-Chapter 6: The Land Where Time Stands Still-

-Vulcan's POV-

After rescuing Azurill, things sort of went downhill for a few days. The highlight of the week was a spinda at the side of the crossroads, mumbling about Arceus-knows-what. It got kind of boring… The missions were good and all, but nothing really major happened. We got pulled aside for sentry duty once, but there's not really anything to tell about that, other than that Connor was ridiculously good at it, beating the high score set by loudred first try.

We found out about the rankings of missions and exploration teams as the days passed; We got promoted once, our badges turning a light bronze color, and we got a bigger storage space for items.

We wrapped up our day after a long trek through the Drenched bluff; Time sped up in Mystery dungeons, so what felt like minutes there translated to hours in the real world. Most Exploration teams only had time for one dungeon a day, so we went to sleep after dinner, not really saying anything.

I saw something forming from the mist in my mind, like a dream, but Loudred's shouts shattered any dream that could have been materializing.

I awoke, and Connor sighed, "We're up… Geez… You'd think that our internal clocks would warn us of the headache maker."

After morning briefings, we decided to go check out some of the mission boards. Only a couple missions in our skill level were posted, so Connor and I took those down and went to work getting items back for others.

But what Chatot told us today… That's what really stole the show.

"Far to the northeast, then even further into its outermost reaches… There is a place called Treeshroud Forest. In Treeshroud forest… Time has apparently stopped."

Everybody was dead silent, and he continued, "Time has come to a standstill in Treeshroud forest… The wind has stopped, the clouds are motionless… Dewdrops from the leaves won't fall; They just hang there, suspended. In Treeshroud Forest, time itself has truly stopped."

I couldn't believe what I just heard. Everybody was scared, flipping out, but Sunflora asked, "How could that have happened?"

She seemed to think of something, and gasped, "It's unthinkable!"

Chatot nodded, "The unthinkable has happened, unfortunately… Why has time stopped in Treeshroud Forest? Well, it's because Treeshroud Forests' Time Gear was… Stolen!"
My mind was racing, thinking about who the heck would be so dumb as to steal a Time Gear…

Everybody was freaking out, shouting about how it could have happened and why, and Chatot used hyper voice, amplifying his voice to be as loud as Loudred's, "QUIET!"

Everybody stopped in their tracks, and he continued, maintaining his calm composure, "Officer Magnezone has started an investigation. It's hard to believe that anyone would dare steal a Time Gear, but if one was stolen, then the others may also be in danger. The officer asked to be notified immediately if we notice any suspicious characters. So keep that in mind, and let us know if you notice anything out of the ordinary. That is all. All right, everyone! here's to another busy day of work!"

"HOORAY!" Everyone headed off to their posts, and Chatot called us over before we could head to the mission floor, "You two! Come here."

We stood in front of him as he ruffled his feathers, "Your capture of Drowzee was very admirable. I am thoroughly impressed by your performance! So! You will finally be assigned a mission worthy of a proper exploration team!"

I was interested at that, "Really? Awesome!"

Chatot gestured to Connor, "Let me see your wonder map."

Connor rolled it out, and the usual landscape appeared on the browned paper. Chatot pointed to the map, and drew a line to a waterfall as he explained, "Over here is where we want you to investigate. This waterfall flowing here. By all appearances, it's just an ordinary waterfall. But we've received intelligence that the waterfall may conceal a secret. And that's where you come in. We want you two to investigate the waterfall and determine what's there. Do you understand?"

We both nodded, and he said, "Well, get going, you two!"

I nodded, and turned to Connor, "Let's do this!"

He nodded, "You bet!"

As we left, Chimecho called us over to a weird desk that she set up. She said that we could recruit new team members after she rang the 'friendship bell' whatever that meant. But it was good news. Just me and Connor can fall a little short sometimes. It'll be good to have some backup. When she explained the recruiting process, Connor looked confused, and I was as confused as he looked. Normally beating the snot out of others doesn't make them want to join you…

When we climbed up the ladders out to the crossroad, we saw a hole with a staircase where the Spinda was hanging out.

We found that the entrance was closed, so I read the sign, "Spinda's Café! A shop of hopes and dreams, Opening soon! Win big!"

Connor read it over, "What's that supposed to mean?"

I shrugged, "Beats me. Let's check it out when it opens."

On our way through Treasure Town, Connor asked me about the Marowak Dojo. I hadn't even thought about that place since it closed down a few months back, but I told him about it, "It's the place where pokemon train . Since not everybody's up for going to mystery dungeons, they trained here to get stronger, or just to stay in shape. But it's been collapsed for a little over half a year now."

As I thought about what I just said, a light clicked in my head, "Say, let's go check it out!"

Connor shrugged, "Sure. I'm interested in getting stronger, and the same enemies get boring after a while."

I walked to the entrance, hoping that it was finally opened, and the notice sign that was always blocking the door was taken down.

I sprinted ahead, "C'mon, Connor, let's go inside!"

