What he would find a short distance away was Salticidae on her back struggling like an insect would, despite her pained giggling. She was fighting against a large, decrepit, withered looking Zoroark that seemed to be half Pokemon, half machine, and she was on the losing end at the moment. Something was definitely off about it, and it was clearly overpowering her. When it heard Radegast, however, it turned to look at him momentarily with a glowing eye socket before returning its attention to the girl before it. Lifting Salticidae up by her throat, the bizarre Zoroark slammed her into the side of an odd pillar-like structure multiple times before dragging her body down the jagged crystalline sides of the pillar, letting each edge pierce her skin and shred her clothes. With a metallic growl, the Zoroark looked at Salticidae's limp, if still barely conscious and giggling, body. Then it tossed the girl to the ground with intense force, turning its attention to Radegast.
"Whoa! Dude!"He got a good chance to look at the full Zoroark. It was larger and bigger than the usual Zoroark were, and seemed to be half machine. It's appearance was something old and tattered, weathered by what resembled nearly a decade of neglect. A variety of metallic groans and creaks accompanied all of even its most subtle movements, and its deep and throaty breathing had a metallic and labored sound. The pillar was also an interesting visual oddity, the dark crystalline structure and design revealing an obelisk standing as tall as two Humans. Floating atop it was a crystal that was glowing with a dark and shadowy purple color. The Zoroark picked up Salticidae's mostly unclothed and gashed body. Somehow, she was still lightly giggling, clearly conscious still, though she sounded as if she was in pain. Her insectoid parts were plain to see now; tattoos resembling markings found on Ariados, and legs and stingers likewise. She was a paint job away from being a walking humanlike Ariados.
The Zoroark spoke, metallic and grindy, with a very low frequency metallic screech and whine underlining the words it spoke as if a dark and robotic reverb.
You... Is this trash yours? Littering...is bad...
The Zoroark threw Salticidae's body toward Radegast with impressive power. She landed in a heap a short distance in front of Radegast, her lithe, injured body tumbling like a ragdoll until she ended up right at his feet. She was still smiling and giggling, with a coughing fit or two briefly interrupting her. Looking up at Radegast, she spoke, albeit weakly. She seemed to be in very bad shape.
You...done arguing with your enemy...? Tee...hee hee~! Hee hee~! Well...! Feel free to let...your gaze linger...! Tee hee...hee~!
She coughed again.
Tee hee hee...! In seriousness. I...found the Crystal...it isn't far...! I feel it...and that is an...Obelisk! ...Hee hee~!
Radegast slipped the helmet back on, and with his one good hand, he quickly retrieved a Lemonade from his leg pouch and popped open the cap. All the while he kept his gaze fixed on the Zoroark.
It didn't appear to be Zane, but then again, he hadn't seen the Psychic Rebellion leader in a good long while. Considering Lucy Reginald was in league with the Rebellion now, it shouldn't be a surprise that she began applying her own methods to "improve" the members.
"So uh..." Radegast's still-numb right arm flopped around to gently hold Salt's head as he poured the lemonade into her mouth,
"What's your biz, dude?" He asked to the Zoroark cyborg.
Vengeance... I was wronged by humans, and I shall end them for it. They killed me, and I...desire revenge. I have no quarrel with you...unless you intend to contest me...
The Zoroark seemed wary of Radegast, observing him closely.
Radegast looked between the Zoroark and the Zoroark's arm. His jaw clenched, then unclenched; he couldn't even imagine what sort of nervous damage the guy would have to go through every day because of this... whatever they did. Even after his talk back at the lab, the people there were still the sort who had no qualms doing horrible things to Pokemon and people. He always thought the Ruulan government cracked down on exactly this sort of thing. That's what Tarma always said as Marcus asked why the Reginalds are doing nothing far outside of family business.
Compared to people like Salticidae and this new Zoroark, Radegast really did get off easy from the whole getting killed thing. He had to choose his words carefully.
"We're all working towards justice," Radegast replied,
"Vengeance, whichever. Same thing, maybe. I've got no beef with you, but... just don't hurt the innocent. We cool?"The exposure to all of this hatred wore through Radegast like an ungodly stiff shoulder.
"Also, why were you two fighting?" He asked.
She reeks of the one I hold hatred for... That's all you need to know... Stay out of my way, and I won't attack you too...
The Zoroark quickly ran off with clanking sounds, its body moving with rigid and jerky motions.
"Wait!" Radegast called,
"What if... you could help us? We're looking to weaken that Diancie." But he didn't look back.
After Radegast watched the Zoroark head off for a good minute, he then glanced to Salticidae, and looked away once more.
"Alright... so they aren't here..." He glanced to the freed Liam,
"I'm surrounded by folks that want to hurt me..." He then looked to the sky,
"And I've... honestly done what I came here to do." A sigh, and a moment of thought. Radegast paced around the sands of the shore as he grew deep in thought.
"Dammit, I wish someone was here..." he muttered.
"Mmm...interesting!"
