I couldn't count the hours or even days it had been since we entered that accursed, oppressive cloud of fog that swallowed the edges of our birth-town. It covered our bodies, blocked the Sun, and left the both of us uneasy. With only the sound of my brother's feet brushing against the plantless earth, we traveled through this surreal realm. The only reason I could say we were still going straight was the spiritual pull ever so slowly growing stronger.

My little brother and I had always felt that quiet, almost imaginary call from the mist ever since we were but tiny shroomish. We grew up to tales of that siren's song and all of the lives it had and would take. We were always told the dungeon was safer to venture into and that we needed to in order to survive.

The story never seemed to connect with me though. I might have still been young at the time but I've always been smart for my age and that line of thinking didn't make sense. Why would we still be around if we all had this pull to what lay beyond? Surely it had to mean something to us beyond our demise. The dungeons were a great danger on their own merit. How could a shapeless mass containing seemingly nothing be any worse?

If it weren't for the fact that the crops only lasted one planting none of us would've went pass that horrid, brass door. Without venturing down annually for seeds and plants our community would be unable to survive. It was only through a lack of carnivores that this plan could work even as it did. So once a year most of our adults would brave the depths to come back with life-giving food. Except the cost for this blessing would be one or more of our loved ones.

You could consider our parents lucky. Both of them were breloom and chosen to be croptenders and as such would stay back to ensure the next planting's success. We never lost our parents; we watched those around us lose their own. The other children didn't find it fair that our parents were safe but they didn't understand how much was riding on their knowledge and care. I was about thirteen when I came to understand that point. It was at that same time that I agreed with them, at least partially. Why did they have to lose their family?

I knew it was a problem and that was my first step towards trying to change the situation. I could only see two options to choose between: the dungeon or the fog. The dungeon was the problem in question and could be solved through sheer force or finding a way to retain food without resorting to going in after it. The fog was avoided from sheer fear and superstition. I would need to be strong if I couldn't smart my way to an answer. I needed to train.

My parents thought of it as a passing fancy for my teenage years but supported me all the same as long as I continued to help tend the fields. Without many of the other kids spending time with us out of jealous anger, my brother saw my new routine and wanted to be like his 'big bro'. And so the months passed by to training, surviving, welcoming new life, and mourning the following losses. My brother came to understand just what I saw was happening to us and each year our will to change our lives grew.

My brother was always the more rough-and-tumble kind and focused on being a fighter and for it evolved at a relatively young age. Five years of training made a breloom out of him at the age of fourteen. Seeing what harm brought to others' feelings, I couldn't bring myself to be the same way. I went for a supporting and nonlethal role. Me and him.. we would have each others' backs. With the new size difference I took to riding along on my brother's head when we were together and our spars got quite a bit more interesting. However, I wouldn't evolve until I was using my new claws to cut a path for everyone I cared about to safety. Until then I would be a small yet quick annoyance to any enemy we came across.

Unfortunately, after years of rolling any possibility over in my mind, the brute force method was looking like the only reasonable choice we had available. With my brother having turned seventeen, the village members were willing to risk him delving. He traveled with his twenty-one year old brother upon his head along with the group set to pass beyond that terrible door. I had to see, we had to see if our training could change anything.

To me, the only thing that changed was how much pain I felt. It was a day where we failed to protect two of our town's own. Two siblings, two parents, two different people with ones they loved and ones who loved them. I had hurt with every loss before but it was then I felt something within me break. This couldn't be the only choice we had. It couldn't have to be death in exchange for our lives. Our little community of grass and bug-types had to have a greater future than an end down there.

When we made it back to the surface with our bounty and their bodies we saw the faces of those whose hearts were crushed. While the tears of the children hurt our souls just as much as any other time, it was the defeated acceptance on the older generation's faces that caused the situation to truly sink in. If we didn't make a major decision, this would be the only outcome of our future.

We walked home in silence that day. My brother set me down on my chair and we sat next to our parents for a minute, seeing nothing but the same defeated face upon them both. I turned to look up at my brother and he nodded to me in answer of a silent question only we knew. It was then I knew what path we were taking. 'Mom, Dad. Once we help you get this year's crop ready, we're facing the fog.'

