Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Legendary & Ancient Discoveries
Book I
Chapter 9:
Burning Hatred
"Ryo, are you there?" whispered Sceps.
It was the dead of night and Ryo was nowhere to be found.
'Where the hell can he possibly be?' wondered Sceps, noticing on the clock that it was 11:57 pm. He (as quietly as possible) searched as much of the guild as possible, but no Ryo. So he snuck outside to search Summer Town.
"Ryo?" Sceps called in a whisper. "Ryo?"
"Sceps!" called a voice.
Sceps recognized this voice as Ryo's, and ran towards the direction he heard it come from.
"Ryo?!" he said when he saw his friend. "What the hell are you doing here? It's almost midnight!"
"The moon." Ryo said.
"What?" asked Sceps.
"The moon. Isn't it beautiful tonight?"
Sceps glanced up at the moon. It was full tonight.
"I guess." he said.
"The moon is one of my favorite things of all time." said Ryo. "I would give almost anything to go there."
"Almost?"
"Well I wouldn't give up you and the others, Sceps. Over the past three weeks, I feel like I've known you my whole life. I've gotten to be really close friends with you, and I want it to stay that way." Ryo said.
'Is he saying that he doesn't want me to return to my world?' Sceps thought.
"Hmm." said Ryo. "I can sense that it just struck midnight."
Sceps looked at Ryo. He was just staring at the moon, completely intent with his life. But did he really value his friendship with Sceps too much to let him go? After only three weeks, he felt like a brother to Sceps. If he returned to his world, could Ryo handle it?
"Sceps?" Ryo said after a long silence.
"What is it?" Sceps asked.
"Friends forever?" said Ryo, extending his arm with his paw in a fist.
"Sure, buddy." answered Sceps with a smile, followed by hitting his fist against Ryo's. "Now come on. Let' get back to the guild."
The next morning, at the guild...
"What is it, Gastly?" asked Infernape.
"There's a visitor at the door that needs attention quickly. It seems like she's been injured." he answered grimly. "I need you to give the call for medical help."
"Fine." said Infernape. "Bring her in. I'll get help."
Some time later, the entire guild was gathered around the visitor (who was identified as a Nuzleaf) while Meganium, the local doctor, was tending to her wounds.
"She seems to be in a pretty bad condition." said Meganium, clearly worried. "She's sustained many burns, some very severe. Still, I don't think we'll need to transfer her to a hospital just yet."
"Wait a minute." said Sparky. "Burns this severe... they can't have been caused by another pokemon, right?"
"No, they couldn't have." answered Meganium. "Not even a legendary can create flames that are hot enough to put a pokemon in such a critical condition."
"So if it wasn't caused by a pokemon..." said Sparky. "Then why are there so many cuts and bruises on her? If she was attacked, as is the most likely case, then how was she also burned? There haven't been reports of fires in months."
"Sir!" yelled Torterra, who was making his way through the room. "We have just received a report of a new Mystery Dungeon! And it may very well be linked to this woman's injuries!"
"What is it?" asked Sparky.
"Take a look for yourself." he said, handing the slip of paper in his mouth to Sparky.
"Scorched Flatland?" he said, bewildered.
"Yes." said Torterra. "18 floors of hellish fire. Definitely hotter than what any pokemon can make, too."
"Ugh..." muttered a voice.
Everybody turned around to where the voice was coming from. Shockingly, it was Nuzleaf. She was trying to get up, but Meganium made her stay down.
"Please." she said. "Just stay down and let Synthesis do its work."
"My little boy, Seedot..." Nuzleaf muttered. "You have to save him... that Scorched Flatland... he got lost there. I tried to save him, but-ACK!" Nuzleaf started to go into a coughing fit, scaring almost everyone there. "I couldn't save him... the flames... and the pokemon..." She then fell unconscious once more.
"I'll get her transferred to a hospital." said Meganium, who then used her vines to pick up Nuzleaf and carry her away.
