For the most part, during this trek in Deep Sea, El had steered clear of the strange pink mist that seemed to be cropping up, here and there. Though they didn't wholly understand it or what it did firsthand, they at least knew enough from the gossip of other League members to know that it was bad news. That people tended to see things in there, and that strange creatures sometimes lurked within. At the most, they stuck to the outskirts of such clouds, or otherwise followed a wall if they had to pass through, to make sure they didn't get lost.

They didn't exactly like lingering in those spaces even for a second, though. Something about it all, it just... Sent shudders down their spine. In ways beyond even that of the paranoia that this realm inflicted upon people. When they hit a crossroads - one path filled with the mist, and one not - they almost decide to take the clear path...

... That is, until, they hear a voice. Distant. Broken. Distressed. But familiar, even for as much as they're unable to make out the words. And El, pausing, stares into the mist. "... Bibidi?"

At their call, Bibidi reaches out her awareness - searching, listening... And there - further within the mists - she feels a familiar presence. Isaac - or as El knows him currently, Blackjack. And she can sense it on him, the fear and grief that seem to have taken a grip on him. And when she 'says' as much to El, she can see their expression twist into one of deep worry.

Reaching down, El preemptively prepares Behemoth's pokeball - not releasing him quite yet, but nonetheless keeping him in hand. "Let's go get him," They weren't going to leave someone in need behind, after all - not when the mist seemed to make this place even stranger and more dangerous than usual.

Thus, the duo step into the mists - Bibidi leading the way, as she seems to have a better idea of which direction he's in. And as they do, El calls out loud and clear. "Blackjack!" They shout - hoping he'll be able to hear them. "Stay where you are - help's coming!"

paranoia mentions~

Isaac Merlo

The lack of a response is concerning. While El initially wonders if Blackjack has fallen unconscious, Bibidi believes that he's still awake. With this in mind, they attempt to call out again - "Blackjack! Can you hear me?!" ... ... But yet again, there is no response.

What's going on out there...?

As the mist gets thicker and thicker though, Bibidi eventually decides to lift El in her arms - carrying them, so that she doesn't lose track of them. It's getting harder to see more than a few feet in front of her - but she doesn't need to rely on her vision alone to navigate. Isaac's presence is a beacon of its own - one that she follows closely. Although...

... With time, she realizes that even that is an unreliable landmark. At first, it didn't seem as though he was moving - which made her wonder if he did, indeed, hear El. But somewhere along the way, she came to realize that they were not getting any closer to him. Was it because he had started moving?

Or was it because it was as if the two of them were stuck in place - like in a dream...?

El blinked a bit, as she communicated the issue - and glancing out into the mist, they wondered "Do you think we could Teleport to him...?"

It was possible - but Bibidi shook her head. She felt that it was too risky to try, given she couldn't clearly picture the destination, and she didn't know if there was any free space around Isaac. One wrong move and well, she could end up teleporting into a wall instead - which could have understandably disastrous results. Her current thought was to keep moving forward, in hopes that it'd get them somewhere...

... But then came the sound of wingbeats - and El blinked as it snapped them from their own thoughts. Shifting a bit in Bibidi's arms, they'd arrange themself so that they can gaze back over the Alakazam's shoulder - asking "I hear something - do you sense anything back the other way...?"

She could hear it too - and alert and dutiful as always, she casted her mental awareness towards the sound, to see what she could pick up...

Isaac Merlo

As far as Bibidi could tell on a psychic level, there was nothing back there. And yet the sound persisted - something like wingbeats, getting closer, closer, and closer still. It wasn't as if this was necessarily a hallucination, either - both El and herself could hear it. Yet, with the mists surrounding them so thickly, it wasn't like either of them could see anything, either.

Still - El tried their best to keep their eyes peeled - staring into the pink haze that surrounded them. If the sounds were getting closer, then surely that meant the source would come into view soon, right? Their grip on Behemoth's ball tightened somewhat - a sense of unease making itself at home with their gut instincts - but they kept steady, waiting, watching...

