Whenever Raijin nudged the stone slab covering the cavern opening aside, it didn't take long at all to see the sky filled with smoke and smell the charred remains of whatever Salem felt it necessary to torch. Thankfully, it wasn't purple smoke filling the air, but in any case, it was as if a thick cloud of grey had descended upon everything in the vicinity. Astrid found it terribly uncomfortable, the sheer dryness of the air irritating her eyes, and Arashi blinked a bit too, but Raijin didn't seem to mind at all (probably on account of his wildly differing physiology).

The wild ones were in clear distress, several Pidgeys and Fearows raising a ruckus on the ground below while a Bellossom and Petilil seemed to be outright crying. A little squeaking Hoothoot tried to nuzzle under a larger Noctowl as best as it could, one of the Noctowl's wings with a section of feathers burnt off and the skin reddened underneath. It wasn't very hard to imagine why they were in such a fuss when the Starstorm trio looked in the direction of the water again and saw a huge section of the trees that formerly rose up in the distance away from town charred and smoldering. The trunks took a blackened shade, the leaves reduced to dark grey ashes scattered on the scorched ground. A few red embers flickered among the blackened landscape, an extraordinarily sharp contrast to the greenery that still flourished on the edges of the burn. Only a lone Murkrow and a hesitant Caterpie poked around that they could see, both fussing and apparently trying to search for something under the charred remains.

Astrid and Arashi were both aghast at the sight.

"She… wasn't messing around…" Arashi mused faintly.

Astrid could only blink a few times, utterly taken aback. If Raijin hadn't knocked them out… it would've been one painful way to be hunted down, that was certain. She couldn't have been gladder for the interception, all things considered.

"Thankfully, this is the brunt of it…" Raijin said softly, touching his fingertips together again. "She didn't torch your town, at least…"

That much was a welcome relief. The Dartrix glanced about, still unnerved by the pure destruction wrought by the wild-eyed Delphox, but thankfully it seemed they'd been spared of her utter madness. Azure and Zariel had both been a nightmare to deal with in their own right, but their boss certainly lived up to her reputation. Astrid's mind kept trying to play over both her own memories and those shown to them by Necrozma, but she shut them out for the time being.

"R-Raijin, just how long were we knocked out?" Astrid inquired, giving the Beast a glance.

"About two hours," was her answer. "I think Salem stopped torching the landscape after about an hour of trying to find you, and if she knew I'd taken you and run off here, we would've gotten into a fight already… Y-you're not still feeling beat up, are you? I don't have any healing items- or any items at all, actually, or I would've given you some…"

The Dartrix shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine. Arashi, you?"

"I'll get over it," the Frogadier brushed it off, not too concerned with whatever residual damage remained.

"We shouldn't take any chances in case her underlings or anyone else are still prowling around looking for us," Astrid softly declared, eyeing the landscape. "If we find a dungeon, we should go through it. We need to get out of reach."

Her two comrades were in agreement, and the three of them set to scurrying down the rocky terrain and back to the more lush earth below (or at least, the vicinity that Salem hadn't burned). The boundary of Tranquil Town was small on the horizon, the cliffs surrounding it seeming untouched by Salem's scorching heat too, but the glances back to it were quite fleeting. Much closer to the ground, Astrid found herself hopping over or around some embers that still smoldered on the grass and dirt, not wanting to risk an accidental burn (and simply being put off by the residual heat they carried that certainly pained her Grass-type attributes).

"So what is this about the Expedition Coalition, you called it…?" Raijin inquired, glancing about as they took off towards the burned brush and the green edges lying beyond it.

Arashi got a hapless grin at the mention, and instantly started gushing away despite the remaining uncertainty shrouding them. "They're the best! All of them together are practically the best expedition team this side of the continent, so if they can't help you, then no one can! Rush, the leader, and his second-in-command Rozen are my idols, and I've never heard of them losing a to anyone else! See, Rush is a brawling Scrafty that loves getting into fights with outlaws and evil-doers and Rozen is this cutesy Audino, absolutely no good for fighting, but when he's with Rush, Rush hardly ever takes damage because Rozen just nullifies it! They're practically invincible together!"

Raijin nodded. "Well, that certainly sounds like good team composition; Void was keen about all that too when placing us," he noted. "Scrafty is Dark- and Fighting-type, right? And Audino is… Fairy?"

"You're right on Scrafty, but Audino is Normal-type unless you're talking about Mega Audino, which is Normal and Fairy," Arashi replied, leaping over a burnt log.

"Good to know," said the Beast. "I've studied up on your kind and how many different species of Pokémon there are, but my knowledge still isn't where I'd like it to be."

"Well, we can tell you about Pokémon, and you can tell us about Beasts," the Frogadier nonchalantly proposed.

"Er, now might be a good time to mention that the Expedition Coalition also knows you exist, Raijin," Astrid chimed in, carefully skittering around a smoldering piece of wood. "My first day here, we ended up meeting Rush and Rozen and I told them I got attacked by some weird creature in the woods- you- and they had no idea what you were, either. So, they… they probably think you're up to no good, too."

"That's fine; it was bound to happen at some point," Raijin brushed it off, shaking his head. "So I should be prepared to explain myself to them too, I suppose."

"Probably," Arashi concurred.

