Chapter 4: Starting at the Bottom


The trip back from the mystery dungeon went much smoother than Gible expected. He had some initial doubts as to how Mojave managed to drag him across the desert, but they cleared up quickly.

After Gible made as best a peace as he could with his new life, Mojave pulled out his badge. For as pompous as Mojave was when he acted like a protector, his badge was surprisingly plain. It was a simple, small brass disk that had a hammer engraved on one side. There was text circling the edge, but it was too small to read. The most impressive part of it all was the red gem embedded in the hammer's head.

The gem glowed red and black and pulsated brightly before releasing some kind of energy, and they were gone. One moment they were in a majestic valley, the next they were at Mojave's door. No sounds, no feelings, nothing. The only evidence that something had happened at all were the wisps that floated around the team.

They were the same color as the energy that came from the badge, and left a soft red trail as they floated. For some reason that Gible couldn't explain, looking at them filled him with dread. There was something about them that tickled him in all the wrong ways. His most basic instincts commanded him to rip the badge out of Mojave's grasp and melt the thing into slag, if only to make the wisps go away.

Gible managed to restrain himself.

"Huh. Your badge works just like that?"

"Yup!" Trapinch began, overflowing with cheer. "All you have to do is hold it and concentrate on somewhere close by that you've already been, and there it goes! You do feel okay, right? Standard procedure is to tell clients before we use the badge. I, uh, got a bit excited there." Mojave rubbed the back of his head with one of his legs.

"Don't worry, all good here. Or at least, as good as I can be. Just one thing though, is it supposed to make me feel mad? 'Cause I really want to break that thing," Gible admitted.

"That's… weird," Mojave murmured. "I think I know what you're talking about, I used to feel like that too. Just give it time. It'll probably sort itself out."

Well, that was a piece of… alright news. Not as bad as waking up totally amnestic, but not as good as his life being totally laid out for him.

"Good to know. Now let's get inside, it's really cold out here. Can't forget this!" Gible snatched the letter from earlier, still stuck to the door, and followed Mojave inside.

Mojave's place – his now too, Gible had to remind himself– was much warmer than the outside was. He couldn't quite figure out how that worked, but was just grateful that it did.

Gible handed the letter over to Mojave who started reading it to himself. Its contents must have not been what he was hoping for, and his mood soured as he continued.

"Darn. It's just the team's membership dues," he finally said. "Funny thing though, it looks like the bill is for a team of four, not one." Mojave was squinting at the page. "I think it is anyway, this guy has really messy handwriting." He chuckled to himself. "We'll sort this all out… eventually. We have a big day tomorrow, and that starts by going to bed early so we can wake up early!"

Oh joy. "Exactly how early are we talking?"

"Very early. The first thing my old leader taught me was how to wake up early. On the bright side, the sunrises are really pretty out here!" Early enough to see the sun rise. Great.


Gible woke to the slightly annoying feeling of being poked. It beat the sudden shock of coming into existence, so it was a step up from before.

"Ugh, alright. Mojave I'm awake." Gible slowly opened his eyes and picked himself up. When he came to, his entire vision was obstructed by Mojave's head. "Ugh, what time is it? Something tells me Pokémon aren't meant to wake up this early."

Mojave backed up from Gible, letting the dragon get a good look at his partner. Whatever Mojave was feeling, it was the exact polar opposite of what Gible was going through. The star shape in his eyes seemed to sparkle, and a wide grin was spread across his face.

"Oh come on, I let you sleep in an extra fifteen minutes! But to answer your question, the Moon should be setting soon. Plenty of time to get prepared for today!" One might even say it was more time than necessary.

"Prepare? What's there to do?"

Mojave's cheerfulness remained, but it was overtaken by the same bold tone he had taken when recruiting Gible. "Today's the day you take on your first official mission for the Protectors Association, there's plenty to prepare for! I have to explain the Jobs Board, show you some maps, there's a lot more than you might think!"

"Alright hold on, how about we take things one step at a time?" Gible's stomach growled as he finished. Right after, Mojave's stomach responded in kind.

"Yeah yeah, we can do that. And for step one, let's get some breakfast!" he beamed. "I hope you enjoyed yesterday's, because there's a lot more where it came from!"

Before he knew it, Gible was closely following Mojave through the streets of Korb Town, which were much more desolate than before.

The night sky was black and dotted with stars, and the Moon was nowhere to be seen. Gible hoped this meant the Sun would soon take its place. That would be nice.

Just like before, as the duo made their way to the town center it became slightly more populated. This time however, there were far fewer Pokémon about. Gible counted maybe one merchant, and he was sleeping at his stall.

He would really have to ask if the team could start waking up later. This was absolutely unbelievable. Besides their incredible, absolutely flawless mayors, merchants were supposed to be the backbone of cities, weren't they? If they didn't see it fit to get up this early there was no reason for Team Dune to either.

Still, Gible managed to push on despite his misgivings. When the pair got to town center it was mostly the same as it was the day before, just without all the Pokémon. Now Gible had the opportunity to get a good look at the place.

His assessment from before seemed to hold up. The center was still a square with four roads leading in and out, and stalls still lined the perimeter. What stood out the most was the "structure" in the middle of it all that he somehow missed.

Calling it a structure was honestly a bit of a stretch, as the poor thing barely kept itself together. Four basic sandstone pillars sprouted from a raised portion of the ground, and sitting on top of them was a row of planks that were hastily put together. As he approached, Gible could see how badly damaged the whole thing was from constant exposure to the Sun.