... Until a maw - small, snarling, and strange - suddenly burst from the mist, swinging through the air just inches in front of them! And in that moment, El may or may not have reacted with the fight or flight equivalent of keysmashing - unable to help a yelp as they tossed Behemoth's ball --

Clonk!

-- Right into the mystery creature's nose, causing it to pull back, a little startled more than anything.

With a flash of light, Behemoth emerged - and the nidoking landed with a thud, placing himself between Bibidi, El, and the mystery pokemon.

"F-Focus Energy!"

At El's call, Behemoth let loose a courageous roar in the direction of the potential foe - fists slamming together - equal parts an attempt to intimidate the other, and him preparing himself for the potential fight to come!

Bibidi whirled around to face the mystery creature, and backed away a slight amount - though even with this tiny motion, she was hyperaware of the fact that it was not bringing them any closer to Isaac. Agitated at the strangeness of this place, and wanting to find Isaac so that they could be out of here yesterday, she'd decide to take a somewhat bold action - reaching out to Isaac's mind.

But this was not the gentle brushes she'd make - the psychic equivalent of knocking on the door. No, she'd decide to instead bang against the figurative door, shoving the sheer concept of awareness in his direction. The awareness that she and El were here, the awareness that they knew he was there, and the fact that she wasn't going to take denial of either for an answer. Being gentle with such intrusions could be saved for when they're all safe!

Isaac Merlo

As soon as it appeared, the creature - (Was it a deino? It looked like one, but El couldn't say for sure...) - had disappeared, back into the mists. Behemoth growled in frustration, and looked as though he were about to charge after it - "Wait!" - ... But El's call would stop him - and he glanced back at his trainer with an inquisitive gaze.

"It's too easy for us to lose eachother in these mists - we-- we need to stay close together." El spoke - their gaze casting at their surroundings. The deino was gone, as far as they could tell - and yet, they distantly realized that it didn't explain the--

"Who's there?"

The sound of Blackjack's voice - distant, spooked, yet there - grabs El's attention, interrupting the prior train of thought. "Blackjack??" They called back. "Can you hear me?"

Bibidi, meanwhile, was satisfied that Isaac seemed to have noticed her. Her approach this time is a bit more gentle - smoothing over any ruffled feathers that the initial bombastic approach may had caused. She responded to him with two simple concepts - that of herself, and El - and impressed upon him the call, yet lack of response, that had occured earlier.

Yet suddenly, the snarling had returned - and with that, there was not only one deino, but two! The sight had Behemoth's hackles rising, as he let loose a snarl of his own in response - and when one of them drew just close enough, he'd use Dragon Hammer, swinging a blazing fist in the deino's direction with another bellow!

But amidst all of this, the gears in El's head turned - and something occurred to them. The lack of footprints, the wingbeats, those were strange enough with a deino - it didn't have wings normally, and was landbound! And on top of that, another glance brought the realization of something else - the lack of the horn that deino were supposed to have. Two floating, hornless, deino - with no bodies in sight...

... Whatever this variant was, it wasn't of a deino - or a zweilous - at all, was it?

Isaac Merlo

El felt a flutter of relief in their heart, when Blackjack was able to respond. "Over here - this way!" They'd call - hoping that the other would be able to navigate by the sound of their voice. "We're getting you out of this weird mist!" Maybe once Blackjack could reach them, they could just recall Behemoth and have Bibidi Teleport the three of them out of here!

Though as the two of them drew closer, things began to shift. Earthen igneous stone, smoky colors mixing amongst the pink, the heat rising up from below... And something that stood out to El, was the smell in the air. Of course, the faint scent of dust and smoke was to be expected...

... But what of the fresh dewy smell, that would come after rain? Or smell aside, the slick muddy patches amongst the hardened ground beneath everyone's feet?

Not only that, but then came an obstruction. It was as if the smoke and mist had hardened into a wall that separated El and Blackjack from one another - and as Bibidi and El both pressed their hands against the wall, they found that there wasn't any give. "What's up with this place...?"

