CHAPTER TWELVE

Unexpected Difficulties


From there, things only got harder.

Sterling and Blaize were almost immediately ambushed by a group of hissing Rattata. Though the duo fended them off with plenty of fire and electricity, there was no doubt that the rodents were much stronger than the ferals they had previously encountered.

The Shinx glanced back at Lyric, who had avoided interfering but had still looked worried. Her anxiety had clearly faded, though, a fact that was oddly soothing. At least she seemed to think that they were strong enough to take on the whole dungeon.

Sterling continued after Blaize, increasing his pace as he waded through the flowers, and focused his attention on the shifting blossoms. Though they were all shades of orange and red and gold, they appeared to have been drained of their color and looked pale and sickly.

"Ursaaa!"

He jolted visibly, pricking his ears and staring ahead. The owner of the high-pitched cry was a small brown bear clawing away at Blaize, who was making an effort to beat it away with flames and similar scratch attacks.

Sterling charged on ahead, unleashing a swift Spark at the Teddiursa. The cub flinched, surprised, and Blaize was able to land a few hits.

Tottering a bit, but definitely not defeated, the Teddiursa gave another cry and aimed a blow at Sterling. The Shinx retaliated with a quick Night Slash, knocking the feral Pokémon backwards into Blaize, who attacked it with his claws glowing white.

With a shrill squeal, the Teddiursa fell to the ground, and the quick – yet intense – battle was over.

"Nice Counter, Blaize. I've always admired that technique," Lyric remarked. "And you were very fast, Sterling."

"Awesome as always," Sterling replied with triumph.

"Don't get too cocky – you'll sound like Torrent," Blaize told him dryly. "Anyways, let's get going. This mystery dungeon's getting annoying."

That statement was proven true after the three waded through more groups of angry ferals. Ascending to the next floor didn't help much, either – the change in height was disorienting, and the dungeon Pokémon got a little stronger there as well.

After beating a Bellsprout senseless (it had been surprisingly resistant to fire attacks), Sterling kicked at its unconscious body with a growl of annoyance. "I'm starting to think that these things have water-type parents, and everything else is part ground."

"That may be true, actually," Lyric replied. "I'm pretty sure that cross-breeding isn't banned here. None of the inhabitants are sentient, after all."

At this, Sterling gave the plant Pokémon a vicious glare that would have terrified a legendary. Even the normally cheerful Blaize aimed a Scratch at its unconscious body, undoubtedly feeling bitter about its resistance to fire as well.

As soon as he spotted another Bellsprout in the distance, Sterling charged right towards it and began pummeling it with Spark attacks. Luckily, it seemed to share the water traits that the other Bellsprout had, and was quickly weakened by the overload of electricity.

Blaize caught up swiftly enough. The plant turned its gaze on him and lashed out with a Vine Whip, evidently trying to take down its new foe. With his claws glowing again, Blaize caught the vines in midair and thrust them back at the grass Pokémon.

Sterling lunged forward again, striking out with a Night Slash as the Bellsprout fell backwards. With a faint sound of defeat, the plant trembled, then toppled to the ground in a dead faint.

Growling, Sterling clawed it again for good measure.

"That was fun," remarked Blaize with joy, lifting his claws to the sky in triumph.

Lyric sighed, floating ahead of the victorious duo. "Don't waste your energy. We still have a few more floors to go," she reminded them. "Besides, our supplies won't last if you keep beating on every feral you see."

"Okay, okay," Sterling grumbled. "You have to admit that the Demonsprouts are annoying, though."

"If you were a psychic-type, you'd be more worried about demon bugs than plants," Lyric told him flatly, pausing to look him in the eye.

"And if you were a fire-type, then you'd be laughing about the demon bugs," Blaize cut in. "Now, can we go?"


By the time they reached the fourth floor, they were presented with a new problem: hunger.

After fending off an angry Taillow that had been poking around in the flowers, Sterling paused. His stomach was growling impatiently.

For a moment, the fallen bird looked appetizing – he had eaten plenty of things raw before, and the Taillow looked particularly tasty. But, looking up, he observed that neither Blaize nor Lyric seemed to be the slightest bit hungry, and they probably wouldn't approve of him taking advantage of such helpless prey.

So, unhappily, he left the swallow lying motionless in the sickly-looking flowers and trotted after his companions. He didn't feel any better while keeping busy, though – in fact, he was beginning to feel much worse.

It was a relief when Lyric spared him the embarrassment of revealing his weakness. "I'm getting hungry. We should stop and refill our bellies."

