Chapter 54: From Rivals to Friends

Sunburst smirked as she fell into an attack stance, the flames on her body dancing. The Bronzor narrowed its eyes, drifting closer. The former princess quickly spotted the stolen Reviver Seed only a foot behind the Bronzor. Turning her attention back to the Steel/Psychic-type, she bared her teeth threateningly.

"You're going down," she growled.

"Bring it, fire rat!" the Bronzor dared.

Sunburst froze. Fire…rat…?

The Quilava crouched, flames growing white-hot as her eyes narrowed to slits. Her teeth were grit so much that she thought her teeth would break. Her paws were trembling with rage.

"You…" Sunburst growled.

Carlos, Sandra, and Lucar quickly backed off as the air around Sunburst began to shimmer with heat. The Bronzor drifted back, closer to the stolen Reviver Seed. Fear began to shine in its eyes. It was afraid.

Sunburst suddenly lifted her head. "DIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!" she screamed, unleashing the biggest and strongest Flamethrower she could.

The Bronzor didn't even have time to scream before the flames engulfed it. The other three members of Team Legend quickly retreated to the hallway they had previously been in. The entire room was engulfed in flames and searing heat.

/I've learned from experience that an angry Sunburst almost always leads to destruction. Getting her angry isn't a good idea. This mission is a perfect example of why. Even now, her temper still manages to scare me. She's not pulling so many rages nowadays. Maybe it's because she's too busy missing Carlos…/

As quickly as it began, it was over. The flames faded, the heat lowered, and Sunburst's scream came to an end. The Quilava just watched with a satisfied smirk as the Bronzor dropped to the ground, unconscious and burned black from the flames. Approaching it, she stomped on the criminal a few times for good measure.

"Who are you calling a fire rat? Do you know who you're talking to? I'm the princess of the Northern Desert Kingdom! You don't talk to me that way! Take this and this and a little of that, too!"

"Poor guy," Sandra squeaked.

"Ouch…" Lucar groaned. "That has to hurt. Fire beats steel, after all."

"Yeah," Carlos nodded, in shock over the brief battle.

After a few minutes of the seemingly endless kicking, Sunburst stepped away from the Bronzor. "So, did I do well?" she asked, all traces of anger gone.

"Y-yeah," Sandra nodded.

Maybe too well, Lucar thought. She completely fried that guy. Ow…

"Are you okay?" Carlos asked.

"I'm fine," Sunburst replied, smiling. "Oh! We have to get the seed!"

"Uh… What seed?" Lucar asked, entering the room and approaching the beaten Bronzor.

"The seed that Bronzor stole! What did you call it? Resurrection Seed?" Sunburst reminded.

"Reviver," Sandra corrected.

"Yeah, that!" the Quilava nodded.

"Uh…" Lucar reached down to pick up something. "You mean…this?"

"Yeah! Tha…t?" Sunburst lowered the paw she had used to point at him. "Uh…"

Lucar held the Reviver Seed in his paws…or what was left of it. It was shrunken and blacked, completely burned. The power within it was no doubt gone. It was practically a Plain Seed. A burned one, at that.

"Oh… Oops…?" Sunburst smiled nervously at Carlos.

"We can…get another, right?" Carlos suddenly suggested. "From our storage? The client will never know the difference."

"Yeah!" Sandra, Lucar, and Sunburst nodded.

"Okay, that's the plan!" Carlos hurriedly said. "Let's keep going! Only two more floors and we can get out of here!"

"Yeah!" the other three cried.

Lucar quickly dropped the burned Plain Seed on the ground while Carlos used his badge to teleport Bronzor out of Apple Woods. They left the smoky room quickly, heading down many long corridors and a few small rooms. Nothing attacked them right away, as if the wild Pokemon instinctively knew that something big had happened and they were all in hiding because of it. Of course, the stillness and silence soon came to an end.

Entering another small room, a Beedrill lunged at them. A single Force Palm from Lucar knocked it out. In the next room, Carlos picked up 4 Sticks and had them tiptoe around a motionless Kakuna. Another few corridors and rooms were passed through before a Gloom jumped them in a hall. Sandra's Shadow Ball took it down, allowing them to enter the next room. In it was a sleeping Paras, two Apples, and the staircase to the next floor. Carlos quickly collected the Apples before an Exeggutor entered the room, using Barrage on Sunburst. Sandra's Shadow Ball knocked out the Paras, which had awoken when Carlos stepped too close to it. A powerful Thunderbolt from the Pikachu defeated the Exeggutor, saving Sunburst from anymore of its Barrage attacks. He picked up the Power Band it dropped.

"Ow! That hurt!" the Quilava complained, her body covered in bruises. "Stupid Exeggutor…"

"Are you okay?" Carlos asked.

