"You two have mail," Niles noted on seeing the little ones the next morning.
Arashi immediately perked up, while Astrid only blinked while wondering what else could've been sent to them that wasn't already included in their team starter kit. Kaminari stowed a few items in a bag and moved a few out to the baskets on the shelves, while Niles seemed to be combing some more documents. One was set off to the side and unopened.
Arashi hopped over and jumped up on the table as fast as he could while wearing an excited grin plastered on his face, the Dartrix skittering along too and flapping her wings so she wouldn't get left in the dust for seeing what the matter was. Niles nudged the untouched (and somewhat classy-looking) envelope to them, chuckling.
"Really?! Just for us?!" the Froakie exclaimed happily. "I didn't think that would happen so soon!"
"Just for you," said his father. "Lucy dropped it off earlier and she was just ecstatic that your team was coming along so swimmingly."
Arashi let out a happy cry and clapped his hands together, making quick work of the outer cover on the letter. Sure enough, "To Team Starstorm" was displayed on the front. The rest of the contents were scrawled out to look rather crisp, but a few scratches on the page told them that the individual behind it probably had some rather sharp claws that got in the way. Two intent eyes scanned over every word.
"To those known as Astrid and Arashi-
"I too am familiar with Salem and her deeds, of which I have witnessed firsthand. If what I have heard is correct, you are some of the few to escape from Salem and her syndicate, and perhaps the only ones to escape without grievous injury. First, I must commend you for this, as this is why you have caught my attention. I am not at liberty to divulge much for concern of exposure, but I have an urgent matter involving her and one of her subordinates- the one that has since been identified as 'Zariel'- that I simply cannot ignore.
"Please, please lend me your assistance. I am convinced you are the only ones that can help me, and the odds of anyone getting hurt are slim if all goes well. I have taken up at Lake Lucent in the interim, which if I recall correctly, is not too far of a distance from your hometown should you head southeast. You can find me at the bottom, and we can talk it over if you wish. I will recognize you when I see your badges; I am in a vulnerable position and cannot give you identification in a written form for risk of exposure.
"-The Lord of the Lake (forgive my pseudonym, it was not my idea)."
The two in question looked at each other.
"Let's do it!" Arashi happily exclaimed. "It's literally got every aspect of a perfect mission! We can't let this go!"
Astrid was still poring over the words, examining each one carefully. "You think so…? I think we're missing a lot of information here, but… I guess that's why they want to talk…"
"We should talk!" Arashi wasn't dissuaded. "What's the worst that can happen? It's too risky and we back down? I don't see a downside!"
The Dartrix thought for a moment, but didn't quite come up with any objections that warranted being voiced. The letter surprised her, that was for certain, but it did indeed read like someone needing help that they simply couldn't ignore. As much as she did not wish to be involved with Salem and her violent escapades, she was nonetheless involved whether she wanted to be or not… and this Pokémon sending them such a request likely felt the same. At least, that much was indicated on the page.
"… You're right; we should hear them out first… They sound like they're in a bad place," Astrid concurred. "Do you know where Lake Lucent is?"
Her comrade nodded. "Sure do!"
"Oh? Did someone contact you specifically?" Kaminari inquired, stowing a few Oran berries away.
"Yeah, they heard about our run-in with Zariel and wanna talk to us!" the Froakie happily answered. "Hah, we're gonna be famouuuuuuuus!"
Arashi seemed like he would burst with excitement, and Astrid couldn't help but be just a bit hesitant… Being well-known likely carried with it the ability to get answers with ease, but in any case, the idea of being 'famous' itself certainly didn't appeal to her in the slightest. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
"Well, that settles what we're doing today," Arashi happily declared, tucking the letter under one arm and jumping down.
Indeed it did, Astrid supposed.
Before long they were making their way across the beach and up the steps, the letter stowed away in the bag.
"So… is this place a dungeon? And is it going to be a problem that I'm not aquatic?" Astrid inquired.
"Yes, and probably not," Arashi replied. "Last I heard, it was less than twenty floors, so nothing extreme. And don't let the name fool you- a lot of water dungeons have things like 'lake,' 'sea,' and 'abyss' in their names, but most of them aren't submerged. Think of places like Tranquil Tunnel and Chasm Edge, but with a lot more pools and probably a lot of puddles on the ground. It's probably a hassle to get to them if you're not a Water-type, but you have wings, so you can just fly."
"So most of them aren't submerged? How can we tell if this one is? I mean, hiding underwater seems like a good way to keep a Braixen or Delphox away, but…"
The Froakie didn't seem concerned. "I'd remember something like that. I'm the only one in our friend group that'd be able to handle it, after all!"
