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22.

All Together Now

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The Ancient Barrow

~Espurr~

The light of the way out that had been nearly blinding soon faded into darkness. It was the dark of distance, as Espurr ran back into the halls covered with viscous black goo. Looking for any sign of the hallway she had seen before.

Behind her, Riolu tried his best to catch up. He made noisy splashes as he ran.

"Hey!" he called from behind her. "Wait up! I'm gonna lose you!"

Reluctantly, Espurr slowed down. It wouldn't do any good to lose her only ally, no matter how panicked she was. She took a deep breath, and tried not to be.

It didn't work.

"What are we even looking for?" Riolu panted out as he caught up with her. Espurr sped up again, forcing him to abandon catching his breath to keep pace with her.

"A way up, preferably," Espurr answered. "If the anchorstone is in the middle of the dungeon, and the stairs at the entrance went down while the ones we've been climbing went up, we can probably assume this dungeon doesn't work like all the other ones do. And that means there's probability of stairs leading up onto the floor above. It's an easy way to get to them. All we have to do is find the stairs."

She had ad-libbed all of that. More hopefully than based on any reasonable predictions, but Espurr was willing to accept almost any fragment of hope she could grasp at, even if she had to make it up for herself. Alongside her, Riolu nodded along, looking like he didn't understand any of it.

Good.

Up ahead in the corridor, Espurr caught sight of a small hallway to their left. She pointed at it, making sure that Riolu could see. "We're headed that way first."

"But shouldn't we scout the floor and come back to this late—"

"We might not find it again later." Espurr cut him off, taking him by the paw and almost forcefully dragging him into the hallway.

The theory was their lucky break. It had to be. Or Espurr didn't know what she would do.

~\({O})/~

~'Goomy'~

Goomy felt wrong. He saw wrong. The antennae constantly twitching atop his head were wrong, and so was the gooey snail shell on his back. He couldn't see colors anymore. He saw, but he saw in vibrations. Everything around him was illuminated in black and white; a fading image renewed with each twitch of his antennae. He didn't even know where he had pulled that attack from – something he wouldn't have fathomed doing just a few seconds before. Goomy stayed still in shock for a bit.

"Goomy!"

Deerling galloped through the muck towards him, then threw herself into him the best she could. Goomy did his best to not collapse into formless goo upon impact, but now that he thought about it he couldn't do that as well now either.

"Aw, berry crackers. He's the first to evolve? He's the youngest out of all of us!"

"Oh, stick a wooper in it, Pancham," Deerling hissed at him. "You nearly died! We. All Nearly. Died. He saved our lives! The least you could do is thank him instead of treating him like Muk!"

"Sooo cool!"

That was Tricky. She bounded around him, checking his new body out from all angles. "What does it feel like? Can you see? Ooh- Ooh- Watchog said that sliggoos dissolve everything with killer slime. Can you dissolve a dungeon 'mon?"

"T-that's a myth," Goomy stuttered out, still trying to figure out how to speak with his new mouth. He knew that much. Although he guessed he was Sliggoo now.

"Hey," Deerling said, trying to stabilize the wobbling Sliggoo. "You feeling alright? Do you need to rest for a moment?"

"This is great and all," Shelmet interjected loudly, "but I propose we get a move and get out of here before, y'know, the scary monster thing comes back to get us?"

"I- I'm f-fine," Goo- Sliggoo stuttered, stabilizing himself without Deerling's help. "I just want to get out of here."

"True that," Pancham muttered. "How many floors is this place, anyway. It's gotta have been at least fifteen."

"Try five." Deerling clopped past him, leading the group onwards. "It can't be that many now. The only 'mon we're missing is Espurr."

No-mon saw it in the darkness, but Tricky's ears flopped back as they continued on.

"You don't think we left her behind, right?" she asked. Deerling didn't answer. No-mon did. No-mon knew. There was only hope to guide them.

