"A song made the entity shudder."

-Old saying of the Sand Continent that means: "even the smallest thing can make a big difference".


-Moss Gallery, Eastern Desert-

Floor: 9

The sheer dichotomy of the revealed room and the rest of the dungeon was jarring. Whilst Moss Gallery was known for being a bright, wet dungeon filled with water-types and barely any passages for non-swimmers, this secret passageway was, for a lack of better word, dry. Rocky. It reminded Pichu of the 'mountain biome', she read during dungeon studies back in the village.

Despite the dungeons' unpredictability, there were some factors that remained consistent no matter the dungeon. It was rare for an underwater dungeon to have lava, or for a mountain dungeon to have deserts inside, for example. It was possible, but often it meant that dungeons of different biomes were 'overlapping'. But that didn't seem to be the case here, this hidden place seemed to always be part of Moss Gallery. It had none of the usual signs of overlap. Overlapping happened on the spam of entire floors, not in small rooms. Not only that, but more often than not, the phenomena was known to be very explicit, overlapping changed the entire landscape and shaytans of the dungeon, this passageway seemed too… recluse to be created by something 'natural', or as natural as dungeons got anyway.

It was almost as if the rest of the dungeon was the red herring to this occult room, the pichu now nicknamed Zarina thought to herself. She was sure the kommo-o right beside her was pondering the same thing, if not reaching even deeper.

Both the adult and child pokémon knew something was amiss. Why was there a false wall covering this place? Why was it so different from the rest of the dungeon? What caused this strange aura flowing through the obsidian-like rocks on the walls?

Despite both of them having wild guesses and theories about this topic, they each remained silent. Only ever looking briefly to one another, one time having their eyes meet at the same time, only for the two to advert them away.

They knew they couldn't just stay idle and gawk at some weird sight in a dungeon. The increased metabolism those places caused could cause them to starve, the dark forces all around them could cause them to go insane, or a strong shaytan could ambush them when they least expected.

Yet the cold winds that were seemingly created on those dark corridors in front of the duo only sparked their curiosities further.

Both Pichu and Kommo-o wanted to start a conversation, both wanted to say something to the other, both knew they needed to reach out. Yet none of them dared to. Even if they silently begged the other to do so.

Chapter XIV: Resonance

"We just cannot, little one. Please, believe me…"

"I do believe you, I just want to know why we can't go back!"

The memory made the pichu's ears lower down. It wasn't often she got inquisitive, but in that moment of stress and emotion, even the slightest spark was enough to make her explode.

"It is not the time. You should rest and-"

"Miss Kommo-o, It's never the time! You always leave us in the dark! After all that happened in the cave, I DEMAND to know at least why we can't go back home!"

She didn't remember if she had ever talked back to Kommo-o before. They were close, and whenever the dragoness wanted to keep something quiet, Pichu always accepted it. She never really questioned it, if only because she never thought it was necessary for her to know.

But after what happened in that cave, however. After the many feelings she felt inside that hellish place, after everything she'd seen… well, Zarina wanted closure.

And Shahrazard refused, as per usual.

"Little one, please. Please hear what I say. Understand that it is better if we just move on for now."

"Miss Kommo-o, Lawrence and Mirari are gone! We know NOTHING of their whereabouts, we were attacked by… by… by a FIEND! And yet, you still say we should just move on? I asked you one thing, and you still refuse to say anything, like always!"

She was a bit ashamed. An outburst like that was expected of Mirari, coming from Zarina, it was quite the shock. For the two of them. Yet she couldn't really say that she regretted her words.

"Believe me, Pichu. We have much to travel, some things are best left to the adults to worry about… don't you trust me, little one?"

"Should I repeat myself? I almost died back there! Lawrence almost died back there! Mirari was limping and groaning in pain on the floor! That thing could have killed us, yet it kept torturing us! I don't even know how I'm still alive! Tell me, why should I trust you, if you refuse to say the truth!? I just asked one thing! One single thing!"

As honest as her words were, perhaps they stung a bit more than she anticipated. Again, coming from Mirari it could be excused as one of the little tantrums she had from time to time, but an explosion of emotions coming from Pichu of all pokémon? Each word was coldly delivered, and each sentence felt like an icicle crash to Shahrazad. If only because Pichu was the level-headed one, that said things as they were.

Ever since that, the two had been more quiet than usual. Sure, they were introverted pokémon, but when silence between them happened, it was comfortable and serene. This silence that's happening in their travel? It was anything but. Each of them retreated to their own little worlds, inside their minds for comfort.

After a few more moments of quiet contemplation, they both finally decided to try and do something.

"Come, we must continue." Kommo-o beckoned, turning around to continue their path on the main dungeon.

"Yeah, you're right." Pichu turned to the other direction, facing the secret passage.

They each took a step forward, before realizing the other wasn't following after. Their eyes met, confusion on their faces.

"It's too dangerous." Shahrazad chastised.

"As if that was ever a problem for you." Fired back Zarina, "we could reach our destination quickly through this passageway."

"Or we could get lost and stray from our path." The adult rebutted, "little one, you know of the risks. I would rather climb the rest of the dungeon than to gamble on these… shady stairs."

"And I would rather gamble than to keep walking through this endless dungeon." Zarina looked away from the kommo-o, "besides. I feel the same strange feeling that I felt… back there. If these stairs can lead to answers of what happened in that cave, then I'd rather go through."

Her words made Shahrazad grimace. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel curiosity as well. Information on what is going on could be even more valuable to plan their next steps, but yet she knew that the reason why Zarina was acting so reckless and defiant wasn't for the sake of knowledge alone. Whilst she was more than aware of the pichu's thirst for learning, it was obvious that this wasn't only about that.

It was to challenge her, she believed.

If Shahrazad wouldn't give her the answers she sought, Pichu would be willing to risk herself in search for them.

Yet another thing to add to the kommo-o's increasingly heavy consciousness.

Silence took the two once again, their eyes silently staring at one another. The adult was the first to sigh and lower her shoulders.

