EXCAVATION [Open]

[ZENON]

Well, this place looked simply marvelous. Zenon had come upon the Crystal Caves while wandering around the Northern Lands for kicks. Not like he could go anywhere else. Staying home would just lead to trouble or to his capture if anyone was strong enough to overpower him. The Heracross had decided that some treasure hunting was in order to pawn off some of the things he found and sell them, while keeping a small portion for himself if he something caught his eye. The rhino beetle pokemon had entered the caves some time ago, and not even one pokemon had bothered approaching him. Either that or he just wasn't running into them.

Oh, scratch that, he did run into something. A quick observation yielded that there were wild pokemon here, but they were hidden. For starters, Zenon had just bumped into a curled up Geodude that didn't take kindly to the kick. The rock pokemon attempted to attack him, but a quick punch sent the rock flying into a wall. Zenon snorted, looking under the Geodude's location. The little guys, along with some Graveler were bound to hide some stuff while they disguised themselves with the cave's structure. The beetle pokemon frowned, finding nothing of worth.

"Tch. Am I gonna have to hit every moving rock around here to find something?" he muttered. With a huff, the Heracross set out to look for some treasure. At some point, he would try and take the crystals that were embedded into the wall, provided the place didn't come crashing down or anything. He just hoped the place wasn't teeming with explorers or anything. That was something he didn't want to deal with again. He didn't really hate explorers, but they were just nuisances that kept interfering into the Heracross' daily routine since that whole misunderstanding. Zenon sighed, pushing away those thoughts.

Whatever happened couldn't be changed, that much was for sure. "Let's just keep trekking through in hopes I find something..." the insect muttered to himself as he scratched his horn.

Word Count: 339

[PHLAIR]

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[atrb=background,http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/4628/phlairmidcopy.jpg,true] Too small to be bothered, that's why she figured that no wild pokemon was attacking her. That or she was just too darned cute! Her six tails waving jauntily behind her while her dark gray eyes sparkled with pure bliss. So this was what exploring was like? She loved it! She couldn't wait to become an explorer! But for now she would content herself with going through the dungeon herself and exploring at her own pace. The young fire-type pokemon hummed happily to herself as she trotted unmolested through the dungeon. A wild geodude that happened to be passing by stopped, contemplating whether or not to attack the vulpix but Phlair (who never changed pace in her swift trot) was already a fair distance away so he left her alone. "La la la la la! Ooooooo, what's this?" The pokemon paused in her trot to sniff a pink object in her path. Her mouth watered as she realized that it was a pecha berry. One of her favorite things to eat! Of course she liked to go down to the Spinda Cafe to drink Pecha Smoothies which was far more sweeter than just a berry... She considered doing this now but she couldn't help herself with the poison-healing plant right in front of her. She lowered her head and bit into it, savoring the sweet juices as they ran down her throat. "Mmmm..." So absorbed in eating was the vulpix that she didn't notice a geodude coming up behind her, the very same geodude that had passed her by earlier... It had made up its mind and decided that it should indeed attack the fox pokemon. "Geodude!"

[/i] The pokemon screamed at Phlair, the call echoing around the cave. The young pokemon's fur bristled in shock as she leaped up to turn around but then her young eyes twinkled in amusement. She thought it all was some sort of game. "Hi! I'm Phlair! What's your name? Hmm?" She lowered her spiky, pink-dyed chest to the ground playfully. "You wanna play a game?" For a moment the geodude was put off by the pokemon's playful demeanor but instantly it regained its composure and reared back one of its fists in preparation to attack. The naive Phlair still didn't sense the danger and maintained her happy pose, oblivious to the danger.

Tags: Zenon
Notes: Hope you don't mind me jumping in ;3
Muse: 5/10
Words: 408

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[ZENON]

Zenon padded through the caves, punching any geodude he had come across. Thankfully, the beetle was strong enough to beat them up like they were simple insects in the lower food chain, but it was getting on his nerves. All he found were a few slightly crushed berries, along with some half broken shards of crystal from the caves themselves. He would have thought about selling them, but they were broken beyond repair to even be sold for a good poke. The heracross sighed, continuing through the cave scratching his horn. The stupid thing, along with his entire body was beginning to grow bigger, and he was gonna have to shed at some point. Hopefully it wouldn’t be for a long time.

