Chapter 3 - Of Mice and Men

To say Jay was having a strange day would be an understatement. He had woken up in a different world with an unfamiliar body. He had spoken with real, living pokemon. He had been set on fire and attacked with pressurized water.

Yet despite all the new experiences, nothing felt more surreal to him than being asked to embark on a rescue mission. He understood the necessity given the circumstances, but that didn't make him feel qualified.

You just need to run in, find the pikachu, and hit the button, he thought, glancing down at the badge that Gill had given him. It's not like there's been an established precedent of things going wrong today, right?

Before he could get too caught up in his worried thoughts, he came to the end of the path. A massive wall of unkempt green bushes sprawled out in front of him. In front of the entrance was an unassuming wooden sign, words painted sloppily onto its surface.

It took Jay a moment to realize that it was a bit odd that he could actually decipher the words; they were written in plain English.

Huh, that's convenient. And probably really impractical, depending on the pokemon.

He shook thoughts of quadruped pokemon holding paint brushes in their mouths out of his head and decided it would be prudent to actually read the sign:

THE MAZE

Class E Mystery Dungeon

Do NOT enter without express

permission from Team Hurricane

Jay gulped. Class E? He had no frame of reference for what that meant; was a lower letter less dangerous or more dangerous, or did it measure something else entirely?

He peeked his head through the entrance warily. Nothing stirred on either the left or right paths. He thought he heard some slight rustling through the bushes, but it was impossible to tell for sure.

Jay lingered. The thought of turning back crossed his mind. Getting lost in a hedge maze with no idea of what he was doing wouldn't help anyone; they'd just have to send someone in to save him.

…But, he had made a promise to that raichu, and he couldn't just leave a child all alone in a dangerous place, human or not.

Now's not the time for second thoughts. If he's in there, you have to help him.

Jay forced himself into motion, picking the left path arbitrarily.

He crept forward carefully, on the lookout for any of the potential dangers that the pikachu had mentioned. The pokemon in town had said that there wasn't much to worry about, but with Jay's luck, he had to be prepared for the worst. For all he knew, there were flamethrowers and sawblades concealed in the bushes, waiting for him to step on the wrong stick before whirring to life.

It wasn't long before Jay came to a sharp turn, as would be expected in a maze. Poking his head around the corner revealed nothing new: just another hallway made of foliage. Although, he soon realized that there was something interesting about the hallway.

There was a fork in the path.

Of course there's split paths, it's a hedge maze. Great. You're actually going to get lost in here.

He stood there, sizing up his options. He could continue going forward, or take the opening to his left. In fairness, it was a meaningless choice; either option had an equal chance of leading him to the pikachu.

Still, he had to apply some level of strategy, lest he become hopelessly lost or fall into some sort of trap. As he deliberated, he noticed some odd blue berries on the ground in the path in front of him.

Mysterious fruit in a mysterious hedge maze? Definitely a trap. Those things are probably poisonous.

So, Jay decided to stick to the left path and continued.

Despite the anxiety that plagued him as he trudged forward, nothing of much interest seemed to be happening. There were more forks in the path and even a few points where he came to a dead-end and had to double back, but without any immediate hazards there was no reason to rush.

All in all, the dungeon seemed more like a dull amusement park attraction than a dangerous place filled with treasure. If it wasn't for the promise of perils that loomed behind every corner, he may have even been bored.

Eventually, Jay came across something interesting: a wide clearing. The foliage still boxed him in, but he had far more space to breathe than he did in the hallways. Mossy rocks and trees dotted the room— standard decor, given the environment.

Though, upon a second glance, there was something that stuck out. A grey satchel sat on a rock in the middle of the clearing. Jay approached it tentatively.

Huh. Why would someone leave their bag here?

After inspecting the satchel and surrounding area for any dart traps or tripwires, he picked it up and slipped it over his shoulder. Anticipation swelled in his chest as he opened the flap and peered inside.

Empty. Figures.

