CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Unpleasant Occurrences

That night's dinner was a sullen affair. The members of Team Guardian were quiet, muttering to themselves, and Team Peril was whispering with Lyric. None of them were allowing Team Storm to hear their conversations. Blaize remained stubbornly silent, refusing to speak a word even when asked a question. And, of course, Skaris and Flis were absent altogether.

Sterling ate his meal without speaking, either – there was a lot was on his mind. What had Claret been freaking out about earlier – something about telling Blaize not to go near mystery dungeons? What was wrong with him going to the Hill of Sorrow? And why in Arceus's name did he think that it was his fault that mystery dungeons were forming more quickly?

And, of course, there was the ever-present question involving the Nuzleaf outlaw. The recent events had allowed Sterling to push it out of his mind, but it had returned to irritate him again. What, exactly, was going on? Were the grass-type's strange words connected with the mystery dungeon problem? And what about that other outlaw – the one who no one was speaking about, and who had dragged Flora into Boiling Pit?

A growl vibrated in the back of his throat as he continued to eat. A few of the Pokémon glanced briefly at him, but they turned back to their conversations soon enough. When he made a real effort to listen, Sterling could hear what they were so intent on talking about – the badly scalded Treecko, that mysterious outlaw, and Kalazar's retreat to the Dojo.

"That outlaw's wounded Nettle and Rao. Someone needs to catch that criminal," Lyre was whispering heatedly to her Vulpix partner, who nodded in agreement. "I mean, honestly – he's been running wild for too long. Or she. I just wish that someone would tell us who that outlaw is…"

Sterling was unsurprised to learn that another rookie team didn't know of the mysterious criminal's identity. It seemed that the more experienced teams had been instructed to keep that information quiet… but for what reason?

He swiveled his ears, listening more closely to the conversation between Team Peril and Lyric. Blur and Taint were staying mostly quiet, just listening to the females talk.

"I wonder how Flora got to Boiling Pit in the first place," Blossom was murmuring, twisting her roses in a nervous gesture. "It makes no sense. The only grass-types there are members of an adventure team, and they don't have children – that odd Lombre and the Grovyle, and they're leaving in a few days…"

"Grass-types have never fared too well in the desert, no matter how close to water they may live," Lyric agreed. "It's no surprise that Team Verdant isn't staying long. They only came for their partner, I think – Emerald is what they call him, right?"

"He has some long name that he seems to hate – everyone does call him Emerald. But for such young Pokémon, they do seem to be very experienced… some have gone so far to call them prodigies. I mean, not every grass-type would be willing to follow their Vibrava friend into the middle of a desert," Blossom commented in a hushed voice.

"I hear that they might be visiting here soon. I think it's good that Deluge is letting them travel away from Providence Valley," Lyric agreed. "That old Swampert has always been more adventurous than our mayor, though…"

Blur made an odd noise, reminiscent of a screech, that really hurt Sterling's ears. "Hey! Elderberry's done a good job! You can't forget that Deluge was an adventurer once – that influences his decisions. And the teams here operate independently of the town, so even if Elderberry disapproves…" He shrugged. "She can't really stop us."

Sterling glanced hopefully at Blaize, but the Charmander appeared not to have heard the conversation. He sighed inwardly and spoke in a slightly nervous voice: "Uh… who's Elderberry…? And Deluge and Team Verdant?"

All four Pokémon glanced at him in surprise; they had evidently not been expecting him to eavesdrop on their conversation.

It was Lyric who answered the question, chiming faintly as she spoke. "Elderberry is the mayor of this town. She's very… cautious, and doesn't like to take risks. That's why she doesn't want the resident teams leaving the area to visit faraway places… but she doesn't have the power to prevent that, since the Newleaf Academy and Dojo belong to Team Never, and the shops by their respective owners, and not her."

"Basically, she got picked on as a Deerling, and doesn't want the townspeople to face the same," Taint simplified, earning himself a glare from his teammates.

"She's earned herself plenty of enemies," Lyric added in a dry tone, narrowing her eyes at the Golbat.

