"Some folks say we're lucky to have never been the centerpiece of a world-wide disaster. I am even more scared by that- at least the other continents had their heroes. When calamity comes to ours, will we be able to stop it?"

-Officer Golem, notes on the Sand Continent.


Chapter III: Through the Dark Crystal

Little Sandrop Cave

Floor: 5(!)

Boss battle: Sableye, the lonely

The room they currently were one was stranger than the rest of the dungeon- The very walls were mostly red, like an enormous, continuous ruby- that was shattered into small 'pieces', little gems that almost completely covered the purple walls. There were three corridors total, to the left and to the right, and one behind the duo. The Sableye stood in the middle, in between the two corridors, while the duo stood in front of the ghost type, prepared for battle.

"You'll pay! All of you! You'll all pay!" the small dark/ghost uttered, angrily swiping the air threateningly.

"Just listen! We don't wanna-" before Mirari could continue, the mad sableye jumped in between them, trying to scratch them with his claws, both nearing dodging, splitting up, with the sableye in the middle of them.

"LIARS! LIARS" he growled, turning around to swing at the dragon female more times, her skills showing as she managed to keep avoiding those furious swipes, most either missing, or hitting her tough scales, only one truly making any significant damage, scrapping her chest.

"S-Stay away from her!" a meek, scared, yet angry voice declared, slashing the ghost from behind with a well placed aerial ace, making him hiss angrily.

"Why you! Despicable rogue!" he turned around, one of his claws becoming surrounded by dark sparks, before slapping the togepi right in the cheek, tossing him to the side.

The sableye prepared to follow up, but was interrupted by a shower of hot, intense gust of draconic flames, scorching him from behind. Forcing him to retreat, falling back and hissing from the pain some more.

"You ok?" she ran to regroup with Lawrence, he got up and stood at her side, both looking at the Ghost in front of them once more.

"Y-Yeah. Didn't hurt nearly as I t-thought it would!" he wiped his mouth, catching his breath.

"Fairy types are resistant to dark type moves! That was knock off- By Lugia, I'll have to teach you a lotta stuff!" Mirari charged another dragon breath, opening her mouth and shooting another royal blue stream of draconic energy, much to hear dismay, the sableye easily dodged the blast, even as she moved her head to try and match his speed, it just wasn't enough, eventually he blinked in front of her, kicking the top of her head, and thus making her shut her mouth. Literally.

And sensing the togepi yet again going for an easy aerial ace, the sableye turned around just in time, though he had no intention in moving, instead his shadow appeared behind Lawrence, slashing his back viciously, breaking his concentration, and pushing him towards the ghost, who followed up with another knock off to the face, tossing him to the ground "Too slow, punk! Now-"

"-You perish!" he jumped high in the air with a flip, preparing his claws for an onslaught on the fallen fairy type, suddenly being interrupted by an iron head to the side, courtesy of another fast pokémon that had jumped, managing to push him far enough to lose his momentum, and be forced to retreat again.

"T-Thanks!" She helped him up, once again they were side by side.

"He's far too fast, somehow! We can't get the first strike!" Mirari growled, looking as the sableye twitched creepily, looking for another opening to charge at them once more.

"W-We gotta work together! We just c-can't compete with him by ourselves!" Lawrence tried to strategize.

"You're right… But we have been working together, haven't we?" She confusedly asked.

"Not r-really! You ju-just kinda attacked him with what you had, and t-then I did the same!" he took a step back as the Sableye threatened to take a step forward.

"So? Isn't that teamwork?" She asked further, seeing the sableye blink again, and as a reaction, she was able to use a well placed protect, a blue shield enveloping her, and completely negating his endless flurry of fury swipes.

Seeing the sableye distracted, and Mirari successfully blocking him, the togepi put his two hands on his forehead, creating a rainbow-white ball in between them, which soon exploded into a blast of lights, some being faintly reflected by the red gems. The enemy could only look towards it, being unable to react as the light burned his ghostly body, Mirari being safe inside the protective shield, as he was tossed to the wall, falling on his knees.

"Nope! T-That's teamwork!" Lawrence smiled, proud of their feat. His smile was infectious, the dragon soon joining him.

