Chapter 44
Part 2
...
And still, I am powerless.
Powerless to help you.
Powerless to touch you.
There is still nothing... nothing I can do.
You have brought this upon yourself.
By your own actions.
Your own decision.
It is you, you who wanted to take this path
to disrupt the plan that was already set in motion...
To destroy what has been made.
And here you are,
here to destroy everything...
to sacrifice... everything...
And I...
I can only wish
that the stream you forage
the path you drift upon
will bring you
to whatever you were looking for.
I will see you soon.
So very soon.
You are so close.
So very close.
But, at the same time,
So very far...
Temporal Tower 2F
The pain went away almost immediately, but pain was hardly the worst of Char's problems.
Engulfed in the blaze of Moltres, and with the numbing surge of adrenaline still yet to fade away, Char felt oddly detached from himself as the others dragged him along through the remainder of the meadow. He knew the others were talking to him, asking him if he was okay, but he didn't care much to listen. And when he did, he didn't feel like answering. All he could do was walk, step after step in whatever direction he was led, feeling the fire consuming his soul, feeling his shoulder throbbing, and throbbing, and throbbing...
He kept trying to look at his right arm, as though to see if it had returned. But each time he tried to move it, to bring it before his eyes, his nerves returned such a shock of protest that he felt he would pass out, his mind flashing before him the nauseating image of his severed limb still laying there in the grass...
Soon after the Scyther ambush, Prince found a way out of the meadow: a staircase. A pearl-white, inexplicably out-of-place staircase sat in the middle of the Wanderer's Meadow, seeming to fade into transparency as it extended upward. Upon setting foot onto the stairs, the surrounding environment flickered like the image on a pond's surface. The staircase wound in a spiral as they climbed while everything else faded to white, re-materializing as something very different when they reached the top.
They had progressed to the second floor.
It was dark here in this new environment, but not because it was nighttime. Unlike in the Wanderer's Meadow, the sun was surely in the sky here, perhaps far to the east in the early morning hours. Unfortunately, it was blocked from view.
This floor was a labyrinth of brown sandstone canyons, an endless series of interconnected hallways branching out into the distance. The canyon walls stood so high, they blocked most of the sunlight and drowned the paths in dim shadows. The scuffles and grunts of wild Pokémon scavenging for food echoed from deep within them.
Lily shuddered, trying to eye the sky, or what little of it could be seen from their position "Eugh, I already don't like this," she said. "Can we go back down the stairs and see if we can get a different place?"
Prince eyed her. "What stairs?"
She turned around, finding the staircase they'd just ascended nowhere to be seen, much like Temporal Tower's front door.
"We will need to find another staircase, just like the one we took," Prince assured everyone, beginning to lead them down one of the paths. "That is one of the rules of the dungeons, even those as deeply scrambled as this one: all the floors must be connected somehow, just as the dungeon must be connected in some manner to the outside world. Otherwise the dungeon would literally be disconnected from reality, and would rot out. In some dungeons, these connections manifest as staircases. No one knows why. Some think they are the stairs Palkia walks in his domain between the threads of existence."
The group stayed close together, following along behind Prince, as they tiptoed through the rocky passages and waited for the first wild Pokémon to show itself. Lily and Ray hung near the back of the procession, taking turns looking over their shoulders for an ambush. Saura cowered behind Prince, looking between his legs at the path beyond.
Scythe's eyes scanned the surroundings, flitting around like flies.
"Not good," it was Scythe's turn to say. "I believe... I know this place. If so... it is not a safe place to stay."
A small pebble fell from a nearby pile. At once, the group froze, holding their breaths.
Hiccccchhhsssssssss!
Suddenly, there appeared a creature made of mussed, brown fur, scampering from a cubby hole in the rocks. It attacked, spewing spittle into the air as it hissed in fury at the intruders, its long, pink tail twitching like an earthworm. A pair of sharpened fangs gleamed in the firelight as the thing rushed upon the explorers.
Seeing the Raticate coming right for him, Saura growled, quickly sprouted his vines to defend himself. Scythe stood poised, blades ready to decapitate the creature at just the right time, if he could find the opportunity. Prince coiled his muscles, preparing to engage the creature and pummel it with a barrage of fiery fists.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
"AHHH-! Watch it!"
"Yow!"
A giant fireball, larger than even Prince or Scythe, burst into existence. It blasted the disfigured rat away, setting every strand of its fur aflame with yellow and blue fire. The creature squealed in agony as it tumbled onto its side, twitching helplessly as its body turned pitch black and began crumbling apart.
Char stood on his three remaining legs, panting so hard that his chest seemed like it would fall off. His mouth hung open, smoke billowing from it.
Scythe blinked. "Char... that was a bit excessive."
Char bowed his head and closed his eyes, trying to ignore Scythe's voice. He continued panting heavily, feeling the intensity of his fire refuse to subside.
"Char's pride has been harmed," Prince said, a gleam of amusement in his voice as he looked upon the wounded Charmander. "And when the pride of a fire-type is compromised, they fight with terrible power until it can be restored."
I've lost more than my pride, Char thought bitterly.
"As long as he keeps this inferno of his away from those who easily burn," Scythe said. "He shouldn't be mindlessly blasting it whenever he perceives an enemy. He hasn't even spoken a word since the injury, how are we to know he will exercise caution?"
Nodding his head, Prince knelt at Char's side and spoke in a gentle voice. "You know, Char, you can focus if you try. I know you're upset. I know it's easy to retreat back into your Ember and forget about the rest of us. Believe me, I have blazed before. I know what this feels like. But please try and focus. I know you can."
Prince placed a hand onto Char's back, but Char winced away quickly from the contact.
"Char... if you cannot control your blaze, you might harm us, to a fatal degree," Prince sighed. "You could attack Scythe by accident. Or Lily. Or... Saura. You don't want to harm Saura, do you?"
No... I don't want to hurt Saura.
"Yeah, Char... I was standing really close to that, you know" Saura spoke carefully, standing at Char's side. "You almost lit me on fire. I was really scared."
Char's eyes drifted open. He eyed Saura, a powerful mixture of anger and shame burning behind his gaze.
"I... I just..." Char gagged. "I just... I feel so wrong. I feel... like throwing up. I just... want... my arm back."
"You're doing just fine without one, you know!" Ray submitted, trying to cheer him up. "You should see your fire right now! It's awesome! Seriously, turn around and look at your tail."
He did.
He was immediately reminded of his bedside brazier, all the way back at the Gold Division. His team's hall. His real home.
His flame roared with might, its base licking over half the length of his tail. At its very tip, a tiny cone of white sprouted, surrounded by an aura of blue. It flared tall, a majestic presence, fueled by his wounded spirit and showing no signs of dimming.
