Alolan man manages to scare himself, readers everywhere relate. Cyrus makes something akin to small-talk.
Is anyone else kinda miffed that Guzma never got any help with possible issues post Ultra Space venture?
Despite his incredible exhaustion, Guzma hadn't managed to fall back to sleep after Cyrus left the room. It seemed that the eerie silence that spread through the cave, and the constant maybe-teasing – he could never be too sure – about ghost Pokémon from Cyrus had left him on edge. Begrudgingly, Guzma realized he'd either have to leave the cave or get Cyrus to go off on another tangent to get any real sleep. And you can best be believing he had no intention of the former taking place before he'd seen that legendary Centipede-zilla!
A few Poké Beans were removed from his inner layers and split between himself and Golisopod as the two continued walking, himself seeing no point in sitting around if he couldn't get any rest out of it. Golisopod had, as usual, inhaled its beans, but Guzma took his time chewing this round, knowing he actually only had a small handful left. Not that he had any intention of letting Golisopod know – there was no need worrying the big lug about it.
It had been some…ambiguous amount of time since they'd left the room he'd fallen asleep in, and Guzma was actually rather shocked that he'd not run into Cyrus again since then. It was almost a little unnerving, really.
He'd been happy to find that he'd found a room with a pillar in it, vaguely recalling Cyrus mentioning something about needing to find those to get to Giratina. On top of that, the rooms they were traversing now, though repeated, were still different than the rooms they'd been stuck in upon first entering.
To be honest, with the only things breaking the quiet being the occasional, distorted cries of Pokémon from unseen distances, along with the entire ambiance of the cave, it was really pulling his mind back to his experience in Ultra Space. He would hardly be surprised at this point if one of those Nihilego creatures were floating around in the caverns somewhere – they'd definitely fit the mood.
…fuck. He should not have thought of that, not when he was already getting paranoid to begin with.
Golisopod easily picked up on his growing fear and gave a worried whimper, nuzzling at his hair in attempts to distract him, which gained a startled jump from his trainer. Guzma shoved the large bug-type off with a half-hearted "'M fine, yo!", but it didn't do much to deter his Pokémon. The man's body was far too tense and jumpy for his words to be true.
Golisopod was smart, despite being spoiled, and it knew better than to believe its trainer when Guzma got like this. Giving another series of chirrs and clicks, the bug type moved its main arms to the top of its head and wiggled its claws in a crude rendition of the action a much younger Guzma had often performed when teasing Plumeria about her excessive pigtails. Realizing the implication, Guzma bit his lip before conceding to dig out his phone. Putting his best friend and former admin on speed dial had been the first thing he'd done upon getting it, and he was eternally grateful to his past self for that as his eyes darted around the room.
The phone rang four times, but felt like forever, before Plumeria answered, sounding like she'd just been woken up. Knowing his luck, she likely had. "Sup, G?"
"Ah-uhh nothin' much?" Guzma responded, now feeling stupid for calling her, even though hearing her familiar voice was already helping him calm down. "Big guy just missed ya is all, y'know how he gets." He continued over casually, rubbing the back of his head with a torn-gloved hand.
"Uh-huh…" a small shuffling could be heard, likely Plumeria sitting up more comfortably in bed. "There anything else ya bug wants to tell me?"
Guzma shot a half-panicked look at Golisopod, hoping the bug type would give him something to say. Instead, his starter just pointed back at the phone with an angry chirr, demanding for its trainer to speak. "So, uh– y-yo, you seen Grunt recently? I need ya ta start kickin' his ass for us, it's cold as shit here!"
"Guz? What's- on over th-re?" Her knowing and worried tone was barely registered as the phone grew staticy.
"Plumes? YO! PLUMES!" With a few more flickers of almost-speak, the phone abruptly cut out altogether. "Hey! HEY! DAMNIT, ANSWER!" Guzma was pacing frantically by then, frustrated panic written clear on his face and in his voice.
"Swear if this is some sick prank, yo! I'm gonna–!" The ex-Boss didn't get the chance to finish his threat as his body pitched forward over a small rock he'd tripped on, having not paid attention to where he was going. The air in his lungs escaped him as he hit the ground hard, his cell spinning across the cave floor. A daunting "Call Dropped" message flashed on the screen for a moment before resuming its normal background.
