/|—| Pokémon Mystery Dungeon |—|\

Waves Of Destruction

— — —

|— Chapter Five: A Warm Welcome —|

—[Spiral-Town | Outskirts]—

"This…is…the worst." Agatha managed, as she forced her limbs to continue labouring under the vile heat of the sun. Her scythes felt heavier then ever and her feet acted as if they were entombed in cement. Her body was whimpering at her to slow down and lay down in the sand, just for a little bit. But Agatha knew that if she did, it would take thrice the willpower to get back up.

And during all of it, she had to watch as Excadrill marched just ahead of her, through the sandy wastes, as if on a mildly difficult stroll. It was made even worse by him looking back at her with constant concern on his face. At that moment, he was looking down at her, halfway up a sand dune.

He shook his rucksack at her. "Offer's still here if ya want some water. You'll get use to the heat eventually, trust me."

The thought of 'getting use' to this level of temperature sounded terrible. "No. I…I'll be fine." She continued to trudge on, though at the mention of water, she felt a pang of want in her chest.

"This ain't about your scythes again, is it?" Excadrill guessed, making it to the top of the dune, quickly fishing out his canteen. "I told ya, there's no shame in needing a little help to hold this and that while ya still getting use to-"

"I told you, I'm….FINE!" In a roar of triumph, Agatha made it to the top of the dune, collapsing onto the sand beside Excadrill. But she found no relief there, only heat and pain.

"GAH! HOT, HOT!" Agatha squealed, hopping up to her feat, which had already accepted their fate at the beginning of the trip. "OW! THIS-" Suddenly, a lovely, precious, amazing coolness began to pour onto her, and she felt as if a higher power had blessed her. "Oh. Ohhhh yeah. That's nice."

Excadrill bit down a snicker as he poured the last of his canteen onto her. "Ya know, I should've mentioned that grass-types had a tough time in these parts. Would it raise ya spirits if I told ya Spiral-Town's got a fountain?"

Basking in the loveliness of the water, Agatha sighed contentedly. "Immensely. How much longer before we get there?"

Another snicker was held back. "Can't ya tell?"

Agatha followed the direction that Excadrill pointed with his claw, and could see, on the horizon, a small, lumpy dot. Focusing on it, she could make out the shape of what could be described as buildings, though it was only a guess. The distance spoiled Agatha's sudden good mood, resulting in a weak, "Ugh."

Excadrill only tittered at her. "Now girl, don't go giving up so easily. Look closer."

Patience ebbing away, Agatha peered closer at the shape, muttering as she did. It took a few seconds of these mutterings, before she titled her head in confusion. "Is…it getting closer?"

She felt a sudden slap on the back from Excadrill's claws as he let out a triumphant, "You're darn right it is! Girl, that right there is the Spiral-Town's little trick! The old streets use to go by the name Oasis-Town, till a Mystery Dungeon up and opened it's jaws right underneath it. Ever since, it zooms about the desert in a…" He drew a shape in the air.

"Spiral." Agatha finished off, turning her attention back. Ahead of them, towards the dot, groups of Pokémon were all trudging through the sand. A gang of Spoinks, hopping along at a hurried pace, a Zebstrika who zipped past them, leaving a trail of electrified energy that the smaller mons barely managed to avoid. That same Zebstrika, clearly impatient, only seemed to pick up more speed, charging past a Mudsdale who was dragging along a large wooden cart, covered by a white tarp. All of them moved with haste.

"Right!" Excadrill continued on, "See, takes awhile, but once you're an old-timer like me, you'll be able to tell where the town's gonna be at different times of the day! It reaches the edge of the continent by nightfall, then winds the whole way back! Course, the first time it made the trip, it made a mess of anything in it's way. Heh, when it first happened me and Mal-"

"They're running." Agatha pointed out.

"Eh?"

"Why are they running?" Agatha repeated waving a scythe at the distant Pokémon. "Are we late or something?"

Excadrill snorted. "You kidding, girl? I know these sands like the back of my claws." He raised the weapons in question to the sun above. "There's no way that I'd-" Stopping short, his eyes widened at the sight of his claws, seeing the town in the distance past them. "Huh." Suddenly, he moved his claws about, clearly measuring something. "Well heck. We are. We're gonna miss the town."