"A-ah, that's true…"
"We can always ask Kecleon if he has a Drought Orb to keep just in case," Arashi mused. "Those dry up all the liquid on a floor, so in the event an Octillery or something drags you into its pool, we won't have to worry!"
Astrid's eyes shot wide open at the mentioned of being dragged into a pool, and she gave her comrade a perturbed look. "H-has that ever happened?!"
Arashi giggled. "Of course it has! Not often, and not to a lot of teams, but it has!"
If that misfortune befell her, she already had a string of curses ready, but she decided not to give the scenario too much thought. Nonetheless, once they reached the top of the steps, their attention was grabbed yet again.
"YOU GUYS!" called a certain Croagunk.
They looked up, and Trixie came bolting towards them with what looked like a torn-out newspaper article bunched up in one hand. Charlie and Lila weren't too far behind, but they were far less hurried.
"What's up?" Arashi called.
Trixie unfurled the page and pointed at a certain headline with a big grin. "You guys did wind up in the headlines, ehehe~"
The Froakie's face was soon plastered with a gigantic grin, and he snatched the article out of her hands. "Really?!"
"W-what?!" Astrid cried uncertainly.
Astrid quickly huddled next to her comrade and peered down at the page, instantly catching sight of the large text reading "Subordinate of Salem Identified and Defeated in Battle- Still at Large."
"That is quite a head start you've got there," Charlie remarked.
"Here's your lucky break for your idols to notice you, Arashi," Lila chuckled.
Arashi seemed absolutely thrilled at the idea, while Astrid had other thoughts. Nonetheless, the both of them carefully read every word.
"Just two days ago, a subordinate of the notorious criminal, arsonist, and disrupter of the peace Salem was fully identified- Zariel, a female Charizard with the known moves of Flamethrower, Air Slash, Dragon Breath, and Mega Punch, who had previously evaded all attempts at apprehension. She had reportedly been camping around the area of Overgrown Crevice, and had taken a resident of nearby Tranquil Town, Cobalt the Heracross, hostage for at least a day. Current evidence suggests that Zariel was responsible for several cases of Pokémon venturing out to Overgrown Crevice only to be ambushed and knocked out, as she had indicated being sent by Salem to guard the now-defunct evolution spot previously hidden away in the crevice. A newly formed team going by the moniker of Team Starstorm set out to rescue Cobalt, and the members were promptly confronted by Zariel, whom they ended up engaging in battle. The Charizard, while formidable, was eventually defeated owing to the team's strategy of causing the rainclouds in the area to open up to sway the fight in their favor. The injuries sustained by Team Starstorm were minor. However, while Zariel was defeated and left out in the rain (a state most uncomfortable for a Fire-type), she yet again escaped. Her current whereabouts are unknown."
Arashi's face only grew more and more excited as her read it, while Astrid was glad that 'Team Starstorm' was as far as their recognition went.
"Yes! This is perfect!" the Froakie squealed happily, then looking to Astrid, "We've gotta keep this up! Expedition Coalition, here we come!"
The Dartrix gave him an odd look. "You don't mean keep up with almost getting killed, do you…?"
"If it happens, it happens!" was the nonchalant answer.
Astrid had a much different opinion, but didn't deem it something to be vocalized. The others didn't seem to be too concerned either.
"Say, what're you two up to today?" Lila inquired.
"Well, we actually got a request from someone specifically looking for us, so we're heading off to Lake Lucent," Arashi responded.
That got Trixie to perk up and skip closer, getting a big (and slightly shifty) grin. "You got room for one more~?" the Croagunk chirped, batting her eyes and nudging up to them.
"Well, the one that contacted us seemed like they wanted to keep it confidential," the Froakie noted. "But don't worry! Next time, you can come with us!"
"For someone calling them useless posers, you sure do seem interested in their business," Charlie jested.
"So long as I'm not the one wearing overly fancy badges with an overly fancy team name, I don't care," Trixie brushed him off. "I just like jabbing things, okay~?"
Arashi shot her a side-eye for her derision of their team name, and Trixie only grinned flippantly.
Nonetheless, with their friends tagging along, the Starstorm duo made their way over to the Kecleon Shop to stock up before departing, Arashi tucking the newspaper clipping away in the bag for safe-keeping (or perhaps to stow it with Adnea's letter, or whip it out should they have stumbled across his idols, as Astrid thought was a far more likely reason to hold onto it). Nez gave them all a wave and his usual happy greeting as they strode past, the Nidoking (very carefully) straightening out some petals on a flower in his window box.