"No! I'm hurt and I'm tired!" Sunburst complained.

"That happens when you're on missions," Lucar pointed out.

"Only one more floor once we go up the stairs, Sunburst," Sandra reminded gently. "One more floor and we can go back to Treasure Town."

/Yeah, I was being sympathetic. Even if Sunburst had received combat training from Mark back in the Northern Desert Kingdom, she wasn't taught how to handle outside environments. She wasn't given the same training as her brother, who frequently left the Northern Desert Kingdom to travel to other kingdoms. She wasn't expected to leave the kingdom…yet she did because of us. It was up to us to help her learn and adapt to life as an explorer. And what a rough life it is, especially compared to Sunburst's previous life as a comfy, spoiled princess./

Sunburst panted for breath and slowly nodded. "Let's just hurry," she pleaded. "My paws are killing me!"

"Another disadvantage of Exploration Team life," Lucar commented. "You'll always be sore and tired at the end of every trip through a mystery dungeon."

"Shut up," Sunburst muttered.

"Come on, guys," Carlos encouraged, resting a paw on Sunburst's shoulder. "Only one more floor to go through and one more criminal to take out. Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Lucar, Sandra, and Sunburst cried.

Carlos helped Sunburst to her feet. Checking to ensure there weren't any items lying around that he'd missed picking up, the Pikachu headed for the stairs. He led the way up them, heading for the next floor.

On the ninth floor, they tiptoed around yet another motionless Kakuna as they headed for the stairs across the room. A Paras suddenly appeared, only to be instantly taken out by Sandra's Shadow Ball. The four explorers quickly dashed up the stairs.

On the tenth floor, their final target was waiting for them. The criminal Oddish frowned upon seeing them, falling into an attack stance. Sunburst stepped back, having had enough of battling for one day. Carlos allowed it, focusing on the criminal.

The Grass-type instantly tossed an Acid at them. The trio dodged, scattering to form a ring around the Oddish. It then used Poison Powder and Stun Spore, poisoning Lucar and paralyzing Sandra. Carlos lunged before it could use Sleep Powder, crashing into it with Quick Attack. Lucar's Rock Slide stopped it from attempting to put Carlos to sleep a second time. Carlos' Thunderbolt succeeded in defeating it, completing Team Legend's third and final mission for the day.

"Finally!" Sunburst cried. "Can we leave now?"

"Yes, Sunburst," Carlos chuckled, smiling at his Fire-type teammate. "We can leave now."

Sandra and Lucar regrouped with Carlos and Sunburst, forming a smaller ring around the unconscious Oddish. Carlos pulled out his badge and pointed it at the Oddish.

"You might want to be aware that we'll probably end up in a pile when we get back," Lucar suddenly said, looking toward Sunburst.

"What?" Sunburst yelped.

"Mission 3 complete!" Carlos cried. "Time to head home, guys,"

White light engulfed the five Pokemon, sending them flying through the space-time tunnel. Sunburst screamed the whole way, having never traveled using the Explorer Badge before. As Lucar had warned, they landed in a pile. Sunburst, luckily enough, landed at the top of the pile.

Sheriff Magnezone was waiting for them, along with their Aerodactyl client. Flareon was already standing by Magnezone's side, glaring hatefully at Team Legend. Carlos handed over the unconscious Oddish. The Pikachu then fished a Reviver Seed out of Team Legend's Treasure Bag, handing it to the Aerodactyl.

"BZZZT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP, TEAM LEGEND! TAKE THESE AS YOUR REWARDS! BZZZT!" Sheriff Magnezone said.

Carlos received a TM for Sleep Talk and 500 poke for Flareon's arrest. He then received a TM for Dig and 300 poke for Oddish's arrest. As an added bonus for bringing Bronzor back, he received 700 poke, a Yellow Gummi, and a White Gummi. Carlos and Sandra eagerly devoured their respective Gummis. Sheriff Magnezone quickly left the Guild, taking the three criminals with him.

The Aerodactyl smiled. "Thanks for retrieving my Reviver Seed! I don't know what I would've done without it! Please, take this as a reward!"

Carlos accepted the Max Elixir with a forced smile. "No problem," he replied. Sorry that we destroyed your real Reviver Seed, he thought.

The Aerodactyl left the Guild without another word, clearly happy to have his item back. The four members of Team Legend looked at each other in guilt.

/That was the first time we accidentally destroyed an item during a mission. It was quite a big slip-up on our part, even if it had been Sunburst's fault… I didn't enjoy having to lie to that Aerodactyl about us retrieving his Reviver Seed when, in reality, we had burned his to a crisp and simply gave him one of ours. I still wonder if he ever noticed the difference./

Chatot smiled as he flew up to them. "Congratulations on another job well done!" he cried. "With those three missions complete, you've just gained 150 points. You now have 365 points total! Keep up the good work and you'll be at Gold Rank in no time!"