As Zenon kept walking around, something caught his attention. A loud yelp had rung through the caves. It sounded high pitched and seemed to have come from deeper in the dungeon. Someone else was here? This was just great. Meh, maybe the geodude would take care of whoever was here if they were weak enough. Zenon contemplated leaving, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. For starters, he didn’t know who else was in this dungeon. It could be some explorer who got a little bit overconfident, or perhaps someone who got stuck in the dungeon. Saving someone who got stuck and essentially “rescuing” them could lead to a hefty prize…

Zenon smirked, rubbing his claws together. It was time to see if this theory held true. The heracross’ set of wings sprung to life, propelling the rhino beetle through the cave in half the time it would have taken him to walk. Poking around a corner, Zenon was greeted to the sight of a geodude near a vulpix. The rock looked like it was going to punch, and the fox looked utterly oblivious to the oncoming threat. Okay, so this thing wasn’t an explorer if it was that stupid. And it looked pretty young…

Screw it, might as well take the chance. “I can’t let this stand…” he muttered to himself. Damn his chivalry. This is what got him here in the first place. He had to make this quick, then leave as soon as possible and progress with his treasure hunt. The vulpix was probably broke or something, but that wasn’t going to deter the heracross from assisting.

One of the insect’s arms began glowing with a crackling white energy as he took into the air. Zenon tore past the hallway, charging toward the geodude and landing a devastating chop under the name of Brick Break. A super effective move, coupled with the fact that Zenon was possibly stronger than the wild pokemon in this place was bound to send the thing flying into the cave wall. With that out of the way, Zenon glared at the vulpix, crossing his arms. “You…” he began.

“Are just the cutest thing!” he finished. He bounded up to the six tailed fox with a smile, a complete change from his previous mood. “Just what is someone as innocent as you doing in a place like this?” he asked. Yeah, had obviously changed in the heracross' personality. For starters, he didn't expect seeing such a small vulpix in a place like this. That, and the thing probably had parents willing to give a prize should he help their "daughter". Yes, he was that intent on getting something out of this trip. Zenon normally wasn't conniving and normally straightforward, but why not change it up a bit?

Word Count: 588
Total Word Count: 927

[PHLAIR]

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[atrb=background,http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/4628/phlairmidcopy.jpg,true] It seemed for a split second that the geodude was going to punch the young vulpix into next season... Then the tables were turned as out of nowhere the the geodude was punched by an unseen force. It flew into a wall and landed on the ground, fainted. "Whoa..." The vulpix's attention was brought to the new arrival, who was obviously not a wild pokemon... Although he did seem angry. "You..."

[/i] Phlair lowered herself to the ground guiltily. What had she done? All she wanted to do was play... What was so wrong with that? A whimper escaped her throat as she thought this heracross was going to scold her.

It was a great relief when he next words came...

“Are just the cutest thing!” The young vulpix immediately jumped to her feet, gray eyes sparkling with relief and joy. He wasn't angry! How wonderful! Phlair didn't like when others were angry with her, it made her feel bad... "Thank-you!" Her head tilted to the side while her eyes closed, her tails quivered in what as a vulpix version of a tail wag. She enjoyed getting compliments, they made her happy! Even more happy than usual!

“Just what is someone as innocent as you doing in a place like this?” Her gray eyes peered up at the pokemon whom she figured was an explorer, after all, he seemed too nice to be anything else. So saying she felt no need to hold anything back from him, so she let out her whole story. "Well you see, Mr. Heracross, I'm out here practicin' to be an explorer! I wanted to be brave and go on an adventure and this is the perfect place, don't ya think? I was hoping to find something like a treasure 'cause that's what all explorers look for, isn't it? Treasure? But I haven't seen much treasure... Except this pecha berry! I love pecha berries! Do you like them, Mr. Heracross?" Well... at least she had answered his question before going off on another subject. The young pokemon couldn't help that she tended to go off on different subjects when talking.

Phlair bounded up and down a few times on her paws, ever full of energy. "What are you doing here Mr. Heracross? Lookin' for treasure too?" She smiled innocently up at the older pokemon whom she already fully trusted.



