Chapter 21: Into the Depths
Throughout the rest of the day, Ren was involved in three more big fights as they continued on their little stroll through an ancient, haunted temple with layers upon layers of underground catacombs.
Really, she'd have to remember to enter Sinnoh into TripAdvisor. The food was okay, but the destinations were atrocious.
But she digressed.
The first fight was almost immediately after the first one they'd so narrowly come out of. Banette apparently had quite the posse lurking behind her in the passages that followed, and naturally, people just had to somehow slip past her only to die in there too. Luckily they were just a motley crew of Haunter and a ringleader Gengar. Either they weren't too bright or just didn't give it 100-percent, because they were dispatched without too much trouble. The bones crumbled back into their resting places as the last of the Ghost types was dispersed, and the group pressed on. The next two fights were carbon-copies of the first, lots of Ghost type Pokemon crowding in one place raising the dead to attack while they flung attack after attack at Ren and her friends. The Ghosts were fierce competition…but then, so were her friends.
Ren knew she was a little short of a walking goddess, but it seemed these fools underground had forgotten that, or maybe just hadn't learned the lesson yet. She was the most effective by far in defeating their enemies, Night Slashes ripping from her horn and Dark Pulses licking up and down the ghastly remains of the undead and dispelling the cold magic that kept them walking. Blitz and Vance were incredibly skilled combatants, and definitely not someone she'd want to fight in a cramped space like this where one wasn't able to jump around as much. Blitz, with a little bit of strategic help from Tabby, now rolled his flames up the walls to envelop the passages ahead with fire, forcing their enemies to crowd in the center where Ren could pick them off without much trouble with Dark Pulses at her leisure. Vanessa and Tabby were very useful in the fact that they provided support more than anything. When Ren started throwing Dark Pulses around, they warded their Pokemon and themselves from the effects, then struck back when Ren needed to take a breather. They were a fearsome team, Fire and Earth working together along with their various skills in the other types of magic.
Floyd was just a demon in his own right. Ren was very surprised that the Ghost type Pokemon didn't go back to being dead when they saw that crimson light ignite in front of them. None of the shambling bags of bones could even touch him with their dead hands, as they were relieved of that and more whenever Floyd flicked the blade near them. The years of training back on their Earth certainly had come in handy now.
They continued far into the catacombs, the terrain turning from tile to raw earth, and then to something new.
Ice.
They stepped out of an earthen path into an underground sea of ice, the stuff glittering from a light that seemed to be cast from everywhere up above. It was a pale bluish color, sparkling as opposed to the giant clusters of rocks that littered its surface. High above, colonies of Zubat and Golbat rested with their wings about their bodies, fast asleep in the light. Despite being hundreds of feet underground, the air smelled as fresh and as crisp as it did on a winter's morning, and just looking out onto the vast cavern made Ren think of an iceberg that had been shifting for hundreds of thousands of years, ready to slide apart with a mere touch.
"Anything, Vanessa?" Floyd asked.
"Nothing," she confirmed. "Just…a lot of ice."
"Is there anything underneath?" Tabby asked, warily tapping the edge with her foot.
"No, just solid rock and earth from what I can tell," Vanessa said, frowning. "You might want to put Blitz away though, just in case. It's like an ocean farther beyond." She was right; Ren couldn't see the end of the cavern, if it was even really in front of her. "I can't tell exactly what's waiting for us out there, but I will as we get closer."
"That'll have to be good enough," Floyd said, rubbing his jaw. "We can stay here for the night. We've been traveling all day, and there's no way we can keep ourselves alive if we're exhausted. Let's make camp."
The median between their cozy cavern and the expanse of ice was enough that they could comfortably have their own little spot in their camp. Bedrolls were rolled out, food was passed around and water was consumed like the finest of wines as the entire group sat down and rested for the first time in many, many hours. Ren was no stranger to pulling long days, but even her stamina was starting to run dry.
That, or she was going soft.
"Disgusting," Ren muttered, shaking her head.
"What is?" Floyd asked, sipping from his water bottle.
"Me," Ren replied. "I'm getting soft."
Floyd grunted. "We really are doomed then, if the Queen of Sass is getting tired. Showing weakness around people that aren't me?" He tsked. "You're right. Maybe we need to get you back to Nurse Joy."
Ren laughed, bumping his arm with her head. "Impudent man." Her smile faded as he stood up. "Where are you going?"
"To have a look around," Floyd said. "I need less rest than everyone else. I'll scout ahead for a few minutes then come back."
