Anima was at once aware of the differences between Mount Horn and previous dungeons. The Pokemon here had higher levels, which in turn meant more chances for them to inflict damage on her. And for a Normal-type in a dungeon infested with Rock- and Fighting- types, this was a situation meant to be avoided if it could be helped.

Needless to say, Anima was really glad that Kippy had learned Water Gun in Drenched Bluff. Any Rock-type that happened to get in their way was quickly knocked out as they made their way through the dungeon, becoming more and more anxious for Azurill as the floors increased in level and difficulty. Anima and Kippy ran down the hallways, which were made of light gray rocks that were all the exact same color. There was barely any color variation here; all the landscape was the same gray color. Nothing's paralyzed. Not yet, anyways, a small voice in the back of Anima's head said. She jumped, momentarily letting her guard down and being rewarded with a Wake-Up Slap administered by a Fighting-type that she couldn't name. 'Paralyzed'? What's that supposed to mean? She thought, passing her turn as Kippy took it down with Water Gun. No sense in keeping him out of the action. They were going to bring down an outlaw, and they both needed to participate in it if they wanted to win.

"Anima? Are you okay? You've been in a daze ever since we hit this room," Kippy said, concerned as Anima headed up the stairs to the next floor.

"I'm fine, Kippy," She said dismissively. "It's just a lot to worry about, you know? We're taking on a dangerous outlaw here," Kippy shivered a bit. Maybe that wasn't a good idea, Anima thought. I can't have him freaking out on me now,

"We'll be fine," Anima said. "Besides, nobody else knows where Azurill is. It's up to us," The thought of Azurill scared half to death seemed to help Kippy snap out of his fear.

"You're right, Anima! Let's go!" With that, he marched past her into a room she'd been trying to avoid.

"Kippy! Wait! That's a..." Suddenly, at least ten Pokemon dropped down from the ceiling as Kippy let out a cry of surprise.

"...Monster House," Anima finished, a second too late. She fished a Foe-Hold Orb out of the Treasure Bag and deftly slammed it into the ground.

"You...you..." Kippy stammered, still getting over the shock of being ambushed by seven-plus Pokemon.

"Foe-Hold Orbs," Anima said, gathering up the items in the room before heading towards the stairs, which just so happened to be in the next room over. "Never leave for a dungeon without one," Kippy gave a nervous laugh before following her, looking over his shoulder as he did so.

"I...I don't like Monster Houses," He said. "I've only seen one once, and I don't like them already," Anima laughed once, a harsh, hard-as-steel sound that didn't sound like it was able to come out of a Meowth's throat.

"Who doesn't, Kippy? Who doesn't?"

"Point taken," Kippy mumbled. Anima suddenly put her paw over his mouth.

"Quiet! I think I hear them!" Sure enough, the voices of Azurill and Drowzee could be heard from up ahead.

"Mr. Drowzee, don't you think we should wait for Marill?" Azurill asked, slightly nervous but unaware of what was going on.

"Sorry, kid. Your brother? He's not here, and neither is that item of yours," Drowzee said, his pleasant demeanor in Treasure Town completely dissolved.

"Wh-what?"

"Haven't you figured it out? I deceived you."

"I...I..." Azurill said. Anima could tell that he was getting upset; she could practically hear the tears in his voice. "I WANT MY BROTHER!" From the sounds of it, Azurill was trying to make a break for it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where do you think you're going?" Drowzee said. "I'll get you outta here, but first there's something I want you to do. You see that hole in the wall? Through there, there's supposed to be a whole treasure trove of thief's gold! Only problem is, I'm too big to squeeze through. That's where you come in. All you gotta do is go through there, get the treasure, and get out and I'll take you back to your brother."

"N-no!" Azurill yelled, once more trying to run.

"If you don't cooperate, it'll mean big trouble for you!" Drowzee threatened menacingly. His slightly-cordial attitude was gone; the words he spoke now resembled a snarl. Anima gritted her teeth. How anybody could threaten a little kid like Azurill...it was going to take all her self-control to not go charging in in a blind rage. Judging from Kippy's expression, he'd had enough as well.

"Hey, you! Knock it off!" he yelled as he and Anima made their presences known. Enough was enough. Drowzee whirled around, clearly taken by surprise.

"H-how did you find this place?" He asked in shock.

"We're Team Enigma, an exploration team! No outlaws can avoid us!" Kippy continued. Anima's eyes widened in surprise; Kippy was ad-libbing, and stretching the truth quite a bit. His strategy was good, however. Providing nothing went wrong...

"An exploration team? What? How did you...wait. Are you trembling?" Drowzee asked, going from terrified to smug as he saw that Kippy was, indeed, shuddering in fear again. Anima almost slapped her forehead. So close...they were so close to fooling him.

"Oh, I get it. You may be an exploration team, but you're total rookies!" Drowzee said, laughing.

"Rookies or not...we're not letting you get away with this!" Anima said, seeing as though Kippy was still fighting his fear. He shot a grateful look at her, who returned it with a nod. Still chuckling, Drowzee said,

"I've been chased by a lot of exploration teams in my days...but none as sorry-looking as you two!"

"At least we're not threatening innocent kids," Anima shot back.

"Oh, is that how you wanna play? You've got yourself an attitude, huh? Somebody should teach you some manners!" Anima smirked, her claws poised and ready for action. Kippy stood up straight beside her.

