Bubbles tried to move; but the vines held him in place; wrapped tight around his spindly frog limbs. He couldn't even open his mouth to scream; all he could do was sit and watch as she was whisked far away. He saw the light pour out from her body; like a sun climbing over the horizon at dawn; and at the same time, he saw her fade away; like the life draining away from a wilting rose. Slowly, the light began to rise into the air; deep into the clutches of a gaseous black cloud; between physical and ethereal form; with thorns extending outward in all directions. Why? Why did the world have to be such a cruel and miserable place? And why did accepting that have to deprive him of the sole joy he was able to find here? Slowly, the life faded from Bubbles' eyes. And when it did; his eyelids fluttered open; awakening from the nightmare that had plagued him. In his mind however, it was no longer a nightmare; but simply a dream; after all, a nightmare must be terrifying.
This wasn't terrifying. It was pathetic. Bubbles looked around, trying to get his bearings after his restless night; he found himself within his personal quarters at the Expedition Society. Boxes were scattered throughout the room; keepsakes and treasures filled within them. It had been some time since Dark Matter's disappearance; since then, the Expedition Society had managed to map out 99.9% of the world of Pokemon; with the aid of a new invention at the hands of Jirachi; a satellite. With little left to do, the Society had decided to disband; the members going their separate ways; either to find their fortunes, or simply settle down. Bubbles had no idea what he was going to do; what could he do? Compared to Pokemon like Mawille, he was weak; compared to Jirachi, he was an unintelligent, and compared to Ampharos, he lacked charm. He was just a screw up.
Bubbles slowly lifted the box of his belongings; filled with knickknacks and trinkets that Lin had grown attached to; bars of gold, TM's; the works. He couldn't bear to sell them; but he knew that he couldn't carry them all back to Serene Village on his own. He didn't have any help either; he'd hadn't heard from Nuzleaf at all since Carracosta had passed on a message from them...
"Time can heal most things, even if some hurts seem insurmountable at first." he remembered Carracosta saying.
"What a load of rubbish..." Bubbles thought, moving out to the main hall with his big box of goods. The box was stacked so high that he couldn't even see over it; which resulted in him almost barreling into Mawille.
"Careful there Bubbles." said Mawille, pushing the box away from her. "You almost shoved me over."
"O-oh!" said Bubbles, completely unaware of what was ahead of him. "S-sorry about that..."
"You need a hand with that?" asked Mawille. "That looks like a bit too much to be carrying around all at once; especially for someone as short as you."
"No... no, I think I'll be fine, thank you... I have to sell off all this old junk anyway..." said Bubbles.
"...We're here for you, Bubbles." said Mawille. "It was shocking for all of us; I can assure you that."
"Yeah, I think I'll be fine." Said Bubbles, setting the boxes aside, and sitting down for a quick chat. "I'm not bawling myself asleep anymore."
"She meant more to you than anything, didn't she?" asked Mawille.
"...Yeah. Pathetic, isn't it?" mumbled Bubbles, before picking up his box and shambling out the front door. Mawille sighed, and turned to see Ampharos stumbling down the stairs.
"Good morning, Mawille." said Ampharos. "Was that Bubbles just now?"
"Yeah. We were just having a talk." replied Mawille. "He's doing the same as always; self-loathing, general emptiness... You think we should really let him go off on his own?"
"He's an adult Mawille; well, he was one anyway, as a human." replied Ampharos, looking out the front door. "I'm just as worried as you are; but we can't just force him to feel better."
"I suppose you're right..." mumbled Mawille. "...That doesn't mean we can't at least point him in the right direction..."
"That's a fair point..." said Ampharos. "I'll have a talk to him later; give him some advice going forward... and pray that he listens."
Bubbles wandered out the front door of the headquarters into a world covered in overcast skies and mildly dis-comfortingly cold winds. Summer was ending; and Autumn was hot on its heels; soon, the land would be covered in shades of warm auburn; and leaves would pile up on the ground like sand in a sandstorm. Bubbles slowly walked down the main road; trying his best to avoid the pedestrians and passerby's in his way. The carved stone road beneath him was cold to the touch; and a little damp. It must have been raining last night. Bubbles overheard chatter from around him; talk of current events being spread around.
"Did you hear? Apparently, a group of powerful legendary pokemon are coming together to hold a trial..." muttered a Lurantis standing nearby. Curious, Bubbles slowed down; and tried his best to look like he wasn't paying attention.
