Chapter 34: Heated Escape

  It had been about an hour since the Dungeon had tried to attack them. An unusally long time of peace. Seemingly the Dungeon had given up on getting rid of them inside the tunnel. No, it had waited until Auri and Yuki reached the end of said tunnel.

  The Obsidian Caverns suddenly opened wide and downward, revealing a yawning chasm that seemed to split the world in two. Far below, molten rivers pulsed and flowed. Their glow painted everything in shades of gold and crimson, reflecting in shards of black glass that jutted out from the walls like broken teeth.

  The heat hit Auri like a wall. Even with the air rippling in waves, he could feel it clawing at his fur, searing his lungs. Even after hours of walking through this incredibly hot Dungeon he hadn?t mannage to properly acclimatise to the temperature. The air tasted of iron and ash and he coughed roughly. He really hoped he coild leave this Dngeon soon.

  Even Yuki seemed to slightly feel the heat by now, though she still looked perfectly fine. She let out a low whistle. "Guess that’s our way through then, huh?"

  Auri stepped to the edge. The bridge that might have once crossed the chasm was gone, reduced to scattered remnants, uneven pillars of obsidian rising from the molten glow below. Each one shimmered faintly, trembling with unstable heat.

  He tested the edge with one paw. The stone hummed under his touch, charged faintly. Cautiously he send some electric-type energy through and indeed got a response. "There are metal veins in the glass," he murmured. "My type energy is slightly reacting to the pull."

  "Okay and what does that mean for us?"

  "That, if I produce a strong enough magnetic pull and abuse my ability a little, I should be able to make the jumps."

  "Jumps!?" Yuki echoed. "Please tell me you mean a few short ones!"

  He didn’t answer and instead looked over the chsam in front of them again. The nearest pillar wasn't even close, being easily seven meters away, the air between them shimmering from the heat.

  Yuki followed his gaze and sighed in defeat. "Of course you don’t mean short ones. Or even just only 'a few' for that matter."

  Auri adjusted his scarf, wincing at the faint burn marks that still lingered on the fabric from their last fight. But the material was more than durable enough to take the punishment of a few Dungeons. Then he looked back at Yuki.

  "Between your ability Speed Boost, your wings that you can use to glide, and the leat of the lava giving you a certain updrift, you should easily make these jumps. My worry was if I could as well, but seeing how this is not just a fire-type and dark-type Dungeon but a rock-type Dungeon as well... Of course there's metal in the walls. So I should be able to get over as well. I hope. And even in the worst case, you should be able to stop me from falling into the lava should I fail," he explained before straightening. "I believe we'll have to continue. I don't think the Dungeon will leave us in peace much longer now that we've left its narrow tunnels. You ready?"

  "Not even a little."

  "That has to be enough," Auri replied before he took a running start and jumped.

  Electric-type energy flared from his paws, anchoring him midair, a magnetic pulse that pulled toward the metal veins embedded within the obsidian. His ability allowed him to rip the electric current along with himself, prolonging his jump that way. His landing was hard but stable, his paws biting into the glass. The stone trembled, groaning beneath his weight, but held.

  "Okay!" he called back, voice echoing faintly over the magma. "Next one’s yours!"

  Yuki backed up a step, exhaled, then leapt. Her wings snapped open, to steady her jump into a glide. She leasily anded beside him, talons skidding sparks across the black glass before she caught herself. "Two down," she muttered. "About fifty more to go."

  She looked up at Auri. "Do you know how scary what you just did looked? I'll literally die of worry before we get to the other side."

  Auri just shrugged. "I have absolute trust in your ability to catch me should I miss once."

  They moved fast, but carefully. Each new jump brought a wave of blistering air. The farther they went, the less solid the pillars became. Cracks spidered underfoot, light bleeding through like veins of molten rock. The Dungeon however. had waited long enough.

  Suddenly a tremor shot through the entire room, the type energy density started to become even thicker and the lava below started to splash up in high fountains. Even the heat got even worse,

  "Keep your balance!" Auri shouted hoarsely, voice nearly lost in the roar of the heat. "It’s trying to-!"

  The next tremor hit mid-jump, even shifting the walls and metal veins Auri used to control his jumps. A spike of static jolted through his paws, his field cut out for a heartbeat, magnetism failing. The arc that should’ve carried him cleanly to the next ledge collapsed into nothing. His paws hit the stone too low, too hard. The edge cracked and tilted under his weight.

