[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby didn't seem to notice Sergei as he made plans with his Dreepy. If Sanguine could avoid the trap that Ruby had set, he would find that any backup was guarding different entrances. It seemed that, at least for now, Rocket's forces here were spread thin.

[break][break]Not that Ruby thought she needed backup. She figured that any League member worth their salt would just be able to teleport into the Ultra Deep Sea, so anyone who tried to storm the rift on foot was weak, an idiot, or both. Heck, the only Pokémon she had out was Jorogumo, who'd insisted on staying at the edge of the web she'd spun. It was like her second nervous system, after all; the moment anyone or anything touched it, she would know, and that would serve as Ruby's alarm system.

[break][break]Ruby wasn't usually the patient, planning type, but she was pretty damn proud of what she'd put together. Too bad she hadn't accounted for a Pokémon that could go around it.

[break][break]She was tempted to light a cigarette. Even though she'd been trying to quit (or, at least, that was the excuse she'd been making for months), it'd be something to do, at least. Guard duty was boring.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby's brow rose again. Delphi, restless, had gone from guarding the exit to helping take down the wall of rubble. Once it was cleared, Isaac recalled his Pokémon, sat on the back of the wagon, and patted the seat next to him.

[break][break]"What, is it Storytime With Isaac again?" Ruby asked with no shortage of sardonicism. Unlike Lee, though, she wasn't being threatened, so she recalled Grimm and Delphi, sent out a Bastiodon to help pull the wagon, and sat down next to Isaac, silently urging him to get on with whatever he had to say.

[break][break]Well, it wasn't quite storytime. Ruby narrowed her eyes a bit as she pieced together what Isaac was saying.

[break][break]"Are you trying to lecture me on how fucked-up Rocket is?" she asked. "You think I don't already know that? Hell, that's the point I was trying to make. You try to tell them that getting fucked up over killing someone isn't weak, they'd laugh you out of the room at best." She wasn't in the mood to think of the "at worst" scenarios.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby grit her teeth in frustration when the girl dodged her leg sweep. She may have been young, but she had either been in her fair share of fights or had actual training. Ruby wasn't sure which was more concerning.

[break][break]A breathless, undignified "Oof!" escaped her when the swift punch hit her in the stomach. Her blocks grew clumsy as Tsubaki threw punch after punch, shouting and ranting about Ruby's supposed crimes. There were definitely some bruises forming, but all Ruby could focus on were catching her breath and trying to stop this enraged girl from hitting somewhere vital.

[break][break]For once, Ruby's height worked to her advantage as she ducked under the kick aimed at her head. Her ears popped at the sudden change in pressure, but she spared only a glance above her, keeping most of her focus on the threat right in front of her.

[break][break]With Tsutsuji momentarily out of commission, Polyphemus dove toward Tsubaki and attempted to grab her in another Bind using his large hands.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Team Rocket had a momentary edge in Granite Cave, which meant they'd sent in some grunts to pull guard duty and keep anyone in the League from slipping through the dimensional rift. Unfortunately, Ruby was one of those grunts. It wasn't all bad, she guessed as she leaned against the wall, holding the end of her nail bat against the floor. It was the closest thing she'd gotten to a break in a while, and if someone tried to come through, she could fight them off.

[break][break]Especially since they'd be slowed and weakened by the Sticky Thread and Toxic Spikes her Spinarak and Drapion had left at the entrance.

[break][break]For now, all she could do was wait and see if someone would stumble into her little trap, much like a spider waiting for her prey.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby's eyes twitched open wider for a moment when Isaac began to describe his—well, Knux's—own kill. Of all the people in Rocket, Ruby never thought Isaac would have it in him to take someone else's life. It hadn't been anything like Ruby's situation, but it was still killing someone. Isaac was right: That would stick with anyone. Well, unless they were a complete psychopath. That was probably why it didn't bother people like Zev.

[break][break]Arachne hadn't been nearly as bothered. She was a predator built to drown and drain her foes, and she'd been born and raised in the harsh region of Orre. Ruby thought she'd be prepared for the feeling of taking someone's life, but it turned out it was a lot different when it wasn't just some turf war gone wrong.

[break][break]"Try saying that to the higher-ups," Ruby said bitterly.

[break][break]She walked over to the caravan to help get it ready to travel again. In the past, she'd allowed herself to be vulnerable with Isaac, but that had always been in the safety of her own space. Out here, there wasn't any room for that. If she opened up here, she risked exposing her weak spots to an enemy who wouldn't have any qualms with taking advantage of them.