"We'll do it your way." She offered one of her enormous paws for the little mouse, offering to carry her.

Zarina just turned around and kept walking towards the stairs, leaving the dragon behind.

Her clawed paw was still in the same position as before, waiting for Pichu to touch it, like she had done so many times before. Such a simple and small thing, that she already missed dearly.

Eventually, the tall pokémon just closed it into a fist, tightening it not in anger, but in regret.

Shahrazad couldn't see it, but Zarina had her ears lowered, and walked with a sad frown on her face. Each step felt like walking a mile.


-Shadow Gallery-

Floor: 1

Weather: miasma

As soon as the duo went down on the stairs, a strange energy wave washed over them. As if shaking their very core. Breathing in here was hard and so was walking. It felt cold, remembering the kommo-o from the chill of the desert at night. Sharazad felt like gravity here was more intense as well, constantly trying to push her down.

Their surroundings were a stark contrast to the previous dungeon. This one was like a satire of the blue place they were before. The walls were obsidian like in that corridor, but somehow they looked even darker in here. The only thing that served as illumination was, oddly enough, the many pools of black water surrounding the small piece of dark rock that the two were standing on.

They shone bright, almost like if there was something bioluminescent down in the depths. The ripples and sounds of movement despite the lack of wind were alarming as well.

"What in the world…" Shahrazad muttered, staring at the dungeon around them, "this… Can't be. These places… they aren't natural phenomena…"

Zarina's ears perked up as she heard Kommo-o's whispers, "what do you mean? You're implying that the… monster was the one who corrupted the cave we were in?"

Silence was her only answer.

"Miss Kommo-o… are you saying maybe that… creature could be here?"

"I do not know. But we cannot go back, even if we have something that could allow us to escape, items do not work inside these places. We must carry forward, and pray for the best." Shahrazad's claws clutched into a fist once more, her muscles tensing up at the possibility of him being in this place.

"If we do cross paths with him. You are to run a first sight. That is non-negotiable." She leered down at Pichu, who couldn't disagree even if she wanted to. After what happened, she still shivered just remembering those empty, hatred-filled red eyes.

"I shall guard the rear. You lead us." Sharazad tried to avoid allowing the small electric-type to be left to her thoughts, if only to lift her spirits, "it was your choice of coming here after all. As per tradition to any team, that makes you the leader of this expedition."

Kommo-o tried putting a smile on her draconic muzzle.

"Please, I'm just trying to protect you, little one…" Pichu couldn't help but remember the fight they had previously.

"Just like how you protected us inside Aquifer Catacomb?" Inside her own mind, Shahrazad was stuck in the same memory.

Pichu just nodded with a blank expression and started to walk to the path ahead.

"Had you spoken the truth earlier, maybe they would still be here with us! Maybe we could still be in the village, and maybe we wouldn't have almost… a-almost…"

Once more, the dragon-type looked down, but followed the child nonetheless.


-Shadow Gallery-

Floor: 2

Weather: miasma

The more they walked, the more Shahrazad struggled. Her breathing was uneven, her steps were heavy and chaotic, her scales clanged in a disorderly manner.

Yet Zarina didn't understand why she seemed so exhausted, spending so little time inside this place. The pichu easily walked with her little legs, free of any burden.

The corridors of this place were similar to the ones in the previous floor. This place looked more like an underwater cave than anything, surrounded by small rivers of black water.

Before the duo could go any further, the movement in the water was getting more and more intense. There was no wind in this place, yet somehow the rivers were moving in such a way that it would indicate heavy weather.

For a moment, the two pokémon waited. Staying still, their eyes scanning their surroundings, looking for the smallest signal of danger.

The only sounds the dup could listen were their own heartbeats, and their breathings. Shahrazad's was especially heavy and loud. The cave was otherwise silent, that was either a really good sign or a really, really bad one.

Pichu's ears twitched. There was something more. With each thump of their hearts, there was something more. Sliiiiip.

With each heavy breath the dragoness took, there was something more. Sliiiip. Sliiiiiip.

It sounded almost like… a slither? And it was coming from-

Pichu was surprised when she was met with a large body jumping in front of her. "Miss Kom-"

BANG

After that ear-piercing sound, the large form of the dragoness was launched backwards, rolling on the rocky floor, almost falling into the dark waters surrounding them. Her platted arms bruised, with dark spikes stuck on them.

When Pichu could see more clearly, she detected a pokémon on the ceiling. Or more precisely, a distorted monster. It was snake-like, brown and black with two large nostrils, who were smoking, the dark pouch on its neck quickly reloading for another shot.

No longer being surprised by the ambushing shaytan, Pichu jumped backwards, stumbling and bruising herself on the rocky floor, but avoiding the large, dark and rock-like spikes that the silicobra shot from its nostrils, which got stuck on the floor like daggers against flesh.

"LEFT!" Shouted the dragoness, and without question, the electric mouse's body reacted on its own, throwing herself right, further taking her chances on the rough floor, but dodging another loud BANG.

When the pichu nicknamed Zarina looked, she saw more of the crystal-like spikes impaling the floor to her left. The one to blame was a shaytan whose eyes were sewed shut by some sort of stitch that glowed a faint magenta under the dark depths surrounding them.

BANG BANG BANG

Came three more of those deafening noises, this time belonging to silicobras hiding in the other rivers behind them, all taking aim at the winded kommo-o.

She blocked some with her protect, put thanks to her bad angle and bad timing, a large spike got through the barrier and pierced her right shoulder, earning a pained growl from her.

Pichu closed her paws into fists, and fired a shower of her blue lightning to the enemies, causing herself to scream in agony as smoke leaked out of her, but the thunderbolt hit three enemies, two of which were inside the water in a desperate attempt of getting the upper hand.

Yet for the first time, it had no effect. It simply bounced off the shaytans, not even scratching their dark scales.

But the display of power did get the snakes' attention however, their swed-shut eyes now fixated on her. They filled their pouches with the dark energy from around them for yet another barrage of shots.