Maybe someone from the town had lost it while exploring The Maze? Though it seemed like a difficult object to leave behind.

Jay considered taking it off and putting it back on the rock in case its owner came looking for it, but a hissing sound drew his attention before he could make up his mind.

He turned and found himself face to face with an ekans. The pokemon's expression was vacant, but its posture was decidedly aggressive.

"Uh… hi," Jay said, off-put by the ekans's demeanor, "This wouldn't happen to be your bag, would it?"

The snake continued to hiss at him, and Jay realized how stupid his statement had sounded.

"Oh. Right. You don't have… uh, arms. So, probably not."

The pokemon's expression didn't change.

"Well, I've been looking for a pikachu, so unless you've seen him around here, I guess I should keep searching. In some other area. Away from here."

The ekans still stared at him, unreactive. Jay noticed that it was between him and the room's exit. Reluctantly, he tried to skirt around it to leave.

"I'm just gonna… pass by… no need to–"

The snake lunged towards him, fangs bared. He yelped and jumped backwards, resulting in the pokemon crunching its jaws around empty air.

Not waiting for it to recover, Jay made a break for the exit, doing his best to avoid tripping over his unfamiliar legs.

He sprinted through the maze's hallways, starkly aware of a rattling sound behind him as the ekans gave chase. He no longer cared about which path he was taking, so long as it wasn't a dead end.

Careening around a corner, though, he saw something that frightened him far more. A lone caterpie, crawling towards him with the same vacant look in its eyes that the ekans had given him.

Jay felt his heart sink; he was cornered.

Desperate, he tried to reason with the pokemon. "Look, I don't want any trouble; I was just trying to find a lost kid!"

The words had no effect on the caterpie, which continued crawling forward. The rattling behind Jay grew louder; it was only a matter of seconds before both pokemon would be upon him.

If he couldn't go forwards or backwards, there was only one option left. The walls that trapped him seemed dense, but they were still made out of plants.

He considered it for a moment. The leaves were probably poisonous, but it was better than standing around and waiting for–

A whirr sounded as a thread of string flew by Jay's head, missing him by a matter of inches.

Stop thinking and move!

Jay threw himself into the wall on his left. The foliage gave way surprisingly easily, and he sailed through it, landing on his side with a thud.

He hastily dragged himself back to his fee and peered in the direction from which he came, anticipating his pursuers to follow.

To his surprise, nothing leapt at him from the bushes. It seemed that, besides a few small cuts and some splinters, he had made it out scot-free.

Good thing that worked, Jay thought as he picked some twigs out of the fur on his chest, Or else…

Jay's gaze lingered on the badge still fastened to his arm, which he had entirely forgotten about up until that moment.

Or else you would have had to use the escape badge that they specifically gave you to help you escape.

For what felt like the tenth time that day, Jay mentally slapped himself. He couldn't keep making mistakes like this; he was in a dangerous situation. Not only that, but that pikachu was still counting on him for a rescue.

He shuddered to imagine what may have already happened to the poor pikachu, considering the violent pokemon that seemed to inhabit The Maze. All the more reason to find him quickly.

As if to underscore that urgency, a crackling burst echoed through the bushes. It didn't leave much room for thought as to what caused it, and Jay took off in the direction from which it came.

A few turns later and he was back in the clearing where he had found the satchel. In the center, the pikachu stood on a rock, fur sparking with electricity.

It took Jay a moment to notice the unconscious bodies of the ekans and caterpie, as well as a butterfree. The entire room smelled like burnt toast.

"Anybody else?" the pikachu squeaked, doing his best to sound intimidating, "I'll beat up as many of you ferals as it takes! I'm an explorer!"

Relief washed over Jay. He had found his target, and he seemed to be completely unharmed. "There you are!"

The pokemon spun to face him, his face lighting up. "Mister lucario! You came to explore the dungeon too?"

"Actually, your mom sent me to check on you. She seemed pretty worried," he confessed, stepping forward and pointing at the badge he had fastened to his arm.