Nonetheless, when the ground (quickly) became much more blackened underfoot and singed with the remnants of Salem's Flamethrower, Astrid took to flying to avoid contact with it and Arashi seemed discomforted with the heat left over even if fire wasn't much of a concern to a Water-type. If Raijin was bothered, he wasn't displaying it, but if those cables were so used to launching lightning (which could get very hot), then maybe some smoldering brush wasn't all that big of a deal, or so Astrid figured. A few of the wild ones let out cries of distress at seeing them tread through it, almost as if to warn them not to go further albeit without the words to say so.

Even so, Arashi got a cheeky grin again and glanced up at Raijin while brushing aside the charred remains of a hedge. "Okay, I know I said I was done asking questions, but Raijin, can I ask you another one?"

"Go ahead," was the easy response.

"Are you using electricity to talk?" the Frogadier inquired. "And while I'm at it, how do you see without eyes? I'm assuming it's not with echolocation like a Zubat, aha!"

Astrid blinked, utterly unsure of what to make of her partner's antics. She wouldn't have even bothered to think to ask, but since Arashi did, she too wanted to know.

The Xurkitree, however, didn't seem that fazed. "You're right; I talk with sound waves that I produce from electrically-stimulated vibrations, and no, I don't use echolocation. You can't see them under this spiky shell around my head, but I've got eyes- or at least, the necessary organs for visual processing. I couldn't tell you any specifics other than that, really… Maybe someone else on Ultra Space could tell you all the details about Beast biology, but if I'm being honest, I'm not really the type to go busting open another Xurkitree's head to find out."

At his last sentence, both Astrid and Arashi perked up, the Dartrix with alarm and the Frogadier with uncertain surprise.

"Has that happened?" Arashi asked, giving their comrade another glance.

Astrid couldn't help but think that surely, it had happened somewhere- in an entire universe, the likelihood of a Xurkitree getting their head busted open one way or another was pretty likely, as was a completely unrelated Delphox burning a random Dartrix to a crisp.

Raijin touched his fingers together again, shrinking up just a bit. "W-well, I haven't seen that exact scenario play out, but I have seen an angry, poisoned Pheromosa Jump Kick straight through a Naganadel's face," he mused somewhat reluctantly. "It was… ugly. Really, really ugly."

Whatever 'Pheromosa' and 'Naganadel' referred to, neither Astrid nor Arashi knew, but they didn't need many details to figure out exactly what Raijin was getting at.

"Don't ask," Astrid said quickly to her partner, ruffling up a bit.

Arashi giggled hesitantly. "Don't worry; I wasn't planning to…~"

Most of the brush either crumbled or cracked when touched, scattering ashes on the Starstorm bunch even without them trying to gather it. The burnt remnants of the bushes were easy to move out of the way for the two shorter ones of the team, for a gentle swipe of a hand or wing was enough to scatter them on the ground. The dark grey seeping into Astrid's plumage wasn't near as much of a bother as the almost painful dryness the ash brought when it interlaced with her feathers, making for a very uncomfortable sensation that she just couldn't get rid of. The residual smoke wafting up from the smoldering trunks of torched trees didn't offer a great feeling either, far less pleasant than out of the way in the higher rocky edges of the landscape.

A slightly perturbed cry came from Arashi when he noticed the near-incinerated remains of a smallish Hoothoot nestled underneath a hedge, hardly able to be distinguished as such, and Astrid got a bit wide-eyed at seeing it too but quickly turned her attention elsewhere. Judging from its size, it probably hadn't learned to fly yet. The little thing hadn't stood a chance.

Regardless, Tranquil Town was vanishing over the horizon soon enough, and all three of them were thankful when they finally set foot on some earth that hadn't been torched even if the ash and smoke from Salem's flaming wrath wafted about here and there. The trees overhead still had their green leaves and the undergrowth was at least somewhat vibrant, as if the wild-eyed Delphox had simply given up her hunt and stopped along one front. Perhaps she had, or perhaps she decided to go another route in hunting them down that didn't necessitate engulfing the land in a hellish inferno, but whatever the reasons, the greenery was a welcome cover. At the very least, if some of her subordinates were prowling around, it would offer the Starstorm trio at least a shred of obscurity. Precisely how far the forested area went, they had no idea, but it eased their tensions just a bit.

"S-say, how do events on the outside of a dungeon affect what's on the inside…?" Astrid's voice trailed off. "Er, I guess what I'm really saying is… If we hit a dungeon, do we have to worry about the insides of it being on fire?"

"Dungeons are usually a lot more resilient than that," Arashi answered. "Unless we just get really unlucky, that is!"

"I've never seen that happen either," Raijin added.

The Dartrix was glad for that too. If their best option was running into an ever-changing maze, she didn't want it to be on fire, at least. As awful of a string of happenings as they were on, such seemed about par.

However, it didn't take long for the trees to start clumping together suspiciously close, the arrangement of which Astrid noticed was strikingly similar to Brushwood Tangle, albeit with less 'tangle.'

"This is starting to look like one," Arashi noted, glancing about.

"I was thinking the same," Astrid noted, carefully scanning their surroundings. "So, that being said, I should ask… Raijin, you seem to have a lot of experience; am I right in assuming that?"

"You are," the Xurkitree answered. "I might not have been in control of myself for the vast majority of it, but battling and dungeon-crawling was pretty much the only thing I did when I was with the faction."

Astrid nodded. "I figured, and you're obviously really strong, so while we're in the dungeon… unless me or Arashi do something incredibly stupid or something terrible happens, I think most of the battling should be left to us. If Void has a horde of Beasts like you running around, then me and Arashi still need to get stronger, and using you as a crutch isn't going to help anyone. Save those Discharges for a Monster House if we get one."