  "Auri!" Yuki’s terrified cry cut through the roar of the lava.

  The stone beneath him gave way, shearing off in chunks that tumbled into the molten glow below. Auri’s pawsscraped uselessly at the edge, however they found no purchase and then the ground was gone.

  Then something jerked him short. His scarf snapped taut, the far end wrapped in Yuki’s talons. Her wings beat furiously, the updraft fighting her every motion, feathers glowing orange in the reflected light. The fabric burned against his fur, threads glowing faintly as they strained.

  "Hold on, I've got you!" she shouted, voice raw from exertion. His scarf slipped another inch. Yuki hissed, digging her talons deeper into it.

  Meanwhile Auri swung sideways, forcing his body toward the nearest jut of stone. His paw caught an edge, obsidian sharts biting into it. Another jolt of pain shot up his arm, but he ignored it and instead hauled himself up with a final lurch, landing hard beside her. The scarf sagged, still smoking. They collapsed against the rock, panting, both shaking from exhaustion and adrenaline.

  Below them, the magma stirred further. Red eyes blinked open in the glow, a Dungeon Sableye, molten and half-formed, clawed its way up the pillars. A serpent-shape of black glass uncoiled in the lava beyond, scales shining like mirrors in the firelight. Another Dungeon Onix.

  "Yuki down!" Auri shouted.

  An [Ember] erupted from her beak, short, sharp bursts that slammed into the nearest Sableye. It shrieked and fell backward into the molten flow, the glassy shards of its body hissing out of sight. The Dungeon Onix for now remained at a sizeable distance, other Dungeon Pokemon nowhere to be seen.

  For a long moment, neither spoke. The ground groaned beneath them again, a deep, disappointed rumble, as if the Dungeon itself was sad they didn't fall into the lava below. Of course that was just their minds interpeting random sounds, but it was still eerie.

  Yuki pushed herself upright, panting. "That's exactly what I was worried about! I don't care how good you are with type energy Auri, a Dungeon is unpredictable! You know that! And don't think I didn't notice just how much the heat down here gets to you! You're far from good physical shape right now, and that's what made your already risky plan of jumping across the pillars even worse! You don't have wings!"

  He flexed his burned paws, grimacing. "What else am I supposed to do? There was only one way back and that would lead us through a Monster Room. And this was the only way forward we had. It's not like my condition gets any better the longer I'm down here."

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  Yuki's beak opened only to snap shut again with a frustrated snort. She knew he was right in that. "Lets continue. We need to get you out of that heat as quickly as possible."

  Auri rose to his feet, testing the next pillar ahead, still stable. Barely.

  "We’re close," he said, scanning ahead. "The ridge ahead is higher so we're probably already more than halfway through the Dungeon. But these pillars won't stand much longer. So we'll have to get through. I'll do my best to not have you swoop in and save me again, no worries."

  Yuki snorted again but gestured for him to start. The last stretch was the worst part. The pillars narrowed, some so thin they trembled with every step. Dungeon Pokemon could come from pretty much anwhere, trying to harass them. Yuki was the one mostly fending them off, their number still limited due to the terrain.

  At last, the final ridge loomed ahead, uneven obsidian leading upward toward faint daylight. Auri made the leap first, claws scraping sparks as he landed. The ledge cracked but held. Yuki followed, wings brushing the stone, landing beside him in a small avalanche of black dust.

  They climbed the last stretch together, every motion draining Auri further until, finally, they reached the top. The heat mostly fell away, replaced by cooler air that smelled faintly of ash. Still quite hot, but far better than the cavern they just left.

  Auri sank to his knees, fur slick with sweat, the scarf scorched and frayed. Yuki dropped beside him, wings splayed.

  "Never-" she panted, "-again. On the way back we'll go around that Dungeon. I don't care how long it takes."

  "Definitely," Auri muttered back, still unwilling to move.

  They sat there for a while, just catching their breath. The Dungeon was probably still not done with them but they had survived another death trap at least.

  Still, they couldn't rest too long. The Dungeon wouldn't leave them in peace forever, so they continued onward. The heat became worse again as they moved on. The walls pressed close, layered in black glass and streaks of dull red light that pulsed like veins. Every sound came back to them twice, bending off the uneven walls.

  A few minutes later they reached the entrance to the next cavern. Auri crouched behind an obsidian ridge, panting quietly. He wasn’t sure when exactly his heartbeat had become so loud. Probably after they left the last cavern.

  Yuki dropped beside him, clearly concerned. "Are you okay? You’re clearly getting slower."