"That was awesome! We're like one of those cool teams of the stories!" she jumped of joy, clearly excited, despite the perilous battle ahead (or perhaps because of it) "C'mon! Let's try to mix it up!" she smirked, getting in her battle pose once more.

"You little PUNKS!" The sableye recovered, getting back on his feet and dashing towards the togepi, reading to unleash another vicious fury swipes, not predicting a bold dragon throwing herself in front of the attack, her iron head slamming against him.

Seeing his cue, Lawrence charged an aerial ace, running and slashing the ghost's side, opening him for another vicious headbutt by Mirari, throwing him back.

"Nice one!" She looked back at him, smiling and nodding.

"I-It was all thanks to you!" He smiled back.

"Damn children! This is no game!" he growled, hissing and getting back up, claws on his wounds, while the strange energy around him was getting stronger and stronger, almost covering his entire body.

"You took him away from me! You took everything I had- and now you want to take more!?" he keeps growling creepily, one claw on his forehead, the other swiping randomly at the air.

"We don't know what you're talking about, sir! We've stumbled here by accident- We just want to leave!" Mirari tries reaching out for him.

"You just want me to lower my guard again! You just want to betray and hurt me again!" Despite his threatening, borderline insane words, the dark aura of hatred begins lowering, and he clutches his head with his two claws.

"S-She's right! We don't know you, mister! Um- S-Someone clearly hurt you-" he gulped, trying to take a step towards him "D-Do you wanna talk about it…?"

"I… I… I…" the sableye's voice mellowed, before the aura came back at full strength, his head lowered with his claws pressing against the sides of his head "I… I… I'll never be hurt again!"

He suddenly jumped to retreat, sending two shadows towards the duo, one kicking Lawrence, and the other punching Mirari, stunning both for a second.

When they recovered, the Sableye was nowhere to be found.

"W-Where did he go!?"

"I'm not sure- Stay close to me!" he quickly ran towards her, both desperately looking around to find the little imp.

"The treasure is mine! You shall never have it!" Suddenly, the two were surprised to see him appearing out of nowhere, seemingly out of the wall, hitting Mirari on her side, making her be thrown, and stumble to the ground.

"M-Mirari!" Lawrence could only scream, when he tried to turn and attack the ghost- he was gone once more.

"W-What the- W-Where-" he scaredly looked around, seeing only the glistering of the gems, and his fallen partner. He ran towards her.

"I guard this dungeon! I am the keeper of crystal cave- And for as long as I'm here, you shall never, never, NEVER leave!"

Lawrence gasped, stopping to look around, hearing that booming, creepy voice coming from everywhere, gulping, simply not being able to find the enemy, though he felt- no, he knew he was watching from somewhere. He decided to keep running towards Mirari anyway, thankfully arriving there without a surprise strike from the mad pokémon.

"A-Are you ok?" he hurried and tried to help her up.

She was bruised, dazed and beaten- but thankfully, still not out of the battle.

"I'm ok. Thank you…" she panted, showing exhaustion "...Damn, we really do need to beat this guy to get out of here… Aw, Curses! He even ruined my scarf!" she sighed, tossing that battered, simple red scarf to the side, clearly it was more of a beauty thing than a practical thing.

"Y-Yeah… I don't get what's going on at all- B-But we gotta do something…" he gulped, really unsure of what to do exactly, feeling overwhelmed and underpowered.

"Urk- I'm really sorry to ask- but could you please heal me? I'm feeling a bit faint…" she meekly asked, trying to hold back her pain, perhaps to not show weakness, perhaps not to worry him.

He was about to ask what she meant, remembering what happened back in the desert and how he boosted her energy on their dash for safety, using what she referred to as 'water dew'.

"I-I don't know how-" Maybe if he used his memories too? Or his emotions? It was worth a shot "Um- Gimme a sec!" Lawrence closed his eyes, trying to focus and call upon his strange, fairy powers.

"No rush… I'll protect yo-" she stopped when she saw a shade coming from underneath them, headbutting the togepi to the side, and taking the full brunt of the shadow sneak by herself, being punched, slammed and bruised by its attacks, making her cough some blood and once more, fall prone.