Impulsively, Sterling glanced sideways at Blaize. The relief on the Charmander's face made him realize that he clearly wasn't the only one who had an empty (and unpleasantly vocal) stomach.

The bag, which had been slung around Lyric's shoulder (or whatever it was), began to give off a faint pink glow. Its top opened suddenly and three apples drifted out of it.

Sterling shivered when he realized that Lyric was using her psychic abilities to move the objects. It was almost scary to be in the presence of a Pokémon with that much power – and Kalazar, of course, was even stronger than her.

"Mystery dungeons are basically formed by distortions in the fabric of space, and the distortions send out disturbances that seem to alter the layout of the dungeon. That's one theory about why dungeons never look the same when you enter them," Lyric said, moving the apples closer to the Shinx and Charmander. "But the distortions also affect time. In mystery dungeons, things grow and decay faster, and your belly will run out much more quickly. However, you will heal faster as well."

"Distortions in the fabric of space?" echoed Blaize in confusion, reaching for an apple.

"That's what most Pokémon call it, yes. The fabric of space is basically what makes up the world." Lyric paused, clearly thinking about how to explain it. "If there are distortions, it can cause disturbances, like mystery dungeons. There are even some theories about rips in space allowing alternate dimensions to slip through."

Pricking his ears, Sterling began chewing slowly on his chunk of apple. "Alternate dimensions? Like, different timelines and worlds and stuff?" he asked, trying to speak clearly through his mouthful of fruit.

"Kind of." Lyric looked sheepishly at them. "I wouldn't be the best Pokémon to ask about this, really. There are some good books in the library that have all sorts of information on mystery dungeons, though."

Sterling exchanged a glance with Blaize. Books? Seriously?

Lyric either noticed their expressions or could read minds (which was actually a highly likely possibility). "I'm not kidding. Some Pokémon don't like books, but they can be very useful, and they're definitely interesting," she said seriously. "Have you ever read the Rescue Team Red and Blue series? Or the Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky trilogy?"

Blaize covered his face with his paws, his scales turning a deep shade of scarlet. "…I have."

Sterling recalled him saying something about reading a few good books. He looked with interest at Lyric, still doubtful, but now curious.

"Well, they're about humans that have turned into Pokémon and form teams with their chosen partners. The stories are all about their adventures," Lyric told Sterling. "They're very well-written. In fact, they are perfect examples of good books."

Blaize spoke in a muffled voice, paws still over his face. "I guess we'll read the stories about mystery dungeons," he grumbled.

"You guess? You will," corrected Lyric.

And there was no time to continue the argument, because right then, a group of demon bugs chose that moment to leap out of the flowers and corner them – a mixture of Kricketot, Venipede, Weedle, and Sewaddle. (Luckily, the apples had been finished before that.)

Lyric gave a high-pitched shriek that actually echoed inside of her body. She levitated upwards, staying as high as possible above the group of insects. "Monster house!" she cried.

"Monster – what?" Sterling asked in complete confusion, looking upwards at the psychic and then ahead at his foes. A Venipede eyed him dangerously, making a hissing noise as it curled into a very venomous ball.

"No time for questions! Get fighting!" Blaize snarled, charging forward with an Ember burning in his jaws. The few bugs that were too slow to leap away from the stream of flames were immediately fried.

The Venipede hissed again, drawing Sterling's attention back to it. His claws flashed black, and he lunged with a Night Slash, but it ducked aside. The attack hit a slow Kricketot instead, hitting the insect hard enough to knock it out.

A very painful barb of some sort caught Sterling in the chest. He whirled, hitting the Weedle with a Spark, but the attack drained him enough to let him know that the Poison Sting had done its job. He had been successfully poisoned.

There was a blast of flame from nearby, followed by a flash of white light – Counter. A Sewaddle and a Kricketot fell unconscious, and one of the other Venipede was struck down by its own attack. That reduced the number of foes, but there were plenty more to go.

Sterling was facing his own Venipede. The bug hissed yet again and uncurled from its ball, aiming a series of Poison Stings at him before curling up again. It was evidently a feral, but was just intelligent enough to know how to cover its weak spots.

Sterling charged up a Spark, his fur crackling with static, and lunged at the venomous insect when it uncurled again. The surge of electricity knocked it out, and he was able to spin and face more enemies that were thankfully not as smart.

It only took a few more Embers and Sparks before all of the bugs were defeated, and Lyric returned while dragging a much larger insect behind her. Sterling recognized it as a Whirlipede. Recalling his own fight with its unevolved form, he cringed.

