Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Dare to Dream
Chapter 2
Kill Them with Kindness
A flash of heat erupted before Felix, enveloping his body in a brief and intense heat. A screech from one of the Hoothoots pierced the air. He shot open his eyes, seeing only one Hoothoot remaining before him; it had stopped its attack and was looking towards a group of shrouded trees behind it. A bright light ignited from within the shadows, which quickly accelerated towards them. Fleetingly illuminating the dark woodwork it passed, it collided with into the owl with a bang.
The small fireball had impacted the Hoothoot directly center on its body, launching it away from Felix and rolling to a stop next to its defeated cohort, a thin trail of smoke rising from their unconscious bodies.
Felix looked towards the direction the fireball had come from and spotted the red fox deftly running through the trees, nimbly jumping over exposed snaking roots along the path with a steadfast look in its eyes.
Not thinking twice, Felix tried to push himself off the ground to ready himself in any capacity to meet the fox, but could only get to his knees as searing pain shot through his entire being. Looking to his arms, legs, and chest, he saw they were all dyed with streaks of crimson- each gash burning with contact to the cold air.
The Vulpix drew closer still, slowing its pace when it got near enough to see him in greater detail. Shock was written on its face when it saw his horrendous state.
"Woah! You're torn up pretty bad! Don't move, okay? I got a berry you can eat!"
Felix stayed on his knees, unable to bring himself to get up any further. He frantically scanned the ground around him, searching for anything that might serve to help him keep the monster away.
A close-at-hand branch caught his eyes. Crooked, but it seemed sturdy enough.
The Vulpix let the bag on its back slide to the ground and pulled a blue berry from it, then approached Felix. The berry swayed gently from a diminutive green stem that was held softly in the vulpine's jaws.
It drew closer, lowering its body close to his as if to offer the berry it held.
He knew better than to trust it.
Clenching the branch with his right hand, he pivoted his body viciously as he swung at the fox with the tree limb as it ducked with a yelp, dropping the berry onto the soil floor.
The fox leapt back; Felix fell to his rear in pain at the sudden action he performed, but remained upright as he kept the branch leveled towards the beast with both arms, breathing heavily as stings tore through his limbs from the further exertion.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
Felix grew tired of it all. Where was he? Why was he here? Who does this monster think its fooling? He glared daggers at it. "Get away from me! Don't come closer!" He sneered in an attempt to seem as threatening as possible.
He kept the branch pointed at the fox, its face disheartened as it stared at his pathetic form.
Loud footsteps emanated from the trees behind the Vulpix, evident through the sounds of shattering sticks and crunching leaves that sounded from the bramble beyond. Felix snapped his attention to the new threat: the ghastly tree from before had emerged from the woodwork. It stopped just behind the fox, an analytical gaze observing the situation before it.
It made no further movement.
The fox slowly shook its head, and changed its expression to one resembling sympathy. It lowered its ears and spoke softly.
"Calm down, alright? We're not here to hurt you. I don't know what's going on, but let me help you. You're injured, and injured badly."
Felix didn't want to acknowledge those words. Any admittance to weakness could lead to an opportunist attack from the elemental fox.
He stared back in silence.
"It's alright if you don't trust me, but you need that berry. Blood loss won't wait for you." The Vulpix gestured towards the berry that laid between them with its head. The oran berry was tempting. Its round form had rejuvenated his strength out in the field many times before, and he wanted nothing more than to levy the ripping pain that plagued his aching body worse and worse as he exhausted his stamina to keep the branch steady with his bloodied and battered arms. "Look, if we wanted to hurt you, we could've just attacked you when we found you out on the ground, right? Please, trust me. We need to get out of here, and you need our help."
The fox took a cautious step forward. Felix pointed the branch's wooden tip at the monster. It hesitated, and took a deep breathe. It continued with another step. Threateningly, Felix drew back the branch and raised it over his head, ready to strike it against the monster's skull. The Vulpix was undeterred, taking a couple more slow steps forward before slowly kneeling down and picking up the berry in front of him with its mouth. It drew even closer.
It now stood so close that he could have reached out and touched its fine red pelt. Dropping it before him, it bowed its head with ears pulled back and its eyes tightly shut, wincing with anticipation.
"You need this berry. Please… please calm yourself down, and take it."
His arms shook as he contemplated his next course of action.