"I'll come with you," Vanessa said before Ren could. "If you run into any traps, there's a chance I might be able to break or disarm them so we won't worry about them later."
"Sounds good," Floyd said with a nod. "Ren, Tabby, Blitz, keep watch over the camp. We'll be back."
They set off from camp and onto the lake of ice, disappearing soon after.
Leaving Ren alone with Tabby.
"How's your head?" Ren asked, trying to make conversation.
"Fine," Tabby said softly, rubbing the back. "Magi heal faster than regular humans, so I'll just have a little headache until I fall asleep." She frowned. "That thing with Banette back there, with the copies and everything. How'd you do that?"
Ren shrugged, amused at Tabby's expression from the human gesture. "Odor Sleuth. Couldn't miss that stench. It was like…a dusty doll mixed with the smell of rotting meat."
"Right. Well even though it goes without saying, thanks for saving my life."
"Mm," Ren replied. "So…what was that all about upstairs on the first floor? Boss is too nice to ask, and so is Vanessa I'm guessing."
"But you're not?" Tabby asked, smiling.
"No. If you're about to have a nervous breakdown, I need to know so that I can be ready to tear out your throat if you try and hurt Floyd."
Blitz arched his eyebrows at that, the pyre atop his head flickering as he got fired up, but Tabby put a placating hand on his shoulder, calming him. "No, she's right, buddy. It was just…the weirdest feeling." She put a finger to her lips. "Have you ever experienced deja vu?" Ren nodded. "It was like that but…Ren, I've never been here before. I didn't even know that the statue was in the hall."
"That's what deja vu is," Ren said. "Feeling like you've seen something before even though that's impossible."
"But it could be possible," Tabby said, throwing up her hands in frustration. "We live in a world where sentient beings can literally see into the future and predict to a millisecond when and where something will die. Something like deja vu…that's not unexplainable, not to me."
Ren sighed. "Okay, so then you think you've been here…somehow. Is that right?"
Tabby nodded, her green eyes dreamy in the light of Blitz' fire. "When I looked at that statue, I immediately thought that we were going to be attacked. Like…like somehow I knew something bad had happened right there."
"Maybe it's all the dead bodies that were below us," Ren suggested. "You could've been feeling that."
"No, I know what Pokemon auras feel like." She grasped for the words. "Whenever you or Blitz or Floyd or anyone use power, I can sense it and I know that its magic…er, in Floyd's case…well I don't really know, but you get my point. This was…different." The witch lapsed into silence, hugging her knees to her chest. Ren knew she'd drive herself crazy trying to figure out why it caused her to feel that way.
Fortunately, she had a good change of subject.
"Well, deja vu aside," Ren said, "let's talk about the here and now. Or, uh, maybe the future."
"What do you mean?"
"When are you gonna try your luck with Boss?"
The effect Ren's words had on Tabby was nothing short of hysterical. Her face from the top of the bridge of her nose down to her cheeks turned a burning, beet red, and her mouth fell open comically. To her enhanced nose, Ren smelled the sweat of embarrassment and the heat that broke out beneath her clothes. "I…how…what do you…?" she stammered.
"Oh, don't give me that mansy-pansy bullshit," Ren said, waving a paw aimlessly. "You've got a thing for him."
Tabby closed her mouth and looked away, still embarrassed. "Has…how do you know?"
"Oh no, no, no," Ren said, walking closer to her. "What were you going to say?"
Tabby's lips were pursed now, and she still refused to look Ren in the eye when she spoke again. "Has he…said anything?"
"He's an attractive man. You're an attractive woman. And you both definitely need to get laid." Ren shrugged. "Can't make it anymore clear than that, can I?"
Tabby frowned and looked at her. "You can make that hundreds of times more clear."
Ren sighed. "Boss is…different, that's for sure. I mean, I'm gonna be there for him until I end up like some of those skeletons up there, that's for damn certain. I owe the man my life and a hundred times more than that. But…I'm not a human like you. We love each other but not that way." She felt herself frown. "Boss hasn't really…had someone he's cared about like that since Zoe died."
"No one?" Tabby asked softly.
Ren had been around humans long enough to hear the faint snatches of hope in Tabby's voice.
"No one," Ren confirmed. "He's been with a woman before, knows all about that good stuff, but it's been a while since he's really…meshed with someone like he does with you." She scoffed. "It's certainly enough to get him to do that dorky mating dance you guys did last night."