Arashi got a bit of a surprised look at her words, but didn't protest them.

"You sure?" Raijin meekly replied, touching his fingers together again. "Helping you out is kinda my entire mission, after all…"

"Sheesh, we've got a heavy-hitter like him in our corner, and you're probably the only one that would tell him not to go blasting everything," the Frogadier jested.

"I'm sure," Astrid wasn't fazed. "I'm not telling you to completely stay out of the way, Raijin; I'm saying that I'm not taking you for granted. That's a surefire way to get wrecked by another one from Void's faction in the future, I'm sure."

It was Raijin's turn to nod. "Right. I understand."

Sure enough, the trees clumping together lead them straight to an opening within the trunks and limbs, the inside obscured from their view by a dark haze. The branches of the trees seemed a bit different from those on the outside of the dungeon's edge, too- they drooped down a bit more with heavier leaves, and their coloration was more bluish than green. The air felt slightly chilled, but not outright chilly- rather, a welcome break from the mostly burnt surroundings not too far away.

"Keep an eye out for items," Astrid instructed, studying their vicinity before trailing straight in. "The gods know we could probably use some…"

Dusky Grotto 1F

It wasn't nighttime outside but the inside of the dungeon definitely resembled a forest in the evening, probably on account of just how thick the overgrowth was. There was hardly a place for light to seep through the dense limbs overhead, leading to primarily dim surroundings with just a few brighter beams drifting down from above. While not smothering or even a bother, the air felt slightly heavy and damp. The trees grew so closely together that even attempting to squeeze through them would be impossible, and their branches slumped downwards with large bluish-tinted leaves that probably could've been used as hiding places in their own right. Partly dark soil and partly dark green grass interspersed with a few smaller tree shoots made up the floor, which admittedly felt rather nice to stand on (especially in comparison to the scorched earth that could easily be reached outside). The place felt rejuvenating and alive, yet… slightly suspicious somehow, as if the wild ones could easily jump out to attack at any given point from the thickly sprawling canopy overhead.

Astrid was certainly keeping watch for any of them, or anyone else they might not want to see, as she strode off for the nearest corridor with Arashi behind her and Raijin behind Arashi. The Xurkitree's glowing appendages shed some light to the otherwise dim surroundings made even dimmer in the narrow passages, which was certainly welcome for the increase in visibility.

"Arashi, what's left in our bag?" Astrid inquired, giving her partner a quick glance back. "It isn't much, is it?"

"An apple, a chestnut, and a Pure Seed," the Frogadier answered, grabbing it and opening it up for a second.

"A few Oran berries would be nice, but I guess an emergency situation won't let us have that advantage," the Dartrix remarked, cataloging the info. "I'm glad we still have that much, at least…"

"You heal faster with Oran berries, right…?" Raijin inquired, ducking down a bit to avoid a hanging branch on the ceiling.

"Yeah, that's their main use in dungeons," Arashi answered. "Don't you use them too? Or have you just not had to yet?"

"W-well, I don't really have a mouth to eat berries with even if I wanted to," Raijin responded uncertainly.

An awkward grin graced Arashi's face, and he laughed. "Riiiight! I guess I'm an idiot, aha!"

Without making a sound, Astrid shook her head haplessly at her partner's antics. When they'd first met, the then-Froakie had been fascinated with her too, and the Beast on their team was clearly not immune to Arashi's intrigue either.

"Then what do you do?" the Frogadier asked, going right back to being chipper.

"I recharge," Raijin replied. "I stick the ends of my tail and limbs into the ground and regain health by absorbing energy from the ground. It's useful in that I don't need items to regain health, but the downside is that certain environments are way harder than others to do it in and my mobility is limited while I'm doing it."

"That still sounds way more convenient than berries," Astrid remarked.

"For exploring, it is, but if you get into a fight, it's not," the Xurkitree mused.

That aspect was something Astrid wasn't going to contest. Being stuck in one place in any of their major battles likely would've been an outright death sentence, be it Zariel's Flamethrower or Lurantis' Solar Blade coming at them.

The curled-up form of a sleeping Poochyena met them when the corridor opened up into the next room, the little canine seeming rather serene in its nap, but shortly something else was catching their attention.

"Ah-!" Raijin cried suddenly.

Astrid and Arashi both turned around rather quickly to see one of the smaller saplings- or at least, what looked like a smaller sapling- uproot itself and reveal a fussing Trevenant with black-shrouded claws swiping at the Xurkitree rather close to it. Without saying a word, Astrid darted over and Pecked it, getting a growl of rage in return.

"Sorry, didn't mean to disturb," Raijin remarked mildly, jumping back from it.

Arashi's Water Pulse did little against the hostile ghost, but the sleeping Poochyena looked up from its slumber and was immediately startled by the presence of outsiders.

"Don't worry, we're not here to hurt your trees," Astrid dryly mused to their leafy company, flapping out of the way of a Leech Seed.

Arashi too hopped out of the way of the scattered seeds, looking dismayed at the prospect of being hit by them. They sprouted, but there was nothing to sap, which seemed to upset the Trevenant even more. The Poochyena, on the other hand, looked to the Frogadier and rushed out with Biting jaws, seeming intent to thrash anything it could get in its mouth. A Quick Attack slammed it down though, and Arashi was fast to jump back before its snapping jaws could get a proper hit in.