"…Please…"
…
…
He hastily scooped up the berry with his left hand, keeping the branch armed behind his head with the remaining hand, before quickly scooting away. Keeping his eyes on the fox, he wolfed the berry down on the spot. A peculiar sensation spread from his mouth to the rest of his body. Within a moment, he felt his breathing steady itself and the pain that had a second ago poured from the open wounds on his body started to become a numb sensation. The fox slowly opened its eyes, sighing with relief at being spared from the nasty blow to its head. It relaxed its posture and perked up.
"Are you feeling better?"
He found himself able to stand once more, and slowly backed away with the branch once again pointed at the fox. As if failing to understand his intent, the fox started after him.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
Felix looked around himself for any possible escape. Every direction yielded the same result: crumbling trees in an ever-dense woodwork, whose intrinsic grooves bent and contorted themselves in cruel directions, just like the forest they inhabited. He looked back at the fox and spoke with an authoritative tone. "I'm leaving! And don't follow me!" The fox seemed bewildered at his curt order.
"Then you should leave with us! I don't mean to be rude, but you were nearly gutted by two Hoothoots. Your best chance is with us!"
He examined the two, observing their mannerisms. The Vulpix still had its ears folded back, and the ghastly tree seemed content to not interfere. Felix then pivoted his head around to the area that entrapped him.
The woodland that surrounded him was hostile and oppressive; the darkness had crept in from the settling night, making visibility past more than a couple rows of trees near impossible. He had no chance by himself in here, especially when two Hoothoots alone were enough to overwhelm him, as the Vulpix pointedly said. And if he couldn't even get a single hit in on those two simple birds, he knew he had no chance against the fire fox, let alone the ghastly tree that always hovered near it for some unknown reason, should he try to fight his way past them. He couldn't make it on his own.
Felix grimaced at the only solution that was possible.
With a very audible grunt, Felix winced as he spoke to the fox with carefully selected words.
"Listen closely to what I'm going to say."
Its ears perked up.
"For the time being, I permit you to guide me out of this forest..."
A sprightly smile wormed its way onto the Vulpix's face and its six tails began slightly wagging with glee.
"… but if you try anything, I'm leaving on my own. I'll find my own way of these woods or die trying. Understood?"
"Yes! Oh, thank you! Now come on, we should be almost out from here! And don't worry, I'll keep you safe!"
The Vulpix exploded in excitement, retrieving its bag with its six tails now swinging wildly. It joyfully hopped over to him. Felix quickly rearmed himself and pointed the branch back at the Vulpix, causing it to quickly skid to a stop before him.
"And I ask that you stay away from me- at least two lengths of this branch." The Vulpix seemed downtrodden, but recomposed itself and nodded.
"Alright, fine with me. But I'll still be checking on you, okay? Can't have you collapsing without us noticing." The fox circled around the radius of the branch he held and walked to a bit off his side, looking over its shoulder at him. "Just follow me, and let me know if you need to stop for a minute to rest. You can never be too careful in places like this." Felix gave a nod, and the two stepped forth into the darkness with the ghastly tree emerging from the nearby shade and following close behind.
The group's march through the wilderness was undisturbed for some time, passing rows upon rows and stretches upon stretches of trees in various states of decay. Felix shifted his eyes to observe the Vulpix beside him as they walked; its red fur was dimmed underneath the veil of night and its curls both atop its head and on its six tails all slightly bounced with each step it took. Its round brown eyes were locked forward, while its pointed ears swiveled around this way and that scanning for any suspicious sound from the darkness. The brown satchel that snugly hung on its back was quite impressive. The canvas it was constructed from appeared quite sturdy. Something he would've liked when he worked. The fox had attempted to ask him several questions while they had walked: about who he was, why he was passed out on the road, or where he came from. He had remained silent to each of them, not wanting to reveal anything to the now dispirited fox. Looking behind him, Felix saw the tree spirit; its gaze switching between him and the Vulpix as it remained eerily silent, the frame of its splintered body slightly creaking with every movement. His chest tightened at its terrifying form being so close behind. "What is that monster?" he said while pointing to it.
The Vulpix squinted its eyes for a brief moment, and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Monster?"
"Yes, monster, that tree with legs? What's it called?"
A robust chortle came from behind them. Felix looked behind him to see the tree quickly recompose itself as it cleared its throat.
"Oh, 'tree with legs,' now, is it? Ha! Are you saying you've never met a Trevenant before?"