Sitting underneath it all was a bulletin board that was actually made with care. This must have been that "Jobs Board" that Mojave mentioned earlier. Both sides of it were absolutely smothered with papers containing images and text, with some pages more aged than others. Of note was a missing Pokémon poster of a zoroark that was yellower than sand.

Beneath the board were a few open-top crates that were overflowing with some kind of shiny discs. Closer inspection revealed them to be remarkably similar to Mojave's badge, the only difference being that instead of having a red gem, these things had blue.

Gible wanted to ask what they were, but was distracted by a buneary that was jumping on top of the pile trying to reach the board proper. In one of her paws were several pieces of paper that matched the others already posted.

"Come! On! Al-! Most! Got! It!" Her familiar voice cried out as she attempted to reach the board. She was ultimately unsuccessful and came tumbling to the ground. "Aw dangit, right back on my bruise…"

Mojave immediately moved to help her. "Woah, Buneary are you all right?"

She shook herself out before answering. "As fine as I can be. Landed right back on where I fell yesterday. Of course I have to be the one doing this…" she trailed off.

So this was the buneary from yesterday! Small world. What was her name, again? "That was you yesterday, Katelyn, right?" Gible started. "That drapion – what was her name? Denice? Dennys? She had a real mean right hook. Were you okay after that?"

"It was-" Buneary scoffed -"fine. And yep, that's my name. Most Pokémon don't even bother with it, so thank you." She smiled at Gible before frowning again. "I got dragged off to the dungeons by that stupid crustle. Did you know that Korb Town's dungeon has a children's wing? Talk about an insult! So what if I'm three? That's practically full-grown for a buneary!" Her words came out drowning in indignity.

Gible couldn't care less about how old Katelyn was, but that did raise an interesting question. How old am I? I'm obviously old enough to work, but still. Am I a child too? An adult? How old is Mojave? If Mojave and I were the same age, is it possible that he's an adult and I'm still a child?

Mojave continued the conversation. "Hey Buneary, I'm glad everything worked out for the most part, but what are you doing here? I've been using the board for a while and I've never seen you here. I-if you're fine with sharing of course, you've already been through a lot."

"Nah, it's fine. The mayor put a "gag order" or whatever on me, but you know what? Screw him! I'll tell you anyway." She flashed a wicked grin. "After I was done bouncing off the padded walls, Rings came over and told me just how disappointed he was in me. Said that I needed to "prove I was capable of benefitting society" or whatever, so now I gotta put listings on the board. Course the mayor forgot to give me a stepping stool, but whatever."

Despite the dejection in Katelyn's voice, Mojave couldn't have looked happier. If Gible hadn't ever met him, he would have assumed that something was seriously wrong with him.

"Oh! So you scribe all the recordings then? That's great!" He stammered over himself before continuing, "I mean it's a shame you're being punished, but you can start proving yourself right now! You see, Gible here-" Mojave nudged him for emphasis- "is a recruit protector! He just signed on yesterday! So why don't you explain to him how the Jobs Board works? That has to be what the mayor means!"

The buneary rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. I guess I can't say no here. It's extremely simple. Find the board, find a job, take the job, and do it. Can I finish up now? There's an ink shipment coming in and I don't wanna miss it."

Mojave clicked his tongue. "I guess that's an adequate explanation, but do the recorders now! There's nothing simple about them! I would know, I almost failed recorder training at the Academy!"

"I- That's not- You really shouldn't be so cheery when you say that. And also, they're not really relevant to the conversation, but fine." She sighed in resignation. "Gible, you see those shiny things in the crate? They're called recorders. You pick one up and touch the rock, then you say whatever it is you have to say. After that, whoever's unfortunate enough to have a receiver gets your message and turns it into a job listing. Happy, Trapinch?"

"Good enough for me. You got that, Gible?" Mojave stared at him expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah, simple enough. Recorder to receiver to Katelyn to the board. Speaking of, we need a job, huh? Anything look good?"

"There's a few I have in mind. What sounds bes-" Katelyn cut him off.

"Hey, slow down there! I helped you, so now you help me! I have this one right here." Katelyn started sifting through her stack of papers. She picked one out and handed it to Mojave.

"Came in half an hour ago. It's from one of my most important sources, and she sounded like she was in a lot of trouble. You wouldn't want to see the news crippled so soon after I got it running, would you?" Katelyn put on a frown and seemed to use a Move that made her eyes look bigger. The tone of her voice was sickeningly sweet, and it sounded like she was mocking Mojave.

He sighed. "Rule 3-B says I have to at least read this now that it's been presented to me, so here goes." Mojave cleared his throat and began.

"Please help! We are trapped at the bottom of Sutter's Gold Mine! We need to fight our way out but don't have enough Pokémon! -Magby Castra"

"Well that doesn't sound so bad," Gible started. "You know the way over?"

"Yeah it's not that far, but I'm not too sure about this. You can handle yourself in combat sure, but this isn't the kind of mission new recruits normally get." He then murmured quietly to himself, "Also, I don't do well going down…"

"Oh come on, we'll be fine! Besides, Castra needs help now, and we can do that! We're practically obligated to take this!"

Mojave made a clicking sound with his tongue. "No, you're right. It's a protector's duty to help those who need it, and this is as good an example as it gets." Mojave turned to face Katelyn and spoke boldly. "Buneary, Team Dune will take your mission."