The Trevenant growled at Astrid being so close and tried to Hex her with a few ghostly pulses of energy, but the Dartrix wasn't having any of it and flew so as to avoid them before diving down to attack with her beak again. The woody one put up a fuss and swung a shadow-shrouded claw again, but she made a perch of its horns and delivered one last blow to its head that put it out. The Poochyena fixated on Arashi shortly fell from a Water Pulse too.

"Huh…" Astrid mused, mostly to herself as she jumped off of the slumping Trevenant, "That last move felt stronger…"

"Your move or the Trevenant's?" Arashi inquired, perking up and darting closer to her again.

"Mine," Astrid answered, brushing one wing off a bit. "What comes after Peck… Pluck? I think I just learned Pluck."

Her partner grinned. "Hah, good for you! If this place has a bunch of Grass-types, then that's handy!"

"Poor thing; that must've hurt then," Raijin said softly, giving the Trevenant a glance and touching his fingers together again.

At that, Arashi gave the Beast an amiable but funny look at his remark. "Yeeeaaaaaah, you are definitely not on the same side as Salem."

That was obvious enough already, but Astrid certainly agreed with her partner's sentiments before giving the room a quick scan. It was empty save for the fainted figures, nothing particularly of interest save for maybe a few stray branches dipping down lower than the rest. There were two corridors, and she picked the one closest to them on their left to venture down. The sound of rustling leaves graced them, but the source wasn't going to reveal itself and didn't jump out to attack.

"Y'know, of the dungeons we've been in, I kinda like the feel of this one…" Astrid's voice trailed off as she glanced about the tunnel for anything that might've been lurking.

"I'd take this one too," Raijin concurred.

Arashi giggled. "You two can have it!" he playfully shot back.

A few yellowish peels with browned spots littered the floor when they entered the room, clearly haplessly discarded by another dungeon-dweller they couldn't see in their vicinity. A smaller sapling's trunk was also splintered in half with the top flung clear across the room, seemingly indicative of an altercation but the combatants thereof nowhere to be found. The ones traversing the dungeon gave it a look, Astrid tilting her head to the side as she studied it.

"What would cause-" the Dartrix began to pipe up.

However, she was cut off by a yelling screech that made them all jump in fright, some of the leaves overhead rustling furiously. In moments, a Primeape was dropping down from the ceiling's overgrowth and stomping its feet angrily on the ground.

"Never mind!" Astrid cried quickly, shaking some leaves loose and sending a Razor Leaf the moment she laid eyes on it.

The Primeape didn't even care who its target was, for it ran at them while Fury Swiping in a blind rage. All three of them scattered, Arashi and Raijin jumping out of the way while Astrid flapped upwards and sent another Razor Leaf downwards. Arashi spit a Water Pulse, but the watery stream only served to fan the flames of the Primeape's Rage. Astrid dove down to deliver a Pluck, but at the same time her beak made contact with the furious dungeon-dweller, its fist balled up and pounded into her side.

"Agh-!" the Dartrix squeaked.

"Oh, sheesh!" Arashi cried in surprise.

The Primeape fell limp on the ground, but one trunk of the dungeon wall found itself with an indent shaped like a sprawled-out Dartrix.

"Nnnngh…!" Astrid groaned, blinking.

"Are you alright?!" Raijin cried, darting over.

Her feathers ruffled out, and she slumped down back to the grass. "That was terrible…" she replied flatly, drawing her wings back in. "… D-don't get punched."

Dusky Grotto 2F

"That's not a Grass-type? But it literally has leaves," Raijin inquired incredulously, studying the Sudowoodo blocking the only corridor in the room.

"It pretends to be a tree so you won't use Water-type attacks against it," Arashi explained. "It's actually got a rocky body."

"Hold on- let me get this straight," the Xurkitree said, crossing his arms and still staring at the Sudowoodo. "So it's a Rock-type that hates water, and in order to avoid getting wet, it pretends to be a tree… something that, at least on this world, likes getting watered. Is that right?"

"Yeah, that's right," the Frogadier nonchalantly confirmed.

Astrid gave her partner an odd look, not too convinced herself. "Are you sure it's not to keep a passerby from hitting it with, say, a Razor Leaf or Water Pulse since they'd think those moves aren't very effective? They don't camouflage themselves for no reason…"

Arashi shrugged, not too concerned, but Raijin eased up.

"That makes sense," Raijin concurred. "Duly noted- Sudowoodo aren't Grass-types."

The Sudowoodo wasn't contesting it one way or another, merely standing there as still as could be with its arms poised like branches. It didn't seem to mind their presence at all, perhaps taking their inaction against it as an indication that its disguise was working, for it appeared to be smiling at least somewhat peacefully. However, why it chose the middle of a leafy hallway's opening to stand perfectly still in was anyone's guess- it probably would've been much more at home along the outer walls if it was intending to blend in.

Nonetheless, the Imitation Pokémon was shortly showing some sign of life when faced with a Water Pulse from Arashi, its nonchalant smile turning dismayed as its arms lowered and it scurried to the side. The fact that it was out of their way was fine enough for Astrid, but the rocky one was apparently upset at having its cover blown and instead raised one arm up while darting closer. Raijin was sure to give Astrid and Arashi some space, and the Dartrix took to the air while the Frogadier quickly scrambled out of the path of a Wood Hammer.

"Yiah! That was close!" Arashi cried, awkwardly dismayed. "You must really not like water!"

