Astrid's beak fell open, and her eyes shot as wide as they could go in sheer disbelief. Azure's claws rammed straight through her comrade's front and out of his back, one through an eye and the other through his chest. The bag Arashi carried went clattering to the ground with a severed strap, the ink blots joined by splotches of blood. Astrid could hardly register the scene before her as being real, but the red streaks on the Golisopod's claws and the bright red droplets falling to the dull ground grabbed her mind and refused to let go.
"Ngh-…! Yiah…!" Arashi gasped faintly, the bubbles about his neck taking a crimson hue.
"She chose you? Pathetic," Azure said flatly, staring straight at the Froakie.
The Dartrix, however, finally managed to close her beak and get a grip, but the only word she could shriek out was, "Arashi!"
She darted for Azure with a mishmash of flying and running, her mind moving far faster than she could get her limbs to, and the Golisopod's gaze fell on her next. He didn't make a move for her, but still eyeing her, he retracted his claws back to turn loose of Arashi and rammed him again with a water-shrouded forearm. The Liquidation smashed the Froakie into the wall, leaving a red splatter on the stone as Arashi's still-intact eye went blank. Shortly, the Froakie was falling into the pool and left only a ripple and a bit of red-tinted foam on the surface, his form vanishing in the water.
Azure laughed a gravelly laugh. "Nice try."
Astrid let out a sound somewhere between a horrified scream and a screech of fury, her beak trying to tear into the Golisopod's softer flesh under the silver plate of his back arm, but another Liquidation from his other clawed appendage made her flit backwards and land where she had originally stood. In any case, her eyes stayed locked on the reddish puff of bubbles where her comrade had vanished into the water, and very soon tears were streaking from her eyes. Arashi wasn't emerging, and she had a distinct feeling he wouldn't, not with what Azure had just dealt. She wanted to go diving in and drag her teammate back out, then at least try shoving an Oran berry in his mouth, but Azure's claws flashed back into view and didn't retreat. She'd have to get past the Golisopod to do so… and while she had half a mind to try, her comrade's blood on his claws disturbed her more than anything.
That sticky red liquid belonged to her partner, her friend, someone who cared deeply about her and she in turn cared deeply about. And that partner was gone, because the emissary standing between her and the pool had wanted the human, which she was.
Her feathers ruffled out and her eyes shot between the Golisopod, the red bubbles, and the lone way out of the dungeon. She didn't have any time to think about escaping, for the next moment, Azure turned to face the exit with a whitish glowing clawed hand that he raised towards the ceiling, causing some of the rocks and stalactites at the end of the room to likewise glow, then fall in a Rock Slide. Whatever hopes she may have had of quickly making her escape were sealed off along with the tunnel's opening.
Astrid whimpered, eyes huge and staying primarily on the pool but still darting up at the emissary every few seconds. Azure took a few steps closer to her.
"L-let's talk about this, alright?!" the Dartrix bleated out, pure dismay in her countenance. "You just killed my partner; I don't wanna fight anymore…!"
"Good," Azure said, studying her.
Astrid buried her face in her wings and let out another screech. "I'm sorry, Arashi…! I'm so sorry…!"
There wasn't any venue left to run away through. She couldn't even tell her friend goodbye. This… this must've been what happened to anyone opposing Salem, what would probably happen to the others she was fond of if she went back to them… Maybe, had she been just an ordinary citizen of this world, she would've thought differently, but this attack didn't happen for no reason. It was because of her. She didn't like that thought… and she especially didn't like the possibilities her mind conjured up of what might happen if she didn't stop it from happening again. Maybe… maybe joining Salem was the better option.
Astrid snapped back up when she felt something touching her head, and she shortly noted that it was one of Azure's claws giving her what looked like a friendly pat. Her friend's blood still streaking off of it made her recoil and whimper in perturbed uncertainty.
"Don't mourn what isn't useful to you," the Golisopod said gently. "There are plenty of better partners out there. We'll get you a new one."
She shook her head, trying to wipe the red liquid off of her feathers. "I don't want another one…!" she choked out. "What is it Salem wants?! Can't someone tell me already?! You're right; I can't run forever, and if it stops other Pokémon from getting hurt, then I'll…!"
Another pat from Azure, which she squeaked at in discomfort. She didn't like the friendly gestures from one who had just deceived and threatened them, and she certainly didn't like having the blood of her friend repeatedly flashed in front of her face.
"My apologies; I have been told not to discuss specifics until you are firmly within Salem's grip, which you currently are not," Azure answered, two of his front claws clicking together. "The only reason I have told you even my name thus far is because I am certain you cannot escape. It's to keep things covert, inconvenient as it may be."
Astrid whimpered, staring at the water.