"Welcome to the Kecleon Shop~" the purple one sang upon them approaching the countertop.
"How can we help you~?" said the green one.
"Well, me and Astrid are about to head out on a mission to Lake Lucent," the Froakie said. "Do you have any Drought Orbs?"
"Of course~" replied the green Kecleon, "How many would you like?"
Arashi glanced at the Dartrix. "How many are you thinking? One is probably enough, but do you think we should get two just to be safe?"
Astrid nodded. "It can't hurt."
"Alright, we'll take two of those and three apples," said the Froakie.
"That comes to 360.~ Is that agreeable~?"
"Sure is!"
Arashi opened up the bag and plopped the coins down, to which the green Kecleon scurried off into the back to fetch the items requested.
The purple one turned his attention to them. "Say, you aren't venturing off to apprehend Salem, are you~?" he mused.
Arashi giggled. "No, of course not! Zariel was a hassle as it was!"
"I bet you could beat Salem, Kecleon," Lila chimed in. "Just unleash the swarms and she'd be down in ten seconds!"
The purple one laughed. "Oh, I'm sure, Lila~ But that would involve not running the Kecleon Shop, which is never an agreeable thing to do~"
Astrid, however, studied them, a bit confounded by the musings being thrown around. "E-er, K-Kecleon… A-are you really that strong…?"
Charlie put a hand on her wing, giving her a serious look that somewhat surprised her. "Don't ask. You don't wanna know."
Kecleon, however, didn't seem too fazed. "Well, if she ever decided to steal my precious merchandise, I suppose I would find out~" the purple one chirped. "She might be a heinous criminal, but thankfully, she is not a thief~"
That… gave Astrid an indication, and certainly told her that it was an issue she didn't want to press. By the sounds of it, being a thief was worse than being Salem, but she elected not to ponder what, precisely, those connotations entailed, for it sounded like a total mess.
In any case, the green Kecleon returned with the purchased items in his arms and set them down, to which Arashi placed them in the bag.
"Thanks, Kecleon!" said the Froakie.
"Thank you for your business~" the green one chirped.
"Alright, so that's one chestnut, three apples, three Oran berries, two Drought Orbs, and one Pure Seed," Arashi noted. "We should be good to go!"
Astrid nodded, and their bunch turned to leave, Arashi heading for the town's eastern boundary and Astrid close behind.
"So who are you going to meet, eh?" Trixie inquired.
"Well, they call themselves the Lord of the Lake since they can't give out much information, and apparently the name wasn't their idea," the Froakie answered.
At that, the Croagunk couldn't help but snicker. "Pffft, at least they didn't come up with it! That's almost as bad as Team Starst-ffghhshh!"
Her remark was cut short when Charlie's tail-hand reached over and muffled it.
"You're great, Charlie," Arashi remarked.
The Aipom grinned while Trixie shoved his tail away and shot him a dirty, but still flippantly shifty, look.
"So I'm taking Veeko out near the meadow to practice his moves later, and Rina's probably gonna tag along with him too," Lila mused. "You guys can come with me if you want, and Astrid and Arashi, you guys can meet us out there if we're gone by the time you get back, if you're feeling up to it after your mission."
"I got nothing better to do," Charlie said with a shrug.
"I'll finish off whatever Veeko can't," Trixie giggled.
"So the little guy's coming along?" Arashi inquired.
The Jolteon got a bit of a hapless look, letting out a slight sigh. "He's still afraid of using Tackle," she said, shaking her head. "I don't care if he's not a fighter, but he better know how to do it if he gets into a bad situation while he's out playing again and no one else is around. And if Rina comes with him, I'm telling her to Peck some Budews. I figure Verdant Meadow is a lot less serious than a proper dungeon so maybe he won't be as freaked out."
"You're a good older sibling," Arashi noted, giving her a glance.
The Jolteon chuckled. "Thanks."
The water's edge near Tranquil Tunnel wasn't stirring so much save for a few Magikarps that jumped about further from the shore, but their ripples weren't all that strong nonetheless. A lone Corphish scuttled about on the muddy edge, only giving them a quick glance before deciding the water was a better place to be and ambling off beneath the surface.
The Froakie paused, studying the horizon a bit. "Okay, so we can cut the trip short if we fly straight from here in about… that direction," Arashi mused, pointing out over the water and slightly to the left.
Astrid nodded. "Fine by me."
"Come back in one piece," Trixie remarked.
Arashi chuckled, and Lila rolled her eyes.
"If we're not in one piece, I doubt we'd be coming back," the Froakie chuckled.
