DarkFoxKit: TM? What are you doing? Why are you on the Switch?
Traveling Master: Oh, nothing really, just downloading a game. I've been thinking about this game for a while now, whether I should get it or not and finally decided to get it.
DarkFoxKit: Oh? What game is that?
Traveling Master: Animal Crossing. Never played it before, but scene clips of videos of all it's past games, thought I give this one a shot...Um… DF? Are you okay? Why are you looking at me like that?
DarkFoxKit: *Is vibrating* I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! *pounces TM in a hug*
Traveling Master: What the?! DF?! What are you doing? It's just a game!
DarkFoxKit: It's more than just a game! IT'S LIFE!
Dust: I think this whole virus thing and being locked indoors has gotten to her.
Traveling Master: Dust, how do you even know about the… you know what, nevermind. Anyways, looks like I'll be waiting a bit for the game to download, so how about we get on with the story then. Shall we?
DarkFoxKit: OKAY! OwO
Chapter 15: The Kidnapping
Dust smiled as he walked into the guild, with Berry on his back. They had just rescued a lost Psyduck from the Seashell Beach dungeon.
"Thank you both for rescuing me. If my message hadn't gotten to a guild, I didn't know what I would've done," Psyduck said in a grateful tone.
"Happy to be of service," Dust returned the gratitude. "Though, how did you end up in the Mystery Dungeon in the first place?"
The Psyduck shrugged before answering. "I don't know. I just remember having a horrible headache while I was drifting in the ocean, and found myself lost in a Mystery Dungeon."
"Mystery Dungeons do tend to swallow up those who wander there," Berry noted.
Dust started to ponder about Psyduck's recent predicament. "That does raise some questions. Do Mystery Dungeons have different effects on others? Or do all Pokemon unfortunate enough to end up getting stuck in a dungeon experience headaches similar to Psyduck? Maybe it depends on the type of dungeon and location. Would a more dangerous, high leveled dungeon have a stronger effect, or maybe it depends on the Pokemon themselves."
"It's hard to say, that's why Mystery Dungeons are so mysterious. But they say if you get lost in there, it wears on your psyche, and you might even go feral after a while," Berry remarked.
"Regardless, I'm glad you were able to rescue me before that became a problem," Psyduck sighed in relief as he stood in front of the mission board. "Well, now that we're here, I'll be giving you your reward for saving me."
The Psyduck gave Dust a bag of 100 Poke, and a bottle of Protein.
"I know it isn't much. I lost most of my Poke in the dungeon," Psyduck admitted. "But that bottle of Protein is said to make your physical attacks stronger. But if you're not interested in that, you could always sell it. Kecleon usually pay a pretty good price for one of those."
This reminded Dust that he still had that bottle of Calcium he had put away in Carrie's storage. He recalled how he wanted to perform some tests with the Calcium, and now that they had Protein, he was getting more excited just thinking about it.
"Oh, I'm sure we will put it to good use," Dust smiled while he put the Protein and Poke in his bag.
"Thanks again, I'll be more careful next time," Psyduck said before he waddled away.
"Another mission complete. Though we missed out on a D Rank mission today due to there being… none for us… hopefully we'll be able to take on our first D Rank mission tomorrow," Berry said.
"Hopefully. The more missions we complete, the sooner we can raise our ranks," Dust replied. "Now since we've finished today's mission, I'll drop you off to babysit while I will be continuing my research. Never really had a chance to finish my studies yesterday, on account of the game of tag we all did."
Berry chuckled sheepishly. "Let's hope the children don't decide to play another game of tag today. I'm surprised that we still even have a guild hall. The construction is pretty fast at least."
Dust took a moment to look around him. "Considering that apparently this is a normal occurrence, I'm sure the construction workers have plenty of experience dealing with this guild."
The Goomy nodded. "Let's just hope it doesn't happen… too often. Could you drop me off at Chihiro's office before you go back to the Research Lab?"
Dust nodded before heading towards Chihiro office. It wasn't long until they finally reached their destination. Dust stopped in front of the door before knocking, hearing some commotion coming from within. Dust and Berry looked at each other, both curious as to what is happening inside.
Berry suddenly stiffened. "Oh no…"
"What?" Dust asked, not really sensing any immediate danger. "Is it the Crimson Raiders?"
"No… but…" Berry hesitated. "... You should go to the Research Lab." I don't want you getting involved with this again. Hopefully they'll leave me alone since I have to babysit.
"Oh… well if you insist." Dust said as Berry climbed off his back. He was curious by her mood suddenly changing. "Are you sure you don't want me to at least stick around for a bit?"
"Yeah… don't worry, I'll be fine," Berry assured. "I'll see you later, Dust."
"Alright then...You take care Berry," Dust waved goodbye before turning to leave to the Research Lab.
When Berry made sure Dust was out of sight, she turned to the door, sighing, before she opened it and slithered inside.
The Goomy saw Brody was already here, not that she was surprised since he was usually in the guild all day, but the other two Pokemon who were with him is what made her nervous. What are they doing here?
"You know, when you told us that you were being punished, this was not what I imagined." A familiar Grovyle chuckled a bit.