He tried to recall a single instance of that name, but drew a blank.
"Trevenant? No, I would've remembered a name like that. Especially for something like you."
"Trevenant is not my name, little one. It's Willow. And I shall forgive the tone of that remark."
Felix's eyes squinted.
"You have a name?"
The Trevenant slowed down to a stop behind them, halting the procession as the Vulpix took notice. Willow shifted its gaze slowly onto Felix to give itself time to comprehend the stupidity of that question.
"Yes, little one. Is that so surprising? You may not have the courtesy nor the social etiquette to give us your name, but it is not something we need to know at the moment, and so I shall not press the matter. But for the sake of my own faltering faith in light of your recent scatter-brained actions, I should hope that something as comprehensible and universal as a name is not a foreign concept to you."
Willow gestured a hand forward. The group continued onward with a scoff from Felix. Sounds of uncoordinated footsteps alongside the thunks that came from each plunge from six roots as they drove their way into the soil, echoed through the endless forest. Looking at the Vulpix, he caught a quick glance of the fox staring at him before it quicklly looked away to the trees around them.
Felix held out a palm in front of him. Still blue. Still soft. He took notice of the two black tassels that hung loosely on the side of his head. They were soft to the touch, and swung freely as he walked. He shook his head both in disbelief and curiosity, causing the tassels to swing mildly. The possibility of what had happened to him started to form inside him. His lower intestine tensed.
"Vulpix."
"Huh, me?"
"What do I look like to you?"
"Well, you look like a mess. But don't worry about that, you can clean yourself up when we get back to the village."
"No, that's not what I… what do I look like to you?"
The Vulpix narrowed its eyes at him, unsure if his question was some sort of trick.
"You look like any Riolu to me."
He paused. "…I look like… a what?"
The Vulpix gave an addled stare, its ears pointed towards the canopy and its eyes focused onto him, trying to ascertain what he had meant. Felix glanced to his side and saw that the Trevenant was now standing with its arms dropped to its sides with a curious stare drilled into Felix. The They both kept their silent gazes locked onto him for several seconds, giving the forest ambience a moment to creep in.
Willow spoke up.
"Little one… please tell me you know what species you are." Willow's voice sounded almost pleading. "I do not wish to imply that your awareness is lacking, little one, but for all that is wonderful in this world, please tell me that you are at the very least knowledgeable about what you are." Felix slowly shook his head. He could not fight the growing turmoil in his stomach. He could think clearly; this wasn't a trick of the mind. He was transformed into a monster.
"Wait, Riolu? What is- That isn't- I'm not-"
He didn't want to believe it, yet he could not for the life of him shake this encroaching feeling. This felt too natural. Too real. And too big. This body was his, as declared by some unnatural force not known to him, whether he liked it or not. Panic spiked in his chest and his breathing became weighted; his stomach now turbulant. He desperately wanted to heave. His face had turned noticeably grim and distant, which the Vulpix had taken notice of. "Hey, are you alright? Can you hear me? Don't pass out! Please, sit down!"
He held an empty stare forward past the Vulpix, and dropped the branch he was carrying. He shakily sat down onto the cold ground, crushing some dried leaves below him. The Vulpix swiftly came to his side but was weakly pushed away with a weary blue arm. "Are you still weak? I'm sorry, but I only packed the one oran berry, but don't worry! We're almost out of the dungeon. We can make it quickly to the clinic to get you looked at once we do." Willow was some paces away, examining the pair with a critical eye. The Vulpix looked Felix over with quick eyes, looking for any symptoms that could point towards his sudden turn. "Is it a headache? I still have the persim berry, just wait a moment and I'll-"
Felix raised a palm in front of the Vulpix as it tried to throw the bag off itself, stopping it. "No… not a headache. I'm fine… just… thinking."
The Vulpix looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure you're alright? You certainly don't look right."
The thought lingered in his head. "I'm fine. But… I'm not-"
He stopped himself. He had wanted to say he was human. That this wasn't his body. But would they believe him? Do they even know what humans are? And if they did, would that make him their enemy? For as long as he could remember, humans and monsters had always competed with one another for survival. The Vulpix continued staring at him with apprehension. "…But you're not feeling well? That you're not...?"
He wouldn't tell them. He needed to change the subject. After a second of thought, he finished what he was saying with a diversion from its original intent.
"…But I'm not sure what you meant. You said this place is a dungeon? It looks like a forest to me. Did you mean it as an expression, or something?"