Astrid spread her wings out and took a few flaps before swooping her comrade up.
"Be safe, guys!" Charlie called.
"See you later!" Arashi called back.
Soon the three they had left behind grew smaller and smaller and turned into little blobs of color against the landscape, while the water overtook any scenery down below. A rather large silhouette was visible beneath the surface from their vantage point, which Astrid guessed was a Gyarados from its serpentine shape, and several more- probably that of Tentacruel or Seaking- buzzed about just low enough to not be entirely discerned. A Floatzel drifted about on its back, splashing at a Buizel that seemed to be pestering it.
The water's edge was more easily visible to their west (where apparently Craggy Crossroads and the Expedition Coalition were situated someplace further away), for it collided with the edge of another dense array of trees that seemed to encircle it on that side, but to the east, the shore line was entirely invisible someplace beyond the horizon. South from Tranquil Town, a similarly treed coast could be faintly made out, but it was far off in the distance.
"So I'm guessing if we didn't fly, we'd have to go all the way around on one side…?" Astrid inquired, making note of the scenery.
"Yep," Arashi answered. "And that's a real pain. If you go west and you're not careful, you'll hit dungeons. If you go east, you'll be walking for a loooooong time. I honestly don't know any of the terrain towards Craggy Crossroads, so I'd probably try to take a shortcut somewhere and land us in a dungeon, which would be a pain when we're aiming for Lake Lucent as it is!"
She chuckled. "Your idols are based there but you don't know about the surroundings? What're you gonna do if they recruit us?"
"Hey! I know about the important things, like how amazing Rush and Rozen are, alright?!"
Astrid didn't protest that assertion.
A tiny Wingull flock glided about, but thankfully didn't seem too bothered by a random Dartrix and Froakie passing through. There was nothing but water underneath them, a vast blue expanse of uniformity save for an occasional Splashing Magikarp.
"Are Gyarados very common out here…?" Astrid inquired.
"They're there, but you hardly ever see them, mostly because evolving for a Magikarp is all but impossible," her teammate answered. "Once, someone passing through claimed they saw a red one… but c'mon! That's practically unheard of! What're the odds?"
"Pretty low, right?"
"Insanely low, as cool as that would be!"
Seeing one might be cool… as long as the odds of getting Hyper Beamed by it were as low as the odds of one existing, which Astrid doubted. No, if one was out there, she'd let it have its space. It probably wouldn't be too thrilled at having its color gawked at, anyway.
The shore line got closer and closer and Tranquil Beach became little more than a blip someplace behind them. Astrid still scanned their surroundings, though she didn't see much worth noting. The water was little more than a giant blue blanket, and the trees conglomerated together into what looked like a fluffy green mass covering the land. What looked like a river wound around in the distance with some swampy-seeming terrain enclosing its sides, a rather stark contrast to the sandy and earth-colored crags that predominantly made up Tranquil Town's surroundings.
"Look around here," Arashi noted. "Lake Lucent should be pretty easy to spot. It's the only lake in the area."
"Ah…"
She did so, and a little further into the solid terrain when the sea was behind them, what looked to be another edge to a large (but not as large) body of water crept into view. The ground around it was rather marshy and muddy, and the perimeter was covered in dense cattails.
"There it is!" Arashi declared. "Look for the dungeon opening!"
"Alright."
The lake itself was fairly big, and the dense cattails almost seemed to form a small forest themselves in some areas. A few Psyducks ambled about on the shore, interspersed with the occasional scurrying Wooper or Palpitoad. The dungeon entrance appeared to be in the middle of a small island in the center of the lake, which was muddy and seemingly held together by a tangle of grass that struggled to stay above the water itself. Amid the mud and marsh, the ground opened up into a crater that seemed to lead straight down, and wherever it lead to wasn't easily visible. Astrid made for it and glided down to it, carefully fluttering to the crater's edge.
After landing, the both of them peeked over the drop.
"This is it… right…?" Astrid wasn't so sure. "Is the dungeon… down there?"
"Must be," Arashi mused, then looking around, "Hey! Lord of the Lake! You're not out here, are you?"
No response came, save for a confused Wooper's cry.
"I'm flying down there," Astrid declared. "If there's a pool down there, you'll touch it first and tell me how deep it is, and if there's not, we won't get wrecked by gravity if the drop is too far."
"Sounds like a plan," Arashi was in agreement.
Yet again the Dartrix was swooping up her comrade, and into the crater they went, Astrid carefully fluttering as gradually as she could. It wasn't too far down, but the crater's shadows definitely shrouded their view for longer than she would've liked, and the air felt oddly hollow.