Is that... me?
Watching the dance of his blaze, like another separate spirit connected to the end of his tail, did make him feel different.
Almost like a Charizard.
"How long is this going to stay?" Char wondered, trying to keep his balance on one hand as he gazed at the beauty of his fire at a level he had never seen before.
"It depends on how strong you are," Prince speculated. "That is a very grave injury, graver than most Pokémon face in the everyday battle, so your Ember isn't going to let you down for a while… but it will have its limits."
"Just look at that!" Ray added. "Right now, you're probably stronger than the rest of us put together! Now c'mon! Get up, and use that fire and burn all the wild Pokémon you want! Just... try not to burn us while you're doing it. We'll try to stay out of your way."
"Alright... alright," Char moaned, painfully forcing himself up on his two feet. "I'll... try."
Feeling his blood rushing through his head and his fire relentlessly churning, Char returned to his two feet and waited for his vision to focus. It seemed so bright. The dusty rock walls were coming alive, dancing with the shadows of all who surrounded him.
Everything started to spin. Instinctively, Char tried to shift his balance with his right arm... and again, a shock of nervous energy exploded in his head, causing him to heave forward and land back on his claw. He closed his eyes tightly, grumbling in protest of all the unnatural sensations surging in his body.
"I'll... be fine," Char assured everyone, taking deep breaths. "Let's go."
… … …
"Scythe, you said you knew this place?" Prince mentioned as they journeyed on, Char managing to hold himself up for a while.
"Well... it was a very long time ago, very long, that I was here," Scythe tried to recall. "I... spent some of my time growing up here. There was a ceremony... of sorts... Eh, the memories are so distant. But yes, I do remember the name of this place: it is the Shattered Plateau."
"You grew up in a dungeon?" Lily questioned. "How does that work?"
"Well... it wasn't a dungeon, back then," Scythe explained. "At least, nobody had noticed it. But many years in the future, when the clan returned here for a season, they found it... different than it had been in the past. Different, in fact, every time we entered. But not all of it. Just a few parts. Some of our clan members insisted we were crazy when we claimed the terrain among us was changing. And so we lived there, in what must have been the mystery dungeon, for weeks. But then, some of our clan mates began to disappear without a trace. That is when we decided to abandon the place as haunted."
"So... you must feel like one of the wild Pokémon that live in the dungeons all the time!" Saura guessed. "You really didn't even know you were inside of the dungeon?"
"Yes, it was hard to prove, for some reason, that the land we stood upon was shifting like the sand," Scythe muttered. "It seemed that some of us noticed the changes, while others were completely oblivious. I would not doubt it is the same reaction as the wild Pokémon; they might not even realize what is wrong."
"So, uh... do you remember any of the Pokémon that live here?" Saura asked.
"Yes," Scythe hissed. "Rattata family, of course. And Shinx family. And... … Scyther. Dozens of Scyther, as our missing clan members were lost in the dungeon and became wilds over the decades."
A collective groan of dread rose from the party. Char smacked his head forcefully against the ground, cringing.
"For the love of all that is sacred, Scythe, let's get out of here, lest someone else lose a limb," Prince growled. "Do you have any 'pure seeds' in that bag of yours?"
"I do not believe so, no," Scythe replied, glancing down at the pack strapped to his shoulder. "Unless by some chance Char's bag has them, though I doubt they could have afforded any. We do, however, have petrification orbs. Let's get one at the ready; if we are ambushed by Scyther, don't hesitate to use one."
"Kiaah, what good is Alakazam not packing pure seeds with you?" Prince almost screamed, swinging his fist in a rare show of anger. "I have never gone into a dungeon without at least four!"
"Quiet, or you will attract more attention than Char's miniature sun," Scythe rebuked. "Now get out a petrification orb. Also, we should have X-Ray lenses in there. We should make use of those. Lily, you can wear them. Keep watch for us."
Muttering to himself, Prince shifted through the bag on Scythe's shoulder, periodically glancing around as though ready to parry a surprise attack. With some effort, he yanked out a smaller pouch with several bulges, and also something that looked like a disgusting, poorly-made band with two large, flat crystals loosely attached to it.
Lily made a face as Prince brought the odd necklace over to her.
"Those are X-Ray lenses?" she said. "I don't think they'll fit me..."
"Then wrap it around twice, then; just be lucky we have them. I've been meaning to get my hands on a pair of those for decades, since the Destiny Abyss swallowed my old pair," Prince said. "I can forgive Alakazam's failure to give us pure seeds... I might plead to him to let me keep it."
Prince strapped the gemstones to Lily's face as best as he could manage. When he was done, they looked horrendously tight and uncomfortable.
"Whoa... okay, whoa." Lily said, looking around with the glasses on and wincing constantly. "I can't see anything. I can see through things. But it's hard to tell what's actually there... This might take me some time to get used to."
Lily tried to take a step forward, but cringed back as though she were afraid of running into an invisible wall.
"Heh... Lily, you look like a Sableye with those on," Saura chuckled.
"Of course she does," Scythe said. "What do you think the lenses were made from in the first place?"
Saura bit his lip and averted his gaze for a moment.
"Keep an eye out through the walls," Prince instructed her, putting everything away except for one orb. "Tell us of any wild Pokémon you see. If you have trouble telling your surroundings, lift the lens from one eye to help you see."
"Nah... I'll get this. I think." Lily said, tiptoeing forward. "I just have to pay closer attention."
Lily stepped carefully, focusing intently on the ground beneath her. She gave a yelp as she stepped on a small chunk of gravel and almost tripped and fell on her face.
"Okay, okay…" she breathed, kicking the pebble away. "I… wait."
She paused, seeming to hold her breath. Her head lowered ever-so-slightly toward one of the rocky walls surrounding the team. She was squinting.
"Do you see something?" Prince asked her, a little concerned. "By the gods, I hope it is not a Scyther…"
"What… is that thing?" Lily hissed, taking a few careful steps forward toward the wall. "It's… a Pokémon…"
Saura and Ray cast wary glances at one another, falling as silent as possible. Char scowled, his heavy gasps and roaring inferno making the only noise…
"It's… not a Scyther, I don't think…" Lily reported. "Or maybe it is… It could be, actually…"
Ray emitted a stifled gasp of dread. Char began to growl like an agitated hound.
Lily gasped.
She jerked her head upward. The team followed her gaze up, up to the top of the plateau wall.
Something stood there, staring down at them.
A humanoid Pokémon.
Terror shot into Scythe's eyes when he realized what confronted them.
"We must run…" Scythe whispered…
Saura began to back away hesitantly, loathe to provoke the creature with even the slightest of movements…
Scythe's gaze shot back to the team, Char's fire reflecting in his eyes.
"Run," he hissed again. "Run!"