Pichu, suffering from the recoil of her own attack, couldn't do anything other than watch in horror as a flurry of dark, spiky and very deadly projectiles flying her way from all around.

In the nick of time, Pichu felt herself getting picked up by the sprint-bursting dragoness, using her only good arm to carry the small pokémon. Though she felt some of the sharp objects cutting though her sides, earning pained cries from the child.

Kommo-o, on the other hand, was met with most of the fire, using her still injured arm to take most of it, collecting more and more spikes on her plated limb, now with her blood dripping to the floor.

As the girl was getting carried to safety by the adult, she saw more and more silicobras… 'spawning' from the water or just appearing on the rooftop. Had Kommo-o not used her superior speed to flee, they would have been bombarded further.

Each step for Kommo-o felt like a chore, her breathing was getting heavier and heavier, her muscles aching and cramping the more she ran, yet her determination carried her forward.

BANG

Another blast rang from the ceiling, aiming straight at Kommo-o's back.

With a loud scream, the pichu covered herself in blue lightning, and shot a wave of thunder forward, making most of the attack lose their accuracy and harmlessly hit the waters surrounding them.

The two were leaving a trail of blood on the black rocks, yet they chose to ignore that and the more slow moving, yet dangerous snakes appearing from all around, taking aim and preparing for another deadly barrage.

The force kept pushing Kommo-o down, she had to beg every muscle and every bone in her body to use all of their might with each step. Thankfully, the creatures were slow, but their reach and firepower more than made up for it.

Pichu closed her eyes shut, instinctively hugging Shahrazad's arm tight.

BANG BANG BANG


-Shadow Gallery-

Floor: 3

Weather: miasma

When Zarina the pichu opened her eyes, she saw only the arms of the dragoness holding her close to her chest, her grey and golden scales bleeding from all over.

Kommo-o was on the floor breathing heavily, in pain. Having used her last bit of strength to jump to the stairs. and body-block for the smaller pokémon.

"Bag… in the middle…" coughed the dragoness, in between more heavy breaths.

The child spent no time, undoing the thorn and bloody cloak Shahrazad was wearing, opening the beaten bag and using her little paws to pick a sitrus berry.

Her body moving on instinct, she jumped on the dragon-type's chest and got the berry to her open maw, squeezing to let its juices more easily run down her throat.

Immediately, the powerful healing berry started doing its magic, meding some of the lighter bruises on the kommo-o's scales.

Yet remembering some of the things she had read, as well as applying logic to the situation, Zarina moved to Shahrazad's arms, seeing the spikes still impaling her armor-like scales.

"This is gonna hurt…" She warned, grabbing one of the dagger-like crystal shards, pulling it out with all her might, causing the big adult to have to bite her lower lip to avoid shouting in pain.

Pichu did the same for each of the many projectiles still lodged on her body. Causing more and more pain to shoot through her. The wounds they left behind were ugly, but the berry healed most of them.

"Why aren't they healing completely? This isn't good…" She muttered, her ears and tail moving around nervously. She jumped on the adult's chest again, having to hug the large shard still on her shoulder. Sparks surrounded her, as Zarina summoned all of her strength to remove that one, causing the dragon to roar at the sharp pain it caused, more blood pouring out of it.

Slowly and steadily, she got it out, tossing it aside, only to have it become nothingness as soon as it hit the floor.

The wound was severe on that one as well, these blasted things seemed to take a lot to heal. Yet even with the sitrus' healing properties, Shahrazad's eyes were closing.

Knowing how horrible fainting in the middle of a dungeon was, Pichu's mind started to look for solutions before it was too late. Kommo-o could get dungeon sickness, or worse!

With a burst of genius, she had a very crazy, Mirari-like idea. But at least she had knowledge to back it up.

Charging her body with more electricity, causing more and more pain to herself with each volt she channeled, Zarina's blue lightning started to cover her body like a wildfire, a single strand of fur on her forehead burning blue, much like her eyes.

She focused on her paws, supercharging them with energy. Then she slammed them on Kommo-o's chest, transferring the electricity to the dragoness' body, searing her own flesh in the process.

Kommo-o felt like her consciousness was drifting off to darkness, much like in a dreamless sleep. Yet after that, a burst of energy rattled her very blood, it hurt like hell, but it woke her up for good. Thankfully, it was not very effective, and Pichu was counting on that.

The release of energy was so intense that Zarina was tossed back, landing on her back with smoke coming out of her. But much to her delight, the dragoness coughed and got back up.

"You really… read those... books related to first-aid… I gave you..." Shahrazad said, in between coughs, still cringing at her open wounds caused by the shaytans from before, "I commend… your quick-thinking… even if crude, that was helpful, little one."

Zarina chose not to reply, simply remaining on the floor, with her own open cuts and bruised flesh, as well as now overcharged body.

Before the Pichu could do anything else, she felt a liquid running down her mouth, she instinctively opened it, the healing juiced doing their part once more, yet not to their fullest potential, recovering some of her stamina and mending some of her bruises.

"Within this darkness, the dungeons often suffer mutations, and so do their inhabitants." Kommo-o explained, squeezing the last bits of the oran berry to the pichu, "healing is either unavailable in the case of moves, or greatly diminished if they're from items."

Pichu happily took as much of the berry juice as possible, coughing in her high-pitched squeaky voice. She took deep breaths, letting most of the stress of the last minutes wash away. It wasn't really possible, all things considered, but she tried anyway.

"Yet, I must admit, I have never seen a Power Spot as intense as the one in this dungeon. Silicobras simply don't use these ranged attacks normally, not even under the effect of a difficult-level dungeon. And this fatigue that plagues my body only grows…"

"'Darkness'...? 'Power Spot'… ? Is this the same thing that affected Aquifer Catacomb back in the village?" Zarina eventually muttered to herself, her muscles were cramped from the overcharge she did to herself moments ago, causing even more stress to build up as she spoke, "oh. Nevermind the question. You'll probably refuse to answer it, 'for my own good'."

The quick jab hurt Shahrazad more than both of them could have expected.