Agatha blinked at the stunned Excadrill. "…shouldn't we get moving- HEY!"

"CMON! WE DON'T WANNA BE LEFT OUT IN THE NIGHT!"

Cursing, Agatha slid down the dune, allowing gravity to help her catch up to her 'guide'.

It wasn't long before the duo were speeding along the wastes, having caught up with the now gathering stampede of Pokémon, all racing towards the town that grew closer and closer, but would also soon be turning away from them. There was a sweet spot that needed to be hit, and Agatha was starting to think that they weren't going to make it.

Excadrill certainly would. Even if he had misjudged their timing or position or whatever, he was clearly use to moving through the sand, and was doing so with little issue. He only ever seemed to slow down when he took the every so often cursory glance behind him, worry crossing his face.

Rightly placed worry too. Despite Agatha weaving her way past a gang of Shuckle and leaping over a struggling Mawile, her body was quickly succumbing back to it's own painful wails, begging her just to take a few seconds to catch her breath and cool off.

She was almost forced to do so when a great weight suddenly slammed into her from above and she barely managed to steady herself, just as the weight was lifted from her. Ahead of her, the apparent source, was a tiny Nidoran, who hopped from mon to mon, causing them to somehow fall, despite his stature.

Pushing a poor Chansey to the ground, he made one last mighty leap through the air, and landed right into a hurrying cart, disappearing behind it's tarp, into it's no doubt shady interior.

Swerving past the tumbling Chansey, Agatha burned up the last of her energy in a hop, a skip and a jump, one that barely allowed her scythe to dig into the wood of the cart, and pull her inside, albeit without a hint of grace.

"Atta girl!"

Having only just righted herself, Agatha glanced out to see Excadrill give a deadly thumbs-up. "You ride that thing in! I'll meet you in the town-square, got it? Got my own way in!" Launching himself into the air, he formed his body into a drill and dug deep into the sand, quickly disappearing before Agatha could protest.

She barely had time to sigh in irritation before a smug voice called out, "Good thing he didn't get on with us, eh? With his size he probably would've broke right through the floor! HA!"

Turning, Agatha found the smug-source, the Nidoran from earlier. He sat atop one of the cart's cargo; various boxes of differing sizes and colour. Only one of them had been opened, and it just happened to be the one he sat beside, helping himself to the purple berries within.

Agatha shot him a scathing look, before stalking to a nearby crate and settling down next to it, allowing herself a tired breath as she closed her eyes to think. It was nice to be out of the heat, but she doubted the reprieve would last long. Soon enough, they'd be in Spiral-Town and she doubted it had much in the way of of defence from the sun's-

"Soooooooo…"

Cracking an eye open, she saw that the Nidoran had somehow made his way soundlessly across from her, berry in paw. "What's a grass-type like you doing out in this heat? Must be something cool for you to drag yourself out here."

When Agatha shut her eye, he continued. "Me? I'm meeting up with some friends in a day or so. Gonna throw a bit of a party for them. It's gonna be a fun one too." Agatha could almost feel the sickly smile that was on the weirdo's face. "You in?"

"I don't know you." She said simply.

"And you know what would fix that?" Her eyes snapped open. Somehow, he was beside her, winking. "A party! What better way to make new friends in a new place? You ARE new here, right? No offense, but you look pretty clueless."

They stared at each other for a few moments, Agatha narrowing her eyes and him, and the Nidoran having the exact same smile on his face. Not a single muscle out of place. It was a practiced, well worn smile. Was he some sort of con-man? Con-mon?

Getting to her feet, she stamped to the back of the cart and looked out the tarp. Nothing but sand and some distant, soon-to-be-giving-up-mons. She couldn't get out yet. "I'm not looking for friends."

"Well that's stupid." He cackled from behind her. "You're not gonna get anywhere without friends around here. Haven't you ever heard of the…" He paused for dramatic effect, "The power of friendship? Besides, what does that make that Excadrill? I certainly can't see the family resemblance. Was your mother desperate?"

