Blooming
Twilight
Outskirts of Treasure Town
Beach of Evocation
Contrary to popular belief, the Beach of Evocation was not a legitimate part of Gehenna. The seashore served as limbo, a temporary refuge the sinners used to comfort themselves and free their memory from their deeds. It is rumored Tzion, the realm governed by Arceus, also had a beach, but the sea in Bliss did not rob memories, rather, it offered the denizens a recollection of their lives, cementing their good deeds. The waters of the Beach of Evocation contained memories, incorporeal figments which solidified into objects. A team of houndour worked with haunter and gengar as they weaved and cast nets of dark energy in salty waters. Their boss, a dour faced houndoom, whipped its balding tail and the collar of metallic spikes choking its neck caught the last rays of the sun and glinted like a macabre kaleidoscope. He watched the proceedings hawkishly, ears primed backwards. The beach, normally still and picturesque, save for a flock of wingull, erupted into disharmony as the dark and ghost pokemon yelled obscenities at each other and pulled. The gate of Gehenna bubbled ominously. Fat, tarry bubbles popped on the pillars and the entire structure wobbled on its viscous base. Houndoom gritted his teeth, sparks of fire ignited in his muzzle and he barked at his subordinates to hurry up.
He did not want the meddlesome Umbreon to show up and ruin his artifact hunt.
The gatherers howled in affirmative and reeled dark nets. Ominous pendants, reeking of witchcraft and bad omens, lay between polished daggers and skeleton fragments. An eyeball rolled in the hollow socket of a half crushed skull. Loads of bullets, guns and rifles surfaced, bodies dented and slashed. Crowns and rare jewelry, crusted in barnacle, tumbled upon piles of coins, vials of questionable liquid and canisters plastered with danger signs. Personal possessions fascinated him and so, Houndoom, tail flicking, stalked towards the catch and watched his underlings load the junk in durable caskets. An oval tag snagged his attention, unlike the other, extravagant objects falling into the trunks, this piece of jewelry appeared unassuming. Hooking his silver capped tail around the fine chain; he tossed it back to the sea, claiming such a simple piece will net them nothing. One of the gengar on patrol paled, its mischievous face freezing as it turned towards the gate. Houndoom's ears twitched irritably.
"I see you haven't learned your lesson Dom." Umbreon hissed, his authoritative voice cutting through the din on the beach. The working pokemon halted and stared at the personification of their nightmares: an Umbreon with blue body rings. The moonlight pokemon fell very short, the tips of its long ears barely grazed Houndoom's chin but what it lacked in size, it made up with a dictatorial presence. Eyes narrowed and lips pulled into a snarl, Tamen jerked his chin and demanded, "Heaving more junk from the sea?" Dom rumbled. "Wigglytuff may overlook your crimes but I certainly will not." Umbreon paced along the beach, gunmetal blue irises piercing the black market employees. "Dump the contents of your trawling back into the sea and leave quietly." Embers flew from houndoom's nostrils as he exhaled angrily and motioned his workers to empty the caskets in the ocean. Great splashes rose in the dusky water and the teams rounded up and marched back to Treasure Town. Dom spat a ring of fire at Umbreon, who calmly teleported elsewhere, the canine swaggered past Tamen, angrily brushing his body against the moonlight pokemon. The feline held his breath, nauseated by the overpowering stench of cinders emanating from the hell hound's body.
Dom whipped his spike capped tail threateningly in the air. "Wigglytuff approves of the Black market and he is the most powerful monster in town. Heh...If that pink blob turns a blind eye, I will strangle you, rip your glossy coat off your skinny body and fashion a cape out of it. Best watch where you sleep, Tamen."
Tamen bared his teeth, gleaming, eggshell needles crammed into his tiny maw.
"I'd like to see you try."
A scratching noise outside her room prompted Absol to open the door. The sun had barely risen but standing in front of her, bud sprinkled with dew, grinned Red. Hooking and unhooking her claws on the flint floor, a pool of shadows bubbled at her feet and still simpering like the sun, Bulbasaur promptly dissipated her dark pulse with a timely energy ball. "Rise and shine Sparks!" Red yelled exuberantly, "You know what they say; the early bird gets the worm." Her eye twitched, Bulbasaur with a satchel strapped to his back, produced a honey sandwich, her favorite article of food. Suspicious and angry, Layla accepted the offering and wolfed it down. Shutting the door in his aghast face, she proceeded to groom and clean her claws.