"Is anyone poisoned?" Lyric asked, surprisingly calmly. She used her Psychic to hit the Whirlipede on its head again before letting it go.

"I'm pretty sure that I am," Sterling replied, feeling a wave of nausea hit him. "A Weedle got me in the chest."

"Ah, sorry about that." Blaize shot him a sympathetic look. "I'm good, though."

Lyric levitated a Pecha berry from her bag and dropped it in front of Sterling. The fruit's sweet fragrance was most certainly a welcome one. The Shinx wolfed it down within a matter of seconds, feeling the wooziness fade away fairly quickly.

"We should take it easy for a while," Lyric murmured to herself. Then, in a louder voice, she said, "Let's keep going. The stairs are over there; I spotted them while fighting the Whirlipede."


The next floor was definitely higher than the last, and there were now streams of water crisscrossing through the flowers. Even the liquid seemed a little off, flowing at a very slow pace while giving off what appeared to be an unnatural glow. No reflections showed in its placid surface, either, an observation that Sterling found very creepy.

He shook his head and looked up at Lyric. "You shouted 'monster house' back there when the bugs ambushed," he observed. "What is that, anyways?"

"Sometimes, feral Pokémon will actually work together and gang up on you. The Rattata pack wasn't large enough to qualify as one, but those bugs definitely were. It's a shame that you had to encounter a monster house in your first dungeon, but at least you made it through." Lyric smiled uneasily.

"Sounds nasty," Blaize said darkly. "I'd hate being attacked by a group of ground-types, you know. Ster would be completely ineffective against them, and I'd do almost no damage."

"Don't call me Ster."

They only encountered a Paras on the way to the staircase, and Lyric forbid Sterling from fighting it, claiming that the natural healing of mystery dungeons could only do so much. He watched grumpily from the sidelines as Blaize used a brief Ember on the bug, thoroughly charring it.

The stairs were surprisingly close. But before Sterling or Blaize could step on it, Lyric drifted ahead of them with a serious look on her face.

"This is the last floor of Sunrise Meadow," she informed them. "Usually, I wouldn't be worried at all. But the way things have been going so far… I just want to warn you. Some dungeons have territorial 'bosses' who are sentient, but are nevertheless affected by the mystery dungeons they live at the end of. Sunrise Meadow does not have a boss, luckily, but my psychic intuition is telling me that there's nothing good ahead."

"The psychic sixth sense… I thought that was a myth," Blaize muttered.

Sterling grinned at him, appreciating the fact that Blaize was trying to add humor to the situation, though all of them were definitely worried by Lyric's prediction. "We'll be careful," he promised. "Can we go now?"

The Chimecho drifted aside, letting them pass and touch the stairs, and that part of the hill vanished.


The scenery that appeared next was a hilltop covered with flowers and lined with a few trees. Unlike those that had appeared so frequently in the mystery dungeon, the blossoms were vibrantly colored and were swaying to a real breeze. Their petals were the color of fire, appearing to be brighter than Blaize's own tail-flame.

Beyond the edge of the hill, a vast amount of land was visible. And, right where the hill dropped off to the ground, there was a long red ribbon sitting innocently on the ground. It was a bit frayed, but was still in good condition.

Cerulean's Stamina Band, Sterling realized.

"Stay back. Something feels very wrong." Lyric's voice spoke right into the Shinx's skull. He resisted the urge to whirl and hiss at her, hating the feeling of someone probing around in his brain. "I know you two don't like this, but I don't want anyone to know that I'm talking with you guys."

Blaize sighed. Lyric shot him a death glare.

"Let me go first," she said telepathically, drifting forwards. She looked from side to side before hovering right over the Stamina Band. For a moment, she simply looked at it; then she picked it up with a quick Psychic.

And was promptly knocked backwards by a Razor Leaf to the head.

Sterling and Blaize instinctively shot forwards, the Charmander dropping onto all fours so that he could run faster. The attacker burst from the trees with a hissing cry and landed easily in front of the Stamina Band.

The Pokémon was brown, with what appeared to be a mask-like marking on his face and an unusually long nose – a Nuzleaf. With a confident flip of his leaf, he rose to his feet and stared coldly down at his two opponents.

"That's mine," he said in a voice of pure ice.

And that was when Blaize chose to attack, lunging with an Ember building up in his mouth. The Nuzleaf dodged at an impossibly fast speed, growling, and aimed a Razor Leaf at the Charmander.

