Mark sees a purple-and-blue void, shifting and moving, and never making form.
A feminine voice speaks out. It is far off and echoey. He can hear himself answering it, but his own words were distorted as well.
The two's words become clearer and clearer until he makes out what they're saying.
"What do you enjoy most on clear nights? Reading a book? Starting a campfire? Or just simply resting?" the female voice says.
"I like to watch the stars and moons, and see if I can spot any constellations or catch a shooting star. I would spend hours looking at the night sky whenever I was alone," Mark hears himself say.
Then there's silence that feels like an eternity. Nobody says anything and Mark wonders if the interview is still going, but then the unknown voice breaks the silence.
"Well... That answer still helps us. Let's just move on. A friend squirts a watergun at you, what do you do? Join them? Tell them to stop? Run away?"
His own voice replies, but it is incomprehensible once more. Their voices drift further away, and eventually everything becomes black.
"Waaaa!" Mark shouts. A falling sensation wakes him up abruptly, as he is hauled out of bed by his shoulders and to the entrance of the hut. His legs drag limply along the floor.
"Come on, come on, come on! I have a partner now and we're going to do our first mission! Let's go!" Layla says excitedly.
"Hey, uh, Layla? Shouldn't I have my torch and bag? And, uh, shouldn't I wake up all the way first?" he asks, reaching up to pat her arm. His vision just got clear.
Layla drops him. Mark oofs when he hits the floor, even though it didn't hurt. "YOU'RE RIGHT! THOSE ARE IMPORTANT!" she shouts, smashing a fist onto her palm. Mark winces at the noise.
He gets back onto his feet and starts rubbing his face, but it is foolish of him to assume Layla would give him enough time to do anything. She tosses his bag towards him, which he catches, panicking. He slings it over his shoulder as fast as he can, terrified for the torch that's coming next. Thankfully she's not actually that insane, as instead she just comes up and shoves it into his palm.
"Ok let's go!" she says, grabbing his forearm, and pulling.
Mark gets his legs moving. He has fully woken up by now.
Layla drags his adventuring partner all the way to the town plaza once more. The town is as dreary as ever, but there are even fewer people roaming the tight alleyways than yesterday. It must be really early morning, Mark thinks. The only place that is alive is the bulletin board and Leon's stall, which has a small swarm of adventurers and mercenaries reading each post carefully or bargaining different goods. Layla wedges the two of them into the board-reading crowd.
"Okay Mark, I'll find which ones seem good, and let you pick. Maybe. Depends on if you actually pick the best one. Then we'll get food. Anyways", she says, tapping her claw on her chin as she reads what's available.
Mark busies himself by examining the strangers around him. In the back is a towering Arbok who holds their torch in their maw. Beside them is a familiar Carnivire who Mark feels a lot of life coming from, despite their wilted vines and yellow skin. Next to Mark is a Munchlax with bloodshot eyes. He also spots a Mankey and Clobbopus debating. There are still more adventurers he wants to examine, but he is distracted by a scream from Layla.
All the adventures look at her as she tears off one of the postings. She then drags Mark outside of the group, moving a quarterway around the fireplace. Next thing Mark knows, a mission request is shoved into his face.
"Look, Mark! Read it!" she says.
"I can't read…" Mark says. Even if he did understand Footprint Script, it's too close for him to make out the shapes.
"Oh yeah, you're illiterate. Here…" she pulls it out of his face and holds it in front of her. She clears her throat.
"'I've lost my daughter in Perlucid Crystal Chasm. She walked off on her own and not only am I too weak to enter it, but I'm looking after another child that I can't abandon. Please rescue her! She's sweet and I don't know how long she may last. I don't have much, so I can only give 150 poke. She should be about 10 floors deep into the dungeon.
"'Her name is Millie. She'll respond if you call out to her. I can't tell you what species she is as I'm hiding my identity. If you show the child to Myla, she'll tell you where to deliver her.'
