Hey everyone! Today, it has been five years since I posted the original version of the first chapter of this fic on the Serebii forums!
Time sure flies, huh? I feel like my writing skills have improved a lot these past few years as I've worked on the story. Of course, I still feel like I have a lot more to learn, so I hope I'll be able to improve my writing skills even further!
Anyways, with this being sort of the five year anniversary for PMD: Reflecting Balance, I figured it was only appropriate to post a new chapter today!
Thanks to everyone who has been following the story so far! I hope you're all enjoying it! Feel free to leave a comment/review/reply to let me know what you think about it!
Well, here it is! Chapter 52!
Chapter 52: I simply can't ignore someone in trouble.
Neither of them had said much during the exploration of the last few floors. After somehow getting separated from Chiaki and Azure when moving on to a new floor, Blitz and Sera were eventually forced to move on when they realized their teammates weren't coming. Even though they were worried about their teammates, they couldn't go back the way they came since the stairs vanished behind them the moment they stepped onto the next floor. They could only move forward, as the wild Pokémon would certainly trap them if they stayed in one place for too long. They had to keep moving.
Eventually, they reached a floor with a Kangaskhan rock in it where they could stop and take a break. While Blitz took a moment to sort through their items, Sera just kept staring in the direction they had entered the room from, as if hoping their missing teammates would appear.
"They're… okay, right?" Sera asked, her ears drooping down.
"I hope so," Blitz responded, closing the lid on the treasure bag as he turned to look at Sera.
"What do you think happened?" Sera asked, looking over at Blitz.
"I don't know," Blitz responded, shaking his head. "There's simply no way either of us could know what happened on that floor after we left it…"
The two of them sat there in silence for a few moments.
"No wild Pokémon will appear here…" Sera commented, looking around. "Maybe we could wait here for Chiaki and Azure to catch up…"
"We could, but… I just get the feeling that might take a while…" Blitz responded, frowning.
"So you think we… should just keep going without them?" Sera asked, seeming displeased with this idea.
"We're not going to leave them behind, of course," Blitz responded, shaking his head. "I think… we should try to catch up to one of the other rescue teams. Things should at the very least be easier with their help. And who knows, maybe Chiaki and Azure will catch up while we look for the other teams…"
"That would be nice," Sera replied, her ears perking up just a little. "But, can't we stay here just a few more minutes first? See if they show up?"
"Sure," Blitz responded, nodding his head. "We'll wait for a bit."
The two of them sat on the icy floor, in front of the Kangaskhan rock, taking the time to gather their strength for the next few floors. Blitz looked over at Sera, wondering if she'd be able to keep her focus during the exploration of the next few floors, even if Chiaki and Azure were still missing. Getting distracted in a situation like this was simply too dangerous, which was why Blitz was trying his best not to imagine what might've happened to their friends. If he could stay strong, then maybe Sera would be okay too. They would get through this together, and find their teammates.
Blitz closed his eyes for a moment, trying to clear his mind. His fangs began to heat up as he focused on channeling his power into them. Sera looked over at Blitz as he opened his mouth slightly, seeing the orange light from his glowing fangs.
"Blitz…?" Sera said, tilting her head slightly. "What are you doing?"
The orange glow slowly faded, and Blitz soon opened his eyes and turned to look at Sera.
"In order to keep working towards overcoming my fears… I need to be able to use my Fire Fang and Ice Fang attacks in battle," Blitz explained.
"Ah, I see," Sera responded, nodding her head slightly.
"I've been working on the technique while training at the dojo, so I should be able to use them without doing more damage than necessary," Blitz said, taking a moment to adjust his red scarf. "I'd be even more useful in battle against foes that can resist my electric attacks… For example, my Fire Fang attack would surely be useful in our current situation."