"Awh, her and Gill never let me have any fun. I can take care of myself!"

Jay glanced back down at the unconscious pokemon on the ground. Electricity still sparked across their bodies. "I guess I can't disagree with that…"

"Yeah, so I'm not gonna leave until I find something really cool!"

"Well, I…" Jay had begun to protest, but trailed off as he heard a buzzing sound in the distance.

"Do ya hear that?" the pikachu asked, tilting his head towards the clearing's entrance. An instant later, a beedrill flew around the corner, buzzing angrily at the duo.

Jay's eyes immediately locked on to the massive stingers at the end of each of its arms. Now those are definitely poisonous.

The pikachu wasted no time jumping in front of Jay. "Don'cha worry, I'll take care of this guy!" The electric type's fur crackled with energy as he loosed a lightning bolt at the rapidly approaching beedrill.

Jay's entire vision was engulfed with blinding light as the pikachu in front of him mercilessly shocked the insect. The attack was so powerful, he could feel his fur standing on end from some of the static discharge seeping into the air.

Then, as quickly as the light came, it faded. The pikachu panted with effort, while the beedrill was left sprawled out on the ground, paralyzed.

"See?" the mouse insisted between shaky breaths, "I can take care… of myself…"

Jay crouched down next to the tired pokemon. Despite the pikachu's protests, he couldn't help but be a bit concerned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah… sometimes I just use too much power… I'm okay…" As if to prove it, the pikachu took a dramatic step forward, only to stumble.

Jay reached out a paw, steading the mouse and helping him sit down on the grass. "Alright. I really think we should get going. You can–"

Buzzing interrupted Jay's words again; the beedrill had recovered from the attack and was back in the air, making a beeline directly for the pikachu.

Time seemed to freeze. Jay's eyes darted between the bug pokemon's terrifying stingers and their target: the pikachu, still short of breath and clearly in no state to dodge.

Without thinking, he threw himself between the two pokemon.

Pain erupted in Jay's arm as the stinger pierced his skin, drawing blood. He desperately tried to bat the insect away with his other arm, earning a slash across the chest for his efforts.

The new surge of pain only increased Jay's panicked flailing. The beedrill dislodged its stinger from his arm, buzzing backwards as it prepared for another attack.

In other words, Jay had an opening. He staggered to his feet.

"Stay back!" he yelled as he threw himself forward.

Jay's punch landed square on the beedrill's thorax. The bug was sent careening through the air, colliding with the wall of foliage at the other end of the clearing.

Unfortunately, the leaves must have cushioned the collision, as the beedrill was undeterred. It buzzed towards Jay with a renewed aggression.

Jay couldn't afford to get skewered again; his blood already coated the beedrill's stingers. Though, for each drop of blood he lost, a new surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins.

The only chance he had was a perfectly timed attack. He counted down as the bug sped towards him. He only had one shot at this.

Three…

He raised his fist.

Two…

He drew back his arm.

One…

A burst of light interrupted the standoff. Electricity hummed through the air as the beedrill was engulfed once again.

By the time the pikachu's attack had run its course, the beedrill's carapace was back on the ground, smoke rising from it. Jay stared numbly at his fallen foe.

Well, it's definitely not getting up again.

The young pikachu's voice sounded at his side. "Wow…"

Jay crouched down, slapping the badge on his wrist and wrapping an arm around the pikachu. The emblem let out a pleasant clicking sound to denote its activation.

Jay was dimly aware of the pikachu's muffled protests, but he didn't slacken his grip. He was thankful that his last dregs of adrenaline provided him with clarity, but it would be foolish to sit around and wait for them to wear off in the middle of the dungeon.

After a short wait, there was a flash and they were outside The Maze.

Jay released his hold on the pokemon, who wasted no time in voicing his annoyance. "Awh, I wanted to find some treasure!"

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Good."