"Really? Who's on trial?" asked Lurantis' partner in conversation; a Furfrou.
"I'm not sure; one of those travellers in Kangaskhan's Cafe talked about it. Said that they overheard it from a wandering Legendary Pokemon." replied Lurantis.
"Wow... can you imagine that? Just a legendary or mythical pokemon, wandering into town? How cool would that be?" replied Furfrou. Bubbles snorted; he couldn't decide whether to laugh, or to growl. Lurantis overheard this; and turned her head slightly to see where the sound came from. Bubbles sighed, and decided to keep walking.
"Who was that weirdo?" asked Furfrou, tilting her head.
"...You haven't heard?" said Lurantis, watching Bubbles walk away. "He was the one that stopped Dark Matter; the one that saved the world..."
"He doesn't seem all that happy about it..." replied Furfrou.
"Yeah... guess he doesn't care for the fame."
Bubbles kept walking, not hearing the gossip of the other Pokémon behind him. He had more important things to worry about that the idle chit-chat of others; namely, how he was going to manage to peddle away 90% of his belongings. He figured that he could trade his gold for Poke at Glorious Gold, but there were other trinkets that he considered too valuable in the box as well. Powerful looplets, and TM's that may be useful later one. Bubbles arrived into the bustling main square of Lively Town; all sorts of Pokemon wandering around doing their shopping, or catching up with their friends. A public performance conducted by Kricketot echoed throughout the plaza; a smooth jazz song, with saxophones and guitars sounding in the background. Initially Bubbles was surprised to learn that instruments existed in the world of Pokemon; but he figured that there wasn't any reason why Pokemon couldn't make something like a trumpet or string instrument. However, in all his time there, Bubbles had never seen a piano; he figured that either they didn't exist; or they were just rare.
"Hey Bubbles, you want a hand?" the Froakie heard someone ask. Bubbles turned around to find the source of the sound; it was Buizel, another member of the Expedition Society.
"That box looks pretty big for you." said Buizel.
"Yeah... I think I'll be good. Just need to bring it down to stuff I can carry around in a sack." replied Bubbles. "Say, you want to take anything?"
"No thanks. I'm going to go stay with my folks for a while, and then maybe form a rescue team with Archen or something. Home's a fair distance away; and I don't have much room left in my own sack." replied Buizel.
"Ah. Fair enough." replied Bubbles, making his way towards Glorious Gold. Buizel walked beside him for a chat.
"So, you're going to go back to Serene Village huh?" asked Buizel, curious. "What's it like there?"
"Yeah, it's... dull, I guess. Me and Lin had our fair share of excitement... but well, I think that was a deviation from the norm." replied Bubbles.
"You have any idea of what you're going to do there?" asked Buizel.
"Not really, no. I might go into farming; grow some fresh produce and pawn it off." replied Bubbles. "At least I have a place to rest my head."
"Well, it sounds like you have it all worked out..." said Buizel. The two of them reached the counter to Glorious Gold.
"Fwohoho! Welcome to GLORIOUS GOLD, Bubbles!" giggled Cofagrigus, the owner of the store. He was a rather jovial fellow; and he had a strong love of all things with 24 karats. "How may I help you?"
"We just had a few golden bits here and there to peddle; looplets, bars, etcetera." said Bubbles, dumping the contents of the box on the counter. Cofagrigus' eyes widened in admiration for the pile of gold.
"Oh... I can give you good things for this..." muttered Cofagrigus.
"Poke will do fine." replied Bubbles. Then, Bubbles' eyes widened as well, when he spotted something that was rather distinctively not made of gold fall out of the bottom of the box; a green, striped scarf.
"Hey, isn't that that scarf that you used to wear all the time?" asked Buizel. "I wondered what happened to that."
"...Yeah, so did I..." muttered Bubbles, reaching forward and grabbing it. He had probably taken it off hoping it would help him get over everything, and forgotten about it altogether.
The scarf. Not his partner.
Bubbles threw the scarf over his shoulder; with the intent of disposing of the useless trinket later. Cofagrigus reached forward with his massive hands; and scooped up every last spec of gold from the counter, measuring its weight on the scale hidden behind it.
"Fwohoho! For all of this, I can give you... 2220 Poke!" exclaimed Cofagrigus. "Is it a deal?"