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~?~

This was less than optimal. They were in two groups now. If It allowed them to progress unhindered, soon there would be only one. They knew. They weren't like the pathetic beings that had ended up in the Voidlands; pathetic beings filled with hate and discord for It and Its brethen to leech off of and grow stronger from. They were a measly seven, but together they had hurt It.

It had never liked children. They were too hopeful, too filled with positive emotions that burned it like fire. And yet they posed the biggest threat to It.

It lay in hiding, healing its wounds and plotting its next move. Maybe this was more optimal than it had originally thought. In one group, they were a dangerous but easy target. And now that It had fought them a few times, It knew which ones to eat first. It would devour the psychic cat and the goo snail, leaving the rest of them powerless to Its strength. And then It would eat them too.

All along the walls of the Anchorstone, goo shifted and squelched in preparation. It was time to set a trap.

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~Espurr~

There was nothing at the end of the hallway. Espurr hadn't wasted time making it back to the main corridor, pulling Riolu along with her. Riolu had made a few efforts to slow down, but Espurr wasn't having it. They found another corridor, and she checked that one too. It was only after a few more hurried searches of hallways that Riolu finally sat down in the muck, all puffed out.

"I need a minute," he puffed out. "To… catch my breath…"

Espurr reluctantly stopped. She folded her arms, marched back over to him, and sat down opposite him silently.

Nothing was said between them; they sat together in silence. For the first time since being separated from her friends, Espurr noticed the distinct lack of a tattered old exploration bag hanging from her left shoulder. Her stomach suddenly fell – that bag had everything in it! But she had bigger priorities right now. She'd pick it up on the way.

"Ready yet?" she asked Riolu. Riolu nodded.

"Almost," he said, still sounding tuckered out. "I can get up no—"

Something changed. Both Espurr and Riolu noticed. He stopped mid-sentence, and they both silently looked in the direction of the distant rumbling that came from deeper within the dungeon. It was getting closer.

"Move."

Both Espurr and Riolu got to their feet, but it was all they could do to jump clear of the stairway before the walls suddenly became fluid. Goo shifted along the walls at high speeds, and soon the walls themselves began to change. The dungeon itself began to roar – it was not happy. The sound resounded through the air around Espurr and Riolu, and a sudden gust of rancid wind blew them both backwards. And the walls weren't solidifying.

Espurr got back to her feet, helping Riolu up as quickly as she could. A sudden pillar of goo shot out of the wall, and they both ducked just in time to avoid it. The area closed up into a full wall, and Espurr and Riolu scrambled away from it. More and more pillars of goo shot out from all directions, while walls all around them collapsed.

"What do we do?" Riolu yelled over the noise of the shifting dungeon. He and Espurr were pressed as close together as they could possibly be. The muck around them churned, and they parted just in time to avoid a pillar of goo shooting straight up out of the ground. And then Espurr saw it: Behind a collapsing wall, the stairs stood. They glowed brighter than anything else, and most importantly: they led up.

She called out to Riolu just before the wall sealed up and separated them. "Head that way! I see the stairs!"

The wall finished forming, and they were both cut off. Espurr didn't waste any time running forward. A corridor was forming around the stairs, and Espurr ran directly for it. Another pillar of goo shot out of the ground and began to form a wall between her and the stairs – she was going to be cut off!

The dungeon roared a second time. Espurr knew that the dungeon winds would follow. She sped up as fast as she could, but then she began to feel a draft. She noticed her fur blew in the direction of the sealing up wall, and she jumped—

—The gust of wind blew through the nearly completed hallway, and its power blew Espurr off her feet and sent her flying through the gap just before the wall closed up. She hit the muck on the other side of the hallway and got a mouthful of swamp water. At this point, she was beginning to get used to how it tasted.

"You okay?"

Espurr looked up to see Riolu standing over her. He held a paw out, and she took it, bringing herself to her feet. Ahead of them, the stairs lit the hallway with a luminous glow. Behind them, the dungeon slowly settled into an uneasy peace. The rumbling ceased.