They tried their hardest to talk the both of us out of our 'crazy' idea. The ones around us couldn't believe we would go through with it. But after two months of raising the plants to their first harvest, we vowed to be back with our salvation. We didn't say goodbye; we weren't leaving for good. I only saw our parents look like they believed us.

And so with me upon his head, my brother walked us through and past the seemingly invisible wall that held the fog at bay and allowed it to caress our will-bound bodies.

My younger brother, Lamello, drew me from my quiet contemplation with a question.

"Garic, is the pull feeling heavier to you?" I didn't pick up fear in his voice. It seemed more like concern. The chill of the misty air made me push aside a shiver to answer.

"Yeah, Mel. Keep your guard up. Sooner or later we're going to run into something and it looks like sooner than later."

The sense of potential danger was less of an emotion than the anticipation of seeing what our years of investment into this gamble would pay off to. Everything we worked and lived for was riding on what we were to encounter. Great Creator, please, give us a way to save them.

The cool mist caressing over my body really made me think. Knowing my brother he was thinking along the same lines as I was right now. Just what had we gotten ourselves into? That's right, we put ourselves in a ground cloud for our and their families' lives. Ugh, no point worrying; we were already in here. No time for doubts.

I knew that it wouldn't be smart to shout out into the nothingness but I couldn't stand the quiet. Whenever Garic became quiet around me it was because he was moody. He's not very fun when he's moody. I'm not very fun when I'm quiet. I think this fog is making my mind foggy.

I blinked myself back into awareness. Neither of us knew what we could be facing in here. I needed to focus. I kept myself walking towards the lifelong pull which was growing more persistent by the minute. At this rate I was wanting something to attack us. Too bad I couldn't punch the fog. Well I could, kind of.. You know what? Never mind.

Not too much later and I could feel the dirt become rocky, hear the crunch of gravel beneath my feet, and the land begin to slope upward. Now while I couldn't claim to be as smart as my brother I wasn't stupid. I wondered if the fog was held to this side of the hill, mountain, whatever it was. Hope was one of the few things that kept me moving forward. What I would do for a blanket right now though..

I slapped myself back into awareness and heard my brother address me.

"Are you alright down there, Mel?" The tone told me the question was more from confusion than true worry. I frowned.

"All this silence is making me antsy. Where's all the cloud monsters our folks were talking about?"

I heard my brother scoff. "I'm starting to believe they don't exist. Honestly I feel like either this land shouldn't exist or the fog shouldn't exist. There's no grass, no life at all, barely enough sun piercing through for us to see ourselves. We've traveled the distance of our town at least ten times over. If there's this much of the stuff, why was our town even clear of it? What made us so special?"

I gave the ground a steely glint as it started to incline even further into a steady hill. "If you're feeling what I am we'll know soon enough. Hang on to me, we're going up."

Another lengthy silence fell between us and the unforgiving land. I hoped beyond hope what was drawing us in was more than a siren's call. Whatever it was had a healthy hold on the both of us; my brother tense upon my cap. Minute upon minute passed as I continued climbing the rocky incline in mute awareness of our surroundings when suddenly..

It disappeared.

My brother's gasp confirmed it. The pull was gone. I couldn't help but snarl, "Oh hell no. No you don't!"

I raced forward with the speed of Mach Punch when also just as suddenly, the fog parted and my speed nearly threw us over the cliff I slid to a stop upon. Hunched over and panting at our near tumble, I was brought back to the present by my brother's whisper of "My god..." When I looked up I could only share the sentiment. My god, just where had we gotten ourselves into?

Those lights.. We could never figure out why that empty well would shine, yet here was another example. Compared to our well, however, this tower was a marvel. The lights danced upon the top of the stone monolith like volbeat. Tears welled in my eyes when I saw what surrounded the tower. I called our home a town. This place.. this place had a city. A full-blown surrounding ring of buildings with a river winding through it and a lake beside it. It dwarfed our home and the distant border of fog meant nothing at this moment. I let the tears fall and I could feel my brother's shakes, most likely doing the same.