"We're not letting you get away, Drowzee, you bully!" He put in. Drowzee laughed again.

"I'll give you a pounding and send you running! We'll just see if you can bring me to justice!" Anima reached into the Treasure Bag, pulling out eight gleaming projectiles waiting for action.

"Bring it," She said, hurling the first Iron Thorn at him. All the while, she couldn't help but notice how natural it felt. Muscle memory, she said. I used to do this a lot, Her first Iron Thorn hit its target, and just like Koffing and Zubat had done, Drowzee put himself within striking range.

"Faint Attack!" Anima yelled, performing the move she'd learned on the way up there. She thanked Arceus for being kind enough to not turn her into a Skitty. They were cute, sure, but the Normalize ability would have gotten on her nerves a long time ago.

"Water Gun!" Kippy hollered, also hitting his target. Drowzee took half a step back from the attacks, but he still sent a Hypnosis attack at Anima.

"Anima!" Kippy yelled, watching his partner fall asleep in the middle of a battle.

"Tackle!" Drowzee collided with him head-on. It was a powerful blow; Kippy was on the verge of exhaustion.

I...I have to do this. Anima's asleep, Azurill's scared out of his wits, and we have no backup. It's up to me.

"Water Gun!" He said, sending a powered-up blast of water at Drowzee. It sent him flying backwards and crashing into a large boulder.

"Ugh...you're better than I thought..." He muttered before fainting. Anima woke up moments later.

"Kippy! You did it!" She exclaimed. She and Kippy went over to see Azurill, who was still petrified with fear.

"We're gonna take you back to your brother, okay? You're safe now," Kippy said soothingly.

"O-okay," Azurill said, sticking close to Anima as the three made their way out of Mount Horn.


"Azurill! Are you okay?" Marill asked as Team Enigma brought out Azurill.

"Waaaah! Marill! It was so scary!" Azurill sobbed, rushing over to his brother and hugging him as best as he could. For a Pokemon lacking arms, he did a fairly good job.

"He's fine. The little guy doesn't have a scratch on him," Kippy said. Anima shot a questioning look at him. Sure, he's fine physically...but this might give him some nightmares for a while.

"Oh, Team Enigma...thank you so much! Azurill?" Marill said, looking at his brother. Azurill nodded.

"I know...Thank you for saving me, Team Enigma!" Anima smiled; it was the warmest smile she'd ever given, and wasn't forced in the slightest.

"You're very welcome, Azurill," She said. "Good luck finding that item of yours,"

"Thanks!" A voice behind them interrupted the warm feelings.

"ZZT! I am officer Magnezone! Thank you for helping us apprehend Drowzee! ZZT!" Anima jumped slightly, as did Kippy.

"Y-you're welcome, officer. But...where is Drowzee?" Kippy asked.

"ZZT! Deputy Magnemite and deputy Magneton are retrieving him as we speak. ZZT!" Anima fought the almost uncontrollable urge to giggle wildly. The "ZZT!" thing he did after every sentence was ridiculously comical.

"ZZT! Officer Magnezone! ZZT! We have the outlaw in custody! ZZT!" Deputy Magneton said as he and Magnemite exited the dungeon with Drowzee in tow.

"ZZT! Good work! Team Enigma, we'll be sure to send the reward to the guild! ZZT! Thank you for your cooperation! And now you," Magnezone said, turning his attention to Drowzee. "You are coming with us! ZZT!"

"Aww..." Drowzee groaned, having no choice but to let himself be hauled off to prison.

"It's pretty late, Anima," Kippy said, turning his gaze to the sky. "We might want to be heading back soon,"

"Agreed," Anima said. "I've had enough excitement for one day,"


Anima and Kippy entered the guild a little while later, only to be congratulated by Chatot right off the bat.

"Good job, you two! Officer Magnezone told me you apprehended a wanted outlaw! Excellent work! Of course, I'll expect that same great work from you tomorrow!" He said before heading downstairs. Anima and Kippy looked at each other and started laughing.

"Wow...that was sudden," Anima said.

"Yeah," Kippy agreed. They were cut off by a grumbling noise.

"Hey! My stomach growled!" Kippy exclaimed. Another grumble came soon after.

"Same here!" Anima said. Two more grumbles from the both of them sent them into laughter again.

"Wow! We were so intent on rescuing Azurill that we forgot how hungry we were!" Kippy said.

"Yeah, but now...now I'm starving! Let's go eat!"


That night, Kippy and Anima talked for a little bit before going to sleep.

"Catching Drowzee...that was awesome," Kippy said.

"You were the one who took him down," Anima reminded him. "I just started things,"

"But you were the one who found out about Azurill ahead of time! If you hadn't had that vision, we may have not noticed,"

Oh, I would've noticed, Anima thought about saying. It's hard to ignore your every instinct telling you that something's not right about a certain situation.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," She said aloud. She wasn't in the mood for explaining things like that innate feeling that something was off.

"Well, let's put in another good day tomorrow. All right?" Kippy asked, already drifting off to sleep. Anima smiled before also going to bed.

"You know it, Kippy. You know it,"


Not as long as the chapter before, I know. Hope you're not too disappointed. I'm working on a THIRD story (which I just published today) so I'm juggling between this one and that. My Kirby story's going to be out of business for a little bit just because my attention span cannot focus on Kirby long enough for me to see just where I want to go with that story (I've dug myself a bit of a hole with that one...)