Tags: Zenon
Notes: I did not expect Zenon to have that reaction to Phlair at all XD
Muse: 5/10
Words: 423
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[ZENON]

Honestly, he hated the way he said those words. Zenon really could have come off a bit more aloof, but it was too late for that. The fox pokemon had already warmed up to him after he punched the geodude into oblivion, and that was good. If is previous theory was right and this cub had parents willing to pay for a return of their child, he'd be in the money. He wasn't going to play hostage, but rather play the act of a good Samaritan. After all, taking a cub hostage just wasn't his style, nor was leaving the cub alone to get attacked by a geodude. Why Zenon was so thoughtful of others when it mattered, he didn't know. At least that was one redeemable trait the heracross had.

The vulpix had finally explained why she was here. Apparently, she was training up to be an explorer. Zenon couldn't resist chuckling a bit. if she couldn't even see right in front of her that a geodude was going to attack, then she had no business being an explorer. Before everything, Zenon had no urge to become an explorer, or be part of a guild. It didn't seem like the life for him. The vulpix had also noted that she was out looking for treasure along the way, and found a pecha berry. "Aint that a coincidence, I was looking for some treasure too, though I haven't found anything yet." the heracross said happily

"And yeah, I love pecha berries a lot. Honestly, I like a lot of sweet tasting things; especially honey." Zenon commented, waving an arm around nonchalantly. He scanned the vulpix quickly, trying to form an idea. If she decided to tag along, it was going to be a hassle unless she stuck close. Fighting by himself was no problem, but not when he had collateral. The younger pokemon looked up at him with an innocent smile.

Leaving her alone was like sending her on a death march. With a sigh, Zenon spoke up once more. "How'd you like to come with? I figure two heads are better than one in a place like this. And I figure I can take you back to your parents or something when we're all done here. They obviously must be worried about you." he questioned.

Word Count: 385
Total Word Count: 1312

[PHLAIR]

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[atrb=background,http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/4628/phlairmidcopy.jpg,true] Completely unknown to Phlair was the heracross' reason for chuckling, so she decided to laugh too. She had no idea how unsuited she was to being an explorer, her naivety in the situation with the geodude obviously showed this. "And yeah, I love pecha berries a lot. Honestly, I like a lot of sweet tasting things; especially honey." Again her tails quivered as she realized that she and the heracross had something in common. "Me too! Me too! I love all kinds of sweet foods! I've tried sweet poffins before an smoothies too! They all taste good! One time this tropius gave me some of her fruit 'cause she said I was sooooo sweet! It was delicious!" She bounced back and forth on fore and hind paws excitedly, thinking of the wonderful memory."I've never tried honey before though. I can't reach the hives and combees don't like to share. I should know, I've asked them before! But I would so love to try some honey!" She was sure that she would love to try such a tasty substance as honey, maybe it would happen some day. She hoped so! "How'd you like to come with? I figure two heads are better than one in a place like this. And I figure I can take you back to your parents or something when we're all done here. They obviously must be worried about you." The vulpix stopped bouncing and tilted her head to the side questioningly. "Parents? I don't have any parents, I take care of myself!" That said, she straightened her head and gave a bright smile. It didn't bother her that she had no one to take care of her, that's the way it had been for most of her life. Sure, she had vague memories of white many-tailed pokemon taking care of her when she couldn't do it herself... But that was where it ended. Others in the forest where she lived pitched in to help her when needed but otherwise she had no one else. "But I would love to go with you! It would be so much fun to explore this place together with a tough pokemon like you. You must be such a great explorer!" She bounced over to stand beside him, putting on one of her bravest faces. "I'm ready to go when you are, Mr. Heracross! Oh! And my name's Phlair! And I promise I won't hold you up any." She giggled and peered up at the path ahead, excited to start exploring with such a nice partner. Tags: Zenon Notes: ... Muse: 6/10 Words: 454

[ZENON]

Well then, this girl was a bag of innocence and all. It made the heracross think as to why she wanted to be an explorer in the first place. She had begun her rambling on about berries and the last sweet thing she had, but everything she had said went straight through Zenon's head, aside from the comment about the combee never sharing their honey sometimes. He nodded in agreement with that. Honey from combee was really hard to get unless you knew the queen or something. Zenon just managed to get by scaring them witless, then taking the honey for his own without harming the hive or gathering any unneeded attention.

