Sparks in the dark

This had been a bad idea. She didn't realise at first, but as she turned more corners and began to realise she had no idea where the exit was, Pichu was becoming more and more sure that it was a bad idea to come here.

Something about the clinging darkness of the tunnels was threatening to make her panic. Pichu wasn't used to being alone in the darkness. She had hoped that maybe there would be some friendly cave-dwelling Pokemon here, but with no signs of life since she'd entered, the idea suddenly seemed foolish. She didn't even know if this place was safe.

Letting out some electrical sparks from her cheeks every metre or so was definitely helping to stop her from panicking, the bright yellowish light illuminating the ground and some of the walls around her; but it was tiring her out a lot faster.

Pichu slowed to a standstill and lowered her ears sadly, staring at the darkness where her feet should be and letting out another spark just so she could reassure herself that they were still there.
She backed against the wall and slid down it, curling into a tight ball and beginning to wail pathetically, voice reverberating around the tunnels loudly and echoing off into the distance as she rubbed at her eyes with both paws, clearing away the tears as fast as they appeared. Surely someone had to find her eventually....... right?

Flying over the forest, Crewe focused on the mines, streamlining his body to descend down towards it at incredible speed. Just before the ground, he pulled up, turning his wings to force air pressure into them to cushion their fall and land them safely on the ground infront of an entrance to the mines. Letting go of Tao, he stretched his arms. "I need to fly more!" He grinned, excilerated from the fly.

Tao shook himself out with a dissatisfied grimace and turned his flat nose to the entrance of the mines. That tinge of fear was still there. He knew it well. He turned to glance at Crewe over his shoulder and pointed into the dark tunnels. "Go?"

Pichu continued to scream out her negative energy, reducing the noise to a low sob whenever she ran out of breath.

"Chuu-uuu!" she squealed suddenly, perhaps a call for her parents or for help of any sort - there wasn't much indication of exactly what she was trying to say, but the basic gist of it was clear: Pichu was not enjoying her time in the tunnels. The echoes of her voice carried pretty far - a baby Pokemon could scream damn loud if it wanted to...

Crewe flinched as his lion ears tensed, the screaming coming from inside echoeing slightly to the outsides of the mines. "What is THAT" He exclaimed, frowning with a smile to show his confusion. "Lets go-" He motioned to Tao, heading into the dark mines. "Lets just follow our ears eh?" He asked, "Maybe we can get it to shut up at least!"

Tao felt his stomach twist. It was a pain sound, but not like the ones he had heard before. He scampered on all fours into the tunnels and paused at the first branch, listening. His ears turned to the left tunnel, and he glanced over his shoulder for Crewe. He wanted to find the source of that sound, now.

Another pitiful sob and Pichu recovered enough to let out another, slightly less piercing wail of malcontent. More sparks were let off as she got to the stage where crying was giving her a headache, lighting up the tunnel a little more than it had before. Had she been listening, she probably would have heard the faint, faraway approach of other living beings - but taking into account the state she was in, it probably would have just panicked her more.
Luckily she was crying too loudly to hear anything but her own voice ringing in her head. If she had her parents nearby, she probably would have been scolded for throwing a tantrum... and for running off...
The thought of her parents sent her off on another warbling squeal. "Pichuu-uu-uuu-uu-uuuu!"

Crewe saw the sparks down the left tunnel, it lighting up the darkness, as he had absolutely no night vision at all. "There!" He shouted, quickly scooting behind Tao towards it, before the light faded again. Slowing to a stop, he waited for the creature to catch breath before wailing again, noticing it to be much closer than before, causing Crewe to think of the possibility of it being something to lure them in and then kill them, making him not so eager to want to find it now.

Tao bounded down the tunnel, holding his white tail up like a beacon for Crewe. It might not be as visible as he'd like it to be, but it was the best he could do. The rock felt strange on his hands and feet, he much preferred the water. The wailing was getting louder. Tao could see a little mouse-looking thing laying on the ground ahead, down another side tunnel.

Pichu seemed to have finally run out of steam for her little panic-fit, and curled tighter around herself, ears flattening to her sides as she sparked once more and then went quiet...

"There!"

Wait. Now that she was being quiet, she swore she'd just heard someone speak. Ears perking up above her head, she turned her tearful gaze to the direction from which she now heard shuffling. "Pichu...?"
Pichu leapt to her feet, all attention focused on the darkness at the end of the tunnel, and with a look of deep concentration she launched a swift Thundershock attack in that direction, aiming wildly in the hopes that it would illuminate the darkness over there.

{ It's up to you if it hits anyone or a wall or floor or ceiling or whatever. :3 Either way it's weak so it would be like a strong static shock... unless Tao is still damp from the lake, in which case it would probably be a little bit more painful. Like I said, it could also miss. }

Tao felt his hair stand up as what looked like electricity flew over one shoulder. There was no point in warning Crewe, it was moving too fast. Maybe the little mouse wasn't friendly. "Friend?" He asked the darkness ahead, hoping the mouse wouldn't try to hurt them again.

He glanced over his shoulder again for Crewe.

