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Chapter 63
Anvil Quarry B5F… Still
"Otto… are you sure this is the right way?"
"Yes."
"Didn't we already go this way?"
"No."
"They all look the same, how do you know for sure?"
Char groaned as he trudged down the dozenth side path. The rectangular corridors of the grid-like quarry were proving to be a greater enemy than the occasional Graveler or Zubat; there were so many paths, all with the same shape and the same-sized hallways, that the trek began to feel like a repeating fever dream. Without a noteworthy landmark in sight, there was nothing to do but trust Otto's sense of direction… though not without repeatedly asking him if he knew what he was doing.
"I imagine a view of the floor from the sky," Otto said, hopping alongside him. "I am used to viewing the land from the sky. I understand the connections between the sky perspective and the ground perspective. I can visualize the sky perspective even when I cannot see it for myself."
"If that is true, then why are we walking past our own footprints?" Eva grumbled, squinting at the ground as she walked.
"You must be mistaken," Otto insisted. "You cannot be seeing your own footprints here. We were never here."
"I think I know what my own pawprints look like, thank you," Eva retorted.
"Your pawprints are similar to that of a Raticate," Otto said dismissively. "It was probably one of those."
Eva frowned, and her expression grew dark. "Tell me again that I look like a rat, I dare you."
Char feared he would soon be collecting pieces of his chief tactician from the floor. But the entire group stopped, in unison, as they wandered across something curious sitting in their way: a bloody, unconscious Raticate laying collapsed next to a side path. They had only approached it from a different direction.
"I stand corrected," Otto said. "I am sorry. I must have misremembered the shape of a hallway. Perhaps it was because you distracted me when you kept asking me if I knew the way."
Marrow laughed a hearty chuckle, stepping in front of the team to examine the Raticate's body. "Hah! No harm done, though. No sense in feelin' ashamed of going in circles, Sometimes it's just a bad guess. Means you're making progress as long as you explored everything."
"Yeah! And we found some stuff, too," Ray said. "No scarf yet, but a few loose coins and some orbs. That helps. So don't feel bad, Otto! You're doing good!"
"I don't feel bad, but I wonder what mistake I made," Otto said, turning his head at the surrounding caves.
"Hmm, well, if I might be so bold as to offer a suggestion," Marrow said, wandering out in front of the team, "Pokémon who burrow, like myself, need to learn a very similar type of directional sense, just like you get when ya fly and see everything from up above. Except it's less of a visual sense, and more of a feel. You just sorta feel when you're farther north or south or east of the place ya started. And thanks to that, we're good at finding our ways through places like this where it's complete darkness."
"You want me to learn this skill of yours?" Otto inquired.
Marrow shrugged. "Nah, sorry. It's an instinctual thing to us ground-types, can't really teach it, I think. Mainly, I was just gonna suggest you try goin' that way." Marrow pointed his club in the direction where the staircase had been. "Because I seem to remember at least two or three doors we all walked right past."
"…Oh. That's right, I forgot," Otto said plainly. "Thank you. It was because Char forbid me from scouting ahead when we first arrived to this floor. It makes sense now."
Eva glared at him. "Right, so I see you've picked up a very valuable skill, of blaming your mistakes on everyone else," she quipped.
Otto blinked. "I do not blame my mistakes on others; as I recall, I clearly admitted that I forgot about those passageways," he said with a hint of annoyance. "I only identified the reason for my forgetfulness."
"And the reason was Char, apparently," Eva sneered. "You are not fooling anyone with your oblivious guise, you know that, right? You're more aware of yourself than you look. You're just playing ignorant and trying your best not to look bad in front of Char."
"I know the game you're playing, as well," Otto chirped, not looking at her. "By admitting to your claims, I indict myself. By denying your claims, I will sound defensive and my arguments become weak from denial. Therefore there is no winning scenario regardless of how I respond, so by default you win the argument."
"…Hey. Break it up, you two," Marrow said sternly. "Save it for outside of the dungeon, alright? Last thing we need is a –"
A tremor shook the quarry again, stronger than the last. Char was thrown from his feet and tumbled to the stony floor as dust clouded the room. He winced as tiny rocks bounced from his skin, and eyed this teammates to see them cowering in fright.
Using his club for support, Marrow turned a wary eye to the ceiling. "Aye, it's like the floors above us are caving in," he said. "Ray? Suggest you get that escape orb ready, just in case. Otherwise, I suggest we get to the stairs, pronto."
Nobody voiced any objections, and Char quickly led the team backtracking to the entrance of the dungeon floor. All around, it had been an eventful and productive floor; there were at least seven battles with weak Pokémon, and Ray had collected some useful things. There had even been a trawl orb just sitting in a corner, supposedly left by a previous exploration team, and Ray had every intention of using it on the seventh floor to skip the search entirely. There was just one last floor to walk through before the mission's conditions would be met.
Despite this, Char found his confidence tainted by a growing worry that things might not go according to plan. They hadn't found many scarves, and none on floor where Team Carrier apparently lost it, and the next few floors were slated to be even more complex and dangerous. And it didn't help that nobody knew what was causing the tremors, even Marrow; there weren't supposed to be any Pokémon in the quarry who were capable of causing earthquakes of such a magnitude.
But the dungeon, as dungeons usually do, had a twist in store for Char and his team.
Upon returning to the staircase room, Char ordered Otto to scout down one hallway while he took the rest of the Pokémon down the other. Hopefully, he figured, one of them would find the next staircase, unless Otto had missed even more passageways somewhere else.
After a short walk down a straight and simple path, Char found himself staring down the stairwell to the sixth floor of the quarry.
"Ah-ha! Glad to see my sense of direction still works," Marrow said proudly. "Two floors left. Guess we just gotta wait for your bird to come back."
"Yeah, hopefully he didn't fly into another web," Ray said nervously. "Eva? Any news?"
Eva didn't respond for a minute. She stared blankly at the floor, as though in an intense telepathic conversation.
Char's heart skipped a beat.
"Eva? Is he alright?" Char asked warily.
She nodded. "Yes, he's fine. Very much fine," she assured him. "But there seems to be a different problem."
"…Yes?" Char said, growing worried.
Eva tilted her head in confusion. "Otto… claims that he has also found the staircase."
"Oh, well, then," Marrow said in a huff. "Did you inform him that he's gone crazy?"
"Yes, I tried," Eva returned. "But he insists he is standing in front of it right this moment, and he seems certain of himself. He wants you to come and see."
Char dropped to the ground and carefully brushed the first step of the staircase with his claw, wondering if it was an illusion. He decided that it felt very real, and turned to Ray in confusion.
"Two staircases?" he wondered. "Ray? Marrow? Has that ever happened before? Do you know?"
"Uh… no, not that I know of," Ray said. "I've been in a few dungeons before and there's always been just one staircase."
"Dungeon theory says that there's always a clean path straight through the dungeon, or the dungeon can't exist," Marrow said. "I've heard that a branching path is theoretically possible as long as the two paths eventually meet up again. It's just never been observed before."