She considered punting the little brat then and there, but there was something about him. Though it was a dull, cautionary instinct, her body was warning her there was something wrong here. Turning around, she saw that Nidoran still hadn't moved from where he sat, still smiling. Still, maybe it was worth a shot.

The little fellow seemed to sense her resolve, and his eyes sharpened. "Alrighty. What if I told you that there was some fun to be had at this party. The kind I bet you're really good at…" When she didn't bite, he continued. "You a merc?"

"A what?"

"A merc? A MERCENARY? Can I HIRE you to come to my party and BEAT UP my friends? You know, usual mercenary stuff."

She kept her tone neutral, but curiosity nipped at her. "You want me to beat up your friends?"

Nidoran shrugged. "Eh, sometimes friends need a good beating. Or maybe that's just how we party here on the Sand-Continent, who knows? Berry?" He threw the purple treat towards her.

Casually moving her head just to the side, Agatha let the berry soar past her, no doubt splattering the sand outside. "Well you can find someone else. I'm busy."

A sudden bump jostled the entire carriage, and she risked taking her eyes off the little weasel to look back to her exit. Sure enough, the sandy wastes had been exchanged for what almost resembled some sort of path, and she could even spot the lower half of some buildings through the tarp.

Without a word, she took her chance and hopped from the cart, instantly feeling the veil of heat sink into her once again. Her jump landed her right in front of a Machop who began to yell something at her, but Agatha was already moving into the shade offered by some of the buildings, off of the main road.

Spiral-Town was a mess, but a unified one. There were battered, beaten tents in a style that resembled a Pokémon's head all over the place, time having made them look a little depressed. The odd shelters were dotted between more basic sand-brick based buildings. Across the road, a group of Spinda were hopelessly trying to set up a tent of their own, only to be helped by a passing Haxorus, who almost seemed in pain at the sloppy work. Agatha had to strain her neck to see the interaction. Despite various carts and large Pokémon trying to claim the road, crowds upon crowds of smaller Pokémon were moving back and forth, some yelling, some whispering, but all having some place to be.

It made her feel out of place, as she stood there in the shade for a few beats. She had to find Excadrill. To do that she had to get to the center of town. Should she just follow the road and-

"So, where we going?"

She suppressed a growl, looking to the ground to see the Nidoran beside her, chewing on a berry. "We could go help those Spinda out. Put em in our debt. Would at least buy us shelter for tonight. It gets SUPER cold out here. Brrr!"

"Buzz off." She hissed, done with the fool's antics, marching down the road after the carts. Surely if she just kept moving she'd find herself at the town square?

"That's the wrong way." Nidoran sighed from beside her. He was having to work double-time to keep up with her, but somehow not a single hint of strain crossed his stupid face.

"You don't even know where I'm going."

"Nuh-uh. The big guy said-" He then spoke in a terrifyingly accurate impression of Excadrill, "-I'll meet you in the town square, got it?" Shaking his head, he stood in front of her, blocking her way. "Then he dove into the sand like some kinda feral. No mon has dug their way into Spiral-Town for years."

"Fine." Agatha tone became disgustingly sweet as her anger boiled. "Which way to the town square?"

"Better." He winked at her. "Butcha didn't say please- I'M JOKING, I'm joking!" He laughed as Agatha flashed a scythe. Spinning round he pointed back the way they'd came. "Head back towards the town gate, from there take the left beside the gate. Follow that till you come to another road like this, but you'll see a fountain at the end. You'll find your-"

Before he could finish, Agatha stormed away, shoving against the crowd. She would listen to his directions, but there was no way she was spending another second around the little monster. It felt like she was at some kind of disadvantage, yet he barely came up to her knee. It wasn't right.

She risked a look back at where he'd been standing. But Nidoran was gone.

—[Spiral-Town | Town Square]—

"There ya are!"

Excadrill hurried over to her, waving a claw through the air cheerily. Thankfully this gesture was far more doable in Spiral-Town's square then it was along it's roads. Here Pokémon were actually stopping to chat instead of charging off to their destination. Perhaps it was the effect of the grand, ornate fountain the stood proudly against the heat. Plenty of mon's were bathing in it's coolness, their moods increasing greatly after it's watery blessing.