Radegast would turn to the sound of his wish being granted. A small, spherical floating Pokemon had emerged, probably from the treeline due north of them. The Pokemon was gray overall with accents of red on one of it's U-shaped appendages and blue on the other, looking like magnets. It's single eye was in the center of the sphere, mostly white with a dot for a pupil. It didn't seem to have that strange energy that surrounded Salticitae and Liam, giving off a lot of energy. It paid Radegast no mind as it continued to examine what Salticitae had pointed out earlier...the Obelisk.
"So this spire must be created from the Shadow Energy itself! Very unique! I've never seen such an energy manifest itself in these forms. But why? What makes this rock so special that it carries this kind of energy? Hmm...I must get my things!"
Just as swiftly as it came in, the Magnemite flew away, disappearing into the treeline. As soon as the Magnemite disappeared from view, a quick bolt of shadowy energy struck the ground behind it, creating a small scale and localized explosion of crackling and popping shadow energy within a second after impact, akin to a Self-Destruct, or Aftermath. Then, it was idle once more.
Liam passed Radegast a glare, but said nothing.
For a good moment, Radegast simply stared at where the Magnemite went. When the bolt crashed against the ground, he flinched.
"Hello! Of course, an obelisk! We're nearby one!" Radegast slapped the helmet on where his cheek would've been.
"Alright alright..." He began heading towards the obelisk, albeit with a great deal of caution. He had no idea how he was supposed to shatter this device. When he approached what seemed to be minimum-safe distance, Radegast gave the obelisk itself a careful look.
The Obelisk was a tall structure twice his height and one-and-a-half-times his width. A shadowy crystalline mesh was caked into the sides of the stone pillar, and it glowed with power, emitting a low-pitched, vibrating, humming sound. Floating atop the structure was a large shadowy crystal. It was dark violet in color and rotated slowly in place, hovering lightly, protected by four curved arches built into the Obelisk.
A faint line of energy, only visible with an ability to sense aura, stretched from it to a location deeper within the treeline.
"What do you think?" Radegast asked seemingly to no one as he sensed the aura through the powerful blade and shield.
"You know as much as I do when it comes to this shadow power," Reggie replied aloud.
Radegast nodded. He couldn't assume that Salticidae or Liam could know anything about destroying these obelisks, but it couldn't hurt to ask.
"Either of you know if there's something to watch out for if I try to smash that crystal?" he pointed out the crystal with his shield-clad arm,
"That looks like a power source, at least." There was that magnemite who mentioned 'getting their things'. Who knew what that would result in?
"Well you did just watch it shoot some kind of explosive," the Cincinno crossed his arms, choosing to step further away from the crystal rather than towards it, "I bet it'll be entertaining when it shoots you."
Radegast pushed the mocking tone from his mind as he cleared his thoughts. The Calm Mind took effect, and he steeled himself for what could come. After focusing some power to his legs, the armoured Gallade shot right at the crystal, and Slammed against it with the sturdy edge of his shield. His sword arm still wasn't feeling top-notch, but he had to do something.
However, as soon as Radegast entered the range of the Shadow Obelisk, a bolt of shadowy energy fired fast as lightning at him, aiming to assail him with a rather dangerously powerful blast of energy. Shocking like lighting, and twice as strong, he'd also feel a burning sensation course through him afterward, likely the shadowy energy at work. His shield clanged off the Crystal, creating a rebound of energy. The Crystal looked unharmed, but he could tell it took a solid hit nonetheless.
Radegast used the recoil to help send himself back out of range once more. He cringed inward with the pain of the blast, and took a moment to regain his breathing. As he looked back up at the obelisk, Radegast pulled a second lemonade with minor psychic power and downed it.
"Guh!" He gasped after gulping down several mouthfuls,
"No cracks, even with that," he muttered. After a moment, he glanced around the area, looking for a rock that seemed suited for throwing.
As he sifted through the grass, he would hear a rustle in the brush and notice the Magnemite returning, a magnetic arm pulling a wagon that carried what seemed to be an electronic stockade of items inside. A few already seemed to be set up, lights flashing and mechanics whirring. A small satellite was spinning on an axel on top of a metal tripod, the main eyesore in the bundle of equipment. Beside it were two small square boxes that wired up to it, indicating they were batteries. In front were two circular sheets of metal, pointed perpendicularly away from each other and diagonally in reference to the wagon. In the middle of the cart was a whole bunch of equipment. Some looked like guns and drills of some kind. Others looked like transparent cylinders with clasping lids on either side. It seemed like this Magnemite had this wagon prepared beforehand. There would've been no time to gather all this stuff so quickly.
As Radegast picked up a rock that looked like it could do some damage, he noticed the wagon being pulled along by that same Magnemite.
"Uh..." Radegast stammered as he hefted the rock in his shield hand,
"I'm sorry, who are you?""Hmm?" the Magnemite turned towards the armor-clad Gallade, blinked once, and said, "Ah, I'm Dr. Eckels."