Tabby was silent for a while, and Ren turned her attention back to the entrance to the lake of ice, watching and listening for the footsteps of her friends.
"What do I do?" Tabby asked after a while. "I've never…I've never had anyone like that either. I don't even really know where to start."
Ren couldn't believe that she, an Absol, was going to have to teach two humans how to flirt with each other.
"Show some interest," Ren said finally. "I mean, you don't have to, you know, jump his bones tonight, but maybe try to compliment him or something. And even though he doesn't seem like it, Boss is a toucher. Don't jump his bones but… I don't know, bump into his arm or something once and a while. Be girly. And, uh…be patient." She smirked. "Boss is definitely a slow starter, but he doesn't believe in doing things halfway…if you get what I mean."
Tabby blushed a little harder, mumbled something about going to sleep, then curled up in her bedroll, still wide awake.
Ren had been alive for forty years, longer than nearly anyone here besides Vanessa, Vance, and maybe Blitz, and she was still baffled at how humans and their relationships worked. The closest she could come to understanding was her absolute dedication and love for Floyd, but the way she caught Floyd staring at Zoe's picture sometimes…that kind of love had to be deeper and stronger than even the most powerful magic.
And maybe with her help, both Floyd and Tabby could get a little taste of that…in time anyways. They wouldn't if they died in here because she was playing matchmaker instead of keeping guard.
Ren chuckled at herself and settled down to wait.
###
"Come out! Come out and face us, cowards! You think to sit yourself inside your precious Sanctuary while the rest of Snowpoint struggles? Come out and face us! Submit a worthy warrior to the challenge! Come out!"
Nerevor stroked his beard thoughtfully, watching the man pace back and forth as he bellowed threats to beyond the giant Quarter ward.
"This," he said at last, "may be a problem."
The man had been shouting for the better part of an hour now, taking breaks only to peer up to see if anyone approached the ward. He'd started early the day after Tabby and the others had left for Snowpoint Temple.
His friends had shown up soon after.
Just as he'd assumed she would, Olivier had capitalized on their seclusion. The wards held such titanic power that nothing could break through, not even a man with no magic. The wards would knock him upon his behind at worst, and provide an experience akin to walking into a wall at the very least. A team of magi could force a break into the wards, but it would cost all of their power and concentration. In the meantime, the guards watching the edge of the protected area would pound them with spells, or send their Pokemon to force the breach closed. Maybe a few would be wounded, but far more of Olivier's men would be hurt or killed.
So instead, she fortified her position. The day Tabby had left, trucks began to roll in, carrying equipment and men and Pokemon, depositing them out onto the front lines as camps were built and shelters were taken in the abandoned buildings they'd been forced to cut off from the other half of the Northern Quarter.
By nightfall, Nerevor was absolutely sure that almost half or more of Olivier's armed forces, including the Liberated and their Pokemon, had gathered outside of the ward.
"How is this bad?" Zero asked, arms crossed. "Let him shout his head off if he wants. Hell, maybe I'll go down there and throw him a water bottle or somethin' when he gets tired."
"It's bad," Griffin answered, "because they know we can't beat their challenger."
One of Olivier's Elite Guards stood motionless behind the herald, his voice hoarse from threats. The Guard hadn't moved since he got there, standing as still as a statue. Tabby had mentioned that the Elite Guard had been undead in the armor, and he wouldn't be hindered by something as mortal as the cold.
"Mr. Floyd was the only person capable of defeating the Elite Guard in combat," Nerevor said. "Even if we knew how to crack that armor of theirs, it would be suicide to send an unskilled witch or wizard to fight it. None of the non-magical combatants would be able to lay a scratch on it either, and I doubt that Olivier would abstain from killing Pokemon if it meant setting us back."
Zero frowned. "Soooo, it's a test then?"
Nerevor nodded. "To see if Mr. Floyd is still here. And I believe Olivier may already know that he is not."
"What do we do?" Griffin asked.
"Tell the men guarding the ward not to engage for any reason," Nerevor said. "Zero is correct; let him shout until the sun explodes if he wants to. If any of the Liberated attempt to breach the ward, they are to be met with extreme force." Griffin nodded and began speaking into a radio, while Nerevor fell into deep thought.
Zero was right on all points, actually. Olivier gained absolutely nothing from sending a herald forth, especially since she likely already knew that Floyd was not here. Why have the men make such a big show, then? Better to save their strength for the inevitable fighting than to waste it on empty threats. The woman was many things, but she did not waste valuable assets. Even if non-magical, a bullet to the brain could kill just about anything, and it didn't take years of magical training to pull a trigger.