"N-No!" Lawrence touched his bruised forehead, running to try and help her, only to see a shape appearing right on top of him, claws spread wide, ready to fall on his prey.

"I'll take everything from you! I'll make you cry the thousands of tears I cried!" He fell on top of the togepi, madly swiping his fallen frame, head, body, arm- it made no difference, he only wanted to hurt.

He could feel some wounds begin to bleed as well, from the seemingly scratches he was receiving, the pain and speed of the attacks making him unable to use his strongest move, thus making him completely at the mercy of the mad assailant.

"Yes! Yes! This pain you feel is but a fraction of mine! You wil-" he suddenly was interrupted by a very fast, very powerful and very angry dragon tail to the back, the user promptly yelling "SHUT UP ALREADY!" He then flew to the wall, crashing his back against the various red gems.

"And… Stay away from him!" She proceeded to breathe in, charging a huge, powerful gust of royal blue dragon breath, hitting and further hurting the ghost, his body twitching as he tried to get up, blue sparks greatly limiting his movements.

"Lawrence!" The jangmo-o ran towards the fallen fairy, nudging him with her snout "Wake up! Please!"

He managed to resist falling asleep, coughing and taking a deep breath, bruises all over him "I'm… Ok…"

"Heh. Sure you are. C'mon!" she smiled reassuringly, helping him up, the bruised duo looking at the struggling sableye.

"No...No...No… I must… Protect… You…" he grunted, voice cracking creepily, slowly he struggled his way up, touching the wall, and somehow entering one of the various gems, like it was a portal or something.

"What the- H-How-" the togepi exclaimed, the dragon seeming just as stunned as him.

"Look! Over there! He's getting away!" she pointed a claw, and sure enough, they could see his reflection on the little red gems, though he was not on their 'reality'- thus, creating a very bizarre dissonance.

"He's going to the right corridor! Let's go!" she helped Lawrence, both limping their way towards the right hallway, seeing what seemed like at least 400 very small gems plastered around it, leading to what looked like a gigantic, dark crystal on the wall of another room, with a box in front of it.

"I can't see where he went! There are so many here!" she cursed "He's gonna try something! We gotta stop him somehow! But he's not even in our reality!"

Suddenly, Lawrence got a fit of inspiration "I have an idea…" he was really unsure if it was gonna work, but it was better than being even more useless "... You might hate it."

She tilted her head, but was silenced as he exclaimed "Stay b-behind me!"

Unsure what he was gonna do, she nodded, and he took a step forward, stepping on the corridor, making his all too familiar pose, two hands on his forehead, eyes closed.

He yet again remembered that hug- and soon enough, the positive energy stored in him formed a ball of light, which he promptly exploded, the rainbow flash illuminating the entire corridor, reflecting through each and every little gem- and eventually, that intense flash hit its mark.

"Arrrgh-" they heard, followed by the sound of someone falling, when the blinding light went out, they could see a downed, bruised sableye, with some strange smoke leaving his body.

"Wow! Nice thinking, Lawrence!" She ran towards him, petting the togepi's back with her claw "How did you-" Mirari then stopped speaking when she noticed Sableye getting up, still with his back turned.

"R-Really? How persistent are you- Hey! Stop!" she ran towards him "Please! We just wanna tal-" suddenly, she received another knock off to the face, tossing her to the side, as the little ghost kept slowly limping towards the cave with the big crystal.

"M-Mirari" Lawrence finally caught up, touching her back "Oh no! A-Are you ok?"

"Yeah… Damn… Why is he so mad…?" Mirari spat some blood on the ground at their side, clearly being at the edge of fainting too, barely conscious, and utterly bruised.

"Don't go off running like that! S-Something worse could have happened!"

She nodded solemnly, giggling meekly "Heh. You really sound like my mom."

He was a bit taken back at how cheerful and casual she could be, even though they were in a death match against a psychotic sableye.

They could see he was kneeling in front of the box, doing something with it.

"O-Oh crap! He's doing something!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" she fiercely declared, yet again dashing fearlessly to battle, while the togepi pitifully tried to follow, both limping as fast as they could.