Both the Trevenant and Vulpix stared in disbelief at him. Willow couldn't contain his exasperation at the absurd statement. "Are you dense, little one?! We're in a mystery dungeon, what else did you think she meant? Do you even know what-"
Willow raised a hand to cover his face and looked away in shame. He waved his other arm towards the Vulpix.
"Apologies. Star."
Star?
The Vulpix nodded towards Willow, then turned towards Felix. "…Do you not know about mystery dungeons?" He shook his head.
"Never heard of them."
Willow made a quick gesture with his arms as if he was about to speak up once more, but caught himself and stared in frustration.
The Vulpix continued.
"Well… they're strange. Really strange. Mystery dungeons just appear in places, and in any size, too. The terrain repeats itself like if it were a cruel map that changes every time you look at it. It's the same place, just… not. A cave, forest, beach, you name it, it can be there. This forest you just ran into- this is Tumblewood Grotto. This is a mystery dungeon."
Felix looked around him.
Crooked trees lined themselves in chaotic rows that extended far past his view in the darkness of night, their dreadful dull canopy looming close overhead. The cold air never stagnated, always briskly blowing by with the scent of earthly tones. A never-ending woodland.
He stared back to the red vulpine as it continued. "They're dangerous. That's why we ran after you. Everything is out to get you in a mystery dungeon. There are wilds inside them that will attack you when they see you, and sometimes traps will open up underneath you. Riolu, we don't want to hurt you. If we hadn't come after you, you could have died in here."
Felix and the Vulpix sat in silence. Oppressive creaks weakly groaned through the forest, sending new inklings of dread through Felix at the realization of their mystical nature. A land that could never be charted was surrounding him. He winced at the very poor choice to enter such a cursed place.
Willow grew impatient at their inaction. Giving three hearty knocks with a closed hand against a close tree, he drew their attention. "Well, as much as we would love to discuss with you the mystery dungeon phenomenon that plagues our land that you somehow have been entirely unaware of, I'm afraid that is a discussion that we must put a pin in. I personally suggest that we stop coddling the little one, and we get back to moving."
Willow started moving past them into the thicket once more. Felix began to get up, but the Vulpix had nudged at his side to push him up with her snout, producing a flinch from him at the touch. He raised both arms defensively to his side, glaring at the Vulpix. The two exchanged different looks at one another.
With dejection, the Vulpix stepped away towards where Willow had gone. Felix pushed himself up and grabbed the sturdy branch he had dropped, then begun after them.
Before they could work themselves back up to pace, Willow stopped again. Raising his right arm, he pointed forward. The Vulpix stood to attention, then quickly ran past Willow, leaving a confused Felix behind. "Hey, what's that about? Shouldn't we stick-" Willow turned to him and raised a single digit to where Felix imagined a mouth might've been. Understanding- and not wanting to anger the Trevenant further, Felix went silent and looked ahead.
He couldn't see much past the trees amidst the darkness. Searching for the Vulpix that had bounded forward just a moment ago, a flash of bright amber light briefly illuminated the darkness, casting the silhouettes of crooked trees in its glare. The pained shout of a monster rang in the air, followed by a small chorus of various cries that rose with a surge of retaliation. A sightless scuffle was engaged in front of them. Snapping branches of the canopy and quick movements that threw up debris that settled with thuds against the ground persisted behind the trees. Two more intense lights flared in the dark. One could be heard detonating in the woodwork with a fierce bang, but the other caught both Willow and Felix's eyes: it had flown up into the air, a bright light illuminating the canopy above them. The glow traced the outline of the twisting branches of the canopy with contrasting shadows amid a bright backdrop. It fizzled out in the air.
Felix tried to peer past the darkness to see what was happening. More shrill cries of squawks and a rugged roar were heard.
No more lights glared in that lingering dark.
Looking at Willow, Felix saw him staring into the darkness with indifference, as a cry unlike the others was heard from the darkness
"Doesn't sound like it's going well," Felix stated. "Aren't you going to go and help?" Willow ignored him and continued his blank stare into the woodwork. Felix tapped the end of his stick against one of Willow's many wooden legs, producing a small thunk. "Well?" A loud crash was heard in the distance in front of them, then a small amount of rumbling as a large stone settled. Willow did not react.