"I honestly thought you would've gotten a worse punishment," A Charmeleon agreed as he leaned against the wall. He then noticed Berry enter the room and turned his attention towards her. "Oh, it's you!...I don't think we got your name from last time."
Berry stiffened at suddenly being addressed. She only semi-blacked out the last time she had one of her outbursts, but she did remember engulfing the Charmeleon and Grovyle in her Dragon Breath attack.
"Berry…" Berry nervously said.
The Charmeleon gave Berry a confused look. "Uh, no thank you, I ate earlier today. Though if you're offering later I wouldn't mind some."
"Does it look like the fair maiden has any berries on her?" Brody huffed. "That's her name, Al! Don't be so rude to her."
"Oh." Al replied with a surprised look. "My bad...Will you have berries later?"
"Enough with the berries, Al," The Grovyle walked up and smacked Al on the side of his head.
Al rubbed his head while glaring at the Grovyle. "Grant, I was just asking. No need to smack my head."
While Al and Grant were talking, Berry slithered over to Brody.
"You know these two?" Berry questioned the Lucario.
Brody gave a sheepish smile. "I do, they are my teammates that I mentioned before. I know they can be very...extreme at times, but they are good friends of mine. Have you met them before?"
Berry was surprised to learn Brody actually had a team, she thought he was just a cook in the cafeteria with a Milcry for an assistant. "I didn't know you were a Crusader. But to answer your question, yes, I have… during that chaotic game of tag the other day. That Charmeleon… Al, was it? He tried to barbecue me and Dust. Then that Grovyle, Grant, right? He seemed to be pretty determined to challenge me to a battle."
Brody sighed as he closed his eyes. "That does sound like something they would do. I'm sorry for the trouble they put you through, no male should ever treat a lady as such. If you will excuse me for a moment."
Brody then turned towards his teammates who were now arguing about berries. With swift movements, he delivered two hard blows to each of their heads, leaving a sizable bruise. Berry couldn't help but sweatdrop at this.
"What the heck, Brody?!" Grant shouted.
"That's for attacking Berry for no reason!" Brody chided.
"But we were just playing tag. I figured we can use attacks after you hit us with Aura Sphere." Al pointed out while gently rubbing his bruise.
What? Who plays tag with actual attacks? … Were they the ones who started that chaos? Berry observed with a slight frown.
Brody was about to lecture them more but then paused, realizing that in a way he gave his teammates a reason to start attacking others. "... Okay, that was my mistake, I'll admit. I just… assumed you knew how to play tag. I only attacked you two because it's what we usually do to each other."
What kind of team attack each other? How do they go on missions if they're always hitting each other? Berry questioned to herself, not understanding this team's logic.
"I personally didn't care about the game, all I wanted to do was find you and give you a beating," Grant pointed out. "By the time I ran into that Absol and his partner, everyone was already attacking each other. I assumed it was an all out brawl."
Brody and Grant turned to Al.
"How many Pokemon did you attack?" Grant asked the Charmeleon.
Al paused as he counted the number of Pokemon he tagged yesterday by using his claws. After counting past six, he just shrugged. "Lost count after six. Never really played the game before, I just assumed those were the rules."
Why is he acting so casually to attacking his fellow guildmates like it was just a part of the game? No wonder everyone became mixed up on what game we were actually playing. Berry sighed.
"This is why we can't take our eyes off you for a minute, Al!" Grant grumbled. "Seems Team Destruct striked again, eh Brody?"
'Team Destruct'? Is that their team name? Berry blinked.
"I really wish we could change our name," Brody shook his head before turning to Al. "When I said our team name should be Team Destruct, I meant it as a joke!"
"Instead, we now have a pretty awesome name, so I call that a win," Al smiled.
"Um…" Berry started, causing everyone's attention to draw to her as though they just remembered she was in the room. "Carrie is going to be here soon with the kids, so… are you two… going to stick around or leave soon?"
"Are you kidding me? No way am I gonna miss this," Al chuckled.
"And since he's here, I'm gonna stick around to make sure he doesn't burn anything," Grant grunted. "Besides, I'm still annoyed that Brody cost us our chance to enter the tournament with the stunt he pulled. Might as well enjoy watching his punishment too."
Berry raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean he cost you the chance to enter the tournament?"
"He means an agreement between me and their team," Chihiro answered as she entered the room. "Berry, glad to see you here, I take it your mission was a success?"
"Yeah, it was," Berry confirmed as she turned to the guild master. "What was the agreement?"
Chihiro chuckled a bit as she gave Team Destruct a brief glance. "Well as you have seen for yourself, those three have a knack for causing all sorts of trouble. While all exceptionally skilled, each of them are equally reckless. So before they could enter the tournament, they have to go through a month without causing any serious damage or destruction."
"And we were so close until that knucklehead ruined it for us," Grant added.
"Don't forget, he did it for a female too," Al added.
Berry frowned, feeling guilty about that. "That was my fault though, I pretty much guilt him into helping me. And, for the record, he didn't cause any actual damages or destruction until you two came along…"
"She does have a point," Al said. "Guess it must have been something pretty serious if you got him to help you. Though I do remember him doing much crazier things before. Like that time he almost got killed by that Typlosion. He was pretty mad when he saw Brody flirting with his mate."