When they arrived in the room, they could see the walls were pure white, with little to no small gems around them, only one big, mirror-like crystal on the roof, and on the wall right in front of the sableye and the box.

"They won't take you from me again… Never again…" he creepily kept saying, seemingly ignoring the duo behind him for now.

"Lawrence! If we get a good hit, we might be able to finally calm him down!" she whimpered a bit, feeling her wounds and bruises making themselves known "Urk. But if he lands it on us, we're done for!"

"Y-Yeah… I can barely stay on my feet as it is… Oh, how I wished for an Oren Berry…" he groaned, remembering that strange, yet very refreshing juice.

"Oh, you really don't want an 'Oren', trust me!" he turned around to ask what she meant, when they were both interrupted.

"SILENCE!" both pokémon quickly looked at him, bracing themselves "All I ever wanted was to be noticed! And when I was noticed, by the one pokémon I loved- you took him away! And now you want to take my only memory of him too!" he clutched his forehead, as if he was fighting inside his own mind.

"Sir, please! We can help you- We don't wanna hurt you! Just talk to us, please! Explain what happened! We promise to help!" Mirari begged. And for one second, the bruised, beaten and crazy sableye's aura completely went away, he lifted one claw, as if trying to reach her.

For one second, they both had hope. They both believed, they both reached out for him, but the pressure seemed too strong. Soon, with a loud groan of pain, the black aura once more took over, though it was wavering "Defend… Treasure… I must defend… This is mine… Everything here is mine!"

He then hissed in pain, yet again dashing towards them, though it was a feint, instead he jumped to the wall, then jump kicked the jangmo-o in the back, then jumped back up, and did the same to the togepi.

The three were so tired, that they barely had energy to use moves, and the sableye was using this to his advantage. Staying on the walls, and getting down to quickly hurt them, then going back up before they could do anything about it.

"How is he so fast!? I thought he was paralysed! That dark power must've done something!" she winced, feeling her muscles scream more and more with each attack.

"W-We need to find a way… to stop him from moving a-around so much!" Lawrence screamed at Mirari, blood leaking from his mouth.

"He doesn't seem to be able to enter those two big crystals for some reason…It's why he's using the walls..." She muttered, analyzing the battlefield, suddenly she widened her eyes, inspired.

"I have an idea!" she uttered, biting her lower lip and trying to focus her red eyes on the ghost.

"...Am I going t-to hate it?"

"Not really. I think I'll hate it more than you…" Lawrence was about to question her, but was interrupted before he could "Use dazzling gleam on my mark, ok? I only have enough energy for one move left- and I'll try to make it count!"

He gulped "I-I don't know if I can! I'm fa-far too weak!" he looked at his tiny, bruised and somewhat bloody hands, before looking back at her.

Mirari turned to him, the light of the crystal above illuminating her scaly body, showing the severity of her cuts, bruises- she even had missing scales on her sides! And even with blood leaking from her nose and mouth, and one of her eyes semi closed due to injury, she still managed to send him a sincere, encouraging smile "You can." Was all that the usual talkative dragon said, and it was more than enough.

His heart skipped a beat, and suddenly, he felt energized once more- certainly not enough to fight as much as he had before, but more than enough to make her faith not be misplaced "O-Ok! L-L-Let's do this!" Lawrence braced himself.

"BEGONE!" the berserk sableye jumped from the ceiling, having taken the time to charge a final move, his right claw getting bigger, more wicked, and completely enveloped in darkness, his black, evil aura now burning around him like hellfire, as he jumped from above, leaving his guard open while going for a lethal move, ready to decapitate the dragon type.

Putting all at risk, she allowed the ghost to close in on her, timing her jump just right to slam her tough head on him, her head scale glowing, launching both of them to the big crystal in front,his claw scraping her back, but her resolve not wavering, pinning the sableye against the crystal, the banging of his back against the wall making three large cracks on the flawless black gem.

While Mirari held the enemy there, her heart-shaped head scale barely holding held in place, while he tried to wiggle free, and claw her some more. With her own claws firmly planted on the ground, pure willpower keeping her awake and resiliently holding the foe there.