"I suppose it would," Sera replied, looking a bit concerned. "But… you shouldn't force yourself to use those attacks… I mean…"
"I know," Blitz responded, sighing. "My past will remain a part of me, as much as I at times wish I could just forget it all…"
"Blitz…" Sera replied, her ears drooping down.
"As for the future… It doesn't seem quite as scary as it did before," Blitz said, rubbing the rings on his forelegs together. "Of course, there are still things that worry me…"
"I understand that," Sera responded, looking down at the ground.
"I truly appreciate everyone's support," Blitz said, smiling. "But you can't solve all my problems for me."
"I… guess not," Sera responded, holding a paw to her chin. "We can still help, though!"
"Of course," Blitz replied, nodding his head. "However, I need to start doing something about it too. If I just keep telling myself that there's nothing I can do to change things, then… well, I won't be able to change them. It's kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy."
"Makes sense, I guess," Sera responded.
"I'm not really sure why I never realized that until recently," Blitz said, smiling sheepishly and looking away. "Maybe I'm stupider than I thought…"
"Hey, don't say that!" Sera responded, frowning. "You're not stupid…"
The two of them were quiet for a few moments, seeming unsure of what to say.
"So… Do you have any idea about what to do?" Sera eventually asked. "With the whole stuff about the future, I mean."
"Not really," Blitz responded, shaking his head. "I suppose I'd have to return to Lightning Plateau in order to sort some of those things out…"
"Ah, right," Sera replied, nodding her head.
"… You know, I had a talk with Chiaki a few nights ago," Blitz said. "Chiaki talked about how he'd like to stay in Fenix Town with us, but that there may be somewhere else he needs to return to someday…"
"Oh?" Sera replied, tilting her head slightly.
"Yeah," Blitz responded, nodding his head. "I also like living in Fenix Town, with you and everyone else, but… my stay in Fenix Town… was supposed to only be temporarily, you know?"
"… Right," Sera responded, her ears drooping down slightly. "So… Does that mean that whenever you return to Lightning Plateau to sort things out… you won't come back?"
Blitz didn't seem to sure how to answer that.
"… Well, I guess your mother and your sister are there, and they might want you to stay with them…" Sera said, sighing. "I understand that."
Blitz quietly nodded his head.
"… I… can't really imagine what living far away from your family is like," Sera said, looking down at the ground. "I've always been surrounded by my older siblings… they're always there, waiting for me to return home from my missions."
Blitz smiled as he listened to what Sera had to say.
"If you decided to stay with your family, I'd… understand," Sera said, closing her eyes for a moment. "Of course, I'd miss you, but…"
"Well, there's no need to worry about such things just yet," Blitz responded, reassuringly touching Sera's paw with his own. "It'll definitely take a while before I'm ready to return to Lightning Plateau, so… let's just focus on the things we need to do now."
"… Okay," Sera replied, smiling at Blitz.
"On that note, I think we've waited long enough…" Blitz said, getting up. "Even though Chiaki and Azure haven't caught up yet, we should keep going."
"… Yeah, I guess we should," Sera responded, her ears drooping slightly.
Sera got up on her feet, and followed Blitz as he headed for the path leading deeper into the mystery dungeon. They looked back in the direction they had come from one more time, before stepping into the next part of the dungeon to continue their search.
Chiaki could see it. Shining from inside a large block of ice was a light blue crystal. Several ice spikes of various sizes were surrounding it, making it a bit difficult to get close enough to get a better look. There was no way these spikes had formed naturally. Chiaki assumed it had been set up this way either by some of the wild Pokémon living on the mountain using their ice attacks, or by Erebos himself using his magic. If it was the latter, then the ice itself was likely enchanted in some way…
From within the ice, the crystal was calling out to Chiaki.
Chiaki glanced around at the ice spikes, nervous about potentially triggering a trap, since he had no way of knowing what Erebos might've done. However, he had to get to that crystal. He just had to…
"… aki…"
He nervously took a step forward.
"…ey… ki…"
However, his vision was getting fuzzy. He felt dizzy.
