Location: Submerged Cave Entrance
Remember how I mentioned dark-sky blue's my favorite color? Well, turns out when you mash a bunch of Oran Berries into a paste and smear it on your team members' faces war-paint style, it dries into that brilliant shade of dark-sky blue.
Yemer might not be one of us yet, but I'll be damned if he ain't gonna look the part. I was hoping to do this with Espurr, but Yemer will have to do. Lyra didn't have another harmony scarf, so I pulled out an old purple bandana from the Deposit Box, wrapped it around his shoulders, and knotted it at the front. I used some of the Oran Berry paste to paint little designs on his face and head, and he...seemed to enjoy it! Even rubbed some of the paste on his arms. By the time Lyra joined us, I was mashing up Cheri Berries for some red war paint. Blue was a good complimentary color for her and Yemer, but red would look better on me. Since Cheri Berries are spicy, I just couldn't put any near my eyes.
As the three of us worked on painting Lyra and I, Kecleon kinda side-eyed us. Did we really have that much time to waste? Shouldn't we be out trying to stop Dark Matter?
Hawlucha jumped in, saying any Pokémon we encountered in Mystery Dungeons would likely be terrified and aggressive. More so than usual given the state of things. Any advantage we can give ourselves would go a long way, including intimidation through face paint. Even so, sometimes a nice fierce look is enough to boost fighting morale! Hy-krah!
Hell yeah.
Yemer needed help adjusting the bandanna on his neck, and I used my vines to fix it for him. As I worked on that, he commented on my scowl.
Truthfully, I still feel bitter about all this. When Lyra and I returned from the Voidlands, I'd decided then and there that things were gonna be different. No more complacent silence. No more doubts. No more second-guesses. No more passiveness. Now, I find myself in a situation where I need to go back on that and revert to my normal self.
I admitted that I didn't like having my hand forced like this. I'm allowed to distrust him, I'm allowed to dislike him, but I ultimately have to put my unpleasant feelings aside and follow him anyway. More than that though, I hated how he wasn't truly my enemy from the start. I'd almost rather he was an irredeemable piece of scum. Maybe then my anger would be justified.
He tried apologizing by saying he wished he could've been the enemy I wanted him to be, but I told him I wasn't mad at him so much as I was mad at this situation in general.
Every surprise twist seems to take a little more out of me, and it's so aggravating. After a while, that anger dies down and the cinders of resentment linger just a little bit longer every time. I just...I wish we met under different circumstances if for no other reason than I wouldn't feel this bitterness now.
I have to go back on my word, cast aside the atrocities of a long-time enemy, and accept the shittiness of this situation. All as the meek little girl everyone knows and expects me to be.
After huffing a heavy sigh, I told Yemer not to worry about me - that the bitter feeling was just me being salty and it'll go away on its own.
He wasn't having any of that though. His psychically projected male voice grew stiff and formal as he said, "We clearly got off on the wrong foot, and I would like to reintroduce myself properly. Hello. My name is Yemer the Beheeyem. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He extended one of his arms similar to that of a human offering a handshake.
I...stared at it apprehensively. No Pokemon has offered a traditional human introduction since my arrival here, and it...it felt unnatural. Pokemon introductions were always informal, silly, dramatic, or all three. Never...that.
Yemer kept his arm suspended in the air, but I could see his confident demeanor deflate the longer our silence dragged on. I suspect at some point he only kept his arm extended out of sheer stubborn determination. He didn't want to dismiss the moment or withdraw his offer for a formal greeting, even if I clearly didn't accept it.
This...I...uh...this didn't feel the same as the uh...that is to say...when I saw him starting to sweat nervously and his arm tremble, I didn't feel like I was slighting my nemesis. I felt like I...I was...
Ugh. I was being such a bitch.
That was the first instance in which I saw Yemer as a...well...an individual. Not an enemy. An individual who tried to be serious, proper, and polite, but also an individual who laughed nervously and got worried and made situations awkward.
He was flawed. He was real. He was...different. Different from the other Beheeyem in more ways than the obvious.