"LAWRENCE, DO IT NOW!" she roared, bracing herself for what was to come. The sableye desperately began swiping her more and more, in an absolute frenzy, to make her let go, also knowing what was about to come next.

He wavered for a moment, knowing it would hit her, but felt compelled to do it anyway. For her sake. Besides, she is a dragon-type. She should be resistant to a fairy/light type or whatever move, he concluded in a split second.

He put all his effort on it- If he had one more attack, he also had to make it count! Mirari was believing in him! Even if it killed him he had to do it. For this single second, he was no longer afraid.

And so, he began preparing his power, though this time, to gather energy, he chose to focus not on the memory of their hug in the crater- but on how she worried about him multiple times, saved him with a magic healing fruit, their hug on the cave, and finally, their entire team-struggle against the mad dark ghost- and of course, that smile that somehow made him feel like he could do anything, and that there was light even as all was lost.

In other words, remembering this crazy, short adventure, and their little moments- It was enough to completely charge a ball of light almost twice the size of the ones he did before.

"Take… THIS!" he screamed, surprising himself with his confidence, the burst of colors traveling like a wave of ruinous light, completely enveloping the two pokémon, the cracked crystal reflecting the flash, not boosting its power, but certainly boosting its intensity, further damaging the two that were caught inside it. Strangely enough, the three cracks multiplied just as it reflected the light and in the same split second as the dazzling gleam stopped its shine, the dark crystal completely shattered, breaking into various pieces… and then turning into dark ash before even reaching the ground.

When the dust and the light subsided, he could see two very wounded pokémon, both completely burned by the attack- though what made his heart skip a beat was the little dragon, laying on the ground, not a single movement. Smoke leaving her body. Showing just how much she was affected by the blast. Almost as much, if not more, than the sableye.

"N-NOO!" he screamed, barely able to stumble his way to the fallen dragon, also falling before reaching her.

He slowly crawled towards Mirari, seeing only her wounded back, gulping, his heart beating like a drum, so much it actually hurt him "M-Mirari…?"

He touched her. No response.

"M-Mirari! Wake up! T-This isn't funny!" he nudged her once more. No response.

"P-Please, p-p-please be ok!" he grunted, grabbing her by the back, and trying to turn her to face him, her weight and his injured muscles not helping.

After a brief struggle, he finally was able to do it. And when she saw her face, he could only scream in fear, agony and sadness.

Her innocent eyes were closed, her heart shaped scale was shattered in half, her gray scales were charred- burned and most important of all…

… She wasn't breathing.

'No… Not like this! Please no! Please no no no!' he begged, vision already blurry, water leaking from his eyes, his heart breaking in one thousand or more pieces. Weeping in grief, sadness overtaking him.

Before he knew it, he pressed his bloody, beaten and crying face on her neck, still screaming as much as his vocal cords would allow, with such intensity that it hurt more than his wounds.

'Don't go! Please don't go!' he begged more, hugging her draconic, motionless frame, face still buried on her neck, his little arms clutching around her burn scales.

'Wait… Life Dew! I still know Life Dew!' he let go, immediately getting up, wiping his tears and pressing his hands on her head, closing his eyes.

'C'mon… Work… Work!' he waited. Nothing. She was still…

'NO! She's NOT DEAD! She's… She's asleep!' He clutched his eyes tighter, focusing more and more "Wake up! W-Wake u-up! C'mon! WAKE UP!"

He kneeled on the ground, his forehead touching hers "Please… Please wake up! I-I'm s-so sorry! It's a-all m-my fault! M-Mirari!"

"P-Please d-don't die… P-Please…" he teared up, whispering to her seemingly lifeless body, his tears hitting her scales.

And as more tears left his eyes, he couldn't see, but a powerful, white aura was burning around his body, transferring to the little dragon, her scales gaining their color back.

"...I-I… don't know what I'll… d-do without you…Y-You're the only...m-my only..." he calmly said, the melancholy in his voice was unmatched. His childish sobbing uncontrollable.