"Yeah," Carlos nodded. Still…1600 is a lot of points, he thought.

Sunburst stretched, yawning. "I'm exhausted!"

"So am I," Lucar agreed.

"I'm going to head into town to drop off our money and items," Carlos said.

"I'll go with!" Sandra instantly volunteered.

"You know what? Count me in, too." Sunburst suddenly said.

"I thought you were tired," Carlos pointed out, confused.

"A little walking around won't hurt," the Quilava reasoned. "Let's go!"

/Little did I know that Sunburst had a different reason for wanting to come along. That reason was…shocking, to say the least. I never expected it. Then again, we never expected what would happen in town that day either. So many surprises…/

"Good luck, guys," Lucar wished, returning to Team Legend's room to rest.

Carlos led the way up the ladder and out of the Guild, heading down the stone steps toward Treasure Town. Entering the main square, Carlos handed off the Treasure Bag to Sandra and headed for Duskull Bank to deposit their extra money. Sandra slowly shuffled down the street, reluctant to leave Carlos alone.

"What's with you? Come on!" Sunburst grabbed the Eevee's paw and dragged her down the street toward Kangaskhan Storage. Once their excess items were stored, Sunburst pulled Sandra aside. "Okay, what happened?"

"Huh?" Sandra blinked slowly in confusion.

"Last night, when you came back crying?" Sunburst prodded.

"Oh! That… Um…" Sandra looked away. "I… Well…"

"Spit it out already!" the former-princess barked.

"W-Why do you care, anyway?" Sandra suddenly demanded, fighting back tears of frustration. "You wouldn't understand! You didn't have to see a total stranger kissing the guy you're in love with!"

Sunburst stepped back, shocked at the Eevee's outburst. Then she realized what Sandra had just said. "Someone kissed Carlos? Who?"

"Some female Pikachu," Sandra replied, glaring at the ground. "Carlos didn't even know I was there…but she did. She was looking at me when she kissed him."

"The nerve of that… GRRR!" Sunburst growled, the flames of her head and lower back igniting angrily. "How dare she?"

"Yeah," Sandra nodded, sniffling.

Sunburst, realizing Sandra's depressed mood, forced herself to calm down. "Hey, cheer up. It's not like Carlos kissed her back…right?"

"It…didn't look like it," Sandra admitted. "If anything, it looked like she just kissed him…on a whim."

"Did you know her?" Sunburst asked.

"No," Sandra replied. "At least…I don't think so. She looked familiar, though. I don't know why."

"Weird…" Sunburst scratched her chin thoughtfully. "You haven't told anyone else this, have you?"

"No," Sandra groaned. "Only you…"

Sunburst sighed. "You really need to learn to tell others your problems," she commented. "Bottling them up inside only makes it worse. Carlos and the others have been worried about you, you know."

"I don't want to bother them with my problems," Sandra said. "Especially not Carlos…"

"I take it that Carlos doesn't know you like him," the Quilava guessed.

Sandra shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted, blushing. "Sometimes it looks like he does and other times…like he doesn't."

"How ignorant can he be?" Sunburst joked. She suddenly grabbed the Eevee's paw. "Come on. Let's get Carlos and go. The least you can do is tell the others about this so they'll stop worrying."

"Okay," Sandra nodded.

With Carlos…

The Pikachu smiled as he left Duskull Bank, noticing that his two teammates were still gone. Shrugging, he began to head down the road toward Kangaskhan Storage…when an all-too-familiar voice came from behind him.

"Nice to see you again, Carlos."

He whirled around in surprise. It was Chelsey. The female Pikachu smiled kindly as she approached him. Carlos tensed, instantly wary. Chelsey frowned, reaching out a paw to stroke his cheek.

"What's wrong? Not happy to see me?" she asked, blue eyes shining sadly.

Carlos tore his gaze from her eyes. Something about her just screamed 'pay attention to me' and he found it hard to resist her…charm? He wasn't truly sure what it was. Something about it didn't sit right with him, though.

"Why did you kiss me?" Carlos demanded coldly.

"Because I like you," Chelsey replied, her gaze drifting over his shoulder when two figures appeared down the street. Her again…and she has a friend. Interesting…

Carlos pulled away from her touch. "How can you like me? We hardly know each other."

"Love knows no bounds," Chelsey said, stepping closer to him.

Her gaze once more drifted over his shoulder, noticing how the Eevee froze upon seeing them. It was the Quilava's angry reaction that made Chelsey smile. She focused her gaze on Carlos again.

"I'm sorry but I don't like you," Carlos said hesitantly. "Not like that. Maybe we could be friends but—"

"Why?" Chelsey asked. "Do you like someone else?"

