For the Sherlock TF, we currently have two votes for Type: Null and one for Ribombee. This review-your-vote thing will be up until I reach the final chapter of this arc. If you haven't voted yet, there's still time!
Now, let's get this chapter going! (-o-)
Gavin's POV
We were all gathered in a magic broom closet, which was somehow large enough to fit everyone comfortably, with Miss Melody hovering in the center of the room.
"Okay, kids, let me fill you in on some things.", she said, "Once, this school was much more peaceful and safe. It was led by Professor Bumblebore, who, although quite prone to rambling on and on about what happened to cross his mind, was perfectly acceptable and good at keeping things peaceful and orderly. But there was a secret in the castle. In the basement below the basement below the basement, an ancient threat had been sealed away by the Precursors. It was a being of pure chaos and disorder, and it called itself Pigbumps."
Eddie made a dramatic gasp, causing everyone to shoot a look at him.
"One day, Pigbumps managed to break the first seal on his prison. He quickly took over the school with his twisted powers, and engaged in battle with the professor. In that battle, Pigbumps cast the professor into a secret chamber that was the lair of a creature known as the Bookworm. Using its powers, the Bookworm stole all of the professor's memories and sealed them in its massive book, turning the once great teacher into a bumbling amnesiac. And so Pigbumps conquered the school and turned it into what it is today.", Miss Melody explained.
"And you couldn't have warned us about this earlier?", asked Janet crossly.
"I did not believe it was necessary. Pigbumps seemed satisfied with his domain and I did not realize he had turned it into this death trap. That was a big mistake.", Miss Melody replied.
"Death trap!?", exclaimed Randa, "I didn't realize it was that bad!"
Miss Melody replied, "To be honest, I don't really know how bad it is, but it certainly isn't a good level of bad. He has the power to throw the multiverse into disorder, which we cannot let happen."
"Correct.", agreed a voice, and everyone turned to see Sherlock striding into the room, followed by that Grouchindor prefect.
"As much as I despise you Guardians and the various shenanigans you get into on Earth, I have to admit that letting this pig loose would be worse than working with you temporarily.", Sherlock continued.
"So, um, why is that guy following you?", asked Mia.
"Huh?" Sherlock turned and jumped slightly at the sight of the prefect. "Aha! I knew someone was tailing me! But you won't succeed your dastardly plans!"
"An interesting deduction, seeing as I have nothing dastardly in mind at all.", the prefect replied.
"Who are you?", asked Miss Melody, "I can't help but think that I've seen you before, though..."
The prefect answered, "I'm not surprised. My name is Draco Malfoy, and I'm from one of the parallel Hogwarts realms. One where Harry and I were friends, until for some reason the dimension was inexplicably destroyed and I was cast out amongst the multiverse."
"Inexplicably destroyed?", Miss Melody asked.
"Yes, and I'm trying to find out how and why. I got stuck in this dimension, though, and I've been looking for a way out. Your group seems to be it, and I'll do my best to assist you.", Draco replied.
Sherlock frowned. "Hmm, the government might want to look into this. Unexplained and unregistered destructive dimensional activity cannot be allowed to persist."
Zoe asked, "Do you always talk like that?"
"Indubitably.", replied Sherlock, "Why, is it odd?"
Zoe snickered. "No. Please, do carry on."
Sherlock muttered, "I suspect that was sarcasm."
Miss Melody said, "Um, anyways, I'm going to tell you my plan."
"We're listening.", stated Draco.
Miss Melody continued, "We need to defeat Pigbumps and restore Bumblebore to his former self. And if we're going to get out of here, we need to save Hoopa and Victini. That means we're going to have to play the pig's game and complete those other two challenges. Some of us are going to have to stick around and do that. As for the rest of us, we need to find the Bookworm's lair and steal his book, which will allow me to reverse the spell and restore Professor Bumblebore's memories."
"Do we even know where that lair is?", asked Janet, "Cause that's kind of important."
Draco smiled. "Oh, that's easy. It's at the heart of the weasel tunnels."