"Hmm. Well, that's a tough one," Char said, scratching his forehead. "If there are two staircases, how are we supposed to know which one Team Carrier took? If they dropped the scarf in one path and we go down the other path, we're just wasting our time."
"What's the verdict, then, Char?" Marrow asked him. "Split up?"
"No, no. No way I'm splitting up the team between different floors. No way," Char said tersely. "We're staying together. Guess I'll just gamble on one of these staircases…"
"Otto insists you come," Eva said again with some urgency. "Also… he claims that he is beginning to hear the wind howling."
A sharp chill went straight through Char's belly. "Fine. Tell him to come back here and take us to the other stairs. And tell him to hurry."
The walk wasn't very far. Within minutes, Otto had reunited with the team and led them down the alternate path. What Char saw at the end of the other tunnel truly baffled him.
It was a staircase, all right. That much was certain. But Char grasped his tail in his hand and held it forward, and saw that something was very different about this one. It was a very different color of staircase, a gleaming yellow, almost as though it was made entirely out of gold.
"This is a dungeon anomaly I do not know about," Otto explained. "It is a golden staircase. I have never heard of such an anomaly before. I strongly suggest we pioneer this path and report our findings to the Gold Division."
"…Well, I'll be. There really are two staircases," Marrow said, leaning against the wall. "Huh. Fascinating."
"I should also note that it was not visible at first," Otto said. "It only appeared before my eyes when I flew near to it."
The team, except for perhaps Eva, decided that the golden staircase was too exciting to ignore. Together they descended it, careful not to slip and fall on the unnaturally smooth surfaces and tumble to the darkness below.
Anvil Quarry B6F?
The next floor was nothing like the rest of the quarry. It was huge.
Char felt vertigo as he stepped into the enormous chamber and tried to digest what he was seeing. Like the rest of the quarry, it was perfectly rectangular, but extended so far into the distance that it might have rivaled the size of the Gold Division's meeting hall. The walls had a golden shine to them, and looked like they might have been built with bricks, each the size of a small building. Char could see it all easily; the magical light which hung in the dungeon's air was exceptionally bright in this place, almost as though sunlight was coming through somehow.
But that wasn't the most impressive part of the room. The floor was littered with boulders and piles of rubble, and in the very center of it all stood a large mechanical device with treaded wheels and wicked-looking weapons protruding from the front. Char knew instantly that it must have been a machine used for mining, although it was of wildly strange Pokémon architecture, and he couldn't decide if the machine was primarily a bulldozer or a mole-digger. But it appeared to be in perfect condition; even the tiny cabin where the driver sat was wholly intact, without even a scratch or a fleck of rust to be seen.
Marrow seemed the most impressed with the discovery. "Well! This is certainly something!" he cried. "I believe that's a terraformer machine. Quite an old thing. Doesn't look a day old, though. I'm betting it's been frozen in time here."
"Can't you just hire ground-type Pokémon to dig, though?" Char wondered. "Why build machines?"
"Ah, well, you see, ground-types like to make a real mess of things when they burrow," he explained, somewhat bashfully. "Especially the lesser-skilled diggers. One wrong move and the whole place caves in. These things, though. They're built for precision and they keep the damage real clean. If I didn't know any better, I'd say these machines carved all the tunnels we've been walking through this whole time. That's the kind of work they're capable of."
"Perhaps we shouldn't speak so loud," Eva hissed. "There are wilds here in this room. They are hidden among the rubble piles. I can't tell what they are, but there are enough to overwhelm us if they were to wake up."
"Noted," Char said, his eyes fixed on the magnificent digger machine. Carefully, he drew nearer. "Otto? We just need to check the floor for loose scarves, and then we can get out of here. Mind getting a view from the air?"
Before Otto could take wing, a tremor struck the strange chamber.
But as Char soon saw, it was more than just an earthquake. As the ground rattled and the explorers tried to keep their balance, a dusty pulse of energy swept through the chamber, engulfing them. From within the mysterious bubble, Char saw that the bright colors had been drained from the room. Everything had the fuzzy appearance of black ink on orange parchment, and the air danced like the vapor from a campfire.
Char turned and saw that his friends were alright. They were still beside them, their expressions frozen in amazement just like his own. They, too, had lost their colors.
"Char! Look!" Ray gasped, pointing ahead. "There are other Pokémon here now!"
Char turned to see that he was right. On the other end of the chamber, there was a whole squad of strong-looking Pokémon. Char spotted a Gurdurr, a Haxorus, a Bastiodon, and several species he'd never seen before. But they weren't dungeon inhabitants. They were shouting orders to one another, indicating that they were intelligent.
"Way's clear!" a voice shouted. "Light 'er up!"
"Outta the way!" roared another voice.
A thunderous rumble filled through the room. Char realized it was the bulldozer machine. The great mechanical beast was running, vibrating the floor by entire inches as its noisy engine roared to life. But it wasn't in the same place. It had moved, somehow, farther down the chamber near the wall.
The most agonizing noise imaginable filled the air as the drills on the machine sank into the stone. Char was forced to slam his claws onto his ears to keep the vile screech out of his head, but he could barely stay on his feet, and the sickening vibrations made him want to vomit.
Char!
Char just barely recognized Eva's telepathy in his head amidst the ear-shattering industrial machine.
Char, come this way! We need to hide!
Char turned to see that Marrow was quickly pulling the rest of his team farther back, directing them to hide in a corner behind a few large boulders. Bearing the noise, Char dropped to all fours and darted after his teammates, careful not to run into anything as the strange washed-out colors of the mysterious spell still surrounded him. He dove behind the cover and huddled close to his teammates as they watched the mysterious miners do their work, the ground still vibrating beneath them.
Just as suddenly, it was gone. Reality returned to the room, and the team stood alone in the soundless gold-colored chamber with the defunct machine looming over them.
"Alright, so… turns out, this is something I've heard of after all," Marrow said, gasping for breath and adjusting his helmet. "Echo chamber. Read about these. Never seen one myself. Alright, so what's going on is… so, you know that mystery dungeons screw up both space and time, right? In echo chambers, it's less of screwing up space and more of screwing up time. There are time waves every so often and when you're inside them… what you're seeing is real things that actually happened here sometime in the past."
"That… is very strange," Otto said, looking shocked. "Why do we need to hide?"
"Well, because… what I've heard about the echo chambers… the other Pokémon there can see us too. So if they see us, we might be changing the past. And if we change the past… well, no one can tell what'll happen then. You might go back to the base and find out that half your friends were never born and the other half haven't heard of you. Beautifly effect and whatnot. It's not something we need to get involved with if we can help it."
"What if it's just a vision?" Eva wondered, shuddering. "Surely we can't change the past just by witnessing these visions… can we?"
Char's reply was drowned out by another pulse of the gray energy. The tremors instantly returned, and the piles of rubble chattered about. Char nearly bit his tongue as he reeled for balance.
It feels pretty real to me, Char replied telepathically, staring Eva in the eyes. If this keeps up any longer, I'm about to go deaf.