"Well, no… At least, I don't think—" Carlos stammered, blushing.

"Then what's wrong with me?" Chelsey questioned, stepping closer and resting her paws on his cheeks, leaving him no other place to look at but her. "Trust me. Nobody can love you as much as I can."

Carlos never got to reply. Chelsey pressed her lips against his, her chest brushing his. Her paws pinched his cheeks as she deepened the kiss. Static jumped from her cheeks at the ferocity of it.

She tore away upon hearing a loud yell. Chelsey hardly had time to step away before a blur of blue and cream crashed into her, sending them both rolling across the ground. Villagers scattered, screaming in fear as the pair separated. Chelsey touched her mouth, tasting blood from her split lip. She looked up to see Sunburst standing there, flames raging and eyes narrowed in anger.

"How dare you?" the Quilava hissed.

"Sunburst, stop!" Carlos cried.

Sunburst ignored him, lunging at the female Pikachu with Quick Attack. Chelsey suddenly seemed to disappear from view, reappearing behind the Quilava only seconds later. Sunburst screamed as electricity struck her, pain shooting through her body from the blast. When it ended, she fell onto her stomach on the ground.

"Sunburst!" Sandra wailed, dashing forward.

Chelsey sighed, flexing the fingers on the paw she had used to shock Sunburst. Turning her attention to the dumbfounded Carlos, she smiled. "Until next time," She kissed him on the forehead before bounding away, disappearing from sight.

"Ugh… That little…" Sunburst coughed, wincing as pain erupted from her back. "Ow! Stupid rat!"

"Are you okay?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah," Sunburst nodded. "You?"

"I'm fine! Why did you do that?" Carlos demanded.

Sunburst struggled to her feet. "Because it was the right thing to do," she replied.

Huh? Carlos just stared at her in confusion.

"Let's go home," Sandra finally suggested after a few minutes of awkward silence.

Carlos led the way back to the Guild, lost in thought over Sunburst's answer. Sunburst leaned against Sandra, flashing the Eevee a smile. Sandra smiled back, not minding the extra weight.

If only they had taken the time to look down the path before climbing the stairs leading up to the Guild. If they had, they would've seen Chelsey scampering into the bushes. The bush she went into suddenly began to glow…

Wigglytuff's Guild, Team Legend's room…

"…and that's what happened," Sandra finished at last.

"I can't believe it!" Luv cried. "And she doesn't even know Carlos!"

"And we don't know her," Zuzu added.

"Why would she do that then?" Joy asked. "It makes no sense."

"Agreed," Lucar nodded. "Unless…"

"What is it, Lucar?" Blackie asked, looking at the blind Riolu.

Lucar turned to look at Carlos and Sandra. "You both said something was familiar about…Chelsey, was it?"

"That's what she said her name was," Carlos confirmed.

"How did she look familiar?" Lucar asked.

"Well…" Sandra looked away, nervous. "Something about her… I don't really know. I just felt like I had met her before."

"Same," Carlos nodded. "I just don't remember where, but…I had a bad feeling about it."

"A bad feeling?" Blackie repeated, confused.

"Yeah, like…" Carlos scratched his head, frowning. "Like, whenever we had previously met, something terrible had happened."

"Could she have been someone from your past?" Joy asked. "From before you lost your memories?"

"Maybe," the Pikachu shrugged. "But it feels…more recent than that. I just…don't know why."

The nine members of Team Legend sat in their room, wracking their memories for anything that might relate to a Pikachu named Chelsey. All throughout that time, Lucar kept glancing at Carlos and Sandra. The blind Riolu frowned.

Maybe it's time Carlos found out, he decided.

On the outskirts of Treasure Town…

Chelsey sighed as she reached the hollow log she had been resting in for the past few days. Entering it, she flopped down on the nest of leaves she had built. Warmth pulsated from a round object only a few inches to her right. She lifted a paw to check the temperature, smiling when it met her expectations.

"I've had enough playing around," she muttered, sitting up. "It was fun to mess with them at first but now…"

She spared a glance at the warm object before picking it up. The warmth radiating from it reassured her that it was okay. She set it down again and headed toward the entrance of her makeshift den, frowning.

"Enough games," she said firmly. "It's time to get down to business. I have better things to do than stick around here any longer. I just have to get rid of this thing and move on. Now then…how to do it?"

A few moments passed before an idea hit her. Grinning, the Pikachu laughed as she stepped into the moonlight. Then something strange happened.

Her body began to ripple and glow, changing shape from a Pikachu to a pink blob. After a few seconds, the glow faded. Standing in Chelsey's place…was Phantom Thief Jealousy.

"Soon," the criminal Ditto vowed. "Soon…"