"Weasel tunnels?", Miss Melody asked.
Anthony muttered, "You don't want to know."
Draco continued, "These tunnels lead everywhere in the castle, but there are only a few entrances large enough for people to travel through. The one in the kitchens is, uh, unusable for some reason, and the one in the dungeons has been marked off with yellow tape. That leaves only one entrance: the one in the girl's bathroom."
Everyone stared at him for a moment.
"...How do you know this?", Zola asked.
Draco held his hands up defensively. "Look, I was getting desperate, okay! I also made sure no one was in there before I started searching around!"
"How did you do that, I ask?", Brianna said, clearly trying to hold back an angry outburst like every other girl in the area.
"Magic.", Draco replied, "A simple spell that would tell me if anyone was in the area. Good enough?"
Brianna replied, "Hmph. Fine. But that was still a really bad idea."
Miss Melody looked even more desperate to change the subject. "Okay, so we have a path to the Bookworm. Our plan of action is clear. A small team will brave the weasel tunnels and make their way to the Bookworm, one that I will be on. The rest of you will need to do Pigbumps's challenges and keep him distracted. Does that sound good to you?"
Everyone nodded.
"Alright. Because of the entrance's...unusual location, our book extraction team is going to have to be entirely girls. Sorry, dudes, but you'll have to all deal with the pig.", Miss Melody continued.
Well, shoot. I wanted to stay as far away from that porcine maniac as possible, but it looked like that would not be an option.
Sherlock shrugged. "Not a problem. That's one of the primary reasons I'm here, you know."
Miss Melody replied, "So you really are serious about wanting to help us?"
Sherlock nodded. "Yes, but as I said earlier, this is a temporary agreement."
Miss Melody nodded. "Hmm...I'll think on that."
I had a distinct feeling based on her expression that she was planning something devious. I'd almost feel sorry for Sherlock, if he hadn't tried to kill me the other day.
Miss Melody said, "We'll raid the weasel tunnels as soon as his next challenge starts. Lunch should be starting soon, and therefore he'll probably announce it then. We should probably head there now, before that wrestler cat shows up."
She smiled. "Although, Fighting IS weak to Psychic." (-o-)
I sat at the Knowitclaw table, wondering where the pig was.
Lunch had been served and everybody was eating, but Pigbumps was nowhere to be seen. I found that incredibly odd, but took the time to eat as much as possible before he arrived and devoured an entire table's worth of our food.
Everyone else seemed confused as well, but were also eating like there'd be no food tomorrow.
After a while of silence and constant eating, the pig finally showed up.
He crawled out of one of the many trapdoors, covered in grease, scorch marks, softly glowing blue markings, orange tufts of fur, scratches, and last night's leftovers. Yet he looked quite happy, and not in a way that I liked.
"Hello students!", he shouted, "Perhaps you are wondering what my next challenge is. Well, allow me to announce...the Mule Ball!"
Charging into the room was a herd of donkeys, wearing tuxedos or poofy dresses. They surrounded the tables, grinning excitedly.
"This will be a special Christmas party!", Pigbumps announced, "Whoever impresses me the most with their dancing, courting, and various talent skills will earn the prize! And you DO have to impress me...hehehe..."
He made his way to his floating chair and sat down. "The ball is tonight! All of you have to be present, or else I will have to expel you. No one wants that, especially not you, so I expect to see you dressed your best and smiling as we celebrate the holiday season tonight!"
One kid timidly said, "But sir, it's still summer."
"That's easily arranged.", Pigbumps replied, and suddenly the sky rumbled and snow started falling.
"Now, I'm going to get a shower and a hot meal. See you tonight!", he declared, and he teleported away.
When he was gone, Miss Melody said, "Well, that messes things up." (-o-)
AN: This was basically an interlude chapter, but next chapter should be exciting! How will our heroes fare in the Mule Ball, and how will they raid the Bookworm's lair when all of them need to be present? We'll find out next time! Happy Pokemon hunting as always!
Also...Dialga's time distortion seems to have made the next chapter a Christmas one. Oh well!