"But, I do believe I am at liberty to speak of several aspects," the armored one noted. "Have you met with your sender? As in, the one who sent you to this world? I assume they would be trying to contact you."
The Dartrix carefully mulled over her response, her attention still mostly on whatever remained of Arashi on the water's surface and not anything else. She had been contacted by someone, that was for sure… But still, she shook her head no.
"… Well, I assume their attempts have been unsuccessful. That seems par also," Azure brushed it off. "But that too is due to Salem's involvement. Truthfully, she would prefer you alive so you can be of use to her, but so long as you do not get in her way, she is satisfied. Zariel may have been itching to let loose and splatter you across the wall, but I… I don't prefer such methods."
If there was anything to be thankful for, that was it. As bleak and unpleasant as the situation was already, the fact that Azure wasn't going to murder them even more violently than he'd attacked Arashi was a benefit, low of a bar as it may have been. She thought of the static-laden voice in her dreams, and if that stress-induced static was due to Salem's involvement… It was an answer, as unpleasant of an answer as it may have been.
However, something caught her eye in the pool. A slight… glimmer. Something was illuminating the water below the surface, but she couldn't tell what it was. Maybe with a name like 'Lake Lucent,' the pools were apt to occasionally glow. Azure didn't notice it with his back turned to it, and Astrid was too focused on the dissipating red foam to care.
"I can tell you're intelligent, Astrid," the Golisopod continued. "So tell me… If this world is going to be subdued one way or another, would you not prefer to be at the top? Salem is willing to let you take a position at her side, provided that you don't go against her."
Another whimper escaped her beak. Salem didn't seem like anyone she'd ever want to be at the side of, especially not with the happenings she'd just witnessed, but Azure's talk of subduing the world concerned her more than anything. He made it sound as if there was no other option, though she scrambled to think of some.
Something else in the pool caught her eye- more bubbles, and not red-tinted ones. The glow faded, and the next moment, a hand reached up, but not that of a Froakie. No… The fingers were too flat, and the hand was too big.
"I-I j-just want to know…" Astrid stammered, carefully watching the water, "W-what if… W-what if I said no a-and went against her…?"
The Golisopod clicked his claws again, studying her. "Well, that would leave two options."
Something else emerged after the hand- a head, predominantly a darker blue but with a lighter blue underside and eyelids. The bubbles were still there, but more akin to a scarf than a cape… Astrid's eyes shot wide again at seeing a Frogadier peeking back at her.
Without making a sound but still grinning happily, Arashi held one finger in front of his mouth in a shushing gesture, and Astrid too didn't make the surprised cry she otherwise would have. Her friend was alive- that in and of itself changed several factors. She couldn't have been gladder, but she didn't dare show it with Azure watching her.
"See, the most apparent option would be to kill you," Azure calmly explained. "But Salem, you, and I myself don't prefer that option. It would be a terrible waste."
Indeed, she didn't like that option. She would have whimpered if she hadn't been more intent on watching Arashi carefully slink out of the pool, not making so much as a splash. It was just a bit odd, Astrid had to think, watching her comrade walk about on two legs after seeing him hop everywhere… but Arashi didn't seem bothered at all. Had Azure turned around, he would have seen that his attempt at getting rid of her comrade had failed… but Azure did not.
"The other option…" the Golisopod's voice trailed off, his claws still clicking contemplatively, "is one I can guarantee you will like even less. Losing control of one's mind and body is rarely something that anyone desires, and I can easily tell that you would not enjoy such. But that, of course, would be provided that you continue to defy Salem. It would not be hard once she got ahold of you, and she will, one way or another."
The wanted poster had warned of such- 'suspected to temporarily utilize mind control on some victims for nefarious purposes.' She wasn't surprised that Azure was bringing it up, but as unpleasant as death seemed, being used as a tool seemed fairly bad too… Especially with someone that seemed intent not to let her go anytime soon…
"A-ah…" the Dartrix stammered reluctantly.
She was still watching Arashi, who in turn watched her and Azure while carefully opening up the flap of the bag without making a sound. She didn't know what he was doing, but the mere fact that he was still alive was plenty enough to ease her discomfort somewhat. Azure hadn't taken her partner from her, and she wasn't going to let him succeed if he tried again, either.
"B-but… W-why…?" Astrid squeaked, still watching her friend, "Does she just want me because I got sent here to stop her…?"
Azure shook his head. "That is but a small facet. She would be glad to tell you the full details, but I cannot."
Astrid's eyes drifted up to Azure for a moment, then went back to her comrade. The Frogadier gave her a wink, ever-so-carefully retrieving their Sleep Seed.
