"It can't be! How…what…" Sia caught her tongue.
The pink Cat-like Mon carefully raised its paws. "Now, before you freak out and get any odd ideas, these voices are borrowed," its voice echoed, resembling Meira's chipper tone. "We ain't the same beings as the two you met today."
The blue Cat-like Mon frowned at the pink one. "Must you lose the composure we had going? We were supposed to ease the Stunky in, not stir up casual conversation," It was difficult to take him seriously when he had the soft spoken tone of Flint behind its words.
"Annnyway, we are visiting your sleepy thoughts for a reason. You see, it's to deliver a warning," the pink one frowned. "Soon, those two you call your brothers plan to betray and desert you, Stunky."
Sia chuckled. "You mean Tuffen and Buffer? Those two boneheads wouldn't survive long out there without my help."
"You misunderstand. Though they appear to rely on you, they are hiding their true selves," the blue one warned.
"Whaddya mean? That doesn't make any sense…"
Before the blue Mon could explain their message, he and the pink one began to fade, drifting from Sia. She called out to them, reaching out to stop their ascent without much success. Both Mons glanced at one another pensively, promising to return as long as their message was not delivered properly. Soon, Sia found herself alone once more, the world of color around her wavering much like the duo of Mons. Must be waking up, everything seems all weird. But those two, that seems too specific of a thing to do. If they had no relation to Flint and Meira, why would using their voices make me feel comfortable, she pondered.
The fabric of her mind world began to drip, fading into a white nothingness, as she found herself struggling to stay asleep. Suddenly, Sia felt her fur being dragged into the depths of nothingness below her, jolting her body as she tensed up. A single eye surfaced from below, turning to look at Sia as she kicked and snapped at the air around her. Despite having no features to distinguish itself, the eye appeared to grimace at the presence of the skunk mon. A growl of a voice began to speak, but its words were like metal scraping.
"You…"
Sia's eyes shot open, fur sharp as daggers running down her back and her tail. She turned over to lie on her back, taking deep breaths, chest fur expanding outwards. Her once well kept straw bed was reduced to strands of purple and white hairs scattered haphazardly. What was that dream? It all felt so real, especially that last part. Felt like my soul packed its bags when that thing looked at me, she thought. She stretched her front legs and peeked out her window, the moon illuminating across her sunken eyes. She finally understood the meaning behind the naming of Twiligleam city; Spores from local mushrooms fluttered around like stars in the sky, twinkling about. Before long, Sia found herself rummaging her bed back into order, replacing scattered fur beneath the straw piles.
Tuff and Buff exchanged giggles as they arrived in their living room to find Sia's drool dribbling across her face. Buff decided to check out the kitchen area for anything to scavenge. Tuff simply sat beside Sia, gently prodding her ribs with a paw every so often. Finding nothing unusual, Buff made his way back to the couch, berry clenched between his teeth. He made no effort to sit quietly, much to him and his brother's regret, startling their Stunky sister as the room filled with a noxious odor.
"Not again…" Buff sunk his teeth into the armrest.
Tuff found himself on the floor, a leg in the air. "Why, big sis, why…"
"Told both of you time and time again not to scare me. It's like you want me to spray you," Sia felt her face grow warm as she shrank into scarf.
"Obviously not!!" Both brothers yelled.
Sia's tail danced at the annoyance of her brothers, as they kept her mind off the nightmare. With the sun gleaming above, Team Hope prepared themselves for their second mission as a rescue team, despite the hurdles. Then a third mission and a fourth with each passing day, and Sia found herself enjoying the pace of the different jobs Mons left for teams. From escorting Vulpix to their friends, to tracking down rowdy outlaws, Sia felt proud that her worries about forming a team were quickly quashed. Team Hope is giving it their all to nurse a reputation as a trustworthy team, both to locals and Baron.
Well, Sia gave it her all as the leader of Team Hope, that is. With each mission's new discoveries came new injuries to deal with, to the chagrin of the Rattata brothers. Soon, Sia became the sole member of Team Hope engaging in Rescue team business. She felt the complaints of her brothers crawling down her back so often, she hardly bothered briefing either of them to the plan for the day, quietly leaving with the morning sun. Finding her supposedly injured team hanging out at Granny's café daily while she did the heavy lifting didn't bode well with Sia's temper.