Eva looked very frightened, but she nodded in understanding. You have a point, she said. This is an intense apparition. We should not interfere with the quarrymen if we can help it. However, another school of thought suggests that whatever way we might interfere with these events has already happened in the past, because these workers have already reacted to our presence and history has already been rewritten before we arrived here today. So… it is possible that we cannot change the past in this echo chamber. Still, one can never be too careful in playing with time and space.
The sound of the motor stopped, and soon after, so did the sound of the metal screeching against polished rocks. Char peered into the room to see that the vision of the past had not faded out yet, but the working Pokémon had turned the machine off just as it began to grind into the side of the chamber and enlarge the area. The driver, a primate Pokémon of some sort that Char didn't recognize, jumped out.
"Wait, how far we going again?" it grunted.
"Six more tons," something replied.
"Right, just be ready to pick this stuff apart when we're through, we haven't got all day," the strange monkey said.
The driver poised to jump back into the cockpit of the machine, and Char poised to hold his ears closed again, but there was some commotion among the workers.
A strange creature cried, "Stop! Stop!"
The Pokémon, looking like a black and orange lizard of some sort, darted into the room. It came so close to Char that he and his team needed to duck further behind the pile of rocks to keep from being seen.
"We've gone too far! We've gone too far! Stop! Stop!" it cried in an irritating, honking voice as it pushed through the workers to the driver of the vehicle.
"What are ya talking about?" the driver grunted in reply, halfway ignoring it. "We're not even close to where the mystery dungeon starts."
"It's not the dungeon! We dug up a monster, a monster! We need to evacuate!"
One of the muscular Pokémon picked up the lizard by the tail. "What are you talking about?! Get out of the way, we can take the monster."
"No! You don't understand! This isn't something we're equipped to handle… we can't take it!" it honked, dangling upside down.
There was another tremor, but it wasn't caused by the machine. The ground shook like a true earthquake, and the nearby wall exploded outward, leaving arching trails of dust in the air.
Char watched as every Pokémon in the room panicked, crying in all of their various sounds and dialects in a hectic stampede for the exit. For a moment he saw something moving behind the dust, something as huge, perhaps even huger, than the earth-moving machine…
Char cowered as the worker Pokémon flooded out of the room, tripping over each other in an absolute frenzy. He looked again and saw something dark and terrifying emerging from the shroud, but without the colors, he couldn't understand the figure of the creature.
One heartbeat later, everything was gone again. The vision of the past blinked away, leaving the empty golden chamber in peace. There was a moment of silence between Team Ember as they caught their breaths and came to realize that the shadows of the past had ended.
"Well, that was certainly something," Marrow said as he returned to his feet. "Guess it shows what happened to get the quarry shut down. Wonder why we were to first ones to find this echo chamber in the first place."
"Because the dungeon wanted us to find it," Eva said solemnly, almost talking to herself. "It was waiting for us to come here, into this very room, so it could put on display for us this precise slice of the past… It's all part of the plan it has to destroy us."
Char realized that Eva wasn't just saying it to scare Marrow this time. She was speaking what she truly believed. He paused to consider if it was really true that the dungeon had a mind, and that it was tracking them constantly; it would explain several of the phenomena he'd encountered in dungeons before. The only problem was, perhaps like Marrow, he didn't want for it to be true. It would be just too unsettling, knowing that the dungeons weren't destinations for treasure and jolly adventure, but the dream of an incorporeal being, twisting and shifting to ensnare and to torture its intruders…
"Well, we still don't know that for sure," Char said, accidentally speaking out loud.
"Yep. Char's right. But go ahead and believe what you want to believe," Marrow said in exasperation. "Sentient dungeon or not, it's going to take more than that to break us. We've got some tricks of our own. Char? Getting us out of here, or what?"
"Uh, yeah," Char said snapping back to attention. "Otto. Fly around, try to find anything. Uh… if the time echo comes back, it shouldn't be a problem because all the workers are gone now."
"Understood, but I will not waste time," Otto replied, zipping off.
Char took a deep breath to calm his flame. "Right. And Ray, you brought a pure seed, right?"
"Yep! But it's the only one we've got, and they're expensive," Ray warned. "If you wanted, we could finish the mission right now. Have the seed take us to the stairs, go down to floor seven, then use the trawl orb, then escape."
"Yeah, but we still have to check this floor… and maybe we don't have to use that seed," Char muttered. "We'll see what Otto says when he comes back."
Otto returned soon, though he appeared particularly uneasy as he came to land upon the mound of rocks. "Many items here. No scarves. Many diamonds and shards of iron, might be worth something. Few berries. Staircase is at the other end of the room."
"Good work," Char said. "Any enemies?"
"Yes… yes, enemies," Otto said, fluttering to the ground in exhaustion. "One. One particular enemy. Very large. It hides behind the machine. It sleeps. I… I don't know what it is. I am… I am nearly certain that it is a dragon."
"A dragon? Down here? Now?" Marrow jeered. "Yeesh! Well, then! Today is apparently the day for unlikely adventures, isn't it? Ah, I love it! Wish all my days were like this. What do you say we take a look?"
Otto almost jerked back in surprise at the thought. "The creature is larger than the machine. We could not defeat it in a fight, unless we strategize. I recommend that we use the pure seed."
"Char… do you think it's the same thing that burst through the wall?" Ray wondered.
Char shrugged. "I'd be surprised, that vision seemed like it happened decades ago. But there doesn't seem to be any other explanation for how something like that could have gotten in here. Ray, get the seed out, but don't use it. We can at least try to sneak past it. It's worth a try."
The room was quite large, but all the wild Pokémon remained asleep. Somehow they had not been disturbed by the time waves, however noisy they were. Eva and Otto worked together to help the team maneuver around the piles of rubble without waking any of the sleeping Geodude or Lairon. When he turned the last corner, Char and his friends beheld the behemoth of a creature.
It was a great red lizard of some kind. Though it was wingless, it certainly had the fearsome appearance of a dragon, covered in rust-red scales and endowed with a jaw that could fit Char and all of his friends in a single chomp. It slept soundly, nestled at the side of the mechanical monster as if cuddling with its mate. It was clearly far too large to have fit through any of the quarry's entrances.
"Well I'll be… that's not a creature I've ever seen before," Marrow whispered, gazing at the magnificent beast. "Wouldn't want to be on its bad side. Wonder if this is the real reason the quarry was decommissioned. Maybe the dungeon came later."
"I… believe I know what this is," Eva said in disbelief, stepping closer to the beast and holding her breath.
"Tyrantrum," she whispered, returning to the group upon silent footsteps . "It is indeed a wingless dragon, and one of the most ancient Pokémon in recorded history… It is unknown how many Pokémon species have become extinct and forgotten, but this one has survived… it is one of the Pokémon capable of entering stasis hibernation and living for millennia, in part due to its rock-type affinity. And it appears as though it has never stopped growing."
Char gulped, knowing that the beast was probably fierce beyond description; creatures capable of living for so long usually had the means to defend themselves. Deep inside, he also admired the beast, perhaps because it reminded him that one day he'd be a proud and strong dragon, though hopefully not large enough that he'd be unable to fit through normal-sized doors.