Sterling leaped, silver eyes flashing momentarily as he unleashed a Night Slash. It didn't hurt the Nuzleaf much at all, but distracted him long enough for Blaize to hit from behind with an Ember. The Charmander had a small wound from the Razor Leaf, and the sight only infuriated Sterling further.

He lashed out with a Spark, easily avoiding a Pound from the Nuzleaf's leaf. Blaize struck with his claws glowing in a metallic way – Metal Claw – knocking the grass-type forward a bit.

The Nuzleaf made as if to lunge at Blaize, who sidestepped, but fell right into his enemy's trap – Fake Out. And then he proceeded to whirl fast enough to catch Sterling in the stomach with a quick Razor Leaf, sending the Shinx flying backwards.

And then Lyric entered the battle.

She began to chime musically again, the sound echoing within her hollow body, and filled the hilltop with a beautiful, harmonious sound – Heal Bell. Sterling found that the noise of the bell had actually refreshed him and was able to fight just like before.

But Lyric didn't interfere more than that. The Nuzleaf shot a feeble Razor Leaf at her, but was quickly overpowered by the combination of angry Charmander and Shinx.

"I recognize you," Lyric said quietly, drifting over to the Nuzleaf. He struggled desperately, trying to get at her, but had lost too much strength to shake Sterling and Blaize off.

"Yeah, so what?" he spat, defeated.

"You're Notch – an outlaw." Lyric smiled, and this time it was distinctly sinister. "We're going to turn you in. Now knock him out, Sterling, and Blaize, get the Stamina Band."

Sterling didn't like being ordered around much, but that creepy smile was imprinted into his brain. He pinned down Notch and stared into his eyes, raising a paw in preparation for the attack.

"…you… are one of my kind," said the Nuzleaf, stopping his hissing and struggling long enough to look into his foe's silver eyes.

Sterling had already knocked him unconscious before he actually comprehended what Notch had said.

One of his kind…?


Lyric was apologetic. "We'll have to drag both Notch and the Stamina Band back to the Academy. It's not too long of a walk, but… I was completely unprepared for an outlaw battle." She sighed. "And it was with a dark-type, too… you were in a lot of danger… monster houses and outlaws in the first dungeon, really? At this rate, you'll be running into the Wind…"

Sterling had been pondering Notch's words with worry for a while and had not been paying attention to her rambling. But the way she said "wind" made him think that there was something important about it.

Blaize asked before he could. "What do you mean by 'Wind?'" he asked curiously.

Lyric froze.

"...the Wind is every explorer's nightmare," she said finally.

And she would elaborate no more on the subject.


"…an outlaw? A monster house?"

After the trio had returned to the Academy, they had almost immediately reported to Kalazar. He had summoned in a Gengar and two Haunter (apparently, they were part of the town's "police," whatever that was), who had taken away Notch and the Stamina Band, informing the four that they would return it to its rightful owner. As soon as they were gone, Kalazar had asked about Team Storm's first mission.

He had not liked what he'd heard.

"An outlaw! On your first mission! And a monster house! To think that this was simply an item-retrieval mission," the Alakazam growled, pacing around his room. Sterling watched him nervously; he was truly a terrifying sight when angry.

"Strange things are going on here. That Scyther outlaw easily escaped Team Earthquake… Team Serpent came back from Thunder Grassland yesterday with their first failed mission in a year…" the headmaster muttered to himself. "…must ask Auriane and Kaizen… Mt. Aura… yes, might know…"

Huh? Sterling pricked his ears, hearing a few interesting things among the rambling. He glanced curiously at Blaize, who looked equally as befuddled.

"Uh, sir," Lyric said politely, cutting through Kalazar's rant, "I was wondering if I could take Team Storm to the infirmary to get their injuries checked over. And then we'll go prepare for tomorrow's mission and eat dinner. Is that all right?"

"Yes, yes. Go off, now. I need to see my teammates." Kalazar straightened up. "You are excused. Go talk to Vale, and check on Raonix, all that."

Lyric seemed pleased after that and drifted off right away to visit her fellow team member. Sterling and Blaize followed at a slower pace, both of them confused.

Finally, Blaize voiced both of their thoughts aloud. "…what in Arceus's name was that about?"


AN:

And we finally have a plot! (…or, at least, a few signs of its existence.)

Any guesses as to what the Wind is, PMD players~? :D

Good news, guys. My "ban" is over, so no more slow updates... until the Internet snares me in its highly addictive trap again, of course.