As days pass, Sia grew closer to chewing out her lazy kin, the bites and bruises on her body mocking her every step. She stood before a small shop, haggling for escape orbs with the Poké she had made on her own. But a long afternoon doesn't craft a good haggler, leaving the poor Stunky short on cash. She shuddered at the thought of the near bare cabinets that await her at home. For once, a stench that wasn't her own seemed to flutter above, something her foggy mind couldn't ignore. Sia let out a small yawn, crawling back to the flats in hopes of meeting her straw bed yet again.
"Hey, it is her! Howdy, Sia!" Flint called from a distance.
Sia perked up, hastily ruffling scattered foliage from her fur while standing tall. She turned to see the familiar smile and stetson of Flint the Fennekin, accompanied by a different Mon than Meira the Pikachu. What stood in her place was a Flareon, who fashioned herself with a mane of fur that danced like flames as she walked beside Flint. She wore a small charcoal bow around her neck, and big bifocals that made her eyes bug out. The Mon's steps seemed to shake the ground beneath her, as she towered over both Sia and Flint.
"It's been a while, I reckon the rescue team stuff's been keeping you and your team busy," Flint glanced around. "Oh right, I don't think you've met some of the other teams yet. Well, here's a member of one of them now! I'll hush up and let you introduce yourself, Racha."
"It's a pleasure to meet you! My name's Sriracha, but everybody calls me Racha for short," Racha placed a paw in front of her. "I'm the leader of Team Burning Thunder Splash, BTS for short."
Sia extended a paw herself, shakily reaching forward. "H-hey. I'm Sia, leader of Team Hope," She replied, nearly shaken apart by the new face.
Racha hastily pulled away. "Ah, sorry about that, bruh. I don't know my own strength sometimes!"
"Don't worry about it."
Flint tilted his head, noticing Sia's calculated movement as she shambled around. While not one to pry, he found it difficult to keep quiet about it, despite only knowing Sia for a while.
"Oh, uh…nothing's wrong," Sia did her best to smile. "I'm just a little tired. I hadn't realized running a rescue team could be so hard."
"I understand. I reckon it's a bit harder than mine or Racha's teams, since you and the boys are still pretty new at this. Speaking of, where have those two been? Y'all are usually inseparable."
Sia sat on the pavement, taking a deep breath. "Back at our pad or something, I guess. We've been arguing a lot, and truth is," She beckoned Flint to come closer, lowering her tone. "They just don't wanna explore dungeons anymore. I felt uh, bad, cuz they would always get hurt and I have to help 'em out a lot."
Flint held a paw to his chin, thinking intently on Sia's words. "…Racha, if you don't mind waitin', can you go on ahead to the library? Think Sia here needs some support for a while."
"All good, Flint! Don't forget though, I really wanna discuss that book, bruh!" Racha rose, turning away from the duo. Flint glanced over, waving his goodbyes as he and Sia began walking towards the flats.
"Alright, let me get this straight now that's just you and I. You've been doing missions by your lonesome? How long, y'all have only been a team for about a week or so."
Sia's fur stood at its ends. "P-pretty much since that day we met up, I guess…I got them ready for a few missions after that, but after the fourth, we got into an argument about it," She glanced around the disappearing district.
"That's just not right, Sia!" Flint raised his tone. "Who raised those ragamuffins, they got you lookin' like you rose out of a grave!"
"I know, I know…listen, it sounds bad. But I've been making it so far, today was my ninth mission. I think I can do this by myself if I have to."
"But it's much less strain with a team. Meira and I did our missions for the month a couple of days ago, I reckon you're gonna be up the river if this keeps up for an entire page."
The two mons arrived in the front of Baron's complex, perching upon the lawn for a moment.
"…that Flareon sounded like she really wanted to read that book," Sia bit into her scarf and winced. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out."
Flint placed a paw on Sia's shoulder, her shrinking away with her trembles. "The other teams and I are always around if you need any help. No shame in askin' for it sometime, y'know? I'll see ya around, Sia."