And then the dragon's eye opened, and Char's heart went ice cold.
"It's awake…" Ray hissed. "How did we…"
"SSH! We probably just got too close," Char replied. "Maybe we can let it go back to sleep."
"Maybe, but it sees us now, so it's probably gonna want a fight. Mystery dungeon magic and all," Marrow warned. "Ray, might be a good time to use the seed…"
The great read dinosaur sprung up to its full height, bumping the mechanical monstrosity beside it with a creak and causing rocks and rubble to tumble all around it. Char backed away.
The great dragon eyed the intruders curiously.
As if by reflex, and without even a roar or a glare of disdain, the beast opened its mouth and spewed a pillar of compressed energy directly into the place Char's team stood. Char only had time to cover his eyes from the brightness and brace himself for the pain…
Though he heard a crackling magical sound and felt a shockwave from an explosion, the pain never came. He uncovered his eyes to find that a barrier of light surrounded the team. Eva's gemstone glimmered brightly, and she cringed after having withstood the impact.
The barrier flickered and disappeared, and the standoff between the great monster and the tiny little explorers had begun.
"Well, good morning to you, too!" Marrow shouted in disdain, shaking his club. "Thanks, by the way, Eva. Good work."
"I… it was by reflex," Eva stuttered. "I don't know how…"
Marrow twirled his bone in one hand, taking an offensive stance. "Well, whatever the case. Might be time to use the seed now, Ray… I mean, unless we really want to fight it… Can't see it ending well, personally, but I'm always up for a good challenge, personally. What do you say? Bet we could give 'er a few dents, at the least."
Char didn't respond. He felt a twinge in his head.
When the twinge didn't go away, Char knew that he had lost track of time. It was about noon, and he had completely forgotten.
He bore his claws into his forehead and tried to focus. He needed to decide how he wanted to use the Call, and he needed to think quickly.
Hey, Char!Celebi's ever-cheerful voice said to him. You know the deal by now, right? Ready? Count to ten, and get ready!
In those ten seconds, Char had an evil idea. It was an idea that he'd always wanted to attempt, but the timing and the circumstances were never favorable. He never had a good opportunity. But now was the time. The perfect time.
He just needed a good alibi.
"Eva," Char said, rubbing his head to hide his condition. "Eva. Try to confuse it."
"…Why?"
"Just do it. Just like you did with that Raticate," Char insisted, waving at her. "Confuse it. Tell it to run off or something."
"Fine, I'll try," Eva replied with uncertainty. "But I make no promises. Its mind is ancient; it could easily see through my attempt. But I suppose you're the leader…"
And while Eva glared into the dragon's eyes tried to perform a confusion attack, Char made an attack of his own. Focusing his thoughts, Char gave a command to the Tyrantrum:
Hey, huge dragon monster. You don't have to fight us. We're your friends. Don't attack us. How about if you defended us instead? Yeah, do that. Defend us! Don't attack anything unless it tries to attack us first.
When the Call finished, the dinosaur blinked, trying to comprehend the new paradigm which Char had forced into its head. It glanced around, searching for the source of the silent sounds it had heard. Then, it simply turned around and ignored Char and his team. Its tail waved far overhead as it meandered away.
Eva looked stunned. "I – I didn't think that would actually work," she gasped. "I thought I knew the limits of my power, but… I'm floored…"
The team applauded Eva as she stared blankly at the retreating monster, and even Marrow looked impressed. "The way I see it, you never truly know the limits of your power. If you don't keep pushin' yourself, you're not doin' it right. Well done, at any rate."
Char couldn't resist an evil smile, knowing what had really happened to the Tyrantrum. He now knew a very important piece of information: the Call could affect wild Pokémon much in the same way it affected civils. The beast even seemed to instinctually understand the details of Char's command, despite an overwhelming language barrier.
This could be very useful, Char realized. Feral Pokémon don't know they're being mind-controlled. I wouldn't need to make an alibi for them. They'd just instinctually do whatever I command, and nobody would know that I caused it. I could gather an army of feral Pokémon to do whatever I want! Maybe I could even add more teammates this way. The possibilities are endless…
Oh, if only I could use this power more than once per day, and on my own terms… I wouldn't even need to explore mystery dungeons anymore. I could retire young. I'd be omnipotent!
Ah… but I still have to keep it a secret for now. Can't abuse it too much. Eva might get suspicious. And she could look into my mind and know the truth. I don't know if I trust her that much just yet.
"Alright, after that superb call, what next, Char?" Marrow said. "Confusion wears off, y'know. Better think fast."
Char snapped back to attention. "Oh! Uh… head to the exit. Otto, lead the way," he decided. "There. Now we saved a pure seed."
But as Otto took flight, the echo chamber activated again. The time-wave spilled across the space, draining the colors into grainy black and orange. At first, Char thought nothing of it. The workers had all cleared out, and there'd be nobody to disturb their flight to the stairs. That is, until he heard a powerful roar.
With a start, he turned to see the Tyrantrum standing at the place where it had burst from the wall so many decades ago, clearly aggravated and protective of its cave. The light of Char's tail drew its attention, and it glared menacingly at the team, rearing back to charge.
Too late, Char realized that it was not the same Tyrantrum. Rather, it was the same Tyrantrum, but it was the version of the beast from the past who had not been mind-controlled. It had every intention of defending its cave.
Char's heart was jolted to life by its deepest instincts, and his fire flared in terror. He commanded his team to run, then dropped to the ground and fled, blocking everything else from his attention but the path to escape danger.
Rock-type… It's a rock-type dragon. Maybe it won't hurt me. But… but it'll hurt everyone else. We're not safe. We have to get out of here.
He heard the beast charging towards him. He felt the footsteps crashing upon the cavern floor as it drew nearer. He didn't stop to look. He couldn't. He only sped forward, around the rocks and rubble, as fast as he could move.
He only stopped when he heard the beast give a pained cry from somewhere directly beside him.
Char threw his claws into the solid stone below and came to a sharp halt just as the Tyrantrum crashed to the ground in front of him, roiling in rage and pain. But it wasn't just one Tyrantrum. There were two, nearly identical in appearance; one of them had pinned the other down in a deadlock, sinking its many fangs into the other's neck. Loose stones flew everywhere as they tumbled and clawed at one another, wrestling for dominance…
The dragon from the present was fighting with its past self. Just as Char had commanded it to do. He leapt out of the way as the dragons thrashed and roared, tumbling and gnawing at one another in a fight to the death. Char's stomach turned in terrible knots as he wondered whether history would be rewritten if the dragon would kill itself in the past, and whether he had made a terrible mistake.
The sight of Otto flying overhead broke him out of his petrified daze, and he followed his teammate in the direction of the chamber's exit.