The conch shells and uncut gemstones wreathed on her horn clinked, Layla's eyes veered to the collection of skulls decorating her wall and she wondered how a pink bulb would look amongst bleached bones. Roughly opening the door again, she jerked when Red posted himself in front of the entrance. "Do I look like a bird to you?" Absol snarled and he merely laughed. "And I don't eat worms, they are disgusting...Though bugs should inconvenience you shouldn't they?" He absentmindedly nodded and the duo headed downstairs. "You don't seem to be scared of fire, I mean, you always rub shoulders with Green, even if he gives you nasty burns..." Red shrugged and peeked into his bag; he retrieved a bottle of berry juice and tipped the contents into his maw. "Speaking of the dragon kid, did you visit him?" Layla asked.
Bulbasaur froze. "I'll see Green once I can get him the meat he desperately needs," Red curtly replied and quickly strode past Charmander's bedroom door.
"He...Did not wake up did he?" Absol questioned and Red's shoulders slumped. "Don't worry about it too much...He'll get better." Red did not look back, instead he amiably waved a green shoot in the air.
They spilled into the quiet roads of Treasure Town. The sun skimmed over rooftops, spilling golden light in shady paths. Weeds and tiny blossoms pushed through cracked stone pavements and shops opened; their owners and workers bumbling in a sleep induced haze. To the east, peeking between the rings of protective hills surrounding the hamlet, lay a plain of smoking caramel sands with geysers of fire erupting periodically. The apartment block area, with its high rise walls and balconies gave way to the market. Birds, beaks filled with letters, circled above the postal office. Already, hawkers and shopkeepers begged potential buyers to look at their wares. The bustling surroundings rung with a harried cadence and street food sellers tempted walkers with delicious aromas. Peeling out of the market, Red and Layla headed west. The roof of the guild greeted them and Bulbasaur sighed, somehow he came to associate the five story building as a second home. A new gate keeper patrolled the wooden entrance; froslass acknowledged them with a courteous bow and waved them along. Trudging past the information board and the village center's broken stone pillars, the duo squeezed into a narrow alley, Bulbasaur groaned as he maneuvered his bulk between two rough brick faces.
The black market stirred, a collection of stalls operating beneath barren trees; the area remained perpetually in shadows and was only accessibly by a network of hidden backstreets. Team Emblem barred some of the more dangerous routes and the members ensured no pokemon would accidentally meet their end if they wanted to access the clandestine market place via a sub-terrain duct. A handful of rusting, corrugated tin roofed houses served as lodging for the employees and they maliciously spilled from their rooms and opened up shops. Tarps were raised, threats exchanged. The boss doled food in a large stone cauldron bolted in the center of the black market square and the corroded urn appeared to be part of a once grand sculpture. Half raw meat and dungeon exclusive products streamed in the pot and the workers greedily shoved others out of the way and buried snarling snouts in the food. Houndoom, watching the mindless feasting with a trace of disgust, perked his ears when a strangled cry issued from a side street. He lashed his tail on the ground and his underlings quieted at once, resuming their gorging in spiteful whispers. Overhead, the sun rose gloriously and the constricted pathway spat a bleeding, half-evolved bulbasaur. Venom laced blood flecked the pavement and smoked. An absol leapt from behind the bulbasaur and Dom bristled, another one of Tamen's patrollers, his spike capped tail thrashed furiously, what did these nuisances want early in the morning? Near the square, a houndour lapped his share of water and regarded the duo curiously.
"Hey!" he shouted in recognition, "it's the little weed!"
Body burning, Red let the comment pass; wiping blood and poison, he turned to Layla who ignored the smoldering boss and curious onlookers. Amber eyes calmly swept the market and its heaps of junk. Rare candies, an illegal drug, winked merrily from a giant, stoppered glass jar. "Sparks, I've been thinking, since Green is sick, it's up to us to gather information on the next dungeon," Bulbasaur factually stated and Absol resisted the urge to roll her eyes, Red and think hardly appeared in the same breath. "You are the most experienced one out of us," he continued, "so where should we go next?"