Jay slumped backwards onto the grass, his pain and exhaustion finally catching up with him. He stared blankly at the sky. The light blue had darkened considerably; it looked like the sun would be setting soon.

A slight rustle to his side let Jay know that the pikachu had joined him on the grass.

"…Mister lucario?"

"Yes?"

"I had another question…"

Jay turned his head to face the pikachu, curiosity replacing the hollowness in his chest. "What is it?"

"I know lucario are heroes and all, but still… why didja go so far out of your way to help me? Don'cha have hero stuff to be doing?"

"Well…"

When he thought about it, Jay wasn't sure why he went so far out of his way to help the young pokemon. It was clearly the right thing to do, but it wasn't every day that he threw himself in front of a giant murderous insect.

He just felt like he had to protect the pikachu, regardless of the personal cost. Something about the pokemon's naive optimism, unabashed bravery, and upbeat spirit… it was all so similar to…

Jay closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"I guess you just reminded me of someone."

"Oh, okay."

The two were silent for a while, content to lay peacefully in the grass. Despite all of the pain and worries that his short time in the pokemon world had provided him, Jay lacked the energy to be bothered by them at the moment. Now his mind was elsewhere, on what he had left behind at home.

The pikachu's adrenaline must have worn off as well, as for the first time since Jay had met him, he was quiet.

"Wait, mister lucario!"

Temporarily, at least.

The pikachu sprung up from the grass. "Beedrill's stingers are poisonous!"

In an instant, Jay's thoughts were dragged back to his current reality. He ignored his body's protests as he forced himself to stand up. "Is there an antidote?"

"Pecha berries, in town! Let's hurry!"

Jay didn't need to be told twice, and began following the pikachu back towards the town. He was so exhausted, he wasn't sure that he would even make it the full distance before he collapsed, especially if the poison began to take effect.

Fortunately, they didn't have to travel far down the path before they saw a vaporeon dashing towards them.

"Gill!" shouted the pikachu, "You've gotta help! A beedrill stung him!"

Gill quickly closed the distance. "That's an awful lot of blood; you alright?"

"The bleeding stopped, but do you have an antidote?" Jay asked, desperation creeping into his voice.

"Not on me, but it's not like you'd need one. You're a steel type, partner. Means you can't get poisoned."

Oh. Right. Lucario are steel types.

Jay glanced over at the pikachu, wondering how he had forgotten such a critical fact about a species he clearly idolized.

The pikachu, in turn, took a moment to process the information. Eventually, his face lit up. "Wait, lucario can't get poisoned? Cool!"

Gill gave Jay a sympathetic look. "Seems you've had to deal with Sparky enough for one day. Let's get you back to town and get those injuries taken care of; a few oran berries and you'll be fit as a furret."


The next set of events went by in a blur. The motley group made it back into town, navigated their way to the inn, and sat through a tearful reunion between the pikachu and his mother. Then a loud lecture, reprimanding the young pokemon for his recklessness. Finally, Jay had to deal with a long string of "thank-you"s from the raichu, which went on far longer than he was comfortable with.

Eventually, though, Jay ended up sitting alone in the dining room of the inn.

It was the closest imitation that he imagined pokemon could create of a restaurant; a few scattered tables with chairs of varying sizes filled the room. Woven tapestries decorated the walls, as well as a few candles on shelves. A cozy fire tied it all together, illuminating the wooden interior with an orange glow.

Jay was surprised that the homely dining space was deserted. A quick glance out one of the room's windows revealed that the sun had already set and stars were beginning to dot the sky.

Huh, that explains why this place is so empty, he thought idly. The conversations with the raichu after arriving at the inn must have taken even longer than they had seemed to.

He continued to glance around the room, inspecting the chairs at his table. The one he was sitting in was much like the ones he was used to back in his world, save for a convenient space in the chair's back for his tail to fit through. Other chairs varied wildly in height and size; some even looked more like wide-topped stools, designed for quadrupedal pokemon to lay on.

What happens if the pokemon is too big for a chair? Do they stand?