"Yeah, deal." said Bubbles, grabbing a bag of cash the ghost-type hurled over the counter. He slung that over his other shoulder; and began to make his way to the bank; when he was stopped in his tracks by none other than Ampharos; the chief of the Expedition Society.
"Morning chief." said Bubbles. "You want to talk about something?"
"It seems you've done well to clear your box of goods." said Ampharos, smiling before looking at the scarf over Bubbles' shoulder. "Well... but not quite perfect."
"...Yeah. I was going to probably set it down somewhere when I get home; to forget about." replied Bubbles. Buizel looked at him concerned. Ampharos sighed.
"Why do that? It's a perfectly fashionable scarf; and if you were to go exploring around the sea of wonders, it could come in handy." said Ampharos.
"Yeah, well, I don't plan to go exploring anytime soon..." said Bubbles.
"Really?" asked Ampharos. "That's disappointing; you had a real talent for that."
"Not as good as the other members of the society; heck, Buizel's a better swimmer than me." said Bubbles.
"Don't go selling yourself short now..." muttered Buizel.
"Indeed. Just because I'm not as good as an explorer as say, the revered Lucario, doesn't make me a bad explorer, per say." said Ampharos, before looking around, observing their surroundings. Taking note of something, he nodded, before talking again.
"Why don't we go somewhere else to talk for a bit? Somewhere quieter." said Ampharos. "Like the harbor."
"That sounds like a good idea." said Buizel. "Just... Let me lead the way."
Jirachi moved back and forth around his lab; tidying up all the paper's strewn about. He had talked to the landowner; Jirachi was allowed to keep working in his lab on the top floor, as long as he kept the place presentable. Jirachi wasn't a big fan of the new landlord; they were an uptight Liepard that planned to turn the place into a hotel; selling it as the home of the legendary Expedition Society. Jirachi scoffed at the idea of being turned into a tourist trap; but he needed a place to stay, and he couldn't just move his telescope.
"That should be everything..." Jirachi muttered to himself; before hearing the sound of beeping from across the room; his satellite must have detected something odd. He hovered over to investigate. A map of the world was projected onto his computer screen; it was an exact duplicate of the one stored on the nexus. On said map, Jirachi could see a blinking red light; typically, that meant that his satellite had detected a mysterious occurrence in said area. This generally lead to the creation of a new mystery dungeon.
The blinking red light was situated on latitude -12.5, longitude -11.25; on a small island-continent south of the water continent. A few mystery dungeons had cropped up there in the past; but the anomalies that Jirachi's machines were detecting were far off the scale. No mere intersection of the ley-lines could cause a jump in mysteriosity this big; no, this had to be the work of something incredibly powerful.
"What in the world...?" Jirachi mumbled, before racing downstairs to find someone to report too.
Bubbles gazed out over the horizon; seeing the waves slowly bob up and down; light refracting through the water's surface; and the ocean extending outwards to near infinity. The slow, white noise of the crashing waves relaxed his muscles and his senses; the hustle and bustle of the main square being reduced to barely legible whispers in the distance. He took a deep breath and sat back; on his off days, he used to come here to get away from his troubles; even if it was just for a little bit.
Ampharos sat down beside him; seemingly just as enchanted by the waves as Bubbles was. Buizel briefly examined the ocean; before diving in, and lying backward; floating on the surface of the water.
"I see why you would come here often..." said Ampharos, before closing his eyes and feeling the sea breeze brush against his face. "This is truly quite fascinating."
"Yeah. Really helps me wind down after a long day's work." said Bubbles. "But it's nothing compared to this one spot me and Lin had back home."
"The hill with the tree, isn't it?" said Ampharos. "Yes, I remember meeting you two there."
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" asked Buizel, curious as to why Ampharos wanted to move to a less densely populated area.
"Bubbles... you have a lot of memories involving the hill and tree, yes?" asked Ampharos.
"...Not all of them are good ones." muttered Bubbles, before taking a small sigh. "...but yeah, lots of memories with Lin."
"Now, I know that you're not typically one for shamanistic things like the spirit and soul; but things like that tree, and your scarves... they're important to both you and Lin." said Ampharos. "If there was a way to bring her back..."
"You think I haven't thought about anything like that?" said Bubbles. "I've been to Mawille's study; read every book, and put it back; there's nothing there."
"No matter how much I wish it were true, you just can't learn everything from a book." said Ampharos. "I believe that you and Lin are still bound together by those scarves."