Agatha had certainly appreciated it when she'd dunked her head into it's depths upon seeing it. She'd then occupied her time waiting for Excadrill by staring up at the sky. It was spinning endlessly yes, yet staring at it, Agatha felt no disorientation. And the ground below her felt as solid and still as any other. Without the sky, one would have no idea they were on a moving behemoth of rock.

"Nothing like almost missing the place to make ya feel welcome, eh?" Excadrill joked, crossing his arms as Agatha drew her eyes from the sky. "How ya feeling?"

She shrugged. "Better then I did in the desert anyway. I just wish it wasn't so…busy."

Excadrill hummed. "Really? Seemed kinda quiet to me. Eh, you'll get use to it, girl! You'll have ta where we're heading. Namely, all over the place!" He cheerily opened his satchel, taking out an old, crumpled map and placed it on the fountain's edge. "Now, we got a few stores and old friends to hit up, so it's best we get moving as soon as we can. Come nightfall, we'll find some Inn to take us in, finish up whatever we got left in the morning, then mosey on back to Mal. Easy as pie!"

Peering at the map, she saw that tens of little dotes had marked the paper, all with the oddest names. Duskull Bank, Arcanine Armoury and Kecleon Mart (That one had a circle around it) were just a few of them.

Excadrill's claw tapped a clearing among the poorly drawn buildings. "We're here, so best we start with…" He drew his claw along the paper stopping at, "Flaaffy Boutique! Nice place, even if it's a bit froufrou for my taste. Mal always loved it though, heh."

Agatha rose from the fountain's side as Excadrill shoved the map back in his satchel, before reaching into the fountain and splashing his face. "A boutique? I thought we were gonna 'set right the wrongs of the world' or whatever. Does Malamar need a nice hat or something?"

Shaking the water from his face, Excadrill nodded sagely. "Never underestimate the good a hat will do ya, girl. Flaaffy's is a good place and we're gonna need to get rid of these old things." He tugged the yellow scarf around his neck. "The boost is nice, but we ain't running with the Adventurers Association, so we're gonna need to change em up. Course, Mal hasn't decided on a colour scheme yet…"

She couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but wordlessly nodded along with his continued rambles as they moved away from the precious water, and into the covered alleyways of the town. Soon enough, they came upon small, yet carefully cared for building, a sign hanging from it's door that marked it as their destination. Or rather, should have. It read, 'Ampharos Boutique'. Excadrill's map was clearly outdated.

The inside had somehow managed to resist the outer sand, looking as prim and proper as it could. Tables were neatly aligned, adorned with all manner of clothing, all in different sizes and styles, some utterly gargantuan, others impossibly small. A lovely white sun hat caught Agatha's eye, but she had to remind herself that they weren't here for shopping. They were here to 'make contact'. Or rather, Excadrill was.

"Hello, and welcome to Ampharos Boutique, the fashion centre of the spiral. How may I help you today?" An Ampharos who sounded as if she had an eternal cold blocking her nose emerged from a door at the back of the store.

Excadrill greeted her with a grin. "Long time no see! Was gonna call you Flaaffy, but I'm guessing that's-"

Ampharos quickly lost any semblance of an eager shopkeeper. "You. What are you doing here?"

He faltered a tad at that. "Uh. Just dropping in to see an old pal. Figured maybe we could-"

"I am not your pal." She hissed, as if worried that someone was going to overhear. "Get out now before someone sees me near you." On a switch, she flipped back to her shopkeeper persona, turning to Agatha. "And how can I help you, dearie?"

"I'm with him…" Agatha started slowly, frowning at Ampharos.

And the switch flipped back. "Both of you then. Out."

This was a conversation that Agatha was forced to become quite familiar with. After leaving the boutique in a sour mood, the duo made their way from shop to shop in a ritualistic fashion. They'd enter, the shopkeeper would recognise Excadrill and then they'd quickly leave the store.

Eventually, the brief relief from the sun the shops provided weren't worth it. She decided to simply wait outside, under the various building's shade, leaving Excadrill to be thrown out by himself. This would either happen in quiet fashion, as it did with Ampharos, or the shopkeeper would make a far more spirited display.