I think...something about that resonated with me because one of my vines slowly emerged and shook his wavering arm.
I uh...heheh...I won't lie, I didn't know what I was doing. My body reacted before my brain, and I found myself unable to reintroduce myself in return. Just returning his handshake made him perk up again, but part of me stubbornly didn't want to give him the introduction he wanted. Awkward silence fell between us as we kept shaking "hands" and I searched frantically for something to say.
Finding out he's different from my other Beheeyem nemeses is a good start, but it doesn't change the lie he told us earlier. Even so...it would be remiss of me to not give him a chance. If he's luring us into a trap, maybe there's a soft spot I can use to turn him to our side. Maybe he'll warn us of the trap and decide to help us, but we won't know if I don't give him the chance.
...Ah, but we were still shaking hands in awkward silence. Come to think of it, the handshake was going on for a little longer than necessary, wasn't it?
Instead of reintroducing myself, I told him that if he was telling the truth about breaking free from Dark Matter's influence, it meant he had to establish his own identity to set him apart from his Beheeyem counterparts. He has a chance to start his life anew, and I'm giving him this one chance to prove he's a friend and not a foe. Lyra gave him the name. I gave him the look. It was up to him to fill in the identity. However, if he betrayed us...there was no going back. Yemer would be a dream forever unfulfilled, and he'd go back to being just Beheeyem to us. Understood?
He just nodded.
No good. Simply telling him wasn't enough.
I jerked him down with the vine shaking his arm so we were eye-level, making him wince. I told him to repeat what I said in his own words. And dammit, look me in the eyes this time.
"Erm...I only have this one chance to prove myself to you. If I...if I blow it...then that's it. Yemer and the Evergreens will be no more, and...and I'll just go back to having no friends."
...Aw, fuck's sake. Why'd he have to phrase it like that? My grip on him softened and I...said that I really hope it doesn't come to that. I mean that.
Satisfied, I let him go and cleaned up the mess I made. The three of us looked like a badass squad (in my opinion), and with our inventory squared away, we made for the Lapras Liner.
True to Espurr's word, Lapras returned to the coast and complimented us on our war paint. He said we looked like we meant business! Anyway, apparently the Prehistoric Ruins connected at the base to a Submerged Cave. To gain entrance to the ruins, we'd have to explore the cave until we reached the sea floor.
As Lapras described the ancient civilization of Pokémon who prospered until their world collapsed and the city sank to the sea floor, I was busy wondering how we were gonna get Lyra, a fire-type chick Pokémon, to the bottom of the sea without her dying.
See, the Society never taught us how to swim (I already know how, I've just never done so with my Chikorita body). Even if they had, ya don't see many fire-types in the ocean for a reason here.
Well, Yemer entered the cave first and showed how the cave wasn't technically fully submerged – it just had a water-textured floor. Still, Lyra really didn't like that and we decided to simply pass her back and forth as we delved into the cave.
Oh joy. Sure can't wait to traverse this water-type dungeon after we worked so hard putting on face paint, and then the Prehistoric Ruins where I'll no-doubt find the petrified members of the Expedition Society!
Let's just get this over with.
Location: Submerged Cave B7F
Y'know, sometimes it's just better to use a Petrify Wand and use an enemy Pokémon to block a dead-end hallway so other enemy Pokémon can't chase after you. I find myself doing that a lot in this dungeon, simply because it's easier to use them than to fight them. Especially when you have a fire-type partner and an incompetent psychic-type ally, both of which keep fainting and eating through your Reviver Seeds.
I shouldn't get frustrated. This is a tough Mystery Dungeon, I know, but there comes a point where even my patience runs a little thin. It's not enough there's water-types here, but Sharpedos add dark-typing, Tentacools add poison-typing, and Mantines and Wailmers add flying-typing. Needless to say, everyone's having a hard time.
At this point, I don't care about gaining EXP or items. I just wanna get this headache over with.
...Well, deeper we go, I guess.