"W—what is it?" Ray hissed back, unable to make out the vague figure far above them.
Scythe's gaze met the Raichu's.
"Wild Scizor."
There was a moment of apprehension as it sunk in.
"C-couldn't we take it?" Ray said quickly. "We could gang up on it… We have… two fire Pokémon…"
Scythe remembered that had taken his eyes from the foe, and his gaze snapped back to the plateau surface. The Scizor was gone.
"Didn't you hear me the first time, I said run!" Scythe gasped, desperation in his voice, his wings beginning to flit with nervousness. "Go. Go!"
So they ran.
Prince leapt into action, scooping up Char into his arm. "Follow!" he hissed to the others. "Keep up with me! Ignore any enemies unless we are trapped! We will find the staircase!"
Prince took off running fast, just as he had the night the Watchers had attacked the Emerald Division. Char felt his breath taken away as his head dangled out behind Prince, watching the gravelly floor zip past beneath. Looking up, he saw his friends galloping along as fast as they could, dodging boulders and bounding over piles of gravel as the plateau walls blurred past. They periodically fixed their gazes upon him for a few fleeting moments, then past him, watching for any signs of danger. Char realized Prince was using his massive fire to help guide the way through the dark maze.
"Kyaaaah!"
A wild shriek rang out as a figure leapt from the shadows, streaking through the air straight for Saura.
"Whoa!" Saura gasped, trying to jump out of the way… but he skidded on some gravel and fell onto his side.
"Saura!" Char cried, tensing and trying to escape Prince's arm. But Prince held on even tighter, not looking back for a moment.
*Clang!*
Scythe appeared from seemingly nowhere, protecting the fallen Bulbasaur from the rogue Scyther. The bladed warriors clashed their claws once, twice, before the feral collapsed away, its face nearly sliced off.
With widened eyes, Saura scrambled to his feet and once more joined the retreating procession, though they had fallen far behind. Char had to strain his neck to see them…
"Prince…!" Char yelled. "Slow down! Y-you're gonna leave them in the dark!"
"They're catching up," Prince assured him, glancing back for a split second. "By the gods, this is all Alakazam's fault… If we get separated, they can use a Luminescence Orb, if you even have those… Mmmnnhh…"
Prince let out a frustrated grunt, and suddenly Char felt the oddest sensation of being tossed into the air briefly as the Infernape switched him from one arm to the other
Char struggled to crane his neck and keep an eye on the party behind, but even with so much stamina pulsing through him, it was physically impossible, especially as his view jerked around wildly as Prince dashed over the uneven floor. He soon gave up, relaxing his head and staring at the ground, only for something odd to come into his view.
It was the little brown pouch, still dangling from Prince's belt, swinging around as its bearer hurried forward. Char thought it looked oddly heavy for something so small.
What is in this thing? Char wondered. He thought to reach out and touch it, but hesitated, remembering he had no limb with which to reach, and dreaded the painful impulse that kept wracking his remaining joint when he tried to move it.
Prince pivoted his body strangely, stopping in his tracks. Char gasped as his stomach lurched and body swung around, his vision changing so that he could somewhat see what was in front of Prince from the side of one eye…
The sound of crumbling rocks. A small avalanche…
A wild Graveler faced off with the two fire Pokémon, freshly risen from its peaceful sleep in the cliff-side wall. Char could even see the large gap in the rocks from where it had fallen just moments ago.
"Grrrraaahhhhggg…" The beast grumbled in protest at being awakened.
"Prince—" Char gasped. "Prince… put me down! I—I can help fight!"
Prince ignored his request.
"Prince!" he tried again, speaking louder so as to break the ape's concentration. "Let me down! You can't fight it like this!"
"Quiet, Char!" Prince snapped. "I need to focus…"
Prince did not move. Instead, he posed himself, taking a very steadfast stance. He held his free arm at the ready. The Graveler tilted its body oddly, eyeing the Infernape with certain malice…
Char cringed. "Prince… it's gonna roll—"
"Quiet!" the Infernape hissed again.
Char bit his lip, watching as the Graveler began to tuck in its many limbs. There was nothing more he could do… he held on tight to Prince's arm, and braced himself for the collision…
"Garrrrrrr!" the beast roared, thrusting itself into a slow but steady roll directly at its enemy…
Char felt as Prince jerked his body, right before the impact, but did not move… Char held his breath and shut his eyes, as the large boulder Pokémon rolled right into the side of his head.
*CRUNCH!*
Char felt nothing but the gentle shower of gravel upon him. Blinking his eyes open, he saw the Graveler laying defeated at the side of the canyon, with a large, leaking crater upon its body.
Char could only blink for a moment.
Whoa… he remembered. I'm… still invincible? But… but if I were invincible… I wouldn't be missing an arm…
"You can defeat a Graveler in one blow, if you know where to strike," Prince explained.
"But… it hit us! Didn't it?" Char demanded. "There's no way it could have missed us! But… I didn't feel anything! Did you feel anything?"
Prince fell quiet, scanning the hall for the next escape route.
"Prince!" Char cried. "What is going on? Please tell me!"
"I am reluctant to tell you," Prince replied. "I fear you might… abuse the knowledge. Later… I will tell you later. But for now… we need to get out of this Scyther hive!"
"GO!" Saura's voice shrieked from not too far behind. "There's four of them! KEEP RUNNING!"
Prince inhaled sharply, clutched his Charmander even more tightly, and hit the dirt running again. Char glanced in the direction of Saura's voice, trying to catch another glimpse of his best friend…
And that was the last thing he remembered.
… … …
Char felt himself falling.
The sensation had come from nowhere. Utterly nowhere. One moment, he felt secure, if not a little bounced around, beneath Prince's arm. The next…
He wasn't even sure if Prince's arm was still there.
He thought he heard a cry of anguish pierce his senses, as though from Prince, but it sounded a long, long ways away…
When he tried to look around, he became even more confused. His surroundings didn't make sense. They were white. Or too dark. Or too blurry.
He blinked. He tried to rub his eyes, only to be brutally reminded of his disability.
Ground. He was on the ground. The floor was rocky, covered in sharp sand. He laid on his back. The beacon of light at the end of his tail billowed tall before his eyes, colors of red and blue and white dancing within it. Up above, a crack in reality… no, it was just the sky. The sunlit sky peeking through between the cliff-tops.
What?
Char took a deep breath. Kicking his feet and thrusting his claw against the ground, he rolled himself upright.
Yes… I'm sure I'm still in the dungeon. But… what happened?
And then, the dreadful truth hit him…
He was alone.
Alone, lost in what was probably the most dangerous dungeon known to Pokémon. No items. No partner. No arm.
The panic began to mount.