"I'm not waiting around for something else to happen," Riolu said. "Let's go."

~\({O})/~

~Tricky~

Tricky worried about it the whole way there. She worried about what had happened to Espurr, who was her friend when no-mon else would have been. Espurr, who was the only 'mon still separated from the group. Espurr, who Tricky worried had been left behind in the dungeon. She knew there were no answers for her, but the worry hung over her like a cloud as they walked.

'Espurr can take care of herself,' Tricky's brain told her. She used that like a shield, hiding herself away from all the worry behind it. But that didn't stop her from knowing it was there.

"Hey," Deerling spoke after what had felt like hours of silence. "I found something."

She sped up, and all the others did their best to follow.

Sitting against the goo-covered wall was the tattered old exploration bag that belonged to Espurr. Deerling stopped right in front of it, and looked down at the bag. It floated in the muck, its strap stuck to the goo and holding it in place. If it weren't waterproof it would have been ruined long ago.

Tricky quickly pushed past Pancham and Shelmet to look at the bag. She was the first one to point out the obvious.

"That's Espurr's!"

Everymon else exchanged looks in worry. Tricky's fear nearly overcame her – Espurr wouldn't just leave the team bag like that. What if something had… had… good thoughts…

Tricky stared down at the muck for a moment, trying to think of something positive to make of the situation.

"Well…" she began after a moment. "If the bag is here, then Espurr has to be further down in the dungeon. So we didn't leave her behind."

More silence. No-mon had anything to add, but the unspoken words hung in the air over them: She's dead, isn't she.

"…We should collect it," Deerling said. Her voice was low. "It's got her things in it. We don't want to leave those behind."

Pancham – the only one with hands – stooped over and picked it up. He slung it over his back, and they began to continue on again in silence.

Tricky wouldn't believe it. Not until she saw it with her own eyes. That perked her up just a little as they trudged further into the dungeon.

~\({O})/~

~Espurr~

The stairs deposited Espurr and Riolu onto the next floor up with little ceremony. They picked themselves up and began to trek through the dungeon's hallways once again with little complaint. Their fur was matted with swamp water and bits of black goo. Espurr didn't think she could ever clean the filth out of the scarf Tricky had given her. It hung around her neck, soggy with swamp water and almost brown from the dirt that had accumulated into it over the past three weeks. Tricky…

Espurr closed her eyes, and reached out with her sixth sense once more. If they were on this floor, and she tried hard enough…

"Hey, do you hear voices?"

Riolu's comment snapped Espurr back to reality. She glanced at him.

"I wasn't paying attention."

"Voices. That way." Riolu pointed towards the end of the corridor that they'd been travelling down. When Espurr strained her ears, she could hear it too.

"I think the stairs are this way. It's the only hallway we haven't checked."

That sounded like… Deerling. Espurr immediately broke out into a run, dashing down the hallway and making splashes in the muck behind her. She just stopped herself from calling out to them, in case it was an enemy she hadn't been aware of.

She slowed to a stop just outside the entrance to the main hall, glancing in the direction she'd heard the noises from. Her eyes widened. She saw all five of the other village children, in a group led by Deerling.

"Espurr!"

The cry was loud enough to pierce the ears of everymon in the dungeon. Tricky pushed past everymon else and quickly embedded herself into Espurr. "Where were you all this time?" she asked. "We found your bag, and we thought you were…" Tricky couldn't go on. Espurr hugged her back.

"Here's your bag." Espurr's bag went sailing through the air and landed in the muck with a splash in front of her. Tricky backed off, and Espurr picked it up.

Deerling walked forward. Espurr thought she was about to say something, but suddenly Deerling lowered her head and headbutted Espurr right in the chest. Espurr landed in the muck with a splash, too surprised to make her landing graceful. She looked up at Deerling in shock.

"That's for getting us into this mess." Deerling flicked an ear indignantly. "Now get up. We…" she looked down. "We need somemon who can get us out of it."

Espurr rose from her position, pulling her bag back onto her shoulder. It felt good, having that there again.