"But don't listen to the scatterbrained fool. I, for one, think that Elderberry has done a fabulous job and is merely being protective," Blossom announced, spreading her roses. Then she raised her voice so that the entire table could hear her: "Let's get back to eating. We've been doing way too much talking."

Blaize, who was already done, just shook his head.

When dinner finally came to an end, the teams headed off to their separate rooms. Sterling was faced with the task of leading his very silent partner away from their table, where he seemed determined to stay.

"Come on, Blaize. You've been moody for such a long time – shouldn't you take a break now?" he tried. As soon as the words came out, he knew that it had been the wrong thing to say: Blaize gave him a deadly look and turned away.

"You promised that you'd tell me about this Hill of Sorrows stuff. And I would like to know about your whole mystery dungeon theory," Sterling grumbled, sitting back on his haunches and studying the fiery lizard. He'd had no clue how much he would miss that chattiness…

Surprisingly, Blaize stood up and stretched a little, sweeping his tail from side to side. "Fine," he said in a weary tone, as if listening to Sterling had exhausted him.

The Shinx was too pleased to have him talking again to care, though. "Okay! Off to our room, then." He bounced on his paws – a lot like Ariana – before setting off. "Come on, come on. We'll talk about it in the hammocks."

Blaize followed more slowly, trudging behind as they entered the hallway. (It was through a combined effort that they pulled the door open at all.)

He remained at that sluggish pace as Sterling entered their room, shoving with difficulty at the door until it swung open. Cursing the infernal contraptions under his breath, the feline padded up to his hammock and hopped in.

"Well? Tell me," he demanded, becoming more serious as the Charmander also entered. "This might turn out to be a big issue. I wish you hadn't kept me from this in the first place."

Blaize stopped suddenly, turning to look at him. There was something strange in his eyes – something that made Sterling distinctly uneasy. He instinctively flinched back, trying to move away from that odd expression.

"Where's Flare, Sterling?" Blaize asked flatly.

"F-Flare?"

"You heard me. Where is he? Wasn't he your best friend? Then why isn't he here with you?" the Charmander challenged.

Sterling simply stared, feeling the sting of those words. How could he respond to that? He had kept his secrets for a reason. Bringing up Flare – that topic – well, it was unforgivable, what Flare had done. Sterling had tried to forget, but…

"Not willing to talk? Then who's Mirage?"

That name.

It hadn't been spoken in so long. Months, maybe years. It was a name that he remembered, but it had seemed like he alone held that memory.

Sterling angled his ears forward, finding it hard to breathe. His chest felt painful now. "I… I've never said anything about Mirage. I – you – how do you know who she is?" He stumbled over the words.

"You talk in your sleep sometimes. Just a few words. 'Flare, come back.' 'Mirage, where are you?'" Blaize's stare was mocking. "Don't lecture me about keeping secrets when you've been doing it yourself, you hypocrite!"

They had a staring match in which no one spoke.

Inside, though, there was plenty of turmoil. Sterling was reeling, unable to believe that his new friend had spoken to him so harshly. He had trusted Blaize, or at least was beginning to – and yet that seemed to be a foolish mistake…

How could I have done it again? he wondered, something like hysteria rising in his throat. He suddenly felt the urge to shout, or cry.

Then Blaize hung his head, suddenly looking ashamed. "…I'm sorry. That was a low blow," he muttered. "It's just… I've… been stressed today. It's not because of you; I understand the need to keep secrets."

"It's okay," Sterling lied.

Blaize hopped up onto his hammock, carefully holding his tail in his paws. His gaze was drawn to the flame, and he stared at the flickering light as if mesmerized.

"Well, I didn't tell you about my birth," he said at last, finally breaking the uneasy silence. "Basically… I was hatched in a mystery dungeon. And my parents were scared… scared that it would affect my mind, since I was young and couldn't resist the disturbance caused by the distortion inside mystery dungeons."

"That mystery dungeon that you were born in was the Hill of Sorrow, right?" Sterling guessed, curling up awkwardly on the hammock. It swung whenever he moved, making his position feel less than comfortable. He was too busy examining Blaize's facial expression to care much, though.