"Priiiince?" Char called, hearing his voice return to him several times through the splitting halls. "Scyyyyyythe? Sauraaaaaa!"
The only reply was a feral hisssss somewhere beyond the darkness.
Char held his breath, quickly deciding to withdraw his voice. He gulped.
Was I… knocked out, or something? Char wondered, backing a few steps into the corner. Did I… Did I get lost in the anomaly? Am I… do I need to be rescued?
Remembering something, Char looked down. The emerald scarf was still tightly bound to his neck, and the tiny emblem still pinned to it.
I have this… Char remembered. I… I could probably use it to escape. Could I? I could bail, and Nameless would save me! Is that even how it works? Could I teleport myself out of Temporal Tower? Don't I need an escape orb? Well… I guess I could try…
He reached a shaking, hesitant claw to touch it.
But... no!
My ARM! He remembered in horror. If I leave the dungeon now… my arm will be gone! I have to find Scythe! I have to use a reviving seed and get my arm back!
More sounds came from the dark. Footsteps. Something searching, hunting.
Char's eyes darted from one shadow to the next. He gritted his teeth.
Well…
I have all this energy and power right now…
…I am not helpless!
Here… goes nothing.
"RAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRR!"
The cornered Charmander returned a roar of his own, the most intimidating he could muster, and darted headlong into the nearest dark hallway.
"Hichhhissssshhhhh!"
An Ekans was coiled around a small boulder, snapping at the Charmander as he ran past. Char pivoted, changed his course, thrust his body into the air, and blasted the little snake with a mouthful of flame. He caught a glimpse of the snake twitching and curling in agony, slipping off the rock as its scales were seared straight from its flesh, before he continued onward.
A Graveler stood in Char's path, turning its evil gaze toward him. Focusing, he charged the white power into his claws, then flew like a torpedo onto the rock beast's face and attached, digging his steel-hardened spikes into the thing's eyes. He tore through the monster's stony surface as he pulled himself up and over, launching himself past the foe and returning safely to the path. He kept going, needing to cover as much distance as possible…
ZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZ.
Char paused in his tracks, kicking up gravel as he skidded to a stop.
The unmistakable sound of Scyther wings. A sound that would probably haunt Char's nightmares for the rest of his waking existence. A sound that would have probably made him reel back and cower in terror.
But not now. This time, Char was ready. They were not going to take away his other arm. They were not going to take away anything. It was his turn for revenge.
I don't fear you! Char told himself. You will fear my fire!
ZzzzzzTT!
Ka-chang!
Char dodged, and a steel blade ricocheted from the ground where Char had been waiting. Char rushed to the cliff wall, leapt, and rebounded from it, whipping his tail through the air like a giant fiery mace to scare the giant insect.
Clang!
The Scyther's blades, aimed to slice the Charmander in half, clashed directly below as he sailed through the air. Feeling proud of himself, he pivoted once more to land… but he landed on the gravel and skidded, and without the aid of his arm to balance, he tumbled over, hitting his head on a boulder.
No…
SLASH!
He didn't feel it… but after he dodged, he tasted it. Blood.
The Scyther's blade had gotten him. A streak of fresh blood dripped across his forehead and chest. It had not gone too deep, but it brought him that much closer to death…
NO!
Char blasted fire in a random direction, hoping the inferno would be large enough to catch the Scyther.
"KYAAAH!" The Scyther screeched in surprise, zipping to the cave wall to dodge it.
CLANG!
A blade rebounded from the boulder as the Scyther made another advance.
This has to end! Char realized.
With his white, glowing claws, Char bounded straight up the cliff wall as far as he could, until his weight became too much… Then, with a gleam in his eye, he thrust powerfully with his legs and hurled himself straight from the wall. The Scyther, who had risen to his elevation, was in his direct collision course.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
Millimeters above him, two furious blade-swipes just nearly missed their mark, sinking into a limb that did not, for the moment, exist. Char slammed into the insect's body, full-forced.
"Karrraaiii!" The Scyther yelled in protest as the searing flames licked its flammable body. Its wings buckled under the combined weight of the two Pokémon.
Char bared his teeth and sank his fiery maw into the Scyther's neck.
THUMP. The Scyther hit the ground, defeated, with the panting Charmander on top. In disgust, Char coughed one last blue plume of fire onto the enemy, burning its wings away.
As he leapt down from atop his kill, the salty taste of blood entered his mouth again, and he began to feel weak.
"See?" he said to no one, every word a heavy breath. "See? I can take you! Come on! Challenge me! Any other Scyther out there? Come on, try to kill me! I bet you can't do it!"
A powerful wave of nausea came, and Char slumped to the ground, tripping over the defeated Scyther and falling on his face. He barely even knew it had happened; one moment, he had been filled with pride and euphoria from his victory, the next, he awoke, not knowing how much time had passed…
Shrugging it off for the moment, Char got back onto his feet and began to dash through the corridors once more in search of his lost companions. The path bent and turned in many unnerving ways; Char noted all the side-paths he neglected to follow, hoping dearly that he could rely on the sound of someone's voice to find his way. Surely, they would be searching for him, wouldn't they? Or were they, too, staying silent, hoping they would avoid the attention of the rogue Scyther clan? Either way, he knew he had to find them, or his chances of getting to Dialga alive were next to none…
… … …
He ran for a whole minute, two minutes, encountering no Pokémon but a small group of Rattata who scurried away at first glance. He gave up trying to remember the way he came; he only ran forward, picking a random path whenever there would be a fork, and prayed to Dialga that he would run into someone he recognized…
Every moment, things were getting more blurry. Char felt his control over his body weaken, become stranger, with every step…
And every so often, he would trip on seemingly nothing, and feel the cold, hard rock skidding against his forehead…
Slump.
Char awoke on the ground again, cursing to himself. He had lost count of how many times it had happened now. He rolled onto his back, clutching his stomach until the nausea would fade. His spirit was faltering.
Something caught his eye.
The glimmer of glass from an adjacent cave, his firelight glinting from something small.
Holding his breath, Char lifted himself from the ground and prowled toward it.
This… had better not be a monster nest again, Char hoped, wearily eyeing the cave ceiling for any signs of movement, as he moved in to inspect the object. I don't know if I could take a monster nest in this state…
It was a Wonder Orb. A tiny smile crossed his face; it was always nice to find these in the dungeons and to see what kind of random ways they would assist. Though he knew he would have difficulty carrying it along without a bag, he scurried over to it and pressed the tip of his nose against its surface.
Itemizer Orb, it replied. Activate now?
No, Char replied. Um… How do you work?
A nearby wild Pokémon resident of the Mystery Dungeon will become an item.
Uhh… thanks, Char replied, raising an eyebrow at the concept. Um… how is that supposed to work, anyway? A Pokémon becomes an item?
