcibly shoved towards a crevice in the rock and Skyler’s shout punching right through him. He wanted to protest, to tell her to get in first but she’s already pushed him, his gut twisting as he’s given no option to squeeze into the tight hiding space first. “Get in!” His voice cuts through the thick dusty air, finding the burning in his heart unbearable, both hands snatching out to grab hold of Skyler’s arm and shirt to yank her roughly towards him just as the Golem rolled by, dust cloud kicked up in its wake.

He stands there for a moment silently, his heart racing and his breath laboured, as he clutches Skyler to his chest in a protective, tight hold. Then the moment of fear and worry is broken, crumbling away at her laugh, his expression melting into something softer as it rings warm and comforting in his ears. “I can’t leave you alone for five seconds,” he chuckles, not sounding in the least bit annoyed. Adrenaline and relief floods over him, suddenly feeling an electric rush as he cracks a wide grin, blue eyes alive with a mixture of addictive emotions as he seeks out silver.

"Miss me, Angel?"

Angelo doesn’t answer straight away, just laughs as he leans down to press his lips to the top of her head with a kiss. The dust from her hair tickling his nose.

“You're such a pain in the ass,” he mutters warmly into golden strands, insult bubbling with affection, too high from the rush to pay it much mind. “But it’s too quiet without you. So maybe I did. A little.”

Stone presses uncomfortably into his spine as he leans backwards, putting just enough distance from Skyler to glance down at her, his arms still loosely remaining wound around her as Angelo’s gaze lingers to check for injuries. He can’t see any new scratches right away, although her face is now streaked with dirt. A thumb rises to wipe a smudge off the tip of her nose with a wry grin. “Was that you I heard screaming earlier, Sky?”

skyler dross

His hand stills on her face, thumb lingering on her nose, as Skyler suddenly breaks from her original train of thought; leaning into him with a smile that could only spell trouble. Angelo annoyingly presses the tip of her nose down with a squish. It’s a minimal and unserious retaliation, especially when he’s facing off against the queen of wickedness herself and he finds himself faltering at her advance, his arm falling only for his fingers to find a light hold around her wrist. He tells himself it’s because he’s fatigued, that his brain is just jumbled from all the chaos that they had endured seconds earlier, but even he's starting to figure out that’s a lie…

“No,” he breathes out in a near whispered protest, eyelids betraying him as they slide shut at the sensation of her breath on his cheek, their tiny crevice hideout suddenly feeling much more cramped and warmer with her body leaning into his. “I was just curious to see what got you screaming like a five-year-old. I bet you looked hilarious...” That would have only been a sweet bonus if he had stumbled on her but it was far from the whole truth, he could taste the lie as it sat bitter on his tongue. There was no way that Angelo could share in the way his stomach had twisted into sick knots at the sound of her scream, how his feet had acted without rational consideration. Just thinking about it made his toes curl in something akin to embarrassment.

She presses a kiss to his cheek like she’s done countless times before and again his breathing stills, electricity crackling through their contact, air growing thick with more than just dust. Even if he could, Angelo makes no attempt to move himself, resigned to the fate of Skyler’s flirtations. This was just how she was with him and he to her in return. Just two friends enjoying pushing each other…

Eyes half-mast, Angelo’s gaze falls upon her, expression blank but focused as the reflection of the moon shimmered on blue waters. The fingers around her wrist give a brief squeeze.

Then his face twists into a grimace, Skyler parting from him with a taunting comment and a smug grin; atmosphere rushing away from him like how the heat of her body faded with her retreat. She slips out of his hold like she’s made of the wind and he lets her go without protest. Angelo waves the remaining wisps of the spell away with a rise of his middle finger and his own, secretly forced, smirk. “I changed my mind; I think we should split up.” He can’t think of anything wittier to say in that moment.

Taking the time to release a quiet, heavy sigh before he leaves the crevice, Angelo gives himself the briefest of seconds to shove away any lingering thoughts. Although as he pushes himself off from the wall, it turns out to be easier than he thought, his side jabbing in protest and sending the feelings straight to the back of his mind.

“Left, my dear damsel.” He responds as he squeezes himself back out and into the corridor, refusing to let her prod and poke at him, playing along with a hand sweeping to the side. It didn’t really matter which way they went; they were pretty lost down here anyway and with no clues popping out in front of them, right or left was a fifty-fifty chance of finding something. “Ladies first.” It’s his turn to let a mocking grin pull on his lips.

After some twists and turns, they find themselves turning into a corridor where suddenly the floor gives way to a pit, naturally dug out by the looks of it with dark water shimmering at the bottom. Angelo stands near the edge and peers over, noting the sudden crackle of yellow electricity and a multitude of dark shapes slithering in the murky pool, too many Eelektrik to count. Angelo scowls and runs a hand through dusty hair. Dragging his gaze up, he notes that the trench is probably around the length of a swimming pool and dotted all across are a multitude of wobbly looking stone pillars, their flat tops level with their platform. It also looked to be their only way to get from this side to the other, where a door stood temptingly at the far end.