"Woah!" Crewe exclaimed, narrowly dodging the yellow bolt heading at him. "Blooming heck-" He mumbled, looking forwards again to Tao, well, the darkness of where Tao would be. "You okay?" He asked, "Maybe it doesn't want help. At least it stopped crying." Looking around nervously, despite not being able to see, he felt uneasy, these caves left an unsettling presence on him.

"Help," Tao muttered decisively. He sat a few feet from the little mouse and held out a hand to take its little paw. "Won't hurt you. Don't be afraid." He tried to sound as comforting as possible, though his orange eyes shining in the dark were not a friendly sight.

Pichu inched backwards, paws scuffling across the rocky floor, and yet more crackles of electricity burst around her, lighting up her body and whatever got close enough like miniature fireworks.
"Pi-pichu..." She felt intimidated by the strange orange eyes staring at her, but as she waggled her ears and now heard a kind voice, her electricity lighting up a friendly outstretched palm, her fear of this stranger faded. "...Pi? Pichu!"
With a quick leap, she missed out the stranger's hand altogether and ran up his arm, sparks stopping as she reached his shoulder and clung on there, shaking slightly. Apparently she was glad of the 'rescue' and it looked like she intended to stay there for the time being.

Crewe watched as the illuminated creature climbed up Tao's shoulder. Smiling, he placed his hand behind his head. "It's kinda cute really" He mumbled, inching his hand forward to stroke it. "Hey there! My names Crewe~" He introduced, moving his hand closer as he did.

Tao let a hidden smile creep across his face as the little mouse stopped crying and scampered up his arm. It clung like a firefly to his bare shoulder. He heard Crewe greet it politely. "I'm Tao," he added.

Pichu cowered and huddled closer to Tao's shoulder, sparks flying briefly, then managed to force herself to calm down enough to let Crewe pet her without getting a static shock. These people were going to help her. They were being nice. She had to be nice too, or they wouldn't help her.
"P-pi... pichu..." she ventured quietly, ears bobbing once or twice and then she nuzzled half-reluctantly into Crewe's petting hand before letting the sparks die out entirely, plunging herself into darkness again. She didn't mind. She could feel that the shoulder was still there and that was a comfort enough.
"Chu," she voiced loudly. "Ch... Chyaau." If one was listening carefully, it almost sounded like 'Crewe' and 'Tao'...

Giving the creature a brisk stroke, Crewe laughed a little. "So you can only say "Pichu"? Is that your name or something? But that's what you're repeating" He muttered, mostly to himself, staring where the Pichu was moments ago before darkness took over. Looking back to Tao, his eyes glowing giving Crewe a good indication of his location. "You wanna leave the cave now? It's eerie in here" He said, giving a fake shudder to add to the expression.

Tao nodded and stood to his full height, his ears just brushing the ceiling. "Let's go." The little mouse-thing (he decided to call it Chu, since that's what it was always saying) seemed to be pretty attached to them. "C-can you light the t-tunnel?" He asked Chu. He was worried that Crewe might get lost.

Pichu wagged her own ears up and down, possibly a way of keeping her balance when Tao began moving. She tilted her head slightly and blinked thoughtfully as he made the suggestion of lighting things up, then nodded (though it was unlikely she'd be seen doing this in the dark).
"Chu!" Her small form bristled slightly and she clung a little tighter to Tao as she focused on emitting a steady crackle of electricity between the tips of her ears. She probably looked like some kind of living taser, but this attempt at lighting the way seemed to be working pretty well now that she wasn't just sparking aimlessly.

Crewe was grateful for the light, staring at it dimly to let his eyes adjust again before heading down the tunnel. "I think...this is the way we came?" He muttered, watching as the light streamed up the walls, making the tunnels further down seem even more dark and sinister. "I cant even stretch my wings in here.." He muttered, trying but hitting the sides of the walls.

Tao was about to turn back the way they had come when something caught his attention. His ears perked forward and he sniffed the air of yet another side tunnel. The relaxing whiff of water, and something else... Something almost scary, but in a good way, like finally reaching the other side of that wall. "Water..." Tao's fish genes were screaming at him. He turned to Crewe with an excited grin. "Water!"

Crewe tilted his head and placed a hand on his hip. "Water? Where?" He asked, showing his teeth in a bare grin as he had no idea where this water was. "Aren't we getting out of here?" He muttered, shoving his hands back in his pockets. "There's something here, and I really don't like it.." He mumbled.

Pichu tightened her grip on Tao's shoulder as he seemed to tense beneath her. "Tchaao? Pi-pi chu pi?"
After spending some time calming down, Pichu now felt pretty brave. She had these two tall people with her, and they were friendly. If anything happened, she could trust them to take care of her. And, well, she kind of wanted to show off. So Pichu leapt down from Tao's shoulder and, sparks streaming from her cheeks to light the way, began leading the way on her own two feet.
Of course, she hadn't taken into account the idea of whether or not anyone wanted to go this way. But Tao had seemed pretty interested in this route for some reason...

Tao pointed down the tunnel that Chu had started along and followed after it with an easy gait. "What are you waiting for?" He glanced back over his shoulder at Crewe, who was quickly fading into darkness. "Safe."