"So what should I do then?" asked Bubbles, wit dripping from his tongue like a wet dog. "Ask the scarf nicely to bring her back?"
"Cool it, Bubbles." said Buizel. "That's no way to talk to the chief."
"You used to be just as sassy when you first joined, Buizel." said Ampharos. "...But to answer Bubbles' question; I've heard rumors of a Pokemon that can see into both the past and the future."
"The future...?" parroted Bubbles. "...well, at least I'd get some closure..."
"That's one way to look at it." said Ampharos. "He lives in a place called the Sand Dune of Spirits; on Alqaramal. Why don't you stop by for a bit of a chat?"
"Yeah... maybe I should go talk to them." said Bubbles, getting to his feet. "Thanks for the advice, chief."
"It's my pleasure." replied Ampharos, a warm, friendly smile plastered across his face. Bubbles had to give it to him; they really knew how to change a pokemon's mind. Bubbles stretched out; letting out a soft groan; before walking back towards the Headquarters to get his things in order; leaving Buizel and Ampharos behind.
"You think that he could really bring back Lin?" asked Buizel, getting out of the water. Ampharos closed his eyes; thinking rather deeply.
"When two spirits meet and go through hardships together..." Ampharos began, thinking back to a piece of advice he had received when he was young. "They are drawn together by the bonds they forge."
"They will surely meet again." finished Ampharos, before turning to follow Bubbles back.
As Bubbles approached the headquarters, he began to hear a heated argument coming from its interior. Figuring that Swirlix had just overextended on her gluttony again, he didn't bother to pick up the pace; arguments over portion size were something he couldn't care less about. However; as the building got closer, Bubbles began to realize that what he was hearing was no mere argument; there were elements of panic and uncertainty mixed into the primordially chaotic blend of sounds erupting from the HQ. Now a little worried, Bubbles began to dash for the HQ; arriving through the front door to a worried Mawille, a panicked Jirachi, and an angry Archen.
"Thanks to that stupid satellite of yours Jirachi, we've gone and thrown away 90% of our equipment;" shouted Archen. "And now that a real emergency has cropped up, we have no wands, no reviver seeds; nothing!"
"Archen, relax, please..." said Mawille. "I'm certain we'll be able to scrounge something together..."
"Is something wrong?" asked Bubbles, arriving on the scene. "What do we need supplies for?"
"My satellite picked up a spike in mysteriosity, y'know, like the kind that generally appears when a Mystery Dungeon generates." said Jirachi, sounding rather on edge. "I had a quick look, and the levels of mysteriosity were off the charts; and they've only gotten stronger."
"So?" said Bubbles, furling his brow. "It's probably just a big dungeon."
Jirachi's expression changed to one that was quite serious for the young boy.
"These levels of mysteriousity; they exceed that of Destiny Tower." said Jirachi.
"...Oh." said Bubbles. "That's pretty weird, yeah."
"Yet, based on preliminary scans, the dungeon isn't even that long; about 20 floors..." said Mawille. "So it's as if something else is exuding raw energy needed to raise the mysteriousity."
"We need to go and investigate it, but as I said earlier, we've already sold 90% of our tools." Grumbled Archen.
"...Yeah, and, well..." Bubbles mumbled. "I needed to get some supplies too."
"What for?" asked Mawille, confused. "I thought you said you were going to just go home and settle down."
"Ampharos told me about a Pokemon that can see the past and future." said Bubbles. "I figured I'd get some closure, but he lives in a Mystery Dungeon; the Sand Dune of Spirits."
"Ah, Xatu..." said Mawille. "Well, I suppose that's a good idea."
"I still think we need to get everyone we have on this..." said Jirachi.
"And I don't disagree; but we can afford to send Bubbles and another member out." said Mawille.
"Can we now?" said Ampharos, arriving on the scene. "As you said, the dungeon is only 20 floors... but there's also something rather powerful within it..."
Bubbles looked at Ampharos, and raised an eyebrow in questioning. Ampharos didn't see him do this; but Mawille certainly did. She chose not to point it out to him.
"As it stands, we may not have time to do one after the other." said Buizel, arriving just behind Ampharos. "If Bubbles is going to the Sand Dune of Spirits, I guess I'll go with him."
"Yes, you certainly won't have time." said another Pokemon arriving through the door; it was the landlord, Liepard. She strutted with a somewhat seductive saunter; as if she owned the very earth she stood on. Which she did.