Layla did a quick calculation in her head. "The Dungeon of Envy seems probable. I only have three dungeons left and Envy is the easiest one out of them...hopefully." At her words, an odd gleam pervaded Red's scarlet irises and she demanded if anything bothered him.
He shook his head animatedly. "The dungeon of Envy...You mean the Pecha berry preserve place?" Red eagerly asked and his bud bubbled happily.
A moment of silence smothered the quiet hissing permeating the Black market; the workers ogled the bulbasaur, incredulity plastered on their faces. Houndoom, whose nonstop tail thrashing paused, collected his jaw from the floor and barked at an espurr to do something.
Absol scraped the ground; marveling at her companion's one track mind and sarcastically answered, "Yes...the Pecha berry preserve place. I'm glad you remembered the most fundamental part of why we are visiting the dungeon."
"Excellent!" Red blithely exclaimed and turned to the group of disgruntled onlookers. He hiked to the nearest stall, a shack overflowing with dented rifles and tattooed eyeballs piled high in a half cranium. "I'd like to buy some meat." Bulbasaur slapped a thick wad of bills on the groaning counter. "It's for a charmander, I'm not sure what they lik-" Red and the poochyena shopkeeper ducked as a barbed tail flew over their heads, smashing into containers and unsettling a jar of spiritomb keys. The rocks skittered to the ground. Bulbasaur evading a whizzing fireball to his face; the ground beneath his feet lighted and a plume of fire erupted. Paws seared, he dove to the side and hobbled away from the enraged houndoom as it prepared to unleash a flamethrower. Red screwed his eyes shut; fire escaped Dom's stained jaws and with a piercing howl, Absol descended and raked a shadow claw over his flank. Off balanced, Dom's flamethrower hit an unsuspecting stall. A gengar yelped when the blue tarp above his head ignited, the ghost type bolted and helplessly gazed at the fire consuming its precious times. "What the hell?!" Red exclaimed. "Do you greet all your customers like this or what? I'm just trying to get some food for my friend and Wiggly sent me here, give me what I want and I'll get out of your face!" The grass monster glared furiously and hopped, keeping burnt paws above the ground.
The wound on Houndoom's flank ached terribly. "I am not about to sell my precious goods to pokemon working under Umbreon." Dom licked his shoulder, trying to entice feeling in the rapidly numbing limb. "Find someplace else to buy whatever you want, according to the officials, we are not allowed to operate." He jerked his head at Layla, who curled her lips into a snarl.
Gingerly setting his paw on the grimy ground, Red screeched, "Do I look like Umbreon's underling to you? I work at the park you moron." He winced in pain. "Look, I am not here to cause trouble, I simply want meat...Please, my friend needs it, he is very sick." When Dom looked unconvinced and settled for licking his partially healing wound, Bulbasaur begged again and a sneer twisted the hell hound's face. The boss signaled to the workers in the mart and they spilled from shadowed areas, congregating around Red. Narrowing her eyes Layla was about to leap when Dom's words stopped her.
"If you are that determined, then I'll set up a test." Houndoom's burnt orange eyes slid malevolently to Absol. "See if you can knock a few of my employees and we will call it even; Tamen's loyal dog is exempted from helping you." Dom ran a scarred tongue over chipped jaws and laughed huskily. "The money you forked over is hardly adequate for a decent hunk of meat; however, I am willing to be generous. If you fare well against my workers, I'll give you extra for your efforts." Swaggering to a tumble of wrecked, white-washed walls squashed over each other, Dom climbed and comfortably settled on top, He grinned crookedly and flicked his tail.
Begin.
Red tried to duck, but tendrils of darkness leashed him to the filthy floor. The mass of sneering pokemon pushed closer, eyes glinting ominously and face promising pain. Layla shouted but malicious growls swallowed her voice. She probably howled something derogatory, Red mused and suffered a ghastly's slobbery tongue ironing his face. Facial muscles paralyzed into a glare reminiscent of Green, Red furiously stabbed his vines in the ground and pushed upwards. At once, the minacious growling increased in urgency and the hostile monsters bounded, murder dripping from their jaws. Uttering a strangled cry, Red shot upwards and the beasts below him collided into each other. Relief became short lived when an espurr and then a houndour, hacked on Bulbasaur's vines, a jarring pain transmitted to his body and groaning weakly, he zipped across the street, aiming a tendril at the smirking, lofty Houndoom. A beast scythed through the vines holding Red airborne and with astonishment marring his face, he dropped into the waiting claws of bloodthirsty monsters. A nasty grin inched across his face when he bounced on the head of a particularly large gengar, the shadow pokemon clenched its hand into a fist when Red's pink bulb burst open. A storm of petals gusted out, slashing into shadows, skin and fur. Razor leaves crammed into mouths, stabbed eyes and sealed cuts with poison.