  He didn’t look at her. "Don't worry, I'll manage." He hoped. Still, his voice came out strained, and he that Yuki knew as well.

  "Tell me if you need a break. There's not much else we can do against the heat right now," she said with a frustrated sigh.

  Auri nodded once. Not much else he could do. He focused on the faint tremor running through the floor. That he felt something meant that the Dungeon would try something new again very soon.

  "We'll have to get across that lava stream. Afterwards, we shouldn't be far from the exit," he announced as he stood up. He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.

  Yuki frowned, still clearly worried about him. "Then what are we waiting for? We need to get you out of here as quickly as possible."

  He met her eyes. "We wait for a chance to move without getting cornered by Dungeon Pokemon. The cavern in front of us has no terrain limitations except the lava stream. The Dungeon can easily throw as many Dungeon Pokemon at us as it wants. I'll sense for the type energy of the Dungeon and maybe I can detect an opening for us to get through. I think it's worth a try."

  She gave a short nod. "Alright. Tell me when."

  Auri did as he told and strained his energy senses to the maximum. Something he'd never done before. The wild type energy oof the Dungeon became thunderous to his senses, drowning out many other traces of type energy. Trying his best to ignore the Dungeon energy as background noice, he focused on the other traces of type energy he could feel.

  Obviously, he noticed Yuki's type energy, and even his own, right away. But they weren't what he searched for either. So he strained his senses further, to their absolute limit, until he finally detected a subtle energy current in front of them that turned into multiple vague shapes of type energy. The Dungeon Pokemon.

  For minutes Auri waited and scanned for the thinnest collection of Dungeon Pokemon. When he finally found it, he instantly jerked his tail forward. "Go!"

  Yuki shot out first, leaping through the heat shimmer. Her body burst into a [Flame Charge], scattering light across the chamber and making a Dungeon Sableye recoil. Auri followed, a [Thunderbolt}striking the ground to keep the nearest one off balance.

  They moved fast, not attacking for long, just keeping everything off their path. Auri’s body burned with effort, every move he was forced to use drained his reserve further. And he had already been forced to stack [Agility] to even just somewhat keep up with Yuki's speed. And going slower wasn't an option either.

  His reserves of pretty much everything were running low, and he knew it. The air was too hot for him to breathe properly. His steps grew uneven, and he nearly slipped when the obsidian cracked underfoot.

  Yuki noticing that, decided to break their formation. She spun back, a [Slash] flairing around her wing, and swiped it into a lunging Dungeon Houndoom. "Just stay close to me! I’ll clear the Dungeon Pokemon out!"

  He gritted his teeth. "Yuki don’t overextend yourself for my sake!"

  "I’m not!" She ducked under a collapsing ledge, wings flaring for balance, then turned her head sharply. "Left side!"

  He didn’t question it, knowing that her taactical awareness was much less impaired than his right now. A quick [Thunder Shock] burst from his cheeks, forcing back two more Dungeon Sableye as they phased through an obsidian wall next to them. "We need to get over that damn lava Stream," he muttered to Yuki.

  Yuki hesitated for half a breath, then nodded. "Fine! I’ll make the path!"

  Before he could stop her, she charged ahead in another [Flame Charge]. Every step left glowing marks on the obsidian. The Dungeon reacted instantly. The floor shook as steam burst from the magma as several blackened Dungeon Sableye crawled from the walls to block her.

  Auri forced his legs forward, lightning sparking erratically across his fur. He darted after Yuki with a [Quick Attack] to close the distance, his energy reserves dropping lower. Another Dungeon Sableye reached out from the floor with a [Shadow Claw] and he shocked it reflexively with another [Thunder Shock], sending it tumbling into the magma. The smell of ozone mixed with the burning air. He didn’t look back.

  The last few meters were chaos as everything moved at once. Dungeon Onix slammed into the sides, shattering obsidian shards into the air. The floor melted under stray magma bursts. Yuki turned, teeth bared, and threw multiple bursts of [Ember] into the incoming wave. Not that it really did much.

  "Auri!" she called. "Jump!"

  He didn’t think and just trusted Yuki to know what she was doing. He ran forward and jumped over the lava stream, knowi't make it to the other side. That was, however, when Yuki darted in from the side as she met him mid-air and shoved him toward the other side with a powerful [Quick Attack].

