Author's Notes

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Shallot's miffed grunt was partially drowned out by the pink noise of plummeting raindrops, made deafening as it reverberated off from every brick surface. Tart's ample ears, however, picked up the vocalization with ease.

"Do not fret, dearest Shallot. You are sure to get it working soon enough!"

"It's not just the flashlight, Poptart." The fennekin tossed the broken device over his shoulder. It landed on the ground with a wet splash, echoed by the consistent patter of six wet paws.

A small sigh escaped Tart's lips, her arms folding as her gaze averted her friend. Not that it mattered, much, with the near complete darkness they found themselves in.

The two pokémon's capes and paws were both drenched and lined with mud.

"I know, I know... I simply wished to offer what little encouragement I am yet capable of."

"I... I 'preciate it, Tart. Really do. It's just, you know..."

"I do."

They continued their walk in relative silence. Their coats sagged as they were assaulted with heavy rainfall.

A flash of lightning in the distance elicited a shriek from the two. They fell forward into the half-inch layer of water covering the sidewalk.

An angered roar escaped Shallot's throat. The area lit up brightly as hot fire exploded from his body, the sustained flame evaporating the nearby water with a roaring hiss. A skitty ahead of them squealed in fear, turning to dash away. The minccino's vision became obscured in the cloud of steam.

Tart's concerned voice rang out. "Shallot, calm down!" She held out a paw to place comfortingly upon his back, though pulled back with a wince as the fury made physical licked at her pads.

A long, low growl met her ears. The area slowly dimmed back to pitch black, the loud hissing of vapor dissipating with it.

Tart's paw once again made for Shallot's back, before retreating with a yelp as it became apparent his fur was not yet cool.

"I can't take it, Tart. Everything is going badly. Everything. My family is gone, my sister's team is gone with them, this stupid fucking storm has been going on all week, and I don't know if our friends are okay!"

"Shut up, Shallot. Your complaining will do no good."

"You shut it!"

"Extremely creative. Truly, I admire your comeback."

"Fuck you. Fuckin' bitch."

"Insolent brat."

"Stupid whore."

"Whining child."

"Absolute bastard."

"Onion fox."

"That's not even an insult!"

"Nothing could be more insulting than your mere existence, dear Shallot."

"Fuck you."

"When we arrive at our destination, perhaps."

"I look forward to it."

"As do I."

"You do a real good job showing it."

Tart let out a long sigh.

"My... apologies."

"Fer'?"

"I should not have gotten upset at you for venting. I am just stressed, is all. For the same reasons you have aired, largely."

"That's no excuse to go snappin' at people, Tart."

"Obviously. That is the precise reason why I apologized, genius. It was not an excuse; it was an explanation."

"Don't need ta' be a bitch about it."

"Don't need ta' tell me what I already know."

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that. I don't see the big deal, though."

"Hmph."

The two continued their journey with no more words spoken for a while. Shallot's eyes occasionally wandered about the inky darkness. Tart shuddered in mild disgust at the feeling of the mud clinging to her fur.

They came to a stop thirty minutes later at an old stone doorstep. A flat roof was build above the patio, a barrage of water flowing off the side. Shallot reached to knock on the door, but was stopped as Tart held out a paw. Said appendage then lifted up to ring the doorbell.

The fennekin mocked a fart sound with a roll of his eyes. His friend gave a smug glance. He reached out to flick her nose with his meager telekinesis, which only elicited a small giggle.

The pokémon's attention turned back to the door as faint paw-steps were heard inside. The towering, imposing door opened with an extended ear-grating squeal. The head of a ninetales poked out, briefly looking about the porch. Seeing no one there, she called out.

"Hello?" came her velvety voice. A concerned frown adorned her features, with a bit of a tremble assaulting her muscles. She turned back around, calling inside as one of her flowing tails pulled the door shut.

"No one was there, honey."

Shallot and Tart released the breaths they'd been holding as they clung to the patio ceiling. They dropped down silently. Shallot was the first to speak up in a whisper.

"Ya' think he got the signal?"

"Hard to say. Let us go look, either way."

The pair crept off from the patio just in time to see a second-story window open up. A long, red sheet was soon lowered down, which the two began to scale.

A shriek of terror pierced the downpour's relentless roar as a near deafening crash shook the area. The three pokémon were momentarily blinded by the flash. The groaning of old wood joined the song of focused wrath.

Waffle was pulled away just in time for a colossal trunk to impact his previous location. His breaths came fast and shallow as he stared at the fallen tree.

"Waffle! You must be having more of the caution of where you are positioning yourself! Do not be freezing in fear; flee when needed!"

The panicing eevee flinched away as he was chided by Lemon. He felt a pressure threatening his throat as a tear streaked down his already soaked cheek.

"Yeah, man. You've gotta be careful, 'aight?" Pear crossed his arms, tapping one paw impatiently.

A choked sob is all that met their ears. The two gave a sigh.

"I will be carrying you now, Waffle." Lemon pushed his snout carefully under Waffle's form, shifting the slightly smaller eevee onto his back. He raised a paw to wipe the mud off his face, only for the mud on his paw to take its place.

The trio of pokémon continued their trek. The muddy path through the woods was barely illuminated by the lantern Pear carried. The canopy above did little to keep out the rain, only really blocking out what little sunlight was peeking through the thick, dark cloud layer.

As Waffle's shuddering simmered down, he gave a shaky sigh.

"W-w-we should g-go home..."

Lemon barked a small laugh.

"We can not be returning home now, Waffle! We have already committed."

"I'm n-not sure... There's a-always the option..."

Pear soon joined in on the conversation.

