//------------------------------//
// From the Fires of Hell 
// Story: The Disaster Pokemon 
// by Onomonopia 
//------------------------------//

Absol flipped backwards to avoid a burst of fire that spewed from the ghosts mouth, the crimson eyes on his face being illuminated by the burning flames. Limestone tackled her sister once more and dove for cover, shielding Marble with her body as the ball of fire burned by.

"Hey jerk! Don't forget that we're out here as well!" Limestone screamed at Absol.

Whether or not Absol heard her she had no idea, for at the moment he seemed far more preoccupied with his battle than with them. The moment his paws touched the ground he kicked off again and moved like a white blur towards the blazing ghost. Despite the ghosts earlier claims about how he wanted to consume Absol's bones with his flames, he knew better than to let Absol get anywhere close to him. So with Absol upon him, the ghost fired a ball of fire into the barren land at his feet, creating an explosion of flame that even Absol couldn't get through. With no other option but to back off, Absol flipped backwards and landed next to the pillar the Pie sisters were behind.

"Wow, I think this is a record for how long it's taken you to defeat one of these guys," Limestone snarked out from behind her cover. Absol flashed her a look before his horn glowed with a dark light. He was a blur a moment later, appearing behind the ghost and slashing into the astral body with his horn.

"Burn in hell!" the ghost roared as it lashed out at Absol with one of its hands, yet with a twirl of his body Absol slipped through the fingers and landed on the arm of the ghost. The first thought that went through Absol's mind was how was he able to stand on a ghost, but that thought was quickly replaced with the burning pain that scorched his paws. Absol leapt off of the arm of the ghost to prevent himself from being burned.

The action was not lost on the blazing ghost. The moment Absol was off of him he spun and lashed out with another ball of fire, one that barreled towards Absol as he was trapped in the air. Absol moved to the side as best he could, but as the flames ripped by the Pokemon felt a searing pain consume his left side. He landed on his paws and cast a quick glance at his side, to find that the ball had managed to burn him.

"Do not worry, being of darkness. The hellfire is only beginning for you," the ghost muttered as it began to float towards Absol, both arms extended towards the Pokemon.

Absol gritted his teeth to fight through the pain, before channeling his power into his horn once more. He moved with the same speed as before and slashed a night slash across the chest of the ghost, yet on the moment of impact the burn on his left side consumed his senses and he instinctively pulled his head back in pain. He powered through with the rest of his attack and landed without much effort, but a glance over Absol's shoulder revealed his fears to be true.

'The burn is causing my striking power to go down. The pain is preventing me from giving it everything I've got,' Absol thought. The ghost was clearly thinking along similar lines, as he lashed out with reckless abandon towards Absol. Without the fear of being struck down to keep the ghost at bay, Absol found himself completely on the defensive as he dodged and ducked to avoid the flaming fists.

'This is bad, I can't keep dodging for long,' Absol noted as he realized that he was running out of room to backpedal. 'I need to find a way to get rid of this burn and now! But in order to do that I would need-'

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught Absol's attention and he glanced to his side to see two items flying in his direction. The first was his bag of berries, which was the very thing he needed to get rid of his burn. The second was a giant rock, which collided with the face of the ghost and sent the specter spiraling through a wall. He caught the bag and looked up towards the pair that had thrown the items, a smile breaking across his face.

Marble had thrown the bag of berries, trying to help Absol in his moment of need. Limestone had thrown the rock, trying to take out the main problem on her own. He nodded his head in gratitude to the both of them before plucking a single berry from the bag, a Rawst berry, and popping it into his mouth. The moment he bit down he felt the burn sooth and his strength flowed back into his body. He turned with a smile in time to see the blazing ghost return to the battlefield, blissfully unaware that Absol was no longer handicapped. 

"The time has come for you to be consumed by the fire!" the ghost roared as he charged a ball of black fire in-between his hands. "I shall incinerate your soul and then leave your bones to be kindling for my flames! The fiery, depths of hell await-"

In a fraction of a second Absol vanished from the ghosts view, leaving him to look around in confusion for the Pokemon. A whistle got his attention and he turned around to see Absol standing directly behind him. The ghost snarled and took aim...only to burst into a pile of smoldering darkness a moment later. Absol stared down at the embers for a moment before he walked back over to the mares.

"You're welcome, by the way," Limestone said, before Absol could say anything.

"For what, dare I ask? Your sister was the one that threw me the item that I needed," Absol pointed out, before politely returning the bag of berries to Marble. 

"You're welcome, because if I hadn't thrown that rock to knock that sucker for a loop, he would have incinerated you before you had the chance to check inside that bag," Limestone added on. Absol gave her a look and Limestone fired one off right back, before Marble squeezed in-between the both of them and pushed them apart.