A rather ugly crater was left in the ground where Arashi had been moments prior, the Sudowoodo letting out a frustrated cry as it left such.

It didn't appear to like Astrid's Razor Leaf either, for when her flurry of leaves rained down on it, it glared at her next. A few glowing orbs of whitish energy formed in the air around it, which then in turn formed into sharpened, arrowhead-like stones almost as if forming diamonds in ridiculously fast motion… and flew at the Dartrix.

"Ah-!" Astrid cried in dismay, trying to angle herself to let most of the Stone Edge fly past.

Most of it did fly past her and into the wall behind her, but a patch of feathers and a little trickle of blood fell to the ground when one of the rocky shards grazed her wing. She didn't pay it any mind and instead sent another Razor Leaf, which the Sudowoodo held up its hands at in an attempt to lessen the damage. Their target stamped its feet on the ground in vexation, and when it did, several large rock slabs shot out of the ground around Arashi and closed in.

"Oh, come on! The Drednaws were bad enough for this!" the Frogadier protested of the Rock Tomb.

"Are you okay?" Raijin called, glancing at the entrapped one.

"I'm alright, just stuck…!" was the answer.

A Hammer Arm pounded into the rocks next, shattering them but also eliciting a pained gasp from Arashi at the force channeled. Still, another watery burst to the Sudowoodo's face was enough to make it faint.

"That's troubling…" Raijin's voice trailed off as he gave a glance to the sharpened rocks jabbing into the walls and the Wood Hammer crater.

Astrid let out a slightly tired breath, glancing at their downed target. "Seems like you just can't trust anything that smiles in a dungeon…"

Arashi chuckled. "You know, you're not wrong!"

Nonetheless, they stepped over the motionless dungeon-dweller and went back to their venturing.

Dusky Grotto 5F

Ordinarily, something singing or making an intonation wouldn't have been much of a concern, yet still...

"Urgh, what is that sound…?" Arashi mused, looking around uncertainly.

It certainly wasn't anything they were expecting, but from someplace else on the floor, an odd-sounding melody wafted through the air that sounded somewhat like a whistle. It wasn't singing, and it didn't sound like a dungeon-dweller's vocalization, but it put them on edge.

Astrid's eyes scanned every possible corner of the room as they ventured through it for any trace of its source, but the floor was quiet and peaceful otherwise. Nothing around them stirred- or at least, if it did, they couldn't see it.

Raijin's fingers went to tapping each other and he shrank up just a bit. "I don't like it…" his voice trailed off uncertainly.

"If it's some sort of trap, we're not falling into it," Astrid brushed it off, still staying alert. "We might not be alone here, after all."

It stopped, but they still kept their guard up.

A smallish piece of a tree limb sat on the ground seemingly ripped off of a larger branch, and a quick glance upwards revealed its source- a similarly thrashed one overhead. The Primeape that had caused it was thankfully nowhere to be found. Something caught Astrid's eye, though- some curved yellowish fruits growing in a small bunch on a greener-tinted tree limb mixed into the ceiling's array of drooping flora.

"Hey," she said, giving Arashi a nudge.

The tip of her wing pointed upwards, and Arashi took note of the banana tree too.

"Hah, figures there would be some Primeapes hanging out here if one of their favorite foods grew here!" the Frogadier mused cheerfully.

A Razor Leaf sliced two of them down and Arashi went jumping up to collect them before they hit the ground, then stowed them in the bag.

"Is that a berry?" Raijin asked, studying them.

Arashi giggled. "No, a banana is a fruit! Er-! Berries are also fruits, but this kind is purely food, and eating it won't give you any benefits outside of making you not hungry."

"Ah…" Raijin took it in.

"And I'm glad we found them, because I think I'll be biting into one soon," Astrid remarked, then casting the Xurkitree a glance, "I'm guessing you don't get hungry…?"

Raijin shook his head. "That also falls under the 'recharging' category."

The Frogadier giggled, shooting the Beast a glance too. "Lucky!"

If a living mass of wires could chuckle, Raijin did. "I guess so."

The odd whistling song resumed for a short bit when they resumed their trek, setting them on edge and Astrid's eyes narrowing while scanning every nook and cranny. It seemed to be getting louder, but still, the source eluded them… at least, until they stepped into another room and saw a Nuzleaf sitting on a log with a small leaf in its hand that it used for a whistle, while a Duskull floated happily next to it listening to its song. Both of the wild ones perked up the moment they set foot in the room, and the Duskull quickly turned to face them with an ethereal growl. Raijin held up his arms to cover his head, but Astrid and Arashi couldn't figure out what the gesture was for.

Nonetheless, an Ominous Wind struck out at both the Duskull and Nuzleaf, but they didn't seem too bothered, which certainly puzzled the Dartrix.

"Hey! Cut it out!" the Nuzleaf seemed to say, but it was very clearly using Arashi's voice.

"What?!" Astrid exclaimed, even more puzzled. "Why are you talking like that?!"

She didn't get an answer, but that was fine, if completely unexpected- she'd only attack the unfazed Duskull if the Nuzleaf was capable of being reasoned with. A barrage of sharpened leaves filled the air heading for their ghostly company, but even more strangely, the Nuzleaf opened its mouth and spit a Water Pulse at her.

"H-huh?!" the Dartrix exclaimed.