Katelyn's eyes lit up, this time much more naturally. "Yes, you guys are the best! Keep up like this and I'll be writing articles about you two someday!" She hopped up and down and started pumping her paws in the air.

Almost imperceptibly, Mojave frowned.


Team Dune trudged through the desert for what felt like forever before arriving at their destination. By the time they arrived the Sun had just barely started poking above the mountains. Going through the wilderness with just the light of the Moon had been an experience, but they managed.

The rising Sun allowed Gible to survey the area around the mine's entrance. The team stood at the top of a hill that gave a moderate view of their surroundings. As far as the eye could see were more tan, dusty, dirty hills that ran for miles. Turning east, the way Team Dune came, Gible could see an imposing mountain range, and in front of them a spot of bright light.

Huh, looks like everybody's waking up now. Hope Mojave sees that too.

Looking west, Gible was met with a very sorry sight. Not that far away was a mighty river that cut through the desert. Spanning it was a bridge that didn't deserve to service the river it crossed. The poor thing looked like it could collapse at any second.

That bridge is probably the only thing in this entire desert that doesn't hope for rain.

And just on the other side of the bridge was a city, burning to the ground. Smoke billowed up and out of it, carried on the wind west. The parts of the city that weren't obscured by smoke looked remarkably familiar. From where Gible stood, it was like looking at a scale model of Korb Town.

The fire didn't seem to be too bad, but there was no way to know for sure. A burned out building could have housed unknowable amounts of families. Falling rubble could have killed countless more. The amount of Pokémon claimed by the fire itself was unfathomable.

Gible forced himself to look away. There was nothing to be done now. All he could do was focus on Castra, on the Pokémon he could save. He turned to the mine's entrance.

The way in was cut into the top of the hill and braced with wood. A pitiful lantern hung on a post, whatever fueled it had long since burned out. The remains of planks were shattered just inside the entrance. At one point somebody had tried to bar the way in. Droplets of some kind of green substance stained the ground.

"I, uh, have some misgivings of my own now," Gible started. "Any reason they didn't want anybody coming in?"

Mojave clicked his tongue before answering. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. For protectors and other like-minded individuals anyway. You see, a few years ago the mine got turned into a mystery dungeon. Used to be a perfectly average mine until that happened."

Gible was taken aback. "Wait, it turned into a mystery dungeon? There's no way that's true."

"Hey, it happens." Mojave began. "The town that ran this place was pretty much dependent on the gold that came out of here. Half of the population was working down there when it turned. All of them are ferals by this point." Mojave took a moment before continuing. "The town itself didn't fare any better. Nillsville, it's across the river, and the city Katelyn was talking about yesterday."

He continued, "We should get going. Alexander's going to be moving in if he hasn't already. He'll see us long before we ever see him, and that's the worst thing that could happen. One thing will lead to another, and the next thing you know we're knee deep in trouble. I'm the leader, so," he gulped, "I'll go first."

Gible followed him in, unable to think about the mission ahead. There was only one thing on his mind. Here's for some rain…


The form the dungeon took was what Gible expected. Brown rock walls enclosed them on either side. The dungeon's corridors were tunnels that were crudely carved into the earth. The walls and ceilings around them were braced with wood like the dungeon entrance was, and dim lanterns hung from the beams. Gible touched one and it broke on contact.

Team Dune cleared the first floor easily. Even though it seemed like there was an opponent in every room, the duo made it through with little difficulty. The majority of the ferals were weak to Mojave's Dig, so the team could progress just like they had back in the canyon.

There was one hiccup however. Some of the ferals – not all of them – had tiny bits of civilization stuck to them. Scraps of cloth hung around the neck of a simisear. An eelektrik wore a little miner's helmet that held the scars of a hundred battles. Facing Pokémon like these, Pokémon that shouldn't be here, hurt. Not the kind of hurt being hit by Rock Throw gives, but it was close.

Team Dune should have been helping these Pokémon, not fighting for their lives against them. If it was any consolation, the battles were normally one-sided and over as soon as they began. Hopefully, the part of their minds that processed self-awareness were the first to go.

Gible found himself envying the miners, in a way. Both he and the miners lost their former lives, but the miners didn't have to deal with the consequences. They could just sit in their cave and fight whoever came by. Gible had to fight goddesses for scraps of what he used to be.

Despite the moral implications of their actions, Team Dune reached the end of the first floor, where a challenge somehow greater than anything prior awaited them.

As soon as Gible saw the stairs cut into the ground, he cheered. "Alright! First floor cleared. That wasn't so bad, all things considered. Let's get going, the sooner we can stop fighting these guys, the better."

"Yup. Just gotta go down the stairs. Down, the, stairs." Mojave dragged on. It sounded like he was purposefully taking his time. "Down, down, down. Piece of cake."

"Mojave?" Gible started, his voice flat. "I've got the awful feeling that there's something you're not telling me."

Mojave cleared his throat before he began. Gible could tell from the look on his face that he didn't want to talk. "Alright, you were bound to learn eventually. Just don't think any less of me after you hear this, please?" That was something. The resignation in Mojave's voice led Gible to believe that this was something of grave importance.

"Hey, we might've started our partnership yesterday, but it'll take a lot for that to happen."

