Things were getting difficult for the Srokas.
****************
The halls of the second floor of Qimine, the city-building capital of the... well.... Qimines, were quiet. Well, at least there wasn't many pokemon there. All that was heard was the footsteps of a trio. A trio that belonged to House Sroka, that is.
Karoth and Demial they talked quietly (with the occasional 'manly' giggle) as Prima walked ahead of them.
"Ha ha.... Karoth is bipolar!" said Demial, a chubby dunsparce.
"I meant to say 'dyslexic'. I'm dyslexic... sort of..." said Karoth, a mawile.
"Shh! I sense someone coming!" whispered Prima, a kirlia.
"Crud. We're late enough already!" said Karoth.
A granbull stomped towards them, leering at the three Srokas. Demial drew closer, glaring and scowling, which was unusual behavior for him.
"Mr. Snuggles," announced Demial with utmost loathing and hatred.
"Ah, Demial. It has been a while, has it not?" replied Mr. Snuggles.
"Oh, just get outta our way, you fat purple Qimine slime-ball, we're in a hurry," said Karoth in a snippy tone.
"Really? Well, that's too bad, because I'm going to squish you anyways, Sroka punks," growled Mr. Snuggles.
Prima sent a burst of psychic energy at him, knocking him out of the way like a bowling pin.
"Let's go," she said coolly.
They began their march again, trying to keep a quick pace. After a few minutes, they found a trail of orange and yellow feathers that seemed to make a trail.
"Oh pooh! Pallo must've got hurt!" squeaked Karoth.
"Karoth, that's the trail he made for us to follow. Y'know, the one he explained at briefing? The new route?" said Prima.
"Oh," said Karoth, blushing slightly.
They continued onward, until they reached a dead end. There was an eevee, a torchic, a raichu, a mismagius, and a metang waiting there. They were all Srokas.
"Your late! What gives?" barked the raichu.
"We had to fight through a hundred ninjas! And then we fought 40 pirates! And after that we--"
"Shut up, Demial," said the mismagius, "And Tryss, go easy on them. Karoth and Demial aren't the fastest runners."
"I'm not much of a runner at all, actually," said Demial.*
"Right, well, what now? It's a dead end," said Prima.
The metang suddenly punched a hole through the floor.
"Now it isn't," said the metang.
"Well, Matarin, we've given away our location..." said the torchic.
"No worries, Pallo. We just break out Shija and Reminial, and then we run like cowards!" said Matarin.
"Yay! I love fleeing!" said the eevee.
"Me too!" squealed Demial.
"I sometimes wonder if Demial and Payah are related," Karoth said to Prima.
"Hm... I've wondered the same thing," said Prima.
The mismagius looked into the hole. He nodded at the others and went down. One by one, they all jumped down. Matarin levatated, Payah dropped and landed on all fours, Pallo stumbled down, Tryss landed on her feet but Karoth clumsily landed on her head, and then Prima and Demial came last. They had landed in the Qimine prison. There was only one captive; a forlorn looking lucario.
"Hiya, Rem. Where's Shija?" Payah asked.
Reminial made no answer.
