Ruin Maniac Harris, Part 2

"No, no, there're nice people too," said Harris quickly. Joining the excavation team around the campfire, Slick listened to the ruin maniac eagerly. "Volunteers from Fallarbor come on Saturdays to pick up trash. Not that it's all litter, per se. The winds from Mt. Chimney sweep a lot of debris into the canyon."

A few feet away, Slick's Pokemon had set up their own campfire. The sky was dark, and the wind had died down. "Harris? It was just a broken wing," laughed Bailey. "You know how humans are. He put a splint on me and took me in for a few days. Wouldn't let me leave till I was ready to fly."

"Huh, they do that for you?" grunted Leroy, warming his hands over the flames. "Lucky you. Most humans liked to skip pebbles off my lilypad."

Shanala shivered. Frowning, Sektek looked around the campfire. Something wasn't quite right. "Say," he began nervously. "Are we missing someone?" But no one answered him. Probably didn't hear him. No need to make a hassle over it, though.

"So Bay, what're they digging, anyway?" asked Leroy, adjusting his lilypad hat. "Looked like some sort of shield."

The Wingull shook her head. "It was a round door." said Bailey, pecking at a berry. "Sealed with some sort of tile puzzle-"

"Magnagate," mumbled Sektek without thinking. He covered his mouth as the others looked at him oddly.

Blinking, Bailey frowned at the Pikachu, then turned back to the others. "Yeah,, they're called Magnagates," she continued. "Very common back in the day. No one quite knows where they came from."

Sitting up, Rush glanced around. "Hey, where'd Insyte go?" said the Marshtomp, frowning. "Jeez, you guys should've said something."

Sektek cringed. It seemed there had been someone missing after all! "I'll go look for him," said Bailey, sighing. I'll need someone's help, though. Ah..." Her eyes fell on Sektek. "Lightning, come with me."

A flash of disappointment in Shanala's eyes; then, she quickly shook her head. "Hopefully he didn't wander too far," sighed Rush, shaking his head as Sektek meekly followed Bailey away from the fire. "That Umbreon..."

In the center of the dig site was an exposed stone formation, carved with symbols. "Harris, you clever boy," chirped Bailey, tucking in her wings as she landed. "And Insyte's scent is all over this. What a freak..."

Trash had been neatly stacked into several piles, clearing a walkway. Circling the ruin, Sektek stared at the gaping, circular entrance in the wall, footprint runes along the rim. The Magnagate was open!

Turning, the Wingull looked at Sektek. "Well, explorer boy?" she taunted, nudging him with her beak. "What're you waiting for? This is your thing."

He cringed. Why did he ever tell the others about his days in Team Retrievers? "But... but it's not like you actually-"

"Well, maybe you'd be a bit more convincing if you weren't scared of your own tail!" replied Bailey, annoyed. "You say you like exploring dark caves and that sort of thing, right? Well, here's one right here! Now get in there."

"Huh?!" The Pikachu's eyes widened as the Wingull began to push him toward the open Magnagate. "W-wait...!"

"Sorry, but, I'm not dealing with whatever comes out of there," said the Wingull grimly as Sektek dug his paws into the ground, desperately resisting."Don't worry, I'll send someone if you're not back in ten!"

Sighing, Sektek relaxed his footing, letting Bailey push him toward the Magnagate. "Okay, okay," he muttered. A small breeze swirled around the entrance, beckoning him inside. "I'm going, I'm going..."

He still remembered his first dungeon vividly. Eagerly, the Pichu followed the Linoone and the Lucario through the grove, surrounded by mysteries of the past.

"Fragments of original chaos," said Ilun as Cory raised his lantern, illuminating the sprawling growth. "Like undercooked dough when baking bread. That's what the mystery dungeons are. Leftover bits from creation that haven't stabilized. Watch your step."

"Hey, Spark-Tail," called Venvel from behind Sektek. Her eyes were bright and cheerful. "Wanna split a snack?"

The Pichu grinned. "Sure, Leaf-Light," he replied happily. Tail wagging, the Eevee handed him half an apple. "Thanks!"

Cory sighed. "Leaf-Light, you know we've got to conserve our supplies," he told the Eevee. "Those have to last until we reach the client, you know."

Ilun laughed. "Oh, let her be, Cory," he assured his partner. "I'm sure she's just happy to hang out with someone her age..."

The Pikachu descended the stairs, his tail glowing. The era of dungeons and explorers had ended long ago. But here he was, an explorer of the golden age, exploring one last dungeon.

Even so, the dungeons were no longer the same. The rooms were smaller, the corridors shorter. Occasionally, he glimpsed a Shuppet here and there, but none ever attempted to attack him.

Descending another flight of stairs, Sektek entered a great chamber, its wall carved and dyed richly with desert pigment. In the center was a carved stone coffin. And next to the coffin, a dark shape with glowing rings. His eyes widened. So the Umbreon came down here after all! "Insyte?" called Sektek. Wait, what should he even say? "Hey... um-"

A cold chill went down his spine. Immediately, the Pikachu stopped in his tracks. Was something watching them? "Keep it down," hissed Insyte, staring up at the wall. "All right, where'd that prick go-"

Footsteps from the corridor. Cheeks crackling, Sektek spun around-and found himself face to face with Shanala. He blinked. "Shan?" breathed Insyte, stunned. "What're you doing here?"