Lower leveled opponents clutched purplish wounds and scurried to the safety of their dilapidated shacks. The stronger ones flexed their bruises and a houndour ignited Red's bulb. Rolling over to snuff the flame, he veered away when a weavile slashed. Bud raw and bleeding, he drunkenly sidestepped a flurry of attacks and sensing victory, the monsters eased their violence, preferring to toy with the little weed. Red bounced on the stone floor, each impact drove his breath out of his chest. His vision clouded and when an espurr telepathically hurled him to the sky, past the flat rooftops of the surrounding buildings, he glimpsed wicked, black towers piercing the horizon to the west. Red's crimson eyes pivoted to the crooning houndoom and the vines wriggling on his back blitzed across the air and looped around Dom's spike collared throat. Bulbasaur pulled. A rosy-green bullet rocketed towards the suffocating hound and Red torpedoed on Dom's snout. Crunch. The sound of shattering jaw rang loudly; Bulbasaur ricocheted and sailed to the floor, dragging the gasping Dom with him. Houndoom's falling body catered the ground and Red plopped elegantly on Dom's heaving, streaming flank.
The air stank of cinders and sulphur.
"If you are all done ogling at me...I'd like to have the meat I paid for, plus the extras Houndoom offered." Red, withdrew his coils from the panting hound's neck and toppled to the ground. Streams of burnt orange blood dripped from Dom's maw and he spat out a broken tooth. The silent spell broken, a random pokemon scurried off and Layla joined Red's side, biting down a complaint when he leaned heavily on her. "I have a question..." Bulbasaur rasped, "Where do you get all this meat from and why is it illegal?" Dom cracked a bloody eyelid open and regarded the grass type with a ponderous gaze.
He slowly peeled off the floor and declined help from an eager neophyte. "Where do I get my meat?" Houndoom groggily repeated the question and grinned, a mouthful of cracked teeth. "Geh...If you have the time, I'd be happy to tell you."
Mid afternoon
Treasure Town
Black market
Starving was a form of punishment; Dom related to the spell bound audience sitting in front of him. During the days of old, when featureless plains and blood stained blocks made up Gehenna, the sinners were denied food. When the first corrupt humans died, the deity monsters punished them by morphing the humans into monsters. The process happened slowly, painfully. Dead people drifted on the Sea of Evocation, wearing nothing and when they washed up on the inviting, caramel sands of the beach, hoping for a refuge from salt tinged water, they received a nasty surprise. The moment they left the ocean, grotesque transformations occurred. Giratina, his obsidian glass throne sitting above the twilight sea, watched them. Flat faces elongated into snouts, human molars cracked, expanded and beast teeth replaced their jaws. Skin stained a different color, hair follicles thickened and fur gushed forth, itching and leaving red, burning bumps in its wake. Gross bone deformations and restructuring took place, some of the weak willed humans exploded at this stage, unable to bear the agony of a gruesome transformation. Hands shortened, legs bulked, spines cracked and restructured, neural routes were sliced and reconfigured, sending the morphing humans into a sort of frenzied dance. Limbs jerked at awkward angles. Some of them howled, half human, half beast.
A disgusting amalgamation.
One human arm and the other a razor edged scythe. The legs tangled into a serpentine tail. Giratina watched these creatures fall, pleading for mercy. Draconic jaws pierced through human cheeks, saurian craniums gave these literal monsters a ghoulish look. Some of them lay on the beach, corpses blistered by sun whilst Darkrai visited the survivors. Majority of the half monsters frothed at the sight of the nightmare pokemon and puffed into black flames instantaneously; the determined ones mindlessly filed into the featureless plains of Gehenna. On the four sides of the never ending plain, they glimpsed a land of tundra to the north and plains of fire to the east. Stakes were promptly hammered in the throats of those deemed to be the worst of the lot. The other damned pokemon were let loose. Carnivores gnawed on the bones of the chained whilst the mild mannered creatures scampered off to explore. They either lost themselves in the forest of animal eating trees, burned to death in the harsh desert or froze in the icy plateau.