"Ca… u… ear… me?"
He couldn't move. Had his body suddenly frozen?
"... up!"
Wait… This voice…
"… Chiaki!"
It was a familiar voice. One he knew well. But where was it coming from? He barely seemed to notice that his surroundings were fading away as he tried to find it…
Azure was sitting by the still unconscious Chiaki's side, waiting for him to wake up. As he seemed to be coming to his senses, the concerned expression on Azure's face seemed to become mixed with a hint of impatience, as she began calling to him to help him return to consciousness. As Chiaki groaned and slowly opened his eyes, Azure smiled and patted his head.
"Ah, you're awake!" Azure said, sighing in relief. "I was wondering how long you'd keep me waiting!"
"… A-Azure?" Chiaki mumbled, glancing around at his surroundings. "Huh? Where… is this?"
The last thing Chiaki remembered was that he and Azure had been fighting against wild ice type Pokémon in the mystery dungeon. But now the two of them were inside an icy cave that was seemingly not a part of the dungeon, lying on a pile of leaves arranged on the ground as a bed.
"Well, after you accidentally knocked yourself out during our battle against those three wild ice-type Pokémon, I was in a bit of a pinch," Azure began explaining. "I wasn't even sure how I was going to get us out of that one."
"… So, what did you do?" Chiaki asked, sitting up.
"I kept fighting, of course," Azure responded, grinning. "I'm not the type to give up, you know."
"Yes, of course," Chiaki replied, nodding his head.
"However, even with my strength and stuff, I'm not sure how long I would've lasted," Azure continued, sighing in relief. "So, it's a good thing Wynn showed up when he did."
"… Wynn?" Chiaki inquired, tilting his head slightly.
"The Absol who lives here," Azure clarified, grinning. "He's the one who brought us here, after helping me deal with those wild Pokémon."
"Ah, I see," Chiaki responded, smiling and nodding his head. "So he saved us…"
"Yep," Azure replied, nodding. "You should've seen him in action."
"Where is he now?" Chiaki asked, looking around. "I need to thank him…"
"He and I talked for a bit, and then he headed back outside," Azure responded. "Said there was something else he needed to take care of… He said he'd be back soon, though."
"Oh, is that so?" Chiaki replied, sighing.
"So, how are you feeling?" Azure asked, curiously examining her teammate. "Does it hurt anywhere?"
"Ah… Now that you mention it, I guess I'm still feeling a bit sore…" Chiaki responded, looking down at his hind legs. "I'm sure I can walk it off, though… Huh, Azure? Where are you going?"
Azure had suddenly gotten up and run off somewhere. Chiaki curiously looked over in the direction she had gone, as she returned carrying something in her paws. As she sat back down on the leaves and put down what she'd been carrying, Chiaki saw that it was a few Oran berries.
"Where'd you find those?" Chiaki asked.
"Wynn said to help ourselves to anything we need while he's out," Azure responded, smiling at Chiaki. "He's got plenty of items to spare, so he said not to worry about it!"
"Oh, I see," Chiaki replied, picking up one of the Oran berries. "Well, if it's really okay, then…"
Chiaki quickly ate the Oran berries, soon regaining more of his energy.
"I wonder how Blitz and Sera are doing…" Azure said, sighing. "Once Wynn gets back, we should probably try to catch up to them."
"Agreed," Chiaki responded, nodding his head. "I'm sure they're okay, though. We got separated when we were looking for the crystal from Nightmirror Forest, and we all managed to get through that and reunite without too much trouble."
"I hope you're right," Azure replied. "Although… Didn't you guys tell me that the ghost-type Pokémon in the mystery dungeon of Nightmirror Forest didn't actually fight you because they needed your help, or something?"
"Uh, yeah," Chiaki responded, nodding his head. "They needed our help to save Nereza from Erebos' spell."
"So, the situation was a bit different that time," Azure said.