However, a blinding Dazzling Gleam emanated from behind her that made her shut her eyes tightly, and when she opened them next, both the Duskull and Nuzleaf were motionless on the ground. She blinked, utterly baffled, and glanced to her two comrades- Arashi likewise wore a confused expression while Raijin didn't seem particularly bothered.

"S-sorry, I know you said not to fight much," the Beast said meekly. "That Duskull used Confuse Ray, and you and Arashi started attacking each other…"

That explanation made far more sense than a dungeon-dweller using impossible attacks and speaking with a comrade's voice.

"So that's why that Duskull started using your voice!" Arashi exclaimed, looking relieved. "Sorry, Astrid! I totally thought I was going nuts for a second!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you either," the Dartrix said to her partner, then looking to Raijin, "And you were fine; do what you think you gotta do."

Arashi giggled. "You have your own judgment; use it!"

Raijin nodded. "R-right."

Dusky Grotto 7F

A few Trevenants threw a fit at them for encroaching on their territory and a few Duskulls peeked out from the surroundings and shadows to cause trouble, while the occasional Sudowoodo could be noticed harmlessly imitating a tree provided nothing got too close to it. The dungeon-dwellers seemed to be the only ones in the grotto, for if any of Salem's associates were out prowling, they had run across none and seen no traces left.

However, while trailing through one room, something did catch their attention- a rather loud crash from another room adjacent to theirs, followed by a yelping Poochyena frantically running out of a corridor and into another one, disregarding them completely. All three of them were on guard instantly.

"That better have been a Primeape being pissed and not a Mega Punch or a First Impression," Astrid dismally mused, holding her wings out a bit.

"If it is one of Salem's subordinates, you can leave them to me," Raijin said, a few sparks running down his limbs.

"Oh, c'mon, what're the odds of that?" Arashi wasn't quite certain.

Astrid wasn't sure what those odds were, nor did she particularly care to find out, but it turned out Arashi was right when a screeching Primeape came thundering down the corridor with its swinging fists in the air.

"See?!" Arashi exclaimed with a grin.

"Just don't get punched!" Astrid reiterated, sending a Razor Leaf right away. "It sucks!"

Neither one of them were intent on it, but the Primeape certainly wanted to clobber something and came charging over with cries of wrath. Astrid's leaves jabbed into it, but that didn't dissuade its rampage at all. It turned on the Dartrix first, Karate Chopping down at her, but Astrid gave a flap of her wings to get out of the way and Plucked the fist closest to her. Arashi spit a Water Pulse, and the raging one turned on him next, unleashing a flurry of Fury Swipes while Astrid sent another leaf barrage into its back.

"These ones don't seem particularly smart," Raijin noted.

"When they're angry, they just start swinging at anything they see," Arashi clarified, doing his best to jump out of the way and sending another watery stream.

The Primeape's fist connected and a pained cry came from Arashi, but Astrid rushing up behind the Primeape and Plucking it again made its rampage cease.

Astrid gave it a glance, fluffing out for a moment. "Must be really nice to live here with those ones," she remarked flatly.

Arashi laughed, slipping the bag off. "Hey, while we're not getting ambushed by one, can we take a snack break?"

The Dartrix perked up and skittered closer. "Not a bad idea; I'm starting to notice it too."

"You are…? I suppose I should recharge while we're at it," Raijin mused.

While Astrid and Arashi fished out the apple and chestnut to munch on, the Xurkitree took a very different posture- all of his limbs touching the ground to give a conical formation, the ends of them slightly buried in the dirt. 'Recharging' seemed about as accurate of a term as it could get, for the metallic prongs seemed to literally plug into the earth. Astrid blinked, studying Raijin just a bit while peeling off the chestnut's spiky shell.

Arashi took a bite of the apple and couldn't help but muse, "… Wow, you look really different when you're not walking around."

"Believe it or not, where I come from, this is actually a half-decent plant impersonation," Raijin nonchalantly noted.

Astrid was certainly intrigued as to what plants looked like where Raijin came from, seeing as the Xurkitree certainly didn't resemble anything she could envision coming out of the ground, but decided against asking for any sort of description. Neither she nor her comrade likely would've been able to make much sense of it without seeing it themselves- she certainly had trouble making sense of just Raijin himself already, never mind his extradimensional homeworld.

Nonetheless, a spiky shell and an apple core were left behind when they went back to trekking, still keeping an eye out for any angry simians or flustered ghosts.

Dusky Grotto 10F

"Hey! Lucky us!" Arashi cried, running over to several sparkling coins haphazardly scattered at the base of a shoot.

Indeed, they were hard not to notice- the gold sheen contrasted fairly sharply with the dark soil and deep green grass making up the dungeon floor. Raijin studied it too.

"Hm?" Astrid inquired, scurrying closer, "Should we really be touching that? What if it belongs to someone else?"

"Nah, we're fine!" her partner brushed it off, picking them up and looking it over. "We haven't found money in a dungeon yet, but when you do, it's fair game- if you faint or otherwise lose your items, it's up to you to reclaim them before anyone else comes across them. The dungeons tend to scatter things lost in them around, so those odds are pretty small and you may as well count it part of the dungeon at that point."

Astrid nodded- it sounded reasonable. "So someone probably fainted and dropped it, then? And they aren't coming to get it back?"

"Exactly," Arashi answered, then opening the bag up and stowing it away, "It's around 150, so we've got almost 500 in our stash total. If we're stuck in these dungeons for a while, that could come in handy if we run into a roving Kecleon Shop, aha!"

