Why?
That simple three-letter word signified every single question in existence – every single sentence that ended with a question mark or some sort of tone of uncertainty and bewilderment whenever it was spoken. If one didn't understand something, "Why?" was usually the first hint of noise that would escape from their mouth, tending to follow with a "What?" and a "Who?" along with a "Whatever…" then, finally, a "Can I go now?"; though, if the person was arrogant and not interested in learning, it would start up again like a cycle with the last words being: "Why do you think I care?!"
Despite that the whole concept of knowledge was something vast and never to be fully tamed, seeing as how new facts were always being added to life every single day and with every single new discovery, there were many Pokemon who had mastered the art of asking: "Why?" Why was the sky blue? Why did life occur? Why was white considered colorless when it was, in fact, a color? These were only some of the questions that orbited throughout a genius's head, while others' questions usually revolved around the choices and things they had made and saw during their lives:
Why didn't I take that left turn at Albuquerque?
Why did I choose soup over salad?
Of course, there were some Pokemon whose questions didn't follow the status quo. In fact, some Pokemon asked questions that seemed like it would take a whole team of scientists to figure out, when, in reality, the answer was right in front of them, though they were too blind to see it because of their endless need to ask themselves the very question continuously rather than hunt for the obvious answer.
And Argus was one of these very Pokemon.
The said Arbok sighed as he slithered through the bushes and across the sand of the northern part of Zero Isle – an island located off the coast where Treasure Town resided. His team, Team AWD, had decided to enter the heavily-restricted dungeon despite the downfalls that came as a side effect upon coming, and therefore made the raid a lot more tedious than it already was. They had only just started, still searching for the entryway to the next level, and therefore they were still trekking through the first floor of the dungeon's paradiselike façade, which they had been repeating for the past hour due to their inability to locate the entrance that led deeper into the jungle.
What was Argus' "Why?", you ask? Well, it was simple.
"C'mon, you idiots!" snarled a female Weavile, who was leading her two teammates through the jungles of the dungeon's beginning floor. Her eyes were narrowed into slits, showing her obvious frustration for the fact that they had been going around in circles, battling various dungeon Pokemon every few seconds of the way, and the staircase had yet to grow into sight. Argus cringed upon hearing her hissing voice, and the other team member, a Drapion by the name of Venom, did the same, though he kept quiet to avoid aggravating their already-aggravated team leader, while the Arbok next to him only sighed in slight misery once again.
Why was he traveling through a harsh dungeon with the bossy Lady Weavile?
He didn't really know the answer. He tended to find performing rescues more of a chore than a privilege whenever they went out on missions, or, as they were doing here, searching for the rumored hordes of gold that resided at the bottom of places such as Zero Isle. Lady Weavile would always make these tasks harder than stated, and although Zero Isle was an actual challenging dungeon due to its restrictions and vast amount of floors within each part, Argus felt like he was walking through the eight circles of Hell.
The Arbok of Team AWD grunted, his aching head from his leader's scolds preventing him from comprehending an answer. He knew Lady Weavile was simply dedicated to her work, never allowing any obstacle in her way to keep her from the promised treasures on the other side. She was just so…strict, though. She had a nice side – he had seen it once when Venom saved her from falling to her doom during one of their trips through the unstable Aegis Cave. She had thanked him, but just as fast as she had grown nice she had returned to being her bossy self and ordering them around like one would with minions rather than teammates.
Why did he always travel through harsh dungeons with the bossy Lady Weavile?
As mentioned before, he didn't have an answer for that either. He didn't know why he put his life in danger every day just so he could raid dungeons with a team leader that didn't seem to respect him. Venom had seemed to grow used to it, as he would always say nothing, not even when she insulted his 'stupidity' in front of the very dungeon Pokemon they were battling. It was obvious the Drapion knew what would happen if he dared to retort: he would be sent flying to the Dark Crater from a very powerful Ice Beam attack. Argus knew of this risk as well, which was why he held his tongue in when the Weavile would shoot a deathly glare at him simply because he tended to stumble a lot while in dungeons. Could anyone blame him, though? With a team leader who expected you to be perfect in everything, he always grew nervous whenever they prepared to go into one.