Riolu finally made his way to the end of the corridor, stumbling to a stop awkwardly and catching his breath. The rest of the children looked at him in alarm.

"…This is Riolu," Espurr said. "He got lost in the dungeon, just like us. We found the way out. It's only a floor down. The bad news is…"

"There's a monster after us," Deerling said. "We know."

"We didn't find Watchog," Shelmet pointed out.

"I say let Watchog rot," Pancham said dismissively. "We'll be lucky to get out of this with our own fur; forget his. Besides, we would have found him if he was here."

That was met with uneasy agreement from everymon else.

"So now what?" Tricky asked, much more chipper than before.

"Now…" Espurr turned back towards the hallway ahead of them. "We look for the way down, and then the way out."

~\({O})/~

The halls of the Anchorstone were completely different when Espurr and her friends stepped onto its grounds. It almost looked like a whole new floor. Around them, the dungeon settled silently, with only a short rumble or hiss as the new hallways finished slotting into place. Espurr slowly led them down the corridor, being as silent as possible. The goo on the wall popped once as they continued on, startling Espurr. There was a hole in the center of the wall that led into blackness. But nothing came out of it, so she decided to move on. None of them noticed the eyeless face that silently emerged from the hole to spy on them after they'd passed it. Satisfied, it retreated back in, black goo swarming over to cover it up.

The hallways were perhaps darker than they'd ever been, and Espurr had trouble seeing the way ahead properly. Several times she almost walked straight into a wall. Eventually, she led them into what looked like a large room where all the hallways led. Espurr stopped, unsure of where to go next. Everymon looked around, taking in the sheer number of hallways all around them.

"Now where do we go?" Tricky asked. The walls moved silently all around them, and Espurr took a fighting position.

"Get ready to fight," she said. "We aren't alone in here." And with that, she fired a mental blast at the wall.

Nyarlathotep abandoned the element of surprise immediately. Goo began to collect in the middle of the floor, assembling itself into Nyarlathotep's body—

An ember from Tricky sent the lower half of the body reeling back before it could finish building itself.

"Get it!" Everymon rushed forward, ganging up upon the shadow before it could assemble itself completely. Riolu pushed one of its legs out from under it, causing it to stumble forward. Pancham climbed on top of it, beating it over the top with his fists. Shelmet charged forward and stabbed the pointy edge of his shell into its leg. Tricky shot another ember, hitting it in the center. Espurr ran forward and used her mind to pull the shadow's other leg out from under it. It collapsed completely. Sliggoo unleashed a dragon breath, sending the body stumbling back further. Deerling spun around and kicked it with her hind legs.

It fell back against one of the walls, and was silent. Everymon held their breath, watching it lie still for a moment.

"Did… Did we beat it?" Tricky asked hesitantly after a minute. Espurr looked over the shadowy body, studying it intently. She looked at how the goo flowed off the walls and down into its body. And then she realized.

"No," she said quickly. "It's just recovering. Let's finish it off before it has a chance to." She began to charge another mental blast, aiming it directly at the recovering Nyarlathotep.

But it was too late – Nyarlathotep was up faster than Espurr could blink, and the last of the goo had assembled into the Void Shadow's monstrous body. Its quills stood alert, and before Espurr could unleash her mind attack it had already charged forward and grabbed her by the throat. Espurr wasn't having it. She directed her attack directly at its claws instead. The raw power was enough to blow the shadow's hand temporarily apart, and she slipped back to the ground.

One by one, everymon launched an attack against the shadow. Its arms shot out and whacked Tricky aside. It dodged Riolu, then kicked him into a wall. It took the brunt of Sliggoo's dragon breaths, walking towards him without any harm. Pancham and Shelmet were both thrown aside. Deerling stepped in to defend Sliggoo, and the shadow began to charge straight for them. One more mental blast sent it careening to the side, and Espurr slid to a stop right where it had been.