Grant sighed as he rubbed the top of his head and his leaf. "When I heard that Brody was being punished for breaking the rules, I had assumed he destroyed or literally broke something in the guild."
"This is why communication is key when working as a team," Chihiro remarked. "Or perhaps you let a Klefki hold on to your key of communication, and that's why you always end up being stuck at Bronze Rank. Oooh, that one was a good one."
"... Guild Master…" Berry said quietly. "Are you sure it's wise to let your grandkids be so close to… um… Team Destruct? I mean yesterday they turned an innocent game of tag into an all out brawl."
The Dragapault smirked. "I am well aware of their unique ability of attracting chaos from time to time, but Carrie will be keeping a close eye on them. I'm sure they will behave under Carrie's watchful eyes, isn't that right boys?"
All three members of Team Destruct immediately flinched, recalling the warnings Carrie gave them before. Even Grant, who just looked away in an attempt to hide his reaction was still a bit shaken up. Chihiro laughed at their reaction, finding amusement from them.
"Right," All three members replied at the same time.
"See, you got nothing to worry about." Chihiro assured Berry.
Starting to see why Dragon types are so scary and revered. Berry sweatdropped.
"Oh, I think I heard Carrie coming," Chihiro remarked before she floated to the door.
Grant gave an analyzing look at Berry, which made the Goomy nervous.
"... What?" Berry asked, seeing the Grovyle's studying expression.
"Guild Master," Grant called out to Chihiro while still looking at Berry. "How long until Brody and Berry get to stop for the day?"
"Well it normally depends on how busy me and Carrie are," Chihiro answered. "Usually later in the evening is when we let them go."
Grant smiled after hearing Chihiro's answer. "Good to know. Berry, hope you're not too tired after watching those kids. I still want that match. Especially after seeing that attack you used on me and Al."
Berry stiffed at that, though Grant didn't seem to notice. What am I supposed to say to that? Saying I'm not strong would just make me seem like a liar now. Stupid outbursts! "O-oh… well… you know… I… have to check in with my partner and all that after I babysit…"
"Oh, mind if I tag along?" Al jumped in. "Gotta say, was pretty impressed by that maneuver that Absol pulled. He seems like an interesting fellow."
Berry was starting to sweat now. But thankfully for the nervous Goomy, Carrie came into the office, having Chloe, Phantom, and Spooks in her pouch.
"Oh, look at that, it's Team Destruct. No wonder our game of tag turned out the way it did yesterday," Spooks chuckled.
"Are they going to babysit us today too?" Chloe questioned.
"Actually, now that you ask we…" Al stopped himself after seeing the death glare from Carrie, causing the Charmeleon to gulp. "Actually me and Grant were just going to watch. Just that, no babysitting whatsoever."
"Watching is perfectly fine~" Carrie smiled a deadly sweet smile.
"Well, well, well… this is going to be fun~" Phantom smirked.
Other than the first day, the babysitting went by without much trouble for the week. Carrie was helping out with the babysitting so there wouldn't be anymore incidents like the chaotic game of tag on the first day. Berry was pretty good at being nurturing once she understood what she needed to do. She enjoyed playing with the kids herself when they weren't playing tag. The kids like playing with her because her body was so squishy, and they weren't gross out by her slime like most Pokemon would be. Though Berry was concerned about the toxins in her slime, Carrie reassured her that Dr. Perfume did an analysis on her slime when he cured Dust, her toxins are only deadly if they had a lot of her slime put on them or consumed for a long period of time. Small doses were pretty much harmless.
Brody was surprisingly handling himself pretty well. He played with the children, making sure to be careful around them. As well, he would offer to cook them their meals, making sure that each child, including Berry and Carrie got a meal meant for them. For the first few days his teammates would watch, occasionally joke about Brody's punishment, but after the second day, they had decided to leave Brody be, much to the relief of Berry. She was actually impressed by how well Brody would handle the children, but there were times she also had to keep an eye on him. More than once she found herself helping Brody after he had an accident. Sometimes he would suddenly trip while carrying a tray of food, other times, out of nowhere a loose object would fall off one of the shelves, landing right on top of the Lucario's head. She didn't know if he was just unlucky or a bit more on the clumsy side.
Of course, there were also Berry's daily missions she had with Dust. Though none of them were difficult to do. They did their first D Rank mission pretty easily, which was to rescue another Pokemon in a Mystery Dungeon that was considered to be harder and longer than E Rank Mystery Dungeons, but nothing they couldn't handle at this point. Berry would sometimes see Dust going to the Dojo, which didn't surprise the Goomy as she remembered Dust wanting to get stronger to prove Team Crimson Raiders that he is and will be strong. Berry also couldn't help but wonder if part of it was her fault due to her outbursts.
Berry, however, had gotten some training of her own, not for combat, but for stealth. The Goomy learned how to hide in strange places whenever Grant was trying to look for her to spar with her after she and Brody finished babysitting for the day. Once Grant finally had to go to sleep for the night, Berry could relax before heading back to her room for the night as well. Dust did question why she came back so late, and Berry explained how Grant had this weird obsession with wanting to spar with her.
Neither of Team Night Tide had seen Team Crimson Raiders since before that game of tag at the beginning of the week. Which was fine for the both of them, they weren't in any mood to deal with Crimson or Blizza for a while.