They encountered the latter kind several hours into the trip.

"-AND IF I EVER, EVER, EVER SEE YOU BACK HERE AGAIN, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO REMOVE YOU WITH FAR MORE THEN WORDS! GOOD-DAY!" The Kecleon yelled, rushing Excadrill out the door and onto the street.

As the door slammed, Excadrill yelled at it futilely. "YEAH, WELL WHO NEEDS YA! YA STINKING-"

"We do." Agatha sighed. "We weren't even stopping here to try and 'build a bridge'. What happened to just going in to restock? They kicked you out, just like the past fifty places we visited. Why'd you think this would be any different?"

Frowning at the door as if it had personally wronged him, Excadrill shook his head. "Kecleon sells to anyone, and I mean ANYONE. Figured I'd still at least be on his good side."

"That's what you said at that Drowzee's store AND the Staravia's place. I mean, we didn't even go to that Vigoroth's stall. SHE crossed the street to come yell at YOU." Agatha almost crossed her scythes, but they bumped into each other. She growled as the temperature continued to torture her. "What did you even do to all these Pokémon?"

Excadrill didn't stop glaring at the door. "Ain't the kinda thing I'd like to talk about. Let's just say that the only reason I didn't end up in the slammer was because of everything Team Tidal-Wave did for this place over the years." He sighed. "Maybe that used up the last of their goodwill…"

Agatha blinked. "You could've gone to JAIL?"

Seemingly ignoring her, he snorted and looked down at the sand below. "We got one more place we can try. If THEY'RE not happy to see us then…well, I ain't got no clue what we're gonna do. Especially since it'd mean we'd have to trudge back to the ship if we didn't wanna sleep outside."

"Oh, our last hope. Fantastic." Agatha scoffed. "Let's get this over with."

They began their trek to whatever that last hope was, and as they did, Agatha tried to shake some of the heat from her head, taking in the reactions of the surrounding Pokémon with a little more sharpness. Some would see Excadrill and then walk a little faster. Others would stop and begin to whisper to each other. She even had to glare away a Paras who began to approach them with the clear intention to start trouble. If Excadrill noticed the attention, he made no sign of it.

Soon enough, they came to a pleasant-enough looking shop, if a bit dilapidated. It was in the quieter part of town, yet far busier then any other building nearby, though that wasn't saying much. A sign hung from it's door, with scratchy-letters carved into it.

"The Next Eeveelution In Taste." Agatha read off. "Is that the name or the slogan?"

"Both." Excadrill said blandly, starting at the door.

"…you gonna head in?" Agatha asked after a few beats. "Usually you start glaring down the door after you've been thrown out."

The laugh that came from him sounded hollow. "Heh. Right. Yeah. Just gotta go in and…get it done."

A pang of guilt hit her. "Right. Well. If this is gonna be our last stop, I might as well come in with you."

This seemed to cheer him up a bit. "Heh, if you wanna. And hey, if they don't throw us out, they might treat us to a snack!" The thought returned some cheer and Excadrill marched forward flinging the door to the place open. Agatha followed, ready to leave at the drop of a hat.

The interior of the café reminded her of the sort of places you'd see in a mobster movie. Plenty of private booths for mons to have private conversations in, with rustic wallpaper that seemed to be peeling from the walls. Though it mirrored the dilapidation of the outside, a smell carried heavily through the air that made Agatha reconsider the quality of the lunch in her rucksack.

The café's Pokémon only paid attention to the duo's entrance, though a few eyes lingered slightly longer on Excadrill, before returning to either their food or their now hushed conversations.

The mon at the desk, a Leafeon with an almost wilted leaf on her head, was absorbed in scribbling into a journal, so much to the point that she didn't notice their entrance. It was only Excadrill's awkward cough that got her attention.

"Oh, welcome to The Next Eveelution In Taste! What can I get for you?" She squeaked, quickly swiping her tools off the counter. They clattered to the floor loudly, causing the Leafeon to cringe.