[break][break]Funny how the League could be just as ruthless as Rocket sometimes.

[break][break]"I think we're ready to go," she said. "Let's get this outta here before someone else comes along and tries to be a 'hero.'"

[break][break]She didn't want to replay the scenario Isaac had been in.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

The girl screamed as her Noivern dove toward Ruby. The battle cry was a sharp contrast to her almost-polite warning from before, and it damn near gave Ruby whiplash.

[break][break]Polyphemus floated back when he was hit by the Air Slash, leaving behind shadowy tendrils that encircled Tsutsuji. Though they looked incorporeal, they occasionally gave a painful squeeze, and if Tsubaki were to try to recall the Noivern, the shadows would block the Poké Ball's beam.

[break][break]Instinctively, Ruby held up her left arm to block the punch. The girl yelled at her, her voice carrying raw rage and sorrow. This close, Ruby could see she wasn't much younger than her—about Jade's age, probably. The face wasn't familiar, yet she shouted about "haunting" Ruby for the pain she'd caused others.

[break][break]"I don't even know who the hell you are!" Ruby shouted back as she swept her leg toward her unexpected foe, hoping to knock her off balance. Part of her cursed herself for not bringing her nail bat with her. The rest of her was quietly relieved that she wouldn't get the chance to use it here.

[break][break]Above them, Polyphemus's single eye gleamed in the dark, and spots of colorful light popped into existence around Tsutsuji's head. They began to spin, faster and faster, aiming to disorient the Noivern.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Motherfucker.

[break][break]Ruby should have known Isaac would pick up on even that little detail. He was Isaac, after all, the unassuming clown who was way too perceptive for his own good sometimes. (And, apparently, weirdly horrifying when he wanted to be. She felt like she was always learning something new about him.) Ruby scowled and also looked at the dirt, letting the end of her bat drop to the ground. Delphi kept watch at the tunnel's entrance, still on high alert, but Grimm was beginning to settle down and watched her trainer, instead.

[break][break]"End of January," she said, voice nearly monotone. "Zev picked me out for a mission to take care of some vigilante getting in Rocket business. I knew what I was getting into."

[break][break]Yet she couldn't even look Isaac in the face as she said that.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby rose a brow at Isaac's casual "Nah." That wasn't what she'd expected to hear. Nor did she expect Isaac to drag Lee over to the caravan and sit him down for storytime. Then again, this was Isaac they were dealing with here. You had to learn to expect the unexpected with him.

[break][break]With one eye on Isaac and another eye on the other three Leaguers, Ruby listened as Isaac told the tale of another caravan he'd ambushed earlier that day. Someone had tried to be a hero and knife Isaac in the back, and Isaac's partner of the moment hadn't hesitated to end his life. Ruby hoped no one could see the way her breath hitched, then nearly stopped when Isaac went on to describe seeing the life leave someone's eyes. Maybe these guys didn't know what it was like, but Ruby... Ruby had seen it not too long ago, floating right in front of her in Arachne's bubble. What she'd seen of his face before turning away hadn't been anger, but pure terror as his life was drained from him.

[break][break]He'd been an enemy of Rocket, but Ruby hadn't had anything against him until he nearly broke her nose with his skull. Had that been enough to justify commanding Arachne to use Leech Life until he stopped breathing? Maybe not. Had she had much of a choice? Not really. He would have died, either way, with Zev Harcourt in the room. Ruby might not have had to look at the vigilante's final moments if she'd let Zev take care of him. Would that have changed anything? That was one Ruby couldn't even answer with a "maybe."

[break][break]Isaac described his partner's life leaving his eyes, too, but in a different way as he was numbed to the pain of killing. If she looked at herself in the mirror, would Ruby see something similar on her own face, despite her best efforts at joking around with Isaac and embracing her role as a Rocket? She didn't know if she wanted the answer to that one.

[break][break]The faces of the League officials ranged from horrified to confused. Ruby thought she even saw a flash of pity on one girl's face, but then she looked away as if trying to hide it. Even Lee's bravado started to wane. He let out a long sigh that even Ruby could hear.

[break][break]"No..." he finally said.

[break][break]"Then get outta here and leave the goods with us," Ruby said. "Don't try to be a hero unless you wanna end up like that other poor sap." She tapped her bat in her hand again for emphasis. "Show them the way out, Delphi."