Sektek flinched as the Vulpix passed him, her fur bristling. Slowly, she lifted her head, looking at Insyte, just barely avoiding eye contact. "I came to find you," she replied coldly.

The Pikachu shifted uneasily, glancing between the duo. There was a tingle growing in the air, a presence approaching, but neither Shanala nor Insyte seemed to notice. "Guys?" he said tenatively. "Maybe we should-"

But they ignored Sektek. "You've lost your mind, Shan," said Insyte harshly, padding toward the Vulpix. "You shouldn't have followed me, either of you-"

"Kaaaa?"

As Insyte brushed past the coffin, the tingle in the air erupted into a roar, and Sektek cringed. "Look out!" shouted the Pikachu as the coffin began to rise, standing upright.

"Dede kas de karn." A pair of red eyes gleamed down from the sarcophagus's face, down at them. "Deskaaaarn!"

The Pikachu stared at the Cofagrigus, terrified, yet strangely, also excited. This must be the dungeon's boss! They had a team of three, after all. They could win, right? Electricity crackled between his nerves as he leapt forward, accelerating his senses...

A shadowy blob formed between the Cofagrigus's spectral hands, aimed at Shanala. Growling, Insyte sprang forward to shield the Vulpix, leaving Sektek unguarded.

Turning sharply, Sektek tried to halt, but too late. A shadowy fist struck the Pikachu's flank, knocking him to the floor and scattering the electricity in his paws, the wind pressed from his lungs.

Grabbing Shanala by the scruff of her neck, Insyte fled up the steps, Sektek following close behind. Shuppets scattered from their pawsteps, the gold coffin stalking after them.

Silently, the Pikachu berated himself. How could he forget? They weren't Retrievers... they weren't explorers at all. "Kaaarn," hissed the Cofagrigus. "De-de-deskaaaarn!"

Racing down the corridor. Dark runes on the walls, twisting spirals. Sektek's eyes darted around wildly as he ran. As they neared the exit, Sektek caught a glimpse of black fabric. "Look out!" he cried.

But his words didn't seem to reach his teammates. Shuppets spun to life around Shanala, puppet-strings latching onto her, restraining her. "Karn, karn!" cried the Cofagrigus. "De, de, deskarn!"

Heart sinking, Sektek looked up and down the corridor. Cofagrigus behind them and Shuppets in front of them. The Pikachu could feel his heartbeat in his ears. If only you were born into this world, you would know better.

Then, a shrill caw cut through the air, and a Shuppet shrieked as Bailey swooped down on its head, tearing the puppet-shroud open. "Hey! Small children!" called the Wingull, circling back down the corridor. "What's taking you so long?"

Releasing Shana, the remaining two Shuppets flew at Sektek. By force of habit, the Pikachu relased a wide spray of sparks from his cheeks, splashing over the Shuppets, stunning them both. He blinked. One of Slick's techniques!

A blur of gold spines from behind Bailey and Harris's Sandslash sprang at the Cofagrigus, white claws wreathed in a spectral glow. "You there!" called the Sandslash to Insyte. "Get in a sneak attack from behind! That'll do it."

Snarling, Insyte lunged at the Cofagrigus, only for his body to pass right through the floating coffin, tumbling into the wall. Shaking the dust off his fur, Insyte glared at the Sandslash. "I never learned such techniques-"

A shadowy fist shot toward Sektek, another splash of sparks from his cheeks. Hissing, screeching, the Cofagrigus drew back, its spectral body writhing. "Never mind, let's go," said the Sandslash. "Quick, before they recover!" Nodding, they hurried up the corridor.

Gasping for breath, Sektek stumbled out into the cold, night air. Leaning on the Sandslash for support, Insyte glared up at Bailey. "So this was your idea? Sending kids to check up on me? They could've gotten hurt."

Drained, the Pikachu watched as the Sanslash adjusted the puzzle-locks on the wall, closing the Magnagate, silencing the ravenous ghost-screams from inside. The air felt... holllow. Exploring used to be fun, such fun. Why did he have to give that up, too?

"Us? You could've gotten hurt too," said Shanala coldly, still not looking Insyte in the eye. "Wandering off, not telling anyone where you're going-"

"Hey, knock it off." The dig site fell silent as Rush approached, sand crunching under his feet. "Took you guys long enough. Good thing Slick doesn't know about any of this, eh?" The Marshtomp gestured toward the archaeologists' campfire.

Insyte scowled briefly, and Shana hung her head. "Sorry," said Sektek weakly. "We... uh... found him." Nodding to Insyte, his paw slipped on a trash pile as he approached Rush, a Clefairy doll rolling down into the sand.

The Marshtomp stiffened. "Well, welcome back," said Rush after a moment, bending down to pick up the doll. "I think we've had enough excitement for one night. And Insyte? Don't wander off again. Sandslash, thanks for your help."

"Thanks again, Harris," said Slick as he pulled on his goggles the next morning. Pulling on his pack, he frowned at his belt, his Pokemon tucked safely away in their Poke Balls. "Odd. You guys all look exhausted..."

Harris grinned, Sandslash at his side. "Well, that's the desert for ya. Safe travels. Take good care of Winnie... ah... Bailey." Turning, the ruin maniac joined the other diggers by the campfire. "All right, team, let's get to work!"

As Slick set off into the desert again, Sektek glanced over to Rush's Poke Ball-and blinked. The Marshtomp was still tightly clutching the doll from last night...