Zey: Oh wow! How long has it been? Sometimes you can lose track of time when you're bombarded with work (and I may or may not have been a little lazy lately). Anywho, welcome to another chapter! There will be no PokeTalk today. My cohost, Amaki, seems to be on strike…

Amaki:

Zey: He's giving me the silent treatment. But I have fun with it anyway! Hey Amaki, say something if you don't want me to bury you with garbage!

Amaki: :(

Zey: Whoohoo! Cya later guys, I need to go find a city dump truck!

Chapter 9

"Out of my way!" Rhea struggles to shove Keldeo to the side, but he remains in front of her, blocking her path to the stairs. Her left arm was wrapped up on a sling that was made of silk that came from a joltik in the Okami. Her right arm, which I learned recently is her bad arm, is trying desperately to move our equine doctor. The reason Rhea's so furious is hidden in the mail that lies on her bed. "I have to go NOW!"

"You idiot, you're still recovering!" Kel blocks her as she dodges to the left. I take advantage of the distraction and sneak over to her bed. The letter is folded neatly in half and has a stamp of a bird coated in elegant flames. I quickly glance at Rhea and Kel and am glad to see that they are too focused on each other to see what I'm doing. I pick the letter up and silently open it.

Dear Rhea,

Wherever you may be, we would like to inform you that returning to our tribe would be in your best interest. Your brother, Alexander, has gotten worse. We had all believed that his disease would fade with time, but its severity has only increased. We believe he may not last long. Please, come and see your brother before he passes on.

Sincerely, Lenora

Rhea's brother? "MOVE!" I look just in time to see Kel flying towards me. I calmly duck under him and look at Rhea. Her usual calm face is still firm, yet her eyes were puffy and red. I think she might be crying! That's impressive. Maybe the Mutt could teach me that trick one day. "Stay out of my way, pony boy." She sprints down the stairs and into the dining area below.

I turn around and look at Kel. His rear is propped up on the wall and his head is tilted sideways on the floor. His face shows signs of extreme thought. I can't help but smile slightly. It's kind of cute to see him like this. "So Doc, what's up?"

"Currently, the floor. I've never seen Rhea so… emotional. All I wanted to do was help."

I crouch down until I'm eye level with Kel. "Too bad." I pat his nose and smile. "C'mon, we have to stop Rhea from doing something stupid. If she falls under physical harm, I want it to be my fault, not hers."

"You're not a very good friend, are you?" Kel climbs up to his hooves and follows me downstairs.

"That is where you are wrong, my equine acquaintance. Friends like spending time with each other and talk about boys or whatever. We, on the other hand, try to rip each other's throats out any time we get. She and I are far from friends." I casually walk through the inn, past all the shocked customers, and into the town square, occasionally waving at some of the residents. It's been a full month since I had arrived. I've become quite acquainted with some of the pokemon who come here every day. Some appreciate my company, others wish I die a long and horrible death, but it's okay.

This isn't the first time Rhea ran off. In fact, this is kind of why she's taking so long to recover. Every time she gets out, she does something stupid and ends up popping her shoulder yet again, which is pretty annoying for me since I have to listen to her whine and moan about her shoulder all night. At least some nights I'm allowed to go visit Hanryu and spend the night there. It's nice being able to sleep without having to worry about waking up without a head.

"Thank Arceus; Hanryu is blocking Rhea's way out." I follow Kel to the crossroads at the edge of town. "I'm really sorry Hanryu. Even with just one arm, she's got a really strong punch."

"It's quite alright." Hanryu glances over and gives me a warm smile. "Good morning, Lyn. I hope you had a good night's rest." I nod and return his smile. "So, what's the story this time?" I look at Rhea, who is hanging upside down from Hanryu's constricting vines. "She got bored? Achy legs? Looking for poisonous berries to put in your food?"

"Her brother, Alexander." His smile slowly fades as I continue. "His disease has gotten worse. Her tribe wants her to return."

"Wait! Rhea's tribal?" Kel bites his lip nervously. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"It's not exactly a topic that pops up in small talk," I say on Rhea's behalf. "Anyway, I'm also tribal. What's the problem?" Kel laughs nervously and slowly backs up. "Do you have a problem with me, Keldeo?" I grab one of his legs with my extra pair of jaws. "Well do ya, punk?"