Stepping back a pace, he turns his gaze to Skyler. “So... We have a twenty foot drop into certain, electric doom with a mysterious door waiting on the other side? No problem; easy. Should we go for it or do you think I'm being - shockingly - optimistic?”

skyler dross

“You love it,” he responds with a sly grin as she reprimands him for his stupid joke, resisting the urge to rub at his arm, muscle tingling from the impact. What, were her knuckles infused with steel plates or something? Angelo figured he better get used to it though, after all, that grin he had spotted on her mouth sealed the deal that he’d be doing it again before long. After all, he was a glutton for punishment when it came to her, apparently.

Skyler’s voice cuts through the space between them with a challenge, waging war and igniting a fire within him too strong to pretend he wasn’t instantly tempted; electricity crackling strong enough to be noticeable even in the charged air. Angelo is compelled, her toothy grin beckoning him to follow, to keep in step with her as she charged towards the edge without a visible care in the world. His torso, whether it be a muscle pulled deep within or something unknowingly worse, protests as he sucks in a breath and she throws herself into a jump off the edge. Don’t push yourself, it tells him through the sensation of a blade plunging deep, don’t be stupid.

But he’s not going to be left behind.

Pushing himself after her, a few steps behind due to his hesitance, Angelo leaps onto his first pillar just to the left of Skyler. His feet almost slip off the far side as he overshoots the distance his long legs would take him, instantly being forced to throw himself onto the next as he bites back a growl of frustration, stumbling onto the second as he makes use of the momentum in a far from graceful manner. It wobbles under his feet, shards of rock and dust crumbling, yet it stays firm long enough for Angelo to regain his balance.

Skyler is one jump ahead of him by this point and as he lands safely on his second, pain shooting up his body and pulling his breath out in shallow pants, he dares risk a glance. Electricity crackles through the air, pulsing higher as the pokemon beneath them hiss out their annoyance, swirling sparks of yellow to mix into the blackness. Blue gaze finds her back just as she slips on her third, throwing herself to the fourth in slow motion as she risks falling into the darkness below.

He’s not sure what wrenches harder, his heart or his ribs, as he throws himself onto the next step without thought. While he’s midjump, Skyler manages to cling on and save herself, Angelo’s platform in turn beginning to violently tip to the side as soon as a foot makes contact, threatening to throw him off. Chunks of rock fall into the depths with a splash and the Eelektrik screech beneath, their voices like nails on the chalkboard as they call out to their meal. “Fuck, fuckity, fuck…” His voice comes out in a strained hiss as he throws himself forward just in time, his feet missing and instead landing on his chest as he grips onto the stone pillar, his vision blurred white from the impact as he sluggishly scrambled up onto the flat surface.

Angelo is catching his breath when Skyler reprimands him, leaning on one knee as he shoots a sharp look towards her, jaw clenched in frustration. He can’t bring himself to bite back a retort, not when his head is spinning and so he focuses on pulling himself up, holding his breath as he jumps across to land on her platform. Angelo pushes through the swirling in his head as they jump as one onto the other side.

Landing with a stumble, he staggers a few steps from the momentum until his back is pressed against the wall next to the door, leaning against the cold stone and looking out towards the destruction that they had left in their wake with a weary laugh. Just one minute to catch his breath, that was all he needed…

“We're not... coming back this way...”

skyler dross

A hum rumbles from his throat, ambiguous in offering a real response as Skyler asks after him, Angelo’s eyes holding a far-off glaze to them as he looks into the distance. His clothes are stuck to his skin in an unpleasant, cold sweat but he paid it little mind, instead concentrating on regulating his breathing, inhaling and exhaling quietly to ease the tightness in his torso. It was starting to subside somewhat after taking a moment to compose himself and although the ache was still obviously there, the agitation that had manifested from the race was beginning to decrease into something manageable.

Fingertips are suddenly brushing against his own, sending a tiny spark up Angelo’s arm that summons him back down to earth, drawing his gaze over to Skyler as their hands naturally intertwine, only vaguely aware that his palms feel clammy from sweat. It’s not so hard to smile when it’s for her and he quickly tells himself that he’s fine, that it was just a little further and they’d be laughing all the way back to the boat. He could push through something this minor with no problem, especially when the thrill of the hunt is vibrating increasingly louder within his bones, pulling at some deep thirst that lurked within the depths of blue closer to the surface.

“Almost there.” He mirrors her with an excited gleam of his own, pushing himself off the wall with a flicker of determination sparking embers in his gut, fingertips twitching impatiently at his sides before squeezing into fists. Suddenly struck by a restless sensation to get moving again, something hollow within him ringing out in complaint, hungry for the payoff. “We’ve got this.”

They walk into the next room together and there waiting for them, with the briefest but sweetest kind of greeting of all, sits a sparkling collection of gold, shimmering like a billion stars; beckoning for someone to reach out and take. Angelo instinctively moves forward, entranced. One step, two… He only stops when the Froslass makes her presence known and while he is not one to be afraid of ghosts, Angelo still feels a chill trickle down his spine like something has passed through him, words echoing through the chamber and digging deep into his brain. Only one…?