The vulpix cub had said that she didn't have any parents and she took care of herself. That reminded Zenon of himself, seeing as how he was born in Apple Forest with no one but himself to rely on. The thoughts of his past were normal at best, but seeing a little vulpix like that, all alone in the caves seemed too much for the heracross to bear. Zenon was expecting some sort of prize for "returning" the girl back to her parents, but since she had none, that wasn't going to pan out well. "Might as well keep her with me before I find an explorer or something to take her off my hands.." he thought, scratching his horn.

The heracross was soon shaken out of his thoughts once the vulpix spoke up once more.

"You must be such a great explorer!"

Oh, crap. That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all. Just why did kids have to be so freaking innocent sometimes? Just what made her think that he was an explorer? He didn't have any badges or anything, save for his bag, but even that wasn't any indication. She was either way too trusting, or not all there in the head. Zenon was willing to bet on the former. "Yeah..sure." he commented hesitantly. This was a big problem now. How was he going to break it to her that he wasn't an explorer? Maybe play on the fact that he was just an abnormally strong civilian? Yeah, those exist.

"The name's Zenon. And I'm not exactly an explorer. Just a regular heracross that has a thing for treasure hunting. I really don't think I'm cut out for the guild life." He smiled lightly as he started walking. As soon as he broke eye contact with the small vulpix, his mind went into overdrive. The web of lies was going to be annoying to break out of. Coming clean isn't exactly the best option, but as soon as he found some loot, and an explorer, he'd drop off Phlair with him and get the hell out while the getting was good. He really didn't need someone recognizing him, and with someone who wasn't an explorer of all things. Arcerus knew he didn't need another murder related incident.

"Just keep an eye out for any weird looking rocks. Geodude and graveler are pretty common here." he suggested, taking the lead through the dungeon.

Word Count: 516
Total Word Count: 1828

[PHLAIR]

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[atrb=background,http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/4628/phlairmidcopy.jpg,true] "The name's Zenon. And I'm not exactly an explorer. Just a regular heracross that has a thing for treasure hunting. I really don't think I'm cut out for the guild life." The vulpix's eyes widened with wonder at his words. If that was true then he must be really tough, imagine being a civilian like her but being able to fight like that... Awesome... She gave a bright smile and trotted along beside him, her thoughts filled with being a great explorer. "When I get older I'm gonna be such a great battler and treasure hunter! My guild'll be so proud of me and I'll be so proud of me too! Can you imagine it, Mr. Zenon-Heracross? I can't wait to join a guild so I can train more!" That she couldn't but it had crossed her mind before that she needed a team, sure she was certain that she could train on her own but she really wanted to have another pokemon with her to train. That's was the best course to take, or so she believed... "Just keep an eye out for any weird looking rocks. Geodude and graveler are pretty common here." The vulpix nodded and put on a serious expression. This could be her first taste of actual exploration she couldn't afford to mess up! "Geodude and graveler beware! Phlair the Explorer will find you and... and... make you wish you never pretended to be a weird-lookin' rock! Grrr!" The added growl at the end made her giggle with mirth. She raised her gray eyes up to the heracross, her face plastered with a grin before she shook it off and became "serious". "How was my growl, Mr. Zenon-Heracross?" Before the heracross could answer though the young vulpix pounced on something in their path. She opened her paws to reveal a piece of crystal about the size of a pebble. "Ooooooo, it's so pretty! I'm gonna keep it!" She batted it around with a her paws a couple of times before carefully picking it up in her mouth, feeling quite satisfied with herself even though she had completely forgotten about keeping a watch out for odd looking rocks. Tags: Zenon Notes: Muse: 5/10 Words: 393

[ZENON]

Boy, this girl was really spunky. More so then Zenon could handle. She was just a complete bag of innocence and sweetness all wrapped up in a furry little bag of red. And she wanted to be an explorer too, that really took the cake. Zenon mentally sighed as he weighed his choices yet again. He was going to find some loot with the kid, possibly encounter an explorer and hand her off and he would be on his way. It seemed like a simple idea, did it not? The only thing the heracross could see going wrong was being outed as an outlaw, but that was probably going to happen anyways. So might as well enjoy the ride and keep traversing through the cave.

Phlair had really big dreams, seeing as how she wanted to be the best of the best that her future guild would be proud of her. Zenon smiled lightly at the pipe dreams of the vulpix. Getting into a guild didn't seem that hard, but she was going to have to lose that outlook she had on the world. Like trusting strangers for one thing. "Reminds me a bit of myself...