"Let him go Lyn." I raise an eyebrow at Hanryu's order. "He's had a bad experience with tribes and slushies. Don't ask why slushies are included. Every time tribes come up in a conversation, he suddenly becomes a mute." I sigh and release my grip. As soon as I do, he bolts past us into Paradise. Hanryu puts down Rhea and smiles. "All right. Now that Mr. Goody-Two-Hooves is gone, let's go!"

"You weren't thinking about leaving without me, were you Dad?" I can see Hanryu cringe out the corner of my eye as we turn to face the annoyed, dark furred fox. "You promised the next adventure you go on, you'd take me with you!" A shiver jolts down my spine as the zorua's glare washes over us all. It reminds me of the glare that Hanryu used to give me all the time. "And you're taking Rhea with you?! She's handicapped!"

"Watch it!" Rhea bares her fangs at Roxxy. "I could still flatten you if I wanted to."

"I'd like to see you try, Mutt." Roxxy quickly covers her maw with a paw. We all stare at her in stunned silence. Even Rhea seems to be a little surprised by her comment. Throughout all of this, I couldn't hide the wide smile that came onto my face.

"I'm so proud of you!" I tackle Roxxy and give her a tight hug. "You are totally coming with us! You've earned it!"

"But-"

"No buts!" I cut Hanryu off as I lead Roxxy to the front of the group. "Come on! We've got an adventure to take on! Let's go! Let's go!" Without another word of protest from anyone else, we began or journey to Rhea's home. After a while, everyone started sharing random stories. Roxxy began her own adventures, but never passes up a moment to go on a request with her father despite his protests not to. I told everyone about the new scarf that was given to me by some mysterious pokemon, which makes Roxxy and Hanryu exchange very excited smiles. I uncertainly grasp my new ebony scarf. Just why are they so excited?

I quickly push the thought out of my mind. It doesn't really matter. At least this new scarf allows me to replace that Focus Sash for a new, more masculine gift. It's a nice gift, I just need to be a little more convincing about my lie.

"So, what separates a tribe from… us?" The way Roxxy hesitated to say "us" peaks my interest. Just what does she mean?

Hanryu flashes a confident smirk. It seems he's happy to answer a question for his daughter. "You see, typically, villagers are so diverse, they do not need to have individual names. Tribes, on the other hand, are usually only one species, so they have names to tell each other apart."

"Are you part of a tribe, Hanryu?" I inquire.

"Well, uh, no. However, I'm not a common villager either."

"So what are you?"

Hanryu opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by Rhea's sudden shout. "We're here!" she declares. I stare at the wall of trees that stand tall before us. Right in the center is an opening that is barely large enough for Hanryu to slip into. Rhea doesn't…

"You don't live in a mystery dungeon, do you?!" Roxxy snatches the words right out of my mouth. To my dismay, Rhea nods once. "That means…"

"We have to travel to the heart of the dungeon…" I whisper softly.

"What's the matter? Scared?" I squeeze Rhea's bad shoulder, causing her to howl in pain. "Why you little-"

"Call me a midget, I dare you!"

"Ladies! Now is not the time." Hanryu uses his vines to pick us up and separate us. "I don't mean you, of course." He gives me a sheepish smile. I guess he wants to clarify it so that I don't grind his face into the dirt. "Rhea, how many floors?"

"Just three."

"Well that's not so bad. Think you can handle it, Lyn?"

I scoff and roll my eyes. "Of course I can handle three measly floors. What do you take me for, some useless magikarp?"

"Dad says not to underestimate magikarps because they can grow to be a mighty gyarados!" How is that even relevant?

Hanryu sets us down gently. "C'mon guys! Let's go! Onward! For Rhea's brother!"

A/N: Kupo. Kupokupo Kupo? Kupo Kukupo. Kupopo Kupo. KUPO! (Translation: End of Chapter! How will Lyn deal with being in another dungeon? Will they make it in time before Alexander passes on? Why does Hanryu have a name? All this and more will be answered next time on Torn to Pisces 3: Journey of One Thousand Moons {Not real title}! Cya then!)