The Charmander nodded slowly. "Yep, it was." He closed his eyes. "It hasn't affected much. I mean, I can see the borders of the mystery dungeons… and I can sometimes go a little… weird in them. After my Blaze ability stops working, I kind of go… feral."

Sterling stared at him. Could he trust his partner? Some part of him wanted to. But, after that outburst from earlier… could he? And, if this was true… was it safe to befriend someone who could turn into a feral?

"But that rarely happens, and you can probably restrain me with ease," Blaize said reassuringly, as if sensing his discomfort. "Anyways, my parents were terrified of my abilities, and were scared of me too. My father really disliked me – he's rarely at home. My mother thought that I was interesting instead, but she was afraid that I would get myself into trouble someday."

He made a strange, choked sound, almost like a sad laugh. "They treated me a little harshly, and my mother was way overprotective. But here I am today." He leaned forward and opened his eyes again, releasing his tail. "I was thinking that… maybe… one of the side-effects of my birth could be making mystery dungeons form more quickly."

"That's ridiculous," Sterling scoffed, immediately feeling the urge to comfort his partner. "In fact, it makes no sense. I bet that the real cause is something much bigger than that – maybe that… outlaw they keep talking about is behind it."

"Maybe." Blaize sounded unconvinced, but a hint of hope brightened his somber expression.

They sat in quiet after that, sitting on their hammocks. The tension in the air made the silence feel… awkward.

As the room darkened around them, Sterling could no longer see his partner's face. He focused his gaze on Blaize's dim tail-flame instead, studying how it flickered and sparked.

He looped his tail around his paws, flicking the star-shaped tip. I think… that Blaize is my friend. I guess there really was no meaning in what he said… maybe he was just stressed out. We can work together and be friends… I think that I can trust him…

But I should keep an eye on him…

The Shinx looked out into the dark, turning his gaze away from the tail-flame. The only other light in the room came from the windows, and that was pale… very pale, barely visible.

Yet something seemed to glitter on the wall that the moonlight illuminated.

Sterling shook his head slightly, dismissing it as his imagination, and turned back to Blaize. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, wondering about what to say. He wanted to ask the thought that stood out like a beacon in his mind: Can I trust you?

As he focused on the Charmander, a faint sound drifted to his ears. He listened harder, and a smile crept unwillingly across his face as he realized what it was.

Snoring.

The light from Blaize's tail-flame slowly dimmed to an ember, then to nothing. Sterling felt his own drowsiness and decided to make an effort to sleep.

As he slipped into the dark world of dreams, though, the question remained.

Are you trustworthy?

Haunted dreams chased the Shinx through his sleep. He was swarmed with images of Blaize betraying him, of his mother's death, of Indigo's gleaming eyes and Flare lighting the world on fire – and, the most heartbreaking of all – Mirage.

He awoke, trembling and shaky, his entire coat standing on end. For a moment, he stared wildly into the interior of Team Storm's room, seeing nothing.

Then all memory returned, and he realized where he was.

A second later, a powerful voice resounded in his head – "IT'S MORNING! WAKE UP AND GET TO WORK, EVERYBODY!"

Then came the ever-familiar chiming of a bell, magnified to an unbearable volume. It rang loudly for several agonizing minutes, then came to a halt.

Sterling, howling, clutched at his ears. All he could hear was an unpleasant high-pitched ringing sound, which could only be described as torturous.

"STERLING!" came Blaize's shout. "CALM DOWN – IT WAS JUST THE ALARM!"

The Shinx writhed on the ground for a bit until his hearing fully returned. Already exhausted and in a terrible mood, he rose to his paws and sat back on his haunches. There was a nasty gleam in his eyes.

Today is going to be horrible.

His suspicions were proved correct.

AN:

Let's just say that a lot is going on for Ster. He has plenty to worry about… which won't be making this bad day any better. xD

So we hear the first whispers of a new character, Mirage, Blaize's past is revealed… and we learn a bit about Team Verdant! They won't be important until waaay later. (Months-in-the-future-later.)

I think you guys will enjoy the next chapter. ;D