[/color]" he thought. As a kid, the heracross was all happy go lucky, just like Phlair, though he always kept to himself. One thing that never changed was his love of honey, and fighting. Fighting was how Zenon had gotten so strong, and his horn was proof of that. He quickly scratched at it with a grumble, wondering when the freaking shedding was going to be over with.

His thoughts were interrupted as Phlair asked him how her little growl was. With a nervous smile, he replied. "Not that bad, though I don't think you'll scare anyone." he said. Apparently she didn't hear him as the vulpix had dashed right down the path and dug into the ground. Zenon looked over the small pokemon to find that she had found a small crystal. The thing looked to be in some good condition, probably enough to sell it at a cheap price. She had wanted to keep it, so Zenon didn't bother tearing her away from it.

But an idea came to his head. If she had found one, there were bound to be a few more here. A devilish smirk quickly passed the heracross' features. "Hey, Phlair? Can you find any more crystals like that here?" he suggested. He was planning on helping out soon enough, but for now, he'd let the kid do all of the work for now. If she got in trouble, it was nothing he couldn't get out of.

Word Count: 438
Total Word Count: 2266
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[PHLAIR]

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[atrb=background,http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/4628/phlairmidcopy.jpg,true] She shook the crystal around a few times like a puppy playing with a new toy before dropping it to admire the crystal's sparkly surface. It was so shiny that for a moment she stood transfixed by the valuable stone. "Hey, Phlair? Can you find any more crystals like that here?" Zenon's voice snapped the young pokemon out of her reverie and she looked back at him with a determined smile on her young features. "Of course! I could find these crystals with all four my paws tied behind my back and my eyes covered up! Well... maybe not with my eyes covered up... But you know what I mean!" She reached down and picked the crystal up in her mouth and tried to speak around it, making it a little difficult to understand her words. "Juscht foller meh! Uh'll fineja schoom chrystuls." With that she began walking again, scanning the ground for any telltale signs of crystals. Phlair wondered if the heracross liked crystals as much as she did... Or just found out that she did since prior to stumbling upon the crystal in her mouth she had never seen one. So, what had given away the crystal she had found? A slight bulge in the ground and a slight sparkling. The young vulpix hadn't expected to find anything special, the sparkling had just attracted her so she'd just pounced and dug a little to reveal the prize. While scanning the ground before them she saw a sparkle a few feet ahead of them. With an excited leap she rushed forward towards the sparkle, not paying the slightest attention to any of her immediate surroundings... Which was how she tripped over what she figured was a raised pile of soil but was actually the arm of a sleeping graveler (which looked a lot like a rock until it raised itself up). The vulpix fell flat on her belly with the crystal popping out of her mouth, quickly she rushed after it and grabbed it before the precious stone managed to roll too far. "Gotcha!" "Graveler!"

[/i] The vulpix's fur raised as she turned to see the angry face of the rock pokemon. Uh oh... Unlike the geodude that she first encountered, this pokemon was obviously enraged and ready to fight. Putting on a winning smile she tried to aplogize. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Graveler! I didn't see you there or else I wouldn't have fallen over your-" The graveler screamed angrily at her and the poor vulpix lowered herself to the ground, covering her head with her forepaws. "Mr. Zenon-Heracross! Help!" She was too scared to try any of her moves or even think about running. She just hoped the heracross was fast enough to aid her.

Tags: Zenon
Notes: Uh oh... what have you gotten yourself into Phlair o.o
Muse: 8/10
Words: 490

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[ZENON]

Phlair nodded with limitless bounds of enthusiasm. Zenon smiled in response as the vulpix began searching for more jewels. His little plan was already set in motion. Now, all they (or rather her until she got tired) needed to do was go find some loot, possibly go deeper into the Crystal Caves and then they'd be on their merry way out of here. She picked the small crystal with her mouth and began looking around for any crystals. Zenon decided to relax for a bit and began shifting through his bag. He fished out a small bottle of honey, taking a small bit and licking it on his claw.

The stuff truly was the food of the gods. It was just so delicious, the texture, the sugar, the...everything! The heracross was so into his little meal that he hadn't noticed the small bound of rock near the vulpix to warn her. Once the heracross was done with his small amount of honey (he'd leave the rest for later), a shrill cut through the silence.