Hoping against hope, Guzma scurried over to the small device in a heartbeat, redialing the number as soon as he could get a grip on it. The crackling hum of static was all that greeted him upon raising it to his ear. The young man tried again, cheap material nearly bending with the force he clutched it with, but the result was the same. No signal.
With a groan that bordered closer to a yell, the bug-trainer chucked the cell phone across the room. Having anticipated the action, his tall companion caught it before it could hit the ground, or any of the boulders dotting it. Golisopod attempted to return the item, but froze in its tracks at the reappearance of a certain someone.
"…I'm amazed this is only the second time I've seen you lose your temper thus far." Cyrus began after a moment, his unimpressed tone leaving Guzma torn between relief at hearing someone else's voice and annoyance that it had to be this guy. "You've been here for nearly a day. Don't you suppose it's time you moved on?"
"Yeah, move on to that next Pillar-whatever." Guzma snarked before rounding on the apathetic ghost man. "And where the fuck you been?"
"Hm, how strange. Did you, perchance, miss me?"
"NO!" The denial was shouted a bit too forcefully. "Just don't like people sneakin' up on me is all!"
"Of course." Cyrus rolled his eyes. "If that is the case, a tomb such as this must be paradise to you. Perhaps you should improve upon your perception – that way you will not miss the exit when you come across it."
Guzma gave the other man a weary glare at the unwelcome critique. "I toldja already, I ain't goin' nowhere without seein' that bug!"
Grabbing Golisopod by the arm, Guzma stomped the two of them through the nearest doorway, and…right back into the same room. Naturally. He gave an internal sigh at the predicament, wanting to tear his hair out at the loops they kept getting stuck in. What am I doin'.
"Nowhere seems to be exactly where you're going."
If it weren't for the fact that it was the closest the other had gotten to humor since their meeting, Guzma would have groaned. This he could work with. The cave troll had to start warming up to him sooner or later, right? Maybe then he could get the guy to help them out!
"...SO…uh," The bug specialist blanked for a moment, trying to think up something to talk about. It wasn't often he tried to plan for conversations – years of being head of a gang meant not caring about how most people saw you, as long as they feared you. These days, though, it seemed to keep happening more and more. "Hhhow long ya been out here, anyway? You get lost, too?"
"Hardly." The answer was short and clipped, planting a seed of doubt in Guzma's plan before Cyrus continued on. "I was brought here against my will. I remained for…personal reasons. It's been a while, I'd assume. Time barely flows in the Distortion World – this place being the exception, seeing as how thin the barrier is here."
"Huh, that's…neat?" He hoped it wasn't too painfully obvious how little he knew what to make of that. "Ya hang 'round here a lot, then?"
Cyrus looked like he wouldn't be responding at all for a moment, before the toll of living completely isolated from anyone willing or capable of basic conversation seemed to win out. "You could say that."
"Welllll~, have ya noticed any 'nifty tricks' ta navigating this hellhole?" Guzma leaned in slightly at the question, his hope for advice blatant in his actions.
"Indeed. None of which I'm particularly inclined to share with you, mind."
Well, there goes that plan. Guzma huffed in annoyance as he swiveled to walk back out of the room. And…right back into the room, on the other side. Cyrus was giving him the usual deadpan expression. Not to be deterred, he stalked back to the same doorway as before. "Quit yer starin'!"
So caught up in his frustration, he didn't notice when Golisopod stopped following him. It chose instead to stand by the other man's ethereal form, watching its trainer with concern. Was Guzma aware he was just going through the same door repeatedly? Should it point this out? This was certainly shaping up to be an odd day for the two of them. The two humans continued to trade short quips as the white-haired one continued to loop, the majority of which consisted of Guzma snapping at Cyrus.
Guzma grit his teeth as he once more entered the same room he'd left, only to see the notorious cave troll and his own concerned Golisopod once again. His mouth opened, as if to start yelling like all the other times, before he simply deflated. What was the point? He let out a heavy sigh and gave a short halfhearted wave. "Alola."
"A...lola?" Cyrus raised a brow, obviously confused by the greeting, but Guzma didn't catch it.
"Nice t' know ya got some manners." The ex-skull boss scoffed before continuing on through the chosen door, managing to enter a different room this time. A confused Cyrus was left behind with the now-distressed bug-type.
TBC