Zarina got back on her feet, feeling a throbbing pain in her head, probably from the stress and exhaustion she still felt. Not only that, but the pichu was shivering from the ever-present cold as well.

It was then that the yellow mouse noticed how different this room was from the others. The floor was well crafter, smooth. Very different from the rugged path they took before. No sign of any rivers on this floor either, it seemed to be made of this small room alone, and a corridor up ahead.

The walls were even more different, they were still from that obsidian-like rock, but unlike before, inside this small room they were all… painted? Sculpted? There were many ancient-looking engravings on the wall, most of them lost to time and erosion, very few actually discernible.

Zarina's eyes started to scan through the walls. Trying to understand what exactly was happening. Considering most were impossible to make out, she focused on the one engraving that seemed somewhat preserved.

It depicted a red-ish, bulky canine pokémon with some sort of golden armor covering most of its quadruped body. The canine had a powerful glow emanating from it, as it stared into the sky. Behind it, two other companions, a smaller green-ish one that carried some sort of flute, and a more lean, cyan canine pokémon with a golden sword. The bulky one seemed to be defending the others from some sort of attack that came from the sky.

Actually, Zarina thought, 'from the sky' was not entirely right. Something was firing the attack, but she just couldn't really describe what. She wasn't sure if that was intentional, or the result of the erosion of time, but above the trio of pokémon, there was… a thing. It seemed to be a conglomerate of crysta-like spikes, all shining a bright magenta like the stitch in the shaytans' eyes. They were coiled together in such a way that the thing looked more like a cloud than a living organism.

"And by the height of the darkest hour," Kommo-o limped her way to Pichu's side, staring into the picture as well, "the guardian needed but one minute to finish the holy song."

Pichu suddenly was in the middle of a war-torn battlefield. Screams of panic from her fellow pokémon assaulted her ears. They were either running from the multiple blasts of magenta lightning coming from the skies or ducking behind cover. The cold wind was so intense that it was like a hurricane was making them.

"But the enemy's attacks were relentless. Their cruel blasts focused on wiping all life around it, reveling in the terror it begat."

She saw the skies painted completely in purple. Coiled around it, a creature whose shape was as incomprehensible as its power. Firing it indiscriminately across the desert battlefield, with huge fires and smoke further accentuating the chaos. Its spherical core then started to shine more brightly, aiming straight at them.

"It feasted on hope. It got stronger with dread. And it was ready to erase the only source of faith of all pokémon of the sand."

It aimed straight at her, a blast so big and so might that it could envelop Oasis Village three times over. It shone such an intense pink-ish magenta that it felt like her eyes would melt. But then, a huge quadruped canine stepped in between her and the attack.

"The hero of the shield gave their body, their soul and their very being in order to protect his companions."

"Do it!" He howled, his body shimmering a powerful red and golden glow, like a mini-sun blocking most of the ruinous blast, "you have the little time my body can keep it together. Use it!"

In between her paws, she saw a strange-looking flute. Appearing to be made of the very stars above, glimmering gently in her grasp.

"Our time is running out!" Howled the cyan canine to her left, also being protected by the red pokémon, "I believe in you! Channel the song! Only you can do it!"

"To protect the hope that the enemy desired to devour. To stop The Entity and protect what he loved, the hero gave up his very being." Shahrazad concluded, taking a long pause, "so it is written."

Pichu felt dizzy. Reality around her came back, and so did all the overwhelming sensations of the present. She couldn't help but fall on the floor, hyperventilating.

Kommo-o immediately caught her mid fall however, easily holding her in between her enormous claws, "Zarina? Pichu! Little one? What happened?"

The adult rushed to grab another berry inside the old bag. Yet as soon as she was to offer the berry, the pichu just wiggled away.

"I'm… fine. It's just… what was that?"

Kommo-o's expression was a mix of confusion and worry, "'The Odyssey of the Sword and Shield', as it is often called. It's mostly a religious text, there's no shame in not reading it before. Thre are many versions of the tale."

The electric mouse was dead-silent, so Kommo-o decided to continue sharing her thoughts, "I would say this… dungeon was some sort of temple. Or perhaps it's imitating one? Difficult to know for sure."

Pichu was lost in her own thoughts, reliving the vision she had. It felt as real as it could feel, by all intents and purposes, she was there. What exactly was happening, she had no idea. But one detail did strike her.

"'The… Entity'?" She repeated, feeling a small shiver run through her body.

"Correct. Again, more of a religious term. You might have heard of it by many names. 'Cloud of Darkness', 'The Great Old Evil','The Blind Eternity' or even just 'Hell' works."

Pichu's ears perked up at those names/titles, "I have… I didn't know they were all the same being."

"They are. But once more, this comes mostly out of a religious belief alone." Kommo-o grunted as her claws felt up her own wounds, determining they would heal in time, but mixed with the 'weight' of this place, her exhaustion only grew.

"Let's just… keep going." Pichu brushed off the conversation and the happening. Her mind was already too full to care about whatever just happened.

Shahrazad stopped, her eyes glowing for a second, "Wait. Just a moment…"

Zarina turned around, seeing Shahrazad with her claws on her head, eyes now closed as she channeled her aura-scrying, "I… sense someone."

"I-Is it-"

"No. It is not him. It's… a pokémon. They're deep in this dungeon. Their aura is… strange. It's like a river that's... polluted with waste." The adult described, her voice cracking slightly.

After she was done, Shahrazad kneeled. One arm covering her muzzle, as a few droplets of blood leaked and fell on the ground, "forgive me. It tends to happen when I am not blocking it. It detects those who are in distress. I suppose the dungeon is taking a heavy toll on my mind as well."

"Which means we gotta move deeper and find whoever is in distress faster."

Kommo-o nodded. But she did feel hurt at the coldness in which those words were delivered.

She led them both to a single corridor, back to the rugged, cave-like obsidian path they were before.

And right in front of them, by the end of the corridor, the dark stairs once more led further down into the abyss.