"We're going to have to send a team to retrieve that Seedot as fast as we can." said Sparky, clearly determined to rescue the child.
"We can go, guildmaster!" said Mightyena. "We are one of the guild's strongest teams, after all!"
"No, it'll still be too dangerous." said Sparky.
"Sir, why don't we just go?" asked Empoleon.
"Are you crazy?!" Sparky barked. "Not after what happened all those years ago on Mt. Flare.
"Then we'll go." said Sceps, stepping foreward.
"You've got to be kidding me!" yelled Sparky. "You could end up seriously injured, or WORSE!"
"Sorry guildmaster," Ryo began. "But we've decided."
"No." shouted Sparky. "Absolutely NOT! I will not let my guild's rookies go out on a suicide mission! You'll get burned to a crisp, and who knows how strong the pokemon there are!"
"Sir." said Mud. "With all due respect, you need to quit being so paranoid and let us go. It's our decision."
"In my 18 years as guildmaster..." huffed Sparky. "I have never heard such words from one of my rookies..."
He walked up to Mud and began to loom over him, causing him to become intimidated.
"... so I'll have to let you go." he finished.
"WHAT?!" yelled Ryo.
"You guys are clearly determined to go." said Sparky. "So I'll just have to let you. But don't go crying to me when you come back with third degree burns."
Ryo smirked. "Thank you, guildmaster." and with that, he led his team to the Scorched Flatland.
"Do you really think that's a good idea?" asked Torterra after Team Pokesquad left and the guild members disbursed.
"I see big things coming from that team." said Sparky. "They'll pull this off. I know they will."
Later, in the northwestern edge of the forest...
Ryo looked carefully at the land ahead of him. As said in the name of the dungeon, it was very flat. But the ground was completely orange, with bright red and orange flames burning everywhere.
"Are you guys ready for this?" he asked, turning his head back to see his team.
With determined expressions, they all nodded in unison.
"Then let's go." he said.
The first floor wasn't much for them. Mud extinguished any flames that threatened to harm them, but Sceps was still off of his game as a result of the heat. Twice Iron had to bail him out in battle.
By the tenth floor, he was lagging behind so much that the others were starting to get seriously worried about him.
"Are you sure you can go on dude?" asked Mud.
"Yeah, I'm-" Sceps coughed "-ugh... fine."
"Hmm." murmured Ryo. "Listen Sceps, I want you hold to hold on to this Oran Berry." he said, handing Sceps the blue berry. "If you start to feel to weak, eat it."
"Alright, alright..." he said, followed by another cough.
The team pushed onward, repeatedly encountering Nidorinos, Growlithes, Magbies, Geodude, and even the occasional Flareon. Eventually though, they made it to the 18th floor.
"Keep a look out for Seedot." said Ryo. "We didn't find him anywhere else in the dungeon and he couldn't have gone far, so he's almost certainly here- there he is!" he shouted, spotting Seedot cowering in fear under a tree.
Team Pokesquad started to run towards Seedot. Seedot saw them and apparently recognized them as explorers, as he began to jump up and down in excitement of getting rescued and seeing his mother again. But then, something unexpected happened. Three black blurs fell from the sky and started to circle Seedot, frightening him. The black blurs then stopped and were revealed to be a Murkrow and two Honchkrows.
"Team Commando?!" shouted Ryo.
"That's right!" said Murkrow in a smug tone. "You Team Pokesquad bastards think you can do anything, don't you? Well just because the guildmaster thinks you can do this doesn't mean you will!"
"What are you talking about?" shouted Iron. "We've been doing fine until you guys showed up!"
"You think you're so great..." muttered Murkrow almost silently.
Murkrow then raised his right talons and clasped Seedots head with them, scaring him so much that he began to cry.
"What the hell are you doing?!" yelled Sceps before collapsing in another coughing fit.
Murkrow began to fly up, still carrying the crying Seedot in his talons.