Something was missing.
"Griffin," Nerevor said, "do the watchtowers see anything unusual about the enemy's army? Any more Elite Guards roaming about?"
Griffin checked over the radio, and all of the watchtowers sent back a negative. "Nothing. Why?"
"There is only one Elite Guard that we can see. We know that Olivier likely has them in full force, and if need be, can dispatch them in vast quantities at a time. So why, then, is there only the one among all of the men before us?"
"Maybe they're hiding out in the buildings from the cold," Zero suggested, though he sounded doubtful.
Griffin shook his head. "The one outside now hasn't moved for an hour. That thing is undead, and there'd be no point hiding them anyway. It's not like they don't stick out, the armor's pure white metal.
"So then," Nerevor said. "Where are the rest?"
Silence answered him.
"Could be that they're guarding Central Tower," Griffin said. "Olivier won't leave herself alone while the army is this far up north. If we pushed past…"
"But that's just it," Nerevor said. "If we were to open these wards and start the battle here and now, it is likely we could storm forth and crush Olivier's forces. The Elite Guard combined with the Liberated would extract a heavy toll in blood, but by Arceus, we could do it. Olivier may be insane, but she has not ruled Snowpoint for so long by being careless."
"That still doesn't answer where the Elites are, Nev," Zero said. "Even if they're not here, some of them have to be with Olivier."
"And I believe you," Nerevor replied. "Griffin, of the entire city, what parts do Olivier's forces likely control?"
"The West, East, and Southern Quarters, as well as Central and the part in front of us, obviously."
"A large number of passing scouts, Magnezone or any other Flying types passing overhead…those would have caught our attention," Nerevor said. "But if Olivier used the Eastern Docks to send out a large force…"
Griffin frowned, then got the idea as well. "She could sneak right around the ward. It doesn't extend to the water, not even close."
"That doesn't help them though," Zero said. "Let 'em sneak around. They're not going to get through there either. The mountain pass is in the way, and the ocean doesn't come close to…"
All at once, the plan locked in around the three men.
"Olivier knows they went to Snowpoint Temple," Griffin said. "The sea runs right up to the mountainside, and they could scale it without fear of death because they're undead."
"And if she knows," Zero said, "then they could be setting a trap for them right now."
"She put her army right in front of us so we wouldn't think that it's too quiet," Griffin said. "Nerevor, we have to do something. If they survive, they'll be walking into an ambush when they come back."
"I can go," Zero said immediately. "I'll get there fast and—"
"No, Zero," Nerevor said, Griffin nodding with him. "You are one of the strongest trainers we have here, to say nothing of the morale that comes with a Gym Leader standing with us. I need you here." He nodded, though he didn't look happy about it. "Do not worry, my friends. I believe I know someone who can and will help us, and quickly at that."
"Really?" Zero asked. "Who?"
###
The next day, Floyd took the lead as they made their way onto the valley of ice. He and Vanessa had charted a path halfway across the ice, marking it with slashes from his lightsaber. Vanessa's earlier guess that nothing dangerous rested beneath the ice held true, and though the ice crackled and shifted beneath their weight, Vanessa assured them any danger would come from above, not below.
Ren disliked traveling on the surface of the ice, so Floyd had put her back into her Pokeball, the others doing the same. The three of them made their way on in relative silence, Floyd stressing not talking unless necessary. Sound could travel a long way off of the echo-prone cavern walls, and he didn't want to rouse a grumpy Pokemon unless necessary.
"This is where we ended off yesterday," Floyd said, tapping an X he'd carved into the ground with his foot. "From here on out is unknown territory." He peered into the distance. "From what I can tell though, it all looks the same."
"No," Vanessa said at once, her eyes closed. "There are…holes up ahead. I should have felt it last night." She frowned. "I definitely should have. I think…I think they're new."
Tabby swallowed. "So…something made holes in the ice last night?"
Floyd frowned. He'd taken the first watch, and something like that would have made tremendous amounts of noise to break through ice as solid as this.
"Maybe," Vanessa said. "We'll see as we get closer. Keep your guard up."
"I wonder," Floyd said, "if there is a lake of molten steel underneath us." Tabby and Vanessa gave him a dubious look, so he continued. "We just came from winding caverns of stone and rock. Regirock. Now we find ourselves on a seemingly never-ending lake of ice. Regice. I'm guessing the traps and danger will be in Registeel's domain of the temple."