"Mel, we have a chance.." I couldn't even feel embarrassed that my voice came out choked; Lamello's voice did as well even as he tried to joke it off.

"P-pulled to safety, eh bro?"

I shook off my tears. "Your puns are terrible, Mel."

"Heh, it's my job."

We sat there simply basking in the soft glow piercing the darkness. We had traveled from early afternoon to past nightfall. Somehow it wasn't the Sun piercing through the fog, but this ethereal light.

After an insubstantial amount of time we put ourselves back together and Lamello began our descent down what seemed to be a mountainside considering how small the city looked. After all these hours traveling I could feel my brother start to flag in fatigue and began to feed him a small, steady stream of my own energy with Helping Hand. He stuttered at the feel then continued on down in wordless thanks.

We had made it most of the way down when the rock became unstable, more than likely from previous rockfall. However, even with Mel's caution his claws simply weren't made for grip and we fell over in a tumble much too far away from the ground. I quickly dropped my Helping Hand and hastily dumped most of my energy into a dome-shaped Protect. Every roll caused a flash of impact on the energy shield as more and more of my will was forced into reinforcing our safety.

After what seemed like an eternity we came to a flat roll before slowly stopping. The Protect dropped a second afterward. I hadn't spent my reserves like this in weeks and my breath came out in wheezes. My brother quickly padded to his feet and began to look me over. I fainted seconds later.

In my quick look-over, Garic seemed to be fully intact. There were no visible cuts or injuries and his breathing was steady. The heavy use of Protect seemed to have worked albeit knocking him out in the process.

"Hey! We saw the light coming down! Are you okay?"

I threw myself into a defensive position over my brother with a few levitating pieces of Rock Tomb beside me as I took in the situation. I gazed upon a four-legged creature as dark as the night and tall enough to reach my chin. Glowing yellow rings adorned its legs, ears, and tail and the pale glow from the tower reflected in its eyes, flaring at me in nearly the same color. Floating above it looked like a dark, living cloth with its own large eyes glowing a mute and seemingly natural blue.

Despite having come through the fog we spoke the same language and I heard concern in their voice. They stopped a few feet in front of us upon seeing my attack. The quadruped's ears folded back as he addressed me.

"Easy, easy.. We just want to help. Are either of you hurt?"

Sensing no deception I dismissed my attack. "No, he wore himself out saving us. Not the first time he's collapsed from exhaustion so a bit of sleep and he'll be better. Sorry for being cautious but where are we?"

He seemed to smile in recognition. "Ah, you're from the fog?"

That confused me, "No, we come from a smaller town. Considering the time it is we must've traveled in there for at least eight hours." Seeing they weren't going to attack, I scooped my brother up into my arms.

"Did you travel through the fog or a dungeon then? Andalusst has a habit of drawing people to it."

"Andalusst? I mean, yeah, we always felt a pull through the fog where we lived but it was a gamble for us to follow it."

The cloth chose this time to speak up with its voice containing a kind of wispy lilt. "That's odd. I've never heard our beacon have that effect before. Here, please, come back to our cabin. We'll get you a place to sleep for the night and help you both out tomorrow. Come on, Caleb, you heard him. They've traveled most of the day away. We can talk to them tomorrow. We're still on night watch."

"Alright, alright, Wisp. Come along then, um.. wow, we didn't even give our names before this. I'm Caleb, and he's Wisp. Who are you both?"

"I'm Lamello and the lump in my arms is Garic. Thanks for taking us in for the night."

The floating 'mon gave me a smile. "No problem at all. Follow us."

The strange pair led me through the grass for a good few minutes as we began our approach closer to town. From what I could see in the ambient light, the houses and buildings looked much higher quality than the ones back at home. Using stone in buildings was difficult for us due to the extreme amounts of effort required for us to dig it out then shape it. Only the most important of our buildings were made of more than wood. I couldn't even tell what some of this city's buildings were made of, the cabin I was led to being one of them.