"You jokers ain't getting credit for this mission." he said with a smirk. Let 'em burn, fellas!"
Murkrow took off as the two Honchkrows began to follow. But first, they spread their wings in midair...
"What're they doing?" said Sceps.
The two Big Boss pokemon smirked and chuckled as they flapped their wings with extreme force, using Wing Attack to send four pillars of spinning wind whirling towards Team Pokesquad. The four pokemon prepared themselves for a hit, but instead the Wing Attack cyclones just circled around them repeatedly.
"What the hell?" said Iron.
Team Pokesquad was confused as to why the attacks weren't hitting them. It's not like Team Commando needed a distraction to escape. Team Pokesquad couldn't reach them. But then Ryo grew wide-eyed as he looked at the ground beneath the attacks..
"WATCH OUT!" he screamed.
But it was too late. The attacks dissipated, and as soon as that happened, a raging ring of fire burst from where they were spinning, trapping Team Pokesquad.
"Put it out Mud!!!" screamed Ryo, who just barely dodged a blowing flame.
Mud complied, firing a Water Gun into flames. Team Pokesquad quickly dashed out of the ring of fire before it could reform. But suddenly, as they were running out, Sceps collapsed.
"Sceps!" yelled Ryo, looking back to see his friend about to get enveloped by flames.
At the last second though, Ryo jumped back. Despite the screaming from his teammates, he rushed back and grabbed Sceps' arm, throwing him out of the line of flames.
In Sceps' stead, Ryo was caught in the inferno.
Mud tried as fast as he could to put out the fire on Ryo and pull him out as Iron cut Sceps' Oran Berry in half, but Ryo was still severely injured.
Iron fed the Oran Berry halves to his two unconscious friends, praying for their lives.
That night, at the guild...
Iron and Mud burst into the guild carrying their comrades on their backs. As they entered they saw Team Commando, taking credit for their mission.
"You bastards!" screamed Iron. "You stole the credit for our mission and left us there for dead!"
"Oh come on." said the smug Murkrow, who broke from his conversation with Sparky to approach Team Pokesquad. "It wasn't that bad there."
"Oh yeah?!" barked Mud, furious. "Tell that to Ryo!" he then dumped Ryo's limp body in front of Murkrow. "He almost died because of you scum!"
"Hey, it's an every-pokemon-for-himself kind of world we live in." said Murkrow. "It's not my fault that your friend couldn't take the heat."
Mud and Iron started to be infuriated at the words of Murkrow, but then Iron felt Sceps fall off his back.
"You assholes..." growled Sceps, now conscious, getting on his feet. "He got burned because he was saving my life!"
"Oh, so the wittle gwass type couldn't take the enviowment?" said Murkrow in a mocking baby voice.
That comment made Sceps snap. Without warning, he grabbed Murkrow by the neck and slammed him against the wall, not letting go.
"Oh..." Murkrow muttered, coughing because of Sceps' tight grip on his neck. "Did I touch a nerve? Why don't you just go back to your mommy, Sceps? Oh, that's right, you can't! Hahahahaha-"
"YOU BASTARD!!!" screamed Sceps.
He then balled his free hand into a fist and thrust it towards Murkrow's face. But his fist never made contact with the Darkness pokemon's face. What happened to Sceps next, actually, was something he couldn't really recall. All that he could remember was feeling a wave of extreme pain as his hand let go of Murkrow's neck, and then slamming to the ground, his body covered with cuts and bruises, at least ten feet away from the wall he had Murkrow pinned against.
"Sceps!" yelled Mud as he and Iron rushed over to help him.
Murkrow was still against the wall, but he was sitting on the floor instead of being held in the air by his neck, which he now had is wing massaging. The two Honchkrows that he worked with were standing in front of him, and they left with him as he got up and walked off.
That night, neither Ryo or Sceps slept in their room in the guild.
They slept in hospital beds in the Intensive Care Unit.
Whew, long chapter! And exciting, too!