The orb, of course, did not respond.
What kind of an item? Char asked it.
No answer.
Well… let's try it, Char decided. Next Pokémon I see… becomes an item.
Standing carefully on two legs, Char cradled the glassy sphere against his body and tried to lug it along with him.
In no time at all, it began to annoy him. Lugging a huge supply bag was one thing, but carrying an orb with his only hand through a Scyther hive… it was downright unnerving. Char eyed the sky and all of its surrounding shadows, wondering about every little buzz and hiss that seemed to enter earshot, ready to use the orb or lob it at an opponent and run as fast as he could…
While his fire continued to burn so powerfully, Char felt as though it was burning him, consuming the very last of his energy, his life force, the coal of his inner ember. It crossed his mind that he did not know if his second wind, the Blaze reaction, truly had any limits. Would it fail him? It certainly felt like it was reaching its last threads… Lugging the orb along, Char tried hard not to think about his own mortality, only taking step after painful step, feeling the sharp gravel make tiny indentations on the bottom of his feet…
He dropped the orb twice. It had rolled out from his grasp, his claw seeming to release the orb without him commanding. It was a difficult, exerting process to crouch down and try to pick it up again, balancing the orb and his body on his two wavering legs. He hoped for a Pokémon to use it on; he hoped even more that the nearest dark corner wouldn't call to him, beckoning him to just crawl over and relax, closing his eyes forever…
Finally, he met another wild Pokémon: yet another Scyther. This one, oddly enough, seemed to be sleeping.
Activate now, Char ordered the orb.
The orb shattered instantly upon command, waking the sleeping Scyther. However, just as Char was about to cringe back, many small, detached glimmers of yellow light rose from the broken glass, swarming in the air like flies toward the waking feral. The mantis Pokémon gave a growl of protest, and then in anger, as the spots stuck to him, seeming to freeze him and lock his body in place…
It was almost a grotesque sight as the orbs gravitated toward the center of the Pokémon, bending the fabric of its flesh and skeletal structure… through it all, the Scyther wailed and hissed so furiously, Char thought he would surely break free from the spell…
Char couldn't bear to watch as the last of the spell took place; his head was turned as a pop sounded from where the Scyther once sat. There, in its place, was a small seed, still glowing with power.
A seed? Char groaned to himself. That's all I get? A seed?
Shrugging, he picked it up and looked it over. It wasn't a Reviver Seed, that was for sure. It also wasn't a Stun Seed or a Sleep Seed…
I don't even know what this will do, Char realized, stroking the rough surface of the oversized seed. It could have horrible effects if it was the wrong kind… augh, it's useless unless I can get it appraised! I can't take the risk!
Char angrily stuffed the seed underneath his scarf, hoping it would stay in place as he dashed about.
Another sudden dizzy spell. Char fell back to all threes and cringed, waiting for the tingling sensation in his head to subside. Even though the cut across his front had already scabbed up, he knew he wasn't doing so well. He could not afford even one more hit from a Scyther's blade.
I need… my strength back soon… Char told himself. I… don't know what will happen to me if...
*Clang!*
*Clang! Clang!*
Char perked his head at the sound. There was scuffling from down the hall. A battle?
It fell silent.
Char's head started spinning. I know that sound, he realized. That's a Scyther blade against rock. Someone's fighting a Scyther. Or maybe it's Scythe! Is my team there?
Taking a sharp breath, Char scurried in its direction, tuning his ears for the sound of another clash. His breathing grew more intense and strained the farther he went, worried that one of his friends had not survived a clash with a Scyther…
The sound never rose again. And Char hit a clean dead end in the path.
"NO!" Char wailed, thrusting his forehead against the wall. "No…"
He wished he could just push through the wall. He wished he could smash a tunnel straight through the rock, and find a way to the other side. But the rock would not give, no matter how hard he forced against it…
Remembering an alternate passage, Char reluctantly turned around, fighting a sudden dizzy spell…
There was something on the floor. Another item.
It was a band of some kind. Something feebly attached to a string. Char sniffed at it. It smelled… familiar.
Char sat down beside the object, pulling it from the gravel…
Attached to the long, dirty brown string came two flattened jewels, the sandy gravel flowing from them…
Lily's X-Ray lenses.
Char's eyes widened.
Lily… was here?
What happened to her?
Was she… knocked out? She had a rescue emblem…
Or worse… was she… taken?
Grasping the item tight, Char did his best to shake off the dirt. He held one of the lenses awkwardly to one eye.
The walls containing him seemed to vanish, revealing the dungeon labyrinths beyond. But they were all so dark, as light from the sun failed to touch almost anywhere… Char thought he could barely, just barely make out the forms of moving Pokémon far in the distance… but he couldn't tell who, or even where, they were… If they were closer, perhaps he could see them through the shadows…
Char tried to put the valuable lens on properly, but the tiny brown band was far, far too long to stay on…
Wrap it around twice, then, he remembered Prince saying.
So he tried. He tried so hard, contorting his tiny body into knots, almost strangling himself on a few occasions, just to get the large, floppy band to fit snugly around his head.
But he couldn't do it. Not with only one arm.
"AUUUUUUGHHH!" Char bellowed in frustration, slamming the priceless item to the ground and spitting fire at it.
Thump. Char fell atop the tangled band, passed out.
… … …
Char figured his blackouts didn't last for very long; if they did, he would have surely been expelled from the dungeon. He remembered the first time he was knocked out in a dungeon, back when he had accidentally stumbled into a patch of the viciously poisonous Dragon's Eye buds. He had blacked out for nearly a full minute until his friends had cured the poison, but he had not been expelled, so he knew there was a window of time before expulsion would take place. He feared his blackouts would grow longer, and eventually prove fatal to his mission.
Worst of all… he wondered if getting expelled would mean the loss of his arm for the rest of his life. He tried so hard not to imagine that kind of a life. It only made the nausea return.
When he woke again, he sadly picked up the nearly-useless X-ray lenses and slung them around his neck. They sagged all the way to his feet, so he put a few twists into the band and raised them to a more reasonable level. He tried from time to time to twist them further, making the band small enough to wear and utilize, but the loops would always come undone before his tiny claw could catch them. Sighing, he secured them to his form the best he could and carried on.
On and on he went. The Shattered Plateau never seemed to end, and his friends were still nowhere in sight. The X-ray lenses proved useful, as they helped him avoid notice from no less than two feral Scyther, but still could not aid him in his search for his party…
A new kind of nausea overtook his belly, one that didn't subside in moments. He was hungry.