Location: Prehistoric Ruins Entrance
It was brutal, but we made it to the Prehistoric Ruins entrance, and luckily there was a Deposit Box nearby so I could change out our Plain Seeds for more Reviver Seeds. As I was doing that, Lyra and Yemer were talking about how a whole continent with this kind of culture could just sink.
Yemer said it happened a long time ago, but uncovering the story behind that was better left for another day. We needed to hurry.
Hm...despite his words, I reminded Lyra that the ancient writing from the Voidlands mentioned Dark Matter going inactive. That correlated with the lack of ancient Pokémon statues in these ruins – the stone victims of the time were released when Dark Matter went dormant. However, their city sank despite the lack of Pokemon statues. That meant they were powerless to stop their city from sinking. Assuming the previous inhabitants of this ruin were the same as the ancient Pokemon who fought Dark Matter, then...
Lyra cut me off, saying we didn't need to talk about such things. More importantly, she had some questions she wanted to ask Yemer.
Ah...I don't blame her for changing the subject. I hate to think of those poor folks recovering from being turned to stone, only to have their lives snuffed out shortly after from drowning. I mean, we were asleep when we came to, so maybe they were asleep too? If they did go that way, I hope they didn't suffer...
Thank Arceus plenty of explorers and archeologists have been here before us to clean out their skeletal remains. I can't imagine the first ones to explore the Submerged Cave had a fun time wading deeper and deeper into dead-Pokémon water. Ew.
Anyway, Lyra reiterated that when Yemer freed himself from Dark Matter's grasp, he came back to himself, right? What happened to his memories of when he was controlled? Did he forget anything? Or does he still remember it all?
Yemer...doesn't have a lot of facial expressions to draw conclusions from, but his eyes narrowed horizontally, and he looked at the ground. He said he didn't really want to remember the things he did when he was being controlled.
But that meant he remembered, right? If so, Lyra had an important question to ask.
"Why did Nuzleaf lie to Irau?"
!
I was in the middle of depositing our money, and the half-full sack made an attention-grabbing squelch as it dropped onto the wet floor. I was able to shakily pick it back up and empty the rest into the deposit box, then join them for his answer.
Yemer was quiet even after I joined them. He looked between the two of us apprehensively.
Was it...was it that unpleasant to talk about...? Yeesh, I guess he really does regret everything he did. He looked so distraught as Lyra pressed him further.
"Come on, Yemer. You worked together with Nuzleaf to trick Irau, right?"
After more hesitation, he asked if we really wanted to know even though we won't believe him. We still thought he might've brought us here as some sort of trap.
Oh, I don't think he brought us here as some sort of trap. I know he did. No tree could survive in some ruins at the bottom of the ocean. The Tree of Life isn't here, and therefore Dark Matter isn't here.
Why bring us here if not to trap us somehow?
Do we really want him to tell us, even though we don't even trust him?
...Yes. I can't speak for Lyra, but I want him to tell me. I'll decide for myself if he lied or told the truth, but either way I deserved to know. Why single me out? Lyra admitted that it wasn't very smart, but she still had to ask.
"I mean, you guys went to so much extra work to make this elaborate ruse. Why do it? I just can't wrap my head around it..."
Yemer said that it might indeed seem strange to us, but...no. He wouldn't tell us. When Lyra asked why not, he said it was because he simply didn't want to. He didn't want to say it.
Lyra was getting fed up, saying if he knew the truth to just tell us. He was being such a brat. He didn't like that and started sulking after turning away from us.
Oh, come on, I don't...ugh. Okay. Time to try exploiting a possible soft spot? Maybe?
I sent out one of my vines and let it rest gingerly on his shoulder.
"Yemer, I...please? Anything you can tell me would give me more than the nothing I have to go on right now. Even if it's something small or seemingly insignificant, it would mean a lot to me. Please."
I mean...that kinda worked. He said he'd tell me one thing. He turned back around and said Nuzleaf tricked me because of who I am and what I might remember.
"You still had some memories of who you were when you first came to this world, but then...no. No. I'm sorry. I can't say anymore. Please don't make me."