"Miss Liepard..." said Archen, looking concerned. He already knew what she had come to talk about.
"I loaned you this land on the condition that once your society finished that map, you'd be gone in a week." said the feline Pokemon. Liepard was a powerful pokemon; not in physical or special strength, but in wealth. She owned the land, the local government; even the local Kangaskhan cafe was rumored to be the host of some of her underground dealings.
"And as it stands, you have around 3 days left before you're out that door." she continued.
"I understand that, ma'am, but..." said Ampharos, before being cut-off.
"No. Buts." said Liepard, raising an eyebrow.
Bubbles felt a chill run down his spine. Not only was Liepard capable of putting forward a good threat; she also had the resources to back it up; any Pokemon that looked at her funny was reduced to a crippled mess for a few days afterwards by her "enforcer". Nobody knew the identity of this enforcer, but they had to be strong; seeing as they managed to smash Krookodile to a broken pulp when he attempted to extort money out of the landlord.
"Now, I must be going; I have an important meeting in the afternoon." said Liepard turning her back on the members of the society and leaving. "Don't disappoint me."
Ampharos turned to face Bubbles; looking rather concerned.
"It seems you'll be going to the Sand Dune after all." said Ampharos. "Let's hope you can get through there in one attempt."
"Yeah, I've got my metaphorical fingers crossed." said Bubbles. He turned to face Buizel.
"You don't have to come if you don't want too..." said Bubbles. "It's really not your problem I'm dealing with."
"Hey, if it'll bring back Lin, then it's certainly my problem." said Buizel. "And even if we cant do that, I still want to help you out anyway. It's what we do here."
"Well, suit yourself." said Bubbles, turning to leave. "C'mon, we've got some shopping to do."
The two of them left out the front door of the HQ; leaving the others behind to work out the situation regarding the spike that Jirachi had detected.
"Give it your all out there, you two..." mumbled Ampahros, before turning to face Mawille and Jirachi.
"Now then; about this new dungeon that's cropped up..." he continued.
Bubbles walked to the counter of the Kecleon market, and threw his bag of cash from earlier on the counter.
"4 Reviver seeds, a quick seed, and 3 Big Apples." said Bubbles, listing off the supplies they needed.
"And 10 pounce wands, 4 slumber wands, and 2 petrify wands." continued Buizel, leaning over the counter.
"Right away then!" said Kecleon, leaning back and grabbing the stock the Pokemon had asked for. He placed it on the counter with the utmost of caution; yet, also faster than any of the other shopkeepers Bubbles had seen. When it came to selling and buying, Kecleon was the best at his job.
"Here you go!" said Kecleon, before snatching the bag of Poke off the counter and counting his profits. Bubbles shoved the supplies into his bag and began to move towards the harbor with Buizel.
"You sure we got enough to get through the dungeon?" asked Buizel, worried that they might not have bought enough.
"Yeah, it's not much; but it's all I can afford." said Bubbles, shrugging before nodding with determination. "We'll have to make due."
The two of them managed to make it to the harbor; where they found Lapras arriving back from deliviring a group of tourists to Cespedinente. The group slowly climbed off her back, a little dazzled. Lapras was not very fast in battle, but when going places, she could travel across the entire ocean in about a day. She noticed Buizel and Bubbles approach.
"Ah, Buizel. Are you going home already?" asked Lapras, a little confused as to why Buizel was coming to the travel liner.
"No, I'm actually helping Bubbles out with something." said Buizel, smiling. "Can you take us to Alqaramal?"
"Sure thing; just give me a minute to prepare." said Lapras. Buizel turned to talk to Bubbles.
"So, how're you feeling about this?" asked Buizel. "Think this Xatu guy will be able to help?"
"I'm not confident, to be honest; sure, I know there are a lot of strong Pokemon out there... but being able to see into the future seems..." Bubbles trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence. He decided to change the subject.
"I'm just not sure if I want to hear what he has to say." said Bubbles.
"I'd feel the same way if I was in your place right now..." said Buizel, before sighing. "Fingers crossed it doesn't hurt too much... and that we can make it too him in the first place."
Bubbles and Buizel looked up; hearing Lapras shout "All aboard to Alqaramal!"
"That's us; ready to go?" asked Buizel.
"Yeah, just gimme a sec..." said Bubbles, before wrapping his scarf around his neck once again.
"Now I'm ready." said Bubbles, before boarding the travel liner; and setting off on another crazy journey...