She looked at her fallen friends, then straight at Nyarlathotep. She could tend to them later. Right now, there was a bigger priority. And so Espurr began to approach the Void Shadow once more. She began to charge up an attack, but suddenly a sharp headache struck her. She couldn't summon the energy to do it.

Nyarlathotep shot up and grabbed Espurr once more, and this time there was no hope of escape. She struggled the best she could, but she wasn't strong enough to pry herself from Nyarlathotep's claws.

"Help!" she looked back at all her classmates desperately. None of them would reach her in time, not even Tricky.

Espurr felt Nyarlathotep's breath on her face. It ruffled her fur, and it smelled of mystery dungeon. Nyarlathotep's maw opened up, and it spoke in a voice only Espurr could hear:

YoU aRe At ThE bRiNk Of DeAtH. My SeRvAnT sHaLl DeVoUr YoUr MoRtAl FrAmE, aNd YoU WiLl Be DoOmEd To KnOw OnLy BlAcKnEsS FoReVeRmOrE. uNlEsS…

Espurr didn't want to hear whatever the monster had to say to her. Frantically, she began to search for a potential way out. Her headache was waning, but it wouldn't be enough.

OnCe AgAiN, I PrEsEnT mY oFfEr To YoU: LeAvE tHiS bOdY. rEtUrN tO yOuR hUmAn LiFe. ReGaIn YoUr MeMoRiEs. eScApE dEaTh. Do ThIs, AnD yOu HaVe My WoRd ThAt YoU sHaLl NoT bE HaRmEd By My SeRvAnT'S hAnD. I aSk OnCe MoRe: dO wE hAvE a BaRgAiN?

It took everything Espurr had not to accept the offer. She was scared, and tired. Tired of all the mysteries. Tired of the mystery dungeons. Tired of everything. A way out would be everything she'd ever wanted, and it came with the added bonus of not being eaten. But Espurr couldn't rid herself of the underlying guilt and horror at what she was thinking: Was she really considering this?

Then a cough sounded from behind her. Tricky. The shadow's head snapped towards it, but Espurr quickly faked a cough herself to draw its attention back. She noticed it was eyeless. It must have been relying on sound to sense things. She turned her head towards the rest of the children, who were silently rising from the muck. They assembled in the middle of the room wordlessly, taking attack stances. Espurr took the cue, and found that her headache had waned enough for her to begin charging her own attack.

I rEqUiRe An ANSWER.

Nyarlathotep leaned in closer. Espurr stared it down.

"I'm sorry. We don't have a deal," she said, her face quickly returning to her former smugness. "And you really should know by now: threats don't work on me."

With that remark, Espurr blew apart Nyarlathotep's hands. The monster lunged forward, its jaws clamping shut, but Espurr tumbled to the muck and rolled away from the shadow just in time.

"Now!" she yelled to all the other children, jumping out of the way just in time. Everymon fired their attacks all at once, and they all hit the same target: the center of Nyarlathotep's chest. It left a hole clean through Nyarlathotep. One that didn't fill itself in.

Nyarlathotep took a step towards the village children, and all of them balked in fear. But then it stopped. It twitched, then began to tremble. And then it burst into tiny flakes of black goo and ash, that began to rise up into the air until no-mon could see them. And then there was only silence.

Espurr slowly raised herself from the muck, picking her bag up with her. She rejoined the rest of her classmates, and they all silently continued towards what was now the only hallway left out of the clearing. Just around the corner, there was daylight.

A figure lay slumped down against the wall, fast asleep. Its body was half covered in black goo. Vice-Principal Watchog was slowly roused from his sleep by the sounds of seven children tromping through the muck towards him.

"… Huh?" he muttered. "What are you troublemakers doing… here… blurgh… more mago berries… the good shtuff…"

He was asleep once again.

Espurr and Tricky exchanged looks.

"We'll just have to carry him out," Espurr stated. No-mon objected.

Daylight was just around the corner.

~\({O})/~

Music of the week! :D

Possession - Thomas Newman