Finally, the last day of Berry and Brody's punishment was upon them. Only about ten minutes into babysitting Phantom, Spooks, and Chloe, and Carrie got an emergency call. A Kecleon had come by, asking for Carrie. Berry recognized the Kecleon as one of the shop owners from when she and Dust went to their shop. After a few minutes Carrie returned, having a concerned look on her face.
"Is everything alright?" Berry asked in concern.
Carrie put on a friendly smile, not wanting to worry the children. "Everything is fine, but something has come up. I need to check on my shop, but I should be back shortly. Will you two be okay to watch the children on your own for a bit?"
"Don't worry, Mrs. Carrie, we'll be fine," Brody assured. "Right, Berry?"
"Yeah, we should be. I doubt there's going to be another game of tag incident like the first day," Berry answered.
"I hope not," Carrie slightly chuckled. "I don't think the guild could survive another game of tag. Chloe."
"Yes Mommy?" Chloe answered as she walked up to her mother.
Carrie knelt down and gave her daughter a hug. "Mommy is going to be back soon. While I'm gone, make sure to listen to Berry and Brody."
Chloe smiled as she hugged her mother back. "I will, Mommy."
Carrie let go of her daughter before looking at Phantom and Spooks. "Same goes for you two, Brody and Berry will take care of you while I'm gone. Now take care, I'll return as soon as I can."
"We'll see you later Auntie Carrie!" Phantom waved.
"We'll stay safe, Auntie Carrie!" Spooke assured.
When Carrie left, Berry thought about how they always stayed in the guild to take care of the kids, and she decided it might be better to go out for some fresh air this time.
"Hey, speaking of leaving the guild for the time being… would you three be alright with going out into White Leaf Town today?" Berry suggested. "We've always just been inside the guild every day of the week when we were babysitting you, so a change of scenery would do us some good."
"Yeah!" All three children shouted cheerfully.
"Are you okay with that, Brody?" The Goomy asked the Lucario.
"I have no objection to such a brilliant idea coming from such a brilliant lady such as yourself," Brody replied.
Although Berry had been babysitting for a week with Brody now, she still couldn't quite get used to the compliments Brody gives her, especially since she didn't believe the compliments herself. But she appreciated not being called ugly or a variant comment on how weird she looked.
"Then it's unanimous, let's go to White Lead Town." Berry smiled. "Maybe we might find something nice on sale that we can afford."
Brody started to lead the way, since he was the oldest and the tallest. Chloe, Phantom, and Spooks followed, with Berry lagging behind a bit. Berry frowned a little, being reminded how slow she was compared to most other Pokemon, and why she always had to ride on Dust to get anywhere faster than a Slugma's pace. The Goomy could move faster by hopping, but she didn't like having to continuously hop to move, it tired her out quickly, and she was no Buneary or Spoink.
The small group left the guild and headed into White Leaf Town. The town was as lively as ever. As soon as they got into town, many adult Pokemon were cooing at the children. Two Pokemon decided they wanted to get a closer look. Brody instantly perked up when he saw a Lopunny and Nidoqueen walking towards them.
"Aww, they are so adorable!" The Lopunny cooed, mostly looking at Chloe.
"They sure are," The Nidoqueen added. She then turned her gaze towards Brody while giving him a friendly smile. "Are one of these your children?"
Brody chuckled a bit. "No, I'm just babysitting them."
"Oh wow," Lopunny looked up in amazement. "To look after four children at the same time, you must be very good with children."
Wait… FOUR!? Berry realized before she quickly came up to the front despite her slow pace. "Hey, excuse me, but I'm not one of the children he's babysitting. I'm actually helping him babysit these three."
"Aww, isn't that adorable? She's trying to act like a grown up and be responsible," Lopunny giggled.
"I'm pretty sure she means it," The Nidoqueen spoke up. "We can't judge how old a Pokemon is by looks alone sometimes, especially if we're not familiar with their species. We apologize little one."
"It's… fine. My name is Berry by the way," Berry stated. It's awkward to be called 'little one', especially when there are actual little ones here.
"Still," The Nidoqueen spoke up again. "My friend is right, you seem to be very good with children. I'm surprised that you don't have any of your own."
Without warning, Brody grabbed the Nidoqueen's claws while getting down on one knee. "Only a fair maiden as yourself could see such potential and beauty in others. It's true, I have no children of my own, for I have yet to find my one true love. But perhaps this is the day when I finally do. Perhaps together we can have a wonderful future."
The Nidoqueen stared in shock for a moment, while the Lopunny looked in amusement. The Nidoqueen gave a sheepish chuckle.
"Well, you… certainly come on… boldly," Nidoqueen chuckled. "But… I should warn you… I'm a married girl."
Berry, Phantom, Spooks, and Chloe all backed away as a shadow started to tower over Brody, who was too shocked to even notice.
"And what do you think you're doing with my wife?!" The deep rough voice shouted at Brody, causing him to recover from his recent shock.
Brody quickly got up as he turned around to see an angry Nidoking towering over him. "Uh...well you see-"
Brody never got the chance to explain as the Nidoking ended up using a Focus Punch on the Lucario. The blow sent Brody flying into the air some distance. Berry and the others were shocked at what Nidoking did, while he just had a proud look on his face.