And then, the dead flowed faster. In the land of living, humans tried to capture and tame monsters ruling the Poke-verse. Naturally, things did not go well. Instead of sailing through the ocean, the corrupt woke up as a pokemon with human memories.
The new creatures streaming into Gehenna suffered from poor body control and a painful awareness. It plagued them till their rebirth. Trials replaced crude punishments but still, there was no food. Tophet's block, a collection of reeking outhouses, served as a slaughterhouse for docile creatures. Monsters, armed with tooth, claw and a brutal mindset, reigned supreme. Screams of the fallen echoed from the windowless blocks, the weak banded together to gorge on the strong. Hunters. They circled a common target and lunged, tearing hide, gnawing bones, pulling teeth and crushing claws. Meat became the primary source of food for all creatures. Great, bloody hunks were eaten raw or hidden from bigger predators.
Dom grinned when Red's jaw hung open in understanding. Next to the grass type, Layla dozed, bored of listening to the rasping tale.
"So...wait, does this mean you procure meat from other...Pokemon like us?" Red wrinkled his nose at the parcel wrapped in leaves. "That...Is gross." He eyed the boss. "It's cannibalism, how could you! No wonder Umbreon hates you."
Dom snorted, "Then what do wanna eat? Ghosts?" He shifted on his hunches. "I'm sure you completed a dungeon, in case you haven't noticed Little Weed-"
"The name's Red," Bulbasaur interjected, "you don't want me to call you mangy old hound do you?" Layla barked a snippet of laughter.
Houndoom snarled, unappreciative of the stifled sniggers breaking out in the market square. "You look like a little weed to me; best hold your tongue or I'll burn your bulb into a crisp." Red rolled his eyes and motioned for the hound to continue. "...What was I was saying?" Dom whipped his tail, "ah yes, the ghosts. Like I said, the dungeon ghosts are not made from flesh, if you cut one open, they bleed smoke." Absol nodded in affirmative. "Those specters are there to test and thwart you." Dom fell silent, a scintilla of intense emotion flared in his bronze irises and faded. "Thanks to Wigglytuff, Treasure Town was born; he cultivated fruit and vegetables, found a way to pack them in gummis and created a thriving community. Unfortunately, meat eaters stuck around and mere herbs do not sustain them. You scoff at me for selling meat; however, if I refuse to give it to you, your dragon kid will die."
Red wilted weakly to the ground, refusing to meet Houndoom's accusatory eyes.
The sun rode higher in the sky. More pokemon squeezed from the narrow streets and poured into the Black market. They bought trinkets, rare candies, meat, high quality illegal technical machines and majority of them lumbered to a surprisingly busy body parlor tucked into a corner of a wider street. Fresh ink shone on the returning monster's bodies. "As for the source of our meat," Dom related after Red peeled his eyes from staraptor inked from head to talon, "we harvest them from pokemon who need to be rescued in the dungeons."
Layla snapped up and Red's mouth fell open in disbelief. The mere thought of killing a creature waiting to be saved, repulsed him. He imagined a lonely pokemon grieving for its dead friends. The beast sent a plea of help and a team of houndour, gengar and espurr showed up to carve him. Thoughts straying to the luvdisc he saved the previous night, Bulbasaur heaved a sigh of relief. The rational part of him wanted to spring up and bark in the greedy houndoom's face, but deep within, he knew it was a necessary sacrifice.
No one wanted to be fodder for others
A diabolical grin inched across Dom's face. "Your silence is surprising." Layla lowered her eyes and rumbled angrily. "I see you understand the gravity of business. The black market has been operated mostly by dark and ghost pokemon and the leader of this organized crime is always a Houndoom. It is tradition. Once I am done completing all my dungeons, I shall bequeath this Black market to the next Houndoom worthy of it." A faint trace of warmth graced his words. Several workers crept out of their stalls and listened to him, alas, they scurried away when the ill-tempered leader whipped his tail at them. "There is no alternative source of meat and it does not pain me to hunt those pathetic fools and carve them up-"
"At the very least, you can stop talking about them like they were born to feed others." Red trembled, keeping his temper in check. "Being trapped and helpless in a dungeon is an experience I would not want to wish on anybody. You...Prey on the weak...Yes, I know you have to...For the benefit of those who need meat to survive." He got up and collected his parcel. "However, if you find it pleasurable to hunt those desperately waiting for someone to rescue them, then you are beyond hope." Leashing the package to his bulb, Red bowed stiffly. "Thanks for the meat, I hope to never bother you again."