"I guess so," Chiaki responded, rubbing the back of his head. "But even so, I'm sure Blitz and Sera are okay!"
Azure seemed like she was about to say something, when she suddenly heard something. Her ears twitched as she turned towards the tunnel.
"What is it?" Chiaki asked, noticing Azure's reaction. "Ooh, is Wynn back?"
"Sounds like it," Azure responded, listening closely. "And… he's not alone."
"Huh?" Chiaki replied, tilting his head.
"Those voices…" Azure said, looking surprised.
Chiaki followed Azure out of the room and headed towards the entrance of the cave, where they saw Wynn helping Mirage and her teammates into the cave. Mirage's fur was messier than normal and had small pieces of ice sticking to it, and she was carrying Cordyceps under one arm. Chiaki and Azure couldn't tell if Cordyceps was conscious or not as Mirage carried him, but he seemed to at least be shivering from the cold. Megara was walking close to her teammates, seeming to be trying to help them warm up.
"It really is them!" Azure exclaimed, looking over at the other rescue team.
"Huh? You two… you're here too?" Mirage said, seeming out of breath.
"Mirage… What happened to you guys?" Chiaki asked, looking at the three of them with concern.
"Well, to make a long story short…" Mirage replied, sighing. "Ice types kept giving us trouble, Megara ran out of energy for her fire attacks, not enough healing items…"
"Ugh, I'm sorry, guys," Megara said, looking down. "I guess I… overestimated my abilities…"
"The mushroom… is sorry too…" Cordyceps muttered, groaning in pain. "It's because of me that… our supply of Reviver Seeds was depleted so quickly…"
"Heh… I messed up too, you know?" Mirage said, putting Cordyceps down on the ground. "I was the one who decided we'd go on this mission, and then I ended up losing my cool with everything that kept happening…"
"Sounds like… you guys had a rough time, to say the least," Azure commented, frowning a bit. "Those ice types sure are annoying…"
"I guess you ran into trouble with them too?" Mirage inquired, before realizing something as she looked around. "Wait… Where's Blitz and Sera?"
"We got separated," Azure explained, sighing. "Some stupid ice-types showed up out of nowhere while we were trying to move on to the next floor…"
"Ah… I see," Mirage responded, blinking a few times. "So, they're still out there?"
"Yeah," Azure replied, nodding. "We'll be heading back out again soon to try to find them."
"Are you sure you've rested up enough?" Wynn asked, looking at Chiaki and Azure with a stoic expression.
"Our friends are probably worried," Chiaki said, looking up at the Absol. "The sooner we can find them, the better."
"Plus, we wanna make sure they're okay too!" Azure added. "We don't have time to sit around in here!"
"… Very well," Wynn responded, nodding his head once. "We'll make our preparations, and then I will help you two find your friends."
"Thank you so much!" Chiaki said, smiling up at Wynn.
Wynn led the other Pokémon over to where he kept his item hoard, so that he, Chiaki and Azure could stock up on the supplies they needed before heading back into the mystery dungeon. Wynn also let Mirage know that she and her teammates were free to help themselves to whichever items they needed in the meantime. As they were making the last few preparations, Azure looked over at Mirage and her teammates.
"So… While we're out there looking for our friends and the crystal, what will you guys do once you've rested up?" Azure asked.
"I don't know," Mirage responded, shaking her head. "We may have no other options but to head back out there, as we lost our rescue team badge somewhere…"
"Your rescue team badge?" Azure replied, her eyes widening a bit in surprise before turning over to Chiaki. "Hey, could that be…?"
"Oh!" Chiaki exclaimed, quickly pulling out the frozen rescue team badge he had picked up earlier out of his scarf. "I found this earlier! It's yours, isn't it?"
"Whoa, that's it!" Mirage replied, grinning as she took the badge back from Chiaki. "Thanks! I owe ya one!"