"Zariel was right to say that humans-turned-Pokémon are extremely valuable," Azure noted. "But that has less to do with their rarity and more to do with tactical advantage. It scares the vast majority of individuals to find what they're truly capable of… But Salem will make sure you do. Wouldn't you like to know too, Astrid?"
She wasn't so sure, but she didn't have much time to give an answer regardless. Arashi clutched the Sleep Seed in one hand and made a mad dash towards Azure from behind, the scurrying sounds of which did alert Azure to something being amiss, but it was no matter. Azure went to turn around, but before he could do so, Arashi took a big leap and landed atop his head.
"Wha-!" the armored one cried while reaching up with one of his back arms, but was quickly cut off.
Before Azure could do much, Arashi shoved the seed into his mouth, and the emissary's movements came to a screeching halt. Azure's eyes drifted closed, and his arms hung limply at his sides, though he stayed standing in a slightly more hunched posture.
"Whew! I thought I was dead!" Arashi exclaimed, jumping down.
Astrid blinked, looking between the motionless Golisopod and the Frogadier. "I-I did too!" she cried, "I was almost ready to give up after seeing that!"
"Figured out why this place is called Lake Lucent, but you'd only discover Luminous Pool if you could swim. Azure was guarding an evolution spot too! Hah, I got lucky!"
The Dartrix shook her head. "And he's blocked our exit," she noted of the Rock Slide shutting off the only tunnel outwards. "So for now, I guess we're stuck fighting him, since I am not joining Salem if we have a chance."
Arashi nodded. "I didn't think you actually would!"
"We'll talk about this afterwards," the Dartrix declared, shaking some leaves loose from her wings.
Several razor-sharp leaves jabbed into Azure's softer underside, but he didn't budge. Arashi darted back over to the bag and retrieved an Oran berry, which he quickly scarfed down. Astrid figured he too likely wasn't at full health after being near-dead.
"I think I have an idea," Astrid mused, flapping up on Azure's head and delivering a Peck to one eye.
"Shoot," Arashi said before darting out in a Quick Attack.
She Pecked the Golisopod again. "My attacks are most effective here between us, but he has the home turf advantage and I'm betting on him trying to bury us in another Rock Slide or something. He's gonna wake up, and for us to get out, we're gonna have to move those rocks, and that's gonna be a pain either way. There's no way we can do that while he's attacking us, so if I can hang out near the exit, I might get him to displace them with another attack, and we can make a run for it. Really, I'm gonna have to stick way closer to him than I'd like… So can you aim your Water Pulse at his face and throw him off? Neither one of us need to get hit with those claws."
The Frogadier nodded. "Absolutely!"
Astrid delivered another Peck while their target was asleep, not wanting to waste time, but shortly his eyes shot open and instantly Azure's claws were extended back out and going for her. She flapped out of the way, letting out a little squawk of protest. Nonetheless, the Golisopod glanced around while Astrid landed on the rocky ground next to her comrade, and one of his eyelids twitched in pain at having the Dartrix's beak pry at it repeatedly.
Azure's eyes fell on Arashi first. "… You. That was your doing, yes?"
"Sure was!" Arashi replied, crouching down and still grinning. "That felt terrible, but you didn't kill me!"
Azure shook his head. "... I was sure a First Impression alone would be sufficient to permanently subdue you, but I attacked again just to be sure. I suppose I underestimated your willpower to live, and you hung on for just enough time to find the evolution spot."
"Yep!"
"How troublesome. I'm not supposed to let any of you outsiders evolve, and only an aquatic species would find this one… Yet I was so sure I'd solved having an aquatic species present," the Golisopod remarked flatly, then looking at Astrid, "And you. You've gone and attacked me… I suppose calmly talking things over is out of the question."
Her eyes narrowed, and she held one of her wings out at the ready to attack. "… Y-you're terrible. Killing me or taking control of me is the only way I'd join Salem."
Azure contemplatively clicked his front claws together again. "So a battle is the way you'd wish to settle things? I am in my preferred terrain, and you've seen that I do not mind ripping other Pokémon to shreds, messy as it may be. If you lose, and I am sure you will lose… You'll have no recourse. Are you truly willing to make that gamble?"
Her feathers fluffed out in unease, but with still-narrowed eyes, she nodded.
"… Very well, human."
The next moment, Azure rushed at her and she left the ground, while Arashi spit a Water Pulse before leaping aside. Thankfully Azure couldn't make use of First Impression again, but Astrid wasn't fond of the X-Scissor coming her way either as she sent a Razor Leaf. He still had blood on his claws from Arashi, and she wasn't going to add hers to the mix.
"Just don't claim I didn't warn you!" Azure shouted.