"Honestly, you didn't have to punch the Lucario like that. Especially since now the kids are without their guardian!" Nidoqueen huffed at her husband. "And not to mention you also probably scared the little ones with that stunt."
Nidoking was shocked and confused by what she said. He then noticed Chloe, Phantom, and Spooks were all hiding behind Berry. He gave a sheepish smile. "Oh...Uh...Sorry, I didn't realize he was watching over these children."
"Well, you always did have a problem with being just a smidge bit overprotective with your wife," Lopunny chuckled.
"Something we'll need to work on before we have children of our own," Nidoqueen added.
"Aww, but honey buns, he was trying to propose to you, how was I supposed to react?" Nidoking whined.
"By acting civil and politely yet firmly tell him to back off instead of acting like a wild brute?" Nidoqueen chastised.
The Lopunny walked up to Berry while Nidoqueen and Nidoking were still talking. She crouched low while giving an apologetic smile. "Sorry about what happened to your friend. You'd be surprised by how often her husband overreacts."
Berry gave a small chuckle. "I get the feeling Brody gets this treatment a lot… we'll go find him though. I don't think he fell too far."
"I saw him land somewhere around there," Lopunny pointed towards the northside of the town. "Hope he's okay. Good luck finding him."
"Thank you," Berry said gratefully. "Come along, kids."
Berry slithered along. Chloe, Spooks, and Phantom had to move slowly so they didn't go past their only guardian left.
"You know, I wonder if the Pokemon I marry one day would be as overprotective as that," Chloe wondered. "It would be worrisome if my future husband would beat up anyone who tries to flirt with me."
"Aren't you a little too young to be worrying about marriage?" Berry asked.
"Maybe," Chloe replied. "But what about you? Aren't you old enough to start thinking about marriage?"
"Oh!" Phantom joined in, curious by the question. "Yeah Berry, you planning on finding someone to marry one day? And then have children so we can play with them?!"
"Eew, why do you have to talk about marriage?" Spooks grumbled.
Berry was blushing hotly. "N-no! I have no plans on finding someone to marry or have kids of my own! I'm only a teenager after all!"
"What?!" All three shouted at the same time.
"I thought you were really old." Chloe said. "Isn't that why Dust carried you all the time?"
Berry deadpanned at that comment, she turned to the baby Kangaskhan. "How old did you think I was? Dust doesn't carry me because I'm old, he carries me because it would get us to places faster."
"Ooooooh," Chloe realized.
"Yeah, I mean you are pretty slow… no offense," Spooks agreed.
"I just thought she was slow because she was old," Chloe admitted.
"Grandma's pretty old, but she never looks old," Phantom remarked.
Berry grumbled as she decided to turn around and continue to slither. "Well, I'm not old, I'm like… 16 years old."
"16? But doesn't that mean you could get married if you wanted too?" Chloe asked.
"Again with the marriage," Spooks huffed.
"Oooh, who would be your special mon?~" Phantom giggled.
"I don't have a 'special mon', nor am I interested in marriage," Berry answered, trying not to blush anymore than she already was.
"What about Dust? You went on that solo mission just for him, didn't you? That's gotta be true love!" Chloe smiled.
Berry wanted to just disappear. "Dust is my partner, not my future husband. Besides, even if I did marry him, we couldn't have kids anyways because we're not… you know… compatible."
"Compatible? What do you mean?" Phantom asked.
"Eww, first marriage and now this?!" Spooks stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Can we talk about something else please?"
"I have to agree with Spooks, this is something you kids should learn from your parents or grandparents, not from me," Berry quickly explained. "Now I need to focus so I can try to get a sense on where Brody is."
As the Goomy twitched her antennae, she noticed a familiar presence nearby. She couldn't help but smile. I guess Dust decided to come to town to buy stuff for his experiments.
As much as Berry wanted to talk to Dust, she had to focus on finding Brody. It didn't take long for her to realize that Brody was on the outskirts of town. "Wow, that Nidoking can sure pack a punch… he knocked Brody all the way on the outskirts of town."
The Goomy started to slither with the three children following her.
"Hey, maybe I can carry you like how Dust carries you?" Chloe suggested after a while.
"No, not unless you have a Pecha Scarf or Pecha Berry, besides, I'm about the same size as you," Berry pointed out.
"We can always visit my mom's shop after we find Brody," Chloe said. "I'm sure she'll have some Pecha Berries with her."
"No offense, Berry, but you are pretty… uh… slow," Spooks said.
Berry was about to say something when Chloe suddenly picked her up and lifted her over Chloe's head. Berry yelped at suddenly being lifted.
Chloe laughed as she lifted Berry above her, despite the goo dripping on her body. "See, this isn't so bad. Now we can find Brody a lot quicker."
"Yeah, all you have to do is tell us which way to go~" Phantom giggled.
Berry grumbled, feeling embarrassed that a child was carrying her. "Just go north from here."
Chloe smirked. "Okay! Then get ready!"
Before Berry could even ask, the baby Kangaskhan suddenly took off. Chloe was very fast, and Berry yelped, trying not to excrete more goo on Chloe as Chloe ran north at surprising speed. Spooks and Phantom were able to keep up, and they all laughed along the way.