Char just couldn't believe his luck. He felt absolutely miserable. Perhaps worse than in the freezer; at least he wasn't alone when he smoldered, and had Prince there to revive him when his fire was almost out. But now… every part of him ached in some way or another. He didn't want to battle. He didn't even want to stand. He figured that his Blaze was feeding from the Golden Apple that had dutifully kept his belly filled for so long, but now, it seemed gone. And there was no way he wanted to pass out from hunger again.
He pictured it. A Golden Apple. He knew there were more in the team's bag, just waiting for him to sink his teeth into, to partake of that wonderful, godly flavor. His arm aside, he wanted nothing more than just a small slice of one.
He remembered the seed still tucked beneath his scarf. He reached up to feel it bulge. It wasn't much, but… it would fill his belly a little, give him just that much more time to reunite with his team. But he didn't know what it would do to him. He had heard of the Hunger Seeds, seeds that could practically starve a Pokémon to death… It could be a Blinker Seed, turning him blind… Or, it could be one of the fabled Doom Seeds, which could sap his power until he was no stronger a Charmander than when Saura first found him…
No. Char decided. No… I just… But I can't starve to death! But… no. No. I can't… I have to see them again.
You idiot, another part of his brain said. You will never see them again.
Why not? he challenged.
Because… you turned Scythe into a seed.
Char paused for a moment.
"No!" Char muttered. "No… it can't be true."
You know it's true! his mind told him. Scythe passed out looking for you! He was sleeping… and you used that orb on him! Now you're holding Scythe in the palm of your hand! How do you feel about that?
"No!" Char cried more desperately. "No, it… it can't be true! That wasn't Scythe! It couldn't have been! I know Scythe! I know what he looks like! I can't… I couldn't! No, no, no! It made wild noises! And it didn't even talk to me! Scythe would have said something if he would have noticed me!"
You idiot, his mind told him. You've lost everything. Your friends, your health… and now… your sanity!
"NO!" Char cried, nearly tearing at his forehead with his claw. "NO! No, no no! NO! NO!"
Kiaaaaaaaaah!
*Clang! Clang!*
CRASH.
Noises. Battle noises. Pokémon cries. The sound of buzzing Scyther wings. They were all very close by. Panicking, Char lifted a lens onto his eye and glanced around. Nothing but shadows caught his attention.
THUMP.
Char saw stars. A powerful blow to the back of the head. His only claw occupied with the lens, he couldn't defend or save himself from falling… He reeled forward, hitting the ground hard.
Rolling onto his back in panic, he met with his foe…
A large, powerful Scyther stood over him. It did not look happy. It was hunched over in a battle pose, ready to slice him to ribbons.
Terrified, Char backed away, scrambling to the wall on his three limbs, slipping on the loose gravel. He took the deepest breath he could, mustering a great fireball…
But then the Scyther spoke to him.
"Char," it said. "Why did you have to come now?"
Char noticed the bag draped over the Scyther's shoulder.
Scythe.
Scythe!
Char tried to open his mouth and plead to him for help, but Scythe interrupted.
"Char… it is dangerous here!" he hissed in intense desperation. "Hide. Hide! Go!"
Swinging his body, Scythe slung the bag behind a nearby rock.
"By the gods, Char, you look on the edge of death. Heal yourself." Scythe ordered. "Also…"
He looked quickly over his shoulder, his eyes brimming with fear.
"Dig out a petrification orb as fast as you can, and use it."
CLANG!
A resounding metal clash. Scythe pivoted his body, blocking a blow to his head. A large, red pincer.
Char dove behind the rock in terror, hoping to Arceus not to have another dizzy spell again.
The bag. He tried to dig through it. But in such a panic, he could barely untie the cover flap with one hand; it kept slipping out of his grasp. And he didn't know which pouches held what.
"Scythe! I can't… I can't do this!" Char breathed in despair.
"You have one more hand than I do!" Scythe roared, parrying a blow from his opponent.
Nearly hyperventilating, Char fished his hand deep into the supply bag. There were many small pouches, neatly organized so every kind of item could be attained with ease… except for now, of all times. His claw brushed against a small pouch, which he thought contained orbs. Fiddling with it, he managed to widen the loop enough to get inside and fish out the contents… He gave deep breaths, trying to align his thoughts, and focus…
He pulled the item out. It wasn't an orb at all. It was a seed. A Reviver Seed, to be exact. It was unmistakable, with the shiny golden surface, and the supernatural aura about it…
CLANG! CLANG!
THUNK.
The sounds rising from the duel between the Scyther and the rogue Scizor drew Char's attention. He witnessed Scythe suffer a brutal blow, a jab right to the face.
"HURRY!" Scythe pleaded.
Char yanked the unknown seed out from under his scarf and tossed it randomly into the supply bag. He replaced it with the Reviver Seed, which was much larger and harder to hide.
Thrusting his hand back into the bag, he fished around harder, feeling for the distinct shape of the small Wonder Orbs. There were a few sitting in the bottom of the bag…
This is a Trawl Orb. Activate?
This is a Decoy Orb.
Spellcaster of Invisibility.
"Aurghhh…" Char grumbled, his mind bombarded with several streams of telepathy at once.
SLASH! CLANG!
"CHAR!" Scythe cried. "DODGE!"
But Char couldn't react fast enough…
The next thing he knew, the image of the bag spun around wildly below his feet. Something was holding him off the ground, holding him very tightly, so that he could barely move.
Crushing him.
No.
He couldn't struggle.
His voice didn't even work.
He felt himself going limp.
No.
The Scizor pincer squeezed. Tighter. He felt a rib crunch somewhere inside.
No…
Char did the only thing he could do... and held his breath.
There was a sizzling noise.
"Screeeeeeeeeee!"
The Scizor dropped him. Char turned to face his opponent… only to see that the claw which had held him just moments before was now… deformed. The exoskeleton had melted! Char had overheated his body to defend himself, sending a small shockwave of scorching temperature directly into the steel-plated bug.
The Scizor held its ruined claw before its eyes, as though in disbelief.
See how you like it without a hand, Char thought bitterly.
That one moment of hesitation was all Char needed. He leapt back out of the foe's range, took a deep breath… and loosed his fire without reserve.
The blue fire mercilessly engulfed the foe as though it were a tiny Weedle. It turned and lashed out with its flaming form in many directions, enraged in its final moments, emitting a constant, disturbing squeal…
SLASH!
Scythe intervened to deliver the finishing blow, and the Scizor fell to the ground in a pile of molten steel.
"There… there might be more…" Scythe gasped, turning to the miserable little Charmander. "We… we must get off this floor. Char. You look like you dug your way from a Wailmer's belly… Thank the gods I found you."