Moments later, the team congregated in front of the stairwell as the fight between the beasts raged on. He shouted to his teammates to ask if they were all there, but he couldn't hear his own voice over the roars and rumbles of the warring dragons…
Otto was there, he realized, recognizing the Pidgey's colorless shape against the strange disturbance in the air. Ray was there as well, unable to reach his greatest speed as he kept the team's supply bag from flying away. A few steps behind him was Marrow, who stumbled to a halt and forcefully ripped his helmet from his head, gazing in wonder at the duel of the gargantuan dinosaurs.
Char's heart stopped when he realized that Eva was missing.
Eva! he called into the void. Eva! Where are you?! Are you alright?
There was no answer. Either that, or he couldn't easily understand her telepathy above the noise.
Flashes of energy sparked as the dragons spat elemental attacks at one another, and shrieks of pain followed. The dragons broke their tussle as one of them powerfully thrust the other away, giving both of them an opportunity to climb back to their feet. They hesitated for a minute, circling one another in a tense standoff. The deep scars and puncture wounds among their scales were barely distinguishable in the colorless light of the time spell.
"Guys…" Char whispered as the noise had momentarily died down. "Guys, we left Eva behind. We have to get her."
"Oh? I uh… I didn't notice," Ray said. "Was too busy running for my life."
"She's in there somewhere," Char said. "We have reviver seeds. If something happened to her, she would have been revived. She's in this chamber somewhere. We have to find her."
"Uh… maybe we should just escape…?" Ray suggested nervously.
Char thought hard about the situation. He looked at the great beasts as they circled one another, a deep and intimidating growl ceaselessly emanating from their throats. Char knew that the cease-fire wouldn't last long. He looked at the great chamber they had traversed, or at least the past version of it, and eyed the staircase they stood beside. He knew they couldn't use the pure seed; it wouldn't do anything to help Eva. She was in true danger of being left behind, unless she figured out how to use her rescue emblem, or unless Ray used the escape orb on the same floor, which would abort the mission as a failure.
Char made his decision on whispered breath: "Ray. I want you to give me your rescue emblem. Then go down to the next floor with Marrow and Otto and finish the mission. Use the trawl orb and then the escape orb and get out of here. I'll stay here and find Eva."
"You said that you would never split up the team between floors," Marrow reminded him. "You sure about this? You could really be left behind."
"Yeah, Char, you could be stuck down here," Ray said. "I don't think that's a good idea… If I go down to the next floor, the frozen flame won't protect you anymore…"
"Or the reviver seeds," Otto added.
Char never took his eyes from the great dinosaurs. He could tell the difference between them; the present Tyrantrum was much more aggressive than its past self, as the past self was neither under the influence of the Call or the mystery dungeon effects. The original beast was the cowardly one, backing up towards a wall, as the murderous one stalked it closely, obeying its programming. It crouched low, and Char knew he had seconds before it would spring for the kill.
"Do it," Char ordered, waving his hand towards the stairway. "I'll find Eva. You go complete the mission. I'll find her and I'll get her out of here. Just give me the emblem."
Ray hesitated for a moment. He glanced to the Marowak and the Pidgey, as though asking them for permission. Otto replied to him, "Char has issued a command. We should go quickly."
Reluctantly, the scarf with the priceless emblem exchanged hands, and Char tied it fast around his neck. Disregarding the rest of his team, he sprinted back towards the center of the chamber in search of the missing Espeon. He called out to her with his thoughts, but she never replied…
But then, the violent Tyrantrum lunged. With a great roar and open jaws, it sprinted and lunged at the other's neck, knowing it had no escape.
Before it could make the kill, the time echo drained from the room, and the past Tyrantrum vanished. The remaining one crashed full-forced into the wall, shaking the chamber with a terrible tremor. Many of the golden bricks shattered, bringing a storm of chunks down from the ceiling.
Seeing the wave of boulders plummeting fast, Char tried to dive for cover, but there was none. He cringed in anticipation of incredible pain, though his legs never stopped propelling him until the bitter end, and he felt the enormous pressure of the avalanche crush him against the ground.
Char opened his eyes and realized there was, again, no pain. He laughed bitterly, knowing that his teammates might have taken their time in leaving, and the frozen flame was still within enough proximity to protect him. But with a wave of dread, he realized that it couldn't have protected Eva.
The dinosaur grumbled in frustration and wandered off in search of its mysterious opponent as Char unburied himself from the blanket of gravel. He pushed a large rock out of the way, causing a smaller rock to bounce down onto his head, and a splitting headache immediately followed. He knew his teammates were finally gone.
Char began his search, calling out to his newest team member as he scampered across the uneven ground.
Eva… Eva…?
Where are you?! You're not alone yet! I'm still here!
I'm going to find you. I promised I wouldn't leave you alone. I promised I'd come back for you.
You're getting out of here alive. You're going to get out of here alive.
Please! Tell me if you're still here! I need to find you…
Char backtracked through the chamber, back beside the digger machine where he'd first found the dragon, and farther back towards the chamber's entrance where they had hidden from the Pokémon of the past. There was no sign of her, and no telepathic response. Char began to get worried, as the chamber was very large and he'd need to search for an hour if he wanted to scour all of it. But he grit his teeth and kept running, knowing that he'd taken the risk and he'd follow through with it at all costs.
The Tyrantrum emitted a curious whine.
Char paused for a moment and glanced toward it. It had stopped its patrol, and seemed very interested in something at its feet. Fearing the worst, Char took the deepest breath and shot towards it, already knowing what it might have found.
Eva was there. There was a neat circle around her where the ground was clean of any rubble, where she had projected a barrier to shield herself from the cave-in. Char breathed a sigh of relief and rushed towards her.
Drawing closer, he found that she was curled against herself tightly, as though sleeping – but her eyes were as wide as could be, staring blankly past Char and not even acknowledging his presence. He saw that her whole body trembled uncontrollably. Figuring that she was cowering from the benevolent dinosaur who had spotted her, Char opened his mind and called to her, wanting to tell her that she was in no danger. But when he did so, his mind was once again assaulted with a single, repeating thought:
Can't move… Can't move… Can't move…
Can't move… Can't move…
The distress and despair which poured out from those words surprised Char. They were such deep and tragic emotions, things he lacked the capacity to feel for himself. Eva's entire heart had been replaced with a single, terrible feeling, something traumatic and broken in ways which he couldn't describe. He felt the grief and resignation within her, and a deep, bottomless regret for all of her life and her actions.
The wave of emotions hit Char's heart so suddenly, touching his vulnerable core, and he soon felt an unbearable pressure behind his eyes, threatening to bring him to sudden tears.
"Eva…" he spoke quietly, drawing nearer.
Can't move… Can't move… Can't move…
Though he stood directly in front of her eyes, she did not notice him until he reached out to touch her head and caress the fur between her ears.
Her head moved, and she stared Char in the eye, though she remained just as tense and silent.
"Eva… you can move," Char said softly to her. "You're not paralyzed this time. You can move just fine. What's wrong?"
The Espeon seemed to suddenly understand, and she withdrew from his touch, keeping their gazes locked.
"You came back for me," she uttered quietly.
"Yeah, I promised I would," Char replied.