[break][break]Delphi walked her captive over to the tunnel they'd come from, where Grimm stood aside and gestured for them to go through. Slowly, so Ruby and Isaac would know she wasn't a threat, the Fearow's trainer recalled her Pokémon, prompting the other three to do the same (though the Dunsparce's trainer had a bit of a harder time with it in Delphi's grasp). Lee glared at Isaac and Ruby like he wanted to walk right over and punch one of them in the face, but seeing his comrade still at Delphi's mercy made him deflate.

[break][break]"You'll pay for this," he muttered before following his comrades to the tunnel. Only when they were all through did Delphi release her hold on her captive, and she and Grimm kept threatening eyes on the four as they retreated. Lee stopped, fist clenched at his side, but one of the other trainers put a hand on his shoulder and whispered something. He slumped and kept walking.

[break][break]Ruby sighed. "All right, let's take this shit and get out of here." She sounded a lot more tired now, like she just wanted this job done with already.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby hated that she was having to rely on a Ghost-type to navigate the deepest part of Granite Cave. Sure, she had a high-powered flashlight, but that could only light up so much at once. Polyphemus, on the other hand, was made for the darkness; he could even slip into the shadows to go where no human could. It was creepy as hell, but it was useful, so as long as the Dusknoir didn't try to eat her soul or something, she'd use him.

[break][break]Or she would if he wasn't being so damn useless right now.

[break][break]"Where are you?" Ruby hissed into the dark, not wanting to alert anyone to her presence. No response. Polyphemus had vanished into the darkness a while ago and hadn't come back yet. Ruby swept her flashlight across the cavern, but that didn't give her any clues, either. She sighed in annoyance. If Polyphemus had chosen now to screw Ruby over...

[break][break]"Hey! Think fast!"

[break][break]Ruby aimed her light up toward the source of the voice to see a Noivern flying toward her. Someone was on top of it, too, but Ruby couldn't get a good look at them from here. A curse escaped her from behind the skull bandana covering her mouth and nose. She was reaching for Athena's Poké Ball when something lunged from the shadows, aiming to grab the Noivern in a Bind.

[break][break]"About time!" she shouted to her Dusknoir. Then, to her assailant, "And who the hell are you?!"

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Before the Leaguers could send out more of their Pokémon, Isaac rushed forward and pinned one's arms behind his back. Smart move, but not one Ruby could pull off without dropping her weapon.

[break][break]"Delphi, grab one of 'em," she said instead. "No attacking yet. Grimm, block the exit."

[break][break]Of course, Delphi didn't have actual hands to grab with. Instead, she slipped behind the Dunsparce's trainer and held one of the blade-like fins on her arms to their neck. They grit their teeth, hands frozen at their sides before they could reach for another Poké Ball. Grimm, one eye on the barely conscious Fearow, stood at the tunnel the Leaguers had come from, her axes glinting in a shaft of light that penetrated the ceiling.

[break][break]"I shouldn't have to say it," Ruby said to her opponents, "but if you try anything... well, let's just say Delphi's got one hell of a trigger finger." The Garchomp's cruel, toothy grin matched her trainer's.

[break][break]The trainer in Isaac's grasp grunted at his painful hold. "You people are insane," he growled.

[break][break]"Lee," the one in Delphi's grasp said in a tremulous voice, "don't piss them off...!"

[break][break]"Yeah, Lee don't piss us off," Ruby said, tapping her bat against her open palm. Naturally, she avoided the nails; that was a mistake you only made once. "Besides, last I checked, you sent your Beedrill after us first. That thing damn well could have killed me, you know."

[break][break]"You fucks deserve it," Lee gritted out.

[break][break]"Lee, shut up!" the Fearow's trainer hissed. She had her hands up with her palms facing Ruby and Isaac, showing she wasn't trying anything funny. "Look, if we let you take the cargo, will you let us go?"

[break][break]Ruby pretended to think about that. Of course she was going to let them go. She was a Rocket, but... For a moment, her jaw clenched, and the memory of a face frozen in fear in its final moments flashed through her mind. She quickly chased it off with a cocky grin.

[break][break]"I think we can do that, yeah. What do you think?" she asked Isaac, knowing full well what his answer was going to be.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Delphi turned with an annoyed growl to Tarkus. She could have handled it! Before she could start a proper argument, though, the Fearow stirred up a Feather Dance, covering her and Tarkus in a mass of down that would no doubt soften their blows. Delphi's ire immediately turned back to her opponent where it belonged, much to Ruby's silent relief.

[break][break]The other Leaguers were quick to recover and start commanding their Pokémon. Even with the Dunsparce slowed by the Bulldoze, its Dragon Rush was too fast for Delphi to dodge, forcing her to hold her finned arms in front of her for protection. The attack did some good damage thanks to its super-effectiveness, but the Dunsparce winced back after it'd scraped against Delphi's Rough Skin. The Garchomp smirked, showing off pointed teeth.