Felix grew anxious. That Vulpix had been the one helpful to him, while the Trevenant showed no interest in attempting any sort of hospitality towards him. Glaring at Willow, he noted how the haunted hollow had not budged once since it began to sit in silence. If the Vulpix did not to return, he couldn't count on Willow to guide him out. Spirits like him played cruel tricks all the time.
He needed to help that Vulpix. She was his way out.
Sucking in air through his teeth, Felix ran forward, arming his branch in both his hands as if it were a polearm. Looking back, he saw Willow sitting ever-still in place.
Navigating around dilapidated trees, he emerged into a small clearing where he saw the Vulpix with ruffled fur, as well as a singed Rattata beside her, not moving. Following where the Vulpix was glaring, he saw two other monsters. A Hoothoot and a small floating ball of stone covered with inconsequential scorch marks that left black blotches on its rock hide: Geodude. The Vulpix turned her head in surprise when it caught sight of him, before quickly relocking her glare onto the opponents. "Riolu? What are you doing here?! Stay away! I can do this!" Felix sprinted to the Vulpix's side, noticing that the bag she was carrying on the ground away from her with its strap cut loose imprecisely. There was nasty gash on her right foreleg as well, coloring her pelt with some crimson foreign to her own red palette.
"Yeah, obviously." He pointed his branch towards their opponents, both of which seemed to have grown angered at his sudden intrusion. The Geodude bellowed in rage. Plunging its rock-hands into the earth, it retrieved a sizable piece of stone and hurled it towards the two with surprising speed. The Vulpix nimbly leapt to the side, whilst Felix dropped to the ground prone. The stone flew past them into a tree behind them, shattering its trunk on impact and sending small shards of splinters flying out in every direction, before falling to the ground with a resounding crash. Vulpix shot a flare towards the Geodude which effortlessly blocked the ember with raised forearms as the fire snapped against it, leaving no sign of damage save for some black marks. Scrambling off the ground, Felix charged at the Geodude with his branch raised high over his head, but the intense beating of wings flapping above him drew his attention as he approached the Geodude.
A shrill hoot came from above, its sharp tone capturing his attention.
Felix stopped on a dime and raised his branch defensively above him, keeping the Hoothoot at bay as it began furiously scratching at the branch with its large talons. "Riolu! Duck!" Heeding the warning, Felix once again dropped to the ground as a ember collided with the Hoothoot above him, caking his body in warmth from the proximity. The Hoothoot was blasted back, rolling to a stop along the ground. In spite of its injury, it got back up and flew into the thick canopy overhead. Felix got up and searched the canopy for the Hoothoot, whilst the Geodude hurled another rock towards the Vulpix which she agilely jumped over as the rock crashed into the ground, throwing up leaves and dirt, a large gash in the ground could be seen from the impact. From behind him, Felix heard a familiar swish as both leaves and branches parted behind him. He spun around and fended off a diving attack from the Hoothoot's beak with the length of his branch. Flicking the end of the branch towards the bird, it fluttered back to avoid the brunt of the attack. Felix continued the motion, and spun around while repositioning his hands lower on the branch to extend his reach, clobbering the Hoothoot out of the air with a satisfying smack delivered by the end of the branch. The Hoothoot plummeted to the ground, and didn't get back up.
Bright light briefly illuminated the small clearing, sending crooked shadows of trees into the forest backdrop around them. Felix turned to see the Geodude unfazed from the fiery attack. It threw its body into the Vulpix, an attack she couldn't dodge in time. A shout of pain echoed in the air as she was launched back into a close tree and collided with it, weakly bouncing off onto the ground. Felix charged at it as it clumsily floated back a negligible distance above the ground from the recoil of the attack. The Geodude turned just in time to see Felix bring down the branch over its head with a ferocious shout, accompanied by a viscous crack piercing the air as it collided with the Geodude.
The branch shattered at its middle from the impact, sending the top-half flying past the Geodude into the earth behind it.
The unamused Geodude counterattacked immediately with a closed stone fist into Felix's side. The sharp blow knocked the air out of Felix with blunt pain as he was blown back onto the ground. The Vulpix staggered back onto her feet, and shouted at him with a wince. "Riolu! What was the plan there?! Use a Fighting attack! My fire barely hurts it!" Felix looked back at the Vulpix as he laid on the ground recovering from the pain.