"Scythe!" Char cried, wanting to hug him, only afraid of lighting him on fire. "What happened? How did I get separated? I didn't remember… anything…"
"You and Prince fell into a 'warp trap', as they are called." Scythe rasped. "A random vortex that sometimes appears in dungeons, sending you to somewhere else on the floor. It was… highly inconvenient. I did not realize it until I followed the sound of his cry, and fell into it myself as well… The others most likely are scattered all over the floor as well, fighting for their lives… I don't think any of the Reviver Seeds were used, so they are most likely surviving…"
He indicated the bag.
"Char. Dig in there, and find a 'Rollcall Orb', and use it. I… I tried to do it myself, but it was a mistake… While I was distracted, the Scizor found me… And for the love of everything, Char, eat a Sitrus Berry and heal yourself. We are only on the second floor of twenty-four; we cannot afford a Reviver Seed to be used yet. This tower… this is worse than I have imagined…"
And so, Char dug into the bag, touching each orb until one of them identified itself as a Rollcall Orb. He ordered it to activate.
Without warning, four other Pokémon appeared in the same room, each looking very frightened and spent.
Prince looked absolutely berserk.
"Oh… Oh," he muttered, looking around and realizing where he was. "I was about to say… By the blazes, not again! I had just succeeded in finding Saura… another warp trap might have driven me to insanity. You used a Rollcall Orb, then. Good… very good."
"Char!" Saura gasped. "You look horrible!"
"I don't feel so good," Char gasped, falling onto the floor again. "I…"
Saura rushed to him, though feeling the intense waves of heat radiating from his body still, he dared not touch. He peered down upon his best friend with relief and sympathy.
"You—don't look so good yourself," Char replied, twisting his head to meet Saura's gaze, noting the scabs upon his body and the tatters on his seed.
"I… got sliced up a little, yeah," Saura said. "Once I found Prince, he protected me… he's good at fighting those Scyther… really good…"
"Char! Here…"
An orange paw entered Char's view. It held an Oran Berry.
"It's one of the last from Team Ember's bag," Ray admitted sheepishly. "I, uh… I had to use a few to survive when we were separated. It was just me and Lily… actually, here. Just… take all of them. You look like you could use it."
Three of the dark blue berries tumbled to the floor before Char. Driven crazy at just the sight of them, he grasped one of them and took a ravenous bite from it.
"Oh… interesting! Char, you found Lily's lenses," Ray noted. "Yeah… we were fighting some Luxio and later we just realized it was gone. We figured she dropped it somewhere. Oh, man. It's good to be back."
"Don't relax quite yet," Prince warned, digging through the bag for his own supplies. "We need to find the staircase still. Wait… what's this?"
Looking surprised, he pulled out the seed which Char had tossed in.
"Hmm. Where did this come from, I wonder? This wasn't in here before. I'm sure of it."
Char sat up, quickly filling his belly with the healing berries and feeling his strength return. "I found that," he told Prince with a full mouth. "I didn't know what it was."
"Pure Seed," Prince told him, turning the item around in his fingers. "Definitely a Pure Seed… Hmm. Very lucky of you, Char. Good work. This… is an item of unparalleled value to have in our position. We could use it now, or we could search for the staircase and save it for another floor. Scythe, what do you think?"
"Eat the Pure Seed, for the love of Arceus," Scythe ordered him. "Whatever lies on the next twenty floors cannot be as bad as what we have faced on this one."
"Scythe, wait a minute!" Ray said suddenly. "Lily and I actually found the staircase. It's in a really big cave. It's not hard to find! If we can just take a small walk so we can figure out where we are, we can save the seed!"
Lily nodded. "It's true. We knew we couldn't go on until we found the rest of you. But we kept good track of where we are, so…"
Scythe looked at the ground for a moment. He didn't like the idea.
"No," he shortly said. "Let us not risk it. Not here. Prince, if you would…"
"Fine, then," Prince said with some reluctance, tossing the seed in one hand and weighing it. "Everyone, form a chain. Normally a Pure Seed will only work for the Pokémon holding it, but if we all hold onto one another…"
And so, Prince picked up the handicapped Charmander in his arm once more, Saura and Lily used their vines to bind the rest of the team together, and Prince bit down on the seed. After a rush of momentum, a similar sensation to falling into the warp trap, the team gazed at the staircase.
The wretched floor was finally behind them.
Temporal Tower 3F
I can't… do this.
Even after stopping the bleeding and eating his fill, Char still found himself in a world of misery.
After having stuffed himself with the Oran Berries Ray had offered him, he realized he actually felt worse. Since he had healed, his Blaze reaction had begun to subside… and where all the pain was previously drowned out by an all-encompassing flame, it now flooded back in full force.
"Are you going to be alright, Char?" Saura asked him carefully, afraid of getting too close and accidentally hurting him.
No, he wanted to say. No. My arm is throbbing. My arm, that I don't even have, is throbbing. I can't focus. I can't take it. I don't even know where we are. I don't care.
Instead, he reached his claw up and under his scarf, feeling the smooth, glassy surface of the Reviver Seed.
It called to him.
"Char," Scythe suddenly said, kneeling down to meet his eye. "I have to thank you… for helping me defeat that Scizor. I have… never been adept at fighting those… I have forgotten how helpless they can be against the element of fire."
"Scythe, I was just trying to survive," Char told him through gritted teeth, trying unsuccessfully to ignore his newfound discomfort. "I just reacted."
"Then thank you, Char, for reacting," Scythe said with deep earnest, rising to his feet again. "Thank you for surviving. It is… a miracle that we did not use a single Reviver Seed so far. A warp trap accident has been known to consume many of those at once. We need every one of them; they are as precious as our lives. "
The third floor of the scrambled tower was one of the strangest-looking Mystery Dungeon floors Char had ever witnessed. It appeared as a long, empty room with a low ceiling and a floor made of marble. Every fifty steps or so, a ridged pillar stood to hold up the ceiling, forming a perfect, endless grid of passages as far as the eye could see. It almost resembled a forest. Unlike the previous floor, this one was very well-lit, though there were no noticeable light sources anywhere.
Good thing, too, because Char no longer had his massive flame to light the way; his tail fire was back down to normal size.
With the Blaze, this was manageable, Char thought to himself, feeling for the Reviver Seed again as soon as Scythe's back was turned. But now… this is all downright useless! And disgusting! I want my health back. And I want my arm back.
And I want them back now.
Char slipped the golden, glistening seed from under his cloth and eyed it greedily.
"Whoa!" Saura gasped, noticing Char's held item. "Is that a Reviver Seed? W-where did you get that?"
"Found it on the last floor," Char lied. "I… I think I want to use it."
Sympathy crossed Saura's face.
"I just… I want my arm back, Saura…" he whined. "I don't care what Scythe thinks. I don't want to save it. I want to use it now."