"Excuse me, but what is your home made of? It looks like colored stone."

The dark yet glowing creature tilted his head at me in confusion. "Um.. it's brick. What are your houses made of?"

"Mostly wood. We don't have an easy way to gather stone."

It was then when we arrived before their front door. "Ah, well I hope our place is to your liking. Feel free to take the bed as we'll be out until daybreak at the earliest."

It was always rough for me to accept generosity. "Thanks, again."

The pair of the night both responded with a, "Good night," before returning back in the direction we came.

My first thought after opening the unlocked front door was how well furnished the room was. The crackling fireplace shone enough light to mildly see the whole room. I took small steps forward to the bed in the corner as I gave everything a once-over. Beneath my feet was some sort of animal fiber rug which covered the majority of the room's floor with a similar fabric covering the bed. A couple picture frames adorned the walls but I was unable to see the pictures in the dim light. Up against the one wall was a pair of chairs and a long, rectangular, lidded container. Finishing my once-over I carried the both of us over to the bed.

It was setting my brother down on the bed which alerted me to my own fatigue. I didn't even make it underneath the strange fabric before I fell asleep.

The following sunrise was a much less sombre affair. Garic stirred from the sound of the front door opening. I had been lying awake in bed for around twenty minutes beforehand so I arose as our benefactors entered and closed the door behind them.

Wisp had floated over to Garic to hover and look over him. They saw my brother still asleep and so spoke to me quietly.

"Any trouble while we were out?"

I shook my head. "Beyond making sure he didn't Spore the entire room we've both been asleep. Judging by his energy he should wake up within the hour.

The pair both sighed in relief as I had minutes before. Now that the chaos had died down I asked the question that stuck in my mind. "What are the both of you?"

The living cloth responded. "I'm a shuppet and he's an umbreon. Was there not much diversity around where you came from?"

"Only grass and bug. The only other diversity we knew was from what was in the dungeon."

Caleb's eyes went wide. "You went through the fog instead of a dungeon?"

I closed my eyes and lowered my head as the still too fresh feelings went through my thoughts. "This was the only hope we had."

Wisp floated over and batted the umbreon on top of the head. "Caleb, tact! Oh, I'm so sorry about him."

I shook my head. "No, it's understandable. No one else thought it was a great idea either."

For less than a second the ground shook beneath us. All of us, except for Garic who only gave a grumble, turned to look at each other.

I feared the answer but had to ask. "Is that normal for around here?"

Caleb shook his head as Wisp looked confusedly at us. "No, we're not near any training grounds."

The second shake sent us to the floor with its force. Wisp blinked at us then disappeared through the ceiling. It was only a second before he returned to us as we were getting back on our feet and Garic half-waking up.

"Caleb, we've got a problem. We need to go."

"What? What's the matter?"

The shuppet glared down. "Run and talk. Now."

The umbreon flinched at the tone and headed for the door as Wisp disappeared through the wall.

I turned to Garic to see him end a yawn and blink. "Mel, is there a reason for.." The third shake left us clinging to the bed before it let up once again. ".. the earthquakes?"

I stood up from my crouch and looked out the side window with a view of the town. Behind a line of buildings was a trailing dust cloud; the wind whisking away the dust towards the fog. A fourth shake rattled the house and holding onto the windowsill I could see another dust cloud billow above the rooftops.

"Bro, whatever it is, it's big. I think we should see if we can go help."

"Mel, we know two 'mon here and have no way of knowing how things work around here or how to navigate. Do you think we'd actually be of any use?"

I grinned and moved to pick him up then set him on my head, "One way to find out!" and with that I made my way through the front door and towards the clouds raised by the unknown problem.

My brother really got under my cap at times. I had saved us from near death not half-a-day ago and now we were charging blindly into a situation with something dangerous enough to shake the ground beneath us this far away. At least Mel wasn't short on energy after last night's rest; it was looking like we were going to need all the power we could get.