"That's exciting, isn't it?" she says, looking up to Mark.
Mark smiles. "Saving a child is perfect!"
Layla leans against his shoulder. "Ok, but do you know what the most exciting part is?"
"What?"
Layla puts more weight onto him. "Perlucid Crystal Chasm is where I found the door that the Gallade's key will open! We'll knock two birds out with one stone, saving someone and finding the surface this easily. Can't you believe it?!" she says excitedly.
"That's… incredible! How far is it?"
"It's closer than where I found you, but the Mystery Dungeon itself takes a long time to descend. You need to go slow cause a wrong step will kill you. It's fun!" She grabs his forearm again. "Let's go get breakfast over with!"
"Yeah," Mark says, a smile growing wider. Despite the promise of danger, he's feeling excited!
Layla pulls Mark and he follows, heading straight into Myra's Cafe. He makes sure to drop off Andy's map while he is there and to his surprise, Bali has made Myra deliver his reward to him. She gives him the full 500 poke that he originally promised. They ordered mushrooms fast, devoured them even faster, and off they were.
They've walked out of town and through a hole somewhere in the forest into the Lower Tunnels. After seeing the farms and Scrap Town, Mark is shocked to remember how indistinguishable this area is. He spots no noticeable features other than various junctions and the odd stalagmite or stalactite. The only things breathing life around here are the crackle of their torches and their own footsteps. A sensation of desolation hangs over Mark's head as he walks. This must have been the worst place to have woken up in…
Wanting to sate his hunger for curiosity, he hangs over Layla's shoulder and looks at her map. She doesn't mind, and even keeps it held up for him to see. They have to stop every so often to make sure they weren't getting lost, and Layla even had to backtrack to a tunnel they missed. Mark is impressed by her ability to navigate, as he can't tell where they are on the map half the time.
"Hey Mark, do you know about the Perlucid Crystal Cave?" she asks.
"No."
"Of course you don't! But it's one of the coolest Mystery Dungeons. Before Scrap Town existed and even before people settled in the Magma Caverns, there were adventurers who explored these tunnels. This Crystal Chasm was found during this time.
"And for whatever reason, the crystals in that cave were considered valuable then. Many explorers would come to take the crystals and sell them at home. In fact, they were so valuable that they started fighting over them. Different groups wanted to establish themselves as the only ones who may mine the crystals, and many fights were had inside the chasm itself. That fighting turned it into a Mystery Dungeon- the second-ever Mystery Dungeon in the underground, to our knowledge. That's so cool, given how far away it is from everything!"
Mark nods. "Yeah. Some crystals were valuable on the surface as well. I can't remember which ones though. I think they were worn?" He starts scratching his head, trying to remember an example. But he can't visualize meeting anyone, let alone anyone who wore jewelry. It's so weird I can remember facts but not memories…
"Really now? That sounds so cool! Well, get this Mark. There are human ruins around this place as well!"
Mark turns to look at Layla. She boldly nods her head.
"Yup, that's right. I mean, there's where the key fits, but there's also just crap littered around, especially near the entrance.
That reminds Mark about something. "Oh yeah, Layla. When I was traveling with Bali yesterday, I came across a graveyard. Well, 'human ruins' where stones were stuck in the ground, with human text on them. Do you know about those?"
"Of course I do! That's some ritual ground to summon a being from another world, right?" Layla says.
"What?"
"What else would it be? They use the power of human script to communicate with beings from another world. That's why all the stones are arranged in such an unusual pattern. If not that, than it has to be some other ritual. Or maybe just a game? Tell me I'm right, Mark!" Layla says confidently.
Mark is speechless. "They… Uh, the stones mark where they bury people. There are people buried in the ground there."
"WHY WOULD THEY BURY PEOPLE?! THAT'S HORRIBLE!" Layla shouts, looking back at Mark with horror.
"No! Only when they're dead!" he corrects, alarmed.
"What? But that accomplishes even less!" Layla says.