But, even at the end of every day, when they would leave whatever dungeon they conquered with treasures and useful items in their holds, Argus would always smile whenever he saw Lady Weavile grin in glee upon seeing their success in material form. For some reason, he liked seeing her smile; it made the whole day of bossy team leaders and strives for perfection worth it, and for a purpose that escaped him. Perhaps it was because, outside of her strict attitude, she was wise, powerful, and stunning, or something of that sort – Argus never had time to configure an answer to that before being pushed out the door by a Weavile who was determined to finish one last dungeon before the day was over. She was determined, too.
Argus rose his eyes, watching the blue sky above as the sun sailed across its clear surface. He wasn't even paying attention to where they were going, because he was too busy trying to configure an answer to the three questions he had recently asked himself – and always wound up asking himself whenever his team traveled through the bowels of a dungeon.
Why was he traveling through a harsh dungeon with the bossy Lady Weavile?
Why did he always travel through harsh dungeons with the bossy Lady Weavile?
Why did he like it when she smiled?
He honestly couldn't think of an answer. He knew it was there – he knew it existed, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
Why did he admire her?
Why would he grow worried for her whenever she suggested that the team split up to take separate parts of a dungeon?
Why did he always look forward to a new day despite that it was obvious it was going to be filled with her strictness and consistent commands?
The Arbok brought his eyes to the ground, pondering with determination.
Why did his heart skip a beat whenever she looked at him with those eyes – the ice-cold eyes that somehow made him feel warm all over?
He flickered his gaze back to Lady Weavile, whose back was the only thing he could see as she led him and Venom through the jungles of Zero Isle.
Every day he would ask himself these questions – while his team raided dungeons; while they ate during lunchtime; while he watched Lady Weavile dream peacefully on nights where he couldn't sleep.
Argus sighed for the third time that day, somewhat annoyed that he couldn't figure out the answer to his own inner mysteries. He turned his head so at least Venom couldn't catch sight of his darkened eyes and question him on it – he had had enough questions today. The Arbok eventually brought his gaze forward, and only to gasp when he realized that a Houndoom was in the process of sneaking up on Lady Weavile from behind the shrubs next to her, its red eyes glaring and spews of fire bursting from its snarling mouth. It was obviously on the verge of attacking, and therefore Argus quickly yelled, "Watch out!"
But it was too late. As Lady Weavile turned to face him, her grumpy features present since she was annoyed at her teammates like always, she didn't notice that the Houndoom had vomited out a beam of fire, ribbons of torrid white swirling all around it. She squeaked in surprise, feeling the heat of the approaching attack, turning towards the demonic dog Pokemon to see the rocket of flames shooting straight towards her – a fire type strike that would be devastating to her ice type figure. She froze in place from fear, her feet losing their ability to walk, and all she could do was gaze upon the scarlet flames as they crouched closer with speed.
That is, before Argus, as if on instinct, lunged forward.
Ignoring the plea to stop from Venom, Argus slithered towards Lady Weavile, pushing her out of the way of the approaching Flamethrower; though, despite that he successfully did so, he found no time to dodge himself, and therefore it wasn't long before the fire type attack collided with him, causing him to fly backward into the trunk of a tree, slide down to the sandy ground below, and loll his head downwards as immediate darkness overtook his sight.
Lady Weavile screamed out his name, her face of fear giving into one of pure hatred as she slowly turned to face the Houndoom, her snarls more ferocious than its. Venom growled as well, moving to stand beside her, and all the Houndoom could do was suddenly regret its ambush as the two members of Team AWD then lunged after it together.
"Argus? Argus, please wake up."
Argus moaned slightly as he opened his eyes into slits, cringing as his gaze readjusted itself to the blaring light of day. His sight was blurry, so he couldn't make out the shadowed form that was hovering over him as if he was lying down, though the voice that had called out his name sounded familiar. His head was aching, preventing him from identifying the owner on the spot, despite that the feminine tone of the voice had justified itself to not be Venom.