The duo strode home. Red purposefully chose the long way and chewed on Dom's words. The parcel on his back felt heavy. For a terrifying moment, he thought he heard voices stemming from the hunk of meat. Curses. Words that burned and struck like thunder. Slowing to a crawl, he mulled over the purpose of the trials, did they make him a better person? As a human, he developed a tendency to stick his nose in matters unrelated to him. His skirmish with Team Rocket began because without those criminals, life would be a better place for both people and pokemon. Years later, he walked the same path as those detested felons and constantly assured himself that he did it for those he cared about. Lies. The slaughtered souls whispered. Shaking his head, he glanced at Layla. She propelled forward, fire in her eyes, determination in her stride and intent in her jaws; Absol lacked indecision; her careless facade hid an astute sense and often, Red tried piecing her human life. He failed to reach a suitable conclusion, but whatever her occupation, he had no doubt she did her job unhesitatingly. The rooftop of the dilapidated condominium emerged and Bulbasaur grinned, if the three of them completed some dungeon jobs, they would amass enough funds to give the domicile a new coat. However, the sight of flaking paint and mossy bricks underneath crumbling plaster, instilled a sense of comfort and safety in him.
He loved the building as it was.
Unlatching the bolt, Red waded through the gate with Layla following behind. In the immaculate kitchen, Bulbasaur fussed, untangled the parcel from his bud and carefully laid it on the table. Absol watched him, her eyes spelling insulting nicknames. The duo haplessly stared at the block of red meat and Red questioned:
"Should we cook this or is Green fine with raw meat?"
"Why in Giratina's name are you asking me?" Layla hissed. "Green is your best friend... You should be familiar with his preferences." Sighing, she warily stared at the blood red blob and added, "Perhaps we should cook it...Our instincts lean towards the human side," she twitched, "and personally, the thought of eating raw meat disgusts me."
Red nodded sagely, never a good sign. He spun around, collected a pan and placed it over a cold hearth. "Yeah, I don't want Green to get food poisoning. So, you do the cooking while I watch and learn," he offered, beamed like the sun and turned towards a smoldering Absol. Dark shadows leaked from her body and spilled across the tiled floor.
"I do the cooking?" The disaster pokemon barked with deceptive calm. "Why should I do the cooking?"
The grass type inched backwards, eyes desperately searched for something to appease Layla's wrath. "I can't cook," Red feebly defended, his vines unconsciously knitting a protect. "I'm horrible at it and it takes me an age to make something remotely decent." He quivered and bemoaned the lack of a charmander to stand between him and the harbinger of chaos.
Layla flicked her ears indifferently and relieved, Red splayed to the floor. "Same here...I can't cook," she confessed. "I don't think I've ever cooked in my life."
"In your life?" Bulbasaur queried and frowned. "You mean this life or the previous one?" Absol yawned heartily and shrugged. "So you've never touched a pot before you died? How did you eat?" Shaking his head, Red lighted a fire and cringed from the flames. "Well, I suppose someone cared and looked out for you." He scrunched his face and scratched his head with a vine. "How was the person like?" Red questioned eagerly, crimson eyes searching her emotionless visage for an answer.
Absol thought.
"I don't remember." She curtly answered and Red's face fell. "Go see Green; he must be worried about you." Bulbasaur trundled off and she stared at the flickering fire, demanding them to cough answers. Who was she before she died?
?
The door to Charmander's bedroom opened, revealing a scratched floor, mounds of grey ashes heaped in corners and Green hunched over his stone slate; embers glowed in the fire place and he rotated to observe his friend glassily. Red grinned and tentatively offered him an Oran berry. The blue berry curled in Bulbasaur's vine inched towards Green and the latter grabbed the tendril and pulled the plant type closer. "Where. Were. You?" Oak demanded and the vine sizzled in his feverish grasp. His scarlet eyed best friend warbled something about exploring Treasure Town and the black market and Green's reptilian eyes glazed in mistrust. He pointed to the scars littering Bulbasaur's rosy bulb and questioned, "And mind telling me exactly what sort of adventures led you to having your stupid bud crisscrossed with slash marks and burns?" Charmander relinquished his grip and the seared tendril fell away. "I bet you were doing something dangerous...And you dragged Layla with it." Moodily, Charmander grabbed his slate and ran his claws down the rough edges. "...I was worried when the two of you weren't home last night."