"Mr. Zenon-Heracross! Help!"

Zenon looked over to see that Phlair had attracted some unwanted attention. A graveler loomed over the poor vulpix, threatening to crush her like a grape. Well now, this wasn't going to pass, not one bit. Zenon didn't care for the girl, but he couldn't leave a child in danger, it just wasn't his style. The heracross was cold and inconsiderate sometimes, but not a monster. Swinging his arm dramatically, a white glow accompanied with crackles of electricity doused his arm.

"This should be more than enough...Brick Break!" Zenon called out as he took to the air. He soared toward the graveler, attracting it's attention. Before the rock pokemon even knew what had occurred, he was quickly lifted up into the air by the heracross' massive horn, then landed a solid punch, slightly cracking the pokemon's figure. The graveler landed with a thud as Zenon rotated the arm he'd hit the rock with, slightly wincing. He really needed to practice more often, getting lazy wasn't a good idea.

"Maybe we should keep moving inside.." Zenon suggested.

Word Count: 353
Total Word Count: 2619

[PHLAIR]

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[atrb=background,http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/4628/phlairmidcopy.jpg,true] Trembling with fear, the small vulpix lifted one paw to peek out at her assailant. What she saw made her small frame fill with relief and awe. Boy was that heracross strong! She watched as Zenon threw a massive punch at the bad-tempered graveler, cracking its rock hard body. Phlair turned towards the graveler and growled at it, "Grrr! That's what you get! Big bully!" She yipped a few times at the unconscious pokemon before looking back at her savior with twinkling eyes. "Oh yes! We should but I saw another crystal! Or at least what looked like where another crystal was buried! But when that mean 'ole graveler tried to attack me I kinda lost where it was... But give me a minute I'll find it again!" With that she picked up her own crystal and set off at a zigzag run, her eyes aimed at the ground. Now, where was that sparkly rock? That graveler had thrown her off of the trail of gem hunting! Now she wasn't sure where to... Ah ha! There it was! The same telltale bulge and sparkle that she'd previously seen. Putting on a burst of speed she quickly closed the distance and leaped on the bulge, within a short amount of time she had dug the crystal out of the ground. It was one larger than her own, about the size of two of her paws. Phlair's six tails quivered as she waited for the heracross to catch up and see her find. "Didn't I tell ya I could find some more crystals? Huh? Huh? I bet there are thousands-no, millions more in this cave! I can't wait to go see! Oh gosh, I feel like an actual treasure hunter out searching for treasure! Don't you feel the same way, Mr. Zenon-Heracross? Do ya? I wonder if we'll find anything else here... Do you think we will?" The vulpix bounced up and down on her paws as her words came out in an excited rush. "Are we gonna go deeper in the cave now? I bet there are even more crystals if we do!" Ah, how she was enjoying this exploration. Tags: Zennon Notes: Muse: 5/10 Words: 377

[ZENON]

"Like I said, be careful. Honestly..." Zenon muttered, scratching his horn with an annoyed look on his face. Did he not tell her to stay the hell away from the odd looking rocks? Man, kids really didn't listen these days. At least as a kid, Zenon was smart enough to not attack or disturb what he couldn't beat. Then again, Zenon always fought with other heracross, despite him not winning. It was a species thing, so that didn't count. He never fought anything other than other heracross in his life before it took a complete tumble, and was he better off for that? Probably.

He wished he could live a simple life, but the life of a criminal wasn't that simple if he was going to be hunted. The vulpix aspired to be the one thing that kept him running. What Zenon wouldn't give to just settle down and live the good life. A limitless supply of honey would just be even better than all of that combined! With a small slurp, his attention was garnered once Phlair had begun looking for some crystals in the dirt once more. The heracross glanced at the graveler, rolling his eyes. Stupid things had rocks for brains.

Zenon continued on in the cave, Phlair leading the way as she found a few more crystals. The vulpix cub had found a crystal the size of her paws, which was pretty big. The heracross smiled, attempting to pluck the jewel and inspect it as the two pokemon trudged through the Crystal Caves. Phlair, as expected, was acting like a little kid in a candy store. Zenon couldn't help but smile a bit as the time passed by. She had asked if they were going to go deeper inside the caves. he responded with a simple nod.