Soon, the memories of what had happened returned to his mind like a sudden realization, and he found himself, in the spur of a moment of worry, shooting forward, nearly colliding his head with that of the one who had been looming over him. He snapped his head around, noticing that the Houndoom was nowhere in sight, and sighed in relief, then bringing his eyes to rest on Venom, who was beside him, now smiling upon noticing that the Arbok was okay.
However, Venom had not been the one to call out his name, and so Argus brought his gaze forward, realizing that Lady Weavile was the one who was towering over him, an oxymoronic look of concern occupying her paled face. Argus displayed bewilderment, not used to the sight of her showing sympathy, though he dropped the case when she suddenly lunged forward and, instead of, perhaps, pounding him on the head for nearly getting himself killed like an idiot, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into an affectionate hug – one that made a light tint of red flush across his scaly face.
"I was so worried about you," she murmured against his hood, her voice sounding edgy as if she was…on the verge of tears. "I'm so glad you're okay. Thank you for saving me, Arg'."
Argus, whose face had grown redder upon hearing her words, appeared confused. She was worried about him? As if she actually cared? But…why? It was another "Why?" he couldn't answer, though for some reason he felt like he already knew the answer – that she really did care. He smiled, wrapping his tail around her back to pull her closer and return the hug, happy that she was showing her nice side, and all because of him. He swore he could hear Venom snicker from the side of them, but he paid no heed to it, as this was an occurrence that happened once in a blue moon.
They pulled away, still in each other's hold, gazing at one another lovingly. Although Lady Weavile's face had succumbed to a blush as well during the hug, it soon changed into the one of strictness she was known for, which brought Argus to regret that his tail was stilled wrapped around her. Venom even backed away, mentally stating that he had known that the moment wouldn't've lasted long.
And, following this, came another painful headache for poor Argus as Lady Weavile swung her claw downwards and smacked him right on the noggin. Immediate tears welled up in the corner of his eyes as his tail released her and came up to massage his sore skull. "You idiot!" she then roared, as if her nice side had hid itself away once again. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"
Argus cringed, as he always did whenever she scolded him, and Venom only backed away further, not wanting to be part of the lecture.
Lady Weavile crossed her arms, her expression glued into a look of repugnance as she then walked forward towards two shrubs that opened up into a separate clearing. While Argus returned to his upright position, he and Venom slowly followed her, watching as she pointed her claw towards the entryway into the next level of Zero Isle, apparently having found it while Argus was unconscious. "If you can still walk, then we're continuing whether you like it or not," she muttered, sounding vile. "We're not stopping just because you decided to be a hero just now."
At first, Argus displayed a frown, though it soon formed into a soft smile as recent thoughts reran themselves through his head. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he mentioned, now fully grinning.
Lady Weavile glared at him, despite that she understood his words and couldn't help but flash a soft smile that caused her look of anger to disperse for a split of a second. Of course, as Venom reluctantly walked forward to enter the entrance to the next level, her look of strictness returned, but she stopped in her place when Argus slithered forward, purposely rubbing his tail against her side as he passed her – because he had realized not too long ago that the answer to all of his "Why?"s had been right in front of him the whole time.
Why was he traveling through a harsh dungeon with the bossy Lady Weavile?
Why did he always travel through harsh dungeons with the bossy Lady Weavile?
Why did he like it when she smiled?
Why did he admire her?
Why would he grow worried for her whenever she suggested that the team split up to take separate parts of a dungeon?
Why did he always look forward to a new day despite that it was obvious it was going to be filled with her strictness and consistent commands?
Why did his heart skip a beat whenever she looked at him with those eyes – the ice-cold eyes that somehow made him feel warm all over?
Argus turned his head before entering the next part of the island, smiling again when he caught sight of a stunned, blushing Weavile behind him, and suddenly the next seventy-four levels they had to conquer to get to the bottom of the dungeon didn't seem all that bad.
Because, to him, she was the true treasure at the end of every dungeon. Because she was all the reasons to get up in the morning and go raiding despite how hard the obstacles were. Because she was the one who made it all worth it.
And that was why.