"Okay, here goes. I kind of…" He paused before continuing. "I can't go down stairs. I just- I can't help but feel like I'll trip on the way down. I freeze right at the top." Mojave's face was covered in shame. "I can do it if it comes to it, but it takes me forever to get up the nerve."

Gible thought for only a moment before replying. "That's not so bad. I dunno what I was expecting, but it was a lot more than that."

Mojave jumped back in surprise. "Wait, you don't care?"

Gible waved him off. "Well, I mean a little bit." It was important to be honest here. "But, if your only weakness is that you can't handle stairs, I'd say everything else about you more than makes up for it."

Gible could tell that Mojave didn't know how to respond. He just stood there, unmoving. He noticed the light catching on Mojave's eyes had a sparkle to it that wasn't there before. Were those tears? This clearly ran deeper than Gible thought.

He was still waiting on Mojave to respond when the trapinch came up and hugged him. Well, he tried his best to. It was a bit hard to do that when he walked on four short legs, but Mojave made it work. Gible certainly felt like he was being hugged.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Gible could feel some of Mojave's tears rub onto him. It didn't bother him. Mojave pulled back. "A-all the bullying, and the doubt back at the Academy and home… and then you come along just like that." The trapinch was trying hard to contain his emotions. Gible could see his eyes struggling to hold back tears, like a dam on the edge of bursting.

Mojave sniffled. "It's just," he sighed, "you're the best thing to happen to me in a long time, Gible." Gible's heart melted upon hearing that. He didn't think he did much, but he wasn't complaining. Mojave laughed to himself. "Look at me, getting just as emotional on your first mission as I did on mine."

Mojave shook himself off and flung his tears away. His brow tightened with raw determination. "No, there'll be time for that later. We're supposed to be professionals, no matter the circumstance. And right now, there are Pokémon counting on us to do just that. Come on!"

Mojave charged towards the stairs, radiating bravado. He went over the first step and tripped on his way down. "Waah-!"


The two proceeded through the dungeon relatively easily after the first floor. Once they cleared the first few levels the amount of feralized Pokémon they encountered dropped significantly. The only source of hardship was that Mojave fell down the stairs every time, starting off at a slight disadvantage.

Eventually, the two came upon a floor that was unlike any of the ones they had previously cleared. It was extremely small, and consisted of only one room. There was a weathered statue of a kangaskhan in the middle of the room, and directly behind it was a tunnel that led out. Gible could feel the air change as they entered, and his intuition told him that this place was safe to rest.

Someone else thought that too, and what appeared to be a maractus was sleeping against the side of the statue's base. A satchel, about half the height of his torso, hung to his side. It was closed with a shiny brass button. Though the maractus was sleeping, his breath was labored and he shook violently.

Closer inspection revealed that he was covered with injuries. He was bruised all over, and his left eye was blackened and swollen shut. One of the flowers on his ears was missing a few petals. The most grievous of all was the long cut marked towards his base. A green liquid pooled out of it.

Team Dune exchanged a glance with each other before rushing towards his side. The maractus noticed them approach, but did not respond. His eyelids flickered open before closing again.

"A-are y'all there? Gods, they were such fools, sending me to a place like this…" he managed to get out, his accent thick with a drawl. "If it wouldn't trouble y'all, could I have something to eat? I'm mighty famished…" He let out a series of hacking coughs.

Gible let Mojave lead. "Yes, of course! Here, you need these much more than we do." Mojave reached into his bag and pulled out an oran berry and an apple.

He gave the berry to Gible, and placed the apple by Maractus' side. Gible took needed a second to realize what he was being asked to do. He put the berry in Maractus' paw.

A second later and Maractus had already swallowed it, and a few seconds more his eyes shot open. With pained effort, Maractus was back up on his… "feet," and started stretching. While standing he towered over Team Dune, but he quickly resumed his slouched position against the statue.

It still took great effort for Maractus to speak, but he sounded much better than before. He considered the two Pokémon in front of him before beginning. "So, y'all are the ones what saved me, huh? Might I say I am more thankful than a croagunk in the rain that you came by." He coughed again, but not as badly as before.

"Maractus, it was our duty as protectors to help you," Mojave started. "But if you don't mind, what happened to you? It looks like you're suffering from more than hunger." Mojave's head was at a tilt, and Gible could see him taking in Maractus' injuries.

"Please, the name's York. You've earned it. As for what happened, it's a bit of a story." York coughed before continuing. "Apparently, some of my "friends" were making their way through the mine when they just had to call on me for help. Never mind they know I like fighting like seviper like zangoose, but whatever." He scowled after he said that. Under his breath he muttered something about proving himself.

"Anyway, I get through the first two floors and what do I see? Unlucky sons of mothers who got trapped in the dungeon!" York swung his arm in emphasis and winced as it hit the statue behind him. "I could hardly lift a claw against the regular ferals, and now I gotta hurt my own fellows? It don't matter to me that they can't talk no more, they're still civies at heart."

He continued, "I know it was real foolish of me, but I just couldn't bring myself to hurt them. I started running for the stairs like I had a pack of Hell's houndoom on my tail, trying to push past my injuries. I have…" he took paused to consider his word choice. "…experience with that sorta thing." He waved one shaky arm towards his midsection, "Guess I was a lot luckier back then. I finally got here and decided a nap was in order. You came along not long after, I reckon." He fell into a deeper slouch.