Astrid didn't bother replying. The sudden splash of water on his head didn't pain Azure at all, just made his scales look more shiny, but still the tips of his claws brushed up against Astrid's chest and ripped a few feathers loose. She could fly backwards quick enough to avoid the brunt of the damage, but his attack still broke skin under her plumage and it stung. Whether he actually intended to rip anyone to shreds, she didn't know, but she wasn't trying to find out any time soon. Nonetheless, with him closer, she sent another Razor Leaf aimed for his face, but one armored hand reached up and shielded her target. The leaves scratched the silvery plating, but didn't do much else.
"Trying to blind me, are you?"
She was, but seeing as the attempt failed, she flapped towards the end of the room, and Azure shortly turned to follow. Arashi spit another Water Pulse, but one of Azure's clawed hands took a whitish glow and he held it up towards the ceiling, where several of the stalactites overhead took the same colored glow and detached from their positions.
"Why?!" Astrid protested in hapless dismay.
"Oh, jeez!" Arashi cried, looking upwards.
They shortly had plenty of dodging to do, while Azure merely chuckled at their frantic movements and went mostly unscathed himself. The spikes above the Golisopod weren't falling, but whatever little pebbles did come clattering down in his vicinity bounced off of his armor.
"Ngh-!" Astrid cried, getting a wing grazed by one of the stalactites.
Another stone clattered onto her head, making her falter for a second. Arashi spit another Water Pulse while jumping aside of a rocky spike, but Azure simply held up another plated hand and blocked it while the Frogadier too was struck by a rock.
"Owww!" Arashi protested, flinching slightly.
With claws slashing in another X-Scissor, Azure went for Arashi next, but the Frogadier quickly leaped out of the way and only let the Golisopod cleave the air. Astrid stayed put over the pool's edge and sent a Razor Leaf, hoping that Azure would turn back to her and come closer. She wanted to glance back at the exit and see if perhaps there was a nook or cranny that they could use to dislodge enough stones to get free, but figured even a small gesture like that was best left out. Nonetheless, Azure didn't seem too concerned with Arashi and turned back to her next, running closer while one forearm became coated in water. Arashi too darted over to the pool's edge, and Astrid whipped up an Ominous Wind, but the Golisopod only winched a bit at it. A Water Pulse hit Azure's face at the same time he retracted his claws and used Liquidation against the Dartrix, and it did throw him off a bit, but nonetheless it was still too close and Astrid took the blow.
"Ngh-…!" she grunted, a hard thud audible as Azure's forearm slammed into her.
"Sorry!" Arashi exclaimed.
She might have resisted the move, but it sure didn't feel like it and her eyes scrunched up in a pained expression, staying in the air becoming a bit harder. Still, she wasn't going to waste time either, and while the fleshy underside of Azure's armored plate was close to her, she Pecked it.
The Golisopod growled a bit in pain, his eyes narrowing at her, but all the same, he… vanished. His figure was gone entirely, not a trace left behind.
"What?!" Arashi cried, blinking at the spot Azure had just occupied.
Astrid shook her head tiredly, having an idea of what came next. "Be ready."
Without missing a beat, she flew closer to the rocky barrier keeping them captive, hovering just between the edge of the pool and the small strip of solid ground separating it from the wall, then turned around and scanned the room. Arashi didn't ignore her words and glanced about too.
Indeed, Azure was still physically present- albeit closer to where the Starstorm duo had been when they had first entered the floor. His claws were clicking and his eyes were narrowed. "Oh? Did you think I had left you?" said his gravelly voice. "Rest assured, I would never."
Astrid's gaze darted to Arashi. "Use Quick Attack and aim for his back arm plates," she said in a hurry.
Arashi smiled at her, but he definitely looked confused at what she was getting at. Quick Attack had utterly backfired the last time, but nonetheless, he went along with it.
Azure seemed to move too fast to see again, but this time, his First Impression went straight for Astrid… Or at least it would have, if Arashi didn't crash into his forearm and redirect it into a smaller boulder beside the Dartrix just a split second before the claws made contact.
Wham!
Azure's claws went straight through the boulder, making Astrid squawk at being so close. Nonetheless, she sent another Razor Leaf and flitted further away, keeping in the air over the pool. Arashi's eyes went wide too, and he promptly followed in darting back.
"Arceus above! You called that!" the Frogadier exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"Well, maybe he can tell us, but what other purpose does Emergency Exit serve other than to use First Impression again?!" the Dartrix cried, her feathers ruffling up.
Azure only chuckled at them, shaking a few of the sharpened leaves loose and ripping his claws back out of the stone. It became dislodged and rolled to the ground, making a few more become dislodged too and clatter out of place. Astrid couldn't help but notice them… With the ones that had become displaced, the top of the corridor's opening was visible. It was probably enough for Arashi to squeeze out, but to displace one or two more for Astrid to make her escape too was something that just wasn't feasible with their situation. She'd wind up taking another X-Scissor or, the heavens forbid, get buried in another Rock Slide if Azure noticed what she was trying to do.