"S-slow down! Y-you'll pass Brody!" Berry shouted when they were on the outskirts of Whtie Leaf Town.
Either they were laughing to much or having too much fun to really hear Berry. As they continued laughing, Berry caught a glimpse of something coming towards them. Berry couldn't get a good look, but thought it might have been Brody coming to meet them. But as the Pokemon got closer, Berry realized that it was pink, not blue, and it was much shorter than Brody.
"Wait! Stop!" Berry yelled.
However, Chloe ended up crashing into this Pokemon, which caused her to let go of Berry. Berry yelped as she was flipping through the air before landing on the ground with a SPLAT. She was disoriented, but she heard Chloe screaming.
"Let go of me!" Chloe shouted at the assailant.
"Sorry kid, but you bumped into me. Looks like someone needs to teach you some manners," The pink, dog like Pokemon sneered at Chloe.
"Chloe!" Spooks and Phantom shouted in alarm.
Berry managed to shake away the disorientation, and saw the Pokemon running off with Chloe. "H-hey! Get back here!"
Berry hopped, trying to chase after the Snubull. Phantom and Spooks tried to attack the Pokemon themselves, but the Pokemon just batted them away like they were annoying Cutifly. Berry tried to fire a Water Gun, but the Pokemon was too far for her Water Gun to reach it. Berry then tried a Dragon Breath attack since it was stronger and could go longer distance. However, much to Berry's shock, the Dragon Breath did absolutely nothing to the Pokemon. The Pokemon just laughed.
"When you're ready to negotiate for this baby's life, meet me in the Phoenix Desert! Don't even think about bringing this child's parent or your Guild Master, or she'll forfeit her life!" The Pokemon threatened.
"No! Stop!" Berry shouted in desperation. "What… what do you want!?"
"Bring me the Syzygy from your guild," The pink dog-like Pokemon shouted. "You have until the end of the day to bring it."
As soon as the Pokemon said that, it ran out of town, heading towards a Mystery Dungeon. Spooks and Phantom frowned before they turned to Berry.
"What… should we do?" Phantom asked.
"Shouldn't we tell Grandma?" Spooks questioned.
"No… you heard that Pokemon, if we tell the Guild Master, they'll kill Chloe." Berry frowned. "But I have no idea what a Syzy… sizzle… Zyz…"
"Syzygy," Spooks helped.
"Yeah, that…" Berry said. "... Well… the Pokemon didn't say I couldn't tell other members of the guild at least. Maybe Dust would know what that is… and I need to let Brody know about this."
"But isn't Dust back at the guild?" Phantom asked.
"No, I sensed him in town earlier," Berry answered. "Let's try to get to him quickly."
Berry slithered for a moment before an idea came to her. She remembered how she used Water Gun to slide past the Goodra before in Waterfall Cavern, she definitely went faster while sliding on the wet surface. Deciding to try that now, Berry used Water Gun to make the road wet, then she had her body slide onto the wet surface.
Berry was now sliding much faster compared to having to slither on the ground before. Phantom and Spooks were barely able to keep up with the Goomy. As they got closer and closer to the edge of town, Berry saw the entrance that led into town. But just as they were almost to the entrance, Berry saw a familiar Absol who happened to stop right at the entrance. Dust had his back towards Berry and the others, so he didn't see Berry sliding towards him at a very fast pace.
"DUUUUUST!" Berry shouted as she was coming in fast without being able to stop.
"Berry?" Dust said, surprised to hear his partner. He turned towards where Berry shouted his name and is shocked to see the Goomy sliding right at him. "Berry?!"
Berry could only yelp before she crashed into the Absol with such force that it knocked Dust right into the ground with Berry on top of his face. Berry's eyes were spiraling a bit. Dust tried to say something, but the best he could do was muffle out some noise. After a few seconds Berry managed to recover, though Dust was still numb from the recent crash.
Berry quickly hopped off of Dust's face. "Sorry, Dust! But we have an emergency! Some pink bull-dog Pokemon kidnapped Chloe!"
Dust got up and shook his head, trying to clear away the pain. "I'm sorry, but I think I misheard you. Did you say that Chloe was just kidnapped?"
"Yes! She was kidnapped! The outlaw that took her went to the Desert Phoenix, they gave a ransom. They said that I have until the end of the day to bring them something called the… um…" Berry looked at Spooks. "What was it called again?"
"Syzygy," Spooks reminded.
"Yeah, that, and I'm not allowed to tell or bring Carrie or the Guild Master," Berry finished explaining. "I don't know what a Syzygy is! And we have to do something!"
"Syzygy?" Dust mumbled to himself with a puzzled look. "But that doesn't make any sense. Why would they want something like that?"
Berry suddenly hopped onto Dust's back. "Explain it to me on the way. Head north to the outskirts of town, we need to let Brody know about this and discuss what we should do. But hurry, if Carrie finds out her child is missing, there's going to be Distortion World!"
"Then best not to waste any more time." Dust replied as he quickly headed north.
"You two stay with us!" Berry said to Phantom and Spooks, who nodded and quickly floated after them.