Though, there was still danger afoot. Though Behemoth did his damndest, the Dragon Hammer that he struck the head with didn't seem to hurt as much as it should've - and confusion creased El's expression. They watched the not-Hydreigon begin to emerge, the beast's heads shrieking, LED panels shining bright against the desaturated smoky-pink of the haze around them. The attack didn't do much to stop it - and now, it seemed that it was angry.

As cracks formed in the earth and the auxiliary heads snapped out, Behemoth would knock one flying with a brief uppercut - though the other bit down on his opposite arm, making him growl. Partially grappled as he was, he was able to avoid the brunt of the Earth Power - but it was still enough to make him snarl in pain as he finally broke free.

Behind them, El could hear the sounds of a number of Blackjack's pokemon being sent out - but they were more focused on the fight before them, unable to help a wince of empathy for Behemoth. It was clear to see that this not-Hydreigon had a different typing from expected - yet that posed the question: what was it..? "Megahorn!" El called - hoping that using a different type of attack would help glean some info.

And Behemoth, in response, would waste no time going into a charge - dropping down to all fours, and horn glowing! And once he got close enough, he'd leap to aim a nasty headbutt into the not-Hydreigon's torso!

But given that this was not a formal battle, there also was no need for this to be solely 1v1. Bibidi, focusing her energies, would attempt to focus a Psychic upon the false dragon - both in an attempt to force it to remain in place, and in an attempt to crush it with telekinetic energy!

Isaac Merlo

Dragon and Bug were neutral, and Psychic was completely ineffective. It was most certainly part-Dark, but what was the other type? Certainly not Steel or Fairy, if Dragon was neutral... Was it part-Fighting? Flying? Poison?

It wasn't like El had a lot of time to consider the possibilities, though. As the auxiliary heads came in, Bibidi would respond as quickly as she could - setting El aside, so that she could place herself before them defensively, arms brought up to protect herself! As the heads' Crunch sunk in though - drawing blood - the normally-silent alakazam made a low hiss of pain, teeth gritted together...

... And the sound would be drowned out, by the twin sounds of the not-Hydreigon's Hyper Voice, and Behemoth's responding bellow of pain, as he was rattled down to the very bone. Trapped as he was, he couldn't pull away - and in an act of blind retaliation, he'd begin to use the proximity to swing Poison Jabs into the mechanical beast's torso. Either it'd let him go, or it'd risk being worn down and poisoned by the nidoking's vengeful assault. (Hopefully, at least.)

Bibidi flinched from the residual noise of the Hyper Voice, and El couldn't help but stagger as well. It felt as if the ground beneath them was shifting from the power behind the not-Hydreigon's roar, even...

... But when one of their feet nearly slipped into the abyss that was forming behind them, they soon realized that something far more terrifying was going on.

They had to force themself to flop forwards to avoid falling - scrambling a short distance so that they could once more find their footing. But as they glanced back over their shoulder, they could see it - the way the ground between them and Blackjack had split, the way that their own half of the earth rose up and up... And the yawning abyss, that seemed to form from the resulting gap.

The sight made El's heart freeze up - and their initial instinct was to get back up, and to step forwards to move away from the edge. And yet, even as they moved, the ground behind them continued to crumble away - more and more... Until it stopped just at their heels, where it'd take but one false step, for them to tumble down, down, into the inky black fathoms below.

And what would happen, if they did fall? Was there a bottom? Cause they certainly couldn't see it - at least not from here. For all they knew, if they fell further than the mist could reach, they could very well just be swallowed up by these caves...

... No-- No, they... They couldn't let themself dwell on that. Not when their pokemon needed a helping hand. "A-Akero!" They'd call - forcing down the tremble in their voice and sending out the togekiss in question. "Life Dew!"

The angelic pokemon let out a whistle in response, as she flew overhead - and in her wake, Life Dew would sprinkle down upon Bibidi and Behemoth both, to help mend the wounds inflicted. Hopefully, they could win out against the false dragon in a war of attrition, one way or another. . .