"You're sharp, Astrid," Azure laughed sardonically, turning back to them.
Nonetheless, again he raised a forearm with a whitish glow, and while they looked up to see if rocks would fall again, it was the ones on the ground that started glowing.
"Oh, come on!" Astrid haplessly cried.
The rocks flew at them, and again they had plenty of dodging to do. Several of the larger boulders made big splashes when they missed Astrid and fell into the pool, and more of them went crashing into the ground as Arashi scurried to avoid them. Another Ominous Wind struck out at the Golisopod, eliciting a growl of discomfort, and also at the Rock Slide remnants on the exit… but the stones didn't move hardly at all. Still, while fluffed out in fright at the thought of getting close, Astrid flapped closer to their target. She dove down to deliver a Peck while Arashi spit a Water Pulse, and their target couldn't avoid Astrid's move in time while trying to block them both with an armored plate. Nonetheless, an X-Scissor followed shortly, which Astrid barely flapped out of the way of.
Just a bit more, just a bit more… If Azure was down on his health, maybe they could win. They weren't permanently blocked in, but getting out would be no easy feat, either… Astrid didn't think she could take another attack, and her gaze drifted to the stained remains of their bag where one last Oran berry was. She sent another Razor Leaf and darted over to it.
"Just a second!" she called to her comrade.
"Go on!" Arashi called back.
Her feet peeled the flap back as she landed, and fast as she could move, she picked the berry up with her beak and tore a few chunks of its light blue flesh out. She began feeling better instantly.
Azure, however, went for Arashi as the nearest target, not thinking too much of the Dartrix.
"Your partner is one matter, but you…" Azure mused flatly, going for an X-Scissor.
The Frogadier's Quick Attack made it miss, and made the Golisopod stumble a bit. Azure's front two claws jabbed inwards at Arashi on the Frogadier making contact, but it was to no avail too as Arashi quickly sprang back again.
"… You're just outright irritating," the Golisopod remarked tiredly. "Innocuous, but irritating."
"At least I'm not you!" Arashi wasn't too fazed.
Astrid perked back up and immediately set her gaze on Azure again, but she didn't attack straight away. He seemed more intent on catching Arashi in another X-Scissor, but her comrade instead jumped into the pool and came out on the side closer to her. Azure ran around the pool's perimeter after him and tried it again.
That… was fine. They had a way out, it just needed to stay that way, and any more Rock Slides in the vicinity might mess it up.
She didn't attack straight away, but skittered a bit closer to the wall that Azure wasn't facing.
"Yiah!" Arashi cried, taking one of Azure's hits.
The Golisopod's claws left some red-streaked scratch marks on Arashi's front, which of course pained the Frogadier, but Arashi was still standing and spit another Water Pulse.
Astrid, however, flapped up behind Azure… then promptly dove down onto his head and Pecked one eye as hard as she could muster.
"AGH-!" Azure shouted.
Arashi winced as well when another red trickle dripped down from Azure's eye. "What is it with you and going for the eyes?!" he exclaimed, shivering a bit.
A Liquidation smashed into the Dartrix, and while it indeed hit far harder than she hoped, she didn't mind too much and sent another Razor Leaf while falling to the ground. She caught herself with a flutter of her wings.
One of Azure's front claws went to his eye, putting a bit of pressure on it. "I too would like to know," he said in a tired breath.
"Oh, I'd like to know a lot of things," Astrid shot back, completely unamused while stirring up an Ominous Wind.
It wasn't an attack that could be avoided, as much as her target might have liked to.
"Nghhh..!" Azure grunted as it hit.
Fairly quickly, it became apparent that the Golisopod had little strength left, for he stumbled and fell in a hunching heap on the ground with one clawed forearm shakily outstretched toward them. It too went limp shortly.
Arashi blinked, eyes a bit wide but a grin creeping across his face. "… H-hey! Did we win?!"
"Agh…!" came Azure's gravelly voice, however subdued it was.
Astrid let another Razor Leaf go. Azure fell silent, not moving at all.
"… We did now," the Dartrix said flatly. "And frankly, between the beast, Zariel, and this guy… I'm not sure which one I like the least."
Her comrade gave her a hapless smile. "Well, between getting impaled, and getting impaled and roasted, I'll take just plain old getting impaled!"
She couldn't disagree with that sentiment. "Let's get out of here. I don't wanna be anywhere close when he comes to."