She wasn't disagreeing, and if it was fair game, she wasn't turning it down. If Kecleon was so fearsome, she certainly wouldn't turn down running into one of them too in the event that Salem's cronies were following them in some way or another. (Yet, at the same time, the thought of Kecelon's fabled strength made her a bit uneasy, for everyone else made it sound nothing short of god-like, and being in the midst of it perhaps wasn't the best idea.)

"I feel sorry for whoever dropped it- the feral ones here don't seem like the nicest ones to faint to," Raijin said haplessly.

"If I'm gonna faint, I'd take getting punched by a Raging Primeape over getting Wood Hammered by a Sudowoodo, but that's probably just me," Arashi jested.

There wasn't anything to see amid the drooping branches and smallish shoots, so on they went, keeping watch for any upset occupants and listening for a mischievous Nuzleaf trying to set them on edge.

"There's supposed to be more than one dungeon in these parts, right?" Astrid inquired, glancing back at her partner.

"Yep," Arashi answered, "I'm not sure how many, though- just that you'd have to know the territory well to avoid them."

She nodded, turning her head forward again. "Hopefully we won't have to worry too much by the time we get to the other side…"

"Normally I wouldn't worry about battling an ordinary Delphox, but if it's Salem we're talking about…" Raijin's voice trailed off.

Arashi sighed a bit, still smiling but getting slightly drooping eyes. "I know Mom and Dad are strong, so they're probably fine, but sheesh… Her and her underlings are just the worst…"

"I'm glad your world can see that, at least," the Xurkitree remarked.

The sound of growling and snapping jaws alerted them to another presence, and on looking to the source, it was revealed as a snarling Mightyena clawing at the ground in the room before them as if to taunt them.

"Good afternoon to you, too," Arashi sarcastically jested.

It didn't give Arashi's greeting any consideration and instead Snarled loudly at them, the force of the sound waves making all three of the Starstorm group recoil slightly. It rushed at them with snapping jaws, aiming to Bite Astrid as the closest target, but a Quick Attack from Arashi knocked it off course and gave the Dartrix plenty of time to hit it with a Razor Leaf. However, with the Frogadier still closer, its fangs began to spark, and Arashi quickly had to leap back to avoid a Thunder Fang.

"Oh, jeez!" Arashi cried, startled but still smiling.

"This one has its bases covered," Raijin mused.

Astrid dove down to Pluck it, but its fangs ceased to spark and instead became shrouded in fire much to her dismay. Arashi spit a Water Pulse at the Mightyena's mouth on seeing it and succeeded in dousing the flames, but Astrid couldn't quite avoid it altogether in time and found her wing with a set of teeth latched onto it.

"Aaaagh!" she yelped, flinching. "Definitely got its bases covered…!"

"Hey! Let go!" Arashi called, rushing out in a Quick Attack again.

Thankfully, the Mightyena turned loose and Astrid sent a flurry of sharp leaves, which yet again made the wild one Snarl.

"This one's not playing around!" Arashi exclaimed.

"A-are you guys alright…?" Raijin inquired, touching his fingers together again.

Skittering backwards out of its reach, Astrid called, "We're fine!"

A Water Pulse and a Razor Leaf downed it, the Mightyena growling one last time as it fell limp on the ground. The Dartrix brushed herself off with her better-feeling wing, carefully preening a few damaged feathers back into place over her broken skin.

"Well, looks like I got the fangs this time," she mused haplessly, giving her partner a somewhat playful glance.

The Frogadier giggled. "Aren't you lucky!"

She wasn't so sure about 'lucky,' but she wasn't protesting it. A few red trickles dripped out from under her feathers, but she left them alone. "C'mon, hopefully we don't see more of those."

And it certainly appeared they wouldn't, for quite shortly, the stairs were visible from the closest corridor and they were taking them. However, instead of another room akin to the dungeon, they found themselves back in the thick of the forest, no tree walls or tunnels in sight…

"Really? Only ten floors?" Arashi mused, peeking around. "Somehow I figured there would be more…"

"Well, we don't know this terrain, so-" Astrid began to reply, but quickly stopped.

Some of the underbrush rustled and the sound of voices graced their senses.

"C'mon! We can't jack around!"

"Do you think they're still here?!"

"Hold on, you two! I'm stuck!"

There were three distinct ones, none of which were ringing a very clear bell. The Starstorm trio exchanged glances, and before anyone else, Raijin's limbs were crackling with electricity with a Discharge aimed at the source of the sounds. Astrid and Arashi followed suit, the Dartrix with her wings slightly spread and Arashi crouched to spring. If it was any of Salem's cronies looking for a fight, they'd give them one, for it seemed that running would be fruitless.

However, the figure that did come emerging first from the other side of a bush caught Astrid and Arashi off guard slightly- a Scrafty with a tiny crest, clearly bearing a few battle scars. An Azumarill followed, then an Audino, the latter stumbling a bit with the remnants of a vine wrapped around one leg and a bag across his back.

Astrid paused, blinking a bit in surprise at two of the three present, and immediately stood down. Arashi, however, made a few gasping sounds… and promptly fainted.

Raijin, on the other hand, didn't react the same. "Not today," he said flatly, the nest of lightning bolts crackling.

As soon as they saw the bolts, a Light Screen went up about their new company, and the Scrafty and Azumarill instantly prepared to take the offensive too.

Astrid, however, quickly jumped in front of the Xurkitree, crying, "Raijin! No!"

