The ground quaked, Faith woke up and pitch black darkness. Her stomach instantly knotted up. What do I do? I don't know what to do! Faith's mind began to panic.
The earthquake rolled beneath her feet. Then she looked up and she noticed with a little bewilderment, that even though the ground was shaking, the house seemed to be staying strong. The houses must be built for earthquakes. Chikorita was even asleep. Are earthquakes so common here that they ignore them? Then the earthquake stopped. It just stopped, as quickly as it came. Faith took deep breaths, allowing the adrenaline to leave her.
Then she fell back into bed. What the heck just happened? She tried to process it. There was something strange about the earthquake. They don't come on that suddenly, there's usually tremors or signs. She knew that pokémon in town often mention the frequency of earthquakes. But for one to come on so suddenly like that was strange say the least. She sat up and began to think further. Before the earthquake she had that same dream again, or the same feeling. Like she was remembering something, something important… But she didn't know what. She didn't know why it seemed so important to her.
Faith tried to think of something, anything that could have sparked the dreams, but there was nothing. She carefully laid down; trying to calm down. She rolled over restlessly as she tried to get comfortable. But it wouldn't happen. She lay there wide-eyed. Her body ached from exhaustion; why does nothing make sense anymore? Why is this happening? Why am I here?
"Faith it's morning. Rise and shine."
Faith turned away from Chikorita. "What time is it?"
"It's almost 7 o'clock."
Faith suddenly remembered the earthquake last night. "Chikorita did you feel that last night? The earthquake I mean…"
He nodded. "That's why we should start early. I hope the town wasn't damaged. It was a small one, but earthquakes are never good.
"Um hello…?"
Both Chikorita and Faith looked around. Faith thought she imagined the voice, but apparently, Chikorita heard it too. There was no one else here that she could see.
"Hello? You are…um... Team Limitless right?"
Faith and Chikorita looked around again. Where was that voice coming from?
This is way too weird. "Who's asking? Reveal yourself now!" Faith yelled. She was getting fed up with this game and a little weirded out.
"Oh, you can see us of course. How very rude of us. We're so sorry."
A Pokémon popped up from the ground. But was it one Pokémon? Or three?
"We are Dugtrio." They did not hesitate to introduce themselves, speaking in three very high mice-like voices. "Last night during the earthquake our child Diglett was attacked." They quivered as they recalled the memory. "He was kidnapped and whisked away to the peak of a tall mountain. We cannot possibly climb somewhere so high up... That is why we must call Team Limitless for help. Please help us. The Pokémon that abducted Diglett was named Skarmory. Please help us… Please…" Their voices quivered as they begged. Faith felt horrified at the thought that a child had been kidnapped.
Then, just like that, they left.
Faith looked at Chikorita trying to process what happened. "Did you get all that?" Her own voice quivered a little.
Chikorita nodded his head. "No offense to them… But why couldn't they have just sent us a letter? I don't like feeling invaded."
"It probably just happened. There wasn't time to write a letter. Now come on, let's go"
"You're right, from their story it sounds like they were describing Mt. Steel. We better hurry."
"Here we are...Mt. Steel." Chikorita announced.
Faith shivered. The mountain had a big cave as its entranceway. Faith tried to look up to judge how tall the mountain was but the peak was lost in clouds. "Faith, look there." Faith turned to see where Chikorita was pointing. In the side of the mountain, there was a path carved out, and it seemed to lead up to the peak.
"Can this even be considered a Mystery Dungeon? It doesn't really seem to be a maze."
Chikorita shrugged. "All Mystery Dungeons are different. Come on, let's get started.
As they started up the path, Faith could now see how every Pokémon made their home here. They dug out holes in the side of the mountain and made a nest out of anything available. But most were made of rocks.
Try not to alarm any of the Pokémon." Chikorita whispered. "Because I really don't want a fight to break out.
Faith nodded. She understood why. Usually, Chikorita didn't mind fights. But the path they were going up was narrow and heights were starting to become dangerous. She hoped the summit was flat. They continued on with quiet footsteps. Something moved behind Faith. She turned to see a Zigzagoon. He bared his teeth and ran for her.
Damn it! I didn't even do anything! Faith tried to think. She didn't want to fight, but running wasn't an option either.