Arashi nodded, sticking one arm across the scratch marks, and both of them scurried over to the exit. Astrid flapped up to the stones on top, while Arashi grabbed the remnants of the bag before following after her. A few of the smaller rocks went tumbling down the moment the Dartrix perched on the upper layer.
"I think you can get out through here," she noted of the smallish opening at the top, studying it just a bit.
Her comrade chuckled. "Looks like I could, but I'm not gonna leave you here with this guy!"
She studied it some more. "Maybe if I grab hold of one, and maybe you wet it a little to make it slippery, we can get these things out of the way…"
She ended up grabbing the top of one smallish boulder with her feet while Arashi spit a Water Pulse underneath it, making a few of the smaller stones slide around just a bit and several more come clattering down. It took some hard flapping, but the boulder came loose and tumbled out of the way, bringing several more with it. The exit wasn't completely open, but it was much wider than it had formerly been with the Rock Slide remnants in their original places. Shortly, Astrid was flapping down on the other side with Arashi grasped in her feet, and they were trekking out into the exit's darkness. They could feel the floor under them, and the air was damp enough to tell them they were still in the dungeon, but seeing even a meter in front of them was difficult.
"So this place is called Lake Lucent because Luminous Pool is inside, and it's an evolution spot," Astrid noted, still glancing about at their surroundings, then with a heavy sigh, "Oh, I'm so glad that worked out… I never wanna see one of these Salem underlings again…"
Arashi chuckled, sounding a bit tired himself. "I'd rather not, too," he agreed, "But, I like this new form, at least! I can hop and walk!"
Astrid nodded, smiling just a bit but with her eyes angled downwards. "Let's just hope the next mission we go on isn't a trap."
Before long, they were back outside and making their way home.
. . . . .
However, as the two of them were making their way back…
Deep Lake Lucent B5F
"Gah! Was I seriously too late again?!" a metallic voice cried. "Oh, please be okay…!"
A certain Beast darted up the stairs as fast as it could go, a fainted Golbat and Octillery sparking on the ground behind it.
Deep Lake Lucent B6F
"C'mon, c'mon…!"
A lone, unresponsive Golisopod was the only other figure in the room, which the Beast paused upon seeing.
"N-no way…"
With sparking but light steps, it drew closer, studying Azure intently. He certainly looked terrible, as if he'd just taken a horrendous beating, which was probably true if the state of the room was any indication. The sharpened leaves, scratches, and dents in the rock certainly indicated a struggle had taken place, and the winners thereof were nowhere to be found. The trickles of blood scattered here and there didn't bode well, either. They were still mostly vibrant and fresh, even if congealed on the edges, able to be smeared around if someone or something brushed up against them.
"I didn't get the chance with Zariel before having to run again, but…"
CRACKLE!
What looked like bolts of lightning ripped straight out of a tempestuous sky formed in one copper-plated hand, which the Beast held out towards Azure. The whole room was bathed in a bright glow very fitting of the 'lucent' moniker, and the Discharge was almost blinding to look at it. Had anyone else been present and awake, they could've felt its sheer power without being close to it.
However, Azure apparently did too, for his eyelids fluttered open quickly.
"Ah-!" the Beast was startled, immediately withdrawing its hand and the bolts around it fizzling away to nothing.
Azure blinked, gaze drifting slightly up. "Comrade…?"
"Y-yes," was the quick answer. "A-are you alright?"
The Golisopod picked himself back up with a heavy groan, a bit shaky on his feet. "It seems so," Azure replied, then looking at his company, "Were you attempting to revitalize me with a shock? Rest assured, my heart has not stopped, though I am in poor health."
"A-ah, s-sorry!" the Beast stammered, sticking the arm that had formerly been holding the attack behind its back. "I was just a little worried!"
Azure chuckled, looking his company over. "Now, I know there are no Water-types on your world, but you are aware that such a jolt as the one you were preparing is likely to do more harm than good, yes…? Especially with the special attacking prowess of a Xurkitree. You might have inadvertently killed me."
If a creature made of cables with a glowing spiked ball for a head could blush, it probably would have. "S-sorry, and duly noted. My knowledge of this world… isn't the best."
Azure nodded. "Don't fret; there's no need to be shy about it. Might I ask you something?"
"S-sure."
"I heard from Zariel that apparently the human had been attacked by one of your species- of course, Zariel uses terminology I will not repeat- so I take it that is you? I was not aware of any Beasts having been sent to this world until she brought it up."
The Xurkitree perked up, making a few twitching motions with its arms. "O-oh, yeah! I tried to take her once, on the outskirts of Tranquil Town in the forest, but I didn't wanna kill her on accident, so I guess I let her run a little further than I was supposed to… But I didn't know the terrain, so she was already flying out over one of the cliffs when I zapped her! She ended up falling onto the beach, but by the time I could make it down myself, that Froakie she's been running around with was there, she was awake, and I didn't want to risk running out in plain view to attract attention… Ugh, it's just so difficult to get a good opening!"