"No problem," Chiaki responded, smiling back at Mirage. "I'm just glad you were able to get it back, even if it's still frozen…"
"Leave that to me!" Megara said, holding out her hand. "I'll have that thawed out in no time!"
Mirage nodded her head and handed the badge to Megara. The fire duck held the badge between her clawed hands, letting her own body heat begin melting the ice around the badge.
"… This should be sufficient," Wynn said, looking over the items he had decided to bring along. "You two, are you ready to head out?"
"You bet I am!" Azure responded, grinning.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Chiaki replied, nodding his head.
"Very well," Wynn responded, nodding in acknowledgement. "Then, we should get going."
"Good luck, you guys," Mirage said. "We'll rest up here, and then… I guess we'll either head back to Fenix Town, or we might try to catch up to you guys…"
"The mushroom would prefer the first option," Cordyceps commented.
"Be careful out there!" Megara said, still working on thawing out the badge.
"Don't worry about us!" Chiaki responded, waving to the other rescue team. "We'll be fine!"
"Yeah, so you guys just take it easy for now," Azure said.
Wynn led the way as he, Chiaki and Azure headed outside and back into the mystery dungeon. He didn't spend much time deciding which way to go, and seemed to have a clear idea of which path would get them to the next floor with minimal trouble. It was likely due to the natural precognitive abilities of his species that he knew which paths would lead to the most danger, and thus how to avoid it.
"I wonder how far Blitz and Sera have made it by now," Azure said, helping Chiaki and Wynn listen for potential threats. "Sting's team is also around somewhere, aren't they? I wonder if any of them have gotten close to the crystal yet…"
"The crystal…" Chiaki muttered, holding a paw to his chin.
"Huh? Is something on your mind?" Azure asked.
"I… I saw it," Chiaki responded, blinking a few times.
"… Saw what?" Azure inquired, looking a bit confused.
"The crystal," Chiaki responded, closing his eyes for a moment. "It was inside this block of ice, and… there were these ice spikes around it, and…"
"Wait, what?" Azure replied, her eyes widening. "What are you talking about? How can you possibly have seen the crystal?"
"I… I don't know," Chiaki responded, shaking his head. "It's like… it appeared to me in a dream…"
"Appeared to you… in a dream?" Azure replied, staring at Chiaki incredulously. "Are you messing with me right now?"
"N-No! I wouldn't!" Chiaki exclaimed, turning around to face Azure. "I really did see it!"
Azure didn't seem to know how to respond to this. Chiaki couldn't blame her, of course. He didn't really understand it himself.
"Hey, you two," Wynn said, stopping and looking at the two smaller Pokémon following behind him. "We need to keep moving."
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Chiaki responded, turning back around.
"Don't worry about it," Wynn replied, shaking his head. "Let's just keep going."
Chiaki and Azure continued following Wynn, occasionally having to fight off wild Pokémon as usual.
"Seriously, I don't get it," Azure said. "Why would you have a dream about the crystal?"
"Like I said, I don't really understand it myself…" Chiaki responded, shaking his head. "It just… happened."
Azure was quiet for a few moments, before speaking up again.
"Well, I suppose it doesn't necessarily mean anything," Azure said, shrugging slightly. "I mean… dreams are just the stuff we've been thinking about being tossed about inside our minds while we sleep, right?"
"Um… I guess?" Chiaki responded, tilting his head slightly.
"So, since we came here to look for that crystal, maybe it's not all that strange that you'd randomly dream about it, right?" Azure suggested.
"I guess not…" Chiaki replied, blinking a few times as he held a paw to his chin. "Um… The crystal in my dream… it was a light blue color…"
"… Okay?" Azure responded.
"I don't think we've seen a crystal that color yet…" Chiaki said, glancing at Azure behind him.
"The crystal we found in the Sapphire Sea was blue," Azure responded.