"Can it, shrimp. There's nothing for us back there. You can feel free to run along back to mommy and daddy if you want."

"Pear, you know as well as I that Waffle could not make it back alone!"

"Not our problem."

"Not your problem. It's mine for sure!"

"Waffle's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"If you were paying attention, you may have noticed that he almost became more pizza-like than is normal. Thin-crust, I might add."

"Hey, pizza ain't sound too bad. Might gotta call up a pie when we get to the guild."

Lemon gave Pear an incredulous stare.

"Please be excusing of me, but did you just say 'call up a pie'?"

Pear raised an eyebrow. His arms crossed as he returned Lemon's gaze.

"Uh... Yeah?"

"Nobody else is doing the speaking of that. Please do not use that phrase."

"Really? Huh. My cousin says it all the time."

"That is an entire packaging of bologna and you are knowing of it!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."

Their bantering was interrupted as they heard a throat clearing.

"G-g-guys, we're h-here."

The chespin blinked in surprise, holding out his lantern. A rickety wooden sign was posted at the end of the path. Beyond it, thick foliage parted to reveal nothing but darkness.

Lemon squinted to read the faded red lettering of the post.

"Danger! Onya Woods Dungeon ahead. Difficulty: one star. Floors: two."

"Sweet. Let's head in."

"A-are you s-s-sure we should be g-going into a mystery dungeon? During this storm? When no one knows w-where we are?"

"It is the quickest of ways to travel the woods. We will be being at the guild without much time having passed!"

"And, besides. If we're gonna start a team, we're gonna have to get used to them anyway."

"W-w-why are we m-making a team anyway?"

"Simple, shrimpy. Who would suspect guild members of being thieves?"

Reddish-brown paws dug into the ground as a muzzle pulled relentlessly on the long sheet of fabric. Slowly, carefully, agonizingly, the sheet was pulled up and up and into the room. It wasn't long before a fennekin and minccino tumbled onto the yellow carpet.

The two made to reorient themselves, before looking up to their new acquaintance.

They put their bags to the floor. Shallot was the first to speak.

"Yo, Sal'! Good ta' see ya'."

Salami's six fiery tails gave a small swish, though he shushed them with a wave.

"Shhhhush!" he hissed. "You're not supposed to be here, and I'm not supposed to be awake! Why are you a few days early?"

The vulpix's back arched a bit, his eyes darting around in suspicion. They soon came to focus on the bags they had been carrying.

"Our plans have changed, I'm afraid. Shallot's family has disappeared, and it was decided that we should depart sooner to assist in the search."

The vulpix's ears flattened a bit.

"I... See. Should I get packin'?"

"Yap!"

Salami's ears flattened further.

"Wait... Missin'? Oh, no... That's... No good!"

"Yeah. Sucks a whole lot."

"My sister's missin' too."

Shallot's ears perked up, as did Tart's. Shallot rushed forward, forcing Salami to step back with a yelp.

"Is she?"

"Well... Yeah. Didn't y'all hear the news? Ever since this strange, long thunderstorm started, pokémon have been disappearin' left and right! The news says there's about nine er' so havin' vanished since it started a few days ago."

Tart's silver face somehow pulled further. Shallot felt as if a cleated foot had pierced his gut, releasing a low growl.

"That's... Ludicrous! Perhaps we should rethink our next move if it is this dangerous..." Tart's head lowered as she suggested the idea.

Shallot's rough bark interjected.

"Hell no! If there's somethin' happenin', we've gotta stop it! Can't just sit here doin' a whole lot of nothin' if a whole lot of somethin' somethin' has happened to my family!"

The Onya Woods Dungeon was dead silent. The heavy rain of the outside did not carry on inside the dungeon, leaving a heavy absence in the air. Nothing, save for the rushing of blood in their heads, met the trio's ears.

The oppressive roar of the downpour was absent, as well as the thick clouds once blocking the light. The path ahead was clear.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Pear mumbled.

"Seconded!"

"Th-thirded..."

They crept forward slowly, the soft grass parting easily for their muddy paws. Waffle once more walked alongside his friends, though with a noticeable quiver with each movement.

Two paths were soon open in front of them. The trio looked between each other.

"Is anyone having of ideas?"

"M-m-m-mommy always t-told me l-l-left is always r-r-right..."

"That's stupid, Shrimpy. Left is the opposite of right."

"B-b-but it's w-w-worth a t-try?"

"So, are we to be proceeding left?"

"Right."

"Ah, proceeding right."

"No, left."

"Left?"

"Right."

"Left!"

"Yes, left!"

"Right."

"No!"

"FUCK!"

Lemon pulled his head back as a long point whizzed pissed. The trio turned to see a weedle staring at them.

"A-a-a f-feral!"

"Yeah, whatever."

The yellow pokémon began to spin string, but was cut off with a screech as Lemon's iron-tail impacted its head. A sickening crunch echoed throughout the small clearing. The bug-type squealed and writhed in pain as greenish blood oozed from its cracked exoskeleton. Pear's foot came down on its head soon after, fully crushing it. The body curled up in on itself as its life was ended.

Waffle let out a long whine, shuddering as his wide eyes took in the scene. Pear huffed, with Lemon giving a hearty laugh.

"Don't worry, Waf'! We will be protecting you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, you two. We've still got aways to go."

They set off down the left path, Waffle's eyes not leaving the corpse as he was once again carried by Lemon.

It wasn't long before they came upon a staircase, which they took to the next floor of the dungeon. The walk through remained eerily quiet, yet nothing else impeded their progress. They soon arrived at the end of the dungeon, bringing them back out into the cold, dark rainstorm of the outside.