We passed the outskirts and traveled through to the center of town in a blur. It was times like this I appreciated Lamello's skill with Mach Punch. Any less practice than what he had would probably run us into the retreating bystanders we passed by. Foreign town, foreign buildings, foreign 'mon.. I hated not knowing things. Headfirst into danger without a clue was becoming commonplace for us.

Headfirst almost became literal as my brother had to scoop me off of his head and fall into a roll to avoid a new piece of stone rubble freshly torn off from a nearby building. Mel was the first to recover as I felt him look up then freeze. I feared the worst as I looked up. My idea of the worst was quite a ways off.

It dwarfed us. Seven red, angry dots in its center. Long, fingered arms. One moving our direction quickly. Feeling sudden movement as Mel took another dive to the side and brought my mind back to working condition. It turned towards us once more and we both went into panic mode. Mel was one step away from takeoff when two blasts of water in succession staggered the giant creature backwards a step.

Two new 'mon entered the scene with the larger, kind of squishy looking, blue one giving the giant a full-body tackle. The smaller, orange furred 'mon gestured as they lifted up another creature I hadn't noticed.

"Either get outta here or help us get this big fella outta town!"

Mel and I gave each other a look and I could see his answer in his eyes. Oh for the love of compost.. "Fine, I'll think something up. Get ready to dodge!" I yelled the last bit out at the unknown pair.

The large one made a long, retreating leap backwards as I charged up an Energy Ball and shot it at the recovering giant, impacting it dead center. It turned my direction with those seven red, glowing dots, blinking them once and then began to lumber towards us. Oh brambles what were we doing?!

"Mel, run!"

He didn't need telling twice. He scooped me up off of the ground and began running back the way we came. The ground shook with every step the giant advanced and left Mel tripping over himself trying to keep balance. Thankfully the streets were now bare of others, probably having evacuated by now.

We kept a steady lead in front of it until we heard the hum of gathering energy growing loud behind us. Sparing a glance behind us gave me a solid view of a ball of blue energy growing between its hands. It was quickly growing to the size of my brother. I fed what bit of reserves I had regained from sleep into my brother with Helping Hand.

"Mach two, Mel! Now!"

His flicker of a forward jump saved us. Whatever attack the giant had thrown at us impacted where we previously were and we were still hit in the back by the ground that had been kicked up and launched outward. We were brought to the ground from the shock -the obvious cause of the earthquakes- and I swore at hearing the telltale hum again.

Thankfully we were saved by a familiar black blur and flying cloth launching out of a side street and attacking the giant with Faint Attack and Disable respectively. The Disable managed to make the giant lose control of its still-forming attack, causing it to launch from his hands and impact a nearby building , blowing much of its front inward. This gave Mel enough time to get back on his feet and grab me again.

Wisp yelled to us as Caleb evaded swings from the giant and kept its attention. "We have a trap set up ahead for it! Keep running!"

Mel didn't even hesitate at the command and now our group of four was doing our best to scamper away from the seemingly quicker giant. I could see the group prepared in the clearing ahead but we weren't going to have enough of a lead to make it without getting caught. Thankful for the Disable, I knew a plan that would work.

"Mel, this is going to take us both out: Rock Tomb a trench. We're going to trip him up for everyone else."

Caleb and Wisp kept their pace but looked over at us. "You guys can make a hole large enough to trip 'that' up?"

"It'll cost us our reserves but we can do it. Be ready to take over for us afterward; we're not going to have enough in us to make it to the rest of the group."

Wisp stared at us. "You guys are crazy. You can't be serious about this after what you went through yesterday!"

Mel could only give a sardonic smile. "You don't know the half of it. We're going with Garic's plan. They're crazy but they work."

We had finally made it past the last building before the clearing with little but a couple steps in front of our attacker.

"Alright, Mel. Here goes." I fed him all but the last dregs of my energy. Using his Rock Tomb like an explosive, he fed the power we had to launch enough ground to form a pit large enough for the giant's foot to be caught in. Mel vaulted over it with a Mach assisted jump, with Caleb leaping and Wisp floating over as well.

Already feeling myself begin to fade out of consciousness, I heard one last line from Mel. "Tagging out! Good luck!"