Suddenly, he could hear weak, tired coughing. He felt movement around his arms. And as he opened his eyes, he saw an exhausted, meek, but very alive red eye staring at him.

"I'm… That… Important…?" she murmured, in a hoarse voice.

"M-MIRARI" he quickly hugged her neck, even tighter than before, his little crown touching her chin, as he wailed even more.

Lawrence felt a single claw slowly press against his back, patting him reassuringly.

"W-Why d-didn't you t-tell me my a-attack would hurt you that much?" he said, still sobbing on her neck "W-Why d-didn't you tell me i-it was super effective!?"

"You… would have… held back." she smiles weakly.

"Y-You idiot! You s-stupid, reckless i-idiot!" he chastised, in tears.

She only chuckled weakly, still hugging to comfort him.

They both heard movement, the angry, crying togepi promptly got up, his arm shining, ready to strike, standing in front of his wounded companion.

Though the only thing he saw was a sitting sableye, calm and non threatening, with a tear falling from his eye.

"S-Stay there, n-nutcase! D-Don't you dare move!" the small, bruised togepi angrily threatened him.

The sableye didn't seem to care, still staring blankly at the two of them.

"If you t-try anything funny, I'll split y-you in two!" he threatened once more, before kneeling back to look at Mirari.

"When I was younger, not much older than the two of you-" Lawrence almost jumped when he heard, for the first time, an eerily calm voice coming from the sableye, with a clear hint of nostalgia and... melancholy? "-I had a strong bond with my partner. He was a Mawile, my dearest and only friend…"

The togepi was about to say something, but was stopped by the wounded jangmo-o, who beckoned him to listen "...We used to do everything together. He was the only family I had- They called us many things, hurtful things. And eventually, it proved too much for him to bear…"

The single tear on his eye turned into another, then another, and just like that, he was sobbing, but not uncontrollably so (like Lawrence) "...You, Togepi… Remind me of him. I'm sorry for attacking you- And for almost costing you a… friend." he used one of his claws to grab something, a strange, shiny and ornamented oval pendant, staring deeply at it.

The former foe then wiped some of the tears from his crystal-like eyes "I isolated myself here, afraid and spiteful of the world… That's when the dungeon… Whispered to me. Warped me. Promised me power… I turned into a monster, a slave of that… energy. I only wanted to hurt and… Protect my one memory of him… Thinking that it would somehow bring him back..." he clutched the pendant.

"S-So you were… forced to protect and guard this place… b-by the dungeon itself?" he questioned.

"Precisely, child. When your dazzling gleam seared my body, and your partner crushed my back against the crystal… When that cursed mirror shattered, my mind was finally… Clear again…" he said, between coughs.

"I… Have never seen anything like that…" Mirari admitted, just as baffled "Dungeon Sickness is a thing but… A crystal that corrupts pokémon? And gives them a dark aura too…?" she breathed a bit "That's really tough to swallow!"

"I don't… expect you to believe me but… I had to try and explain my actions…" he stopped talking for a second "Oh no… Children, can you move!?"

"B-Barely." Lawrence admitted.

"Uf. Not at all. Why do you-" Mirari sheepishly answered, being interrupted by a sudden tremor, like one devastating earthquake- Everywhere shaking sharply, knocking all three to the ground.

"W-What's g-going on!?" The togepi screamed, the sounds of earth moving, rocks falling and things breaking almost deafening him.

"The dungeon is falling apart! Without the crystal, nothing is holding it together!" he hissed, trying and failing miserably to get up "Damn it all! My body is completely spent!"

"Mister, what do we do!?" Mirari pleaded, seeing the gems on the corridor all being crushed, the walls cracking, while the ground was shaken.

"You two must run to the other corridor! There are stairs there- they were blocked by a barrier, but neither me nor the crystal are keeping it up!" he screamed, not trying to move.

"W-What a-about you?" Lawrence got up, trying to help the heavy dragon, while looking at the ghost.

"There's no hope for me. I'm paralysed and hurt. Just leave me! Save yourselves!" he commanded "I created this mess, It's only fair I pay for it."

"We can't leave him, Lawrence!" she winced, trying to stand up, but falling on her sides once more "Oh no! I-I'm too exhausted! I can't… move!"