"Huh? Well, uh… the bodies have to go… Somewhere?" he asks cautiously.
"If they're dead then they should just be eaten, that at least accomplishes something" she responds matter-of-factly.
Mark is appalled. Don't think about what she just said don't think about what she just said don't think about what she just said-
"Wait, so if bodies are buried there, they should still be there, right?" she adds.
"Uh? Oh, yeah. They should be. Why?"
"And they might be human bodies if they're human ruins with Human Script, right?"
Mark nods. He thinks he knows where she's going…
Layla continues. "So there might be clues where they're buried!" She beams, and her pace quickens.
"Probably. Well, the remains should actually be inside boxes that are then buried, and I don't think most people bury stuff with them. But I guess it won't hurt to check though..."
"Well, we at least know where to go next if this door won't answer everything - which it totally will! OH! Mark! We're here!"
Layla turns the corner, and Mark is stunned by what he sees. Not crystals, but the light reflecting around the edges and points of crystals in the distance. There are many and they knit a tapestry of prismatic orange-yellow sparkles.
Mark walks up to them but Layla juts an arm in front of him, stopping him from walking over a sheer drop. He peers down; there are crystals jutting out of the cliff face and the wall ahead. The geometry of these jewels become distinguishable when they're in range of torchlight. They're clear with a light-blue fade, and Mark can't see his reflection in them. They feel like a cross between diamonds and glass.
Past the jewel right below him is an infinitesimal field of sparkles and stars of varying size and strength, facading a million crystals with no bottom to the chasm. Each little light refracts through the one in front of Mark, and the way the sparkling shifts as his perspective moves makes him believe many more sparkles are bounced around through unseen crystals. He looks in other directions; the two walls extend into the void in all directions. Where they stand is just a hole cut into the side of this ravine.
"It's enchanting, huh? So much so that you didn't notice the human artifacts?" Layla says, bumping his side.
"Huh?" Mark says. He looks around and sees a crane on treads near the other side of the holes. He walks to it, and more come into view: there are minecarts without wheels behind the crane, and to the side, the structure of what must be a lift is built over the ledge.
"Do you know what they are?" Layla asks.
Mark thinks for a bit. "The large structure over there - I can't say for sure, but it's probably an elevator. It would have raised and lowered humans and equipment to the bottom quickly. And the vehicle there-" he points to the crane "- would do the same, but it can carry heavier items. Behind it I think are minecarts. Well, they're probably just bins, since there's no wheels on them..." He looks to Layla. "They would carry stuff. They must have been mining these crystals."
"Interesting…" Layla says. "I guess we were fascinated by crystals because humans originally were? The legends say we did originally come from the surface." Mark shrugs to her speculation.
Layla then walks to the ledge of the chasm and holds her torch over it. She carefully steps along the lip, examining the different gems right below the ledge. "Well, either way, we need to find the child and make it to the bottom. As we descend, it'll stop being a ravine, and everything will stop making sense. Don't think too hard about this place, ok?" Then, she jumps off.
Mark's heart skips a beat and he hurries up to where Layla jumped off. He looks over and sees her face staring right back up. She landed on a crystal jutting out three feet below the ledge, and it's wide enough for about two of her.
"Watch your step, Mark. This dungeon is unlike anything else."
She walks along the crystal gracefully and looks back at him. Mark takes a deep breath and leaps onto the crystal. His landing is clean; he's so thankful he got used to his new body so fast. The surface feels as smooth as glass underneath his foot.
He follows Layla carefully and constantly fights the urge to look down.
Their pace is slow and careful, and Mark is beyond thankful for that. This Mystery Dungeon is nothing like the first one: there is no ground. They shuffle over barely-wide crystals protruding from both sides of the chasm walls, jumping down whenever they criss-cross. Even the smallest drop made Mark's heart skip two beats. Piling onto the peril is the shrieks and roars of those below they have yet to meet.