While Dust was running to the outskirts of town, Berry asked, "So what is a syzygy, Dust?"
"Hmm...well syzygy is…" Dust paused for a second, trying to figure out how to explain it simple. "Think of it like a lunar or solar eclipse. Syzygy is just a word to describe when the sun, moon, and earth are lined up. I was curious about my mother's name, Eclipse, and wanted to learn more about the moon and stars one time. I remember reading about syzygy, but that doesn't explain why the Pokemon wants something like that. You can't physically bring them a syzygy."
"Then maybe what they want isn't literally a syzygy, but an item called a Syzygy?" Berry suggested.
"Perhaps, but from the sound of it, it doesn't look like we have much time to search for some unknown item. We may have to rescue Chloe without retrieving the item." Dust frowned.
Phantom and Spooks looked at each other, they wanted to say something, but weren't sure if they should.
"There's Brody!" Berry pointed out with one of her antennae at a blue and yellow figure that was approaching them.
It didn't take long for Brody to catch up to them. At first Brody was glad to see Berry again, but then noticed the worried look on both her and Dust's face.
"Is everything alright?" Brody asked before realizing that Chloe was missing. "And where's Chloe?"
Berry quickly explained what had happened earlier, about their sudden encounter with the pink dog-like Pokemon, and the demands that they have given them.
"I'm sorry, I tried to catch them but they were too fast for me… not even my Dragon Breath attack was able to slow them down…" Berry apologized.
"No need to apologize, you did your best," Brody comforted.
"If they didn't seem to be fazed by your dragon attack, they must be a Fairy type," Dust noted. "From the way Berry described them, they seem to be a Snubull."
"I see… this is a problem then…" Brody frowned. "Well, not too much of a problem. I am half Steel type, which Fairy types are weak to, but you being a Dark type makes you vulnerable to Fairy types."
"Are you saying we're going to go to the Phoenix Desert to try to rescue Chloe?" Berry asked. "But what if they hurt Chloe or… do something worse if we all show up without their ransom item?"
"I would hate to put any female in harm's way, but we may have to go with a bluff," Brody explained. "So far you are the only one they saw. They don't know that me and Dust will be going with you."
"Ah, I think I know what you're planning," Dust added. "Berry will distract them while you and me look for an opportunity to rescue Chloe."
"Exactly," Brody confirmed.
"Okay, I guess that's better than doing nothing," Berry said. "But what about Phantom and Spooks? We can't take them with us, but if we try to bring them to Carrie to look after, she's going to realize Chloe is missing."
Brody thought about it for a moment before he smirked as an idea came to him.
"Why would we be looking after two children?" Grant grumbled at Brody.
Dust, Berry, Brody, Phantom, and Spooks were back in the guild, Berry and Brody were able to track down Grant and Al, who were heading towards the Dojo for some training before Brody walked up to them and asked them to watch over Phantom and Spooks.
"I'm pretty sure Carrie made it clear that she didn't want either of us babysitting the children," Al added.
"But if you don't watch them, Carrie is likely to go on a rampage," Brody pointed out. "Please? This is kind of an emergency."
"You can find someone else to do it, watching children is not my specialty," Grant huffed.
"Please?" Berry spoke up as she came on top of Dust's head so Grant and Al could see her easier. "If you watch over Spooks and Phantom while we're gone… I'll spar with you when we get back."
Grant looked at Berry, surprised to hear her say that. He stared at her for a couple of seconds before grinning at her. "Must be quite some kind of emergency if you're willing to spar. Alright, we'll watch over them."
"We are?" Al frowned.
"Yes," The Groyvle answered.
"Oh thank you very much!" Berry smiled before she turned to Spooks and Phantom. "You two stay with them. Make sure they stay out of trouble, alright?"
"What? Shouldn't you be telling us to make sure they stay out of trouble?" Grant asked.
"... No," Berry answered back.
Grant just crossed his arms as he frowned while Al laughed out loud. The two Dreepy were laughing as well.
"I gotta say, she's pretty funny. You got yourself an interesting partner," Al chuckled as he spoke directly to Dust.
Dust smiled back at the Charmeleon. "Yes, she is very interesting. Again, thank you for agreeing to watch over Spooks and Phantom."
"We'll be sure to keep an eye on you two~" Phantom giggled.
"Come on, now that we have the babysitting situated, we better go now before Carrie and Chihiro gets back," Brody quickly said to Dust and Berry.
"Right. Dust, do you have the items necessary for a dungeon exploration in your satchel?" Berry asked as she slid back down to Dust's back and Dust and Brody started hurrying out of the guild.
"I have more than enough supplies. Helps that I had already purchased some items when I was in town earlier today," Dust answered.
"Don't worry, I know where the Phoenix Desert is," Brody spoke up. "Just follow me and we'll get there quickly."
"Don't we need to take a Carriage?" Berry asked as they were rushing out of White Leaf Town.
"Not for this dungeon," Brody explained. "The Phoenix Desert is actually close to Town. It'd be much faster to go on foot than carriage."
Dust recalled back when he left his old guild how the scenery changed. While back home the temperature was quite cool, a nice summer breeze for almost all Pokemon to enjoy, as he got closer to White Leaf Town, the temperature started to rise. That would explain why it was considerable warming when I got here last time. Make sense that the dungeon would be close to the Town.