-Shadow Gallery-

Floor: 8

Weather: miasma

Now they both knew the protocol to follow: do not make any loud noises, do not breath loudly, control your heartbeat, do not look into the water, look all around you before taking a single step. They pretty much took every precaution possible to not repeat the ambush from before. The many super-powered shaytans from this place were, thankfully, unaware of them for some reason.

And they'd rather keep it that way.

Every time one of them attacked, they ran as fast as they could. No point in fighting only to be overwhelmed again. To keep their stealth, Kommo-o tightened the torn cloak around the body, being careful with each step to avoid her scales clanging without her consent.

Follow the rocky path, follow the safety protocols, find the stairs, and go to the next floor. No secret, no need to overthink things. They both acquired more bruises from the few scuffles they had with the shooting silicobras, but not nearly as many as they had on the first one.

Kommo's large tail blocked Pichu's path ahead. No need to speak, they both knew what it meant.

Silently, she picked a pebble from the floor and gently throwed in front of them. As soon as it touched the suspicious floor in front of them, spikes grew out of the ground and shredded the rock into oblivion.

The two females memorized the reach of the blades, gently Kommo-o used her tail to lift Pichu, who jumped across the trap to the other side.

The adult, however, found herself obligated to hug herself, trying to contain her many scales. She then jumped across, making a loud THUD as she reached the other side, her scales just slightly clanging. With any luck, they wouldn't alert any of the deadly snakes.

They both waited around, without moving a muscle to avoid making any more noise. Checking every corner to ensure there wouldn't be any surprise shots coming their way. While it was nigh impossible to notice their presence, the two pokémon still had to check to be safe.

Kommo-o had to suppress her heavy breathing once more, covering her muzzle with her claws.

Pichu didn't quite understand the reason, but the adult seemed to be tiring way faster than usual inside this place. And save for the attacks she did, Zarina simply wasn't getting so worn out. While a part of her wanted to ask if the dragoness was all right, she decided to just remain quiet.

Yet Zarina noticed that Shahrazad's blue eyes widened as the adult stared down at her, lifting a single claw to her muzzle slowly.

At first, she didn't understand why, but when she heard the sound of water moving slightly faster than usual, her body froze.

In the dark river right next to her, one of the silicobra stood. Its head slowly moved to the sides in a constant motion. Its forever closed eyes scanning the area right in front of it.

The 'stitches' holding its eyes together glimmered that magenta color when pointing to Pichu, yet when it pointed to Kommo-o, the glow was no more. It slithered closer. Closer. Until its snout was inches from Zarina, its head now fixated on her. As if staring to the only light in the dark.

The closer it came, the more of that bright magenta color assaulted the pichu's senses, so much so that she instinctively covered herself in blue lightning. The creature opened its wicked mouth in a loud hiss, Zarina closed her eyes as it unged its nostrils and puffed the sack around its neck and then-

Splat.

When the mouse pokémon opened her eyes, she saw large spikes coming out of the ground and cutting through the snake shaytan. Shahrazad was holding its tail, she had used the distraction to toss it to the trap. The adult silently cursed for being so slow, but due to the overwhelming fatigue she felt as soon as they entered here, she was forced to take her time.

The duo could only stare as it became dark dust. Questions and more questions running through their heads.

Their eyes met, both filled with emotion.

Yet both of them knew it wasn't the time. Once they were out of this, they could make questions.

And so their careful steps took them to another hall, cursing their very hearts for beating too loud.


-Shadow Gallery-

Floor: 9

Weather: miasma

Still with careful steps, the duo walked through the cave. Yet much to their confusion, this floor did not have any of the small rivers the others had, leaving the floor in pitch-back darkness. It was more akin to a corridor. It only led forward.

Still, they crossed the path with extreme caution, Kommo-o now going out of her way to take the lead, her eyes glowing faintly. Pichu could barely see, so she had to stick close to the dragoness.

She felt a tap on her small shoulder, knowing that it was a single claw belonging to Shahrazad.

"The stairs are up ahead. Just across a small room."

Pichu tapped her paw on the claw, signaling she understood.

They continued with the slow pace, both to keep it quiet and because of the adult's ever increasing fatigue.

After a few more seconds, she heard cracking. Twisting. Her ears moved to all sides, trying to identify where it came from.

"RUN, PICHU!" Zarina's ears twitched, she jumped a little at Kommo's sudden commanding shout, "RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!"

Her heart skipped a beat, and without much thought, she dashed ahead, not really seeing anything, but panic quickly overtook her rational side.

"Little one, what are you-"

SWISH.

Dark, crystal-like spikes sprouted from the floor, blocking the entrance to the room Zarina just entered. They glowed a faint magenta that was barely visible in the pitch-black room. The same crystals appeared on the other side, blocking the way to the stairs as well.

"W-What? Miss Kommo-o, why did you scr-"

Srrrrrrrrrr.

She was quickly silenced by what sounded like metal being dragged across the rocky floor.

"Little one, look out!"

The pichu's confusion didn't allow her to respond in time, and she was bet with a vicious swipe, that failed to decapitate her due to, apparently, being aimed for a bigger foe. It threw the electric-type to the left, her forehead bleeding.

"You fucker! How dare you come back here!?" Came a gruff, screech-y voice from the assailant.

"He's to your right, Pichu!"

Immediately, she picked herself off the floor and charged electricity on her cheeks, burning herself in the process. She shot a bolt of blue lightning to the right.

It hits the wall and bounces off harmlessly.

But thanks to the small light she created with the attack, she could see a wounded and bruised perrserker, his hard fur filled with holes and ugly bruises, that instead of leaking blood, seemed to leak some sort of black liquid.

Though what got both Pichu's and Kommo's attention were his eyes. Or lack thereof. His eyelids were sewed shut, with the same 'material' as the shaytans. It was glowing, but the light was somehow getting swallowed by the room they were in, much like the ones in the crystals that covered both exits.

Boss Battle: Perrserker, blinded by battle

The steel-type pokémon once more barely hit the mouse, miscalculating her size, but still hitting her with his sword-like claws, bruising her sides and once more tossing her to another direction with the sheer force behind the hit.