[break][break]The Excadrill was busy with Tarkus, which just left the Beedrill unaccounted for. Ruby looked to it just in time to see its stingers pointed right toward her, and then its wings buzzed furiously before it shot right toward her. She hurried to lift her bat and hold it with both hands, but then something else smashed into its side. Isaac's strike with his heavy bag may not have knocked it out of the air, but it did get its attention off her... and right onto him. Oh, hell no.

[break][break]"Fuck off!" Ruby shouted as she brought her weapon down onto the Beedrill's head. It wasn't as strong as a Pokémon's attack, but it was still enough to stop it in its tracks as it righted itself.

[break][break]Her furious gaze whipped to the caravan. "So that's how you little shits wanna play? Bring it! Delphi, Swords Dance! Grimm, Stone Axe that Fearow!"

[break][break]She had to move her bat to one hand to release her Kleavor, who immediately leapt at the Fearow with both axes poised to strike. She hit it once, then twice, the Sharpness of her blades ensuring her foe wouldn't last long under her onslaught. Splinters chipped off from the force of the attack and hovered ominously around the Fearow.

[break][break]Meanwhile, Delphi let out another roar, summoning swords made of light around her. They clashed together, empowering her enough to nullify the Feather Dance's effects.

[break][break]"Grr, Dunsparce, hit it with another Dragon Rush!" the person who was presumably the Dunsparce's trainer shouted.

[break][break]"Show 'em a real Dragon Rush, Delphi!"

[break][break]This time, the blue-and-red energy gathered around both combatants, and they launched at each other like two colliding comets. Both were sent skidding back, clearly pained, but between the initial Bulldoze, Delphi's Rough Skin, and the force of that final strike, the Dunsparce went down while Delphi was still standing, worn down but ready for more.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby snickered right along with Isaac's nonsense. But then his expression sobered and his voice turned weary as he claimed he knew this place was fucking with them. Her mouth tightened into a frown under her skull bandana, and this time, her elbowing had more desperation behind it. "Quit trying to scare me, asshole." It was a lot harder to pass that one off as a joke when she so desperately wanted to believe it was true.

[break][break]She didn't need to be told to shut up when she heard that awful sound up ahead. Well, they'd found the supply caravan, and they were stuck trying to Hyper Drill through a wall. That put a grin on Ruby's face, but it quickly faded when Isaac spoke up again. "Shut up," she whispered back, already pulling out Delphi's Ultra Ball. "Let's just beat them and take their shit."

[break][break]The smart thing to do would probably have been putting together a quick strategy and attacking in tandem, but Ruby wasn't feeling particularly patient at that moment. Instead, she tossed Delphi's Ball right at the Leaguers and said a single word of command: "Bulldoze!"

[break][break]The opposing trainers barely had time to even register the Garchomp's presence before she roared, stomped the ground, and made the cavern floor shake so hard that part of it jutted upwards to strike even the Beedrill. The only foe spared her wrath was the Fearow, who was able to fly high enough to avoid the quake.

[break][break]"Shit!" one of the League trainers shouted. "Fearow, Drill Peck!"

[break][break]While its comrades recovered from the sudden attack, the Fearow let out a mighty screech and flew right at Delphi, Flying-type energy around its beak spinning like a drill.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

She wouldn't say this out loud, but Ruby was glad this wasn't a mission to derail actually vital supplies like food and medicine. She'd long given up on the delusion that she was a good person, but screwing people out of the things they needed to live just seemed like a dick move. Maybe Isaac was onto something with his thoughts...

[break][break]Ruby snickered at Isaac's quip. "Yeah, they're gonna roll out the red carpet for us when we show up to kick their ass and take their stuff." The reminder of the nature of these caves was more sobering, but Ruby took it with an annoyed roll of her eyes rather than the horror it probably deserved. "Seriously, this place is such a pain. You'd think it was trying to screw with us."

[break][break]It had been said as a joke, but now Ruby wondered if they'd stumbled into something even more screwed up than just a weird alien dimension. This place even had what sounded like a heartbeat...

[break][break]"So let's make this quick before we end up Lost," she added, hoping it blended in well enough with the banter to hide her nervousness. "Come on, I'm not gonna stop and wait for you if you lag behind."

[break][break]She knew that was a lie, but she really did want to get this over with before things got too Ultra Deep Sea-y.