After running out of things to look at in the room, Jay found himself drifting off at the table. He barely even remembered why he had been asked to wait in the dining room. Something about food?

As if on cue, Jay turned to see Gill padding into the room, a bowl of berries held in his teeth. In a swift motion, the vaporeon leapt up onto the table and set them down in front of Jay.

"I'd wager it's been a while since you last ate," Gill said, hopping from the table onto one of the chairs.

"Thanks," Jay mumbled, rubbing his eyes and inspecting the berries set before him.

It took him a moment to realize that he was looking at the same blue berries that he had assumed were poisonous back in The Maze. Perhaps they were deadly, and he could only eat them because of his typing.

Jay didn't much care; he was starving.

He reached down to pick one up, fumbling with it as he tried to get used to his new fingers. After dropping it back onto the table a few times, he finally managed to hold it long enough to take a bite.

To his surprise, the berry tasted delicious. It was sweet to a nearly artificial extent, but in a way that Jay loved. He eagerly scarfed down the rest of it and moved on to the others that he had been given.

Across the table, Gill fixed him with a look of unbridled amusement. "Hey, partner, you may wanna eat a little slower. Seems your fur's been stained enough already."

Jay looked down at himself; his chest fur was covered in berry juice, mixing with the dried blood from his dungeon excursion. "Oh." He hadn't realized how difficult it was to eat cleanly with a muzzle.

"Don't worry about it, we'll get you washed up and you'll look good as new. Should probably wait 'till the mornin', though; it's been a long enough day already."

Jay sighed. "It really has been."

"About that," Gill said, his expression growing serious, "I've been ponderin' how we can solve your little problem, but nothin' comes to mind. That bein' said, my teammate, Melody, travels all over. She'll be back in town tomorrow; I'd reckon she might know something that'll help you out."

Jay didn't have a response; it wasn't like Gill's teammate had any chance of finding someone who knew him. As he searched for a reply, his eyes wandered. Eventually they fell on the badge and satchel which he still possessed.

"Oh, I almost forgot to give your badge back." He removed the band from his wrist and set it on the table.

"Eh, keep it. You've more than earned it; I've got spares, anyhow. I'll take my band back, though. It's got some… sentimental value."

"I didn't do much," Jay mumbled as he reluctantly unpinned the badge from the band and pushed the latter across the table. "The pikachu took care of most of the pokemon."

"Even still, I heard about your heroics. Any mon that's willin' to get stung up that bad to protect someone else has the heart of a rescuer, in my books."

Jay considered the compliment, struggling to find a reason to rebut it. At a loss, he decided to change the topic entirely. "Why did those pokemon attack us, anyway?"

"Your memory's really that bad? Alright, here's the crash course. Essentially, those dungeons are some sorta rifts in space. They're always shiftin' around, and they create dangers and treasures all the time. The dangers usually come in the form of hostile ferals; they're not thinkin' creatures like me or you, though. They attack on pure instinct."

"Huh. So the dungeon rating on the sign…"

"Dictates how dangerous the dungeon's gonna be, and how valuable the treasure inside is. Speakin' of which, looks like you picked up some treasure of your own. Mind if I take a look at it?"

"Huh? Oh, right, the bag!" Jay took off the satchel and slid it across the table to Gill.

The vaporeon inspected the outside for a moment, sniffing it. "Good material. Durable, probably fireproof from the looks of it," he muttered before sticking his face inside of the bag. "Oh, now this is interestin'," came his muffled voice.

Jay tilted his head. It had seemed like a normal bag, in every sense of the word. "…Interesting how?"

Gill drew his head out of the satchel. "Watch this," he instructed, picking up one of the berries on the table in his mouth before dropping it into the bag. "Go on, take a look."

Confused, Jay picked the satchel up off the table and peered inside. The berry sat at the bottom of the bag, as expected…

But it wasn't taking up nearly enough space.