"H-Heh! Not surprised you don't remember me. Last time I saw ya, ya were just a kit." Excadrill did a poor job of hiding the worry in his voice. "Your Ma in? I need to talk with her."

Leafeon looked him up and down before her eyes widened. If she hadn't recognized him before, she did now. "Um…she doesn't really like talking with customers. Maybe I can-"

"Well, good to hear she hasn't changed at least." A speck of hope lit within his voice. "You tell her it's Excadrill asking for her and she'll be out here in a snap, trust me."

Looking about, as if hoping more customers would pop in so she'd have an excuse to say no, Leafeon sighed in defeat. "Alright. She won't be happy but I'll tell her that you're…both here." Her words slowed as, seemingly, for the first time, she fully realized that Agatha was standing behind Excadrill.

Agatha stared back. And then glared. But, not only did the contest go on too long, but she also couldn't detect a hint of any sort of challenge, any sort of dislike in the Leafeon's eyes. If anything there was a strange, innocent, excitement. Her withered tail began to swish back and forth.

It creeped her out. "What?"

"Mom! Right, you want to talk to Mom. Uh, yeah, wait here for-for just a sec." Hopping off the chair, Leafeon scurried out from behind the counter, taking numerous glances at Agatha as she hurried to a nearby door. Her glances almost caused her a run in with a patron who'd suddenly decided to vacate the premises.

"What was that about…" Agatha mummered.

Excadrill thought for a second before giving up. "I'll admit, I got nothing there. But hey, if her kid's in a good mood, maybe that'll mean Flareon-"

"WHAT?"

The roar of anger that echoed through the café snuffed out any other noise. Agatha felt those horrible instincts kick in. Fight or flight. The majority of the mons in the café chose the latter, only a few choosing to scarf down what little food they had left, before fleeing like the others, the door's small bell ringing incessantly. Excadrill stood his ground however.

"Why aren't we leaving? Clearly this-" Agatha's hiss was interrupted by one from Excadrill.

"This one WILL be different. 's gotta be."

Before Agatha could insist, the door to the kitchen flew open and the angriest looking ball of fluff she had ever seen stormed through it. There was a true, dangerous heat radiating from the yellow fur that told Agatha that this Pokémon wasn't just angry. This Flareon was looking for a fight.

But the second she saw Excadrill, something changed. Oh, she was still angry, but something new had been added to the storm of emotions. Whatever it was gave Leafeon just enough space to squeeze past her. The withered grass-type was still watching Agatha.

Excadrill took the first step. "Uh. Flare. H-Heya, hows-"

"Out."

"W-What?"

"Lurantis and Leafeon. Both of you, get out. Now." Flareon's eyes rapidly moved from one grass-type to the other, before settling on her target, as if he would attack at any moment. "We need to talk."

"…sounds about right." Excadrill didn't break eye-contact. "Lurantis, do what she says."

"But-"

"Girl. Trust me."

And before she knew it, Agatha was standing outside the café, back in the miserable heat. The curtains had been drawn, the door had clicked locked, but if there was a yelling match or a fight going on inside, there wasn't a hint of noise.

"H-Ha. Parents, huh?"

Agatha stopped her smouldering to look down to see Leafeon beside her, who broke under the attention. "I-I just mean that, their, uh, weird. N-Not that I think y-your Dad is weird or anything. It's just that-"

"Excadrill's not my dad."

"Oh, sorry, I just kinda, uh, assumed- What I meant was-…it's just, well, my parents are REAL weird, haha." She forced a laugh, and then almost instantly regretted it. "I mean, they aren't weird! I'm not too! Not…weird. Not that there's anything wrong with behind weird, I just-" The Leafeon rambled herself into silence under Agatha's gaze.

Well, if she was going to be stuck with a chatterbox, she could at least get something useful out of her. Maybe find out if they would be marching back through the desert tonight. "How's your mom feel about Excadrill? Every other place we've been too has thrown him out right away. Should I be breaking back in there? This seems different."

"N-No, you can't- uh, shouldn't! She thinks...he's...g-good? Good. She um, likes Excadrill. Yeah."

Agatha looked from Leafeon, to the shut store, then back again.

