Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon mystery dungeon, or Pokémon itself.

Chapter 12: volcanic peak

I woke up to see Lilly already awake. She was looking into the cave, and I could see she was scared. "Morning Lilly" I said gently.

"Morning" she replied. Her voice was emotionless, as if she was thinking.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked "you aren't human, they don't blame you"

"I don't care" Lilly said, determined "I'm not leaving you"

I sighed. There was only one thing to do now… "Then let's go I said "together"

She looked at me. Her expression was emotionless determination, something I had never seen her portray "together" she said. She jumped up and followed as I led her inside.

Lilly was back to her usual self after a few minutes. We had a hard time getting through the mountain, not because the Pokémon were hard to fight, but because of the immense heat. I was ok, my electricity keeping me cool somehow, Lilly on the other hand had a coat of fur, and she was obviously overheating. We got to a resting point, and she collapsed.

"So…hot…" she said.

"You see, this is why you need portable water" I said.

"Wouldn't…be hard…with water…Pokémon" she managed to say.

"It feels cooler up here" I said "I think we're near the peak"

"Y...yay" Lilly said.

I sighed. Lilly could endure multiple fire attacks and be fine, but the one attack that always got her was sunny day, which made it so hot she often collapsed from overheating.

I ran my hands through her fur the way someone would ruffle their hair to cool off. "Come on Lilly, 2 more floors tops" I reassured her.

"Ok…" she said, a bit more steadily than before. She got up "let's go"

I nodded and we went ahead. The thinner air allowed more heat to escape, allowing the air in the cave to be cooler…but not much. Something was off for sure…

We got to the peak quickly "this looks like it's it" I said. One side was full of lava, some of it shooting up in small spouts. Thankfully, none of it fell on top of us. "Wow…I know this is a volcano, but there's a lot more lava than usual"

"Yea and it's SUPER hot" Lilly said. She shook herself, trying to fluff out her fur "I don't like it…come on, let's get through quickly"

Before we could move, a voice echoed "halt!" the area got dark.

"W-why is it so dark?" Lilly asked fearfully

"I can hear the mountain's screams..." the voice said "It is shrieking in pain... Someone is causing Mt. Blaze to writhe in agony! Is it you?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about" I said "we didn't cause anything, we were just passing through…who are you anyways? Come on out!"

There was a flash "the mountains rage is my rage!" suddenly, a fiery bird came flying down, knocking us back a bit "I am Moltres! The warrior of fire am I! There is no forgiving those who befoul the mountain! En garde!"

Crud, this would be tough. The battle was REALLY long, and Lily was so heat-exhausted that I had to fight by myself. When we finally finished the battle, Moltres was defeated.

"Urggggh!" Moltres groaned "I'm not done! I'm not finished yet!"

He got up, prepared for another fight…but I wasn't.

"H-hang on!" Lilly said. Moltres paused "we didn't come to cause trouble"

She had gotten Moltres to listen, so I took my chance "we came here because we were chased here" I said. Lilly interrupted before I could say more.

"This mountain isn't the only thing suffering" she said "there's natural disasters everywhere, and we want to help…but we're on the run and can't"

Moltres thought for a moment "do you say that sincerely?" he asked.

"If you think I'm lying, look into my eyes" she said.

They locked gazes for a moment. Then Moltres screeched, causing Lilly to yelp in fear.

"I believe you" he said. "You may pass. Get through Mt. Blaze. And... Promise me this. Promise me that you will find the cause of the calamities that wrack our world... and stop the disasters from sowing more destruction and suffering."

"Alright, we'll do that" I said "I promise"

"...I will hold you to that promise. You've made me believe that you will honor that promise. If you do not forget... the courage you showed in facing me."

He screeched again, causing us both to jump "i-is there something else?" I asked.

"No…I was preparing to take off" he replied.

"Oh…" I replied simply. Thinking about it now, it was kind of funny how we got scared for nothing…heh…

"Farewell!" he said. And with that, he took off.

"Wow…that was scary…" Lilly said "come on, let's keep going!"

We slowly walked to a remote spot, and promptly collapsed "I'm…tired…" I said.

"About…time…" Lilly replied, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

After a moment to catch our breath, we both sat up "Lilly…we need to keep going" I said.

"Come on Alex" she replied "what Pokémon could possibly get through that?"

"Us" I said, pointing out the obvious "and Alakazams team"

She was silent "you're right..." she said "but they aren't near us, it wouldn't hurt to rest a little"

"I guess you're right" I said, then I looked over the cliff "besides, that's a view you just can't miss!"

Mount blaze looked tiny all the way out here, where we were. It was amazing how far we traveled, especially with how exhausted we were.

"Alex…I'm scared" Lilly said.

"You've said that" I replied.

"I know" she said "but…what if they catch up? What if they find us, and we don't have a chance to fight back?"

"Then I'd choose no one else to die with" I said.

"But…you said you wanted me to stay" she argued.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt" I replied gently "but that won't happen"

"You're right…" she said sleepily. Before I knew it, we were both asleep.

Wow…how long has it been since I updated? I caught a cold a while ago, and the energy drain caused me to lose interest in writing. I've recovered now though, so expect more frequent updates! Thanks to all of those who waited patiently! Remember: I love input, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!