"Okay! There's ground here!" Arashi called.
The Dartrix turned loose of him and landed herself, instantly noticing the dampness underfoot. It was solid rock that they stood on, but it was covered in a thin film of liquid. A quick glance up revealed that they were in a dome-shaped room with the crater letting in all the light that they could see with, which while at least sufficient, still left them shrouded in a dimness. The walls were made of dark brown sandstone which was cracked in a few places to let small streams trickle down to the floor, a great number of them over a much larger opening that lead into total darkness.
"… For a place called Lake Lucent, it's not very lucent," Astrid remarked.
"Oh, I'm sure there's a reason," Arashi didn't mind too much. "Maybe if we came back at night, we'd see."
That sounded reasonable, but Astrid doubted they'd ever be doing that. Nonetheless, they both approached the bigger opening.
"You know, this does seem like a pretty good hideout, being at the bottom of a lake and all…" Astrid mused, still glancing around. "I wonder why they're hiding…"
"If I'd made Zariel mad, I'd probably hide here too," Arashi chuckled. "But I guess our situation is a little different, aha!"
At that, Astrid paused, struck by a sudden thought. "H-hey, Arashi…?"
He paused too, giving her a glance. "What's up?"
She thought for a moment, trying to get her exact thoughts in order. "Are you… Are you really okay with this?"
The Froakie studied her inquisitively, tilting his head to the side. "Okay with what?"
"This entire thing with Salem. It's me she wants, and, w-well… I guess what I'm getting at is-… S-so, it's that…"
She wasn't quite sure how to put it, jumbling over several sentences in an attempt to find the right one while none seemed to work. The more she thought it out, the more there appeared to be, and putting it all in order wasn't going well. Her beak opened and closed a few times, but little more than the very beginning of a word came out, and she stared at the ground while trying to find the exact ones.
Arashi, on the other hand, got a slightly amused look and hopped closer, sticking a hand on her wing and still studying her. "What're you saying?" he giggled. "That this has nothing to do with me since she wants you?"
Astrid's gaze snapped up, her comrade's remark spurring her on. "Yes! I mean, maybe I haven't been here for very long in comparison to everyone else, but it's plainly obvious that Salem is an awful Pokémon! I mean, I get that you wanna be an expeditioner and everything, but if things had gone even slightly different with Zariel, I would be dead and you probably would've followed!" she blurted out, just letting the sounds tumble out in a slight hurry. "I don't know why I'm here and I don't know what the hell Salem wants with me, but I don't have a choice in the matter! You do! And that's not to say I don't like being on a team with you or being your friend, but…! Look, all I'm saying is, I'd be screwed without you and your parents, so if something happens because of me, I'd…"
"You'd feel bad."
"… Exactly."
A flustered sigh left her beak, and her feathers ruffled up as if she were trying to sink into them. She almost wanted to, but that of course was impossible. Arashi still gave her an amused look, not fazed in the slightest.
"I think that's the most words I've ever heard you say at once," the Froakie laughed.
A subdued squawk of discomfort left the Dartrix, Astrid directing her gaze to the side. Arashi giggled, giving her wing a pat again.
"Relax- it's alright!" he laughed. "And yes, I am okay with this!"
Astrid looked back to her comrade. "R-really…?"
"Of course!" was the easy reply, "If I was gonna back out, don't you think I'd have done it already?"
She deflated. He probably would have, Astrid assumed...
"Sure, Zariel almost killing you and saying I was next was… kinda scary, but c'mon!" the Froakie brushed it off, "Plain and simple, it's been fun with you around! I get to be friends with a crazy-rare human in the form of a fluffy avian, I got to meet my idols, we got our team in the headlines, and even if it involves Salem, that's alright! No one ever makes a mark on history by staying away from trouble, and if you got sent here to save the world, then I'm glad I get to go along with you! As far as I'm concerned, Astrid, I am living the dream right now!"
She deflated even more, and her eyes drooped just a bit. "Really…?"
"Yes!"
The Froakie threw his arms around her, and she fluffed out for just a second in surprise before regaining her composure and sticking her wings around him too.
The Dartrix let out a heavy breath, musing, "Well, if whoever sent me screwed up according to Salem, this is one thing they didn't botch… They couldn't have picked me a better partner…"
"Hey, that's what I've been saying this entire time!" Arashi laughed.
Astrid's beak curled up just a bit at their edges before they drew back.
"C'mon, let's go find the Lord of the Lake and ask what's going on," Arashi mused.
She wasn't in disagreement. Shortly, the two of them were vanishing into the cavern's darkness.