Before long, Dust saw that they were now running through a wasteland, it was hotter here, and the air was dryer. Soon, the wasteland began to have sand. And they were now standing in front of an entrance to a Mystery Dungeon.
"This will lead us to the Phoenix Desert. It's a bit similar to Dusk Forest, it starts out easy, but it gets harder the further in you go," Brody explained. "Let us hope the kidnapper didn't go too far in."
Berry was panting a little from the dry and hot air. Dust and Brody were already feeling the added heat from both the sun and their fur. Before entering, Brody turned to face Dust and Berry.
"Before we go in, have either of you gone into a dungeon like this before?" Brody asked. Both Dust and Berry shook their heads, causing the Lucario to sigh a bit. "Okay, some things you should know before we go in. First, try to conserve your energy. We don't know where the kidnapper is and how long it will take to reach them. Try to avoid wild Pokemon as much as possible. Second, make sure to pay attention to your surroundings, especially if the wind starts to pick up. Usually that means a sandstorm is coming and you want to try to find shelter as soon as possible. For now, let me handle any Pokemon that comes our way, you two save up your energy."
Dust frowned. "Maybe I should've bought some Rainy Orbs."
"It doesn't matter now. Just stay close," Brody said. "Now come on, we can't waste too much time."
Dust quickly followed Brody into the dungeon, not noticing that Berry was having a little trouble breathing in the hot, dry air.
GUEST #1: Traveling Master: Don't really recall confirming that Otti is Mew, then again it's been a while since we've posted a chapter, so my memory is a little fuzzy. Besides that, I think making theories is always fun, keeps you guessing on how a story might turn out. So no need to apologize for the theories, if any thing, keep them coming. And who knows, some may be right, others way off, or might even give inspiration for some new ideas. Who's to say?
DarkFoxKit: Where did we 'confirm' that Otti is Mew? All we did was have her transform a few times to show Dust some Pokemon that he's never seen before. I just want to know why you thought we confirmed Otti was Mew.
FoxyKhai0209: DarkFoxKit: Of course, when you have Team Destruct in the guild, no matter how innocent the game, it's going to get destructive. Then again, when you involve children, and creatures of mass destruction, it was only a matter of time.
Traveling Master: And like how Chihiro and Carrie mentioned, you'd be surprised by how often this kind of stuff happens. They already have experience when it comes to fixing and cleaning the guild after some sort of chaotic mess happens. And yes I think we can all relate… We all hate mess...
Cloud Mask: Traveling Master: You can thank Team Destruct for that. They have quite the reputation when it comes to being chaotic.
Flawless Gem: DarkFoxKit: Heh, good, it was a fun and hilarious chapter to write. :3
Star Cancer: Traveling Master: Honestly I don't think we meant for this game to get so hectic. Honestly I'm surprised we even survived from the last chapter, took us forever to fix that broken fourth wall.
DarkFoxKit: It just sort of happened. We originally just planned the chaos to be much smaller scaled, where Berry and Brody are trying to find the kids frantically, and it just kinda came out as a much larger scale involving the entire guild.
Star Leo: DarkFoxKit: Yes, yes they do, and according to Chihiro, it wasn't the first time they had to clean up their mess, and it wouldn't be the last time either.
Greatest Guy: Traveling Master: Yup, Dust will always try to find the chance to study any new thing he comes across. Berry's slime is no exception. Same, can't remember much about the dragon squad either.
Chihiro: Ah yes, Al sure has a knack to get caught in the heat of the moment, Granted if he's left alone. Always got to make sure to keep an eye on Team Destruct, that name itself is a dangerous pun.
Jewel moonstone: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, because this sort of stuff happens a lot in the guild, especially with a mischievous, pun-loving Dragapault.
The Moonfox Collective: DarkFoxKit: Heh, Berry always seem to find herself caught up in the most bizarre situations. Guess that's just what happens when you're a main character~
It does seem a bit filler-ish due to the light hearted nature and not a lot of plot going on, though it did introduce Brody's team, and how they work. It also shows how lighthearted Chihiro is.
Traveling Master: Yup, with every new chapter we get to learn more and more about our characters. The visions and Dust's ability to sense danger are two seperate things. But Dust's ability to sense danger has grown a lot since being kicked out of his old guild, he didn't really have to worry about any real threats or danger, but now he's been slowly noticing it more and more.
DarkFoxKit: Oh, that wasn't my idea, Dust having precognition was all on TM. I didn't even know he had this idea in mind until we got to Giratina.
Travelling Master: Yeah, Dust is a very old character of mine. For a long time I struggled trying to figure out how to make a story about him, everything about his background or what the plot should be, always kept changing. But one of the things that always seemed to stuck was having some sort of precognitive time ability thingy… Or something like that. Honestly it's thanks to DF that Dust even has a story at this point. On my own, I don't think this story would've gotten that far.
Guest #2: Travelling Master: Unfortunately, can't go into much details about Dust's father, but as for Eclipse, she didn't just have one partner. There are times when Crusaders would find new partners.
Guest #3: DarkFoxKit: Maybe Dust will, maybe he won't, you'll just have to wait and see~