Right as he said that, another bolt of energy fired from the Obelisk, directed at the Magnemite. The bolt was two feet away when suddenly it impacted, detonating in the air in front of it. The blast radius spread out in an angular direction, directly backwards and outwards, like there was a bubble around the wagon. And then Radegast could see it, a small glare of blue contrasting the greens and purples around them. It flickered for an instant and then it was gone. But as he paid attention, he could spot more and more of these little jolts of light dancing around in a spherical pattern. They seemed to suround Dr. Eckels, almost like a shield. Or maybe exactly like a shield...
Without skipping a beat, Dr. Eckels moved forward, dragging the wagon with him, "Now now, just relax, little inanimate object," he said, as if he was talking to the Obelisk itself, "I just want to run a couple tests and I'll be out of your way."
Another shadow bolt fired towards Dr. Eckels, but with the same result. The Magnemite had turned around, perusing the equipment he had. He picked up a small square controller with a small screen, two buttons, and an antennae on the top. He turned and pointed it at the rock, holding it there. After a moment, three loud beeps could be heard and it held the controller in front of his eye, staring at the screen. He paused, then electronically buzzed. It sounded mildly disappointed.
"Could not detect energy type? Do I have this configured properly?" It flipped the controller over, magnetically taking off the back panel of the device and exposing the wires within. With his other U-shaped hand, he pointed towards a specific section of the cart. A pair of small pincers jutted out and flung into it's hand, which he then held over the device. He started sifting through some of the wires, examining and lightly muttering intelligibly while the Obelisk kept firing bolt after bolt, smacking into the barrier in front of them. Before long, it started buzzing with epiphany.
"Ah! That's right! It's Shadow-Type. Silly me. I'll have to pull a sample first, THEN put it in the database. But before that..." he ended up moving around a few of the wires before closing up the back panel again, facing the tower of rock once more, "Let's see how much you've got in you..."
As this happened, Radegast looked to Liam, who only shrugged back. The helmet only hid the puzzled expression on his face.
"Uhm, Dr. Eckels, whaddya- uhh..." Radegast's gaze returned to the Magnemite. His head was somewhat tilted.
"What are you trying to accomplish with the obelisk?""Mmmmmm, you've got quite a bit of power in you," Dr. Eckels continued speaking as if it was just him and the rock in front of it, "Far from the largest number I've seen, but definitely the strangest." He paused for a moment, studying the crystal with fascination, "Are you sentient?" No sound, then, "Well, with a response like that, I certainly have to find out!"
Settings the controller down in the wagon, he went to another device. This one looked a lot more definable in nature...a drill. He tested it, pressing the button a couple of times, watching the nose cone spin rapidly. He finally turned to the Obelisk.
"Alright there, ," he floated closer, grabbing the wagon and dragging it with him. The barrier moved as well, "This is going to hurt, but it'll be done soon and then I'll leave you alone. Promise!"
He stopped the wagon a few feet from the base of the spire, but ventured forward until he was about three inches from it. He then held the drill in front of him, pressing the tip against the rock itself, and pressed the button on the side. The drill started whirring once more, this time grinding against the Obelisk.
When the drill connected with the Obelisk, there was a large explosion of shadow energy as a shadowy aura flared around the contact point, creating enough force and kickback to knock back everything nearby while embedding nearby Pokemon and Trainers with sharp shards of shadow energy. Eckels would find the shadowy shards to leave no physical wounds despite their penetration, but
shadowy energy nonetheless began whirling around him and his equipment as a searing pain ran through him and his body. Radegast was safe, however. In short order, Eckels would find himself having to fight off a rising feeling inside of baser instincts wanting to come to the forefront. It was almost like a mental struggle to resist the corruption that was nagging away, trying to shut down his capacity for emotional connection and close the door to his heart. A cold and bitter world just inches away from consuming him.
Radegast covered himself from miniscule debris that was hurled in all directions.
"Jeez!" After a moment, he beheld the Obelisk once more. Despite apparent damage around the point of contact, it appeared less to be a result of the drill and more the result of the expelled obsidian-like shards that had been launched in the blast.
"Dr. Eckels! Are you alright?!" He called.
Radegast would witness a shadowy aura begin to try and envelop Eckels. Off to the side, Salticidae slowly crawled her way toward the Obelisk, weakly dragging her limp body forward with her arms and hands. She seemed to be muttering something about power and cravings interspersed with weak giggling fits.
"It appears to be compromised," Reggie replied as its eye stared at the obscured Magnemite.
The Gallade cursed under his breath as he considered his best course of action. He decided to consult the resident expert who wasn't currently enveloped in dark clouds. Radegast grabbed Salt and gingerly pulled her to a more comfortable resting position,
"Easy there, you're not fit to move right now." He then asked carefully,
"Do you know what's happened here?""We may soon be engaged in combat," Reggie warned.
"All the more reason to make some distance," Radegast glanced to Liam,
"Liam!" He called not unkindly. The Gallade didn't like the situation one bit. Radegast began to massage his numb right arm to try to get some feeling to return to it, but it was a slow process. He was barely feeling the pins and needles, but it was tangible improvement at least.
"I'll be your shield, get ready!"