The two eventually drop onto a crystal that Mark figures should be perfectly parallel to the chasm walls. This must be impossible, as they are nowhere near either end of the chasm - there is no wall for it to support it. And yet, a short walk along this jewel, and the glittering Mark believed was the furthest away comes right in front of his face. There is a small tunnel formed by numerous small crystals cut through a crystal wall. Mark tries to work out who this space can even be, before remembering Layla's saying not to think too hard on it.
Mystery Dungeons sure are mysterious…
They pass through the tunnel that's no longer than 8 meters long. A humongous crystal angled down forms right below the exit. They walk down it more relaxed as the extra space means they aren't a step away from doom anymore.
Mark keeps looking around. They must be in a new cavity, as the specular lights suggest no walls. Instead, the glistering crystalline shapes are unending in all directions. They are no longer in a chasm, but a void. As they trek downwards, the crystal ramp subtly narrows every few steps. They pass amazing spiraling columns and gems even larger extending both ends into nowhere.
Suddenly there's a ringing screech to their side. The two look over to find the source, and a Crobat swoops in from the darkness. They bite Layla's leg, and the speed they flew in knocks her over. They drag Layla to the edge as she digs her claws into the crystal's surface.
"HELP!" she shouts.
Mark takes a deep breath and approaches them carefully, cautious of tripping in this harrowing situation. He reaches in and grabs her arm tight. The two's struggling nearly makes him tumble, but his stance is kept firm. Now Layla can focus on the bat and start kicking them with her free leg. The Crobat ignores the pounding and keeps their teeth sunk in until they realize they're not getting closer to the edge. They let go and they vanish into the darkness as swiftly as they arrived.
Layla gets back onto her feet, and the two look around with full alertness. Mark studies the sparkles to find any shadows that may sweep over them, but his mind keeps playing tricks. He can't find them even when they screech again.
"There's someone else!" Layla shouts, pointing down the bridge.
Mark looks. There's an orange glow further below them, and it's approaching. In this one moment of distraction, Mark feels an intense sting pierce his back - the Crobat has swooped in again from behind. The pain forces Mark onto his hands and knees, where he shakes around to toss them off. He feels the warmth of his life get leached through his punctured flesh.
Layla sinks a heavy steel claw through the bat's wings, tearing apart the membrane. They shrill and fly off again with a tilt to the left. Mark keeps his eyes closed and takes heavy breaths, calming him down from full panic. Layla grabs his arm.
"WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THE TUNNEL!"
Mark opens his eyes again. The fiery glow has closed the distance by more than a half. He scrambles back onto his feet and runs with Layla, keeping up with her pace as best he can. He hears the Crobat's dreadful cry once more, close behind him. Mark turns his head, but it makes him lose his balance and fall over. Layla comes down with him.
"MARK!" Layla shouts. The bat lands once more and yells as it coats its fangs in a clear, purple-tinted substance. The two scramble to get up but Mark knows it's too late. He winces and braces for another plunging bite. But instead, he feels an intense heat warm his body.
A great swirling jet of flame consumes the Crobat, roasting them while they squeal in agony. The stream stops just short of Mark's feet. The Golbat flails and runs blindly out of the stream and off the edge in their panic. Through the clear gem, Mark and Layla watch the flaming ball fall; its pyre creates a kaleidoscope of orange and red as it passes every numerous crystal until it becomes among the many distant gleams itself.
Mark lets out a hefty sigh and collapses right where he is. He pants, loosens his muscles, and empties his head. Layla giggles and sits down to rub his head. "Hey hero, we're still not alone you know~"
"Huh?" Mark says. He rolls his eyes loosely to where the flaming figure below was. They're close enough to present a silhouette in the ring of fire. This pokemon had a long body with stubby limbs. It's the kind of body Mark thinks would prefer to be on all fours.
"Hey! I saved you~" a charming and proud voice speaks out from the darkness. The stranger walks in range of their torchlight, revealing him to be a Quilava. He has a bold, adventurous look on his face, and a pouch hanging on a tightly-wrapped belt around his waist. A simple, thick-banded silver ring hangs from his right ear. He has no torch.