She looked blankly at the towering dragon above the both of them, then back at Char, as though not understanding.
"They left us alone, didn't they?" she said with a quiet whimper. "We're trapped here, aren't we?"
Char shook his head. "No, we can get out of here any time you want," he assured her. "Eva… Why didn't you follow us, anyway?! You wouldn't be here if you kept up with us…"
Eva muttered incoherently. "I thought… I thought I could… confuse the second one… like I confused the first one… But I couldn't… now we're trapped here…"
Char sighed, pointing to her neck. "We're not stuck. Look… the scarf I gave you… you still have it, right? Yeah, you do. It has an emblem on it. Just touch it and tell it that you want to leave the dungeon."
"What… what good will that do?" Eva replied, her voice distant as though sleep-talking from within a dream.
"It will teleport you out," Char said. "It's that easy."
"Oh…" Eva said, turning away. "But you can't watch."
Char shook his head in confusion. "Huh?"
"You have to look away," the dazed Eva said again. "It doesn't work if you're looking."
"What?! What are you talking about?!" Char growled. "It works just by touching it and telling it to activate. Eva… Eva! You have to snap back to reality. If you want to get out of here, you need to wake up and listen to me."
He clapped his hands directly in front of the Espeon's face and she sprang upward in a frightened jolt. "Oh… yes, yes… the emblem… alright… explain how to use it, again?"
Char clutched his forehead in his claw. "Touch it. With a paw. Then tell it you want to leave the dungeon."
Warily, in some sort of reverence and disbelief, Eva did as instructed. She bent her front leg and felt for the small bump upon her scarf. When she found it, she withdrew her paw in fright, as though the object was scalding hot.
Soon, with a quick flash of light, Eva vanished into thin air.
Overcome with relief, Char collapsed onto his back. The dragon still peered curiously down at him, guarding him from any nearby foes who would dare attack.
"Hey… thanks," Char said, knowing the beast couldn't understand him. "You're a good dragon, you know that? Thanks for finding her… I owe you."
The Tyrantrum only tilted its head.
"Hey, you… you stay here, okay?" Char told it. "There will be other explorers here… you should protect them, too. This is a dangerous place. Keep them safe from the monsters, okay? And from… that other dragon. You know…"
The two red lizards shared a moment of silence. The larger one seemed to grow bored and wandered away, its steps shaking the ground as it continued its patrol for its newfound rival. Char smiled warmly to himself as he touched his emblem, leaving behind the mysterious golden chamber of Anvil Quarry and the curious creature who dwelled within.
Division Base
Team Ember reunited, and was very happy to arrive back to the base in one piece. Ray reported that the trawl orb had dragged in a handful of different-colored scarves, all of which he stuffed into the bag before dispelling the dungeon with the escape orb. Otto, the only remaining member of the team with an emblem, had been whisked back to the dungeon entrance, while Ray and Marrow witnessed the true nature of Boulder Quarry unveiled. It was shockingly tiny, they said: it was only one hallway with a single right-angled turn. At the end, there lay only a chamber where the digger machine had been parked, and nothing more. In minutes, they had followed the path back to the surface to meet with the rest of the waiting team. Marrow explained that it made sense, since most of the minerals had been obtained by strip-mining and digging a deeper cave was largely unnecessary. It was another reminder of the creative ways which mystery dungeons could manipulate reality, crafting impressive labyrinths with barely any source material.
Once inside, and once the memory-wipe had passed, Marrow bid the team a good night's rest and parted with them, while Char and his friends continued downstairs to the lower lobby and wait near the registrar office where Team Carrier had agreed to meet them. Once there, Ray began to pull out the scarves he had found. It was truly a variety of cloth, eleven of them in total, each with colors and patterns, soaked with many varieties of sweat, oil, and bloodstains.
"How'd you fit all of those into just that side pocket?" Char asked Ray. "That's a really tiny pocket."
"Oh… didn't you know? This is one of those newer enchanted bags. It's bigger on the inside than the outside," Ray explained. "I've been using it since we got back from the Emerald Division. It even makes everything lighter, too. It's a lot better than those sacks we used to lug around."
As Char gave an intrigued chuckle and watched his equipment master and friend neatly fold all the scarves, he felt Eva's presence touch against his mind.
Char, I want to ask forgiveness for my behavior, she said privately to him. In truth, I had never completely trusted you. It took until the very end to realize that I was never in real danger. You came prepared. You need to understand, I have spent my life avoiding mystery dungeons and everything related to them. I did not know of the existence of those wonderful badges and what they were capable of. But I know now. I should have understood much earlier, but… I was stubborn and my heart was hardened. Earlier you said that this outing would be a sign of our trust, and so… I want you to know that you have earned my trust. You are an admirable team leader and you make wise decisions. I am proud to stand as a part of your team. Please accept my apology. I understand now that I belong on a team. Perhaps I never should have abandoned my old team. But that is in the past. Now, I belong on yours.
He cast a knowing glance to his Espeon companion, acknowledging her words. Before he could think of a reply, she approached him, brushing contently against his side. She lifted his claw with her forehead, and Char found himself reflexively stroking her fur as though she were a contented housecat.
It will be the last time I underestimate a human, I can assure you that, she said with a tiny smile. There are reasons you are gods in the eyes of Ambera's Pokémon. Sometimes I forget that.
I wouldn't say that I am a god, Char replied kindly. But I'm honored to have you here. As long as you're on my team, I'm not going to let anything happen to you, not while I'm calling the shots. And neither will the others. We're all here for each other.
She turned towards him with a devious gleam in her eye.
Char…
What is it?
Let us make short work of the Iron Town thief.
Char returned her smile. Agreed, he said, petting behind her ear. He doesn't stand a chance.
Their conversation was cut short when Zachel arrived. Char reflexively withdrew his hand from Eva's head, as though suddenly realizing that petting her was quite an awkward gesture.
"Hey, right on time. Had any luck?" the Zangoose said in her raspy voice, lumbering towards Char on all fours.
"Yes, there was luck," Otto said. "We explored seven floors of the Anvil Quarry dungeon, and collected all scarves on each floor. In total, we found eleven"
Zachel's face brightened up. "Hah! I knew you'd be able to do it. That place is tricky, I tell yah. Everything looks the same. So? Let's see the scarves. I'm really starting to miss it."
As instructed, Ray set out the rainbow of scarves on the floor for Zachel to inspect. They were all wrinkled and tattered, but Ray had folded them neatly into triangles and fanned them out in an eloquent row.
Char and his teammates sat expectantly as Zachel scanned the scarves, then scanned them again, then bent over and began to squint at them.
"Uh… I don't think any of these is a valiant scarf," Zachel grumbled. "The one I'm looking for is red. Red like fire."
"Uh… this one is red…?" Ray replied, pointing to a scarf in the row.
She shook her head. "Nah. That's more blood-red. Mine was fire-red."
"Uh… this one?" Ray tried, ashamedly pointing at another one.
"That one's rusty-red. Might be a dodge scarf. Ah, well. Guess it's a no-go then."