  He hit the ground hard, rolling across the hot stone until he stopped against a ledge. His fur was singed in patches, breath ragged. Yuki's [Quick Attack] had more or less finished his already exhausted stamina off. Still, it had gotten the job done.

  Behind him, Yuki landed rough but upright, having once more used her wings to glide over the stream. She exhaled hard, eyes wide. "Sorry for that attack but we had to be fast. Can you move?"

  He nodded weakly. "Barely."

  The tremors didn’t stop. The Dungeon still roared beneath them, and the air shimmered with more heat bursts. Yuki looked back at the lava stream, now a churning wall of red and black.

  "We're not out of the woods yet," she said. At the very least we need to reach the next tunnel, preferably leave the Dungeon entirely."

  Auri pushed himself up. His legs trembled. "Then we keep moving. We’re close."

  Yuki stepped in front of him, glaring. "As much as you claim otherwise, you can’t keep this up forever! You’re overheating!"

  He met her stare. "I don't have to. Just for a few minutes. And that long I will manage."

  She hesitated. Then her jaw set. "Fine! Let’s end this fast!"

  They didn’t wait for another wave. Together they sprinted, Yuki clearing the path whenever something came close. Auri's reserves were virtually empty, so he couldn't really help out. The chamber reacted violently, stone splitting open, magma spraying through cracks, but they didn’t slow down. It was less a battle and more of a race.

  The final stretch was little more than a blur to Auri. Then the ground fell away, and they tumbled into the next tunnel, hitting cool stone hard enough to knock the air from their lungs.

  Silence. The heat faded, replaced by a faint wind. The glow of magma was distant now, only a dull red flicker down the corridor behind them.

  Yuki was the first to move, pushing herself up with a groan. "Did we make it? Are we out of the Dungeon?"

  Auri gave a tired smile. "You're hallucinating even more than me. No, we've simply reached the outer edges of the Dungeon again. Maybe it will now leave us be, understanding that we're just trying to get out."

  For the first time since they’d entered, the ground indeed didn’t shake. No more voices, no more crawling shapes in the walls. Just the slow, even hum of the Dungeon settling back into silence, as if it had indeed decided they’d gone far enough.

  Yuki looked at him, her flame steady again. "We're honestly lucky that Dungeons love hoarding their type energy. If the Dungeon had truly wanted us dead instead of just gone... Wo wouldn't have gotten away at all."

  Auri just shook his head. "Well, I wouldn't have gotten away. But you with how fast you got thanks to your ability and [Flame Charge]? No way the Dungeon would've stood a chance at catching you."

  At that, Yuki became incredibly heated and glared at him. "I would've not left you alone in there! No matter how stupid that decision would be!"

  Auri just sighed at that. Still, it felt nice to know just how far Yuki would go for him. Even if it was incredibly unreasonable.

  "Let's get out of the Dungeon. Before it decides we, in fact, don't plan on leaving. I'd rather not test its patience."

  She looked at him, at the faint burn marks on his paws, and shook her head. "Fine. Let's leave. But afterwards, we'll rest for today no matter the time!"

  Against that, Auri had absolutely nothing to say. He really could use a break right now. A long one.

  The heat shimmered behind them, slowly dimming. The path ahead waited, darker and quieter than before. Luckily the Luminous Stones had held up to their reputation and still worked, so they wouldn't have to worry about walking through pitchblack darkness.

  Without another word, they started walking, knowing that the end of the Dungeon was just around the corner.

  Important characters in the chapter:

  Pikachu (Auri) – Level 16

  Ability: Lightning Rod

  Battle Nature: Lonely

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 75

  Attack: 49

  Ranged Attack: 44

  Defense: 52

  Speed: 58

  Total: 278 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Nuzzle], [Tail Whip], [Quick Attack], [Brick Break], [Thunder Wave], [Feint]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Thunder Shock], [Electro Ball], [Swift], [Thunderbolt], [Discharge]

  Utility Moves: [Nasty Plot], [Charm], [Double Team], [Growl], [Agility], [Dig]

  Torchic (Yuki) – Level 17 (Evolution Requirements Not Met, Stat Boost Applied)

  Ability: Speed Boost

  Battle Nature: Hasty

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 84

  Attack: 49

  Ranged Attack: 49

  Defense: 57

  Speed: 42

  Total: 281 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Scratch], [Quick Attack], [Feint], [Fire Spin], [Flame Charge], [Aerial Ace], [Counter], [Slash]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Ember], [Sand Attack], [Overheat]

  Utility Moves: [Growl], [Detect], [Dig]