"We should find some good stuff, provided we don't bother any of the wild pokemon here." Zenon said sagely. "There's bound to be a lot of stuff, seeing as how the entire cave is made of crystals. Probably something even more than that." he muttered the last part to himself.

Word Count: 351
Total Word Count: 2970

[NightWing]

"Crystal Caves eh?" NightWing said to himself as he flew over the land to his destination. He had heard about the rare gems here from a Miltank in a town not far from where he was headed. It sounded interesting to the Honchkrow seeing as all he wanted was money and selling crystals might help. Maybe if he was lucky there were some unfortold treasures down there that no one knew about and it would be all up for grabs. Just the idea of it was enough for NightWing, if anyone were to get in his way he'd quickly dispose of them. The last time the Honchkrow found some treasure it was in a cave nearby a town and they said all the treasure belonged to the town after NightWing and to go through plenty of dangerous situations to get it. He sure let them no that this Honchkrow was not a sharer. Now he couldn't go back in that area again with wanted posters of him up and what not.

Once he had finally landed he heard commotion going on in the cave. It was the sound of what NightWing figured a little girl screaming for help or something. He rolled his eyes, great now he had some kids trying to reap the benefits of this cave from him! He would not let someone take his bounty again! The crow like pokemon quickly began to flap his wings ascending in the air and then flying forward into the cave.

As he flew throughout the cave flapping his wings every once in a while to keep a comfortable altitude. Granted he wasn't that high up seeing as the cave wasn't that big. He noticed Geodudes and Gravelers using Rock Throw at him as he flew by. From above he fired a Night Shade attack onto the grounded rock-ground type pokemon. It didn't do a ton of damage to any of them but it was enough to get some of the to stop tossing rocks at him.

"What is that?" NightWing muttered to himself as he saw something shinny followed by two figures. As he got a little closer he found himself flying toward two pokemon. One of them was caring some crystals which intrigued the Honchcrow. As he flew over their heads he let out a deafening caw. He then flew a bit in front of them before turning around and landing right in front of them blocking their path with his large wings which were extended out to full reach. The Honchkrow let out one more caw before folding his wings up against his sides and smirking at the two pokemon. One could see the Honchkrow's dark red eye shinning in the darkness of the cave and he made a devilish smirk before he talked.

"Hello there my little friends I believe that you can help me with something the name's NightWing and don't you forget it," He said with his devilish grin just getting wider. He just wanted to get the crystal from the little fox pokemon and depose of them and move on.

[PHLAIR]

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[atrb=background,http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/4628/phlairmidcopy.jpg,true] Phlair nodded and set off again at a trot. Find more crystals. Not bother any more wild pokemon. She could do that! It would be easy! After all, all she had to do was stick close to Zenon and just search for crystals in their path. Simple! Her large, gray eyes searched the cave as she trotted before her escort, never tiring of her pace or of searching. It took a lot before the child's energy was depleted and the events of the day weren't nearly enough to take away her over-average energy. A large caw disturbed the small fox pokemon from searching for the precious stones. Phlair jumped as the caw surprised her. "Wow! Mr. Zenon-Heracross, lookit that!" The fox pokemon stopped in her tracks and stared fascinated at the crow-like pokemon as it flew over their heads and landed. The young vulpix failed to realize that the new arrival was had quite an evil smile on face, she thought he was simply smiling due to the face that he was friendly so she gave him a bright smile right back. To her the honchkrow was simply landing in front of them just to talk and have company. What else could he want, right? "Hello there my little friends I believe that you can help me with something the name's NightWing and don't you forget it," The smile remained on Phlair's face as she answered back, "Hiya, Mr. Nightwing-Honchkrow, I'm Phlair and this is my friend Mr. Zenon-Heracross! We're crystal huntin'!" After this sentence the young pokemon broke out in a laugh, "And how could we forget your name, silly! You just told it to us!" She giggled once more and her small crystal fell down onto the ground in front of her but quickly she pounced on it, putting both of her tiny paws on top of it. "Gotcha! You're a bad crystal always tryin' to run away from me!" She looked back at Zenon and wondered if he would let the honchkrow look for crystals with them. She hoped so! Treasure hunting was always funner in a group! Or so she had been told. Tags: Zenon & Nightwing Notes: Muse: 4/10 Words: 377