Sweeping his eyes around the sooty room, Red implored Green to follow him and he slunk downstairs, stomach growling hungrily. Oak brushed Bulbasaur's meaningful look with a comment and a shake of his head. Slats of orange light fell on the kitchen tiles and a block of raw, red meat sat proudly on the island. Hunger pangs forcing him to bend double, Green grabbed a stool and posted himself directly in front of the mouthwatering article of food. A moment of awkward silence hung over the trio and the crackle of firewood prompted Absol to dice the flesh with her claws and toss the individual pieces on a sizzling pan. She scooted away from the stove when the meat popped and splattered and fiercely commanded Red to take over. Sweating toxins, Red cursed and turned the meat from the safety of a leafy protect. The aroma of grilled meat wafted through the kitchen and Oak expectantly drummed his polished claws on the table top. Near the hearth, Bulbasaur sniffed, convulsed and promptly vomited on the kitchen's spotless tiles much to Charmander's and Layla's dismay.
A pool of congealed acid and plant matter widened on the floor and Layla yowled, "Arceus' sake, get to the bathroom and stop hacking up the contents of your stomach on my kitchen floor!" Red gasped, moaned and bolted to the toilet. Shrieking, Layla grabbed hold of the pan handle with her teeth and unceremoniously tipped the half burnt, half raw slices of meat on to a plate. She glared at them, pushed the dish towards Green, who salivated against his will; and retrieved a hunk of bread from the basket. "You eat," she commanded and Oak spared her a tired gaze before trundling towards the bathroom. "Green, you hardly have the strength to walk, so I suggest you eat. I'm not about to tolerate two sick morons in my house." Layla threatened and he meekly retreated to the table and inhaled. Food, glorious food. Guiltily, he tucked into his meal and spared a glance at the lavatory. Running water gurgled down a basin behind closed doors. At the counter, Absol angrily muttered and rifled through the cabinets, she poured equal quantities of Lum and Sitrus berries in a stone blender and crushed them. Pouring the mixture into a cup, she skirted the mess on the floor and passed the concoction to Red. Exhaling, Layla grabbed paper towels, wrinkled her nose and cleaned the acid corroding the floor.
Green ate slowly, thankfully and halfway through his meal, Red emerged from the bathroom, a shade paler than his normal complexion. A dried petal flaked off his bulb. He crawled to the counter and hunted for a seed studded loaf of bread to nibble on. Oak hooked a piece of meat on a claw and offered to him. Bulbasaur's reaction was uncalled for. The plant type flailed backwards, knocked over a precious jar of honey and pressed a vine against his nose. "No thanks..." he weakly declined. "...I can't take the smell of cooked meat it seems...It stinks." Bulbasaur grabbed a jar of mixed berry preserve and crept upstairs to his bedroom with bread dangling from his jaws. "Eat up Green, when you are better, we'll go to the guild for research. Our next dungeon is the Pecha Berry preserve place!" Red hollered from the second floor and Charmander raised an eyebrow at Layla.
"Pecha berry preserve place?" he questioned and both his eyebrows shot up. "Oh, he means the dungeon of Envy."
Layla pouted, "At least one of you has your heads screwed on properly." She settled next to Green and whipped up a sandwich. Oak courteously offered her some of his food and she declined. "We went through great lengths to secure that meat for you so you better eat and return to full health. If I have to sit through one of Red's asinine ramblings one more time...I'll lose all of my brain cells." Absol scathed.
Hearty laughter rumbled in Green's throat and she sent him a fleeting smile.
For the first time since completing the Trial of Pride, Oak felt alive once more.