"Aww," Ray said, frowning. "I'm sorry… we really tried our best…"
The Zangoose sighed and disregarded the rest of the scarves. "I know you did. Thanks for your help and all, I'll send over your payment later tonight. Just… I really wanted that thing back, you know? Gave me that extra edge on the field. Funny thing is, I don't even know how it got lost."
"Huh…?" Char said. "What do you mean? You didn't lose it in the dungeon?"
"Well, that was my best guess," Zachel admitted. "Alls I know's that we got back from the quarry and it wasn't in the bag. The only mistakes we made were on the fifth floor, so I just assumed it was–"
She stopped short in the middle of her sentence. She blinked, sniffing the air.
A moment later, all the murmuring of the other Pokémon, from the Pokémon in line for the registrar, to the ones simply passing by, had all gone quiet. Char glanced around the room and saw that every single creature standing in the floor's lobby was staring directly at him, all trapped in a spellbound silence.
"Oh… oh no," Ray gasped quietly. "Not again…"
That's when Char noticed the problem. There, only a few paces away, Team X stood in line for the registrar, presumably to report the day's mission result. The Seviper and Croagunk had stopped gabbing as well, although several seconds later than everyone else, and peered around the room.
"What? What is it?!" Croagunk demanded to the stunned crowd. "What's everyone lookin' at?!"
Zachel turned around and locked eyes with the Seviper.
The quiet seemed to grow even more tense as the two Pokémon warily approached each other, their gazes piercing into one another.
This… is possibly a problem, Eva said in Char's head.
Char rolled his eyes, remembering what happened last time in the cafeteria. What do you mean? He said. You can't tell me they want to fight every time they see each other. If that's the case, how are you supposed to keep them from bumping into each other in the hall? Last time they just walked away.
I am sorry to say, but yes, they do want to fight each and every time they lay eyes on one another, Eva replied tersely. It is woven into their instincts. They are the object of one another's hatred, and they wish for nothing more than to engage in gruesome, bloodthirsty combat at the mere sight of the other species, with no regard for the safety of anyone caught in the crossfire. When their kinds fight, many die. I have seen it before, and I repress the memory.
Char grew nervous. Uh… what do we do, then?
Nothing left to do; it is already too late, Eva said, shaking her head. The Division's ghosts are supposed to ward them down different paths to prevent an encounter, but I suspect they have been slacking. Now we can only watch and see what happens.
The Seviper and Zangoose had drawn so close together that they breathed on one another, their gazes boring holes in one another.
"We meet again," Seviper hissed. "Is there a problem?"
"Why, yes, I would say there is a problem," she replied darkly, drawing her claws to their full length. "The problem is you."
"I apologize, my good lady, but I fail to understand what you mean," the viper sneered, rearing back and posing for a strike.
"Oh? You don't, do you?" Zachel hummed, glancing down at her claws. "For starters, why don't you tell me how you got that?"
"Got what, precisely?"
"This."
The crowd gasped as the Zangoose slashed at her rival, and the Seviper recoiled in defense. However, he was not unscathed; something had come off in Zachel's hand. Char blinked and realized that Zachel had torn the scarf clean from the Seviper's neck.
"…belongs to me," she hissed.
The snake blinked in confusion, and relaxed his stance. "…Oh. Is that so?" he said, suddenly becoming very nervous. "Ah. I… apologize. I found that thing somewhere, though I don't remember where. I only know that I put it on and it had some very nice enchants… I did not realize it belonged to you. If I had known, I—"
"Well, now you know," Zachel said, tying the scarf back on her own neck. "Do you have anything else of mine, thief?"
"If I had, I would let you know. Swear it," Seviper replied. "I mean you no trouble."
"Fine," Zachel said, turning to walk away. "Have a nice day."
"And you as well!" he called futilely, the Zangoose no longer paying him attention.
When the two parted, the room erupted in applause, just as the cafeteria did before. Eva released a held breath, and Char only looked baffled as his client returned to him.
"Now I understand," Zachel said, adjusting her scarf. "Must've dropped it in the base somewhere. I think. Doesn't make a difference now, glad to have it back. This thing heightens my senses and my reaction speed. I love it. Never want to wear any other scarf. But hey, guess that's why you can never trust… thieves."
Char laughed an awkward laugh, and his companions joined. He wondered if they had really accomplished anything, but realized it didn't really matter. Otto, at least, seemed excited to dictate a report about the mysterious golden echo chamber, and Ray seemed very thrilled at the prospect of taking all the scarves to Kecleon and having them appraised – though Eva insisted they would need to be thoroughly cleaned before she would agree to wear one. But perhaps most importantly, Char found that he finally felt somewhat comfortable around the Espeon. Though he still wasn't quite ready to let her freely read his mind, he could at least look her in the eye without feeling judged.
All things considered, it had been a good day. Char turned his thoughts to his next grand adventure, the Kecleon's job request, and wondered how Team Ember would fare against a true one-star mission. A warm glow in his chest told him he might just do well.
Shamble Forest
Saura rested in a small clearing where the sunlight fell, nibbling on some wild berries he'd found nearby. He was getting a bit weary; wild animals were surprisingly scarce that morning, and he and his brother had spent most of their time chasing after the few targets they'd luckily found. But even as he sat beside his brother and tried to calm himself, he found that it was difficult to stay seated. Something in his mind was nagging at him, telling him to keep moving.
"Shame the Ariados got away," the Ivysaur wistfully said, staring at the sun. "Would have been fun to mess around with."
"Mmm-hmm," Saura replied, slurping up his berries quickly.
"Funny, you used to hate bullying wild animals, you know?" Saurvor said with a grin, looking tenderly over his younger brother. "When you were only a season old, I tried to get you to learn to fight. But you didn't want to hurt anything."
"Yeah."
"But you know, it's natural to want to spar with wild animals. They don't mind it. Too much. It's in our blood to fight… always has been."
"Mmm-hmm."
"And besides, they say that's the only way you can get wild animals to become intelligent," he continued. "Or at least the easiest way we know of. If you knock it out, it might rattle its brain and wake it up. Then it can learn to talk and read like the rest of us."
"Yeah, I know…"
"Saura, you okay?"
The little Bulbasaur finally looked up from his food. Deep purple stains spattered the sides of his mouth.
"I mean… you seem nervous. Anything on your mind?"
Saura shrugged. "Eh, it's just… it still feels so weird to… y'know, just take a walk. On the inside I'm still used to always having somewhere to be. Always on the way to a mission, or… on the way back home, keeping an eye on the sun and making sure I get back before dark… It's hard to just relax anymore."
The Ivysaur smiled. "Well, trust me when I say that you'll adjust again," he said kindly. "It's only going to feel weird for a while. Then you'll get used to an easy life again. But you just need to be careful you don't get too lazy, now. Don't want you just burying yourself in the dirt and turning into a tree. Trees are boring. Not nearly as fun as little brothers."
"Yeah, I knooow."
Saura was about to flick a berry onto his brother's face, but the Ivysaur suddenly stood on his hind legs again and blinked, sniffing the air. He snapped a vine tightly around Saura's face, gagging him quiet.