Azure chuckled again, giving the Beast a friendly pat with one of his hind arms, being very, very careful with how he touched the Xurkitree. "It is. I suppose I should tell you that her Froakie tagalong is now a Frogadier."
It gave another little twitch, touching its copper-plated fingers together. "R-really?!"
"Oh, yes. I tried to kill him first, but obviously, that did not go as planned. He ended up finding the evolution spot and catching me off guard while I thought he was dead."
"Well, I guess they're even in that regard… Same thing happened when Zariel tried to kill Astrid, or so it seemed…"
"Precisely," Azure acknowledged. "And I suppose you might know better than I… How are things on Ultra Space?"
The Xurkitree twitched again, and quickly stammered out, "O-oh, they're pretty good; we're still winning! Salem's abilities really come in handy; the resistors are still at a stalemate at best… They don't seem like they can win if things keep up like they are now. Safe to say Ultra Space is almost completely subdued."
The Golisopod nodded intently. "Good, good."
"Are Salem's experiments going well?"
The armored one clicked his front claws again. "Oh, quite well. She's almost killed a few on overestimation of what they can handle, but by and large, she can induce the desired effects with just a wave of her wand. A Clefable over by Crescent Ridge was quite a success recently, at least before she too was defeated."
"A-ah, I'm not surprised; Salem's great at her part…" the Beast mused. "Did Astrid get away again? Y-you don't look so good…"
The armored one gave another sardonic laugh. "Oh, she did. She and her teammate are quite troublesome to nail down, and I am unfortunately not in any condition to go giving chase. I suppose if you see her, you know what to do, yes?"
The Xurkitree nodded. "Oh, of course! I was planning on going after her right now! I bet I know where she is!"
"Wonderful. I'll leave it to you for the time being."
"Y-yeah! She's not getting away again!"
At that, the Beast went running towards the exit, hopping over several of the bigger stones scattered about on the floor.
However, Azure turned around and called, "Hey! Xurkitree!"
It paused and turned to face him again. "Hm?"
"Apologies, I should've asked sooner. Do you have a name?"
It shook its head. "I don't. My identification is UB03-0067, or just Six-Seven for short."
"Very well. Take care out there, Six-Seven."
"W-will do!"
Before long, the wired creature was darting down the exit tunnel, its sparks quickly fading from view in the darkness.
"C-can we take a break now…?" Veeko inquired with drooping ears. "Those Spinarak scare me…"
"I won't go near another dungeon! Promise!" Rina cried haplessly.
Several fainted Budew and one fainted Spinarak probably would've been thankful for the little ones taking a break, but Lila didn't seem too convinced.
"Hah! Just let 'em be some useless posers like the rest of us!" Trixie jested, shoving a peeled chestnut into her mouth.
Charlie's tail-hand gave the Croagunk a shove, and Trixie only giggled with a smirk.
The meadow was as peaceful as ever… at least, to Lila, Charlie, and Trixie. The Croagunk and Aipom perched themselves on a fallen log, quite a few chestnut shells littering the ground around them (courtesy of Charlie, of course) while Lila and the little ones went about their business. Both Veeko and Rina looked tired and reluctant, the Pikipek occasionally eyeing the chestnuts in what appeared to be wistful longing to eat one. The Budews traipsing about, however, weren't too happy when receiving a sudden Tackle or Peck, but they didn't put up too much fight regardless, and the occasional Roselia couldn't really be bothered.
"That's not the point, Rina," Lila said gently but firmly to the Pikipek. "You didn't mean to get lost in Brushwood Tangle, but-"
"Hey! You guys!" came a familiar, ever-exuberant voice from overhead.
All five of them glanced up to see Astrid fluttering down into their vicinity with Arashi latching onto her back, the Dartrix clutching up the remnants of their bag. Trixie's eyes just about bulged out of her head when she saw that their Froakie friend was no longer a Froakie.
"Where is it?! Where is it?! Does it still work?!" the Croagunk shouted, running up.
"Arceus above," Lila remarked.
"Arashi, is that you?!" Charlie exclaimed.
The Frogadier giggled, turning loose of Astrid when they landed. "Yeah, it's me, and yes, it works!"
"Y-you don't wanna go there, though," Astrid noted.
Veeko and Rina just blinked, surprised expressions on their faces, but Charlie and Lila were shortly running up to join the other three as well.
"Eh?! Why?! Why don't I wanna go there?!" Trixie demanded, looking too excited to care about whatever reason they might give.