"I'm n-not leaving you behind! N-Not after I almost lost you!" He pitifully tried to help her again, his little, sore muscles making it an impossible task.

The walls around them started to crack, little pebbles falling from the floor, fissures forming on the rocky floor they stood on, one quickly swallowing the sableye's precious box in the room. It was then they noticed the giant crystal on the ceiling was starting to fall- Ready to crush all of them!

"Lawrence, run! I can't move, you gotta go!" The jangmo-o pleaded with the fairy.

"I told you, I'm not leaving you like this! C'mon!" He pleaded back, trying to push her up, only for her to fall halfway, thanks to the tremors and the injuries.

Then they all could hear the sound of their collective demise coming from above.

The sableye only lowered his head, accepting his fate.

The jangmo-o tried to headbutt and push her friend away so he would save himself, but he refused to leave.

The togepi tried to help his friend back up so they would survive, but she couldn't stand.

Then with another loud noise, the gigantic crystal started to fall- in a position to easily squash the three of them.

The Jangmo-o closed her eyes, the togepi hugged her, and the sableye apologized one last time under his breath, ready to see his friend once more…

And as if time itself had slowed down, they could hear loud, fast footsteps in the distance together with… clanging?

Before the deadly crystal could come in any closer, it was shattered in what seemed like one million pieces, scattering around the room harmlessly.

The three were stunned, gazing upon a big, dragon pokémon, who seemed to be wearing gray, golden and red armor- Using one clawed hand to punch the glistering boulder that would surely kill the three of them.

The only one who found the words to say anything was Mirari "M-Mom!?" the little dragon exclaimed.

"I'm sorry for taking so long, little ones. But we have no time." She walked, wincing a bit, her left arm looking bruised, with many other smaller injuries on her armored body "No need to explain. I saw enough of what happened with you three. I'll explain myself later." the imposing female declared, shutting up her daughter.

The kommo-o approached her first, using her right claws to gently take her off the ground, minding her daughter's wounds, dashing to grab the togepi from under his little body, tossing him to her shoulder and swiftly using her tail to lift the sableye, who wrapped his legs and arms around it.

"Human, Sableye, hang on tight. We are on borrowed time. The stairs, where?" She declared and asked, commandingly.

"The corridor up ahead… Just go straight…" he answered, clearly on the verge of collapsing.

She nodded, before fiercely running. Easily kicking or dodging any debris that fell on her path.

The togepi was holding tight on her shoulder, feeling deja vu from earlier with Mirari, though now her mother was going much faster, and they are in an even more dangerous situation.

The blistering older female easily ran past the room in which they first fought, jumping over a bunch of boulders that were blocking the path, her kicks so strong that it tore through more gigantic rocks, making the togepi wiggle and shake wildly- And the sableye barely hold on her tail.

After what felt like hours, but in actuality were mere seconds, they arrived at a ruined corridor, seeing the fabled stair in the end of it, many broken sharks of a purple crystal around it- perhaps that was the so-called barrier, that indeed no longer stood.

"We're almost there!" the stronger of the four declared, charging once more, as more and more rocks fell upon them, the tremors getting more and more intense.

Suddenly, they are inches from the stairs, feeling his weak little arms fail him, Lawrence lets go, falling behind.

Yet again time slows down, the dragon can not stop in time to save him from the fall and Mirari being completely incapable of helping in any way "LAWRENCE!"

His heart beats faster, he could slowly see them going up the stairs, while he went down, surely to his demise. The two dragon types had horrified looks on their faces, the bigger female trying to turn around on the very last step, her unusable arm making it impossible for her to grab him without risking their lives.

But suddenly, he felt something kick him, seeing a wounded, almost fainted and paralysed sableye following him in the air, seemingly jumping (maybe with help) from the Kommo-o's tail, throwing the fairy type back up, using his agile claws to put something in his little hand before he went too far. Lawrence stared at the sableye's face, and for the first time, he saw a serene, genuine smile, before being hurled by the force of the kick, falling on the Kommo-o's lap, close to Mirari. Seeing the ghost type fall on the rocky floor instead of him, rolling there, and quickly being buried by the falling rocks, his last bit of energy being wasted saving Lawrence.