We both entered, and the owner of the Dojo, Marowak, was inside, staring at us in shock, "V-visitors… F-finally… My first visitors!"

He pulled himself together and strode forward to us, "Welcome to Marowak Dojo. This is my place! It's dedicated to the training of Exploration teams! The Dojo went to rack and ruin, then to a pile of rubble, but… It has now risen from the dust to its former glory! Normally Basileus would have been training here… But I haven't had any visitors… Not even one. It saddened me to my very marrow… But then! Along came you two! You two are my first customers since the reopening! From my very marrow, I am feeling overjoyed! I don't even want any money! Keep it! just train here! That's all I ask!"

After he explained the mazes and how we weren't allowed to bring any items in, I was pumped, "Yeah; Let's do it!"
Connor tried to argue a little bit, "Hey, Vulcan, Chatot gave us a job today. We should try when we're not being given a guild assignment."

The Marowak twirled his bone club, "Oh, not to worry, these mazes are special. Time is often sped up while traversing mystery dungeons, but the reverse is true for these mazes! Hours in there translate to minutes out here, and you get to keep all experience and items found while exploring! In fact, before the collapse, many exploration teams would train here while waiting for new missions to be posted, so that they can get many missions to the same mystery dungeon!"

I smiled, "That's actually really useful for rising up in the ranks quickly…"

I turned to Connor, and he nodded, "Dude, we need to get stronger, right? We don't know how tough the enemies on our mission will be. Better safe than sorry."

I nodded, "Yeah! Let's do this!"

So, we left our stuff in storage before picking a maze. I let Connor pick the maze, and he went with the Ice and Ground maze, saying that we both had type advantages, and covered each others' weaknesses.

I was doing alright, but when those Piloswine used earth power, I got my butt handed to me. Connor learned ice ball, which normally only a spheal could learn, on our second trip through. He basically curled into a ball and was coated in ice as he rammed into the opponent. It did help against ground types, but normally he just used water gun to take care of them. I used ember to take care of any snorunt or jynx, but without any oran berries, I got tired out from earth power really quickly.

As it ended up, Connor really liked this place, so a 'couple runs through' turned into 'several runs through'. And Connor didn't just want to get through the maze, he wanted to beat every enemy along the way. I'll admit, I really wanted to be as strong as him; He was so tough, and I could barely stand up to a couple ground type moves.

Connor turned to me while walking to the stairs for our seventh time, "Hey, the point of the maze is to get stronger, right? Come on, it'll prepare you for other ground type places."

I shrugged, and he stopped walking, "You know what… We have a mission. That's enough training for today."

Why the sudden change of interest?

I shrugged, dismissing the thought as we exited the dojo, and passed Basileus the Grovyle on our way to Kangaskhan storage. We mentioned that the Dojo was opened back up, and he seemed excited, "Alright! Thanks, you two!"

We grabbed some items from storage, and made our way to the waterfall. It wasn't that far, maybe half the distance to Mount Bristle, where we rescued Azurill. When we got there, I didn't see anything special about it; It was just a waterfall.

I walked up to it, muscling through the fear of my fire being put out, and I couldn't get within two feet of it without being pushed back by the torrent. "Gah! That's really coming down hard!"

Connor walked up to it, and he spat a water gun at it. The waterfall just absorbed it, and he whistled, "You're right, Vulcan, it's really- Ah!"

The water from the falls had a large wave come over the side of the top of the cliff and dump onto him, and I ran up, "You alright, Connor?"

He nodded, shaking himself off, "It was refreshing…"

I looked back at the falls, "How the heck are we supposed to investigate this waterfall if we can't get near it?"

He shook his head vigorously, and I turned, "What's up, you get some water in your eye or something?"

He opened his eyes, and stared at me for a moment before replying, "I got another vision. I saw a figure jump into the waterfall. But there was a cave on the other side, not a wall!"

I opened my mouth to reply, but I couldn't find the words. INTO the waterfall?!

"Um… That's pretty risky. I mean, what if there's a cliff behind there? You might be alright, because you're a water type, but I'd…" I'd be dead. No need to sugarcoat it.

I shook the doubt out of my head, "Well… Alright. I'll trust you again. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. Your visions haven't been wrong before."

We both stood side by side, and I trembled from fear for a moment before regaining my strength and focusing on running with all my might.

"On three, Vulcan…"

I nodded, and Connor counted, "One… Two… Three!"

We sprinted forward, and I leapt with a newfound strength, feeling a crushing pressure before I felt air again and we both tumbled on what felt like stone. I stood up, rubbing my tail, and I found that it was still fine. Connor turned to me, "Your tail doesn't go out underwater, Vulcan. I don't know where you got that idea from."

I shrugged, "Just an instinct, I guess."

Then, I looked around, noticing where we were. "You were right, Connor! A cave! Let's explore!"

We both got up, and walked forward into the inky darkness, the shiny dark blue walls reflecting the light from my tail.

Chapter 6. It gets pretty neat. So... Yeah. Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you did, and I will see you in the next chapter! Much love!

-PL