Vanessa nodded. "That sounds about right." She looked forward and began to walk. "From what Nerevor said, I don't think he ever came as far in as we have. He might have stopped way back in the caverns. Arceus knows what he was looking for, but it's likely he found it." Floyd agreed with that. There had been trapped rooms, opened chests, and seemingly valuable artifacts scattered all through out the cavernous part of the temple.
They made their way forward for almost twenty minutes before they came across what Vanessa had been talking about. It was like a giant minefield with holes instead of mines, easily twenty feet across and yawning into a void that Floyd could not see down. He fired a small energy blast down one of the holes and didn't see it land.
"A bottomless pit?" Tabby asked.
"It feels like it," Vanessa replied. "But look at the boulders." She nodded to the piles of boulders that had been strewn haphazardly across the icy lake. All of them looked as though they could fit down the holes with ease if they moved them.
"A puzzle, then," Floyd said.
"But what's the answer?" Vanessa asked.
Tabby frowned. "Vanessa, how many holes are there?"
"More than I can count, really. Why?"
"An even or odd amount, then? Is there a center hole?"
Vanessa pressed her palms to the ground, closing her eyes. "…yes. There is." She straightened up and pointed. "Follow me." They found it in no time, and it looked no different than the other holes in the ground, the void still staring up at them from below.
"You have an idea?" Floyd asked.
Her green eyes roved over the cave, then to him. "That thing you said about the different sections relating to the Regis was absolute genius."
"Why?" Floyd asked.
"I have a hunch," Tabby said. "Can you fly me to the roof of the cave?"
Floyd shrugged and wrapped an arm around her waist. He let his mechanical flight system do the work, saving the bulk of his power in reserve for if he needed it, and shot towards the ceiling. Tabby looked at ease in his arms, though she did latch onto his arm with an iron grip as she leaned over and peered at the ground, the holes much smaller from up here. It was a grid, maybe thirty holes in total. There were certainly enough rocks to fit in all of them, but Floyd didn't know what Tabby was planning.
"Okay…okay, I think it'll work," Tabby said after a while, though Floyd didn't know what she was doing. "Alright, we're good. Let's head back down." They touched down on the ice and Tabby immediately sought out some boulders. "Vanessa, I need you to move some of these boulders and drop them in the holes I tell you to. One in the center, one above and below the center hole, then one in the two holes on the right and left sides of the center."
She didn't question why, and released Vance to help her out. Together, her and the Excadrill moved through the boulders like clockwork, Floyd and Tabby helping out where they could. Even with their skill, it took nearly an hour to work through them all, but they got it done. The strain of the magic eventually got to Vanessa, and while the woman was certainly hardy, she was definitely getting older, and had to take a break. Floyd and Vance lugged the last boulder into place, shoving it into its hole and stepping back as it fell into the void.
He didn't know what to expect exactly, but he was surprised to say the least when a vibrant, pulsating yellow light flared from the depths of the holes they'd pushed the boulders in. A sound like a barely-coherent transmission buzzed in Floyd's ears and in his head, the lights blinking to the sounds.
RE-GI-ICE.
RE-GI-ICE.
Something boomed in the distance, sending a shock wave through the ice and nearly knocking everyone off of their feet. The light died out and the voice faded from their heads as quickly as it had come, a wave of disorientation passing over Floyd as the presence retreated.
"Is everyone okay?" Floyd asked as he approached Tabby and Vanessa.
"Fine," Tabby said. "That was…weird to say the least. But it worked!"
"What was that?" Floyd asked.
"I figured that since this was Regice's domain, we'd arrange the rocks into the holes like the dots on its face," Tabby said. "I remembered it from the first floor."
"That was clever," Vanessa said, managing to stand again with a deep breath. "I wouldn't have figured that out for a while if I was here by myself…though I suppose it helps when you can fly."
"Well done," Floyd said with a nod.
And to his pleasant surprise, Tabby gave him a beaming, though bashful smile. "We make a pretty good team."
Floyd returned the smile. "That we do." His smile faded as he looked to Vanessa. "What's up ahead?"
"A blank spot in the wall," Vanessa said. "I'm guessing a door or something must have opened."
"Then that's our destination," Floyd said.
As soon as they'd drank some more water and checked their supplies, they crossed the icy lake, leaving Regice's domain behind.