"Little one! Hang on!" Shouted Shahrazad, who charged her fists with her aura, then started to pummel the bars that stopped her passage, slamming them with all of her strength. It had no effect.

"This was supposed to be a simple job! Go to the fuckin' dungeon, find the shitty secret passage, then grab the info on the last floor and scram!" His footsteps were loud, despite his size. And they were getting closer to the fallen pichu.

He grabbed her neck, choking her violently, "But NO! You had to appear and fuck everything up! I didn't get paid enough to deal with this SHIT!" She felt that he was about to snap her neck with his bare paw.

She gagged and coughed, her body desperately trying to breathe and struggle free. Pichu touched the single paw holding her neck with her much smaller ones, covering her body in bright blue sparks, that engulfed both her and the assailant, causing her to scream and him to grunt and drop her to the floor.

For a second, the entire room was alight, before returning to its normal darkness.

"Tricky bastard. You'll see what happens when you piss me off!" She heard a SWISH sound, followed by his loud footsteps coming her way.

"You're mistaking me for someone else!" She shrieked, coughing and stumbling up, "Little one, jump backwards!" One of the voices said.

"No, go forward!" The other interjected.

Both sounded exactly the same, even if one was more filled with emotion than the other. Using her hearing, she could determine where the attack was coming from herself, dodging backwards to avoid another vicious blow, so strong that it probably made a crack on the hard floor.

"Mister, I'm not a shaytan! Nor an illusion, you're making a mista-" She was forced to dodge three quick swipes, each barely hitting her fragile flesh, using her big ears to try and pinpoint where the enemy was. It got increasingly hard the more she was forced to avoid.

"It's no use little one! Lawrence and Mirari faced a similar pokémon! The dungeon corrupted him, we have to knock him out!"

Could this be the fake voice trying to deceive her again? Or the reality of it was that Lawrence and Mirari also kept secrets from her? Did they lie to her as well? Don't they trust her at all? Were they really her friends? She was, much like this dark room, jus invisible to everyone around he-

She was quickly interrupted by more loud thumps on the floor, signalling that Perrserker was on the move.

"Jump forward!"

She did, and escaped a hammer-like slam on the floor behind her. She shook her head, trying to dispel whatever voice was whispering in her mind.

Meanwhile, Shahrazad simply couldn't break those things with her claws. She cursed and had to take a step back. She joined her hands together, a royal blue orb forming in between them.

"Maybe a wave bomb will help!" Shahrazad thought to herself, channeling the little strength she still had.

"Heh, that's a funny way of saying 'aura sphere'!"

Her entire body froze as she heard that unmistakable voice. She turned around with the aura sphere still in between her hands. Her eyes glow brighter, scanning the surroundings for any signs of the voice's owner.

"Your color is quite good-looking too! Never saw someone with royal blue for their aura! I think it suits you!"

Her tense shoulders dropped.

That fun-loving, sweet and cheerful voice. That wasn't a memory, it was like-

"Aaaah!" Came a shriek from behind those crystals. Very much real as well.

It belonged to a Pichu, who currently found herself literally with her back against the wall, clutching a bruise on her cheek.

"Curses, I was distracted. No more!" She finally channeled the ball of energy to its full size, shooting at the crystals. It exploded and created noise and dust. The brightness it had was swallowed by the fog-like darkness. It otherwise had no effect on the spikes, who were so thick and close to one another that she was sure the attack couldn't even pass through the cracks.

Shahrazad fell on her knees, huffing and feeling her heart beating faster than ever. Using aura was already hard for her naturally, in this weakened state, it only hurt her body more. Blood was already leaking out of her muzzle.

Much like at Little Sandrop Cave and on Aquifer Catacomb, she was once more a mere spectator. She had to use her aura to try and help the visionless pichu with the fight, it was all she could do.

"Little Zarina, Try to pinpoint the direction of my voice! The dungeon is whispering to me!" She shouted desperately, "But it always comes from the same direction! It's trying to deceive you! Roll left!"

"She lies, Pichu! Roll right!

Instinctively, she rolled left, barely avoiding another swipe that eviscerated everything on the right and middle.

"Great job! I'm using aura to try and discern his movements, as well as seen in the dark. Try to follow my voice!" Zarina heard the other pokémon shout, in between deep breaths.

"Easier said than done…" the mouse muttered to herself, shaking like a leaf.

They both heard a loud rumble of anger coming from the enemy, "Shut up! SHUT UP! I'm tired of hearing your POISONOUS WORDS!"

"He's charging something! He'll jump, attack above you!" Pichu immediately charged her blue electricity, covering herself in its blue shine, at the cost of further damaging herself.

Much to her surprise, she vanquished the darkness, but not much. Just inches all around her, in fact. The rest persisted like a fog, trying to swallow her and the light she produced.

"Perserker's gonna charge at you! Attack forward!"

She hesitated, forward or upward?

Wait. Miss Kommo-o never used 'gonna'. Did she ever?

Pichu shouted as she shot her blast up, covering the skies with her thunderbolt.

The attack lightened the way it traveled, revealing a jumping, blinded Perrserker, that got blasted off ceiling and fell straight to the floor with a loud THUD.

"Perfect, little one! Keep at it, he looks pretty injured already!"

"You fuckin- I'll rip off your head…" he grunted, swiping the floor with his claws, creating small sparks at his location.

"I'm sorry, mister Perrserker. But I'm taking you down for your own good!"

The three pokémon prepared, each in their own way.


-Western Desert-

The trio of dark, fairy and dragon type were facing yet another harsh day of walking through

the desert. Much to Sundance's joy, it was quiet.

"Soooooooooo…"

… For the most part.

"... Are we there yet?" Continued the dragoness.

"No." Replied the sneasel, "and that's 30 more minutes of silence."

"All right…"

"That's 30 m-more." Lawrence cut her off.

"Oh man, that's not-" She quickly put her paws on her muzzle, silencing herself before the leering dark-type could say something.