"I… can't blame you," Saura said to him in a lower voice, making sure the conversation would not be overheard. "But what if we get up to, like, floor twenty, and we run out of them? And what if you get your legs copped off by a Gliscor or something? Wouldn't you wish you had it?"
"I'm… I'm not going to get my legs chopped off," Char insisted. "The only reason that Scyther got me was because it tricked us. It tricked us because it couldn't beat us in a battle. The only way it will happen again is if I'm stuck without my right claw for the rest of this place. I can't battle well without it. I can't focus without it. And now, I was an idiot and devoured all those berries and I'm not even Blazing anymore. I… need it back."
Saura sighed, peering around at the others to make sure they weren't paying attention.
"Alright… I won't stop you, Char," he said. "Just make it quick. Scythe will stop you if he catches you. And he probably won't be too happy once he finds out anyway. But… it's your seed. Your decision. Go ahead. I'll… cover you as best as I can."
Char clutched the precious Reviver Seed tightly, wondering exactly what it would feel like to have his health instantaneously return to him…
"Hey!" Saura shouted, bounding to the front of the line. "Hey… I thought I saw movement over there!"
"Movement?" Prince repeated. "Hmm… I didn't see anything. Was it large?"
"No, it was small. A quadruped Pokémon, I think. I don't know, I didn't see it very well. It blended in."
"Lily?" Prince called. "Can you see anything behind the pillars?"
Alright… Char told himself with one last, heavy breath. This is my chance. Here…
Here goes nothing.
*CHOMP*
Like a rabid squirrel, Char stuffed the seed into his mouth and bit down. He felt as a shatter rippled across the unblemished shell of the seed, and as all the tiny pieces began to disintegrate and burn in the fiery recesses of his mouth.
He quickly found that the seed didn't taste so good. It tasted like a root. A gritty, dirty root pulled up from a clay-strewn quicksand pit in the middle of a swamp. When he gnashed it with his teeth, it seemed to fight back, flooding his throat with the desire to hurl it all out. He knelt down, preparing himself in case his stomach would decide to do just that.
"Char! Is something wrong?"
Someone called to him. He didn't know who. But he knew he had to choke the thing down before anyone would find out. Wearing a scowl as though dipping his tail into a sea of ice-water, Char swallowed the seed chunks, gagging as they got caught in his throat.
"Something's wrong," Prince's gasped, rushing over to him. "He's gagging. He could be injured internally. Char. Char? Can you breathe?"
Saura bit his lip, glancing over to his friend in worry.
"Char! Did you swallow something bad?" Lily asked him. "Were you poisoned? Ray, do you have a Pecha fruit? He might be poisoned…"
"I know we do, it's in here somewhere… Hang on, Char! I'll find it!"
"No… no," Char managed to say, finally getting the lumpy seed to go all the way down. "I… I… I'm not poisoned."
"Then what happened?" Prince demanded. "Did you step on a trap? What? What?"
"How…" Char hesitated to say, his eyes growing blurry with the sheer energy it took to force the seed into his belly. "How long… does it take… for… for a Reviver Seed to… work?"
"Reviver Seeds work instantaneously upon death," Prince told him, confused. "Or within a minute or two if fallen unconscious… essentially, any time you would have been expelled…"
"No."
Scythe looked incredulously upon the sick little Charmander. Dread washed over Char as he realized… Scythe knew.
"Char. You… you could not have been so…"
Char bit his lip and turned away. He could ignore his mentor's disapproval. He just waited for the seed's effects to kick in.
"No. Char. No. I can't believe you," Scythe gasped, pushing past the other two Pokémon and standing intimidatingly over Char. "You did. You ate a Reviver Seed!"
"W—what else was I supposed to do?" Char pleaded back. "I couldn't… I couldn't take it anymore!"
"Char… Reviver Seeds don't work if you eat them!" Lily informed him. "Best they'll do is fill your belly a little bit, but… Oh, Char!"
Char fell speechless for a moment as the truth sank in.
"W—w—How was I supposed to know that?" he cried in anguish. "I mean, it's a seed, right? You eat seeds, and…"
"Char…" Scythe growled at him, absolutely seething in rage. "I am this close. This. Close. To severing your other arm for such a stupid, thoughtless act. That seed could have saved one of our lives closer to the summit of this tower. And now it is gone. Wasted. If someone dies on this expedition, it will now be on your shoulders. I hope you understand this fact, Char…"
"Chk?"
Char felt a lurch in this throat. He realized a bit too late that not all of the seed had gone down just yet. One of the seed's shards had gotten turned sideways, lodging itself halfway down.
His eyes widened in shocked pain. A piercing sensation filled his chest, draining every ounce of his energy. He keeled onto the ground, hand squeezing his own neck… His hearing was muted, and he felt the blood drain from his own face…
His throat convulsed so wildly, so painfully, trying to spew the glass-like object form his throat, but it would not move; it was embedded, stabbing at him on the inside…
And, for the first time, after nearly a whole minute of torture, Char felt his body fail him.
He saw the bright light, the same one he had seen in the freezer. It came for him, as though the sun had descended upon him to disintegrate his soul… It looked so fiery and welcoming, yet it was cold, numbing…
For just a moment, nothing else existed but the light.
A memory rose from the very back of the dying Charmander's mind… the oddest memory for such a time. He remembered using the Call and calling to Dialga… asking him, pleading to him for direction, protection…
Oh… Char thought to himself. Dialga, it's you…
But then…
For an even smaller moment…
He saw… something else.
It was… something malicious. Something… painful.
Something… that hated him. Wanted him dead. Manipulated him. Waited patiently for his arrival. For the perfect moment.
He saw… the eyes. The dark, red eyes…
Pop!
"…and they're supposed to heal you! And… wait. What?"
Char blinked. Out of nowhere, He was standing on his feet.
He looked at his arms. His left arm. His right arm. Both worked perfectly. He touched his head. It was completely whole. No scabs, no scars.
He felt no pain. He felt no hunger. He felt perfect. Reborn. He smiled with certain glee.
…That is, until he noticed the five Pokémon staring oddly at him. All with their mouths hanging open.
"Whoa," Ray gasped.
He noticed Scythe hanging his head in something like shame.
"Well…" Prince muttered. "I suppose… that is that. Char got what he wanted."
"Char… has a funny way of getting what he wants, even when he doesn't deserve it," Scythe sighed. "Arceus, I hope we find more Reviver Seeds… we are down to eight, only…"
"I don't think we should worry about it," Prince said. "Let us stay vigilant, attentive to our surroundings, and we will stay strong enough to reach the top of the tower. I will make sure of it."
Char sighed happily. He felt so full of life now, so ready to take on the rest of the tower, that all of his pain from before his reincarnation had vanished.
Yet… what he had seen after the flash of light… it still deeply bothered him.
Because it felt like it hadn't gone away.