Only one. It was ridiculous but…

Slowly, he tears his gaze away from the treasure to turn and look at Skyler, his pupils dilated until the wild waves of blue are pushed to the corners by a thirst that had slowly unveiled itself; hinting at a lost man stumbling upon an oasis in the driest of deserts. How much would that treasure, sitting so innocent and pretty, solve? Was it the key to banishing all of his aches and pains? To setting him free?

It goes beyond a want or a desire. He needs that gold.

Only he can see it in her, too. It’s in her words and in her eyes, sharp and fierce, summoning him to her like she was a snake charmer waiting for the rush of a strike.

“You’re not serious.” There’s laughter on the tip of his tongue, his words trickling out with honeyed mocking, lips curling into a sharp grin as he takes a daring step towards her; his shoulders pushed back, highlighting the difference in height between them. His advance is a declaration, a warning to Skyler that he’s not going to just lie down and let her step all over him; if she wants to fight him for it, then he’d stop her. It’s a careful balancing act they are walking across and although Angelo hungers to be the one to reach the prize first, that didn’t mean he was interested in letting either of them hurt one another for it, either.

“Aw, come on, Sunshine. There’s plenty there to share.” He purrs back, his heart fluttering with adrenaline as he side-steps in a circle around her, slowly inching himself towards where the treasure sat waiting behind the pokemon crafted barrier.

Then, like a crack of a whip, someone moves. With an explosion of suspense and electricity, Angelo doesn’t wait to contemplate who strikes first as he reaches out to snatch one of Skyler’s arms, fingers gripping tightly when he finds hold. Blood pulsing loudly through his head, he yanks her wrist and moves behind her to twist her arm behind her back in a lock, his other arm tightly coiling around her shoulders in an attempt to keep her still.

Only the momentum of the struggle, all of their pushing and pulling, sends them sprawling off balance, gravity claiming them for the ground in an entangled mess of limbs; Angelo desperately trying to keep her squeezed close to his chest as they fall.

skyler dross

She’s like a frenzied feline in his arms, golden hair whipping around and her body thrashing, struggling with seemingly every wild fibre of her being. Only instead of claws she uses teeth. Skyler bites down into the bare skin of his arm, clearly unperturbed by the concept of a fair fight. Pain bolts up Angelo’s arm, hot and sharpening his mind, leaving his nerves alive with static in its wake and a hiss to spill from his throat; only for his grip on her to tighten as opposed to loosening.

Angelo still staggers back a step in his shock and combined with Skyler’s own struggle they both find themselves crashing to the ground in a tangled pile. His breath is pushed from his lungs with a grunt and instantly, somewhere in the back of his mind, he finds himself unsure whether to be relieved or not that they had fallen forward. On the plus side, Skyler makes for a nice cushion for him as he lands on top of her, his injured side momentarily spared strain, but on the other hand…

His heart is pounding, blood thundering like a drum in his ears, as his hands slip out of their entanglement to press on the cold ground beneath them, fingers splayed out on either side of her. There was an intention to do something he thinks, perhaps to push himself off her and create some distance, to get a better hold of her or just straight up run towards the treasure, but then there’s a glint of silver in his peripheral vision and a flash of teeth; Skyler proving she is not one that he can escape from so easily.

Breath catching in his throat, heart squeezing, for the briefest of moments Angelo’s mind goes blank at the sensation of her pulling him into a tight embrace. Then he’s seeing stars – only they aren’t the kind that he loves – bursting in the corner of his eyes with a bright, blurring white.

Pain shoots along every nerve as her legs wind tight around his middle and whatever allure the action may have stirred within him is completely demolished, her thighs digging right into his injury like a set of burning talons had been plunged between the ribs. He can’t even get out a noise, his throat dry and tight, as he’s tossed about like putty in her palms until he’s on his back and looking up at her blurry form, unable to appreciate the view as his vision briefly swims with a layer of film like he’s looking at her from underwater.

Well, fuck…

Swallowing air, his face twisted into something strained, he barely has a chance to try and push through the agony as her voice drifts to him. Catch me, she says, and his hand follows after her as if driven by pure instinct. Fingers reaching out to grab hold of her ankle before she can get away. One last act of defiance.

He already knew he’d lost. Knew that he’d probably lost his hold on something more than just the first dibs of the treasure...

“You know what, I’m… feeling generous.” Even though he feels like absolute shit, every ragged breath sending unpleasant sparks up his torso to his fingertips, he manages to crawl the few spaces over to where Skyler had just amazingly eaten dirt. It made him feel a little better seeing that, not going to lie. Resting back down onto his good side, skin sticky with sweat as he tried to calm the breathlessness of exertion, Angelo cracks a grin at her. “So I guess I’ll let you win... This time.” Voice a little strained, he lets out a wheezy kind of laugh as he brings a hand to her head and messes with the blonde curls there, clearly still having enough energy to try and get in some last verbal taunts. “Remember to share your fortune with me, sunshine.”

Someone must have been listening because as Angelo concedes, the soft glow of the screen that the Froslass had erected began to fade, mixing in with the particles of dust that glittered in the natural light that sneaked in through the cracks of the celling. Treasure free for the taking.

skyler dross