Sia sat like a statue, peeking into the distance as her vision became a blur. It took everything in her willpower to hold back the scream building inside her, angry with the world and how it treated her. Angry that she could not comprehend why somebody she only met days ago treated her like a longtime friend. Angry that every blessing in her wake came bundled with seven curses beneath it.
"…nah, you've got this on your own," Buff brushed away his pompous poise.
Sia grit her teeth. "What? Take one good look at me, damn it! It feels like my entire body's turning to junk, you know how hard it is trying to drag some kid through a fifteen floor maze?"
"How's that our problem, big sis? You're the one who wanted this team, it doesn't really concern us much," Tuff shuffled a collection of scarves, picking one a shade darker than his current coal.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing! You both wanted to be a part of a team, you both helped come up with a name, and you both are living off my ass."
Buff made his way towards his room, chuckling all the way. "Well, isn't that what older siblings are supposed to do, anyway? You are our big sis, after all."
Tuff followed suit. "Yeah, big sis, you're supposed to take care of us!"
"If you don't drop the stupid 'big sis', I'm sending both of you to funktown. That nickname doesn't any sense!" she yelled.
But she was met with oak to the face, with each brother clocking out of their ordeals. Sia's belongings were scattered across her room, the walls echoing her frustrations. Who do they think they are, talking to me like that? I helped them when they needed it, and suddenly, I owe them? They're lucky I don't come in their rooms and take all that new junk they've been buying with our money, bunch-a idiots, she vented to herself. Though it took some cooling off, Sia eventually went to bed, a grimace chiseled onto her face. Yet again, she found herself facing the two mysterious cat Mons in her dreams within the abyss of color.
"Good to see ya again, Sia!" The pink one smiled.
"Yes, greetings, Stunky. This time, we will attempt to deliver our message properly," the blue one followed up.
Sia huffed. "I want answers. Who are you two, why did you think using Team Harmony's voices was better and not at all confusing, and what's going on with my..."
"Yeesh, kinda asking a lot of stuff at once, and we didn't even explain our message. How rude!" The pink one furled a brow.
"…I guess it would be ideal to make some sense of it all so we don't mess up again, Roots." the blue one turned to the pink one, seemingly named Roots. "You can call me Branches, and her, Roots. We are…Mew, and messengers of sorts, searching for somebody capable. Somebody with a good heart, somebody willing to overcome hardships, if you will. As explained before, Team Harmony's voices was just for familiarity, nothing more," Branches glanced away. "As for the ones you call brothers, as we've said, they will abandon you, Stunky."
"Then why come to me? I already have enough to deal with as is! And why do you think the boys are going to 'abandon me', anyway?" Sia shot a glare.
"Well, puddin', it's cuz you are that somebody we've been looking for!" Roots danced around. "You were able to escape its grasp the last time we visited, clearly there's something special about you!"
"That…wasn't just my dream?" Sia's blood ran cold.
"I'm afraid it was not. That entity is an ancient being, trying to make its way back into the world again. Your brothers have fallen into its grasp, it has likely enticed them with some kind of false generosity," Branches frowned.
"But what does that have to do with me or the boys?"
"…our message has been delivered, so as of now, I foresee no reason to return here. You will know in due time, Stunky. For now, pay attention to your brothers. I fear they are easier to corrupt than others."
Roots winked, giggling at her own moves. "Don't worry, we'll be back sometime. Knowing that world, you're gonna need our advice soon!"
Before Sia could ask anything else, the world around them began to waver. The duo of Mew began to ascend, waving their goodbyes at the Skunk Pokémon that they've entrusted with knowledge. Sia prepared herself for the worst, searching every little bit of nothing for the darkness to arise. She felt a bit of relief when nothing came to snatch her away, the world around her fading into the light.
Notes: Finally earning that T rating with a little bit of cussing, huh? I had a lot of fun trying to make this chapter work out, I think I did an alright job. I'm glad to be introducing another prominent character / team in the story, just one more to go and we have our full ragtag group! The next chapter's going to get a bit emotional, I hope I can do what I have envisioned justice!
...and just what is the connection between Team Harmony and the duo of Mew named Branches and Roots? Why do they feel Sia's a good choice to relay this information?? Why does Sriracha say "bruh"??? Find out the answers as we continue the adventures of Monster House!