"Okay, i-it might be a little more complicated then that. She, uh, has pictures of them. Together. N-NOT together, together. Like…hanging out. L-Like how friends do. Friends hang out."

She stopped here, as if Agatha was supposed to glean something from this. It took three whole seconds of silence before Agatha had to gesture for her to continue, rolling a scythe.

"R-Right! S-So, uh, M-Mon and Dad have never really talked about him but…I, uh, think it's complicated? It's complicated. Yep. I…sort of remember him…I think he was nice?"

The Leafeon's lack of knowledge was quickly revealing itself. "Well do you know how long we're gonna be stuck out here?"

The mon in question began fiddling with her paws. "I…I dunno. An hour maybe?"

Agatha was gonna smack Excadrill when she saw him. "Great. So we've just gotta wait here in the blistering heat while those two-"

"I know some place we can go!" Leafeon volunteered. Though she tried to put on confidence, her face was turning red. "It's, uh, p-pretty protected from the heat! It's…it's really cool..? C-Cool? Like…as in…"

"…funny." Agatha deadpanned.

"…i-it'll help you get stronger too?"

Despite the extra prodding, Agatha didn't need it. If Excadrill was under any sort of delusions that she was going to wait around for him, he was wrong. Marching through a blazing hot town and desert was one thing. It was a whole other matter to leave her standing outside in the heat while he sat down for a chat. She was going to get something done while waiting. And if it made her stronger? It would be worth it.

"Lead the way." Agatha said. The heat was still pressing into her, as if hoping to reverse the decision.

Leafeon's spirits soared. "Right! Awesome. I left the tickets in my room so I'll go and-" She moved towards the door, before realizing her mistake, quickly going red again. "I…uh…I'll go round the back. I'll be quick! Promise!"

Watching as she padded around the corner, Agatha sighed. She'd put up with Leafeon for now.

In the distance, he watched as the Leafeon squeaked something before fleeing from Lurantis, red as chople berry. As soon as they were out of each others sight, they had separate reactions, the Leafeon giggling in glee and Lurantis rolling her eyes and leaning against the building.

Smirking to himself, Nidoran sauntered back down the alley he'd been peeking from and hummed to himself. A ticket and a chance to get stronger? The two were heading to Bewear Dojo, no doubt. Seemed like Lurantis's style, but definitely not Leafeon's. Was she trying to impress her? If so, she'd probably have to stop the spluttering.

Whatever the two's connection was, it didn't matter. He needed to find something to throw at them so that he could see what Lurantis could do. Because if he was right, and he always was, she'd be a sight for the eyes once fists were flying.

Or, at the very least, he'd get a laugh out of the little Leafeon being caught in the crossfire.

But what to throw…

"Zoroark!" A voice called. The light that flooded into the alley was blocked by two shapes, namely that of a Litten and a Rowlet, both adorned with yellow scarfs, and enough confidence that it almost made him burst into laughter right then and there.

The Litten stepped toward him, smiling. "You're getting lazy. That's the same disguise you used last time you snuck into Spiral-Town. You running out of ideas?" Embers flickered at the edge of her mouth. Preparing an attack already? No, he couldn't risk Lurantis finding them. These two could go down easily enough, but they'd probably be loud.

With a flicker of willpower, he allowed the illusion to break away, back into the nothingness it was born from. Zoroark grinned hungrily at the two. "Hardly. I was hoping you two would find me. Figured I'd give you a little help, seeing as how you didn't recognize me last week." He forced tears to well up in his eyes and he clutched his chest, staggering back. "I'm hurt. I thought we knew each other better then that."

He hadn't met them last week, he hadn't been looking for them this week, AND he'd fallen back on the Nidoran disguise since it was an old favorite. But of course they didn't need to know that.

Rowlet scowled at the revealed form, puffing his feathers up in the most adorable attempt at intimidation. "Enough! We're taking you in before you can-"

"Great! In fact, I'm here to turn myself in." Zoroark's grin at this point, was practically all teeth.

He'd have to be speedy in breaking out if he wanted to catch the show, but they'd do.

Well, that took awhile. A long while. Sorry for the wait.

Regardless, thanks for reading! Next chapter won't take as long, promise.