"Yeah, but that one was a darker blue," Chiaki replied, closing his eyes for a moment to try to picture the scene from his dream. "The one in my dream was a lighter blue…"
"Huh," Azure responded, taking a moment to think about. "Hey, did Stella say what color it was when she described her vision?"
"Um… I don't think she did…" Chiaki replied, glancing around. "… Did she?"
"Well… Either way, it probably doesn't mean anything," Azure said. "We don't even know for sure if the actual crystal is the same color as the one you saw in your dream."
"Hmm… Yeah, you have a point there," Chiaki responded, nodding his head slightly.
As Chiaki and Azure talked, Wynn quietly listened to their conversation. He glanced down at Chiaki, a somber expression crossing his face for a moment as he observed the young Mienfoo. However, they had to keep moving forward. Sooner or later, they would be able to catch up to their teammates.
"Um… Wynn?" Chiaki said, looking up at the Absol.
"Is something wrong?" Wynn asked, glancing down at Chiaki.
"No, nothing's wrong…" Chiaki responded, shaking his head. "I just… I never really introduced myself properly, did I? My name is Chiaki!"
"… I see," Wynn replied, turning his gaze back to the path ahead.
"And I… I wanted to thank you properly for helping us earlier," Chiaki said, smiling up at Wynn. "So… Thank you!"
"Well… I couldn't just stand by and do nothing," Wynn responded. "I simply can't ignore someone in trouble."
"I understand that feeling," Chiaki replied, still smiling.
Wynn gave a slight nod in acknowledgement. They kept on walking, doing their best to reach the next few floors. Chiaki hoped they would catch up to Blitz and Sera soon. He also wondered how Sting and his teammates were doing. Frosty was familiar with this part of the region, so perhaps he knew some tricks for how to make it through the area safely, much like Wynn. If so, then at least he didn't need to worry about them, right?
Shortly after arriving on one floor, Azure suddenly stopped, her ears twitching.
"… Was that Blitz just now?" Azure said, looking around.
"Huh? You heard Blitz?" Chiaki asked, turning to Azure. "He's on this floor?"
"I think so…" Azure responded, her ears still twitching. "I thought I heard him roar…"
"You two, watch out!" Wynn suddenly exclaimed.
Azure turned around to see a Glalie approaching. It opened its mouth as if to prepare an attack, only for Chiaki to beat it to the punch by jumping up and striking it with a paw, knocking it back slightly and causing it to flinch.
"Hey, don't disturb me, you big lump of ice!" Azure shouted, before spraying the Glalie with a stream of bubbles from her mouth.
Wynn quickly ran over and knocked the Glalie down to the ground with a strike from his horn. After making sure the Glalie had fainted, Wynn closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to be focusing on something.
"… If I'm right, then… there are a lot of wild Pokémon over in that direction," Wynn said, opening his eyes and looking towards one of the paths. "If your teammates are also on this floor, then chances are that we'll find them if we go there."
"Huh? Are they in trouble?" Chiaki asked, looking up at Wynn.
"They might be," Wynn responded, looking over at Chiaki and Azure. "The wild Pokémon here, especially in their current state, do seem to be actively seeking out anyone from the outside and force them out of the dungeon."
"I see," Azure replied. "So, that's why you think they might be over there…"
"Yes, I'd say there's a good chance of that," Wynn responded, nodding his head. "Even if they're not in any imminent danger just yet, it'd probably be best if we went over there as quickly as we can."
"What are we waiting for, then?" Azure asked, bouncing impatiently on her feet. "Let's go!"
"I'm ready too!" Chiaki said, clenching his fists. "Please take us there!"
"Very well," Wynn responded, nodding his head. "Come on, this way."
And so, Wynn led the way as they headed down the path that would hopefully lead to their friends. Once they were all reunited, they could focus on finding the crystal that still remained hidden somewhere on this mountain. Chiaki was certain that with Wynn's help, they would definitely succeed.
End of Chapter 52