"MMmmf?"
Saurvor looked around, pulling his younger brother closer to his side and holding him protectively.
"Shh. Okay… now I know I smelled something," he whispered.
"Mmf!"
"That just doesn't feel right. Something's definitely following us."
Saura pawed his mouth free of the constriction. "I can't smell it. What do you smell?" he whispered lowly.
The Ivysaur put his head down low to the forest floor and squinted into the foliage. "Don't know," he muttered. "Not sure it's a smell. More like a feeling. It's hard to tell."
"What do you want to do?"
"Let's get out of the forest, at least."
Unwrapping his brother, he sniffed the air again, and his expression became a horrified scowl. He pulled Saura close to him once more.
"I know that smell," he said. "I think I know what that is…"
"What?"
"Fire. That's… the smell of fire. I remember it from the times that Flareon was around. Saura… there's a fire Pokémon following us."
Saura instantly recognized the smell as well. The subtle smell of smoke was something he had grown completely accustomed to, especially around his best friend and the place where he slept. He hadn't noticed it until it had been mentioned, but indeed, there was a persistent ashen scent sweeping from upwind. Something told him it wasn't a Charmander.
He suddenly felt an unwelcome flash from his repressed nightmares.
"That's not Hunter, is it?" Saura wondered, growing afraid and clinging to his brother. "You don't think Hunter followed us here?"
"Nah, couldn't be," Saurvor said. "He's not allowed around us anymore. The fire hounds couldn't be here either. I don't know what it is. Saura… we need to get out of here."
"Alright. Maybe we can split up," Saura suggested. "I can fend for myself and hopefully the fire Pokémon can only follow one of us. If you're not followed then maybe you can double back and make a sneak attack or something."
Saurvor unwrapped his brother. "Deal. Alright… I'll take the road home, you go straight through the forest. I'll meet you there. Alright?"
"Alright."
"On three. One…"
In front of the two brothers, the nearest bunch of shrubs burst into flames.
With a horrified cry, the two of them stumbled backwards and tried to scatter, but a bush of saplings behind them was suddenly lit aflame as well, cutting off their escape route.
Saura breathed heavily, searching for somewhere to run. But he fire spread, catching on fallen logs and tree trunks until it had formed a circle around them, trapping them inside. He felt a familiar terror filling him, and thought that perhaps his headache was returning. It was his dream, the dream of walking with Saurvor only to be found and murdered by Hunter… only this time, he was not just watching it, but living it.
Saura choked on a mouthful of smoke, digging his paws into the ground as he withstood the spasms of his chest. He had a thought to rope up onto a tree branch to escape the fire, but the smoke had risen upward and hidden the forest canopy from his sight.
"Brother…" the Ivysaur gasped, backing against to him. "Stay close… don't make any sudden movements… just stay close…"
But Saura's legs were too weak; he couldn't move even if he had wanted. The nightmare had become real, but it still felt so dreamlike and bizarre; he wanted to just wake up again, and be safe and sound in his burrow, or even in Char's arms, it didn't matter to him. He wanted to hear Eva's voice helping to pull him away from the hallucination. He wanted to wake up from the nightmare just as he always had.
Before he could say another word, the fire Pokémon revealed itself, drifting through the curtain of flame.
It was an unsettling creature, a white bulbous body with several black tentacles, each with a glowing flame at the tip. It hovered calmly above the forest floor, its yellow eyes fixed upon the Bulbasaur.
"Good afternoon," it said, speaking in a ghastly, disembodied voice. "I sincerely apologize for my lack of subtlety. It has been many years since I have hunted someone. I had forgotten to follow the wind as it shifted. You are very keen for having noticed, noticed my presence, but I am afraid that I need to share a word with you, so you will not be going anywhere at this moment."
"What are you?!" Saurvor growled defiantly at it, stepping in front of the Bulbasaur. "What do you want from us? Haven't you heard? We're untouchables now. By orders of The Master. If you harm us, you're paying the price."
"I do not intend harm," the ghost Pokémon said, its soothing voice sounding eerily creepy above the roar of the fire. "As for what I am, I am a messenger. I come with a notice for the Bulbasaur."
"What notice?! Are you from the… resistance?" Saura cried, stopping himself before he said anything incriminating.
"My message does not come from the resistance, or from the Master, and I care not about either of them."
"Who does it come from, then?" Saura said with hesitation.
"It comes from the Starborn."
Saura's breath caught in his throat. He recognized that name, though it felt as though it was spoken far away in another world.
"The Starborn has requested your presence," the Chandelure spoke plainly. "I am merely here to ensure that the Starborn's will is carried out according to his plan. On the morning after next, you are to meet here, on the north-eastern side of this forest at the plateau's cliff… in front of the cave where you found the Charmander."
Saura began backing away, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Oh yeah?! Well, what if he doesn't want to follow your orders?" Saurvor shouted in his stead, standing protectively over the cowering Bulbasaur.
"If he does not come, then I shall haunt him, as well as his nightmares, for the rest of his days," the ghost said without emotion. "And furthermore, I shall place a curse upon him, even greater than the one he has only just recovered from. Whenever he would close his eyes, he will see only his darkest and most fiery nightmares, now and forever, until the day he shall die. You may… tell him that for me."
The fires roared brighter, encroaching upon the two brothers.
"Do I make myself clear?"
"Y-yeah. Clear," Saurvor said, bowing his head. "Whatever you say."
"Satisfactory. And on one final note: your presence is also requested, Ivysaur. You are to join him. That is all."
With a puff of smoke, the flames vanished in an instant, as did the ghostly Pokémon. Not a single leaf from the trees had been destroyed by the fire, or a single twig blackened. The clearing was as pristine as always, with no trace that the apparition had ever occurred. The two brothers stood beside one another for a minute, deathly stunned and panting heavily.
After a while, Saura thought he heard the birds starting to sing in the trees overhead.
"…Well, then," Saurvor said with a jittery voice, "It looks like I'm not going back to the guild after all. Looks like I'm sticking around for a few more days."
"…Yeah," Saura croaked, still seeing the fire dancing in his mind's eye.
Division Base
In the most cheerful of spirits, Team Ember climbed the stairs to retire to their room and plan their next move. Eva was already rambling about the different possible strategies to bait the thief out of hiding, and Ray agreed to speak with Kecleon as soon as possible for the details. But before that, it was a time of rest and celebration, and the adventurers couldn't wait to drop off their supplies and spend the rest of the day slacking off…
However, when they turned the corner to their room, they were met with an overwhelming surprise.
It was their bulletin board. The notes stuck to it had multiplied. There were dozens, perhaps twenty or even thirty pinned to the corky surface, with some hanging in odd directions at the sides. Many kinds of handwriting were scrawled upon them in different shades of ink.
Char stopped walking and simply gaped at the spectacle for a solid minute. The whole team did.
At last, when he could muster the strength to move his jaw, he spoke a difficult truth to his team:
"Guys… I think we're going to need more team members… like, right now."