"What?! What are you talking about?!" The Geodude picked up another stone from the earth, and threw it with great force towards Felix as he lay on the ground. Wide-eyed, he quickly rolled to his left, the stone just missing him as it crashed by his side, leaving a large dip in the ground where he was before. The Vulpix shot another ember to the Geodude's back, exploding against its side as the monster turned around and threw itself towards her again, missing its mark as she ducked, and smashing into the tree behind her. The Vulpix fled towards Felix, but tripped on some of the stone debris underfoot, sending her into a tumble onto the ground.
"Ow! Oh, forget it! Just use the sleep orb in my bag!" Felix clambered up and sprinted towards the bag on the ground a small distance away. Sliding onto the ground to it, he flipped open the satchel and dumped its contents onto the floor. A persim berry, apple, and a large translucent pink orb, fell out in front of him.
Alright, if this is what she says to use…
Grabbing the orb, Felix ran to the Geodude as its back was turned to him, its attention on the fox. It had plunged its hands into the soil, and pulled up another large stone, holding it above its head as it took aim at the Vulpix as she tried to pull herself off the ground. Raising the orb into the air with both hands, Felix slammed it into the back of the Geodude's head with a loud dull crack, as both the orb and the Geodude's backside chipped from the impact. The Geodude dropped the rock it was holding above itself as it flinched from the surprise attack, resulting in the rock falling onto its head and making the rock monster fall to the earth. Using its arms, it tried to push itself into the air again, but Felix had stepped over it and delivered two more strikes with the orb into the back of its head. He would've continued, but the orb had shattered on the third hit, sending glass shards scattering into the air.
Breathing heavily, Felix observed the Geodude. It laid still on the ground with large nicks in its rock hide. The Vulpix walked shakily to his side, and both looked at each other with exhausted eyes. The Vulpix gave a small smile. "Hey… thanks for the assistance. I swear, I really did think I had it under contr-" Her eyes spotted the fragmented shards of the orb on the ground, which now were a faded gray rather than the pink hue they were before. With a tired sigh, she looked back at him. "Yep… figures you wouldn't know how to use an orb, either. But it worked out in the end, I guess." Felix furrowed his brows.
"What? You said to use the orb, and I did! Look, the thing is on the ground out cold!" The Vulpix walked over to her bag with a gait, trying not to put pressure on her injured front right leg and shoulder, and began nudging the persim berry and apple back into the bag.
"That's not how you… never mind. We're both not the ones 'out cold,' and that's what matters." She grabbed the strap of the satchel with her mouth and saw the cut in the middle, stopping her from hanging it on her body. "Riolu, could you carry this for me? I don't want to drag it back to the village." Felix walked over while clutching at his side. He took the strap from the Vulpix and threw the satchel over his shoulder to hang off him as he clung to the strap.
Heavy footsteps came from the trees at their side and stepped out into the clearing: Willow. Felix felt a shot of anger in him towards the tree. "Where were you during all this? Why didn't you come and help?" Willow surveyed the scenery around them, shooting some glances between the Riolu, Vulpix, and the three defeated monsters near them. He focused on the Vulpix.
"Sloppy. The Geodude, I can understand. But the Hoothoot was inexcusable. It should've been dealt with just as quickly as the previous two encounters. Star, was this your best?" The Vulpix looked disheartened, its head and ears drooping to the ground. Felix pointed at Willow with an accusing finger.
"If you wanted it done faster, how about you help next time, instead sitting in the back being a log?"
Willow finally glared at Felix with a look of disdain within its red eye.
"I cannot interfere directly with her work. I am merely here to supervise her growth, as well as ensuring her and her charge's safety."
"Safety? Look at me! Look at her! We're bleeding here! And how could you have even helped us from all the way back there?"
"Calm yourself, little one. Me and my kind can see the world through its trees- and are capable of much more than prying with them, if we so desire. I was able to monitor your states at all times. Should either of you have been defeated, I would have intervened. And if you're so concerned with your safety, maybe it'd be wise to learn how to throw a punch. But I applaud you for your creativity; truly, no one would've used an orb as you had. A very unique approach, I must say." Felix scowled at the remark.
Willow turned his back to them and pointed forward to an end of the clearing with sparse trees. "Now Star, proceed. The exit should be just ahead."