The members of Team Dune shared a glance with each other. Gible wasn't sure what to make of his story. The part about York being some kind of pacifist held up. He had the wounds to match his story, and a Grass type should have had a field day in this dungeon, barring the feralized Pokémon.

It was the why of it all that stumped Gible. Why were York's friends in the dungeon? Why did they call on York of all Pokémon to help them? Did York's friends have anything to do with Castra and Team Dune's job? Gible needed to know more.

"Do you think your friends still need help?" He looked over to Mojave for approval. It was probably the leader's job to ask questions like that, but Gible's curiosity was too much. To his relief, he nodded.

York clicked his tongue. "Well, I know they're capable folk. Considering the time that's passed since they asked me, I reckon that they either made it to the bottom or got knocked out before then." Moments after finishing, his face lit up. "Ooh! If you're up to it, you should see if you can meet 'em! Oh, there's nothing better than friends making friends!" A large grin spread across his face.

It was Mojave's turn to talk now. He spoke slowly and paused after every word, almost as if he was considering what he was saying very heavily in advance. "Well, there's nothing wrong with making friends. If we're up to it, we just might do that." He let out a deep breath and continued. "Well, our mission is quite pressing, and we really should get moving. Do you think you can handle yourself?"

York laughed a little as he heard Mojave. "Oh, don't you worry none. Worse comes to worst, I got an escape orb just waiting to get used. You get a move on now, I've already taken up enough of your time." He waved his arm to the side, beckoning them to go further.

Mojave gave one last look to York before leaving, and Gible followed.


As Team Dune made their way through the dungeon, Gible's concerns about York slowly dissipated. A few floors later, and he had managed to squash all of his worries. Whatever happens, happens, he told himself.

He tried bringing up his concerns with Mojave but didn't get very far with that. The trapinch shared his sentiments, but told him not to worry about it. "A protector's mind must always be on their mission!" he said. Gible could tell that he was in a similar mood.

Without much hassle, the team successfully made it to the bottom. The ferals still posed little threat, but it almost seemed to Gible that Mojave's resolve decreased with each floor. He attributed it to him getting worked up over the fight to come.

Speaking of which, the dungeon's bottom floor was not what Gible was expecting. He was expecting something similar to the rest area; a small, enclosed space that would quickly grow chaotic in a fight. Instead, the duo found themselves in a tunnel that sharply turned to the side farther down, hiding whatever was at its end.

Gible's first thoughts were that they were still in the dungeon, but that couldn't have been right. For one, the same change he felt when entering York's area came over him again, this time stronger. This was certainly the real world, probably the only part of the mine that remained unchanged.

Secondly, rows of tents lined the side of the tunnel, and a burned out firepit sat in the middle. A cooking pot was situated over it, and was shakily held by sticks. The remains in the pit were still smoldering. These structures should not have survived the mine turning into a dungeon. Someone – no – multiple Pokémon were not only here, but they were planning on sticking around.

Mojave spoke first. "Gible, what do you think of all this?" He whispered, barely audible.

Gible whispered back. "I don't know, you have more experience with this kind of thing. Do you think it's Castra? York's friends?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know why anyone would be here. Once we get to Castra we ca- wait, do you hear that?" Mojave cut himself off.

Truth be told, Gible could hardly even hear Mojave, let alone random cave noises. Out of a sense of respect for his partner he listened in.

There it was. Someone, deeper in the cave was talking. They were too far away to be clearly heard, however. They had to be just around the bend, right past where Team Dune could see.

"Yeah, I hear it." Gible whispered again, this time even quieter than before.

Mojave didn't verbally respond, but he did motion for Gible to follow. The two of them crept toward the end of the tunnel, stopping every few steps to see if they could make out what the voice was saying.

Gible thought it would be better to just charge right in, they were expected after all. But if Mojave wanted to do it this way, then Gible would have to follow.

They crept all the way up to where the tunnel started turning before they could finally hear with some shred of clarity. The voice was angry now. Could he sense Team Dune approaching? Better to hear it out first.

"Gods, damn you, Magby! Help is not coming, accept it! Your pathetic attempt at… whatever all this is has ended in failure! Surrender now, and I'll consider not petitioning for the death penalty. You do know that's the standard charge for insurrection, right?" Well, that was a development. Magby Castra, the Pokémon they were trying to save, had Pokémon after her head.

Wait, insurrection? What's that about? Gible wanted to know more, but that could wait.

He looked towards Mojave and nodded his head at the cave. They had to act now if they were going to save Castra. Mojave shook his head no. Gible nodded yes. Mojave shook his head again with greater intensity and eyes wide. Gible responded by jerking his arm towards the cave, attempting to convey his impatience through his facial expressions alone.

He could understand Mojave's hesitation somewhat, but this was ridiculous. Their mission was in jeopardy and they arrived just in time for what, Mojave to throw it all away? That couldn't happen. Gible sighed and turned to make his way down the hall.

He was intercepted as soon as he began moving. The trapinch whispered to Gible, almost as quiet as before, "Alright fine, but if we're going to do this, I'll do the talking." He turned to the hall and beckoned with his head for Gible to follow. Time to get to work.

Mojave cleared his throat as they rounded the corner. Was he attempting to make Team Dune's presence known? Stall for time to understand the situation? Gible had to admit that he didn't have any plans for what lied ahead. Maybe it was better that Mojave was leading.

