Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk
Chapter 9: Dark Light
Satous POV
I woke up more refreshed than usual the next morning. Looking over at Hope, I saw that she was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with a green, clawed foot.
"'Mornin'," she yawned, climbing to her feet and walking out the door.
I followed her to the top of the grassy hill, where Hane was still snoring loudly on his perch, even though the sun was long up.
Hope called up to him. "Hello, Hane." When she received no response, she shouted, "Wake up!"
Yet Hane still snored on, unaware of anything except his dreams. Hope poked him with a vine ("Haaaaneeee?"), but to no avail. Hope finally snapped and pushed him out of the tree. Hane landed on the ground with a thump.
I raced over to him to check if he was okay, giving Hope a frustrated frown. Hane seemed unharmed. He was silent, until he gave a massive yawn and rose to his talons, eyes still closed.
"Are you all right, Hane?" I asked him.
His eyes opened slowly, and I nearly bolted from shock. Holy shoot holy shoot holy shoot!
Instead of a deep brown, like they normally were, they were a fiery crimson. Hanes now red eyes slowly focused on me.
"H-hane?" I asked fearfully, taking a step back. This isn't Hane. Who is this? Suddenly, he swung a wing at me, which caught me in the face. I was knocked halfway down the hill from the force of the blow.
"Hane…" I whispered.
I felt a chill surround me, and I looked down. I was covered in an ocean blue flame. It was rather beautiful, actually. Strangely enough, I wasn't even remotely startled by this. My eyes stared up at Hane, and also were full to the brim with a cold flame. Metaphorically, of course.
Stand down. Let me handle this.
…What? Last time I checked, I was the only one inhabiting this body.
FYI: You're not.
Hope was attempting to immobilize Hane with snapping, forest green vines. Hane dodged with the grace and skill of a dancer (surprising for his size and species), latched onto one of the vines, and hurled Hope down the hill. She bounced down to the bottom and didn't get up.
I felt my feet charging up the hill at Hane, running regardless of whether I wanted them to or not. I tackled him in the stomach, knocking him over. The flames spread, covering Hane as well. He shrieked in agony.
What are you doing?!
I'm doing my job.
What, setting fire to people? Who are you, anyway?
Later. I've got work to do. See you in a bit.
The fire faded from my fur, and I jumped off of Hane, again in control of my limbs. I stared at Hane in horror as he writhed on the ground, feathers aflame, screeching bloody hell as his eyes glared scarlet.
Eventually, though, he calmed down, and lay motionless on the grass. The red faded from his eyes, and faded to brown before closing.
The blue flames left his feathers and danced for a moment in midair before sinking back into my fur. It faded into nothing after that.
That was fun.
What are you talking about? Why did you kill him?
I purify souls for a living. Those red eyes? They're a sign that the Pokémon has been possessed by something evil. But Hane was resisting quite strongly to it.
Ooookayyy…?
Don't worry, your friend isn't dead. Look, Hane's waking up now.
Suddenly, Hane glowed a purply-black colour, and his body shrank. When the light faded, in the place of the Pidgeot we know and love was a small Zorua. The Z shaped scar on his cheek was much more pronounced. He slowly opened his eyes, now an electric blue, and sat up.
"Oh, crap," he muttered in a much higher voice than usual, looking at his blue-black tail.
Hope approached him slowly. "Hane…?"
He looked at her. "I suppose you could call me that. Let's go back inside, shall we?" he suggested.
We followed Hane (?) into the cave inside Joy Hill, where he sat down in front of the left-ish wall. Hope and I sat down in front of him.
Apparently Hope thought a blunt approach was best. "Explain, please. Why're you disguised as a Pidgeot?" she asked.
Hane sighed. "I was just about to. I was hiding as a Pidgeot because I'm being hunted."
I blinked. That wasn't the answer I had been expecting. "By who?" I asked.
"…The PASF. I'm wanted," he replied, ears drooping. "But I didn't do anything bad. I tried to talk to Arkide, but he wouldn't listen."
Hopes leaf twitched. "What were you convicted of?" she asked.
Hane stared at her for a long time; so long I thought he might not answer. "Murder," he finally replied. "The murder of my parents."
No one said anything for a long time. I tried to digest what was happening. Hane was an outlaw Zorua? He didn't seem bad, but there was the possibility that he was just a good actor…
Hane broke the silence. "There's something you should know," he said. "My name isn't Hane. It's Shade. And I'm a female."
My eyes widened. "Whoa…" That was the reason his voice was so high…
Hope glared at Shade. "Why should we trust you? For all we know, you could be lying about your innocence. Or worse, you're not even Hane at all."
Shade sighed. "Apparently my tea shouldn't even be compared to Satous bubble tea," she replied.
I grinned. "Only the three of us know that, Hope. That's Hane," I told the Chikorita. "Besides, you know Shade isn't a bad Pokémon. If she were a murderer, we'd be dead already."
"Comforting…" Hope muttered.
"Thanks, Satou," Shade said. "I've been hiding as a Pidgeot for about two years now."
I paused, not knowing if I'd hurt a sore spot by asking. "Do you know who did commit that crime?" I asked her.
"Yeah. My older sister, Indigo," she replied, ears drooping again. "She was jealous of all the attention I got, and eventually it corrupted her. She killed our parents and set fire to our home. I barely escaped with my life."
"Sheesh, that's a bit extreme," Hope said, frowning.
"Yeah," I agreed. "Spite doesn't solve anything."
We sat there for a while longer, all at a loss as to what to say. Hope picked up the shard of glass that had been embedded in her forehead and studied it carefully, frowning in concentration.
Suddenly- "Hey, Satou." I looked at Shade. "Can I have a mug of tea?" she asked.
"Sure," I said, hauling out the tea kettle. In a few minutes, the bubble tea was well on its way to being ready.
"I was wondering… What was your life like on Ishara island, Satou?" Hope inquired.
I thought for a moment. "Apparently I was an orphan, although I definitely remember having parents. My mom's name was Violin, and my dad's name was Ember," I explained. "No one knew who they were, and when I checked the official records, they weren't there. I only lived on that island for about a month, but I don't remember anything before that."
Mistys POV
I soared toward the hideout, shrieking with glee. I had the most devious plan I had had since that prank involving Sooty-Sensei, a bowl of banana pudding, an ice cube, and lots of tape*. I once again thanked Arceus for being born a ghost. I was drained of energy, true, but I had enough information to get revenge on that Zorua outlaw who had attacked me and her comrades, which gave me enough energy to soar back to the hideout in ten minutes flat.
I flew through the wall of the cave. Hazard glared up at me. Fogspin also eyed me from his poition on the floor, but there was no malice in his stare, only curiosity.
"What have you found out?" Hazard inquired loudly.
"The Pidgeot is an outlaw Zorua named Shade," I giggled. "We can get rid of her if we tell the Federation who Hane really is."
Hazard smirked evilly. "Excccellent," he answered. "I'll go tell them, sssince you two are alssso wanted, and we'll have that human by nightfall."
-End of Chapter 9-
*= Use your imagination with this. :P
A/N: Holy shoot… why didn't I post this earlier? I finished it the first week of September… T_T
YAY CAKE
Pretty much a filler chapter… oh well.
Hope, Shade, Hazard, Misty, and Fogspin all belong to me, Esper12.
Satou belongs to NewYearJirachi.
May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!