To the two kids, their surroundings were all the same. A sea of sand, covered in dunes that blocked their way. Thankfully, Sundance's path avoided climbing up on them too much, preferring the more straightforward desert plains underneath.

The leader then lifted a single of his claws, signaling them all to stop.

"I believe there's something up ahead. Don't move. I'll scout.." He ordered, proceeding to climb up the dune in front of them, leaving the two kids behind.

"Soooooooooo…"

"We're not there yet."

"I wasn't gonna ask that!"

"S-Seriously?"

"Yeah! That was only the third question I had in mind!" Huffed the 'offended' dragon-type.

The togepi just rolled his eyes and sat on the sand bellow, thankfully his shell didn't allow him to feel that much heat.

"... I wanted to talk about what happened back there. In that cave."

Lawrence froze.

"W-What about it…?"

"Just… everything." She lowered her head, sitting right next to him. "I think about it a lot…"

That surprised him. She, the ever-so-jolly Mirari, was… worried?

"Y-You don't show."

"Erm. Maybe. But I really wanted to talk to you about it..."

Once again, he was puzzled by her words, "R-Really? I um, try to avoid thinking too much about it. M-Makes it easier to sleep…"

"Hah. I guess it does! But um…"

"W-What?"

She sniffed, a single tear falling on the floor.

Lawrence immediately got up. His senses detecting an array of emotions. Sadness, worry, regret and… joy?

"W-What happened? S-Should I call Sunda- I-I mean, Sneasel?"

She didn't respond. Just kept looking down, more tears slowly forming and falling on the sands below.

He had no reaction. He didn't know what to do. So he thought of what Mirari would want him to do instead. An idea immediately sparked inside his head.

He had to tip-top to do it, and even still it was hard, but he lifted his little arms and wrapped them around her neck. Or at least tried to. The size difference made it hard, but he was nothing if not determined.

She pressed her head against his crown.

"I couldn't protect you… I dragged you into that nightmare, I forced you to do every single one of those stupid errands…" She said, between more sniffs.

"... And I could do nothing but cry as that thing hurt you." His heart sank. He remembered every little detail of what happened. Every thought, every feeling. Just remembering that mask the thing wore shook him to the core.

And yet, at this moment, he felt his heart fire up. This wasn't the time to be a coward.

"N-No."

It was the jangmo-o that was a bit taken back by his words.

"It wasn't your fault." He declared. The tone of his voice was as meek as ever, but the confidence reminded her of…

"Fear not." That gentle, innocent, voice… with so much power behind it! It was out of this world, "It's my turn to protect you."

Her heart beat louder in her chest for a moment.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He stared into her red eyes, using one of his stubby hands to wipe her tears. She saw that togetic, glowing with some sort of light looking down at her. Then he slowly disappeared, leaving a togepi which was looking up. Their eyes matched.

"I told you already, you're a w-wonderful friend, Mirari. I mean it. I blame you for nothing, and I'm sure Pichu and miss Kommo-o don't either."

She looked away, frowning again.

"If you want s-someone to blame, blame that creep! He's the one that did all of this, n-not you!"

"Still… I miss them. Pichu and Mum… I keep thinking of what would have been if…" She sighed, trying to stop herself from getting even more emotional.

He moved to where her head was facing, still staring up at her with his fierce eyes, having to move away the dusty bag she carried, "Hey! You're hearing me? Remember what I said back in the village!"

She looked back at him, head slightly tilted.

"Wait, y-you guys have pancakes in this world?" He gasped, "How dare you not say that before?"

"N-No, not that!" He shook his head nervously, "I said that…"

He once more had to tip-toe to reach her head. He gently put his hands on both of her scallied cheeks, and smiled "...being sad doesn't suit you! You're much better s-smiling instead!"

She couldn't help but see another flash of that togetic that saved her in that cave. Her mind was debating if that was really the same small pokémon that was before her eyes.

"And h-hey! I've noticed you tend to bottle things up! At least the negative s-stuff…" He let her go, now more playful in his tone, "don't d-do that! You can always talk t-to me, and you know it! Instead of asking i-if we're 'there yet', feel f-free to share your feelings! Even if they're bad ones!"

Mirari didn't notice, but she was smiling brightly, as much as her muzzle allowed her. Her tail gently moving from side to side, swiping the hot sand from underneath her.

They both kept just looking at each other. Lawrence had a knack for silencing Mirari, it seemed. But she liked it.

Which made her remember something.

"Lawry…"

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask something…"

"Sure thing! You're the least shy pers- t-the least shy pokémon I know! Ask a-away!"

She giggled, trying to hide her embarrassment as much as possible, "Hah. So. Every since we met back in Little sandrop cave I-"

Mirari's face morphed into one of shock, Lawrence felt her claws grab his sides. She then rolled on the sand with him, ending up with the togepi on top of her.

Where they once stood, a small fire-centipede pokémon was shaking off dust after missing the attack on the two.

"Welp. Surprise wrap failed. Guess it's plan B, then!"

From around the two, a pair of weepinbell appeared, surrounding them.

"You idiots thought you could hunt ma'am and live to tell the tale?" One of the angry weepinbell shouted at them, his vines prepared to attack.

"Dumb explorers! You ruined our job!" The other, this one female, grass-type completed.

"Hey, we're not explorers! At least not yet…" Mirari responded, getting up, causing the togepi to fall in the sands behind her, "are you outlaws? If so then we'll attack!"

"Hah, don't play games with us!" The male weepinbell rolled his eyes, "you have an explorer bag! You know exactly who we are!"

"S-She's right!" Lawrence got up, "we're not explorers or anything! W-Wait did you just threatened t-them, Mirari!?"

Mirari growled to the trio of pokémon.

"And now you'll pay for it!" The bug-type that tried to attack them threatened, charging his fire, only to be interrupted by a spear of ice hitting him in the back, which throwed him forward.

"Sorry I'm late. Thought there was only danger up ahead." Sundance jumped from the dune and graciously landed in front of Mirari, "but apparently, there's more trash around here too." He seemed to have some blood on his short fur.