Early evening
Treasure Town
Condominium
The trio relaxed on the veranda. An evening breeze gusted through the buildings, carrying the cries of market workers and rich petrichor. To the north, a bank of pregnant clouds lazily rolled closer to the hamlet, thunder flashed in the dirty white underbelly of the gigantic puffs. Slumped tiredly on the floor and dangerously close to the edge of the open platform, Green observed a collection of beasts spilling out from the guild. From this distance, they appeared as mere pinpricks of gleaming exoskeleton, creased hides or swathes of multicolored fur. The church bell rang, pleasant chimes filling the stagnant air. Craning his neck, Charmander watched Red busily scribble in a notebook, the writing next to illegible. Bulbasaur frenetically clutched a stick of fine charcoal in its vine and wrote in great speeds. Layla yawned, a pink tongue curled over ivory jaws and she settled her head on her paws. Waiting for her hawkish eyes to close, Green cautiously prowled around the slumbering absol and peeked over Red's shoulder.
He drew a diagram of sorts. Charmander squinted, trying to sort out the mess of spaghetti lines into individual words, but the handwriting eluded him. The crimson eyed beast flipped a page and scribbled all over again.
"What are you doing?" Oak asked.
Red ignored him in favor of diving into a leafy satchel and retrieving a few books. Charmander's jade eyes popped out of his sockets. Books. Everything about the current situation felt surreal and wrong. Layla should be barking at them to go to work, Red was supposed to spout random ideas for dinner, and he, Green, would sit quietly at his table and research on the layout of the next dungeon.
"...Red-" The fire type tried again.
Flourishing the notes, Bulbasaur grinned widely, "How are you feeling?" he queried and packed the books back into his bag, Oak mumbled a reply and the noise roused Layla, who glowered at them. "Sorry for ignoring you earlier." The plant type narrowed his eyes at the notes and Layla wondered if the idiot could actually read the gibberish he wrote. "I drew plans for what we should do for the next few days." Both Charmander and Absol raised their eyebrows, equal parts concern and curiosity stamped on their faces. "First of all, I'm worried about my stunted evolution, so I'm gonna head to the guild tomorrow morning and ask Wigglytuff about it. Secondly, Green...you are not in full health," Oak looked away, "and I know you won't like it, but you need absolute bed rest. I can't...Risk having you almost dying on me." A taut silence descended on the two and Green resignedly nodded. "Sparks...Please look after him."
The duo waited for Absol's wrath to descend on them. Red's quadrupled form quivered but he resolutely rooted to his spot. Layla calmly licked her fur flat. No emotion swirled in golden irises.
"Fine." Sparks monotonously replied and the two heaved twin sighs of relief.
Bulbasaur elaborated on his schemes, he wanted to complete his evolution alone, and stated reasons for doing so. According to the gossip floating in the guild vestibule, an evolution is only initiated under a period of meditation. And a special clearing hidden deep within the forest, provided the perfect place. If Red managed to return as an ivysaur, the trio will hit the Dungeon of Envy. Excitement gleaming in his eyes, Bulbasaur pulled a crimson piece of cloth and wound it around Green's neck. "I forgot to tell you," Red chirped whilst Charmander poked the scarf, "we are members of an exploration team now. Team Phoenix!" Bulbasaur shouted. "Sparks and I went on our first job, rescuing a luvdisc from the Dungeon of Lust and with the reward money, I got you the meat." Burdened by fatigue Oak slumped to the ground; a small smile tugged his lips. "Hopefully, we can all go together the next time, dungeon exploration is way better than completing the trials, the mazes are actually quite intriguing and full of surprises if you pay attention." Layla yawned again and the two momentarily stopped conversing and eyed her warily. She ignored them and tucked her head in her paws. Red's enthusiastic chatter filled the evening air, his zealous stories punctuated by Green's mellow laughter. Absol grinded her teeth and exhaled. The duo's antics infuriated her for no particular reason. And she never heard Green laugh so mellifluously before. Their voices rung like bells in her ears and their murmurings lulled her to sleep.
A/N: Red is still a horrible cook, guess somethings never change. Much gratitude to all those who read and reviewed (and followed/favored the story, you are not forgotten). Please leave feedback and constructive criticism is always appreciated.
At Forevalone: Hey there :) They will be resurrected, but...you'll have to read to find out when :P. At Jack54311: Ahahaha, you flatter me. Possible attraction to Red? Maybe. Although judging from her backstory, she is a good (more than 10 years) older than Red. I'm going more for a platonic friendship between them. But a very deep one. Still, you are open to opinions.