He started speaking. Contrary to what Gible was expecting, he began with his normal voice, not whatever he put on when discussing the Association. "Hey! Before anyone gets executed, why don't we start things over? Team Dune, Protectors Association. Does anyone want to explain to me what we're all doing down here?"

Just as Mojave finished, Team Dune entered the final room of the mine. It was a large cavern that appeared much more natural than the Pokémon-made tunnels that formed the rest of the place. Studded into the walls and ceiling were small deposits of yellow ore that called out to Gible. Instinct told him to dig them out, but he resisted it.

The half of the cave that was closer to Team Dune was relatively flat, with a few boulders here and there sunken into it. The far side of the cave was much more intriguing. From what Gible could see, trenches were dug into the floor with no visible way in. Piles of rubble lined the outside of some of the ones near the front, building up the walls to rise above the floor. Gible thought that he could see things that were vaguely reminiscent of Pokémon in the trenches, but he couldn't be sure.

What he was sure of was the large group of Pokémon that stood before Team Dune. Gible went wide-eyed after seeing them, and wasn't exactly sure how to react. If he had to guess, there were around ten of them, all standing in what could be considered a line if he squinted hard enough.

The most prominent of the bunch was a houndoom that had been staring Mojave down since he entered the room. His left horn had broken off at the middle, and smoke poured out of his nostrils with every breath. He chuckled to himself upon seeing Team Dune.

"Well, maybe the gods have pity for you after all, Magby." It was this voice that Mojave picked up on earlier. "Tell me, protectors, what are you doing here? You wouldn't happen to be the reinforcements Magby called for, would you?" The anger that Gible heard was gone now. Now, his voice was smooth. Smooth, but still off-putting.

"That's right, we are," Mojave said without hesitation. "Now, I'll ask again. What are we all doing here?" Mojave's voice boldened with each word.

The houndoom laughed again, this time loud enough for everyone to hear. He began walking towards Team Dune, and flicked his tail as he did so. Immediately, the Pokémon behind him formed a much tighter line and began glaring at the team.

"Well Magby, you sure know how to pick them. Managed to recruit some protectors into your little band of fools. Impressive." He was halfway to Team Dune now. "Shame on you for lying to do so, however. Tell me, Trapinch, do you happen to know who Magby is?" Gible didn't trust him to be asking that in good faith.

"I know that Magby Castra put in a request to the Korb Town Jobs Board earlier this morning." Mojave's voice was unwavering. "She requested additional Pokémon to help fight her way out of the Sutter's Gold Mine mystery dungeon. I've come to believe that she meant you." His voice started faltering as he finished.

Houndoom only snorted. "I expected as much. A technically truthful recount of events, but missing one, key, detail." He was now just in front of Team Dune. Far away enough to be respectful of their space, yet still close enough to be unnerving. "She didn't talk about herself at all, did she? Allow me to-" Houndoom took a deep breath- "elucidate."

He turned away from Team Dune and made his way back to his line, talking all the while. "You see, cowering in these trenches is indeed Magby Castra. What you might not have known, is that she has caused incalculable amounts of damage all across the civilized parts of the desert, and is second in destructive force only to the Nomads. She is a criminal of the highest caliber, unworthy of salvation, especially from you two." He finally reached the line and turned around. "I am Lieutenant Domino, and I have been tasked with the great honor of stamping her out." Domino maintained his composure as he went on, but Gible could hear him getting more aggressive as he spoke.

Gible turned to Mojave. The poor trapinch's face was caught up in emotion. His lower jaw hung loosely and his eyes were wide with shock.

Gible couldn't blame him for reacting like that. Having such a bombshell dropped on them would break anyone. Castra was a criminal? It was inconceivable. The very thought of being… of being lied to again, and about something so large was enough to send Gible into a fit of rage.

He was ready to storm past Domino and clear out the trenches on his own, when he barely managed to restrain himself, if only momentarily. Something about what the houndoom said just didn't feel right. Deep down, some part of Gible desperately clung to the hope that Domino was lying. Keeping something important from the team, at the very least.

Who was Domino anyway, to be talking so high and mighty about himself? Lieutenant Domino? Lieutenant of what army? Gible had a moment of clarity. He couldn't mean… It was worth a shot.

"Well, you certainly know a lot more about Castra than we do, Lieutenant. But, speaking of which, who exactly do you lieutenant for? Or, did you just get bored one night and decide the title sounded cool?" It came out a bit ruder than Gible would've liked, but considering what he thought he knew about Domino, it was all he deserved.

Domino scoffed. "You are from Korb Town, not yet truly civilized, so I will ignore your tone of voice this once. I, Lieutenant Domino, am the second-in-command of Alexander's Legion, the greatest fighting force this desert - perhaps even the entire Lambent Region at large - has ever seen!" Gible could see some of the Pokémon in Domino's line rolling their eyes.

Gible looked over to Mojave to see how he was handling this. Surprisingly enough, the trapinch managed to wipe that dumb look off his face. Instead, his head listed from one side to the other in heavy consideration and he frowned.

Gible was experiencing something similar. It looked like his gut was right, there was something off with what Domino was saying. For Gible, it was why someone so high profile was chasing after a criminal. Sure, maybe Castra was the great monster she was made out to be, but why was Domino on her case?

Shouldn't someone with such a high ranking have more important things to do? Like coordinating a move on Nillsville… Gible shook the thought out of his head, there were more pressing matters now. There was something more about Castra that had to warrant such a great military response to her. Like, what did Domino mean by insurrection?