"Come on, do the two of you really need to do this now?" she asked them. "With the guard gone, we need to go inside and check to make sure that the ponies inside are safe. Can we save this for later?"

"Very well, Marble. As you did aid me, I suppose it is only fair I do this for you," Absol politely agreed. Limestone made a gagging noise as Marble and Absol turned and started to walk towards the tower. Yet it was only after a few steps that Limestone moved up beside Absol.

"So what happened back there? You seemed to be handling yourself pretty well and then...things went south."

"Seems that you are more observant than you let on. Yes, at first things were well in paw. His attacks were slow and his ego massive, providing plenty of chances to attack. But then I was caught off guard by the fact that I could...touch him," Absol muttered, shaking his head. "He took that moment of hesitation and burned me, severely crippling my power."

"Wait a moment. If you get burned you get weaker?" Limestone asked.

"All Pokemon lose attack strength if they get burned. Those that rely on special attacks, like Alakazam, are barely bothered by it, while other species like Machamp only grow stronger with their guts, but unfortunately for me, burns can severely cripple my fighting power. It was fortunate that you sister tossed me the bag of berries when she did."

"Oh yeah, glad to see that Marble was the one that saved your sorry pelt. I'll remember that the next time you need a rock chucked at something," Limestone snarled, but before she could say anything else, Absol put a paw on her shoulder and turned her to face him.

"And it was thanks to you throwing that rock that I am alive at all. You saved my life, Limestone," Absol told her with a kind smile. "And for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I...am not used to having others save me."

"Um...sure, just don't mention it," Limestone muttered, glancing down at his paw on her shoulder. He removed it and the two walked to the entrance of the tower, which Marble had refused to enter by herself. "By the way, you said there are a bunch of types, right? Was that ghost another type?"

"Your observations prove astute once more. That was a dual type. Ghost and fire, unless I am mistaken. That gave him extra powers and extra weaknesses in our fight," Absol dictated. "As ghost attacks do not bother me that much, the extra fire typing gave him a far better type to use against me. However, that same fire typing made him much more vulnerable to the rock you managed to introduce to his face. Good thing you have a weird attraction to rocks."

"So, are you going in first or are you going to make one of us do it?" Marble asked Absol, cutting off Limestone before she could start up about the attraction joke. Absol took the point and the two sisters followed him inside, Limestone grumbling to herself as they walked.

There were no torches or any lanterns hanging from the walls, leaving the group encased in almost complete darkness. While Absol seemed right at home in the darkness, the two ponies were left stumbling and crashing into bricks and walls without their ability to see.

"Hey Absol, do you think you can make some kind of light source?" Marble asked.

"A source of light? Marble, I am a dark type, not a fire or electric type," Absol replied from somewhere in front of the both of them with a chuckle. "A dark type making light. That is humorous. You are a silly pony."

Marble hung her head slightly at those words, but then a stone flew past her head and struck Absol in the back of his head. A curse escaped his lips as the impact created by the stone caused a small spark, which allowed the group to see each other for just a moment.

"Well what do you know? If I hit Absol in the back of the head with this flint, it seems to create some sparks we can use to see," Limestone's mocking voice spoke in the darkness. "Hey Absol, don't move too much or else I won't be able to create much light. Also might want to grit your teeth."

"Perhaps I have a better idea," Absol said in a very controlled voice. Marble could hear him picking up the flint that had struck him and he scrapped it against the ground, creating a small number of sparks. He showered the sparks onto a stick and a moment later they had a makeshift torch. With the ponies eyesight restored, the group moved on. Yet even with the ability to see the nerves in the ponies did not fade. In fact, it was not what they saw, but what they failed to see, that caused them to be put on edge.

There were no ghosts haunting the hallways, leaving the depths of the tower devoid of any sound aside from their hooves on the stone. There were also no ponies being held captive, despite the group forcing open every door that they came across. That was except for a single, large, reinforced door, the last door that stood in their way.

"So, do we look for the key, or-" Marble began, but then her sister slammed her hind hooves into the door and shattered the lock, allowing the doors to swing openly with an eerie creak. "Or we can just do that. Thank you Limestone."

"Always happy to help, seeing as you guys would be helpless without me."

"Helpless isn't the word I would pick," Absol whispered to Marble as he walked by her, getting Marble to giggle slightly. 

The three entered the large chamber on the other side of the doors, noticing from the rusted weaponry and suits of armor that lay scattered about that the room had been some kind of armory. But Absol, with all of his forewarning senses, picked up on something else in the room, something far more sinister. Without any sort of outward concern, he lazily lifted his head towards the ceiling, where the smokey, astral form of a stallion encircled a chandelier above them.

"And who are you?" he asked the ghost.

"Ah, forgive me for staring, I've just never seen a being like you," the ghost apologized as Limestone and Marble whipped around to face him. "I am King Spiral and I am trying to kill all of you."