Astrid and Arashi looked at each other with awkward glances, and Trixie's gaze practically burned holes through them. Charlie, however, seemed to notice the odd splotches and broken strap on their bag before anything else and eyed it.
"Is that… blood?" the Aipom inquired, tilting his head sideways and motioning at the red stains. "What happened to you guys? Are the wild ones there that bad?"
Astrid's feathers ruffled out, and Arashi gave an awkward giggle. Trixie's eyes narrowed, but she still smirked, and at the mention of blood, both Veeko and Rina got startled expressions.
"Okay, it's a bit of a wild ride," Arashi mused, smiling uncertainly. "You know how we said our client wanted things to be confidential, right? And they just wanted to talk?"
"I bet they were a useless poser with that stupid title," Trixie remarked.
Astrid shook her head. "Ohhhh no, n-not at all…"
Three sets of eyes studied them at the Dartrix's hesitance.
"… The 'Lord of the Lake' was actually Salem's underling, Azure the Golisopod," Arashi said haplessly. "And, he, uh… wanted revenge for Zariel."
Three sets of eyes went wide.
"Long story short, I got First Impression'd, it sucked and I thought I was gonna die, he tried to convince Astrid to give up, I evolved, hit him with a Sleep Seed, and Astrid took care of most everything else battle-wise," the Frogadier recounted. "So, uh… yeah! Don't go to Lake Lucent, because you probably won't come back!"
Three sets of eyes blinked several times in utter silence.
"… The Drednaws are really annoying too," Astrid said quickly.
"Oh, yeah, those are pretty bad," Arashi quickly agreed.
Three sets of eyes were still studying them, but Lila broke the silence.
"… Okay, so Zariel had a buddy named Azure that lured you out to Lake Lucent, you got into a battle, and you're not dead," Lila said. "Is that right?"
"Y-yeah," Astrid affirmed.
"Sure is!" Arashi too replied.
Lila, Charlie, and Trixie all shared stunned glances.
"… Have you told anyone else about this yet? You swear you're not making it up?" Charlie inquired.
"No, we're not making it up, and we're probably gonna tell my mom and dad next, and then the sheriff," Arashi answered. "But, the thing about Mom and Dad is… Well, Mom won't let us leave the house for weeks if she finds out what happened, and Dad will watch our every move to make sure we don't wander outside! That's… kinda bad on its own, too!"
Their friends didn't seem so sure that was such a bad thing with the circumstances, and Rina and Veeko seemed even less certain. Astrid wasn't sure herself, but… Azure had given her the closest thing to the answers she wanted that she'd come across so far. Arashi certainly couldn't be kept away from an adventure- that much was painfully obvious already.
"Well, no evolving for me," Trixie said, deflating. "For what it's worth, that's pretty rad anyway!"
"It is, and I'm glad you guys are alright," Lila added, then calling over to her little brother and Rina, "We're done for today, you guys."
If nothing else, that eased up the little ones just a bit, but they still looked frightened at the mention of Salem and near-death.
"C'mon, you guys gotta go tell someone," Charlie urged. "You can't just leave that alone."
Astrid nodded, still a bit fluffed up nonetheless, and Arashi did too. The two of them exchanged glances.
"Let's go," said the Frogadier.
Astrid nodded.
"We'll keep you company," Lila mused nonchalantly. "Y'know, just in case Zariel comes swooping in too or something. Veeko, Rina, c'mon, we're going!"
Arashi gave her a nudge. "You don't have to make excuses to hang out, y'know!"
Both he and the Jolteon chuckled, and shortly, the entire lot of them were making their way back out of the meadow.
Author's note: Regarding a certain facet of the fight scene, I would like to make a quick note of my thought process. Since Golisopod has yet to be seen in PMD as of my time of writing this, I tried to do my best in keeping with PMD logic as is reasonably possible. In the mainline games, the Emergency Exit ability forces a switch-out at half health (for what I presume is intended as another opportunity to use First Impression), thus I made Azure warp someplace else on the floor since he had no teammate to switch with, nor were there any wild ones present on the floor to be switched with either (as I would imagine a wild or simply 'enemy' Golisopod in a hypothetical PMD game would do). I also considered making it work like the moves U-Turn or Volt Switch, where you can still use the move but not switch if there is no one to switch with; however, I feel there is a bit of a difference in using those moves without switching vs. an ability activating due to low health, as an ability cannot exactly be turned off, so to speak. This is, of course, my own thinking, and should we see a PMD game with Gen 7 and Gen 8 'Mon in it sometime in the future, I am liable to be proved wrong here. (However, if we do see a PMD game in the future and this is how Emergency Exit works… AHAHAHAHA, I CALLED IT! :3)