"What? How?" The optical illusion produced by peering into a bag that seemed to have a larger interior than exterior threatened to break Jay's exhausted mind.

"Like I said, dungeons are rifts in space, so normal rules don't apply; the items you find inside can have a whole host of unique properties. Looks like you hit the jackpot and got yourself a bottomless bag."

"Bottomless? You mean, I can put anything in this?"

"Well, it's just an expression. It's still got its limits, but it'll hold a lot more than a run of the mill bag. And it'll feel a lot lighter while doin' it, too."

Jay continued to stare into the bag, perplexed. A thought struck him. "The pikachu said he wanted to find treasure… I should probably give this to him, since I cut his adventure short."

Gill gawked at him. "You saved him after he threw himself into a dungeon without permission. You tryin' to encourage him to do it again?"

"Yeah, you're right… I'm just glad he's okay."

"He'd be fine if he stopped disobeyin' his elders. Speakin' of which, I've gotta get goin'; I'm giving a mandatory fire and dungeon safety lecture to some troublesome kids."

"Isn't it a little late for something like that?"

"If they'd wanted sleep, they shoulda followed the rules. Ask Jolt for a room, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to lodge you here for the night. Hopefully Melody will have some information for you in the mornin'."

At that, Gill hopped from his chair and trotted out of the room, leaving Jay alone at the table.

Jay wasted no time in finishing the remainder of the berries. By the time he was done eating, a wave of drowsiness had begun to wash over him. May as well try to get some sleep…

Lazily, he stood up and slipped the satchel back over his shoulder, pinning the badge Gill had given him to the front of it. He still felt like he didn't deserve the items, but it would have been rude to refuse them.

Jay left the dining room and made his way to the reception room of the inn. Behind a wooden desk sat the raichu, who beamed upon seeing Jay approach. "There you are! Did you enjoy the meal?"

"The berries were great, thanks," Jay said sheepishly, "Gill mentioned something about you having a spare room…?"

"Of course, anything for the lucario who saved my son! Right down the hall, the third room on the right."

"Thanks again."

"Thank you, lucario. I'm sure our patrons will feel safer with you nearby. Sleep well!"

Jay simply waved tiredly as he shuffled towards his room. As he stepped inside, he was caught off guard by how similar it looked to a hotel room.

A mirror hung on one wall, while a window with a curtain covered another. In the middle of the room, a lantern sat next to a basket which could be placed over it to dull the light. A series of clean pillows of varying sizes were piled in a corner instead of a bed.

It makes sense, since they have to accommodate pokemon of all sizes. Shame that there's no blanket, though…

He picked a few pillows and arranged them to make a makeshift bed. It wasn't much, but he was so tired that he didn't really care. Before he went to sleep, though, there was one other thing he wanted to do.

Wearily, he approached the mirror, looking himself over. Blood, berry juice, and leaves mingled in his fur. He was a mess.

That wasn't what bothered him the most, though. It was that his crimson eyes seemed so alien to those he was accustomed to seeing in his reflection.

That sad thought caused his canine ears to droop. Jay was surprised at the reflexive action; had they been doing that the whole time? He would have to keep track of any instinctual tells like that.

Tenderly, he brought one of his paws to the area on his chest that the beedrill had slashed. The skin beneath the fur still felt a little tender, but the stinging and soreness was gone. The gouge on his arm was similarly healed. Pokemon really are more resilient than humans; a few hours and some good food and it's already almost as if it never happened…

He gazed into the mirror until his exhaustion became too much to ignore. He picked up the basket and put it over the lantern, darkening the room.

Jay slumped down onto the pillows and tried his best to lay in a way that wouldn't crush his tail. He didn't expect to sleep at all that night, considering his situation, but his body needed rest.

As Jay let his mind wander, he couldn't help but be drawn back to thoughts of his home. He had no idea how he was going to get back, but he was going to. It wasn't up for debate.

"Sleep well, Cassie," Jay murmured as he drifted off, "Your brother's going to make it back home soon. Stay strong."