"T-That's him!" The female weepinbell pointed her vines at the taller pokémon, "that's the shadow-spawn that killed Graveler's crew!"

The two young pokémon were confused by those words, while the sneasel had his usual neutral expression, "Hm. Didn't remember any survivors. Guess you were that insignificant."

"You're dead!" The grass-type launched its vines forward, aiming for the dark/ice-type, who took a step to the side and grabbed it with his left claw.

"Dead-on." He muttered, pulling the plant pokémon towards him, using its own vine like a rope. Sundance covered his right claw in ice, landing a single, massive blow on the outlaw's face, ripping its grassy body.

"Weepinbell! You bastard!" The other one closed his mouth, and vomited a large cloud of acid, ready to bathe the two kids and Sundance on the corrosive attack.

He responded by dashing towards the attacker, appearing right in front of him. The dark-type grinned, the grass-type's eyes widened as the last thing he saw was an icicle-claw piercing his face.

The acid behind him was quick to vanish. Revealing a togepi hugging a jangmo-o, who created a barrier around them.

"Hm. You're good with that protect." He complimented the dragoness, kicking the fainted grass-type off his claws.

The two young pokémon ran towards Sundance, more scared than what the older pokémon expected.

"A-Are they gonna be ok…?" Lawrence was the first to ask.

"Considering that: the weather is harsh, they're pretty wounded and I don't give a damn… yeah, probably not."

"Shouldn't you arrest them?" Mirari questioned.

"Maybe."

"Then pick up your badge and let's give 'em to the authorities!" She enthusiastically said.

A frown appeared on Sundance's face when he remembered the fate of his badge. Wouldn't change much anyway, but at least he would have something to show.

"Nah. They're not the ones I came here for anyway." He turned around, leaving the grievously wounded weepinbell to rot on the sand, "she's inside a hidden cave up ahead. I knew these rattatas were around here somewhere. These are just her goons. Not of much vallue."

"Then we should help them! W-We can't let them bleed out on the ground!" Lawrence moved towards the fallen grass-type, "or whatever the term is for w-when a plant is bleeding…"

His small hands shone, as he transferred some energy to the fallen foe. It didn't do much.

"Oh wow… he's pretty banged up…" He turned to Mirari, "we still have one of those h-healing berries?"

The jangmo-o nodded, using one of her paws to grab an oran berry, "Yep! Since we can't arrest them now, we can come back after we defeat their boss! Wouldn't want them dying on us in the meantime!"

She put the berry on her mouth, walking towards Lawrence. Sneasel stopped her midway.

"Are you two dweebs seriously considering giving healing items to a lowly grunt!?" His voice carried shock.

"Duh! We can't leave 'em hurt like this, dummy! It's fine, we won't miss two orans!"

"Yeah, she's right! Y-You were pretty rough with them, they need them more than us."

He opened his mouth to retort, slowly getting angrier at what, to him, was pure stupidity.

"That's 'cause it's more practical if we just-"

Toot. Toot. Toot.

Sneasel turned around to see the sizzlipede from before crawling away, still with an icicle-spear impaling him. He was surprisingly close to the top of the dune. The underling was sure to leave some sort of smoky smog on the path he took.

"Shit." Sundance muttered, "I'll deal with that mess. I ain't sharing anything with this scum, you two fools can give them a banquet for all I care."

He dashed to meet the outlaw, minding his steps and covering his nose. Meanwhile, the kids gave the berry to the male weepinbell.

"He's grumpier than u-usual." Commented Lawrence, opening the plant pokémon's mouth.

"I'm sure it's just the sun! Y'know, ice-types and all!" Mirari smiled, giving the berry to the outlaw. Quickly, the hole in its grassy body mended, leaving a scar and some bruises behind.

They then walked towards the other fallen grunt, repeating the process.

"Wow. Sneasel is pretty strong, huh! These guys don't look all that weak." Mirari commented, making the female weepinbell swallow another berry, "and yet he defeated them so fast! Of course, I'm sure I would be able to do the same, but still!"

"I-I doubt we'd be able to take them on like that, Mirari…" Lawrence watched as the badly injured pokémon's body was mended.

"We definitely would!" She jumped, eyes shining, "Lawry! Do you realise what this is!?"

"W-Wh-"

"It's our first mission!" The dragoness answered her own question.

"Our what…?"

"This outlaw capture! It's our first mission! Oh man, that's so cool! Only the best teams start with an arrest mission!"

"I don't get it…"

She slapped herself with her paw dramatically, "That's right! I was meaning to-"

"M-MA'AM, HE'S HERE!"

"Oh you motherfuck-"

They both looked up, seeing a sneasel trying to choke a fire-centipede.

"We better go…"

"Yeah!"

They both ran as fast as they could to where Sundance was.

They saw him throwing the sizzlipede off the dune. His eyes were closed, he had another icicle on his body.

"Asshole couldn't keep his mouth shut even with my claws trying to rip it off…"

"I-Is he ok-"

They were silenced by the ground. It was rumbling and shaking.

"And there goes my perfectly crafted plan to use stealth."

"Oh it's fine, how hard could a lone outlaw be?" Mirari brushed off.

The dune right across then exploded. Sundance had to kneel to hug the two kids, else they might get blasted away by the shock wave, Mirari's weight helping the sneasel himself remain on his feet.

All around them was sand. It could easily be mistaken for a sandstorm, save for the fact that it was gently falling back to the floor.

In the center of the explosion, a big red crocodile with black stood. Cracking her neck, seeming as if she had just awakened from her slumber.

"...Not impressed. I can totally do that too." Mirari gulped.

"N-No you can't…"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't, idiot."

"I totally can!"

They were silenced by another thunderous rumbling. The boss took a single step, causing another earthquake in the process.

The three of them fell from the dune, Lawrence and Mirari once more having rolled down together like a wrecking ball and fallen on their faces, while Sundance landed on his feet.

Krookodile smirked, brandishing her rows and rows of wicked teeth.

"No, you can't."