Just like in a nightmare, before he could even acknowledge what happened, he blinked, and they were in another place. A small cave, no gems, nothing too unique… What really did catch his eye was the outside world that could be seen- They were in the entrance! Behind them, fallen rocks blocked the path to the dungeon.

He clutched the thing in his hands, looking to see the oval pendant that seemed to have been important to Sableye. Lawrence felt a rush of sadness, the pokémon they tried so hard to save had perished saving him.

He had no time to mourn, suddenly feeling an insane rush of sleepiness, weariness, pain, hunger and sheer fatigue. He closed his eyes, immediately falling asleep, together with Mirari, both under her mother's hold.

The Kommo-o stared at the duo, holding them gently, cradling them in a comfortable sleeping position, forcing her broken arm to help a little bit, growling a bit, and taking the pain.

She limped a bit, feeling the dungeon's recoil hit her body, though she was much more used to it than the two sleeping children on her arms.

'Human, I still can't say I trust you completely. But your tears for my hatchling were genuine- And without you, she'd be gone. I suppose you are not the threat… For now. Allow me to thank you properly when we get home…' She then looked at the little snoring dragon also on her arm 'Mirari, you have wrapped us both in something far beyond your comprehension… Had I not tried to protect you so much, maybe things would be different. Maybe you wouldn't have run, and not found the human… And he wouldn't be on our tails… So perhaps I am to blame as well.'

She sighed, slowly walking towards the exit, seeing the red skies, the sun setting on the horizon, the sands of the desert calm, the temperature quickly getting colder, the winds licking her wounded scales 'He wouldn't dare attack us on the village. But I can't keep them there forever… Especially the human. Perhaps it is time to finally send you to the guild, Mirari. Especially since you have found this very… Unique and problematic partner. Guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree…' She couldn't help but smile. Remembering her own youth, and how she met the male that changed her fate.

She confidently began the walk back to the village, still carrying them both 'I must inform the Odyssey Guild of what I saw. If the dungeon waves are getting strong enough to corrupt pokémon, something must be done. And if that cursed organization is bold enough to send him after us, then they truly are making a move as well. Perhaps both events are linked?'

The togepi shifted on her arms, pushing the snoring jangmo-o, annoyed with the sounds, but being too tired to actually wake up from it 'I assume he had no idea the human is with her. Else they wouldn't have sent him alone… would they?' She stared at the togepi 'So fragile… So weak… Had I not seen he using the D-waves, I wouldn't have believed it was him. He is like a walking Power Spot, and he has no idea. Could this innocent togepi really be the weapon they are after…?'

She groaned slightly, feeling the pain in her body returning 'Damn. It took everything I had just to push him back. The dungeon's collapse might give us some more time to breathe- but I fear he will return soon. I have to plan something…'

Camly walking, the kommo-o looked into the serene and beautiful heavens above, seeing the stars already shining in the blackening skies 'I suppose it was foolish of me, to believe it would be possible to hide you away from all of this, sweetie. You simply were not meant to have a normal and peaceful life, I suppose… And frankly, you never wanted to…' she closed her eyes, feeling her heart ache, remembering when she felt her own daughter almost perish in that cursed dungeon 'You are destined to something great. You and this human. I'll… Accept my fate, like that Sableye. When the time comes... I'll have to say goodbye to you, sweetie.'

She sighs, staring at the horizon, seeing as the brightness of the moon finally takes over, the village finally nearby "Until then, I vow to protect you two."

She couldn't see, but far away, a mysterious shape stared back at her, wounded and bruised. Stalking and analyzing her, before turning around and floating away, back to the shadows.

"From whatever they throw at us…"


Originally, this chapter was supposed to have the scenes with mother Kommo-o on the dungeon, especially vs The Shape, but I thought it just broke from the focus, and made everything more confusing! I'm sure I could include them (or at least the fight) later in a flashback, or make a special chapter incluiding it, if anyone's interested!

Next time: The duo finally gets a chance to rest, and get to know the world a bit. But is it meant to last?