The Beast seemed confused but didn't fire the attack, instead protesting, "Really, Astrid?! You should know better by now! Don't make this easy for them!"

"I do know better!" the Dartrix protested back, not budging. "Remember what Arashi was saying earlier?! Like, when we first left the cliffs?!"

It only took a few moments for the bolts to dissipate and the one aiming them to twitch with a metallic gasp, shrinking up shyly. "Ah-! Never mind! S-sorry!"

Astrid gave a quick look to her fainted partner and rolled her eyes, but nonetheless turned around to look at the others in the forest. A certain Scrafty eased up and started getting a grin, and Rozen's Light Screen faded. Their own aquatic company relaxed too.

Rush laughed, crossing his arms. "A'ight, hold up," he remarked, looking them over. "A Dartrix and Frogadier, and y'all are throwing out the names Astrid and Arashi. Don't tell me it's you again!"

"And this one has fainted again," Rozen noted of the Frogadier, scurrying over to him, "Poor thing has been in bad shape both times I've seen him."

Astrid certainly knew better that no, her partner wasn't in bad shape at all, but refrained from mentioning such. Raijin studied them, especially the Audino as he gave Arashi a Heal Pulse, but didn't make a sound.

The Azumarill, however, chuckled, softening up. "Hey! I've heard about you two, then!"

"I-it's us," Astrid replied softly, fluffing out a bit uncertainly, "A-and th-this is-"

"The fuck are you?!" Rush exclaimed, turning his attention to the Xurkitree. "After what I heard, I'd be inclined to beat the everloving hell out of you, but if this little pipsqueak is tellin' ya what to do, I don't guess I gotta!"

Astrid fluffed out even more at being called a 'pipsqueak' again, but didn't bother voicing her opinion on such. It would probably be to no avail.

Raijin shrank up some more, sticking his arms behind his back shyly. "I-I can explain…"

"Th-that's Raijin," Astrid quickly cut in. "H-he's on our team now. A-and there's a lot he can explain, a-actually…"

Three sets of eyes fell on them, all of them shocked.

"Hold up," Rush laughed, studying her incredulously. "Ain't this the asshat that attacked you? I remember that conversation, and you were actin' terrified!"

"Y-yes, that was me," Raijin said quickly. "And there's an explanation for that too…"

Rush still seemed incredulous, but didn't push the issue further. He looked back to Astrid and inquired, "A'ight then, Li'l-li'l Green, I'll take your word. But, since you're comin' from Tranquil Town, lemme ask ya somethin' else- the hell's with that giant cloud of smoke? It's comin' from your direction, and we got word from one of our other members that the damned forest was on fire."

She was caught off guard just a bit again, and tried to find the right words to express the happenings around the town outskirts, but hardly managed to get out an 'um' or 'er' without changing the sentence in her head again.

At that moment, however, Arashi jumped up again, awake and active, a huge grin on his face. "Kyah! What happened?! I'm not dreaming or dead, am I?!"

Rozen gave him a gentle pat, chuckling a bit at his sudden outburst. "No, dear, you are very much alive. Are you alright?"

The Dartrix could easily tell her friend was trying not to burst into excited cheers or jump for joy, for his eyes practically bulged out of his head and his grin was as wide as it could possibly go.

"Y-yeah! I'm great! Absolutely fantastic!" Arashi affirmed, trying to restrain his sheer enthusiasm, then looking around, "You haven't seen Salem or any of Salem's underlings, have you?! We're kinda on the run from her at the moment!"

Yet again, three surprised glances fell on them.

"So it was Salem!" the Azumarill exclaimed, her tail wagging. "Wow! She came close this time!"

Rush laughed again, pounding one fist into his other palm. "Captain of the Bitch Brigade decided to wave her wand, huh?! Ehehe, I was hopin' so! I'd love to throw down with that royal jackass!"

Both of Rush's comrades haplessly shook their heads at his mannerisms, and Raijin too seemed a bit timid.

Nonetheless, the Scrafty quieted down and looked over the Starstorm trio. "A'ight, so you're on the run from her, ya say?"

All three of them nodded.

"That's gotta suck!" Rush half-laughed and half-shouted, "Then in that case, Rozen, Big Blue, fuck our mission 'cause we know what went down now! These three are comin' with us!"

At that, Arashi's eyes went bulging out of his head again and he started making a few gasping sounds, while Raijin and Astrid perked up with intrigue. They had definitely intended to go seeking them out, but… one way or another, their meeting was seeming more and more convenient.

"Oooh! We get visitors!" the Azumarill cheered, clapping her hands and looking happy at the thought. "That's always fun!"

"Yup, so no Surfing on crazy Fennekin forms today- we better bolt," Rush affirmed, then looking back at the Starstorm trio, "Whatcha say? The Crossroads are a pretty safe place to be, and if that wily asshat shows up, we'll give her hell! We can't just leave two pipsqueaks and whatever the hell Raijin is alone with Salem lookin' for ya! Then ya can tell us what gives!"

Arashi looked like he was about to faint again, but a nudge from Astrid kept him from doing so.

"Th-that'd be great," said the Dartrix.

Rush laughed, crossing his arms and turning back the way they'd come. "Then c'mon! We'll navigate around the dungeons to get there faster! Don't get lost!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Rush was setting off and motioning for them to follow along. With another glance shared among them (and a few more happy gasping sounds from Arashi), the Starstorm trio wasn't wasting time in trailing after Rush's group too.