Mark forces himself to sit up. He hears Layla tap her free claw against the crystal surface.
"That's great and all but we had to distract them while you hit them in the back! Plus, jury's out on if you actually saved us, Mark here is a tough boy. But you did save us from a bunch of fighting and pain, I'm thankful for that~" Layla responds cheekily.
"Hey! Give me some credit!" he snaps back.
"I just did! You hit a pokemon while its back was turned to you!" Layla says, winking to him. "You gotta do a bit more for me to shower you with the praise you want~"
Mark interjects. "Uhh, thank you! You really helped us! I may have been poisoned if it weren't for you."
Layla shuffles next to him and drops an arm across his shoulders. "Okay, this guy's nice enough to give you praise, so you better be happy. He's so sweet isn't he?"
The Quilava chuckles. "Yeah, it's fine, what he said was plenty. Whatcha two doing down here?" He sits down, which barely changes his height.
Layla folds her arms. "There's a lost child in this dungeon, we're finding her."
The Quilava folds his own arms as well. "Oh? Millie?"
Layla nods proudly. "Yup".
He smirks. "Me too. Only one of us can claim the reward. Sorry to say love, but it'll be me"
Layla stands up, and walks to him with sass, holding a claw on her hip. "I'm the best adventurer in the whole underground, and I got my handpicked partner. You wouldn't be able to beat us in a fight, or even just me alone!"
The Quilava gets up and opens his arms. "Yes, yes I can! I'll do it right now!"
They're both grinning wide.
Mark buts in. "Guys! Guys, we should keep this about saving the child. If we work together, we can split the reward…"
"NO!" they both shout, and they both charge at each other. Mark smacks his forehead. When he dares look back up, the ice- and fire-types are rolling on the crystal, wrestling and slipping weak strikes in. They precariously approach the edge many times, but they always roll back just in time. It shortens Mark's lifespan each time it happens though.
"Please, stop!" Mark shouts. They ignore him and continue to battle it on the slope. Mark gives up.
The Quilava pins Layla, and he spits a short stream of fire. It singes the tip of Layla's feather. "Nice try!" she shouts, bashing her knee between his legs. His wincing suffering is the opening she needs to throw him off. They wrestle more, and finally, Layla ends up on top of him. She's wrapped an arm around his neck, and pressing it in tight while he hacks and coughs.
"Mark! Look! I got him! I'm so awesome, aren't I!?" Layla says, beaming with pride and a black eye.
"Yeah, uh, that sure is great! Keep it up? …Please don't kill him." Mark says.
"Thanks. I won't." Layla says calmly.
Eventually, the Quilava's paw taps the crystal's surface. Layla lets go, and he escapes, breathing heavily. He's banged up too, having received a bruise on his eyebrow and scratches along his chest. They're both grinning wider than when they started.
"You're good!" he commends. "Who are you?"
"Hey! Who are you! You lost, so you tell us first!" Layla says.
He chuckles and gives a two-finger salute. "I'm Jace, the dashing explorer. I don't have that great of a reputation just yet."
"And we're Layla and Mark of Team Surface, the best mercenary team in the whole underground. We're going to find the surface. You can join too, hotshot".
Jace chuckles, wiping some blood off his chin. "I'll think about it, that's a good offer. But, I'm going to find this kid first anyways, sorry. Later!" He turns tail and dashes down the crystal on all fours. His flames illuminate a few crystal spires as he flees, and then he jumps off to somewhere below.
"Come on Mark! This is important!" Layla says, grabbing his arm and forcing him up.
"Eh?"
"We can't have our first mission end with a failure! Let's go save the child!"
Mark doesn't like competition but can't disagree with Layla. It'd be nice to accomplish something, especially after the last two days.
"Yes. Let's go!".
She chuckles. Then the two jog down the crystal. When they find their next path below them, they plunge further down.