She felt desperate, just then a tornado of sand surrounded her. The tornado that she had summoned seemed to sweep across the whole mountain. It blinded Zigzagoon. "That's Sand Attack." Chikorita's voice seemed so far away right now. Faith didn't know why. The blinded Zigzagoon violently tackled Faith to the ground. Faith tried to push him off but she felt herself slip.
She was falling to her death, the Zigzagoon above her. She grabbed him. It was funny, She was falling to her death, but she felt at peace. She held the Zigzagoon close. "Why did you attack me?" She asked. Her own voice came out weakly.
"The earthquake took everything for me… I have nothing left now… So lost and confused… Sorry I attacked you… You had food….
Faith was only half listening, and she closed her eyes. Then, she felt something come under her. She heard a voice. "It's not your time yet. Unlock the true power within you. Do not be afraid. Be merciful to all. Do not judge. Let the power of justice guide you, and your destiny will reveal itself."
This voice sounded so familiar… It couldn't be…Who's there? Who are you? Is anybody there?
Faith closed her eyes and effort to escape the horrible dream. This all has to be a dream, right? Please let this be a dream.
"Faith, are you okay? Get up, Faith!"
"Huh…? What?"
"Oh, good you're okay. I was really worried." It was Chikorita.
"What the heck happened?" Faith asked as she tried to get up.
"You used Sand Attack on a Zigzagoon and then you suddenly passed out. Luckily, I think the Sand Attack was enough to scare him off. But let's not do that again. Do you know why you passed out?"
"Maybe I'm just hungry."
"Here's an apple. Eat up." Chikorita said as he handed her an apple from the toolbox.
The truth was Faith wasn't really hungry, but she ate the apple anyway.
"Are you okay now?" asked Chikorita.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."
"Okay. Then, let's hurry. We're almost at the top."
Faith nodded but she couldn't really think about the mission. What had the heck happened to her? Had she really almost fallen to her death? What happened to the Zigzagoon? What if it happened again? Why did that voice sound so much like Jolteon?
"Come on Faith, we're almost there."
"Okay, coming."
Faith and Chikorita finally made it to the top of the summit, and thankfully, it was flat
"Look Faith!" Faith looked ahead of her and noticed with horror that the mountain was split in two. "The earthquake must have done this. I had no idea it was that bad. No wonder it's been so quiet."
Faith looked back at Chikorita "You don't mean... That many died, do you?"
Chikorita shook his head sadly. "I don't know how many died…but…."
Faith felt numb but she didn't have time to fully process her emotions before she heard a screech from the air. She looked up, it was Skarmory.
Chikorita ran forward. "Hey Skarmory, where's Diglett? We're here to rescue him."
"I'm over here!"
"Oh no! He's on the other side of the summit. How are we ever going to get him?"
"You're not!" Skarmory came down at a lightning speed. "I won't let you."
"Why have you done this?" Faith could feel her rage rising. "Skarmory why did you kidnap an innocent child?" Faith almost coming to tears. "You heartless…" She couldn't find words to finish the sentence.
"They caused the earthquake… They caused it…. They caused it…."
"That still doesn't explain why you did this. You kidnap an innocent child. We're taking him back." Faith growled
Chikorita looked at Faith, anger raged in her eyes. He had never known Faith to show this much aggression. The situation surrounding this mission must be really bothering her. It was bothering him too but at the same time, it didn't surprise him. "Skarmory, just let the child go and we will leave. We can forget that this whole thing happened."
Faith stared at Chikorita. How could he deal with this so calmly?
Skarmory laughed. "If you want the child so badly, then fight me.
Chikorita shook his head. "Fine, then we have no choice." He turned to Faith. "Are you ready?"
Faith nodded.
Skarmory came at lightning speed towards Faith. She dodged him just in time. Then she turned, the tornado of sand came around her again and she heard Skarmory screech in pain. She then tackled him to the ground. He pushed her off within seconds. Then he plunged his beak deeply into her. Faith could barely breathe and the pain was unbearable. She cried out.
"Faith, Damn it! No!" A tornado of leaves to go took over Faith's vision. She kept breathing desperately. She heard screeching. Chikorita was standing over her. And everything faded to black.