Isaac Merlo

El felt as if it was getting harder and harder to breathe, with the passing time. But they weren't sure if it was the smoke in the air causing it, or their own anxieties being played upon by the realm - its characteristic paranoia becoming impossible to ignore now, much like their tightening chest. The heat rising from the slowly-growing fissure behind them was ever-apparent now, and they could feel it against their skin even through their clothes - paired with the bite of tiny embers that made them flinch.

Would they be incinerated if they fell, rather than be swallowed up by the cavern itself?

Despite that, they tried to keep their eyes locked on the fight - on the states of their pokemon. Bibidi was limited in options for the fight - and Behemoth was hurting as he stumbled free of the not-Hydreigon's grasp, the nidoking visibly disoriented from the ringing in his ears. The one saving grace here was Akero, who'd be able to help mend everyone's wounds, assuming that the not-Hydreigon didn't have any other tricks up its sleeve...

But, it seemed as though this strange twisted landscape wasn't done with El yet. The ground beneath them shook - and though the initial tremors were mild, it was enough to catch them off guard as they stumbled forward. The ground was beginning to crack and crumble, more and more, with each tremor that shook the earth - and El had to lean into their cane, to try and stay steady. But they were fine for now, as long as they kept moving forward, right?

(Disregarding, of course, the fact they were running out of ground...)

Seeing where the not-Hydreigon was floating above in the meantime, El weighed their options, before trying to make a command. "A-Akero..!" They called out, even as their voice threatened to choke up. She was the only one who could properly reach the mechanical beast right now, so... "E... Extre--"

More tremors shook the ground, much more violently this time. It was as if the earth itself were heaving, trying to throw them off like a rodeo on some wild Mudsdale. El was quickly losing their balance, their bad leg flaring up in pain as they were forced to keep shifting their weight to stay upright --

-- And yet, all it took was for them to stop moving for more than a few seconds, for them to suddenly feel their foothold crumble away.

They were young again - wind-tousled hair, a hoodie, and tanned skin. A child - bold and adventurous and curious - climbing up a steep incline in a rocky pass after a wild pokemon. Heeding not the calls of their brother, nor the slick earth beneath them - at least, not until it was too late. A moment of weightlessness, as the ground beneath their feet - softened by rain - had began to crumble, sending them tipping over and down the incline--

-- But before they could be faced with that familiar crack or the agony that had laced up and down their leg then, they felt something clasp around their wrist. A voice, a voice that was oh-so-familiar and safe, paired with a roar that felt like home and warmth, silvry and strong and stalwart-...

It was as if some sort of pressure were trying to pull El down - but Bibidi was having none of it. Psychic energy enveloped El and Isaac both, as she joined in with the other pokemon to help pull the two siblings back to solid ground. Before El knew it - as though some invisible rope snapped - and they were suddenly flung forwards, into Isaac..! It was only thanks to Bibidi's 'grasp' upon them that they'd avoid completely bowling him over.

Not that they were entirely cognizant of it. Acting as if on reflex, El wrapped their trembling arms around Blackjack - leaning against him in lieu of their cane. They sucked in a deep breath that audibly shook, and buried their face against the now-taller trainer. It'd take but a glance to know that they were shaken up - they were all-too-aware that if he had been the slightest bit too slow, or if the other pokemon hadn't been able to pitch in, that well...

... They didn't want to think about it. Not that there'd be much time to consider it, before the ground shook once more.

Bursting upwards from the fissure, magma erupted - forcing those near or above it away, lest they be burnt up by the sheer heat that it embodied. The deluge seemed constant, a fountain of lava that scorched at the surrounding earth. But that wasn't all - as there was another pokemon, its silhouette seemingly present within the flow.

Bibidi, already on the alert, would prepare a Psychic - waiting to see if this mystery pokemon was a hostile, much like the not-Hydreigon was...

Isaac Merlo