The Vulpix nodded, and lead the group beyond the sparse tree line from the clearing. The trees around them quickly thinned out, and what forest remained was wholly healthy with richly brown bark. A nestled well-traveled dirt path which stretched past the horizon could be seen. The open and free night sky now replaced the dreary atmosphere of the woods they had just left behind, with a calming cool breeze flowing freely without obstruction from the blockades of dying trees. A full moon illuminated the plains and the hills; its silver sheen was brilliant, casting a welcoming light onto the earth below the sparse clouds. Willow stretched out his arms, and basked in the enchanting moonlight. "Ah, feels wonderful to finally be out of there," he gleefully announced. The Vulpix stepped out in front of him, careful not to put too much pressure on her injured leg, and gestured with her head towards the left side of the path. The Vulpix continued with careful footsteps down the road, with Felix and Willow following close behind.
After some time, the terrain slowly transformed. The trees that accompanied them began to vanish, leaving rolling plains with swaths of grass which swayed with the small breezes that blew over them. Stone plateaus of various elevations and shrubbery adorning them surrounded the group as they traveled, becoming a sea of swooning hills dotted with jutting rocks and natural platforms of stone. Rock pillars rose from the earth, their gray weathered surfaces glowing with the moonlight. One in particular towered over them with a robust base, reaching into the heavens, yet unable to pierce the clouds that reflected the moonlight. The Vulpix seemed particularly enraptured by the stars above them; the waves of gentle blues and purples of the cosmos above were speckled with dots of light, and a single breath-taking streak of soft yellow cleaved a large portion of the night sky into two. Felix walked closer to the Vulpix and noticed her state: her fur was all disheveled and blotched with some places by blood that had darkened and stiffened. The curls on her head and tail had become a tangled mess that more-so resembled knots than the prideful upkeep that was maintained just earlier in the day. And she now walked with a certain rhythm to avoid putting too much time and weight on her injured foreleg.
He found himself still clutching to his left side with some residual pain. The adrenaline from the fight earlier was starting to leave his system, and the pain from the Geodude's blow to his side earlier had resurfaced. Without her help, he'd likely never had escaped from that forest.
Now was as a good time as any to ask some questions.
"Star, is it?" Felix asked the Vulpix.
"Yeah, that's me," replied Star.
"Why'd you chase after me? Why didn't you just let me go?"
"Because you were lying on the ground unconscious when we found you. You needed our help. And then you ran into that mystery dungeon. That's… not right. You clearly weren't thinking straight, and 'clueless' is a close friend to 'dead' in those places."
These are monsters… so why would they go out of their way for him?
"Alright… but what if it were a trick I was playing? What if I was just pretending to need help, and you had followed me into a trap? Shouldn't you worry about yourself? Why do you care what happens to me?
Star beamed with pride. "I think I can handle myself just fine, thank you. And that 'log' over there is good for something when he does decide to help. He's… saved me a couple times already. And besides, I don't need a reason to help. If there is someone who's down on their luck, you ought to try and do a good thing. No matter how small."
"Well…" he said. "… Thanks."
Star looked up to him with a small amount of surprise present in her face. Then a soft smile. He felt a similar look creep onto his own face.
Up ahead, Felix spotted a brazier flaring with a pillar of fire in the distance, sat atop the silhouette of a skeletal tower. Flickering lights of torches, all standing atop poles that were attached to one-another by ropes, all sporadically dotting the flat landscape beyond. A large wooden archway was seen in front of the torched lights; its exceptionally broad stance seemed to permit entrance for creatures of various sizes, small and large. Beyond were numerous low wooden buildings protruding from the earth in various states of construction, and several buildings that seem to have been built with specialized purposes in mind. One in particular seemed to have large pillars of crude rock arranged into an enormous circle that he could see even a fair distance away. Piles of lumber, scraps of metal, and oodles of rock seemed to dot the village, all organized into neat stockpiles near some of the structures which were clearly incomplete. A large and muscular monster with stubby legs was seen close within village, easily picking up a stack of lumber with one arm and nonchalantly walking further in with the immense payload. He shivered at such demonic strength. Star came to a stop in front of the archway, and eagerly waited for Felix to arrive beside her as he slowed down to take in the view. His eyes were captured by the tower and its brazier, which shined brightly with a fiery red glow in front of the cool blue background of space behind it. Felix was close enough to now see the ropes attatching the poles with torches were decorated with colorful ribbons which swung freely in the breeze. Willow passed him and stopped in front the archway, then turning his whole body to face him.
"Welcome to Fango Village, little one," he stated proudly. "As a representative of the New Galar Expedition Company, we extend our hospitality to you."