"Alright, good on you for the promotion. I gotta ask though, what's someone as great as you doing here? Isn't this below you?"

Domino growled and started walking towards Team Dune again. "If you two were not protectors I would have ended our conversation here. Consider what I'm about to say as a," Domino paused, "recruitment pitch of sorts." Gible looked back at Mojave with worry.

"Magby is not just a criminal, she is a terrorist." Domino was getting close now. "Her "Bronze Resistance" or whatever fancy organization her group of rebels has stylized itself as, has been a thorn in Alexander's side since the very beginning." Every word that he spoke dripped with hate.

"She's personally ransacked supply depots, intercepted top secret communications, routed armies! Now, here she is, cornered at the bottom of some worthless pit, and we don't have the strength to finish her!" Domino was now so close the flecks of spit that came out when he shouted landed on Gible's snout.

The houndoom took a moment to compose himself. "So, Team Dune, hear my proposal. Ignore whatever Magby has promised you and help me instead. The path to a brighter future for this desert starts here." Domino was now standing directly in front of Team Dune.

Gible looked to Mojave for answers. If it were up to him, Gible would stay on Castra's side. From what he knew of Alexander, he did not seem like the kind of guy Gible wanted to associate with. And if saving Castra hurt Alexander it was all the better. Gible could feel the beginnings of a Sand Tomb swell up in his claws. All he needed was Mojave's word to follow through.

Mojave however, did not seem so sure. His face was caught up in a storm of distress. His head swung from side to side faster than before and Gible could hear him breathing through his teeth. There was no telling which side Mojave wanted to go through with.

"W-well, I-. Houndoom, we're pretty low-ranked, I don't think we can take a side here." Mojave finally admitted.

"Well then, don't." Domino's voice was bordering on contempt. "There are no sides here. It's right and wrong, good and ev-" He didn't get to finish.

A gruff, female voice called out from within the trenches. It shouted only a single word, and the cave was in chaos. "ATTACK!" The sounds of Moves of all kinds being thrown out filled the air. Explosions, the sounds of rocks smashing together, great gusts of wind being unleashed and more all rang out.

On pure instinct, Gible decided Team Dune's side. His arm moved on its own and a raging vortex of sand appeared where Domino was. He must have been too slow, for a moment later Domino's good horn slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

Domino stood over Gible, sneering. "Shame. We could have used you. Maybe your partner will be-" Domino was interrupted again. Mojave shot out of the ground like a bullet and straight into Domino, his jaws wrapping around his neck.

Domino crumbled from the attack and grappled with Mojave on the ground. The cave floor turned to sand around them, preventing either one from fleeing. Gible wanted to help, but figured that there wasn't much he could do.

He turned to the fight raging around him to see if he could help someone else. The fight was no longer a near free-for-all, and had "progressed" into one-on-one duels between Pokémon. Gible didn't remember which ones were with Domino, so he looked for one combatant in particular.

Not far from him, he found her. A lone magby, thankfully the only one in the cave, was struggling against a tyrunt, narrowly avoiding its jaws. There wasn't much the Fire type could do against the Dragon, but Gible could make all the difference.

Gible rushed over as the duel progressed. Castra dodged left and unleashed a wicked Fire Punch into his midsection. Tyrunt laughed it off and slammed the side of his head into her, knocking her down. He reared his head and opened his jaws, ready to finish her off.

Gible slammed into him with all his might, sending his target teetering off balance. Pushing past the effects of throwing his body against someone built like a rock, he used the opportunity to catch Tyrunt in a Sand Tomb, sending him flying upwards. "Why don't you eat this instead, Big Mouth!" Not letting up, he released a stream of dragon fire into the tornado, eliciting a pained scream from his victim.

The tornado suddenly died, unceremoniously dropping its captive. He bounced off the top of a boulder and groaned as he landed. "You cheated..." he managed to squeak out before going limp.

Gible helped Castra to her feet. "Hey don't worry, I'm on your side. You alright?"

She coughed and shook Gible's claw. "I'm fine. He was right where I wanted him, but thanks for the aid." Her voice maintained the same gruffness it had when she started the fight. "Where's your friend? We need him too." She turned her head this way and that, searching for Mojave.

Gible pointed him out. The trapinch narrowly avoided a Fire Fang and retaliated by leaping at Domino with his teeth bared and glowing white. The attack connected with one of Domino's forelegs and the houndoom howled in pain. He shook Mojave off his leg and reeling to the ground.

Domino took the chance to collect his breath and survey the battlefield. He locked eyes with Gible and started growling. His breath was shaky and he swayed as he stared his target down. He attempted to intimidate Gible by baring his fangs. He didn't react. The two glared at each other for what felt like forever.

Domino sighed and dropped the act. He looked away from Gible before speaking. "Legionaries, retreat! The day is lost! Don't think this is the end, Castra! We found you once, we'll do it again!" He tried to sound as bold as he did before, but the pain in his voice was obvious. This was a total defeat.

Domino was the first one to flee. His soldiers followed suit, breaking away from their opponents. Tyrunt remained on the floor, the only Pokémon to have fainted in battle.

"Yeah, you tell yourselves that, cowards!" Castra yelled after them. "Go and tell Alexander what happened here! Why don't you tell Aurelian too? Tell your whole damn army how badly we beat you!" Any signs that Castra was hurt were gone. It was all pride now.