The cavern beyond was much like the domains of Regirock, winding slopes and passages that likely led off to trapped rooms and dead ends. Ice lined the walls that seemed more like crystals and less like ice, the blue light overhead shimmering off of their surfaces and reflecting down to the passage to light the way. There was a pressure here that Floyd hadn't felt yet, something that made him almost positive that someone or something was watching him. More than a few times they accidentally disturbed the rest of a family of Golbat, who shrieked and beat them over the head with their wings or spat gobs of sizzling poison until a few choice blasts of fire, fists of earth, or swings of a lightsaber drove them away.
"I can't believe we're still going deeper underground," Tabby said after an hour or so of near silence. "This entire cavern could collapse and you probably wouldn't even know it if you were on the surface."
"That's the spirit," Ren grumbled, glancing up to the gloomy ceiling of the cave.
"What's wrong?" Floyd asked.
"My instincts are telling me that I should be on the mountains, not underneath them," Ren said. "I'm no pussy, but I do not like going underground."
"Infernape," Blitz agreed, eyeing the ceiling now as if it would fall thanks to Tabby.
"Cadrill!" Vance cried from the front.
Vanessa smiled and turned around. "Vance disagrees, I think. Though I know where you're coming from. I'm no stranger to the earth, but to anyone untrained in how it feels…it can be discomforting."
"When we win this war," Tabby started, "maybe I'll have to look into Earth magic. Give that a try for a while."
"I could teach you a thing or two," Vanessa said, staring at the path ahead and getting lost in thought. "All of you…before we get any deeper in, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you."
"Thank us?" Ren asked.
"You've given me hope for the first time in a long time that we can finally bring Snowpoint to an era of peace," Vanessa said, her voice as gentle as Floyd had ever heard it. "I haven't felt this way since before my husband was taken from me."
Both he and Tabby shared a look, but stayed silent as Vanessa continued to speak.
"Vance was my husband's name," Vanessa said. "We tried for children many times and were unable to conceive. We found Vance as a Drilbur, shivering out in the cold and near-death. He was just a Ground type then, so the cold was killing him faster than it would most." She let out a sad laugh. "Vance knew what the world was like out there and…he wanted me to have a piece of him with me if he were ever gone."
They stopped walking, Vance turning around nuzzling her arm with his pink-pointed nose.
"Vanessa," Tabby said, gingerly touching her arm.
"It's okay," she said. Floyd didn't see any tears, and it didn't look like she was going to cry. She looked…determined, if anything. "I promised at his grave that I would make it right. That…that his death wouldn't be in vain. And I was so worried before now that I would fail in that promise. That Olivier would keep us under her thumb forever. But we just plowed through Snowpoint Temple of all things like it was nothing. A swarm of Golbat was a minor inconvenience to us just now." Her gray eyes shone with hope as she looked up at the two of them. "Thank you…my friends."
Floyd smiled. "You're welcome."
"We've got your back," Tabby said. "But this isn't over yet. Vance won't get what he's owed if we don't get to the end of these caves."
"Yes," Vanessa said, turning back around. "Yes, you're right. Vance, let's go. We've got a promise to keep."
"Excadrill!" They trailed a little farther ahead than he and Tabby, their morale riding high.
"I meant what I said, you know." Floyd looked to his right and saw Tabby smiling at him. "We do make a good team."
"I'm aware. I'm starting to be able to tell what you're thinking from a glance."
"That'll come in handy," Tabby said. "I'm…I'm glad we're giving Vanessa hope."
"So am I," Floyd said. "And if she has hope now, think of all the other people who have new hope thanks to us too."
"Then let's not disappoint them," Tabby said, a new air of confidence stirring around her.
"Bleh," Ren said. "All this optimism is going to make me puke. Surprised you're not already, Boss."
Floyd shrugged. "Hope is a good thing. And besides," he glanced at Tabby again, who gave him another one of her lovely smiles, "maybe someone is starting to rub off on me."
And maybe, a little voice whispered in his mind, that hope that soared in his chest wasn't just about the war.
Perhaps it was about something else.
Floyd thought on that long and hard as they ventured further into the icy cavern, lapsing into silence once again.
A/N:
hifivepokemon: Definitely was interesting to wake up numb, but luckily it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully you like more ruin exploration!
For my other few readers, surprise, there IS an update this week. Surgery went extremely well, and my mouth feels fantastic, if not a little holey. Was working on this one before I went in for it, so I cleaned it up and figured I'd ship it out for the week's end.