He tried changing the subject, repeating that we needed to hurry onward. We don't have much time.
...
Well, that was a little bit of a teaser...but he gave me what I wanted, so I was satisfied. Lyra tried pressuring him again, and it just...didn't work. Guess we'd have to settle for that.
I thanked him genuinely, but he didn't acknowledge it. Given how it echoed off the ruin walls, I know he heard it. Well, whatever. I left him with his thoughts.
Who I am and what I might remember?
Hm...the memories and clues I've gleaned thus far haven't pointed to anything pleasant. Far as I can recall, I wasn't anyone special. Just some person...probably a teenager...who was passed from foster family to foster family. I don't even remember my own family, or why I was put up for adoption to begin with.
The Caucasian woman with blonde hair and pink apron? I think she was foster mother for a while. That blonde-haired 12-year-old who shunned me and got on the elevator? I think that was her biological daughter. And...those were really the only solid pieces of the puzzle I had. The rest were voices or silhouettes or...vague feelings. And for all I know, I could be completely wrong.
Hm...sorry, brushing the dust off my thoughts. I haven't had to contemplate my memories or my purpose for being here in a while. I mean, the "y'all need a human" thing listed on the ancient tablet on Revelation Mountain Summit made me question some things, but that got put on hold after Nuzleaf's betrayal and the stone apocalypse situation we've found ourselves in. With the Voidlands, it was a matter of survival and obeying our obnoxious legendary trio overlords. Then when we got back, it was a matter of sorting out our feelings, getting to Lively Town, and mustering our remaining forces. Now we're back on this.
I...when it comes to matters involving Nuzleaf, the only thing I want is to talk to Eris. She knew him before I did, presumably before he was controlled by Dark Matter. She knew the real him. Asking 'why' is sorta irrelevant. 'Because Dark Matter wanted him to,' would be the simplest answer, yet Yemer isn't saying that. He's struggling to come up with a real answer instead of simply lying.
Maybe...maybe he's not so bad after all. Despite the obvious trap he's luring us to.
That one statement still bothered me, though. I still had some memories of who I was when I first came here? Hm...if writing in this journal has taught me anything, it's that I can recall things like there's no tomorrow! But to have my past so thoroughly erased like that...
Well, whatever caused it was wearing off very slowly if the resurfacing of my scum memories was anything to go by. I'm still wondering what or...or who could have...
Wait a second. Gears are turning. Pieces are coming together...
Holy shit. There truly is a pattern to these things. Seriously, what are the odds that...that he and I...
I think...I think Yemer was the one who somehow erased my memories. He was being controlled by Dark Matter at the time, so he might not know how to restore them. But if my hunch is correct, then it's no wonder he doesn't wanna tell us. Arceus, the amount of guilt weighing on him must be so immense...
I...hm...if I'm correct about this hunch, is it really fair to get angry? I mean, he wasn't in control at the time. He probably didn't want to do that to me, and if my memories are truly terrible...perhaps he did me a favor. I mean, sure, it played into Dark Matter's plans to use Nuzleaf and deceive me for whatever reason, but if those memories are fucking horrible to begin with, what loss was it to me?
Wait. If they erased my memories, that meant restoring them might be the key to defeating Dark Matter. Everything they've done thus far has tied into Dark Matter's plans, right? Including erasing my memories. If I truly was just a nobody teen brought to this world, they wouldn't see the need to do that. Unless they really thought I was somebody else and didn't realize until after they wiped my memories out.
As for Yemer, my feelings about him possibly erasing my memories are gonna remain conflicted until I know the context behind the event, or until I get confirmation that's what happened. For the guy himself, he...he can't be all bad. I don't think so, at least. He found a way to give me some answers despite the obvious discomfort he felt. Even if we don't fully trust him, I think he told me the truth.
...
I uh...I really hope he...he decides to warn us about the trap and help us instead.
Well, sitting on this wet floor theorizing and writing in my journal isn't gonna bring us closer to the truth. Time to wrap this up and get a move on.
I'm bound to get some answers eventually.