Gible couldn't help but feel the same. This whole trip into the mine had been a ride for sure, but it was great to end on a win. That didn't mean Castra was off the hook though. Team Dune almost bit off more than they could chew, and it was all thanks to her. Gible could grill her later, he had to see Mojave now.

The last time Gible saw him, he took a pretty nasty tumble to the floor after fighting an even nastier opponent. Every second that Gible wasn't at his partner's side was a second spent poorly.

Gible left Castra on her own and found Mojave not too far from where they fought Domino, flipped over on his back. The poor trapinch desperately swayed himself to the side trying to flip over. Gible gave him the push he needed. Even though he was back on his legs, Mojave still had a hard time keeping his balance now that he was up.

"Thanks for that," Mojave began. "Just, next time, don't leave me alone for that long, alright?" He chuckled to himself. "I'm pretty sure the only reason I lasted that long was because I ambushed him. How'd you do?" At least he was taking it well.

"Yeah, I helped Castra out against Tyrunt over there. I don't think I did too bad myself. You wanna go over there, see what this was all about?" The duo looked over to where Castra was. The magby was waiting for them to finish up, and didn't exactly look patient.

Mojave took a much bolder tone. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Most protectors aren't asked to settle conflicts like this on their first mission. Truth be told, jobs like this are way above our pay grade, they're Diamond Rank at least." Mojave sighed to himself. "Seriously though, do let me lead this time."

Team Dune made their way to Castra, who was busy barking orders to her Pokémon. "Alright, playtime's over! Start packing up, legionaries'll be picking this place apart by tonight, we're not leaving them the dirt we walked on!" She noticed Team Dune approach and perked up. "There's our heroes. I believe it's you I have to thank for making our last stand work?" Smooth.

"Yup, that's me. Trapinch, leader of Team Dune, and my partner, Gible. Though, real quick, we do have a couple of questions." Mojave took in a deep breath. "Like, WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING?! WHAT WAS ANY OF THIS THAT JUST HAPPENED?! WHY DO YOU HAVE ALEXANDER AFTER YOU?!"

Also, you better be paying us really well for putting up with all this. Gible made sure to keep that part to himself.

Castra was taken aback by Mojave's sudden outburst. "Alright, alright. I get it, you're mad, let me try to explain." She took a few steps backwards. "All of us here are part of a little thing called the Bronze Resistance. We're the only group in the desert that actually opposes Alexander. Some cities might pretend to field armies or play soldier, but we don't roll over the moment we see him."

She gestured to the trenchworks behind her. "Down there is what used to be one of our many outposts scattered across the desert. We drill regularly to make sure that we're not being followed, but someone messed up. Either that or there's a… no." She shook her head. "Domino and his goons set up camp just outside and have been trying for the past few days to break in. That's when we called Korb Town for assistance." She broke eye contact with Mojave. "Sorry it had to be you."

Mojave took a moment before answering. "No, it's okay now, I guess. Would have been a lot nicer to know a bit more beforehand." Gible found himself wholeheartedly agreeing with that. Mojave continued, "What now? Is Alexander going to come after us now too? And um, sorry for sounding rude, but you are going to pay us, right?"

Castra laughed. "Paying you well is the least I can do. You've served the desert well today." She looked behind her and shouted, "Nezzie! The spoils, double-time!" She turned back to Mojave. "Don't worry about Alexander. He's got a lot more pressing matters than two protectors. You won't be seeing them again. Unless of course…" She trailed off, waiting for Mojave to finish her sentence.

Gible picked up on what she meant and interjected. "No! No way! Thanks for the offer, but we're fine working on our own, right?" Gible looked expectantly towards his partner.

Mojave rolled his eyes and continued on all the same. "Yeah. This whole "resistance" thing is above us. I'm pretty sure we're breaking a few rules even by talking to you just now. We'll have to pass." Not exactly the reasoning Gible had, but it worked for him.

"A shame, but understandable." Castra shook her head.

A sigilyph fluttered over to the group, using her psychic abilities to carry a sack that was nearly about to burst. "The reward money, as requested ma'am," she said in an ethereal voice. The bag floated over to Mojave.

He opened it and was floored. "Th-this, this will more than do," he stammered. "Are you sure about this?" His eyes were blinking in disbelief.

Castra laughed again. "Yeah, that's the culmination of several raids on Legion targets. All military, don't worry," she quickly added. "It'll go to better use with you instead of them. Now, was that all you needed?"

"Nope, I think Team Dune's all good. You ever need something like this again, don't call us." Mojave pulled out his badge and Team Dune was whisked away.


Author's Note: Kept you waiting, huh? In all seriousness, it has been a while. January and February were really busy months. Don't feel too bad for me, most of it was my fault for letting everything get so out of hand. March is shaping up to be similar, but I think the worst is over. Just don't count on too much happening. I'm not giving up on this story, don't worry. I've had it on the back burner for a few years now, and I plan to see it through.

I heavily debated whether or not to split this chapter into two parts after finishing the first draft. On one hand, I think it's important to put the full story of Team Dune's first mission into one cohesive thing. But on the other, I could see the case for splitting it along one of the line breaks. Any perspective on this would be appreciated!

One last thing, I am still, and always will be, open to suggestions for species to attach to characters. If you have a favorite Pokémon that you feel doesn't have enough representation, please do include it in a review! Until next time, cheers!